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4 | Friday, February 16. 2001 | The Red & Black
Kyle Wingfield | Editor in Chief
editor@randb.com
Chris Hassiotis | Managing Editor
me@randb.com
Brian Basinger | Opinions Editor
opinions@randb.com
Opinion Meter
A wrap-up of the week’s ups and downs
As empty as a bottle of scotch in
Edward Kennedy’s front seat. As SGA
candidates continue stumping for votes
this week, hope remains they will avoid
making empty campaign promises.
So far, some candidates have proposed
placing students on administrative com
mittees that don’t exist and enacting pol
icy changes that administrators already
have done.
Next thing you know, they’ll be saying
we should integrate the University and
let women attend, as well. You crazy kids!
Sisters are doing it for themselves. A
federal judge ruled Wednesday the
University must pay three female employ
ees more than $569,000 for wage discrimi
nation. The women claimed that men
working in the same department received
greater pay for equal work.
Equal pay for equal work?
What’s next? Maternity leave? Voting
rights for women?
The University better be careful, or it’ll
end up getting dragged into the 20th
century.
Watch out Prison League, here we
come! Georgia fullback Verron Haynes
was arrested this week on charges of
stalking, battery and making harassing
phone calls.
Haynes’ arrest was another in a long
line of recent tangles with the law for the
University’s football team.
A couple more arrests and the
University may as well save itself the
trouble by moving all the athletes out of
McWhorter Hall and into the local jail.
How to tell if your VD was good.
Wondering if your Valentine’s Day was
successful or not?
Well, here’s a hint: Valentine’s Day
always is a success as long as you go out
with somebody (read: anybody).
Those of you who were alone, try hard
er next year — unless you really enjoyed
your evening at home alone with a log of
cookie dough and low-budget movies
from Vision Video.
First, free love — now this. Students
who get their music for free from Napster
received some bad news this week when
a federal appeals court ruled the online
music-swapping service violates copy
right laws.
Oh well. Guess we’ll just have to go
back to using the Web for pom, instead.
Speaking of strong women ... Bumpers
bar announced it soon will have Jell-O
wrestling for women. We’re not yet sure if
Bill Cosby is offering his endorsement.
Quote of the week:
“By 1 p.m. they had already opened
their second box of condoms.”
— Leah Newman, an R&B news writer,
covering a condom giveaway on
Valentine’s Day.
Correction
Due to a reporting error, an article in Thursday’s edition of
The Red & Black misspelled the name of Kelly Trenary, a student
quoted in the article.
Our Staff
NEWS: 543-1809
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News Writers: Kerri Graffkis. Samira Jafarl. Jamar Lester.
Dana levitz, Lacey White
Sports Writers: Darren Epps. Gentry Estes. Josh Katzowttz
Variety Writers: Gardner Unn, Kyle Mlnshew, Jonathan
Reed
Photographers: Becky Reid. Kendra Wsycullis
Stringers: Greg Bhjesletn, Letsnd Barrow. John Broderick,
Laura CaSahan, Steven Clark. Khnherty Cooper. Melanie
Honoti, uavKJ mou, M6f rill Mw3ncon, 1 a 113 Motion.
Jennifer Moore, Bill Murphy, Leah Newman, Johnny
r\ a . a n_la ri.i.. . , t. -.1- n..a |.| M . p..,l n i nihar
uxToro. siOtiy raimar, jutue Huoner, jaina oarno, eiiiuer
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The Red A Black is published Monday Ihrough Friday M and
spnng semesters and each Thursday summer semester, except
holidays and exam periods, by The Red 1 Black Publishing
Company Inc., a non-profit campus newspaper not affiliated
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St. Athens GA, 30601. Fax 546-7251. Subscription rate: $150
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Opeaons expressed n The Red 6 Black other than unsigned edtonals are the opinions d the writers of signed columns and not nec
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Editorial board members nckide Brian Basxtger. Chris Hasartis. Mack WMems and Kyle Wingfield
Reaching Us
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Letters should include name, year in school, hometown, phone
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Letters should be no more than 150 words. All letters are subject to
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U.S. democracy is worth emulating
N otwithstanding the controver
sy surrounding the 2000 presi
dential election, American
democracy stiU is worth emulat
ing.
The fact that the outcome
ended up being decided by the
Supreme Court bears testimony
to the fact that the doctrine of
the separation of powers exists
in the United States.
In many countries where such
checks and balances don’t exist,
the stalemate could have thrown
the country into a more serious
political quagmire.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in
favor of President Bush, however,
was not done to placate the
Republicans who had been out of
the Oval Office for eight years.
In any given situation, no sit
ting government would like to
lose elections.
The American example has
two legal and political ramifica
tions.
First, it’s expedient for coun
tries the world over to uphold
their constitutions.
Second, a good constitution is
requisite for democracy.
Constitutionalism as a philos
ophy and a political tool of gov
ernment involves a commitment
to reason and deliberate, human
dignity.
It also involves limited govern
ment and the institutional mech
anisms necessary for the achieve
ment of these ideals, such as the
separation of powers and judicial
review.
President James Madison
explained what in essence is
required for a constitutional
state in the Federalist Papers —
“If men were angels, no govem-
Patrick Musami
ment would be necessary.”
In framing government —
which is administered by men
ruling over men — the great diffi
culty is that you first enable the
government to control the gov
erned, and in the second place
be able to control itself.
There are three branches of
government — the legislative,
judiciary and the executive.
None of the three branches is
supposed to be superior to the
other.
The British type of govern
ment is replicated in many other
areas, such as Canada, Australia
and India.
In Britain the Queen is the
head of state, but her role is
ceremonial.
She appoints ambassadors,
receives heads of foreign states,
assents to bills and officiates at
state functions.
The Prime Minister is the
actual head of government.
The Prime Minister sits in
Parliament and can be removed
by a vote of no confidence
passed by members of
Parliament.
He appoints the judges, but
this has to be ratified by
Parliament.
In the U. S. Constitution you
have a President, but his deci
sions are under congressional
scrutiny.
For example, the President
appoints the Federal Supreme
Court justices and members of
the cabinet including the FBI
and CIA directors, but these
appointments need congress-
sional ratification.
The executive branch
(President and secretaries) can
not deal with matters of finance
without involving Congress.
The judiciary has the power to
try federal cases and interpret
the laws of the country.
The Supreme Court in the
United States also has accepted
the principle that Congress can
delegate to the President and
the cabinet the power to make
administrative regulations, but
not the power to pass substan
tive legislation.
In France, the President is an
executive President elected by
popular vote to power, but such
an election has to be an actual 50
percent poll rather than the win-
ner-takes-all system.
In some African countries,
notably Zimbabwe, where dicta
torship and oligarchy thrive, the
executive is the strongest of the
three branches of government,
and there is no separation of
powers.
There is an all-powerful execu
tive President who passes sub
stantive subsidiary legislation in
order to consolidate himself
longer in power.
American democracy still is
worth emulating.
— Patrick Musami is a
graduate student in pharmacy.
Mailbox
E-mail, letters and faxes from our readers
Reader finds mullet cartoon unfunny
I am responding to the Mullet
Mike cartoon in the paper
(Monday, Feb. 15.)
I have a good friend who has a
mullet.
He volunteers his time to his
chinch, works close to full-time
and takes a full load of
classes.
He’s just as much an individu
al and member of this community
as anyone else.
I don’t think it’s funny that
you find humor in segregating a
group, labeling people who have
mullets as a “chump,” and then
hurting them.
What’s funny about that?
Why have you decided to set
people with mullets apart from
the rest of the fans of the Gym
Dawgs?
Would you write this cartoon,
with this violent action occurring,
about a black person?
Would you write it about a
Korean student?
Should he be afraid to go
somewhere because he has a
mullet — because of who he is?
Haven’t people been segregat
ed enough on this campus?
I mean, we’re all drinking from
the same water fountain, but
where are the real attempts to
diversify?
Sure, “It was just a cartoon,”
or “Don’t take it so seriously,” are
usual replies when you mention
this type of prejudice, but it is
this form of slander that feeds
others to believing the same
opinion as your bigoted cartoon.
The paper used its influence
and power to make someone else
feel inferior by stating people
with mullets aren’t people —
they’re “chumps.”
Humor that demeans people
because they are different, isn’t
flrnny in the “ha-ha” sort of way.
E-MAILING US
Questions, comments,
complaints? Here’s where to
point and click:
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And now you’ve squashed my
friend’s security in his own indi
viduality.
It is your responsibility as a
newspaper to convey idealistic
thought that represents the com
munity the newspaper informs.
Your opinions should range
farther than the select few.
The Red & Black is the college
newspaper.
It should have at least enough
openness or broad-mindedness
to accept all people who attend
school without making fun of
them.
My friend goes to school here.
He works hard for his grades.
He has many friends here.
And he is the most faithful
Dawgs fan.
So I will be damned if I am
going to keep silent when a car
toon depicts my friend as being
ridiculous because he has a mul
let.
You will not embarrass him
with your cartoon.
He will wear his mullet with
integrity and dignity.
He will not hide his mullet, nor
will he cut it.
He will wear it with pride.
My friend loves the Gym
Dawgs.
My friend loves Kristi Lichey.
JONATHAN BEAL
Senior, Athens
Business
‘Conservative’ column
elicits reader response
— Editor’s Note: The following
letter was written in response to
Justin B. Rubner’s column, which
ran Thursday, Feb. 15, in The Red
& Black.
Justin, to find out what being
“conservative” means, I went to
the most conservative source I
could think of: the dictionary.
Webster defined “conserva
tive” as “relating to a political
party, point of view or philosophy
that advocates preservation of
the established order and views
proposals for change critically
and usually with distrust.”
So, I began to think of various
established orders.
Pontius Pilate and the Roman
order came to mind. Pilate’s fear
of change culminated in the cru
cifixion of a man many admire. I
think they call him Jesus Christ.
King George m also came to
mind. I think he was on the other
side of what I remember in histo
ry as the American Revolution.
I also thought about Jefferson
Davis and his leadership in the
opposition to slavery’s abolition.
He viewed this change critical
ly and with enough distrust to
fight a civil war, I think.
George Wallace and Joseph
McCarthy also came to mind as
advocates of established order.
Then I thought of our coun
try’s current illegitimacy, King
George V — or, as I like to affec
tionately call him, “Junior.”
Junior, Justin: Here’s looking
at you, kids!
BENJAMIN DOTY
Graduate Student, Augusta
Finance
Andrew DeMillo
SGA: Let’s
get ready to
rumble!!!
V ince McMahon would love
this. This is the first thing
that came to mind as I was
sitting through the SGA vice
presidential debate the other
night.
Well, actually, the first
thing that came to mind was,
“I’m missing ‘Buffy’ for this?”
but I tried to get over that
pretty quickly.
Then my thoughts turned
to how much unrealized rev
enue potential there is in an
SGA debate.
We don’t need an election
here. We need a Royal
Rumble.
All of the elements already
are in place — eight trash-
talking tag teams vying for a
title, rowdy audiences and no
intellectual dialogue whatso
ever.
It’s time to call McMahon,
the pro-wrestling promoter.
The night started out inno
cently enough, with candi
dates milling around, passing
out Valentine’s candies to the
audience.
The debate’s moderator,
SGA President Garrett
Gravesen, lobbed a round of
softball questions at the eight
veep hopefuls, asking ques
tions like “Why were you
selected as a running mate?”
and “What are you greatest
strengths and weaknesses?”
To summarize the canned
responses, here’s what we
know about our candidates in
a nutshell: they all support
campus safety, better parking,
campus unity and diversity.
(By the way, when was the
last time you’ve hear anyone
arguing against campus safety
or for cruddy parking?)
How they plan on achieving
these goals is where the can
didates get kinda stuck. The
keys to enacting change on
campus apparently are an
interactive Web site, pizza
dinners with the SGA presi
dent and an SGA section in
the paper, among other
proposals.
But the debate looked like
a bad combination of “The
Ricki Lake Show” and the
WWF once questions were
opened up to the audience.
It’s hard to get an objective
question when the audience
primarily consists of SGA can
didates and campaigners.
Gravesen struggled to
maintain any control over the
debate as a flurry of race-bait
ing and pointed questions
came from the crowd.
You gotta love SGA,
though. Where else can the
presidential candidates ask
questions of their own run
ning mates during a public
debate?
Are we supposed to
assume that Asma Anwar or
Richard Butler is an undecid
ed student voter?
There hardly seemed to be
any question asked during the
Q&A session that wasn’t
planted by one of the candi
date tickets.
Since we’ve given up on
having the debates provide an
environment for voters to
learn more about their candi
dates, I propose a change.
Why don’t we just turn the
entire SGA election over to
McMahon? Maybe he can do
for SGA what he did for pro
football with his extreme foot
ball league, the XFL.
Welcome to X-SGA, the
extreme student government.
All we need are the cheer
leaders in skimpy outfits,
Jesse Ventura in the commen
tator booth and “shout-outs”
from the presidential
hopeftils. Think of all the
money we’re missing out on
here through advertising and
pay-per-view. This is a cash
cow just waiting to be milked.
It’s not too late. We’ve got
two more debates and more
chances to spice up the show.
Since it’s apparent that
SGA and its candidates have
no interest in telling us what
the issues are, we may as well
make some cash off this.
If not, I’m pretty sure
there’s something better on
the WB.
— Andrew DeMillo is
recruitment editor for The Red
& Black
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