About Veritas. ([Athens, Georgia]) 1970-1970 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 1970)
^ Veritas Page 7 response Response, Incorporated, charterd in the State of Georgia, was organized with the intention "to further the educational, econo mic and social development of the citizens of Athens, Georgia, particularly those citizens who are impoverished and who do not share in the general economic prosperity and well-being of the United States and the State of Georgia. The Response Corporation, which is composed of the members of "The Congregation Poor Service" of the United Presbyterian Church, is a church without walls. It deals with social issues of today. Response has two projects under way. One is the well-known United Free Press, a newspaper here in Athens which brings to the attention of the community problems overlooked or pushed aside by community leaders. The second project is a food buying club. It was established by Response People at the suggestion of some of the workers at "Action" (Citizens Participa tion Counsel for Action) headed by Mrs. Pearly Woods. The purpose of the food buying club is to save its members money on their food purchases. The members of the club are primarily low income families. Food will be sold at cost plus 25 cents by the Response Corporation. All workers on the food buying club are volunteers. If the club proves successful in about six months many other similar clubs will be organized. Other future projects for Response are a low rent housing project and a draft counseling service, which will help young men in the community understand their rights and obligations. Regero Sampson Tim Hayes ^ffim [corner OF 1 [college AND W/X, I CLAYTON PAGE ONE 130 College Ave (Above Western Union) "Where the Unusual Is Usual" - Clothing Commission on Campus Unrest, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ohio Grand Jury who is right? Soon after the Kent State killings, the F. 8.1. and the President's Commission on Campus Unrest both conducted separate investigations of the incident. The Commis sion, headed by Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton had access to the F. 8.1. files on the case. To most sane people, the Commissions's report was one of impartiality, blaming both radical students and trigger happy guardsmen for the tragic incident. At the same time the commission emphasised the high ideals and frustration of students who feel that they have to take their grieviences to the streets in peaceful protest. The report layed most of the blame on the guardsmen for the actual incident but placed some of the blame on the demonstrating students. Perhaps the most blame and polit ical hot potatoe of the report was the appeal to the President to use his power to bring this country together. A few days later, the Mouthpiece shouted out his typical Agnewian asinine diatribes giving the administration's Silent Majority the comfort and assurance that the Commission's report was all wrong and the incident was the fault of the students. As if to give support to the vice-president's bucolic barbarisms, the Ohio grand jury came out with their own version of the Kent State killings. Just about every "don't play God — don't mold people" ^W With his moustache and mod suit, Paul Friedburg, landscape architect, gave an emphatically young, lively appearance at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Sunday night. But more important than his appearance, his ideas and approach to landscape architecture are equally young and lively as revealed in his speech and slide show. "Planners should not play God," he asserted, "They should not try to mold the needs of people." This principle guided his work in designing the Jacob Riis Houses in Mahattan and the Harlem River Bronx Park. As an example of this policy; he told of children using flower beds around a fountain as a swimming area—a use not included in the designer's plans. "Instead of putting up prohibitive signs, we changed the flower beds and let the kids swim, "Friedburg said, "We didn't want conflict areas." Displaying a good sense of humor as well as an open mind concerning planning, he gave another example of children's improvisational ability — mattresses started appearing in an igloo structure in one playground. "I guess this comes under the heading of teen play'," quipped Friedburg, "It turned out alright, though. The smaller children burned the mattresses during the aspect of the grand jury findings contradicted the Commission's report. In fact Police Chief James Ahern of New Haven, a member of the Commission, flatly stated that the findings of the grand jury concerning the Guardsmen were "inconsistent with the facts." Although the jury heard 300 witnesses, they concluded that when the students refused to disperse after a ban on demonstrations, they "caused a violent reaction" and were therefore quilty of criminal conduct. On the conduct of the Guardsman, the grand jury stated: "They fired their weapons in the honest and sincere belief and under circumstances which would have logically caused them to believe that they would suffer serious bodily injury had they not done so. They are not, therefore, subject to criminal prosecution under the laws of this state." Yet the F. 8.1. report stated that the closest student to the Guardsmen was 75 yards away. Bodily injury from such a distance? A girl shot in the BACK I assume was somehow threatening them. Does the grand jury think the American people are idiots? Regardless of the one-sided findings (or non-findings) of the infamous Ohio grand jury, this writer hopes that the Federal Government will carry through on its pending investigation and prosecution of the National Guardsmen responsible for the senseless tragedy. Phil day, and that's fun, too." Concerning designs for low income housing, Friedburg stressed a comprehensive approach. "We should deal with conditions, not symptoms," he said, "Poor people don't want low income housing, they want not to be poor. Designers must understand the political, social, and economic aspects of society before real accomplishments can be made." Contact with one's environment is very important, according to Friedburg. "An object should allow people to interact with it," he said, "People were involved—whether it was sensually as in cooking clams at the Clam Bar, or visually as in viewing the graphics display. Carrying this idea of involvment further, Friedburg encourages local occupants of an area to participate in building their park. By paying local adults for this work, Friedburg not only involves them, but also builds up the economy in the area. Children enthusiastically work for free, doing anything from painting fences to painting murals. More important than the inter action between people and their environment is the interaction among people. "A few years ago the first 'Be-In' occurred in Central Park. There was no special reason for it—it was just an opportunity for people to feel good together, Friedburg said, "It was together ness with the purpose of being human. People usually have more fun watching each other than watching statues or fountains." After being shown one of the parks Friedburg designed, a group of children wrote him a letter expressing their appreciation of his work." The world doesn't make itself," they said, "Many men and ladies help." We need more men and ladies who help the way Friedburg does. Bonnie Brickey
