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The Rfd and Black
Friday, October 2S, ISM
THE RED AND BLACK
Established 1893 — Incorporated 1980
Harry Montevideo, General Manager
Melissa Jordan, Editor In Chief
Clarice Makemson, Managing Editor
An independent tfudenf neiv*paper not affiliated wit* the Univeraity o/Georgia
Slow motion
The bureaucratic wheels are moving slowly, but at least they’re
finally in motion. At its Wednesday meeting, the Interfraternity
Council passed a resolution in support of consolidating the
University’s black and white Greek systems
It is not the merger we've been hearing about for the last year
and a half. Before the systems actually can merge, the IFC must
tidy up some business with changes to its constitution. Even then
the black Greek organizations will have to make the final move —
and their decision will hinge on the IFC’s action on these
measures:
• Black Greek Committee: One of the main concerns of black
Greek organizations has been the black social calendar. The
Black Greek Council maintains a calendar of social events in
order to prevent conflicts between different organizations’ ac
tivities. The IFC has proposed the establishment of a Black Greek
Committee to perform the same functions if the two groups
merge. The IFC will vote on the measure at its Nov 7 meeting
• Minimum membership requirements: The IFC currently
requries a minimum membership of 20 for its member frater
nities Some smaller black fraternities would be on probation
automatically for insufficient membership if the merger occurred
under the present requirement. The IFC wisely addressed this
problem by proposing a resolution that would require fraternities
to meet only the minimum membership requirements set by their
national organizations The resolution must be tabled for
discussion for one month, but likely will be voted upon when the
IFC meets at the end of November.
Opinion
American Express (ugh) wants me
One of the most repulsive inventions of our
materialistic, slave-intellect society is plastic money,
the so-called credit card. I say “so-called” because
the term is a deliberate misnomer, implying that one
who holds a card is somehow worthy or deserving As
if we needed more evidence that this is a fallacious
description, the Reagan administration has shown in
dubitably that the basis for capitalistic success is
more unworthiness — greed and exploitation of
others — than virtue
The person seeking intellectual validity in our pre
sent political climate must necessarily strive not to
do what is done by the common, unthinking masses,
the bulk of people, especially those manipulated by
cynical right-wing movers and shakers I have
heretofore describe this unthinking mass as the idiot
gap; I suppose the term bourgeois serves my purpose
just as well The problem with the bourgeoisie is that
they insist that everyone must join them in their pur
suit of mediocrity. Even if one despises bourgeois
limitations, the established powers nevertheless in
sist on thrusting forth orthodoxy as if it were
somehow desirable
I have been fortunate in avoiding most bourgeois
entanglements in my life, and I am somewhat pleas
ed with that fact However, the older one gets, the
more determined is the attack on personal freedom
one faces.
Just last week, the American Express group sent
me one of those personalized impersonal letters,
making an offer for me to join the middle-class Cer
tainly, my conscience would never allow me to apply
for the card; plastic money, I am afraid, is just
another symptom of the disease called conformity.
Speaking out against this disease these days gets one
just about as much appreciation as throwing a pie in
a girl’s face on her 16th birthday: a non-greedy per
son seems to be regarded as somewhat of a
spoilsport
Apparently, Amex assumes everyone wants to oe
bourgeois; however, as E M Forester pointed out in
“My Wood,” the only way for a property-owner to
balm his or her conscience is to force everyone to
share the blame for property in the first place In
short, signing on that dotted line would be just about
the same as signing my intellectual death certificate
The truly suspicious aspect of Amex's offer is that
Sheldon Kohn
they claim to be offering "something reserved lor
those we believe have a great potential for future suc
cess ” I hope their generous estimation of my future
is correct, but I think our definitions of “succeess
are divergent All that is required of me is that I fill
out the enclosed application, no postage is necessary
The Amex employees must be a repulsive group of
Republicans
Truly, Amex is horribly presumptuous in making
their offer, as if I am somehow seeking their tainted,
limiting approval They must look upon their clients
like Pavlov looked at his dog; they assume I w ill slob
ber over their offer Fact is, I just do not share their
values
Amex's offer continually reinforces their slave
mentality When I am "lunching with important
clients," they want to be there, too This is what I find
most repulsive about corporations, and their slaves
They simply refuse to let one be The next time I buy
a client, an important client, lunch. Amex wants me
to remember that "the card is an easy and graceful
way to pick up the tab “ I fail to see the grace in using
plastic money, but then again I also fail to see the
moral in Moral Majority
Furthermore, I may use the card “to
bolster (myt wardrobe or purchase plane not
airline) tickets ' The next time I stay at a Holiday
Inn, I can just plop down the card and get a room
Possession of the card guarantees me that traveling
will be a hassle-free pleasure " All in all. it sounds
like the card is a must for every graduate student; |
wonder how I have enjoyed life at all without one
Once I sign my intellectual death certificate, I will
then “come to rely on the card God forbid.
Amex implies that if I foolishly refuse their
marvellous and wonderful offer. I will surely come to
loath myself They are frankly dedicated to making
one share their shame, selfishly, they offer one a
poor alternative to starvation The card, they
threated me. “becomes more of a necessity as you
approach vour next career goal They must think
that one who does not have clients to buy lunch foe
a Iso does not have a career; I told you Amex is full of
Republicans Finally, Amex adds, "So cross the
bridge, sic > apply today " Frankly, their use of the
language hints at datism, but that is not surprising
Also. I find being addressed in the imperative mode
rather disgusting
Perhaps they are right, though, for greed is the
main topic these days The current crop of
hypocritical Republicans, in many ways the most
disgusting crop yet. has made greed and exploitation
into equivocated virtues With my card to rely on, I
could forget all the reasons why “American” sounds
like a dirty word coming out of Ronald Reagan s
mouth I could become a conservative Surely an in
surance company would hire me, or a sales organiza
tion. or an advertising concern (provided I would lie
and act ignorant, of course)
Then I could trade John Milton, John Donne.
William Shakespeare. William Blake, William
Faulkner and Geoffrey Chaucer, among others, for a
procedures and regulations manual written by so
meone who probably failed English 101 Then I could
support economic domination and compulsion
Then I could stop try ing to enlighten people and
finally start exploiting them like any other good
bourgeois 1 could start telling outrageous lies and
begin a career in right wing fundamentalist politics
and religion Or are those the same thing? Heck, with
my Amex card behind me, I could even become presi
dent one day Then, like Ronald Reagan. I could just
charge everything, pay for nothing and blame it all
on the Democrats
Sheldon Kohn is a graduate in the English depart
ment
We urge the IFC to approve these two measures as soon as
possible. They are both carefully thought out steps that show
concern for the needs of black Greeks Then, when these
remaining hesitations are removed, black Greek organizations
can take the initiative and complete the merger. Although a
merger will not correct automatically the problems of racism and
discrimination, we hope it will encourage greater communication
and understanding between blacks and whites at the University.
Liberation of Grenada ‘came at a terrible cosf
TO THE EDITOR
As one of the medical students In
Grenada at this time last year, 1 am
deeply concerned about the so-called
"Student Liberation Days" being
organized on college campuses by
right wing groups, purportedly to
celebrate the United States invasion of
Grenada
Whether my life and those of my
fellow medical students were en
dangered by the coup that overthrew
Maurice Bishop is very much open to
question It is clear, however, that our
"liberation" by the Reagan ad
ministration came at a terrible cost:
dozens of young American. Cuban and
Grenadian lives
That is a fact that the people
organizing “Student Liberation Day"
may not want you to know Nor may
they want you to know the course they d
like to see our nation follow in other
parts of l.atin Amcnca. namely such
places as Nicaragua. El Salvador and
Honduras
If American troops are sent to those
countries as some would like, they
won't be facing a few hundred glorified
policemen and Cuban construction
workers as they did in Grenada
If American troops are sent to
Central America, it's more likely they
will fight thousands of well-trained
soldiers and guerillas willing to give
everything to defend their homelands
and their ideals
As in Vietnam. American soldiers
will face the uncertainty of w hether the
peasants in the village before them are
friend or foe They will battle again in
scorching heat dense and hilly terrain
and unfamiliar territory
Polls show that most students, as well
as the majority of Americans, want
peace in Central America through
political and diplomatic means, not
more bloodshed through clumsy and
misguided American intervention. If
the organizers behind "Student
Liberation Day” mean to suggest
through their mindless celebration of
the invasion of Grenada that students
support military adventures on behalf
of unpopular and repressive dictators
in Central America, I suggest they ask
students first
Instead of celebrating the liberation
of students, their actions only en
courage the decimation of students
The publicity from their rallies, if not
countered immediately, encourages the
worst tendencies of our government to
believe it will be politically acceptable
to send us off to war
They should recognize, as E
Savadoran president Jose Napoleo
Duarte has, that hundreds of years o
poverty, exploitation and despair are a
the roots of the conflict in Centra
American, not the struggle betwee
foreign ideologies They shoul
recognize, as most students do, that i
only hurts the prospects for peace whe
our government supports those wh
have the most to gain by continue!
bloodshed the contras in Nicaragu
and the government-tolerated deal
squads in El Salvador and elsewhere
There is still time to act before ou
government sends us on a hopeles
mission in Central America. Regal
dless of the foolishness of these righl
wing "Student Liberation Days," let u
ensure that our country not repeat th
mistakes of the past by getting involve
in an endless war on the wrong side c
the battle
morty weissfelnei
SI. George's University School i
Medicin
Class of ISt)
U.S. is 'hell on wheels’in Caribbean
TO THE EDITOR:
While the Grenada candlelight vigil
honors brave men who fell in the
defense of freedom, it nevertheless
seems very cynical to me How come no
one marched for the men who fell in the
Beirut Massacres?
Is it because they died for no ap
parent reason, without the leadership
necessary to carry out a coherent and
reasoned mission? I, as an American,
am just as proud of these men who died
in Beirut while try ing to bring peace to
the region as I am of the Grenada
fighters It is the leadership, or lack of
it. that allowed their deaths that I am
ashamed of
Sure. Mr Reagan can beat up on
some small Caribbean island and turn
it into a flag waving extravaganza
(whose anniversary neatly falls two
weeks before the election > But. in the
face ol a real threat to us and the rest of
the civilized world, he folds like a house
of cards, giving the Syrian/Russia
axis total and complete victory
In the process. Mr Reagan handed i
a defeat of both our military forces ai
our foreign policy We" are nc
thoroughly discredited as a pow
broker in the Mideast, w-here they car
believe that we allowed our men to d
in vain But, hey. don't worry, we’
hell on wheels in the Caribbean
ERIC M. ZWERLIN
Graduate, Microbiolot
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Contributions
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Playing free safety on life’s gridiron
Back when I was 10 years old - back when I
thought my calling in life was to be the keystone in
somebody's defensive secondary — I was greatly
influenced by a guidebook (o football written by
Frank Gifford "The safety." it noted, “is often the
last man between the ballcarrier and the endzone ”
The book explained that behind the lineman would be
the linebacker, and behind the backer could be the
cornerback. and even behind him could be the safety,
but behind the safety there was nothing but six points
It was the safety's duty and responsiblity never to get
beat, and that philosophy — never lose — has always
stayed with me
Perhaps that attitude is not as firm as it should be,
for the great Vince Lombardi has remarked,
“Winning isn't everything, but the desire to win is."
i Coach Lombardi, you may have noticed, is often
misquoted ) Nevertheless, the desire not to lose
normally leaves just one alternative — to win — so
the desired results of both philosophies is the same
even if the intent is slightly different
In sports, the desire to avoid losing has created the
significance and the needed superiority of defense, as
attested by the maxim "defense wins cham
pionships," and the idea first implanted in me bv
Frank Gifford was constantly reiterated by others
When I was 12 and attending a basketball camp (by
then my dreams of glory had changed slightlv, and I
envisioned the roundhall world illuminated by my ♦-
foot-8 whiteness), Morgan Wooten, the masterful
coach of the nationally prominent DeMatha High
Stags, emphasized that in order to win a piaver had to
score only two points if he allowed none, four if he
allowed two, but 20 if he allowed IS During my high
school years i when 1 still harbored some delusions of
personal athletic grandeur i. 1 was influenced by
Redskins coach George Allen, who also stressed
defense (almost to the exclusion of offense).
And when I came to this University and began to
Brian Jarvis
must strive just to be good - but constantly good ii
man> areas If we achieve such complete goodness
Ihen we might achieve a certain degree of greatness
in life '° avoldm ‘ s takes - m the arena as well ai
1" i ! “ £ rou *! 1 preparation, concentration, ant
an j Mr , R ,, o - r-'F-MutiH, vwitnurBuon. an
hc a lw^Z,T' Ul !> k ' : ' W5 h ' s responsibilities, il
follow the Dogs. I discovered a black-clad, bald
headed coach with a bloody brow — yes, defense was
important here, too. In fact, a sign in the weight room
said, “If we score, we may win; if we don't score, we
may lose; but if we do not allow the other team to
score, we will never lose.” And the Junkyarders
rarely have lost
As with many of the lessons learned from the
sporting arena, this one of never losing can be applied
to life in general Just as the safety's job is not to
score for his own team but to keep the opponent from
scoring, a person's job is not so much to make sure
that he gets ahead but to make sure that he keeps
from falling behind Perhaps such a notion seems
blasphemous to people who are taught and expected
to win-win-win. taught to take the offensive
However, the "safety" attitude is much more
realistic and attainable for most of us. the general
populace, the huddled masses burdened with
mediocrity, the meek majority unblessed with
superior talent and intellect
if we make mistakes, we probably do not possess
the innate or acquired ability to compensate for them
and to avoid the consequences of them Our hope of
preservation and salvation, therefore, is through the
avoidance of error, the avoidance of mistakes Since
being great is beyond our meager capabilities, we
^.'cmes 5,h '' U * hlS 10 “» a ™and7fh,
have 3m t ke mistakes - th?n he doesn
because £ hi UP . °n ,h ! m he ls already aheac
often, a persor
haeaiau k. “‘eieiore (alls behind
0 - some thing beyond hit
capabilities. Ines
reaching too far
stumbles, and falls
to reach past his’potential Ii
though, he loses his balance
ditional time — and he mus * then spend ad
rTSM-H 10ra,se himMlf upright anc
had he nouXn ^ C0Uld alread > have ^
bei,eve ,ha * suc >>
l£y m^ght^at^w-itt ffi d „ reach f0r « reatneSS
wrote that . Robert Browning, who onc<
grasp X, a ,\ a T* react > should exceed his
was a ™ ™, a , aven ,or '’" However. Brownin'
that we will and we shou l d remembei
earth - altho^h wel^i heave " whi| e trapped or
hell on earth a helf e^lr y CSn ex P ehenc<
accent the reJLT ntered when we are forced t<
avoid 1 mistak«*?f U * nC ? S ° f our mistakes But * f w<
"«fety^a«m^ ,£ " Ve d «*™ively and with the
anger and anvuish * e tna5 ' u®* ha ve t0 suffer «
dance And I don't Wlth a fier y endzom
burned by him™ ^ ^ anyone of wants to gel
Brian Jarvis is a taa^i.
department teachln 8 assistant in the English