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4 • The Red and Black • Wednesday, Way 23, 1990
OPINIONS
The Red & Black
Established 1893—Incorporated 1980
An independent student newspaper not affiliated with the University of (ieor/pa
Charlene Smith/Editor-in-Chief
Amy Bellew/Managing Editor
Hogai Nassery/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
Welcome to Georgia
The racially motivated incidents on Georgia college
campuses are alarming and shameful. Last month at
the University, a Chinese student from Singapore was
harassed in his Myers Hall room because of his race.
Needless to say, he has come away with an interesting
impression of life in the United States.
But, he has decided to drop charges against the
unknown suspects when he could stick with the
investigation, take a stand that such behavior is wrong
and perhaps keep it from happening to someone else.
It is very difficult to come to any foreign country to
study. There are many barriers to overcome, from
language to culture to religion. Becoming the target of
a racial attack in a new home is traumatic, definitely,
but how the victim reacts to it can affect the likelihood
of such incidents in the future.
As unpleasant as all the attention can be, being the
victim of such close-minded behavior carries a
responsibility of its own.
The minorities on this campus deal with unique
pressures on a daily basis. There are many foreign
students who reside in the Myers Community and
other residence halls on campus. These incidents have
added considerably to those presssures. The University
should do its utmost to ensure that targets of such
attacks receive the support and protection that they
need to orosecute racial offenders.
In return, it is imperative that those who are
unfortunate enough to have to suffer through these
ordeals show the wisdom, courage and endurance to
follow through. At the root of these problems is racism,,
and the only way to get rid of it is to change the way
people think. People must see how much these
ignorant, hateful, thoughtless actions hurt to
understand how very wrong they are.
If the incidents like those in Myers go unnoticed,
the degenerate behavior behind them will only
continue.
Don’t sell out
Can you say “wimp?”
Congress can, and the Democrats have. But that
probably won’t preclude President George Bush’s
decision to once again grant “most favored nation”
status to China, one of the world’s most infamous
human rights violators.
Fourteen months after it enacted a law requiring
the sterilization of mentally handicapped citizens, the
Chinese government announced it had sterilized 6,500
people and plans to sterilize 260,000 altogether. It’s
hard to determine the morals behind this decision,
which is a sadistic solution to China’s overpopulation
dilemma.
On June 3, one day before the first anniversary of
the Tiananmen Square massacre, Bush is required by
law to continue or rescind most favored status, which
guarantees China the same benefits as the United
States’ best trading partners, including the lowest
possible tariff rates on $12 billion in Chinese imports.
Instead of taking a stand and sending a message to
the Chinese government, which has so far proved
impervious to international criticism, or to other
nations, Bush will opt for the almighty dollar over
human rights.
Bush is afraid to disturb the status quo, which has
always been to get cheap goods produced by cheap
communist labor. He is afraid that if the preferred
designation is removed, U.S. consumers will have to
pay higher prices for goods from other nations or buy
American. And China might not be as friendly to U.S.
real estate developers investing there after finding the
U.S. market resistant to its inexpensive goods.
The United States should place no price on human
rights.
STAFF
NEWS: 543-1809
Nmi Mitr Jennifer Rampay
Sport* E4ltor Trtvor Padgatl
EMatikmwt E41 tor Margarot Waaton
Aaaodata Nawa E At ora: Chris Grtmaa. Jennifer
Wilkin
Front Paga Copy EAtor: DaM Johnston
ktoJde Copy ESN ora: Walter Co«, Joel Groover, Mary
RatclifTe. Johanna van der Wat
UGA Today/Wire Editor Robert Mula
Graphics Editor Oavts O'Keeffe
Chief Photographer Peter Frpy
Photo Editor. Maria Clay
Staff Writers: Lynn Barfield. Marta Edwards. Anns
Mane Eangjy. lance Helms. Chnstopher Hightower.
Oars McLeod. Mike McLeod. Stephanie Smrth.
Sandra Staphene. J. 0 SqulWrite, Rohan Todd
Sports Witter: Chris La nee tie
Sped at Secdone, Trende EdKor Cara May
AaaJatairt Special Sect ton a/Tread a Editor
Gloria Rowbotham
Editorial Aaaiatant Pamaia Warren
Cartoonist: Miko Moreu
ADVERTISING: 543-1791
Student A4verasing Managers
Kristi Burnham, Baverty Taylor
Advertising Assistants
Jennifer Devis. Scott Doneldeon. Katherine feindei
I ardor AdvertMag Wspreeontitlvee Sean Eagan.
Krichelle Hatualam, Rick Huggins, Julie Reynolds
Advertising Representatives Shannon Greene,
Karen Haynes. Waiter Henderson, Alan Holcomb.
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Lon Thurman
Assistant Editorial feod Manager: Cnstina Eeindt
Assistant Advertising hsi Manager Mariana
Martin
Production VaR: Andy Ard, Laura Friednch. Andrea
Manaour. lonn Marsh. Elizabeth Mauu. Laura Millar.
Stacy Stenberg. Michelle Wegert
General Manager: Harry Montevideo
Advertising Director: Robin Stoner
Office Manager: Mary Straub
Production Manager Judy Jordan
Claaelflada/Rscaptlonlet: Boverty Vaughn
Credit Manager: Susan Davis
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The Rad and Black is published Tuesday through
Friday during the regular school year and each
Thursday dunng summer quarter, with the adaptions
of holidays and Siam periods, by The Red and Black
Publishing Company Inc. a non-profit campus
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0pinions ripraaiad la Tka Rad and Back other than
unsigned editorials are the opinions of tha writers of
signed columns and not nacasaaniy those of The Rad
and Black Publishing Company Inc. Ail rights
reserved Reprints by permission of the editors
quotable
■We've got more criminals, queers, street people, rich and poor
In Atlanta than anytoodye'se^t former governor and
current gubernatorial candidate
THIS IS THE NUMBER
OF PEOPLE KlUEP&y ONE
DERANGED ISRAELI.
m
-mis isthe num&er
OF PEOPLE KlLlEP PROTESTING
W KILLINGS OFTHE PEOPLE
PROTESTING THE KILUNGS
OF THE PEOPLE PROTESTING*
the killings.
THIS IS THE NUMBER
OF PEOPLE KILLEDPR0H&nN6
THE KILLINGS.
THIS IS the: NUMBER
OF ftOPLE KILLED PRoTESflNG-
THE KILLINGS OF the PEOPLE
PftJTTSTlNGTHE KILLINGS
OF THE PEDPU PROTESTING
THE KILLINGS OF THE FBDPLE
p^SONGTHEKILUNGS.
THIS 6 THE NUMBER
OF PEOPLE killed protesting
the killings of the people
Protesting the KiulNGS.
THIS IS THE NUMBER
OF PEOPLE WHO REMEMBER
THE ORIGINAL KILLINGS.
IHEV'VE ALL BEEN KILLED.
Awareness first step to find solutions
Yeah! Everyday I am more heartened to see
Americans waking up and realizing that there
are other humans existing in this world besides
those dwelling in Western culture. It’s like
Christopher Colombus discovering the world
was round, or a child being chased by mutant
ninja turtles and realizing it was only a night
mare. This is cultural awareness.
We are being bombarded with so much infor
mation concerning the world, it is amazing to
see how some deal with it. There are those who
are brainwashed and choose to block it with ap
athy or ethnocentricism. Others pick up bits
and pieces of information from our sensationa-
listic media, claim to be part of this New Age
awareness, point fingers blaming our govern
ment and expect change overnight. This only
leads to cultural depression. Most of the hot
topics of discussion among our peers become
geered towards the mistakes made by past
presidents and all of his men. Can we really
blame the government? Are they so immortal
and powerful that through them is the only way
to make changes in this world? I don’t think so.
When I think of the Cold War, I picture
Americans with the synthetic stars and stripes
of our flag draped over our eyes as a security
blanket protecting us from “those communists.”
Such tunnel vision made us naive to the rest of
the progressing world. And you ask,“How’d
those Japanese get ahead of us?” I wonder.
We have the means to change the world, but
do we have the will? Changes will not occur by
awareness alone or being labeled as the New
Age generation. We can’t turn global problems
over to God or wear a crystal around our neck
Susanne
Maybin
and hope the force is with us. That’s too easy.
It’s certainly not allowing capitalists to use our
causes as propaganda to make a few bucks
selling Diet Pepsi in a styrofoam cup at an
Earth Day festival. Superficial approaches to
our problems make our efforts seem fad-ish,
convincing potential activists that “things
aren’t as bad as they seem” and the issues are
trendy.
We must change the world together through
communication and responsible leading, not as
disillusioned Americans, but as human beings.
Depending on our government with their
vested interests is a no-win situation. We can’t
blame anyone, nor can we rely on any one
person to change the world.
Making changes through communication
doesn’t mean learning as many fifty-dollar
words as possible and beating your intellectual
drum only to those educated enough to under
stand. This same pompousness has polarized
our social classes to the “haves”and the “have-
nots,” resulting in 3 million homeless in
America. To Darwinistically think that the
homeless or the less-fortunate are there by
their own devises, and we’ve out-performed
them is egocentric and ludicrous. To believe
that a middle class WASP with married PTA-
active parents has the same opportunities as an
inner city black child, who’s only parental
figure is a welfare-trapped teenage mother, is
unethical and an excuse not to feel guilty
Do the hungry people care about human
rights, taxes and communism, or where their
next meal is coming from? Since they aren’t ed
ucated enough to realize the difference between
fact and propagandous fiction, we must share
our knowledge and communicate with them.
There are problems that a monthly check won’t
solve.
Leading by example can be the most effective
solution. If we show our concern by giving our
time and effort, refrain from using anything
that endangers the Earth, and regardless of
cultural differences, realize that we are all
human beings, eventually a New Age genera
tion will form where everyone is fed and treated
equally. But, we must not sell out like hippies
turning into yuppies or the cycle will never be
broken.
We need sincerity. If you are labeled a
granola hippy, wide-eyed idealist, neo-nazi or
liberal by those too apathetic to understand,
don’t be discouraged. Hope that one day they
will wake up and realize that the earth is
round.
Susanne Maybin is a junior political science
major.
Stupid commercials get on my nerves
What has gone wrong with the educational
system in this country? Well, actually I have no
idea, but I do know that there is a growing
roblem with the television commercials that!
ave witnessed over the past few years. Every
time I turn on the TV set, I am bombarded with
annoying commercials from hell. There are a
few exceptions. For example, all Miller Lite
commercials and any commercial that contains
that battery bunny can stay, but I would like to
see the bunny get run down by a speeding truck
in a few months.
Let us start with the most obnoxious com
mercial since the invention of the electronic
box, the ad for Lifecall. If you have been fortu
nate enough not to have seen this pathetic ex
cuse for free speech, let me clue you in. Lifecall
is a device created for the decrepit, elderly
people who think that they are going to die in
the next 24 hours or so. It’s a tiny microphone
like object that is draped around one’s neck,
perfect for all social gatherings. The device is
used in case one of these old bags should
happen to fall down the stairs or have a heart
attack or something of this nature.
If such a tragedy should take place, then you
simply press the button on the Lifecall, speak
through the air and some medical supervisor
will hear your desperate call for life. The sce
nario they use for the commercials is most up
setting, but worse than that, it is just plain
annoying.
The old lady in the scene comes crashing
down the stairs like a sack of prunes and finally
comes to a rest at the bottom. It is at this point
that she bellows into her microphone, those
now infamous words,“I’ve fallen, and I can’t get
up!"
Here is where I would like to come in; I would
like to be at the other end of this receiving call.
For identification purposes, let’s pretend the
fallen victim’s name was Mrs. Stulmenburger.
The conversation would go something like this:
Mrs. Stulmenburger: I’ve fallen, and I can’t
get up!
Me: Yes, I heard.
Mrs. S.: Well, are you going to get some help
for me?
Me: Well, actually, no.
Mrs. S.: Why not?
Me: Because this entire thing is a facade, like
the Ginsu knife.
Mrs. S.: Really, I ordered those months ago.
Me: Yes, I know.
Mrs. S.: What should I do?
Me: Call 911 or 0 for help.
Please remember that the above is just a
dramatization and in no way reflects my
opinion of the elderly people of our great nation,
except maybe for that old bag who cut me off
with her shopping cart at Krogers, and you
know who you are!
Joey Kohn is a junior in the School of Journa
lism.
Left-wing garbage as usual
The editorial on gun control
really struck a sore point with me.
The R & B editors had the audacity
to tell readers not to vote for either
Roy Barnes or Bubba McDonald
because they are opposed to any
type of gun control. Just who in the
world do the editors think they
are? No one should tell others who
they should or should not vote for.
Furthermore, the right to bear
arms is a right granted to ua by the
U.S. Constitution, and guns deter
crime. For instance, Kennesaw,
Georgia, is the only city in the U.S.
that requires every household to
own a gun. Consequently, the
crime rate has gone down dramati
cally because criminals are scared.
Liberals would have you believe
that guns cause crime. However,
guns do the exact opposite.
Don’t be surprised; this gun con
trol editorial was very typical of
the left-wing garbage which the ed
itors of this paper are constantly
writing.
Scott Buchanan
sophomore, political science
Headline inaccurate
“Williams racist, ignorant.”
Where did this sensationalist cap
tion come from? Certainly not from
anywhere in my letter.
As someone’s father once said:
“You always come out smelling bad
when you fight a skunk." But
skunks are white and black.
The White and Black courtesy
phrase of the day: “journalistic un
ethics".
Howard R. Brown
senior, Journalism
Happe jumps the gun
In response to Kelly Happe’s
column, I would like to say that de
spite my hopes that Gorbachev is
for real and that his proposed ideas
succeed, I think people like Ms.
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
bekrus material. Letters should be typed, doublespaced and must include the name,
address and daytime telephone number of tbe writer. Please include student classih
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.
Happe are far too apologetic and
passive when it comes to criticizing
the Soviet president.
No politician, whether he or she
hails from Clarke County, Chile,
the Solomon Islands, or the Soviet
Union should be exempt from crit
ical scrutiny. I think many people
in this nation and around the
world believe Gorby can do no
wrong. This train of thought is not
only myopic in scope, but also dan
gerous to the security of the free
world. Many horrors have lurked
behind the Iron Curtain before,
and we should be watchful to in
sure that we are not being fooled
again.
I have some faith in Gorbachev,
and hope he is the right answer for
the Soviet Union’s problems (and
their adverse effect on the rest of
the world). However, I begin to
doubt his sincerity when just last
week a law was made that it is now
impermissable to insult the Soviet
president. It also troubles me that
Ms. Happe feels, “Concerning the
Baltics, the U.S. is in no position to
criticize Gorbachev’s chosen course
of action.” Wrong. According to
that, we are in no better position
than the citizens of the U.S.S.R.
Clay Jons*
sophomore, political science