The
Daily
83rd Year of Editorial Freedom
AH unsigned editorials are the opinion of the editors. Letters and
columns represent the opinions of individuals.
Founded February 23, 1893'
tneegeir week
In its own subtle, unassuming way the Carolina YM-YWCA is organizing
a "Starvathon" this week, a short period of reflection on the problem of
world hunger. The Y's program is not splashy or spectacular, but neither can
our commitment be if we are to cope with the long-term crisis.
University professors, the senior officer of UNICEF, Yale Chaplain
William Sloan Coffin, and other educators will be quietly circulating
around the campus this week to give students a personal, and hopefully
lasting, perspective on the issue. But the culmination of three days of
lectures, class visits, and a one-day fast will be Thursday's $10,000 money
raising drive. Thirty per cent of the money will go for hunger relief in North
Carolina and 70 per cent will be used to prevent blindness in the children in
Bangladesh. It is imperative that UNC be able to raise this sum, especially
since it only involves a 50 cent contribution per student.
A personal approach to the problem is necessary if we are ever to
understand the dilemma. Numbing figures quoted by experts have little
impact. To say that 400 million people are now on the brink of starvation
won't change our gluttonous lifestyles even if we are told that 9 more hungry
children were born in the time that it took to read this sentence. The problem
is so great that it is almost impossible to conceptualize.
Consequently, we must either accept the problem as given, or fast until we
see what hunger is really like, and then multiply our hurt. Then, once we
have some vague notion of suffering, the focus should be on changing our
personal lifestyles and national policy to deal with the issue. Whether this
means eating less meat because a cow is a very inefficient protein converter,
or giving U .S. food aid to poor countries instead of political allies, our use of
our resources must be changed.
Why? Because too many people are starving, whether that number is 40 or
400 million. Too many because the fact that people have always been hungry
does not make present suffering right. Too many because for one of the few
times in history, they don't have to be starving. Too many because they are
now dying in larger and larger numbers. Too many because we can never
know what anguish we are condoning.
This week's editorials accept the moral premise that rich Americans are ,
Obligated to respond in some way, the only question being the best way to
react. Similarly, the Y hunger week is designed both to educate andj
motivate.
Ultimately, of course, such programs are worthless unless you, the
individual, make some sacrifice. It might be 50 cents, less fertilizer on
your front lawn, or eating chicken instead of steak. But remember if you
were delirious with hunger in Bangladesh, how would you want a plump
American to react?
Duke and Jews for Jesus different situations
To the editors:
For some days now 1 have witnessed the
courage of the writers of the Tar Heel as they
have "braved the rain" in their search for the
truth. The headline of Feb. 28 speaks of
double standards. Since the rain has been
coming down so hard and prevented you
from making your way to my office, permit
me a few remarks.
I believe in the right to freedom of speech
and the exchange of ideas. I stand firmly
against the efforts of those who would
violate this right. It is also my deep concern
that we recognize the need to be sensitive to
one another within our learning community.
In the first event, the right to freedom of
speech was not allowed and I addressed
those who were denying the right, urging
that they permit the speaker to be heard. In
the second situation, the right to freedom of
speech was exercised. In that process,
however, some people were offended and in
that situation I attempted to be sensitive to
their feelings and suggested that an apology
was in order. It is pleasing to note that
apologies have come forth.
In two quite different situations I spoke to
both of those concerns with consistency and
directness. If it is your wish to label this a
double standard then I plead guilty to your
narrow definition and sincerely hope for
your continued education.
Donald A. Boulton
Dean of Student Affairs
Heel
Monday, March 3, 1975
O
O
'CURSE YOU, GEORGE MEANYI'
The Daily Tar Heel welcomes the
expression of all points of view through
the letters to the editors. Opinions
expressed do not necessarily reflect the
views of the editors. This newspaper
reserves the right to edit all letters for
libelous statements and good taste.
Letters should be limited to 300
words and must include name, address
and phone number of the writer. Type'
letters on a 60-space line, double
spaced, and address them to Editor, The
Daily Tar Heel, in care of the Student
Union, or drop them by the office.
Columns expressing diverse points of
view are also welcomed. All students
and faculty are eligible to submit
columns.
FM frequencies
becoming scarce
To the editors:
Much has appeared in the Daily Tar Heel
Tar
Marbley juror:
. Exactly one week ago, seven members
of the Undergraduate Court heard the
case of Algenon Marbley, Black
Student Movement (BSM) chairman,
for the alleged disruption of David
Duke's speech in Memorial Auditorium
on January 16. In a closed case followed
by private deliberation, the court found
the defendent not guilty as charged. Asa
member of that court, I believe the
Marbley case has raised some serious
issues which must be addressed by the
student judicial system.
First of all, the very trial itself was a
travesty of justice, for two reasons. One,
court members, both black and white,
were too closely connected with the
actual situation to divorce themselves
from their own personal prejudices. For
example, there were two court members
who participated in the incident of
January 16. 1 cannot equate such
participation with objectivity. My own
experience before the trial inevitably
had some impact on my objectivity. I
was constantly exposed to opinions by
fellow students and professors. One
could argue that being objective simply
denotes the ability to draw logical
conclusions from the facts presented.
This definition, however, ignores the
impact of actual involvement in such an
emotional situation.
The second reason why the trial was a
parody of justice was the fault of the
court itself in allowing the issue to be
decided on moral grounds. Five
material witnessess, in turn, testified to
the court that (1) The speech was a
normdl activity of the University (2) A
disruption of that activity took place
(3)Certain students rights were violated.
The defense countered this testimony by
maintaining that the defendant,
Algenon Marbley, felt threatened and
intimidated' by the presence of Mr.
Duke on campus, and his actions were
merely an attempt to register his
dissatisfaction toward Mr. Duke. No
one present at the trial could deny the
sincerity of Marbley's convictions: He
did perceive a threat in allowing a Kit
K lux K lan spokesman and organizer to
appear on campus.
This, however, should not have been
the crux of the issue. Whether or not
Marbley was morally justified in what
he did was not for the court to decide. A
conclusion could not be made that the
Letters to
lately about the student carrier current
station, WCAR, seeking to acquire an
educational broadcast license from the
Federal Communications Commission
(FCC).
I would like to offer further comment on
this matter, firstly to commend the DTH,
particularly reporter Jim Roberts, on the fair
and accurate accounting of the events. In my
opinion, a superb job has been done in
representing the views and actions of all
involved.
Secondly, since my name appeared
frequently in the articles, I would like to
expand on my personal views, in the hope
that the students will better understand my
position with regard to WCAR's acquiring
one of the valuable FM frequencies reserved
by the FCC for educational purposes. In one
edition I was accurately quoted as saying
that use of these frequencies for other than
educational purposes would be a misuse. 1
strongly feel that this is so, and that the FCC,
in awarding educational licenses for other
purposes, has violated its own rules. There
was. a time when it didn't matter so very
much; frequencies were plentiful and the
FCC handed them out like salt water taffy
samples at Atlantic Beach. Now the
education FM portion of the broadcast
spectrum is cluttered with low-powered
stations serving as entertainment channels..
This at a time when there is a serious effort in
HI
verdict in that trial would have been
different if the court had addressed itself
solely to the charges at hand. But it can
be maintained that justice was ill-served
by placing the issue on moral grounds.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of the
entire incident was that the case had to
be tried by the Undergraduate Court.
One cannot deny the legitimacy of
Arthur Pope's right to file suit. Judging
by opinions expressed in the DTH,
many students supported his actions.
An undergraduate court, however, was
not the proper forum to resolve the
controversy. Marbley had reservations
before the trial that even an acquittal by
a minority court might not absolve his
actions in the minds of the student body.
This attitude is even further
substantiated by the fact that there have
been only two minority court
convictions during the 1974-75 school
year.
A possible alternative would have
been an adjudication before the
University Hearings Board, a court
composed of two students, two faculty
members and the Dean of Student
Affairs or his designated representative.
This court, by virtue of its more diverse
composition, might have been able to
Don't sell electric utility
This Wednesday night at 8 p.m., what
might be the penultimate act of the
continuing Duke Power drama will be
playing at the Institute of Government
auditorium. ,
Wednesday night is when Attorney
General Rufus Edmisten will hold a
public hearing on the sale of the
University Utilities System. University
intentions currently are to sell the !
electric system to Duke Power, the
telephone to Southern Bell, and the
water and sewer system to a co
operative formed by various local
governments.
Most consumer resentment has come
from the proposed sale of the electric
system to Duke Power. Currently, the
University buys 75 per cent of its power
wholesale from Duke Power under a
contract regulated by the Federal Power
commission, and generates the
remaining 25 per cent in its coal plant on
Cameron Avenue.
The University then retails the power
to 98 per cent of the people in Chapel
Hill and most consumers in Carrboro.
Currently, there is about a 13 per cent
difference between Duke's retail
schedule in other communities and the
University's retail rate structure.
What result will the electric sale
bring? Most likely, it will result in a
substantial increase in power costs for
local consumers, and the University
The
Daily
Tar Heel
the editors
this country to build an effective public radio
system and the frequencies are needed to
provide meaningful educational,
informational and cultural services.
Today, full-service public radio stations
cannot get on-the-air in many major
American cities (among them. Providence,
Sacramento, New Haven, Cleveland,
Chicago) because frequencies are no longer
available in those areas. They are all taken by
low-powered "educationally" licensed
stations which provide no different
programming than that available on
commercial stations.
Locally, there is extreme interest in
establishing a number of broad-purpose
public radio stations to provide coverage for
the entire state of North Carolina. Unless
frequencies can be obtained by
organizations with the commitment and
resources to provide the kind of service we're
talking about, great numbers of North
Carolinians will be deprived of this much
desired service. It is my understanding that
WCAR is now seeking to re-organize itself
into a non-profit corporation which would
qualify as an educational institution the
only type of entity eligible to receive an
educational broadcast license. This may or
may not be successful, depending on the skill
of WCAR's lawyer and on the FCCs
interpretation of the corporate documents
and proposed program schedule. My guess is
that the FCC just might approve the new
Sitton
6 travesty'
render a more impartial hearing of the
case.
Some court members felt intimidated
and resentful that the Chancellor or the
Department of Student Affairs had
completely ignored the entire matter.
The Department of Student Affairs
believed that the case had to come
before a student court or it would
undermine the entire Undergraduate
Court system. But was that a realistic
conclusion?
The student court procedure, by
virtue of its private, closed hearings, has
worked well in dealing with cheating,
lying and stealing violations, the great
bulk of cases coming before the court. It
has protected the rights of the defendant
against embarassing or damaging
publicity. The Marbley trial, however,
was clearly an aberration from the
norm. Hundreds of students have a
direct personal interest in the court
proceedings, in addition to the many
thousands which could be affected by
the precedent established.
Under the circumstances in which the
case was presented, several court
members felt that their hands were tied.
The court could have found Algenon
Marbley guilty and then entertained 200
Gerry Cohen
itself may have to come up with an
additional $300,000 per year for its own
electric purchases. Dorm rents will be
affected.
The $14 million that Duke Power is
planning to pay for the system must also
be paid back paid back by Duke
Power consumers all over the state who
are already hard pressed to pay current
skyrocketing costs. There also exist
many questions about how Duke Power
will raise the money to pay UNC.
Recently, Duke Power has had to sell a
number of its buildings and lease them
back simply to keep in operation.
Other grave questions should be
raised before the attorney general. As
the people's attorney, he appears before
the utilities commission, which must
grant a certificate of public convenience
and necessity before the sale can be
approved. Could any rational person
begin to argue that the electric sale is in
the public convenience or necessity,
much less in both?
Serious questions exist about the sale
process. Was the commission biased,
either deliberately or because of the type
of persons selected for membership?
Did the commission adequately weight
the needs of the University, employees
and consumers? Did the University
adequately study what may be the best
option, which is retaining the electric
system?
Jim Cooper, Greg Turosak
Editors
structure and give it its blessing. If this does
happen, and if WCAR follows its present
programming plans (essentially
entertainment) then another educational
frequency will be utilized for purposes other
than those intended by law and the
occupancy of a frequency by WCAR might
jeopardize the development of a full-service
public radio station in a nearby area of the
state. If those events occur, I would hope the
student association would be prepared to
relinquish the license and go off-the-air when
the frequency is needed for its intended
purpose.
Donald M. Trapp, Director
WUNC-FM
Student juries
ensure fairness
To the editors:
Your editorial of Feb. 27 ("After the
Marbley Case") is nothing short of nauseous
to those who have fought long and hard for
many years to ensure that students would
judge students, the only method to ensure
fair trials on any campus.
1 can think of no group that has done less
to actively protect student freedoms than
tna
other suits against participants in the
disruption. If that had occured, the
court would be adjudicating the cases
long after many of the students had
graduated. As the court's decision now
stands, many students have dismissed it
as a logical conclusion to a minority
court. The unfortunate result of
allowing the case to be tried in an
undergraduate court has not been to
strengthen and enhance the validity of
the decision. It has only promoted
controversy and resentment on the part
of many students.
The only suggestion which can be
made, is that in the future, if such a
controversy develops concerning
students rights on such an emotional
issue, the University's Administration
not bury its head in the sand in hope that
someone will deal with the controversy.
The Chancellor, the Department of
Student Affairs, the Carolina Union
and the Attorney General had a clear,
vested interest in the alleged disruption
of January 16. Because these principals
ignored the situation, the student body
is now torn by an issue that has taken
more than a month to resolve.
Bill Sitton is a senior political science
major from Hickory.
It would seem that that last option is
that citizens should now be pressing for
the ultimate decision on the electric
system. South Building administrators
have said, since about 1970, that utilities
were too much of a management
headache for academics, and they were
probably right. But, just as the Hospital
was spun off to a 12 member Board of
Directors, responsible directly to the
Board of Governors, the electric system
could have separate management.
Continued public ownership of the
electric system serves many useful
purposes. It keeps electric rates down
for consumers and UNC, and will help
hold down the spiraling increases in
dorm rents. It will enable the state, with
a so-called "yardstick, corporation" to
monitor the charges of private utilities
companies. It will save us from having
to pay for the electric system a second
time, (there is no debt on the system)
since the capital was paid by user
charges.
We should all greet the attorney
general with a large crowd on
Wednesday night. We must recite the
facts, ask him to voteno" when the sale
comes before the Council of State, and
request he oppose the sale when it comes
up before the Utilities Commission.
Gerry Cohen is a UNC law student
and member of the Chapel Hill Board of
Aldermen.
David Ennis, Associate Editor
Lu Ann Jones, Associate Editor
David Klinger, News Editor
Alan Murray, Features Editor
Susan Shackelford, Sports Editor
Gene Johnson, Wire Editor
Martha Stevens, Head Photographer
Jim Grlmslay, Night Editor
administrators. While you may be quite
prepared to renounce a student's right to a
trial by his peers, I would be willing to
predict that most of us are not the least bit
interested in going in front of an "objective
panel of administrators or faculty for a fair
trial. Seems to me to be a bit like asking
Mayor Daley .to pass judgement on the
Chicago Eight. It's about time that the whole
notion en loco parentis was thrown out for
good.
The real travesty in this whole situation is
not that Marbley was acquitted or that "our
peers have failed to protect our freedoms,"
but that a racist like Duke was invited here in
the first place. As for what will happen next
time, let's hope that in the future we'll all
have the good moral sense not to invite
someone like that again.
Students, and students only, can best
protect student freedoms. It can't be done by
surrendering responsibility to
administrators, regardless of how
enlightened they might be. If the DTH
editors really want that kind of system, I
suggest they get out of college now and enroll
in a day-care school. Anyone who naively
believes that justice in this country has been,
or is, apolitical or colorblind now belongs on
that level anyway.
Russ Toal
4216 Garrett Rd.
Durham.