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4 • The Red and Black • Thursday. February 1. 1990
OPINIONS
"Our songs really don't have much of a message. 1 just like to
sing and play guitar and every once In a while I’ll come up with
something Interesting to write about." —
Amy Romesburg. lead singer of Doubts Even Here.
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
Experience enough
When students get involved in campus activities,
they volunteer their time. They choose to make
sacrifices in order to gain experience or provide a
service through the organizations they choose to join,
whether it be the Student Association,
Communiversity or University Union.
To compensate for some of those sacrifices, Student
Affairs administrators are kicking around the idea of
paying student leaders a salary. While the intention is
noble, it’s just not practical and would bring about
several problems.
First, there’s funding. The money would have to
come out of the Student Activities budget which is
already spread thin among hundreds of student
organizations. A fee increase to pay student leaders
wouldn’t go over well with the majority of students.
Second, the administration would have to develop a
hierarchy of student organizations to determine which
leaders deserve to get paid. What would they base that
opinion on? How do they know who is working the
hardest? Of course, it would depend on the person
holding the leadership position that quarter. While one
club president may work hard, his or her successor may
goof off all the time.
Perhaps the organizations should decide for
themselves whether they want to pay their leaders —
out of their budgets.
In any case, student leaders shouldn’t be asked to
foot the bills required to properly run a student
organization. SA President Mark Schisler said he
spends “hundreds of dollars a quarter” on expenses
related to his position. Student leaders should be
reimbursed for such expenses, but not paid a salary.
It would be nice if everyone could get paid, but the
rewards of participation come from the participation
itself. Most campus leaders understand that.
Back from the dead
Lottery supporters in the State Legislature invoked
a seldom-used rule and asked the House to overrule the
11-6 vote of the House Industry Committee which gave
a “do not pass” recommendation to a proposed
constitutional amendment legalizing a state-run
lottery. The vote on the motion is scheduled for this
morning.
In a state barren of financial support for its
education system, the lottery provides a chance to
make improvements which are desperately needed.
The success of the Florida Lottery and others in the
United States should serve as evidence of how
profitable lotteries can be.
The lottery isn’t a gift from heaven and certainly
has its drawbacks. But it is the most attractive solution
to one of this state’s biggest problems. Earmarking
lottery funds for education could help Georgia’s
educational system catch up with the civilized world,
not just at the university level but from kindergarten
on up.
Educators in Georgia are honestly trying their best,
but they need funds and they need them badly.
What legislators need to remember is that the
proposal calls for an amendment to the state’s
constitution. If the proposal passes the House and
Senate, it is still subject to approval by the voters of
this state through an open referendum.
By passing the proposal, the Legislature puts the
fate of the lottery in the hands of the people of Georgia
not Speaker of the House Tom Murphy and a few of his
buddies. It seems that this is what lottery opponents
fear most.
The House doesn’t need to say yes to the lottery
today. They just need to say yes to letting the people of
Georgia make the choice.
STAFF
NEWS: 543-1809
Hemm Mtor Susan Hill
Sport! MM or G*n* Wtiuem*
Mertafcwisnt Ml tor Gloria Rowtxxnam
Aeeedat* Now* UMora: Rand Raarson. JannrfRr
Rarrpay
Km* Pip Copy MM or Clarfc Hubbard
toaMo Copy MNoia: David Johnston. Margarat
Wsston, Jennifer wnun. Robart Azuia
UOA Ta4ay/Wlra Editor: Dense Padilla
OrapMca MR or Davia O’Kaaffa
Rob Editor Patar fay
$
•tail Writ or* Gayl Barron, waiter Colt. Elizabeth Dill.
Marla Edward*. Anna-Maria Fanguy. Chrta Ortma*.
Joel Groover, Oara McLeod. Michael McLeod. Laura
Roe
Apart! Writer: On* lencette
•padd Aecflona/Trend* EdRer: Bath Graft*
IWtorld Aaaialant: Moth* Ban*
ADVERTISING: 543-1791
Kriad Burnham. Beverly Taylor
A evert) Png Assistants
Soon OonakJaon. Lon Thurman
Senior AeverdPng Represent at I vae Sean Fagan,
Kncheile Haiuelan. Julia Reynold*
Advarttdng Representative*: Craig Defcsheni***.
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Hudgen*. Rich Huggins. Greg Kaiii*. Leigh Riff*. Sally
Young
AeeJatant MRarld Prod Manager: Cristina Faindt
Ate let ant Advertising Wad. Manager Mariana
Martin
Production Staff Andy Aid. Laura Fnadnch. Andrea
Man tour, Lonn Msrsn. Elizabeth Mauu. Laura Millar.
Stacy Stenberg. Michelle Wegert
General Manager. Harry Montevideo
Advertising D tract or: Robin Stoner
Office Manager Mary Straub
Production Manager: Judy Jordan
ClaaaMada/Raoaptloniat: Baveny Vaughn
CredM Manager: Chuck Lyon*
Cl art cat: Joanna Horton. Lesley Wachte!
The Rad and Black • published Tuesday thrown
Fndey during the regular school year and each
Thursday dunng summer quarter, with the exception*
of holiday* and exam period*, by The Red and Black
Publishing Company Inc. a norvprofR campus
newspaper not affiliated with the University of
Georgia. 123 N. Jackson St, Athens. Ga 30601
Third da** postage paid at Athens. Ga. Subscnption
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Opinion* exp reeled M The Rad aad Btacb other than
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sorted columns and not nacassaniy those of The Red
and Black Publishing Company Inc. All rights
reserved Reprints by permission of the editor*
Culture and heritage provide identity
The first time I saw an oil-and-water solution
it was in the parking lot at the A&P. After a re
cent rain, a puddle had collected enough car oil
to form an aqueous mixture in a shallow as
phalt dip. It caught my attention because one
part was obviously rainwater, but the other
part was an intriguing liquid rainbow that was
strangely separated from the water. I asked my
mom what kept them apart, and she told me
that water and oil don’t mix.
Water and oil don’t mix because they are
made of different elements, the atoms of which
follow the paths of least resistance and do not
readily attach to each other. However, water
and oil can remain in the same glass, or the
same puddle, without exploding or causing the
other to disintigrate.
This earth is a large water-and-oil solution,
excepting that instead of two elements that
don’t readily mix, there are countless groups of
people that are not inclined to accept each other
or permanently mesh. Groups cling to tradi
tions, refusing to give up their culture and ways
of life. This is not a dismal aspect of life, but
rather one to be enjoyed, and one to be re
spected.
Closer to home we find the black and white
conflict a meyor focus on a large number of col
lege campuses and communities. The tragedy
in this is not that blacks and whites are dif
ferent from each other, or that many times they
are separated by semipermeable membranes,
but that the groups oflen cannot live in concert
with each other.
Culture is a very important thing to every
group of people. Culture is great — it should be
encouraged to develop. Culture gives people an
identity, something to be a part of. From the cit
izens of Klondike, GA (unincorporated) who
know everyone and everything that has ever
Like a shooting star across the midnight sky,
my life has passed me by. (I’ve always wanted
to start a column like this.)
Anyway, as I look back in retrospect it all
seems so meaningless, especially when I think
of all of life’s unanswered questions. For ex
ample: What happens when I die? Am I doomed
to an eternal blackness, or is there a heaven
and hell? How come the only thing that sticks
to soap is hair? How does one lose one’s license
plate?
These questions have boggled the minds of
scholars and layman alike.There have never
been any definite answers, just unproven the
ories from the infinite wisdom of so many self
proclaimed experts that usually appear on the
Oprah Winfrey show.
If my head wasn’t filled with such a tremen
dous amount of useless information like the
Flinstones theme song, or how to sing the ingre
dients to a Big Mac, I could probably come up
with the answers to all of those questions.
happened in Klondike; to Kayapo Indians in
South America who are desperately trying to
save their land from developers; to students of
the University of Georgia who can tell the dif
ference between the Tate Center and the Butts-
Mehre building — everyone has a culture.
Because blacks and whites do things differ
ently from each other is not an inherent source
of conflict. The conflict arises because one or
both of the groups are too narrow-minded to be
lieve in the possibility of another ideology. And
because blacks and whites seem so separated
sometimes is not a reason for dispair. The dif
ferences turn into tragedy when someone re
fuses to compromise, understand or accept.
A prime example of this type of behavior was
displayed about a year ago in Gwinnett County
where misguided and bigoted residents burned
down a house intended for a family working
with Habitat for Humanity. The residents ap
parently couldn’t see through the pinholes in
their masks of selfishness, insecurity and igno
rance and realize the huge world out here
doesn’t have much room for the heartless or the
spineless.
Some Gwinnett County residents com
plained that their property values were going
Unfortunately, I am a product of the tele
vision generation, so the only pressing question
I can offer any intelligent opinion on is whether
people drink a certain beer because it tastes
great or is less filling, or if Coke really does
taste better than Pepsi, or for that matter, why
does Classic Coke taste different from New
Coke, or was that caffeine free Coke or Pepsi
Free? Anyway you can see how confusing the
whole thing can become.lt is kind of like cal
culus without the numbers.
I’m upset because there are many questions
down because of the homeless shelter down the
street. I guess it does make sense for an honest,
unfortunate family to be made to live on the
street with no roof, heat or running water be
cause Attorney Joe Schmoe across the street
and Dr. Jane Doe next door might not get that
extra ten grand on their six-figure houses when
they decide to move into seven-figure houses.
Please. This isn’t just appalling; it’s embar
rassing.
Also in Gwinnett County recently, (what is
going on there?) a group of Hindus sought per
mission to build a temple, and the Gwinnett
County Commission approved the request,
great. However, about 75 residents showed up
the night of the vote to protest the temple’s con
struction. What were they protesting? If they
chose not to go into the temple then that action
should be offensive to no one. But active protest
against the existance of another, equally righ
teous church is the epitome of arrogance and
narrow-mindedness.
We all have pride in our heritage, our pasts
and our futures. The diversity of this world is
an essential and necessary quality, and each
culture deserves to have pride in itself. This
pride has limits, though, and should not extend
into believing that one group has less right then
another group to reside somewhere because of
skin color, paycheck weight or religious beliefs.
We all have differences, and those differ
ences are sometimes so great that they divide
up the population into interest groups, political
factions and neighborhoods. People choosing to
be among like people isn’t really wrong —
people rejecting people really is.
Mollie Batla is a columnist for The Red and
Black.
generation
to be answered, and 1 feel I could have contrib
uted to these answers, if I had not spent so
many incalcuable hours in front of the TV.
I might have been one of the greatest minds
of this century. I could have gone down in his
tory as the one who uncovered life’s mysterious
question, which of course is, how come I’ve
never seen a baby pigeon? However, the only
thing I will be remembered for is a paper I did
in the fifth grade on how many licks it takes to
get to the center of a tootsie pop. By the way,
through extensive research, not using labo
ratory mice, it was determined to be unofficially
227 short stroke licks, or 97 long stroke licks.
Back to my point. I wish television was never
invented. Not only I, but the rest of the
mindless zombies that walk the earth would
have been better off. There are many thoughts I
would like to put on paper, but I have to watch
my favorite rerun of Cheers.
Joe Kohn is a humorist for The Red and Black.
TV spoiled the minds of a
University ignoring students
■ FORUM
□ Tile Red and Black welcomes letters to the editor and prints them in the Forum
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 of the wnter. Please include student classifi
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 St.. Athens. Ga.
I am frustrated. I read the ar
ticle in Jan. 26 The Red and Black
on the conspiracy allegations and I
ot mad. It seems to me that
ackson thinks he’s MacCarthy,
Knapp is Truman, and Cutlip gets
to be Wallace. Why is the adminis
tration worrying about something
so petty as the “undermining of
Knapps’ administration” when
they should be worrying about
their bread and butter: the stu
dents?
The administration and some
faculty and staff are so concerned
with themselves that they are for
getting their goal of educating the
students.
Without students there would be
no University, so why are the ad
ministration and some faculty and
staff so out of touch with the stu
dents? Knapp himself was quoted
as saying that he got on an Orbit
and it didn’t take him where he
wanted to go. That says he’s pretty
out of touch to me, but I would give
him an A for effort. At least he got
on a UGA bus.
The administration should be
more concerned about us. We are
their jobs. Maybe if they could
show a little more consideration to
ward us, we could show a little
more toward them.
C. S. Woods
senior, history education
Partial truths
Unfortunately many people be
lieve all that they read despite the
fact that much ofit is only partially
true, if it holds any truth at all. If
we search enough, we can find
facts or take quotes out of context
to support our views. Richard
Stenger has voiced his opinion
(Jan. 24) on the BCRC and now
here is mine.
The problem seems to have its
roots in animal research. Research
is an easy target. The truth is most
people have no idea what scientists
really do.
With ignorance, fear and a few
horror stories to build on, it is easy
to convince people that scientists
go out of their way to torture ani
mals. Don’t believe it for a minute.
Our role is two-fold. We not only
protect animals from disease, but
we also protect the human popula
tion from those animal diseases
they can contract.
The decision for requirement of
an Environmental Impact
Statement resides with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. In
their view, the design components
of BCRC meet current guidelines
for control of biological and chem
ical hazards.
Do yourself a favor: before you
believe everything you read, edu
cate yourself. It’s the only way you
can find out what’s true and what’a
emotional propaganda. Whether or
not you support the BCRC, at least
make your decision based on facts.
W. Ed Hortman
student, College of Votorlnary Medi
cine