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The Red and Black. Wednesday. January 24. lt7H
‘Perceptions
Bending the rules
For some reason, rules gov
erning Student Government As
sociation elections always seem
to be disregarded. Campaigning
period hasn't even started for the
annual elections and already two
office hopefuls have been asked
for an explanation of campaign
actions by the election commit
tee.
The two officer seekers are
Billy Key, present senate presi
dent, and Bryan Finch, a
vice-presidential candidate
They’re accused of starting their
campaigns before the official
start up date.
Key says he has done nothing
wrong but has merely “taken a
new initiative” by announcing
his candidacy early. Key added
that some people may be
irritated because they haven't
taken the same initiative.
That’s understandable. If the
other presidential contenders
had realized that the start-up
date could be disregarded then
they too nugnt nave decided to
gear up for the race a little
early But perhaps Key is only
the one who has the inside
knowledge about the new start
up date and he just forgot to tell
the others.
In any case, the situation that
Key has gotten himself into
should serve as an example to
other office seekers who are
thinking about bending the rules,
knowingly or unknowingly.
Letters
‘ERA is for everyone’
TO THK EDITOR:
Despite repeated efforts to clear up
misconceptions about the Equal Rights
Amendment ERA', it is obvious that
many individuals are still confused about
the amendment Brian O'Shea, in his
editorial of January 16 repeated several
of these myths and misconceptions.
The ERA does not erode individual
rights, liberty, or freedom On the
contrary, its broadened individuals shall
not be determined on the basis of sex
ERA applies only to governmental action
and legal rights It has no effect on
private relationships or social customs
The ERA docs not take away state
powers. The wording of Section 2 appears
in amendments 13, 14, 15, 19. 22, 23, and
26. Section 3 allows the states two years
to change its own laws, in effect,
protecting the rights of the states As tor
state protective labor laws, such
legislation has resulted in women being
at the very bottom of the economic scale.
Opponents of the ERA continually
argue that sufficient legislation exists
today, that protects women This is not
true Court ruling under the 14th
.Amendment have denied women the right
to vote (Susan B Anthony 1870); the
right to practice law (Bradwell vs
Illinois 1882); and the right to serve on
Juries (Koyt vs. Florida 1962) In April
1974, Supreme Court Justice Douglas
agreed that the 14th Amendment did not
cover sex discrimination
Further, the Civil Rights Act of 1964
and the 1972 Equal Employment Acts fail
to cover women in small companies
which have no federal contracts and that
do not deal in interstate commerce.
Many people who are aware of their
protection under a constitutional emend
ment are unaware of less significant
legislation. Even if an individual seeks
litigation under the law. this is one
specific case, and does not provide basic
Government shouldn’t
act as parent
Kevin Crysler
constitutional protection for all
Georgia Code 53-501: "The husband is
the head of the family and the wife is
subject to him; her legal civil existence
is merged in the husband except so far as
the law recognizes her separately, either
for her own protection, or for her benefit
or for the preservation of public order."
Section 74-108 says the child remains
under the control of the father until the
age of majority
Efforts by Pro-ERA forces in the state
have been hampered by opponents The
Georgia legislature shows a distinct lack
of concern for changing these legal
inequities. Last week they entombed a
bill in committee which would have
repealed Georgia Code 53-sni.
In conclusion, no law should discrim
inate on the basis of sex. ERA is for
everyone!!
JIM SMITH. SPOKESPERSON
Student Caucus on Women's Issues
I once saw a cartoon in MAD Magazine
where a TV show emcee was giving
strategic advice on how to obtain the
sponsor s product "Okay boy and girls,"
he sounded, "now watch carefully as
Billy tries holding his breath until he
turns blue And here's little Sally
throwing a temper tantrum and going
into convulsions' Now if that doesn't
work, we can always try picking Mommy
and Daddy's pockets right * 1 2 * 4 5 ’ Oh boy,
wont that be fun'” With all the furor
rising up over children's TV advertising,
one wonders if Madison Avenue hasn't
Kevin t rytler is a senior in the School
of Business.
been employing similar tactics
The Federal Trade Commission is
currently considering placing a ban on all
television advertising aimed at "young
children." and further banning ads for
products with "high sugar content"
directed at "older children " The
rationale behind such action, at
expressed by Khoda Karpatkin, executive
director of Consumer Reports Magazine,
is that "young children have not yet
learned to distinguish between tact and
fantasy, to postpone impulsive desires, to
analyze advertising claims rationally, or
to measure what they tee rationally
This point is granted The obvious
naivety of children, however, is no
justification for government trying to
assume the role of the parent In response
to this point, Ms Karpatkin responds, "if
parents could protect their children from
the effect of the commercials, that
argument would be persuasive But
most parents are helpless in the face of
the magnitude and expertise of the
commercial onslaught."
Don't bother writing Consumer I'nlon
for statistics to back up such claims It
would be difficult to find valid statistical
evidence supporting a claim that even a
significant number of parents are
"helpless" in the face of their children's
TV intensified demands (In fact, one
recent study produced evidence which
tends to refute such a claim) The
statement that, in fact, a majority of
parents lack such control over their off
spring is an obvious expression of
over emotionalized rhetoric
It's easy to see how one can be carried
away by such a wave of sentiment, too.
Who doesn't get upset over a picture of
cold hearted tactics mercilessly cajoling
and manipulating innocent young minds?
Yet, even in light of this over-simplified
distortion of reality, an analysis of the
facts and a careful review of the costs
and benefits of the proposed ban provide
strong arguments against such action
Dr Fredrick Greene suggests that
because of the pressures of television
advertising, low income parents are
"buying products they can ill afford.”
Yet Professor Greene freely admits that
his opinion is based on his own
observations and conclusions The tacts,
however, just don't back up Dr Greene's
experience Research specialists Gom
and Goldberg have noted that over 80
percent of the low income parents they
questioned reported that they do not buy
any of the toys their children see
advertised on television at any time other
than Christmas or on birthdays
When you get right down to it, the only
harm that can be reasonably attributed
to TV ads for children is the
disappointment that results when parents
purchasing behavior does not teflect
children's desires Even if such
frustration could be prevented by
regulation, which it can't, it is insane to
suggest that it is a rightful function of
our government to try and shelter
children from being disappointed.
Studies have shown that children
develop a skeptical attitude toward tele
vision advertisements between the ages
of eight and ten Surely the development
of this attitude is largely a function of
experience Wouldn't it be more harmful
for children to gain this experience when
they are older and are making more
purchasing decisions themselves’
Have we forgotten already the last
time the government placed a ban on
television advert,sing’ The only people
who benefited from the FCC's actions to
remove cigarette ads from the airwaves
were the owners of other mediums, most
notably magazines and billboards They
were all caught up in a flood of
advertising money that cigarette manu
facturers spent furiously trying to
maintain the same level of exposure And
time has proven the tobacco industry
quite capable of running a successful
advertising campaign without the benefit
of television
Consider further that this situation is
far more complex than the cigarette
issue What age limits will be
established’ How will it be determined
what age a particular advertisement is
aimed for’ What is to be done about the
influence of ads tor older children on
younger ones’ The list of questions goes
on forever As a result, one can be
assured that the regulations enacted to
answer them will go even further (And
we all know who will pay for the
bureaucratic mess that will develop from
it all )
The irony of it all is that the final harm
of this madness will be to children
themselves Remove the incentive of 200
million advertising dollars from the
scene and the networks would have little
reason to go on producing shows for
young children at all Goodbye Officer
Don. Romper Room, and Saturday
morning cartoons
Sorry kids, but Uncle Sam has to
make sure his little nieces and nephews
aren't ever disappointed
A letter to the leader
Bill Krueger
Mr Roger Strauss
Pies , Student Government Association
Brother, Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity
Dear Roger,
I haven't heard from you lately so I
thought I would drop you a line to see
how things are going It seems that every
time I stop by the office or give you a
call you're not there I understand how
things are, so that's all right The
fraternity probably keeps you busy
The real reason I am writing is not to
talk about your attendance (or lack ofi at
Bill Krueger is the campus editor of The
Red and Black
the office, however Actually I would like
to commend you. You have accomplished
something no other SGA president in
recent memory (or ever) has ever done
You have managed to fulfill the things
you spoke about during your miraculous
campaign last year During your
campaign you didn't really promise the
students you would do anything And I
am proud to say you have kept that
promise—you really haven't done a thing
Oh sure, you asked for a pay raise, but
then that was for you, not for the
students. You received an award in
Esquire magazine but that was for your
mom. not the students
So what if you didn’t get a baggie
placed over the University or bagpipe
music piped into the buses’ Those were
just jokes and no one believed them
anyway
So my congratulations are extended to
you sir. you promised nothing and you
did nothing Most candidates waste our
time by telling us about all the wonderful
things they will do for us if they are
elected and then do nothing
Billy Key. a candidate hoping to take
your spot when you leave, has promised
to improve the University, the University
system, and the city of Athens as it
relates to the University if he is elected
Now you and I both know that if Billy
was capable of such a task, he for damn
sure wouldn't be running for SGA
president He would be out in the real
world getting rich.
The point I am getting at is that if Billy
should happen to win he would be
attacked unmercifully all year long by
scorned voters when he fails to come
through on his promises. You made sure
that no one could say "you promised"
and hence have not received much flak
for doing nothing. In fact the SGA office
has been quieter than it has been for
years while you served your term
This brings me to some criticism I
have of the job you have done (and you
thought I was just going to say nice
things i After the exciting campaign 1
was expecting a term much the same,
one with a lot of excitement but no
content I am disappointed—all you had
was the lack of content.
Even though 1 am proud of the job you
haven't done, it seems others in SGA
don’t feel the same way. I guess you
noticed that you will be serving the
shoriest term by a president in recent
memory They held the elections which
you were victorious in last spring and are
holding them early winter quarter this
>'*ar
I bet you're pretty mad about that
they pa.-' the same as any other presides
and you don’t get to not work as long If !
was you I would start not working nighb
to show tneni you are as bad as any pas
student bidy president
I do have one other complaint. Las
year after you were elected you promisee
me that you would not establish t
FlJlocracy in SGA. That is to say yo«
were not going to allow your fraternity
brothers to infiltrate our student
government.
However, there are reportedly so many
FIJI'S in the student judiciary that most
of the time they answer the phone “Phi
Gamma Delta, can I help you."
I guess I should wish you good luck
after you leave office but for all I know
you could have already left But if you
ever need a recommendation for a job or
to get into law school or something drop
me a line and I'll be more than glad to
help After all. few people keep their
word as well as you did this past year
Well I guess I better wrap this letter up
and let you get back to all of your
important business. Drop me a line
sometime to tell me how things are
going.
Yours truly,
Bill
We should honor Dr. King
Last Monday, Jan.15. was the 50th
birthday of one of the greatest men who
has ever lived But was there a holiday,
either national or statewide, to honor this
great man. Martin Luther King, Jr.’ No,
there was not
token. Martin Luther King, Jr. was "more
than a man" to black Americans
Someone might agree with this, but
bring out the point that Christmas is not
a national holiday, but a religious one.
they cannot do is make people change
their feelings And there are those who
have decided that there will never be a
stale or federal holiday for a black man
Well, they are wrong.
Those who would vote against making
Dr King's birthday a holiday might
argue that King was not a president, and
there simply cannot be a holiday for
every great American, or in the case of a
statewide holiday, for every great
Georgian They also might claim that
there are already too many holidays,
such as Lincoln’s and Washington's
birthdays.
But I am willing to wager that
virtually ever person who would vote
against making Dr King’s birthdav a
national or state holiday, do themseives
celebrate the birthday of a man. not even
This is true in theory, but in practice
what’s the difference? As I have stated,
local, state, and federal employees are
given the day off on Christmas, as well
as all school children.
So why isn’t there a national or at least
a state holiday for this great Georgian
and American’ The answer is simple
Racism The judicial and legislative
branches of this country can make people
be fair in business practices, housing,
school admissions, etc., but one thing
. T;. oeciare a nali
fmliday celebrating Dr King s birth
President Carter and Senator
Kennedy have already said they
*ork hard to make this a reality
And. hopefully, after there is a national
holiday, the great state of Georgia will
finally honor its greatest man, a black
man. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
Seth Cohen is a senior in the School of
Journalism
an American, much less a president And
not only do they celebrate this man’s
birthday, but on this day federal, state
and local officials, as well as most
working Americans are given the day off
Strangely enough this man was very
similar to Dr King For example
1 Both men were dreamers. They saw
great possibilties for the future
2 Both fought against social, political,
and economic injustices
3. Through their actions both men
changed the course of human history.
4 Both men were "men of God" and
constantly turned to Him for guidance
5 Both men were disliked by the
majority but revered by a small group.
8 Neither man expected to live a full
life
7. Both men were put to death by tne
society in which they lived Dr King by an
assassins bollet. and Jesus Christ by
crucifixion
Some people would stop me at this
point and claim 1 have made a false
analogy They would point out that Jesus
was "more than a man " This point
however, is sadly lacking in empirical
evidence I will grant that to a particular
group of people. Christians, Jesus was
"more than a man." But, by the same
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