Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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CENSORSHIP? Should THE GAMECOCK have a board of censorship? This is the question which the student publication has been faced with this week. A letter has been sent from the President's office reading thus: September 25, 1950 From: President Norman M. Smith To: Dean Arney R. Childs, Chairman Dr. Havilah Babcock Prof. R. J. Cranford Prof. George Tomlin Mr. Lamar Collie, President of the Student Body At the August meeting of the Board of Trustees the Board authorized an advisory committee on publications, composed of the President of the University, the Dean of Women, the Dean or a Professor of the School of Journalism, the Director of Student Activities, and Director of the Uni versity News Service, and the Head of the Department or a Professor of English which will serve jointly with a com mittee of five students to be appointed by the Student Council. This joint faculty-student committee will develop gen eral policies concerning the operation of all student publica tiots except the Law School publication and shall establish regulations for election of staffs for these publications. I am asking that those addressed kindly serve on the committee, and that the Student Council select the student members. A meeting of the joint committee should be held as early as possible. NORMAN M. SMITH According to this letter, such a committee would there fore have six faculty and five students as members-a ratic which would hardly be to student advantage. The reasons given for the new board are: (1) The need for a joint committee-since the past non functioning committee was faculty alone. However, this committee was only a name and no records have yet been found of its active work. As THE GAMECOCK is now run under the Clariosophic and Euphradian Literary Societies, its governing body is the Board of Publications, a joint committee which has six students and two faculty members, One administrative member has denied knowing of the present Board, another has said that this Board had not been considered by the administration as functioning properly. (2) The present Board is not a sufficient cross-section of the student body-yet the students have made no com plaint in the 42 years THE GAMECOCK has been run by the societies. In addition, the societies are open to everyone any student may join by attendance at meetings. From their membership, two boys are chosen from each Society. These, with one girl from each of the co-ed societies, constitute the six students of the Board of Publications. The faculty members are the Dean of Journalism and the Head of the English Department. (3) Finance-THE GAMECOCK is said to be financially unsound. Yet on the first two issues of this year, a profit has been cleared. Since the money is handled by the student activities office, there is little chance that any student could w_ul (' ....'~1' ua rtr vt.. .ai -iv 2a.. . v . have to keep a student as business manager, unless they wished to procure the advertising themselves. This office has also been questioned because in times past members of the same social fraternity have held it. Article III, Section 3 of the new GAMECOCK constitution, ratified on March 28, 1950, states: "The new Business Manager shall not be a member of the same social fraternity as his predecessor." (4) The selection of editors-Under the present system, the editors are recommended by the editor-in-chief, manag ing editor, and business manager. These recommendations are presented to the Board of Publications, who approves the election. In the event that it disapproves, it may elect a student from among the staff editors and this election will be final. This system has proven itself to be suitable since THE GAMECOCK has been voted ALL-AMERICAN by the Asso ciated Collegiate Press in 1947, 1948, and 1949. This is the highest rating it can receive, one which was given to only eight papers in its class. In 1949, it was the only southern paper in its class to attain this rating. At the beginning of the semester, THE GAMECOCK asked at least one administrative officer that it not be forced into an argument for its own status-for its freedom from censorship. This was dlone because the members of the staff felt that the student newspaper could be used to better ad vantage for Carolina than in a fight for its own rights. Upon asking about control under the new board, this CROWING FOR A GREATER UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA Member of Associated C:ollegiate Press Distributor of Collegiate Digest Foun ed January 30 1908, wth Robert lliottonzthe ast e ofit nearit of outh IdCarolinadwringy,aonFridays, during the college r Th nos exprse abycolumnists an letter writerstare not neces endorsement. The right to edit is reserved. EDITOR .. .....OG DAD MANAGING EDITOR TOM G PDWRDCE BUSINESS MANAGER .PAUL FIELD ASST. BUSINESS MANAGER Elliot Wardlaw NE WS .. . Betsy Knowlton CAMPUS ..Barbara Derrick SPORTS ......L. C. Tankersley SOCIETY .. ..Andrea Chandler EXCHANGES .Mary Bloodworth COPY .. .. . Bobby Smith FEATURES . Jackie Southerland CIRCULATION ...John Parasho STAFF REPORTERS ..Ruth Barker, Ken Powell COLUMNISTS . . ..Barbara M&Swain, Jack Walther BUSINESS STA Bobby McMahon. Lawson Yates, Nany uMtcen writer was informed that coni the paper becomes detrimental tion of THE GAMECOCK is detrimental to the university ? tions here detrimental to the COCK feels criticism is someti] wake up the students, the fa< to their faults and cause them It feels that a student news] praise and complacency would large city newspaper which s but refuses to help the public political or monetarial connect At present, THE GAMECO tion and the Board of Trustees GAMECOCK is operating smc erning body. It asks that they which have the best journalist Journalism and the Head of t on the present Board. It asks its complaints to this Board, v tonal policy. (Article II, Clau have the following powers: the be printed in the paper-subje< approval of the Student Board that the administration not I Literary Societies, who founde running for over 42 years. It says that if there is a x ganization for the GARNET . LINA REVIEW, that these pu a constitution for themselves themselves. It asks the Board of Trust view of the preceding facts, o for the change. It asks the students to giv as stated in last week's issue l tem under which it is now oi this support 100 per cent. It he of the faculty members would would not jeopardize their posii At present, THE GAMEO under the Student Board of Literary Societies, who establi, ownership until proven unwor Letters To The Editc This copy of a letter by Dr. L. V. Robinson was received in a letter to the editor during the lasi week. We would like to have comment from others on this sit uation. We would also like to hear from the other side of the argu- 1 ment, since there must be some other reasons for releasing a man who has proven himself to be well 1 C, DCU III iI I ICIU. II 11o1, LIIC state and the students may well I be concerned with the conditions in its institutions. The dlischarge of a professor of mathematics and astronomy from the faculty of the University of South Carolina might seem to be but little cause for alarm. If that were true, there would be no wvorthy reason for this letter. But the matter is not so simple as that. Much more is involved. The writer of this letter is the discharged professor, but there are scores of other -lprofessors at the university who feel also a keen interest in this matter. A prece dent is being set, a rule approved by the board of trustees is being broken, and the reputation of the university with its whole educa tional standing is at stake. Many questions are therefore b)eing raised. Is the university em barking on a policy of dlismissing< those p)rofessors with the highest qjualifications andl unquestionable< educational background in order to give positions to friends and rela tives of a favored few--all at the expense of high standards of scholarship? What will be the rep utation of the university in the edlucational circles of the nation? Are the policies of the university of any concern to the people of the state? Inasmuch as the writer of this letter apparently is no longer af filiated wvith the university, he has the peculiar p)rivilege of being able to speak for other faculty mem bers wvho are, to a considerable extent, silenced because of their p)ositions. In the first place, the wvriter is not the sort of person to shirk his responsibilities and run from a fight when great principles are at stake. Secondly, the twenty five years' experience he has had in promoting the cause of edluca tion can in no way (diminish a keen sense of (duty when that cause is apparently being under mined. He dloes wish it to be dlefinitely -understood, however, that he has not one word of crit icism to offer against the employ ment of well-qualified friends and 1 relatives of faculty members who are in no way concerned with uni-r varsity adminisaton.n rol would be exercised when to the university. The ques "who can determine what is ? Is any criticism of condi university ?" THE GAME. nes the only thing which will ulty, and the admin'istration to try to change these faults. paper which will grant only become as unworthy as any ees bad conditions around it :orrect these conditions of its ons. CK asks that the administra recognize the fact that THE othly under its present gov realize that the two positions ic backgrounds-the Dean of he English' Department--are that the administration take vhich may disapprove of edi e 3-the editor-in-chief shall final word as to what shall :t only to the approval or dis of Publications ... ) It asks ry to take power from the 1 the paper and have kept it reed for a new governing or AND BLACK or the CARO blications be helped to set up and a student committee for es to reconsider its stand in r to give more valid reasons e their support to the policy mnd to help maintain the sys erating. So far, it has had s reason to believe that many also add their support if this ions. [)CK will continue operating Publications, and under the hed it and have the rights of thy of such rights. O. T. E. Dr. Robins In traditions, in general culture, mnd in hard-headed intelligence, Lhe people of South Carolina are riot surpassed by those in any )ther section of the country. r'hey are proud of the fact that :heirs is one of the two oldest state universities in the whole United States. In material wealth, iowever, they are not so fortunate. I ihe University of south Caro ma is to spend their hard-earned lollars in cultivating the natural ntelligence of their sons and laughters, they are therefore very nuch concerned. They certainly vant the best their money will )Uy. They are keenly aware of the act that, if this state is to main :ain its progress, the standards of aducation given by the university niust not be allowed to suffer. The writer of this letter wants t to be known now and always :hat he is a Southerner, a native >f Tennessee, and that he has an anflagging interest in the educa ;ional progress of South Carolina. growing up on a Texas farm, his vais not the privilege to see inside school until he was twelve years >f age. Farm work restricted his ~chooling to less than four full iears until he graduated from iigh school with highest honors. After earning B.A. and M. A. legaees from the University of rexas, he spent five years in 'ollege teaching and, during the um mers, continued his education it the University of Chicago. En ering Harvard, he then earned the econd Ph.D. degree in astronomy iwarded by Harvard university. The writer served three years as >art-time instructor at Harvard ind Radcliffe college and one year is astronomer at Harvard College 3bservatory. The uniform policy ~ollowed by the better universities >f letting their younger instructors o first meant that the writer's affiliations with Harvard were liscontinuedI by the economic de )ression of the 30's. His astro Siomical work, however, attracted niuch attention in this country, in E'ngland, in Germany, in Russia, and in Australia. In a German .vork of three volumes (Geschichte md Literatur des Lichtwechsels Ier Veranderlichen Sterne), his 1ame is mentioned hundreds of imes. An article written by him or Scientific Monthly was so icited by the Smithsonian Insti ute as one of the three incor >oratedI in its Annual Report for 932. In the -textbook on astronomy >eing used at the University of south Carolina when he came, the ame of the writer is mentioned. n the preface of the late.t te.t Betsy Knowlton Wanted: Advertising Carolina needs to be advertised! Not enough students from the high schools of Columbia choose USC as a college. At a meeting of one of the lead ing campus organizations last week a suggestion was made which is going to be brought up in stu dent council. The idea is for a deputation to be formed, similar to the 'Y' dep utation, of leading campus organ izations to appear on the high school assembly programs. These programs would be designed to give the prospective freshmen some idea of what attending Caro lina would be like. They would attempt to attract more Columbia students to our campus. These deputations would not in any way interfere with the 'Y' programs. The 'Y' attempts to give a religious program while these would be advertising Caro lina life in general. The idea will be brought up in other campus organizations and suggestions will -be welcomed. Carolina-or any other univer sity-needs a strong supporting alumnus group for its growth and influence. The central point of our alumnus group is in Columbia and in order to keep its numbers grow ing the Columbia enrollment at Carolina should be kept as high as it has been in past years. Un fortunately out-of-state students go back home after they have graduated and the number of Co lumbia students needs to be in creased. These programs certainly should advertise Carolina in a favorable light to Columbia. They might even help to do away with the rumor in Columbia that Carolina ,is a "den-f iniquity." on Writes Of His book on astronomy to be published in this country, its author takes occasion to thank "Dr. L. . Rob inson for use of his tables of data respecting the nearest stars and for his comments and interest." The writer also received several other mentions in this book. Since he came to the University -. --:. vaaial, w wrter as submitted several articles to The Columbia Record on astronomical topics, and from The Columbia Record these have gone far beyond the borders of this state to ad vertise the Melton Memorial Ob servatory and the University of South Carolina. One article, after being translated into French, was reprinted in a Canadian news paper. A radio broadcast on items in this article was heard in Texas. The writer~ has done much in another way to advance the pres tige of the University of South Carolina. For four of the five years he has spent at the uni versity, he has kept the observa tory open from one to five nights per week, depending on the num ber of public school groups from over the state writing for appoint ments. This has been a public serv ice to student groups, university students, and to the public at large. 'His rewardi for this has not been a single penny, for, in addition to this he has taught as many hours as, and sometimes more than, anyone else in the department of mathematics. He must confess, however, that the rewards in meeting so many in teresting and worthy people has fully repaid him for the hundreds of hours he has thus spent in the advancement of education at the University of South Carolina. The writer has also done much to modernize the observatory at the university and would have done much more in that direction if conditions had been different. Because of his contacts, he was able to get this work done for about one-fifth of the usual costs, the savings thus going to the tax payers of South Carolina. In the field of mathematics, the writer has not been Idle. As a student, he received the Brown University Mathematical Prize at the University of Texas. A new method for solving partial differ ential cquations, perfected since he came to the University of South Carolina, has attracted no tie at the University of Chicago, at the Naval Academy, at the University of Leeds (England), and at the Lycee Perler (Mar seille. France) He has h.a leter The Price By TO Spirit Gi Although some observers 1 contrary, the student spirit at it has been since the war. The the large crowd that attende front of McKissick library, ti from several tenement windoa "Stop Duke," "Lick 'Dem Deb on various sidewalks and stree Some prankster went quitE he let himself get off on a t The result was several obscer campus walks. The administi move these blots on our repu this evidence of imbecility, th The culprit-who is not fit probably never be caught. If h be promptly expelled from th readmission for all time. If w ladies and gentlemen while South Carolina, we will be do the remainder of our lives. Orchids to The members of. the civi electrical engineering societies, that "explosive" and "shockir the Duke-Carolina football ga the back. That goes for Profe; little prof really had his boys To start things off, the ci middle of the field with all survey a "road" through the l object in the form 'of a "rock' the chemical engineers appeare ment necessary to blast the of the charge was set off, the "i devil emerged from the smokE utilized his long spear to dispE chemical boys in flight until a mechanized Gamecock swooi chased him across the field. bled their forces and assisted captured and the electrical en vided an electric chair and i Devil. Discharge of inquiry from all these insti tutions, as well as from others in this country. The research being carried on at Oak Ridge has also found this new method useful. He has advertised the University of South Carolina therefore by re porting on these mathematical in vestigations before professional meetines of mnthemt;can. fro Alabama to Connecticut, and stu dents at the University of South Carolina have been the first to learn these new methods. Besides being a member of the American Mathematical society and the Mathematical Association of America, the writer is a mem ber of the American Astronomical society and the Astronomical So ciety of the Pacific. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical society (London) and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is listed in American Men of Science, in Who's Who in American Edu cation, and in Who Knows--the Book of Authorities. The writer therefore is of the opmnion that any unbiased faculty poll1 would rate the above quali fications among the best at the University of South Carolina. The above paragraphs were not written in any boastful vein, how ever. The writer is well aware of the fact that the great ,najority of students at the University of South Carolina, with proper guid ance, can go at least as far in the educational world. His chief aim as a teacher has always been to lead thenm so that, having discov ered their potentialities, they may become inspired by their increas ing successes to push further with their explorations for great truths. The above paragraphs also af ford a background into which other facts must be contrasted. The writer was dismissed, it is alleged, "for the sake of econ omy," or "because of the expected decrease in enrollment." Other departments than the department of mathematics indeed have had to curtail their staffs for the lat ter reason. Insofar as the writer is aware, they did this.in the usual manner, by dropping those with the lowest educational qualifica tions. The mathematics depart ment, however, dropped none of these. At the beginning of the year, the University board of trustees ap proved a rule which states that "tenure of office for full profes sors, associate professors, and adjunct professors should be ini tially two years. The..a..e te.-. Things [(PRICE od--But iave expressed opinions to the the university is the best that e fact can be substantiated by d Friday night's pep rally in ne Duke Blue Devils hanging a, and the signs "Beat Duke," bils," and others were painted ts. a bit too far, however, when angent with the white paint. ie inscriptions painted on the ation took quick steps to re tation, but to those who saw e damage had been done. to be a son of Carolina-will e were apprehended, he should e university and barred from a can not conduct ourselves as attending the University of omed to perpetual failure for Engineers 1, mechanical, chemical, and who concocted and performed ig" stunt during half-time at me, deserve a healthy pat on 3sor Herty, too. The energetic on the ball last Saturday. vil engineers appeared in the the equipment necessary to )uke forward wall. A foreign ' blocked the C. E. path until d on the scene with the equip )stacle out of the way. When ock" split and a leaping blue and fragments. This critter !l his tormentors and had the a mechanical engineer riding >ed down upon the debbil and The other engineers reassem in the pursuit. The devil was gineers took over. They pro proceeded to fricassee Mister shall be permanent during good behavior and good performance." With the assurance that this posi tion would be "as permanent as that of anyone else," the writer was induced to resign another po sition, near the middle of the semester about five years ago to accept one as associate professor f anuaematics at the University of South Carolina. When he learns, at the end of five years, that a rule approved by the board of trustees does not stand in the way of his, being dismissed, morc p)rofessors than himself see a very dangerous policy. Many professors are therefore so sure that my dismissal was illegal, as well as a mockery of educational standards, that they have offered to help defray the Costs of a court action. Like sen timents have come from other uni versities. A former president of a larger universityand a man high in educational councils in the United States--writes with refer ence to my dismissal, "Surely your president is aware of tenure un derstandings which prevail and will cut across to see that tho University (of South Carolina) does not receive the professional black eye which inevitably accomi panics such actions." A well known mathematician expresses "doubt that any of the present generation of recognized mathe maticians would be willing to send one of their better qjualified Ph.D.'s to the department there." Contrast also this action with reference to the writer with a policy enunciated by the Chancel lor before a faculty meeting at the University of Mississippi - that every one without the Ph.D. de gree should consider himself but a templor.ary member of the faculty until that degree is received. The writer is convinced that this policy is quite undesirable for most state universities. It does serve to em phasize, however, a tendency to. ward higher standards of scholar Bhip--which is hardly~ in harmony with the policies followed by the Department of Mathematics at the University of South Carolina in seeking to diminish the number of Ph.D.'s by one and at the same time increase the A.B.'s by at least one. No one can question the rule among private' schools to dismiss anyone they please In favor of friends and relatives. But Is this the sort of action South Carolina taxpayers are called upon to sanc tion at the University of South Carolina ? L. V. Robinson.