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The Red and BUck
Friday. November 2,ISM
THE RED AND BIACK
Eatablished 1893 — Incorporated 1980
Harry Montevideo, General Manager
Melissa Jordan, Editor In Chief
Clarice Makemson, Managing Editor
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3 ainaan i rid (kuW Of a Mil M
TO MAKE AMERICA
SAFE FOR THE RICH
Opinion
An indep*nd*nt itudent newt pap*' not affiliated with the UnWomty of Georgia
Take a good look
The University System’s search for a new chancellor, troubled
since it began last spring, finally is drawing to a close. This week’s
announcement that the field has been narrowed down to two
candidates — System Vice Chancellor Dean Propst and
University President Fred Davison — ends most of the hoopla
about excessive (and some irresponsible) publicity that has
marred the search process.
With only two candidates to consider, the regents now can put
aside their headaches about expanding, revamping and/or
scrapping the search and get down to the real business of choosing
a chancellor. They should make their choice on the basis of the
candidate's merits, and not because of public influence from the
media or private influence from individuals — even from Gov Joe
Frank Harris, who has said he will not endorse publicly a can
didate, but has had private discussions with regents on the
matter.
The regents are expected to decide on the person to become top
administrator of the state’s 33 public colleges at a Nov 14
meeting. The person they choose must have vision for the future
and a proven commitment to improving the quality of all
education in Georgia.
We urge the regents to consider Dr. Davison’s message on the
state of the University when they make their decision.
In his address Wednesday, Dr. Davison pointed out that im
provement in education in our state must begin at the elementary
and high school levels. Dr. Davison's record of administering
University programs to increase involvement with lower-level
schools demonstrates that he does not hesitate to act on his words
The new chancellor of the University System must have the
same wisdom and foresight to understand the root causes of
problems facing our educational system, and take measures to
correct them. We believe Dr. Davison is such a person, and we
urge the regents to take a good look at his merits when they make
their decision.
By then, perhaps we’ll give a damn
You can see them in droves at the Tate Student
Center Plaza wearing their little Reagan-Bush
buttons and passing out campaign literature Or
perhaps you've seen then, in their Mercedes or
BMWs with "Another Student for Reagan Bush
bumper stickers With smiles on their faces and
adding machines for their hearts, they're always
well-dressed and freshly scrubbed
They're Young Republicans or the New Right or
whatever you want to call them They're the "Me
generation taken to its most logical extreme
In case you haven’t heard by now, a large number
of today’s generation of college students identify
themselves as conservatives Liberal has become a
dirty word. According to a recent New York
Times/CBS News poll, 53 percent of young in
dependents between 18 and 29 who responded iden
tified with the Republican Party, while only 37 per
cent of the respondents identified themselves as
Democrats
Are we witnessing a major shift in American
politics? Have today's students changed so
drastically from those of the late 1960s? No, probably
not We aren't facing a war that's threatening to kill
us We re faced with the prospect of unemployment
once we graduate And more specifically, we have
Ronald Reagan as our president
How ironic that the oldest man ever to be president
has such a strong appeal among young people
Especially a man who’s so fond of cutUng student
loans But Mr Reagan is appealing mainly because
of his strong sense of optimism In his radio address
last Saturday, he told young people “We share not
only a great love for America but an appreciation for
America's key to success, opportunity ”
Opportunity, that's the key word For a generation
weaned on Watergate, the energy crisis, high
unemployment, etc., Mr Reagan's promise of a land
of milk and honey is especially comforting and is
Editorial: 543-1791
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Contributions
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Lee Smith
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preferable to the pessimism of the late 1970s Then,
experts warned us that the next generation might
have to settle for less than our parents Mr Reagan
promises us that we can return to the good old days
Forget about the arms race, Central America, the
huge budget deficits, etc Forget about realism, he
tells people what they want to hear, not what they
need to.
He tells us everything is going to be alright We re
all going to have jobs We re going to see real
economic growth America has bounced back, and it
is respected all over the world again
In much the same way as depression-era audiences
flocked (o escapist-fantasy movies, today's studenLs
embrace Mr Reagan and the Republican party
They wear their white shirts and ties and neat,
closely cropped hair They think if they're good and
play the game, they'll gel their jobs and reap their
material rewards
We have come of age during a time when there
were no guarantees As the last of the baby boomers,
we face an increasingly shrinking job market We
don't have time to ask questions or to learn, but to
memorize answers for the next test and make good
grades
grades
The previous generation grew up in an economic
climate that allowed it to be concerned with social
issues Probably, most of today's students who hack
Mr Reagan don't agree with him on social issues
However, they didn't grow up with the assurance of a
job, and they're afraid
I don't think the generation that came of age during
the 1960s is morally superior to the current one A
large number of students who protested then were
primarily concerned about dying in Vietnam After
all. the protests began to die down when President
Nixon began his program of Vietnamization and
troops began to come home The war and killing still
continued in Vietnam after the United States left, but
where were all the protests 0
Perhaps our generation seems so apathetic
because death isn't staring us in the face The threat
of nuclear holocaust is so nebulous and intangible If
you thought every day about the possibility of the
world blow ing up, you'd go crazy soon The problems
in Central America are also remote Does anyone
know what’s going on in Central America 0 Does
anyone know’ what the United States is doing in
Central America 0 Does anyone care 0 Give us four
more years of the Reagan administration, and
perhaps we’ll care
But until then, probably most young people, if they
bother to register at all. will cast their votes for the
pied piper Ronald Reagan What an irony if Mr
Reagan’s promises of "real economic growth"
become realities, and the children of today's Young
Republicans rebelled against their parents for being
so conservative and pro-establishment Perhaps
"Time” magazine will label these offspring as Neo-
New Leftists Oh well, nothing's quite as sure as
change
Lee Smith is a senior in the school of journalism
Student voters should he aware of all issues
TO THE EDITOR:
I have noted with much interest the
rush of University students to register
for the general election on Nov 6 I
congratulate them for "doing their
duty” in this civic responsibility
Those students who arc voting in
Clarke County will find an additional
column of questions I Column 6) on Iheir
ballot, dealing w ith a local school bond
referendum As a matter of information
for these voters, I would appreciate
your publishing the following material
on these four questions which will be
financed through a tax increase of 81
mills for Clarke County property
owners:
• Question One asks for approval of
Board of Education to issue bonds
financing the modernization of Clarke
Central High School t built in the '50s) at
a cost of 12 6 million This would include
total renovation of the building's in
terior - heating, wiring, plumbing,
floor coverings, doors, chalkboards,
cabinets, plaster walls, auditorium
seating and ceilings, plus the addilion
of air conditioning and provisions for
the handicapped such as entrance
ramps, water coolers and bathroom
facilities
• Question Two concerns the same
type of modernization for our two oldest
schools, Barrow and Chase Street
elemenlaries, both built in the '20s
These two schools would also receive
larger libraries The total cost would bo
about li 5 million
• Question Three asks (or financing
of $980,000 for new wiring, the addition
of air conditioning and library con
struction al Clarke Middle School t built
in 1959) The present wiring does not
meet current safety standards, and the
library is smaller than most elemen
tary school libraries
Please note that the four schools
addressed by the first three questions
are the only schools of 15 in the district
that are not air conditioned
o Question Four asks for certain
additions to Death Valley stadium on
Clarke Central High School's campus
and the construction of minimum
facilities on the Cedar Shoals High
School campus to provide that school
with the beginnings of a stadium of its
own Presently, both schools play at
Death Valley This question's cost is It
million
Each question w ill require a separate
"yes" or "no” vole on the ballot The
four schools due for remodeling are
projects too large to undertake with
local funds, and (hey will not be eligible
for stale funding for at least seven to 10
years They cannot wait that long
All II of our other school buildings
were built — or have been renovated —
according to modern specifications
These four schools have facilities which
were once standard in buildings of their
age, but which are now recognized as
neither energy efficient nor conducive
to learning
I am hopeful that after reviewing the
facts as put forth by the various media
this week and/or seeing the schools
themselves, the student vote on next
Tuesday will be a positive one on the
school bond referendum See you al the
polls!
CAROL PURVIS
Superintendent of Schools
Clarke County SchoAd District
Sunday is 4 a monumental day ’ for Nicaraguans
TO THE EDITORS:
On Sunday the people of Nicaragua
will go to the polls and vote for their
president, vice president and 90-
member General Assembly The
election is Nicaragua’s first democratic
election ever After decades of brutal
dictatorship, the people of Nicaragua
will be able to choose candidates from
seven parties. Including the FSLN, the
“Sandinistas "
Nearly 1.5 million out of ap
proximately 16 million eligible voters
compiled with the law and registered as
of late July Brazil, Argentina.
Columbia, Bolivia and a host of other
countries have expressed support for
these elections
Although Nicaragua has been under a
slate of emergency since 1962 because
of an undeclared state of war with the
United States, the Council of State has
broadened Civil Liberties for the
election period
Censorship (except for military in
formation) has been lifted The right to
hold public meetings and distribute
political propaganda has been restored
Dozens of nations will have observers
on hand and the Nicaraguan govern
ment has invited 20 U S Congressmen
to observe
Throughout the past year, the U S
government has consistently
denounced the elections as fraudulent
and undemocratic
Secretary of State George Shultz
graciously has laid down his own
criteria for democratic elections
Paraphrasing his statements in the
Feb 6. 1984 edition of the New York
Times, he says that rival political
groups should be allowed to form and
have access to the media, to the people
and to the right to gather He says that
the important thing is that there is
active campaigning, an electoral
process, and not just a show of people
voting
I believe that the events in the past
five months in Nicaragua have satisfied
these requirements
I urge my fellow citizens to actively
investigate what is actually occurring
in Central America I predict that they
will find the truth encouraging and
courageous I wish the peoples of
Nicaragua and Central America all the
success they deserve Sunday is a
monumental day
CLEVELAND SASSER
The Athens Progressive Resource
Center
Reagan doesn *t deserve all credit for recovery
TO THE EDITOR:
Our nation's current prosperity
deserves a more indepth analysis
instead of giving our present president
unearned credit In 1980 our economic
situation was in trouble - we were
experiencing double digit inflation and
interest rates, moderately high
unemployment and a stagnant GNP
Over the next two years our economic
situation became terrible unem
ployment zoomed, inflation and interest
rates remained relatively high, and the
GNP decreased Under the Reagan
administration our nation entered the
worst recession in its history
However, a single major event oc
curred that turned the whole situation
around The OPEC monopoly on oil w as
broken Old supply and demand la
concept in which I believe to the core of
my soul) turned a demand market into
a supply market, and prices fell
Energy (any kind — coal, oil. elec
tricity) is the only product that
demonstrates an inflation or deflation
multiplier-effect across the economic
spectrum For example, when energy
drops in price, cars, food. Pampers,
sunglasses, etc. become cheaper
President Ford and the Republicans
knew energy was the key to the
economy because ms administration
lowered the speed limit to 55 mph in an
attempt to conserve energy
As inflation and interest rates fell,
money became available for in
vestment and spending The economy,
primed with huge deficit spending,
displayed a vigorous Keynesian
recovery
The bottom line is Mr Reagan could
cut taxes as much as the wealthy would
want, but the economy was not going to
improve until the price of energy was
lowered and remained stable
In 1984 our economy is robust We
have three people to thank — the
American people for turning their
thermostats down to 68 degrees
Fahrenheit, carpooling and driving at
55 mph; President Reagan for giving us
huge deficits; and President Jimmy
Carter for his leadership and strength
to tell the American people that OPEC
had to be broken in order for
our economy to prosper
CHRIS STEELE
lab tech ii. department of biochemistry
Confederate flag represents fightfor slavery
TO THE EDITOR:
The Kappa Alpha fraternity on South
Lumpkin Street makes a habit of
continuously flying the Confederate
flag Although the Confederacy was
fighting for many things, the thing most
remembered is slavery
This flag represents a fight for the
enslavement of a people, a people who
would not like to be constantly-
reminded of a past that left much to be
desired By flying the Confederate flag,
the Kappa Alpha fraternity appears to
believe in those same ideals, just as
those who fly the American flag believe
in the ideals of the American society
It is an embarrassment to the
University for this to continue At Ole
Miss, administrators were aware of the
negative meanings and discontinued its
use as a school symbol, although many
fana are still too ignorant to abstain
The University bands and Encore
Singers even realized how distasteful it
was to include "Dixie," a song that
confirmed the beliefs of the Con
federacy. in their repetoire
Some may believe that these are little
things, but these little things add up to
one big thing — racism
It is the hope of many, those whose
ancestors were enslaved by the Con
federacy and others, that Kappa Alpha
fraternity will take the initiative to
stop using this morbid symbol It is
offensive: it is useless, and most of all.
it is a symbol of hatred
KARYN M. YOUNG
Junior, mask
Seeing through the fog
TO THE EDITOR:
In response to Eric Zwerling's
article on the president's en
vironmental policy, 1 say: touche'
It's about time someone blasted
Mr Reagan's abysmal record on the
safeguarding of our environment As
with many other issues, the attitude
of the present administration toward
eontroling pollution, protecting
wildlife and national parks from
corporate exploitation and cleaning
up more than 5,000 toxic waste sites
across the country has been
atrocious
By appointing the likes of James
Watt. Anne Burford, Rita LaveUe,
John Crowell. James Harris and
Thome Auchter, Ronald Reagan has
demonstrated his lack of concern or
understanding of the environmental
dangers facing our towns, cities,
farms and neighborhoods
Sooner or later the voters of this
country will see through the
rhetorical fog that has enshrouded
Ronald Reagan and his reckless
record. It will take more than
patriotic quips and jingoistic slogans
when the American people come to
the realization that the emperor,
indeed, wears no clothes
MICHAEL GREENWALD
Sophomore, biology