Troy High School - Trojan Yearbook (Troy, OH)

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News ui ...... Ui' -rr M E .. .Z .. .W --- ,gtg V. ji. By Diana Vaughan and Kim Thorpe, A major issue in the United States today, is whether or not we should participate in the 1983 Olympics in Moscow. Some of our options include: going as usuall: boycotting them, or moving them. I-Iere, various THS students ex- pressed their thoguhts on the issue and what they think should be done about it. DAN SZAFRANSKI- We shouldnt go. As a country we ought to stand behind our Presi- dent. The government comes before our athletes. TODD POWELL- The govern- ment shouldn't control our athletic programs such as the Olympics. All countries going to Moscow should have one thing in mind: and that is the sports themselves. MR. ALLEN RICHARDS- No matter what choice we make it will be wrong. I think the Olym- pics should be held at a permanent site in Greece. This year I don't feel, unless every country boycotts it, it would influence Russia at all. I really feel that the Olympics should be set apaprt from politics. There should be some arrangment in which indi- vidual athletes decide whether it is right for them to go. MARK SHUMP- It's a matter of priorities. World Peace is the most important thing. Russia is violating the world peace so we shouldn't contribute to the cause by going. I think we should or- ganiae a Free World Olympics this year for those athletes who have already trained for years. DIANE MILLER- I think that for now we should postpone the Olympics. Theres always a chance that everything will be worked out. Olympic games enter political field With the invasions of the Soviet Union into Afghanistan, an increasing amout of pressure fell on the shoulders of President Carter to take some kind of action in retaliation to the Soviet threat. Therfore, in mid-January, the President announced that if the Soviet troops were not pulled out of Afhanistan within a month, the United states would try to have the 1981 Stunmer Olympics moved from Mos- cow, where they were scheduled to take place. If this relocation was not possible, the President wanted the U.S. to boycott the Summer Games entire- ly, and encoiuaged other nations to join them in the boycott. An American boycott alone would not impose a significant threat to the Soviets, and it was necessary for the U.S. to gather the support of many other nations in order to make the boycott effective. To gain this support, the President set up a committee to investigate the options the U.S. had, i . ,A . other than a boycott. Finding a new host city for the Games was an alter- native but it was extremely difficult because of the limited time in which to do so. Other options included holding separate events in different countries, and postponing the Games for a year. President Carter's announcement produced a mixed national response, but overall , the American people were in favor of the Presidents actions. Many of the Olympic athletes also stood behind the president, feeling the country needed to take a stand against the Soviets. Others felt that politics and the olympics should not be mixed, and they deserved to compete after working so hard for the chance to go to the Games. American business would also be affected by the Presidents decision with many corporations having mil- lions of dollars invested in the promo tion and marketing for the situation. It was apparant the lim Olympic Games would not simply be thought of as a Spvrting event. v i xi I 15

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