Newspaper Page Text
Page 4
The Hrd and Black
Tuesday, May It, ISB3
THE RED AND BLACK
Established 1893 — Incorporated 1980
Charles H. Russell, General Manager
Chuck Reece, Editor-in-chief
Alex Johnson, Managing Editor
An Independent iludenl newspaper not affiliated with the University o/Georgia
Why don’t we just legalize freedom?
A time to act
President Reagan felt pressure from ail sides last week to shore
up his arms-contro! strategy. The Roman Catholic Bishops of the
United States approved a pastoral letter calling for a 'halt" to
production and deployment of new nuclear weapons and labeling
any nuclear conflict “immoral.” The House passed a resolution
for a “mutual and verifiable freeze and reductions in nuclear
weapons " Twelve key senators and representatives conditioned
their support for the MX missile on a tuneup of Reagan's
negotiating stance.
Reagan certainly needs an escape valve for some of this
political steam. Soviet leader Yuri Andropov gave him one in the
form of an offer to negotiate over the number of nuclear
warheads, not the number of launchers, which have historically
been the nuclear bargaining chips.
If the president is smart - and if he wants to prove his still-
undemonstrated concern for arms reductions — he will meet the
Soviets' newfound flexibility with some flexibility of his own when
arms talks resume May 17 in Geneva.
Andropov’s agreement to negotiate in terms of warheads
is indeed significant for in the number of warheads is found the
true sum of each nation's power to kill. Now able to negotiate in
proper, accurate terms, Reagan mustn’t insist on continuing his
refusal to bargain In good faith. Andropov has offered a large
concession. Failure to act could doom Reagan politically - and
America’s very survival as well.
I would like you to reconsider some of the issues
about abortion Now. I am not going to offer you any
new insights about when life begins (and hence when
murder can begin t, nor shall I offer my views about a
woman's rights to her reproductive abilities; what I
shall discuss is how government intervention in this
instance results in plain tyranny
Before I present my argument. I might as well tell
you government intervention unsettles my stomach
I happen to prefer freedom There was some catchy
grafitti in the men's room on the fifth floor of the
library. "Let's legalize freedom," that concisely
expressed my views, but it has been removed (no
doubt at the insistance of some bureaucrat!) So
having mentioned this caveat, let me return to the
issue
The District of Columbia and 11 slates fund
abortions outright and many states subsidize abor
lions through interest free loans or through ability to-
pay plans The federal government still funds some
abortions even though the Hyde amendment reduced
federally funded abortions from 295.000 in 1977 to
H illiam Joost
37,041 in 1980
The actions of the state and federal governments
put many people in this country. Roman Catholics for
instance, in a precarious position I invite you to put
yourself in the shoes of taxp^ers who firmly and
sincerely believe that any abortion is a heinous
crime When they pay taxes they are unwillingly
contributing to the programs that provide subsidized
abortions and are at least in their minds accessories
to the crime They are left with an unsavory set of
choices: either refuse to pay taxes and suffer the
consequences, or pay taxes, try to reform the laws
and in the meantime participate in murder Is this
not tyranny * 1 * * * * * *
If there were no government subsidies of abortions,
then those who believe abortion is legitimate could
contribute some of their income to private
organizations that help to fund abortions Those who
believe abortion is evil could spend their income
trying to sway public, judicial and legislative opinion
to redefine when life begins, set up adoption agencies,
etc They would not be in the position of being forced
to pay for abortions
I return to the notion that so intrigues me: Let us
legalize freedom Somewhere among the cries for
equality, social justice and egalitarianism, the cry
for freedom was shouted down Government in
tervention is not the solution, it is the problem Why
not be free to choose 1
Bill Joost is a graduate student in the School of
Business
‘ We should solve our problems without government ’
Correction
Students for Student Representation Vice President Sam
Harben, writer of a column that appeared Friday about the
proposed The Association of Georgia Students, was mistakenly
identified as Sam Harber. It is the policy of this newspaper to
correct errors that appear in its columns
TO THE EDITOR:
Big Brother is at it again Although
George Orwell's prophetic year is over
seven months away, the Athens City
Council is embroiled in three separate
cases, each having an air of pater
nalistic authoritarianism about it The
front page of Thursday 's Red and Black
chronicled three different instances of
the Athens city fathers sticking their
respected noses where they do not
belong
Each case demonstrates a different
aspect of the collective mentality of the
city council Each aspect of this
mentality Is more frightening than the
one before It
The first thing that one Is struck by is
the seeming Irrationality of this august
body Muddled thinking is the basis for
a city ordinance forbidding more than
four people living together unless they
are a family Five nonrelated persons
are a crowd, five family members are
not I assume that by living with my
family I become less than one person
But what percentage of a person do I
become 1 One half? One fourth 1
This mindlessness would be hilarious
if it didn't impinge on basically private
matters This is highlighted in a council
ordinance forbidding nude dancing in
establishments serving alcohol
(Presumbly, the council feels sex and
alcohol don't mix. which is something
any teenager could tell you ) Despite
the fact that there is no verifiable need
for such a law. the council passed it As
Athens City Attorney Denny Galis
said. "I don't think there is a need for a
written statement of need for every
action " Translation. "We don't have
any facts to back us up. but by God (and
mom and apple pie), we know we're
right."
Now why do these most reverend
people continue to act so ludicrously?
Because they have support Support
from whom? The people who benefit, or
may benefit, from council actions,
people like George Dean Fredrtc
Bastlat once observed that you can tell
when the law is corrupt by seeing if
anyone uses it for personal gam I think
the law is corrupt if anyone even thinks
he can gain by it Apparently George
Dean thinks he can use the law to his
gain and at Bob Russo's expense
Instead of declaring it none of their
business and telling Dean and Russo to
settle their differences like gentlemen
by civilized discussion, or like little
boys by fighting, the council passed the
buck to the Athens-Clarke County
Planning Commission I guess the
council will wait until some future date
to give their sage decision on the grave
and Important issue of outdoor cafes
Until then I must wonder why the
council is Involved in any of these ac
tions If the people of Athens don't want
sidewalk cafes, nude dancing or more
than four people in a dwelling, they
don't need the council to enforce their
decision The people have a greater
power, the power of the dollar If there
is no demand for sidewalk restaurants
or nude dancing, they will disappear A
boycott of those landlords who rent to
more than four persons could solve
whatever problems that causes
When will politicians realize that
people can and should solve most of
their problems voluntarily, without the
"help" of government 1
CHARLES B. OLIVER
Sophomore. Arts and Sciences
‘Editorial does not resolve any problems ’
TO THE EDITOR:
Your editorial "Witch Hunts" is so
moronic and erroneous. I am almost at
a loss in trying to respond Your
references of complaints to the City
Council by the citizens of Five Points
regarding students has no basis in fact
Your attack on the residents of Five
Points is not borne of simple error, it is
a total fabrication
Why you would create a situation that
never existed is. to put It mildly, puz
zling It only took 10 minutes to go
through the November minutes of the
City Council to find the facts Ap
parently your writer didn't bother;
facts make accusations sometimes
difficult to substain
But the facts are (contrary to your
assertions) that no one from Five
Points appeared before the City Council
to complain about crowded dwellings
trash, loud music, an "excessive" (why
you put excessive in quotes also puzzles
me) number of cars or numerous
visitors Nor did anyone appear to talk
in any wav about students The fact is.
no one from Five Points appeared
before the City Council at all' Not only
that, but neither of the two meetings of
the City Council has anything remotely
to do with the point of your editorial So
what gives 1
1 stand in danger of over reacting to
rather mindless trash, but this is not the
first time you have taken a cheap shot
at the people in our neighborhood
Many residents in Five Points have
worked productively to help iron out the
problems that have existed and your
slanderous editorial does not serve to
resolve any problem
As an aside You call on the Fifth
Amendment to provide "equal en
forcement of the law" - good guess,
but why guess 1 Try the last section of
the Fourteenth Amendment for equal
protection As a longstanding member
of the American Civil Liberties Union, I
take pleasure in enclosing a copy of the
Bill of Rights so that you will not have
to fabricate part of the Constitution as
well
One last thing — I find it amusing that
nng —I
you canned Ralph Reed for not meeting
his responsibilities as a journalist
because he did not cite his sources
You, however, have cited sources that
have never existed That’s more
responsible. I suppose
MIKE NICHOLSON
Greater Five Points
Neighborhood Association
TAGS can solw mutual problems 9
TO THE EDITOR
There is a need for a student
government at the University and The
Association of Georgia Students will fill
this need Currently University
students have no mechanism for ef
fective change, no direct link to the
administration and no unified voice
Presently, in order to bring about any
type of change, be it the removal of
asbestos from dorm ceilings, or the
addition of black studies to the
curriculum, students have had to
organize time-consuming coalitions or
rallies to publicize their causes
One of the students who organized
such a timeconsuming coalition is Lisa
Massey, organizer of Students for an
Asbestos Free Environment Massey
relates that "Finding the people in
terested in our cause was easy, the
main problem we had was getting
organized A group of students not
controlled by the University who had
input, like a student government, would
have made our job much easier
If we had a student government, time
spent organizing group* such as SAFE
would have been time spent solving
problems TAGS will provide a time
saving, problem solving mechanism for
change
As provided in the proposed TAGS
Constitution, students, rather than
organize on their own. would take their
problems to their student senator In
turn, the student senator would quickly
channel the problem to the Senate floor
for appropriate action
Not having a direct link to the ad
ministration also slowed down SAFE'S
progress Naturally Massev was
discouraged when she was told early in
fall quarter that a meeting with
University president Fred Davison
would not be possible until the end of
the quarter TAGS will provide a direct
link to the administration so that
problems as important as the removal
of carcinogenic asbestos from dorm
ceilings will be addressed promptly
The recent merger of the In
trafraternity Council and the black
fraternities is a step in the right
direction We as students share com
mon goals, and we must have a
collective voice The next step is for all
student groups and all students to pull
together and to support TAGS, so we
can begin to solve our mutual
problems
DAVID WYNETT
SSR. Constitution committee
B'ditorial: 543-1809 Advertising: 543-1791
. tfv Mllloe f
*J||4>M Itovtd Nritavt Ondy U>
Christina Nuriev
Nr»* editor Mike Iidwrll
* drtofid! Pa*e editor Ijm l*rItchetI
editor I"herle% (htuiit
Connect sow editor I aura Otto
H.«)i Maim
1/G4 I ■ wJ.iv l • ■•'dmator librarian Hmita
DuggHI
Ai»o. taiv ww csfitu'* Suaan Lacretti
Mrl.u* Jordan
A Ml slant • ports editor Todd Holcomb
Assistant PAoto Idttor Grog Hardin
S#*wr reporters Bnan Hr a* well Bob Kayos
CUrvre Mat*
Advertising Director lion Stout
Student odverUsing manager Doug Hailev
Advertising representatives Mall Branding
Hhtvnda Cagle Olga Pennell. Tim
Par rest Jeff Herring Ivmna Kemp.
I*h>Ills |»upr Scott Spencer Carmen Clmer
Production: 543-1791
P'«»d orison manager Karleen Ova I km
Production stst/f Soma Boltin. Brenda
Cleveland Larry Cutchall. Carolyn
Graham Man EUan La Hoc he! k Vicfcse
O Hr ten Tammy 1
Contributions
HIP HKI> ASM Ht.ACk UVI ASat
tm of holiday*
profit .ampu» nra
»I> HLACK IS»*S AMI As* is puNuhed Turvlav through Pndav with (hr ex cep
..«! rlamnsstsur prs tods b? TSr Bed snd HU.S Itibl ,sh, n« Comp.™ IlH am*
r * *e*prt not affiliated with TTte l'm\mil. at Umrsta. 123 North JacSaan St A than
»laaa faatafr paid at Athens Geer*! Suhaanptw. rata „ Ca pa, see,
IHSTVASTVH send attdraaa ,-hangaa lo 123 North J Artisan Sfraat A than »or*u aaoi
Tha Katl and K.a.l nek-antes latlara lo tha aditoc and print! them aa space parmna Dua to apaca
limitation and ln«al rona.dnrat.ona all letters ara iubjnr-1 to .Undord ndit,n« lor librlouo malarial and
tnn*th Short tartars Are interred To bn cnnoidamd for publication, tartars must ha tsprsl double
•parad on a IS apaca kna Tha? mual .nrludr thr namn addrrsi and tnlnphonn number of Ole nnler
Htaoaa ,nrludr studanl rlaaaificatiun and map* or appropriate idanliluation professor l iuon ol
Itcar «r Wa can omit ?,sir name ,n print toe a rahd rtnaon on mqurst
Lrttora ahould no< an,and 1 . double apnead upasnttrr po(ra
Tha Rad and Black alno print! aural rrhlorkl rolumna under tha samr comhtions that appr ? lo tat tars
lo tho rrj.hr Columna ihould not ricood lour double spaced tapaasntlan papas
. olumnr and latlara should baaddrsuaasrmTHKKUrTOR. The Had and BUck lXI N Jackson St
Athena (la maul letters can atm ha drhsered to tha editorial ofl.ee at tha above address or
deposited man? ol TV Had and Black a desalted ad bos re on campie
tlpmm aa pressed in TV Rad and Black ixhrr than unowned ed, Iona la ecu tha opinions ol the
nnletk aI upnad columna or cartoona and ara nor nerruainl? thoae at TV Had and Block Publish,i*
Ok. lar
TV enure coolants ol TV Hod and Black are C opyn*hl 1*1 by TV Hrd and Black Puhtishm« I'o .
Inc Ail nphta traces ed Keprtnta by prrauaeron <d the editors
Impisnaa .on,error* article, that hair appeared m TV Had and Black ihould V mode al IV
aduortal rtf toes aot M3 IBM tnpjines about edvsrtieing ahould V mode at IV buameae eflico
eMkevnpt
Being lazy is not always easy
I am about as lazy as a hard working student in
search of the ultimate truth can be I cal out rather
than cook, pav mechanics and plumbers rather than
learn how to fix things myself and like the Roman
satirist Juvenal, who explained that in the wacky
world in which he lived almost 20 centuries ago. it
was difficult noi to write satire, I, too. take (he lazy
approach to view ing the world around me
When universities produce exactly w hat they were
produced lo prevent and individualists congregate
to lose their individualism, the opportunity to be a
cynic is simply loo available for a lazy man to pass
up
But don't suppose that being lazy and cynical is
easy Eating out makes you go broke and finally
reduces you to canned soup and sandwiches Of
course, when you're lazy you eat that soup out of the
can. unheated, and the bread you consume apart
from the peanut butter, which you wind up eating by
the spoonful, or, when you run out of clean spoons, by
the fingerful There is danger, too. in doling out all
your repairs Worse than getting suckercd by the
mechanics who see your ignorance is getting
suckercd by your own ignorance — letting minor
clinks turn into major parts needing to be replaced
But the biggest obstacle to the lazy approach to life
is the role of the cynic It was some great sage who
said he loved mankind but just couldn't stand men
Well, in general. I'm nottoo crazy about either
Most of the time I feel like a casting director for a
movie titled. People Who Make Frank Reiss Sick ”
There is no end to the auditioning line But. without
fail, just when I figure 1 can count on a cast bigger
than "Ben Hur " somebody pops into the screening
room and proves to be caring, conscientious and
basically all-around good folk And they who win
those parts are always the most unlikely characters
Like employees at University Health Services
A little background information before my tale
resumes
Being a cynic, while emerging out of laziness,
requires a good deal of effort in its own way It s
mostly exerted in cultivating an attitude toward
things and an appearance to give the attitude a
tangible manifestation
A good attitude to begin with is a lack of respect for
University employees This is easily arrived al by a
quick application for graduation or any similar ab
surdity around campus Seeing people who have been
doing the same, tedious chores (or so long they no
longer understand the logic behind them is perfect for
creating a sour attitude
Any cynic who's worth his salt also distrusts
doctors The whole medical profession is nothing but
a conspiracy of the wealthy to capitalize on the
hypochondria of 20th-century middle-class America
The hypochondria itself can be traced to the co-
conspinng world of researchers They tell us
every thing is bad for us and the first sign of ab
normality should be examined by our physician The
conspiracy goes on The first doctor says you re OK
but because of what you've heard from researchers,
you go to another doctor for a second opinion See
they look out for their own
Distrusting University emplovees and doctors isn't
enough, though Without the proper look, your at
titude goes unnoticed My favorite attitude display is
bare feet This is generally interpreted as a
disconcern for all things society deems proper
So while cynically and barefootedlv walking down
the street one day Iasi week, a piece of glass decided
had had enou # h o( ,he outside world and en
tered my foot for an escape As if cynicism couldn't
have done it by itself, this time it teamed up with
machismo to keep me away from the doctors for two
days I finally gave in and went
I had heard plenty of bad things about the health
center, and I won t go so far as to praise it, but my
experience there was most encouraging
After the receptionist quickly received me. I had a
clue that this was no ordinary University facility
Then the easy wall directions had me almost un
controllably impressed Then I remembered how
good the signs at Chicopee were
But there was no computer to mess with me in the
treatment room Instead, there was a group of people
who not only knew their duties, but also showed
concern for me even though I was a student A rather
stupid student at that, to have been walking around a
couple of days with a piece of glass in my foot
They treated me gently and took every precaution
1 a " Unui sh0 * B * caus *' I hadn t eaten
yet that day 1 was about to faint That, and the reason
why-t remember all that eating out I told you about)
set the attendants into action, giving me sandwiches
juice and from one. even a iSan To get me thro^
until pay day
So it happened again The idea that everyone out
there was self-centered, boring and useless had again
been dashed
When she was giving me the shot, the nurse
apologized for hurting me Actually, that stinging
second felt wonderful Just wonderful
Frank Rem is chief copy editor for The Red and
Bfaclt