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t*igr 4
The Red and Black. Thursday. February 15. l»79
^Perceptions
Results needed
Tuesday’s parking ticket de
monstration in Memorial Plaza
definitely illustrates the frustra
tion felt by many with the
parking situation here but it isn’t
likely to have any effect on the
problem whatsoever.
The demonstration called on
all students to come out to the
plaza and burn all their campus
parking tickets. About 30 stu
dents elected to do so even
though Doug Teper, organizer of
the rally, cautioned that the
tickets would have to be paid
anyway.
As teper pointed out, the
student senate should have
initiated some sort of action
Letters
instead of himself. But we don't
agree with rallies such as the
one put on Tuesday because they
simply don't do any good, as
demonstrated in the past.
Instead the senate should ar
range to have its members sit in
on campus planning committees
and parking situation meetings.
It’s not going to take just a
simple phone call to ask to sit in
on these meetings It’s going to
take a lot of pushing and letters
and complaints until the people
in charge agree to let student
representatives sit in on meet
ings. But that is what a student
senate is for, to let the student
voice be heard no matter what it
takes.
Jim Tardy, the campus paik-
ing director, has some good
ideas about the parking situation
here on campus and would
probably be glad to discuss those
ideas with an authorized student
group. The student senate has a
lot of potential but it is going to
take work. The best thing that
could happen to the senate right
now is for some hard working,
motivated people to come in and
ignore the old rules surrounding
the senate and get things done.
There are too many problems at
the University to ignore them
any longer.
‘Vote for abolition of salaries’
TO THE EDITOR:
With elections today, politics comes
again to the University campus Deciding
not to succumb to the generally apathetic
attitude most students have. I decided to
become involved in at least one issue
facing the students It did not take long to
decide which one
Student government at the University
has always been viewed in a not totally
serious manner by the majority of the
students here The main reason for this is
probably the fact that, in my memory,
student government has done nothing to
help the students It has generally been a
body of people who wish recognition and
a nice resume entry. Yet some of these
people are paid, and that money is
coming out of the student activity fees we
all pay What they do to deserve this
money, particularly in light of how
seriously some of the officers take their
jobs, is beyond my comprehension When
1 heard of a referendum that called for
the abolition or reduction of their salaries
my path wjs cleat,
A friend and 1 drew up a motion calling
for the total abolition of salaries for
student government officers and went
looking for a senator to endorse the
motion We soon found that such a motion
was not a new idea and that the
probability of it passing in its present
form was slight We talked with Billy
Ke>. our student senate president, who
told us that with some changes in its
content and scope he would introduce and
endorse the motion at the then scheduled
Feb 7 senate meeting We decided not to
have our first motion introduced at last
weeks senate meeting but to work on a
new one that would have a greater
chance of passage We compromised our
original purpose of abolition for a mere
reduction in salaries and expanded it to
include all University students salaried
from activity fees These were the exact
changes that Mr Key suggested and
stated he would endorse We felt very
good about the entire matter
Then. Mr Key initiated the motion that
the Feb 7 meeting be canceled due to a
total lack of business for the senate.
Needless to say 1 was upset by this turn
of events and can only wonder what
caused our student senate president to go
back on his word Maybe he was afraid of
the adverse publicity he could receive
from the University Union and The Red
and Black staff while in the running for
student body president I now know that
my original intentions will not be
compromised again I would also urge all
students to vote in today's elections and
to vote for the abolition of student
government officers salaries
ERED HOLTZ
‘Reporting was
very helpful’
TO THE EDITOR:
The patience and understanding shown
by our customers during this long outage
was most gratifying to us at Georgia
Power Company The reporting by the
staff of The Red and Black on the
conditions surrounding the ice storm
contributed greatly to the public
understanding
Damage was extensive, as you know,
and it was not until after midday on
Wednesday that any real progress in
restoring service was made-lines were
being knocked out faster than we were
restoring them It was not until about
9:00 Wednesday night that we were
able to keep all of the main feeders on
in Athens operating Many of these were
not complete even then
We normally have 10 crews in Athens
However, the build-up of our work force
continued until we had 102 crews working
Thursday
Many times the public offered our
crews coffee and snacks This public
support and personal kindnesses were
appreciated.
J. II. KOEN
Division Energy
Services Manager
‘Residents are
the victims’
TO THE EDITOR:
The real victims of last week's ice
storm were the 9th floor residents of
Oglethorpe House On the night of Feb 7.
our entire floor was flooded with water,
resulting in an evacuation of all 9th floor
residents. Now. my room is in a
shambles, many personal belongings
have been ruined, and the management
of Oglethorpe House has offered little or
no assistance in resolving these matters
I find it hard to believe that the
management of this building could be so
unhelpful, indignant, and apathetic
towards its residents, but this appears to
be the case On the night of the flood, we
were offered no help from the staff in
evacuating our personal belongings, and
then the management seemed totally
unconcerned with where we spent the
night! We were not provided with
temporary lodgings until the next night,
and that was only after a group of
residents convinced^the manager that we
needed someplace 'to sleep that didn't
smell like a sewer' Our R A. has been of
no use at all in helping his fellow
residents His answers to our questions
Don’t restrict
all advertising
Kevin Crysler
range from. "I don't know” and "Ask
someone else."
1 am sitting in my room as I write this,
and the odor coming from the rancid
carpet is disgusting While it is hard to
believe that 1 paid $577 this quarter for a
room that smells like a cesspool, it is
even harder to accept the hateful,
unreceptive attitude of the management
and staff of Oglethorpe House. All that I
am asking for is a fair deal-but evidently
the management here feels that having a
decent room to live in is asking too much.
DAN GLICKMAN
‘Vote Guttery
and Steger’
TO THE EDITOR:
1 have watched the election process
very carefully Up until Monday night, I
hadn't planned on Voting because 1 felt
that the whole student government biz
was a waste of my time and effort.
However, in talking with Cynthia Guttery
and Brian Steger of the All Campus
Ticket. I have become convinced that
SGA can be effective and can save me
money if the people in SGA will work at
it
Cynthia outlined for me plans for a
self-supporting Student Credit Union run
for and by us. the students. As she
explained it. the free checking, lower
interest rates, and easily obtainable loans
will save us tens of thousands of dollars.
This program will not come about
without hard work. Brian and Cynthia
have shown me that they are willing to
work their tails off to save us this money.
By now, you may think I’m a poli-sci
major. I’m merely a very economically
minded undergraduate geology student
who wants to get through the bank
account stripping ordeal of college a little
easier Political games are not my style
and people like Brian and Cynthia appear
to be willing and able to work to save us
money
JIM PARVELL
Time and time again I’ve read
someone expressing fear of the supposed
power of advertisers to instill needs in
people. A recent letter to this paper’s
editor expressed the belief that adver
tisers 'place' the idea that you "must buy
their product" in the mind of the
consumer The anonymous letter writer
suggested there should be laws to protect
"mentally deficient” people from being
"ripped-off" by advertisers.
Kevin Crysler is a senior in the School of
Business
The assumption that advertisers are
capable of creating needs in an individual
is a belief caged in ignorance. A simple
review of the facts about advertising and
the marketing function in general would
seem, therefore, to oe in order
The first step in developing a
successful product is to correctly identify
a specific need in a particular segment of
society. A product must then be designed
to meet that need (or problem, goal,
desire, etc.). The advertiser’s job is to
show the consumer how their product is
better designed to suit that need than
other available products.
The example of women’s make-up,
which was cited in last Wednesday’s
letter, is a good case-in-point. Revlon
does not create a woman’s aspiration for
beauty or need for self esteem. In fact,
most cosmetic companies do not try to
specifically convince women tiiat make
up, in general, enhances beauty These
companies simply try to demonstrate to
already loyal make-up users that their
product is more capable of fulfilling a
particular need than other products on
the market.
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The manner in which some women
choose to use these products is not the
issue It is indeed unfortunate that a
handful of w'omen deem it necessary to
use cosmetics as if they were war paints
This is not. however, the fault of the
advertiser It would be foolish to try and
restrict the freedom of individual women
to adorn themselves as they see fit. Even
if this were wise, it would be more
appropriate to pass laws attempting to
stop sociological influences such as peer
group pressure and parental values from
contributing to the establishment of value
systems conducive to the purchasing of
make-up.
This would obviously be both impos
sible and absurd Yet it would also be
quite difficult and just as absurd to
attempt to stop advertisers from using
paid media announcements to gain
exposure for their client's products.
A similar fallacy that often underlies a
fear of the marketing function became
apparent in a letter by Kirk Martin which
was printed in last Tuesday’s edition of
this paper
In his letter. Mr Martin commented
that there is a force perpetrated by the
marketing function which "convinces us
we must have certain items to survive."
He went on to allege that this force "has
denied us...the realization that many of
the products we consume are unneces
sary."
I think, if you’ll look at that statement
carefully Kirk, you’ll see where you’ve
contradicted yourself. Obviously you’ve
come to the realization that there are a
multitude of products on the market that
serve no purpose for you at all These
products would not survive, however, if
someone weren’t deriving satisfaction
from them. Do you suggest that you and I
are members of a select group of
enlightened consumers*’ Are we the only
ones intelligent enough not to waste
money on products that have no utility
for us? I think not.
Mr Martin suggested further that, as a
result of man’s having risen above a
level where he seeks to fulfill only the
most basic physical needs, he has
become enslaved by a ‘devil’’ which
forces him to mindlessly consume. How,
may I ask. does one become entrapped
by a virtually unlimited number of
choices 0
The marketing profession has devel
oped an increasing ability to identify
common elements in the sophisticated
need structures of various individuals It
has been this ability, combined with
technological advancements and the
innovation necessary to apply technology
to individual needs, that has created
more freedom of choice for the consumer
than has ever existed before.
The suggestion that we are denied the
opportunity to choose against purchasing
items we don t need is ridiculous. If
advertisers were truly capable of forcing
needs unto people then the development
of new products would not be such a long
and costly process, there would not be
such a high incidence of product failures
and business would not spend so much
money on marketing research
It would lie a travesty of justice to
unduly restrict business from providing
us with new- alternatives. Such action
would not only be futile, it would be
extremely costly If regulations were
enacted to seriously restrict legitimate
advertising practices we would all pay
for it as taxpayers, consumers and
employees Not only would this cause
a needless increase in the bureaucracy
and upward pressure on prices, it would
serve to inhibit the creation of new jobs.
Midterm crisis:
in midst of darkness
Mark Shavin
God spoke the night of the ice storm
and She wasn't happy. Because long
distance is the next best thing to being
there. She phoned. And She reversed
charges. Of course I was surprised. I
seldom get phone calls. I was in the
middle of a midterm exam due the
following afternoon, and She chastised
me for beginning it at the last moment.
She said thousands would suffer for their
poor planning and shoddy work I said.
"Oh.”
Mark Shavin Is a senior In the School of
Journalism
I figure She called me because I'm a
journalist and could relay the message
At the time, however, 1 didn't think much
much of it. She was of a sour disposition,
and I reasoned that this was probably
just "Her time of the millenium ’’ Hours
later, however, the electricity in my
apartment failed, robbing the breath
from my electric Smith-Corona and
putting an end to my furious typing.
Networks of crystal all over Athens sent
tree limbs thundering earthward, using
power lines as hammocks
But my midterm crisis didn’t begin
when the lights went out. Yours probably
didn’t either I spent three days before
the power outage toiling over another
take-home exam Hours spent bent over a
kitchen table struggling to answer the
questions degenerated the cartilage
between my vertebrae. In short, what
was once an impressive, statuesque
build, molded within a towering five foot
eight and three quarter inch—without
heels—frame, is now a stooped,
gelatinous vestige of its former self
A few hours before I finished the exam,
I whipped up a hearty meal of breaded
fish sticks, breaded eggplant and breaded
onion rings Living alone and cooking for
myself for the first time have turned me
into a resourceful chef I have developed
a repertoire of four, three course, fifteen
minute meals, several of which are
bum-proof (tunafish sandwiches, with a
side order of tuna and a tuna sundae
dessert, for example). My hands,
however, look like the swarthy, calloused
tools of the construction worker They
are oven-charred and stove-scarred and,
unlike the manual laborer. I flit about my
kitchen with a note dangling from my
pinkie reminding: "Misshapen hands
make the work lively."
I didn't scorch my fingers that evening,
rather my fate was heartburn and a
persistent pimple that stands like a
monument in the barren no man’s land of
cheek and jowl.
I finished my first take-home exam that
evening after first feeding my starving
tropical fish Three days without food had
motivated them to synchronize their
swimming in an effort to roil the water
into successive tidal waves that smashing
against the glass nearest the refrigerator
might budge the tank in the direction of
sustenance One fish fractured a gill in
the brouhaha And all because my
midterms had required my undivided
attention.
Also because of midterms, the dog got
hit by a station wagon I had no time to
walk her and at first opportunity she
bounded out of her master's arms, raced
to the top of the driveway and made
acquaintance with a fender She's okay,
though While the veterinarian wasn't
able to sew her head back on, the family
quickly agreed that she didn't have too
much upstairs anyway, thus this was no
great loss She had buckteeth tp boot
And we frequently did. The folks wanted
to stuff her head—it had been
empty—and mount it on a wall in the
den, but I insisted we put it on a spring
next to the back window of the family
car Actually, she suffered only minor
injuries.
1 began my second midterm—due the
following day—the night of the storm
*Hiere was that phone rail and then a
transformer exploded, plunging my
apartment into darkness. Indomitable
boy scout that I am—actually, I got
kicked out of the troop my first day for
driving a den mother (bless her soul) to
the verge of insanity—I was nonetheless
unprepared 1 didn’t have a candle or a
flashlight Or even a match, as I don't
barbecue my lungs or my food. I left my
chair and promptly walked into the edge
of a door It was then that I realized that
smoking can be good for your health And
1 knew how the dog felt
It was ten o'clock and I hadn’t eaten
dinner so I climbed in my car to hunt
down a restaurant But the only places
, that seemed to have power were the
liquor stores. Made sense to me.
A small diner, a favorite of mine, also
had electricity and stood a lighthouse
amid a choppy sea of ice I like the place
because it is seldom crowded and I never
feel lonely eating there alone Further, I
like watching the characters who wander
in and out: truckers, whores, salesmen,
fortunetellers. That evening, the place
was packed and the only soothsayers
there were storm-weary kin and
confounded weathermen in from the cold
and the damD and the dark
I ate quickly and directed my car
toward a small convenience store just
beyond city limits and found it had
power I bought seven candles and tried
to buy a flashlight, but the cashier
wouldn’t sell me one because he didn’t
know what it cost As l was leaving, what
looked like Georgia Power’s whole fleet
rumbled up for a snack of Twinkies.
I made one more stop before returning
to my apartment to finish my exam in
longhand and by candlelight 1 entered
the lobby of a motel to see if 1 might type
my exam in its business office. It was
midnight and the deskclerk wasn’t
expecting company. I always find it
embarrassing to stumble upon lovers
loving The lights were dim and I averted
my eyes and cleared my throat. 1
startled them out of their embrace which
in turn startled me They were both men
with a sheepish grin, asked if he could
help me
"Mind if 1 type a midterm in that office
back there?’ I queried.
"Well, we’re not supposed to let anyone
back in the office,” he replied. M 1 can
rent you a room ”
"No thanks," I said Afterall, rules are
rules. Decorum is decorum
I finished my last midterm in an
apartment, dimly lit and exceedingly
chilly Tests. I suppose, are meant to
help you acquire and consolidate
information But it’s awfully hard to see
the light—in the dark
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