Newspaper Page Text
THE RED AND BLACK
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
Athens. Go. No.9QVol.lQ7 Tuesday, Moy 17, 1980 News 543-1809 Advertising 543-1791
Parking fees spark employee protest
Draft resister asks others to join him
Quality of
students here
not dedining
officials say
B> CHARLES OLIVER
Krd and Mark I'aMriballss Writer
Although a federal commision on
education recently blasted the nation's
high schools for graduating students
with sub-standard skills, the University
has suffered no decline in the quality of
incoming freshmen, according to
University Admissions Director M.O.
Phelps
In fact. Phelps said, the quality of
students admitted to the University
over the last 10 years has actually risen
slightly
"I don't think the University has suf
fered a great deal by anything that has
happened in public education," Phelps
said
Phelps's remarks came in response
to a report recently released by the Na
tional Commission on Excellence in
Education that concluded that the level
of education in public schools was
woefully inadequate and recommended
reforms in college admissions policies
Agreeing that there had been a
decline in the quality of public educa
tion, Phelps said the University had not
been hurt "because we recruit at the
top levels. Our standards haven't
changed "
The mean Scholastic Aptitude Test
score of incoming freshmen at the
University increased marginally from
1,019 in 1972 to 1.026 in 1982
But. during the same period, the na
tional mean for all students taking the
SAT decreased from 937 to 892
Phelps also said the number of Na
tional Merit and Achievement Scholars
at the University had increased from 43
in 1973 to 56 in 1982
The number ol freshmen enrolled in
the Honors Program here stayed at
about 10 percent of each class over the
past few years. Phelps said
Phelps said he felt the quality of
freshmen had increased because the
top 30 percent of Georgia's high school
seniors had gotten more rigorous
academic training
The commission's report made
several recommendations, including
establishing compulsory instructions in
what it called "the new basics": four
years of high school English and three
years of math, science, and social
science for all students, plus two years
of foreign language for college-bound
students
Phelps said the commission's pro
posals could help the University by "en
couraging high school students to take
courses Univeristy officials recom
mend "
However, the commission's report
will have little immediate effect on the
University. Phelps said
The present secondary education
system in Georgia "produces about
3,000 good freshmen every year,"
Phelps said
"Any improvement is bound to help
us some, but we are already getting
good students," he said
Waite's case The government failed to
do so and Hatter threw the case out of
court
"Draft registration has nothing to do
with national defense and will only lead
to another Vietnam," Waite said
He said he believed most wars were
fought in the interests of big business
"I don't want to die for Exxon," he
said
"Draft registration is the most
unenforceable law since prohibition,”
Waite said "A time will come when
people will refuse to register and there
is no way they can put us all in prison."
Waite said if the United States were
attacked he would not fight but would
stay in America and protest If non
violent protest failed, however, he said
he would fight
Waite said his decision not to register
was both a political and moral one He
expressed no specific moral doctrine
but said, "I must be true to my con
science.
"I must act for peace, not for war and
I can't cooperate with a government
that advocates war."
Waite said he would go to prison
rather than change his beliefs
Odum likes his environment
By I.ISA PRITCHETT
IImi .»d Mark Hull WrIUr
A house has a kitchen where food is
prepared, a den for recreation and a
bathroom, and so does an eco system,
according to Eugene Odum, the
founder and director of the Universi
ty’s Institute of Ecology
"It only makes sense to look at
ecology as a unified, integrated
household which includes man as part
of that household,” Odum says.
Our food sources are our kitchens;
our parks are our recreation areas;
and our waste-processing facilities
are our bathrooms, according to
Odum's theory
Odum's work in ecology recently
earned him the Prix de I'lnstitut de la
Vie, the equivalent of the Nobel Prize
for ecology, and the Educator of the
Year award from the National
Wildlife Federation, the largest con
servation group in the country.
Odum has combined his work in
ecology with his beliefs about civic
responsibilities to form a "common-
sense" theory of politics.
“There should be some middle
ground between the public and
private domains,” he says. "The two
areas should not be mutually ex
clusive."
Odum says that, although interac
tion with government is often
necessary to get conservation pro
jects accomplished, he tries to avoid
getting caught up in the political
game
“We stay out of it. Our top value ii
our credibility. Our Job is to gather
data and then assess the informa
tion," he says
“We try to be apolitical We respond
to state and local governments, in
dividuals and industry We approach
problems when we're asked," he
adds
Odum says President Reagan
favors industrial growth as a means
volved in solving some of our pro
blems," Odum says.
"I’m optimistic that we’ll become
more responsible and start thinking
about long-range problems We can't
afford expensive bail-outs.
"But," he adds, "the lag-time for
correcting things can scare you
sometimes "
One problem Odum is working to
correct is waste of wetlands — salt or
river marshes. One-third of the
American economy is dependent on
wetlands for goods and services like
water recycling, wildlife and waste
cleansing, Odum says
Odum is currently working on a pro
ject to study wetlands sponsored by
private industries and landowners in
terested in donating marshlands to
the public
The costs of developing wetlands,
which have to be drained or filled, are
high; some owners just want to write
them off as a donation.
The project assesses the "public
value" of the wetlands, which is based
on the "total biological productivity —
the amount of organic matter being
processed into the food chain," Odum
says
"The problem is that the Internal
Revenue Service has yet to accept the
concept of public value The public
value of Georgia marshes possibly us
ed for shrimp production, is around
$1000 per acre, while the market value
— what the IRS accepts — is only $100
per acre," he says.
Under the present system, the
owner may donate the wetlands and
take the tax break But this action is
usually audited and argued in tax
courts, which have traditionally come
to conservative resolutions, Odum
says.
However, compromises between
wetlands and owners and the govern
ment seem to be within reach, he
says
of national development although it is
now outdated
"President Reagan still believes in
the pioneer ethic for a pioneering
country, one in which sheer growth is
important That's fine, if development
can still occur, but the United States is
approaching maturity fast," he says.
Ecology chief Eugene Odum
That pioneer ethic is evident in the
actions of Interior Secretary James
Watt — like the sale of Georgia forest
land and chunks of the Chalahoochee
and Oconee National Forests to com
mercial interests, Odum says.
“Secretary Watt is being extremely
short-sighted He's selling off our
future life-support system," Odum
says. "About one third of the state
should remain undeveloped
"The government should be looking
ahead The present government is tur
ning things back over to human folly
But maybe in the long run, that's
good The people should get more in-
By ANDY SMITH
Red i*d Black ( wMrttMting HrMrr
Rasta matter with this picture?
Rastaman Aashid A.P lllnrs of the band Afrikan Dreamland hands a
raffle ticket to a box enjoy inn the sunshine and music Saturday at the
fifth annual Athens Human Rights Festival. Dreamland was hut one of
a diverse line-up of hands, speakers and exhibitors that provided the
entertainment for the celebration at the Athens Fairgrounds. The
festival, which had previously been held at Legion Field, was moved to
the fairgrounds to incorporate more community participation, said
festival organizer Randy Tatel. This year's festival was also the first
to last a week long, instead of just a weekend.
By JIM MASSARA
Krd and Hlat'k Senior Reporter
A University employee said Monday she would start a peti
tion drive to protest the newly announced parking fees that
she thinks put an unfair financial burden on faculty, staff and
employees.
Mary Evans, administrative secretary for the director of
research in the College of Business, said she drafted the peti
tion because faculty, staff and employees would be charged
$18 a year to park in campus perimeter lots — and at least an
additional $20 to park in designated lots on the campus itself
— while commuting students would pav considerably less
The petition, which will be circulated at a meeting Wednes
day is designed to explain the new parking plan to University
employees, asks that “a more equitable solution" be found
The meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the
Law School auditorium
The petition will also be available for signatures between
11:30 a m and 1:30 p in today and Wednesday at the
Memorial Hall plaza
Evans said a pamphlet detailing the new parking plan that
was handed out to staff last week was misleading
She said it left the impression that if someone wanted to
park in a "premium" lot — one of the lots on campus normal
ly reserved for faculty and employees — one would only have
to pay $20 a year
But Evans said she was told by an employee of Parking
Services that the $20 premium fee would be tacked on to the
basic $18 fee, not in place of it. This means that faculty, staff
or employees would have to pay $38 a year to park in only one
on-campus lot
George Postell, an accountant for Auxiliary Services, con
firmed the information Monday
"There's noway not to pay the base fee (of $18)," he said.
Postell also said a fee scale that would more than double
the cost of parking in more than one campus zone was
necessary to keep an excessive number of cars off campus.
"The rates were set such that it would discourage people
from registering in more than one lot," Postell said. "What
we would like is to immobilize as many cars as possible."
Postell added that a negative reaction to the fee hike was
inevitable.
"I have really been pleased with the low volume of com
plaints,” Postell said. "I think most people realize that rais
ing fees this way Is the only way to alleviate the problem."
Please See PARKING, Page 3
Desegregation task force to convene
David Waite, the first man tried and
acquitted for refusing to register for the
draft, said he was proud of his actions
and urged all Americans to protest
draft registration and put an end to
war
Waite, 22. a former Yale philosophy
student and resident of Pasadena.
Calif spoke out against draft
registration. American involvement in
El Salvador and the nuclear arms race
during a speech at the Human Rights
Festival at the Athens Fairgrounds
Saturday
"I consider myself fortunate.” Waite
said ' The concept of a draft is wrong,
and when you really try. you can prove
it's wrong like I did
Waite was indicted by a federal grand
jury July 22 for refusing to register for
the draft under a plan initiated by the
Jimmy Carter administration in I960
Other resisters prosecuted under the
same law included Benjamin Sasway of
California and Gary Eckland of Iowa
Both men are currently serving prison
terms for their non-compliance
In 1980, Waite wrote then-President
Carter about his decision not to
Waite; Draft concept is wrong
register A year later, he and 150 other
protesters who had written similar
letters were given orders from the
Selective Service Agency to register or
face government prosecution In 1981,
Waite was indicted
Waite's lawyers argued during the
trial that he and a few other of the
“noisiest" resisters were being
selectively prosecuted because of their
vocal objection to the registration
Federal judge Terry Hatter agreed
with Waite's attorneys and demanded
the government prove lack of bias in
By BOB KEYES
Krd and Htarli Senior Reporter
A newly formed governor's task force
will meet early next week to discuss
additions to the 1977 desegregation
report passed by the Board of Regents
last week
The force — composed of governor's
staff members, regents staff members,
the state attorney general's office and
the Office of Planning and Budget —
will examine all aspects of the plan and
"determine which are realistic and
fundable." Barbara Morgan. Gov Joe
Frank Harris' press secretary, said
Monday
‘i4 goal is something
to aim toward; a
quota is a set num
ber.’ —Dean Propst
Several aspects of the plan, which
will cost about $3 million annually, have
been criticized by state legislators who
said they would be unwilling to fund the
plan in its present form
But, said, University System Vice
Chancellor Dean Propst, a member ol
the task force, "it's very likely there
will be many changes in the plan
between this point and the point when
the court considers it It's not anywhere
close to being official "
The Atlanta Civil Rights office must
approve the plan and submit it to U S.
District Court Judge John Pratt for
approval by June 30
Pratt ruled in March that Georgia
and eight other states had to come up
with plans to desegregate their colleges
and universities by fall 1985 or lose
federal money
Harris made an oral agreement with
the regional civil rights office to submit
the plan by Monday, but Friday he
requested a two-week extension to
study the plan further
Harris met Friday with regents staff
members to discuss the controversial
plan "We really talked about the plan
in general and gave him some ad
ditional information," Propst said
The 23-page addendum to the 1977
regents desegregtion plan, approved at
the board meeting in Columbus last
week calls for increased recruitment of
black students and faculty in the
system's 33 institutions
The most expensive item in the
regents' plan, costing as much as $1.5
million annually, would give tuition
waivers to first-year students attending
colleges where they were a racial
minority Another proposal would give
blacks with doctorates a year of ad
ministrative training This plan would
cost about $500,000
Propst said the task force would iron
out funding problems and present a
plan to the civil rights office "that
would have acceptance at all levels,"
including the General Assembly.
Last week, Rep Bob Argo, D-Athens,
criticized the tuition-waiver proposal,
saying beneficiaries of the tuition break
would "float back" to other institutions
at the completion of the free year.
"That's possibly a correct
statement,” Propst said, "but we
sometimes have a preconceived notion
and when we get inside of it we find
those preconceived notions were
wrong."
Propst said the system had made
considerable progress in the last few
years toward desegregation "You can
make significant progress toward
achieving a goal without actually
achieving that goal But it's up to the
court to determine what's significant
progress," he said
"I think the University System has
made significant progress in a number
of areas,"he said
"Goals have a way of being in
terpreted as a quota. A goal is
something to aim toward; a quota is a
set number," he said.
Rep Lauren "Bubba" McDonald, D-
Commerce, chairman of the House
Appropriations Committee, said "It
bothers me that the federal courts even
require us to do this when our schools
are open to anyone If there’s not a
desegregated school, it’s because some
students chose not to go there."