Newspaper Page Text
*
■ QUOTABLE
4 • The Red and Black • Wednesday, January 31, 1990
OPINIONS
The Red & Black
Established 1893—Incorporated 1980
An independent student newspaper not affiliated with the University of Georgia
Charlene Smith/Editor-in-Chief
Amy Bellew/Managing Editor
Robert Todd/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
Let’m grow up
Chalk it up to a million and one restrictions placed
on student-athletes. Add Big Brother the Truant
Officer to those watching their every move and you
have an ineffective policy to discourage athletes from
| skipping class.
Never mind that these athletes are from 18 to 22
! years old and quite capable of making their own
decisions. Never mind that faculty aren’t going to be
eager to monitor the athletes’ attendance if they don’t
i already take attendance for the whole class.
The policy discriminates against athletes, who
already live under voluminous NCAA restrictions.
No wonder so many student-athletes don’t
graduate. They aren’t allowed to mature and learn
responsibility and independence under the shadow of
the athletic association, which already dictates a big
part of their college experience.
It’s good that Dooley met with a group of athletes to
discuss the proposal, which resulted in this
[ compromise: Instead of automatic suspension after an
athlete’s fourth unexcused absence in a given class,
Dooley will meet with the student-athlete’s head coach
i and maybe the student-athlete to discuss suspension
] for up to 10 percent of season competition.
Dooley’s intentions are good. Athletes should be
J encouraged to take academics seriously and pushing
them to do so shows the NCAA that the athletic
1 association wants a clean program. But this policy,
which will affect only a few athletes who routinely skip
class, is worthless and insulting to the athletes.
If they skip class too much, their grades will suffer
j and they won’t be able to play their sport anyway,
j Professors set their own attendance policies by which
j all students, including student-athletes, must abide.
Welcome Chancellor
A hearty welcome to University System Chancellor
H. Dean Propst who is on campus today.
While you are here, The Red and Black would like
to invite you to spend some time and look around. To
help you enjoy your visit, the following tour guide is
provided.
The first thing you’ll undoubtedly notice is the
parking facilities, or lack thereof, at the University.
Instead of parking in the VIP space behind the Lustrat
House, be bold and drive down to the commuter lot. If
you're lucky enough to find a space, take an orbit bus
back to North Campus.
While you’re on the bus, use the opportunity to talk
to some of the University’s 27,000 students. You may
find some of their comments on tuition, curriculum and
the general state of the University quite interesting
and even useful.
Between your visits with University
administrators, talk to some of the faculty and staff.
Take advantage of this opportunity to get some
feedback from the people who are the backbone of the
state’s flagship institution. Opportunities like this
don’t come around too often.
The Board of Regents have been very supportive of
the University both within the system and in budget
recommendations to the State Legislature. Hopefully,
the chancellor can use this visit to gain added insight
into the University which can help further our cause.
Lottery dies
We come not to praise the lottery but to bury it. The
House Industry Committee killed the proposed
amendment Tuesday. Mourn the passing of what could
have been a good thing and remember this come
November.
STAFF
NEWS: 543-1809
Hems Utter Suitn Hill
Sport• Editor Gent W.iuarm
Lntartskwnart Editor G*on« RowtxXfta-n
Aeeodete Heme Uhare: Rand Raaraor. Jennifer
Renpey
Front Papi Copy Editor CM* Hubbard
inaMa Copy Id ft ora David johntton. Margaret
Watt on. Jennifer Wilkin, Robert Alula
UOA Todjy/WVe E*tor Donee Per* 11a
QrapMca Editor Dasst O'Keeffe
Pfcote Utter Peter Fwy
CMef Pfceto*a(*er. Wayne Jack ton
Staff Witten: Oeyt Barrett. Wefter Colt. Ehiabetb On.
Mar'a Edararda. Anne-Marte Fanguy. Chne Grimet.
Joel Groover. Oara Mcteod. Micnaai McLeod, laura
Roe
Spwta Writer: One lancette
Sped at Sections/Trende EdKor: Beth Greddy
Assistant Special Section a/Trend a Editor
Andy Rogers
Editorial Aaeleteat: Mon* Betts
ADVERTISING: 543-1791
Mud ant Advertising Managers
Knad Burnham, Beverly Taylor
Advertising Assistants:
Soon Doneweon. Lon Thumten
Senior Advertising Representatives Scan Fagar
Knchollo Halualam, Juno Reynolds
Advert!sing Representatives Craig Dokshcnickt
Joy Denton. Kristin Giuda, Laura Hudgens, Rick
Higgins, Greg Kellis, Leigh Riffe. Brad Ross. Sally
voung
Assistant Editorial Mod. Manager: Cnstma Fa<ndt
Assistant Advertising Pvod Manager: Mariana
Martin
Production Malt: Andy Ard. Laura Frtsdrich, Andrea
Maneour. Lonn Marsh, Eiiubeth Mauti. Laura Millar.
Stacy Stenberg. Michelle Wcgcrt
General Manager: Harry Montevideo
Advertising Director Robin Stoner
Office Manager Mery Straub
Production Manager Judy Jordan
Class Med t/ffeoept tool st Beverly Vaughn
Credrt Manager Chuck Lyons
Clerical: Joanna Horton. La slay Wachtei
The Rad and Mack <• published Tuesday through
Friday during the regular school year and each
Thursday during summer quarter, with the eaceptions
of holidays and esam pc nods, by The Rad and Black
Publishing Company Inc. a nonprofit campus
new spacer not affiliated wrth the University of
Georgia. 123 N. Jackson St. Athens. Ga. 30601
Third dasa postage paid at tthens. Ga. Subscnption
rata: S24 per year
Opinions a spree sad In Die Rad and Black other than
unsigned add one is art the o prisons of the writers of
signed columns snd not necessarily those of The Rad
and Black Publishing Company Inc Ail rights
reserved Repnnts by permission of the editors
“It worries me that a lot of students are Ignorant about this.
We've got to enlist the aid of students before it gets to the
Senate floor." —
Phil Smith, senior political science major on the drug bills.
(SsTERTUAN ASFEEWH6- UNIVERSITY COUNCIL ...
t&oRE powerfultwn anSKcmmittee -
ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH ABSOlUTEVy NOTHING- IN
Mt INDEFINITE MOUNTOFTUAE-
STS TASKFORCE-MAN!
r
INEEDTHETASKFbKCE
REroKTON&CRWLBURFlNfr.
PRONTO, MS.SWWRKER!
AlSO, IF YOU DON’T WIND,
I WISH YOU NWU> AFFORD
METOE RESPECTAUNWERsny
PRESIDENT PESEKVE5.ANDSW
Qm& ME 'tM”N CHUCK-”
Black youths must have role models
Attention black male college students. The
community is crying out for help. The problem,
simply put, is that the black youth of Athens
and across the nation have few positive black-
male role models. With the continuing break-up
of the family, the likelihood of a child to be
raised in a single-parent home is better than 50
percent. Living in an atmosphere without a fa
ther present, who is the child supposed to look
up to? Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, and Eddie
Murphy have had phenominal success and are
positive individuals that one can admire but
look at the situation from a community per
spective.
Who is left, espically in poverty stricken
areas? With little exception, the individual left
is the high profile local drug dealer, cleverly
persuading the impressionable young minds to
work for him using his nice clothes and expen
sive car as proof of his “success.” This scenerio
occurs all too frequently in the low-income com
munities across America. Distraught and de
pressed youth looking for a way out and seeing
no other alternative - thus, turning to drugs.
White America cannot solve the problems in
the black community, that is our responsibility.
Richard
Martin
The fact that there are more black males in
prison than in college is a frightening realiza
tion and is telling us that something must be
done.
As black male college students, we can and
must do our part to stop this horrible trend in
our community. What can we do, you ask?
Simply go out to one of the numerous commu
nity centers here in Athens and devote some of
your time. Just a couple of hours a week can
mean a lot to a child who has no father or older
brother to look up to or to talk with.
Within our University, we have an enormous
amount of talent in our Greek organizations
and clubs, yet far too few of them are taking ini
tiative to go out and work with the community.
Far too many of us forget were we came from.
We get self-centered with “I got mine, now you
get yours" attitudes. We must remember, that
with little exception, if you are an African-
American then you are descendants from slaves
and your family, after 1865 struggled to get out
of poverty.
It is time for us to accomplish two goals:
•First, learn about our history. Take some
time, go to the main library and go to the fourth
floor and read the truth about African-Amer
ican accomplishments in America. Stop ac
cepting the “crap" that you have been taught in
past years.
•Second, pass this knowledge to the black
community. Show our youth that they have a
rich heritage to be proud of and that there are
good black males out there who care. Motivate
the youth to excell and above all, prove to them
that a college education is a necessity in our so
ciety and that success is attainable.
Richard Martin is a columnist for The Red and
Black.
Symbolism detrimental to world unity
One way the cause for world pence could be
helped is by breaking down the barriers of sym
bolism. The strong sentiments associated with
symbols often times produce more harm than
good.
National flags are symbols with fierce emo
tions attached to them. The U.S. Marines
raising old glory upon Iwo Jima is one of the
most moving images Americans have of the war
in the pacific. All nations associate equally
powerful images with their flag. Nations
proudly raise their symbols upon the summits
of their institutions and celebrate political and
ideological differences between countries. Not
recognized are the similarities of all human be
ings that comprise nations. Thus a separatist
mentality is promoted regarding our sisters
and brothers around the world. In this way
symbolism negatively effects humanism.
Flags are only one of the many forms of sym
bolism. There are status symbols such as ex
pensive cars or big houses. Some people who
own big houses employ only minorities to do
their domestic work in a symbolic gesture of
race superiority. There are religious symbols
such as the crucifix, the Star of David and
chicken feet. Groups can also function as a
Steven
Sacco
symbol. Deadheads symbolize counterculture;
the Ku Klux Klan symbolizes racism.
Identifying with a symbol is the seed for se-
aratist behavior. The swastika is an extreme
ut real example of this. Nazis believed they
were the master race, and therefore inherently
separate from others. During World War II the
Nazis murdered over six million people whom
they forced to wear the Star of David. Many
times this symbol was the only way Nazis could
distinguish Jews from themselves.
Symbolism effects our daily lives as well.
Take for example the Georgia vs. Florida foot
ball game. Most fans on both sides are students
or alumni, most come from middle class envi
ronments, and all share the common bond of
loving football. The stadium is overflowing with
very similar people, yet Georgia fans wear red;
Florida fans wenr orange, and it’s us against
them.
The annual cocktail party is more like a feud
between the Hatfields and the McCoys. What if
neither side could distinguish the enemy be
cause everyone wore a neutral color? It is easy
to see how symbolism can determine behavior.
We cannot live in a world devoid of sym
bolism, but we can redefine it in order to ease
world tension and promote peace. Flying the
United Nations flag above national flags would
be one way of doing this. Diversity and political
differences are necessary and valid, but we
need ways to celebrate the unity rather than
the diversity of the world. All nations are inter
dependent on others, and so are people.
Recognizing global unity through our sym
bols will help us achieve a world beyond war.
We must believe that all humans were created
equal, and find ways to acknowledge it. Sym
bolizing unity is long overdue.
Steven D. Sacco is a columnist for The Red and
Black.
Abortion editorial sickening
1 □ The Red and Black welcomes letters to th* nrhtnr Anri nnntc in ih« 1
column as space permits. All letters are subject to editing for length, style and li
belous material. Letters should be typed, doublespaced and must include the name,
address and daytime telephone number ot the writer. Rease Include student dassifl
cation and major other appropriate identification. Names can be omitted with a valid
reason upon request. Letters can be sent by U.S. mail or brought In person to The Red
and Black s offices at 123 N. Jackon SL. Athens, Ga.
The editorial in the Jan. 25 issue
of The Red and Black was sick
ening. Human beings, bom or un
born, have an inherent right to life
and to take away that life without
due process of law is murder. Indi
vidual choice has nothing to do
with the abortion issue; rather it is
the personhood of the unborn.
Secondly the editorialist tries to
make an argument that the poor
ore the most affected. What the ed
itorialist fails to realize is that 97
percent of all abortions performed
in the state of Georgia are for con
venience purposes. Furthermore,
the suggestion that State Rep
resentative Barnett consider the
cost of raising children is sick
ening. To decide whether or not a
life is worth living on the basis of
financial productivity is dis
gusting.
The bottom line in the debate
over abortion is whether we as a
nation will respect the sanctity of
human life in all its stages or will
continue to base a person’s worth
on convenience and productivity.
As Archbishop Eugene A. Marino
of the Atlanta Archdiocese said,
'This nation is on trial for its soul.
We had better learn the lesson of
history because the Supreme Court
has been wrong before. Our Su
preme Court does not have a good
record when it comes to matters of
person.”
Dean Clark
freshman, history
Liberalism dying
I am writing to thank Mark
She flail for reminding me just how
imperative it is that the conserva
tive philosophy triumph over the
antediluvian, morally-bankrupt
ideology of liberalism.
In his Jan. 25 column Shaftall
spent an entire column denouncing
conservatives as cowardly, hate-
mongering, pessimistic, colorless
zealots who live their lives in the
past tense. Having done so, the pi
ously two-faced Sheftall virtually
trips all over himself in his un
bridled haste to add, “Now, please
understand that I’m not making an
argument for or against conserva
tism." Oh, yes, he is.
Why do Sheftall and his fellow
liberals fell the need to curse con
servatism at every tum? Because
liberalism is so plainly on the
wane.
The greatest world leader of the
twentieth century, Winston Chur
chill, once said that a man who was
not a liberal when he was 20 had
no heart and a man who was not a
conservative when he was 40 had
no brain. Thanks to President
Bush- who has given America “the
age of the offered hand’ and the
concept of “a thousand points of
light”- conservatism now has a
heart.
But, as Sheftall so readily at
tests with his mindless calls for
“rapid, revolutionary change"
solely for the sake of change, the
endangered cabal of looney liberals
who now occupy their last outpost
on the precipice of extinction are,
as always, nothing more than re
bels without a brain.
Kyle King
senior, political science
R & B too liberal
It’s time for the conservative ma
jority of our school to step forward.
In the Jan. 25 issue, The Red and
Black Btatea in the editorial “Pro-
Choice" that “a vocal minority is
attempting to dictate the moral
standards for the majority."
We are tired of hearing your lib
eral ideology when it ie obvious
that the majority of not only the
University but also of all Ameri
cans is basically conservative. One
needs only to look at the past Presi
dential elections to realize this. We
are not asking you to change your
beliefs but to allow others to be ex
pressed. We hope that others that
feel this way will begin to make
themselves heard in your paper.
Stop the liberal control of The ted
and Black and create a truly free
press.
Philip Caldwell
freshman, business
Ted Campbell
senior, biology
Editor's note: The Red and Black
welcomes new writers regardless of
their year, major, race, religion or
political affiliation.