University of South Carolina Libraries
Names An, He cast his vote, Distrusting all the elected but not the law. -Karl Shapiro The first Australian or secret ballot law in America was enacted by the legislature of Kentucky in 1880. In 1950, action by South Carolina brought the secret ballot to all states. Our state, by being the last to give, feels perhaps that at least one branch of its organization can be the first to take away. The branch of which we are speaking is the University, and that which has been taken away is the individual's right to vote secretly for whom he pleases. On April 10 and 13 of this month, student body elections were held, and IBM cards were utilized as ballots, presumably to facili tate the election process. Each student had a card with his name and student number printed on it. Therefore, in order to vote, the individual was forced to waive his legal right to a secret ballot. This is merely an other example of the sloppy and inefficient manner in which the election was conducted, but it is the example with which we are immediately concerned. There can be no logical explanation of this infringement to individual privilege, and we defy anyone to attempt to offer such an explanation. If it was necessary to imple ment the University's computer in the scor ing of election returns, it was not necessary to put names and student numbers on the individual ballots. The situation could have been remedied in a number of obvious ways, or at least we feel they are obvious. Ap parently nobody else thought so, however. To begin with, roll books could have been used, as has been the practice in the past. A Prayer An American general in the Philippines during World War II wrote this prayer: "Build me a son, 0 Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid, one who will be proud and un bending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory. "Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know Thee - and that to know himself is the fountain stone of knowledge. "Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. IIere let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail. CROWING FOR A GREATER UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CARO[ Mecmber of Associated Collegiate Pre Funded January 30, 1908. with Robert Elliott C.onza Editor, "'ihe Gamecock" is published by and for the University of South Carolina weekly, on Fridays, duris year except on holidays and during examinations. The opinions expressed by columnists and letter so necessarily those of "'The Gamecock." "The Gamecoc Letters to the Editor, but all Letters must be signed. I nsot constitute an endorsement. T he right to edit or publication any letter is reserved. "The Gamecock" is represented nationally by Natlo, Servke Inc. The publication is a member of the Associ. Preas, The National College Psess Service, and the interc Subscripion rates are $3.00 per year. EDITOR..........DON MANAGING EDITOR SHE!; BUSINESS MANAGER LAR Assistant Managing Editor1 Advertising Manager Assistant Advertising Manager News Editor. Copy Editor. Campus Editor. Feature Editor. Assistant Feature Editor Society Editor Sports Editor Circula,tion Manager Exchange Editor Chief Photographer Business Secretary Ru Chief Reporter PHOTOGRAPHERS: Henry Robertson, Leon Underwood. COLUMNISTS: Todd Wilson, Dave Henry, Carl Narrow, Bill Savage, Julia Drake, Zazel W STAFF MEMBERS: Kay Hu ghey, virgia Maxwell, Hfarr) Elliott, Henry Eichel, Eddie Hloffmeyer, Janme Smith, Mar Callison, Betty Ca rton, Em H-ein,s, Lindas Martin. l.isa Edwards, Susan L.ndau, Ef rid Keisler, Mike Camp. Kaile Taylor Harriet LaBiorde, Linda CordIell, Carol Prnice, Joyi Orgons&, Be. Jee Garrett, Barbara Moore, Eva Edlesbu,rg, Burton, Dan Prultt, Deb watkins, Iinhell (e-e..5 linda Sharp 3mnity wheeler. Dian viaion. Paula willams. d Numbers Students could have had their names checked prior to being issued a plain IBM card. If roll books were not acceptable to election officials, and we see no reason why they were not, then cards could have been perforated in such a way as to permit the student to tear off the strip bearing his name and number. We offer these sug gestions as alternatives to the method re cently used, and we hope someone will in vestigate the possibilities of adopting one or the other. If, at any future election, ballots are issued that are marked in such a way as to identify the elector, we urge the stu dent body not to vote. One reason for holding elections at this or any other educational institution is to provide an opportunity for people to learn the principles of democracy. These princi ples, we maintain, have been violated by the denial of election by secret ballot. It is sim ply no one's business for whom an individual votes. There are other questions that arise when last week's election is considered. Why was the poll in the Business Administration building closed in the middle of the day? Why was a student permitted to campaign for herself in the Russell House Assembly Room while ballots were being marked? There were a number of irregularities sur rounding the election, not the least of which were concerned with the ballots themselves. Perhaps those students who were charged with conducting the election would like to explain these things. In the interest of a better Carolina, it is to be hoped that they will do so. Savage 'Fulfilled "Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high, a son who will mas ter himself before he seeks to master other men, who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past. "And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true wisdom, and meekness of true strength. "Then I his father, will dare to whisper, 'I have not lived in vain.'" America had such a son. lie was born January 26, 1880 and died April 5, 1964. --The LSU Reveille COExchange Corner .INA seCentral State College: les as the firs Sadie H1 a w k i n s Week was ludens olfh ended with a dance on April 3rd. ig te colegeAt the dance, the winners of the Ter are not Ugly Man C On t e t and the ublishin does Fastest Girls on Campus were withhoI fro announced. "Approximately fifty al Advertiting girls tagged their men with five. etdCleit ent man-tags during a two-day Alcgite h'eas.sale." NA RUSSELL Uni;versity of North Carolina: A R EA RDON "The D) a iil y Tarheel" look: [RY BARRETT upon the GOP convention as larriet Holland "Barely G;oldwater," and sug Bill Savage gested that the name of dorni Wayne Weible meetings be changed to "dormani Pat Roessle meetings." Susan Lindau ... , Sara Elliott liimversity of Gerga CarolRobison n i v e r s i t y of Georgia ha: Crec oiou s ron scheduled G, r e e k Week froir reiou Zurto A\pril 20th to April 25th. The ieb McCatto ente'rtaimment will be provided ~Ik caty by the Four Preps and the Four Carter Crewe Fsmen. Winkie Young Leon Bridge fluwling Ereen Statec University: thie Henderson B - G UJniversity is debating Sig Huitt upon the question whether senior Bridge, Dave girls should he given "dlormitory key p ri vil e ges." This would Hendrcks,Ted nable thenm to enter and leave Hedickde Ted the dlornms without regulation. Waldrop I)ackie IiUiversidty of Nevada: Lentox N,mJ Du ring t he Spring G e n e r a I n i an; (en Election, Bob Hasta campaigned Caro,l Fripe, Ann in an original fashion - on to): .., wm.-or Ha.., o nAO(oky LETI The Ineligibles Editor The Gamecock Dear Miss Russell: I am finishing my third year in the College of Engineering. Due to the fact that I have been to summer school as well as having taken heavy class loads during the regular semesters, I have more than 93 semester hours of credits. However, in ROTC and Civil Engineering I am still a junior and expect to graduate in June 1965. At the polls I was told that I was already a senior and there fore could not vote for senior class officers. I asked several friends in engineering and found that they were in the same sit uation. I understand that nearly all of the rising seniors in engineering were prevented from voting for class officers because they had more than 93 hours at the end of last semester. The same situa tion exists in pharmacy where the curriculum calls for a five year course. I urge the student government just elected to take measures to correct this injustice for those who follow. I urge that this action be taken as soon as pos sible by a constitutional amend ment if necessary. PEYTON N. JOYNER Class of 1965 Where's The Evidence E d itor T he Ga mccock I)eair Miss Russell: In your article "Carolina Com munity Expresses Mixed Emo tions On Morals" (April 10) as well as in the editorial "Moral Revolution No. 2?" there is a prevailing assumption that there has been a significant change in the sexual morality of Ameri cans in recent years. This is a common assumption among many who discuss this matter, and yet no one has pre sented any evidence at all that there actually has been any "sexual revolution" at any time in America's past. Where is the evidence? There is an implication in the first article to the effect that atheism and existentialism are somehow necessarily r e 1 a t e d. This is nonsense. Also in that article the statement that "'.. moral norms and standards of right co n ducet must be en forced!'" conflicts with a funda mental principle upon which our society rests in so far as it ap plies to sexual morality. Our so ciety maintains andl d e p e n d a upon a dlistinction between public and private morality. With the exception of the legal aspects of marriage, which are mostly if not wholly ece o n o m i c, sexual morality clearly comes within the sphere of private morality. I would also like to take issue with the use of the adjective "pre-marital" in both articles with respect to various sexual activity. This term carries with it the implication t ha t somehow sexual conduct is ineXtricahly bound up with marriage, where as marriage is merely one aspect of sexual conduct, and sexual NON S VOTE S S 'ERS have anything to do with that institution at all. The notion expressed in the editorial that sexual conduct is not a moral question is absurd. All human activity entails moral ity, and moral propositions are not a "'body of absolutes.'" As to the talk about a "meaningful relationship," what is the mean ing of a "meaningful relation ship?" Further, what is the meaning of the distinction made between "sex" and "love"? HARRY BOOTH Universal Immorality Editor The Gaimecock D>ar Miss Russell: I read your articles and edi torial concerning "M o r a l s on Campus" with considerable in terest. However, at times I feel that a little too much emphasis is placed on this particular issue. In my opinion the most ominous problem concerning premarital intercourse is the critics of the situation and the label of im morality stamped on sex by these critics. Morton M. Hunt, one of the more sophisticated authorities on the subject of sex, stated in The Natural Hlistory of Love: "Men in the Old Testament . . . guilt lessly enjoyed the services of several wives and concubines." Also, "Because the bearing of children was regarded as a bless ing, dying in the virgin state was considered unfortunate rather than desirable." G. R. Taylor in Sex inl History wrote that "the Romantics pre ceding the Victorian Age held that sexual ex periment was necessary if one was to choose the ideal mate." Napoleon Hill in T h i n k and Grow Rich in reference to "the relationship of achievement(s) to highly developed sex natures," statedl, "The men of greatest achievement are men with highly developed sex natures. . . ." In Hill's ten stimuli of the mind, sex was mentioned in four; namely: Sex expression, love, friendship between sexes, and autosuggestion or transmutation. I firmly believe that another p)oint worth bringing out is that fornication is not listed as one of the Ten Commandments, as they appear in the King James version of the Holy Bible. The fact that evades me is that the legal codes that are administered in our society place so much em phasis on the "moral" crime of sexual intimacy between unmar riedl individuals. I would like to bring out this logic (that I cannot claim as my own): - a crime or, if you please, a moral "sin" is judged according to its universal aspects, i.e., murder is wrong because if every individual in the world committed murder there would be no one left living. If one were to apply the same logic to the question of virginity he could very well see an end to the popu lation problem - and everything else for that matter. The conclusion reached by the use of this logic tends to raise the question of whether virginity itself might not be an immoral institution. SHERWOOD M. SMITH..JR. TODD' HIS past Friday we, the stu dents of this University, took a most important step in the building of a more significant and effective Student Govern ment. As all of you know by now, the new proposal for a Student Body Constitution passed overwhelm ingly. This is a tremendous step rorward and we will now present the constitution to the faculty for their consideration and, we hope, their approval. L ET me also express my con gratulations to our new Stu lent Body President, Chip Cothran. He certainly has the capabilities to do a job of which you can all be proud. Let me urge that each of you, as individ. uals and collectively, give to hini your full support as he seeks tc lead you in the area of Studeni Government. Congratulations are a 1 s o ir order for all of the other elected officers. All of them have worked long and hard for their positions and I certainly want to wish foi them the best in their respectivt positions. A LL of these officers will of. ficially take office or Awards Day, May 6. The gave! will be exchanged, and all new officers will assume their respec. Carl H4 'The Gamecoc Issues Challen To New Office W ITH the run-off electioni last Monday the s t u d e n Democratic elections are over fo a n o t h e r year except for th Freshman and special election of the coming year. We wouk like to extend to the winners hear-ty congratulation for a jol well done and to the student: who did not fare so well wve ap preciate their effort and inter-es and ask that with the passing o this election that they c-ontinu, to be inter-ested in the Carolina Comnmuni ty. It is often said that one learn: the most in defeat and wve hopi that those wvho lost this time an< sonme other-s who did not have thi courage or- were too lazy wil make a better and more success ful effort next taime. Denmocr-ac; can only succeed if the electorat keeps abreast of the issues of th dlay and takes interest enough t accurately express itself, andi qualified men and women wvil seek public office. This applie to the nation, the states, and t this great University. W E would issue to the newl elected student b o d y of fi cers, the student senators, th class officers, and the variou honor and disciplinary i-epr< sentatives a challenge to fulfi the duties of their offices to th betterment of the University an the student body as a whole. We would ask that these r-er resentatives rememiber that the are in fact repr-esentatives an servants of the entire studer body, and this should alway keep an ear to the true heartbea of those who elected theni. I short, we would ask that all thi elected officials assert then selves in all ways possible an b e c o m e more than powerles mouthpieces and titular official: ONteelection in general h ous note that we were disaj pointed in some respects an pleased in others. Fir-st, let L say that though the new balloi ing system is a step) in the rigl direction we noted that it di not save as much time as antic p)atedl and we were a bit co: eerned that the accepted trad tion of the secret ballot was n< adhered to. Perhaps the secret ballot is n< truly crucial here but we see r compelling reason for- the brea NILSON odd Wilson Praises tudent Acceptance Of Constitution tive positions and responsibili. ties. In the afternoon of May 5, Miss Elaine Ouzts w.ill be ' crowned May Queen too. As all of you know, we at. tempted something new in elec tions this year with the institu. tion of IBM cards. Many comments have come in, both fa vorable and unfavorable. If any of you have suggestions as to how elections can be improved, we welcome your c o m m e n t s whether they be favorable or un favorable. IN the next few weeks I shall attempt to review some of the major accomplishments of the Senate this year. I will give those things done and those undone, as well. We have had a rather con cerned and active Senate this year, and, as a whole, they were a most cooperative body. You can be proud of many of the things which these people have done. Let me urge each of you to get behind your student government, push it to the utmost, and give it your full support. It stands on the brink of becoming something well worth while and something that can truly represent the stu (lent hody as it should be repre sented. We can make it so, and I challenge each of you to do your part. ndricks ky N ge rs principle. Perhaps next year the IBM system can be revised so that the long fought for principle of secret ballot can be restored. N the student body presidential irace we noted that though in losing Larry Barrett and his prtetty helper con d uc ted at spirited campaign and succeeded in cr-eating among the Indepen (dents an interest in campus poli tics. The fact that many of tht. Independents votedi a strict In dlependentt ticket served to chal lenge the Greeks into uniting as a bloe'. This riv'alr-y, spirited as it was, is good( for the campus as a whole politically. In future elec t-ions we wouldl ask that the can didlates assume the responsibility of campaigning on the issues trathet- than appealing to blind prejudice. Chip Cothran cond ueted a gentlemanly and interesting cam pign and we congratulate him Ott his victoty. He and his forces (lid a fine job of organizing sup port and wve hope that he and his chief supporters will take up with great diligence the chal - lenge which we issued earlier. F N another area of campus elections we would challenge the Inter- - ft-aternity and Pan HelncCouncils toadopta mot-e democratic system of elec tions. We admit that both sys tenms as now p racticed have produced some leaders of merit ~'in recent years, but we submit that a system of direct election of officers in both Councils would serve to create greater Sintet-est in the Greek system and in turn make it stronger. We also e advocate letting the entire Greek system choose those who are to receive awards. TIhe Gamecock is Intended I primarily as a voice for stu s dent opton and news. We welcome letters from any student or member ot thet taculty under the tollowang provisions. Letters must be signed with the writer's mailing ad dress. We will withhold thet wrtter's name If the letter requests it. However, we k will print no letter that i un s igned.