Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Sept. 22, 1975, edition 1 / Page 6
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u y An ominous step The fate of the fraternities and sororities in the neighborhood of Rosemary and Hillsborough Streets may be determined tonight at 7:30 in the basement of the Municipal Building behind the fire station on Airport Road. At that time, in that place, a public hearing on rezoning this neighborhood shall take place. Citizens, including Greek and non-Greek students, can voice their opinions over amendments to zoning regulations which would bar fraternities and sororities from moving into the area and from remodeling or expanding structures currently in the area. The amendments would prevent such houses as the Alpha Delta Pi sorority and the Delta Upsilon fraternity from improving, expanding, or otherwise significantly changing their property. Greek houses in the area would be considered "non-conforming" structures limited in their use of property; new Greek houses and other multiple family dwellings would be banned. All residents have a right to guard property values and the make-up of their neighborhood to a certain extent. But that protection is not absolute. Areas cannot be zoned as non-black or non-oriental, nor should they be zoned as non-student. Forbidding fraternity and sorority expansion in the neighborhood is nearly the same as forbidding student residents, for these houses provide homes for many students who prefer this kind of association to dormitories, apartments or single-family dwellings. If more neighborhoods clamor for a rezoning of their areas, fraternal living may be forced out of town limits or out of existence. Neither limitation is good for students or the University. This kind of extreme curtailment of space for Greeks may be far in the future or may never come, but the proposed rezoning of the Rosemary-Hillsborough Streets area is a first step in that ominous direction. Students and interested non-students can make an effort to prevent this dangerous step by attending the public hearing before the Board of Aldermen tonight. Registering to vote in the upcoming elections is another means to actively oppose intrusions upon student interests. As of September 7, the 30-day residency requirement no longer exists, so any student residing in Chapel H ill or Carrboro who has no definite plans to leave on a particular date can register to vote (even if now registered in another town or state). Immediate action can be taken tonight at the hearing. Self-defeating threats Recent hints and threats of violence directed against certain Student Government figures are intolerable. Last year white extremists threatened Student Body President Marcus Williams' chief campaign aide because of his association with a black student leader. This year there is some reason to believe that black extremists are now threatening student leaders because of actions taken against the Black Student Movement. A series of harrassments and threatening phone calls have been suffered by certain members of the executive and legislative branches, all of them following moves by Student Government against the BSM. Jhese threats have not been reported in news columns because those threatened have not given. our reporters permission to use their names or have not given them sufficient information to verify the allegations. Or, in other words, the information given to us to use has been only slightly more than gossip and rumor. More information has been given off the record because those threatened have prefered not to expose themselves to further harassment. The information on the record has not been enough for hard news reporting. It is enough to be concerned that violence is becoming a tool of political influence on this campus. Exactly what individuals have made threats or have harrassed officers of Student Government by tampering with their automobiles is unknown. But whoever has taken the route of intimidation through force has chosen a repulsive course of action. Free societies function through persuasion, not violence. Violence is self defeating as backlash by dominant groups grows to counter physical intimidation by the few. Mass demonstrations and petition drives are useful ways to communicate discontent. Violence and personal intimidation are loathesome in any civilized community and bewildering in the supposedly enlightened college community. Eh? latlg Cole C. Campbell Editor Jim Grimsley Managing Editor Greg Porter Associate Editor- Ralph J. Irace Executive Editor Jim Roberts News Editor Robin Clark Features Editor Susan Shackelford Sports Editor Barnie Day Projects Editor Joyce Fitzpatrick Graphic Arts Business: Reynolds Bailey, business manager; Elizabeth Bailey, advertising manager. Staff: Martha Buie, Elisabeth Corley, Mark Dabowski, Ellen Horowitz, Larry Kulbeck, Linda Livengood. Composition editor: Mike Leccese Student Graphics, Inc: Dean Gerdes, shop foreman; Stan Beaty. Henry Lee, Chiquetta Shackelford, typesetters; Donna Carroll, Carolyn Kuhn, ad composition; Brenda Marlow, Joni Peters, news composition. Printed by Hinton Enterprises in Mebane. N.C.. the Daily Tar Heel publishes weekdays during the regular academic year. Monday, September 22, 1975 Star News: Lynn Medford, assistant news editor. Writers: Art Eisenstadt, Chris Fuller, Sam Fulwood, Bruce Henderson, Polly Howes. Bob King. Vernon Loeb, Linda Lowe. Nancy Mattox, Vernon Mays. Greg Nye, Johnny Oliver. Tim Pittman, William Roberts, Laura Seism, Merton Vance, Richard Whittle. News Desk: George Bacso. assistant managing editor. Copy Editors: Chuck Alston, Janet Creswell, Ben Dobson. Jan Hodges, Clay Howard, Todd Hughes, Deborah Lott, Rebecca Shirley, Malia Stinson, Betsy Stuart, Bill Walker. Features: Critics: John Russell, critic at large; Rick Sebak, drama; Michael McFee, film. Writers: David Broadwell. Alison Canoles. Susan Datz, Dan Fesperman, Marty Logod, Fred Michael, Sue Ann Presley, Gloria Sajgo. Liz Skillen, Bill Sutherland. Sports: Jim Thomas, assistant editor. Gene Upchurch. desk assistant. Writers: Jane Albright, Kevin Barris. Brad Bauler, Mike Egan, John Hopkins. Bill Moss. Grant Vosburgh. Tom Ward. ' Graphic Arts: Martha Stevens, head photographer. Staff photographers: Alice Boyle. Charles Hardy. Margaret Kirk. Howard Shepherd. John Branch, Stan Coss, Nan Parati, cartoonists. Deborah Bloom ates, ' I The honor and integrity of UNC Student Government are on the line, as are the 83 years of editorial freedom so proudly blazoned on each issue of the Daily Tar Heel. In their haste to avoid racial confrontation, the Executive Branch, the Campus Governing Council, and the Tar Heel appear to have substituted rhetoric and submission for facts and principle. The immediate issue is the freeze placed on the funds allocated by the CGC to the Black Student Movement pending investigation of alleged Treasury Law violations by BSM. The real question is very different, however: can an organized minority so intimidate the duly constituted campus authorities that they are exempted from the standards applied to all others? Are the Honor Code, the Campus Code, the Student Body Constitution, and the Treasury Laws equally binding on all students; or, as it seems, are some more equal than others? Student Body Treasurer Mike O'Neal began his investigation of Treasury Law violations in June, when an alleged violation was reported to him. The original target was a graduate department. More than eight groups have had their funds frozen at least temporarily. All but two of these were graduate departments. BSM was not singled out for investigation. Each group charged with Treasury Law violations was expected to cooperate with the Treasurer and Finance Committee in Diggs reflects own To the editor: I just finished reading Lester Diggs's article, "Beyond the Myths About BSM." I'm not concerned because Diggs and probably a large percentage of BSM members take such pride in what they're doing. They have contributed as much as any single group on campus has in recent years. They very definitely seem to be some of the most unapathetic people on campus. I don't mind particularly if they overreact occasionally with the zeal of a minority group that has been given a raw deal too often. I know that sometimes it takes extremist attitudes to correct injustices that stem from prejudices. What I am concerned about is this: Are they trying to eliminate prejudices or create them? If they are breeding stronger prejudices, how will that help matters? Injustices should not pass unnoticed, but the attitude with which they are noticed qualifies the entire matter. Diggs accuses the entire white student population of real or supposed injustices in such a way that one wonders if he is not drawing mountainous conclusions out of single incidents unfairly. For example, Diggs portrays UNC white students as folk who "freaked," as he put it, when more black students sat on the Greenlaw wall than whites, and because there are over 1,000 black students on campus. They may have "freaked" in his head, but there is a serious doubt in my mind as to whether anyone would "freak" over that. Diggs points out numerous myths he believes white students circulate about black students. "It is my intention to dispel another popular myth that black folk are ignorant. When black students become graduates of white schools, white graduates of those same white schools insist we are crazy, yes well!!" Diggs says. That particular illustration of Diggs's is rather hard to follow, but is one of the more obvious generalizations he made, with the exception of his statement that white students "curiosity about this organization (BSM) is exceeded only by their ignorance." Constructive criticism is one thing, but when one takes one segment of the true picture and refuses to look beyond that, there develops an unbalanced perspective that spawns just as much ignorance and prejudice as anything else. This applies not just to the BSM but to every special interest group. Because of the very nature of the sepcial interest group, great care should be taken to maintain a balanced perspective. How can you possibly teach anybody anything about the evils of prejudices when you yourself are refusing to step outside of the boundaries of your own) Greg Porter Kissinger: anoi Henry Kissinger has become a living legend. He has shuttled incessantly around the world for the last three years, hopping effortlessly (often in a single bound) from cover to cover of international magazines and newspapers, once even in red, white and blue Superman garb, and ultimately into the exalted position of the most publicized man in the world. Kissinger has become an international ombudsman. At the scene of every major crisis, Henry Kissinger is invoked in an incantation for peace. But it is time to remind the exalted Kissinger that he is merely the Secretary of State of the United States of America that is he the servant of the people of the United States and that he is the midwife (much less the god) of peace only when the people of the United States approve. Some of Super Henry's latest actions in the Mideast and Panama indicate that the Kissinger zeal for peace has usurped responsibility to the American people and more specifically their agent, the U.S. Congress. Kissinger's most grievous oversight has been his handling of unrest in Panama concerning continued U.S. ownership of the Panama canal. The House of Representatives passed on June 26, by considerable margin (264-164), an amendment to the State Department ar Heel' intimidated their investigation. "Cooperation" entailed turning over all financial records to the Treasurer and or Committee. To a greater or lesser extent all groups complied with the exception of the Black Student Movement. The BSM claims that it is not bound to comply with the Student Body Treasurer's request for its financial records because the alleged violations involve their Gospel Choir, a financially autonomous group. Every published account of the dispute supports this erroneous interpretation. Stories in the DTH have referred only to maintenance of a checking account by the BSM Gospel Choir (illegal for groups receiving Student Government funds) in their accounts of the alleged violations. The checking account is the least of it. The Treasurer, Finance Committee, and CGC recognize that ignorance of the prohibition on checking accounts was widespread until the current investigations and have acted accordingly. The BSM, like the Graduate History Society, has been accused of misusing funds. It is alleged that the Gospel Choir's funds were drawn on for personal as well as group benefit. For example, a traffic ticket (for a moving vehicle violation) was paid out of these funds. These charges can be neither proved nor disproved, however, because the BSM refuses to cooperate with the investigation. BSM claims that the Gospel prejudices? There are three things in this world that can and will destroy us if we don't assume more responsibility for our actions: hatred, aggression and separativeness. The three great counterparts that have equal power are love, selfless sharing and synthesis. It may appear that there isn't a whole lot of love and sharing and synthesis around, but you sure aren't going to see it if all you are carrying around inside is an attitude of separativeness that doesn't allow you to see it. If special interest groups everywhere would balance their efforts to possess their due amount of power with a sincere desire to have loving understanding, they'd have a lot more to offer and much more depth. If the BSM takes all this as an attack on them, they will have missed the whole point. All I'm suggesting to them and groups like them is: Try seeing everyone in the greatest light possible. The number of walls you've built around yourself that come crashing down will be a big enough payoff. E.R. Campbell Chapel Hill Protecting the cookie jar To the editor: We had the misfortune to be on campus Te PAIy -rXR.He.EL her preny appropriations bill forbidding the use of State Department funds to finance any negotiations that might undermine U.S. sovereignty over the Panama Canal. After the House vote, Kissinger wrote in a letter (published in this country on Sept. 12) to General Torrijos of Panama: 1 want you to know that in spile of these things, I am still engaged in the search for a final and just solution to this problem and the establishment df a new and more modern relationship between the two countries. What is most disconcerting in the letter, besides the insolent dismissal of the House vote, is the blatant use of the first person in a supposed dialogue between nations. Kissinger comes across as an agent separate from and above the U.S. Congress and even the President. Kissinger seems to forget that the Secretary of State is enjoined by the Constitution to advise the President and implement foreign policy, not to decide it himself. In the Mideast, even Kissinger's efforts to consult those agencies directly involved in his freewheeling and dealing have become suspect. The Pentagon announced Friday that Kissinger has promised the Israelis a missile which is virtually useless without a Choir is not bound by the Treasury Laws, that the CGC should accept their word that there ' have been no improprieties, and finally, that no member of the CGC is to be trusted not to betray the confidential . information in those records to "the enemy." The BSM seems to believe it is above the law, a belief that Student Body President Bill Bates and the DTH seem to share. At the request of Bates, the Finance Committee reported out a bill unfreezing the BSM's funds (with the exception of those specifically allocated to the Gospel Choir) and declaring the Gospel Choir autonomous. In return, the BSM will permit Harold Wallace, Associate Dean for Special Programs, and a member of the CGC Finance Committee to look over the financial records in question. The results of their investigation will be reported to the CGC Finance Committee in an executive session. The entire CGC will be expected to ratify the Committee's decision on whether or not to put the Gospel Choir back into the budget without knowing what basis the Committee had for making its decision. This compromise, arranged by Bates, was reported by the DTH. But the DTH neglected to tell its readers that Sheri Parks, the Finance Committee member selected to conduct the investigation, is a member of the BSM. Why did Bates and the Finance Committee accept such a one-sided prejudice Wednesday when the BSM held its annual march on South Building. These affairs are designed for one purpose and one purpose only to make someone (in this case, Student Government) knuckle under to ridiculous demands. The BSM is bitching because it has been caught with its hand in the cookie jar. The BSM has been guilty of various violations of Student Government laws, for example, the use of SG funds to pay off parking tickets. Whatever punishment that has been or will be dealt out is well deserved. The BSM must be shown that it has to live by the same rules as the rest of the student body. The BSM members may feel that some University officials and Student Government officers fear them and will capitulate eventually to their demands. If this is true, then there is no justice left on this campus. The University may look upon the BSM with trepidation, but we and a goodly number of our comrades look upon it with contempt. Russ Roberson 306 Teague Steve Taylor Apartment 4-M, Royal Park Dan Pike 107 Teague Or COURSE. , THERE ARE THoSC or You yjHo vjould Not BE XfFc7Ep Xj ry m the PROPOSED GRAPE i nuclear warhead. This is another grievous and embarassing oversight that not only contradicts Kissinger's self-proclaimed attempt to keep nuclear weapons out of the Mideast conflict, but also showcases Kissinger's failure to consult with the people back home whom he allegedly represents. Kissinger has shirked his responsibility to follow the foreign policy mandates of Congress and to consult closely with governmental agencies in order to draw acceptable agreements. Now, the President and Congress must ensure that U.S. foreign policy does not contradict itself in a conflict between the executive and legislative branches. U.S. foreign policy must reflect, at least in spirit, the feelings of the American people, who bear the burdens of foreign involvement. For now, it would be wise for Super Henry to read Art Buchwald, who puts the German peace god into perspective. "In the Middle East," Buchwald says, "Kissinger is treated as the Secretary of State of the most powerful country in the world." But in Washington, "Henry is just another pretty face." Greg Porter, associate editor, is a sophomore Englishjournalism major from Durham, N.C. compromise after their earlier insistence on full disclosure? After inflicting fines of 25-50 percent of their budgets on several other groups charged with Treasury Law violations and requiring one group to replace its present officers as a pre-condition for receiving any funds why has the Finance Committee recommended that BSM's funds be unfrozen with no penalty? Several recent events provide some clues. 1) Automobiles belonging to two members of the Executive Branch were broken into and the headlights turned on to run the battery down. 2) The steering column of the auto belonging to another person in the Bates administration was unbolted. 3) Two prominent members of Student Government have been threatened in retaliation for their "anti"-BSM stance, i.e. their determination to do their jobs. 4) Members of the often unruly crowd of spectators at last Tuesday's CGC meeting challenged the Speaker of the CGC, Dan Besse, to try to eject them. There were threats made to keep the Council from adjourning until they passed a bill acceptable to the audience. No hint of the overt pressure exerted on the CGC that night was included in the Tar Heel's account of the meeting. 5) The BSM held a protest rally in the Pit after ejecting the Greeks who had reserved that location for their own activities. The only conclusion I can draw from the capitulation of Bill Bates and the CGC Finance Committee to the demands of the BSM is that principle has made a strategic retreat before the recurrent threat of violence. Is this the kind of leadership Bates promised new students in the orientation newsletters published by Student Government? And what of the Daily Tar Heel's refusal to report recent events as they happened rather than as one might wish they had happened? Vernon Loeb and I attended two different CGC meetings last week, it seems. I don't know whether or not any DTH staff members have been threatened. Perhaps the Tar Heel fears not violence but epithets. To criticize the BSM is to label one's self a racist, judging by the remarks I heard during the CGC meeting. Or perhaps the DTH's objectivity has been affected by its frequent disputes with O'Neal, who is so closely identified with the current controversy. Regardless of the reasons or the rationale Student Government is on the verge of abdicating its responsibility to the groups already penalized by CGC and to the student body at large, an abstraction frequently referred to by Bates in his discussion of previous Treasury Law violations. The Student Body Treasurer is being pressured to resign because he is a man cf principle not expediency. And the Daily Tar Heel is continuing to "hear no ev il! and see no evil" unless it is perpetrated by Mike O'Neal. Yes, Cole, "this year is becoming one of near-total loss for responsible student leadership" (emphasis mine) in the offices of the Daily Tar Heel as well as in Suite C. Deborah Bloom is a graduate history student from Flushing, N.Y. VALUE CHANGES. j by BSM?
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 22, 1975, edition 1
6
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