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4 » The Red and Black Weekend • Friday, April 26. 1996
OPINIONS
The Red & Black
Established m I8V3 - Incorporated I MU
An independent student newspaper not affiliated hi th the University of Georgia
Brandon Haddock/Editor In Chief
Wendy Wolfenbarger/Managing Editor
Chad George/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
Secondhand smoke
claims innocent victims
There have been many recent attacks on tobacco
companies for endangering lives with their products. But
a larger smoking problem looms. It’s no secret that
smoking increases the risk for a variety of illnesses in
cluding asthma, cancer and heart disease. The informa
tion and warnings exist. If smokers jeopardize their own
health, it’s their choice.
But a recent study by the Center for Disease Control
and Prevention points out much more alarming informa
tion. Despite efforts to restrict smoking in public places,
nine out of 10 non-smoking Americans are still exposed
to carcinogenic secondhand smoke. This is not their
choice.
Too often we turn to government and business to pro
tect us from danger, rather than looking to the cause. By
lighting up in a public place, whether a restaurant, club
or campus sidewalk, a smoker is compromising the
health of others who have no choice but to endure or
hide away from society.
Smoking is the number one preventable health prob
lem in the United States. Secondhand smoke causes
3,000 cases of lung cancer a year. Stop blaming the insti
tutions — it’s time to make individuals responsible.
Smokers need to be more thoughtful of those around
them. Instead of government regulations and industry
bashing, the problem of secondhand smoke can be solved
by smokers themselves.
Athens should be ready
for Twilight weekend
It’s going to be one hell of a sports weekend, and
we’re wondering if Athens will be ready.
The city hosts the Twilight Criterium Friday,
Saturday and Sunday. Events include several bicycle
races on the streets of downtow'n Athens, some pretty
big-name concert performers, and a lot of drunken revel
ers wandering and littering.
On Saturday, the University’s football team will host
its annual G-Day scrimmage at Clarke Central High
School’s fabled “Death Valley.” Look for lots of
Winnebagos full of red and black-clad alumni with buck
ets of fried chicken and cases of beer.
Make that as many as 20,000 alumni, in a prep foot
ball stadium that’s not exactly surrounded by parking
lots.
What does all of this mean to us?
It depends.
If the Athens-Clarke County Police and University
Police have a significant presence, if traffic plans have
been worked out, if the city is ready for any and all cir
cumstances, then we should be fine, whether we’re
buzzing on Broad Street or driving down Baxter.
But if the city hasn’t adequately prepared for the
weekend — and something tells us it will be a big week
end — then it could be trouble.
We envision traffic that could back up for miles. We
see boisterous crowds that may far outnumber an inade
quate police presence. We see a city that may not be able
to handle a single weekend of crowds, much less the
Olympic crush, which grows closer by the day.
We’re hoping — praying, actually — that the
University and city planners prove us wrong. We’re hop
ing that the city passes this Olympic pop quiz with ease
that indicates months of practice and preparation.
And at the same time, we’re considering staying at
home this weekend.
STAFF
NEWS: 543 1809
Naur* Editor: Thom** Strwdtngar
Sport* Editor Marc LancMter
Entertainment Editor Stephen Robinson
Associate Mow* Editor William Smith
Now Writer* Editor Todd Bauer
Front Fa*# Copy Editor Robert Donnelly
Chief Copy EdHor Ann Mane Quill
Inside Copy EdHor*: Amy Frazier. Lea Levine. Beth
MacFadyen
Photo*raphy EdHor Tat# MacQuoon
Chief Photographer: Mam Adams
Oraphlc* Juatin Pritchard. Tiffany Ryerte. Chad
M#n**n
R*porter* Dan Bitchof. Beryamm Carr, lame* Cook,
ion Gaiucm. Cam* Gibson Heather Harvey Andrew
Mealan Mary Sue Kopecko. Charu Kumahna. Mat
Matich Crystal Paulk
Sport* Writer*: C I Johnson Rot) Kitchel. Norm
Wood
Entertainment Writer* Josh Massey. Kimberly
0*1*1 re* C Trent Rosecrans
EdNortal Assistant let Gn**s
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I JUST LOVE
CLAY PIGEONS!!!
QUOTABLE
•Maybe we ll just run Robert out there and have him wave to
the crowd, and then cancel the game.”
— Football coach Jim Donnan, on running back Robert
Edwards’ participation in Saturday's game.
Smokers have become second-class citizens
There’s a new oppressed minority in our soci
ety: smokers.
Smoking is a disgusting, filthy and potential
ly lethal habit But then so is sex, religion and
life, and none of the latter offenders have to
huddle together outside their places of business
in the middle of winter.
I’m not a smoker myself, mostly because I
like to keep my teeth sparkling white (although
I haven’t smiled since 1981 when Ronald
Reagan was shot, so it’s not that big an issue).
However, most of my friends are orally fixated
— as am I, come to think of it. so it pains me to
see them discriminated against by anti-smok
ers.
I should point out here the difference be
tween non-smokers and anti-smokers. I’m a
non-smoker. I don’t mind if friends light up in
front of me. and I don’t lecture them about how
expensive their health insurance is going to be
and how they’re poisoning their lungs. They al
ready have a mother. Besides, they know the
risks: It’s their body and their choice.
But anti-smokers deny smokers their right to
choose. These people are, without a doubt, the
most annoying, whiny, bitchy, controlling, anal
retentive, twisted, unhappy, evil people on
Earth. I’m convinced Hitler, Stalin and the guy
who created Valentine’s Day were anti-smokers.
Not having a life of their own, anti-smokers
choose to harass innocent smokers and pressure
them into giving up something that brings joy
to their lives. What’s so bad is that they don’t
offer anything to replace the void left by nico-
Stephen
Robinson
tine. They don’t say, “Hey! Quit smoking and
start drinking more.” or “Hey! Give weed a try.
It’s therapeutic." No, it’s “Hey! Quit smoking
and you'll gain 20 pounds and be cranky, irrita
ble and generally no fun to be around.”
Maybe that’s what their game is. The anti-
smokers, who also eschew alcohol and caffeine,
hope to spread misery in a feeble, illogical at
tempt to extend life when, realistically, we
should all be proponents of slow suicide.
Anti-smokers are so self-absorbed they fear
any threat to their lives, no matter how negligi
ble — hence the whole second-hand smoke con
spiracy. Anti-smokers would have you believe
inhaling tobacco fumes in a restaurant for half
an hour is deadlier than inhaling next to Pat
Buchanan.
Ever since the Environmental Protection
Agency declared second-hand tobacco smoke
and Kathie Lee Gifford human carcinogens
three years ago, smoking has been banned from
most businesses and public buildings. (Also,
people with weak stomachs are warned not to
watch “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" more
than twice a week.)
This doesn’t appear to be having much effect.
A new study by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention revealed that nine out of 10
non-smokers are exposed to second-hand
smoke, which only means more people’s lives
are being enriched by disgruntled nicotine-ad
dicts. How is this bad news?
My best friend Heather has smoked ever
since she was 12 and needed something to do af
ter sex. Cigarettes sustain her more than air
and water. She also has the perfect attitude to
ward anti-smokers: She ignores them and their
rules.
She has no qualms about smoking in the
non-smoking section of restaurants if it means
getting a better table (occasionally, she does it
just to be a bit<?h). If paranoid anti-smokers
complain, she blows smoke in their faces.
She has read all the propaganda anti-smok
ers publish about smoking, and she’s fine with
it. She drinks too much anyway, so she’s not re
ally concerned about lung cancer. Incidentally,
I’ve started an unofficial pool on which of her
organs will go first. My money’s on the liver.
There’s only so much Southern Comfort the hu
man body can take.
So, I for one say light up and enjoy. The life
you end just might be an anti-smoker’s.
— Stephen Robinson is the entertainment
editor for The Red and Black.
Candidates do not tackle important issues
I’ve been following most of the presidential
primary coverage in the Athens newspapers.
We the people were treated to the usual horse
race aspects of the primary season in many sto
ries. Nevertheless, the Banner-Herald, for ex
ample, tried to deliver systematic coverage of
the Republican candidates, their backgrounds
and issue positions. Now that the two major
party candidates are shoo-ins, however, it
would be helpful to learn more of the differ
ences between Bob Dole and Bill Clinton, espe
cially on issues that affect young people. The
early newspaper stories I’ve read are not en
couraging.
A recent article (Athens Daily News, April
20) about initial sparring between the presiden
tial contenders is a case in point. The story was
picked up from the Associated Press and told of
Dole’s desire to paint Clinton as a criminal cod-
dler. The evidence for the claim is that Clinton
has appointed to the federal judiciary "an all-
star team of liberal leniency" and “Clinton’s
Supreme Court picks used technicalities to
overturn death sentences for murderers.”
Clinton’s rejoinders include the fact that
Dole “voted against only three of his 185 nomi
nations" and opposed “Clinton’s efforts to get
handguns and assault weapons away from
criminals.,” that the “average sentence for feder
al firearms violations and violent crimes have
increased by more than a year since Clinton
took office," and that Dole opposed a “program
to provide seed money for 100,000 new police
officers."
Apparently, the two contenders noted case
decisions handed down by two to six particular
judges to “prove" their points. There are more
than 500 federal district court and appellate
judges. So much for statistical significance.
Clinton’s claim that his actions have led to an
increase in average sentences served or his as
sumption that 100,000 more officers distributed
over as many districts would reduce crime are
both absurd.
My frustrations with these political mum
blings is that they do not accurately reflect how
our system works, but serve merely to confuse
and propagandize. They do not offer remedies
or legitimate alternatives, and do not clarify
underlying value positions — in other words,
politics and newspaper coverage as usual. They
do not serve the public nor do they address sig
nificant problems that young people face.
The fact that Dole attacks Clinton for his
choice of judicial appointments and connects
this with criminal leniency is ludicrous for sev
eral reasons. Almost 95 percent of criminal ac
tivity, including murder cases, are tried in state
courts. Neither Clinton nor Dole as president
can or will have much effect over those appoint
ments or elections. Dole’s claim that Clinton’s
Supreme Court appointees use technicalities to
overturn death sentences does not address the
fact that there are nine justices, a majority of
whom must decide a case. It also overlooks the
fact that the court is primarily dominated by
conservatives, appointed by Republicans.
Even more alarming is that those “mere
technicalities" are Constitutional principles —
due process, equality before the law, and rights
of the accused. Americans may be getting fed
up with criminal activity, but I haven’t heard
anyone ranting about adopting the old Soviet or
Nigerian system of “law and order" (search and
seize at will).
Furthermore, the issue of whether the gov
ernment should require stricter gun control
registration and regulation is as much about
the freedom to acquire a gun as it is about a
cause-effect relationship between gun owner
ship and crime. My guess is that neither
Clinton nor Dole cares much for crime, wants to
be denied the freedom to buy a gun, or wants to
be searched indiscriminately.
I do wonder, though, about how these candi
dates plan to deal with soaring Medicare costs,
future increases in social security taxes on the
young, staggeringly high poverty rates among
children (which incidentally is related to crime
and all kinds of other problems), or large sec
tions of working Americans and their families
who can’t afford to survive on $4.25 or $5.10 an
hour. Could we please hear something about
important issues for young people and
America’s future?
— Doug Dixon is a doctoral student in Social
Science Education.
Column incorrectly makes a
racial issue out of music
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After reading the editorial by
Shawn Durham,(“Music charts
show increasing racial diversity,"
Monday, April 22), I found myself
confused on what his message was.
Could it be that music should not
be categorized or that black people
can not play “white music" and vice
versa? I still do not really get his
point. What I did conclude is that
Durham is a man who wants to
make a racial issue out of every fact
of life.
I will not deny that when the
music charts were first created cer
tain races would stick to one kind
of music. Whites would prefer pop,
blacks R&B and Jazz, and Latinos
the latin charts. But that was then
and this is now. Music has crossed
racial barriers. Music categories
still exist because not all styles of
music are the same
To give just one example of how
things can be in the same family
but in different categories, look at
cars. You would not put a Mercedes
Benz and a Jeep Wrangler in the
same category And I do not see
anyone complaining. Certain
things, though they may be in the
same family, have very distinct
characteristics that make them de
serve their own spot. Enough said
on the existence of categories.
I still do not understand what
idea Durham was trying to get
across with his comments on cer
tain whites entering the “black
charts” and blacks entering the
“white charts". As I mentioned be
fore, not everything must be an is
sue of race. There is a much broad
er concept to try and get across —
culture And it does not always go
along with the color of your skin.
It is about time we start viewing
this country again as a whole and
not divided. This is the United
States of America. This is not
South or Central America, Africa,
Europe or Asia. It is very true that
all these cultures have made this
country great. But unless you have
recently immigrated to this country
or your family holds very strong
foreign culture and customs, your
culture and history are American.
Learning about other histories
and cultures, as everyone including
myself should, will not make you
“hate or neglect" your own. If any
thing it would create tolerant peo
ple who can see past the end of
their nose.
Anita Castro
Sophomore, Plant Pathology