Newspaper Page Text
4 • The Red and Black • Wednesday. April 25, 1990
OPINIONS
■ QUOTABLE
white's only' sign to a black person.'
— Michelle Stevens, a graduate student in rehabilitative coun-
seling.
The Red & Black
Ettabaihed 1893—Incorporated 1980
An wdtptndtnl student neu spaper not otfUiated uith the L'nuemty of Georgia
Charlene Smith/Editor-in-Chief
Amy Bellew/Managing Editor
Hogai Nassery/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
Get qualified
This week, five Athens citizens will qualify to run
for seats on the Athens City Council. If University
students want to influence city politics on issues that
affect them, now is the time to act.
A student council member would give the campus
the real voting power it deserves. Students are a strong
economic force in Athens. They should have a political
voice as well. The council thrives on passing ordinances
to control student behavior, and if students don’t speak
up, they have no room to complain.
In past races, two students have tried to run for city
council. One didn’t qualify because she was under 21.
The other failed to meet qualification requirements
before the deadline. Let’s not be left out this year.
Students need a voting representative on the
council, which makes rules that affect them. The
following are just a few of the issues the council
addresses that directly affect students.
• Zoning. This directly applies to students when
the council starts discussing how many unrelated
people may live together. Whether households
consisting of five students in some areas of town should
have to move comes up every once in a while. Students
who have had to move in the middle of the quarter
because of a council zoning vote know how this affects
off-campus living.
• Transportation. The council has banned biking
and skateboarding on city sidewalks, but won’t install
bike paths. The hundreds of students who rely on
bicycles to get around should be represented.
• Parking. The council decides when to raise fines
for parking violations and when to increase parking
meter fees. Anyone who works, shops or has any
business at all downtown is affected by this. And with
the lack of parking on campus, students sometimes
have to park downtown to go to class.
• Alcohol. This issue sparks more student interest
in city politics than all other issues combined. But
because students don’t seem to be interested in council
business on any other issue, they are not taken
seriously in these efforts. The reason students can’t
drink beer on downtown sidewalks and the reason bars
close early is that the council voted it that way. A
student vote might have changed these decisions.
• Historic Preservation. Another agenda item
that fills the council chambers with students. If all the
students involved with this cause got behind a city
council candidate, they could save other houses from
the wrecking ball, the fate of the historic Hull-Snelling
house.
• Traffic. The city refuses to close Baldwin Street
to day-time traffic, necessitating the understaffed
University Police to waste a few patrols out there
writing tickets to people who stop in the middle of it. If
students were there to vote, the whole problem might
be solved.
Representation is a must if students are ever going
to effect a change in Athens, where most spend four
years of their lives. The University brings money,
thousands of jobs, as well as research and cultural
facilities to the city.
At the very least, students must register to vote in
Athens. All it takes is a trip to the courthouse with a
picture ID and a utility bill or other piece of mail with
your Athens address on it. The courthouse is downtown
on Clayton Street.
The University is divided into different wards. If all
students voted, they could control four of the five
wards. Considering the potential political strength
students could have, it’s a shame to keep letting the
city folks make all the rules.
STAFF
NEWS: 543-1809
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jOncA£jibii''e
This is a
Japanese
pew.
Japanese Minimalism:
blcs*om of chrysanthemum
on wintry wind fingers
fall down go boom
This is a
2co year-old
Japanese
tree.
This isa
Japanese
trade
concession
Abortion: discrimination against fetus
The upcoming Human Rights Festival will
give us all the opportunity to educate ourselves
and express our concerns about the value of
human life. However, abortion, the very prac
tice that has done most to destroy the sanctity
of human life, will be overlooked. Why is the
most basic human right, life itself, being ig
nored? Why does the U.S., a nation that hope
fully sets a precedent in the area of human
rights, still condone the inhumane termination
of over 1.6 million innocent lives every year?
Perhaps if we look at our nation’s history, we
might find an answer. Though equality was one
of the primary ideals on which our nation was
founded, we have consistently violated this
principle through numerous acts of discrimina
tion. The acquisition of the Indians’ rightful
homeland and the enslavement of Africans are
two of the many examples of how our nation
has acted on its prejudices. Why have we
judged life that is in some way different than
our own to be of less value? Abortion is yet an
other clear case of discrimination. Millions of
human lives have been terminated simply be
cause they were in the early stages of devel
opment.
If abortion is to be considered a human rights
issue, it must be established that the pre-bom
life is human. Not only religious scripture, but
also scientific documents have proven this to be
true. Scientific observations have time and
time again shown evidence of numerous vital
signs, distinctly human, well into the first tri-
A
Kinzey MR
mester of pregnancy. Indeed, if the fetus is not
a life, then what is aborted?
Some argue that because the fetus is totally
dependent on the mother to sustain its life, it is
also subject to the wishes of the mother. If this
is true, then why are we starting to prosecute
mothers whose babies are damaged due to the
mother’s use of illegal drugs during pregnancy?
We are not allowing a woman to damage her
baby, but we are allowing her to terminate her
baby’s life. This is highly inconsistent. We must
also remind ourselves that it is not possible for
a newborn to survive on its own without the
care of some sort of parental figure. Since none
of us reach our full development until we die a
natural death, how are we able to determine at
what point human life has reached its greatest
valuer
Now we come to the most controversial ques
tion: Does government have the right to impose
morality on its citizens? In certain cases, the
government has not only the right, but also the
duty to do so. Most laws which are necessary to
provide social order are based on morality. The
practice of abortion is definitely a disruption of
social order. Every third child concieved in the
United States is aborted. Ninety-seven percent
of those abortions are for birth control and
gender selection. In 90 percent of all gender se
lection cases, females are aborted. Only three
percent of the 1.6 million abortions performed
in the U.S. each year are for the resons of rape,
incest or life of the mother. If innocent human
lives are to be protected, and social order is to
be maintained, abortion on demand must be
eliminated.
Until the time comes when greater restric
tions are placed on the practice of abortion —if
that time ever arrives— we must take steps to
prevent so many abortions from occurring.
Blocking abortion clinics is not the answer. The
most effective method is to center our efforts
around the woman. We need to offer and em
phasize positive alternatives to women in crisis
pregnancies. Providing prenatal care, job
training, help in finding financial assistance,
and counseling are measures already offered by
many organizations. However, greater effort is
needed. If these actions will help to end the kill
ings of millions of innocent lives, and provide a
better life for the mothers, it will be money and
time well spent.
Janet Kinzey is a freshman political science
major.
Pro-choice movement is really pro-life
The abortion debate in America has been
boiled down to “a fetus’ right to life v. a
woman’s right to control her body”. We have an
insular and limited view of the significance of
reproductive choice: choose a side, buy a
bumper sticker and don’t worry too much about
it after election time. We are largely unaware of
(or unconcerned with) the consequences of our
actions on other countries. In typical ethnocen
tric fashion, we see abortion as an American
issue. Certainly we have problems with access
and availibility in our own country, but it is
crucial that we take a world perspective and
understand what it means on a global scale
when women are unable to control their bodies.
With the Reagan administration, we began
withholding family planning dollars in order to
force countries receiving our aid not to provide
abortion services. This foreign policy denies
women in other countries a choice to which
American women are legally entitled. Many
countries that desperately need our aid ac
quiesce and follow U.S. dictates in their own
family planning policies.
The availibility of abortion is directly related
to women’s health and to the quality of health
care that they receive. In countries where abor
tion is illegal (like Brazil, which has roughly
half the population of the U.S. but about twice
as many abortions annually), women are forced
into unsanitary, life-threatening situations in
order to control reproduction. Hospitals and
doctors refuse to treat women who miscarry 01
botch a self-abortion; they fear that they will bf
Hope
Morrison
accused of performing an abortion and will face
the ensuing harsh penalties.
How can we hope to eradicate world hunger
if women cannot effectively limit their fertility?
The attitude that denies a woman control over
her own body not only compounds existing
problems, it creates an atmosphere in which
women’s (and children’s) general health suf
fers. Third-world countries provide glaring ex
amples of this: maternal malnutrition and lack
of adequate pre- and post-natal care result in
high maternal and infant mortality rates; chil
dren that do survive commonly suffer from
hunger and poor health care. Women are as
.-^Derate to control their fertility as they are to
,ea their families. Enticed into U.S.-supported
clinics - with the promise of a chicken for the
daily meal if they submit to contraceptive treat
ment - women are given dangerous birth con
trol shots that the FDA won’t allow here.
Women for whom pregnancy would be a
hreat (to their well-being or to that of their
families) must have safe, effective methods of
contraception. Since there are not yet any 100%
effective methods, abortion is a necessary ‘plan
B’ for a truly reliable family planning program.
Birth control methods, on a global scale,
leave much to be desired, largely thanks to
anti-abortion efforts that have virtually halted
contraceptive research. (At the time of ROE v
WADE, there were more than 10 companies
worldwide doing this research. Today there are
about 3.) These groups have also taken an out
spoken position against some of the most effec
tive methods of contraception availible, like the
pill or IUD which in some cases work as aborti-
facients. Their response to RU486 has kept this
potential wonder drug from U.S. research and
distribution.
The pro-choice position is pro-life. If we don’t
respect a woman’s right to make her own repro
ductive choices, we aren’t just denying her a
safe, efficient means of birth control (and a safe
abortion that is the necessary back-up for effec
tive family planning.) We are also jeopardizing
her well-being and that of the children she does
choose to have.
Abortion is a legal, legitimate and essential
part of family planning in the U.S. It is an out
rage that the personal opinions of our adminis
tration blatantly dictate otherwise in our
foreign policy. What we do here - and what we
allow our policymakers to do - has a very real,
worldwide impact on women and their families.
It is time we address the global problem and
fight for everyone’s lives.
Hope Morrison is a senior romance languages
major.
Curran needs headphones
■ FORUM
□ The Red and Black welcomes letters to the editor and prints them in the Forum
column as space permits. Ail letters are subject to editing for length, style and li
belous material. Letters should be typed, doublespaced and must include the name,
address and daybme 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 don’t know what species of eli-
test, isolationist bug has crawled
into Casey Curran’s underwear,
but the irritation of its presence
seems to be affecting his judge
ment.
It’s ridiculous to assert that by
playing commercial radio broad
casts the University effectively en
dorses the advertised products. If
one were to follow this line of
thought, it could be suggested that
the University introduce a dress
code. This regulation would allow
students to wear only those name
brand fashions licensed to the Uni-
veristy. Also, might you be expelled
for conspicuously drinking a Pepsi
on this all Coke campus?
The bus drivers have their tastes
and it’s true that many riders
might not concur with their
choices. However, since a driver’s
shift lasts several hours and the
average bus ride is only 5-10 min
utes, I think the driver should
choose the radio station. Besides, if
Curran would wear headphones on
the bus, the ride could be much
more bearable for all. He would not
have to hear, “I Want a Redneck
Girl” and the rest of us could avoid
the newest hit from Tuneless Euro-
Trash or Mozart’s “Piano Concerto
No. Ad Nauseum in E-Mqjor".
Brian Johnston
sophomore, pre-journalism
Sterling too harsh
R. Gabriel Sterling harshly crit
icized Michael Stipe and Meryl
Streep for taking strong positions
with regard to environmental is
sues. As a seventy-year old reader
of The Red and Black, may I say
“Hurrah” for Stipe, Dennis
Weaver, and any other celebrity
willing to speak out for cleaner air
and water, a safer food supply, pro
tection of forests and wetlands, and
for conservation and recycling of
our resources. These courageous
stars deserve not our criticism but
our praise, for they could just as
easily enjoy the fruits of their suc
cesses without any concern for the
future of our world.
You, Mr. Sterling, and my chil
dren and grandchildren deserve a
better future than is predicted by
many who fear a decline in the
quality of life unless greater con
cern is given to its protection.
Mary C. Ayer*
Athens resident