Lou Grant' a bright spot
in lackluster TV season
1977 has not been a vintage year lor new
ictwork prime-time shows. Only two Soap and
The Love Boat have garnered enough public
mention to place them in the N ielsen Top 20, and
leither of these has this reporter cheering for
nore.
However, there is one new show which has done
well enough in the ratings to stay on the air and
nas, at the same time, forced me to continually
shuffle my Tuesday night plans so as not to miss an
:pisode. That new show is Lou Grant.
wavelengths
By JIMMY WILKES
Ed Asner, the soft-hearted lion of The Mary
Tyler Moore Show, is Lou Grant. Asner is an
excellent actor, and, as he proved in his
performances in Rich Man, Poor Man and Roots,
he is not restricted to comedy.
In Lou Grant, Asner plays the spunky and
energetic city editor of a major daily newspaper.
Along with Grant there is a managing editor
(Mason Adams) who constantly finds himself
situated between Grant and the formidable
business-minded woman publisher Mrs. Pynchon
Nancy Marchand). For example, in a recent
I PGlHRaTH, 6UIDANCE SUGGESTED
'"" SOME MATTRlAlTliuV NOT K SUfTMUI FOR CHUMEN
episode concerning the coverage of an obscenity
trial, the paper's attorney tried to get Lou to curb
his between-the-lines attack of a local anti
obscenity leader before the leader took the paper
to court. The lawyer agreed with Lou that there
was no libel involved, but he didn't want to see the
paper tied up in court over what he termed as
"unnecessary" nuisance suits. This brought about .
a confrontation between Mrs. Pynchon and
Grant. She began by reminding Lou that "this isn't
the New York Times. . .such a suit could cost the
paper a lot of money which could be better used."
Lou then gave the familiar First Amendment
argument and said that he refused to tone down
the articles. Finally, after much discussion, Mrs.
Pynchon gave in and told Lou that he had her
support.
The key to the show, and to this episode, is that
for the first time in this reporter's memory the
newspaper business is being realistically
portrayed. It was very refreshing indeed to sec
reporters complain to Grant in an early episode
that there were no interesting stories on the agenda '
that day. Anyone who has worked for any length
of time in the news business knows that days are
more often filled with stories about the new city
water system and dull city council meetings than
about local "Watergates."
On the whole, the show has had interesting and
believable scripts, and it has this reporter's vote fot
the best new show of the year.
me
r l
COMING DECEMBER 23RD
Mission Valley Theatre
Raleigh, N.C.
Check Newspapers for Additional Theatres and Show Times.
Chamber group
to perform Mass
A Mass in Latin will be celebrated at 5:30
p.m. Saturday in the Chapel ol St. Thomas
More Church, 740 Gimghoul Rd., Chapel
Hill. Once a common occurrence in the
Catholic Church, the Mass in I at in is now
somewhat of a special event. This service
will also be highlighted by the presence of
the t'niversity Chamber Singers under the
direction of Robert Porco. A select
ensemble of 18 oices. the group will
perform the Missa in lllo Tempore, a work
in six parts a cappella by (Taudio
Monteverdi. Interested persons ol all faiths
are invited to attend.
New Hope conference scrapped
Morton said that Student Affairs has not alway s
acted on black students' behalf in dealing with the
administration, lie pointed to the water-throwing
incident last year at Avery dorm and moves to
relocate Upendo Lounge as examples. He also
said Student Government has showed a lack of
faith in handling past BSM funds allocations.
"It is fair to say that on all sides there has been
an erosion of trust." Strickland said.
"There are a lot of questions on the commitment
of white faculty and staff." Strickland said. "There
is a lot of misunderstanding by many people of the
SjM a
Undergrad advising system criticized
By BLRN1K RANSBOTTOM
Staff Writer
The undergraduate advising system received a
great deal of criticism and a few suggestions for
improvement Wednesday when about 35 student',
met with representatives ol the Committee on
Academic Advising.
The discussion was a product of an open
meeting held by the committee to determine
student opinion of the system and to seek out
particular problems and suggestions loi the luture
development of the system.
1 he committee was appointed by Samuel R.
Williamson, dean of the College ol Arts and
Sciences, to investigate the tindcrgi.uluatc
adv ising system and make recommeiul.it ions lor
possible changes bv March I. WS.
RSM's goals and whether it is representative ol all
black students."
'This needs to be attacked on a small scale,
where people come facc-to-facc." Strickland said.
Whether a conference could contribute to
black-white dialogue has been questioned Morton
said that w hen he asked a lew black students about
the New Mope Conference lie was told that past
conferences and discussion groups did not
accomplish anything.
Friday,
Ol the criticisms leveled at the system, the one
most frequently noted by students was the
advisers' lack ol expertise. Most advisers receive
only on-the-job training, w hich the students at the
meeting said is inadequate to meet student needs.
"My professor didn't know that much about the
icquiu'iik'nls." senior Paul McDonald said.
"I got the impression when I went in that he
opened a book and read the same words that I
could read."
"1 hey re handed a bunch of booklets and
pamphlets and told to go advise." said Larry
Itcnnetl. a senior oology major. " I hey receive no
speed ie tiaimng, and many don't know how to
advise. Some ol them prefer just not to advise."
I hi", last complaint was voiced Irequently at the
session as students speculated thil many
Continued from page 1.
But I'nderwood said the New Hope Conference
would not be just talk.
I ikkiwood said that small groups ol seven to
14 people would present proposals. "At the end ol
the conlerence." Underwood said, "the proposals
would be written up on paper in It out oft he room.
I ach person would sign his or her name under
each proposal."
Morton said he was disappointed that the New
Mope Conlerence was not held this semester and
said he thinks the conlerence would do some good.
December 2, 1977 The Daily Tar Heel 3
protessors take advising assignments not because
they are interested in helping students, hut for the
extra pay.
Several students noted that although they
received not ices from their advisers asking them to
come by for an appointment, they were greeted
rudely and given the impression that the adviser
resented their answering this request.
Students basically advocated one of two
remedies for the present advising situation: either
establish more faculty or professional advisers
offices in the residence halls, or develop a more
structured and organized peer-counseling
program.
A General College advising ott ice has been
maintained in Henderson Residence College
(Conner, Winston and Alexander dorms) for the
past two years, and student reaction has been
highly lav orable.
Accessibility and personal contact are two of
the advantages ol such a system, noted William
Porterlield, a junior who lives in I ,ringhaus.
Poi lei field is a member ol an 1 hi inghaus group
vv hich conducted a poll in that doiin to determine
student icaction to the establishment of such a
progiam there.
Petitions were posted calling for an academic
adviser to maintain an office in I hringhaus. In a
span ol a lew hours, about 250 ol the 6(H) residents
signed the petition. Porterlield said
Seveial students also emphasized that a
distinction needs to be made between advising
the dissemination of basic, factual information
and counseling personal development and
planning
Although both types of adv ice are available on
the UNC campus, students were in general
agreement that these facilities are poorly
publicized and cooi diluted, and that most
students either do not know where to go lor help
or aie not motivated to seek help until their
pioblems become iiisui mounlahlc.
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