editorial
Gorbachev signals a
Kremlin turning point
Pre-arrangements for a change of power in the Kremlin
had likely been worked out long in advance. But for most
Westerners; the death of Soviet Premier Konstantin
Chernenko and his replacement with Mikhail Gorbachev
seemed to happen overnight. The death of Chernenko was
unofficially announced by the American news media on
Sunday night. By Monday morning, Gorbachev was an
nounced as the new Communist Party general secretary.
Gorbachev represents a break from the long line of ail
ing Soviet leaders. For the first time in Soviet history, the
supreme position of political power has been passed on to a
relative youngster by Kremlin standards. Gorbachev is the
youngest of the 11 men who make up the heart of Soviet
political power, the Politburo. He is also the only lawyer on
the Politburo and the only member who is a graduate of
Moscow University.
At only 54 years old, Gorbachev represents a new
generation of Soviet leaders. The son of Russian peasants in
Stavropol, a fertile farming zone north of the Caucasus
Mountains, Gorbachev was a child during the Stalin purges
and the German occupation during World War Two. His
dramatic rise to political power began in 1950 and included
close association with Mikhail Suslov (Kremlin power
maker during Brezhnev’s days) and Yuri Andropov, the
former Soviet premier. Gorbachev’s understanding of
agricultural issues, his political connections and his com
mitment to routing out economic corruption within the
Kremlin earned him a good name and strong political
following.
While it is doubtful that the Soviet Union will undergo
any immediate radical changes in its social, political, or
economic philosophy under Gorbachev, his leadership does
mark a turning point. It shows that the mantle of power has
finally shifted to the younger generation. Gorbachev has
already earned the praise of some Kremlinologists as being a
“liberal.” Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, after meeting
with Gorbachev, stated publicly that she liked him. The
Sunday Times of London reported that his easy-going style
charmed the British people.
Who is the “real” Gorbachev? Is he the easy-going
gentleman who charmed the British? Or is he just a front for
the same old Kremlin politics? No one is sure. Unlike An
dropov and Chernenko, however, at 54 years old, Gorbachev
is likely to be around for a long time. Considering his youth
and his pragmatic style, he might well prove, from the
western standpoint, to be one of the better Soviet leaders to
emerge in years. Time will tell.
Professor will be missed
by students and faculty
The death of Sociology Professor Albert Szymanski has
shocked many members of the University community. It is
hard to understand what would make someone take their
own life. Whatever the reasons, Professor Szymanski will be
greatly missed by those who knew him.
Professor Szymanski was a hardworking scholar who
defended his radical politics with carefully researched facts.
He was the author of many books and articles on class strug
gle and socialism in the world today. In the classroom, he
welcomed debate and he never shied away from tough ques
tions. He encouraged students to learn the facts before
speaking out on economic and political issues.
The death of Prof. Szymanski is a loss to the entire
academic community. His example of hard work and his
many scholarly contributions, however, will live on.
emerald
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letters
Please enroll
Along with many other
students, I was shocked by the
Women’s Referral and Resource
Service display on por
nography, although 1 agreed
with its presence and purpose.
However, I was much more ap
palled by the indignant, self
righteous. and frequently
vicious responses to that
display. Specifically, letters
have been appearing regularly
in the Emerald, apparently com
posed by people anxious to
display their ignorance and
publicize their support for a
rampantly misogynous society.
The majority of these letters are
far from being reasonable
presentations of opposition to
the display; instead, they are
personal attacks against Laura
Romano, the directors of WRRS,
or women in general. The im
maturity of these tactics is
astounding.
Individuals such as Vince
Adams have no excuse for their
stupidity and bigotry, since
they obviously have not taken
advantage of the opportunity to
educate themselves. 1 strongly
suggest, as others have sug
gested before, that these people
enroll in Women’s Studies 101
— there are two sections being
offered next term. There is no
reason for so many confident
assertions of misinformation to
be taken seriously at a
university.
Jennie Bricker
English
Confused again
Oh dear, I think “Uncle” Ron
is confused again.
He calls the contras the
“moral equivalent” of the early
American revolutionaries.
Well, that’s not very nice. The
fact is that the contra army is
mostly composed of ex-Somoza
National Guardsmen, ruthless
U.S. "soldiers of fortune,” and
mercenaries from South Africa,
Israel, and a few other places.
George Washington would not
be flattered by that particular
comparison.
Then “Uncle” Ron compares
the contras to the French
Resistance fighters of WW11.
Wrong again, Ron. The majority
of the active French Resistance
fighters were socialists and
communists. The resistance
fought against right-wing
fascism, not for it.
Oh, one other thing. “Uncle”
Ron says that “not one inch of
soil has fallen” while he's been
riding high in the saddle. By
that I suppose he means that
U.S. corporations have not lost
any access to cheap labor or raw'
materials. Well, 1 don’t mean to
rudely awaken him, but I think
that our “Uncle’’ missed
something during one of his lit
tle naps. Maybe he should look
at what happened in the West
African country of Upper Volta
(now called Burkina Faso) in
August, 1983.
Roscoe Caron
Eugene
Very insulting
It certainly would be hard to
come up with a better way to in
sult the University's foreign stu
dent population than the cur
rent display in the EMU lobby
disclaiming the Buddhist and
Islamic religions, compliments
of the Maranatha campus
ministry.
Their attitude towards
Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and
other beautiful religions is a
perfect example of fanatic
ethnocentricity so prevalent in
America these days. Almost
daily, members of their sect ver
bally accost anyone unfortunate
enough to pass by the EMU
knoll during lunchtime. I
wonder if, even once, it has oc
curred to any of those proselytes
that, contrary to their beliefs,
people are indeed interested in
God’s word, but would prefer a
less self-righteous and perhaps
more personal means of finding
it.
To those few Maranathas I
have met with a sincere interest
in following Christ’s teachings,
it should remain your number
one goal to find ways to share
your beliefs without insulting
people, or judging others. In the
words of the OP Boy himself,
"Judge not, lest ye be judged.”
Loosen up and embrace, rather
than exclude the world.
Philip Mitchell
Creative Writing
Superiority
Many thanks to whomever
decided to take that disgusting
pornographic stuff out of the
display case in the EMU lobby.
Depictions of violence against
women are so vulgar and
unappetizing.
Personally, I prefer
Maranatha's more subtle
authoritative brand of por
nography to that of Hustler, any
day. Why confine our attack to
one gender when we can do
violence to the entire non
Christian world and its
religious systems — and
without ever raising a whip or a
chain?
We insecure members of the
Christian West need to be
reassured of our religion-based
cultural superiority, occasional
ly. Justification for Manifest
Destiny and all that, you
understand. Otherwise, we
have anxiety attacks and start
abusing our own women — the
depiction of which is rather
more repulsive, evidently, than
the displaying of bigoted ideas,
even when such bigotry even
tually leads to our dropping
bombs on uncivilized (read un
Christian) heathens in distant
corners of the globe.
When I think that 1 wasted
years of my life as an
undergrad, seriously studying
the various religions of the
world, well, 1 could just kick
myself. If only I had been expos
ed to Maranatha’s insightful
and in-depth comparative study
of religion five years ago, so
much unnecessary brain-strain
could have been avoided, and I
could have begun feeling
superior all that much sooner.
Thanks Maranatha, for
achieving heaviosity and show
ing me the error of my ways.
And nothing personal, of
course, to those Buddhists and
followers of Islam on campus.
After all, Buddha and Moham
med, however inferior, were
probably really nice guys. May
they rest in peace.
Yvonne Vowels
Graduate
Tuesday, March 12, 1985