As We See It
Capital Punishment:
An Unsavory Leftover
The Times They Are A-Changiii"???
( SAN QUENTIN, Calif., April 12
AP Policeman-killer Aaran Mit
chell puffed nervously on his last
cigarette, moaned loudly twice,
walked out of his cell, collapsed and
was carried the last 13 steps to his
death Wednesday in California's
gas chamber ...
Outside, . jammed against the
main gate of the prison, were about
500 protesting sign-carriers. They
sang almost continually, "We Shall
Overcome." Many had been there
all night.
-
PEORIA, 111, April 15 AP
Richard Speck was found guilty to
day of the step-by-step slaughter
of eight student nurses in a Chicago
town house last summer. The jury
of seven men and five women ruled
that the languid blond drifter die in
the electric chair for the slayings
Spectators who were crowded
outside the courtroom cheered
loudly when they heard the verdict
and sentence.
RALEIGH, April 18APThe
House Judiciary Committee Tues
day gave a favorable report to leg
islation aimed at abolishing the
death penalty in North Carolina.
Several committee members, how
ever, indicated they will oppose the
measure once it reaches the House
floor for debate.
Under current North Carolina
ey, You:
B
Today is.
Yeah, that's right, just plain "is,",
which is a form of the verb "to
be," which is what today is all
about, because today the Be-In
comes to Chapel Hill.
; And, it logically follows, today
jis the time for everybody .to go
around is-ingor are-ing, depending
jon whether they want to Be in
J singular or in plural fashion. -j
But, regardless of whether ou
plan to travel solo, in couples or in
i coveys, today is the day for you
; to stop worrying about the declen
i sion of your everyday life and pro- -;ceed
back to, the realm of child
I like innocence where everybody is ' s
jas uncomplicated as the infinitive
form "to be." v
j It will be uncomplicated be
j cause uncomplication is a major (
theme of the Be-In. And beginning
at 1 p.ml today, at the feet of Silent
Sam, uncomplication will hopefully
reign.
Oh, there'll be other factors,
too, besides mere simplicity, but
that's about the' most important
, one. There is supposed to be, for
" instance, loaves of homemade bread
being passed about the crowds.
Cookies, too. And perhaps someone
will bring a hunk of good cheese.
; Maybe even a wine-skin or two will
be hoisted, and squirted,
There'll also be music prob
ably several different kinds of mu
sic. At least one Rolling Stones- .
type combo intends to set up shop
; in McCorkle Place. And there'll un
doubtedly be some guitar-playing
and folk" singing going on. It
wouldn't surprise us, either, if one
of the local jug bands made the
scene.
Other things will happen there,
too, but we aren'tquite sure just
what they'll be. A Be-in, you see,
is by definition not the sort of thing
which you can plan down to the
last detail. If it happened that way,
it just wouldn't be a Be-in. In fact,
the less planning and the more
spontanaiety, the better.
So, regardless of what you wear,
or what you are, or how old you
are, or what you plan to wear the
Be-In is for you just like last
Wednesday's Chalk-In was by, for
and of you.
Indeed, the Chalk-In and the
Be-In are very close kin, the main
difference being that nobody's go
ing to come around with firehoses
and soap suds and wash the Be-In
out of your mind like they erased
the Chalk-In from Y Court.
So, humans of the world, unite,
and just go out there and BE. You
have nothing to lose but your rut.
law, the death penalty may be giv
en on conviction of first degree
murder, first degree burglary, arson
and rape.
That's how it's gone this past
week with the death penalty: one
execution, one sentencing and one
move towards making the death .
penalty just an unpleasant memory.
Although the tragedy of the
first bothers us and the ghoulish
ness of the second turns our stom
ach,' it is the third the ray of hope
' with which we are most concern
ed. The death penalty is an abhor
rent left-over from an earlier age
which did not possess the . general
sophistication and respect for Man's
dignity as does this area.
It is a method by which Society
self-righteously rids itself of its
deviants, erasing what are in many
cases its own failures much as a
surgeon might unsympathetically
remover a cancer.
And it has been accused too
often justly, especially in the South
of being a systematic tool for the
killing of Negroes who violate the
White Man's laws. This can be
borne out by statistics showing the
high percentage of Negro criminals
executed as opposed to the low rate
of white men who draw sentences
for similar crimes.
But it is now time to change all
this.
A bill to get rid of the death
penalty in this state has passed
the House committee. It will reach
the floor as undoubtedly one of the
most important pieces of legislation
the General Assembly will enter
tain this session.
And because 'of its imnBrtSm!
. and because o Iheoppolition
which it is sure to encounter it is
of great urgency that effective sup- :
post for this bill be mobilized im
mediately. It is a well-recognized fact that
the University at Chapel Hill is a
great political force in this state.
From atop this red clay Piedmont
knoll shoot out rays of influence
which penetrate throughout the
whole of North Carolina.
And now is a time when all this
influence must be brought to bear
on the General Assembly in Ra
leigh. Now is a time when this Uni
versity must take action on a state-'
wide issue of highest importance,
or else the tradtion of what this
University stands for the belief
that Man is a higher and dignified
being requiring respect, education
and Jiumanization will ring as .
empty as the clanging of a prank
ster's false fire alarm.
We would like to see a petition
favoring the bill signed by every
student, faculty member and ad
ministrator on this campus and de
lived to the General Assembly
jointly by Chancellor J. Carlyle
Sitterson and Student Body Presi
dent Bob Travis.
We would like to see letters en
dorsing this bill sent to every in
state student's representative and
state senator, telling them that the
people who elect them or soon
will be electing them want this
legislation passed.
And we would like to see in
fluential alumni such as former
President Frank Porter Graham ,
join in a united crusade against
the inhumanity of the death penal
ty. "
These things need to be done,
and this University its students,
faculty, administrators and alumni
must do them. -
.i
For if this bill is defeated and
North Carolina retains the death
penalty, the death knell will be
tolling not for crime, but for the
progressivism this state has be
come known for.
University Party
UNC Drunken Drivers
Fail -Aesthetic Evaluation
Dear Fellows,
Strange as it may sound,
there are some persons who
try to sleep at three o'clock
' in the morning, even Satur
day and . Sunday mornings,
even Jn Spring. Jhis, effort is
courageously -thwarted hi ' the
vicinity of Scott Colleee Yvou
know, down yonder in South
Campus) by a group of (pre
. sumably) young drivers of the
mature TCG type, (presum
ably) accompanied by dates
and (not so presumably, but
acutely,) suffering from either'
a lowndegree of natural resis
tance to beverages with alcoho
lic content or a high degree
of the same in their blood- !
streams, or both.
This somewhat , obnoxious
breed of. young gentlemen
(and - or young ladies) ap
parently believes that the lat
est thrill available in this dull
world (except, perhaps, for
the mellow - yellow) is to
gun the cars downhill at top
speed, loudly screech the
tires against the pavement
and loudly play prolongued
horn concerts while trying to.
negotiate the 90-degree angle
at which the South Campus
. Road ( whatever its name
may be) meets Ridge Road
IliTheMail
'.-'"III
directly in front of Avery's
main entrance..
All these assorted noises,
engine grunts, ' exhaust gasps,
screeches, and. sp forth, are
not infrequently ' aided by the
sort V 'blood - curling1 lF
one ..used; to, . .associate wifhS
certain inferior forms of ani
mal life, or, at the most, with
that notorious Tarzan. But,
after all, the; poor fellow had
an excuse, being the ward of
a female gorilla and all
that. Anyway, even without
female gorillas in sight, 8 it's
getting increasingly difficult
to sleep around South Cam
pus. Perhaps it would be con
venient at this stage to polite
ly remind the young, dashing
drivers that so daringly se
lect the wee-small hours of
the morning to assert their
true Weltanschauung and per
sonality, that sleeping still is
a human need. Also, that
drinking is bad, very bad,
when one unfortunately lacks
that most - gracious of human
gifts that is sometimes call
ed alcoholic culture. For, you
see, only people that , possess
alcoholic culture can drink;
the rest just get drunk. As
they would put it around
North Carolina, you really
have to know your ABC's in
order to drink (as distin-,
guished from getting drunk.)
And please,do not misunder
stand me; I have neither the
inclination nor the authority
to condemn' drunkenness' on
moral grounds it's -just" that
it ; is -so unaesthetic. r(But
then, we all know that some
dates' peculiar' aesthesia re
sponds favorably to feats of
drunken drinking as well as
drag - strip driving, even
though both take place on
public roads).
Besides, think of all the
trouble we'll have to ; go
through the day one of you
just barely misses the road
and crashes head - on against
Avery Dorm's red brick wall
which, I'm told, is fairly
hard. If the residents and au
thorities of Scott College de
cide " (again, on aesthetic
grounds) they don't like that
kind of pop - art collage
spashed all over Avery, it's
going to take quite a little bit
of time to pick up the re
mainders with a tea - spoon
and get them into some sort
of envelope, preferably made
of heavy paper. Maybe some
scrap iron will be left, you see.
Huascar Toscano (h)
89120
Harris Do
o
mai
9
To the Editor:
Each morning I am greeted
by another trite little pseudo
philosophical homily by Mr.
Peter Harris, parading under
the guise of the philosophy
of the future. It is difficult
to say whether they are best
characterized as arrogant or
puerile, but, in any case, they
are dreadfully boring. If you
must resort to this to fill
your editorial page, I would
suggest instead reprinting
some of Dondi's more risque
adventures.
Sincerely, ;
Mike Byrd
430 Avery v
A DTH Goof?
To the Editor:
I have been very impressed
with your presentation of the
news and especially with the
excellent editorials in the past -weeks.
Wednesday's paper,
however, contained one grave
error.
The letters to the editor sec
tion is supposed to be an open
forum. Yet you captioned the
letter from David Holland
about the Cone Mills strike
with a "Starving, self-right-eous
grade grubber blasts
striking beggars at Cone
Mills."
Granted, his letter indicates
that he is starving, self-right
eous, and a grade grubber,
and that he has little under
standing of the situation at
Cone Mills; but he should have
the right to say what he thinks
without derogation, or even
comment from the powers
that control the printing.
It's a trap if you write a
letter to the editor or even
a news story, and find your
character maligned in the
headline. Might discour
age people from writing let
ters. Mike McGee
(Editor's note: The headline
was not meant to derogate
the character of Mr. Holland.
We apologize if it appeared
too harsh. We do feel that the
paper remains a public forum
and we promise in the future
to insure a more comfortable
platform on which the forum
may be expressed. We encour
age members of UNC to con
tinue writing letters and col-
umns.)
Which Is Which?
To The Editor:
I am enclosing an editorial
from the April 12 DTH. There
are several confusing errors
in it.
The first one is in the head
ing. The initials SUI stand for
State University of Iowa, lo
cated in Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa
State is located in Ames, Iowa.
The newspaper referred to in
the fourth paragraph: The
Daily Iowan is a publication
of the student body at SUI -and
is not the publication of the
campus at Iowa State at Ames
Iowa. '
There was an article of
great length about Don Smith
in the magazine section of the
New York Times April 9th.
One thing that was stressed
was that SUI was glad he was
there but he was the problem
oMowa State at Ames, Iowa.
I am a graduate of the
State University of Iowa and I
can give firsthand knowledge
of the rivalry between SUI and
Iowa State. It is even strong
er than that which exists be
tween UNC and N. C. State
because they do . not partici
pate in competitive sports be
tween SUI and Iowa State'
There was such a furor be
tween the schools when it was
done years ago that the idea
had to be abandoned.
I hope this information will
help to clear up the confusion
about these two schools.
I enjoy reading the DTH so
much that I've been a sub
scriber during this semester
while away from campus. This
fall my husband and I will be
returning to UNC and Chapel
Hill. I'm looking forward to
being" in closer touch with the
campus.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Gretchcn Under
egms mevaniping
, By. CHARLIE MERCER
Members of the University Party Executive Com
mittee sat down Sunday night and took a long look
at their party's future. The ten people present listened
anxiouslv as Partv Chairman Tom Manley discussed
UP losses in the spring election and their implications
for the party. Manley then announced his resignation
as chairman effective immediately. Manley said he
was. resigning because he recognized the importance
of giving the party "a new face" and felt a new ap
proach to campus problems was mandatory. In making
his parting remarks Manley urged that committee mem
bers give serious consideration to any plan of reor
ganization that would breath new life into the ailin
party.
During the next hour and a half many possible
plans were considered. Discussion revolved largely
around how the UP could combat its image as the tradition-encrusted
"fraternity-man's party" and how it
could build up additional "grass-roots" support.
By the end of the meeting a general concensus of
the party needs and goals seemed to have been reach
. ed. Most members agreed that:
1) the University Party is in an unhealthy condi
tion and that drastic reorganization steps must be tak
en to insure that it does not remain that way.
2) the University Party is not a party run by and
for the fraternity and sororities, and that this must
be proved. While not denying the importance of this
support, the committee stressed that it alone does not
and will not compromise the bulk of the party's
support.
3) the University Party is willing to propose prog
ressive and dynamic programs for the advancement
of the University and the welfare of its students and
must do so.
4) the University Party must incite its legislators
to compile more concrete and decisive records of ac
complishment. .
Specific plans designed to accomplish these four
goals were also discussed at some length. These plans
included: ,
1) holding elections as soon as possible, not only to
fill the office of party chairman, but to select an en
tirely new slate of officers and a new executive com-
(mmee.r
-r r-
"2) I'evamplnhetsartvistnif'tiirAitn inn 'wi,
; - , w A . uvuu yjj Vll
an ; administrative : and ! policy1 vice-chairma'vand a
men's and women's coordinator.
3) enlarging the comnosition anrl ncnrmc4kim;Qc
.. X A. WkJVllJikllitltJ
or the executive committee,, allowing, among other
things, UP legislators to sit as ad hoc members.
4) abolishing the convention delegate 1 system.
5) purging the membership rolls of "dead weight"
and ensuring that all party members are aware of and
dedicated to their party's objectives.
6) holding regular meetings at least weekly and
more often when necessary.
The UP will hold the first of these proposed weekly
meetings this Wednesday night, April 19, at 7:30 p.m.
The meeting will be in'Gerrard Hall. Among the busi
ness to be considered are some amendments to the con
stitution expected to hasten party changes and acceler
ate party progress. -
Party elections will be held the following week at
another meeting in Gerrard Hall. This will be Monday
night, April 24, and the exact time will be announced
later.in the Tar Heel. Anyone who is interested in hold
ing an executive position in the party, including chair
man is urged to file at the Graham Memorial desk,
according to Vice-Chairman Champ Mitchell. They are
commTtf 1attTd thG meetinS of the ive
committee this Sunday night in the Woodhouse Room
at Graham Memorial.
pJtvV? ""I16 COTtain meIbs of the' University
Thl w kerned about their party's future,
cern ZT 'f'"8 election forced this con
plans P in"iatiVe in maki"g e above
mentead""gM1oaSt Unday'S meetinS one member com
oartvv t tWs CamPus need viable
Pzrtl S .i . iS t0 h3Ve 0ne- the University
tae 1.2 n 'vat, " iS CapabIe of effectively meel
doing just that. y ty 1S alreaJy on to way tq
fre latlg ar Qwl
Bill Amlong, Editor
Tom Clark, Business Manager
The Daily Tar Heel is the oHlclal
news ; publication of the University of
North Carolina and is published by
students daily except Mondays, ex
anunauon periods and vacations
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