Newspaper Page Text
Opinions
)E 1fob and lUacfe
Editorials
What Was the Plan?
About a thousand friends of ours were
thrown out of their homes Tuesday night
Wh\ (ini this h^|M?
Or does it matter Does it matter to the
girl who slept on the floor of a dormitory'’ All
tfwt matters was that it did happen
Brumh\ Hall had to be* evacuated because of
a boiler malfunction The girls left and spilled
to the streets, confused and scared All that
seemed to be planned was chaos
If there was a plan for a major dormitory
disaster why wasn't it used ’ If a plan was
used why did it fail'' If no plan had Ix-eri
thought of. why not'’
Perhaps the attitude* of it couldn't happen
here. ' as one of the engineers is reported to
have said, brought about the Hrumbv crisis
In any case, an effective plan or evacua
tion aid dispersal should be conceived
Such a plan would avoid mass confusion by
students and cops
Such a plan would have police direct stu
dents to alternate housing and would prevent
thousands from ringing the building
No one knew what was wrong before the
investigators were sent in What if the build
ing blew up then, killing most near it? Who
would have planned for that to happen**
Perhaps those* who awarded the contract to
the low bidder Perhaps the* planners who con
structed C'reswell and Russell Halls with boil
er systems similar to Brumby
Ideally the confusion should be left to Ath
ens cops, firemen, and I>ean Tate, who are
u»*d to such practices
And a plan should be introduced and prac
ticed which would rid evacuations of chaos
Then maybe*, the* girl who slept on the*
floor of a dormitory would at least sleep well
A Chance to Help
A group ot faculty members have set about
to found a MarUn Luther King Memorial
Scholarship This will be a [lermanently on
bowed scholarship available to incoming fresh
men of all races
The scholarship will bo given to the student
wbi has made significant contributions in the
struggle to defend human rights and defend
the principals and goals lor which King stood
A trust lund will be set up through the o!
lice ot John Green, vice president of Universi
ty Finance The size ot this trust lund will de
pend u|»n the contributions given
The tied and Black urges everyone to con
tribute to ttiis worthwhile project, thereby con
tinuing the efforts of a great humanitarian
Through this drive, each individual may
lake part in the drive to strengthen the rights
of all persons, and. at the same time, can aid
some deserving youngster who might other
wise not be able to attend college
The fund drive will be headed by various
campus groups, including SUA. sororities and
fraternities
£l)f Rrb anb fBlarfc
Ronnie Lipnils
Rutinemi Manager
Kir hard Moore
Editor
Hutch Sroll
Managing Kdilor
Claire Spiker Aaaoeinle Kdilor
Hrnnel George Photographic Kdilor
Wayne Kenl Aohlanl Hutineu Manager
Sluarl Netman Bookkeeper
Ted Oulit (Circulation
VOLUME LXXV M MBKRSH
Published *emi-*eekly al ihe University of Georgia, Alliens, Georgia. Kntered
at I he Post Office in Athens, Georgia as Mail Mailer of ihe Second Glass.
Subscription rales: $.1.50 firsl year, $.1 renewal. National Advertsing Repre
sentative: National Kdurational Advertising Service, Inc. 360 l.rxington Ave
nue, New York, New York 10017.
h\MI> SIMPSON
A Racist Society?
A recurrent theme in the news reports ot
I>r Martin Luther Kings assassination was
that his killer was a sick person This is un-
dcubtly true but Ihe remark that needs to be
carefully considered was the one made by Dr
King s father It made me realize' how sick
Uus society is "
Dr King s father was right The death of
his son was symptomatic of a deeply rooted
maltise wluch this country must face up to
Dr King s assassination was an act ot racist
violence But it was not an isolated incident
Bckh racism and violence are integral parts of
many of the institutions and ot die tabne of
Uus nation
Violence is a national norm from television
lo ROTt' It has come to be accepted as the'
solution to our gross errors in foreign amt
domestic policy We deplore 1 violence our
national leaders say. but that is not exactly
accurate - they only deplore the violence
which they do not control
But is Uus a racist society The question is
easily answered by black people since every
ablest of their lives is affected by the color ot
their slun For white people it is much more
difficult Not only are we not nutenallv at-
fected by racism hut it is extrordinanlv dilli
cult tor anyone to recognize such a insidious
quality in themselves
The* racism ot the KKK and the American
Nazi Party an- easily recognizable One ot the
roots ot this country's sickness is. however,
not this blatant brand ot racism — it is the
racism of the men ot good will upon whom
Dr King depended
This lorm cf racism is characterized by the
following phrases or their eqiuvalent "I'm in
favor of integration BI T or CX course
CORKKCTION
v Town and Gown theater will not be replaced
jS by recreational facilities lor children but bv the
x- new Family and Children s Serv ices County i*
;:i Building Theater productions will cunltnue S
J through the summer
... LO o« olO man, x kmoin it<s /)£/!/*<r Ttf£
HtGuiATtatBut TH'S TOunG Th/aJP
/■Y4S 8U* THK-OuEh 5VW A TKAOmAjic
PERtLNCE P\KC Xf I MO* P>£. $0 QoiO
/)S TO APPEAL —
SHARON TATK
think On It Awhile
PoliUcally speaking, the University campus
has been a chaotic scene for the past two
weeks.
Although all parUes have announetd their
candidates and are beginning to get their guns
in line and new bands in their sling shots, the
major deeision sUll must be made
This decision will lie with 16.000 individual
students on April 24 It is the decision of vot
ing for those candidates who were put up by
their respective parties
Students have been asked by all parties to
get away from party affiliations and vote for
the most qualified persons The only catch to
this is that all parties naturally think their
candidates are the most qualified
In their attempts to get votes and convince
everyone that they are the most qualified,
most politicians or statesmen if you prefer,
herd students like cattle to the polls They
urge them every step of the way to the polls,
talking without pause, about their qualifica
tions and what they will do if they are elect
ed
But students are not cattle They have
minds ami feelings of their own They are all
individuals capable ot making their own deci
sions
If they are to make these decisions on their
own they must be left alone for awhile They
must analyze all they have heard and must
weigh all opinion (or what it is worth
The keynote to the whole situation is
"think " "Think for yourself with vour own
mind and own goals before you
It may sound corny, but on the day before
or the (lav of elections, before your vote is
cast, get in your car and drive out into the
country where there are no politicians If you
don't have a car. talk a walk by yourself to
some section ot the campus where the politi
cians. won t find you.
Stop somewhere and sit down. While you
are sitting there — think Think of the future
of student government. Think of your future
as a student under that government.
Student government is only as strong as
the leaders and the leaders which you put
there will be only as strong as you as students
make them.
After you've thought about it. walk to those
polls and mark your ballot Don t mark the-
wav those standing around the polls tell you
to do Remember the thoughts you had while
you were alone Hold on to them.
Just because you can vote for 26 people in
the schools o( arts and sciences doesn't mean
that you have to If you don't know the quali
fication of 26 people on the ballot don’t vote
for 26 If you only know one of them — vote
for that one
Remember that you don't have to vote a
straight ticket All parties probably have ca
pable candidates. If you think so. split your
voles But if you do. do so because it's what
yuu think, not because it's what you read in
some paper in someone's column
That column was just someone's opinion.
RON l \\l-OR
Protestant
Reformation
The state of Georgia, the state university and the school
system of the city in which the state university is located had a
moment of silence Tuesday Dr Martin Luther King. Jr .
would shatter the bigoted conscience of many Southerners
no more The moment of silence, by the wav. had nothing
to do with Dr King s death, for there are moments ot
silence in every day
The state of Georgia, the state University and Georgia State
university and the school system College. institutions known
of the city in which the state uni- more (or their academic achieve-
versity is located expressed svm- ments than their athletic abili
pathy at the death of a Negro, ties, saw fit to dismiss classes
the governor of the state being And one can only consider tragic
the exception Southerners have the state university's action when
learned that sympathy is a useful one hears a broadcast on a Mi-
tool in keeping the status quo. chigan radio station announcing
And it doesn't hurt to throw in that Michigan Slate University
the name of Jesus and mention will not hold classes from 12
the duty of "red-blooded Ameri- p.m to 7 p m Tuesday in honor
cans " of Dr King.
Speaking of blood, that's what Leaving the decision to the
pours out of a man's body when whim of the individual instructor,
he has been shot It doesn't have regardless of political convictions
anything to do with spilling" or or personal prejudices, indirectly
shedding" It just eases out denies a student the right to ex-
The body gasps [or air. and life emse his beliefs—a right for
is no more. That's how a man which Dr King stood, and there
dies, regardless of what he stood (ore a likely answer to the ques-
for or how many people agreed tion of why the matter was so
with him settled
Many viewed the death of Dr Many secondary school sys-
King as a blow to a compassion- terns throughout Georgia, includ-
ate cause To others it meant ing the one in Clarke County,
only "one less nigger trouble- managed to avoid the issue by
maker " To the King family, it delegating an hour of prayer in
was the loss of a son. a brother, memory ot the slain Dr King
a father. To the sentimental, it For some, the hour was far too
was the death of another human much tribute to a black man
being who should have been al- For others, the hour was far too
IcMed to survive httie time to express a sincere
Dr. King was born and reared grief. The youth of our state,
in Atlanta He was a Georgian, however, had no voice as to the
anil being black did not deny him manner in which they paid res-
eitizenship in that state But
being black seemingly denied
hun the respect of that state.
The governor of that state re-
pect. or no respect, to Dr King
Educators, as would be expect
ed. believe that the solution to
racial problems is education It
iusod to attend his funeral The (is any indication of how
university of that state refused to Southern educational systems
close its doors on the day of his
funeral. Only a few of the state's
school systems saw fit to dismiss
classes on the day of his funeral
Southerners are noted outside
the boundaries of the "Bible
belt” for their hypocrisy Geor
gias hypocrisy was at its best
Tuesday. The governor offered
plan to approach matters con
cerning race, there is little hope
Harry Belafonte. Negro enter
tainer and close friend of the late
Dr King, puts it well. "Too often
education interferes with one's
learning."
I met Dr King only once, and
then, only briefly. 1 was doing a
the excuse that he had to protect storv for Th( , Atlanta j ourna i
the state capital rom possible in- ironically. Ebenezer Baptist
surrcction, yet the 150.000 mour
ners failed to provide the neces
sary elements for the foreseen
violence
The officials of the state uni-
Church was the place of our
meeting. It was last summer
when the country was besieged
by rioting, and Dr King had
came to Atlanta to make a
vorsity hedged the controversy in speech concerning certain de-
its usual manner Everything - - -
was left up to the "individual in
structor 1 am reminded of the
words of the Rev Ralph Aber
nathy during Dr King's funeral.
"It is the wise man who chooses
while the coward stands aside,”
It is even more strange that
mands he was making to Presi
dent Johnson regarding the in
creasing unemployment of
Negroes, but he was still con
demning violence.
He was a little man. physically
— not the type you would expect
to shake the foundations of
we need to do something about this situation.
HIT Thus, the most respected communi
ty leaders ol Athens and many liberal” (ac
uity members directly support the local
YMCA. the YWCt). (they changed their name
to avoid integration i the Boy's Club and local
scx-ial organizations, all of which exclude
members on the basis o( race
Indifference and inaction are also charac
teristic o[ this subtle form ot racism With all
ol the concerned faculty members and all the
enlightened administrators at this university,
no a tempt has been made to ensure that the
jobs and I hi- oil -campus housing listed with
the University are non-discnmitory no at-
tempt. that is. until a group ol students
BROUGHT IT TO THEIR ATTENTION A
FEW DAYS AGO
Recognition ot their own racism IS the first
at»i most inqxirunt step th.il white Americans
nxist lake if the sickness ol Uus nation is to
be cured I don't mean we ought to read in
the style of the guilty libera!" Yearly contri
butions to civil rights groups ami token mem
bership in a do-nothing Human Relations
Coined are not the answer
Our reaction can be a healthy one It is the
re^Misibilitv of white people to move against
white racism Young people in parucular must
reject the legacv ol bigotrv which we have in
herited (rom previous generations We must
openly and \ tgorouslv confront racism at all
lewis of soeietv
And we must stop trying to tell black peo
ple what we dunk is best for them There is
no contradiction between attacking racism and
adhering to the concept of self-determination
for black people It is our duty to change im
policies of the YMCA; it is NOT our duty to
tell black people they ought to attend it —
tlvit is their decision to make • White people
haw lor too long defined the style and direc
tor! of the black freedom movement We must
mi longer attempt to usurp the vital power of
defimuon from black people
rtus would be a tv-ginning
In the coming months the upheavals in this
nation's cities will be more massive than ever
before It may already be too late to change
the disasterous cou-' of Uus country But we
MUST trv
in icm s(.uit
The Unexpected Mixer
Before 1130 Tuesday night
an) the events following
immediately thereafter this
was roughly planned as an
ipen minded discussion on the
upcoming shootouts in Dodge
ami other eomniuniUes where
seasonally aroused sharpshoot
ers sharpen their egos by
stunting their incumbent
competition out of the prover
bial saddle In short the topic
was going to be triangles
However only two well-timed
telephone calls were needed to
change the outlook of Uus col
umn and this (Tuesday) eve
ning. if not tlus entire ediUon
of the Hed and Black
What happened at Brumby
Hall is history and although the
first 30 minutes kept the resi
dents and spectators enveloped
in a sense of impending trage
dy. a good time was had by
all Certainly it was fun while
it lasted and while it lasted it
was fun
Everyone you knew was
there and if you went alone
you soon found friends Our co
horts. those diligent members
ot the Fourth Estate were pre
sent and asking the same ques
lions as everyone else Only
lhev had note pads tape re
corders and cameras
The most abundant species
present was the gallant
knight in-shining-armor type
who relumed to the scene only
minutes alter curfew to rescue
his damsel in distress and pro
fit by the extended evening
Many even rode off into the
horizon with tus lady (air by
his side
The bridge bulls were also in
attendance and never being
ones to let major catastrophes
interfere with the game, quick
Iv cleared out a space in the
cmwd large enough to permit a
game to be played on the pave
ment
Eager opportunists were the
ones who really jumped in to
take advantage ol the situation
tilting among the ones not al
ready saved hy the ever-so-bold
knights making acquaintances
amt laying plans lor future
meetings under more pleasant
circumstances Most of their
aggressiveness will probably
fall in vain since last names
were lost in the confusion and
the lingering memories of all
the Linda's. Debbie's. Judy's
etc won't supply much for fu
ture reference
The unexpected coed social
was well-received but after ac
ton was taken to house the
Georgia Belles ' for Ihe night,
the male participants decided
to capitalize on the inviting up
per (unity for a campus-
storming pantv raid Needless
to say. the mass movement
was highly successful if not
satisfying
So much for who was there
The Classic City's finest were
accounted for. arriving by car.
motorcycle and (ire engine and
why they were there deserves
seme comment
A coinciding pair of calls
alerted 'America's pre-eminent
college newspaper and the en
ure staff ot reporters and pho
tographers was dispatched All
reported several photographed
ani a few raided
What there was to report was
a crowd that expanded to a
goud 2.500 estimate lo watch
steam shoot from the top of the
lugh-nse complex and officials
solve the problems at hand
Early examinations diag
nosed the case as a pair of ex
ploding relief valves on the
central heating system Once
the apparent fears of more
explosion, fire and injury were
extinguished, the fun began
We heard a rumbling like
an airplane going overhead but
it never passed over.” "It
sounded like a wind tunnel "
The housemother said to get
out anyway we could so I got
out" "Isn't this great” I think
it's funny " "It was like a clap
of thunder I feel stupid
standing here with my under-
the state university failed to Southern tradition.
close down during the funeral He was a serious man. I never
when one considers that Emory saw him smile
After speaking briefly to the
small gathering of newsmen, he
rushed from Ebenezer and
walked rapidly the two-bloek dis
tance to the office of the South
ern Christian leadership Confer
ence — a little hole in the wall
that looked more like a small
town welfare office than the pow
er center of a race He answered
mv final question and rushed into
a back room of the building,
going about the business that so
many men who never met him
(eared and abhorred
Dr King deserved to t>-
feared, for his cause could have
been detrimental to the good
men of the South Cnly when the
concept ol Southern good" is al
tered will Dr King receive the
Admiration he deserves
wear hanging out." "It came
(rum like underneath the build
ing " "I have to get my pock-
etbook Basically they all said
the same and watched Some
were seared and didn't think it
was so funny
What it was was fun — it
didn t start out that way but
fast action by University and
city officials and blessings that
it was nothing more than
steam and noise all made for a
happy ending
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Words of Reprimand
To the Editor:
Words ol reprimand should
fall upon the student govern
ment tor its failure to have a
representative attend the Ath-
ere Mayor and Council meeting
on Tuesday night April 2
Not only have the 15 000 uni
versus students had to suffer
the inconveniences and inflated
prices characteristic of Athens,
but we also have had to endure
weeks of complaining in the
Red and Black about the lack
of student voice in city affairs
Finally the Mayor and Coun
cil made a noteworthy conces
sion The student body would
be allowed a non-voting repre
sentative on the Council
But according to the Athens
Banner-Herald. when the
time came at the meeting
Tuesday for the Mayor and
Council to welcome and pay re
spects to the student representa
tive. he was nowhere to be
found "
Whatever the excuse that will
be put forth by those who were
responsible for making sure that
a delegate attended none will
be adequate The plain fact is
hat a representative of the stu
dent body should have been
there
With intelligent foresight and
a bit of diplomacy the non
voting position could have de
veloped info a place of influ
ence Perhaps a display of ma
turity in a small task would
have been rewarded iater with
a voting position or an
agreement by the Council to a
system which would allow stu
dent opinion to be expressed
with some authority
The failure of the student
gov ernment has resulted in a set
back. however minor The
Council members were allowed
to confirm an opinion which la
bels university students as
hardly more than juveniles
Some joked they would have
to reprimand the delegate lor
cutting meetings like he cuts
classes One Councilman even
suggested requiring a written
note of excuse for missing the
meeting
If the student government
does not plan to take the non-
voong position on the Council
seriously, then it should abdi
cate the responsibility and give
seme other campus group the
privilege of developing die op
portunity into a position of
command
F Lee Whitley. Jr
Graduate Student