The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 18, 1966, Image 6
Editorials
Friday, March 18, 1966
Apathy, One
Student apathy at USC has prevailed
again. And in the face of a problem sup
posedly abhorred by everyone on campus.
Probably no subject receives more grip
ing from the students than the process of
registration. True, the groans are loudest
only at the times of registration, but they
are heard all year long.
Last fall the Office of Admissions and
Registration decided to do something about
the situation. Two interns working in the
office wvere hired to study the problem.
In order to better inform themselves of
the "plight" of the students and to get some
ideas for improving the system, the interns
composed and mailed out a simple question
nai re.
Questionnaires were mailed to 314 stu
dents living on campus according to the fol
lowing breakdown: (1) 100 students regis
tered by computer for the first time; (2) 50
honor roll students who were registered by
computer in the fall, 1964, but not in the fall,
1965; (3) 50 probation students registered
Slater Sanitation?
The Student Senate in a strong move Wed
iesday came out against the boney pie and
wormy spaghetti claimed to have been
served in the University's cafeterias.
We think Senate's request for a full scale
State Health Department investigation of
Slater's food system is a good idea.
While the Slater kitchen isn't the worst
we've seen - things could and should be
better.
An after-hours kitchen tour this week evi
denced clean plates stacked on open shelves
within a foot off the Oirty floor; sliced fresh
vegetables left out of refrigeration: gnats
thick inl the air: and dead roaches lyin-lg on
the floor.
It is our belief that a stricter effort at
housekeeping in the future could eliminate
most of the sanittition problems that
prompted the Senate motion.
We hope the State Health Department lays
the liaw down this week and that Slater sys
tern shapes uip.
Carolina's new Green St. crosswalk blinker at night.
From The Gra
Dy JIM GRAV'
C'ONDUCT UNBECOMING grup was ntI
In last week's issue of The of the new deci
Gamellcock a front-page story told uilt y. It, seems
of one of Carolina's social fra- C< urtesy to this
te'rnity's being placed on social served nearly a
p)robation due to "'cond(uct unhe- have been too) n
coming a fraternity of the Uni- VOIXl~NTARY
versity." Granted, this was not In recent weel
good. However, as isolated as been heavy (on I
the case may seem, this same untary attendan
thing could most assuredly have classmen at Car
happened to almost any other so- de mic probation.
(Jal group or any group which a period of diset
has social functions. Faculty Relatioi
It would seem that it is only topic is being si
a question of who gets caught. the Faculty Ads
Hut this must not be the case. This is one pri
We must, as individuals, evaluate as students, cai
our own ideals and moral views service. By lobi
and make them known within ing this topic wi
whatever groups we may be in- (an perhaps eve
iolved. long sought-aft<
WHOSE HONOR? THiE Li]
Last week's editorial pointing Being discus
to the new honor system as fac- Senate and in
ulty-composed and implemented Relations Comm
was, in many ways, a point well- posal that one
taken. In addition, after talking for student u:
to one of the officers of this night. When c
year's Honor Court, I was ap- Student-Faculty
palled to learn that this body, question seemed
after working for many weeks library be ust
on a new constitution for their night? There. we
UNI
"Crowini
i More Time
by computer in the fall, 1964, but not in the
fall, 1965; (4) 57 students on junior-senior
Dean's list: and (5) 57 students on junior
senior probation list.
The questions asked were simple and af
forded the students a chance to express their
objections to the present system of registra
tion.
However, in the statement issued by the
interns upon completion of the program, they
said "the response was not large enough to
make any valid comparisons.
Of the 314 questionnaires mailed, only 42
were returned. Significant is the response
from Freshmen, who were registered by com
puter last fall. Only seven of 100 forms were
returned.
The interns can hardly be criticized for
<oncluding "The responses revealed nothing
that appeared to be a source of major con
fusion to the students. Obviously students
(o not consider the process of registration to
be important or serious enough to spend their
time answering a questionnaire on the sub
.iect."
Evidently the interns tried. But who can
fight the well-known inability of USC stu
dents to (1o more than criticize?
-Elliott
Gross Injustice
Ever heard of being evicted from a dorm
in the middle of a semester?
Twenty-three Carolina men were last
week.
According to the students, former resi
(ents of Tentanient 24, they were notified
last Friday to shift to other campus accom
molations before the end of the week.
Their dorm vill now be used by the Uni
versity counseling service.
We feel it is a gross injustice to move stu
dents in the middle of a semester. It is hard
to believe that the counseling bureau has ex
perienced such an urgent and sudden need
for more Space to Justify the move.
II the future, the administration should
stud.Y office space allocations more thor
(aughly at an earlier date.
Action
The crusade for compulsory school attend
ance in the Palmetto State evidently interests
some Carol inva studelnts.
Two (lays this w(eek a USC dlelegationl
p)icketed for the edlucat ion bill being debated
in the Legislatur(e.
We are glad to see movements in sup)port
of this particular legislation to boost the
state's educational system.
Also, we are thrilled beyond words to see
that some Carolina students care enough to
act foi the'ir beliefs.
even in formed ~ h s(nrn h eea ek
ijons of the fac- tfoefnl(Xlsahseser
s thtough a little oonn. falbayfrte(1
grouip w ho had tr ekn ol epatcl
year woubill noit Itotaeitretlinhsmt
ur h to ask. te,makn.yu idakow
iS, discussion has hlfl
he topic of "vol- L'IAO~lE~ K
e'e for all upper- I Ki:tIK
dlia not on aca- Svrlw(sao lh
light now, after Odr rln' liirr o
ssion in Student- '~in 1 )n(tiIteana o
ud ied further by ti a edrhpgr .h tfl
isory (Comminittlee. sinoe h eku it a
blemi where we, oaIM -tlinlssadi o
possibly be of oeetigis(ajtsow.I
ying, by' discuss- Ma,(J).aoame'lad
th professors, we hpfaent,wlsosr
ntually gain this AwadI). stnh,Kpa
r goal. SgaKap.orlclhnr
IRAIl IES ~tVe rtriy edtepe
0ed in Student ln ayjogn o a uet
St udent- Faculty h rjetanacitesf
ittee is the pro- teefirgop nteCrln
library be open causatttoherigf
Ce on Saturday catIlcintearia('m
iscussed by the nunl.Iisgothtuc
Committee, the ruseit
to be, would the W,a tdns hudtk
d on Saturday eeyopruiyt upr
a ire weekend wouldLheipractical.
/ERSITY OF SOUTH CAR
for a Greater Carolina Since
Goveri
(A lot of editorial attention
has been given to efforts that
wvuld compel fraternities and so
rorities to integrate. In this arti
cle the editor emeritus of the
St. Louis Globe-Democrat takes
the position that the government
has no business interfering with
fraternity life.)
By LOUIS LA COSS
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The fra
ternity system as it has operated
successfully for more than a cen
tury on college campuses across
the land is under attack which
could be lethal.
There is the serious threat that
the Greek letter societies of both
men and women students may be
dissolved unless the system de
fends itself against the growing
segment of do-gooders who seek
to reform the world.
The latest development is an
insidious one -employment by
the Federal government of its
power to crush anything it op
poses by the denial of funds
under the guise of stamping out
racial discrimination.
FEDERAL HAMMER
This is a technique in complete
iccord with the policy that dic
tates that whatever the govern
ment assists with money grants,
it controls. particularly in the
field of education. The billions
alloted for federal aid to educa
tion can be, and are, the hammer
used to make this control in
evitable.
Do you want our schools to be
dictated to by the bureaucrats in
Washington? If that becomes an
eventuality, as well it may be,
our students will be told what
they can study, what textbooks
they can read, what they, can be
taught in the classrooms -and
what their way of life on the
campus may be.
This is unthinkable. But it
may soon be a fact unless an
apathetic public awakens to the
imminent danger of Federal con
trol of education.
FIRS'T FRAT
The attack on the fraternity
system is a case in point. The
system is comparatively simple.
The first college fraternity was
Phi Beta Kappa, founded in 1776
for social and literary purposes.
It soon became an honorary so
ciety and is still held in high
esteem. Admission to it is based
on scholarship, a restriction that
has never been challenged.
It was some 50 years later that
the first Greek letter social fra
ternity was founded - Kappa
Alpha at Union College in 1825.
In 1827, Sigma Phi and Delta
Phi were founded at Union Col
lege and the three became known
as the "union triad" upon which
the social fraternity system is
based. Later years saw a pro
liferation of the Greek societies,
( ach secret, each having its own
standlards by which membership
is chosen.
GUIDING HJOI)Y
Social fraternities are banuded
togethe r in the National Inter
Fraternity Conference(- the so
rorities in the National Pan-liel
len ic Conference. TIhese organi
zations serve the general fune
tion oif (directing andl guiding fra
ternity life in all its aspects. It
is hrirgely advisory andl does not
diicta te speci fic policies for mem-m
her groups.
It is not a Mupra-fraternity
legislat urre with dictatorial pow
ers but it can, if it will, exert
great influence over matters th'at
can be solved by the individual
fraternit ies.
It has not spoken explicitly on
he disc r imninato ry aspn -ts of col.
lege. life a nd for t hat reason the
ifoireis have attacked it and
he e nt ire system.
K EPP El
Thle latest effort bry the gov -
u-nrnment was an anrunceenrt
ast .1 une by the Conmmissioner
of Eduicat ion. F'rancis Keppel,
hat all F"ederialI grants would( be
cut off from universitie.s and coil
leges that pe irmittedl Greek letter
Srou ps thaiit practiced racial dlis -
er imni nat ion on any camrnPUS.
In short, the colleges themi
selves would be penalized for
tolerating groups that exercised
the right that is theirs in a free
society to choose their own mem
bers.
An amendment to t he Federal
aidu to education hill wasi passe'd
in the, coeing dnao ath last..
DUNA
1908"
unent v.
Congress which professes to nul
lify the penalty as originally in
tended, but with a powerful ad
ministration hell-bent on doing
everything the civil rightists pro
pose, it is doubtlessly only a mat
ter of time until Federal funds
will be denied all schools that
harbor the iniquitous Greeks.
SNOBS?
This policy is in line with the
efforts over the years to destroy
fraternities wherever they may
he found. The reasoning and
motives behind the attack hith
erto have been confined largely
to the unsupported charge that
the members of Greek groups are
snobs and undemocratic.
Some have argued that local
autonomy is the answer, each
Mike Jo
As you may or may not know,
last week's column was concerned
with the perpetual illiteracy
which is being fostered and per
petuated by a state legislature
committed to 18th century doc
trines.
In our column last week we
mentioned the compulsory school
attendance law which was re
pealed in 1957 for the purpose of
Letter
Of The
Week
Tlitl G;AMir-ocK u-elcoesfl' let
ters <m any, subject pecrtinent to
a1 n d int'olving l'nirersity stu
dentIs. The JEditor. - in - 'hi ef re
serves the righit to edit letters to
con form- to Stytle', good t ai s te
space lim itat ions andl( libel laws.
Le'tters should1( be' typewritten
and should not e.eerd 200 wordls.
No unsigned 1 e t I e r s will be
printed, but names may, be withi
held( upon0 request.
0 0 0
l)ear M'hr. Iluitt
In last week 's Gamnecock, Mr.
I)avidson of AlRA Slater is
qtuotedi as saying that AlRA's
success (11'; increase of revenue
for last year) was a reflection
of the effort of AlRA to pr'ovide
the finest serevice' to its custom
er . May be this is true naition
wide, hut herte at Carolina it is
far from being the case. In fact,
the opposite is t rue.
I,ast year the cost for the
seven-day hoard p)lan was $175.10
pier semester, this year it costs
S192.6i0 (a 9.9% increase) and
next year the cost will he $210
(a 9% increase). It would seem
that these increases in prices are
iuoire respotnsibile for a 11 % in
crease in revenue than superior
serviace.
AlIso fori the first ti me tun
tfortunatelIy not the last), AllA
las been giveni the power to~
e->mplel Fr esh men to use the
board plan I woinder how moch
ex tra revenue1 t hiis dom inee rmig
policy brings.
,atly1, I wondier how mucht I
A lt A is saving by closing Sooth
iand thle Towers for at total of
eight meals.
I do not beliei e that such at -
I tempts tto prov ide better servace
to the men and women of Caro
lina as offering a spiecial of 15e
tossed salad and a 45g~ pliece of
meitat loaf at the bargain price of
59f is the reason for AlRA's 11%3
mncrease. buit rathe.r: (I) inctreas
ing prices 9' a year; (2) comn
gelling [resh men to use the
bmard plant; andi (3) closing Sern.
ices which we re pronmised to the
student body.
Co
l. Frater
chapter of each fraternity to de
fine its own standards for mem
bership. This may sound logical
but if accepted it will destroy
unity among the Greeks with the
result that the fraternities would
become hodgepodge groups, be
holden to no one and without
identification at the national
level.
There are fraternities that re
strict membership as to race and
will not admit Negroes. But on
many campuses there are all
Negro Greeks, groups that admit
Masons only; others are for
Catholics only. Some fraternities
exclude Jews. Catholics, Puerto
Ricans, Orientals and others in
minority categories.
Certainly this ip discrimina
f
oinbating integration. Obvi
ouslyv, with S o u t h Carolina
sc hools integrated on all levels,
it is no longer useful for this
purpose.
This might lead one to expect
speedy enactment of a new law
to take its place, but such has
not been the case.
Our state legislature has con
tinued to drag its feet. The rea
sons given by opponenLts of com
pulsory education run the gamut
from the irrational to the ridicu
lous.
In some instances it seems that
a lack of education produces an
adversion to it. Of course, it is
not fair to characterize all our
legislators in this manner. Many
of our lawmakers are intelligent,
dIedicatedl men who are extremely
sympathetic to the cause of ed
ucat ion in this stante. However,
it would apipear at times that
this group is definitely in the
minority.
Permit us to illustrate.
On Tuesday of this ~week a
compulsory edlucaLtion measure
was heing debated in the House
f lRepresentatives. A group of
U S( studlents appeared at the
State Hfouse* to picket in favor
f the measure.
Tlh is group proceeded to march
airoundl the State I [ouse in an
trde rly fashion carrying signs
proclaiming their sup lport of the
mecasurec. After they had been
there a few in utes, the U SC
eroutp was ordered to leave be
'ause they' didn't have a parade
permit.
The students then disbanded
iit ly wit hout any semblance of
disorder. It should be stressed
here that the marchers were well
ciressed, well mannered and quite
rirde rl1y.
Tlhe group inchaded campus
leader ts ,and st udent body' officers
w'ho, I ami sure, relprese*nt the
really unanimous opinion of the
udentts on this campus.
'The purtpose for st res.sing this
will soion he evident.
Tuesday afternoon Govl. Rtoh
rt E. Mc Na ir held( a prs cion
Fi'r(ncei primarily to discuss his
reet visit to Washington, I). ('.
Then, any illusions we might
baie had were shattered when a
r e p o r t e r quest ioned MlcNair
SIG. H
Ed it or-il
uItsiness Manage.r
.a n . - , k ' t wI'~ u , o l i o u e m p ,, t ,
of lhe (.n ameck,- tock are uimtiu ,,,
rnmentary
Columbia, South Carolina
,nities
tion; but how is it evil? It op.
erates in a society which is
merely exercising its Constitu
tional right of free association,
selecting for membership those
who are compatible. They are
not subversives.
We hear much talk about ac
ademic freedom which, in my
opinion, is overdone. But those
who shout loudest for it are con
sistently the most intolerant
they must have their own way
or else.
The proposed clampdown on
college fraternities by the Fed
eral government in the name of
civil rights is just another foot
in-the-door gimmick to place our
schools of all grades under Fed
eral control.
I
about his reaction to the student
ideas. We were shocked when
McNair in a jovial mood began
b) saying that he thought that
demonstrations served No useful
purpose. lie then went on to say
that opportunities were readily
available to anyone who wanted
to make this view known with
out a need for demonstration.
I should first like to take -x
vption to Gov. MeNair's remark
that demonstrations serve no use
ful purpose. The Boston Tea
Party, a proud part of American
heritage, was little more than a
group of concerned citizens pro
testing what they believed to lhe
an injustice.
When South Carolina seceded
fronm the Union it was not as a
declaration of war but rather as
a p) r o t e s t or demonstration
against a set of laws they lbe
lieved to be unfair.
Now surely Gov. McNair would
not like to imply that these people
were serving no useful putrpoeiM.
On the opposite hand, these ac
tions (including true demonstra
tions) were motivated by a deC
sire to serve a useful purpose.
Secondly, G;ov. McNair im
plied that the ear of governmn. nt
was not hard to obtain, Hie said
that there we(re forums readlily
available for any citizen who
wanted( toi voice his opinion and
that this made denmonstratiuons
uniinecessary.
While Goy. McNai r did not
elaborate, I anm sure he had some
specific mechanisms in mind. The
only one I can think of that is
readily available to everyone& is
thle bltIlot biox--and studlents are
goinig to make their feeling- in
crieasingly felt in this ar-ea.
liowev-er, this opportun1ity is
at ailable only during e'lect ions
and not on a legislative session
lo-legislative session basis. Since
Goy. McNair implied that tother
(Ipport unit ies to be heard are
av ailable I should like to a' ail
myself oif the chance.
Therefor-e, as a studlent, tax
paye'r, voter, and citizen of thle
state, I should like to claim my
right as well as that of all stul
den rts to be heard on a matter
that we feel is oif great imopor
tan-e to us andl the fuituire growth
of the state.
GamecTock staff photos above
by l(endlerson
lITT
'-Chief
JANEAN MANN
Managing l+:ditoir
F.lhol ct iti (t' e~ P hi:u it (on,males as the first r<ht'n The
ten,ts of the- U' *'erity~ ofuthuI ( .uihn
x hohIetays anti exaitmlationsi
na wuhole.
by~ Ntional. Adut isanomi Senor. e IiitThe
(:itb-uamte P'er,, tihe %mith CarbS iimi. :4