Newspaper Page Text
The Red and Black
Tuesday, November 18, 1969
QTtje fteb anb Black
Sandro Scaramucci Michael Howell
Business Manager Editor
Pat Rogers
Managing Editor
Silents speak
Last week's Vietnam Morato
rium observance in Washington.
D C was as, unique as was the
lirst. in that the ranks of the
protestors included manv Kichard
Nixon had included in the "Great
Silent Majority" of Americans who
he tecls have given him the man
date for continued American in-
volvment in and phased withdrawal
from Vietnam
The "March Against Death" in
cluded a large number of men and
women from the often maligned
white, middle class America which
has been catagorized as apathet
ic. bigoted and full of hatred for
any force which threatens its se
cure world. The thousands filing
past the White House each shouting
the name of one American who has
died in Vietnam were not all the
long hair peace seekers of current
disrepute. Manv were the type who
frequent Ame ri ca n Legion and
Veteran of Foreign Wars Posts,
who still remove their hat and put
their hand over their heart when
the flag passes
We see this involvement by these
people as a new page in the grow
ing rage against the war. This fury
cannot be appeased when American
Revision
The Student Government Asso
ciation. working through a commit
tee which includes Bob Hurley, Jan
Blanchard. Paul Bolster, Tommy
Harper and Steve Stewart, is un
dertaking the task of revising and
streamlining the somewhat out of
date student body constitution.
We support and endorse this
move as we feel that the current
style of student government de
creases a need for a relevant and
effective set of regulations and pol
icies to guide the continuing devel
opment of the system.
The current constitution con
tains many clauses and contingen
cies which have little application to
the role the SGA has elected to play
in the life of the University. To
day's edition of the student govern
ment has been more involved with
working for a more contemporary
relationship between the student
and his University than with super
vision of the election of varsity
Saturday's
While it has been the policy on
Uus editorial page that student ac
tivity at such things at football
games and concerts are the busi
ness of the individual and should
not be subject to editorial carping,
we feel that the performance of the
fans at Saturday's game with Au
burn is notable' in its comment on
student loyalty
During the last five years, much
has been yelled about "hairy dogs
blood is being shed in support of a
government in Saigon which, while
mouthing the sacred sayings of
freedom, acts to suppress any rival
political group who disagrees with
policies in any minuscule way
We do not now and have not in
the past subscribed to the unrealis
tic and strategically foolish cries
for a complete unilateral with
drawal Such a move would only
endar,;er those Aericans caught in
the last lines of those moving out
Rather we call for a complete and
concentrated effort for Vietnami-
zation of the war American supplies
should continue to flow into the
fight There can be little argument
with logistical support of the fight
against the Viet Cong However,
the government does not have the
right to ask the first generation of
what could be called the Golden
Age of America, to fight in a war
with such ill-defined objectives as
the current situation in Vietnam
The silent majority may be find
ing its tongue We hope President
Nixon will have the courage to find
his ears. Neither has to accept the
plans and ideas of the other Both
might be surprised at what can be
learned from the opposite side
welcome
cheerleadeis, a power which it still
holds constitutionally.
A new constitution could estab
lish by document rather than by
amendment the functioning stu
dent judiciary, the control of the
students over the appropriation of
Student Activities monies and the
power of the SGA in rules revision
The continued growth of student
government will be facilitated by
the formulation and institution of a
constitution which better defines
and sets forth the current mission
and scope of student goveri tent
The Red and Black ho, es that
the individual student who has of
ten been the shadowy phantom
when the time has come for partici
pation in student government will
make the effort to let his repre
sentatives within the SGA know
what he feels will be worthy addi
tions or deletions to the role of stu
dent government Formulation of a
student body constitution deserves
student body participation
problem
going . " and up until these last few
weeks they went During this time
student support swelled and was
firm Now. things aren't going as
well as they have been between the
hedges
It is notable that Saturday's
problem was not on the field Sat
urday's problem was in the fans or
lack of them in the stands Consist
ency, thou art a jewel
Steve Stewart, Columnist
Dixie - musical implication of a social
attitude
When the Lettermen opened their
concert a couOle of weeks ago to re
quests from the audience, the inevita
ble yells of " Dixie'!'' came immedi
ately.
The singers obliged, chanting to a
slow rhythm as the crowd rose to its
feet, cheering and clapping
A perfunctory glance showed no stu
dents sitting on their hands to show
offense, as some participants in
Dialogue '69 had suggested
At Dialogue, black-white relations
had been defined as the primary cam
pus issue As a step toward cooling ra
cial tensions, some had said the band
should stop playing the lively Southern
tune at athletic events This failing, the
objectors had resolved to sit out the
cheers.
Most likely, their sentiments are not
shared by a large group But they are in
agreement with Ralph McGill, the late
publisher and columnist for the Atlanta
Constitution, and with the Atlanta
Journal
McGill, shortly before his death last
winter and the Journal, in an editorial
last week, called for "Dixie's" con
signment, along with the Confederate
flag and other relics, to the museums
The song is offensive to blacks, they
contended, because it has come to
stand for the Old South in which their
ancestors were slaves
And so it has, at least somewhat
Southern politicians have used “Dixie"
in their campaigns to preserve segre
gation and discrimination They have
associated "Dixie" with the Confeder
acy, a horrible attempt at splitting the
Union for the sake of unjust racial
practices, among other things
Too, white Southerners often react
in the most red-necked sort of way
when they hear the song
So it's not hard to see how blacks can
justifiably take offense
They are probably asking too much,
though, in calling for banishment of the
song Such an attempt, in the first
place, is not going to be successful for
a long time, if at all
ANOTHER VIEW
Those attitudes won t be changed by
doing away with "Dixie
What is needed is emphasis on the
song positive impbcations It express
es pride in your homeland, and who can
object to that - as long as that pride
doesn t go to the extreme of sectional
ism and bigotry"’
Just as some people have given
"Dixie" a bad name by their constant
objections to the racism they say it
implies, they can reshape its reputa
tion — and the sentiments it invokes —
by emphasizing its positive aspects
Their message should be this:
there's no reason to feel guilty about
standing and cheering for "Dixie" — if
you can also thrill to the strains of
The Star-Spangled Banner" and react
with respect, at least, to the singing of
"We Shall Overcome ."
A hollow cause
By John Crown
THE STORY by the Associated Prss
bore a Birmingham. Ala, dateline but.
sadly enough, it could probably be re
peated in Georgia or Minnesota or Cal
ifornia or in any of the remaining 46
states
Young Bill Terry did not bum his draft
card He did not object to military
service He answered in a positive
manner his country's call to dtuy He
joined the Army, was trained and
shipped to Vietnam.
And in Vietnam last summer at the
age of 20 Bill Terry was killed in the
performance of his duty, in the defense
of his nation
HIS MOTHER and his widow could
liave had Bill Terry's body buried in a
national cemetery since he fell in the
service of hi country But. understand
ably, they wanted to bury him in a
cemetery that could be seen from the
mother s front porch, the home in
which he grew up.
They have been denied that privi
lege
Although he died a hero — all men
who fall in battle must be counted a
hero — he had made on e small mis
take He had been born with a black
skin. Having a black skin made him
ineligible for this particular cemetery
DISCRIMINATION AND segrega
bon are abhorrent in themselves. But
nothing could be more ridiculous Uian
discrimination and segregation in a
cemetery
All tliat really counts is the spirit
within an individual At death that iqiir-
it departs and all that remains ia life
less lump of clay That lump is interred
in the earth, never to be seen again. It
lies there, unfeeling, unseeing, unhear
ing. uncaring
Even if a case could be made for
discrimination and segregabon — and I
submit it could not — on what grounds
could anyone argue for disciminahon
and segregation in a cemetery? The
thought boggles the imagination
IT IS THE HEIGHT of absurdity and
tragedy that the body of a man who
This article, by Atlanta
Journal Managing Editor
John Crown, is reprinted
from the Nov. 16, 1969,
edition of the Atlanta Jour
nal and Constitution.
died for his country cannot be buried in
the cemetery of his survivor's choice.
When Bill Terry fell in battle he
joined a band of brothers, the brother
hood of those who fight and die togeth
er in war All should be accorded the
same honor, the same respect, the
same privileges They shared military
life together They shared combat to
gether They shared death together
Tom Crawford, Columnist
Responsibilities of a vocal minority
Amid widespread fears of massive
revolubon and counterrevolution. the
November moratorium was held this
past weekend in an atmosphere of re-
strainment Despite the great number
of people that parbcipated. particular
ly in Washington and San Francisco,
there were only a few isolated inci
dents of violence
THIS SPEAKS well for Americans
on both ends of the spectrum; those
who demonstrated against the war and
those who repudiated these anti-war
marchers
Many people, however, eonbnue to
casbgate those who participate in any
kind of anti-war demonstration They
claim that these peaceniks are giving
aid and comfort to the Viet Cong and as
a result are harming the efforts of U S
forces A few people, notably Deputy
Attorney General Kichard Kleindeinst,
want anyone who protests the war
thrown into a detention camp In the
words of Vice President Agnew, they
want to "separate the rotten apples
from the good
THERE ARE three points that
should be considered by those wo are so
quick to valify a person opposed to the
war Number one, those people have
every right in the world to protest, this
right is guaranteed by the consbtubon
of the United States. Number two,
President Nixon is himself giving
immeasurable aid and comfort to the
Vietcong by supporting the corrupt
Thieu-Ky regime in Saigon The South
Vietnamese regime is as guilty of
committing wartime atrocities as the
Viet Cong, by supporting this regime
President Nixon is driving many peo
ple over to the only alternative, the
VietCong
Number three, unless these protests
are carried out. there is a chance that
the war could never end The President
assumes the silent majority supports
lus stand in the war It is. therefore, up
to the vocal minority to remind the
President that people do indeed want to
get out of Vietnam, and as quickly as
possible
FUTURE MORATORIUMS are
necessary, because President Nixon
must be constantly reminded of the
fact that the war must end These fu
ture moratoiums have to be pc jeeful to
get the point across to the silent major
ity
Throughout the haze of rhetoric
raised by the left and right wing fac
tions, one fact stands out President
Nixon does not have a simple solution
to the war as he claimed he did during
last year’s campaign He will have to
be pushed to get U S. forces out of an
unpopular war Hopefully, the morato
riums will provide this push
Letters policy
The Editors welcome contributions
to Reader Reaction as on example of
the student interest in the University.
However, the Editors reserve the
right to edit contributions to conform
to style, good toste, decency and libel
laws, letters should be typed doubled
space and should not except in rare
instance exceed 300 words in length.
Reader Reaction is meant to serve
the student body as well as the Red
and Black, since the paper cannot
serve a readership whose opinions it
does not know.
LAST TUESDAY in Birmingham
and Atlanta and elsewhere across the
nation there were many brave words
spoken about supporting our men in
Vietnam This is as it should be. I count
inysetf one of those who take that view.
But those brave words become a
mockerv when a hero from Vietnam
cannot be buried in a cemetery chosen
by his mother and his widow.
Those who participated in the Ve
terans' Day observances who condone
the sort of thing that is happening in
Birmingham can oly be counted as
frauds.
THOSE: WHO support a policy of
discrimination and segregation may
clothe themselves in American flags,
but they are working just as hard in
behalf of the Viet Cong as those mili
tants who do so openly They are the
same breed
THOSE: WHO advocate such a policy
are giving substantial aid and assist
ance to the enemies of this nation.
They are demonstrating for all to see
that our claims of freedom and equali
ty have no substance
They are demonstrating for all to see
that we expect the black man to share
the dangers of war
WHERE HIS LIFELESS lumn of
clay is interred probably means nothing
to the spirit of Bill Terry but until a
hero's body can be buried in any ceme
tery in this nation, the cause for which
he fought and died has a hollow ring to
il
study in empty stands and disappointment
—■Reader reaction**™
Tendency reflected
Tom Giffen, Columnist
Saturday—a
"Frankly, my dear. I don t give a
damn'"
And Khett Butler lades off into the
sunset in the closing moments of that
monumental epic, "Gone With The
Wind
HOWEVER. IT is much more appl
icablc today on this campus Whereas
the sports arena is not the only area in
which blatant apathy is felt at Georgia
it is in the limelight now as the 1%9
football season, certainly a disappoint
ment to the players, is coming lo a
close
The man who coined the term "Fail
weather friends should have patented
it. he'd make lus million on the Umver
sitv grounds
THE BULLDOGS' (air wealherid
fans " have outdone themselves this
season, capping it with an oustanding
performance last Saturday outside the
Hedges
Admittedly, it is great to have a
winning team but when things just
aren t Roll* right for a dub all thev
need are fans with thumbs down
VINCE DOOLEY, the head coach,
told some 69 people at Thursday night s
pep rally that the 1969 edition i- not a
great team - he s been saying that
since early practice started
He did say. however that Uus bunch
of ballplayers has more pride and de
sire than any team he has coached
He s right, and they have showed it on
mm' weekends thus far
THE'. FOOTBALL team, as well as
any other team or club represents the
University, but it's doubtful if they
really want to the students have indi
rated how pnnid thev are of Uus edition
of Bulldogs
As mug as Georgia wins. University
students, in particular, will do almost
anything for the team, but let them end
up on the w rong side of a score once
and the support drops off starting a
dive which won t be corrected until
winning replaces losing
As one cheerleader said early Satur
day afternoon. "They would have done
anything for the Tennessee game but
after that, well You can see for
vourself
SATURDAY AFTERNOON that
ballclub played its heart out. stopping
the invading Auburn Tigers inside their
20 three times in the closing minutes,
while the student section of the stands
had been half empty since the opening
minutes of the fourth period
Hie blame doesn't lie on the cheer
leaders though They are doing their
job. but when you don't have anyone to
work with — good luck'
THIS SEASON has been disappoint
mg to Georgia fans A statement of
fact, but
This season has been so much more
disappointing to a spirited team
The callous Monday-morning quart
erbacks and coaches sitting in the
stands should have the "Privilege" of
watching from field level to be sure,
players on the bench as the end nears
frs A stinng experience
It's a privilege to support this foot
ball team, but they deserve better
"E'ranklv. Vince, we don t give a
damn’"
And Bulldog fans file off into the
sunset as thev are disappointed
YOU REALLY HAVE to feel sorry
(or these fans — they've worked so
hard to make 1969 a successful sear'
TO THE EDITOR:
The recent action of the Student
Senate regarding the war moratorium
reflects a dangerous tendency toward
nuetralism on the part of its members
The academic affairs committee first
considered submitting to the Senate a
motion endorsing the war moratorium
It finally submitted a motion encourag
ing "the participation of tlie University
community in the programs sponsored
by the campus moratorium commit
tee
ON THE FLOOR of the Senate this
motion was further emasculated to the
point were free enquiry regarding
Vietnam was encouraged, with no
mention at the existence of the forth
coming moratorium When assessing
the impact that such a nebulous advoa-
cy of free speech could have on the
Vietnam debate one seems on safe
ground to conclude that the Senate
might just as well have encouraged its
constituency to do homage to apple pie
and mother
RE:GARDLE:sS OE' the position held
in the debate over Vietnam, one must
concede that it is the most vital, cru
cial, and urgent question America has
facecd in this decade and perhaps in
this century It is a question that will
be decided I feel a sense of shame that
the Senate abdicated when faced with
an opportunity to take a position A
eunuch produces little
PAUL BOLSTER
graduate: senator
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