Newspaper Page Text
■ QUOTABLE
4 • The Red and Black • Tuesday, May 29, 1990
OPINIONS
"We never did quite make It to the party.
- Terry Kennedy, referring to the accident In which he and his
two friends were hit by a drunk driver.
The Red & Black
KaUiblithtd 1893—Incorporated 1980
An independent <tudent n/u *paper not affiliated with the Vnivertity of Georgia
Charlene Smith/Editor-in-Chief
Amy Bellew/Managing Editor
Hogai Nassery/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
May Fare
As May days come to an end, the University has
much to be proud of. The University has excelled this
month in all areas of campus life — academically,
athletically and socially.
Athletics. The Georgia athletic program was
named all-sports point leader in the Southeastern
Conference for the 1980s. Georgia’s women athletes
took the first-place conference trophy. Gators, go home.
The Diamond Dogs won the regional NCAA
tournament and became the first team to qualify for
the College World Series.
Politics. About 1,000 University students
registered to vote on campus this month, thanks to a
voter registration drive sponsored by several student
organizations.
Art. The underappreciated Georgia Museum of Art
brought a private collection of Andy Warhol works to
campus. The exhibit — on display through July 1 —
highlights the pop artist’s fascination with celebrities.
Everyone on campus should take advantage of this
opportunity to see some famous works that chronicled a
generation.
Condom sense. According to the makers of Trojan
condoms, 78 percent of University students use
condoms for safe sex. That’s above the national
average. Keep it up.
Food. University Food Services won a top national
award for general excellence of standard menu
offerings. Hmmm... Uh, keep dishing out that awesome
frozen yogurt.
Community clean-up. Students for
Environmental Awareness took a trip down the Oconee
River to get trash off the banks. These students’
activism didn’t stop with Earth Day.
Entertainment. University Union brought
another round of interesting events to campus this
month from ballroom dancing to crazy game shows —
all the stuff that makes college life interesting. And
they didn’t let a bomb threat ruin their Spike Lee show.
Academics. Outstanding students and teachers
were recognized on Honors Day and the rest of the
campus got the morning off from classes.
Albert Niemi, College of Business Administration
dean, was appointed head of the University’s new
Simon S. Selig Jr. Center for Economic Growth.
Several University researchers were awarded for
their efforts with cash and medals.
Michael Covington, a linguistics and computer
science professor, won one of four $25,000 first-place
cash awards in the IBM National Supercomputing
Competition. His work also brought the University a
$10,000 educational grant.
Talent. James Monroe, a junior music major, is one
of four trumpet players selected to perform abroad with
the American Waterways Wind Symphony.
Progress. A campus chapter of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People is in
the works.
The Black Affairs Council replaced a dormant Big
Brother/Big Sister program with a more useful
Minority Assistant Peer Program to aid new black
University students.
Health. Universty Health Services continued to
work long, hectic hours giving shot after shot after shot
during the ongoing measles crisis. The workers
responded effectively with medicine and information to
keep everyone updated on the situation.
Also, the Student Association and Boost Alcohol
Consciousness Concerning the Health of University
Students (BACCHUS) kicked off an “I’m Drivin’ ”
designated driver program that encourages local bars
to serve free beverages to designated drivers.
Beauty. Kabanya Spears, a junior music major,
was crowned Miss Black UGA. Congratulations.
STAFF
NEWS: 543-1809
Nava Ml or Junnffgt Rarngwy
•parti Uta Travw Padgart
Marts lament E«tar Margaret Weaton
Aaaeat at a Hawa EdMare: Chrla Cumae, JannPar
Mat Page Copy Miter: OavKJ johnatoo
taaMa Capy UK or* Waiter Coll. Joel Groover. Mary
ftatetiffa. Johanna van dor war
USA TeAay/WWo Mter Robert Aiula
•rapMea KMter: Dana O’Kaefte
CAM PftetapapMr. Peter Pray
Ma Id Her: Maria Clay
Staff Wrttara: Owlnn Bruns. Marla Edwards. Ann*
Marta Tanguy. Lanoa Maim*, Oara Mcleod. Mika
McLeod. Stephanie Snath. Sandra Stephana. J. D
SquMlanta. Robert Todd
Sparta Writer: Chrla lancatta
Sped at SaaS awe/ Treads IdNar: Cara May
Aaatataat Special SaattawvTreads Editor
ADVERTISING: 543-1791
Stadaat AdvarMag Manager*:
Krtea Stenham. Beverty Taylor
AdvarMag Aaatetaata:
Jennifer Dave. Soon Oonaldeon. Katherine Femdei
Senior Adverggag Rapraaantatlvaa. Sean Fagan,
Krtchaiia Halualan, Rick Huggins. Julia Raynolde
Adverb gag Rapraaantatlvaa: Shannon Greene.
Karan Haynes, Waiter Henderson, Alan Holcomb,
Chna Munguia. Toby Myers, Las Nettle*, Leigh Riffa,
Ion Thurman
Aaatataat idnarid feed. Manage*: Cristina Feindl
A salat ant Advertising feed. Manager Mariana
Martin
Productian Staff: Andy Ard, Laura Frtadrtch. Andrea
Manaour. Lorln Marsh. Elizabeth MauU. Laura Millar.
Stacy Stenbarg. Micheiia Wegert
General Manager. Harry Montevideo
Adverflgng Director Robin Stoner
Office Manager Mary Straub
Production Manager Judy Jordan
ClaaoMad%rRooaptianlat: Beverty Vaughn
Credtt Manager Susan Davit
Clerical: Joanna Horton
The Rad and Blaeti it published Tuesday through
Friday during tha regular school year and each
Thursday dunng summer quarter, with tha asoaptions
of holidays and turn panods. by Tha Rod and Black
Publishing Company Inc a norvproIR campus
newspaper not affiliated with tha llnfversrty of
Oeorfa. 123 N. Jackson St. Athens. Oa 30001
Third class postags paid at Athena. Oa Subecnption
rata: 124 par year
Opinions expressed la Dm Rad and Mac* other than
unsigned odKoneit are tha opmon* o1 Via writer* of
signed columns snd not necessaniy those of Tha Rad
and Black Publishing Company Inc. All rights
rsserved Repnnts by permission of the editors
How to convert pagan America today
Although the censorship of vulgarity is passe
in our culture, there remains one word that is
genuinely abhorrent to pagan America. That is
proselytism, otherwise Known as the P word.
Why is it that phrases that ridicule the Creator
of the universe and which trivialize the most in
timate of human relationships are now accep
table, while the P word has become a truly
effective curse on the lips of so many?
According to Webster, a proselyte is “a
person who has been converted from one reli
gion, opinion, or party to another.” In the most
general sense, then, proselytism is getting
people to change their minds about something
important. In this sense, proselytism is what
the University of Georgia (or any other univer
sity) is all about. If you accept the concept (as I
do) that the University is a marketplace of
ideas, then proselytism is simply the mech
anism by which ideas compete in this free
market environment. If there is any place in so
ciety where ultimate questions (What is life?
What is man/woman? Is there meaning in theu-
niverse? Is there a God? Is there life after
death?) may be raised , it should certainly be at
the University.
So why all the paranoia about the P word?
This paranoia seems to be exclusively directed
toward Christians (or sometimes, with justifi
cation, toward Christian counterfeits, i.e. the
cults). The source of the paranoia is apparently
the perception that Christians want to force
fully compel others to accept their religion. I
want to take this opportunity to state categori
cally that any hint of forced conversion has ab
solutely no role to play in genuine Christianity.
To make the point, I would offer four ground
rules which Christians should scrupulously ob
serve:
1. Our commitment to Jesus compels us to
make Him known through the message of the
gospel. Christians have been so commissioned.
2. Coercion through deception, inducement
or emotional manipulation is abhorrent and
contrary to the message and spirit of the gospel.
3. People who become believers in Jesus
must do so of their own volition and with a clear
understanding of the implications of their deci
sion.
4. Those who share their faith in Jesus
should speak with a level of integrity consistent
with standards acceptable in any arena where
the free exchange of ideas is encouraged, not
viewed as something to fear.
Henry F. Schaefer is the director of the Center
for Computational Quantum Chemistry and a
Graham Perdue professor of Chemistry.
Bible can be used to promote hatred
Of the various methods people use to justify
medieval, incongruous, and virtueless be
havior, the use of the Bible in doing 90 is among
the more perverse. Finding validity in hate,
separatism and simple mythology by reference
to this work of literature as though God “Him-
selF wrote it, is a reflection of the imprudence
of those who do so.
Hate, as far as many believers are concerned,
is a product of a demon named Satan. He re
sides in a burning lake of fire somewhere
within the boiling bowels of the Earth. This dis
tasteful creature loves only to hate. He bran
dishes a pronged staff to prod and stick souls
whom God has rejected from a very pleasant
place called Heaven. These believers hold that
God punishes dead people who in life were more
like the Devil than like the righteous.
If believers are damned to reside with this
awful charactor Satan through eternity, for
failing to live a life their God would have them
live, why then do so many of them do precisely
that? If hate is a sin, it seems that hating homo
sexuals, Jews, Moslems, Hindus and others
would be the last thing these Bible-toters would
resort to.
After visiting the Gay History Day booth at
the Tate Center earlier this qunrter, I was ac
costed by a good Christian man of God. He felt
compelled to tell me that “God hates homosex
uals." Perhaps I’m a little confused, but I
thought only that scoundrel Satan and the
people he misleads are capable of hating. Ob
viously he and I do not believe in the same God.
When I told him that, he recoiled from me and
Steven D.
Sacco
angrily asked if I were a *•—ing Jew.” I guess
his God hates them too.
The good Christian then told me an en
dearing little mythological story about a fellow
named Adam and a woman made from a rib
named Eve. Because of her transgression of
eating a forbidden fruit from a knowledge tree
after she was mislead by a talking snake, all
people from then on are bom into sin. I won
dered why a benevolent and just God would
punish all of humanity for one person’s mis
take, especially when prior to this incident she
had not eaten of the fruit and could not have
known right from wrong. Even lowly human be
ings don’t punish people for crimes they com
mitted unknowingly. People who cannot
distinguish right from wrong are exempt from
prosecution because there is no mens rea-
guilty mind.
One passage in the Bible I quite agree with is
the one that states: The truth shall set you free.
The story of the Garden of Eden is actually a
metaphor depicting the rise of human con
sciousness from the depths of animal instinct.
Along with this gift is the punishment it brings
when the rational mind recognizes the ills of
the world and the eternally unanswerable
questions of spirituality. Eve personifies this as
she is punished by God (her numan conscious
ness.)
Accepting The Bible as literal truth denies
the very rationality that God so lovingly en
dowed upon us. The medieval mind sought to
renounce the rational mind and replace it with
a less accurate method for discovering truth,
called Faith. This is illogical because things be
lieved by Faith cannot be proven by fact. Most
of us think God does exist, but none of us can
prove it as a fact. When the Bible is held to be
an absolute truth, the rational mind has suc
cumbed to irrational thought. This is best
summed up by Augustine who said, “I do not
know in order to believe; I believe in order to
know." Rejecting reason in this way only leads
to ignorance, and in the case of the Christitm
who believes God hates homosexuals, it per
verts spirituality into a tool to perpetuate pre-
dudice.
Those who think they have absolute answers
by virtue of knowing the Bible are mistaken.
Those who use it to justify actions and attitudes
that degrade and devalue others need to crack
their sanctified literature one more time and
read perhaps the most obvious and yet least
used ethic, that of the golden rule.
Steven D. Sacco is a senior criminal justice
major.
Gun control helps criminals
FORUM
□ The Red and Black welcomes letters to the editor and prints them in the for“
column as space permits. All letters are subject to editing tor length, style and II-
Xm« m «nd n riL U,tt ®t r, | ty P! d ’ doublespaced and must include the name,
address and daydme telephone number of the writer. Please include student classill
cation, major, and other appropriate Identification. Names can be omitted with a valid
rdhciTt S »t L l dVry 0 ^" ^ b» VS. ma 'l <* brought in person to The Red
and Black s offices at 123 N. Jaykon St.. Athens. Ga.
CORRECTION
An editorial In Friday’s edition of The Red and Black contained Incorrect
Information. About 58,000 Americans died in the Vietnam War- 407,*
000 In World War II; 116,000 In World War I; and 54,000 in the Korean
conflict.
While I was in Athens recently,
a terrible shooting incident oc
curred in Atlanta. As the story de
veloped, the trigger man had been
released from a psychiatric clinic
though he had been diagnosed as
"homicidal”. This horrendous event
was quickly followed by an edito
rial in your paper calling for heavy-
duty gun control laws.
I have been residing and prac
ticing law for 27 years in Wash
ington, D.C., which has the
strictest gun control laws in the
United States. Yet the city is filled
with guns. Guns are virtually ev
erywhere, and D.C. is the cele
brated murder capital of North
America. Likewise, neighboring
Maryland and Virginia have strict
gun control laws.
What caught my interest was
that, in the instant case, I would
have thought the issue to focus in
on was that a dangerous person
had been turned loose on the public
at large, certainly as dangerous a
discharge as an oil spill.After all
that has transpired in the wild,
wacky world of criminal law, it
sounds a little like a 1960’s sort of
cop-out to call for more gun control-
/confiscation. Since the advent of
big-time gun control, the net of all
that has happened is that the crim
inals have more guns than the rest
of us and are getting progrssively
lighter sentences for their use. But
in D.C. And all the while, more
children are drowning in their
backyard pools than die of gunfire
nationwide.
While I was visiting Athens, this
divisive issue seemed far away. I
hope it stays that way for you
there. . .You’d better hope it does.
John Clark Salyor
Attorney at Law, Washington, D.C.
R0TC homophobic
I would like to thank Davie
Jones for hi a comments about the
ROTC and their prejudices against
homosexuals. Mr. Jones summed
up the real position of the ROTC
department Detter than I would
have expected.
We regret the error.
Never mind that in history, gay
men in the military performed no
worse than their heterosexual
counterparts. Never mind that sci
entific studies bear thia out. The
real issue is not how well these
people perform-the issue is preju
dice. Mr. Jones does not want any
‘'homos in the army.’ If I had said
the same, using the word “niggers”,
what would you call me? Racist.
Now that we know the position
of the ROTC is actually based on a
strong hatred of anything homo
sexual, we can accurately judge
their policies and decisions. Thank
you, Mr. Jones. Your insight was
invaluable.
Johnny Laeka
Junior, psychology