6The Daily Tar Heel Fndfv Septemhor 23. 1977
Greg Porter
Editor
Ben Cornelius, Managing Editor
Ed Rankin, Associate Editor
Lou B I LION is, Associate Editor
Laura Scism, University Editor
Elliott Potter, City Editor
Chuck Alston, State and National Editor
Sara Bui.lard, Features Editor
Chip Ensslin, Arts Editor
Gene Upchurch, Spom Editor
Allen Jernigan, Photography Editor.
Slip
BatUj
85th year of editorial freedom
letters to the editor
Dorm life is more than it's cracked up to be
A lackluster performance
As Bert Lance packs his bags and heads for his native Georgia, there is
little chance he will escape the slings and arrows that have plagued him for
so many day s. I n bearing the stigma of the "Lance Affair," however, he has
left Washington in a melee, with fingers pointing in every direction
toward Congress, the press, Lance and Carter as this embarrassing
drama's protagonists try to divert the critics' stares away from themselves.
Probably the most vehement of the critics are congressmen who claim the
press has "lynched" Bert Lance. To Sen. James B. Allen. D-Ala.. for
instance, the whole episode seems right out of a western.
"It was frontier justice of old like vigilantes saying 'We're going to give
this man, a horse thief, a fair trial and hang him," Allen said. Allen's
colleague in the opposite chamber, Georgian John J. Flynt, chairperson of
the House Ethics Committee, argued Lance was "charged, tried and
convicted by a lynch mob without ever having his day in court."
This blame-throwing is the natural reaction of a group of lawmakers who
ignored their duty to probe Lance before confirming him in the first place. I f
the Senate actually had dug diligently into Lance's background before his
appointment was confirmed, a great deal of time and embarrassment might
have been saved.
Now, lawmakers are criticizing the press for carrying out the duty they
shirked.
The press, of course, was not faultless. It displayed its overzealous.
sometimes irresponsible, streak that exalts the "scoop" over the truth.
Several times newspapers and wire services accepted statements of
important public officials without checking them out. But those who try to
fault the press for these libelous materials forget that they often originated in
the mouths of supposedly and competent senators.
In fact, Lance scored his most compelling points during the entire inquiry
when he attacked the sloppiness of Senators Ribicoff and Percy, who
slurred the OMB director on more than one count. Granted, the press was
too eager to print the spurious stories, but as originators of the slurs the
senators deserve equal chastisement.
At the bottom line for both Congress and the press is the question, did
Bert Lance deserve the scrutiny and the publicity he received. The answer
can only be yes. The financial habits of Bert Lance were certainly relevant to
his suitability as a budget director. Isn't it inconceivable for Americans to
trust a man to run their budget if his own personal finances were at best a
hazy, confusing mess, and at worst embezzlement and fraud?
Again, the answer can only be yes because Bert Lance did not live up to
Jimmy Carter's self-imposed moral standards. Carter said his
administration should be above even the appearance of wrongdoing.
Doesn't this mean that the public has the right to know if and when the
administration doesn't live up to its bold promise?
Again, the answer can only be yes because public officials are, by
definition, responsible for their actions to the public. The investigations of
Lance first by the media and then by the Congress related to Lance's
acceptability as a public official and were therefore not only justifiable, but
mandatory.
Bert Lance may well be a fine man; in fact, his past record indicates that he
is. But is is clear that he is not suitable for the office of OMB director. And t
is just as clear that the nation would not realize Lance's unacceptable
background had it been left to the U.S. Congress to find out. When all the
finger-pointing is done, and history reviews this national drama, the
Congress will be singled out for the shoddiest performance in a lackluster
cast.
To the editor:
Dorm Rats vs. Fratty Baggers here we
go again! In the on-going saga of life at
Carolina, one critical decision stands out
among the rest: should one live in U niversity
housing where meager existences are eked
out in 15-foot square cubicles, or should one
become a participant in the glorious ecstasy
of fraternal brotherhood.
I went through that decision relatively
painlessly and cast my lot lor dorm life early
in my career here, although 1 must say that
the thought of strippers and cocktail parties
temptecj me somewhat to opt for the
brothers. I saw living in a dorm as being the
best way for me to have maximum
independence and to meet a real cross
section of people. I have now even joined the
establishment as a resident assistant.
Of course living in a dorm made me
"Frequent social functions - band parties,
mixers and cookouts to name a few -provide
a break in the academic life at UNC.
Fraternity men get to meet some of the
sharpest people at Carolina." Just so no one
will worry. I'll get over my reaction to this
aristocratic trash, but my concern is that
such statements will be just the thing to sway
inexperienced students to fraternity life
without fully examining every possible
option of living available to them.
It certainly can be a difficult undertaking
to get along with a computer-assigned
roommate who wears hushpuppies and
doesn't even have one alligator shirt. It's
even harder sometimes to get along with a
whole hall full of people from every possible
kind of hang-up. Just think though, maybe,
just maybe, that fellow in the hushpuppies
might have something to offer as a human
directly serve all ol the students in the
University. A number make their services
available to all. and many claim to represent
or work on behalf of large segments of the
student body. But not all of the women
students are in AWS. for example, nor all
blacks members of BSM. Student
Government is .representative of those
students who voted the current officeholders
in. a minority of the voters, who in turn are a
minority of the whole student body.
It's worth asking what would be missing
from the life of the average Carolina student
who got his $12 back in place of all those
things student fees pay for. A variety of
campus organizations, like the Daily Tar
Heel and Student Government would cease
to exist, but the University would still be
here, as would classes, beer and the other
sex.
4f
nis ; hi
automatically suspicious of those other
fellows who all wore topsiders, khakis and
alligator shirts and lived in fraternities.
Thank goodness I've gotten to know many of
those other guys, and I've found that they are
mostly really great guys. The stereotypes
actually began breaking down and I was
making great progress in relating to
fraternities until this week when I saw
something that hit me like a pie in the face. In
my dorm on the bulletin board was a poster
entitled "Let's Face it. . . Dorm Life is Dorm
Life" advertising the upcoming formal rush.
It went on to list the downfalls of dorm life in
one column and the virtues of fraternity
living in an adjacent column. It made some
fair comparisons and some that 1 doubt, but
what really pulled the cat's tail was the
comparison concerning the personal
contacts and social life encountered in each
living situation. In the "Dorm Life" column
under the heading of "socially limiting" was
the statement, "Dormitory social activities
are minimal, making it hard to meet the
people you should get to know." However, in
the "Fraternity" column under a heading
"socially active" was the statement.
being. Why not give it a try"? After all, there
will always be that fraternal beacon of
salvation guiding you up the hill to meet "the
sharpest people at Carolina."
Dave Cameron
314 Graham
Argument illogical
To the editor:
In the process of squelching Bruce Tindall
and SAFE. Bill Fairbanks and David
Weynand ("Argument against increase
flimsy and deceptive." Sept. 21) argue that
the North Carolina Student Legislature
( N CS L). among other groups, does not serve
the "student body at large" of UNC.
1 would hardly argue that NCSL directly
serves all of the student body. To what extent
any organization receiving student fees
funds directly benefits even a majority of the
students is a question worth raising in the
midst of the current debate over a student
fees increase.
None of the organizations currently
receiving student fees funding can claim to
The question can be carried a step further.
What would be missing from the life of the
average North Carolinian if the U niversity of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill were
dismantled and his tax dollars thus spent
returned? The principle is the same. In both
cases small minorities' activities are being
financed with the money of people who
never directly benefit from them.
Only 50 or 60 students directly benefit
from NCSL on this campus. Only a few
thousand of the five million people of this
state benefit directly from this University.
But just as the University is producing the
professionals, the liberally educated, the
highly skilled for the future development of
this state. NCSL is producing many of the
future political leaders of this state and many
more active citizens who are gaining their
first practical understanding of the political
process in the NCSL.
More importantly, all of us studying at
this institution have taken advantage of an
opportunity that could not exist without
taxing the many who don't use it. The
members of the Chapel Hill delegation of
NCSL have taken advantage of a similar
opportunity to better themselves made
available to them on the same sort of
competitive basis that admission to UNC
was made available to all of us.
Without even considering the indirect
benefits to the majority made possible by the
existence of minority inieiest geared
organizations, justification for taxing the
majority for them can be found in the
existence of these opportunities open to all.
There are several arguments for opposing
a student fees increase, not the least of which
is a vote of two to one against such a move in
a recent referendum. But lack of benefits to
the student body at large by student fees
funded organizations is not one of them.
Dwight Ferguson
North Carolina Student Legislature
Leviathan in Suite C
To the editor:
Denouncing both self-proclaimed experts
and illogic, M essrs. Fairbanks and Weynand
proceed to venture forth into virgin
intellectual territory and commit that which
they so disdain.
With convoluted logic as the vehicle, they
justify a $5 hike in student fees, using two
assumptions, the first being if we do not have
increase, we will be constantly bothered by
fund raising events, as groups try to raise the
money which was not forthcoming from
Student Government (SG). While Fairbanks
and Weynand find this objectionable, I do
not. With fund-raising events, one has the
choice of either funding or not funding a
particular group. Essentially, the writers
would love nothing more than to, in effect,
steal $5 from every student and force him to
support the group, whether he wants to or
not. What freedom! What liberality! The
writers assume that the sages of SG are better
qualified to spend your money than you are.
The second assumption the writers make
is that, collectively, the student-funded
groups provide services for the whole
student body. For the majority of groups this
is unsupportable. A majority of students do
not belong to a student-funded organization.
Furthermore, almost all of the groups which
are supported by student funds are not
operating out of some sense of duty to
provide a service to the students they are
operating for the benefit of their members.
Fine, but don't expect me to be enthusiastic
when 1 might be forced to support their
beliefs or ideas of a good time.
The writers' claim that students stand to
gain from an increase makes sense only if
you belong to one of those groups. The
majority of students will simply have less
money they can call their own, if SG gets its
way. I urge students to vote "no" for the
student fee increase, if the Campus
Governing Council decides to give us the
opportunity to vote on the matter. Student
Government has become enough of a
leviathan.
Rick Kania
425 Avery
The Daily Tar Heel welcomes
contributions and letters to the editor.
Letters must be signed, typed on a 60
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accompanied by a return address.
Letters chosen for publication are
subject to editing.
Bert Lance's resignation heads a week marked by Middle East troubles
Stating that his "conscience is clear," Jimmy
Carter's embattled budget director Bert Lance
submitted his resignation Wednesday, climaxing
a week of rising tension and speculation over
Lance's private dealings as a banker in Georgia.
The President postponed his Wednesday three
o'clock press conference until 5 p.m. in order to
permit Lance to collect his thoughts before
officially announcing his resignation as director
of the Office of Management and Budget.
Carter praised Lance for his "superb" conduct
at three days of testimony before the Senate
Governmental Affairs Committee at the end of
last week and felt that his close friend from
Georgia "was able to clear his name when he
testified."
Nearly a day has not gone by in the past two
weeks that some new allegation or revelation
surrounding Lance's affairs as a Georgia bank
executive was brought forth.
The Village Voice originally cast suspicion on
Lance's financial dealings, exposing a number of
large overdrafts which Lance incurred in the
past. More recent allegations involved the
former budget director's sale of a private plane to
his own bank at a profit, only to use that plane
more than 1,000 times afterward often for
family and personal reasons and Lance's
involvement with Federal investigators
examining his Calhoun Bank prior to the Senate
Confirmation hearings.
MIDDLE EAST
While Arab and Israeli foreign ministers both
visited Washington this week on peace-seeking
missions, Israeli troops and tanks moved deeper
into Lebanon, launching heavy artillery attacks
on Palestinian positions Wednesday.
While the threat of war between Syria
charged with peace-keeping in Lebanon and
Israel is mounting, the U.S. is proposing a
solution to the problem of Palestinian
representation at a Geneva peace conference.
Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan told
President Carter this week that he thought such a
conference, which would involve concessions by
all parties, may be possible by the end of the year.
According to U.N. Secretary General Kurt
Waidheim. if a breakthrough in peace
negotiations is not reached by the end of the year,
the Middle Cast situation will deteriorate
"dramatically." Waidheim added that the Soviet
Union is equally pessimistic about the present
THE WEEK
Bv LOU Bl LION IS
state of affairs between the M iddle East nations.
ENERGY
The Senate Finance Committee continued its
methodic study of the tax side of the President's
energy proposals this week. Tuesday, the
committee killed Carter's gas-guzzler tax by a
surprisingly strong II to 5 vote, signalling a
possible shift of emphasis from conservation of
energy to increased production. On Wednesday,
the committee postponed a vote on the crude oil
tax, and many committee members predicted
that the tax would be lucky to get even one vote
in its present form.
By postponing a vote on the tax, the
committee is giving its staff time to work out a
compromise with the administration concerning
how the billions of dollars in revenue from the
tax would be spent. Some suspect that the
revised tax bill will resemble former Vice
President Nelson Rockefeller's "energy
development corporation," and may involve an
eventual rise of the price ceilings for crude oil.
UNITED NATIONS
Communist Vietnam became the 149th
member of the United Nations this week as the
U.N. General Assembly opened its 1977 session
Tuesday.
The United States was originally bpposed to
Hanoi's acceptance, but backed down from its
stand last summer after criticism from dozens of
nations. The U.N. Security Council already had
voted to accept Hanoi, and the acceptance of
Hanoi on Tuesday by the General Assembly was
a mere formality.
IDI AMIN
Purportedly "under the wise leadership of
President Amin" and in the spirit of freedom of
worship, Uganda banned 27 religious groups
Tuesday, including the Seventh Day Adventists,
the Salvation Army and Baptists as security
risks.
The order, initiated by Amin, is effective
immediately and leaves only four "recognized"
religions the right to practice in Uganda: Islam.
Roman Catholocism, the Anglican church of
Uganda and the Ugandan Orthodox church,
which has ties to the Greek Orthodox church.
Also on Tuesday, Henry Kyemba, former
Ugandan Health Minister in exile in New York,
warned that Amin is turning Uganda into a black
South Africa and recommended a U.S. trade
embargo against the country.
BAKKE
The Carter administration declared its
support for the consideration of race in college
admissions procedures Monday, but chose not
to endorse strict quotas to make up for past
discrimination.
The administration's stand came as a result of
the upcoming Supreme Court case concerning
Allan Bakke, a 37-year-old white man who
claims that the University of California Medical
School at Davis practiced reverse discrimination
against him. The case has reached the Supreme
Court through the California Supreme Court,
which agreed with Bakke's contention that he
was refused admission as a consequence of a race
quota which required that 16 per cent of
openings be reserved for minorities.
The administration filed a brief through the
Justice Department, asking that the state court's
decision "be reversed to the extent that it forbids
the medical school to operate any minority
sensitive admissions program."
KENT STATE
After weeks of active protest and
demonstrations, bulldozers have finally begun
moving the earth on which Kent State University
students died in 1970 in preparation for
construction of a new gymnasium.
A handful of protesters were present when the
job began, but they were generally peaceful,
resorting only to occasional shouting at the
construction workers.
The protesters are members of the "May 4th
Coalition," w hich has tried to preserve the site of
the deaths as a memorial.
Bill Arthrell, 28. a student at Kent State at the
time the four students were killed, observed the
beginning of work on the site.
"They have the bulldozers and the bullets, and
they're doing what they want." he said. "But we
will rescue the hill someday."
x.
HIRE) -ji
PAPER GOALIE
George Plimpton, the Harvard graduate who
has taken it upon himself to play pro football
with the Detroit Lions, to box against Archie
Moore and to try his hand in dozens of other
sports in the name of participatoryjournalism, is
in Fitchburg. Mass., this week practicing with
the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey
League.
Plimpton, 50-years-old. will, if all goes well, be
in the net against the Philadelphia Flyers in an
exhibition at the Philadephia Spectrum on Oct.
6. Plimpton would defend the goal during a five
minute segmant added to the regular game.
In the spirit of his performance as a
professional quarterback, Plimpton
acknowledged a smarting hand after stabbing a
slap shot by Bruin Dave Forbes during practice
Monday.
Adding insult to injury, the shot was only half
speed.
Lou Bilionis, a junior economics and English
major from Fitchburg, Mass., is associate editor
for the Dailv Tar Heel.