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■ QUOTABLE
4 • The Red and Black • Fnday. May 18, 1990
OPINIONS
"Interracial couples have been around for years covertly.
They're just more talked about now because that's the trend."
— Daphne Scott, graduate student of counseling and human
development services.
The Red & Black
Katabliahed 1893— Incorporated 1980
An independent student neu tpaper nut affiliated with the University of Georgia
Charlene Smith/Editor-in-Chief
Amy Bellew/Managing Editor
Hogai Nassery/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
Token poll
Does the University faculty want semesters or
quarters? We may never know. A University Council
poll was supposed to find out, but the survey’s results
— submitted to the council’s Executive Committee
Tuesday — might not be valid.
The poll’s results show that the faculty wants
semesters by the slim margin of 37 percent to 36
percent. But faculty are confused about which semester
plan they were voting on. The proposals being
considered have different requirements for how many
classes faculty would have to teach a year.
One professor said she voted for quarters instead of
semesters because she wasn’t sure which conversion
plan was going to be used.
In a College of Education faculty survey in which
quarters and the two semester systems were voted on
seperately, 73 percent of the respondents voted for the
two-classes-a-semester system while the same number
voted against the three-class system. This seems to
indicate the results of the University Council’s poll
might have been very different if each system had been
voted on separately.
The faculty will be most affected by this decision.
Students come and go every year, but the faculty will
have to live with the system as long as they are here.
They deserve a fair and accurate chance to vote. This
poll seems like a token gesture to let the faculty at
large think they’re having real input on the issue.
Real input is what they deserve and they should
demand it.
Other needs
While the library is taking technological strides by
implementing a faster cross-referenced “engine,” some
long-term quandaries have deserved attention, it
seems, since the beginning of time.
Students have other, more basic concerns besides
being able to tap a key and look up every cookbook
written in French during the Baroque period, or how
many pictures of croissants the library has in its folios.
Problems like short library hours, limited staffing
and hours at the periodicals, reference and government
documents desks frustrate students who work and
must study late at night. The escort van stops running
at 1 a.m. except on Fridays, when it stops even earlier.
The phones at the reference desk are often busy and
the government periodicals staff, although helpful and
experienced, is sometimes nowhere to be found.
Most of these desks close at 10 p.m. sharp during
the week and even earlier on weekends. These hours
don’t change with the advent of exams. The unpleasant
reality is that most students postpone their research
projects until the end-of-the-quarter crunch.
The fact that the library closes earlier on weekends
attests to the shortsightedness of the administration.
They should take into account the overspill of working
students who, unable to study during the week, need
weekend library hours for respite before they fall
another week behind in their classwork.
Here’s a solution: Extend library hours daily;
extend escort van hours beyond library hours; and
extend the hours for the reference, periodicals and
government documents desks. This must include hiring
more staff for the desks during exams the way local
bookstores employ “book rush” help.
It should be worthwhile for even one student to
realize the benefits of extended hours and services;
otherwise, the cattle-market mentality of the large
public university tramples upon the individual
students who are paying to study and learn.
Who needs a world-class computer to help the
University play catch-up with Georgia Tech when the
whole library has third-class availability?
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Call soon for a stronger Clean Air Act
As University President Knapp said this past
Monday, the minimum that is expected of citi
zen’s in our democracy, is to vote. But it will
take more than that minimum to ensure that
our environmental problems are seriously ad
dressed. The fight to pass a strong Clean Air
Act-the first great environmental struggle of
the 19908--i8 drawing to a climax.
Round two of the Clean Air Act drama begins
the week of May 21st, as the House of Rep
resentatives considers amendments to House
Bill 3030. Unless concerned citizens convince
Congress to improve this bill, we risk being left
with the illusion of environmental protection,
rather than its substance.
H.B. 3030 is a considerably watered-down
version of an originally strong proposal. The
current version would not fully protect public
health or ensure enforcement and compliance
with the law. It should be reported out of com
mittee and sent to the full House this week.
Clean air advocates are ready with strength
ening floor amendments. Since Clean Air Act
revisions are few and far between (the last oc
curred in 1977), this is your last opportunity to
affect the basic air quality legislation which
will take our country into the 21st century.
In the battle over House amendments, con
servative Southern Democrats like Athens’
Doug Barnard will play an important role. I
urge concerned readers to contact Con
gressman Barnard’s Washington office (202-
225-4101) and ask that he support the following
amendments:
• The Waxman Permits and Enforce
ments Amendment is the single most impor
tant amendment proposed. It would ensure
that Clean Air regulations are uniformly and
evenly enforced. H.B. 3030 in its current ver
sion actually weakens existing enforcement
statutes, even as it increases pollution control
targets. That is a deadly combination, giving
companies even greater incentives than they
now have to break the law.
Most importantly, the Waxman amendment
would preserve the federal Environmental Pro
tection Agency’s mandate to enforce pollution
standards if states fail to do so. Without rea
sonably uniform enforcement standards, indus
tries will seek out those states with the weakest
enforcement. This would set up a competition
between individual states-the most negligent
would be rewarded with increased industrial
growth.
• The Wax man/Lewis Clean Cars-Clean
Fuels Amendment would require use of alter
native fuels and more fuel-efficient cars in the
nine most heavily polluted American cities by
the late 1990s.
9 The Richardson/Madigan Reformu
lated Gas Amendment would mandate
cleaner burning fuels by the late 1990s. This
and the foregoing amendment are needed if we
are to make a dent in our most heavily polluted
cities.
9 The Bates Rapid Phaseout of CFC's
Amendment or big floppy hats and sung
lasses. (I’m not sure my aofps smart enough to
keep his on all the time).
9 The Widen Regional Haze and Na
tional Parks Amendment would put teeth in
current law which establishes visual quality
standards for many western national parks.
Without this amendment, you won’t be able to
see across The Canyon when you finally make
the trip.
Most House members will sign onto the final
Clean Air bill, so they can take credit for voting
for the environment. The real votes will take
place on the strengthening amendments. Be
sure to ask Congressman Barnard to support
these specific amendments, especially Wax-
man’s Permits and Enforcements Amendment.
Students or other out-of-towners can reach
your hometown Representative’s office through
the Capitol switchboard (202-224-3121); just
call and ask for their office. You don’t have to be
18 years old, or registered to vote to voice your
opinion.The Sierra Club’s Clean Air Act hotline
(202-547-5550) provides up-to-date information
on the Act’s progress. Call today for Clean Air!
Phil Cafero is vice-chair of the Athens Sierra
Club.
Chinese political horizon looks dreary
During the spring of 1989, the eyes of the
world turned toward Beijing’s Tiananmen
Square to observe the protest efforts of the
Chinese students. In a relativley rapid period
following the death of Hu Yaobang, an under
current of discontent among the Chinese people
exploded into an immense demonstration
calling for improvements in human and polit
ical rights and an end to government corrup
tion. The Chinese government immediately
maligned the students as counterrevolutionary
troublemakers, and imposed martial law in the
capital. Finally, the crackdown culminated in
the use of lethal foce against the unarmed, in
nocent students.
For a time, China-watchers all over the
world were mesmerized by the magnitude of
the demonstration. Many observers were opti
mistic that such a large public protest may fi
nally bring about democratszaton in China.
When one looks at the situation more closely, it
is obvious that much of the optimism was un
founded. Many factors prevented the complete
success of the protest in achieving the reforms
for which some had hoped .
One hindrance to the success of the protest
was that the students underestimatd the un
bridled desire of the aged Chinese leaders to
maintain power and to keeep their positions at
all costs. The leaders are obviously willing to
use any necessary force and restrictions of
freedom against their own people to keep them
in line.
Even international public opinion could not
deter the leaders from brutalizing their own
Don
Rodgers
people. Their glaring insensitivity to external
pressure is evident from a pronouncement of
the architect of the crackdown, Deng Xiaoping,
who stated: “It is hard to shed no blood at all.
Don’t be afraid of international public opinion.”
A second blunder on the part of the students
was that they gave credence to the leader’s
public uttterances concerning the regime’s com
mittment to political reform. For that reason,
they attempted to effect a fundamental change
in the existing politiccd framework. They did
not know that the regime wanted only cosmetic
surgery on the beleaguered political system.
Another problem that the Chinese students
and intellectuals faced was their own failure in
conceptualizing the specific social and political
problems facing China, and using that concep
tualization to provide a solid agenda for
change. While there were efforts made by some
scholars to plot a course for reform, it appears
that these efforts fell short. It is unclear
whether the reformers know exactly what type
of reforms they wish to carry out, or equally as
important, how they wish to carry them out. It
is not enough for the protesors to say they want
democracy; they must provide a clear definition
of what they mean by democracy, and create a
clear agenda of how they will develop a system
of democracy that will be workable in China.
Part of the reason for the failure of the stu
dents to develop a clear agenda may have been
an internal rift in the pro-democracy
movement. There was a divergence of views
among the student leaders concerning strategy,
and at a critical juncture this disunity proved
fatal.
Because the protest of last spring developed
rather rapidly, the student’s lack of a clear and
coherent agenda made the achievement of any
long term gains unlikely. A lack of sophisti
cation in leadership skills and inflexibility in
strategies and tactics in the face of a ruthless
and formidable enemy brought about tragic
consequences.
Due to the unyielding nature of the Chinese
leadership, the students and intellectuals in
China must be prepared to carry out a long and
well thought out struggle in order to bring
about significant political and social change. It
will be their responsibility to continue to work
toward the development of a cohesive
movement with a strong agenda for change.
Until this is accomplished, the heavy handed
tactics for the Chinese leadership are likely to
silence any serious calls for reform.
Don Rodgers is a political science graduate stu
dent. This is the fourth in a series of columns by
the political science department.
Animal research necessary
■ FORUM
□ The Red and Black welcomes letters to the editor and phots them in the forum
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and Black's offices et 123 N. Jackon St. Athens, Ga.
There is a basic difference be
tween abusing animals and using
animals in research. Animal re
search vields products which im
prove the qualify of both human
and animal lives. These animals
are well cared for and are defin-
ately not abused in scientific re
search laboratories. Having
worked in such a research labo
ratory, I can attest to this fact.
In those situations where an
imal abuse is occuring it must be
stopped. However, to demand an
end to all animal research-espe-
cially without realizing the bene
fits gained from it- is an act which
will not gain universal support.
Clear-thinking individuals with
an interest in both human and an
imal welfare must be willing to
work together to develop a solution
to satisfy all parties. Animal re
search without animal abuse is
possible.
Rajeev Saxena
senior, business
Score one for Curran
Commercial radio does pollute
the University bus system, just as
Casey Curran stated so well in his
column. I was astonished when I
first rode the campus bus that “mo
ronic, pointless, and annoying”
garbage rock music was a manda
tory part of the otherwise pleasant
bus ride across campus. Subse
quent bus trips have not been any
better! The moronic stuff wails on,
and on, and on! I walk wherever I
can, weather permitting.
I feel that it is past time to ex
amine the persistent messages in
this garbage rock music. Through
the steady din of amplified wailing
and drum-banging comes the
spoken evidence of neuroses and
psychoses that have been dis
cussed in psychology and sociology
courses for decades; why must we
listen to this on the our buses?
Why must we be the captive audi
ence of the hucksters who would
saturate our lives with adver
tising? Thanks for speaking your
mind on this, Casey!
Q. T. Martin
graduate student.
Instructional tech.
,r
I