Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

I Don't Becom "There are old pilots, "There are bold pilots, but "There are no old, bold pilots." This slogan hung in the pilots' ready room of almost every American airbase in the world during World War II. It can be ap plied even today . . . and not only to those who pilot airplanes, but those who drive cars as well. Although the impact of a great automobile tragedy has never hit home to many of us, it is, nevertheless, our duty to find out about traffic accidents and how to prevent them. Most peop)le are not imp)ressedl with a lot of statistics, but browsing through a pub lication of the National Safety Council really openfs one's eyes to the appalling number of lives and limbs that are taken each year by dIriver carelessness, or ignorance. For in stance, in the United States last year, over 1,400,000 motorists and pedestrians were in jured in traffic accidents; 38,200 died. In South Carolina alone, 730 lives were lost on the highway, and ours is a relatively safety conscious state. A Problez Several students met earlier this week with President Sumwalt and Deans Clot worthy and Tomlin at the first official func tion of the Student-Faculty Relations Com mittee. The purpose of the committee is to Bet up some medium whereby the students may p)resent justified grievances to faculty and administration heads for immediate con sideration, and vice-versa. This is the first attemp)t at such a committee, and if initial success is any indication, the establishment of it seems to have been a wise choice. Presently under considleration is the traf fic situation at Carolina, which seems to get a little worse every day. As has been pre viously stated, parking facilities will be in me A StatistlIc In less than the time it takes you to read this page of the "Gamecock" - assuming that you read it in about ten minutes - two people will be killed in traffic accidents and another 177 will be seriously injured. If these figures do not impress you, at least I hope they will scare you to death. Most of us do not realize the responsi bility we take on when we crawl behind the steering wheel of an automobile. We have a responsibility to our family; their welfare depends on our ability to avoid accidents. There is also a responsibility to the general public - they exp)ect us to be safe, compe tent drivers - and a responsibility to your self and the passengers who may be riding with you. Generally, Carolina students seem to be p)retty careful, as our accident rate is rela tively lowv, but with the traffic problem be coming increasingly worse, we cannot afford to become statistics. The problem will be even greater with students going home for the holidays. it's up to us to prove that we are re sponsible citizens. ii In Hund creased greatly once the Urban Renewal Program swings into effect, but there seems to be no immediate solution to alleviate traffic hazards. Among the suggestions brought up at the meeting, the cream of the crop seems to be the widening and paving of Green Street, and the addition of diagonal - as opposed to parallel-parking in this area. The con struction could presumably be done over the Christmas holidays, thus eliminating the possib)ility of tying up student traffic dur ing regular sessions. Also suggested was the possibility of putting in diagonal parking on the lower block of Marion Street, across from Frater nity Row and beside Booker T. Washington High School. Both matters are being given consider able considleration, and it looks like relief is finally in sig-ht Mike Wainwright. On Why not let's create a little con troversy? It seems to be tho edi torial policy of this paper to confine national problems, etc., to things affecting our campus or our state directly. Therefore, let us examine the question of capital punishment. Last week college students and Clemson people gathered at our State House for the South Carolina State Student Legislature. Among the bills brought up for considera tion was one advocating the removal of our state capital punishment law. Fortunately, the bill was defeated after a considerable amount of de bate, both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. Many will agree - and so will this writer - that capital punish ment does not go hand in hand with the fundamentalist upbringing most of us have had. Granted, it is not our place to take a human life. However, idealistic sentiments must be thrown out the window when this question comes up. Statistics - for what they are worth - may prove that areas which abolish the death penalty experience no increase in murders, but think about other capital offenses. If State Student Legislature's bill was to be passed by our general assem bly, the right of protection to the average citizen would be encroached upon greatly. One could readily watch for an increase in the number of rape and kidnap cases in our state. And there are other arguments for either side. But those of you who are offended, please keep your "Let ters To The Editor" on the level of our college students - not Clemson people. I yield to the speaker from the other side of the fence. Letters Policy "Letters To The Editor" are en couraged by "The Gamecock" and will be printed whenever possible. They should not exceed 300 words. Letters must be signed and ac companied by the contributor's re turn address for the purpose of certification. An unsigned letter will receive no consideration. If the writer desires, his name may be withheld, but the anonymity will not be granted automatically. No partisanship will be shown in the printing of letters. How ever, "The Gamecock" reserves the right to reject any letter because of content or character. USE * CHRISTMAS SEALS CROWNG VOl UNIVERSITY OF 5 Mamber of Associal me Univer.y of Death CreIia we, ,ear emeet held.~ ad dau met emlstu=to a e.mde.....t. nb M-ie.m aa u, letrI reserved. EDITOR .................. MANAGING EDITOR. .. .. .. .. BUSINESS MANAGER. .. .. .. A DVERTISING MANAGER.... AW8T ADVERTISING MANAG: NEWS EDITOR .............. SPORTS EDITOR .......... FEATURE EDITOR ........ ASS'T FEATURE EDITOR . SOCIETY EDITOR ......... CAMPUS EDITOR .......... CIRCULATION MANAGER.. EXCHANGE EDITOR ........ BUSINESS SECRETARY... CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER .. REPORTERS: Blanding Clarkson ton, Cloudy Hardy, Ellen Hortoi Fred Schumpert, Bob~by Brown, E Henderson, Regina Galgano, Jack BUSINESS STAFF: Murray Cok< Emily Redding, Jim Van Oudell, J COLUMNISTS: Charles Behling, Daniels, Sam Freed, Audrey Hanl Peden, Mike Sheheen, Brenda Will PHOPfTGRADHRS:D Rbe. D Gnau=. triter SF Capital LITTLE MAN ,IF YOU 00r MAI4Y WO ;Wd1N1MN6 LONSE6 ALAUS'AKW Exchang Christmas, like everything else, is now pre-packaged, says an editorial page columnist in the Louisiana State DAILY REVEILLE. "It's bought when bathing suits are still on the shelves and stored so long that the flavor has gone when it's brought out to thaw with the Christmas turkey," he says. The writer, Raymond Strother, continued: " . . . The Christmas season, like the presentation of the new cars, seems to start earlier each year. In August people are first warned to buy early and avoid the rush. September ushers in Santa Claus sales and the opening of toy depart ments. The first cool day in October merchants try to decide who will wear the pillow and the white beard. "In November Christmas bells and lights are strung from poles ... "By December, people are sick of the thought of Christmas. Perhaps this is why the tinsel and lights are jerked down on Dec. 26, as though they were something hated and boring. "People do not want Christmas to interfere. They want it to come softly like any other day so there will be no bother. It is too much trouble to be sucked into the ac tivities of a Christmas season. Christmas must be pre-packaged so that it can be defrosted slowly. It is bought in August and then thawed with the Christmas turkey a few days early.... "I think that I will wait until Christmas to have Christmas. It's a lot of fun to buy gifts on Christmas Eve and bump into Christmas trees and be crowded and shoved by people like myself who enjoy the A GREATER OUTH CAROLINA edl Collegiate Pres a Rebert Eiee Gemiaes a. the died6 and for the shmtedemeo amuits and hete wisees are mat me"bl i-.-4" e . ........HOWARD HELLAMS . .................Doug Gray ..................GneDyon .....................36nHD ER ... ..........Carol Euhesek .................Levena Page .................arroll Gray . .. .. .. .. .... .... .Joan Wolcott . .. .. . . . . . .- n Hahen ...............Maty Shehben .... .......Mary Ann Newmaa ................Murray Ok..r ...... .. ..........Pat Pod.. ... .. .... ......Emily Redding ......... ......Joe Van Dyk. Jr., Jo Ann Coker, Cathie, Dut i, Carolyn Hloyle, Kay Hughey, I Jacohs, Gail Broughton, RuthMe a Fowler, Donna Rnumean ir, Carol Eslecek, Bernard Hoefer, im Presley. Iohn Chappell, Pat Clayton, Mike I, Joe Major, Jimmy Mann, Pat rh En11B. Horton. )eaks Ot Punishm ON CAMPUS P GLASSES-T00 'INC M0 ompa FOlgmty X&WIP' e Corner season. "Sure, all of the gifts are picked over and the shirts are sold in the small sizes; but who expects to get anything that fits on Christmas. . . . "I'm going to ignore what is go ing on down town and in the shopping centers. . . . I think I will enjoy Christmas on Christmas." * * * The return of beards - apparently a trend in male fashion today - perils college life, if not our entire culture, says a lead editorial in the Iowa State DAILY. The Daily says: "When that all-male plumage be gins to blossom, who will be able to tell the freshmen from upperclaas men? The stern and knowing set of chin that distinguishes upperclass men will be hidden from view. Let your imagination illustrate for you what the results of that folly might be. "And, if that were not enough, how about the women? Our blush ing coeds, who have never been sub jected to more than a mild rasping from a two-day growth, may not be able to cope with the necessity of kissing a billowing mass of curls. The weaker ones might faint dead away and romance, always a bright spot in campus life, might become a thing of the past. The possibili ties are absolutely frightening. "And, if this latest fashion be comes widespread, the whole nation might wvell suffer. Sports cars and beards wvere never meant for each other, and neither were barbecues and beards, small neckties and beards, and stickpins and beards. "There would be some advantages, however. Scarves wouldn't be the necessity where they are, and a shirt could be worn at least a day longer. Weak-chinned men could have a new outlook on life. Post office "WANTED" pictures would be use less. "So the current trend toward a revival of the beard seems incon sistent with our present standards. At the risk of being considered anti-progressive, we vote for a con tinuation of the bare male chin." * * * Remember that old saw, "For want of a nail the shoe was lost?" Here's a different version from Rita Ann Gianotti, writing in THE PHOENIX, Our Lady of the Lake College, San Antonio: "In this modern world of xlxc tronic dxvicxs, It is quli common for onx littlx mxchanism to go hay wirx. Takx this typxwritxr, for In stanex. Thxrx arx 44 kxys on a typxwritxr, and onx littix kxy not working should not makx that much diffxrxncx. But, onx littlx kxy DOXS mattxr, doxn't it? "Whxn somxonx asks you - onx pxrson in a million -- to do just onx littlx job, do you txll thxm no and pass as anothxr lax lacy In thx schXmx of biggxr plans?7 You might say this littlx job could bx handlxd by othxr pxoplx, biggxr pxoplx who know what to do and how to do it. But, thxrx was a timx whzn thx2x big pzoplx wxrx just littIx kxys likx you. ... "Thx nxxt timx you think you'rx too littlx to do thx job, rxmxmbxr that you arx onx Important kxy -- a kxy mxmbxr --t any group tol which yova n g." it ent Pat Clayton . .. The Panic Into o Extremism NEWSWEEK magazine (De cember 4, 1961) reports the follow ing incident. Scene: Freeport, N. Y.; meeting of Young Americans for X Freedom group. The speaker: a middle-aged housewife, herself an area coordinator for another ultra conservative clique. The subject: communist infiltration. She speaks: "I've just been told that Russian peat moss is being sold in many nurseries on Long Island. Remember to ask where your peat moss comes from." As I rose from reading this revelation, I was frankly horrified by the very thought that Russian peat moss is growing somewhere on Long Island this very minute. The fact of subversive peat moss in filtrating our country is a serious one, the ramifications of which could be far-reaching. A short trip into the future will probably find the YAFmen and Birchers demanding economic sanctions against the ven dors of caviar, vodka, and, by as sociation, tomato and orange juices. T HE WORK of our superpatriotic groups in the area of sponsoring seminars on communism and expos ing pro-communists should not go unrecognized. There is certainly an urgent need for such action since the best our own Justice Department has accomplished to date is merely t* indictment of the entire American Communist Party on twelve counts of offenses against our society. This must be considered a fledgling ef fort indeed when compared with the achievements of the John Birch Society, YAF, and the National In dignation Convention. The combined efforts of these groups have thus far resulted in the uncovering of two gravely subversive elements in our nation: Russian peat moss and General Eisenhower. What is happening in our land is obvious: these superpatriotic groups, though well-meaning, are playing directly into the communists' hands by creating discord and suspicion. The Soviets, by constant tension and harassment, hope to create so much frustration among the American people that we will panic into ex tremism. Once we panic the com munists will have won the psy chological war. What form does this panic take ? It consists of seeing "red" everywhere and of blowing the enemy far out of proportion to its actual size. It consists of suspecting every national setback of being com munist-inspired, within our owaf government. It consists of the words "remove from office, fire, impeach .. . ." We may not agree with the actions of some of our federal officials; however, we should realize that all human beings are subject to error. I often suspect Earl Warren of being grossly defi cient in mental agility and good judgment, but I would not vote to impeach him on the groundso treasonous acts. T HE communists realize that the first to panic will be the weak, the frightened, and the frustrated. It appears from recent developments that the panic has begun, with our right-wingers leading the way. Ultra conservative extremists are actually doing their nation a great disservice. By detracting attention from the international communist menace to themselves, they are clouding every one's view of the real danger. By asking Americans to chose sides against one another on the question of how to fight communism most effectively, they are weakening the moral fiber of all patriotic Ameri cans. Communists are crafty, but they are not magicians. They are formid able, but they are not twelve feet tall. They can be defeated by a united and well-Informed citizenry. The discordant voices of extremists are being heard in our land. The cool and rational-minded will have their day. The final victory over com munism w,ill be +ter.