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The K**d jnd Black
Frida). March 12, m2
The Red an# piasfc.
Hr 1
GCPA
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Established 1893 — Incorporated 1980
Charles H. Kussell, General Manager
Mack Browning. Kditor-in-chief Tim Bonner, Managing Editor
An independent student newspaper not affiliated with the University of Georgia
Follow leaders into space
Davison’s report
All is well at the University, says President
Fred Davison.
Sure.
Davison, who drove to Atlanta Tuesday to
inform the Board of Regents of the University’s
advancement in teaching, research and public
service, was once again putting the campus to
the forefront of America’s system of higher
education
What does Davison take us for, and why
should the Board of Regents want to listen to his
ravings in the first place?
As usual. Davison addressed nothing of
substance, therefore giving no answers to
concerns which face us all. Oh yes, he did
recognize that without further increases in
allowances from the state and federal govern
ment, the University could not buy new
equipment which would enhance research ef
forts at the University. The University is among
the top 50 research schools in the country, you
at all
know, and Davison must keep it there
costs.
But what is more bothersome is that Davison
says “the University’s 'faculty and students
represent the greatest critical mass of talent
ever assembled in the state of Georgia . "
Davison gives that statement despite the fact
the University has one of the lowest percentages
of black faculty members in the South, and
despite the fact the University has failed to meet
recruitment goals for admitting qualified black
students.
We also find that faculty members' paychecks
cannot even keep up with the rise in inflation.
Salary deficiencies would have more to do with
not attracting quality teachers than would
inadequate equipment, as Davison told the
Regents.
Davison would have us swallow the bait
whole. But no, all is not peachy keen at the
University — as Davison would have us believe.
A tradition of no tradition
As lonK as some of the current crop of
administrators and high ranking
University officials remain at their
positions, what those same officials do
and say — mostly say — will never
cease to amaze
Such is the case with a particular
quote from Dwight Douglas, vice
president of Student Affairs, that ap
peared in a story about the advantages
of an academic calendar based on the
semester system The story has yet to
see print, by the way, so don’t feel like
you've missed something.
Now, mind you, I have nothing in the
world against Dwight Douglas We
have probably met only once or twice
since I've been here, although there
have been numerous phone con
versations between us He has even
been cordial when I have had to call
him after working hours at his home to
verify information for a story
The quote itself may seem pretty
innocuous Essentially, Douglas said
the quarter system does not serve the
University well anymore (an opinion I
wholeheartedly agree withi, and that
what is good for the other 32 schools in
the University System is not
necessarily good for the University (no
argument from here on that one,
either l
Hut then. Douglas went and blew it by
saying why this is so He believes — as
do many other administrators and
faculty members, 1 would imagine -
that the University, because it has
more tradition and history to it than the
other schools in the system, should
therefore get to do different things
That's a pretty weak argument,
especially at a University that has as
little tradition as this one
I won't argue that we don't have more
tradition and history than the other
schools in the state, but that is as it
should bo at a school that’s 197 years
old
However, that's still not saying a
whole lot.
Granted, the University does have a
good deal of history to it — that can be
said for anything that's 197 years old
But in the traditional sense of the word,
this University has almost no tradition,
particularly University-like tradition.
North Campus is a pretty historical
place, what with all the old buildings,
old trees, archaic presidents and old
professors that inhabit the place Heck.
‘In the traditional
sense of the word, this
University has almost
no tradition, par
ticularly University
like tradition. ’
someone even discovered a time
capsule buried up there a few years
ago And, lest we forget, LeConte Hall
is up there, somewhere, too.
If ever a place was steeped in history
- European, Chinese, American or
University — it's LeConte Hall.
But 1 still failed to see any great
amount of tradition, save for the
ringing of the Chapel bell after the Dogs
win, even though I pondered the
question for at least 10 minutes
This same subject had come up about
a month earlier as I sat at a professor's
home late one night and we discussed
the fate of the world in general and the
University in particular. The professor,
who shall remain anonymous, agreed
that, tradition-wise, the University was
definitely lacking
Consider for a moment what should
be the most traditional of all University
activities, graduation I consider
graduation a lot, because I get out of
this place in June (And have you ever
noticed how people always talk about
getting "out" of school, as if we were in
prison or something )
Graduation ceremonies generally
have a great deal of tradition to them,
but not here There are no marches
through campus for the graduates;
there is no handshake from the
president, and, worst of all. there is no
diploma to show your parents, your
friends, your potential employers and
your pet poodle to actually prove you
survived four years at this school
(while paying thousands of dollars in
the process).
The diploma, if you are lucky, comes
in the mail about four months later.
Boy, what a grand tradition.
I understand the problem the
University has in preparing all the
diplomas, but certainly in this com
puterized age the University can come
up with a method for presenting the
diploma at the ceremony. Without a
diploma, graduation is an empty and
meaningless event
I also understand that President
Davison, if he were to give a diploma to
every graduate and shake every
graduate's hand, would probably lose
the use of his hands for the remaining
summer months But what prevents the
deans of each school from
simultaneously handing out diplomas
and shaking hands Heck, we could
even start a new tradition.
Of course, if this University had any
tradition, or even a sense of tradition,
then it wouldn't cut down its trees on
North Campus and put up stupid brick
walls to commemorate large donators
to the school. In one fell swoop, the
University administration demon
strated just how much regard they have
for history and tradition
Actually, the University does have
some tradition to it, if you look around
The dining halls have a tradition of
serving some pretty strange food, and
some of it is real historical The buses
have a tradition of running late, or
early, but seldom on schedule, and one
bus driver on the Milledge route even
has the tradition of watching people
sprint for the bus and then driving away
just as they get to the bus There is also
a long tradition of pretty girls on this
campus, which is one tradition I par
ticularly like
But really, those aren't traditions as
much as they are facts of life. Well,
okay, the tradition of pretty girls does
pass from generation to generation I
guess I'll just have to wait for the next
football victory over Georgia Tech to
see. well actually hear, some real
tradition.
Tim Bonner is managing editor of The
Red and Black.
That a Republican from Georgia
should become a national hero for a lot
of people is a bit of a surprise for the
Solid South That the Republican
should emerge as one of the most pro
gressive, future-oriented Represen
tatives in Congress is even more con
founding
It’s all true, though, for sixth district
congresman Newt Gingrich, author of a
new bill entitled "National Space and
Aeronautics Policy Act of 1981 ."
Don't be fooled by the rather tedious
title. This extraordinary bill proposes a
30-year plan for space development
which would have Americans in perma
nent orbital colonies in the 1990s. in a
moon base by 2010, and on Mars and
Venus shortly thereafter.
The bill establishes a space-based
"world information system" that would
benefit the entire planet, an orbiting in
dustrial park for private companies,
and even makes provisions for self-
government and statehood for colonies
on other planets.
Gingrich's bill could be a godsend for
the American space program NASA
has been so weakened by years of
budget cuts and so undermined by a
lack of direction that the United States
is rapidly becoming a second-rate
power in the space race.
The Soviet Union, the European
Economic Community, Japan, even In
dia, China and Brazil are investing
enormous amounts in space programs,
each eager to take advantage of the in
dustrial, military and scientific poten
tial of space, and each using technology
developed at great expense by the
United States
The two Soviet probes now on Venus
are a good example of how the Soviets
are surpassing U S. space efforts: the
first color pictures of the Venusian sur
face are Russian, not American
"The time for trial exploration and
random research in space is over,"
Gingrich told his fellow Congressmen
last year. “If America does not com
pete in space, it abandons world leader
ship to those who do. ”
The bill (H R. 42861 was partially pat
terned after the Northwest Ordinance
Scoff II. Jacobs
of 1784 written by Thomas Jefferson,
which opened up vast new lands for
American settlers Space, says
Gingrich, is another frontier which
must be opened for further U S expan
sion.
The decision of two major U.S. com
panies, McDonnell-Douglas and
Johnson and Johnson, to construct a
space drug factory by 1986 is evidence
that Gingrich is right. The United
States can "create jobs on earth by
creating jobs in space ”
Future American prosperity, he says,
will depend in a large part on how we
compete commercially in space What
we need now is “the kind of capital in
vestment and the kind of programs that
will give us the industrial base to allow
us to lead the way into the 21st cen
tury," he told an Atlanta Constitution
reporter
His bill is, if anything, tardy, since
the commercial potential of space is
already being exploited Cosmonauts
on the Soviet space station grew
crystals last year worth $80 million on
the open market
Gingrich specifies that all Americans
living in American colonies will be pro
tected by the U.S. Constitution and will
be allowed to govern themselves when
the population of a colony reaches
20,000. The colony will be admitted as a
state when it has "as many inhabitants
as shall then be in any one of the least"
populated of the other states.
H.R 4286 is only a proclamation of in
tent. It sets up guidelines; it does not
allocate money nor commit the United
States to any specific action.
Yet our cautious, timid Congress has
not had the courage to pass the bill, nor
even seriously debate it. Only 14
Representatives co-sponsored the bill
with Gingrich
Worse, President Reagan has ignored
the bill altogether. Gingrich has asked
for a NASA budget for $9-billion to get
the 30-year plan rolling; NASA asked
for only $7-billion to keep its current
projects intact; and Reagan has
allocated little more than $6-billion in
the 1983 budget.
The United States needs a coherent,
long-range plan for space development
Gingrich needs help in passing one As
a recent speaker at the University said,
our move into space must start at the
grassroots level.
We are the roots, and we can put
ourselves into space by supporting
Gingrich, by writing letters, or by join
ing groups such as Students for the Ex
ploration and Development of Space
here on campus.
The next few years are vital years for
the space program They will deter
mine if we are, as Gingrich says, truly
"committed to the expansion of free
people and free institutions into space
I wrote this column with a tinge of
nostalgia, for it is my last regular col
umn in The Red and Black I suppose
it's been a year and a half since I wrote
my first column in a little Moroccan
town, while a dozen curious Berber
peasants watched.
My underlying philosophy has always
been that people will ultimately
recognize the bonds that tie all humans
together when they know enough about
other cultures, other societies, other
ways of life.
I want to close my Red and Black
career with a statement that expresses
everything I've tried to say here: This
world can be a pretty damn good place
to live for everyone if each of us has the
courage to change it just a little. The
dismal example of human history can
be overcome if we all push together.
All together now, HEAVE!
Scott H. Jacobs is a senior in the Col
lege of A rts and Sciences.
COMFORTABLE IGNORANCE
‘Never give up negotiating, demonstrating’
holds us there while the future of the
planet hangs in balance.
The get tough, stay-tough attitude
you adopt does not work as a political
solution in a nuclear world. We can
never give up negotiating,
demonstrating or hoping for peaceful
solutions
JOE KUHL
Line of Sight magazine
‘Bus drivers *
TO THE EDITOR:
In the March 10 Red and Black was a
response to my letter concerning the
peacemarchers. In this letter I was ac
cused of being a “screaming yawner"
whose "pueriie ravings" were "sheer
lunacy "
I will be the first to admit that my
know ledge of the vast and complex pro-
81-
ART ROCfiE
DAVID THLAU-
blems of world politics is insufficient I
cannot provide the TRUTH, nor do I
claim to have the solutions to the con
flicting ideologies and economies of the
Soviet Union and the United States, but
I am willing to engage in rational and
meaningful dialogue in hopes that we
may reach some solutions, and advance
our political thought.
The letter labeled the peacemarchers
as "pacifists" living in a "fantasy
world" with "team party ideals" of
world peace and nuclear disarmament,
which amount to nothing more than
"idealistic rhetoric" and "utopian pro
nouncements" w hich are useless in the
"snakepit" of world politics
Far from living in a fantasy world, I
view the marchers as non-violent ac
tivists participating in the political
arena in a very positive and productive
manner, by accepting the crucial task
of maintaining an active, vibrant and
hopeful political atmosphere, rather
than giving way to the destructive and
cynical view of politics as a snakepit
teeming with Communist serpents
This view held by both superpowers has
led us to the edge of nuclear war, and
TO THE EDITOR:
Praise be for those bus drivers who
get us to classes on time The drivers,
although they occasionally make us
wish we'd walked, are doing their best
to help us.
Special praise and thanks must go to
two drivers in particular: Ollie
McGahee and Gary Rich. These two
young men make it a pleasure to board
the bus.
ROHI REGGIE
Junior, drama
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