6The Daily Tar Heel Wednesday, September 22, 1982
PO2 year of editorial freedom
JOHN DRESCHER, Editor
KERRY DE ROCHI, Editor
Rachel Perry. Vnwemty Editor
ALAN CHAPPLE, City Editor
JIM WRINN, State and National Editor
Linda Robertson, Spom Editor
Laura Seifert, News Efitor
ANN PETERS, Managing Editor
REHMINGIS, Associate Editor
ELAINE MCCLATCHEY, Projects Editor
Susan Hudson, Feature Editor
LEAH TALLEY, Arts Editor
Teresa Curry, Weekend Editor
AL STEELE, Photography Editor
Voting:
a right and a privilege
By LEILA DUNBAR
"Here, in the first paragraph of the Declaration (of In
dependence), is the assertion of the natural right of all to
the ballot; for how can 'the consent of the governed' be
given, if the right to vote be denied?"
Susan B. Anthony
'One man, one vote. '
Qvil rights slogan
Foul!
Former Creighton University basketball star Kevin Ross started class
last week with seventh- and eighth-graders. And Ross wasn't the teacher.
Ross, 23 years old and 6-foot-9 inches tall, spent four years at Creigh
ton, in Omaha, Neb., and was captain of the team. But'he didn't get a
degree or an education. And now he's back in junior high school to
learn the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic that he did not learn in
high school and college. "I just wish people in education would make
sure students get an education," Ross said.
As Ross has shown, they aren't. Getting an education is supposed to be
the purpose of attending college for all students. Yet for a select group of
college students those who happen to play football or basketball
getting an education may be the last reason for them to be attending
school. The abuses in college athletics gained prominent attention this
summer when the president of the University of San Francisco discon
tinued the school's traditionally successful basketball program because of
abuses in the program.
A series of articles in the Raleigh News and Observer last week showed
that area colleges also are vulnerable to the mistakes that can ruin college
athletics. The athletic departments at the most competitive colleges are
big businesses: the combined sports budget for the eight Atlantic Coast
Conference schools and East Carolina University is $51.71 million. With
those large amounts of money can come the trappings of big business and
the loss of perspective of college athletics, including misplaced priorities
about athletics and education.
In recognition of these problems in college sports, the American Coun
cil on Education has formed a committee of 25 university presidents to
examine jwhat can be done about cleaning up college athletics. UNC
system President William Friday was one of 12 presidents who was part of
a council inquiry into recruiting violations, illegal payments to athletes,
admission and eligibility standards, and the effects of competing for tele
vision and bowl contracts.
When the college presidents meet at the National Collegiate Athletic
Association convention in January, they will have the opportunity to sug
gest policy changes to the NCAA. Among them should be the following:
Freshmen athletes should not be permitted to play varsity sports.
Some freshmen can contribute to an athletic program and adjust aca
demically and socially, but most cannot. The demands of varsity sports
often cause freshmen to immediately fall behind academically, a situation
from which they often cannot recover.
Incoming athletes should have a higher high school grade point
average than the currently required 2.0. The 2.0 rule is so lax it is mean
ingless.. Coaches should be given , tenure or long-term contracts like other
members of the academic community to relieve the over-emphasis on
winning. .
Teams should lose a scholarship for a year for each athlete that did
not graduate within five years of enrollment.
These are but a few changes the NCAA should make when it meets in
January. The increasing reports of cheating and lowered academic stan
dards are a clear sign that it is time for the NCAA to make some funda
mental changes. On the courts and fields this may be the Golden Age of
college athletics, but without necessary changes it could turn into the
Dark Age of college sports.
When I step into the voting booth on Nov. 2, 1 will be
taking part in recurring history, celebrating more than 200
years of American suffrage, 62 years of women's suffrage
and 18 years of guaranteed black suffrage.
Unfortunately,-only about 30 percent of my college
peers will be with me. Since the voting age was lowered to
18 in 1971, the 18-20 age group has consistently voted the
least in every election. In the 1980 presidential election on
ly 35 percent voted, as compared to 43 percent for 21-24
year-olds; 58 percent for 25-44 year-olds; 69 percent for
45-64 year-olds; and 65 percent for those 65 years and
older. Of the total electorate, only 53.2 percent voted, the
lowest turnout since the 1932 election. There is a. severe
epidemic of apathy.
"Well, son, what's the matter? You look okay to me,
except maybe a little listless."
I don't know, Doc. I go to my classes, I study in the
library, I go out for a few beers, do my laundry, cheer for
Carolina and go to mixers. Nothing strenuous. But I feel
kind of blah."
"Watch the news?"
"Sports and Benny Hill."
. "Read the newspaper?"
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
"Sports and Doonesbury."
"Magazines?"
"Sports Illustrated and Playboy. "
"Son, you 've got a bad case of college student rut. "
Not all students are like this. Many are well informed
about the tax bills, the nuclear question and the relations
with Israel, the Soviet Union and Western Europe. We
should be well informed. We have the best news sources
available around us.
But we have to use them. One of the biggest arguments
for not voting is "Well, I'm just one of 167 million. My
vote doesn't matter anyway." Or it is a silent protest.
"Well, I don't like either candidate, so I'm not going to
vote for either. One's as bad as the other."
But we do have the right and as citizens we should exer
cise that right. If the other half of the people voted in the
1980 presidential election, Jimmy Carter, or even John
Anderson, could have won, or Reagan could have land
slided to victory even more convincingly.
It's an ironic situation. Susan B. Anthony and other
women fought for years until the 1920 amendment was
passed so women could vote. Last election 59 percent of
eligible women voted. Blacks were awarded the right to
vote in 1870 under the 15th. Amendment, but were
persecuted by a variety of Jim Crow laws including the
grandfather clause and until the 1960s Qvil Rights Acts,
were not given protection. In 1980, 50 percent voted.
The ancient Greeks, the first voters, viewed suffrage as
the citizens' duty to participate actively in the welfare of
the community. Other countries such as Australia,
Belgium and Ecuador hold with the Greek concept.
Voting is compulsory those who don't must pay a fine.
Also viewed as a privilege by some, voting is given by
law and can be restricted. Through the Middle Ages to the
20th century, voting was solely practiced by white land
owners who had money and could therefore keep their
power, because someone who wanted to change the social
order was not allowed to vote.
The United States has seen suffrage as a right, but also
as a privilege for many years. Theoretically, it is an in
alienable right inherent in the individual by virtue of his
citizenship.
As a right, it also means the right not to vote. But we
are young, we are the educated, we are continually told
that we are the key to America's future.
So we must vote as an affirmation of the hope of that
future, to show that we do care about the state of the
country, that we do care about the people who lead us,
who make our laws. We must vote to show that we are
responsible and hopeful and proud to share the tradition,
new or old, of voting, of practicing what our ancestors
fought for.
Were their efforts in vain?
"A statesman is an easy man
He tells his lies by rote;
A journalist makes up his lies
And takes you by the throat;
So stay at home and drink your beer
And let the neighbors vote. "
William Butler Yeats: The Old Stone Cross
Instead we must think of the positive that we can do:
"There is but one unconditional commandment, which
is that we should seek incessantly, with fear and trem
bling, so to vote and to act as to bring about the very
largest total universe of good which we can see. "
. The Moral Philosopher and the Moral Life
Yes, it's idealistic. But if we lost faith in our own hopes
and dreams in present reality, then apathy is all that we
have. And nothing will ever be challenged or changed.
Leila Dunbar, a senior journalism and Spanish major
from Milford, Mass., is assistant managing editor for The
Daily Tar Heel.
System needs change from within
THE Daily Crossword By Bernice Gordon
ACROSS
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name
S Longs (for) .
10 Container
13 Rake
14 Bete
(bugbear)
15 Pine tree
feature
16 Oppose in
argument
18 Aware of
19 On horse
back 20 Swaggers
22 Carter and
Lowell
23 Munich
mister
24 Cosmos'
game
27 Step in
ballet
31 Granny and
: bowline
32 go bragh
33 Cheese
34 River into
the Rhone
35 Jargon
33 Winter
hazard
37 Small
drinks
39 Contraction
40 Place for
storage
42 Signed up
44 Go
(ambitious
one)
45 Rene's best
girl
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together
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speare 57 Made a
faux pas
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59 Ems,
Germany
60 Enjoys
a novel
61 Selves
DOWN
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whale
2 Sounds from
the barn
3 Poilyto
Tom Sawyer
4 Withdraw
5 Soviet
river
6 Sheltered
inlets
7 Race
8 White
tailed birds
9 Aboil
10 Deny the
truth
11 Soldier and
222 worker
12 Recent:
pref.
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17 Ice crystal
formations
21 Legal
thing
24 Use a rink
25 Leek's
cousin
26 Smuggled
goods
27 Baby
28 Blue serge
problem
29 American
milliner
30 Oriental
VIP
32 Otherwise
35 Part of
soma guns
33 Grave: var.
40 Jaialai
basket
41 Diplomatic
aide
43 52
44 Protects
45 Put up
47 Commune
in Sicily
48 Author
Vidal
50 Deer
51 Sandwich
52 Increases
53 Chatter
55 Blue Eagle
letters
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D1S32 Tribune Company Syndicate, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
82282
To the editor:
Ask yourself the question: What should
my course of action be if I am part of an
institution that perpetuates beliefs that are
contrary to my own? Two possibilities ex
ist: The first is the immediate response to
your conscience in a refusal to abridge
your sense of morality by tenninating your
participation in that organization. The se
cond lies in a recognition of the goodness
of man and a commitment to your ability
to influence those around you by remain- .
ing an active participant and by attempting
to modify the thought of others from
within that institutional framework. The
first possibility reflects a short-term
perspective, whereas the second alternative .
presupposes patience and hope for the
future.
Case in point: Many of us on this cam
pus have pondered just this question with
respect to Melanie Wilson, a woman who
participated in PanheUenic rush and
Melanie - Wilson, a black who tested the
implicit rules of an all-too-comfortable
white institution. It remains to be discuss
ed and decided what caused or allowed the
breaches of morality in this case. I shall
leave that to continued study and specula
tion, but there is a viewpoint which should
be stated.
I am not attempting to justify member
ship in a sorority; I am arguing that a
greater chance for improvement lies in an
ability to adapt to an environment as it is,
rather than to defy it. I am arguing
change. If we can understand the depth of
the deficiencies both in the system and in
our beings, then we may continue to
persevere even if the change is slow.
For some of us who participated in rush
with an overwhelming sense of nausea, it is
the hardest step of all to continue to accept
sisters as members of our family, even if
we cannot respect their beliefs and actions.
But this is where faith in humanity enters
in, for it. is better to abridge a part of
yourself in the ultimate belief that you can
make a difference in a situation that has
potential for improvement.
My message is this: ,
For sisters who are participating in. a
system that cuts across their moral grain, a
continuation of that participation does not
reflect an unequivocable acceptance of
deficiencies as long as that participation in
cludes a commitment to change from the
most productive setting from within.
For those on the outside who become
aware of the perpetuation of institutional
racism, it is in everyone's interest that sup
port be shown for those who struggle from
within as' long as those members' com
mitments to produce change do not falter.
SKSf
7l I IV
1
Published debate on this issue may end in
a week; the problem will not nor should
our commitment to a solution.
Recognition of a deficiency is a source
of embarrassment for those who are
responsible for it. Changing that embar
rassment to defensiveness is counter
productive. Through proper means and at
titudes that sense of deficiency can become
a vehicle of positive change.
Andrea Stumpf
223 McCauley St.
SCAU Expanding
To the editor:
The Student Consumer Action Union .
: (SCAU) is - a student-funded, student
staffed service organization which works
to improve the quality of food, housing
and consumer information available to
students. In previous years SCAU has pur
sued these goals by publishing such
materials as "The Franklin St. Gourmet,"
a guide to and critique of local restaurants;
"The Southern Part of Heaven," the most
complete source of information concern
ing' rental properties in Chapel Hill; along
with other pamphlets on such topics as
consumer rights, residency status,
automotive repair and local banks.
This year SCAU plans to expand both
the scope and form of its services. A full
time computerized Apartment Locator
and Roommate Referral Service, a
legislative task force to monitor and study
local and state issues of economic concern
to students, a comparative tabulation of
prices at local grocery stores and a guide to
legal problems in landlordtenant relation
ships are just a few examples of what is in
store. These projects will offer excellent
opportunities for experience in legal
research, computer science, marketing
studies, journalism and publishing.
All of these projects can greatly benefit
students here at UNC, but their success
hinges on the willingness of creative and
energetic students to get involved and put
these ideas into action. Positions are
available for vice-chairperson; Food,
Housing, Consumer Contact and Special
Projects chairpersons; and various project
coordinators as well as committee posi
tions. If any of our projects spark your in
terest, please drop by our office in Suite B
of the Carolina Union any afternoon to
apply or call 962-8313.
Richard Owens
SCAU Chairperson
Apathy not rampant
To the editor:
The question of student involvement
raised by Stan Evans, "A Lack of Con
cern" (DTH, Sept. 16), is a valid one. On
a campus the size of Carolina, students
sometimes feel isolated and unimportant.
Logically, they tend to doubt the impact of
their campus organizations as well.
Generalization from this point is tricky
though. Failing to seek office and profess
ing apathy are two different things. In re
cent campaign rounds, I have found
students interested and responsive. They
have asked questions, expressed opinions
and offered assistance. There is a wealth of
energy to be tapped. Mobilizing this
energy requires a concerted effort by stu
dent leaders. and the electorate.
I would like to thank Evans for airing
his concerns. However, Evans' letter
leaves the impression that apathy is ram
pant on campus. I do not endorse that
assumption. The opinions are there; they
simply must be unearthed.
W.M. "Doc' Drpze
District 22, CGC Candidate
G-l Kingswood
Amendment not a cowardly way out
By GARTH DUNKLIN
Contrary to popular jibberish, the tax limitation
Balanced Budget amendment is not President Reagan's
"cowardly way out" of deficit problems. If passed today,
it would not take effect until fiscal 1985, little help to the
current administration. In reality, this amendment is a
constructive solution to problems that have plagued this
country for 50 or more years. Support ed by more than 73
percent of the American population, this amendment
simply seeks to restore Americans' constitutional protec
tion from unlimited federal spending and taxation.
As often happens, the partisan haggling over this
amendment has led not only to arguing vague super
ficialities, but also to a major part of the amendment be
ing ignored. Not many people are even aware of the fact '
that this amendment contains a provision that real growth
of federal spending not exceed the real growth of the gross
, national product. Such a provision is imperative if we are
to insure the stabilization of federal spending with the
economy that supports it. The federal budget could still
increase. No programs would be cut, but "future in
creases would be closely tied to the ability of the American
people and the underlying economy to pay." Nonetheless,
. this important stipulation has been lost in the name call
ing. The pervasiveness of the name calling and demagoguery
regarding this amendment points to several additional
reasons to support it. The foremost of these reasons being
that it will force our gutless Congress to control their
budget, something, as Milton Friedman said, they "just
can't seem to do." Had Congress been able to control
itself in the past, we would have no deficit this year
because the more than $100 billion in interest on the
federal debt would have to be paid. Had Congress been
able to control itself (to obey the law), we would have had
a balanced budget in 1981; as stipulated, by law, in the
Federal Budget Control. Act of 1974. We must face the
fact that if our Congress won't work, we have to make it
work.'
One often overlooked factor of this bill is that it will
hold members of Congress more accountable for increases
in spending. Recently, Congress has been able to avoid
We must face the fact that if
our Congress won't work, we
have to make it work.
raising our taxes while increasing spending because infla
tionary "bracket creep" (taxation without representation)
and deficit spending have allowed them to defer losses.
Tying government growth to real growth and disallowing
deficits will force congressmen to take responsibility for
increasing spending because they will have to vote for a
tax increase to cover new outlays. Thus, come election
time, the voter can enforce his Constitution by checking
his congressman's votes on a few key bills; today one must
wade through hundreds of complicated procedural and
appropriations votes. An added plus of this amendment
will be the lessening of special interest power. This will
happen because in weighing national priorities with
restricted spending, congressmen will more easily be able
to say "no" and will thus be less vulnerable to special in
terest powers.
Another argument lawmakers often make against such
an amendment is that it restricts the economic power of
Congress" too much. Restricts, yes; too much, no. For years
now the problem" has been no restriction and so con
gressmen, running for re-election, have "pork barrel pro
jected" us into a $1 trillion abyss. This amendment would
halt that, but would also, by a three-fifths majority of
both houses (at any time in the ongoing budget process),
allow for deficit spending to help out in economic
emergencies. The amendment would further be lifted in
times of war. In view of the fact that government spend
ing programs are usually out of synchronization with
business cycles (and thus create inflation by the time
the money enters the economy, recovery has begun), even
this, small flexibility may be. too much.
The power of Congress to spend was limited by Article
1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitutionr but those powers
were stretched by the courts. The power to tax was limited
by Article 1 Section 9, but was expanded by the 16th
Amendment. Thus, "the original constitutional limita
tions on spending and taxing have been eroded." The
federal budget and Congress are still out of control and
are crushing our economy. Therefore, "the only long
term answer to a strong economy is the adoption of a con
stitutional amendment limiting future growth of both tax
ation and spending." Congress just doesn't have the
backbone, so we must give it to them in no uncertain
terms.
Garth Dunklin, a junior political science and economics
major from Winston-Salem, is a CGC representative and
1st vice chair of the College Republicans.