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«• The Red and Black • Tuesday. January 16, 199C
OPINIONS
■ QUOTABLE
He is. as my grandfather used to say, a ball in high weeds-
•ost."
•Ken Fulghum O'Malley's Owner on State Representative Frank
Reoo ng. who proposed the new under-21 law for bars
The Red & Black
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Charlene Smith/Editor-in-Chief
Amy Bellew/Managing Editor
Robert Todd/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
Save our nightlife
Georgia legislators are considering a bill that could
mean the demise of several Athens bars and a serious
deterioration of social options for younger students.
If you want to save the city’s nightlife — the variety
of bars with that Athens flavor — now is the time to
make ycur feelings known.
The proposal, which passed the House
overwhelmingly Friday, seeks to prohibit bar owners
from admitting anyone under 21 years of age from
entering their establishments, even if they stamp their
hands with the scarlet “No.”
Frank Redding, D-Atlanta, initiated this bill
because he was concerned with the safety of teen-agers
and felt teen-age women were being exploited by club
owners. How asinine.
These “teen-agers” are adults, old enough to vote
and to serve in the armed forces. But, Uncle Frank
doesn’t think they’re safe in clubs with big kids.
To think this legislative manure will only affect
students is naive. Passage of this bill will cost Athens,
and the state, big bucks and will add more unnecessary
fodder to the already cluttered legal system.
If this passes, there goes Athens’ entertainment
business and with it, thousands of dollars in revenue
for local club owners. The dramatically reduced
clientele would spark fierce competition among the
bars and several clubs just wouldn’t make it without
the teen patronage.
T.K. Harty’s Saloon, O’Malley’s Tavern and the 40-
Watt Club are just a few of the bars that would suffer
under the proposed legislation.
Think about it. If these businesses lose thousands
of dollars, then the city and the state lose big tax
dollars. Last we heard, Joe Frank and his cronies were
crying poor.
The only business the law would boost is the fake-
I.D. trade. It’s tempting to use your roommate’s driver’s
license when all of your older friends are going out to
the bars and your only alternative is staying home to
watch “Dallas.”
Many of Georgia’s laws are already intrusive
enough. Drinking-age laws curtailed the consumption
habits of the state’s younger citizens. Now, this new
measure seeks to mandate how and where they spend
their free time.
Additionally, the law mandates who club owners
may have as patrons and who they may not. If club
owners are willing to take the extra steps necessary to
include younger patrons in their clientele, then they
should be allowed to do so.
The law would deny thousands of University
freshmen and sophomores the chance to experience
Athens’ unique music scene.
If this bill becomes law, students will be divided
according to age or Greek affiliation. And what will the
students do for entertainment if they can’t afford the
Greek life? If they don’t get invited to Greek functions,
they’re out of luck, thanks to the University’s open
party policy.
Allowing minors into bars keeps them off the
streets and in the controlled environment of a night
club where bouncers enforce orderly conduct. In a city
so concerned about litter that it passes an open
container ordinance, residents should be up in arms
about any proposal that would give teen-agers
incentive to roam the streets.
Clearly, Athens residents would be most affected by
the law. Everyone who lives here — students, faculty,
city officials, business owners and anyone who enjoys
the variety offered by Athens’ cultural scene — should
contact state Sen. Paul Broun and voice their feelings
on this issue now. That means this week, before the
Legislature votes it into law. His number is: (404) 546-
6700.
STAFF
NEWS: 543-1809
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Athens must preserve historic areas
Sitting on top of some papers on my desk is
an old brick. It’s hardly brick-shaped — rather,
it’s kind of an amorphous powdery thing that
leaves orange stains on my fingers when han
dled. I found the grainy relic in the pile of
rubble that was the Herring Mercantile on
Broad Street.
It was sad when they tore the place down last
fall. Sad for several reasons, among them being
the death of its surreal and oddly American
name. What is a herring mercantile? A feudal
lord’s aquatic pickled snack? The name was
otherworldly — it reached out of this world and
into the world of hoopcheese, pocket watches,
handkerchieves, train stations and hats.
The old store also was unmatched in its va
riety of shoe-like objects. A friend of mine
bought some leather wide-eyed lace ups with
four-inch cork soles there for only three bucks. I
defy anyone at Brooks Brothers or Dunhill to
match that.
But the real, deep sadness of the building's
destruction is its commentary on our society’s
priorities.
Robert Herring, owner of the Mercantile,
cobbled there for 40 years. He sold it to the
Athens Banner-Herala, who’ll use the land for
a parking lot.
A town that has 18 Golden Pantry stores,
four McDonald's restuarants, close to 40 car
dealerships, innumerable bloodless condomi
niums, around 25 Playboy—channeled motor
lodges and one pink stucco shopping center,
needs all the brick buildings with blown glass it
Christopher
Grimes
can get.
But more of these treasures are being threat
ened.
Although City Council denied Christian Col
lege of Georgia a zoning change that would’ve
turned the Hull-Snelling House into added Hol
iday Inn parking, there’s still a permit that’s
being looked at to give the house to the
wrecking ball.
Christian College, which owns the Hull-
Snelling House (where Herbert Hoover once
partied), has a permit that lasta until April to
destroy the building. Hearings are still going on
that will decide the fate of one of Athens’ most
important mansions.
Another scary thought is the razing of all
those great warehouses on Foundry Street.
Until the 1920s and 30s, cotton was shipped
to those warehouses, where it was baled, stored
and shipped off.
Obviously, these warehouses played an im
portant role in early Athens and are important
links to our past. But the final decision on
whether these will be leveled for the new civic
center hasn’t been made.
A study was conducted last year by members
of the National Trust of Historic Places that
concluded that the area was too precious to be
wiped out. The study was conducted by mem
bers from Boston, Baltimore, Charleston and
Washington, D C.
But the city’s record on historic preservation
isn’t all bad. The renovation of the Morton
Theatre is a wonderful thing.
The Morton, built around 1910, is being reno
vated with some of the proceeds of a one per
cent sales tax. The majestic building, presently
covered with scaffolding, was once a black vau
deville theatre. Movies were shown there until
the 1960s, when a fire in the projection room
shut her down. About 10 years ago, plans were
made to restore the Morton.
The city needs to continue to recognize that
its historic buildings — like the Morton — have
far more to give to the community than any
thing a franchise-fisted private developer has
to offer.
While the death of the Mercantile is some
thing to mourn, the rebirth of the Morton is
something to rejoice. The future of the Hull—
Snelling House and the Foundry Street area is
something to hope for.
Chris Grime< is a staff writer for The Red and
Black.
Civil rights struggle taken for granted
Like many other things we as a generation
have not experienced, we Beem to take for
granted the civil rights movement and the ac
tual changes it caused in America. What are
the 60’s to our generation? Who was Kenndey?
What was the civil rights struggle? Who was
Dr. Martian Luther King, Jr.?
Our generation has a sense of what went on,
of the fight and dignity of the civil rights
movement. But for the most part it is a cliche, a
media-produced image that has little to do with
us as we go to integrated schools, or work in an
integrated workplace and wait on customers of
all races indescrimanately.
Recently I felt a taste of realism enter my
world concerning the civil rights movement.
Watching the news, I saw a nationaly known
newcaster speak of an incident in Americus,
Ga., where he witnessed a race riot in which a
white woman was killed.
That was real, that hit home for me. My
family and all my relatives are orginally from
Americus, Ga., and I spent part of my life there.
Could the quiet corner I walked by every day on
the way to school have been the sight of a race
riot, one in which my Aunt8 and Uncles could
have participated, could have died?
For a moment I glimpsed into the past and
Michael
Mcleod
felt the impact of the civil rights movement, of
the effect it has had on my life in many dif
ferent ways. Before, I hadn’tthought about this
as t walked down the halls with a black class
mate, or waited on a black customer at work.
For a moment the civil rights stuggle hit home
for me.
Another time I think I truly realized the
struggle that had taken place happened at
school but it had nothing to do with a textbook.
I was asked to name a hero. Misunderstanding
the context of the question (it was a literary
question) I answered, “Martin Luther King.” A
look of true contempt and disgust showed on
my teacher’s face as she curtly replied, “Not in
my book, I’m sorry.”
Her expression made me wonder where she
was when the marchers reached Selma. Did she
here the news and swear. Were civil rights and
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a real thing to her?
From her expression I think they were.
These were momenta I wished I could share
with others. Fortunalely I can, along with the
entire nation, on Martin Luther Kinjps holiday.
All around me in the South I find racist senti
ment. From friends and relatives I hear sincere
comments about the assination of Jesse
Jackson and similar statements. But a change
is occuring, as generations grow up in a time
when prejudice is not the national sentiment,
nor is translated into unjust legislature.
And a great leader of civil and human rights
is honored, and the past remembered.
Columbus discovered America and with a
similar statue of greatness Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., upheld the principles that America
was founded on, discovering a new America for
generations to come.
Honoring him every year is a way to keep the
fire burning, for one generatin to carrry the
torch of freedom that must be past from genera
tion to generation, to keep America great.
Michael W. Mcleod is a staff writer for The Red
and Black.
Boggs’ latest nauseating
■ FORUM
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and Black's offices at 123 N. Jackon St , Athens. Ga.
For some time, I have managed
to endure Luke Boggs’ unfailingly
conservative, nationalistic col
umns, but his latest panegyric
(Jan. 12) in support of Reagan’s
foreign policy left me nauseated.
Considering that the author’s
major is history, I found the piece
particularly unpalatable. Judging
by the words he uses in his writing,
it would appear that Boggs has
been ditching his classes to attend
Young Republicans meetings.
“Peace through strength,” “ene
mies,’ “ Evil Empire” (“accurately
described?”).
I find Boggs’ portrayal of the
former president as paladin of lib
erty/modem-day messiah sadly
amusing. Yet his flag-draped as
sertion that the primary cause of
the recent democratic movement*
was Reagan’s pillar-like opposition
to Soviet expansion, rather than
orthodox communism's economic
impracticalities in the modern
world capitalist system, is bla
tantly obtuse.
True heroism lies with those
who risk their power to achieve
needed reform in the face of en
trenched popular ideology, not
with those who merely capitalize
on an already-dominant ideology
by not risking reform. I would ask
that Boggs do the History Depart
ment a favor and refrain from
citing his major in future works; it
gives all of us “muddle-headed
dreamers' here a bad name.
Christopher Phillips
graduate student, history
Open the process
I write concerning the effort to
unify the city and county. I feel cer
tain members of the Unification
Commission may be harming the
effort by refusing to grant informa
tion requests.
When I called Commission
member Ed Benson asking to see
the preliminary charter and ward
lines. He agreed to let me see them
but later informed me that I
couldn’t see the ward lines because
they were not “official and final.”
Using this argument, it could be
laid that no one could see the ward
lines until they are approved by
the voters because until then, they
remain “preliminary.”
At the very first Commission
meeting Mr. Benson stated that
previous efforts failed partly be
cause the organizers were not fully
open about the process of designing
the charter. It is repugnant that
the same Ed Benson is now making
up excuses to keep the ongoing
work of the Commission secret.
I hope the Commission will re
member what caused past failures
and strive to grant access to any
and all information requests. Un
limited access remains the best
policy. Even if theeffort fails, at
least the Commission and others
can reBt assured that it failed be
cause the concept was flawed and
not because some people felt left
out or blind-folded.
Scott A. Starling
Athene