Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Sept. 7, 1983, edition 1 / Page 6
Part of Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
6The Daily Tar HeelWednesday, September 7. 1983 Satlg ular linl 91st year of editorial freedom Kerry DeRochi, Editor Alison Davis, Managing Editor LISA PULLEN, University Editor Christine Manuel, state and Nationat Editor MIKE DESlSTI, Sports Editor RILL RlEDY, News Editor JEFF HlDAY, Associate Editor John Conway, aty Editor KAREN FISHER, Features Editor EF GROVE, Arts Editor CHARLES W. LEDFORD, Photography Editor Old habits die hard Treading lightly Amid world uproar over last week's downing of a Korean airliner by the Soviet Union, President Reagan's response in a nationally televised address Monday was surprisingly calm. Although his rhetoric was fierce, it was not backed by similarly tough action. The president acted in full knowledge that United States reaction could point the way to, or shut the door on, future U.S.-U.S.S.R. arms negotiations. Representatives from all sides of the political arena have called on Reagan to mandate stringent sanctions to "punish" the Soviets: They ex pected a presidential response as severe as those after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the imposition of martial law in Poland. As could be expected, conservatives' responses to the incident have been to hit the Russians where it hurts economically. Many angry American citizens clamor for a renewal of the embargo on sales of U.S. grain or cancella tion of recently authorized U.S. sales of non-military equipment. Those actions would fulfill admirably the traditional U.S. practice of announc ing unilateral economic sanctions in reaction to overseas events that generate widespread outcry. Surprising is the fact that response from liberals and moderates has been nearly as vociferous. The dovish are more hawkish. Attitudes in the White House and on Capitol Hill have been drastically altered. But despite the uproar, Reagan wisely elected to limit U.S. retaliatory steps to matters related almost entirely to the incident itself. Apparently the president is aware that an unnecessarily strong response would only set back any attempts to negotiate arms reductions with the Soviets. They deserve condemnation, but the door must be kept open for progress toward maintaining peace. The Reagan administration announced three unilateral actions against the Soviets: a suspension of negotiations on a cultural agreement, a suspension of negotiations on a consulate the United States wants to open ; in the Soviet city of Kiev and suspension of renewal of a transportation I agreement with the Soviets. Reagan also said he has "reaffirmed" an order cancelling the landing rights of the Soviet airline Aeroflot in the ! United States, which his administration had made in December 1981 in i response to repression in Poland. Despite his denunciation of Soviet con j duct in the incident as "murderous" and an "act of barbarism," Reagan ! said that "we must not give up our effort to bring them into the world community of nations." Reagan's sensitive and sensible reaction to the ; incident shows his sincere commitment to reducing the deadly weapons buildup by continuing arms-control negotiations. Unfortunately, the Reagan administration will be forced to impose harsh sanctions if the Soviets continue to deny, water down or slough off onto the United States the responsibility of a veritable massacre. The primary goal of the Reagan administration, in conjunction with other countries, is simply to press for a full accounting of what happened and assurance from the Soviets that this type of incident will not reoccur. Un til the Soviets own up, relations will continue to be strained, and the pro spect for any sensible reduction in nuclear arms will remain dim. Timely talks The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union may prove to be, history's most enduring, insoluble confrontation. And last week, when 269 innocent people lost their lives in an ill-fated South Korean airlines flight, citizens throughout the world felt that war's chill. Now they turn their attention toward Geneva, where U.S. arms negotiator Paul H. Nitze and Soviet delegate Yuli Kvitsinsky met Tues day to begin discussions about limiting medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe. With the actrocity of the airline disaster looming large behind these talks, it is imperative that Nitze seize the moment and obtain con cessions from the Soviet Union. Although rooted in vastly different political and social ideologies, the U.S. Soviet conflict has most often manifested itself in the military arena of world affairs. Each country has built its arsenal of nuclear weapons under the labels of "peace through strength" and "parity." At present, each country possesses the military strength to destroy the world; diplomatic relations have assumed an urgency unprecedented in history. As the U.S. and the Soviet Union engage in new talks, each side's arguments are the same ones which marked the Nov. 30, 1981 beginning of negotiations following the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's an nouncement of its intentions to deploy U.S. cruise and Pershing 2 missiles in Europe. Each country claims that the other has a monopoly of nuclear power in Europe, that the other is the clear aggressor, that any of its own actions are merely defensive. But the South Korean airline catastrophe has lent to this current round of talks a twist that may well prove beneficial to the United States. In his televised address to the nation Monday night, President Reagan con demned the Soviet Union for shooting down the commercial jet, calling it an action of "the U.S.S.R. against the world." Behind Reagan's often overzealous rhetoric is a shrewd political manuever. At this crucial time for disarmament, Reagan has portrayed the United States as a country which turns the other cheek, hence making the Soviet act, already deplored by many countries, seem even more barbaric. The Soviet Union is now faced with the talks of redeeming itself in the momentarily indig nant and suspicious eyes of world leaders. Should the United States and the Soviet Union fail to reach some agreement in Geneva, the NATO allies will begin in December the deployment of the first of the U.S. cruise and Pershing 2 missiles. In light of the recent Soviet aggression, such an action is understandable. But it is not the answer. Bilateral disarmament must be Nitze's goal as he negotiates with Soviet officials. These timely talks are the best bet yet to prevent December deployment. r ,,f HOUSTON.. SOME -J By S.L. PRICE She set her books down. "There isn't any way I'll live in Hinton James; I don't like it there; it's too far from campus. I'm just going to live in an apartment till they can get me somewhere else, that's all. And another thing. I'm pre judiced; I'll admit it. My roommate's black; I don't want to live with her. And my parents would kill me if they ever found out I had a black roommate " A UNC student The leaves fall and the pages turn. Back from the last-ditch grab at freedom known as Labor Day, students now put aside the toys of summer and thoughts turn to more serious matters. Time now for the mind to work: picking up bits and pieces from readings, rejecting some -lectures wholesale, retaining snatches of conversa tion. AD combine to exercise the brain, make it work overtime, thinking, picking, choosing the philosophies to believe, which to cast stones at. Time now for an education. But for many at the University of North Carolina, the education that costs so much ends at the classroom door. Home then to Mangum or Stacy, where the majority of residents are white; home then to South campus, where most of the black popula tion in UNC housing lives. Situation: A white freshman, knowing through friends or parents that the majori ty of blacks live south of Kenan Stadium, chooses three North campus dorms on his housing application. Situation: A black freshman, realizing that in Cobb or Joyner she would be isolated because of the color of her skin, scribbles Ehringhaus, James and Morrison on her housing contract. Result: A self-perpetuating atmosphere whereby blacks choose South campus for support and comfort's sake, while North campus remains a haven for whites. It all comes down to comfort. People feel better when living with those who act, talk, look alike. Note the proliferation of fraternities and sororities. So blacks volun tarily pack up and move south. Whites move north. Believe it or not, the purpose of a university is to stimulate the mind. And while that includes the classes you trudge to every morning, education also implies more than equations and short stories. It's the political discussion at lunch, the obser vations of the opposite sex in the Pit, the Young Democrats, Republicans, Socialists, Anarchists, the Carolina Gay Association and Purdy's meat market. But more important, it's that uncomfor table feeling you get when someone strongly challenges your way of thinking, your way of life. And ideally, you don't reject it outright. You learn to see the other perspective; you accept that yours is not the only way. You learn to respect the other guy . Welcome to college. Mom and Dad shouldn't know you when you get out of here. And that's as it should be. From childhood, parents shoot their offspring full of their own prejudices and opinions. It's only natural. But once away from home, kids should find that their parents don't know everything, that maybe they don't really agree with views formed dur ing the Age of Eisenhower. But now all we're talking is "shoulds." Let's talk reality. Because the enlightened white who really tries to understand the plight of a black in America is a rare com modity. The black who attempts to com prehend the shifting attitudes of whites without resentment remains nothing more than an anomaly. Sure, Morrison, Craige, Hinton James and Ehringhaus can boast large multi racial populations. As a result, any white or black student on South campus lives in a more diverse, more challenging environ ment. But call Kenan Stadium the Mason Dixon line of UNC, because on North campus diversity is a laugh. Two separate populations that ex perience only slight contact. And the stereotypes abound: No white can be trusted. All blacks are dumb. Strange music. Uncle Tom. Bleeding Heart. Natural rhythm. Oversexed. Under privileged. Stronger. Faster. Better. Formed during childhood and fostered during maturity, the stereotypes about each race are tossed back and forth and, if never challenged, grow stronger with age. When does it stop? And how? Now, before the next pack of freshmen become a part of the problem, abolish any choice for freshman housing. Randomize the process and mix the incoming blacks and whites by number all over campus. The current upperclassmen can stay where they are. And if they want, those incoming freshmen can choose where they want to ' ' live in their sophomore year; if there's a roommate problem, exceptions can be made. Stereotypes end up looking idiotic when your roommate, although his skin is black or white, confesses to having the same basic needs and fears that you do. Racism looks asinine. But again, we're only talking "shoulds." Old habits die hard. This one will be alive and kicking long after you pack your bags for good. S.L. Price is a senior English major from Stamford, Conn. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Not all groups are eligible To the editor: I read with some amusement Joel Katzenstein's column ("Strides toward religious unity," DTH, Aug. 30). Could this be the same Katzenstein who this summer wrote a blistering at tack on three religious groups generally disliked by the established religious community? Apparently not all reli gious groups are eligible for Katzen stein's concept of religious unity. In fact, the concept of religious unity is precluded by the doctrines of the reli gions involved. The Jewish god is the tribal god of the ancient Hebrews who through no coincidence made the Hebrews his (her?) chosen people. (Tough luck, gentiles.) The Christian gods' contribution to religious unity was to mandate belief in Jesus so as to be saved or otherwise to be con demned. Neither maintains policies particularly conducive to religious unity- . In view of a history of religious wars and intolerance, it seems John Lennon and his song "Imagine" has a more viable solution than religious unity: Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today. . . Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too. Allan Rosen Carrboro Thanks for a choice To the editor: Thank you for publishing the in formation provided by one of your readers concerning alternate choices of religious worship in the area. I hope that others will send in any additional information. The Triangle area has everything from the Apostolic Church to Zen Buddhism, and no one should feel that the only freedom of worship around here is among various Protes tant denominations. Even atheists have a place here. That is as it should be in a democracy. In these days of right-wing religious fanatics, I hope we all remember that fact. Boyd Bronson Chapel Hill iunrise, sunset 'when?' a tough question By JEFF HID A Y For Congress, the past summer was brisk one in which foreign policy and defense issues beat out the economy as the peskiest topics on Capitol Hill, one in which lawmakers preoccupied themselves with the MX missile and U.S. involvernent in Central America. But the congressmen, never ones to misdirect priorities, were also concerned with U.S. involvement in Mother Nature's affairs. Lawmakers keen on conserving energy, reducing crime and making available more daylight leisure time, introduced legislation that would move the start of daylight-saving time from the last Sunday in April to the first Sunday in March. The effect would be to make sunrises and sunsets an hour later during March and April. As far as issues go, this may not be as big as the nuclear freeze, but what else would prompt farmers to unite with drive-in movie operators to do battle with a charcoal manufacturer and an amateur softball association? Congressional debate over the perennial issue ended with a vote that killed the proposal to extend daylight saving time. But the idea still lives (and probably will forever). The argumentation employed, never dull but often ludicrous, is worthy of examination. Reduce temperature in summer Dissenters from such a plan are mainly those from rural areas and western edges of time zones, where March sun rises would be as late as 8 a.m. under daylight-saving time. They point to the problem of schoolchildren's having to wait for morning school buses in the dark. Also, they say the change would interfere with farm operations; many farmers cannot begin work until the sun rises. "People who bale hay or harvest small grain have to wait until the dew dries before they can start working," a representative of the American Farm Bureau Federation argues. "If they start later, they have to work later, and it cuts into the amount of time they can spend at church or civic activities in the evening." That's the line of reasoning followed by Sen. Wendell Ford, D-Ky., who has always managed to tie up the bill in committee and prevent it from reaching the floor for a vote. Similar legislation was approved on a 243-165 vote in the House in 1981 but was never considered in the Senate, thanks to Ford. The Kentucky senator's strong-arm tac tics were unnecessary this summer, however, as the House rejected the bill 199-211 in mid-July. Ford says he sees no need to tinker with time so people in white shorts can yell "Love - 30" an hour later in the day. As yet, no one has raised national security considera tions about the legislation, but at one time or another the proposal has been linked to farmers' civic participation, schoolchildren's safety, crime against women and cows' productivity. of oil a 2 percent reduction in petroleum imports. And the country can save more oil, painlessly, by saving a little more light. The Soviets manage well setting their clocks ahead two hours every April through September. The proposition is modest: Extend from six months to eight months the period of daylight-saving time. Benjamin Franklin advocated it as a way to save candles. It was-used in World War I to save coal. Why not now to save ofl? Don't forget vested interests Although national energy conservation is often cited as the main reason for the time change, the big push for the legislation comes from groups with more parochial interests. . . .the country can save more oil, painlessly, by saving a little more light. The Soviets manage well setting their clocks ahead two hours every April through September. One House member says the legislation may inspire him to introduce a bill that would reduce the temperature in the summer and raise it in the winter by 10 degrees. "It makes just about as much sense," said Rep. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. There's some sense to it There are numerous pragmatic reasons for which to support the extension of daylight-saving time. The longer daylight results in energy savings, increased tourism and other benefits. There is more time to work, to run er rands, to recreate. Proponents counter the safety argument with a Trans portation Department study showing that fatalities involv ing schoolchildren did not increase during a temporary ex tension of daylight-saving time in 1974 and 1975. Daylight-saving time was lenghthened then as an energy saving measure during the Arab oil embargo. For every day it spends on daylight time, the country can get along with the equivalent of 100,000 fewer barrels Thus, the Clorox Co., manufacturer of charcoal, backed the bill because more daylight hours after work should mean more backyard barbecues. The Amateur Softball Association favored the bin because it would allow more time on unlighted fields in March and April for sports. And the Southland Corp. supported it because market research shows crime-conscious working women are more likely to stop at 7-Eleven stores on their way home if it is light outside. "It's a boon to business," a representative of the Na tional Association of Convenience Stores said. "People tend to be out more in the light than in darkness." Also backing the bill is the National Retinitis Pigmen tosa Foundation, Inc., which represents the more than 400,000 Americans with night blindness. The issue will never be moot. Perhaps the compound virtues of saving light and oil will dawn on the 99th Con gress. Jeff Hiday, a junior journalism end history major from Charlotte, is associate editor of The Daily Tar Hed. i
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 7, 1983, edition 1
6
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75