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4 • The Red and Black • Thursday, August 9, 1990
OPINIONS
The Red & Black
Established 189.1—Incorporated 1980
An independent student newspaper nut affiliated with the University of Georgia
Jennifer Rampey/Editor-in-Chief
Trevor Padgett/Managing Editor
David Johnston/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
Now’s our chance
Clarke County voters have placed their stamp of
approval on the plan to unify city and county govern
ments.
The measure passed in both city and unincorpo
rated precincts. And with a voter turnout of 44.6 per
cent, it’s safe to say the citizens are behind this
endeavor to combine governments.
One of the most redeeming qualities of the unifica
tion plan is that it will place the University campus in
one district, laying to rest past complaints that campus
had been gerrymandered because it was split into sev
eral districts.
This is the perfect opportunity for students to
muster the motivation to create a block vote for the
new district which also includes Carr’s Hill, Appleby
Drive, Southview, Milledge Terrace, Allenville, Davis
Estates and the civic center site.
Such a block vote could ensure students of better
representation in local government. The best thing
about it is that the student population will no longer
have an excuse to skirt involvement in government
proceedings.
On target
President Bush has shown real political cour-
ageand leadership by sending U.S. forces to a faceoff
with one of the world’s most dangerous leaders.
“Standing up for our principles will not come easy,”
Bush told the nation in a speech Wednesday from the
Oval Office. “It may take time and possibly cost a great
deal.”
Americans normally rally around their presidents
in times of crisis, but as several of Bush’s recent prede
cessors have learned the hard way, the public often
finds fault with the president when casualties occur or
missions fail.
Bush could have taken kinder, gentler steps
against Saddam Hussein and been assured of con
tinued political popularity at home; instead, he chose
swift action. This is the kind of courage that great
leaders are remembered for.
President Carter’s failed attempt to rescue the Ira
nian hostages in 1980 cost him much public support in
dealing with the terrorists, but he never shied away
from proper action for political reasons.
We have learned that diplomacy has not always ac
complished peace in the Middle East. For 11 years we
have been treating terrorists like gentlemen — but
they have contemptuously refused to negotiate.
We are glad to finally see Bush put the national in
terests ahead of his political future, and Congress and
the public need to support him in the difficult days
ahead.
On the home front, the difficulties are not being
eased by the greedy American petroleum industry,
which has raised prices on oil already in stock. The
president has shown bravery, but the oil companies’
selfish action may undermine his efforts to weather a
real domestic and international crisis.
Our international allies in the fight against the
Iraqi treachery are also to be commended for their firm
stand. Many of them are much more vulnerable in this
situation than the U.S. is, and their bravery should not
be overlooked.
Congratulations
Congratulations to all of the winners of the primary
elections. The victorious candidates of both parties
should be commended for the comparatively civil cam
paigns they’ve run so far this year. We hope that they’ll
keep things clean through the November election.
STAFF
NEWS: 543-1809
Newe Editor: Mary Ratcliff*
Sports Editor: Jon Tully
Entertainment Editor: Rachel Curry
Associate News Editor: Elizabeth Graddy
Inside Copy Editors: Nick Schweitzer.
Stephanie Smith
Graphics Editor Howard Fore
Photo Editor: Wayne Jackson
Photographer Marla Clay
Staff Writers: Gwlnn Bruns. J Leigh Burrell.
Cathy Ferns, Patrick Flanigan, Dan Pool, Jeff
Rutherford, Beth Vallnoti. Douglas Wood
Entertainment Writer: David Williams
Sports Writer David Pace
Special Sections/Trends Editor: Marla
Edwards
Editorial Assistant: Laura Roe
Cartoonist: Mike Moreu
ADVERTISING: 543-1791
Student Advertising Managers:
Kristi Burnham. Krichelle Halualani
Senior Advertising Representative: Rick
Huggins
Advertising Representatives: Jeff Harris,
Alan Holcomb, Chris Munguia, Toby Myers,
Kipp Mullis, Maureen Musgrove, Lee Nettles.
Asst. Editorial Prod. Manager: Cristina
Feindt
General Manager Harry Montevideo
Advertising Director: Robin Stoner
Office Manager: Mary Straub
Production Manager: Marlena Martin
Classifieds/Receptionist: Beverly Vaughn
The Red and Black it published Tuesday through
Friday during the regular school year end each
Thursday during summer quarter, with the e«ceptions
of holidays and e«am periods, by The Red and Black
Publishing Company Inc. a non-profit campus
newspaper not affiliated with the university of
Georgia, 123 N. Jackson St.. Athens. Ga 30601
Third class pettago paid at Athans. Ga. Subscription
rata: S24 per year.
Opinion# eipreeied In The Red and Black other than
unagnad adrtortai* are the opinions of the writers of
signed columns and not necessarily those of The Rad
and Black Publishing Company Inc. Ail rights
reserved. Reprints by permission of the edkors.
■ QUOTABLE
“I think August 7,1990 will be remembered as the beginning of
Athens Councllwoman Carolyn Reynolds, on passage of the
Athens/Clarke County unification referendum.
Ga. Democrats deserve to win — again
Last week a Republican friend assured me
that they really do have a nominee for the Gov
ernor’s race in November. Being in the middle
of a heated Democratic runoff, it is easy to
forget that the GOP even has candidates vying
for state offices. Then, he said the fellow’s name
is Isakson. The name sounded familiar and I
vaguely remembered that he was the guy who
recently flip flopped on the abortion issue.
I suppose that is why about a million of my
fellow Georgians voted in Tuesday’s Demo
cratic Runoff. The unpopular issues and quiet
ness of the minority party have left us feeling
sorry for them, but not enough vote for them.
If you think the governor’s race is silent for
the Republicans, look at the race for lieutenant
governor. With Senator Pierre Howard’s com
manding victory Tuesday night, there is no
doubt he will stomp on this Matt Towery fellow.
Also, Towery says he is personally against a
woman’s right to abortion, but to avoid the
issue says he wants a state wide referendum.
In Howard, Georgia now has a fresh, progres
sive candidate for the number two job and the
Capital will reflect his optimistic outlook, when
he is elected in November . Howard is young,
aggressive, and has that ‘presidential’ flair
about him (not to mention he is a graduate of
UGA). Georgia is sure to see much more of this
strong Democratic contender.
In the race for Insurance Commissioner, the
situation is little different. Tim Ryles, a former
state director of consumer affairs, convincingly
won the Democratic nomination with over 70
percent of the vote. Billy Lovett, the well-
funded Republican nominee and former Public
Service Commissioner, might pose a threat.
However, Lovett is running, as Ryles says, a
typical Republican ‘trash and bash campaign,’
and Georgians deserve better than that. Both
candidates plan to rid Georgia of the auto in
surance rate crisis, but Ryles’ plan to lower the
rates is the more feasible and physically sound.
Besides, wouldn’t it be nice to nave someone on
the side of the consumers in the midst of this
auto insurance crisis? Ryles is the man with
plan in this choice.
In the tenth district race for the U.S. House
of Representatives, the Republicans had to look
hard to find anybody to run against the strong
Democratic incumbant, Rep. Doug Barnard, Jr.
However, they were able to dig up a Southern
Baptist preacher/family counselor/manage
ment consultant. His name is Rev. Sam Jones
and I guess the Republicans feel the above
qualifications make him the perfect candidate.
But for what? Maybe the next Jim Bakker.
Barnard is a friend to the University. He has
always represented our district well and
flaunts UGA on the national level where ever
he goes. Just a few weeks ago he pledged to con
tinue his relentless support of our school when
he met with Student Government Association
President Heath Garrett.
Earlier this year Barnard visited with UGA
student lobbyists and was very receptive to the
delegation. He supported the reauthorization of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 which does
much to help college students nationwide. As
you can see, he deserves all the support we can
give him.
A discussion of Democrats would not be com
plete without mentioning Senator Sam Nunn,
who is up for re-election. Believe it or not, the
Republicans actually tried to run a candidate
against one of Georgia’s favorite Bons, but mys
teriously the contender disappeared after
bouncing a check paid to the party for her qual
ifying fee.
It seems the Republicans are frightened of
the chairman of the Senate Armed Services
Committee and you can bet it wouldn’t take
many of those arms to strangle any Republican
hopes in that race. We are lucky to look forward
to six more years of his leadership.
In essence, Georgia has a bright Democratic
future. We have leaders evolving in our state
that will continue to direct us toward pros
perity.
Republicans in Georgia are like fish out of
water, they flip and flop until they get to the
frying pan. They are out of touch and out of the
mainstream. Remember to vote this November
and make sure you make the right choice.
Know who is really on your side and who really
stands up for you.
Phil Smith is the outgoing president of the
Young Democrats of Clarke County! UGA
■ 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.
Double standard
While reading Robert Carswell’s
pro-life letter o the Editor entitled
“Abortion is Premeditated Murder”
(7-26-90), I noticed a lot of concern
for women’s responsibility, women
engaging in sex; aren’t men in
volved in this activity too? What
happened to the man’s responsibi
lity that engaging in sex requires?
Mr. Carswell’s letter appears to
center on the immorality of women
that engage in sex. His silence con
cerning men implies that men have
no responsibility in conception or
birth control, and bear none of the
so-called “immorality” of sex.
Mr. Carswell’s opinion that
abortion is murder could be put to
more efficient use if he and those
like him stop punishing women for
their “immorality” by forcing them
into back alley abortions or dead
ends. Their efforts should be di
rected toward a support of birth
control research and development,
so that the majority of abortions
(occurring because of a birth con
trol failure) need never occur.
Corey J. Anderson
senior, political science
Review too harsh
The harshness with which En
tertainment Editor Rachel Curry
dealt with Mary Black and her new
album was totally ur\justified.
It is true that there is a plague
in the music industry of non tal
ented “artists,” such as the New
Kids on the Block, who have ad
mitted they can’t read music, or
Milli Vanilli, who seem to have
won “Best New Artist” for being
able to repeat words over and over
to a beat. This is commercialized
“music” for the sole purpose of
making bucks off the gullible,
fickle teenage public.
Mary Black is different. She is a
real artist, whether she writes her
own songs or not. A person can be
very talented and yet decide not to
write or include her own songs.
Some people called Elvis Presley
“the King of Rock and Roll,” but he
wrote few, if any, of his own songs.
Was he a talented singer? Many
people believe that he was.
Mary Blacks’ music is in the cat
egory of Celtic music, which in
cludes the music of Ireland,
Scotland and the other British
Isles; music which is full of dif
ferent styles, including the
strathspey, ballads, jigs, and reels.
A lot of it is based on the tradi
tional music and artists of the past,
like Turlough O’ Carollan.
Telling UGA readers that this
Irish folk/contemporary music re
minds one of elevator music will
likely tell them that all Celtic
music is elevator music, which isn’t
true. One of the best Celtic groups
around is Clannad, whose album
“Macalla” is one of the best I’ve
ever heard. It not only includes
some rock and roll, but also soft,
sensual music.
Celtic music is diverse, full of
the soft music of Mary Black, and
some of the great uptempo sounds
of The Battlefield Band, De
Dannan, the Bothy Band, Silly
Wizard, and Clannad.
It would seem that the reviewer
believes that because the music of
the album is soft and slow, that it
should automatically be deemed
dull, boring and lacking talent,
when in reality perhaps the fact is
that this type of music may be new
to her, and unfamiliar. This doesn’t
mean that the singer isn’t talented,
it only means that unfamiliarity
with the type of music probably
makes it difficult for the reviewer
to give an accurate review.
David Bradley
senior, journalism
Welcome, garden
How pleasing it is to see the re
cently-completed Mary Kahrs War-
nell Memory Garden adjacent to
the Institute of Ecology and Forest
Resources Buildings on south
campus.
On north campus there are sev
eral landmarks or areas which
have a vivid “sense of place” — out
door locales to which people in
large numbers gravitate and which
possess a positive character. Such
places are The Arch, the Quadran
gles, The Founders Memorial
Garden, and even Herty Mall.
Heretofore, such places on south
campus were difficult to find. My
impression, upon seeing the plans
of the Kahrs Garden and observing
the progress of its creation, suggest
that it may become the great place-
maker for the south campus.
In designing the garden-like
plaza, its designers, Robinson
Fisher Associates, incorporated
most of the widely recognized req
uisite components which constitute
a successful people place. Perhaps
the most “romantic 4 landscape el
ement introduced in the garden is
water in the form of a pool with
aquatic plants and stocked with
gold fish. With so few water fea
tures of any kind elsewhere on
campus, this new water-focused
space on south campus is certain to
attract many admiring visitors.
While not intending to criticize
the proliferation of horticultural
exotics on our campus, it is
pleasing to find a garden in which
are planted so many indigenous
species. Perhaps the most laudable
aspect of the new garden is that it
is free from historical cliches, or a
formalistic traditional design look.
This landmark is not based on con
ventionalisms, but is bold and
daring-particularly in its bosque of
tightly-spaced river birches to
create the “feel” of a forest.
It is not an ecologically accurate
re-creation of a piece of forest for
we have ample real forests all
about this community. Instead, the
birch grove is artifice. It is a man
made artistic statement. It symbol
izes and celebrates the wonderful
visual richness of a very handsome
tree by using lots of them.
It will be interesting to watch
this place as it matures and mel
lows. Perhaps some day “I’ll meet
you at the water garden...” will be
as familiar an expression as “I’ll
meet you at The Arch.” This will be
the success of this special and de
lightful commemorative garden.
William A. Mann
Associate Professor,
Landscape Architect
Save the Earth
Did Earth Day 1990 do any
good? When we take, and take, and
take, and take without regard for
the effect upon the giver, what
kind of society does this make us?
The National Forest Lands are
being harvested in the Northwest
at record speed, these are our an
cient redwoods that Congress
voted to protect for public use.
Magnificent trees that have
existed longer than any living
human. I wonder if a living tree’s
soul is more or less developed than
that of the homo sapien? This is in
the United States not South
America or Asia, all for virgin
paper.
All our stores must sell recycled
and natural biodegradable goods,
and we must pass laws to mandate
recycling, which should include
gray water (water from sinks and
faucets), plant trees and nourish
them, and the list goes on, but first
there has to be the demand. Min
imum impact recycled paper has a
nice off-white glow. Recycling a
three foot stack of papers saves one
tree.
Terri-Lynne Marshall
graduate, art education