The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 18

Thar lotte (Observer Welcome Voting College Students ROLFE NEILL CSoinnah and Publisher RICHARD A OPPEL ROBERTO SUAREZ Prefidow ED WILLIAMS tha Editorial Pages MARK ETHRMGE III Managing Editor JACK CLAIBORNE TOM BRADBURY JERRY SHINN Amociant Editors Thursday October 22 1987 ROBERTO SUAREZ hew I Editorials their banking The whole intent of the questionnaire seems to discourage a college student from voting in the place where he or she spends the school years and I question why the board of elections would want to make it difficult for students to become part of the electoral system in Mecklenburg County In some other NC cities students are not asked such questions only whether they have lived in that county for 30 days In 1984 the US Supreme Court held it unconstitutional to use special questionnaires for students that were not used for other voters In this county it appears that the questionnaires are used only for college students and people who list their address as being in a motel or YMCA I hope that college students in Charlotte can feel welcome to get politically involved in Mecklenburg County and become a part of the voting President Should Obey Law Does the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections want to discourage college students living on Charlotte campuses from voting in this county? I am writing to clarify issues covered by The Observer on voter registration (Oct 10 "Elections Board Reprimands Volunteer For I have been a volunteer registrar for more than two years Recently I was reprimanded by the board of elections regarding procedures I used in registering students from Johnson Smith University There were two issues involved First was my status as a registrar The board held a hearing to decide whether to fire me because I had not asked students for identification It was subsequently proven to the board that they had not provided written instructions for registrars saying that we must ask potential voters for identification I had satisfied myself that the students lived on campus or in local apartments and had given them the oath which asks them to swear that they have lived here for 30 days I also cautioned them that they must choose either to vote here or where their parents live Thus I felt I had done nothing wrong But the board reprimanded me for "failure to exercise proper caution in determining legal residence of college students The second Issue is the fact that the students were asked questions by the board that I feel are inappropriate It makes me sad that these young people who were excited about using their right to vote and becoming politically active had such a negative experience For many of them their first experience In claiming this right was to receive a letter from the board of elections telling them they would not be eligible to vote in Mecklenburg County unless they filled in a questionnaire from the board The questionnaire addressed such issues as whether they pay taxes in Mecklenburg County whether their driver's license lists a Mecklenburg address where they plan to live in the future whether they receive money from their parents and where they do JANE LEIGHTON BURTS Charlotte Tlittre PkNtk 10 rT''' 1 pQh rT-s 1N MIT Tr I )111---li''''44 OI NEI "tOtkli A The level of hostilities involving the United States in the Persian Gulf continues to escalate but President Reagan still refuses to comply with the War Powers Act The act passed in 1973 over President Nixon's veto requires the president to consult with Congress before sending US forces into hostilities or imminent hostilities The president is supposed to send Congress a written report within 48 hours after troops are committed and unless Congress then authorizes the commitment the troops must be withdrawn within 60 days with a 30-day extension available hostilities? Of Course US forces in the gulf clearly are involved in both present and imminent hostilities The nature of the hostilities was described by the president himself in a statement released Monday morning when he charged Iran with "unprovoked attacks upon US and other nonbelligerent shipping and particularly the deliberate laying of mines and firing of Silkworm missiles which have hit US- flagged vessels" Those words were part of Mr Reagan's announcement that US Navy destroyers early Monday morning (EDT) had demolished a former Iranian oil platform in the guy that had been converted to military use The destruction of the platform was in retaliation for the missile believed to have been fired from Iran that hit a Kuwaiti tanker flying the US flag in Kuwaiti waters Friday If those aren't hostilities the word has no meaning But Mr Reagan and officials of his administration continue to insist that the situation in the gulf doesn't justify invoking the War Powers Act because US forces are in the gulf only to keep the sea lanes open and to protect nonbelligerent shipping from being caught in the crossfire between Iran and Iraq More to the point perhaps the president believes the act is unconstitutional because the Constitution makes the president not Congress commander-in-chief of the armed forces and responsible for foreign policy But that same Constitution gives Congress not the president the authority to declare war Although no one has suggested declaring war in the Persian Gulf that constitutional authority clearly suggests the consent of Congress ought to be required whenever US forces are engaged in hostile action more prolonged than a temporary emergency And there is little doubt that these hostilities will be prolonged As Vice President George Bush declared candidly Monday probably without first checking with the White House "Nobody thinks that this will end it" Congress has declared war only five times in its history but US forces have been involved in hostilities more than 200 times One of those times was called the Vietnam War and that was what prompted Congress to enact overwhelmingly the War Powers Act to assure that Americans would never again be involved in prolonged combat without the kind of broad-based commitment a president alone cannot provide without the support of the American people speaking through their elected representatives Share The Responsibility And by not obeying the War Powers Act the president is foolishly giving members of Congress the luxury of being either critical or supportive without any responsibility for the consequences of their rhetoric If there is a good case to be made for the US presence in the gulf Mr Reagan ought to make it to Congress and seek congressional support before any more American blood is shed there 4 441 1 reN 11! I 1 t-3 1 A' ji i '141'141 Al 1 il: 11 1 NA tti'q i'l i 4 I 5 v''' J' 1 alL' 14i: 4 1 kA1S Ct'i l' I 11 Illpak is A MiliL i ik 'it s' i 449 otat 9 1 10 (-1 it 0 041 0 i'4 1 '11 17(WW1) 1 k11ko i 11 i ti 0 ta '11 i 1ii 1011 Oh ilit 11 A 1 l' 1 1 ttle' NAOS 1 Allik 41141 1 Of' trOP 1 NIXON i iti A i 11 1 1 11 l'' 1 4 i'il 1111111111 4c- 11111rAil i 4k il is'A'll '''-'V 1) i :1 -( 00000-10-00 14A l'i 'Alli Al i 'Cil Misconceptions About Christian Education The Observer Forum Our Readers' Views 1 The Observer Forum Our Readers' Views Empty Talk At PTL Letters about the Nov 3 election must be received by Oct 29 to be considered for publication Forum Sampler Excerpts From Other Letters 1111101111111 Sanford: President Reagan should be careful concerning the word intelligence (Oct 16 "Reagan Fires Quip At Sanford Certainly a university known for its academic acumen would not select an illiterate for a president Billy Robinson the court-appointed administrator of PTL said this week he has seen nothing to make him think Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker broke any laws in operating the PTL enterprise Of course there is the payment of some $265000 in hush money to Jessica Hahn he acknowledged And yes some former PTL board members do say they never authorized the Bakkers' $15 million in bonuses for 1986 and 1987 It's plain that Mr Robinson has no idea whether the Bakkers broke the law Nor do we That's what a grand jury is looking into We sympathize with an Episcopalian lawyer who's trying to make fiscal sense of an operation created by a charismatic preacher who didn't care whether it made fiscal sense Mr Robinson would do well however to resist the urge to offer questionable assurances that things will be all right at PTL In fact PTL may be in for liquidation not resurrection Mr Robinson should take care that his reputation isn't liquidated too JACK MORRIS Charlotte I would like to express my anger at your choice of headline for a letter in The Forum (Oct 9 "Lots Of Killer-Christians For The That is the kind of writing that fuels bigotry I would like also to reply to the writer's own uneducated and ignorant comments which may reflect other persons' misconceptions about Christian education and its effects First as one who grew up in the church I will testify that most of those "indoctrinated" children (my sister included) rejected faith in Christ with ease Second those who are now my friends in the church were not for the most part raised in a Christian family but came to realize that Jesus was the only way to live through reasoned acceptance of His teachings These are not intellectual dummies (a banker a real estate agent several engineers a physician and several executives for large corporations) This alone should dispel the writer's paranoid thinking on this subject As for the writer's concern that my children might somehow not be able to choose I will assure him that my children will have a larger choice than his children (if he has any shame on him if he does not for hoping to be able to tell me how raise children) My children may not accept the teaching of Jesus but will have at least heard of that possibility The writer's children will grow up without the benefit of Christian education and will therefore have no choice to make The writer will have made it for them Finally for everyone who may be concerned about this I will stress that God alone can convert nonbelievers into believers not parents not schools not powerful speakers Dr CHRIS MADSEN Matthews Chambers: Please stop giving the Rev Joseph Chambers so much attention He does not speak for the majority of Charlotteans It concerns me greatly when people like him receive what seems to be support from the media He is no more important than any other preacher in our area TODD TOWERY Charlotte Gov Martin Did His Duty of the outerbelt expressway Our city needs an improved Independence Boulevard but not an expressway since funds are unavailable to continue the expressway from Albemarle Road to NC 51 A partial expressway will only compound the current traffic problems along the balance of Independence Boulevard As a result it will force the city to divert future funds from other needed road projects to further improving Independence from Albemarle Road to NC 51 The city should improve Independence from Briar Creek Road inward widen current traffic lanes limit turns and limit access from side streets The result would affect fewer businesses and improve the worst portion of Independence at a faster pace and a lower cost Then the city should use the balance of the $68 million proposed for the Independence Expressway to purchase land for the southern and eastern portions of the outerbelt Expressways can be built faster and cheaper where the fewest homes and businesses are affected To delay purchasing land for the southern and eastern outerbelt would be a costly mistake It is time for city and state officials to compromise Yes improve Independence Boulevard from Briar Creek inward and proceed immediately to purchase land for the outerbelt will meet again to reconsider actions clouded by the illegal meeting NC law requires public officials to do the public's business in public with a few limited exceptions Throughout his political career Gov Martin has advocated and practiced this principle His action should make it clear to his appointees what the law requires and the governor expects of them Gov Jim Martin did the right thing in stressing to his appointees to the state Environmental Management Commission that they must obey the letter and spirit of the state open meetings law There are 10 Martin appointees on the 17-member commission they plainly violated the law by meeting privately the night before the commission's Oct 8 meeting At Gov Martin's urging the commission Arts Center: Readers planning to vote for the performing arts center should be aware of the confusing language on the ballot The performing arts center bonds will appear on the ballot as city cultural facilities JENNIFER SPERRY Charlotte Schools Fill Important Job CFEG: Citizens for Effective Government seem to have such vehement opposition to the city council but they have yet to show what they would propose to replace it In the words of William Shakespeare it appears that they are "full of sound and fury signifying nothing" DAN SHOEMAKER Charlotte JAMES CAVALARIS Charlotte Driggers: As a longtime friend and business associate of Earl Driggers I urge everyone to vote for him on Nov 3 You will not find anyone who is more honest fair or conscientious He will apply the same principles to city problems and concerns that he has used to build a successful business LP MAYHEW Mint Hill Not Free From Prejudice Polly Paddock evidently did not review her article about Bob Goodale (Oct 9 "Goodale Spoke With Openness Not With The man certainly was open but he admitted that he is not free from prejudice Give him credit for being honest Let's not forget that he acknowledges that it was said only after a great deal of thought with no real concern that it would be incendiary When one gets upset when we African-Americans react to racism they're really saying that we are not capable of being insulted Think about it Polly The five-day series on race relations was a commendable attempt to address the problem I submit that we don't need to be reminded of all the racism that permeates our society We already know it What we need to know is whether we are going to do anything about it and if anything what? DAISY STROUD Charlotte Veteran principal Bruce Irons will need his asbestos underwear As the man picked to be the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system's new assistant superintendent for planning and research he must fill several seats all of them important all of them hot Planning is a vital job that the school system has not done well enough as new Supt Peter Relic recognized in questioning why a new junior high was planned just about a mile from an existing one Such incidents along with a series of cost overruns have hurt the system and damaged its credibility Planning must be done better School planning must also be done in closer concert with community planning which itself needs to be more effective No amount of liaison with the planning commission will save the system from the failures to manage Mecklenburg's booming growth but effective high-profile liaison at the staff level can do much to make the schools' interests visible and to dramatize the cost to the schools of uncoordinated sprawl School planning In Charlotte-Mecklenburg Is not just a matter of keeping up with the developers The system must also maintain the fairness and stability of its pupil assignment plan a task made more difficult by the growth of far-flung white suburbs and the loss of community under standing of the plan and the choices involved in it The system needs to rebuild that understanding educate its constituents about the issues involved in such questions as school location and develop a long-term vision for the plan If that involves long-range systemwide questions it also involves every parent and every child in the most personal way which can make it intensely controversial All that's a plate full to take care of but Dr Irons also has responsibility for the broad area of research including oversight of the system's testing program That's not Just a mechanical function Parents want to know how their children are doing and what results the community is getting for its investment in schools programs and the pupil assignment plan The system needs to know what is working and what isn't In a time when pressure for testing is strong the system needs to be clear about what Is wise and what isn't in giving tests and acting on the results From planning to pupil assignment to testing the post is uncommonly Important We're glad to see the position created and filled expeditiously with someone who understands well how all the issues in its expansive Job description fit together Better Leader Than Gantt Mr Gantt wants us to think that the new NBA team and the new coliseum are a product of his administration Nothing could be further from the truth Thank God we have super businessmen like George Shinn and Rick Hedrick Will Gantt take credit for losing the Charlotte O's? No! George Shinn to the rescue again Where has Gantt been for the past four years? We need our politicians to be strong and take a stand on issues that are not only affecting us now but will affect Charlotte for years to come We need a leader that is going to plan for Charlotte It takes me 30 minutes to take my daughter to school in the morning and we live less than a mile from the school We have to have more and better roads in Charlotte Sue Myrick can be the strong leader Charlotte needs I plan on pulling the lever for Myrick and saying to Charlotte politicians we are tired of sitting in traffic we want someone in the mayor's office that will plan for the future instead of reflect on the past TOM BRYANT Charlotte Gantt: Charlotte is fortunate to have a mayor who is eloquent diplomatic and peace-loving No amount of vilification can alter the fact that Harvey Gantt is a brilliant Christian gentleman who should be reelected KIT li PECK Charlotte 11111111111111111111111111111111ii I Compromise On Roads The controversy surrounding Independence Boulevard and the outerbelt should be compromised Charlotte should immediately begin to improve a portion of Independence Boulevard and begin to purchase land for the southern and eastern portions Write The Forum We welcome letters Please sign and include your address and daytime telephone number Mail to Observer Forum PO Box 32188 Charlotte 28232.