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4 • The Red and Black • Thursday, May 17, 1990
OPINIONS
The Red & Black
1893—Incorporated 1980
An mdeptndtnt $tud*rU fitutpaptr not afKliaUd with tht University of Georgia
Charlene Smith/Editor-in-Chief
Amy Bellew/Managing Editor
Hogai Nassery/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
Get the facts
All this week, state officials and campaigners for
various offices are in Athens to kick off the Vote ’90
registration drive. They’re all smiling, shaking hands,
giving speeches and talking about how to be a good
citizen. They extol the virtues of voting, the importance
of participating in a democracy, then turn students
away from the registration tables with false
information.
The Secretary of State’s office and the Internal
Revenue Service seem to have different opinions of how
voter registration affects taxes. The Secretary of State’s
office says that if students register to vote in Clarke
County, it could cause tax problems for their parents if
their parents claim them as dependents.
The IRS says that is not the case. Changing legal
residence doesn’t disallow students’ parents from
claiming them on their tax forms.
Perhaps this is an honest misunderstanding
between the two offices, but it must be cleared up
before more students decide to just play it safe and vote
at home — not in Athens where they spend most of
their time and money.
The IRS public affairs office in Atlanta says that
there are five tests for dependency. They are:
• RELATIONSHIP/MEMBER OF HOUSEHOLD
Those who have an immediate family relationship
to the taxpayer, whether by birth or marriage, do not
have to live with the taxpayer during any part of the
tax year to be his or her dependent.
Those who the taxpayer claims as dependents that
are not part of his or her family must live with the him
or her during the year.
• U S. CITIZENSHIP OR RESIDENCY
Persons claimed as dependents must be U.S.
citizens or residents.
• JOINT RETURN
When they are joint-filers, members of the same
household.
• MARRIED DEPENDENTS
A married couple; one or both must meet the
relationship/member of household requirements and
the taxpayer must provide at least half of his or her
income to be dependents.
•TOTAL SUPPORT
Those under 18 for whom the taxpayer provides one
half or more of income. Those 19 to 24 who are full-time
students (as defined by their school), and who make
less than $2,000 for whom taxpayer supplies at least
half of income.
Voter registration is not an issue of dependency. In
the middle of this widely publicized registration drive,
it’s a shame that the local and state officials can’t even
provide accurate registration information.
At worst, they are making people afraid to register
in Clarke County for fear their financial aid would be
affected by their dependency status; or that their
parents will be audited. At best, they are giving people
a good excuse not to vote.
We applaud the efforts of all of those involved with
the passage of the new law, which makes it possible for
students to register at school to vote in their home
counties. The sponsoring organizations of Vote ’90 also
deserve a lot of credit for the enormous amount of work
they’ve put into this week’s events, and we applaud
them. But if a student wishes to become a legal
resident of Clarke County, and accept all the
responsibilities this entails, he or she should not be
discouraged with inaccurate information.
STAFF
NEWS: 543-1809
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Gorbachev pragmatic not benevolent
“Oh that I had Micky Gorbachev’s PR man,”
were the words uttered by Oliver North at a
College Republican banquet last July. How true
it is that Mikhail Gorbachev has been basking
in the glory of Western public opinion. The cult
of personality surrounding him has become so
great outside of the Soviet Union that it fosters
a tendency to overlook any of his actions that do
not fit the image that Gorbachev and his pub
licity staff have so cleverly created.
Awestruck Americans have been hood
winked into believing that Gorbachev has
somehow brought about some of the revolu
tionary events in Eastern Europe. In reality,
Gorbachev is a skillful politician who has been
driven toward liberalism by events over which
he had absolutely no control. Gorbachev was
driven to reform because he had no choice.
Even fake statistics couldn’t hide the fact that
the Soviet economy was in the hole. The official
Soviet poverty level is set at 900 rubles per
person, per year ($1,413 a year by the official
rate of exchange and $90 by the market rate).
Tass, the Soviet news agency, reports that 43
million Soviet citizens are under the poverty
level, and fully 40 percent of Soviet families live
on less than 1200 rubles a month. Contrary to
the popluar myth that nobody goes hungry in
the Soviet Union, the consumption of meat and
dairy products by the Soviet poor has declined
by 30 percent since 1970. It is clear that
Gorbachev’s
One wonders if Gorbachev’s revolutionary
changes will ever please America’s political
Right. The idea that the Soviet bear is still
sharpening its claws threatens to impede con
structive U.S. foreign policy changes.
Those who argue that Gorbachev’s political
and economic changes are a “hoax”, lack any le
gitimate, intelligent support for their argu
ment. The consensus of foreign policy
specialists is clear: Gorbachev’s changes are en
trenched and there’s no going back now.
No one denies the fact that economics was
the original factor motivating Gorbachev. How
ever, in order to insure perestroika’s success,
the Soviet Union has been forced to institutio
nalize irreversible changes both domestically
and internationally. For example, the Soviet
Union’s human rights record has improved dra
matically since 1985. In 1987, there began a
large-scale release of political prisoners, and
their emigration policy has undergone reform,
as well. Authorities have also ended the perse
cution of dissidents and religious activists.
There have been changes in the arts and lit
erature. Controls on the theatre and on films
have been relaxed, and previously censored
books have been published once again.
In the Third World, a popular site of East-
West rivalry, the Soviet Union’s antagonistic
behavior has changed. According to a CIA re
port released in April, military aid to Third
World countries declined by approximately $2
opening the USSR up to Western markets was
an act of desperation, not of goodwill.
Now that Gorbachev has been elected the So
viet Union’s first President (although by a sur
prisingly small vote considering that he was
the only candidate), he’s already shown us that
this is not necesarily the kinder, gentler Soviet
Union many starry eyed liberals might think it
to be. Although members of the Soviet Union
are supposedly free to join or secede, Gorba
chev’s stifling of Lithuania’s attempts at self-
rule have demonstrated what may be the end of
Gorbachev’s “nice guy” pretense. Gorbachev
has stopped just short of military intervention,
demanding that Lithuania rescind its procla
mation of independence, and sending over 100
military vehicles and tanks to weave through
the streets of Lithuania as a tool of intimida
tion, and a warning to other autonomy
movements that are brewing in Latvia, Es-
billion. Gorbachev publicly denounced Castro’s
support of insurgency groups in Africa and
Central America, and the withdrawal of Soviet
troops from Afghanistan impressed even the
most skeptical critics.
In Eastern Europe, the sacrifices made by
Gorbachev are clear. He allowed the Warsaw
Pact to become a moot force in Europe by giving
his blessing to democratic reform. Concerning
the Baltics, the U.S. is in no position to criticize
Gorbachev’s chosen course of action. His
changes have already come about with aston
ishing rapidity, and it’s unrealistic to expect
that ne can relinquish all geo-strategic toot-
holds at once.
Finally, there is arms control. During the
INF negotiations, Gorbachev agreed to dis
count short-range nuclear forces as well as
those nuclear armaments possesed by England
and France. He has allowed the most intrusive
measures of verification for this treaty by
agreeing to on-site inspection. In conventional
tonia, Georgia, Moldavia, and possibly the Uk
raine. Keep in mind that Gorbachev is no Lech
Walesa. He has not attempted to overthrow the
Communist Party, rather, he has chosen to at
tempt to reform it. And all over the world it is
being discovered that communism is a myth,
and, simply put, FREEDOM WORKS!
TIME Magazine has named Gorbachev “Man
of the Decade.” I’m not trying to diminish the
realistic way in which he responded to the
breakup of the Soviet Empire and to the down
fall of communism. Rather, I suggest that the
real champions of the decade are those that
never lost their faith in freedom. These people
are numbered in the millions in Romania, Po
land, and in all the rest of the countries that are
reclaiming their freedom afler years of repres
sion behind the Iron Curtain.
As Gorbachev continues to take desperate ac
tion to hold the Soviet Union together, as well
as salvage the skydiving economy, we can con
tinue to watch him court the West with false
images of his being a great reformer. I can only
hope that Americans will begin to discern what
the motives are behind Gorbachev’s policy
making, rather than continue to buy into this
mythic image of Gorbachev as a benevolent, de
mocracy-seeking leader.
Molly Mednikow is a senior political science
major.
weaponry, the changes have been even more re
markable. According to the CIA, defense
spending has been reduced by 4 to 5 percent in
1989 alone, and massive unilateral troop with
drawals took place in Eastern Europe.
What if the Soviet Union becomes milita
ristic again, after regaining economic power?
Policy analysts would argue that economic and
political independence enhance stability. With
increased trade and cooperation with the West,
the Soviets will be unwilling to risk renewed
hostility and economic decline in order to resur
rect communist ideology. If the Soviets wanted
to regain military and political dominance over
their neighbors, they would have to go to war.
And remember, nuclear arsenals have kept war
unthinkable since 1945.
There are policy options for the U.S. that
would help Gorbachev achieve his goals. A suc
cessful arms control agreement would certainly
divert Soviet funds to more constructive areas
and lower the risk of nuclear holocaust. Soviets
can benefit from the trade of U.S.-made per
sonal computers, telecommunication tech
nology and energy-efficiency technology. The
U.S. must realize that what benefits Gorba
chev’s reforms benefits the world. We must not
succumb to the dangerous rhetoric of those who
feel that the changes we are witnessing are just
illusions.
Kelly Happe is a junior political science major.
reforms are here to stay
Williams racist, ignorant
■ FORUM
O The Red and Black welcomes letters to the editor and prints them In the Forum
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and Black's offices at 123 N. Jackon SL. Athens. Ga.
In response to Gene Williams’
column, we disagree with Wil
liams’ presupposition that such a
pageant would “...undoubtedly be a
reaction with prejudiced overtones
instead of a celebration of a cul
ture." Isn’t it possible that the
"Miss Black UGA” pageant came
from such a prejudiced reaction?
Members of minorities can be rac
ists, too. But that seems to be okay.
I think that one pageant should
cover everybody. If, however, we
must have different pageants
...why not have “Mr. Native-Born
Greek Baptist Yellowman” pag
eants? Perhaps a “Young Miss
Raised in Kansas Wearing Red
Shoes’ pageant? A “Mr. Jehovah’s
Witness Black, Now a Mormon
White Man In a Dress Legs” pag
eant? Let’s have them all. Of
course, everyone can enter. Person
ally, I’ll enter the “Mr. Miracle
Whip-Eating White Dude UGA”
pageant. Y’see, Miracle Whip is a
part of White Culture in America.
Yes, Gene, there is a White Cul
ture in America-Miracle Whip is
only a small part. You ask if
“...whites in America have the
same common thread of similar ex
periences as blacks?" I assume you
are talking about college-aged
whites since the pageant concerns
college students. Yes, we have at
least one thread. Most of us have
grown up enduring two groups of
people: The prejudiced whites who
call blacks "niggers” and the preju
diced blacks who call us “racists.”
Both groups are angry, ignorant,
and offensive.
Howard R. Brown
senior, Journalism
Proud of human culture
In Gene Williams’ May 1 edito
rial concerning the Miss Black
UGA Pageant, the Top Dog gave
me the impression that people who
are "proud to be white” are less en
lightened, separatist, or even
racist. I am proud to be white. Not
because I would be ashamed to
have any other skin color, but be
cause I am proud of who I am. Does
Gene expect me to be ashamed of
being white? I am not concerned
with whether there is a "white cul
ture." Instead, I am proud of the
“Human Culture.” The only master
race is the human race, and I am
proud to be a part of it.
Alan West
sophomore, general business
True blue heroes
Kudos to Chuck Horton and his
crack team of crime-stopping com
mandos. A mere three University
police officers held back thirty cars
with one magic slip of paper
Thursday. The perpetrator must
have dropped someone off in the
single east bound lane of Baldwin
St., but our blue-clad heroea didn’t
allow the traffic problem to stand
in their way, for they dealt out the
punishment like true protectors of
our society. Such brilliant police
work shouldn’t go unheralded.
Russell Hicks
Junior,englleh