The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 21, 1964, Page Page Two, Image 2
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
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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