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4 • The Red and Black Weekend » Friday. October 2, 1992
OPINIONS
The Red & Black
Established in 1893 - Incorporated 1980
An independent student newspaper not affiliated with the University of Georgia
Mike McLeod/Editor-ih-Chief
Johnathan Burns/Managing Editor
Melody Willis/Opinions Editor
EDITORIALS
Hot and bothered
Spring may be the traditional time to pursue ro
mance for the general populace, but in the Classic City,
forget it - fall quarter seems to be the best time to get
hot and bothered (for a lot of people, the emphasis is of
ten on bothered, if you’ve ever been in any of the bars
around here at closing).
Somehow, fall is the season of renewal in Athens.
Here, the absence of clothing that occurs in the spring
and summer is not the pinnacle of excitement. It is,
rather, the donning of collegiate sweatshirts and
sweaters that is more provocative.
While the weather outside drops downward, the sex
ual temperature all over campus is high in the fall.
Some fall evenings, especially on game weekends, the
swirling collage of students that scour the city could
match any fertility rite any other culture has to offer.
Even Mariel Hemingway bowed to the pressure of
the season and decided to take off her clothes and bare,
well, some of it, on “Civil Wars” Wednesday. Jeesh, even
balding Hollywood producers are deciding to loosen up
a little now days.
You’ve heard all the dangers and about safe sex ad
nauseam, so now our advice to you is: go with what you
know. Part of the college experience is exploring and de
veloping your own attitudes and opinions of where sex
should fit into our society and into your own life.
So go, while the fall season is upon us, be fruitful
and, uh, find out where all this sex business fits into
your own personal life.
Braving a World Series
On Tuesday, the West was won. By the Atlanta
Braves, that is. Behind a 6-0 shutout by pitcher Charlie
Leibrandt, the Bravos clinched for the second year in a
row, and they still have three games left in the season.
This team has been a welcome phenomenon to the
Atlanta community and to the game of baseball.
•They are the first team to repeat as NL West
champs since the Los Angeles Dodgers did in 1997-78.
•They have the chance to break the 3 million mark
in attendance. Only the Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles and
Toronto BLue Jays have accomplished that feat.
•Third baseman Tferry Pendleton, last year’s Most
Valuable Player, is four hits shy of 200 total, a number
not reached by a NL player since 1989 .
•The Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium was sold out
for a record 30 consecutive games.
•Pitcher Tbm Glavine has a shot at repeating as the
NL’s Cy Young winner.
The excitement over the pennant chase is nowhere
near as fanatical as last year’s, and for good reason.
The let down in Minneapolis has lasted all during the
1992 season. Braves fans are still waiting for the World
Championship they expected to have from the last trip
to the World Series.
Four things stand in the way of the Bravos. Three
are obvious: The Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland A’s and
Toronto Blue Jays. The Pirates are the threat to the
Braves repeating as NL champ. The Blue Jays or the
A’s will be the final obstacle, once these two clubs play
in the American League series to determine who will
battle the NL winner- the Braves, naturally.
The last and most important obstacle is injuries.
Glavine has been pitching with a cracked rib. Right
fielder Dave Justice has on-again, off-again problems
with his back. Other players are ailing in some way.
The playoffs will depend on the determination and
drive of the Atlanta Braves. How badly do we want the
World Championship? Well, the question is moot. All
the Braves have to do is bring it home, by any means
necessary.
QUOTABLE
'Hopefully they'll look at it very seriously. That's why we're trying to
as many names as possible, to let them know the student body is
not passive.’ -George Bailey. NAACP chapter president, on the
petition drive to have Pi Kappa Phi suspended from campus.
Where the hell is that bus? A personal account...
Another glorious Friday is upon us, and it’s
time for the weekend to begin. That means it’s
time to turn your brain off for the next few days
and have some real fun. But, we all know that
we have to have “safe* fun. Aren’t you sick of
hearing that? “Be safe* We have to be safe
about everything these days. When we drink,
we have to be safe. When we drive, we have to
be safe. Even when we have sex, we have to be
safe. There just isn’t any adventure anymore.
But alas, sometimes those safety preachers
are more right than we think they are. So
maybe we should try and have a safe weekend
for a change. I think we can give it a try. But if
we’re all going to embark on a safe weekend, we
have to start this off right. First of all, the
biggest problem with safety is everybody’s mis
conception of real danger. When the word dan
ger is mentioned, some people may think of
drinking and driving, or walking alone through
a bad part of town at night or maybe even clean
ing your nose with a vacuum cleaner. Whatever
your perception of danger is, you haven’t real
ized the true danger that is lurking around us
all week long on campus. You haven’t realized
the terror of the UGA campus bus system!
I think you know what I’m saying. I’m speaking
of those 10-ton beasts of steel and wheel that
roam the roadways of this campus day in and
day out. They terrorize our lives while moving
at ludicrous speeds through the tiny roadways
and hairpin turns of this quietly innocent aca
demic institution. So if you want to start this
safety weekend out on the right foot, don’t ride
the busses home after class. Do yourself a favor
and walk!
Everybody knows that it's not the busses
John
Turco
-r
3i'&ua)
themselves that pose the problem, but it’s the
maniacs that are, for some reason, at the con
trols. Yes, I’m talking about the student bus
drivers. These people worry me. I’m never sure
if they’re stable enough to be functioning in so
ciety, much less be in charge of the well-being
of would-be bus riders. Perhaps my biggest
problem with these guys is knowing that most
of them grew up watching ‘The Dukes of
Hazzard.* I know I’ve heard the theme song on
the Orbit bus a few times. It’s just scary to know
that a lot of these guys hero worship the likes
of Mario Andretti and Bill Elliot. So all you A1
Unser Jr.’s out there, what you do in your own
cars on your own time is your business, but
please spare the rest of us.
What is required to become a student driver
anyway? I think maybe a lead foot and a pulse
(the pulse is optional). And how about that guy
who always drives the East West bus. You
know, the one who always has that easy listen
ing soul music going on with that old, cheesy
seventies disco beat in the background. Sounds
like something out of a cute little porn flick en
titled “Naked Nurses From Neptune.* Where
does that East West bus go anyway? When it
leaves the Tate Center, I think it heads off to
ward Nebraska or something like that. Just be
sure to pack a lunch when traveling on the East
West.
What’s more, I don’t think any of these guys
have the slightest concept of what a bussing
schedule is. According to the UGA bus schedule,
a Milledge comes by the designated stops on an
average of one every eight minutes. Yeah, right!
I guess, on a technical level, that statistic is cor
rect- but only on a technical level. That number
is nothing but an average. Reality is more like
standing at a bus stop for 30 minutes waiting
for a Milledge bus, and then three of them show
up. That’s great organization guys. When you fi
nally do get on a bus, the fun really begins. I
was on a North South bus the other day that
could have taken the pole position at Daytona!
But please, if you ride the busses, stay behind
the white line. White line? How about a seat-
belt and some head gear. What is that rule all
about? Is there some sort of protective force
field above that white strip of paint? Otherwise,
I can’t see any purpose to staying behind it. Oh
yeah, I forgot- by being behind the line, you get
that extra half second to kiss your face goodbye
before you eat windshield whenever the driver
deems it necessary to stop on a dime for no par
ticular reason.
Don’t worry though, because as we embark
on this safety weekend, we have one thing
working in our favor: the busses don’t run again
until Monday.
John Turco is a senior in journalism and stills
rides his personalized, Turconator Big Wheel.
Pi Kappa Phi apologizes to
University for pamphlet slurs
FORUM
An open letter to the University
of Georgia community:
Much has been said and written
since the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity
regrettably embarrassed itself and
the entire University of Georgia
community. We humbly apologize
and seek the forgiveness of all.
There is no excuse for the in
sensitive slur in our 1992 associate
member training manual.
Likewise, there is no defense.
Regardless of how the unfortunate
remark managed to make it into
print, we, the brothers of Pi Kappa
Phi, must accept the ultimate re- .
sponsibility.
An old proverb states,“A crisis is
an opportunity in the wind blow
ing.* A previously unrecognized at
titude problem compounded by
poor judgment caused this self-in
flicted crisis. However, we see
great opportunity to explore new
ways to increase the level of sensi
tivity to many key issues within
the University community.
Several years ago, the
University of Georgia was rocked
with controversy via the accusa
tions of Dr. Jan Kemp and her sub
sequent lawsuit. Some thought the
turmoil would destroy 200 years of
proud heritage at UGA It did not.
The University of Georgia capi
talized on the student athlete crisis
by re-evaluating its approach to
academics and athletics. Attitudes
and actions changed. The price
tags, emotionally and financially,
were very high. Today, our
University is much stronger be
cause of the ordeal. UGA’s nation
al reputation has rebounded to
even higher levels through a com
mitment to excellence.
Pi Kappa Phi sees a similar op
portunity to learn from the current
crisis. The greatest error was pre
viously failing to acknowledge an
attitude that would allow the slur
to happen. The national fraternity
and alumni have responded quick
ly to help us reorganize our priori
ties. Leadership programs have
been instituted. The concentration
will be on increasing our aware
ness for the need to be more sensi
tive and responsible.
After all, the University of
Georgia is an institution of learn
ing. In this educational environ
ment, everyone can benefit from
our mistake. Already, we are see
ing attitudes change for the better.
There is planning and dialogue
about how to use this unfortunate
incident as a catalyst for a widely-
acknowledged need of reform with
in the University of Georgia com
munity. The reformation has al
ready begun at the Pi Kappa Phi
house. We are addressing issues
that should have been priorities
long before now.
To paraphrase the late Andrew
Carnegie, “The older I get, the less
I pay attention to what people
say... rather, I watch what they
do* It is our goal to let our positive
actions of the future speak loudly
enough to demonstrate that we are
truly sorry. This crisis has changed
our attitudes and lives. We value
Pi Kappa Phi’s long-standing rela
tionship with the University of
Georgia.
We extend our hands of broth
erhood to the members of the Black
Greek Council and all within the
University of Georgia community.
We are grateful for your under
standing, forgiveness and coopera
tion in helping Pi Kappa Phi make
this crisis one of the most valuable
learning opportunities that we will
ever experience.
Lambda Chapter
PI Kappa Phi
University of Georgia
Pamphlet is free speech
The front page of Tuesday’s Red
and Black contained two articles
about the fraternity’s pledge pam
phlet that contained a racial slur.
The University administration and
many campus organizations have
responded with condemnation to
the pamphlet, the writer and the
fraternity. These responses are jus
tifiable to such an obviously racial
ly motivated and ugly statement.
I’m sure some people noticed the
quote on page four of the same is
sue, “Congress shall make no
law...abridging the freedom of
speech, or (5* the press...", the First
Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution. The writer and the
■ The Red and Black welcomes letters to the editor and prints them in the Forum
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belous material. Letters should be typed and double-spaced, and they must In
clude the name, address and daytime telephone number of the writer. Please also
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bring them in person to The Red and Black's offices at 123 North Jackson Street.
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fraternity can’t be threatened by
University administrators or any
one else for what they have writ
ten. From University president
Charles Knapp to fraternity advi
sor Ron Binder, even we the stu
dent can’t touch them. People at
the University can only protest
verbally at the pamphlet’s choice of
words and the ideas espoused. I
find it interesting that after the
First Amendment quote on page
four was a lengthy editorial about
censorship of written material.
Obviously this censorship applied
only to the selected material the
author found important to protect,
not the freedom of all written ma
terial and spoken speech.
The University is facing a law
suit by the student who authored
the pamphlet and/or the fraternity
if the administration chooses to im
pose anv penalties on the student
or the fraternity. This is because
the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled
recently that rules curbing the
freedom of expression on a college
campus is unconstitutional. This
speech that we may find disgusting
is protected. It’s a price we pay for
having that First Amendment to
the Constitution read “freedom of
speech..or..press," and not “free
dom of speech..or..press except for
(to be filled as people feel fit to
censor)."
Frankly, I am surprised that the
groups on campus that normally
seem bent on allowing all freedoms
to be expressed to their limits have
said nothing about this. Am I the
only one who went to Washington,
D.C., to see the U.S. Constitution
and saw that the First Amendment
had no blank line after it allowing
amendments for the censorship of
speech and writing? Read the
Constitution for yourself before
somebody dictates what you can
and cannot think, say or write.
Ralph Schulz
Graduate Student, chemistry
Be willing to stop racism
In reading Andy Ashurst’s letter
in the September 20th issue, I
found myself agreeing with the
majority of what he said. But part
of me was almost angry. Ashurst
stated that “..racism is alive and
well," and he encouraged whites to
prevent racial slurs and to confront
racism. Sound advice, yes, but the
truth is that racism is no longer
just a white against black issue.
In the past two weeks, I—a
white female—have been victim of
racism. I’ve had people ignore me
because we were of different races.
I’ve been given side-long glances if
I tried to speak to a person of a dif
ferent race. I’ve listened to three
black women deride “those preppie
white girls." How strange it made
me feel to be grouped into one cat
egory. How odd to be on the receiv
ing end of blatant racism.
It opened my eyes, and it made
me realize that it’s not just simple
racism anymore. It’s beyond that,
on a far greater scale. It’s preju
dice—against everything. Race
against race, rich against poor,
Greek against non-Greek, brains
against partiers; everyone is a vic
tim of this prejudice. The only pre
requisite is that you are a human
being.
There are signs all over campus
proclaiming “UGA ENCOURAGES
DIVERSITY." Wouldn’t it be better
if UGA encouraged UNITY? A uni
fied campus with everyone looking
beyond tne outside person. A uni
fied campus where all those inside
people could work together to get
beyond the boundaries built up by
years of fear, ignorance and tradi
tion.
Ashurst, I do want to stop
racism. If I hold out my hand, will
you meet me halfway?
Heather Brooks
Freshman, English