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4 • The Red and Black • Friday, April 6, 1990
OPINIONS
The Red & Black
h'.stablished 1893—Incorporated 1980
An independent student newspaper not affiliated with the University of Georgia
Charlene Smith/Editor-in-Chief
Amy Bellew/Managing Editor
Hogai Nassery/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
Insured hardship
University employees, already beleaguered by low
pay and inadequate benefits, have another kick in the
pants to look forward to next year.
The Board of Regents Committee on Finance and
Business is expected to approve next week a 25 percent
increase in health insurance rates for University
System employees. This will pretty much dry up the
miniscule raises — probably 4 percent or lower —
University employees are getting next year.
Rates for the policies which only cover the
employees and not their families will go from $30.25 to
$37.80 a month. Those whose families are covered will
be paying $92.10 instead of the current $73.70 rate. A
retiree with Medicare will see rates increased from $12
to $15 and a retiree with Medicare who has dependents
with Medicare will see rates go from $24 to $30.
For many employees, particularly those making
less than $16,000 a year, this means whatever benefits
the meager pay raise might have provided will be
wiped out by the big jump in insurance rates. Those hit
hardest will be the men and women who needed a pay
raise most of all — and in fact, some of them might
actually be bringing home less money.
For University faculty and staff, the insurance rate
situation is devastating to morale. Many of them feel
angry and helpless, and justifiably so. They aren’t
being paid what they deserve. The sad thing is that
their problems don’t appear to be a top priority to any
of the powers that be.
University President Charles Knapp has
repeatedly expressed concern that the University
doesn’t offer competitive salaries. He has
acknowledged that this deficiency results in the loss of
valuable faculty and staff who can be better
compensated elsewhere and it keeps good people from
considering University jobs. He has also earmarked $1
million of the Special Funding Initiative for salary
supplements, which will help a little.
But then Knapp turns around and gives the highly
paid University vice presidents significantly higher
percentage salary increases while faculty and staff get
next to nothing. Granted, competitive salaries are
needed to keep the vice presidents too, but the salary
gap between the top and bottom of the ladder is
disgraceful.
While it may be true that insurance rates had to go
up to pay for the higher cost of medical care and the
increased number of claims, the Georgia Legislature
should have provided a pay raise that would have
balanced this rate hike.
Preeminence doesn’t come cheap and if this
University is ever going to join the ranks of the elite, it
must stop making basic benefits such as health
insurance unaffordable.
Maybe it’s time for employees to unionize.
Apathy
It’s ironic that students readily complain about
having no input in decisions that affect them, yet they
make no effort to change the situation.
Deadline for applying for Student Association
elections was Monday and hardly anyone applied to
run for senator. Even if students don’t have confidence
in SA, elections for student representatives to the
University Council are also suffering from a lack of
participation.
Now, the vacant SA seats will be filled by students
selected by the SA.
The upcoming senior class, which only has four
candidates for eight seats, and the upcoming junior
class, which has eight candidates for eight positions,
has lost its chance to pick representatives the
democratic way.
STAFF
NEWS: 543-1809
New* Efftor: Jennifer Rampey
Sparta Editor Trevor Padgett
Entartalnmant Editor: Margaret Weal on
Aaoodate News EdHara: Chrit Gnmoa. Jennifer
Wilkin
Front Papa Copy Editor. David Johnston
Inaldo Copy Editors: Joel Groover. Mary RetdrfTe, Enk
SchmKJt. Johanna van der Wai
UQA Today/Wire Editor: Robert Alula
Graph Ice Editor Oavia O'Keeffe
Chief Photographer Peter Ffoy
Staff Writers: Walter Colt, Maria Edwards. Anne
Mane Eanguy. Lance Helms. Christopher Hightower.
Dara McLeod, Mika McLeod, Stephanie Smith,
Sandra Stephens. J.O. Squillante, Robert Todd
Sparta Writer: Chris Lancette
Special Sections Trends Edrier: Cara May
Assistant Special Sections/Trends Editor:
Gloria Rowbotham
Editorial Assistant: Pamela Warren
Cartoonist: Mike Moreu
ADVERTISING: 543-1791
Mod sat Advert] sing Managers
Knsti Burnham. Beverly Taylor
Advertising Assistants
Jennifer Davit, Scott Donaldson
Sent or Adverb sing Representatives: Sean Fagan.
Knchei e Halualant. Julie Reynolds
Adverb sing Represent stives: Beth Biumer. Suzanne
Dills, Karen Haynes, Rick Huggins. Mark lacomim,
Chns Manama, Leo Nobios. Leigh Riffe, Lori
Thurman, Pamela Walker
Assistant Editorial Prod Manager: Cnstma Feint*
Assistant Advertising ftod. Manager: Marlene
Martin
Production Staff: Andy Ard. Laura Fnednch. Andrea
Maneour. lortn Marsh. Laura Miller. Stacy Stenberg.
Michelle Wegcrt
General Manager: Harry Montevideo
Advertising Direct or: Robin Stoner
Office Manager: Mary Straub
Production Manager: Judy Jordan
Classified a/Rscept lord st Beverly Vaughn
Credit Manager Susan Davis
Clerical: Joanna Horton
The Had and Black is published Tuesday through
Friday during the regular school year and each
Thursday during summer quarter, with the exceptions
of holidays and exam periods, by The Red and Black
Pubiishtr^ Company Inc. a non-profit campus
newspaper not affiliated with the University of
Georgia. 123 N. Jackson St. Athens, Ga 30601
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rata: S24 par year
Opinions expressed In Trie Rad and Black other than
unsigned edrtorteia are the opinions of the witters of
signed columns end not necessarily those of The Red
and Black Publishing Company Inc. All rigrss
reserved Repnnts by permission of the editors
QUOTABLE
• We want students to be aware of what homeless people eat
— tackle'Murphy,^Service Organization Council chairperson,
about the peanut butter-and-jelly lunch on campus today
GREETINGS-WASHINGTON,
A PISTOCT<010MBIAS
Alma mater only a symptom of sexism
A lot of energy is being wasted on the fight to
have some words in the University’s alma
mater changed to reflect the female student
population.
“And the sons of Georgia rising with sacred
vow...” is the alleged sexist snip-it from the
song, which is so rarely sung, they probably
have the sheet music in a vault in University
President Charles Knapp’s office.
To study the nine-word phrase and the possi
bilities for change, Knapp created a task force
which held a forum Monday. Of eight letters
submitted from alumni, four were strongly on
the "don’t change it” ticket.
They’re right. They may not be right for the
correct reason, but this is a counterproductive
effort on behalf of women.
Women have lost focus in their struggle for
equality. The alma mater debate is going after
a symptom, not a cause of the social and profes
sional inequality experienced by women today.
They’re still discriminated against and sexually
harassed in the workplace.
Certainly it’s not any better to be referred to
as “letter carrier” or “police officer” than
“mailman” or “policeman” when some women
are still making less money than a man of the
same skills, and get passed over for promotion
regularly.
Women would better serve their cause at the
University to call for more representation in
high administrative positions. Only one of the
University’s 12 schools and colleges has a fe-
Chris
Clonts
male dean, and that’s in the female-majority
College of Home Economics. Surely there are
just as many women in other majors such as
law, social work or even journalism. Just as
blacks are finally being recognized with active
recruiting of black faculty and administration,
so should there be a publicized search for
women.
Or, if it’s icons University women want to get
rid of, get the Georgia Athletic Association to
remove the “Lady” which precedes “Bulldogs”
in all women’s team nicknames. The Georgia
Bulldog women’s basketball teams which con
stantly appear in the NCAA tournament and
the women’s gymnastics 1987 and 1989 NCAA
champions are just as ferocious as any men’s
team.
After all, we don’t call Rodney Hampton a
member of the “Gentleman Dawg” football
team. “Lady Bulldogs” is blatantly superfluous
and sexist.
There’s one major issue which no one has ad
dressed. What of the spirit of J.B. White, the
1912 University graduate who wrote the alma
mater? Forget tradition, put heritage out of the
picture and you’re left with someone’s work.
Granted, a university alma mater isn’t nec
essarily a classic work of art. But it is White’s
creation, and whether we’re talking about J.B.
or E.B., it’s not right to change it.
No one would paint some token women into a
Lamar Dodd painting because it had nothing
but males in it. That would be disrespectful of
Dodd’s efforts, just as changing the alma mater
would be a slap in White’s face.
If something must be done, it should be the
adoption of a new alma mater all together. Just
create yet another task force to solicit proposals
of a new alma mater, and the case would be
closed. It’s not incorrect to replace someone’s
work when it’s outdated, but to change it is un
thinkable.
The alma mater, as J.B. White’s original
work, shouldn’t be changed one bit. If it’ll make
a few people more comfortable to replace it,
fine. But then let’s get on to the task of making
women truly economically and politically equal
to men. If the same vigor can be applied to that
battle as is being employed to attack the alma
mater, womankind will be able to tear down
some large walls, instead of just throwing rocks
at them.
Chris Clonts is a junior history major.
Parking Services is a greedy parasite
In the stiff winds of academic pressure, I
imagine that most administrators consider the
University’s parking problem a mere obligatory
nuisance, when in fact it is nothing short of a
multi-million dollar parasitic scandal.
Every University student who drives has
confronted the rainy winter quarter day. Both
the parking deck and pay lots fill before 9 a.m.
One is forced to roam the range for precious
hours or forge a trail to the South Campus out
back for a space. The competition for parking
spaces resembles a Circus Maximus event. A
worse scenario exists for the female dorm
dweller, who after a long night is forced to park
illegally in order to avoid running the rapist
gauntlet to her dorm.
In any event, the parking situation is an in
excusable failure on the part of the Student As
sociation for failing to address the problem, the
University’s administration for encouraging
the problem, and Parking Services for perpetu
ating an arcane policy and for employing
haughty clerks who sneer when being fed stu
dent blood money.
This mud-replete-pothole-ridden-crime-in
fested plague of a system taxes students beyond
any reasonable justice. Jim Tardy, Director of
Parking Services, said in a recent conversa
tion,“A parking sticker doesn’t entitle anyone
to a parking space, just the right to look for
one”. And pigs fly on Mars. Parking Services is
sues parking stickers in double the amount of
Adam
Thornton
available parking spaces. Parking Services re
ceives hundreds of thousands of dollars in
parking fines each year. In fact, no one has an
exact figure of collected fines. In Mr. Tardy’s
words, “the money goes in the general fund of
the University”. This is an interesting ac
counting arrangement in any system.
Parking Services’ explanation for the student
parking problem is that students refuse to park
in the South Campus black forest. Mr. Tardy
claims that on any given day, there are plenty
of spaces outside his Mojave Desert office. I
suggest they may simply be mirages.
The problem has escalated to the point of ab
surdity. A number of students, who in the eyes
of Parking Services complain too loudly or write
‘nasty* notes on their personal checks, are sub
jected to the rigors of the student judiciary. A
simple disciplinary action on a student’s record
could prevent that student from entering the
graduate school of his or her choice.
Solutions abound. First, take the funds in
the mysterious accounting system used to store
the blood money of undisclosed amount ex
tracted from the veins of hard working students
and invest it in a North Campus parking deck.
The deck would be located where the North
Campus commuter lot is currently located. I es
timate that the parking deck could be paid off
by money collected by Parking Services in five
years, thereby eliminating any long term debt.
This would also eliminate the necessity of
charging the astronomical rates that Parking
Services now charges for parking. With pro
gressively decreasing college age population,
this deck could permanently solve our crisis.
Secondly, Parking Services should realisti-
cally issue parking stickers. It may result in a
prohibition of on-campus parking for freshman
dorm dwellers, but this could be countered by
doubling the routes of UGA and Athens City
Transit buses.
The hesitancy to adopt these solutions,
having been obvious for many years, leads one
to believe that the University’s administration
is willing to sacrifice justice, honor, and its true
source of wealth, the student, for the sake of
tainted revenue.
Adam Thornton is a senior political science
major.
One child’s greatest wish
FORUM
□ The Red and Black welcomes letters to the editor and prims them in th~
column as space permits. All letters are subject to editing for length style a
belous material. Letters should be typed, doublcspaced and must Include the n
address and daytime telephone number of the writer. Please include student cl;
cation and major other appropriate identification. Names can be omitted with a
""S" T" r ® ques LLetle'Sca n be sent by US mail or brought in person to Th.
and Black s offices at 123 N. JacKon St., Athens, Ga.
Craig Shergold is a seven year
old boy who is facing life’s ultimate
challenge. Craig is dying from an
inoperable brain tumor. The Chil
dren’s Wish Foundation, which is
in the business of granting the last
wishes of children with terminal
diseases, may be up against their
greatest challenge since talking
with Craig. This remarkable young
man does not want something as
bland as visiting Disney World, as
many other children have re
quested. Craig wants his name in
the Guineas Book of World Re
cords. Craig wants to be remem
bered as the person who received
the largest number of cards ever
postmarked.
Children’s Wish Foundation
would like to help Craig ac
complish this goal, but to date 1,-
200,000 is the standing record.
Please send a card because every
card possible is needed. They can
be mailed to: Craig Shergold, c/o-
Children’s Wish Foundation,Suite
10032 Perimeter Center East, At
lanta, Ga. 30346-1901.
Bryan Jones
Western Carolina University,
nursing department
Jobs before Nature
Richard Stenger is one of the few
writers to be concerned with Af
rican-Americans and the environ
ment. He correctly points out that
African-Americans tend to suffer
more from industrial pollution, but
his logic starts to go seriously awry
when, given the choice between
joblessness and industrial contam
ination, he would have African-
Americans remain jobless. Does he
envision unemployment as a
hotbed of environmentalism?
African-Americans and African-
American politicians have long
looked unenthusiastically on the
environmental movement. If that
movement is to be more effective, it
has to put itself in the shoes of
others who can’t or won’t make the
sacrifices we want them to and
that we don’t seem to be making
ourselves.
The same applies to rainforests
in Africa or Latin America. Boy
cotts and restricted parks simply
try to make the campesino pay the
cost for protecting an environment
that is not as important to him as
the well-being of his family. Sustai
nable environmentalism means
looking for ways to get jobs to the
unemployed, with industries that
do not damage the environment.
Finally, some might take excep
tion to comparing Andrew Young’s
statements on business to Marion
Barry’s smoking crack hours after
lecturing against drugs.
David Cameron Duffy
Institute of Ecology