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The Red and Black. Frida). October 7. 1977
BRYANT STEELE
Editorials
The Red and Black
A part time jail
In this country, people who are
convicted of crimes are usually
sent to jail. They are sent to jail
for a reason; they have done
something wrong and because of
that they are to be confined to
one area. A jail is not supposed
to be a place you drop in and out
of whenever you feel like it. In
other words, a jail is not usually
considered a fun place to be; it is
supposed to be a punishment.
But somebody along the line
apparently forgot to tell Clarke
County Sheriff Larry Williams
what the purpose of a jail is. The
Clarke County Grand Jury has
charged that Williams “did not
have complete control of his
department and did not act with
responsibility" concerning prison
leave practices at the county
jail.
The grand jury had found that
Williams had an “unwritten
policy” where off-duty deputies
could escort prisoners from the
jail for reasons “other than
medical or emergency.”
Some of the reasons the
prisoners were allowed to leave
the jail were to go on
honeymoons, visit girlfriends,
work on the sheriff deputies’
personal vehicles, do repair work
on their own homes, and
accompany off-duty deputies on
their other jobs.
The prisoners who were
allowed to leave the jail were not
people in prison for misdemean
ors or minor crimes, either. One
prisoner who, according to the
grand jury report, was “more
frequently absent from the jail
than present on weekends,” is
serving time for voluntary
manslaughter and aggravated
assault. And although this
prisoner left the jail under
escorts on Fridays or Saturdays,
he usually returned to the jail on
Sundays by himself, according to
the grand jury report.
Another of the prisoners who is
apparently a part time inhabi
tant of the jail is serving a
seven-year sentence for motorcy
cle theft. He also frequently was
away from the jail on the
weekends, “apparently unescor
ted.”
Incredibly, Williams knew of
these practices during the
summer, but took no actions to
stop them. Now the grand jury
has recommended that in the
future the jail should follow a
strict policy when temporarily
releasing prisoners, “keeping
them under constant custody and
strictly accounting for all .absen
ces.”
We think the grand jury’s
recommendation is a good one.
But it seems rather silly that the
grand jury should have to make
such a recommendation to the
sheriff. Any kindergartner should
have enough sense to realize that
a jail should not have a “come
and go as you please” policy.
We also suggest that Williams
take a look at the policy
concerning valid reasons for a
prisoner to leave the jail. We can
understand that at times a
prisoner needs to leave for
medical or emergency reasons.
We also understand why a
risoner may want to go on a
oneymoon, visit a girlfriend or
work on his house. But these are
hardly reasons to be excused
from the jail. A prisoner should
have thought of these things
before committing the crime
which sent him to jail.
JOHANNES GIEBLER
Tired of looking
the other way
This letter is nothing but an attempt to
voice my sentiments Long have 1 read
what others have written and listened to
friends talking I felt shocked and
sympathetic towards the freshman's
claim in last Tuesday’s paper that
students are unfriendly. Most of the
people I know at this school try to keep
an open mind to meeting new people and
only react to appearances insofar as
clothes, hair, etc express an individual's
personality
Unfortunately, my legs are skinny and
I have the face of a potato; but yes, 1 am
still vain Some people must look at me
(even I do) and so I try to give them
something good to look at. Perhaps I do
not try as hard as many do; but when I
see a picture of Einstein, I realize that
it's not the hair that counts, but what's
under it. Yet still there are few things I
enjoy more than interacting with a pretty
girl. If she is intelligent, witty and
vivacious, so much the better
To the casual observer I may seem to
only have sex, pot, beer, music and other
decadent delights on my mind. Nothing
could be further from the truth. For
instance, I also love literature with a
passion. Although reading literature
might be dubbed as just another
pleasure, it is essential to the aspiring
writer, an ambition 1 have long nurtured.
So my mind is not always in the gutter.
I will talk with anyone about anything
if I have the time. Unfortunately, 1
cannot chat with everyone and often find
myself cutting short a conversation since
1 am in a hurry By being abrupt or to
the point I never meant to be offensive to
the point of disturbing anyone As it is, I
feel sometimes guilty for neglecting close
friends Except for trying my simple best
to make the world better, I can imagine
no other reason for living than to indulge
myself. Too often I let life get me
depressed too. but I keep on truckin' out
of a sense of responsibility to the people I
love (including myself).
And what is filthy language but words.
Belive me. I can be just as disgusting
with beautiful words as with the most
vile. It is how words are used that can
hurt My friends know me well enough
that I may express myself in whatever
fashion I choose, since my vehemence is
generally aimed at human conditions
rather than them If a friend gets nasty
with me, or vice versa, we may fight
words with words We hardly ever come
to blows, and when we do, it is surely a
joke Why shouldn't we get dirty when we
play, if we have fun and harm no one
Greeks arc the butte of many jokes I
hear here; and I confess that I am not
above making sarcastic comments
myself My stereotype of the Greek is one
based on what I believe are their petty
bourgeois ideals and dreams; but I
honestly have met more Greeks with
whom I have agreed than disagreed on a
personal level Usually I find that I can
get along with anybody if I want to and
they are willing I guess social life is all a
matter of taste and to each his own.
Now seems the opportune moment to
express my dissatisfaction with education
here. I am tired sick of grade
competition and the paper chase If I
hadn't made the decision to graduate in
order to be eligible for higher education
and-or job placement, grades would only
be a matter of pride, and 1 would be a lot
better off for it.
Last winter quarter 1 was in this
idealistic frame of mind and took 20
hours of upper level classes in fields that
really interested me. I studied like hell
and made the worst grades since I
started elementary school, but I learned
more knowledge (hat quarter than any
other before. All I am saying is that I
could learn more if I had more freedom
to mold my own life instead of
conforming to the system
Of course I realize that the freedom to
totally control my own education is
something that would be wasted on many
students Maybe an educational program
for serious students who know what they
want out of the University would work I
cannot believe I pay money to take some
of the kindergarten forced courses that I
have had here. Maybe the University has
some sort of special program, but I never
found it.
Somehow 1 (eel as if I have been
writing about my dreams again; and I
can hear little voices saying dreamers
are good for nothing and will never make
a decent living. All I can say is, Nothing
is Something and What is Living? Not too
many people attending the University
need worry about making a decent living
if they realistically adjust their life-style
to match their desired careers Granted,
the job market is poor, but face it; unless
you are lazy or have an inflated pride,
there are jobs to be had.
Although this thought may mean
nothing to you, 1 think people are more
alike than different To roughly quote one
of my idols, Bertolt Brecht, first comes
the meal, and then the moral In other
words, a man's a man. I guess nothing
could be more vague and rambling than
what I have written, but as they say, I
was tired of looking the other way
Throw out the old beans
Last year the sun tried to dry up the
oceans, the wind tried to carry off all the
sand in the Sahara, and University
student leaders tried to write a new
student body constitution.
The sun and the
wind made the most
Reflecting on last
year’s hassles is as
enticing as eating ^giy
yesterday's beans. jjHK.
instead let’s throw </yk*jLt
out last year and
yesterday’s beans
A new constitution is again being
cooked up this year and there’s good
reason to believe last year’s muddle
won’t be repeated.
The Student Senate Governance Com
mittee seemed dedicated to improving on
Bryant Steele is campus editor of The
Red and Black
last year. It is this committee that will be
drawing up a new constitution.
Some cynics will undoubtedly refuse to
hope, but at the least a wait-and-see
attitude should be adopted.
The Governance Committee is aware cf
two important things. It knows what’s
wrong with the present constitution, and
it knows what went wrong last year in
drawing up a new one
Recognizing your mistakes is usually
sufficient to prevent repeating them, so
this year progress should be made.
Last year the senate got the entire new
draft of the constitution at one time, and
it was too much to swallow.
This year the committee is planning to
let the senate vote on each phase of its
work. This will provide the committee
with more direction along the way.
Every campus organization, even
every individual, should have a chance to
offer opinions on a new constitution if the
committee carries out an idea voiced in
its preliminary organizational meeting
Wednesday night.
The mention of public hearings seemed
to meet with general approval. The
committee will do well not to let the idea
get lost in the debate to come
In a public hearing those groups of
people who feel they don’t have a voice in
I -VKihV VOL «bdfl£ placenx (HHt
cKetf^ Kaurttj
the political goings-on would have
chance to speak for the record, to suggest I
ideas and bring into the open theiJ
viewpoints. f
It would be a tragedy if those hearingil
were held and no one came. It would alsj
be a tragedy if, when the time comes f tt l
students to ratify a new constitution, the
usual voter turnout (16 per cent in ib,
last election) decides the fate of the
document.
Because one of the things wrong win
the present constitution is that th (
University administration doesn't recoi
nize it. A show of interest at public
hearings and a large turnout for j
ratification vote would show certain
administrators that there is a student bod\
they had better pay some attention to
One of the problems the administration
has in recognizing the present constita
tion is in certain wordings
"This Constitution shall be consider'd
binding on the Administration and
Faculty of the University of Georgia
Small wonder the administration doesnll
acknowledge the thing.
Suppose your neighbor drew up 11
constitution and told you that you had to
abide by it. You wouldn't even bother to
read it before you told him to go to hell
"(The senate) shall have the power to
allocate all monie- received through
Student Activity Fees.” Okay. Bui the
Board of Regents policy manual vests
that power in the president's office
Whether the senate should allocate ant
money is another debate unto itself, but
it's best if the student body constitution
doesn’t fly in the face of the Board of
Regents’ policy manual.
Elimination of such wording in the ne«
constitution would help it gain recogni
tion by the powers-that-be It might not I
make the administration more respond
sive, but if the students made suchi)
move it would be up to the administration |
to show how willing it is to work with us I
There’s a story about two cars meeting I
in the middle of a narrow bridge One I
driver leans out of his window and yells f
"I never back up for an idiot!”
The other driver reponds, "I always |
do," and backs up.
A similar concession by the SGAI
wouldn’t be backing up, it could be a |
step forward
As the new constitution is drawn up, one I
of the questions that will be asked is whai ]
kind of government structure will bes: i
serve the students. The committee plans
to study the structure of other ]
universities and the effectiveness of each
If a way can be found to streamline the ]
SGA and increase its efficiency, it should ej
be implemented
Of course, nothing at all may get dont
We may have a repeat of last year and,
not get a new constitution But the \
elimination of past mistakes and studen:
involvement in public hearings could |
prevent that.
Incidentally, if you do beconu»*
interested enough to keep up with what s w
going on and decide to read the 3
constitution for yourself, rook at the copy a
in the 1976-77 Student Handbook Througr _
an error, the copy in this year s 3
handbook contains an old version of the *
constitution that has since been amended j
letiersCESeltets
‘Take heart, Name Withheld’ -
TO THE EDITOR;
Clubs and organizations at the
University are so numerous that many of
them receive little publicity. This lack of
information was at the root of a situation
which caused one disillusioned freshman,
namely Name Withheld (related to the
Federal Tax Withhelds of ante-bellum
Mississippi) to write an anger-inspired
letter to The Red and Black last Tuesday
The organization in question Is the
Society of Ill-tempered Crummy Evil
Madmen (SIC'EM) dedicated to the
proposition that the students of this
University should be the vilest, filthiest
and unfriendliest one could ever meet.
Membership is often to any student and
the only requirement is that a
prospective member fill out and return
the white and pink striped form mailed to
each student along with his letter of
acceptance. Due to some administrative
oversight, Name Withheld did not have a
chance to join this organization and feels
left out as a result. The situation is seen
in a worse light when one realizes that
this poor student is the only one in the
entire University who has been denied
entrance to this vital organization.
If Withheld had not suffered this
administrative error, the joy of being
hypocritical, stuck-up. not to mention
not very nice would become apparent
The strength of this organization lies In
its proWeralion of hate
Members of this organization hate
everything They hate rain They hate
Marine helicopters landing in the Reed
Quadrangle and waking them up They
hate this newspaper They hate freshmen
who write letters to The Red and Black.
There are those who deny the existence
of such an organization. To such
personages I say bunk To prove their
existence, SIC'EM members have
planned a rally for tomorrow afternoon
for a ceremonious giving of the pigskin to
a delegation of athletes from Ole Miss
Letters policy
Letters to the editor should:
Be typed, double spaced, on
a 60-space line.
Include name, address and
phone number of contributor.
At precisely 1:30 p.m., representatives
of this organization will kick the oblong
pigskin to the Ole Miss representatives as
a token of their esteem. However, the
second an Ole Miss delegate touches the
ball, he will be chased and jumped upon
by 11 University students while the
University spectators, all SIC’EM mem
bers, yell such niceties as "kill ’em" and
"tear ’em apart."
Of course, members of this organiza
tion can be distinguished by their
appearance and behavior Each one has
a filthy mouth They all have the same
thing on. their minds (studying) Each
member wears his hair split down the
middle, carries a tennis racquet in one
hand and succeeds in wearing a pair of
jeans without a belt.
All of this can be tolerated by even the
strictest moralist, but they go one step
further to the depths of degradation That
is, they utilize their good looks by
wearing nice clothes and combing their
hair I contend students should be ugly.
They should wear dirty clothes and not
comb their hair so neither they, nor
anyone else will be proud of their
appearance
Think of the implications. If everyone
were ugly and dirty and hated everyone
else, what comradery would exist Since
everyone would be doing the same thing,
jealousy would disappear and conflicting
interests would become a thing of the
past
Take heart. Name Withheld, you may
be on to something.
BRIAN O'SHEA
‘Not grads
of NATS’
TO THE EDITOR:
I fe«l U is my duty as the elected
representative of the student body of the
Georgia Institute of Technology to
respond to the cartoon which mysterious
ly appeared in my copy of Tuesday's Red
and Black. To refresh your memory, the
cartoon showed a UGA student, probably
a mass communications major, who had
just viewed Star Wars and was
proclaiming "I still haven't figured out
the part where those guys go into the bar
full of Georgia Tech students "
Quite obviously this budding William
Haines does not understand the movie
The bar is filled with murderers, drunks,
theives, derelicts and insurance sales
men These are men whose moral
convictions are as deeply rooted as
Bimam Wood The inhabitants of this bar
are all “between jobs” like graduates of
certain other Georgia public universities
It is self-apparent that these bar-flies
(I'll skip the joke here) are not graduates
of the North Avenue Trade School. The
NATS graduates average 2.5 job offers
and receive a median salary of 11320 a
month. (For a definition of median,
please consult a dictionary.)
Furthermore, if one listens very
carefully one notices that the hand at the
bar is playing a ragtime version of
"Glory, Glory to Old Georgia." Also the
color scheme is black and red
Tatooine is a backwards, desolate
world "in the middle of nowhere Tte
does not sound like Tech, which is in the
middle of Atlanta but rather like 1
university of 20,000 stuck in the middle o!.»
a rural Georgia town.
Storm troopers who tend to destroy
property and harass natives would b<
Physical Plant workers on any university
campus Tech has no Darth Vader but ii
one believes in The Red and Black land
Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny 1 there
exists a Darth Vader at Georgia
University of. After all, who do they
weekly demand resign?
May the Force be with you!
BILL PROP'’
Student Body Prrsidesi
Georgia Teck
ill THE
RED AND BLACK
Patricia Templeton, Editor
Steve Bills, Ed Stamper,
Executive editor Business manager
Jerry Mason and Matt Prichard, copy editors; Bryant Steele, campus editor;
Tom Barton city editor; Gregg Steinle, state editor, William Haines,
entertainment editor Swann Seiler, feature editor, Pete Foley sports editor
George Sicay, photo editor; Hope Dlugozima, assistant campus editor. Yvonne
Williams, assistant state editor; Ed Grisamore, assistant cil* editor; D J
Kre a “ ' ed ‘ t0r ; U " y L ° cke ' ® ss ' st *nl sportf editor . Jane.
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