David Gilliam, a 21-year _old premedical student, had a partially differenrvopinion. "} think there should be a registration, because that would eliminate some of the red tape and time if an army did have to be called up," he said, agreeing with Stamatis. Scenes: Arkansas In contrast to Stamatis he continued saying, "Our society has come to the point right now....where it would be hypocritical not to have women register. " From the female standpoint, Monica Rao of Beaumont, Texas thought women should not have to register because she believed they would never be used in the event of war. On the other hand, sophomore public relations major Patti Farmer thought women should share the responsibility of duty with men because they share in the benefits of the society protected by the army . For her the issue centered on being equitable and consistent in one's views on registration, the draft and war. Among the students there seemed to be one overriding thought , t.hat was that the concept of being thrust into battle through the draft had not really registered in people's minds t he reason being that they had never had to think about themselves being in war before. When questioned about the situation in Afghanistan and what the results might be the most common answer was one word - scared. flMl When Perrin Jones, editor of the Searcy Daily Citizen and chairman of the White County Democratic Committee, was asked to name the ten most significant events in Searcy for the year, he included the change of Harding from college to university status and the oversubscription of the Phase IV Harding fund drive among Searcy business men. In .spite of more than 30,000 acres being under water late into the planting season, area farmers gathered in the most abundant harvest ever experienced in White County. They were helped by well-spaced summer rains and a late fall in producing the crop which put more than $70 million into the economy. The Carmichael Community Center was completed during 1979, and its use surpassed expectations of the planners. Harding faculty and students were actively involved in the musical and dramatic activities and in seminars and lectures at the center . Completion of a new detention center, with pressu re from the American Civil Liberties Union, gave Searcy a modern facility for incarcerating criminals. A major fight against the state's property tax reassessment plan was waged by a Harding alumnus, James A. Martin. The White County TaxSp~aki.ng out on the issues was one of the major goals of freshman Second Dlstnct Congressman Ed Bethune of Searcy during the past year. He told of his efforts in Washington and his views on national events in an exclusive interview with the Petit Jean. "New members have historically had very little to say about what happens in the Congress," said Bethune. "You see them but you don't hear them." Of late, however, freshman members have become more vocal. Elected president of the Republican freshman class, Bethune took the lead in challenging the policies of both Democrat and Republican leadership. "We feel that one of the primary functions of the freshman is to bring new ideas there," Being newcomers, Bethune said it was easier for freshmen members to seek to clean up Congress. One Republican clean-up effort was the attempt to expel Charles Diggs, who had been convicted of 29 counts of felony. Succeeding On- . Iy in having Diggs censored, the Republicans thought that was a good start. It was important for him to be vocal, he explained, "because we happen to think we're right. We happen to think that we do need to balance the budget, that we do need to break the regula tory crisis." On the events in Afghanistan and America's reaction to them, Bethune said he tried to support the President when possible. He said on most moves of the President the issue could be argued either up or down just as well. He questioned the wisdom of arguing an issue which had already been decided on, such as the grain boycott. In that case, he said, "The horse is out of the barn," Still on Afghanistan, Bethune commented, however, "Our options are limited now in comparison to what they would have been if we had seen the Russians correctly for the last three or four years." One example he pointed out in which he thought President Carter had not seen the Soviets correctly was the confrontation concerning Soviet troops in Cuba, an issue on which Carter had backed down. Gauging the success of his efforts during his first term, Bethune referred to a comment made by Speaker of the House, Democrat Thomas "Tip" O'Neal. O'Neal was quoted as saying in frustration, "The freshman Republicans around here have more clout than Republicans have ever had." payers Association he headed made plans to get a Proposition 13-type tax limitation plan on the November 1980 ballot. On the state scene, many of the major issues dealt with energy and finances. As the prime interest rate and the federal discount rate increased across the nation , the usury question became a major concern of Arkansas financial institutions. The maximum interest rate of 10 percent set in the Arkansas constitution caused a flow of capital out of Arkansas as in-state investors began investing out of state. " Rail transportation, both passenger and freight, became a major concern. Amtrak planned to discontinue the only passenger train serv ice in Arkansas and the freight service of the Rock Island Railroad was to end due to costly strikes. Demolition of the Marion Hotel and the Grady Manning Hotel on the banks of the Arkansas River in Little Rock provided space for a planned $50 million convention center. On Sunday morning February 17, the carefully planned " implosion " dumped a mound of rubble on an adjacent parking lot without damage to the Old State House only 30 yards away. The 1979 Constitutional Convention could well have been the most important event in Arkansas the past year. The convention delegates sought to profit from the mistakes of previous constitution conventions which had resulted in rejection of the proposed constitution at the polls. The delegates worked hard to propose a document that would eliminate the problems of the century-old constitution. They hoped to provide some flexibility in specifics while giving a solid guideline of basic principles for a growing state. The Harding community had a special interest in the convention because Dr. Tom Howard was the delegate from the forty-ninth district. I® 43 World Scenes
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