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t - ... - ! P.age 2 THE DAILY TAR HEEL Thursday, April 4, 1963 Dick Levy aug 76 Years o Editorial Freedom Bill Amlong,. Editor Don Walton, Business Manager Part 1LIML: Ti he Greek There are basically two life styles followed by undergraduates at this University: residence col leges and fraternities. Each naturally has both its weak and its strong points, and it is really rather impossible to say which one is preferable except on an individual level. Perhaps the main contrast in the two is that while the fraternity system is more-or-less the bastion of tradition, the residence college system is the cutting-edge of change. As different as they are, however, the two systems share an amazing lot of problems: recruitment, financing, and con- cern over their respective places in the University community. The Greeks, it would seem, would not have as great a problem coping in these areas as do their residence college counterparts, sin- ce they have the decades of tradi- tion to guide them. It is, however, this very tradi tion which is one of the main things wrong with the fraternity system at this University: it serves as a drag, much as would a suit of armor for a swimmer. ; AN EXAMPLE IS the f raternity, method of recruitment: rush and pledge training. Now, the main reason that rush and pledge training are the way they are today, is that nobody remembers their ever being any different. People gripe about them, sure just as they always have but no one has ever been non-traditional enough to suggest they be changed. . And if they, are not changed whether it horrifies alumni or not the fraternity system is going to find itself with fewer and fewer recruits in future years. Rush, for example, is based on the premise that one human being can suffer through small talk with another or group of other human beings for a half-hour, and then decide whether he has enough in common with them to want to .be their fraternity brother. WhSch is really quite ridiculous. Further, as racial barriers become less distinct in this coun tryand they already have become so the fraternity system is going to have to adopt to the concept of a colorless society. Although the jtjniversity has re quired each chapter here to do away With its discriminatory clause, if it had one, discrimination lives on as the unwritten rule of rush. And it will continue to do so as long as a "blackball"" system allows one or two bigots in a house to veto the pledging of a rushee because of the color of his skin. This not only hurts the Negro, who is rejected from this part of campus life, but it also harms the fraternity system by denying it the talents of these individuals. PERHAPS THIS UNIVERSITY should consider implementing a plan such as the one at Davidson College, under which everybody going through rush is guaranteed that he will be able to pledge some house or another. This, however, could threaten the basic concept of fraternities, by denying the brothers the choicp of those persons whom they want to officially befriend. It is a step which could not be taken" whimsically, but one which must (Bar ri Pamela Hawkins, Associate Editor Terry Gingras, Managing Editor Rebel Good, News Editor Kermit Buckner, Advertising Manager II o o System be considered if the existence of fraternities and sororities on this campus is to remain consistent with the policies of equality and non-discrimination mouthed by this University. Another area in which frlatJernitjies must reform themselves or come under University sanction for neglecting to do so is pledge tramuig. Although this is, at last count, 1968, many of the methods used to "unify" pledge classes and to delineate them from the initiates harken back at least to the Bataan March, if not to the Inquisition. The obiection which exists to this form of pledge training is not merely a moral one, but is also based on the danger of some pledge training methods to the health of the pledges. Although it has been several decades since anyone at Carolina w died as a result of hazing, enougft pledges on other campuses have been killed recently to cause fraternities here to reassess their methods. In the final evaluation, many of the" techniques used to give grief rto pledges are njot only ? dangerous; but also childish and . degrading to any person or system which engages in them, BUT WHILE THERE are definitely a great many things wrong with the Greek system, there are also a great many things right with it. True, a fraternity serves a rather limited in-groupv. It serves them rather well, however. Its ways of serving them are not only providing a gold or jewel ed badge to hang on their alpaca sweater, and a place to party on the weekends. Indeed, the fraternities d o almost as much for their own as they claim to during rush sessions. It cannot be lightly regarded that fraternities do provide a well established reference group for students, and in so doing insulafe their members from being victims of the loneliness and identity crises which plague many independents at large universities. Fraternity membership also serves as a crystalization of one's ties to this University, giving a person a much greater attachment to it through his smaller group of fraternity brothers than he would have through simply a general attachment to "the student body in general. At the same time, however, fraternities have been criticized justly for ritualizing friendship perhaps a bit too much, and for limiting the horizons and associa tions of their brothers. Ideally, though, a fraternity man would be free to move in whatever social circles he should choose, but always have the nucleus of his house to return to. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Indeed, fraternities on this cam pusalthough they still have a lot of growing up to do provide quite well for their members, those persons who are of gregarious enough personality to belong in such a setting, and in this way earn a place in this University. (Tomorrow: The Residence College SysfenU Bus MMe American division over the war in Viet Nam is of course obvious to all. It has provided a series of political surprises culminating in the withdrawal of the incumbent President. One is often tempted, however, to ascribe dissatisfaction with the war to educational circles. The common man is seen as complacently hawkish. A bus ride from Greensboro to Chapel Hill reminded me again that the nation's citizenry is divided at every level about Viet Nam. It showed also the different levels of involvement in the war effort. Portions of that conversation, are Son. I'd just like to tell you that your, mother and I have talked it over and when you're called for military service if you decide, after much mature, in telligent and truly serious considera tion that the present war is immoral, inhuman and illegal and you are sin cerely opposed to becoming a part of it and if you choose, because you have the courage of your convictions, to evade the draft, we've decided we'll kill ourselves. From The Daily; Beacon Letters To Editor To the Editor: - ? The. inconsency J., unfairness .of i rthe Administration's - position on drugs,' is" brought to mind by'' the arrest of 1 three students on drug charges. The Administration has stated that its hands are tied because the use of drugs is illegal. Bull! The use of alcoholic beverages on University grounds, is also " illegal and surely Dean Cansler is not so naive andj uninformed to not know , that tins' law: is broken every day; Indeed, the University (Scott College) has f sponsored a number of "illegal" beer' - blasts -ftiis sJjg.cTiie ;;; Administration must also beWarg. . that the : head of ; the Federal Food and , D r u g Administration'as stated thatjnarijuana is no more, dangerous than.valcohol. If the Administration can ignore the use of alcohol, which is illegal, how can it justify the condemnation of those who unobtrusively experiment with : hallucegens to legal and extralegal (suspension) sanctions. Actually, so meone high on grass is much less bothersome to' his fellow sudents than the boisterous, puking drunk that the University seems to be encouraging. By what moral right does Dean Cansler decide who should be punished and who should be "ignored"? John C. Steiger 324 Teague It Is Money To the Editor: When are we going to see the cruel, senseless, immoral nature of this war? When will the bombing and shelling of innocent civilians stop? When will the thousands of innocent men, women, and children now penned up in con centration camps be allowed "to return to their land? When will we realize that those who oppose us are not part of a monolithic international conspiracy? When will we really negotiate in good faith? When will we realize that the people indigenous to that tragic area do not want foreigners who impose their alien culture upon them? When will we realize that the money and materials which feed aggressive actions contribute The Daily Tar Heel is pub lished by the University of North Carolina Student Publi cations Board, daily except Mondays, examinations periods and vacations. Offices are on the second floor of Graham Memorial. Telephone numbers: editorial, sports, news 933-1011; bus iness, circulation, advertising 933-1163. Address: Box 1080, Chapel Hill, N. C, 27514. Second class postage paid at U.S. Post Office in Chapel Hill, N. C. . Subscription rates: $9 per year; $5 per semester. .L ' ? ' J? J w Comfeiremee Om Vietnam presented here as the best way of dramatizing Viet Nam's impact on a random group of Americans, and their reaction to it. "LBJ is giving away America," the NAVY SEEBEE said emphatically. "Stopping the bombing is terrible. Our boys depend on it. Now they'll die. . I think we should be there. If the Communists walk in there and take it we'll have to take it back." 11 don't think Nam's worth it," said an aspirant for OCS. "But I'd go if I was called." "I volunteered and they wouldn't take -bod Uvniersity of Tenn. to the gold drain? .When will such money be used "on project here at. home? When &l"W:reraUz:ii a'fc'ionefct election; would ' Tesult : in ? the " expulsion of : the dishonest government which we now prop up and the triumph of leaders who support the aspirations of the natives? When will we learn to distrust the pro mises of leaders who have kept the . " region in turmoil for twenty years? Will not the government we prop up collapse when ' we withdraw our - aid? How. long rn' M--- ;;.u:-il0 vtHo -h'i Baha 's rFavmiliar Fez By LOU HECKLER TURBAN ENGINES DEPARTMENT Meher Baba seems to have attracted quite a following here on campus. Nobody really seems to know why, but the guy must have some strange qualities that attract a small selected audience. A friend told me the other day that he saw Meher, but couldn't remember his name. He didn't know what to call him, but the fez was familiar. HE'S THE ONE DEPARTMENT A : billboard in Wisconsin has caused a stire recently because of toe double image it presented- One side of the ' board has a picture of former Vice President Nixon with the caption, "He's the One!" Beside it was an ad for Budweiser which read, "America's Number One Pretzel Salesman." Now, that's a twist! IT'S THE CATS DEPARTMENT Some guys over at State had a novel idea for a party. . They rented a jungle cat from a northern zoo, got him drunk, and then used his body as a table on which to serve the food. Pretty neat, hugh? You just dine on the sotted lion. DEPARTMENT A fellow in the English department is doing his graduate paper on the history, of sex and pornography in American literature, I'm not sure what the value of that is, but I'm sure the research is a real kick. When he gets finished with all his preparatory work, I guess he'll write a sin-thesis. try ANACIN DEPARTMENT People like Max Steele, Sylvia Wilkinson and William Hardy have a real problem as college professors. They handle a new crop of aspiring novelists, poets, and the IiKe eacn semebier. muis me." "I had a friend of mine volunteered for Nam three times and got shot eight times," the SEEBEE said, smiling. "My brother was there three days before he got killed replied the OCS candidate. "Got hit walking out of a supply tent." "My nephew was there a week. He was killed," said a Grandmother type. "There's always going to be a Nam or a Korea somewhere,' said the SEEBEE. "Or an Israel-Egypt. You know what the Egyptians are doing now? Putting From The Temple University News must we remain, there?, , ., .,. , ,. . Why. should we be -involved in such ;at:farvKff'landJayay? ?io ArJah :has:even bombed the - Manhattan BridgeV It Is money, huge amounts of it, winch has been sent to Israel for twenty long ears which has devastated the" lands of Arab farmers. It is money which feeds a child-maiming military 'machine. Al Rathe 818 E. Franklin St. of the agony of reading through all that material and trying to decide if it has merit. They must be suffering from Headache, neuralgia, and new writers. Ten feet back-up lights on their tanks. General laughter except for a female passenger who couldn't understand the significance of that. "Seventy-five per cent of the men over there are volunteers. "Why do they go, asked the girl. "They enlist to be a big hero. Then they find out it's not no Cowboy-Indian game.' "They go for quick advancement. If you go an E-4 you come back an E-6 if you come back." "They're not prepared to fight over there," said the Grandmother. "Sure they are. A lot of it's in stinct.' "I had one sergeant. He had the killer instinct He'd just as soon kill as eat dinner.' "You can't teach someone to kill. Me, I hate to see someone suffer." "Yeah. There are some they have to send to a rehabilitation center. In artillary they get shell-shocked.' "What's that?' "You get so you jump at any sound Artillary is the most impersonal way to kill. But -it still gets to some of them. Nothing. A fadeout into silence and gazing out of the windows at the desolate terrain beside Highway 54. L. Johnson And Things When I wrote that I was confused about the Democratic Governors race, I didn't mean to imply that I had any qualms about President Johnson. I have always been for Prsident Johnson. Whoever is elected president, not that Johnson has pulled out of the race, wont solve the problems any better than Johnson has. I dont pretend to know what the answers are, and I dont think anybody knows. Bobby Kennedy, after six years of rudeness and hostility to President Johnson, announced today that he would like a reconciliation with Johnson. All I can say is he is starting pretty late. I wouldn't vote for Kennedy for dog-catcher! I was bred and born a Democrat. V ,Howeverk' from the present vantage point, ., J believe Rockefeller... is. more qualified, '"to' cope with . the" problems Jacing the' nation and world today than any other' candidate. He may very well be drafted and elected! The Daily Tar Heel announcement that it" will be moving into the new student union when k is completed, again raises the question what disposition will be made of Graham Memorial? Under Chancellor Aycock, I was told, Graham Memorial was to be turned over the to the Alumni Association. I hope that this holds true under the present administration, and that the beautiful lounge will be kept intact. Recently, some one told me the University of Va. had a beautiful home for the Alumni, where all old grads, fraternity and non fraternity, gathered after the athletic games for fraterniza and having a good time. Heres hoping UNC will do the same. Could any better use be made of GM: After all, it was the Alumni who built GM as a memorial to Edward Kidder Graham. What right as anyone to turn it into an office building? tall
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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April 4, 1968, edition 1
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