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The Red and Black
Friday. April*. 1982
The Red and Black
W
GCPA
Established 1893 — Incorporated 1980
Charles H. Kussell, General Manager
Mack Browning, Editor-in-chief Tim Bonner, Managing Editor
An independent student newspaper not affiliated with the University of Georgia
‘Chariots of Fire’ avoids
sex and violence culture
Falklands negotiations
The United States has little to gain and
everything to lose by sending Alexander Haig to
London and Buenos Aires to mediate the dispute
between Great Britain and Argentina over the
Falkland Islands.
What occurs after Haig talks with leaders of
the two countries will again sway world opinion
on the United States as a leader and a mediator.
As Britain and Argentina are both allies of the
United States, Haig’s prime consideration
should be not to make the situation worse than it
already is. A British failure over the Falklands
dispute could mean political disaster for Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher The end result
could be the loss of President Reagan’s closest
ally in Europe.
A loss for Argentina could cause the United
States further decrease of influence in the
Western Hemisphere. The Reagan ad
ministration is struggling to keep a foothold in
Central America. A severe loss of support would
occur in South America if Argentina blames the
United States for a failure in the Falklands.
It’s ironic that as other trouble spots arise in
the world, the United States — or the Soviet
Union — is thrust into it. So it is with having
stature as a world leader. But it is also the
United States or the Soviet Union which are
tagged as perpetrators of the good or bad deeds
which result from these disputes.
Consider Jimmy Carter’s negotiations in the
Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel.
On the other side of the coin, the United States is
being blamed in some parts of the world and in
this country for meddling in El Salvador.
So, here we go again.
The British-Argentine dispute will be a tough
debate to mediate, considering the argument is
already nearly 150 years old. Let’s hope Haig
comes out the winner.
A columnist not to emulate
A few weeks ago well actually it
was about six weeks ago, if memory
serves me correctly - someone sent a
letter to me in a plain, brown wrapper,
er, envelope, complaining about my
columns.
But the complaint was a subtle one
The envelope simply contained three of
my most recent efforts and a 5 x 7 index
card How nice. I thought, someone has
clipped my column for me and sent
them to me, saving me the hassle of
having to collect the papers an cut out
the columns And my mother doesn't
even get the newspaper unless I take it
home
For the briefest second. I started get
ting excited about having a fan, any
fan Mom's great and everything, but
every columnist wants his own
groupie!si from outside his immediate
family Why should David Nelson have
all the fun' 1
Then I started examining the three
columns more closely Something was
written on each one, and things were
circled throughout each of the columns.
Just my luck, I thought, I have an
English major for a groupie That's
almost as bad as having Kalph Iteed
take a liking to you. (Sorry, Kalph ol
boy i If I should happen to meet this
person, I envisioned boring talks about
the social significance of the coffee
spoons in J Alfred Prufrock's laive
Song As .1 Alfred says in the poem,
"there will lie a time to murder."
But to and behold. I didn't have a fan,
though whoever sent the copies to me
certainly reads my columns
thoroughly Instead, I had a critic, and
a rather curt one at that
The column sender, who shall forever
remain anonymous because he or she
did not see fit to sign the envelope or the
5x7 index card, had circled every I,
me, my, or myself in the three columns,
and then written "Lessons in self- in
dulgence. numbers 1, 2, and 3" on the
respective columns Then, on the 5 x 7
index card, the anonymous critic had
written, "Maybe this will give you an
idea for a column " Well, see. it has
I've already written 35 lines, and 1 have
only used I, me, my or myself 31 times,
unless I missed one or two in there
The critic may have been right, to an
extent My columns may be a bit self
indulgent, but such is the power of pen
and position Al Frankenand I think a
lot a like
Hut at least if the columns I write are
self-indulgent i self indulgent columns
are easier to write anyway because
they don't require a whole lot of
I tin Ihinner ■'»
thought, which is just as well since I
don't have a whole lot of time to think),
they are my own thoughts <oops, there I
go again).
Well, sometimes I resort to stealing a
line or two from one of my cohorts in
this office, in which case I specifically
ask for permission to steal the thought
and pretend it's my own. Hey, at least
I’m a civil thief.
But such is not the case for some of
the more well-known columnists ip this
area, particularly in the Atlanta area.
When they steal lines and information,
not only do they not give credit where
credit is due, but they don't even ask
permission to steal the information
Some journalists just have no ethics,
know what I mean
My wrath, or more appropriately,
disgust, is aimed at one Kon Hudspeth,
who purports to write a column for the
Atlanta papers but really does nothing
more than run out a stack of PR
releases along with that day's favorite
bumper sticker If ever there was a way
to not write a column, Hudspeth's way
is it.
But Hudspeth, the man with the cook
ing bowl haircut lyou know, the haircut
that looks like someone placed a large
cooking bowl over his head and then
trimmed around the edges I, apparently
doesn't have enough PR releases and
bumper stickers to fill up a column
every day So he looks to other places to
steal information for his "Short Shots"
columns, and this newspaper is one of
those places
Now. some people might think it flat
tering to have an Atlanta columnist
read our paper and use some of the in
formation in the paper in his column,
and it probably would be if he were to
give us credit But Hudspeth is not a
civil thief 1 guess it comes from his up
bringing — after all. he was a sports-
writer at one time, though he was lousy
at that, too And to think he gets paid to
do w hat he does
In the March 15 edition of the Atlanta
Journal, Hudspeth's column carried the
following excerpt
"JOCKING AROUND: Rather your
son grow up to be president of a college
or its football coach? I think you know
the answer if money's your bag.
University of Georgia president Fred
Davison makes 86.200 a year, plus a
house, while Vince Dooley, according to
sources, 'makes well over $300,000
when his salary, house, radio and TV in
come are taken into account ' ... Pro
bably the best unknown athlete in the
state is a Georgia freshman named
Mike Ray. Ray, an Atlantan, is con
sidered one of the best racquetball
players in the Southeast and he's
shooting for a national title this sum
mer ..."
What's so significant about that, you
ask? Well, the previous Thursday,
March 11, two stories had appeared in
our paper (the front page, in fact), one
giving Fred Davison’s salary and the
other profiling Mike Kay. A little too
much of a coincidence, if you ask me
And as if that wasn't enough,
Hudspeth followed that the next day
with a comment about some history
professor who had given a speech about
the true meaning of "Gone With The
Wind." Check the March 12 issue of The
Red and Black for that one That's
when the story appeared in our paper
about the speech
It's bad enough that he doesn't give
credit where credit is due, but he writes
in such a way as to make it appear he
.actually attended the speech or dug up
the information himself. Gag. and I'm
studying to be in the same profession as
him.
Oh there are other stories about
Hudspeth that make the rounds, about
how he'll give bars a better write-up in
his column if they give him sustenance
free of charge, but that gets into morali
ty as well as ethics, and I just don't
want to get into that Besides, it is Good
Friday
The way I write my column may not
be ideal, but since I appear on Fridays,
the column shoots for a bit of levity
rather than seriousness. But the way
Hudspeth writes a column is an
abomination And at least I can keep a
thought long enough to stick to one sub
ject, whether I know what I'm talking
about or not.
Tim Bonner is managing editor of The
Red and Black
The success of "Chariots of Fire”
deals a blow to the immoral trend in
today’s movies The success of a movie
whose hero upholds moral values
should turn the tide of the movie in
dustry.
"Chariots of Fire,” based on the true
story of two British runners training for
the Pans Olympics in 1924, won four
Academy Awards last week, including
best picture and best original
screenplay The movie is still playing in
all of the five cities in which it opened
last September.
The movie has already grossed $25.5
million. This equals about $13 million in
film rentals, outstanding for a foreign
film (“Chariots of Fire" is British).
The distributors estimated the earnings
would be $15 million in film rentals ($30
million in gross box office receipts)
before the Awards were announced
New York film critic Rex Reed called
it "the number one film of 1981 ... It's
not only the finest film about athletes
ever made, but also one of the best
movies of any kind ever made fresh
and original, it reached deeper for
universal experience than most films,
and expressed sentiments considered
old-fashioned by today's cynical
standards."
The hero of the story, Eric Liddell,
runs for the glory of God. He and his
schoolmate, Abrahams, display the
dedication and work involved in
training for a race. Liddell is the British
hope for the 100-meter race in the Paris
Olympics, but he refuses to run because
the qualifying heat is on the sabbath.
The combined forces of the press, the
British Olympic Committee and the
Prince of Wales cannot budge him from
his convictions.
Although Warner Brothers used
Inspirational Films, a Christian film
Burt Parker
The success of
‘Chariots of Fire’ deals
a blow to the immoral
trend in today’s
movies.
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distributor, to help promote Chariots,
the film was not made for a Christian
audience The values it portrays appeal
to both Christians and non-Christians
Ail viewers respond favorably to the
dignity of moral conviction. All are
inspired by the dedication and work
involved in trying to achieve a goal.
The producer, David Puttman, ex
pressed his thoughts on the movie in an
interview: "More and more I feel I'm
living in a totally expedient age. Yet the
values I was given as a youngster were
real values The difference between
good and bad, right and wrong, truth
and untruth, decency and cynicism
all fundamental values which have
been eroded in the last 20 years. There
is no doubt that progress, which
reshapes the old, can improve the
quality of life, but it can also distort and
destroy.”
“Chariots of Fire” is a departure
from the theme of the majority of
movies now being produced. It does not
contain the sensationalism exploited in
the majority of modern movies. There's
no sex, no spectacular car crashes or
violence The producer left one profane
word in the movie to keep it from
getting a “G” rating and being
overlooked by the adult population
Neither does it glorify divorce,
homosexuality, immorality or
debauchery. It doesn't fit on the
modern entertainment page
“Chariots” portrays wholesome
values. It gives its viewers a good
example, for once. It shows the dignity
of upholding moral standards
"Chariots" displays the beauty of
dedication and hard work, which few
besides athletes are familiar with.
Finally, there is a movie that gives
hope.
The response to "Chariots of Fire" is
indicative of a restoration of moral
values People are rejecting the values
which the movie industry exploits
“Chariots" involves a radical change
from recent movies which glorify
cynicism and immorality People are
beginning to realize that these values
are destructive.
"Chariots"’ success should cause a
turnaround in the movie industry.
The response to the upright values
portrayed in "Chariots” will show
moviemakers that they don't have to
exploit homosexuality, prostitution or
debauchery to succeed. It should
provoke the production of movies which
give hope rather than despair.
Bart Parker is
Red and Black.
a staff writer for The
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4 People of El Salvador are desperate 9
TO THE EDITORS:
There are several points I would like
to comment on which appeared in
Ralph Reed's editorial (March 31). Mr
Reed makes mention of the “un
balanced and therefore inaccurate
reporting of attempts by the Cuban-
backed guerrillas to sabotage
democracy in El Salvador," by the U S.
media. I am curious about the source
and content of the information on which
Mr Reed has based his decision that
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Mr
U S. reporting from El Salvador is
unbalanced and inaccurate If he has a
hotline to the "real facts" in Latin
America, I am sure The New York
Times would be grateful for the scoop
Another point is that it is not a clearly
established fact that there is a large or
continuous flow of arms from Cuba into
El Salvador. But Mr Reed's gravest
error, and it is one commonly made, is
to assume that there exists a
democratic system in El Salvador to be
sabotaged
The guerrillas, who are not, as Mr
Reed claims, all Marxist-Leninists
(many probably cannot read as they
are forced out of school at an early age
to work on plantations to help support
families) have chosen to revolt rather
than vote precisely because there has
never been a democracy in El
Salvador The elections in the past were
controlled by the military, who stuffed
the ballot boxes in order to elect a
"puppet" such as Napolean Duarte to
create the illusion of a working
democracy. It is of little importance
that there is strict monitoring of the
balloting by international officials
The elections, regardless of the
outcome, will not alter the basic power
structure of the military-political
machinery of the El Salvadoran
government, whose ruthless Gestapo
tactics have killed tens of thousands in
the last three years. An election will not
change the oppressive class structure
of El Salvadoran society, in which over
half the population barely survives at
starvation level The land reforms
implemented in the past did nothing to
improve the lot of the peasants when
they cried out they were murdered by
the right wing "death squads "
There is only one solution left for
these people, and that is revolution, the
violent overthrow of one class by
another.
The Salvadoran people are
desperate. Desperate to stop killing,
and end the poverty in their homeland.
I hope as much as anyone that these
elections will be a step forward, but
given the past record of the military
and its powerful grip on "elected"
officials, it is doubtful. The guerrillas
realize that under a totalitarian
military rule, there is only one way to
acquire rights and establish a
democracy, and that is with armed
revolt.
JOE KUHL
Line of Sight Magazine
Departments
Editorial: 543-1809
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Copy editor* Ann Deacon Ain Johnson. David
Nelson Jack Threadgill
New* editor JanHulltrxn
At$<» iote tea • #dit< • Rob Keyes
Sport* editor Jackie Crosby
Entertainment edtto' i”huck Reece
Pkoto«r«p*u edtto' Sam Walton
AMiatam "»»i editor* Sylvia Colwell Mark B
Pintos
An director Art Rocha
Training coordinator Stave Goldberg
A**i*tant aportt edtto* Stave Comgan
A at tatant photography editor Nancy Shepherd
Editorial page edito' Brian Jaudon
I'GA Today coordinator Librarian Elaine Dukakis
Advertising: 543-1791
Advertising manager David Rainaa
Sale* Training manager Vickie i) Brier
National Ineide Sale* Jay Burden
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Production: 543-1791
Production manage' Stephan A Heard
Production ato11 Karleen Chalker Sonya Boltin Joy
Pennington Bill Krueger Dan Sawyer Brenda
Cleveland Emily Westbrook
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