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Wednesday, April 26, 1967.
THE DAILY TAR HEEL
As We See It
India Starves, and The Awesome Predictions of Malthus
Come True.
Peter Harris
Summer Of Challenge
at Caused Suicides?
3
m
Wh
Answers Need Seeking
Why have two students commit
ted suicide at UNC this year?
We don't know. Possibly there is
no one who can answer such a seri
ous question off-the-cuff.
But it is obviously time to seek
these answers both to explain
what has happened and to prevent
such tragedies from reoccurring.
There are several areas of student
life which the administration has
an obligation to probe in an effort
to insure as much as is possible
against this sort of thing happen
ing here again.
For one, there is what is known
as "student stress," the mounting
pressure which bears upon a stu
dent because of the importance of
making high letter grades. The im
portance of grades-for-grades'-sake
has its roots in the so-called Prot
estant Ethic, and has become more
severe in the context of the draft
situation created by the war in Vi
etnam. .
It is this pressure which causes
students to get "psyched-up" over
quizzes, papers and exams to the
point of taking dangerous ampheta
mine drugs to stay awake for
countless hours so they can study.
It is this pressure which causes
students to value a course not for
what they can learn about it, but
for what letter grade they can get
for it.
And it is this pressure which
just maybe contributed some to
driving David Lee Bowman and
Gregory Lister past the breaking
point.
There is also the Resident Ad
visor system, whereby upper-classmen
and graduate students func
tion in a big brother sort of way
for students living in residence
halls.
That's how they should func
tion, anyway.
The Secrecy Binge
Government at almost every
level from national to student life
in this country is on a secrecy
binge, operating behind closed
doors in "executive session"
where it's a lot easier to get things
done without any interference from
that ever-so-pesky public.
'..And, admittedly, they probably
have the right idea: if someone
"wants to effectively rule someone
else, it's better for the Master that
the subject knows nothing about
what's "being done, for him" until
it's already been done to him.
A prime example of this oc
curred recently when the General
Assembly's budget committee de
cided to close its doors to the press
"for obvious reasons."
And another example came to
light Monday when The Raleigh
Times carried a story about former-Chancellor
Paul F. Sharp's
letter of resignation which was sent
to Consolidated University Presi
dent William C. Friday, "was with
held from the full University trus
tees board and has never been
made public. It was circulated
only among members of the execu
tive committee of the board."
And now there is talk about
moving the main Consolidated Uni
versity offices from Chapel Hill to
Raleigh partially because of the
criticism Sharp's letter had of
there being "in reality two sets of
administrations on the Chapel Hill
campus."
But what do most of the people
of this state, the students at the
four campuses or possibly most
importantly the majority of the
trustees know about the situation.
Probably very little since the
letter and, indeed, the entire mat
ter has been shielded from public
view.
Now fighting family squabbles
inside the house instead of out on
the town square, we admit, works
very nicely with family squabbles.
Now this is not to say that the
suicides are to be blamed on the
two youths' individual floor advis
ors, for this is certainly not the
case. It is the entire RA concept,
instead, which we believe needs
re-evaluation.
At present and especially in
the high rise residence halls which
have suites instead of halls ad
visors cannot possibly stay in close
touch with the individual boys on
their floor. The advisors have their
own studying to do, and cannot de
vote full time to playing Big Broth
er for their charges.
And most of the time, happily,
this isn't what's needed. Most stu
dents here, obviously, do not have
serious psychological problems.
But what about the ones who do-
who can they turn to? Some
times, unfortunately, no one.
And when a freshman does go
to his resident advisor, does the
advisor have the psychological sav
vy to even recognize that the youth
has a problem which needs atten
tion? There's a good chance that
he .doesn't, mainly because RA's
just aren't trained psychologists.
These are but two obvious fac
ets of student life here which may
or may not have attributed to the
two youths' committing suicide.
There are undoubtedly more seri
ousand far more subtle areas
which deserve attention' and inves
tigation. We would strongly urge the ad
ministration here to immediately
begin an in-depth study of the
causes of suicide on this campus.
While steps, such as setting up
the Residence College System, have
already been taken to make stu
dent life here more livable, these
two suicides within a t four-month.
period tragically point : outu -that
there is still more which must be
done and done quickly.
But when it comes to matters of
squabbles within the "family" of
government regardless of the lev
elit is then time that these be
brought into the open for public
airing. After all, if the people of a
nation, state or district aren't al
lowed to know what's going on,
then how are they supposed to in
telligently choose their elected of
ficials and evaluate their perfor
mance. Or is that the whole idea behind
keeping the people ignorant.
h? Sattg Ewe Jwl
Bill Amlong, Editor
Tom Clark, Business Manager
Lytt Stamps, Managing Editor
John Askew i 'A'd. Mgr.
Peter Harris Associate Ed.
Don Campbell News Editor
Carol Wonsavage ... Feature Ed.
Jim Fields ... Sports Editor
Owen Davis .... Asst. Spts. Ed.
Wayne Hurder Copy Editor
Jock Lauterer ........ Photo Editor
Bruce Strauch Cartoonist
Mike McGowan, Steve Adams
..:v..;., Photographers.
David Garvin .. .... Night Editor '
Steve Knowlton, Hunter George,
Karen Freeman, Donna Reifsni
der, Sandy Lord, Joe Ritok, Joe
.Coltrane, Penny Raynor, Joe.
Sanders, Julie Parker, Mary
Lyn Field, Ernest Robl, Penny
Satisky.
The Daily Tar Heel is the official
news publication of the University of
North Carolina and is published by
students daily except Mondays, ex
amination periods and vacations. ,
Second class postage paid at the
Post Office in Chapel Hill. N. C.
Subscription rates: $4.50 per semes
ter; $3 per year. Printed by the
Chapel Hill Publishing Co., Inc., 501
W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, N. C.
GhsS?7 hllW i if -
Hniin wit a .
I fJ t h It fJWVV U te. " .-? vfcafci
1 it -9 tV
In The Mail
Drugs Are An Escape;
Unwise Say Doctors
To the Editor:
The use of drugs from marijuana
.and 'amphetaminesvto LSD, DMT, and
peyote,. is now a major controversy.
Psychedelic or "consciousness-expanding"
drugs can provide epxeriences so
impressive and profound that more and
more people are looking to them as the
most immediate and effective way to
deepen personal insight and expand
awareness. That these experiences are
impressive is a well-established fact
with us; we have actively followed drug
research from its earliest roots and are
thoroughly familiar with the enchant
ments of almost every facet of psyche
delic indulgence. Searching for lasting
positive value, however, we concluded
that drugs constitute only a subtle es
cape from the conscious effort that even
tually must be made.
Although drug enthusiasts frequent
ly turn to Eastern philosophers and spi
ritual teachings for metaphors to de
scribe and justify their psychedelic ex
periences, no authentic teachings - or
guides have ever sanctioned the use of
drugs in the quest of increased aware
ness and enlightenment. Here the state
ments of Avatar Meher Baba are per
tinent. Baba is a non-sectarian spir
itual Master living now in India
who is acknowledged East, and West as
the authority on higher states of con
sciousness. (For one, U.S. psychedelic
spokesman Dr. Richard Alpert recog
nizes Baba's mastery in this field).
When consulted about psychedelics,
Baba replied: "The experiences which
drugs induce are as far removed from
Reality as is a mirage from water. No
matter how much you pursue the, mi
rage you will never quench your thirst,
and the search for Truth through drugs
must end in disillusionment. Many peo
ple in India smoke hashish and gunja
they see colors, forms and lights and
it makes them elated. But this elation
is only temporary. It gives only ex
perience of illusion, and serves to take
one farther away from reality. The feel
ing of having had a glimpse of higher
states. of consciousness may only dull
one into a false security. Although LSD
is not a physically addicting drug, one
can become attached to the experiences
arising from its use, and one gets tempt
ed to use it in increased doses,. again
and again, in the hope of deeper and
deeper experiences. But this can only
lead to madness. "
Our experience corroborates "' Baba's
statement: drugs of 'any kind inevitably
become a blind alley for self-fulfillment.
To rely on external means is to ignore
one's inherent capacity to realize his own
greatest potential.
Allan Y. Coehn, Ph.D.
Robert Dreyfuss, B.A.
Frederick Chapman, A. H.
A Bad Be-in Bust?
To the Editor:
The "in" thing to do last week was
to be at the Be-In in order to be sure to
be in on that inning of being "in." Well,
they all struck out, if you ask me. There
is nothing more absurd than planned
spontaneity, and its absurdity is proved
by its editorial support from The Daily
Tar Heel Flourescent sakes posing as
dresses ' and those undeniably innocent
polka dot ties undoubtedly displayed that
unthinking lack of display so character
istic of true spontaneity of character.
Ch ildlikd innocence? bah, humbug.
What is innocent about a pre-weekend
excuse for getting out of classes which
turns into a mass show-off contest? It
may have been childish in its petti
ness, but it was hardly innocent. Peo
ple calculated for weeks on the effect
they wanted to transmit. The Be-In suc
ceeded in doing one thing: trampling the
grass and littering the area with ciga
rette butts and bread crumbs. Another
crumby college try at escaping from
college.
(P.S. Please, Daily Tar Heel,
don't blame the professor for seeing the
realities of r the situation.)
James T. Hudson, Jr.
Button Down Wrap
Dear Editor:
, After reading your article in today's
'Tarheel' entitled "Chapel Hill Initiates
Traditional Clothes", I fail to understand
how such a statement can be made. In
the first place, the article tries to make
a comparision between Carnaby Street
and Franklin Street. But let's be ser
ious. How many double-breasted British
jackets has one seen on campus? How
many pant suits, or "tent dresses" has
one seen? Also, to say that Chapel Hill
sets the trend for the country by two
weeks to six months is somewhat ridi
culous I think that this statement
may be questioned by Brooks Brothers
of New York or Arthur Johnson's of Bos
ton. I agree with the salesman that
Chapel Hill may set the trends, but only
for North Carolina and the South, please
let us leave out the rest of the coun
try. Bill Hammond
Manchester, Mass.
Congratulations
To the Editor: ' - .
I wish to express our support for your
editorial (April 14?) on student involve
ment in the worker-management strug
gle in North Carolina. Your article was
well-written and presented the issues
and tactics of unionization quite clear
ly. We hope that students who become
involved in the labor struggle will be
able to see more clearly in the future
that the administration of their college
or university exercises as much control
over them as Cone does over the unor
ganized workers in his oppressive mills,
peace and freedom,
Brian Heggen ,
editor, New South Student
1967 will be noted for its race riots.
The nation, wrought by increasing
war and racial frustration, will sporadi
cally explode this summer in the larg
er cities.
More than ever before, the uncertain
ty over Vietnam coupled with the hot
hell of big city ghettos shall strike our
nation this summer; the build-up to
wards this climax can be seen develop
ing this spring. It shall be an outlet by
both whites and Negroes of latent ten
sions blossomed through years of re
pression. The hopes of the black man ,
need satisfaction; the htae release
among some Whites needs a spout to
blast through.
CIVIL RIGHTS
The Civil Rights Movement has
reached an impasse. While legal -battles
have been largely won, save open hous
ing, the tangible gains promised for so
long have failed to materialize. The dis
crepancy between promise and actual
ity is becoming a near-unbearable thorn
in the Negro American's side.
Some tangible changes must be made
soon in the largely Negro ghettos. There
must be an abolition of unsanitary
conditions, of rats festering in urinated
halls; the draining of community re
sources by outside interests must be eli-.
minated.
THE WHITE PROBLEM
The riots of this coming summer, how
ever, will not be all black; many will
be counter riots, due to the strange lull
in the pressure on hostile conservatives.
The Vietnam war has drained money,
attention and public support away from
the Civil Rights Movement. Because of
this, much pressure has been taken off
the opponents of racial equality in
the Unived States. These "conserva
tives" are finding their snide, bigoted
comments less frowned upon this year;
more people seem ready to jump upon
the tension-blowing bandwagon, ready
to vocalize latent 'hostilities.
The explanation for this let-up in
liberal pressure is two fold:
the alliance of anti-war, pro-civil
rightist has given the pro-war, anti-civil
rights advocates an opportunity to yell
"unpatriotic" f at the liberals.; When a
man such as Martin Luther King links
the war with civil rights (and right
fully so), he is condemned for being un
patriotic. The result is a threat to the
freedom of protest; opponents of the
war are condemned i so are civil rights
marchers.
secondly, the frustration of the war,
the lack of cohesion in public opinion,
'has caused a major split in public sen
timent over the moral question of U.S.
intervention. This "war psychology" has
tended to boil war hawks blood; they
feel they have a patriotic excuse to give
went to their aggressions. This carries
Those Mis
T the Editor:
"Is it true that people are really hap
py, but are afraid to admit it?"
Ah, friends, let me tell you about
happiness.
Happiness is blowing your mind
some weekday morning on a Peter Har
ris column. Happiness is generated from
the comfortable repetitiveness from day
to day or from paragraph to para
graph; it is stimulated by the vague
metaphors, yet at the same time toned
down by the reassuring "so to speaks";
it oozes from between the semicolons'.
I am placed, with relation to God, Man
and the University, and am spared the
inconvenience of "do-it-yourself' intro
spection. The form of such columns is best de
scribed in terms of some kind of amoe
boid flux, and the content is delightful
ly suited to the form. An altogether ad
mirable example of such intellectual and
indeed artistic 'achievement was the
Harris column entitled "The Ordeal of
Searching". Reading such an essay
in the early morning may be a rather
painful experience due to the recurrent
and practically undeniable urge to pinch
oneself, just to establish the relation of
all this to the the pepperoni pizza you
consumed before you went to bed. One
continually expects Alice, or the Cheshire
cat to appear. The idea contained in
the title of this particular essay is re
inforced by the ingenious distortion of
structure. Specifically, the last sen
tence in the first column is continued in
the third column, this brilliant juxtapo
sition leading one to believe that per
haps the second column contains the
conclusion of the whole thing, but, in
fact, the end of the third paragraph
seems just as good (or perhaps I should
say, just as reasonable) a stopping
point. But the "searching", involved is
not really annoying, because it is all
JL
1
over to animosity towards civil rights
advocates due to their alliance with
fellow peace advocates.
Therefore, the unfulfilled promises in
the area of ghetto reform, plus the anta
gonisms of war spell on awesome threat
to tranquility in the coming summer.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
The capability for destruction due to
these conflicts is very imminent. If the
war is allowed to whip-lash public opin
ion and riots are allowed to develop
without being stopped first, then the fu
ture not only for civil rights but for all
American protest is in dangerous
straits. The big question is whether
American public opinion is ripe for a
turn-a-bout away from the active, pro
gressive directon which it has been
headed towards during the past seven
years.
This columnist fails to see the swing
under present circumstances. While I
can certainly understand pessimism
over the future of domestic America if
the war continues its present course
and if the tensions arising from inter
nal conflict discussed above are not ten
dered, I do not believe that this will be
the fate for our nation.
This destructive trend can -be side
tracked through constructive activity in
the slum communities. Through com
munity adoption and governmental sup
port of neighborhood reconstruction pro
grams, the ghettos can begin to be re
habilitated. Despite this lack of funds,
New York's Mayor Lindsay is attempting
this redevelopment program with great
enthusiasm and imagination. Other
cities have failed to initiate this enthu
siasm. In other words, the more tangible
goals need to be emphasized now. The
incorporation of action instead of mere
promises might be enough first to stem
the tide of violence and later the reac
tion of negativism towards the civil
rights movement.
If this can be 'achieved, then the
Negro can fight the white: man on his
own terms, rather than on grounds
which leave him open to charges of
lawlessness and unpaixiotism. He can
begin to challenge the bigots in pro
gressive terms while, at the same time,
benefiting from better education , facili
jties, improved living conditions and
more powerful political economic influ
ence blocs.
The pressure on the white man will
be kept through earned: respect. This,
however, will remain a mere hope un
less we, the people of America, once
again begin to shun blind bigotry and
support community development pro
grams not only tacitly, but ac
tively. The alternative is stagnancy, and that,
of course is nothing but national self
defeat. ues
relative, any given paragraph fits in as
well in one place as another. Peter Har
ris is indeed a consummate artist in
using this subtle new technique, which
is, after all, only a reflection of exis
tential meaninglessness. Such artistry
will necessarily not make much sense,
as a traditionalist might say, but then
why should the review of "blow-up"
make sense when the movie was "ab
surd"? Absurd, absurd, absurd.
All this, as Harris himself says,
"gives a person an opportunity to mas
ter himself to a degree which would
have been otherwise unobtainable had the
not been confronted with the dilemma
of seeking. . . . One would have to
agree that the amount of "seeking" ne
cessary to read Harris these days is
more than sufficient, but I must enter
a mild cavil here.
Don't try to master this stuff.
'Just pick up your DTH in the morn
ing, turn it to the editorial page, and
3P m- Drift along through it for a
while, or-just skip around. . . in short,
admire it, as you might admire a ka
leidescope. If you take it seriously, and
are the type of person who worries
about unity, logical development, etc.,
then you're in trouble- already, friend.
Dan Wicks
528 Morrison
Letters
JP6 Tar Heel acpts
letters typed and signed. We
welcome open discussion by all
interested persons. Our policy
w tq t print all timely letters in
the public interest.
DFimt
Bl