Newspaper Page Text
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TV* Red and Black
Thursday. July 12, IWH
T HE RED AND BLACK
Established 1893 — Incorporated 1980
Harry Montevideo, General Manager
Melissa Jordan, Editor-in-chief
James Kendley, Managing Editor
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An Indrpfndtnt gtvdmt ntwtpapir not affiliated with the Vnlvortity of Georgia
A sensible plan
Faced with the inevitability of an unfair, illogical minimum
drinking age of 21, Athens bar and restaurant owners have hit
upon a sensible, practical plan of adjustment.
The Georgia Hospitality and Travel Association will lobby the
General Assembly to phase in the age hike — thus giving bar
owners time to reorient their market strategies to attract older
drinkers.
The plan is a wise one. Consider the alternatives the General
Assembly has to choose from:
• Raising the drinking age to 21 during its next session. This op
tion would put many Athens bar and restaurant owners out of
business. It’s as simple as that. Many bars and restaurants here
depend on the college market. And about half of that market is
younger than 21.
• Waiting until its 1986 session to raise the age This option
would give bar owners more time to reorient their strategies, but
it also would take away about half their business in one blow Fur
thermore, next year’s 19-year-olds — who’ll be considered
“mature” enough to drink in 1985 — will have that privilege snat
ched away from them in 1986.
• Phasing in the age hike during the next two years. By raising
the age to 20 by October 1985 and then to 21 a year later, when
the alloted time runs out, no one who has been allowed to drink
will be told he can’t. This option also will gradually take away
younger bar patrons: Next year only 19-year-old patrons will be
lost, and in 1986 only 20-year-olds.
• Refusing to raise the drinking age. This option will deprive
Georgia of highway funds essential to progress.
We believe phasing in the age hike is the best option. Georgia
legislators, representing the views of the people of this state, have
rejected the age hike repeatedly.
If the General Assembly must be blackmailed by the federal
government into raising Georgia’s minimum drinking age to 21 —
against the will of the people — it should take every action possi
ble to minimize the damage the age hike will cause.
Opinion
Can Athens live up to its namesake?
"Latin is not a dead language," the teacher said to
the class of nodding freshmen
"No. it’s just as alive as English, for what that’s
worth,” a sardonic young man in the rear of the
classroom mumbled under his breath
There are such young men at this University now
The cynical University-weary honors student is a
stock figure in academia. Usually he — or she — is a
snitty reptilian creature, ill-tempered, and peevish
and — most importantly — self-centered and full of
false deprecation
These individuals are annoying in two senses
They're difficult to tolerate, of course, but it’s also
difficult to be one.
I know I started school here several years ago ns
one of these snarling misanthropic mongrels Too
concerned to overlook the shoddy state of com
position training at the University and too alienated
by the popular culture of party heads, trendy
pretenders and vapid Sues to even attempt to fit in,
the cynic spews misdirected spleen onto anyone
unfortunate enough to get in his way
Imagine a scorpion so enthralled in the primitive
desire to sting that it loses sight of its objective —
food or survival — and stings itself to death in a
frenzy.
The situation is tragic because these snapping,
grousing misfits realize too well that they're being
punished for being intelligent and for desiring to
sharpen their skills of critical thinking and writing
The waste of talent is scandalous because it's always
the students with the most talent who become
disgusted with the system and who eventually disown
it entirely.
When I bemoan the inadequacy of University
composition training, it's not so much administration
policy, faculty teaching techniques or even student
apathy I'm attacking It's a broader, more nebulous
Joe Cafiero
problem We — students, teachers and Athens in
general — allow an anti-intellectual climate to
prevail here
What irony to call this town Athens Where is that
great Greek city 's clear and voluble public discussion
to be found in this town 7 Why is so much senseless
garbage printed in the local media and why do so
manv inane grammatical and spelling errors creep
into our local newspapers? Where are this town’s
journalistic ideals?
And no, I don't need to step down off my pedestal,
because I realize that The Red and Black is not free of
guilt.
Sure, newspapers operate under often tyrannical
deadlines, but time pressure doesn't excuse the
abominable offenses against the commonest of
literary common sense that I see daily
Editors shouldn't have to deal with stories on
deadline that are full of sentence fragments and
faulty diction.
I refrain from citing specific cases of language
abuse here because instances of it are so plentiful and
prominent that no one can deny their existence. Also
I'd prefer not to start a street fight among Athens’
several newspapers Isn't it absurd that a university
as large as this one with a well-respected journalism
school tolerates slovely editing and petty squabbling
among the community's newspapers
Let’s all — the media and the journalism school and
the English department — make a strong effort to see
that student: don’t slip through their writing classes
with little more knowledge than how to sign their
names
An inability to write coherently often indicates an
inability to think clearly. And not too many people
around here write coherently. Need I say more?
So you think I'm one of those snitty intellectual
sissies, do you? Oh well, an academic wimp like me
can’t force anyone to learn to write — or, for that
matter, think — coherently.
Besides, people who don't care enough to learn how
to write worth a damn probably don’t have anything
to say anyway
Fine. Maybe my compulsion to force my
educational ideas on these people indicates that I’m
twisted Indeed, I must be because I do believe one
can make a good case for establishing internment
camps for the functionally illiterate students who
gum up the works of the University and society in
general
Since the Reagan administration seems to be
toying with the idea of police-state government
anyway, why not establish a brigade of storm
troopers to control — and perhaps even eliminate
from society — students who prefer to remain unlet
tered?
If I’ve insulted anyone, I’ve achieved my purpose
Why not write an intelligent, literate letter of protest
to The Red and Black?
Joe Cafiero it
Black.
a senior reporter for The Red and
Let y s not make founders something they weren Y
TO THE EDITOR:
Contrary to what Mr Krusberg
believes (6/28/84). the attitudes of the
fundamentalists of the early 20th
century were very similar to the beliefs
of the people who founded this country
Mr Krusberg has given the impression
that the religious ideals of modern
fundamentalists are an irrational,
"narrow-minded” reaction to other
opinions However, one’s opponents are
always "narrow-minded," depending
on which side of the controversy one is
on Controversy and in-fighting always
have been characteristic of religious
arguments
The fundamentals were taken for
granted (except for opinions on the
Millenium) by most of the protestants
of the American colonies on the eve of
the American Revolution. In spite of the
fact that many of the upper class in the
colonies were deists, most middle and
lower class protestants would today
certainly be considered fun
damentalists by those with anti-
traditionalist theological views.
It was not until the 19th and early 20th
centuries that, traditional doctrines
came under really serious attack from
those who disagreed with traditional
protestant thought Anti-traditionalists
attacked the innerrancy and inspiration
of scripture, and miracles such as the
virgin birth, resurrection and ascension
of Christ.
Traditionalists were those who
believed in the "fundamentals” at
tacked by the anti-traditionalists. In its
broadest sense, fundmentalism was a
way of uniting those traditionalists who
disagreed on the finer detail of doctrine
as they engaged in a lively dialogue
with the anti traditionalists on the
major points of doctrine
Why were there technically no fun
damentalists in the American colonies 7
The reason is simple The ideas that
fundamentalists of a later time were
defending were taken for granted by
most people in the American colonies
This consensus on the fundamentals
helped us become one people How. you
may ask? One of the things which made
the colonies consider themselves one
people was the amazing series of
revivals which swept the colonies from
Maine to Georgia before the American
Revolution That revival movement
was called the First Great Awakening
One either believes traditional
theology or one believes anti-traditional
dogma It all depends on the side you
choose which side you consider narrow
minded We have the freedom to chose
our beliefs, but make sure to be ac
curate with history And let s not make
the founders of this country something
they were not They were not tutored in
modern bible criticism, but their
traditionalist beliefs were closer to the
beliefs of the modern fundamentalists
than to the anti-traditionalists who
dominate the mainline churches today
FREDERIC I). JONES
University Alumnus
People don Y want to accept facts
TO THE EDITOR:
So. Laura J. Wilson, according to
your reply concerning Mr Kendley’s
article on President Reagan, you don’t
know how to read very well. Mr
Kendley did not say to put down all our
weapons and expect the Soviets to
follow suit What he was trying to get
across was that the world is in a very
dangerous situation and the solution is
not to make more arms, shove them
down our allies' throats and hope the
Soviets will shake in their boots
The facts are in, and most people
don't want to accept them Talks and
negotiating are the only course of ac
tion to defuse the time bomb
One last comment, concerning your
'bold' comment about how Mr Kendley
should be ever so grateful for this
freedom of speech In the Declaration
of Independence it is stated men are
born free, and divinely given this right
It is inherent Are you suggesting that
people whould be thankful to any
person or government on this earth that
doesn't take away freedom, which isn't
theirs to take in the first place 7 Think
about it. Freedom is but a werd
meaning different things to different
people
For instance, I am free to say that
Mr Reagan should not be reelected for
a few simple reasons First of all he is a
liar He hasn't come close to fulfilling
his promise to not only reduce the
deficit but to eliminate it as well.
Second, he has proved his ineptness at
solving problems of the utmost im
portance, such as reduction (both
sides) of arms, our country's depen
dence on foreign countries for energy,
no drive to simplify taxes, etc etc.
What has the government of Reagan
and his true blue (red and white)
Republicans done? Someone please
explain
NEIL SAUNDERS
ril even buy you a beer
TO THE EDITOR:
1 have a message for our 18-, 19-, and
20-year old citizens Ronald Reagan
wants votes this fall He is urging voter
registration He thinks you are mature
enough to vote
Mr Reagan will send you off to war
with or without a weapon and think you
are mature enough for that. Mr
Reagan will tearfully thank you in
speech if you die in war, as have many
young marines in recent years He
definitely thinks you are mature
enough to die in war
Mr Reagan does not, I repeat does
not, think you are mature enough to
drink -Mr Reagan needs a lesson in
logic You can administer this lesson by
registering and voting against him this
year Prove how mature you are at the
ballot box
If you are old enough for war. you are
old enough to drink I hope all other
logical-thinking persons will vote with
you against Mr Reagan 1 know I will,
and, heck, I'll even buy you a beer'
MRS. CLAUDE L. MAULDIN
Lawrenrevillr. Ga.
Editorial: 543-1809
Cop> #4iion OadyG«arf». Lm Smith
»• editor Andy Smith
Spuria editor Chart** Aaron
Entertain **enl editor Chirk* Aarun
Phuto editor Margaret Kenrfcr
Advertising: 543-1791
Advertuoif Director Dan Stout
Advertising Sole* Manage' Lisa Eark
Advertising Representative* Marti Bryson.
Iknue Evans. Ken Hollis. Dean Oliver Tammy
Timm. Raynard \A hi ting
Oaaai/led Representative Mona Lewis
Production: 543-1791
Production Manage- Karken Chafcer
Production Staff Nanci Bateman. Johnna Col
eman. Diana Findley. Tammy Turner
Contributions
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A shadow is lurking in our lives
There's a shadow in our lives, a nightmare that is
nol quite a reality, just beyond everything we think,
feel and see It has an almost dreamlike quality: it
often seems far away, as if it never existed at all At
other times, it's quite clear that sight, thought and
touch could end suddenly, pointlessly, in a ther
monuclear blast It's part of life. It's there whether
we think about it or not, and it never really goes
away.
The mind has strange ways of adapting As it
rejects the unfathomable darkness of a nuclear ex
change. it constructs a more reassuring world
wnere homos can i go on and, il they can, our side
can survive or even win a nuclear war So deterrence,
a stopgap designed to bring tired men home after
World War II, becomes our chosen way of death.
With time, patience and a few basic texts, we could
sit down and calculate the loss of life a nuclear ex
change would cause The initial blasts would take this
many, forest fires the size of Texas would take this
many, radiation would take this many more, a second
strike would take this many By the time we were
through, we would be left with the slight possibility of
a few survivors on the Yucatan peninsula left to face
a shattered global ecology and background radiation
levels high enough to sterilize any surviving mam
mals You can work it out with a pencil: the end of
human history.
Such brilliant men as Albert Einstein. Buckminster
Fuller and Bertrand Russell, who tried to stay above
the plane of partisan concerns, spent their latter
years pointing out the fundamental i[logic of a deter
rent strategy If the missiles stay poised in their silos,
they reasoned, then they will eventually go off.
whether by accident or design That is the risk,
because imperfect men can't build perfect machines
but there is nothing to gam, because aeterrence can
never work
The only way a threat of nuclear deterrence can be
believable is for each aggressor to pledge the com
James Kendley
plete destruction of the other in case of attack.
Mutual destruction is assured However, if one
aggressor chooses to ignore the threat and attack
with conventional weaponry, and if that aggressor
has the capabilities to win. then the opponent, faced
with the prospect of defeat, has two choices:
capitulation or a nuclear attack that would destroy
not only the enemy, but trigger a counterattack that
would destroy itself and everything it was trying to
protect Because NATO forces can't hope to
withstand an all-out Soviet attack in Europe, this is
our situation today. It's not new; we have watched it
come to be for three decades By not listening to the
voices of reason, we have ensured that either human
life will end in a nuclear war. or our allies in Europe
can’t be protected from the Soviet Union because we
refuse to destroy humanity
There are fanatics who say that liberty and justice
must be protected at any cost, including risking the
death of the human race This view blurs the line
between insanity and stupidity If we try to protect
freedom and justice with nuclear weapons, then
freedom and justice will cease to be. Those qulaities
we treasure, those goals we hold for our lives, will not
exist; corpses can't be brave, or free, or anything but
dead
Immediate, unilateral disarmament is not the
answer If we disarm, the Soviets can strike with
impunity, and end a threat to their existence that has
stood firm since 1919
An elected official will act in the best interests ol
the people he is supposed to serve only to the extent
that he is monitored by the public. Lobbyists who
have made the conscious choice to end the nuclear
threat are beginning to do this. If we pressure our
elected officials in the way the military/industrial
complex has pressured them in the past, then the
human race may survive We must make the
decision, and tell our senators and representatives
we want the human race to survive.
Mutual on-site verification has always been the
single most frustrating stumbling block in arms
limitation talks; without on-site verification,
disarmament would be suicide On the other hand,
deterrence itself offers suicide or defeat. We must
force ourselves to decide whether we want to live or
die. and force our elected officials to respond to our
needs Democrats have failed miserably in their
efforts to promote mutual verification, and
Republicans have crushed their few feeble peace
initiatives It is clear that we can’t depend on a party
or candidate to make our lives safe; we must force
our government to take the intitiative in disar
mament
Again, we can't end the nuclear threat; the
knowledge of how to construct a nuclear bomb will
always be with us We can, however, find the strength
and courage to push the threat farther away and give
ourselves time to negotiate As it stands, the human
race is ready to exterminate itself at less than It
minutes notice If we could verify that the missile
were not in firing position, then we would be ready tc
die at 30 minutes notice. If the warheads were
removed from the missiles, and the missiles were
destroyed, then there might be time to prevent the
end of the world if tensions become too great. Wt
must increase the time it will take to kill ourselves, sc
we will have time to talk ourselves out of it
James Kendley is managing editor of The Red and
Black