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I he Krd and Black
Friday, May I*. !«*»
THE RED AND BLACK
Eitablished 1893 — Incorporated 1980
Harry Montevideo, General Manager
Clarice Makemson, Editor-in-chief
James Kendle.y, Managing Editor
«o kOvxK• «mi i icu o» a (••• miu
An independent sfudent nen*pafsr not o/filmtrd nitk the l/nitemfv of Georgia
Mother!
Opinion
Sugar is ‘sweet!’ Kittens are ‘cute!’
Amidst all the senseless days promoted by greeting card
companies and florists, a select few have emerged as worthwhile.
Days like Boxing Day in Canada, Friendship Day, Citizenship
Day, Sweetest Day, and Bosses Day could all be thrown out the
window If merchants had their day, we’d all buy flowers, cards,
necklaces and “remembrances” every day of the week
However, a few days are worthy of a few minutes' thought, and
Mother’s Day is one of those. Although originally created to give
gift shops an extra excuse to have a sale, the day has some merit.
Without a day like Mother’s Day, we would probably never stop
and think about all the things our mothers have done for us We
would also probably never bother to send them flowers, buy them
a card, or give them a call, just to tell them how much we ap
preciate them
College students are often the worst culprits for being
ungrateful We take our parents for granted, view them as sources
from which to obtain money and growl when they stand in our way
or offer advice.
Determined to be self-sufficient, independent in thought and
free-speaking, we shun our parents for their old-fashioned ways.
They couldn’t understand, we tell ourselves. Their life ex
periences could never be similar to ours, and they could never
know the pressures a modern-day college student feels
We often forget, however, that their experiences may not have
been exactly as ours are, but undoubtedly, they faced many of the
same doubts, questions and problems we all face They are only
human, and every human faces many disappointments and
discouragements
That’s whv Mother’s Day, which is this Sunday, is such a good
day. It is our chance to redeem ourselves We can take time out to
tell our mothers (and our fathers) how much they mean to us,
what being their child has done for us, and why they will always
hold a secret place in our lives.
As children, they pampered us, loved us and guided us Now as
adults, we need them still for pampering, love and guidance.
A mother’s loving touch is never appreciated until it is gone
Take time this weekend to reflect on your relationship with your
mother. That, after all, is what Mother's Day is all about
1 ran across a stack of high school yearbooks, or
annuals as some call them, in my closet the other
day And as I read through the jibberish that fellow
classmates put in there after I asked them to "sign
my yea r book." I noticed something, which at the
time didn't dawn on me. but three years later slapped
me right across the face
"To a really sweet guy ..."
Sweet?
"That article you mentioned me in last month was
cute ...”
Cute?
"To a nice guy who is also sweet
Great, now I'm nice and sweet — is that anything *
like Sweet ’n Low?
For the life of me I can't remember 37 people who
tasted of me in any capacity during high school
Thirty-seven times in one year I was considered
"sweet " Or "cute." Or "funny "
All those, not suprisingly. were from the girls Male
friends who signed my yearbook (about one for every
five females) would say 1 was a "good friend” or a
"nice guy "
Good? Nice?
God. I hate adjectives
It was almost as if I dipped myself in sugar, went to
school, went up to the girls and said,"Lick me. sign
my yearbook and tell me what I taste like "
"To Tommy. Good luck in the future to a really
sweet guy ...”
Give me a break
It was either my apparent flavor, or something
much more meaningful that high school morons had
no business boggling my mind with
"May life offer you her best ...”
What? What does that mean 0 That still goes over
Tommy Sims
Letters
my head, which reminds me ol a joke from high
school. "At your height, most stuff goes over your
head (insipid laughter* .”
Oh. it’s all coming back to me now : the stupid
jokes, the immaturity and the fact that I tasted
anything but sweet
f just once wanted to have someone write, "You're
a smelly pig and I've always hated vnur stupid guts "
At least it would have added a little flavor to an
otherwise monotonous cycle
I would dare venture to say that most people went
to a public high school where they couldn't possibly
have known everybody in their graduating class,
much less everybody in the school My class con
sisted of 130 students, give or take a few of the
questionable diploma-seekers The entire high school
numbered only a little more than 700 And believe it
or not. 1 never ran into a face I didn't recognize
most of whom I could call by name, if the need ever
arose
Therefore everyone was divided into a certain
group or classification You had vour basic nerds,
ihose relatively few who studied all the time or at
least looked like they should, then there were the
jocks, especially the football players, who had an
image to uphold, somehow working around the fact
that they won a total of four or so football games
during my entire four years there
The Future Farmer crowd wasn’t hard to spot,
usually in boots, plaids and/or chewing tobacco
Then there was the ' smoking crowd.’’ those who
were generally regarded as low life completely
uninterested in their futures or careers There were
the small preppy cliques, the student leaders, the
band, the potheads, sluts, whoremongers, missies and
wimps. Ora combination thereof.
And. of course, there was usually a representative
from every group that signed your yearbook — each
of which had the same message: "Good luck in the
future ”
If I had a bit of good luck for every time someone
wished it upon me. I’d be sitting pretty. Un
fortunately. it wasn't always a sincere wish - it just
seemed to be the thing to w rite at the time
I. Mr Sweet, would find myself writing "good
luck" to some totally irrelevant person and then stop
to think I don’t care if you throw yourself in front of
the next moving train
So there That s my point I didn't ask to be called
"sweet" or "nice It’s not that I minded being
considered basically a good person, because I think I
am But I can also be a jerk-on-wheels, and 1 would
have liked for some people - especially those who
knew me well, to have told me that in a high school
yearbook that I w ill keep forever
Sugar is "sweet ” Kittens are "cute " And whoever
wrote To a sweet guy. always keep in touch" and
signed it “Love. Mary" Hey. I'd write if I had your
address — but I haven't the foggiest idea who you
Tommy Sims is the editorial page editor for The Red
and Bloch
Christian teachings overbearing to minorities
TOTHK FDITOR:
It's too had that most people in this
world will never know what it feels like
to be a minority They will never know
what it feels like to go through a typical
day on campus and be reminded at
every turn that they are different
This country was built by the sweat
and blood of immigrants from all over
the world That melting pot made
America what it is today but you would
never know it at UGA The overbearing
message of Christ is everywhere, from
the screaming preachers to the
numerous Christian tables at the Tate
Center This week it’s Christian music
at lunch time The band attracts you
with their music but then they start
preaching Christian doctrine to you in
their songs
I resent a University backed
program that preaches about what you
should believe and how vou should live
Unborn children should be given a chance
TOTHK KDITOK
This letter is to all those "woman's
choice, pro abortionists" out there I
guess I should have written sooner but I
believed my opinion wouldn't really
matter, perhaps it will I was born
about 22 years ago in a small Tennessee
town
At that time an unwed mother was
viewed with disgust and contempt by
Hen» comes Turner
with vihat appear; fobs
his final offer.
those around her and most unwanted
pregnancies were taken care of by a
quick, easy abortion I could have been
one of those aborted "parasites, but
my physical mother chose, for
whatever reason, to have me
Upon birth I was put up for adoption
and within three months I was taken
into the* most loving familv imaginable
1 wish that 1 could speak with each
woman out there who is agonizing over
whether or not to have an abortion I
am the living proof that something
Maybe the lab...
TOTHK EDITOR
After reading "Nude stunt unap
preciated. May 7.1 found it difficult to
believe that such a self righteous
complaint was indeed the whole story
(especially if they have been "vic
timized" for three quarters before
complaining!) I'm not a fraternity
member, but I have enough sense* to
realize that they and their all-in-fun
activities have existed virtually as long
as there have been colleges Greek life
is for many an important part of the
college experience I think "Names
Withheld" know that, too
If such really offends their sen
sibilities. perhaps they should go back
to their warning mothers for — hold on
to your bonnets "ladies” — life has
stranger than this in store for you’
I am genuinely sorry their "first
human anatomy lesson" was such a
disappointment, but even sorrier their
“first" came so late in life. But take
heart ladies, most science lessons are
difficult to appreciate before you've
had the opportunity to take the lab
ART HOLBROOK
Political Science
positive can come from an unwanted
pregnancy If you say What will my
relatives think" or "An unwanted baby
tends to have a lower birth weight." I
say that's tough We are all responsible
for ourselves <men included' I may
have weighed less at birth than a so-
called "wanted" baby, but I also
weight'd more than an aborted fetus
TIM TOOMKY
Senior. Political Science
some thoughts
your life
I am not against free speech in any
way but it does seem that a
disproportionate share of messages at
this University center around Christ It
makes it so easy for a minority person
to feel alienated and alone because ot
how they feel If the Christian groups
would only realize that they can't do
much about people believing in ways
other than their own they would be
much stronger themselves Their
messages do nothing more than push
people away
Please realize that we don't want to
Ik* saved, pitied, prayed for or preached
at A minority just wants to be left alone
to live his or her life with the beliefs
that for us. were meant to be
I) WIEL WKISSMAN
Junior, school ot Journalism
erik johnson
weu-, 3Ane, \t
tOOKS 0AD ICXJ'SC
SOVJN& BAJt fOd*.
ASIS IN A SOKIG 1 .
Editorial: 543-1809 Advertising: 543-1791
Ou^fCopy Editor lain Glenn
Front Pago Copy Editor Todd Holcomb
Copy Editor* Ku»t\ Cartmill and Kevin Proctor
Men* Editor Janine Kauchrr
Editor tot Page Editor Tommy Sim*
Sport* Editor | las id Johnson
Enlertotnnteai Fditor JimTremasnr
UGA Today Coordinator Beth Overton
Photograph* Editor Jar Sctmartx
AMociat# Srwt Editor* Andy Smith. Tommy
Tomlinaon
Autatant Sport* Editor (Tup Toners
A**i*tant Photo Editor Yi Kinrr
Sen*or Report#'* John Atdrn Traces Brown.
Tamt Denntm Jean Mane Harm* ShrtU Jones
Beth Pate Suaanne Wood
librarian Traces Brown
Ad vertuing Director Hill Wolgast
Advertising Sales Manager Tamm* Timm
Advertising Representative* Pal Agnes* Sheila
Dasrta K imbed v Hag ter Sheet Hansard. Brent
Hoffman Ken Hod«. Keith Nimiti Cares
Parrott Charles Shresem Sands Suminahi.
Minds Waddell Kim Yaat
Production Manage' Jeff Jones
Production Staff Lu Alexander Nano
Bateman Brenda Cleveland. Robed Cobum.
Juhnna Coleman. Manpat Findley Hoaann
Kent. Mars Ellen IdRochelle Mtcheile Manic
CarroiMhetman. Robed Chile Woodworth
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Soviet missiles no worse than ours
Once again. President Reagan has issued a rallying
cry to the nation in Ihe face of an eminent Soviet
threat
In an effort to raise public awareness in Europe of
this threat. Mr Reagan told the European
Parliament Wednesday that the Soviets were
researching a new "first-strike" weapon, the SSX24
The SSX24 has been known and talked about in
Washington as well as Europe for at least the last five
years, so in this sense the weapon is not "new ."
Secondly, the SSX24, or any other nuclear weapon,
cannot be considered inherently to be a first-stnke
weapon
First-strike is a defense term meant to describe the
capability of a weapon to destroy the enemy’s
defense capabilities and to prohibit or minimize the
effects of a retaliatory’ second strike The SSX24 is
considered by the Reagan Administration to be first-
stnke because it is believed to be capable of
destroying hardened missile silos
To consider a weapon first-stnke, it must therefore
be capable of destroying a significant portion of an
enemy's nuclear arsenal Assuming that the SSX24
could destroy all the United States’ land-based
missiles, which is extremely doubtful, two-thirds of
the American nuclear arsenal {submarine-based
nuclear missiles and bombs on bombers i would
remain intact, constituting a very significant second
strike
Whether a weapon can be considered first-stnke in
actuality depends on how it is used Submanne-based
missiles, which make up half of the United Slates'
nuclear arsenal, could be considered first-strike,
since one Trident submarine could destroy 1*0 major
Soviet cities, making a second strike almost im
possible The Reagan Administration, with its
commitment to peace and stability, baa been
producing these first-strike Tndent submarines at
‘In short, what the arms race
breaks down to is ‘penis envy'
between Mr. Reagan and Mr.
Gorbachev’
the rate of two per year for the last several years
Nuclear freeze advocates often criticize the Trident
submanne. MX missile and other weapons systems
as being first-strike, which is similarly ridiculous,
since these weapons can be used either in pre
emptive first strike or defensive second strike
If one is to criticize the Soviet Union for developing
the SSX24. one must also criticize the recent
deployment of the MX missile And while Ihe MX is
being deploved now. the SSX34 is not expected to be
deployed until late in 1986 If anything can be con
sidered first-strike it is the MX missile Also capable
of penetrating hardened nuclear missile silos, the MX
can carry up to 1Z MIRVs < Multiple Independently
Targetsble Re-Entry vehicles) Its counterpart, the
SSX34. has been tested with 10 MIRVs.
Mr Reagan criticized the Soviet Union, saying
"The Soviet Union does not share our view of what
constitutes a stable nuclear balance It has been
chosen instead to build nuclear forces clearly
designed to strike first and thus disarm their ad
versary "
Surely the Europeans see the hypocrisy of this If
the SSX24 is a first-strike weapon, the MX is all the
■tor* first-stnke
It seems that what Mr. Reagan's attitude amounts
to is jeolousy The Soviets, in developing Ihe SSX24
took their cue from American MX planners. Like the
Original plan for the MX missile, the SSX24 is
designed to be mobile, and thus very difficult to
detect The MX was originally intended to be placed
in secret trucks that would travel across the nation,
befuddling Ihe Soviet's attempts to detect and track
the missiles However, because of costliness and
because American taxpayers would not stand for
nuclear missiles being carted through their stales
Mr Reagan had to scrap that plan in favor of housing
Ihe MX in Minuteman II silos (which the Soviets
already have targeted) Because the Soviet people
haveno say in how much money their government
•pends on defense and where their military can go
i conditions. I might add, which Mr Reagan would
relish i, the Kremlin now is able to implement the
original American MX plan. A Pentagon study has
estimated that the SSX24 could be deployed in fixed
silos by 1986 and mobile deployment on railroad cars
could follow a year or two later.
„ ,n *hort, what the arms race breaks down to is
"penis envy" between Mr Reagan and Mr Gor
bachev — each side believing bigger is better, with
Mr Reagan coveting his neighbor's missile on the
other side of the iron curtain
Chris McCarter is a ttaff writer for The Red and
Black