8The Daily Tar HeelThursday, October 18. 1984
A case against decadent showering
Jeff Hiday. Editor
Joel Broadway. Managing Editor
Michael Toole, Associate ejuot
MARK STINNEFORD, Associate Editor
KELLY SIMMONS, University Editor
WAYNE THOMPSON, State and National Editor
Melanie Wells, cuy Editor
VANCE TREFETHEN, Business Editor
STUART TONKINSON, News Editor
FRANK KENNEDY, Sports Editor
Jeff Grove, Am Editor
CINDY DUNLEVY, Features Editor
JEFF NEUVILLE, Photography Editor
latig
92nd year of editorial freedom
Where there's hope
Everybody likes the idea of peace
talks. Sure, there's quibbling about how
they often are insubstantial or politically
motivated or incomprehensive or wha
tever. But when they take place, it's a
bold soul who comes out against the
whole idea of sitting down and discuss
ing the problems and possible solutions.
We are encouraged by the absence of
such souls in El Salvador, where earlier
this week President Duarte met for the
first time with leftist guerrillas. Although
the negotiations didn't result in an
agreement on a cease-fire, the talks show
a commitment to peace and hope for
the end of a civil war that has claimed
50,000 lives in five years.
Leaders of the Salvadoran govern
ment and rebel officials are still divided
on major issues so there will be no
quick end to the fighting but they
agreed to form a joint commission that
will meet next month to study ways to
"humanize" the conflict.
While "humanizing" a conflict doesn't
have quite the optimistic ring of "ending"
a conflict, it's a good start, considering
the size of the problems to be overcome,
and reason to praise Duarte's initiative
in calling for the talks.
As the talks showed, one major
obstacle to be hurdled is the issue of
rebel participation in elections. The
rebels want to be able to vote, of course,
but they want more. For them, elections
and t he division of government positions
alone are not democracy. They want a
guaranteed share of power in a new
parliament that would include "all social
and political forces."
Though Duarte believes the rebels
should take their chances in next year's
local elections, there is room for a
bargain, and the talks Monday have
greatly enhanced the chances for
compromise.
Probably the most important conse
quence of the talks is the sheer optimism
and expectations they have aroused.
After the talks, Duarte told a cheering
crowd he wasn't offering any miracles,
"but Salvadoran people together can
gain the miracle of their liberation and
peace for all the Salvadoran people."
It's good to see that the once sinking
feeling among the Salvadorans that
neither side was powerful enough to
resolve the conflict militarily is rising
to a more hopeful, if not cheery, level.
In El Salvador, at least, they're giving
peace a chance.
Not just another Jessetorial
There we go again, you're saying.
Well, while we share your sympathies,
someone has to write these things, you
know. But this one is special.
Today is Jesse's birthday.
Perhaps you weren't fortunate enough
to receive the six-page mailing from
Jesse's wife, Dorothy (or, as we affec
tionately call her, Dot). But well share
with you some of her plans for Jesse
this evening:
". . . Our three grandchildren, Jane,
Nancy and Charles, along with our five
grandchildren, will be coming to our
home for a small, private celebration.
(Our fifth grandchild, Katie, arrived on
June 21.)
"Jesse will have a wonderful time. He
always enjoys being with our children
and grandchildren. Like you, our family
means a lot to us.
"For a little while he can forget about
the pressure of being a U.S. senator. He
can relax, away from the pressures of
Washington life."
Dot goes on to say that "Jesse's
opponent has a political machine
backing him worth millions of dollars.
Its goal is simple. To destroy Jesse on
Election Day." She closes her appeal
urging all her readers to sign and return
postage-paid birthday cards for Jesse,
adding that "Your check for as much
as $1,000, $500, $250 or $100 would be
a Godsend, and would assure a very
happy birthday for Jesse."
Good ol' Dot. But let's go one further
for our senior senator.
Let's make Oct. 18 a statewide
holiday.
Schoolchildren could pause a moment
for silent prayer. Twenty-one gun salutes
could sound for our defense-minded
statesman. And oh, yes, the government
could close its doors another day.
Funding? Not to worry it wouldn't
cost North Carolinians a dime. Surely
the Congressional Club could scare up
some dollars on short notice. And what
a celebration. Nelson Bunker Hunt
could throw a barbecue on the state
fairgrounds. Joseph Coors would be
more than generous with beverages, to
boot. And the Rev. Jerry Falwell could
deliver an inspiring birthday message for
us all. It would be a spectacle of
Republican grandeur big enough,
certainly, to rival the University's
(ahem!) 400th anniversary.
Dot, we're sure, would wholeheart
edly embrace the idea. As she noted in
closing, "Jesse has nowhere to turn but
to dedicated Americans like yourself."
Let's get the ball rolling. Let's do it
for little Katie.
The Eotiorn Line
Maybe the thieves were "Oz" freaks or
just two guys who couldn't come up with
the air fare to Kansas.
A couple of thieves made off Tuesday with
the slippers used by Judy Garland in the
1939 movie classic "The Wizard of Oz." The
owner of the San Francisco novelty store
where the shoes were kept suggested sinister
forces were behind the robbery.
"They must have been on the wicked
witch's side," said Ted Smith, owner of
Humpty Dumpty and Sons. Smith told
police that two men forced him to take the
red sequined shoes from a locked cabinet
and put them in a cardboard box. Smith
bought the shoes ten years ago from a person
who worked in the wardrobe department
of MGM Studios. He declined to say how
much he paid for them, but he estimated
their current value at $20,000.
We're placing no stock in reports the
slippers were stolen by the Tar Heel football
team in a desperate attempt to regain the
magic of its victory over the University of
Kansas. We doubt many of the players could
fit into the size 6 pumps. Still, after road
defeats against Clemson and Wake Forest
over the past two weeks, the team could
not be faulted for thinking "there's no place
like home."
Awareness is no fault
There's self-awareness, gay awareness,
crime awareness, political awareness and
good old-fashioned awareness awareness,
but who ever heard of earthquake aware
ness? Californians, you say? Nope. Too busy
with the self-awareness bit. It's the people
of Paragould, Arkansas and they're having
a festival to make sure all the folks around
town are "earthquake aware."
Why are the people of Paragould para
noid about earthquakes of all things? They
didn't film the movie "Earthquake" in L.A.
for nothing, you know. Earthquake Fests
and Us Fests belong in California, that's all
there is to it. Right?
Wrong.
Any town that's had an earthquake, and
Paragould has had a whopper, can have an
Earthquake Fest. Believe it or not, the USA's
worst quake ever was centered right near
Paragould on the New Madrid fault. It
happened in 1812 and the shock waves were
felt as far away as Washington, D.C.
Promoters of the Fest say the Shake,
Rattle and Roll dance will be the highlight,
but there's gonna be concerts, a parade, a
carnival and a catfish dinner as well. They
say they are going to sell "earthquake hard
hats" and "quake shakes" to attract some
visitors. Boy, thatll do it for sure. Nothing
brings 'em in like the chance to wear a hard
hat and contemplate death and destruction.
In case the people get too giddy after the
catfish and the dance and everything, thereH
be some scientists to tell them that another
major earthquake in the area is likely before
the end of the century.
Not to crack on quakes or anything, but
that shocking news should shake 'em up.
And that's the bottom line.
By JOHN SYKES
Recently, I heard that the third
floor showers of Lewis dormitory
are going to be repaired. As a
concerned resident, I implore you
on behalf of the other 104 residents
Please don't! During the past
week, we have undergone a change
for, I think, the better. This com
mon crisis has touched our lives in
a way I can hardly describe. We no
longer rely sinfully on the showers
on the third floor. Instead, we have
been compelled to share the remain
ing six showers on the second floor
among us. To change this situation,
you condemn us to a university life
full of unnecessary luxuries.
When the water was first turned
off to the third floor showers, I too
joined in the chorus of protest and
disgust. But now I realize what great
benefits we Lewis residents have
gained. Now I know what kind of
shampoo we use and my knowledge
concerning the variety of towels has
doubled.
While waiting in those long early
morning lines, the barriers of
communication have suddenly been
lifted. We have been given an
automatic topic of conversation.
Together on this common ground,
we experience a feeling of kinship
that never before existed. Those
meaningless faces that we only
grunted a salutation to in the
morning now become individuals as
we ask the eternal question: "Where
has all our water gone?"
This unifying crisis has taught us
patience, understanding, and con
cern for our neighbor. We no longer
monopolize the showers in long hot
forays into the world of cleanliness.
We have been forced to think of
those who are waiting in the cold
hall and cut down the length of our
own showers. Our daily habits have
also changed. We no longer wake
up ten minutes before our first class,
grab a shower, and dash off. We
are forced to rise early and join the
ranks of the desperate in hopes of
a shower. Once we have attained
our desire, we are left with extra
time to prepare for our classes of
the day. Why even Benjamin Frank
lin observed the benefits of such a
system: "Early to bed, early to rise,
makes a man healthy, wealthy and
wise."
There are some that argue against
the continued closing of the show
ers. These soft individuals fail to
realize the great importance of our
crisis experience. We have learned
not only to share, but we have also
learned the true meaning of sacri
fice. When we pass the Prell now,
we pass it not to someone who we
know just by their face, but we pass
it to someone who shares in the
situation and understands. Our
dormitory has become a forerunner
in the conservation effort. We can
now think with pride, during the
brief period we possess a shower,
what concerned citizens we are.
By not fixing the showers, we save
the University time and money that
could be used in other ways such
as painting the Old Well and feeding
the squirrel population on campus.
Our small loss is a small sacrifice
to the University that we attend.
Someday we may even find fame
in our situation. Our dorm may one
day have a resident entered in the
annals of the Guinness Book of
World Records for the quickest
shower ever. What a small price to
pay for such a great honor. How
can we ever thank you at the
Maintenance Department?
I hope that your office will
reconsider its decision. We residents
have learned a valuable lesson of
sacrifice. University life is not filled
with ease, and we should not be
given the luxury of showers on the
same floor on which we live. We
have learned to overcome our
dependence on this luxury by your
wise decision to cut off the water
to our showers. The endurance and
strength of the pioneer spirit is
renewed.
John Sykes is a freshman English
major from Rocky Mount.
LETTERS : TO T
HE EDITOR
A sculpture doesn 't make a good meal, but .
To the editor:
You can't nibble on a painting.
And you can't hug a sculpture on
a cold January night. Music doesn't
seem to help me keep my house
clean. And going to a play has yet
to make me rich and famous. So
Doonesbury
what good as art? (You answer that
for yourself.) Whatever you believe,
you must admit that an awful lot
of people have spent an awful lot
of time and effort expressing them
selves in writing, painting, putting
pink skirts around islands, etc.
Some people have starved and
suffered and torn their hair out and
chopped their ears off. How about
us? No need to go to such extremes,
but ...
As a liberal arts university, we
need to recognize and promote the
arts. I would much rather see a large
piece of sculpture focusing attention
on the spirit of the University than
a lot of plaques noting the physical
structure (graceful though they be)
of individual buildings. Let's not
label, let's create.
James Rolett
Chapel Hill
Block with no corners
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To the editor:
We were so thrilled when our
group got block seats for a football
game. Imagine our surprise, how
ever, when we discovered what we
really had were "row seats." My idea
of sitting in a block is not having
the group stretched from one end
of a section to another, with an aisle
splitting us in half. We thoroughly
enjoyed waving to each other,
because any type of conversation
was impossible. My question is this:
Why do we have row seats instead
of block seats this year?
Also, in one instance this year,
the ticket office gave some students
seven tickets instead of the five they
requested; in another instance they
have a gave a block representative
10 tickets intead of the 19 she
requested; and, in yet a third case,
a block representative with 27
athletic passes was given 30 tickets.
I feel more caution should be
exercised during ticket distribution.
Candace C. Walker
Morrison
Letters policy
Letters to the editor and
editorial columns should be
typed on a 60-character line
and should be triple-spaced.
Because of the overwhelming
response on some issues, we
are unable to print all the
letters we receive. So, to save
yourself some trouble, please
contact the editorial page staff
in advance if you expect your
letter to be more than 212
typed pages long.
Deadline for letters and
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working day before publica
tion, and contributions should
be placed in the green box
outside the offices of The
Daily Tar Heel in the Student
Union.
Because of space limita
tions, we cannot run organ
izational announcements as
letters to the editor. The daily
Campus Calendar, compiled
by the Carolina Student Fund
on the third floor of South
Building, is the appropriate
forum for announcements
from student groups.
Was Virginia Dare the first UNC student?
To the editor:
In reference to the article "A
Carolina Tradition, University Day
to celebrate UNC's 400th anniver
sary" (DTH. Oct. II), you goofed
in the headline, of all places, and
A contradiction
To the editor:
Your sports coverage is inconsist
ent. On Monday of last week, the
DTH ran a column chastising
students for ignoring women's
teams, including national cham
pions, while treating the football
and basketball teams with adulation
("A sad song for UNC's women
athletes." Oct. 8). The next day's
DTH included a feature on crew
men's crew ("Crew paddles on; not
just a Northern sport." Oct. 9). The
men's crew deserves to be covered.
So does the women's crew. As you
stated in your article, the men expect
a successful year. This year ought
to be our strongest in recent years,
too. The men hope to win a race
this year: we hope to repeat our wins
of the last two years. In light of your
column Monday, why did you
ignore half the rowers at UNC?
Nancy West
UNC Women's Crew
then did it again within the article,
we assume for consistency's sake.
400th anniversary!? Next youll be
telling us that Michael Jordan broke
his contract with the Chicago Bulls
to finish his senior year at Carolina.
Or, youll be telling us that they're
revamping Wilson Library into a
female dormitory.
Scott Hanson
James Nobles
Chapel Hill
P.S. In the article directly below it,
you said that Jim Hunt would be
here to celebrate the 1 9 1st birthday
of the University. Where do you
stand, DTH? You can't have it both
ways.
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