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What It Is
The time we've all been waiting for has finally arrived.
We have once again stumbled upon that annual event
where everyone will party hard for one solid weekend just
to talk about it for several months, and as far as we’re
concerned homecoming couldn't come at a better time.
These past tew weeks have been disconcerting and
confusing times, and everyone needs a well-deserved
break. Marijuana busts, dog casualties, and tuition hikes
have threatened to split the campus wide open, and this is
one time when we can put aside our differences, even if it is
only for a brief period of carousing and cheering.
So at the conclusion of this weekend, no matter what the
basketball results are. we can all say we won for once. And
that must be what it ’s all about.
Blowing Smoke
We have to agree with Robert Townley, director of plant
operations, when he said, “It’s a shame policy comes out of
crisis."
However, quite frankly, we haven’t seen a “crisis" for the
new animal policy to evolve from. At worst, there may be a
•mild problem," but hardly a “crisis." After all, how
threatened can a college community feel about a few
canines cavorting around on campus, even if they do oc
casionally drift in and out of our sacred buildings 9 Not very
Yet, maybe there was a crisis after all. Maybe the crisis
was not with the dogs, but with the administration. Maybe
some regrettable action had been taken earlier, so the new
policy had to be incorporated to justify matters. Maybe
some smoke was being blown to try to gracefully glide over
a delicate situation. Maybe we should just forget the whole
subject...
Meanwhile, everyone is urged to keep close tabs on their
animals. And we urge the administration to heed President
Maurice Townsend’s advisement of leniency. Let’s do
everything possible to end this dog tale.
Check Here First
And the search is on.
So is another one.
And yet another one... (whew)...
Search committees are springing up all over the place,
and we are beginning to wonder where it all will end. There
are presently committees looking for anew registrar, dean
of student services, and director of student activities, and
there is no telling what could happen next week. We might
tiave to appoint a committee to search for the committee to
search for the administrators.
Don't get us wrong. We like the idea of a group of qualified
people helping select candidates for the positions. But the
principle of “two (or more) heads are better than one" can
be carried too far.
Understandably enough, our fear is that these com
mittees will start looking too far from home, and ignore
what may be right on the front doorstep. That would be a
shame, because we might do well to cultivate a little of that
homegrown talent.
After all. familiarity doesn't always breed contempt.
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Mike Pendleton
One-Way Thinking
Have you ever wondered why Brum below
Drive on the West Georgia College Campus is a
one way street?
I have.
Officers of the department of public safety
here on campus told me several reasons why this
road was one-way.
To begin with, the road was a two-way street in
1973 But it was changed to a one-way street the
next year
The reasons for this were to decrease the
amount of traffic found in front of the student
center Also, one-way traffic decreases the
chances of pedestrians getting hit by cars. (You
know, you only have to look in one direction).
One more reason was to prevent tractor trailer
trucks coming from the area of College Arms
from using the road.
These reasons probably make a lot of sense
But since Z-45 is now the new location for food
services, it seems there will be less pedestrian
traffic on Brumbelow
The book store and post office are being moved
into the old student center as soon as possible
and this will increase pedestrian traffic again.
But, car drivers might decide to go to the off
campus book store if the road remains one-way.
No matter what dorm you live in, it would be
just as convenient to go to the off-campus store.
If two way traffic was provided the book store on
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Iranian Oil Encouragement
WASHINGTON - The Shah
of Iran is putting the squeeze on
the United States. His oil sales
have dropped more than 1.5
million barrels a day. This is
costing him around $4 billion a
year in revenues that he had an
ticipated but isn't getting.
So the Shah is upset He has
brought quiet diplomatic pres
sure on the State Department to
compel US. oil companies to
market more Iranian oil. Other
wise, he has threatened to cut
back his purchases of U.S. mili
tary equipment and nuclear
reactors.
It is doubtful that the State
Department can force the oil
companies to produce more Ira
nian oil that they cannot sell.
The sales have fallen off
because of conservation
measures and mild weather
However, Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger has always
tru'd to appease the Shah
Kissinger wants to encourage
American companies, therefore,
to market more Iranian oil.
But his colleague in the
cabinet. Secretary of the Treas
ury William Simon, would
rather encourage American
companies to reduce their Ira
nian production This would
give the United States more
bargaining power, he has
argued privately, to force the
Shah to reduce oil prices
Imported Labor. Thousands
of faceless men and women and
their anonymous children cons
tantly move with the harvests,
stopping only long enough to pick
a crop and to earn enough to sub
sist until the next stop. They are
the migrant farm laborers, who
help make America the best-fed
nation in history Yet they them
selves are often undernourished.
At least 4.000 of these pickers,
according to a Florida man
power survey, were eager to
w'ork in the fruit orchards of the
East Coast last fall. They desper
ately needed the money.
But Virginia apple growers
somehow persuaded the Labor
Jack Anderson
Department to let them bring
foreign fruit pickers into their
orchards. The Virginia growers
imported 978 Jamaican workers
to pick their apple crop This
may have saved them a little
money', but it deprived hongry
American migrant workers of
jobs.
Why would the Labor Depart
ment discriminate against
American workers'' We can only
point out an interesting coinci
dence. One of Virginia’s largest
apple growers happens to be the
powerful Senator Harry- Byrd.
We have determined that the
RF. Byrd orchards hired 180
Jamaicans to pick their 1975
crop.
A spokesman told us that the
Senator’s brothers make all the
business decisions. But whatever
the circumstances, the
Department chose to be kind to
the Senator rather than to the
jobless migrant workers.
Sky Spies: Secret in
telligence reports claim that the
Soviets are using Cuban
airstrips to spy on U.S. naval
movements. The latest report
states that two huge Soviet tur
boprops landed in Havana on
January’ 23. Along the way, the
planes conducted surveillance of
our East Coast
This was the 22nd time since
April, 1970. that Soviet military
planes have flow n to Cuba. Each
time, they- have engaged in
aerial spying. They photograph
US. Navy- ships in ports in
Virginia. South Carolina.
Georgia and Florida. From
Cuba, the Soviet planes also fly
reconnaissance missions into the
south Atlantic.
Invariably, the Soviet planes
are picked up on U.S. radar. US.
interceptors rush up to meet
them and often fly alongside
them, snapping pictures. Some
times, the pilots exchange sig
nals.
These Soviet flights, of course,
demonstrate that Cuba can be
used as a military base. There is
no evidence, however, that the
campus would be very convenient.
As far as the pedestrian traffic goes, there are
simple solutions to this problem. Stop signs or
even traffic lights could be installed at the cross
walks enabling students to cross in safety.
The concern over big trucks using Brumbelow
are also easily solved. Putting metal guide wires
on each end of the campus section of the road
would prevent trucks entering. It they did try to
enter, I’m sure the campus police would be on
hand to stop such atrocities Signs could also be
put up on each end of the road prohibiting trucks
to enter.
If you are wondering why this one-way street
bothers me so much, I have an answer, or maybe
an answer that is a question. Have you ever been
coming from, say College Arms, and headed for
the old student center or maybe the library? If
you have done this, you know you have to drive
clear around campus to get there.
There are probably many other possible
solutions to this irritating problem and hopefully
it will be looked into. After all, look at the gas
you’d save if Brumbelow was a two way street.
Also, look at the time you’d save if it were a two
way street.
I don’t know about what you think, but I think
anyway you look at it, Brumbelow Drive would
service people more conveniently if it were a two
way street. What do you think?
Soviets have constructed per
manent military facilities in
Cuba.
Poor Little Rich Lady: Im
elda Marcos, First Lady of the
Philippines, w as named by Cos
mopolitan magazine last
December as one of the ten
richest women in the world. This
is quite an achievement for a
working girl who was a bank
receptionist only a few years ago.
Then she married Ferdinand
Marcos, and he became Presi
dent of the Philippines.
Their sudden rise to riches,
however, is not a story they want
to advertise in the Philippines.
They didn’t want to censor Cos
mopolitan magazine. That would
only have attracted attention to
the story and would have led to
bad publicity.
So the Marcoses quietly ar
ranged with their rich friends to
buy up all the copies of Cos
mopolitan as fast as they hit the
Philippines newsstands. Thus,
the magazine disappeared from
the newsstands overnight --
before they could reach the peo
ple in the streets.
Crime War Cutback: In the
early 19605, the late Attorney-
General Robert Kennedy turned
the Justice Department’s big
guns against organized crime.
But lately, the investigation of
organized crime has been lag
ging-
The number of days spent in
the field by organized crime in
vestigators, according to our
sources, has been cut in half. And
the number of court briefs filed
by government lawyers in
organized crime cases has been
cut considerably.
Now, we have learned, the
Justice Department is secretly
preparing to eliminate the
special strike forces which were
established to fight organized
crime. Their work will be turned
over to the local U.S. Attorney's.