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4 • The Red and Black • Wednesday, May 9, 1990
■ QUOTABLE
OPINIONS
"All It takes Is a lot of patience, a good computer and a little
talent."
— freshman pre-med major (name withheld), on making false
l.d.'s.
The Red & Black
h'stabliiKtd 1893—Incorporated 1980
An indeptndtnl itudent vuipaptr not affiUattd uith Cht L’ninruty of Gtorgua
Charlene Smith/Editor-in-Chief
Amy Bellew/Managing Editor
Hogai Nassery/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
Proactive
In recent years, the University and the Greek Life
•Office have been very effective in spotting potential
problems and taking corrective measures before they
were actually needed. Call it preventive maintenance.
Now the University’s Self Study has provided a
means to perform some more of this maintenance and
bring needed reforms to the Greek system. The Self-
Study Subcommittee on Student Activities and
Student Judiciary proposed some changes in the way
the Greek system operates, and the University needs to
give them serious thought.
Attention needs to be focused on these early reports
because by the time they go through another committee
and are combined into a single Self-Study report, there
won’t be much left for University administrators to
consider. Each step in the bureaucracy will, no doubt,
dilute the recommendations and the final report is apt
to be watered down into a set of general guidelines.
The Student Activities subcommittee didn’t just
pull their recommendations out of thin air. Committee
members have spent almost a year preparing and
researching their report, and their recommendations
closely resemble recent American Council on Education
guidelines for Greek reform nationwide.
If University administrators fail to take advantage
of these in-depth and specific reports, then they are
ignoring the resources available to them.
One of the subcommittee’s recommendations calls
for an organization’s recognition to be based on its
performance. If Greek organizations aren’t performing
to accepted standards, then they don’t deserve the
privileges associated with University recognition.
Each year, during the University’s budget process,
schools, departments and divisions must justify their
budgets. It seems only fitting that campus
organizations should have to justify their continued
University support and recognition in the same way.
Fraternities and sororities all over the country are
having problems that have been avoided here because
the University has taken progressive steps to control
large parties and make the organizations responsible
for liability.
The University can’t afford to spoil that record now.
The Greek system is in serious need of progressive
racial integration. Only one or two traditionally white
fraternities have a black member and no traditionally
black fraternities have white members. Currently,
there are no integrated sorority chapters at the
University.
Integration is a two-way street. Greek integration
could go a long way toward easing racial tensions on
campus. Since the traditionally white Greek
organizations are primarily social, integrating them
would bring down the social barriers between the races.
The rest of the University is required to integrate
and social organizations should be no exception. The
transition may be a little rough at first, but it could put
the University on the road to being intolerant of the
subtle racism of both the black and white Greek
systems.
Integration is just one of the issues raised by a Self-
Study committee. Other committees are studying most
other areas of the University and their
recommendations should not be overlooked as
committee reports often are when they fall into the
hands of administrators.
Now is the time to take a look at how the University
is doing and continue its history of stopping problems
before they arise.
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Attitudes on cheating need to change
The Student Conduct Regulations spell out a
high set of standards for academic honesty in
every aspect of every class at the University of
Georgia. However, there is a grave problem at
the University with students violating these
standards. The most common problems are
cheating on examinations and plagiarism. Did
you know that if you let your roommate rewrite
a sentence in your paper and you don’t credit
them for it, then you’ve committed plagiarism?
Another problem may rest with the student
attitude towards cheating. If you saw someone
cheat on an examination, would you let the pro
fessor know about it? How about if they turned
in someone else’s work as their own?
You may ask, “what’s so bad about academic
dishonesty?" Well, is it fair to give Jane the
same course grade as John if Jane cheated on
every test and John studied two hours each
night? Is it fair to John’s future employer to
give John a paper which declares his compe
tency in Poultry Science, if he has cheated
rather than learning the material? Is it fair to
students who get suspended for academic dis
honesty to find out that so many others get
away with it? And is it fair to our graduates for
the integrity and the reputation of the Univer
sity to he undermined in this way?
Regarding apathy among professors, my ex
perience is that some professors simply believe
that all students have integrity. For example,
one of my professors gave an examination and
left the room for long periods of time. A small
group of students decided to take advantage of
the situation by comparing answers. One pro
fessor I spoke with (not wishing to be identified)
noted three more problems as follows: occasion
ally, research professors may put teaching
second in their priorities; there are no mean
ingful rewards (i.e. monetary) to being a good
professor versus being a mediocre one; and
many professors do not wish to work with the
Office of Judicial Programs (OJP).
When professors choose not to work with the
OJP, they have the following alternatives: ig
nore the cheating or circumvent due process by
assigning a lower grade and thus leaving them
selves open to a lawsuit. Neither of these alter
natives seems appropriate. I believe that if a
student cheats, the University and the student
body have a right to know about it and to decide
whether or not to allow that student to continue
studying at the University. Further, if the stu
dent is a repeat offender, not reporting the
problem to the OJP may mask the severity of
the offense since the professor could not know
about the conduct of the student in other
classes.
Thus, working with the OJP is one way to
confront the issue of academic dishonesty. Un
fortunately, few people really understand how
the OJP works. Basically, anyone — student,
professor, staff — can bring a complaint to
Roger Lee at the OJP (in the Academic
Building). Together, they decide if there is
enough evidence for the University to request a
hearing.
Rather than seeing more offenders caught, I
would personally prefer to see the problem
eradicated. If all professors, who are in a much
better position to oversee the situation than are
students, would take just a few precautions,
perhaps we can see academic dishonesty disap
pear mom our campus. Here are a few of the
many suggestions from faculty which are out
lined in the OJP brochure for faculty: actively
proctor exams; spread students out or use color
coded A & B tests; have class materials placed
on the floor; use blue hooks, but collect and re
distribute; use a seating chart if possible;
sharing calculators is a problem; wearing base
ball caps can be a problem, but the list goes on
— so get the brochure. Earn an honest educa
tion and give credit where credit is due, not
where it’s duped.
Todd Kornahrens is a senior political science
and economics major and a member of the Stu
dent Judiciary Society.
Those who criticize do not understand
On May 19, 1925, a world renowned voice of
the black community , Malcolm X, was born.
Like many such prolific African-American
leaders, his accomplishments go largely unno
ticed and misunderstood. The very mention of
his name invokes fear and hatred in many
Americans. However, upon closer scrutiny of
the evolution of the man and his beliefs, these
feelings are unfounded. Two primary points
fuel the negative attitudes against him:
1. His early speeches and writings displayed
strong hostility toward white people, due to
their oppressive treatment of African-Ameri
cans. White Americans were viewed by him as
“blue-eyed devils".
2. He believed that African-Americans
should defend themselves against all aggres
sors, white or otherwise.
Malcolm X was a member of a generation
which he felt did little to improve the plight of
black America. He grew up at a time when Jim
Crow laws and other segregation laws were
firmly intact, along with numerous brutal
lynchings of black men that were “common
place".
In his early speeches, he viewed white men
as slave masters and felt that white America
was evil. One thing to keep in mind is he made
these early speeches in the 1950’s, when
America was changing very slowly. Racist poli-
ticans like Alabama Governor George Wallace
were building coalitions against any progres
sive legislation. Malcolm’s interaction with
whites up to this time was limited and usually
negative.
During his trips abroad to places like Mecca,
Saudi Arabia, he discovered that his condemna
tion of all of white America was wrong: “ In the
past, yes, I have made sweeping indictments of
all white people. I will never be guilty of that
again-as I know now that some white people
are truly sincere, that some are truly capable of
being brotherly toward the black man."
Malcolm was a strong, outspoken leader
during the Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm X
did not advocate passive resistance, nor did he
advocate violent acts. Throughout his career,
he urged blacks to defend themselves against
violent attacks. A quote from one of his many
speeches confirms tnis point: “Do nothing unto
anyone that you would not have done to your
self. Seek peace and never be the aggressor —
but if anyone attacks you, we do not teach you
to turn the other cheek."
He gained the most notoriety for the fol
lowing quote: “I firmly believe that (African-
Americans) have the right to fight against
these racists, by any means necessary." This
comment was a statement embracing self-de
fense, not overt violence. He had many other
words of wisdom. He encouraged African-Amer
icans to love and respect the black woman, who
has been a constant pillar of strength in the Af
rican-American community. He advised the
poor to observe the injustice of their living con
ditions and to compare them to that of the
wealthy and elite. He wanted his people to
know their history.
Malcolm X was a brilliant man, bom ahead
of his time. He was not perfect, but the same is
true for any prominent lender of this nation.
Many say that Malcolm X was a radical.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, a radical is
“someone disposed to make extreme changes in
existing views, habits, or customs.” Are basic
human rights a radical concept? Is the idea of
not allowing someone to attack you or to spit
uoon you an outlandish idea? Malcolm X can be
admired for unapologetically speaking his mind
and revealing the ir\justices as he saw them in
America. How many prominent figures can
these qualities he applied to today?
Before you condemn, try to comprehend.
Richard Martin is a freshman biology major.
NRA criminal support group
■ FORUM
□ The 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 writer. Please include student classifi
cation, major, and 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.
Your editorial titled “Demand
Control" was right on target.
Anyone with even an elementary
understanding of constitutional
law knows that there are no “abso
lute" constitutional rights. There
fore, while the Second Amendment
protects a general right to bear
arms, it does not guarantee the
right of everyone in all situations
to bear arms.
As the owner of several guns, I
would fight for the right of respon
sible, law-abiding citizens to pos
sess guns. However, criminals who
pose danger to society should not
oe allowed to purchase weapons.
Recently, I purchased a .357
pistol. I was astounded by discov
ering how easy it is to buy such a
powerful gun. Of course, there was
no call to anv law enforcement of
fice to see if I had a criminal re
cord.
The NRA is opposed to waiting
periods and inquiries being made
prior to purchasing a gun. Conse
quently, this organization protects
the ability of dangerous criminals
to purchase weapons. The NRA
probably has a legitimate place in
our society, but its present inter
pretation of the Second Amend
ment is irrational and incorrect.
Virgil Theus
third year/law school
Save the people?
1 wish everyone in Athens,
would stop using the phrase “Save
the Earth 11 . If you think Earth Day
or recycling or anything else in
volving environmental responsibi
lity is about saving the Earth,
you’re kidding yourself.
The Earth is quite capable of
saving itself. The problems we’ve
created with the global environ
ment are proof of this: to save it
self, all the Earth has to do is get
rid of us. Once we have killed
enough species, fouled enough
seas, burned enough forests, and
ripped a big enough hole in the
ozone layer, the Earth will be de
lighted to oblige us by rendering
our species extinct. That's what
will save the Earth.
The problem, folks, is saving
ourselves. Earth Day should be
about people, not planets. I’m
afraid all this “Save the Earth”
stuff is just a big evasion. Once we
get this sudden rush to recycle out
of our systems-sometime next
week-will we feel too smug and
self-satisfied to be bothered with
trivialities like poverty, social in
equality, war-in other words, to
Save the People?
Joseph Walsh
graduate student