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THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, June 25, 2003 5 r IEWPOINTS IN OUR OPINION Budget strategy endangers USC To deal with recent budget cuts, university administration will begin implementation of value centered management, or VCM, on July 1. VCM forces each school to protect its bottom line and to make up for any shortfalls within its program. The idea is to increase efficiency. However, efficiency is not the prime value of the university. Teaching and research are why USC exists. The university should strive for them efficiently, but it should not force programs large and small into the limitations of their own tuition revenues. VCM will result in the fragmentation of the university. Individual schools will be forced to compete for students and would have incentive to keep students majoring in their college from taking classes offered by other schools. Where VCM has been implemented it has brought divisive competition and fiscal chaos. Smaller programs, especially in the liberal arts, have been sacrificed to benefit the larger schools. VCM shifts the burden of budget cuts to smaller, specialized programs. Focusing this burden upon those least able to bear it will only postpone the budget problem while hurting the entire university. USC needs unity during this crisis, not infighting. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK STAFF Editor in Chief Corey Garriott Managing Editor Julia Knetzer News Editor Gabrielle Sinclair Viewpoints Editor Josh Hanley The Mix Editor Brian Ray Sports Editor Brad Senkiw Photo Editor. Patricia Shadwell Page Designers Rachel Edwards, Patricia Shadwell Copy Editors Amy Genoble, Parul Joshi STUDENT MEDIA Faculty Advisor Erik Collins Advertising Manager Sarah Scarborough Creative Director Susan King Business Manager Carolyn Griffin Classified Manager Sherry F. Holmes Advertising Staff John Blackshire TO PLACE AN AD The Gamecock 1400 Greene St. Columbia, S.C. 29208 Advertising: 777-3888 Classified: 777-1184 Fax: 777-6482 CONTACT INFORMATION Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Editor in Chief: gamecockeditor@hotmail.com News: gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Viewpoints: gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com The Mix: gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Sports: gamecocksports@hotmail.com Online: www.dailygamecock.com Newsroom: 777-7726 The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the University of South Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the fall and spring semesters and nine times during the summer with the exception of university holidays and exam, periods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the editors or author and not those of the University of South Carolina. The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the publisher of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media is the newspaper's parent organization. The Gamecock is supported in part by student activities fees. One free copy per reader. Additional copies may be purchased for one dollar each from the Department of Student Media. iKMffiSl {DEBATE ’ 1 (K so* »f THe ELecrion were held today* wHicH , CANDiDA-ne DO YOU THinK WOULD Give -the BeST coNcession sPeecH to GeoRGe w. bush?....' CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Tolerance not guaranteed ELIZABETH CATANESE GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Discrimination clause needs one more change Cruising east down Blossom Street, between Huger and Assembly, a large billboard pro claims that "Homosexuality isn't the problem — predjudice is." Most, including USC students, fail to see how appropriate the bill board is. Ten years ago, the Faculty Senate passed a resolution rec ommending that the university add "sexual orientation" to its nondiscrimination clause. This policy prohibits the university from discriminating against peo ple due to their race, religion, handicap, age, gender, etc. This clause is important for faculty hir ing —especially since the Federal Equal Opportunity Act doesn't cover sexual orientation. The Board of Trustees ignored the Faculty Senate. Seven years later, several stu dents resurrected the idea, and lobbied both the faculty senate and the student government to add the clause. The bill passed unanimously in the Student Senate, giving it full approval and endorsement from both the facul ty and the students. The Board still ignored them. They claimed that the univer sity's state funding would dry up if they changed the clause. In light of the fact that a state legislator in troduced a bill prohibiting any state university from adding the clause, threatening to kick them in the pocketbook if they don't, the Board might be right. Despite this fact, most student organizations have a clause bar ring discrimination against ho mosexuals in their constitutions. The Bi-Gay-Lesbian Alliance, an organization for both gay and straight students, has supported diversity and tolerance at USC and elsewhere for over 20 years. USC is considered one of the most gay-friendly campuses in the state. Several openly gay faculty members are widely known for their superb teaching. However, they have no protection under the discrimination clause. One could argue that discrim ination against homosexuals does n't happen at USC, so the clause isn't important. But a university should foster an environment of tolerance and diversity. In such an environment, members are free to express themselves and their lifestyles without fear. The University must fight to create an atmosphere of tolerance and respect, and that battle is fought one skirmish at a time. And in a state where the moral majority holds the reins, every skirmish is important. Elizabeth Catanese is a graduate student studying the fine arts.