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The Red and Hlack
Friday. May 8.1981
Established IS93
Incorporated 1980
Charles H. Russel It General Manager
Brian O'Shea. Editor-in-chief Justin Gillis, Managing Editor
TheJftedamHMacl^
VGCPA
UOIGi OlllGI
»«IVS >H( A' N
Thank you, mom, for the
times that we’ve shared
An independent student newspaper not affiliated with the University of Georgia.
Picking a council rep
A new student representative to the Athens Ci
ty Council will be chosen within the next few
weeks, but students will have no say in the selec
tion. That revelation is no news, but it raised
serious questions about the benefits of having a
student sit on council.
The representative, affectionately called the
City Council liaison, attends all council
meetings, giving student opinion and feedback.
The liaison has no office on campus, his name
and phone number are not readily available to
normal students, and he has no method of
measuring student opinion. Furthermore, he
has no need to measure student opinion.
The liaison is appointed by the Office of Stu
dent Affairs, an office apparently committed to
providing students with appointed “represen
tatives" whether they want one or not.
The current liaison, John Breaugh, will retire
soon and Student Affairs is ready to take ap
plications for his replacement.
The new liaison will be chosen by a commit
tee of Dwight Douglas, vice president for stu
dent affairs; William Mendenhall, associate
vice president; Breaugh and two students from
the University Council. Without casting asper
sions on the committee members, we must
wonder why this committee can better select
someone to represent the students than could
the students themselves.
The liaison is basically an advocate for
University students and an information source
about the decisions before City Council. Yet he
is chosen for the job by the Office of Student Af
fairs and works closely with Douglas in the job.
Student elections are not a perfect selection pro
cess, but perhaps the liaison would work more
closely with students if they had the power to
hire and fire him.
The main disadvantage of popular election,
Student Affairs might argue, is that students
might elect a liaison who is not qualified for the
job. If Douglas is worried about qualifications,
we would suggest he hire a professional lobbyist
to attend the council meeting. A trained lobbyist
who was paid by Student Affairs could develop
better contacts with the council members than
could an appointed student, and he could stay in
the job for several years and become quite profi
cient at advocating University interests.
Until the University hires a lobbyist, and we
don’t recommend it do so, we would prefer that
students be allowed to choose their own
representatives — whether to the City Council
or the administration.
Slow check-out
While it may be true that all good things must
come to an end, we are starting to wonder if one
good thing — an automated book check-out
system in the University libraries — will even
begin. Automated check-out, which is part of the
library’s total automation system, was suppos
ed to start last fall, then maybe by the end of
winter. Now they say we won’t have computer
check-out until next fall. Perhaps someone
should speed things up by sending library of
ficials an overdue notice. That’d be fine with us.
Tekhs? SAID IE
SEX EDUCATION CUTS
MAX BE CANCELED 'CUZ
W? PEASAN TdlMKS PARENTS
DO A BETTER JOB OF
TEACHING kids about
SEX ’AN NEAT STUFF
LIKE W.
I got a request last weekend from my
biggest fan. My mother asked me not to
use the words “damn" or “hell” in my
column anymore. "I want to be able to
show your articles to my friends and
the people at church,” she pleaded.
(Some of the brethren and sistren at my
hometown church make Billy Graham
look like an agnostic.)
Okay Mom, no “damns” or “hells”
this week. I won’t even use
to denote those phrases too colorful for
even The Red and Black to print After
all, Sunday is Mothers’ Day and I guess
honoring this request is the least I can
do for you. (I don’t want it said that I
didn't do the least I could do.)
My mother asks so little of me — only
that I bring home coat hangers when
she runs out, make good grades in
school and remember all holidays
celebrated by the giving of presents.
She particularly refers to the holiday on
which she receives presents. Two
weeks before Christmas and her birth
day, she inevitably tells me what she
wants, where to get it and how much it
costs — down to the blamed penny! I
hate giving a gift that may not be ap
preciated. My mother hates getting one
she won’t appreciate.
Every time a famous person at
tributes their success to the love and
support given them by their mother (or
anything else equally as goofy), my
mother makes sure I hear or read what
they said. She eats that stuff up like
garbage. When Georgia played South
Carolina this year, a reporter asked
George Rogers what he would do with
the millions he would surely get upon
turning pro. He answered, “The first
thing I'm gonna do is buy a house for
my momma to live in." The next time I
came home, I found this article clipped
out of the paper and lying on my bed,
where I would be sure to see it. I'm sur
prised she didn’t underline Roger’s
quotes in red highlight ink.
I can't complain about my mom
Edward Thomas
‘To this day, I’d
rather go to a football
game with my mom
than anyone else’
though. She’s done a lot for me over the
years. And I've done a lot to her. One
night, she walked into the bathroom to
find her younger son throwing up a bot
tle of Jim Beam bourbon he had con
sumed earlier in the evening. With a
tear in her eye, she asked if I wanted
her to make me some coffee. I told her
coffee only works in the movies.
Last winter, we had to put the eleven-
year-old dog I loved more than
anything else to sleep. I had to make
this decision, but 1 refused to make it
until I talked to her about it. That time,
I had a tear in my eye.
Last summer, my mother let me
stand next to her at my father’s funeral.
I don’t know who needed who the most
then. We both had tears in our eyes that
day.
My mother didn't give me Bulldog
fever, but she has thrown more than her
share of fuel on the fire.
When she gets dressed for a game,
she puts Uga himself to shame! To this
day, I’d rather go to a football game
with my mom than anyone else.
She’s the only one I let talk to me if
Georgia falls behind in a game. And she
always says the same thing: “Don’t
give up yet, bud Game's not over yet.
But don't be disappointed if Georgia
doesn’t win.” With the diversity of the
University’s cirriculum, I wish they of
fered Parental Wisdom 226. My mom
could teach it.
Last Saturday,I watched a Braves
game with my mom. To my surprise,
she knew what was going on! She even
knew how much money Claudell
Washington is getting! Having a
mother interested in baseball
fascinates me, so I called her Wednes
day and asked her if she'd go to the
Braves’ game with me Sunday. She
said yes, and then proceeded to hit me
below the belt. “Why don’t you go to
church with me Sunday?” she asked
After a pause, she added, "It’s
Mothers’ Day."
I grimaced and started to say no
Somewhere between my brain and
vocal chords, though, the no changed to
yes. I hate it when she pulls that stunt. 1
also can't resist it.
The worst part of my college ex
perience has been the semi-separation
from my home and family. Since I’m a
senior though, this will soon end.
(Another reason I can't wait to
graduate!) But until June, I'll settle for
watching a Braves game with mom and
buying her a stadium hot dog. And if the
Braves fall behind, I know she’ll say:
“Don't give up yet. Game's not over
yet. But don’t be disappointed if the
Braves don’t win.” For once, I don’t
think I will be.
Edward Thomas is a senior in the
School of Journalism.
The credit card syndrome turns a
dull nobody into trusted person
I have “clout.”
No, not because I sit in this office with
my own desk and telephone, telling
people what to do and not to do. And it is
not even because I have my own
column, which allows me to say what I
please and get away with it, save for the
few surly letters questioning my sanity
and-or maturity these “masterpieces"
sometimes provoke.
And it is not because I have money; I
don’t — as my ll-year old "land yacht"
(1970 Delta 88 four-door car with a 455
Rocket V-8) will attest. Cars that old
that get the kind of gas mileage mine
does (aboutTO gallons to the mile on a
downhill slope with a strong tailwind
and three people pushing) cost very
little to buy, though the aristocratic
taste they have for petrol gets ex
pensive.
1 have something better than
position, status, money or the other
things associated with having power
I have a credit card — a Master
Charge in fact As the ads say, I have
“clout.”
The card arrived with absolutely no
fanfare 1 applied for it, and suddenly,
some six weeks later, it was in my
hands And just as suddenly, I became
somebody. Steve Martin may need the
phone book to prove he exists, but John
Q. Public needs a credit card.
Credit cards were the natural
Tim Bonner
outgrowth of the spending excesses that
post-World War II America went
through. But their importance has gone
far beyond the limits of the "buy now,
pay later" philosophy that made credit
cards so desirable to consumer
America in the first place. That little
piece of plastic is its holder’s proof of
being, his bullhorn to the world that
says, “Yes, I am somebody," even if
being somebody means assuming a 16-
digit identity.
In my pre-Master Charge days, I was
a nobody. Ever tried to cash a check
without a credit card? Sure, it is easy in
Athens (student IDs being as accepted
as they are), but try it elsewhere, like in
my hometown, Atlanta. I was getting
tired of promising folks my first-born
male child should the check I wrote
bounce
Ah, but no more. Now, I just whip out
that card, and it proves who I am, that 1
am trustworthy and keeps me from
signing away any children that may be
in the offing I am sure this will please
my future wife (Lord knows who that
will be — I certainly don’t) to no end
I also get all this wonderful mail from
companies who suddenly found out I
was somebody. These companies allow
me to buy anything I want through the
mail by simply filling in my 16 digits in
the appropriate blank Well, I guess I
probably will need to take advantage of
the opportunity to buy the nuts, bolts
and screws that I am now good enough
to be able to buy since the bank issued
my card.
Naturally, there are also letters from
companies asking if you would like one
of their credit cards. Once you have one
card, everyone assumes you want as
many as you can get.
Of course, thanks to the state
legislature, we now must pay an annual
users' fee of up to $12 for the privilege of
having a bank credit card. In essence,
you have to pay to prove you exist.
What would Will Rogers, who got upset
when being hassled to produce a birth
certificate to prove his identity and
rattled off the line "I can’t prove I was
born, but you can t deny that I am
here," say about this latest trend?
The bankers claim credit cards are a
losing proposition and need the yearly
users' fee to at least break even It
seems 70 percent or so of the holders of
credit cards either use the card for
identification or pay off their bills in full
at the end of the month, thus denying
the banks any interest
‘Law Day festivities included more than abortion demonstrators’
TO THE EDITOR:
It appears as though The Red and
Black is becoming a journalistic magic
show. In its May 5 article,
“Blackmun's appearance attracts
anti-abortionists,” The Red and Black
transformed a speech by a United
States Court Justice into an anti
abortionist protest. By so doing, The
Red and Black has violated what must
be a fundamental command of its pro
fession, “Thou shalt report accurate
ly "
Much material existed for a story
with Law Day as the central theme
Law Day, celebrated on May 1 of each
year, is a national commemoration of
the United States legal system Forty
thousand Law Day exercises were held
across the country last year At our
Law School, Law Day festivities span
ned two days and included a panoply of
events which could have been covered
by The Red and Black rather than brief
ly mentioned. In addition, at the Law
School during those days were several
justices of the Georgia Supreme Court
and Court of Appeals, judges of the U S
5th Circuit Court of Appeals (the level
of courts just below the U.S. Supreme
Court), the Governor of Georgia, and a
Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The
Red and Black might have set some
type on a topic related to those visitors
The article itself contained several
inaccuracies. The Red and Black
reported that Justice Blackmun had
once received a plaque bearing the
message "Because you were there, we
are here." The Justice, however,
distinctly stated that the plaque had
been presented to Justice Marshall by
students of a predominantly black law
school. Secondly, the 100 anti-abortion
protesters counted by The Red and
Black exceeded an amount which would
even have included the young children
accompanying the adult protesters
This writer, standing close to the pro
testers, estimated 25 adults in that
group.
The rigor of publishing a daily
newspaper calls for the equal rigor of
professional editorial scrutiny To turn
to another media. Jack Webb used to in
struct witnesses to tell "only the facts."
He obviously did not mean "only some
of the facts."
BRUCE A. REZNIK
Second year law
‘The Dregs are
definitely new’
TO THE EDITOR:
I think the Dregs are a “new band" in
more ways than Steve Morse, as
reported by Jay Watson (Red and
Black, April 29) (And by the way, Jay,
it’s Rod “Morgenstein,’’ not
"Morgenstem ") I have been an avid
“Drcggie" for two years. The one thing
I have loved about them is that they are
predictably unpredictable, or rather,
they were.
Familiarity with The Dregs’ history
reveals a non-materialistic devotion to
musical excellence, both in composition
and in execution. For years they
dodged financial and marketing
torpedoes, damning them with their
determination to be the musicians they
wanted to be
I would not object to this change if it
had been motivated by other reasons. I
can understand wanting to please au
diences. I can understand wanting to
make more money. I even could have
accepted just being tired of playing
such difficult music But their initial
goal was exactly to forget money and
popularity and play challenging music.
I cannot see changing musical horizons
so people will not be distracted at par
ties. The Dregs have sold themselves
out.
As for their show Monday night, it
was not all that Jay Watson reported.
They not only denied a second encore to
an audience that refused for 20 minutes
to leave, they also declined to play any
older songs inconsistent with their new
sound (That is, they now have more in
common with Bob Dylan than just not
singing.) It seems their calculated fits-
and-startsopuses (like"IceCakes" and
“Travel Tunes”) now have skeleton-in-
the-closet status and will not be played
for fear of distracting the audience
Morse's guitar solo was stunted by a
technical failure which pre-empted
more Led Zeppelin themes which usual
ly emerge in that now-traditional part
of their show Also, with all due respect,
Mark O'Connor got completely lost dur
ing "Odyssey.” I readily forgave this —
he is a new member, and a welcome
change from finicky Allen Sloan. But
the concert was far less polished than
just two nights earlier in the Fox where
Sloan made a guest apperance, notably
pinch-hitting on "Odyssey." Given
their change motives and the different
tenor of their concert appearances. T he
Dregs are, lamentably, a new band
BIRNEY BULL
First year law
Still, I am keeping my card, as
distasteful as it is to have to pay to
prove you exist. After all, it gives me
clout. I may even go into one of those
two million stores that honor the card
and use it for the old-fashioned purpose
of buying something that I can’t afford
and then worrying about paying for it
later.
And I can relax — I know I exist. For
awhile, I was really worried.
I wanted to write a Mother's Day
column, but I was told that my page
partner, Edward "Looping pitch"
Thomas, had dibs on that subject Well,
anyway, I hope that no one will forget
their mother on Sunday — mothers do a
whole lot of nice things, and they
deserve to be remembered and
acknowledged, with at least a card or a
phone call.
And here is to my mother from an
aspiring journalist who cannot even
begin to think of the right words to
thank her for everything she has done
and everything she has meant to me
hope "thanks" and I love you will
suffice.
Tim Bonner is news editor for The Red
and Black
Departments
EDITORIAL 543-1809
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