6 The Daily Tar Heel Thursday, October 5. 1978
nz
letters to the editor
Lou Biuonis, Editor ,
Chucx Alston, Managing Editor
Don Woodard, Associate Editor v
David McKinnon, Associate Editor
Bernie RansbottOM, University Editor'
Mary Anne Rhynb, City Editor
David Stacks, State and National Editor
Richard Barron, Editor
Betsy Flagler, Features Editor
Mark Scandling, Arts Editor
Lee Pace, Sports Editor
;Allen Jernigan, Photography Editor
Satin
86th year of editorial freedorr
P
r is oris : a reprie ve
North Carolina's correctional system has long been plagued with
problems, and its recent history bears no exception... More than a year
ago, legislators were told that the state's prisons faced federal takeover
unless necessary improvements were made. Such deficiencies, which,
under the Eighth Amendment, neglect a prisoner's right to humane
treatment, came as no surprise to Lee Bounds, former commissioner of
corrections. Bounds says he pointed out impending problems to the
courts eight years ago. A
Promises were made and rhetoric filled the legislative chambers, but
once again the inhumane treatment of state inmates has raised its head.
A rebirth of the issue was initiated by the Supreme Court last
Monday when the justices upheld an appellate court's decision to
recognize a . lawsuit filed in 1976 on behalf of all state prisoners.
Originally the suit had been dismissed by U.S. District Judge Woodrow
W. Jones, who said he felt he lacked the authority to hear the case.
The subject of the inmate's complaints are familiar; crowded
conditions, censorship and. interference with intimate mail and
inadequate recreational and educational facilities head the plaintiffs'
list. '- -
And while the Supreme Court's ruling carries some hope for North
Carolina inmates, a distressing fact remains. The principal character
behind the obstruction philosophy of revamping the correctional
program is N.C. Attorney General Rufus Edmisten, the state's top law
enforcement officer.
For the courts to consider the prisoner's gripes, said Edmisten, "is
counter to judicial efficiency and economy by requiring that the time of
the courts and the money of the taxpayers be expended in responding to
pleadings which have no factual allegations."
The attorney general's conception of the courts' role (in this case, a
nonexistent one) would be legitimate if the inmates' complaints were
limited to personal conflicts between fellow prisoners or a desire to
extend the "lights out" hour. An Inmates Grievance Committee, set up
through the corrections department, was established to handle such
internal matters.
But the issue at hand concerns a question of constitutionality. The
charges brought forth against the state's correctional system regard the
violation of humane treatment as spelled out specifically in the law.
Beyond recognizing the courts' duty to rule on the lawsuit, it should
be noted that the only legitimate plaintiffs in the case are the inmates
themselves.
Clearly the struggle for proper rehabilitation within the correctional
program has been one full of setbacks. To shift the responsibilities of its
improvement into the courts' hands won't guarantee success. But at least
the question of unconstitutional practices within North Carolina's
prison system is going to be addressed.
Derby madness
If things come off like they have the last two years, the Polk Place
lawn will be getting pretty crazy sometime today. In a UNC version of
Sadie Hawkins Day, a bunch of wild-eyed women decked out in Greek
lettered jerseys will attempt to chase down Sigma Chi brothers and
remove their derbies. ;
There is, however, a method to this madness, and it goes by the name
of Derby Day. Actually, Derby Day is a week-long string of fund-raising
events benefitting the Children's Cancer Committee of the American
Cancer Society. Projects such as publishing informative articles about
cancer ancTesiablishing a home visitation program for children suffering
from the tragedy of cancer will be the endpoint for the monies.
The Sigma Chi brothers, sponsors of all this fund-raising fun, were
able to raise more than $5,000 for charities last year, a figure which they
hope to more than double this year.
With active student participation that goal can be reached. And to the
brothers, and sisters, we doff our hats, er, derbies.
The Bottom Line
Chessie
"It was dark looking and moving
against the tide," according to Willie
Hud gins.
"It looked like a great big oversized
snake," according to Myrtle Smoot.
And a retired CIA official with a
great eye for detail said, "It looked
like a big snake, 20 to 30 feet long and
with a head the size of a canteloupe."
What it is or might be is
"Chessie," the latest in the fine old
tradition of deep-water monsters,
and there are about 30 people who
claim they've seen the thing in the
waters of the Chesapeake Bay since
June.
There are, of course, the skeptics.
Always, it seems, there are skeptics.
And unfortunately for all you freak
fans, the skeptics in this case are the
University of Maryland's marine
biology lab, who say they've had
research boats on the bay for the last
50 years, and have yet to spot any
"Chessies."
This information comes to us
courtesy of the New York Times, by
the way, which took a terrific beating
a few years ago when it sponsored a
spectacularly unsuccessful hunt for
the Loch Ness Monster, "Nessie." We
imagine "Chessie" has simply
exercised the same good sense in
staying away from the Maryland lab
boats all these years. And we swear
that we never will conduct a deep
, water monster hunt.
Unless they start messing with us.
Unanswered questions .
Chapel Hill is, generally a good
place to get information; some 20,000
students return to the University
every August to do just that. But
occasionally, nagging, perplexing
questions arise. And no one, but no
one, seems able to offer a satisfactory
answer.
Will ttie-iyl& brickwork overwhelm us?
To the editor: ' V
1 heartily agree with M aury York's
letter ("Charm destroyed," DTH, Oct. 3)
lamenting the hew brickwork behind
Gerrard Hall. Now 1 see that the masons
are moving south into Polk Place,
constructing a brick "corner" along the
sidewalk near Bingham Hall. I suppose
this is an emphatic way of saying "Keep
off the Grass," or perhaps merely another
unnecessary attempt to provide seating
other than the green ground. Whatever
the intention, it certainly interrupts the
open flow of land in one of the campus
most beautiful quads. (Frisbee flingers,
watch those shins!)
Such brickwork is more than just a
nuisance, however; the long-range
aesthetic effect could be disastrous. When
you combine these little victories of brick
and mortar with a large-scale intrusion
like that of the proposed hew library, this
campus would very well look like N.C.
State in five or 10 years, where the
grounds policy seems to be,"lf they might
walk there, brick it." The Pit is bad
enough; but can you imagine McCorkle
Place a brickyard?
To whomever is responsible for this
recent rash of "improvements": please
stop cluttering our campus.
Michael McFee
405 Greenlaw
Tired of negative campaign
To the editor:
Richard Smyth, the Republican
candidate for the state Senate, has been
running a series of ads in the Daily Tar
Heel attacking Sen. Charles Vickery, the
Democratic incumbent. If Smyth's
research and accusation in last
Thursday's ad are indicative of his
campaign, this should be an interesting
election: s
In the ad Smyth asked, "What is
phrenology?" and, "Why did Charles
Vickery put through a bill making
For example:
What does a provost do? UNC has
a provost; in fact, the provost has an
assistant provost. Which leads to a
second query: What does the
assistant provost do?
Why does Raleigh Street become
Hillsborough Street at the corner of
Franklin?
What was O. Max Gardner's first
name, and did he like it?
Who is the cruel soul who plunks
quarter after quarter into the snack
bar jukebox to hear "Boogie Oogie
Oogie"? What will everyone else do
to him once his identity is exposed?
Where are Nash and Person halls?
Bonus question: Where is
Evergreen House, and what goes on
there?
Why is the shortest distance
between two points not a straight line
in the health center?
How do you pronounce Van
Hecke-Wettach Hall ? Where is
Emerson Drive? Lenoir Drive?
How does Harvey do it?
Why are there only three stalls in
the busiest men's room in the
Carolina Union, while the basement
bathroom in WilsonLibrary features
an uncountable number?
And while on the subject, why,
after all these years, has the Union
parking lot never been payed?
Why did the flower ladies move
out of Amber Alley?
How many layers of paint are on
the Cube? Are they latex or oil
based? What inhuman task has been able
to keep a road crew posted at the
corner of Rosemary and
Hillsborough, in front of the Pi Beta
Phi house for nearly a year?
And why is this column called the
Bottom Line?
. We need some answers. And that's
the bottom line.
V
I SHOO..!
)fiB3 )
Orange County the only county where
phrenology is legal?" Smyth answered the
first question adequately, but he
answered the second question "Who
knows?"
I know. In the first place, the bill didn't
make Orange County the only county
where fortune telling is legal. In fact,
there are 34 counties in the state where it
is legal, but Mr. Smyth didn't bother to
check. In any case, the bill was introduced
in the General Assembly at the request of
the Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen and
the Orange County Commissioners and
because a man wanted to open a fortune
telling business on West Rosemary
Street.
Charles Vickery has served our district
well by voting for ERA, against the death
penalty, for elimination of jail sentences
for possession of marijuana, for repeal of
the sales tax on food, for a bill to end
discrimination by insurance companies
against young people and against a bill to
strip Insurance Commissidner John
Ingram of his powers .
Smyth's ads, on the other hand, don't
tell us how he would vote on these
controversial issues, and he seems afraid
to mention in any of his ads that he is a
Republican. I'm tired of his negative
campaign.
Joe Herzenberg
Tria
ngle g
et the latest thins in think tanks
By ANNETTE FULLER
They came of age in the '60s, not long after John F.
Kennedy brought the best and the brightest to the
nation's capital.
Think tanks became asylums for the nation's and
the world's-finest minds. Their sequestered and well
appointed environments guaranteed their scholars all
the information they could need, and all the peace and
quiet their work required. And whether their work was
sponsored by government or by foundation grants, the
scholars at such institutions have come to form one of
the vanguards of the modern search for knowledge.
The newest and potentially one of the finest
examples of what have been called the-"modern
monasteries" for organized' high-level research is 'the
National Humanities Center in the Research Triangle
Park between Chapel Hill and Durham. In its first year
of operation, the Center is the daytime home-away-from-home
for some 26 humanities scholars.
While most think tanks conduct research primarily in
the social sciences, and especially encourage
government-contracted research, the NHC is one of the
very few institutes across the country which sponsors
research solely in the humanities.
According to the NHC's promotional pamphlet, "The
center is a response to give the humanities renewed
emphasis and visibility and to the growing recognition
within the country at large that the humanities offer
resources for public enlightenment and the imaginative
understanding ot public issues."
William Bennett, who supervises the administrative
staff of 12 at the center as executive director, said
institutions like the NHC are extremely difficult to
es tablish. With a working budget of $3.5 million, the
NHC now hosts 26 scholars, but administrators expect
35 by next September, the full number for which the
Center was designed and 45 to 50 by the next fall.
If the term "modern monastery" brings to mind a
spare cell and spartan regimen for the single-minded
scholar, the NHC is something of a surprise. While most
of the fellows' work is indeed carried on in solitude in
individual carrels, life is not all work and worry for the
scholars.
The carrels, which are set off from the main room
(where the scholars gather for lunch), give off both a
smell of newness and an impression of understated
comfort.
"We worried about making sure those individual
studies were sufficiently private and sufficiently
sequestered so that when one is in there, one is ready for
work," Bennet said.
Each carrel contains a desk and chair, filing cabinets,
shelves and a sliding glass door leading to a brick terrace.
About 10 feet beyond the terrace, the woods that
surrond the center begin.
A traveling library delivers books the scholars request
for their studies, and there is even a typing pool to lend
assistance to the scholars in preparation of manuscripts
and reports. '
The structure itself was built along rather dramatic
modern lines, with tall white archways. The building was
designed by Hartman-Cox of Washington, D.C., and
Claude McKinney of the N.C. State School of Design
with solar energy technology in mind. The walls are
transparent panels that allow for optimal heating and
cooling, (as well as an excellent view of the surrounding
woods) and the main room features a skylight.
But the mood at the NHC is decidedly studious; and
not surprisingly,, since the center has succeeded in
bringing together some of the nation's most serious
minds for research into some of the day's most serious
questions. Each prospective scholar's publishing record
and letters of recommendation were reviewed carefully
by both independent selection juries and the center's
Board of Trustees (which includes UNC. President ,
William C. Friday, C. Hugh Holman, a professor of
English at UNC, and Vermont Royster of the UNC
journalism school.)
The scholars will study at the center for a nine-month
period from September to May. Most of the scholars'
researches this year will be concerned with one of the
center's four seminar topics. "Man and Nature" will
study such topics as environmental protection and
medical intervention in the life cycle. "History and the
H istory of Ideas" will examine the implications of theory
in history. "The Foundation of Polity" includes a study
in human rights, equality, and democracy and its civil
morality. And "Ideals of Education" will center on a
study of the changed position of the humanities in a
world of constant learning.
Some of the scholars may be available for lectures at
nearby universities, according to Bennett. "That will be
totally up to them individually," Bennett said. Results of
the scholars work may show up in books and articles
published as early as next summer and fall..
Individually, the scholars have little but praise for the
new Humanities Center.
"This place is peaceful and exciting at the same time,"
John Agresto, a political historian from Kenyon College
in Ohio, said. "It is absolutely beyond my wildest
imagination."
Agresto is investigating the consequences of a nation
dedicated to democracy and will examine America as it
fits in its role of a liberal democratic society.
"Nations are ho longer choosing democ cy. America
is getting criticism from all over about being a morally
shallow, self-centered society. I want to understand what
it is about democratic societies that is bringing this type
of comment," Agresto said.
When asked how he felt about the comment that the
center was a modern-day monastery, he said, "No monk
ever had it so good."
Hunter Dupree, a historian from Brown University in
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William Bennet
Providence, R.I. , who is examining the role of
measurement in history, has been especially impressed
by the opportunities offered by the NHC.
"The great thing about the center is the high degree of
freedom and community. 1 think it is fair enough to say
that although the monastery is bounded off from the
world, it is still very much a part of the world in terms of
the mind. If you look at it in that active state, then and
only then is it fair to say tht the Humanities Center is a
modern day monastery," Dupree said. "We step out
from the world in order to contemplate the world in a
larger sense."
And Dupree, like the other scholars, is aware of the
privilege of being chosen to work in such distinguished
company, and in such surroundings.
"It was a great honor to be chosen, but the ranking
should now be forgotten. I think that all of the scholars
should leave their reputations at the door. '
Annette Fuller, a junior journalism and religion major
from Pfafftown, is a staff writer for the Daily Tar Heel.
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Think tanks not a new thought
s
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Modern, industrial look Mghihta center
While the focus on humanities makes the National
Humanities Center different, the concept of the think
tank is not unique. The American academic landscape
already is dotted with several think tanks, most famous
among them are the Brookings Institute in Washington,
D.C., the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and
Peace at Stanford University, and the Institute for
Advanced Studies in Princeton, N.J.
Of these the NHC seems to have more overt
connections with the Princeton institute. The institute,
which oddly enough is not connected in any way
with Princeton -University, has been called the world's
finest mathematical study center. It was credited with
moving the world center of mathematical thought from
Germany to the United States in the years following its
founding in 1930. Its scholars have included Albert
Einstein (1933-1946) and John von Neumann (1933
1957). Currently, there are 28 . permanent faculty
members at the Princeton Institute 10 mathematical
and six natural scientists, 10 historians and two social
scientists. Some 150 scholars visit the facilities for one
year stays.
The institute has something of an ivory tower
reputation, but it is known as well as a bastion of
independent scholarship. It does not, for example, grant
degrees or even schedule courses or laboratories.
In contrast to the Princeton Institute, the Hoover
Institution at Stanford identifies itself very strongly with
a particular brand ui political thought. It has been said,
in fact, that the Hoover Institution does for conservative
thought what the more well-known Brookings Institute
does for liberalism.
Hoover recently has taken credit for the passage in
California of Proposition 13. Conservative economist
Milton Friedman, an enthusiastic backer of Proposition
13 and a recent Nobel prize winner, is himself a Hoover
scholar. The institution's political bent also has included
support for Allan Bakke in his recent Supreme Court
battle to gain entrance to the medical school jaf the
U niversity of California at Davis on the basis of reverse
discrimination.
Unlike both the Princeton institute and the NHC,
scholars at the Hoover Institution are very active as
advisers to governmental agencies in Washington.
Recently the institution has advised the Carter
administration both on governmental interference with
business and on a national health-insurance package.
Like the institute at Princeton,, and in contrast to
Hoover and Brookings, the NHC has set an openly non
partisan policy, and does not contract for governmental
research. "We will not make any institutional statements
of any kind," said William Bennet, executive director of
the center. "Our fellows have a whole range of
viewpoints, so I doubt if we could all come together on
issues.
ANNETTE FULLER