Newspaper Page Text
I age 6A The Red and Black. Wednesday, September 18, 1974
JOYCE MURDOCH
THE OPINIONS OF
THE RED AND BLACK
That time again...
Gee, it seems like only a year
ago that we began fall quarter. If
this one runs true to form, it will
be one of the year’s four best
seasons.
Of course, we can’t promise
you a vice presidential resigna
tion like we had last year mainly
because we don’t have a veep.
And we apologize for missing
Richard Nixon’s exit and Gerry
Ford’s momentary honeymoon.
They both waited until our break
to do what we asked for months
ago.
But anyway, this is the time of
year that trees stop just standing
there and begin competing with
each other. And it’s the time of
unbroken crayons and unchewed
Bic pens when school is occasion
ally a challenge instead of
drudgen, that strange time when
you get blistered at football
games, but freeze if you wear
shorts. And all in all it’s fun,
except when it’s not.
So welcome or welcome back
(as the case may be).
Too late for tokens
The University hasn’t changed.
Once again women candidates
must be more qualified than
their male counterparts to have
a chance for the job.
In this case, the position is as
sociate dean of student affairs.
And Dean of Student Affairs
Louise McBee, who will make
the final decision on the appoint
ment, has made it painfully clear
that she wants a man for the job.
She went so far as to say that
given equally qualified appli
cants — one male and one
female — she would hire the
male to give male students “a
role model."
While we agree that it’s ex
tremely important for all stu
dents to have role models within
the administration, we are
amazed that McBee is worried
about male students in that
connection. The entire adminis
tration is male with one, we
repeat one, exception. That ex
ception is McBee.
Certainly, she must see that
female students are the ones in
dire need of additional role
models in positions of responsi
bility across the campus. But
instead of acting on that problem
McBee may roadblock another
woman from joining her ranks in
the near future.
We hope she will rethink this
position before she makes her
final selection of the associate
dean and will base her selection
on qualifications without regard
to the applicants’ sex.
Also, we strongly urge McBee
to use her position as the most
powerful woman within the Uni
versity to actively recruit other
qualified women to apply for
jobs in every facet of the
University, including her own
office.
The time for tokenism is long
gone; the time for affirmative
action has arrived.
Day careless
Our bumbling campus politi
cians have probably have killed
the University’s day care center
for the academic year.
Student Government Associa
tion President J Rivers Walsh
promised the Student Senate last
spring that if it did not appropri
ate money for the center, he
could arrange to have contingen
cy funds cover its costs.
Well, Walsh didn’t get the
money. And now he has the gall
to propose a student referendum
on the subject even though the
University’s only elected repre
sentative body endorsed the day
care center over five months ago.
By the time the referendum is
held, it will certainly be too late
to get the day care facility in
operation this year. It may well
be too late already
Because of the ineptness of the
SGA, approximately 10 per cent
of the student body suffers. That
group, married students with
children, pays activities fees just
like all other students, but gets
few benefits from those fees. The
day care center was almost the
only way these fees were being
used to meet the special needs of
these udent-parents.
But regardless of where the
money comes from, the Univer
sity needs to provide these
fif
THE RED AND BLACK
Joyce Murdoch, editor
Leslie Thornton
Executive editor
Eddie Brock
Business manager
Deborah Blum and Jo Hutto, news editors; Steve Fox and Edie McLaurin.
associate news editors; Ed Kimble, city editor; Betsy Neal, state editor: Miriam
Pace, feature editor; David Breslauer and Minla Linn, photo editors: Rick
Franzman. sports editor; Ed Parker, wire editor; Brad McColl, art director;
Stacy B McDaniel, production manager.
Thr Ked and Black, stndent uratpapn o4 Ike
t rmetAHv of h««r(Ia. AlWna. la pnMfthrd
wekklv during summer quarter Sec and flats
parsfage It paid al AlH—v (^cugia MM I
• tuns expresses! in T*e itrd ana ofact,
other than (he unsigned editorials are the
<HHn»nt of Uie writers al signed r tin anas or
rartounlats and are not neeettardy those of the-
i diversity administration the Hoard of Re
gents or Hie Ked and Mack Hale national
and International nova in TW Ked and Mark la
from the owes of ' ailed Press Inigpaatlona'
telephone iKMttll at use edi'onal oilier in I JO
Joomalitai Building t nisersity of Georgia
laq-xrtes concerning advertising thou»« oe
made al the hsismess number iM2-lfl«>.
the appropriate editor at IM Journalism
Building. University uf (Borgia. Athens Geor
gia MM2
The Ked aad Black s national advertising
representative la National KdacatMaal Adver
ting horsier Inc M* Irvington A VO.. Neva
/art. N Y. IMI7
l rate h III per year.
Davison isn't our publisher'
Unlike many other college newspapers
across the country. The Ked and Black
does not claim to be "independent"
because we are subsidized by the
University. We receive pari of our funds
from Student Activities Fees and use reni
free space in Ihe Journalism building
At one time, the __ ^
staff of The Red and
Black as well as
many other people
associated with the
University thought
the newspaper
should seek inde
pendent status
sever all official ties JjJU -
with the University. But when a subcom
mittee of the Board of Student Communi
cations (President Fred C. Davison's
advisory board) looked into the matter, it
became apparent to all that the disadvan
tages of such an arrangement far
outweighed the advantages
For example, as an off-campus news
paper. Till- lied and Black would have
more problems recruiting and keeping
reporters, many of whom first drift into
our office while waiting to go lo a jour
nalism class.
Bui more importantly, the study show
ed I hat in reality "independence" is a
stale that is almost unattainable Some
sort of supervisory board would have to
be set up regardless of our affiliation
with the University. And there existed a
real possibility that such a board would
try to exert editorial control over The
Ked and Black and the editor and staff
would be powerless to prevent it.
So. fortunately, independence was an
idea whose time never came.
The study of independence concluded
by calling for a memorandum on the
legal status of The Red and Black. There
fore. Bob Tritf. a law student who was a
member of the Board of Student Com
munications. wrote a 16-page memo to
Davison on that subject last May.
Citing numerous court cases, Tritt
shows that The Red and Black is in a
much stronger position legally than most
of us who work on it realized
"Because of the first amendment rights
of student newspapers, University admin
istrators are not in a legal sense the
publisher of a campus newspaper," Tritt
wrote. "They cannot hire and fire, censor
and edit as if they owned the publica
tion." he added. (For years, Red and
Black staffers thought that Davison was
legally our publisher — with all the rights
inherent in that title.)
Trill explained that the University may
regulate The Red and Black so long as it
does not "inhibit expression that is
protected by the first amendment." Also
lie said expression is not protected if it is
legally obscene, libelous or "likely to
materially or substantially disrupt the
operation of the institution."
He told Davison that a university is
rarely held responsible for libelous state
ments printed in student newspapers
because "the close supervision necessary
to stop all libel would be constitutionally
invalid."
That means, The Red and Black is
protected under the Constitution from
prior censorship by the University.
Trift pointed out that even withdrawing
financial support could legally be consid
ered censorship of the newspaper.
The memo also explained that should
Ihe University want fo take action
against an editor, it would have to follow
due process of law.
And in light of Carol Roberts' probation
as editor in December of 1972 for publish
ing the infamous "mother" cartoon,
Tritt's comment on obscenity was parti
cularly interesting. He said, "the preva
lence of four letter language in maga
zines and books is strong evidence of the
tolerance, if not acceptance, of those
words in college communities."
The Supreme Court has ruled that
obscenity must be defined by community
standards.
So. overall the Tritt memo pleased The
Red and Black staff because it showed
that the University (specifically. Davi
son's Board of Student Communications)
may not legally interfere with th^ paper's
content, except in extremely rare cases.
We are editorially free so long as we
students with a day care center
immediately. The center would
be a financial burden for the
University for only three years.
By then, it could be self-support
ing.
Also, the College of Education
and the School of Home Eco
nomics would benefit by involv
ing their students in the day care
center. While the students re
ceived invaluable experience at
the center, the center’s costs
would also be cut because of the
students’ assistance. Both
schools have already expressed
interest in the center.
However, Dean of Student Af
fairs Louise McBee said that
funds for such programs to help
reestablish the center are not
presently available anywhere in
the University.
So it seems the day care center
is doomed to become a political
football to be tossed about with
almost everyone claiming they
want the center and few people
doing anything about it.
The student body should be
able to expect more than just
empty promises out of our elect
ed student leaders.
Therefore, we challenge Walsh
to keep his promise to find funds
for the day care center.
lellws^lelters
avoid libel and obscenity.
Actually, few papers — whether colleg
iate or professional — are more "inde
pendent" than we are. Most have
publishers or supervisory boards with ’
considerably more power.
The memo’s recipient, Davison, should
have been equally pleased to find that he
is not our publisher and probably couldn’t '
be held legally responsible for us. That
was one less responsibility on his
shoulders.
However, Davison said last week that *
he questions the validity of much of
Tritt’s memo and feels the Regents will
consider him responsible for The Red and
Black's content, regardless of his legal *
status.
Anyway, the legal relationship of The
Red and Black and the University isn’t
really as important as our working •
relationship.
The Red and Black's relationship with
the University as represented by Board
of Student Communications has generally •
been a good one the last couple of years.
We've tried to work out our problems
calmly, rationally and for the good of
everyone involved. And at least since the 1
exit of Sean McCleneghan, director of
student communications, a year ago, the
question of prior censorship has not come
up *
The working relationship has been
aided by Dr. Richard Noles, who chairs
the board He has stressed that the board
is concerned with matters of "taste" <
rather than with whose toes we step on
editorially. Of course, his taste and the
editors' have not always coincided, but
since Roberts there have been no major i
problems involving the "taste" of some
thing prinled.
As Tritt pointed out, “the desirability
of this relationship over one in which )
parties communicate by demands, refu
sals and court action is inestimable .”
I totally agree. But I’m afraid the
relationship still isn’t as good as it should .
be
For example, even though Tritt wrote
lo Davison that "an understanding of the
legal positions of the parties involved
should be of assistance in helping to
avoid future conflicts,” The Red and
Black was never officially made aware of
the memo’s existence.
Without the eagle eye of one of our
staffers who happened to see a copy of
the memo and persuaded a board
member to let us make a xerox copy, we
never would have been aware of our legal
status.
I think we can safely assume the board
preferred that The Red and Black remain
ignorant of its legal rights out of fear that
it would somehow abuse the power those
rights give it.
Well. The Red and Black probably
won t do anything differently because of
the knowledge of its legal status. Never
theless. those of us on its staff realize
that if we must, we are capable of
negotiating with the board from a
position of strength.
Hopefully, the board will admit this
and work to make our relationship more
open than it has been in the past..
This relationship can be helped consid
erably by the board’s realizing what The
Ked and Black is not. It is not a toy, the
mouthpiece of the administration or other
groups, or just a learning experience for
its staff.
The Ked and Black is first and fore
most Ihe University's newspaper. It
exists lo inform and entertain the
University community. Everything else
about it is secondary.
With that understanding, the board and
The Ked and Black staff .will come closer
to seeing eye lo eye and can build a
belter newspaper lo serve the communi
ty
Feminist to speak’
TO THE EDITOR:
As fall quarter begins, the members of
WOMEN.. campus feminist organiza
tion. are deeply involved in the develop
ment of a women s symposium, to be
presented on campus Sept 30-Oct. 4 The
symposium will feature Flo Kennedy,
nationally known black feminist lawyer
and civil rights activist, numerous work
shops on topics such as rape, sex roles,
sexism in education and women s ath
letics. as well as films, exhibits and
entertainment
We would like to encourage new and
returning students, faculty and Univer
sity employes to come and share our
excitement about this and many other
projects planned for the coming year
W.O.ME N is beginning its fourth year
on campus, a year in which we expect to
be busier than ever on new and continu
ing projects, such as education of the
University community on feminist issues,
development of women s athletics, devel
opment of women's studies programs,
ratification of the FRA in Georgia, and
ending sex discrimination in employ
ment. promotion and education at the
University through a strong affirmative
action program
We need your help if we are to realize
these goals Come by our office in the
Student Activities (’enter in Memorial,
and join us for our first fall meeting, to
he held Sept 24. at 8. at a location to he
announced later this week in The Ked
and Black
CINDY SHOKT
AID developed
as ombudsman'
TO Till-: EDITOR:
Over this past summer 1 and other
student government officials spent a
gieat deal of our time trying to deter
mine what effective approach we should
take lo be of greater service to our
constituents.
The product of this search is known
simply as AID or Assistance, Investiga
tion and Direction. AID is an administra
tive agency we have developed that in
corporates the student ombudsman into
university life. An ombudsman is a
government official appointed to receive
and investigate complaints made by
individuals against abuses or misconduct
of public officials. In this role the
ombudsman reports his findings and help
to achieve a fair settlement
In AID. we have an entire agency and
stafl working as an ombudsman As such
your SGA is by far one of the first in the
nation to pursue such a project
It was with the same spirit that AID
was created the SGA has planned open
houses for the coming week All students
are invited to drop by and talk to their
representatives and as always SGA
extends its invitation to join those other
students who are involved in student
service.
Forms and applications for positions in
student government are available in the
SGA office in Memorial. Positions are
now open for coordinators in several
student ministries Similarly there are a
few vacancies in the student Senate, and
there are positions open in the Student
Judiciary.
The open houses will hopefully provide
you with an opportunity to discuss the
various areas of SGA with those involved
already and hence providing you with a
basis for your involvement
And even if you can’t fathom any
personal involvement, the open houses
will provide you with an opportunity to
roast. grill or blow off steam at your
least favorite student politicians.
J RIVERS WALSH
Letters Policy
Letters u> the editor
should:
• Be brief, to the point.
TERRY WEHUNT
Bike adventure
includes rhetoric'
During the course of life we meet a
wide array of people arid over the years
one comes to the conclusion that through
these encounters we learn and become
"ourselves". It also seems that the more
controversial sorts we run into the more
rapidly we change and grow. But of all
the folks that this Earth has been 90
richly blessed with no individual is as
mysterious and controversial as a
"Women's Libber". I can make that
statement even after being acquainted
with Yippies. Hare Krishnas, John Birch-
ers and a couple of Red and Black report
ers.
First impressions are always impor
tant. for to some degree they set the pace
for things to come. With that in mind let
me recall for you “that first run-in” from
which I learned so much about the
character of a certain Liberationist.
II was a day in Atlanta when the cold
from the cement flowed through boots,
socks, feet; the sun was only a memory
with grey clouds ever causing one to burn
the lights It was the winter of 1970. I was
a cub staff member of a "large metropol
itan weekly” (The Bird) and a bookkeep
er-printer for a small firm There was a
need, on that particular day in late
November, for some soul with a valid
drivers license to take a woman into the
very bowels of Atlanta
She was about to, become the lucky
owner of a bicycle. I might add her
purchase was just in the nick of time, as
there is nothing in the world like the
purchase of a beat up used one-speed,
particularly during those days that
proceeded the famous ice storm, to lift
one's ego
I had been a Boy Scout. Therefore, it
seemed only natural to volunteer for the
mission But as luck would have it the
car stalled (and would not crank) only
moments before reaching the heart of
"Hot-lanta" To make matters worse a
wonderful man nn a blue suit) driving a
city vehicle gave us five minutes
“deposit Ihe junk heap next to the curb
Admittedly it was blocking a bit
traffic, yef that was no junk heap, inde.
it was a federal surplus 59 Ford Stall.
Wagon Being a person with no affeeti
for trouble I stretched an arm out t!
window to open the door (in essenc
there was no interior door knob on th
side) and replied. "Yes sir." Aft
placing a couple of warm number eleve
on the twenty degree black top 1 look
back into the "chariot" to make sure t
transmission was in neutral, and glanc
over at Cathy who seemed to be thinki
deep thoughts, perhaps about how rel;
hie bicycles are even on the coolest
days.
Pushing the car, it slowly nudg
forward After about three feet
forward movement it was time for a re
Climbing back into the car I comment
on its need for a lube job (a new engi
would have been nice, too). At that po
in time I was introduced to a whole ro
realm of communications (later to
known as Feminist Rhetoric).
Such terminology as "male cnauvin
pig" spewed forth from her mouth li
air from a slashed tire. But the theme
her lecture was “you should ask me
help". While 1 was recovering from
mild case of shock the wheels in the '
head spun back to a similar event in hi
school. A car broke down, not <
(printable) word was uttered, the di
swung open, the car was propelled by
leg power to the curb. I told her al>
that old incident and said it shouldn't
necessary to ask for her aid, after all i
saw what was going on, and if i
wanted to share the load it was up to h
About that time a friend came by i
jumped the car off (guess a new batti
would have been an asset as well) 1
bicycle turned oui to be poor, but
didn't talk about it much.