• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1992-03-26_Vol57_No22_04

Volume 57 Number 22 Voices The Western Carolinian Page 4 Thursday. March 26. 1992 Letters to the Editor John Marshall Dennis Editor-in-Chief The Pro-liferfs view To the Editor, Last week, in discussing the issue of abortion, I focused on morality and the point at which life begins. Following is a continuation on the issue and the main aspects that will be explored are the options offered by the pro-life movement and the "what ifs"" of over-turning Roe v. Wade. The options offered by the pro- life, or anti-choice, movement are for the mother to raise the child or to give up the child for adoption. When the mother chooses to keep the child, many times the child is poorly cared for financially and the possibility of receiving child support from the father is at best a dismal hope. "One third of all abortions in 1987 were obtained by women who were unem ployed; one fourth by women less than 19 years old." (The New Public, May 8,1989; p. 12) These are women who have no means of support for their child, who would be dependent on the limited resources of a single mother. Adoption is the other option. In the book Living Mistakes by Kate Inglis, she says that the surrender of a child by a mother to strangers is abnormal because "she is amother yet not a mother." The decision to give your child up is a very emotional and traumatizing one which is made as a choice based on the lesser of the evils. But is it really lesser? A mother will live with the consequences of that choice for the rest of her life. Adoption is portrayed as a wonderful opportunity for an unplanned, and unwanted child. However, it may not seem so bright once we consider the steps. The child, if it is lucky, is adopted as an infant; however, if the infant becomes seriously ill within a certain time after the adoption process has been completed, the child can be returned to the adoption agency. Many children are placed in foster homes, especially those who are overlooked in their infant years and grow into toddlers and eventually pre-teens. These children grow with a great lack of security as well as love. The foster parents are advised not to become attached to the child because he or she will be moving in a few months or years. This is enforced by not providing any information on the child, including birthdays. Also, it would be nice to think that many families would like to contribute something to society -HE KNEUI U/flAT ?E0?L£"WJGUT Of OF MIS -K/Nr>: WELL. MANAGE EASILY REPLACEABLE , MfND-E OFJTiGKS AND SYDNES. UTT WAS rALL VERY CLEARCUTf f»^S 6i6. HJ-T.5 BEEN GIVEN A BAD -fW^CUT- ANb HE'S AlAD AS HELL! "WLL NEVE? CALL W\tA FO^E-STr^W* A 6.LT.U. -RfcLEKSE- CoW^v. &&&W STARRING WA\NH £ LNi\ FOREST TWCKEV We did it again. In last week's first installment of the Saleeby series we omitted a couple of sentences. They should have read in the second paragraph: The moral issue becomes more complicated at the fetus, baby, living organism, etc., grows larger and more Fully developed. In the third; As for finking an answer to the question about the precise moment in time when life beginfd, I discovered that there were just as many experts that said life begins at conception as therewere who supported life at birth. Western Carolina University The Old Student Union P.O. Box 66 Cullowhee, NC 28723 John Marshall Dennis Editor-in-Chief Assistant Editor Laura Adams Assistant to the Editor Juliana Budahl Associate Editors Jennifer Mann - News Ellen Furey - Copy Robert M. Robertson - Sports Writers Misha Baker V Photographer Hunter Pape Typesetters Angela Gray Laura Whitmire Layout & Design The Regulars Office Manager Mike Greene Distribution Chris Henley Advisor John Moore Mike Burke Dawn Cook JeffDeMoe Suzanne Kendall Jon Mayhew Dave McCaskill Barrett Nichols Melissa Richardson Kim Shively Derek Smolik Jeff Sykes Dan Warlick Jimmy White Julie Wingruber Ad Salesperson Christa Humphrey and provide this foster service out of the goodness of their hearts, but the simple truth is that they are paid to provide it. There is a very small percentage of children who pass through the adoption and foster care processes who do not suffer from sexual and verbal abuse as well as emotional traumas. Another branch of the anti- choice movement is the employment of tactics to persuade people to oppose abortion. The main channel for these tactics is Operation Rescue. This organization is committed to protecting the right to life that the fetus has by barricading abortion clinics. Oddly enough this organization was founded and is headed by a man named Randall Terry, who I rest assured in saying, never experienced an unplanned pregnancy or has had to face the decision of whether to abort a growing fetus in his body ornot, andneverwill. InWitchita, Kansas, in the summer of 1991, more than 2,000peration Rescue demonstrators were arrested for blocking the entrances to the city's three abortion clinics. When asked to explain then- action, "They talk to God as eagerly and as vaguely as a different kind of activist speaks of the ecosystem or peace.. .Operation Rescue's physical harassment of women seeking abortions only hurts." (Commonweal, Sept. 27, 1991; p. 532) "They proclaim to save lives yet they are endangering the lives of women," says Molly Yard, the previous President of the National Organization for Women. Let us, if we can, imagine for just a moment that Roe v. Wade was overturned or revised. One possible outcome is that the court will return >the power to regulate abortion to the state which would have the option of placing restrictions on women who choose to have an abortion. Some restrictions such as those suggested by Justice S andra Day O'Connor are a "mandatory 24-hour waiting period, a requirement that abortions be performed in fully accredited hospitals, a hospital committee approval requirement, and a requirement dial two doctors concur in each abortion decision." (The New Republic, May 8,1989; p. 11) These restrictions have the effect of making abortions more expensive and difficult to obtain, making the consequences devastating for the poor, and less well-educated women. During the month of February many Americans focused their attention on Ireland, where a fourteen year old girl who was raped by a friend's father had planned to go to Britain to obtain an abortion. The government tried to prevent the abortion by denying her the right to travel. What other forms of suppression must we as women endure before we are truly free and equal? "In a very fundamental sense (women) are still held to the responsibilities and obligations of child bearing and child rearing as our proper and dutiful .role," says Faye Wattleton, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Of course, there are other aspects involved when approaching abortion. The pro-choice and pro-active options will be discussed next week. Sincerely, Lianna Saleeby Carolinian editors seen as way out of bounds Dear John: I couldn't imagine a student newspaper editor who would allow his columnist to refer to the school's football team as a bunch of weirdo jockstraps. And surely a shrewd editor such as yourself would squelch anything resembling sophomoric, unprovoked mockery of a recognized campus organization by a member of your own staff. —"Well, I'm not a shrewd editor, and don't call me 'Surely.'"— It's about time you started exercising the venerable editorial magic marker, John; Robbie Robertson has truly traveled out of the bounds of taste. I and certain members of the WCU Bands and service organizations have had about enough of Mr. Wanna-be-Pease's immature name-calling, and I am personally embarrassed that you allow this in the public newspaper which represents me as a student. Believe it or not, I like the theory behind Robbie's lame column. Anything that adds spice to the mundane administrative-conservative-propagandist weekly bullshit rag you call The Western Carolinian is a welcome and refreshing change. And I like what Robbiestrugglestodo: raise some hell in a sea of student apathy. It is, however, easy to get lost in the whirls of passion (or on the road to attempted humor), necessitating survival of the fittest, and oftentimes the band seems to be a relatively inert target especially when the Southern Conference referee bit loses wind. Well, John, this is where you step in and do you "job" as editor. Robbie is only letting the creative defecation flow; you must massage the pile ... just think what would happen if Robbie were to insult an athletic team or a powerful Greek social organization! The band in whichever form is an integral part of the music department, as well as the athletic department, the administration and the community. Illustrating this group as abunchof weirdo "jockstraps" can certainly be detrimental to WCU's image, especially during a time when our athletic teams' performances leave much to be desired. The bands have made great strides this year in terms of quality, quantity, and entertainment factor; we are definitely one of the few WCU organizations that can make such a claim (unlike this joke "student" newspaper of ours). Robbie's insults to the band and its service organizations (such as Kappa Kappa Psi, who Robbie mentioned in the previous issue of the Carolinian) are insults to the progress of the university. Robbie's world, full of the stereotypical "band geeks" in all their passive, feeble glory couldn't be any farther from reality; we have a number of band members who could raise some hell out on the football field. Get these people angry and they might just raise some hell on the source of their anger ... Sincerely, Marty McCartt Christianity questioned Dear Editor, Stephen Wilson did an impressive job attempting to illustrate the holes in evolutionary theory. However, I have a few questions to ask him: where is the scientific evidence for Christianity? And what does he mean by "lack of moral restraint"? To whose morality is he referring? Furthermore, does Stephen assume that "rampanthomosexuality" includes les bianism? The Bible says nothing of female-female relationships. Stephen says the "Gospel of Christ makes a lot more sense than the Gospel of Evolution". Unfortunately, he fails to explain why. Please Stephen, write back and give me the same thorough, scientific proof of the origins of your "morality". Sincerely, Marty McCartt Office Hours for The Western Carolinian 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday thru Friday The Western Carolinian student newspaper is located in the Old Student Union Building next to the Moore Building. Office Manager will be on duty from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and can be reached at 227-7267. J The Western Carolinian welcomes editorial input from students, faculty, and staff on matters of public interest. Please address correspondence to: Voices P.O. Box 66 Cullowhee, NC 28723 AH submissions will be considered, but The Western Carolinian reserves the right to refuse publication of offensive or otherwise unsuitable material. The Carolinian is not responsible for opinions expressed on the Editorial Page. Student On The Street Do you think it is unconstitutional to discriminate against homosexuals? Name: Monica Sheley Major: Elem.. Ed. Class: Sophmore Hometown: Chicago, IL I don't think homosexuals should be discriminated against because of their sexual preference. Name: Ashely Rader Major: Home Ec. Class: Freshman Hometown: Lenior Discrimination is wrong. Name: Shawn Benfield Major: Music Ed. Class: Freshman Hometown: Asheville No I don't think it's unconstitutional. They chose their lifestyle. Name: Elliot Barnes Major: Music Class: Freshman Hometown: Sylva Unlike my communist friend Shawn, I do think its unconstituional. mw& %* fit P ■ii Name:Lianna Saleeby Major: CJ. Class: Sophomore Hometown: Salisbury Yes, because its their own personal provate life and shouldn't be subjected to regulation by the govt. Name: BradGreer Major: Spec. Ed. Class: Junior Hometown: Marion Yes, its unconstitutional. I don't particurly like homosexuals but thats no reason to discriminate against them Name: Butch Greene Major: Undeclared Class: Freshman Hometown: Marion Regardless against personal feelings, I think its unconstitutional to discriminate against anyone for their personal belief Carolinian photos by Hunter Pope Nam*: Alex Rakin Major: Industrial Tech. Class: Senior Hometown: Charlotte You shouldn't discriminate against them just because their behavior is different. You just shouldn't discriminate because they have rights.

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 1992-03-26
  • Date digitized: 2019-10-07
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.75" x 14.25"
  • Pages: 10 pages
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1992-03-26_Vol57_No22
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library