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i Page 2 Wednesday, December 8, 1965 V. 0 Satlg (Ear Opinions of the Daily Tar Heel are expressed in its editorials. Letters and columns, covering a wide range of views, reflect the personal opinions of their authors. ERNIE McCRARY, EDITOR ". . . And Could You Throw In Speech 41 or DA 31?" Barry Jacobs Breaking Point Is At Hand What a mess. Never have so many tried so unsuccessfully to register for so few courses. All week the Office of Records and Registration has looked like Grand Central Station when the trains come in, and a number of students have left the office convinced that they could have registered for more courses in Grand Central. Ray Strong, director of the office, said yesterday, "It's been coming for years. You just can't absorb 1,000 new students every year without reaching the breaking point some time. We have 12,4191,100 more than last year." More than 75 courses were already filled yester day; the fourth day of registration. Most of these are electives under favorite professors, and in many cases "favorite" means "crip." The all-consuming goal of those who get first crack at the class tickets is to make academic life during the coming semester as easy as possible. That means signing up for some of those Preferred Courses and the rush is on when registra tion opens. The registering student lives in dread of the closed course. He sweats out a session with his faculty ad viser, getting everything fixed just right, and then waits through a crowd at Hanes Hall only to find that one or more of the courses he wants or needs is close. So it is ack to the advisor and a re-start. Things like this cause occasional gray hair and ulcers, or at least tantrums, amongst the student popu lation, and hardly make life any easier for the people who work in the records office. The procedure of pulling class tickets in the pres ence of the registering student was started this semes ter mainly as a favor to the student. He knows on the spot what courses he will have next time and will riot get a surprise grab-bag schedule composed and mailed to him by office clerks. What can be done? Not much at the moment. The registration schedule has been changed to allow the office to pull itself out from under the backlog which started Monday when the line of waiting Students reached from the west end of Hanes to beyond the flagpole in Polk Place. Sophomores who conferred with their advisers after noon Tuesday must now wait until next Monday to get class tickets. Those who see advisers Tuesday cannot register until next Wednesday. Under the present system the stuaent nas no way of knowing which classes are closed until he actually gets to the counter in the records office. Knowing which courses are closed before he plans his schedule with his adviser would help the student avoid going through the whole ordeal more than once. To help provide some of this missing communica tion the DTH will print the up-to-date list of closed courses each morning during registration. The list is on page three today. These measures might provide some surface relief now but they will not decrease the number of students who are paying for an education in subjects they really do not want to study. Perhaps there is nothing tragic in such a situation, but it is hardly ideal to have a school full of disgruntled students. The only solution we see is for the departments to find the personnel and classroom space for more class es. All they need is probably $10 million and about five years of time. It sounds rather hopeless now, but unless such major changes are started soon, the problem will be so much larger and complex that it will be insoluble. ::: ..-.-.....-..-..-.-..-....XC Gttp lathi (Ear lfM 72 Years of Editorial Freedom The Daily Tar Heel is the official news publication of the University of North Carolina and is published by students daily except Mondays, examination periods and vacations. Ernie McCrary, editor; Barry Jacobs, associate editor; : Pat Stith, managing editor; Andy Myers, news editor; gj Gene Rector, sports editor; Jim Cogbill, asst. sports : editor; Kerry Sipe, night editor; Ernest Robl, photog ::: grapher; Chip Barnard, editorial cartoonist; Ed Freak : ley, John Greenbacker, Lynne Harvel, David Rothman. g: Wayne Harder, staff writers; Bill Hass, Bill Rollings, Ron Shinn, Sandy Treadwell, sports writers. Second class postage paid at the post office in Chapel ijij Hill, N. C, 27514. Subscription rates: $4.50 per semester; 8 S8 per year. Send change of address to The Daily Tar ijij Heel. Box 1080, Chapel Iffil, N. C, 27514. Printed by the iiji Chapel Hill Publishing Co., Inc. The Associated Press is : entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all x': local news printed in this newspaper as well as all ap :& news dispatches. ) The Student Speaks Socialized Courtship?? By JOHN W. PETTINGELL Looking back over that week at the Uni versity of North Carolina, often compared to Berkeley in importance, any casual ob server can see portents of what is to come. The whole disturbance began with the over whelming results of that all-campus refer endum on socialized courtship, better known as SO-CO. The referendum was proposed after a responsible sociologist, who refused to di vulge her name, stated that it is an estab lished fact that relationship known .as s courtship is of crucial importance in itself. : She further said," "Because our daughters are our Nation's greatest natural resource we shouldn't use them foolishly. Because our children might make a mistake on 'so crucial an issue as courtship the Nation instead should plan such a relationship for them." The upshot of her statement was a ref erendum which proposed that all male stu dents be granted the right to have any girl on campus and since courtship requires money and the common good was to bene fit, the referendum also stated that all stu dents be required to pay a common fee into a kitty to be doled out according to need. For the first time in the history of the school of 8,000 male students and 4,000 fe male students, a referendum had a com plete turnout. Oddly enough, the referen dum passed by a margin of 8,000 to 4,000. The conflict arose when the student leaders ignored the mandate by vetoing the bill before them on the grounds that the services rendered by such a plan did not warrant the expense. Besides, they argued, "Who was to do the matching of couples, what standard would be used to represent the 'average' boy and girl for the match ing, and what was supposed to be the ex pense of a 'normal' date?" One leader was heard to say that since these norms were other people's subjective value judgments he would not be repre sented except by a hit-or-miss basis and further stated that when he used a dime for a coke, he expected to get his money's worth. An opposing voice was heard to say, in jest, that he would never know if he was getting his money's worth because the choice of when to use the dime would not be his, since his money had been taken away upon entering the school, due to the votes of past and unknown students. This spokesman went on to say, "Those who want something badly enough don't have to save for it themselves, but rather have a right to it regardless of cost and that if they haven't bothered to save for it, others' money should be used instead, since money in general is used for better things than for oneself." Further discussion was tabled until better information could be presented, or until the faculty solved the parking problem. A few zealots were known to be circu lating a petition that would put the power of the vote completely in the hands of the people. They were heard to say that there wasn't anything they couldn't vote on and that the leaders had ignored the student mandate. A noted sociologist pointed out that the referendum was a clear indication of the people's will, since it had shown an increase in turnout over past referendums of any type. As if to complicate matters, a relatively obscure leader proposed an alternate plan which would not only cut the fee of the courtship plan, but also all other student fees by close to 99 per cent. His idea was to return the $100-plus of yearly student fees conscripted and supported by past votes so that a complete freedom to use and dis pose of their own money as each individual saw fit would be ensured. He said that he could not and would not guarantee that each male get a female, but that he would protect their right to seek a relationship based on the principle of mutu al consent to mutual advantage. He said that he wanted their vote and that he felt qualified to serve the students because he could protect their right to use their money the way they pleased, protect their right to seek the company they pleased, and do this cheaper than any other candidate . could: T.i ! i .;,'- z V' r.,:' . ,.' A rash of protests broke out against his proposal. One pious soul was quoted as say ing, "Man is an instinctual beast who can't be trusted with complete freedom and hence needs partial slavery." An eminent sociologist said that the campus was a "closed" society, that it could not adopt such a plan. When asked what the campus was closed to and by whom, he failed to comment. A noted clergyman pointed out that such a plan would give some men the chance to have more than their fair share of women and that some women would profit more than others. This he said was self sh and did not reach the virtue of self-sacrifice. A worthy psychologist remarked that the hu man animal could not accept the respon sibility required for complete freedom and pointed to America's overabundant wealth and underabundant spirituality as proof of his statement. A philosopher pointed out that freedom was an illusion since one can't be free to be not free. And a. popular political scientist said the word "freedom" has no meaning because "when you define a word, it loses all meaning." He commented on the rash leader as being "old - fashioned" and "weak" because he wasn't going to "do" anything at least not the way Roosevelt did. The unknown leader was reported to have apologized for his presumption" arid was accepting his guilt well. He stated that he was sorry to have only considered pro tecting individual rights and their complete liberty, rather than ensuring the welfare of others. A last report from the campus at Chap el Hill indicates that all is not over. The women are now circulating a petition for a referendum which will grant them the right to have two men apiece. Equal Justice Is Nearer, Federal Help Not Wanted The term "Alabama Justice" lost some of its malevolent connotations last week. Four white men were sentenced to long prison terms after convictions in cases in volving two separate killings, both with ra cial overtones. In Anniston, Ala., a white man was con victed of second-degree murder of a Negro. In Montgomery three Ku Klux Kbnsmen were convicted by a Federal court for vio lation of an old civil rights statute in the killing of a civil rights worker. All four were sentenced to ten years in prison. Pre sumably all were shocked by the verdicts. If they were surprised, they were not alone. One of the three convicted in Mont gomery was Collie Leroy Wilkins. His two earlier trials, and subsequent acquittal, for the murder of Mrs. Viola Liuzzo during last year's march from Selma mde "Lowndes County" a household word to many people who had no idea where it w?s. The people of Alabama deserve no ap plause for these verdicts If the accused men were guilty, then Alabama was meic ly doing its duty. It is significant tlrt, al though murder was involved in both the cases, noj capital convictions were returned Equal justice has not quite arrived in the Deep South. Yet make no mistake about it, last week's events were a long step toward that goal. Hobefully the days of "unsolved" murders, such as those of Medgar Evers and the three civil rights workers in Phil adelphia, Miss., are gone forever. From the days of iquick acquittals, or no trials at all, when a white man killed a Negro, the South has progressed to the days of hung juries and this was a real step forward and now to convictions on lesser charges. Yes, equil justice is in sight. But a disquieting even frightening note is being sounded, to accompany the South on; its journey. The omnipresent hand of the Federal government has its pen poised again. This time the proposed legis-; lation will seek to insure equal justice by Southern juries. Were its aim to guarantee Negroes an equal chance of acquittal, such legislation might not be objectionable. Yet the feeling persists that the aim will not be to acquit Negroes, but rather to convict whites. It was the acquittals in Alabama, not con victions of Negroes, that triggered the move for the proposed legislation. The basic principle of our judicial sys tem is that a man is presumed innocect until proven guilty. The belief is that it is better to free a guilty man than to convict an innocent one This basic principle is in danger of breaking down under the stress of the civil rights struggle. How many peo ple outside Alabama presumed that the three Alabama Klansmen were innocent? Since the proposed legislation has not been presented yet, specific comments on it will have to wait. In fact, it is difficult to predict just what form the bill will take. It is hard to avoid the feeling, though, that it should not be written at all. Legislation can do only so much to cor rect the evils of the world. There seems to : be a disturbing feeling among Federal and civil rights leaders that they "have the South on the run" and therefore should pass every kind of bill that may possibly end some form of discrimination. There is enough legislation now to guarantee full civil rights to all people. ;' The voice raised here is not the same:; old cry of "Give us time," that was used to stall school desegregation. It is rather an assertion that as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 are implemented, the Negro will come into the rights which are his. More legislation is not needed, and inter ference with the cornerstone of American justice is not wanted. Letters From Our Readers marines For France? Editor, The Daily Tar Heel: The Election returns from France show that in the presidential balloting this past Monday J one third of the voters cast over five million votes for Francois Mitterand. Mitterand was the candidate of the Com munist, itne Socialist and the Radical So cialist Parties. Should Marines? Stu Matthews 2 Pine Bluff Trail However, I appreciate Ford's calling at tention to a statement some one else has made before "It isn't so much what you do, as theway you-do it." Those who are with me;jgJt beknowri'by saying, Aye! Thoseopposed, No! Will the Ayes have it? Otelia Connor we send in the Otelia Answers Clark Editor, The Daily Tar Heel: The people who have spoken about Ford Clark's fetter in the Dec. 2 Daily Tar Hsel have said, "Pay no attention to it. If you write, ypu expect some people to disagree with you and even attack you." However, upon mulling it over, Ford may not have been 100 right, but he has a case. In my desire to improve the man ners of the UNC students, I have no doubt taken things too much for granted, believ ing, because so many students, parents, and others, tell me they appreciate what I am doing, that all the students felt the same. Most parents with the financial means, realizing how important good manners are if one htpes to get anywhere in the world, and awire that their children do not have proper manners, send them to prep schools, where they are taught good manners. Stu dents at the University have been getting free what it would cost their parents thou sands of dollars to get at a Prep school. I agree with Ford that it is better to correct people in private, but if I didn't get at them i in public, I never would get them at all, for that is the only place I see them. One solution to the problem for those who don't like what I write, is to pass it over, and not read it. There is no law forc ing anyone to read something that infuri ates him. There is much in the newspapers that I don't read, because it isn't worth my time. LETTERS The Daily Tar Heel welcomes let ters to the editor on any subject, particularly on matters of local or University interest. Letters must be typed, double-spaced and must in clude the name and address of the author or authors. Names will not be omitted in publication. Letters should be limited to about 250-300 words. The DTH reserves the right to edit for length or libel. Longer letters will be considered for "The Student Speaks" if they are of sufficient interest. How ever, the DTH reserves the right to use contributed materials as it sees fit. Heel Prints The Federal Reserve Board increases interest rates, thus rocketing living costs And here we thought prices would remain down-to-earth during the Gemini shot. The way things are now going in Paris it's quite possible French Policy toward the'' United States will have less Gaulle in it. TTTX A dress manufacturer has put out a size one dress. If the dresses don't sell, they can always be used on Barbie dolls. i ftl eooo 6ftiPi SOME STUPlD ttD AT SCHOOL OJRl, DON TlT THAT BOTH Eft fT ISN'T THAT I HURT UV 7N UMATS THE (UteTEASWSMEABOuTAtfftE HW-THIS IS JUST OWE Of HAND HIM A JuSn rro I llUAU MTTE.ALLV? PATCH" HE SAID I LOOKED TH04E THIN65 V00 HAVE To y1 wvinp nim f JvPQ CHOP -W?- UE'L0N6'j0HN LVER'i - LEARN TO 6T USED TO... ' 1 vf DON'T MAKE ME OUT V BE SOME KINdY YER AT LIBERTY V DO X ...AN GET I AN GET OF OGRE, PET, I'M AS DEMOCRATIC AS THINGS MY WAY OR DO ) CLOBBERED? I CLOBBERED J EN in?
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Dec. 8, 1965, edition 1
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