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4 » The Rea and B.acn » Thursday, February 8. 1990
OPINIONS
QUOTABLE
"Ail it is. is politics. Why should Pennsylvania students be safer
than Georgia or Florida students?'' —
Uza GeUinger. mother of a University student, Dana Getzinger.
in her Athens apsrtment. I
The Red & Black
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Charlene Smith/Editor-irvChief
Amy Bellew/Managing Editor
Robert Todd/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
Open environment
It’s good to see faculty so determined to improve the
i education of student-athletes that they’re still trying —
without the full support of the administration or even
the whole University Council — to improve the system.
The council’s Committee on Intercollegiate
| Athletics is going ahead with its plan to study the
academic success of University athletes. The
committee already had a plan to study the problem
before the council voted down the resolution to ask
Athletic Director Vince Dooley for information to get
started.
Who's to say University President Charles Knapp’s
task force, which has yet to be appointed, is the only
body capable of conducting such a study? Even if the
! task force comes up with plans to improve the athletes’
educational experience, it couldn’t hurt to have another
j perspective — a study conducted by people outside the
athletic department and in the open atmosphere of a
j University Council committee.
The committee’s actions also advance the
University as a whole by illustrating that Knapp isn’t
the only one capable of good ideas. The faculty, staff,
administrators and students don’t need the University
President’s permission to exercise free thought or to try
j and solve the University’s problems.
Either because of complacency or fear of criticism,
the University community lately has left problem
solving to the administration. Now, the Committee on
Intercollegiate Athletics has stepped forward and
taken matters into its own hands.
In a University environment, especially one this
j large, faculty and students must exercise initiative and
critical thought if the University is to fulfill its mission.
It is the faculty and students who are most in touch
with the University and can best identify its problems.
It is the faculty and students who must bring these
problems into the open and then move to correct them.
Kudos to the committee which saw a problem and
then, rather than sit back and wait for others, acted
aggressively to help it.
Knapp would be well advised to stop appointing so
many advisory task forces and committees and instead,
appoint some committees with the power to act. This
would promote new ideas and progressive change and
at the same time free Knapp to concentrate on other
things.One man cannot run the University.
Open wider
A U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing peer
review letters of a professor to be subpoenaed in tenure
discrimination suits has left the mixed emotions in its
wake.
Disclosure of the peer reviews is necessary to
identify possible discrimination and the ruling should
prevent abuse of the review system. An honest and
thorough peer review, whether positive or negative,
benefits the University and the person being reviewed.
However, there is a danger that reviewers will be
hesitant about writing a candid or critical review. With
the prospect of a law suit hanging overhead, this is
understandable — to a point.
Any fear involved with writing peer reviews can be
dispelled if the persons writing them document their
conclusions and back them with evidence. If there
aren’t any discriminatory, unfounded or unfair
remarks, then no one need worry.
The purpose of peer evaluations is to ensure quality
control of the University’s faculty. To distort these
evaluations, through discrimination or a less than
thorough effort, is wrong and does the University a
grave injustice.
The evaluations provide faculty with a useful tool to
police their own. Don’t abuse it.
STAFF
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PC.POSITION FOP,
THE PEFEHSE? >
Dispelling myths of the exotic orient
Dark hair. Dark eyes. A dark past. Picture
her weaving her way through a steamy bazaar,
cloaked in a fragrance of jasmine and spice,
adorned from head to foot in sensuous fabric of
exotic print. Kohl on her eyes and henna in her
hair.
Now, picture her in the Science Library- The
shocking reality is that many Asian women,
myself included, fail to live up to the Western
expectations of a woman of the East. You may-
have had a Chinese TA in statistics, or an In
dian lab partner in BIO 102. You know that the
University runs rife with languages and perso
nages from the Orient. But even today the
myths about Asian women persist in the minds
of many Americans raised on ‘I Dream of Genie’
re-runs.
Myth 1: Asian u-omen belly-dance. My
mother would kill me. We aren’t all sex kittens,
trained to amuse men since childhood. I may
have had a gyrating fantasy or two in my child
hood, but my current goal is to snare Dwight
Yoekam with a snappy two-step.
Myth 2: On a festive day, one might spot a
ruby in a nose or an emerald in a navel. As a
rule, Asian women are not into pain, if you dis
count our frequent forays into maternity. My
sister fainted when she got her ears pierced at
the mall, and since we don’t show our navels in
the winter, we’d hardly insert an expensive
rock. Indian women, it’s true, do show a ten
dency in this direction, but then Rajiv Gandhi
supported the commies in Afghanistan.
Myth 3: Asian women are subservient door
mats. This, perhaps, is the greatest misconcep
tion. A cursory examination of history will go a
long way to dispel it. Was it not an Afghan
woman who killed Alexander the Great? (She
engineered his pneumonia infection). Better
yet, who was Mao’s Widow, and why is she in
jail? What man would want to mess with Mata
Hari or Tokyo Rose? And Corazon Aquino isn’t
exactly chopped liver.
Myth 4: Because of their heritage in harems,
Asian women show special talents in the plea
sures of the flesh. Well, if this is true, it is cer
tainly discouraged. We don’t know the Kama
Sutra by heart. We may have a problem with
birth control, but the typical Asian girl likes to
meet her in-laws first That may discourage her
from having any children at all, but by then the
point is moot anyway.
Myth 5: Asian women anxiously await be
trothal to Bubba. Some southern boys on this
campus entertain ideas of a Phillipino wife if
they’re not married by age 30. The wife, of
course, will be in her teens. This is painful to
accept, I know, but the fact is, guys, that most
Asian parents shudder at the thought of blue
eyed grandchildren. The reason Asian girls
have so many brothers is to prevent this very
eventuality. A big, dark haired brother usually
keeps the middle-aged businessmen away.
Myth 6: The Asian male child is valued over
his female siblings. Although this may still hold
true in many families, it doesn’t in mine. My
brother is a Chi Phi at West Georgia College,
therefore my parents, showing great wisdom
and common sense, want to disown him. His
constant reference to his ‘brothers’ both con
fuses and upsets my parents, since he is their
only male progeny. My sisters and I suspect
that he was adopted.
Myth 7: Asian women, particularly the ones
in the Middle East, want to bring about the
downfall of Western society. No Way! My sister
couldn’t survive without Estee Lauder, and I
couldn’t survive without MTV. We love the
soaps, and truth be known, we love WASP men.
We’ve been around so many 'tall, dark and
handsome’ relatives all our lives, that the mys
tique of Asian men is gone. Of course, we’ll
never take a blonde home, but that doesn’t
mean we want to grenade his Jeep. So, the next
time you spot an Asian woman on the North-
South, lower your guard. Chances are, she’s not
packing a Molotov.
Hogai Sassery is a columnist for The Red and
Black.
Georgia in need of bold new leadership
“I will not raise taxes, unless absolutely nec
essary.”
'1 will fight crime and drugs.”
“I will raise teacher pay.”
“1 will improve Georgia’s education system.”
Every candidate in this year’s Gubernatorial
race seems to be saying the same thing. It is
like the words have been pre-recorded and the
candidates are just moving their lips. In a way
it is true.
Governor Joe Frank Harris used the words
eight years ago and came from behind Bo Ginn
in the polls to pull off an unpredicted upset in
the Democratic Primary. Harris never received
viable competition after that primary victory in
August of 1982. Victory was guaranteed in a
state that has as much use for Republicans as it
does for liberals (even though the twain seldom
meet).
There are, however, a few differences in the
candidates to be sure. On the abortion issue the
most pro-life candidate is state Senator Roy
Barnes (D-Mableton), while the most pro-abor
tion candidate seems to be a Republican from
Newton County, Judge Greeley Ellis. On the
lottery issue the most pro-lottery candidate is
Lt. Governor Zell Miller, while the most anti
lottery candidate is Mr. Barnes. Everyone else
lines up somewhere in the middle.
If the candidates were ranked in order from
liberal to conservative, it would look something
like this: former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young
(D), Miller (D), Ellis (R), state Representative
Johnny Isakson (R—Marietta), state Represen
tative Lauren “Bubba” McDonald (D—Com
merce), Barnes (D), and Bob Wood (R) former
school board member from Gwinnett County
who says he entered the race because of a lack
of a conservative on the Republican ticket.
In case your worried this year’s campaign
trail will be boring, take heart. Politics has a
way of creating issues where before they didn’t
exist. It has a way of creating candidates who
actually despise each other where before they
could half-heartedly get along.
What this state needs is some new ideas for
some old problems. One of the reasons every
body is out to improve Georgia public education
is because it isn’t much better than it was eight
years ago when the Quality Basic Education
program was introduced.
To borrow a phrase from Proverbs, “Without
a vision, the people perish." We, the voters,
should take the initiative. According to our
state constitution, we control this state’s gov
ernment. What we should be asking ourselves
is, “Should we be sending the same people bock
to Atlanta every two years?”
Mark Rountree, a political consultant at the
Atlanta-based Southern Research Services, in
forms us that this is the year for reform. He
says he expects the candidate who pushes re
form on the campaign trail is the most likely
one to be on the top of the political pile on the
evening of November 6.
Let’s hope he is right. Reform in this state is
needed in everything from agriculture to
zoning. The day when the candidates stop
sounding like each other is the day when we
voters start listening with both ears.
In 1984, the cry from Walter Mondale was,
“Where’s the beef.” In 1990 the cry from
Georgia’s voters had better be, “Where’s the vi
sion.”
Phillip Foil is a columnist for The Red and
Black.
Pro-life missing whole issue
This is written in response to
Dean Clark’s (Jan. 31) disgust as a
result of economic realities. To say
that “considering the cost of
raising children is sickening* leads
me to believe that Clark hasn’t had
to consider too many financial
costs in his life, and if he’s lucky he
never will.
To say that “97 percent of all
abortions performed in the state of
Georgia are for convenience pur
poses” forces me to ask for the defi
nition of those terms. Convenience,
in his context, appears to mean any
abortion performed not necessary
for life-saving purposes. Any life,
no matter how unwanted, mis
treated, unloved, poor and ne
glected is better than the
alternative his words imply.
Stating that choice isn’t the
issue, but personhood of the un
born is, leaves out the important
fact of what happens to these per
sons once they are born, and what
happens to the person who gives up
her rights and freedoms as an indi
vidual to provide for another who
was never wanted. If babies are
born without choice and consent,
then what really is the difference
between abortion because of an en-
dangerment of life, abortion be
cause of abject poverty or abortion
because the unborn person was
never wanted in the first place?
Corey Anderson
Junior, political science
Automaton society
So Steven Sacco wants to launch
a crusade against symbols that re
flect our differences?
I hope after lowering the soiled
stars and stripes of Yankee imperi
alism in humble respect to the ven
erable and august flag of the U.N.,
well finish the job by having ev
eryone united with a world hair
style, nifty worker-o’-the-world
uniforms and a mode of transport
that all Earthlings can afford.
What could be better than is
suing everyone one the planet
unisex, universal Maoist bowl-
cuts; tight-fittin’, electric grey
spandex jumpsuits; and jet-black
Schwinn Stingrays with silver ba
nana seats?
Just think: every child, woman
and man pedaling around and
around in great circles of
friendship, waving biodegradable
peace placards of recycled
Whopper cartons.
Luka Boggs
senior, history
Slow the expansion
I hope citizens and governments
of regions surrounding Metro At
lanta have carefully noted the
metro's out-of-control urban
sprawl, and have prepared to step
in and defend their own interests.
Instead of learning from the mis-
■ FORUM
□ The Red and Black welcomes letters
to the editor and prints them in the
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ters are subject to editing for length,
style and libelous material. Letters
should be typed, doubiespaced and
must include the name, address and
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wnter. Please include student classifi
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identification. Names can be omitted
with a valid reason upon request Let
ters can be sent by U.S. mail or brought
in person to The Red and Black's of
fices at 123 N. Jackon St. Athens. G*.
takes of other cities, the metro re
peats them. Until competent
leadership and citizens are avail
able, metro Atlanta and in partic
ular Gwinnett County, should
declare itself a “nogrowtn” or “slow
growth” region.
Steve Jexlk
Athene