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I*au«* \ The Ked and Black. Thursday. November JO. 1972
THE OPINIONS OF THE RED AND BLACK
A good decision...
Once again, the students
arrested last spring after a
protest in University President
Fred C. Davison’s office have
scored a victory. The Student
Judiciary released its decision in
the case against the 32 students
last night, finding them not
guilty on all but one of four
counts charged against them.
The students were found
innocent of disorderly assembly,
disorderly conduct and joint
responsibility and guilty of
unauthorized use of University
facilities.
But the greatest victory of the
Judiciary’s opinion is the fact
that no disciplinary measures
were recommended, and no
mention of the incident will be
made in the student’s records.
The decision is the second
indication in recent weeks that
the University may be wrong in
pursuing its goal of convicting
the protestors. A Clarke County
jury was unable to reach a
verdict in the case ot eight of the
protestors last week, and State
Court Judge Grady Pittard
declared a mistrial in the case.
Both judicial bodies seem to
agree that the University does
not have a clear case against the
students. They seem to agree
that the students’ assembly in
the president’s office was not as
disruptive nor as disorderly as
the University is alleging.
We re glad to see both courts
leaning in favor of the students.
Their assembly was in protest of
housing policies which they felt
to be unfair and repressive, and
their purpose in assembling in
Davison’s office was to peace
fully talk about those policies.
There seems to be little
indication that the students’
conduct was as disorderly as the
University says it was.
The Judiciary’s recommenda
tion of no punishment is a good
one, and we hope the University
will follow suit.
...and a question
We were glad to hear that the
University’s Office of Student
Financial Aid has set up a
hearing for those of last year’s
protestors whose' financial aid
was cut off because they pled
guilty to the criminal trespass
charges placed against them.
The University may be legally
right in cutting off the students’
financial aid, but the University
also has a legal and moral
obligation to grant a fair hearing
to them.
Under Section 407 of the
Department of Health, Education
and Welfare Appropriation Act of
1970, the University can deny
federal money to individuals who
use or threaten force or seize
property of the institution and
who prevent faculty, adminis
trative officials or students from
“. engaging in their duties or
pursuing their studies at such
institution.” But the act also
stipulates that the students be
given a hearing on the matter.
That the University must do, and
should do.
The students whose financial
aid has been revoked did plead
guilty to the charges of criminal
trespass placed against them in
State Court of Clarke County. As
such, the University may be able
to consider them guilty of the
acts cited in the HEW act.
But with yesterday’s Student
Judiciary decision in the case,
there may be a question as to
whether or not the students’
conduct falls under the provis
ions of the act.
That question may well be
decided by Monday’s hearing on
the denial of financial aid to the
protestors. We hope the Univer
sity will be receptive to the
students’ side of the issue and to
the Student Judiciary’s decision
as well. We hope the administra
tors will consider carefully the
questions raised by the Judic
iary’s decision.
Letters policy
Letters to the editor should
• Be typed, double spaced,
on a 60-space line.
• Be brief, to the point.
• Include name, address and
phone number of contributor
Names will be withheld for
good reason upon request, but
must bear the above
informatto'n Letters are
subject to editing for style and
libel laws as well as tor space
limitations
Mail letters to The Red and
Black, 130 Journalism
building. University of
Georgia. Athens, Ga. 30601,
or bring by 130 Journalism
building.
XT havens here
CHARLES ORCK
Losing
sympathy
with goys
It has been with some amusement that
I have been reading the letters in The
Ked and Black concerning the gay
situation. Some have indeed been
humorous, others tainted with illogic. and
others still miss the
point completely
but all have been
entertaining. In fact
you cannot open a
Ked and Black these
days and not find
coverage of some
sort that involves
the gay movement
on campus, whether
it be protests, legal action, or merely
letters to the editor. The amount of
coverage given is disproportionate to the
problem as it exists. I would imagine that
the homosexual population is very small,
miniscule in fact, and that the attention
they are now getting is unwarranted.
I can just imagine that some old
alumnus who gets the campus paper
mailed to him in South (Georgia (or some
other place far removed from here) is
thinking that the campus is crawling with
slavering strangles. Of course this is not
the case, but could you tell it from the
publicity? I believe the subject is
beginning to prey on peoples' minds.
Despite the efforts of organized
homosexuals, ‘gayness’ is not in vogue.
The Gay Liberation Front, organized a
few years ago in order to educate the
public about homosexuality, has suc
ceeded only in making it known that
there are militant homosexuals roaming
about the country, nothing more. I doubt
that it will ever be to anyone’s credit who
was a homosexual. Culturally it just does
not fit into our heritage.
True enough, the ancients practiced
homosexuality, but it was acceptable at
that period of time and it was considered
to be a private affair. It was also an
outgrowth of the Greek educational and
military training. Here the older man
would train the younger how to fight in
battles on a one-to-one basis; needless to
say teacher and pupil became very close,
as the process lasted for years. But that
essentially was the purpose, as men
would rather die in battle than be
shamed in the presence of their lovers.
Many an ancient Greek city-state was
saved because of this bond But it was
private affair, and those who made it
public were roundly denounced, even by
those who practiced homosexuality.
If there was ever a culture which was
permissive in its sex. it was the Greeks;
but no culture has ever encouraged
homosexuality blatantly, in fact most
have made it taboo. This is the goal of
the Gay Lib: to make homosexuality
commonplace and acceptable. This goal
cannot be realized. Homosexuals will be
tolerated as long as they keep to
themselves, but they will not be
accepted.
l^ove was another word that was
bantered about in those many letters.
Love is a word which has many
meanings, but it can generally be divided
into two categories: a mental and-or
emotional concept, and a physical
concept. For a man to love another by
the former concept is not at all
uncommon — most sons love their
fathers — but for him to practice the
latter, the physical love, is unnatural and
condemned by society. The homosexual
is thus looked down upon with much the
same disgust as a fettishist. or other
deviate.
So because of his conduct, the
homosexual is despised. He is a dis
criminated minority by choice. Certainly
he has the freedom to be and remain a
homosexual, but others have freedom as
well — freedom to scorn him if they so
choose. These others may sav what they
please, but they must Ik* prepared for
any consequences
So it is with the homosexual, he must
be ready for any abuse because frankly
"he knew the job was dangerous when he
took it.” He should be thick-skinned
enough to be mocked viciously and not
lose his sense of humor, as that may be
all that saves him. Yes, the life of a
homosexual is not a pleasant one, and I
can see his problem, but I do not
sympathize with him
What is to come of all this? Hopefully,
a return to normalcy on campus
Certainly the gays have their legal
rights, but so does the University. The
local homosexuals, with the aid of their
regional friends, should not flaunt their
perversity. This will only serve to gain
them further ill will, and gay leaders
are already regarded as if they were of
the earth’s lower creatures.
I do not know the answer to the
problem, but 1 do know that the
homosexuals will lose no matter what
happens. Even if they should win some
small concession, they will further
alienate themselves from the straight
world. The homosexual's world is of his
choosing, though, and he must suffer the
consequences.
Sonnet to a Poor Child
The poor child no doubt is the richest by far
Though old clothes he may wear, and no purchasing pow'r.
Though life at the time may seem brutal and cold
Though the rich boy may spite him displaying his gold.
Through pride smashing torment this young lad must walk
Apart from the rich child, but hearing his talk.
As a child the true meaning of struggle and strife
Is deeply ingrained for the rest of his life.
Self confidence, decisiveness and a sense of conviction
Are sewn, born and nurtured, here fixed through duration.
When the poor and the rich boys have reached twenty-four,
The difference between them has grown even more.
Though the rich boy has all of his money and wealth
The poor man is richest, he believes in himself.
C. Williams
JON HAM
The 'truth'
you've been
waiting for
Outgoing editors customarily write
farewell columns to their readers telling
them how nice it was to serve them for
the past quarter or two. Incoming editors
usually fill up their
their intentions for
the future, their
hopes that students
and administration
will cooperate with
them in their quest
for truth, and their
assurances that all
on their staff will
strive for objectivity
in the stories they
write.
The nature of a college student is that
he seldom believes any of this. He has an
inherent mistrust for his paper's editor,
imagining "him as the mouthpiece of the
campus conservatives or the campus
liberals, depending upon his own political
bent.
Even when his school's paper wins a
national award for excellence — as The
Ked and Black recently did — he asks
himself incredulously, “How in the world
did they win?” That’s just the way things
are on a campus. It's the old adversary
relationship with a new twist. Any paper
other than a campus paper has an
adversary relationship with the govern
ment. On a campus it's with the
readership in addition to the administra
tion and student government.
So, with all of this going against me, I
will not try to tell you how fair, objective
and truth seeking we will try to be next
quarter. Instead, I will tell you what you
probably think anyway.
Here goes:
The Ked and Black won the Pacemaker
award this year and we still don't knew
how we did it. With as much biased
reporting that went on during the student
government elections last year we didn’t
think we had a chance.
But. if bias and lies are what the
judges want, by gosh, we'll try to win
that award another year running As
executive editor of this rag, I will do my
level best to see that political persuasions
contrary to my own never get one
objective inch of news space in this
paper.
We will show no favor. We will
endeavor to be as unfair to radiclibs,
women's libbers, whites, blacks, browns,
reds, gays, straights or anyone else
unfortunate enough to warrant coverage
by one of our illiterate reporters.
We promise to seek out opinions of
administrators and faculty members so
that we will know where to stand on the
major issues confronting this campus.
Our position on most issues is
predictable. It is usually 18U degrees out
of phase with theirs.
We will try to live up to our name.
Many of you say we arc red, and we are
trying hard to get redder. But most of
our black reporters went to work for
Pamoja, so on that count we have failed.
As you can tell from the play we have
given the gays on our front page, we are
all a bunch of raving fairies down here.
We have been infiltrated by them and
are now trying to subvert the manly
culture of this community. We are doing
our best.
We don't want to hear from any of you
readers out there. After all, what do you
know about anything? We are the
all-seeing, all-knowing pundits around
here So don't bother to write any letters
to us We ll just throw them away if they
don't follow our party line, and it takes so
long to correct all the bad grammar you
non-journalist folk insist on using.
We will try, however, to get a bead on
what the majority of the campus thinks
about things just so we can take the
opposite view on our editorial page and in
our stinking columns.
We promise to sensationalize any juicy
story we can get our hands on, in the
belief that that's what it takes to turn you
people on. Who wants facts, anyhow?
flood stories don't just happen, it takes
good reporters to make them up and add
the necessary verve and excitement.
Well, that's what you were thinking, so
there it is in Ked and Black newsprint.
Sort of makes you feel good getting all
that out of your system, doesn’t it?
first column with
Bible quotes prove nothing'
TO THE EDITOR:
The present controversy “raging" in
The Red and Black over the possibility
that homosexuals may or may not be,
become, or ever have been Christians,
seems to me a perfect example of the
way we tend, in our "free” society, to
pervert the teachings of any given group
to our own ends To quote separate
verses from the Bible land most of these
w ith no explanation of their context I does
noP'prove" anything in one way or the
other in the dispute The so-called proofs
merely reflect the prejudices and social
fears of whichever group uses them.
Christianity, as such, should not be a
battleground for the personal biases of
individuals who probably never consider
the teachings of Christ except as a means
to some other end than Christianity
Since extremely few. if any, people
truly practice Christian love and (if I
understand it correctly) the New
Testament ideal of justice-tempered-by-
mercy, it seems slightly ridiculous to
argue over questions of dogma which
reflect very minor points o( regional,
sectarian belief Christianity, like all
other religions, requires an act of faith
by the believer. True believers and
practicers will no doubt make this leap of
faith and welcome all others to their
bosoms who do the same, irrespective of
their sexual preferences
The problem as 1 see it is twofold:
first, anything with "sex” even remotely
attached to it is blown all out of
proportion in our society So much
societal pressure of a vague and
undefined nature exists that heteroes
cannot even explain the sources of their
irrational fears of gay people, except by
resorting to the Bible, in a last ditch
effort to hold back individual freedom
Second, a general sense of confusion
results from any effort which unites, in a
quasi-logical manner, the religious to the
legal Whether or not straights like it,
gay people have the right, as people, to
exist and to consider themselves
Christians If the organized church o-
certain pious individuals see fit 'o
exclude gay men and women from th'.c
company, that is their loss and not 'L,
gays' For the straight group will remain
in total ignorance about a whole, and
rather large, section of humanity, while
the gay group will have been exposed U
both sides of the question, ,'nd will molt
likely have decided that to « ct ou> one's
beliefs and worship, even in isolation, I
better than to sell one's individuality ami
possibly one's soul.
The point is that gays will and ought o
go on thinking of themselves s
Christians if that is how they really fee.,
and no one can interfere with the
thoughts in your head and the feeling in
your gut — unless you let them.
NAME WITHHELD
Cheers to
female DJ's
TO TIIE EDITOR:
Right on to all the female DJ’s at
WUOO They seem to have a great
amount of feeling and sensitivity about
the cuts they play It really feels good to
hear a woman talking on the air They
are easy to study with, too. Who can
study listening to some nasal-voiced dude
yakking all the time?
Once again, right on sisters, and thanks
for not yelling into the mike.
DAVID BROWN