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■ QUOTABLE
4 • The Red and Black • Fnday, April 13, 1990
OPINIONS
"The fact is that Utah and Alabama (the first and second seeds,
respectively) are better than we are. But that doesn't mean
we re a team that can't win the national championship." —
Gymnastics Head Coach Suzanne Yoculan
The Red & Black
EitabluKed 1893—Incorporated 1980
Aft independent iindent wu t paper not affiliated uith IK* L’nuemty of Georgia
Charlene Smith/Editor-in-Chief
Amy Bellew/Managing Editor
Hogai Nassery/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
More Crime
The good news: Police statistics for 1989 show an
overall drop in crimes being committed on the
University campus. The bad news: Beyond the arches.
| crime is on the rise in Athens.
Homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault,
l burglary, auto theft and auto entering all doubled in
the Classic City during the past year. Police attribute
i this increased criminal activity to the growing use of
crack cocaine in Athens.
The University community should not be mislead
I by these figures into thinking that it is somehow
| insulated from the rise in crime taking place in the city.
I Every day it is getting more dangerous to walk the
streets of Athens, and students and faculty are just as
likely as any other residents to become victims.
If the city is not as safe as it used to be then, by
l extension, neither is the University. As much as they
frequent the clubs and restaurants of Athens, people at
the University should feel very uneasy about the
disturbing statistics from the police department and
should want some action from the city government
In the past, the low crime rate in Athens allowed
city fathers to worry more about curbing the excesses of
college students than battling crime in the streets.
Now, with crack making inroads even here, the Athens
City Council must decide whether it can still afford to
allow valuable police resources to be sapped by useless
ordinances such as the Open-Container law.
The falling crime figures for the campus and the
rising ones for the city should convince the Council that
the danger to the city does not lie in University
students. Besides, as a budding convention site, how
will it look if the only thing Athens has to rival Atlanta
is a small scale version of its high crime rate?
Civil Liberty
Last Wednesday our inestimable governor, Joe
Frank Harris, approved two bills that attempt to
address the “drug problem” in Georgia. The first bill
advocates state suspension of the drivers’ licenses of
adults who are convicted of drug offenses. The first
offense would result in a four-month suspension, up to
three years for the second and up to five years for the
third. The second bill allows the state to postpone the
age at which a teenager can obtain a drivers’ license to
17 for .he first offense and 18 for the second.
The hysteria generated by this “war on drugs” led
first to urine drug tests, and now it is targeting our
right to mobility.
It is virtually impossible to function in this country
without a car. Harris seems to feel that depriving an
individual of the ability to travel to a job, to school, or to
the hospital will prevent drug use. It will be apparent
quite soon that this law will only hurt adults who
cannot afford taxis or live in areas without access to
public transport.
Again, the economic ramifications of the action
have been ignored. A defendant who can afford a good,
private lawyer will be less likely to be convicted of a
drug offense, the same way DUI convictions are handed
down in a disproportionate and inconsistent manner.
How fitting that the legislature, in its reactionary
zeal, continues to ignore the impact of alcohol on our
state. Why should the first possession of marijuana
result in a suspension of driving privileges when a first
DUI doesn’t?
While the intent of these measures may be good,
they simply point out the tendency of lawmakers to
address the symptoms of a problem, rather than the
cause. The solution to the drug problem is not
continued violations of our civil liberties; the solution is
more funding for education.
This election year, support candidates who are up
on education, not hard on drugs.
STAFF
NEWS: 543-1809
N«w» Editor. Jonnafor Rarnpty
Sports Editor Trow PWgcH
Eat arta Iran ant Editor: Mo>|*>or Woouxr
Aaoodato Nows Editors Chris Gnrnos Jennifer
WMMA
Front P«(s Copy Editor David JoUntton
In old a Copy Editors: Josi Groover Kelly Koat.nj.
Modi Hatcliffs. Erik SchmidL Jorianna van oer wai
UCA Today/Wire Editor: Rot*rt Aruia
Graphics Editor: Lavs O'Keaff*
Chlaf Riotograplvar: Peter Frey
Photo Editor: Maria Clay
Staff Writers: Walter Colt. Mans Edwards. Arne
Mane Fanguy. Lance Heims, Christopher H,gntower
Dara McLeod, Mike McLeod, Stephan* Sm.th,
Sandra Stephana. J. 0. Sqmiiante. Robert Todd
Sports Writer: Chna Lancetto
Special Secdona/Trends Editor Cara May
Assistant Special Sections/Trende Editor:
Gloria Rowbotham
Editorial Assistant: Pamela Warren
Cartoonist t‘ike Moreau
ADVERTISING: 543-1791
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WHO sK/S-mESTUPEMTS
AT UGA ARE APATHETIC?
WE RAVE over
Fifteen votes
TOTAL!!!
X NEVEfVTHoiKHTT
THAT MANyCANDIDATES
Would vote for
themselves, either,,
r
SA elections no cause for celebration
It’s your favorite time of year again. Not just
a time of sun and fun, springtime and swing
time, but time for the most taxing event of the
year- the Student Association elections.
Yes, you and I will be pelted with new cam
paign promises and less-than-artistic placards
everywhere we turn. There will be no hiding
from the University’s 'Big Brother’ until after
the April 17th elections. So with this in mind,
I’d like to share a few thoughts with you about
our wonderful S.A.
In the words of the immortal Janet Jackson,
“What have you done for me lately”, in fact,* 4
What have you done for me at all”? In the past
three years of distinguished S.A. history, we’ve
seen the addition of an escort van and uhh
...uhh...the addition of an escort van. I’m sure
there have been other things, but I just can’t re
member them ofThand. Incidently, most of the
other students I have talked to can’t remember
any accomplishments either.
Every year we hear about the parking prob
lems and campaign promises to correct them.
But I still see a vast plethora of yellow ticket
stubs covering miles of shiny windshields. I
wonder if this 'Yellow stubbed path’ will lead
me to Oz. Maybe so, but making it a campaign
issue certainly won’t put anyone in the S.A.
Why? Because no one in the S.A. has the power
to enact a feasible parking solution that the ad
ministration will take seriously. My prediction
Richard
Cathy
is that parking will still be a post-election
problem.
Another issue that everyone expects to hear
is an upcoming spring concert. This is a popular
campaign promise aimed at student support.
But in the two years of hoopla about it, we’ve
seen no concert for one reason or another. My
feelings are that it is best to ask the adminis
tration before arousing public interest- this
way the students don’t have to sit through an
other broken promise.
Aside from the S.A. failings, there are still
some representatives who believe that S.A. par
ticipants should be paid. Now this is my biggest
problem. Why should the students of this Uni
versity, who complain about tuition costs
anyway, want to subsidize an inefficient bu
reaucracy? The fact is that they don't. But if the
S.A. members were to get paid, what would
they get paid for? I’m not exactly sure myself,
but I pray that this does not take place. Doesn’t
the notion of service and sacrifice mean any
thing anymore?
A last point to ponder is the democratic as
pect of the elections. These open elections seem
to be a ploy for establishing S.A. legitimacy. To
my knowledge, only 19% of the campus went
out to vote last year. That leaves 81% of the
campus not participating. So, if we say that
81% of the campus, therefore, voted for nobody,
then nobody should be in the S.A. Well, at least
it follows logically.
I would hope that on the next ballot there
will be a place in which to mark ‘abolish’ the
SA. The students deserve a right to vote for
any representation they want. They may be
better served by no S.A. at all. I actually pre
ferred the days before the S.A., when the Uni
versity Council looked over the affairs of the
student but didn’t go about grandstanding. In
terms of the S.A. proper, there are some good
people who work with it, not every person is
guilty of pre-meditated resume building. But
all in all, it is a failing, do little institution.
However, when everything is considered,
maybe I should just quit complaining and be
thankful that I don’t get all the S.A. I pay for.
Richard Cathy is a senior political science
major.
Dirty politics in race for 10th district
There has been a lot of discussion lately
about the role that U.S. Representative Doug
Barnard (D-Augusta) played in the recent Sav
ings and Loan industry scandal. Missing from
this discussion, however, have been any clear
allegations against Barnard.
The facts are that Barnard, a member of the
House Banking Committee and chairman of the
subcommittee on commerce, consumer and
monetary affairs, recieved $20,000 in campaign
contributions from Charles Keating and his as
sociates in 1986. The contributions were legal
and publicly recorded, and it is not surprising
that S & L officials would contribute to the cam
paign of a Banking Committee member as op
posed to, say, a member of the Labor Com
mittee.
Former Federal Home Loan Bank Board
Chairman Ed Gray, who regulated the S & L in
dustry before the scandal broke, has repeatedly
and publicly denied that Barnard ever put any
pressure on him to hold back on his investiga
tion of Lincoln Savings and Loan (Keating’s
company).
From 1984 to 1988 Barnard’s subcommittee
held a series of hearings which first revealed
the extent of the misconduct in the S & L in
dustry and eventually resulted in the passage
of a law which gave banking regulators much
more power in dealing with the industry.
Barnard’s critics love to point out that he is
mentioned 10 times in The Big Fix, a book
about the S & L scandal by James Adams. This
is also not surprising in light of his Banking
Committee membership.
After reading the book, it became apparent
that it contains no allegations against Doug
Barnard. Chapter four of the book has graphic
illustrations of the four networks of S & L offi
cials, congressmen, and administration officials
that the author cites as having been involved in
the scandal. Barnard is not listed in any of
these networks.
All of this talk about Barnard is coming di
rectly from the two Republican primary candi
dates for his seat. There are two reasons why
they are both running their campaigns on such
a weak foundation. The first reason is that in
his seventh term, Barnard’s positions on all the
mfyor issues facing Congress are very much in
line with those of the conservative Democratic
majority in his district. The second reason is
that both Republican candidates have weak re
cords as leaders in their communities.
Mark Meyers, whose campaign literature
boasts of his completion of the Big Star Food
Stores management training program, is an
obscure Gwinnett county realtor who was
soundly defeated by Barnard in 1988. Meyers
failed to win the support of his party in that
race, and is again not being taken very se
riously. His opponent, Sam Jones, a former
Baptist minister and Columbia county busi
nessman, is similarly obscure but is considered
by most to be the best the Republicans have to
offer.
While it is valid to criticize Barnard for
taking such large contributions from Keating
and his associates, there is no evidence that he
did anything unethical on their behalf. Since
1976, he has quietly but effectively served the
needs and interests of the tenth district, one of
the most prosperous areas in Georgia. Neither
of his potential opponents has given voters any
reason to want that to change.
For the first time in recent memory, the
Georgia Republican party has an at least cred
ible gubernatorial candidate in state Represen
tative Johnny Isakson. If they are wise, they
will concentrate on that race.
David Johnston is front page copy editor of The
Red and Black
Sterling vs. Granola-heads
■ FORUM
□ The Red and Black welcomes letters to the editor and pnnts them in the* Forum
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and Black's offices at 123 N. Jackon St.. Athens. Ga.
I would like to congratulate the
Red and Black for printing two ap
propriate editorials back to back on
Wednesday, April 11th. One edito
rial was by Sterling which exempli
fied just how environmentally
ignorant some people are, and il
lustrates that we ’grand a-head s’ (I
take this term to mean people who
care about the planet on wnich we
live) have a lot of work ahead of us.
The other editorial was written by
Smith who gave a prescription for
how to go about protecting and
saving the planet that both
‘granola-heads’ and non-granola-
heads call home. I think the juxta
position of these two articles was a
wonderful illustration of the situa
tion currently facing us today.
Sterling needs to understand that
what ‘granola-heads’ want is for
people to respect the planet (and
all of its forms of life), and a very
easy way to do that is through or
ganically grown produce, but when
pesticides “must” be used, nontoxic
or the least toxic alternatives
MUST be chosen. Sterling is living
in a dream world of 100% belief in
everything that the government of
ficials tell him. WAKE UP AND
SMELL THE COFFEE!! I hope
that Sterling and those like him
soon realize that whether or not his
children and grandchildren have a
safe environment in which to live,
depends on our actions (or lack
thereof) today.
Stephanie Wolk
senior, political science
Moreu: genius or jerk?
On behalf of the Black Affairs
Council I would like to extend our
congratulations to The Red and
Black on their recent winning of
best daily college newspaper. Con
versely though, we are flabber
gasted with Mike Moreu’s being
named best editorial cartoonist.
While some are very good,
Moreu’s cartoons are littered with
racist and anti-feminine overtones.
Furthermore, Moreu has a history
of promoting many negative ste
reotypes in his cartoons. Journal-
ists, especially editorial
cartoonists, have an obligation to
present news and opinions fairly.
Yet, Moreu has breached this sa
cred line of journalism to the point
that most of his cartoons, which
concern women and/or black is
sues, are derogatory.
I don’t doubt that the Society of
Professional Journalists is a cred
ible organization, but I wonder
what message this credible organi
zation is sending to young, aspiring
journalists when it gives such an
award to slime journalism.
In conclusion, I personally would
like to hear Moreu’s thoughts on
many of the subjects he criticizes in
his editorials. Furthermore, I chal
lenge him to publicly present his
thoughts so we can see whether or
not Moreu is guided by intelligence
or by ignorance.
Brenda Williams
Black Affairs Council
Straight to the point
Spectre Collie get a job, a real
job.
Meredith Pugh
Junior, public relations