North Carolina Newspapers

Letters to the editors l lie Daily i ar i-leel &2? Kear oj Editorial Freedom o o All unsigned editorials are the cpinicn of the editors. Letters nd columns represent the opinions of J i individuals. Tc:r. ltd Fcbresry 23, 1S93 March 23, 1974 j4 n t : ks JmL As many students know all too well, it's time again to play our favorite national pastime, "The Housing Game." Only problem is, however, that not all the rules are fair. Before we get down to the most distinct complaints' concerning housing policies, something must be said about the line dilemma, because everyone has just been through it all, and it's on people's minds. On Tuesday, while students waited and waited to sign up for rooms, pushing, shoving and flaring tempers broke out at several dorms. It wasn't a panic, but that's what the situation was approaching. People were afraid to lose their rooms. Ask people in Scott Residence College about it. People question angrily, "Why should we have to stand in line all day this year to reserve . a room n 71 Food service companies have traditionally had a difficult time at UNC. In 1969 the SAGA company managed campus food facilities but stayed only one year due to strikes and low profit margins. Servomation bested six or seven other companies in the bidding the following year, and started with a one-year contract. On May 31, they will have completed a three-year agreement. . The Union Snack Bar is the most profitable part of the Servomation operation which includes Chase Cafeteria and the Pine Room. Dormitory food facilities are completely independent of Servomation, and their profits go to a scholarship trust fund. The Snack Bar serves about 4,500 students daily, the average purchase is 35 cents, and peak demand time is between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Hamburgers are 80 per cent lean (whatever kind of meat is used), and their price will increase considerably next fall. Meat cost rises were reflected in cafeteria prices this year but were temporarily held in check at the Snack Bar. The financial advantages of the Union Snack Bar are great enough . to attract companies which would otherwise be reluctant to manage the university cafeterias. While the Snack Bar does give Servomation most of its profit, it is Jean Swallow Full O - 1 M J! Tl i HI 7 f 'v v i. y Richard Levin is one of the most obnoxious people 1 have ever met. Without a doubt. And unfortunately for the people caught in his spell, he is also obnoxiously fascinating. He is a short round man, with a gray and white beard and a dead cigar hanging out of the corner of his mouth. Often there are food stains on the part of his 'shirt covering his paunch. The man is a carpetbagger of sorts, I already knew that. He is a Yankee in a Southern town, running a small business and spending his money. I was predisposed to dislike him. ' Richard Levin runs Poor Richard's, a small surplus camping goods store. Many of the people who know him, call him Poor Richard, or P.R. for short. But he is not poor. He is rich. Where does the money come from, I wondered? Having heard he drew no salary from the store, and seeing he certainly didn't fit his surroundings, I wanted to know more. Bits and pieces came out, in strange ways from unusual sources, not the least of whom were Richard VL:n I first asked him how and why he came to Ch;:l Hill, he grumbled, "You don't know me well cr.cr'.i yet to know that." So, I csked around. He wrote poetry, I heard, but J'.in't Iclieve the crabby old man had it in him. Then, (.."i cf my friends who knew him told me he had v, crl;eJ for John Kennedy. Then I heard he had a store up town. Then a tnend H O jJt a t 1 f iliiMCSS Oil liWlUSli lUSSi we've lived in for two years?" It seems unfair to many. On the other hand, when the summer is over and people begin crushing back into the dorms, the question is, "Why are we being forced to triple up?" In order to move to a time when triples are uncommon or non existent, and to make room for freshmen, some people are going to have to lose rooms. Something has to give somewhere, and people should accept that fact. The real question is: what is the best way to decide who goes out and who stays in? The choices are either lines or lotteries. The problem with lines is that people have to wait all day. The problem with lotteries is that they don't insure that people who want or need to get in a dorm most will have a room. o Tf wrong to assume that the corporation is growing rich at the expense of the students. Servomation is restricted by contract from making more than 3 per cent of its $842,000 budget in profit, i.e. $25,000. Any profits over 3 per cent are divided equally between the university and Servomation. Food service companies here have rarely reached the three per cent profit level. Servomation is a large national corporation with interest in vending machines and Red Barn restaurants. Other campuses they serve are UNC at Charlotte, Memphis State, the University of Florida at Gainesville and the University of Richmond. Luther Hodges, former governor of North Carolina, is on the board of directors. Since Servomation has come to UNC the number of students buying meal plans in the fall has increased from 600 to 1,350. There is still a huge drop between the fall and spring semesters, but the number of students buying spring meal plans has increased from 150 to 860, which is still less than 15 per cent of all on campus residents. The great majority of students who buy meal plans are freshmen. This is the second in a three part series of editorials dealing with the Union Snack Bar. frequently took groups of students out for brunch on Sundays. I wondered who would put up with him just to eat a dinner. Finally I asked the old man himself. He said, "Come to brunch Sunday and I'll talk to you then." So, I had to put up with him over dinnier. But the man intrigued me. I had, by this time, started calling him Crabby Appleton when I wasn't around him. . During brunch, he was so rude to the waiters, I was embarrassed to be with him. But he was sort of funny, even though it was often at my own expense, and the things he said to the waiters were true; the service was bad. And he finally began to talk about himself. Everything I had heard was true. But there was more. Not only had he done research and position papers for Kennedy, but he had also done the same for Barry Gold water when he was running for President. Not only had he run various stores in Chapel Hill, but he had also won a part of a New York bar in a poker game and had managed that bar for a while.' He had fled from the police in New York to avoid testifying against a friend. He ended up in Kansas, got his PH.D. in Political Science. He had run a . mail order business. By the time he was in his late 30's he had had a heart attack. His doctors sent him to Duke for medical help. He hated Durham but loved Carolina basketball so he stayed. I was stunned. I hadn't expected all of this. And I hadn't expected him to drop his antagonistic attitude. told me he gsunmes Any person ' who is only moderately interested in saving a room, or who isn't sure about staying in a dorm, might sign up for a lottery. Only those most interested in keeping a room will stand in line. People just mildly interested won't bother. The major problem with lines is that they may conflict with classes and tests. If students in these situations want a room, they must either borrow notes or arrange make-ups. Lines are definitely unfair to those persons, but lotteries are unfair to those who really want and need rooms. It's a matter of trade-offs. Editor's Note: On tomorrow's back page, the problems of the $50 non-refundable deposit, the mandatory two-semester contract and the equality of double-room and trinlp-rnam ratpx will hp dixcuxxed. psst! ? WHAT ABOUT THE CIA BWDlVEMENr IN ' ivrerknvr fs w- r "V. . HI' ,',L,.V,.I!' .' "U m X. Nh JV.' J :,. ,. . I tl ' t Wllllli ii i i- i ii Tftfc (ta -";-"!.7jfflWIUf:I hit ay Fogler aei (Author's note: This is the first in a regular series of articles throughout the year on student government. The opinions in each article represent the thoughts of each author and not necessarily that of any branch of student government.) "There is an old Thai proverb to the effect that it is worthwhile to try and help an elephant that is trying to stand up, but perfectly useless to help one that happens to be falling down." (from Fire in the Lake, by Frances Fitzgerald). Each year at campus election time Stu n cemes: a carperoaggeir To the editors: I would like to offer my congratulations to the Housing Department. They have not only dreamed up another way to rip-off students with the increased room deposit and room rents, but have created yet another waiting line which students will have to put up with. Yes, the new room sign-up procedure forced residents of Scott College to. wait in line up to two hours Tuesday morning in sub-freezing temperatures. Not only did we have to fight a line, but many, including myself, missed classes. Many Winston Residents slept in line until 7:30 a.m. at which time they began signing up for rooms for which they will have to pay outrageous room rents. In closing, I would now like to offer my condolences to those who were kicked out of their dormitories by James Condie's mystical quota system. You will find no justice in the University Housing Department's procedures. ' Ron Hefner 109 Avery Visitation policy under scrutiny . To the editors: Dr. James Condie strikes again. The mighty hand that felled second floor Winston and raised the room rents has finally realized that there is yet a domain unconquered; a territory unmarred by his ASK ME ABOUT THE IN WATERGATE GOOSJ . i 17.1 AFRAID I7A LIBERTY TO AUSVER.q G over students must, in a sense, make a value judgment: is student government trying to stand up or is it falling down? It is obvious that the majority believe the latter. Each new student government administration inherits this lack of faith. Ours is no exception. But we who work in SG must believe that there is some hope for improvement (else why would we bother?). Marcus Williams, the new student body president, once remarked off-handedly that he could talk for hours on the uselessness of student government (any student could); after all, there are mighty few accomplishments to point to. He is, But as he talked about himself he did.. He became serious about the students at Carolina. "You know, I bet I'm the only member of the Ram's Club that gave a damn about the band. I used to go to all their practice sessions, you know," he said. "Not only that but I go to the tennis team games too. And we've been trying to get a band scholarship too. And I know most of the basketball players. I used to take them out to dinner all the time." "And another thing. People in Chapel Hill are strange. It's a challenge to try to give them good products at a good price. But sometimes they just go downtown and pay the rip off prices down there. Ill tell you a true story. They were selling leather pants downtown for $90. 1 had a friend who couldn't sell the same pants for $45." Then he slipped in to the old familiar pattern. "I'll tell you, I wouldn't stick around for Carolina football." I grinned. I felt much the same way. And then, fighting fire with fire, I said, "Have you always been this obnoxious or is it something you added along the way?" And his reply was typical. "No, I haven't always been this obnoxious. It took me a long time to learn to be this honest." I looked at him, and I grinned and I thought, you old son of a bitch, at least you are consistent and you are honest, and I like you in spite of yourself. "Richard," I said, "you are the most obnoxious man I ever met." This time he grinned. policies. Yes, residents. Dr. Condie has finally realized that South Campus is flourishing without his interest. To remedy this situation he will institute a nov South Campus visitation policy. Affecting a total of eighteen suites in Ehringhaus. James and Morrison Dormitories, this new policy supercedes the existing visitation policy (labeled "Limited") and offers incoming freshmen, junior transfers, and current women residents the option of living in a co-ed dorm with either a "No Visitation" or "Weekend Limited" visitation policy. RA's on the floors involved in the change will be expected to strictly enforce these visitation policies and also, to enforce the exi sting policy in other suitesjust as strict. If Dr. Condie is offering more stringent policies for those women residents who do desire them, then in the same vein he should also offer more lax policies for other women residents. In order to give each woman a voice in her visitation policy selection Dr. Condie should offer twenty-four visitation to those women residents whb opt for it. The alternatives available for women should be standardized to include a wider variety of policies and give each individual resident an equal opportunity to select the living arrangements of her choice. Perhaps the second floor experiment at Winston Dorm and the new fifth floor policy at Ehringhaus affect too few people to concern you. Yet consider Project Hinton James, the experiment in co-ed living a few years ago. Winston Dorm was a continuation of it and Dr. Condie repealed CIA INVOLVEMENT r - HOT AT MAYBE Vf SHOULD GO BKTO however, devoting hours every day to make it useful; instead of jumping off the sinking ship, he and others in SG are bailing out as hard as we can. In short, if the ship sinks, we all go down with it. I never thought I'd be writing an article, complete with pretentious proverbs and trite metaphors, upholding the SG work ethic, . but let me attempt to explain the feelings I have about being part of Marcus' administration. Sure, there's a certain amount of self-gratification (perhaps too much), but there is an idiosyncratic sense of belonging, too (and remember, I ran against the guy in the election). Tell me, is it sheer naivete to believe that we are going to get some things done? I think not. But I am begging the question. Naturally, I'd be satisfied in the position I am in. The problem, as you will no doubt recall, is increasing the credibility of SG in the eyes of the student body. In other words, we must prove that SG is a viable institution. To do that, though, we have to produce concrete results and not just the usual political doggerel. We hope such projects as the Rides Coordination Office, food co-operative. New editor 1311 A ! 1 4 1 ni 1MB. ntnent ne A Tl in &MMQHmMceinmeimtf Senior Michael Davis joins the staff today as the second Associate Editor, to stay on until he graduates in May. Davis, who is working on a major in psychology and a minor in Jock Literature, is a Yankee from Newport, Rhode Island. Jean Swallow, the other Associate Editor, yawning while expressing her obvious delight at Davis' selection, said, "Yeah, well, he might as well work for us. I mean, he The Daily Tar Heel it. So he has gone from one extreme to the other in terms of visitation. Will the supposedly "liberal" University of North Carolina reverse the status quo and begin a backwards trend toward the all male and all female dorms of the past? With little effort a handful of women have succeeded in achieving a "No Visitation" policy. With the same effort and a lot of pressure other women hopefully can also succeed in achieving twenty-four hour visitation as a desirable living alternative. Th e double standard must be abolished. Cecilia Mullen 541 Ehringhaus Students 'raped' In housing deal To the editors: There are no virgins at Carolina. They've been screwed by University Housing! You may laugh but we've just been screwed! We're risingseniors who have lived in Joyner for two to three years and have made it our home. We have suffered the indignity of being tripled. We have invested our own money and time to paint our rooms. We have paid increases in our room rent with the hopes of improvements but none have come. Now we have paid our fifty dollars deposit but we are denied our rooms. We have the choice of playing housing Russian Roulette wherein we can lose up to $50. If we choose not to play we forfeit the opportunity to live on campus. If throwing out established residents who have made the dorm their home is Condie's solution of the overcrowding problems then university policies must be reevaluated. The time has come for students to thrust their input into the ears of Dr. Condie. The bureaucratic rape of student rights must stop! Sandie Gill Rachel Hewitt Joyner????? State chancellor lauds editorial To the editors: Your "We won" editorial of March 25 added a gracious and happy note to an exciting episode in N.C. State history. We shall cherish The Daily Tar Heel's special contribution to our euphoria. John T. Caldwell Chancellor North Carolina State University w start expansion of the legal aid service will help remedy the situation. Future articles will' deal with these and other activities of SG in more detail. It is both Marcus' and my opinion that more people involved in SG means not only more effective SG, but also, consequently, better relations with the student body and with the administration. Thus, I issue an open invitation to any student we need your help. There are many things that demand change, and although progress is often slow, at least with your time and energies we can progress. Believe me, working for SG is not the damned 11th plague. Now, at the beginning of the new SG administration, is the time to determine for yourself whether the proverbial elephant is trying to stand up or is falling down. I hope you won't base your judgment on past performance alone. (Murray Fogler is Executive Assistant to the Student Body President. Seth Effron is not his ghostwriter.) oughta be good for a few laughs." Davis is a former assistant sports editor for The Daily Tar Heel and originator of the "Jockey Shorts" Column. Still, we figure he is worth the risk. "1 see it as a great opportunity," Davis said. "The most exciting aspect is that 111 be able to read Doonesbury before anyone eke." Jim Coopsr, 6fsg Turocck .Editors Kevin MeCsrthy, Osnsg'rtg Editor fllchssl Davis, Assoslbta Editor jean GwsSSow, Assectete Editor Ken Allen, ffows Editor Harriet Sugsr, Feature Editor OUott VVcrnock, Cpcrts Editor Torn Randolph, Photo Editor Bob Jsjinklcv.toz, r::'ht Editor nun: