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Show Page 6 Signpost Jan. 24, 1975 Guesf editorial ERA amendment needs ratification There has been much emotionalism and misunderstanding in regard to what is called the Equal Rights Amendment; the proposed 27th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Opponents have used scare tactics, innuendos, half-truths and bathroom humor to make their points. Since this is a legislative matter and must be voted upon by each state legislature, we, as present and former women legislators, feel we should attempt to clarify and explore some of the facets of this con- This guest editorial was published by The Women's Chronicle in their September 1974 edition. The paper is distributed by the Utah Order of Women Legislators. troversial issue. The Amendment reads : Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Nowhere does it say that a woman will be forced to forsake her home and family to go into the competitive job market. For a woman with a family, her largest contribution could be in rearing sound, responsible citizens willing and able to cope with the always-present problems in the world in which they live. Taking into consideration her various duties as counselor, housekeeper, laundress, cook, chauffeur, nurse and limitless other responsiblities, her worth has been computed variously from $8,500 to $13,350 per year. Not a bad salary for the average American. Why, when asked her occupation does she respond apologetically "just a housewife," which sounds as if she were married to a house. She is, in fact, married to the future. Women are partly to blame for downgrading their own status. Stereotyped women However, economics being what they are, millions of women are working in business, industry and the professions. A stereotype of the working woman has arisen which pigeonholes her as working to get her jollies or for pin money. Pride is often a factor which prevents women from admitting candidly that they need to work, that the money is not only necessary but vital. Single women need homes, food, clothes and recreation. Letters to the Editor Families often find it difficult to impossible to exist on one salary ; therefore, the wife and mother goes to work. Then, too, children are not forever dependent. They grow, establish homes of their own and there can be long years in which a woman can devote herself to other pursuits.Granted, many women may start with less skills and experience than a man but is there any valid reason, other than prejudice, why she should not advance and be paid in accordance with her skills, knowledge and managerial ability? It seems foolish for companies and communities to be denied this potential reservoir of ability No less patriotic Threats have been made that women will have to go into the military. Thousands of women are already serving there. Who says we are any less patriotic than men, that we love our country less? They will have to fight, the scare tactic goes, and women are not fighters. Remember the Amazons? They were superb warriors. Molly Pitcher was considered a brilliant military tac-tition. And another factor. Women in positions of policy, being by nature and necessity arbitrators over the centuries and having borne the sons which men have wasted with such abandon, would be much more inclined to settle conflict by negotiation than by confrontation. Men may consider war the supreme adventure ; women consider it an exercise in futility. It would seem we have an obligation to our heritage and our future to ratify the Equal Rights Amendments. How say you? Icoocoooooooooecoooooooooouiai6uuuuuuooocoooocoa 1 showtime I 8 Ta irm. Gold stars Three gold stars to the authority who has finally banished the Library parking lot! This constitutes an enlightened step towards enhancing the identity of our campus. At its heart it should be a pleasing environment of walkways, grass, shrubs and trees which contribute to a place of learning, not a bit of asphalt real estate where we hassle with each other to dump our cars in when 3 f) USMA1L f ffif- ' t . ... l.iA " " 7 Llliil 4 . r Bin: , ... I...; we want to get rid of them. J.C. Glidden Dept. of Philosophy Letter Policy The Signpost welcomes all letters to the editor and guest editorials contributed by students and faculty. Letters to the editor must be typewritten double-spaced on a 60-space line and signed with the writer's name in order to be considered for publication. The writer's name, however, may be withheld if he can show reason why his name should not appear on his letter. All letters must be submitted to the Signpost office and addressed Student editorials and opinions will also be accepted, and the Signpost encourages students to write such editorials. All editorials must be typewritten on a 60-space line, doublespaced, and must bear the writer's name in order to be considered for publication. The Signpost will not print any material which is libelous or in poor taste. All student contributions may be submitted to the Signpost office, U.B. 267. THE FRONT PAGE Directed by Billy Wilder Screenplay by Billy Wilder . and I. A. L. Diamond Presently playing at The Villa, S.L.C. The Front Page has many enjoyable spots, of course, as will be expected whenever the odd couple are teamed up. Hildy Johnson (Jack Lemmon) is the rebelling star reporter for The Chicago Examiner. His boss and editor, Walter Burns (Walter Matthau), realizing Hildy's ability to write inflammatory news, spends the entire movie conniving to thwart Hildy's plan to quit the carnivorous newspaper business and marry a beautiful young semi-heiress. His schemes are enjoyable, and their eventual outcome is priceless. However, the characters of Hildy Johnson and Walter Burns lack an originality that should be expected. Both seem to portray more Lemmon and Matthau than Johnson and Burns. Jack Lemmon's exaggeration of a newspaperman's singlemind-edness produces unbelievability and alienation, rather than humor. The setting is the press room at the Cook County Jail, where the leading journalists of the Chicago area are covering the con troversial execution of a would-be Commie and cop-killer. The dialogue in this press room is somewhat laborious, with lines such as "Golly, they're nice. They let me pay for the taxi." So says one of Hildy Johnson's subordinates as he returns to the press room after being sent on one of the movie's many wild goose chases. This movie is redundant with lines such as this, all equally strained and unfunny. And yet, strangely, this line and others like it do not show the real depths of sorrow that Billy Wilder and his associate must have felt as they were writing this farce. The ebb-tide of this film occurs with the appearance of Carol Burnett doing a slapstick routine from one of her weekly shows. She comes complete with ludicrous make-up and a bright red wig. Indeed, the only prop missing is her own faithful Harvey Kormann. If this film's good points and bad points were placed opposite on the balancing scales, they could possibly offset each other. The movie is funny, and it will entertain the average moviegoer. However, if you, the viewer, are a connoisseur of comedy, Miss Burnett's soggy performance will be the added weight that tips the scalesunfavorably. Hit X 1 ufrtviftsn- rtst fV l V 1 Cor salesrrie "Hey there mister. Just step right this way b of your life. Now just imagine if you can, ha-; very own personal car salesmen trying to get fc product. "Why there will be the old routine about iksv buy a shiny new Buick or a sleek -looking Cajn matter of fact, as the old slogan goes, now is b buy a new car. "And, mister, if you're really lucky youmgi hear one of the stories of how one saler&snf, ving because he works only on commission ail anything since November. UJ . Right time ;) "Yessiree, you did come by at the rigb nowadays we can even offer a $300, $400 oceiH on any car that you decide to buy. Hopefully t "rebate" as they are now called, will be ta-j i - for that little added tax on gasoline our presidei pay. i ' 'Why, sir, you will hear about the better range cars have. That's right range. This means tt; cars now hold over 20 gallons of fuel in asa Police givefl What's the difference between being arrestee or being arrested in the Soviet Union? The answer to this question may soon be."M Tuesday afternoon the Utah House of Re voted to give police officers much broaderpffv suspected criminals. By a vote of 41-31, the jej given the police broader powers to stop afi) suspect has committed a crime. The key word in this new law is "sitfp police officer must have "probable" causeto and frisk them. . . Now, however, if the state Senate apprqyes policeman will be required to do is suspec something. This includes suspicion of tra-: other misdemeanors. This new police power is very similar tois n the secret police in the Soviet Union. There, too valid cause to be arrested. These unjusW harrassments are popular throughout that pou |