Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Oct. 24, 1988, edition 1 / Page 12
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12The Daily Tar HeelMonday, October 24, 1988 96th year of editorial freedom Karen Bell, News Editor MATT BlVENS, Associate Editor KlMBERLY EDENS, University Editor JON K. RUST, Managing Editor Will Lingo, aty Editor Kelly Rhodes, Arts Editor CATHY McHUGH, Omnibus Editor DAVID MINTON, Drop charges against McKinley No one was quite sure how to react Avhen well-known campus activist Dale McKinley walked out of a hearing Thursday night in protest of a student court's decision not to allow him to discuss CIA activities in his defense. The Graduate Student Court decided to recess without making a decision, and today the Committee on Student Conduct will be asked to clarify whether a student can be tried in absentia. The Instrument of Student Judicial Governance doesn't specifi cally address the issue. The confusion surrounding McKin ley's walkout is characteristic of the student court system's recent venture into the business of censuring protesters. McKinley's proposed defense an explanation of the allegedly illegal activities of the CIA would have demonstrated his motives for interfer ing with the CIA's attempts to inter view on campus. There is a legal precedent in North Carolina for using such a defense, although the student court is not bound to follow it. However, if a real court of law found time to hear educational testimony, it seems reasonable for a student court to do the same. But whether McKinley was right to walk out on the hearing is a moot point; he should never have been called before the court in the first place. When the Board of Trustees passed a resolution on Feb. 26 condemning one of McKinley's anti-CIA protests Beware of celebrity politics Politicians have always sought public endorsements from popular personalities, and this election year is no different. Because America so loves its athletics, it can be expected that political support from sports figures is also in high demand. UNC basketball coach Dean Smith spoke Friday at a fund-raiser for U.S. Rep. David Price, a Democrat whose re-election bid is being challenged by Republican Tom Fetzer. Smith is not the first popular coach to give public support to a politician. In 1984, Lou Holtz, then head football coach at the University of Arkansas, was severely criticized for appearing in political commercials for N.C. Sen. Jesse Helms. And Penn State football coach Joe Paterno stirred controversy with his endorsement of Vice President George Bush at the Republican National Convention. Smith has defended his appearance at the Price fund-raiser, held at the Chapel Hill Country Club, by citing his close friendship with Price and his right as an individual to support a candidate. In this instance, Smith's position is justified. But this kind of involvement should not occur carelessly. I was a blithe and innocent freshman when I applied to be a copy editor at The Daily Tar Heel. Unblemished by previous journalistic experience, I took a copy editing test. After correcting a story full of errors, I turned the page and found the following: The first few paragraphs of three stories had been clipped out and Xeroxed onto a sheet of paper. I was asked to "describe these stories in seven words or less, using only one word of more than three syllables." Puzzled, I stared at that for a few minutes. Then I wrote: These three stories are chopped in half." Such was my introduction to headline writing at The Daily Tar Heel. As news editors, Karen Bell and I are responsible for writing all of the headlines in the paper except for sports stories and back page material. We also proofread each story, write photo captions and generally make sure we fix any mistakes that may have been overlooked. After a year of writing "heds," IVe come to a few basic conclusions. Headline writing is a science. The design editor writes down specifically how each headline should be written: how many columns wide, how many lines or "decks," and the size of the type. Armed with that information and a copy of the story, I sit in front of a Macintosh computer and go to work. Being able to guess what will fit in a certain space takes Jean Lutes, Editor KAARIN TlSUE, News Editor LAURA PEARLMAN, Associate Editor KRISTEN GARDNER, University Editor SHARON KEBSCHULL, State and National Editor MIKE BERARDINO, Sports Editor LEIGH ANN McDONALD, Features Editor KIM DONEHOWER, Design Editor Photography Editor the same protest which led to the student court charges he now faces the board denied McKinley his appel late rights. Although the Instrument states that the chancellor holds final responsibil ity for all disciplinary actions, some student court decisions have been appealed over the chancellor to the Board of Trustees. Thus, McKinley's case could be heard by the trustees, if he were to be found guilty by the Graduate Student Court and the decision was upheld on appeal to both an appeal committee and the chancellor. But the trustees have already formally con demned McKinley's actions; they cannot be considered a legitimate part of the appeal process. Although many may find it difficult to see past McKinley's reputation as a trendy protester who loves (and gets) publicity, the issue has grown larger than him or his protests. The student court's charging of the protesters is at best questionable and in this case unfair. In the trustees' haste to condemn McKinley, they thwarted the University's established discipli nary process with an unsolicited and inappropriate statement. Since the student court's role was usurped eight months ago, the court would be wise to acknowledge the unfairness of the proceedings, admit that McKinley's appellate rights have been violated and drop the charges against him. Jean Lutes To many, the coach of a nationally prominent program represents not only the team, but the school itself. Any rational voter, of course, realizes that UNC as an institution does not support David Price or any other candidate. But the subconscious link is there. A popular figure such as Dean Smith should exercise caution when involving himself publicly in political campaigns. Tens of thousands of fans have vested their trust and support in Coach Smith that trust could easily be transferred to his choice of a particular candidate for office. However, all individuals have the constitutional right to voice their opinions. Smith may support anyone he wishes, especially a close friend such as Price. No one can or should restrain him from expressing his beliefs. Furthermore, the voters must take care to consider such endorsements for what they are worth. Coaches and entertainers, for that matter cer tainly are not foremost political authorities; they are not necessarily better-informed than the average citizen. Their opinions should be only a small factor in a voter's decision. Louis Bissette the last word a certain intuition it's like the Zen of headline writing. Headline writing is an art. Newspaper readers often scan the headlines to deter mine which stories they want to read. Therefore, a good headline should be clear, accurate, fair and interesting. And it must often be all of that in seven words or less. A news editor is a walking thesaurus. Karen and I have nightmares about the presidential campaign continuing forever, with a new headline every day. "Dukakis, Bush trade jabs." "Candidates battle over issues." "Bush criticizes Dukakis record." "Dukakis slams GOP policy." It's enough to make anyone wake up in a cold sweat. Headline writing is treacherous. This is otherwise known as the "Squad helps dog bite victim" syndrome. The news desk has kept a close eye on sports headlines ever since this little gem appeared: "Soviets invade Dean Dome, beat women." IVe come pretty close to seeing some embarrassing headlines in print. One I pulled off the page at the last minute: "UNC system offers broad education in nursing, officials say." So, who's the lucky broad? But I enjoy my job. I have the satisfaction of knowing that even the most superficial DTH scanner reads the headlines. One regret: Police Roundup runs only with a logo. Last week, an N.C. State student drove his car into the Pit. I can picture the headline now: "Drunken Wolfpack fan makes Pit stop." Kaarin Tisue. Bad things come to those who will wait 'distinctly recall stepping outside last Friday morning at about 10:20 on the way to my 10 a.m. Spanish class and seeing "RAIN" wntten across tne sKy. i realized that I did not have an umbrella. Well, I concluded, it's not raining at this point; who needs an umbrella? But later, when I walked out of class, my cat-like senses immediately told me that I was in the middle of a monsoon. This realization caused my next leap in higher logic: I needed an umbrella. We are spurred to action by crises. Foreknowledge of an event does not usually alter our behavior in any mean ingful way. Even when only a small change is needed to postpone, lessen or avert an undesirable situation, we do not take advantage of the time we are given. Crises as catalysts for change are often found on the national level. For instance, blacks remained second-class citizens even after the Civil War. It took the protests, rallies and bloodshed of the 1950s and 1960s before the nation recognized its responsibility to black citizens. Today, we find many instances where a lack of vision and courage exists along with predictions of certain hazards. The United States is overly dependent on oil. We recognized this fact in 1973, following the OPEC oil embargo, which prompted research into alternative fuel sources. But oil prices have since dropped, and the OPEC nations no longer form the pow erful, cohesive cartel of the 70s. Our research into alternative fuels has corres pondingly become less important. Yet we are still very much dependent on this limited natural resource. What would happen if there were another embargo? This remarkable trend of "blowing off" national dangers continues. There is strong Big brother watches campus To the editor: By golly, it's a good thing we have Campus Watch in the neighborhood. Someone has to come out against all these left wing threats to our American way of life. Examples abound everywhere: lily-livered people who harp on and on about compassion for those who are different less fortunate, those who refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance and those who won't join the right wing to support the status quo. And above all, those card-carrying ACLU types who don't realize it's their duty to ' subordinate their individual rights for the glory of this great country. Campus Watch's implicit mes sage is that points of view outside the mainstream are not to be tolerated. (After all, the Great Communicator has decreed this to be the Age of Zero-Tolerance). The main stream as defined by them is right-wing, God-fearing and ultra-conservative. Golly kids, don't you think Campus Watch deserves unquestioned support in its effort to protect us from the threat of radical political organizations like the CGLA? The operative logic goes something like this: Different is radical and radical is always bad. Thinking critically and espousing different points of view is tantamount to commu nism, and communists, as we all know, are those who would mock Christ on the cross. And hey, as Everett Langford points out ("Red tide on the rise," Oct. 12), dont be fooled by those posing as "land reformers, humanitarians, lay religious workers or Third World med ical personnel." Those are just labels out to fool unwitting dupes! Perhaps Campus Watch o i, .... - - Tuition, trees, tutoring and "It will raise our competitiveness with other universities of our ranking, but whether it will bring us back to where we were four or five years ago, I don't know. " Harry Gooder, chairman of the UNC CH faculty, on the effects of a tuition increase proposed by UNC-system Pres ident CD. Spangler and approved by the UNC Board of Governors. ODD " is clear to me that trees are a big part of our lives in this town. " Joe Herzenberg, Chapel Hill town council member and chairman of the tree protec tion task force, on the role trees play in Chapel Hill. ODD "IVe are interested in the exchange of ideas. We like to think of the coffeehouse as the living room of Franklin Street. " Joe Sparling, chairman of the non-profit organization that organized Columbia Street Bakery last November, on his perception of the bakery's mission in Chapel Hill. "Noise is not a problem that will go away, but it can be controlled." Trey Loughran, student liason to the Chapel Stuart Hathaway I Spy scientific evidence indicating the earth's ozone layer is deteriorating. Yet our leaders leaders have done little to address the situation and will likely continue to do little until the sun's rays start burning their well-fed faces while they're on the links. When crises occur and necessary steps are finally taken, fingers are inevitably pointed at national leaders. Many contend our lawmakers are too heavily motivated by special interests to act in the national interest. Additionally, many representa tives have an eye toward re-election, and may be hesitant about supporting any costly or unpopular bill without any obvious reasons a crisis to warrant it. Yet no one person or body can be held accountable for failing to keep the long term in mind. After all, we are a republic and the leaders we elect are necessarily a reflection of the populace. And if our elected leaders can only take necessary measures when a problem becomes a crisis, then that says something about us as the electors. A similar attitude can be found in our own personal lives and behavior. We know for weeks when our papers are due, yet the student tradition of procrastination keeps us awake into the wee hours popping No-doze like Chiclets and keeping our roommates awake with typing. Sometimes bad grades are the crisis that prompts us to better study habits. Understanding our motivations or lacK tnereoi may enable us to shape Readers9 Foram JL. nflJ LA I n A l f Ub .. HkL I L AND DUM6K headquarters could be hooked up to a system of call boxes so that if a student faculty staff member is confronted with a morally repugnant act or point of view Campus Watch could be informed of the offense? And shouldn't Cam pus Watch be urged to form a paramilitary wing called "Campus Commandos" to enforce their view of "tradi tional morality?" And wouldn't it be just swell to have a red baiting session in the Pit, say, Mondays at noon? Urinalysis to test your patriotism and religious faith? STEVEN JOHNSON Department of City & Regional Planning Check facts on heroes To the editor: Regarding Stuart Hatha way's column ("Searching for the once and future hero," Oct. 17), I disagree with most of his points and I think he could not have put much thought into what he wrote. Hathaway says people like Rev. Martin Luther King and President John Kennnedy can't be found anymore. But there are heroes today. Mother Teresa qualifies, I think. And if King were alive today in Poland, he would be working with Lech Walesa. The Rev. Jesse Jackson is a hero to the millions of disadvantaged peo ple he addressed in his conven tion speech. All over the world individuals struggle in various political contexts for their people, Benezier, Bhutto, Bishop Tutu and others. Even President Ronald Reagan is a hero" to many Americans. In sports, Hathaway is wet eyed about how sports stars were better when he was little. Athletes do get caught doing drugs, but does the author really mean to say that Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan are not the caliber of players that Wilt Chamberlain was? To say that the athletes of 10 or 15 years Week in Quotes Hill town council, on the recurring issue of noise levels within city limits. DDD " think we're wrongly convicted here. We made every effort to make sure it was a peaceful, non-obstructive demonstra tion. " Graham Entwistle, one of the five students found guilty by the Undergrad uate Honor Court of obstructing Univer sity business in last April's protest in Hanes Hall against the CIA. DDD "It's something we all remember and don 't want to happen again. " Carolina Athletic Association President Carol Geer on the August 31, 1986, Franklin Street riot and it's implications for this year's Homecoming extravaganza. DDD "We have to condition people that just because you need tutoring, you're not a stupid person." Senior George Hicks on the necessity of academic help for minority students. ODD them. Our culture is increasingly ruled by the distraction. At our fingertips we command VCRs, cable and pay TV, compact discs and telephones. Cars provide access to a world of other distractions. If something is not pleasing, if it's threatening, we turn it off, change the channel or drive away. This need for gratification leads to the shrinking of our attention span. Nathaniel Hawthorne would never have made it in today's world of Tom Clanceys and McGyvers. The fast lane has become as crowded as the Jersey Turnpike, yet has retained its speed. When problems present themselves, they are given cursory atten tion and then go away into no-media-coverage land until a crisis arises. For instance, in 1985 the BBC brought to international attention the starvation of millions in Ethiopia. It triggered a blitz of media coverage, brought Live Aid into existence and united the globe in an effort to save millions across Africa. The plight of Ethiopians has been unheard of for almost two years. The hungry and the sick and the dying in Bangladesh today get a few minutes on the evening news; the 34 million Americans living in poverty get even less. Apparently malnutrition, disease and starvation are "old" news. Next crisis, after this commercial break. We have far to go, but I think we can snap out of it. I believe that we each can recognize our future as something more than the immediate; a future where students do their work, professors are adequately paid and football coaches aren't bought out. But we must be thinking and acting for posterity, before we drown unshielded and unprepared in the rains. Stuart Hathaway is a junior political science and history major from Charlotte. chamber OF HcKBsRS f . race Re-ALrry THA UWWt V.,K MAV HAM 111,,. ' I ago were better than those of now is untrue. And for purely heroic athletes, who in the 70s was more heroic than 1984 Olympic wrestler Jeff Blatnick, who won a gold medal while fighting cancer? Lastly, the music of the 70s is an inadequate example of the lack of heroes in our genera tion. The character of a gener ation of children is not deter mined by the fact that the music they listen to says nothing but "Let's party." When Mrs. Seymour assigned an essay on heroes, her purpose was not only to prac tice writing, but also to provoke thought. In closing, I note that the many Mrs. Seymour's I had in class always admonished me to check my work before I turned it in, and to write only after I was sure of my facts. If the columnist had done this, he would have realized the dead Belushi brother is John, not Jim. MARK PIERCE Junior English cold turkey "I'm not having fun now. I don't like being 0-6. I don't enjoy the jokes. I don't like all the pressure being put on my family. Unless you've been through it, you can't imagine what it does to your family. " UNC football coach Mack Brown on the unpleasant position of being the coach of an 0-6 team. ODD "I've given up smoking . . . since Oct. 15th, 54 hours. " UNC men's basketball coach, Dean Smith, on the end of his love affair with the cigarette. ODD " will not be part of a trial that will cut off information that is inextricably linked to the educational purpose of this Univeristy." Dale McKinley, UNC activist, on his decision to walk out of his Graduate Honor Court trial. DDD "They really keep us in line as far as mingling with the recruits other than on a professional level. " Wendy Hanes, sophomore Sweet Caroline, on the nature of the Sweet Carolines' role in UNC football recruiting procedure. Compiled by associate editor Laura Pearlman, 8P
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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