University of South Carolina Libraries
A Need Ami Having received numerous letters from 1, distraught students concerning the "scanty" r library hours on the Carolina campus, N rumblings of unrest heard by the members of the editorial staff of The Gamecock be came confirmed. As the schedule now stands, McKissick Library opens its doors from 9 a.m. to 10:16 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. t to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and from 2 to 9 p.m. I on Sunday. The Undergraduate Library t maintains study sessions from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. and from 7 to 10 p.m. on Sunday. Each library, as it is now being used by the students, has been saddled with one or the other of the two primary purposes for which a library exists. Neither one is open for the right number of hours at the right time, thus hindering the extent to which students use the facilities, and limiting the amount of work that the students can ac complish. McKissick Library has been labeled Re search Library by most students and fac ulty members in the Carolina Community. This is the primary function which McKis sick serves. Extension of the library hours forty-five minutes would not prove too bur densome upon the staff, and would greatly increase the amount of research accom plished by the student. A surprising amount of such work can be completed in this time. Those using the facilities of McKissick are there to gather information for themes and term papers or to read parallel material. 1 They use the periodical room, the reference 1 room, the science room, and the reserve 1 room. Much of this work has to be done in the library, as many of these books cannot be checked out. Not only does a 10 o'clock closing hour break up a perfect studying night, but also on occasion, forces students to stop in the middle of their work simply because they cannot come to the library and l obtain additional information. Extension of the week-end hours is par ticularly important. Granted, many students 1 i/h11. e Press As A P In recent weeks, much in- ended with no terest has centered on four to a hung jur3 courtrooms in d i f f e r e n t sons took heart parts of the country where- Justice was n in six men have been or will Mississippi. No be on trial, one for jury said, is it po; tampering, three for kid- white man to napping and two for mur- for slaying a der. this statement, Thousands of words have hnve pmecluder appeared and will appear in bityo Bel print concerning the pro- cne ceedings in these trials, words that can shape public L opinion, words that can ac- i quit or convict. Alreadyt some have drawn conclu- __ sions concerning the guilt ora innocence of the accused, >. . i conclusions based largely on interpretations provided byc the American press. This seems to be particularlyk true in the two murder heakdTw trials, i.e. those of Byron De svrdys la Beckwith in Mississippi hmefare and Jack Ruby in Texas. tesm u Byron De la Beckwith wtessad was convicted in the public (11cagis mind long before he even ovrhlig came to trial for the murder ciumtnal of NAACP director Medgar hi sotM Ever. Wen he irs tral ond tohert, justice6 jasGn Hebe o AsolaedCoMissipi Noe Kdlor amcok i pblse ad fos ith pst yea exeptonholday anfdrin e ainns Th oinon eprsedbycoumihand peled1 nacssatipthoe o 'TebGm lctk. ofh Gaeck publcatin an leter i re,rled are $3.00sper.yTar AssistantiMnagingsEdido AdvertieiwgeMmnng, AssistantAdirrumsigaMtiag. Edirs l Assiteait traSn h uyI AMitn eurer EiorsoitdCoeit rs SprsEditor 's aeok*i ulse yadfrtesu Cicuar etion anar ddrigeaintos Ex hane Edintonxresdbcounssadetrwrt CheePhotograhero TeCmcc.""h aeok BuTie Saecetairepeetdnainyyb utinA C. hie Rporitr samme fth neae ol NatOaeePHrsSerie Raphe Jintrcollenre PR ae0 pryer I A Want eave the campus on the week-ends, but the najority remain. What could those that vander accomplish in the library anyway ince it is closed much of the time? Much research, on the part of both stu lents and faculty, suffers because of the hort week-end hours. For both parties the week-days are consumed with classes and heir preparations. These are the days when >oth are pressed for time. This leaves only he week-ends to devote to research work, lot to mention preparation for the coming veek's classes. The office hours of the Undergraduate .ibrary likewise prohibit any peaceful ,tudying on Saturday night and very, very ittle on Sunday night. Just as McKissick is requented for its research facilities, the Jndergraduate is used primarily for concen rated study purposes. A dormitory room on any night, particu arly Sunday night, is not always conducive o studying. Students are returning from veek-end excursions, anxious to relate all he thrilling events, the halls are filled with ;he excited chatter of girls or boistrous vitticisms of boys, radios are blaring and elephones are ringing. Such a situation nakes any study attempts completely fu ;ile. Three hours of studying time on Sun lay night do not affectively alleviate the roblem, since it is difficult for most con ;cientious students to complete necessary vork in this short space of time. Unless students take advantage of library 7acilities on Saturday afternoon, at which :ime they usually like to take a break from xooks and studying, they are given little )pportunity to accomplish required work. If enlargement of the library staff is lccessary, but not feasible, to extend the iours of the library, possibly a re-arrange nent of the schedule could be procured. Tudging from observation, students seem ess library - minded on Saturday than on sunday. Perhaps some hours could be sub ;tracted from Saturday morning and added :o Sunday afternoon and evening. ava/e m-mMMM urr ersuasive Power verdict due beyond a doubt that he did. , some per- The trial proved nothing ex saying that cept, perhaps, that at least ot dead in twelve men in Mississippi longer, they think it is a crime "to kill isible for a a nigger." But Mrs. Evers be acquited maintained that the hung Negro. With jury showed "we have a con such people science." What kind of con any possi- science will we have if a with's inno- man is convicted before he is proven guilty ? District At- On the other hand, no > r n e y Wil- body doubts that Jack Ruby im W a 11 e r shot and killed Lee Oswald, >o k g r e a t because millions of Ameri tins to find cans watched him do it on n impartial nation - w i d e television. iry. "Do you T h e r e being no doubt, lieve it's a Ruby's lawyers will plead r i m e for a temporary insanity. The de hite man to fense will select jurors who ill a nigger?" did not watch the murder dye men an- on television, and the prose nd Beckwith cution will choose only those when asked jiurors who believe in capital stion on the punishment. Somehow, we Waller's evi- hope, the American judicial Beckwith was sy stem will s tr u gglie but purely through. No one saw We do not maintain either edgar Evers, the guilt or innocence of the :ould not say two men, and we are not crusading for either convic tion or acquital. Our point is simply that in the United States, a man is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty. Pre - trial publicity can be justified, but not when it serves to condemn A a man in the public mind. If the time should come in a. lb. a,a America when a person can Cflt .1thebe convicted before he is Sb. given a fair trial, then jus " *~ t ice ,will be (lead in Missis I_ dos ipp)i, D)allas, andl every *"n w here else, for that matter. vertising Service, late Press, The u,,hscription rates LIer/)4C A RUJSSELL McCARTHY Y BARRETT "The Gamecock" encourages gina Galgano "Letters To The Editor," and Bill Savage they will be printed whenever ieianerdoheye should not exceed 300 Pat Rossle Letters must be signed and ac ~rriet Hollandi companied by the contributor's Sara Elliott return address for the purpose arol Robinson of certification. An unsigned ~recious Zurlo letter will receive no considera Reb)a HUtto tion. If the writer desires, hi. Tom Hunter name may be withheld, but the Carter Crewe anonymity will not be granted Winkie Young automatically. Leon Bridge No partisanship will be shown ie Henderson in the printing of letters. How Sig Huitt ever, "The Gamecock" reserves >bertson, Bob the rights to reject any letter u.S. c LAUNDR "All I want is a rush on my si LETI A Compliment Editor The Gamecock Dear Miss Russell: Last semester I read e v e r y i s s u e of The Gamecock. I was very impressed with the frank ness and vitality of the young man who was the past editor, Dennis Myers .. . Last semester you where asso ciate editor and now you are editor . . . May I commend you and your staff for bringing forth to its readers some very good reading material ... Please keep up the good work as I'll always he your most loyal reader. MRS. EMILY J. HALLSWORTH * 4. 4 Petitions Editor The Gamecock Dear Miss Russell. On behalf of the Committee on Scholastic Standing and Peti tions, let me thank The Game cock for its clarifying editorial in the February 7th issue. F. H. GILES, JR. Chairman, Petitions Committee Editor The Gamecock Dear Miss Russell: First, let me extend congratu lations to you and your staff for getting The Gamecock off to a good start this semester. Secondly, let me say "Amen!' to Miss Sheila Reardon's editorial in the current issue. The Univer sity can feel a sense of accom. plishment when its s t u d e ni newspaper recognizes and pro claims that "a rigid committed is n e cesa ary" in maintaininj academic standards. We are all s t ud en ts, faculty, and staff better off when such good recog nition is g i ven to the trut purpose of our University. ASHLEY HALSEY, JR. Assistant to the Presiden Flunk-Outs Editor The Gamecock I)ear Miss Russell: When the vast exodus fron college campuses o c e u r s afte e xamsa have been taken and grades posted, usually, all of u who have been fortunate enougl to remain on campus are affecte< in various ways. We are glai that we were successful and 1001 forward to a new semester ful of hopes, that when final exar gradIes are posted again we wil have triumphed over the majo affront to all college students -- the terror of flunking out. If a close friend, a fraternit brother or sorority sister, ha neighbor, r o om m a te, or eve casual acquaintance leaves schot because of grades we find out selves wondering about his c her immediate future. What wi a flunk-out do? Find a job ( another school? We think abot what a flunk-out would do unt we get around to considering wh~ he or she got into the unforti nate position of having to leas uit, Miss Whatever-your-name-is." rERS thought. Why the flunk-out? Most of us are aware that classrooms are bulging now more than ever before in the history of this or any other state uni versity. We know that individual attention is almost an unheard of occurrence when nearly s e v e n thousand s tu den ts are in at tendance at this University. It would certainly lower the flunk out ratio if each of us had a faculty a d v i s o r watching our every step. But, this is a utopian and hardly a mature answer. By the time we arrive at college we are supposed to be able to com prehend just what it is we are doing here. This thought, too, is unreal because few of us do. This University is trying to perform the duties of any state university. It is attempting to raise the standards of education in the state, prepare young men and women for the future, and most of all, deliver to society in dividuals capable of instilling into any community advanced leadership. With this in mind, what good does the flunkie do to any society? It seems logical that this uni versity should adopt some system whereby individuals would not be weeded out, a process we all abhore, and would not be cast out - hardly useful for anything. If we get here and have trouble maintaining a l e v e 1 above the submergence level, it seems that it should be the duty of the ad ministration to create a program designed to steady the individual wvho is rapidly approaching the flunk-out position. Unreal is the scene in which all poor students are led by the hand to graduation. Unreal is the idlea of the administration being bu r dene d with the task of playing nursemaid to the many who are d r ifit ing without the needed sense of direction. But, ,getting as much education across ,to as many as possible and pre . paring as many as possible for the future is the essential of the state university. I do not propose that quality be abandoned. Hail to those who t sink their clutching minds into every lecture and come out with the best marks. Give the best minds all they can soak up and give them the highest praise. Let us educate them faster than all the rest and let it be here at the state university. But, if they are going to be as useful now as in ri the f u t u r e, let those quality r people be a part or an assistance to the faculty and let the better studlent work with the poorer studlents in every way possible and as much as time allows. Making the superior s t u doe n t aloof enforces habit. Why do it? k G;ive them the job, and they are Imore than likely capable, of lend ing their abilities and quicker minds to those who need it most, the students who loiter along r until they are doomed by - flunking out. The Gamecock has in the past y had some cause or some tasks other than simply reporting the n goings on about the campus. I suggest this semester be the one in which The Gamecock works -hard at finding the words which *r will most help the studlents here and not flounder about uselessly radvancing abstract or impracti cal causes. Let it be now that this newspaper submit proposal 1after propos5al to the administra y tion and to the faculty for a .plan in which the problem of the eflunk-out would be alleviated. At RICHARD L. C. SULTLIVAN TODD V E ARLIER this week I received a l e t te r from Dr. Jones stating that the Student Senate bill calling for the establishment of a traffic court has been ap proved. This court will be a court whereby students who feel that they have received unfair tickets may appeal to the court. The final decision will be made in this manner. The court will be com posed of an administrative of ficial, a faculty member, and a student. The acceptance of such a bill is a major step in the right direction of delegating somewhat more authority to students. ONE of the most important l)dies through which stu (lent opinion is voiced is the Stu dent-Faculty Relations Commit tee. At its next m eeting this Friday the main topics of dis cussion will be the rule on excuses (the three-day period), insurance on buildings, etc., and the library situation. If any student has any subject for discussion, please place it in Box 4727, and it shall certainly be considered. Another thing of interest to many is the progress being made on the field house. We have peti tions with approximately 2,000 signatures, and the Columbia Carl He Political Candidat Are They Propaganda Machi I N every presidential election the American public dutifully goes to the polls and casts ballots according to t h e i r preference knowing that in some way they have helped the American destiny take a better turn. It is un fortunate that the American fate is not so well served. In aet u a li ty the average American goes to the polls quite confused andl likely votes for a personality, an image, the pork barrel, or the wvay his father and grandfather had votedl. In mod ern p)residlential elections huge sums of money are spent by both major parties adlvertisi ng the c-andlidates as a family man, a man who is all things to all peole, a man (of p)rogressive idleas, and a man against corrup tionI. LITERAL~LY tons (of words are spewedl out by the "p)ropa gandla" machines in an all-out effort to a t t r~ a c t votes, but usually serving to confuse the voter beyond repair. Thus the voter goes to the polls and votes for a catch-all phrase such as "WVar on Poverty," "Let's Get This Country Moving," et cetera, or he will vote accordling to the way the candidate looked and1( spoke. Recently religion andl race have swayed votes on an ominous scale. In early school years Amierican children are taught that through the American political system only the two best candidates from eac~h p)arty are selected to run for the highest office in the land, andl that the better oif the two will emerge victorious, Un fortunately. this is ntot, has not, nor likely will lbe the case -- the mere winning of an eletion (does not preclude denmonKt rated or poten - tial ability to perform the tasks of an elective office'. I N reality the winning of an election indicates that one can dlidate was able to i n f I ui e n e e more votes at election time than the other candidate; it (does not necessarily preclude that the sanme candidate could win on any other given day. In close elections this q u est i on is more than acadlem ic. So ofte'n in election years~ what should have been th(e real issues are obscured and front issues are injected, anda widely d e b a t e d VILSON Administration Approves Bill or Traffic Court Tip-Off Club has even more than this. Our problem at this point is how to most appropriately pre sent these to the State Legisla ture. Plans are being made for this phase. and we shall have a full report in the near future. M AY I urge each of you tu begin writing your legislators to emphasize the need we have for such a building. Be sure to point out the other uses of the building other than a basketball court. If this were to become a reality, we could hold our dances on the campus, our Artist Series could be enlargcd and strength ened, and the Student Body could hold mass meetings for things of interest to the entire Student Body. Our needs are many, and this is one of the most urgent. Ask your parents to write as well. One area which needs con siderable work is the Student Speakers' B u r e a u. This is a group of students that visits high schools in the state, as well as civic clubs, etc., to spread the good name of the University and to attempt to bring in the top students within the state. Anyone who would Uke to work with us hon this is urged to contact me in the very n?ar future. We need you. ndricks es - nes? the 1960 persidential election. In this election the real issues should have been internal and external Communism and the economic and political position of America. 1lowever, the former was ob scured and the latter smeared all out of proportion. I T is characteristic of people everywhere to pay gr ea ter r heed to clever accusations than to their refutations, thus when Mr. Kennedy' created the myth of the missile gap people listened with credulity and less sympa thet.ically to Nixon's r e t o r t. Though bo0th c a n dIi d a te s de' nounlcedl it. the Catholic issue blecamle a major issue and was kept alive contributing signifi cantly to the outcome. Race also became quite an issue and Bobby Kennedy's acts in getting Martin Luther King out of jail andl his avid support of the Negro cause certainly swayed many votes. The Catholic issue in retrospect was one of the greatest dupes in American history. Who stood to gain the most from keeping the issue alive? Not Richard Nixon, he was of a Quaker background andl stood to lose Protestant and Catholic support by pushing the issue, but the Brothers Kennedy because they 'stoodl to gain fronm Catholic solidlarity and Pr-otestant sop)histication. Interestingly, tonls of anti-Catholic and anti-Negro literaturiie appeared in advanta geous areas in this campaign and more than one authority has in dlicatedl that llobby Kennedy of ficially had a hand in this dirty manle iive r. A 81A.MlEDI.Y we must admit that voting frauds do occur inA Americat and her-e is where dlemoeracy really breaks dlowni. In Illinois, Texas, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania voting frauds occutrr-ed on a scale hitherto un known, and the present Attorney Generail "found" no voting ir re'gulIarcities in the survey. If dlemocracy is to survive in America then the real issues must be dlebatedl by the candhi dlates before the people and that slide& issues b.e put in their proper pe'rspiective. and that the wishes of the ballot box be obseCrved without the distinct possibility of fraud. Anothe.r p)oint - if one is completely con fused and dhis gustedl with the way a c'ampalignl is being r-un then stay away from the polls or join a party