Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Jan. 12, 1969, edition 1 / Page 2
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Sunday, January 12, 1969 Page 2 THE DAILY TAR HEEL We lailg Wwc Ifm 76 Years of Editorial Freedom Wayne Hurder, Editor Bill Staton, Business Manager Duke Educational Reforms Provide Example For UNC There arc a few good things reforms in their General College happening over at Duke University that set a good example for Chapel these days. One is the fact that their basketball team is off to such a bad start; the other is recent Students Should Exert Influence On Committee Here With the end of semester approaching, more and more students are beginning to realize they have not gotten much out of their fall semester for various reasons. These reasons include the fact that they were bogged (H with required courses, til were allowed little itunity for independent m . . oi they didn't try. It you didn't get much out of this semester and feel it wasn't because of the last reason cited, we suggest you try to change the academic situation here. . This year, students have the greatest opportunity ever to get some changes made because of the appointment of the Merzbacher committee to study the possibility of reforms. So far they have shown great interest in hearing students' suggestions on what is wrong with the General College and what can be done to improve it. If you are sick of taking required courses or are frustrated by the lack of opportunity to do independent study then, we suggest you try to effect the recommendations that will eventually come out of this committee. To do so, get in touch with the student members of the committee: Roger Thompson, 733 James; Dane Perry, 215 A Bim St., Carrboro; Debbie Grosser, 301 Parker; or Warren Schonfield, the Pi Lambda Phi House. Sam Ervim Stands Up For Civil Liberties North Carolina's U.S. Senator Sam Ervin is a strange guy. Like most Southern ' senators, he'll filibuster at the drop of a hat, vote immense appropriations to the military and demand the conquest of the commies. Unlike most, however, he believes the individual has certain rights in our country. And so, over the period of years he has backed the separation of church and state (even to the point of thinking prayer in school should be banned), fought to give soldiers certain minimum rights and fought for changes in some of the federal government's job questionnaires when he thought they pried too much into private lives. '. Nowhe has done another goody, asked the President to pardon DTH reporter Mike Cozza, who through some quirk of the law' which only Date Gibson, Managing Editor Rebel Good,. News Editor Harvey Elliott, Features Editor Owen Davis, Sports Editor cot Gpodfellow, Associate Editor. Kermit Buckner, Jr, Advertising Manager Hill. Their Undergraduate Faculty Council on Thursday passed a resolution make four changes in their Undergraduate program: -It cut in half the number of required courses the freshman, sophomores, and juniors had to take; -It gave students in these classes greater opportunity to participate in Program II, an academic program that gives students the opportunity to develop a flexible program of studies around their field of interest; It changed the method of measuring a student's academic progress from the ' traditional semester hours because, they said, this "encourages the student to think of his education in terms of semester hours and quality point ratios rather than of academic experience . . . Each course allows a, unique set of learning experiences, and the accounting system should focus on the system." Lastly, starting next " September, juniors and seniors will have to take only four courses per semester and will be able to participate in Program 1, a program in - which students ban 'choose one " of two types of learning experiences, "a combination of seminars or indepenGent study with credit equal to at least two courses, or a thesis or independent project at some time during the student's junior or senior year for which he would receive credit for two courses." Duke's reforms present a good model for UNC in that we, like they formerly, burden our freshmen and sophomores with required courses; we have a system of measuring academic progress that discourages interest in what one is learning each semester; and we have no programs that make it an easy matter for students to form their own majors or do independent study. UNC currently has a committee studying means by which the General College can be improved. We feel that Duke's reforms provide an example of what can be done to make a student's four years here more educationally interesting and beneficial. U.S. Commissioner C. Wallace Jackson can understand, was found guilty of either trespassing or demonstrating at Fort Bragg. We say either trespassing or demonstrating, because the' Honorable Mr. Jackson isn't sure of what Mike was guilty; at least, that's what we gather from the statements that Mr. Jackson made in court and has made to the press. As a result of Mr. Jackson's legal wizardry (we don't hold it against .him? after all, he. was only a paint salesman before he became a judge), Senator Ervin is asking the President to grant a pardon, the first Ervin has sought for anyone in his senatorial career. While we find it hard to .compliment him for all that he has done (or not done) as Senator, we congratulate Senator Ervin for his attempts to preserve civil liberties. Carl Strowd Visitation- Wads Of Red It is unfortunate the Coed Visitation Policy could not be adopted at our university with few or no restrictions placed on the participants other than those imposed by the present Honor Code and Campus Code. Though it does indicate a lack of faith in these two codes, the adoption of certain rules by the administration or by the Visitation Committee in order to lessen parental pressures does not seem unreasonable. However, included in these regulations are two minor rules in particular that endanger the "spirit of the agreement" and the very existence of coed visitation itself. Upon examination, it would seem that these two rules are entirely unnecessary and could easily be removed for the benefit of everyone and without causing increased parental pressure. Day Determination Problems The first of these rules concerns the method of determining the days and hours that the Open House Agreement will be in effect for each month. Under the present policy the times must "be planned on a monthly basis (by) an affirmative vote of a majority of house residents taken by secret ballot in a formal meeting." This is rather wordy but very clear. Each italicized word is a serious restriction and added together make the enactment of monthly plans next to impossible. We, residents of the fourth floor of Ehringhaus, have found that the best time for a floor meeting is during the middle of the week at approximately 11:00 p.m. Even this late, there are a number of people who have not come in and there are some people who have already gone to sleep. There are some people who have a major report or test which they must study for. Also, there are always a few people who are completely apathetic, refusing to And ihdn fVichcfvl. there's ike He e$ the hfcre ( oty to i. yon CM'i.emj J Letters To The Editor Language To the Editor: I read in Sunday's Chapel Hill Weekly an , article which will doubtless appear in this or another issue of the Tar Heel: "Language Teachers Protest Takeover of Languages Association by .'Left'." Twenty-four of Chapel Hill's finest signed a petition, protesting allegedly illegitimate activities on the part of a minority at the business meeting of the Modern Language Association last Sunday in New York. These activities included "ramming through" resolutions which put the ML A on record: (1) condemning our intervention in Vietnam, (2) calling for the abolition of the draft and (3) condemning the repression of politically unpopular writers in this The Daily Tar Heel is published by the University of North Carolina Student Publication's Board, daily except Monday, examination periods and vacations and during summer periods. Offices are at the Student Union Bldg., Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514. Telephone numbers: - editorial, sports, news 933-1011; business, circulation, advertisting 933-1163. Address: Box 1080, Chapel" HOI," N.C. 27514. Subscription rates: $9 per year; $5 per semester. We regret that we can accept only prepaid subscriptions. Classified ads are $1.00 per day prepaid. Display rate is $1.25 per . column inch. Second class postage paid at U. S. Post Office in Chapel, N. C. vote if for no other reason than because they will not be dating. Assuming that a bare majority is able to attend the floor meeting, next begins the complicated and time consuming process of having this" majority agree to the number of days they want visitation, the exact davs thev Ah, Visitation Bliss Bv G. LARRY WEBB Another Saturday night at Carolina ... or is it? December 14, 1968 . . What a niehti A visitation program for UNC has finally been approved. What will happen next? I walked in the TV room in Mangum dorm, signed my date up in the host book, and proceeded to my room on the third floor. My roommate and I had spent about two hours Friday afternoon cleaning up the room, so it looked somewhat presentable. My date walked in, looked around, but said nothing. "Well, what do you think?" She didn't answer. I noticed she had spotted my 3x4 foot poster of Marie (in a very striking pose). "Who IS that?" she asked rather demandingly. "That's my birthdav present from my roommate. Isn't she ..." "Take it down! ...NOW!" I explained that it would make my roommate feel badly and besides "it's over my bed so I can't see it anyway." She finally cooled down and looked around the room a little more. She wanted to know why my desk was so cluttered up if I had cleaned it up Friday. "It's not cluttered," I said. She didn't comment. She just sat contentedly on my bed, opened her purse, and removed her knitting needles and yarn. "Are you going to knit?" I asked. "Of course," she said. "What did you want to do?" "Never mind," I said, opening my English book to Act II of "Othello." Anyway, I did have a female in my room! Oh sweet visitation, where have you been? ccxmpotf lcl paurd or lo. A 8SUL country, such as Eldridge Cleaver and Leroi Jones. The danger that these twenty-four see is imminent: that the "scholarly organization" known as the MLA will become political in "stance" or even, worse, in nature. Not that it is as presently constituted, as anyone who has been to one or more of its annual conventions can tell you. There are no politics in the MLA, heaven forbid, that would disrupt the "scholarly" activities of job-hunting, drinking, gossip, etc. And anyone who has ever been in an academic department, be it English, French or whatever, knows there are no politics involved in departmental affairs. The solution proposed to this terrible danger? A petition, not, as other establishmentarians often propose, a special committee, but a petition, signed by twenty-four of Chapel Hill's finest. This would succeed in obscuring the real issues and avoiding a nasty confrontation with the realities of the situation. These ' realities, as I see them, might include recognition that even in academe there might be an occasional place for politics, to the extent of circulating petitions and "ramming through" resolutions to condemn immoral wars and other anti-humanistic activities. This would also avoid the equally unpleasant possibility of having to recognize the rights of the proletarians of academe, namely the graduate and undergraduate students, whose activities and sympathies on at least two of the resolutions objected to so strenuously by the twenty-four are by now well known. Some might say that this is a rehashing of the old problem of the humanist-scholar: how far he should participate in the civic life of his community and retain his integrity and I - " "II - I v-imi I . a M m i i ir o t?e on i j Ty I e earn o,Wer 1 want visitation, and finally, the exact time for each dav and all by secret ballot. Until one attends these meetings, the complications (and headaches) brought about by a rule set up to prevent "intimidation of the individual student" A)b2 alonq lhivj move ( i Troubles identity as an intellectual? I do not think such to be the case here. It seems to me that this is a more blatant example of what I call "ivory-towerism," not an altogether original term but one which describes the basic motive of these twenty-four: apathy, a kind of self-justifying credo of non-committal, which proscribes any activity outside of the immediate pursuits of the proper scholar. "The Association is thus in deep danger of collapsing," says the telegram sent by these twenty-four. "Thousands would resign rather than allow the MLA to commit them as members to a partisan political program." Dire words indeed. Sincerely, UbuFils It's Sunday Today is Sunday. 20,000 Biafrans will die today. Have a good Sunday. Joel Polih Biafran Children's Relief Organization Metaphysical Question Puzzles To the Editor: I had an interesting experience week ago; I encountered a former high school teacher on a street in my home town and after exchanging obviously strained pleasantries she asked me one of Tape are never fully appreciated. Hopefully a number of solutions to this problem can be readily seen. Perhaps the simplest change that can be made without infringing on the rights of the individual would be the deletion of the words "formal meeting." Simply striking out these words would enable elected representatives of the floor to meet and propose a monthly plan. Floor residents would then be able to vote for or against the proposal by secret ballot over a period of several hours to be designated beforehand. Besides eliminating the long waiting period involved during the tabulation of votes at a floor meeting, its main purpose would be to eliminate individual conflicts that invariably arise and prevent a majority from voting together at a certain time. Host Committee Problems Ignoring the question of complete elimination of the host committee, the second rule concerns the confusion about the number of people that should serve on the host committee. Item number 9(a) of the Open House Agreement stating that "not less than three members of the . host committee shall be on duty for the entirety of each open house " and then listing all of the committee's responsibilities, would seem to cover the subject in its entirety. However, the Visitation Committee Meeting on December 13, saw fit to insert "not less than three 'nor more than five members' . . . shall be on duty." The spokesman for that Visitation Committee interpreted this to mean (inspite of open objections from a fellow member who had helped draw up the supplement) that only five people could serve on the host committee each day of Open House, three of the five being on duty at any given time during this period. In clarifying this he stated that one person must be on duty the full eight hours, with the other four members of the host committee serving four hour shifts or the equivalent. Volunteering to serve a four hour shift let alone an eight hour shift without a break and no pay requires extreme dedication.. One wonders if there might even be labor laws against that. If this interpretation is indeed correct this problem could easily be remedied by putting more trust in the students and reverting back to the original reculation concerning the host committee. ' c . The administration and the Visitation' P.r.mmitijp niiffht' to " be reminded that' refusal to review and correct these problems now will inevitably bring about a disrespect for these rules due to their unreasonableness. That this could easily lead to minor infractions of these two rules, followed by a general disregard for other rules, and finally an endangerment of the Open House Agreement is not too hard to forsee. What does Dean Cansler want? WWAWAW The Daily Tar Heel accepts all letters for publication provided they are typed, double-spaced and signed. Letters should be no longer than 300 words in length. We reserve the right to edit for libelous statements. Ahead. the most inane and consequently most paradoxical questions to ever tax my brain. The question was and I paraphrase as my memory holds the sense of the question but falls short of letter perfection "Are you, in your learning and growing experience at the University, finding yourself?" Yes, I found myself when in earliest infancy I realized that there were entities which existed apart from "me" and move in relation to me mother, bed, bottle, etc. and intimate entities mouth, toes, fingers. This is an oversimplification and obviously unsatisfactory, or No, my psychological makeup is constantly changing, new facets of my personality surface periodically, psychologists tell us that we are using only about 10 percent of our mental powers so maybe the other 90 percent is the real me. This sounds like drivel from a Psych 26 text and is irrelevant, or No, my unique situation of being me makes it impossible that I will ever find myself, if, indeed, anyone ever could. I see myself through the most turbid of lenses. This is unnecessarily alarming because I'm not even sure I'm lost. So one could wallow in the cliches forever if he wished but we're getting nowhere. Today's spoken communication is mired up to the axles in cliches and. countercliches. A need to condense modern concepts into succinct phrases has provided the idiots and verbal maladroits with an easy way to hide their ineptitude and sound well-informed. It Is very fashionable nowadays to mourn the "lack of communication." By the Jaws of Jehovah! the air rings with a superfluity of communication! Rather let us worry about the quality of that communication.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Jan. 12, 1969, edition 1
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