Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Editorials Friday, May 6, 1966 Another Male Cheerleader We question last week's action by our new, inexperienced Student Senate of changing the number of male cheerleaders from five to six. While not particularly adverse to having six male cheer leaders, we oppose the measure because it does not call for another open student body election to fill the post. The scheme would merely push the losing candidate with the highest number of votes into the number six position. Simple though it seems, at present no one knows who the highest-vote-losing candidate is. The election is being disputed. 'rhe dispute, despite denials to the contrary, is clearly the reason for the bill increasing the number of cheerleaders. The new bill would clear up the election questioned by Herb Cuthbertson and Jim McClary as to who owns male cheer leading spot number five. The dispute began after the first ballot count last April 18 gave the cheering post to Cuthbertson by a small number of votes. MlcClary, acting quite reasonably for a close election, asked for a re-count. The re-count, held after the ballots had been standing inprotected for nearly a week, gave the election to McClary. Cuthbertson, acting quite reasonably, now also has a strong reason to question the results. The dispute, we feel, is still hanging, waiting for a ruling ot clarification by the student government elections commit tee. We urge this committee to act quickly to clear up the question before the University administration is forced to come to the student body's rescue. If and when the dispute is cleared up, Student Senate, if they still want one more cheerleader, should authorize that nominations and a special election be held to fill the new post. Only after an open election should a student assume an elected position. Non-elected students should never be allowed to fill an elective post at Carolina. Jim Graves Student Body President Jim Graves in his parting speech at Tuesday's Awards Day ceremony expressed in eloquent vords his fee!ings on departing from Carolina. If this school could truly speak, we feel that it too would V poignant things--for Jim Graves has been good to Caro Ina. Coming to USC in the middle of his college career, Graves immediately assued a mighty leadership burden and carried forth in a masterful way. HIis leadlership) was not loud and showy like some who wouldI wish to be leaders of men. His influence wvas greatest in the background, where he prodded others to do their best. ,Jim Graves led not only through student government, but by living in a fresh man residence hall as an unpaid counselor, byv acigwt heUiest Players, by boosting fraternity ntramnural teams t hrough all seasons, and most of all by aslways be'ing the finest example of worthy virtues. As he saidl in his farewell speech, "During the year often things id not run smoothly-there wvere problems with studitent apathy, with lack of concern for students-with the red ta pe nlecessariy to get things (lone-with a loss of trust ;.nd yet t hrough it all, there was the steadfast knowledge that .dl things work together for good. . ..' We thank .J im G raves for never failing to strive to get all things woring together for good. Why Class Officers? A b ill currenit oly b)efore Studlent Senate urging a study of he'h fnctions of class officers is worthy of attention. We urge that Student Senate pass the bill, introduced by Senl. ltustv ECllerbe. We fe-el t hat suc-h a studyv would show that class officers are to talIly uiseless titles signifying nothing but ability to win an electionl. Tlhe waste of mon(ey and time by a flock of class office aid (iIate-s is comp~I letely without reason. Keeping this in mind, we hope that if a committee is set up by St-nate to "study"' the' situation-that the committee svill "rlemed(y' the situation by ab)olish ing all class officers excelpt the p)re'sidenIcy'. f/ GAAcoc6 SIG HUJITT Editor-in-Chief HARRtY HRIEIIHART JANEAN MANN IBusiness Manager Managing Editor F-ounedei January '30. 19081 with Rtobert Elliott Gonzales as the first editor, The Glame-oc-k us imseutld by and for the students of the U:niversity of Sousth Carolhna weekly dlormg the ollege sar except duinng holhdays and examinations. The opmiumsui' expressed-( herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the admin ihtratmon, thei facullty, or the studIenst boudy as a whole. Offices of The Gamecock are mn lloom 208 of the Russsell flouse sen the University campus. Phonies are 765-4220 and 765-4249. The Gamecock is represented nationally hy National Advertising Service, Inc. The mbbhlcatons as a membner of the Associated Coliegiate Press, the South Carolina Col legiate Press Associatjon, the Natioinal CoIlleg. Press Service and the Intercollegiate Pirgss Subsentaoni rates are $3.00 per year. Staff E:dtors: News, Olinny Carroll; clinsa Lro tet ml Sports. Ernle Trruiano andl Johtn Liuttish ; hee.Jm 6aes ol ey Society.- Pat lilllingham; Feature. Tomi gn Ilr,an ua ngt l'reweti tamipus. Ith Itrown; Exchanuge. Poorpy Saf Jh Os,Ra Susan Knulit ; -Editorial Assistanta : hick tnesn hp hft,CI alwy Elliott anid Al oozier; AdvertIsIng Man- an lany oli. ager. Carter Crew.; Clrcsulation Man- uansStf:K hyLln. Ian ager ; Obs Oberley ; and Chief Photog- Wlo.Bed on n ayWlim Photographostaff Johnhouss.aRos UNIV "Crowin Langual By DICK ELLIOTT Editorial Assistant Almost any system or prac tice, however well-designed in its conception, must from time to time be remodeled to keep in step with the requirements of the times. Curriculum and programs of study in the various major fields have evolved over the years. Our school systems have taken long strides from the programs of study in the schools first founded in this country-intensive study of Latin, mathematics and the classics. The scholar of two cen turies ago or less was at least well-acquainted w i t h English, Latin and Greek. But, to use a cliche, times change. The school systems of today are supposedly designed to provide the student with the opportunity to study practical, as well as cultural, subjects in order to prepare him for work in the profession of his choice. Admittedly, there is still a very great need for persons educated in the classics and the arts-the large number of liberal arts schools attests to this. A state te In any political campaign there is a marked tendancy for candi dates to mount the platform with a handful of brushes and a mouthful of whitewash. These politicians, trying to con vince the people that they are living in the promised land, speak of their state in glowing terms and appeal to the citizens' sense of pride. Cancerous disgraces such as il literacy and sub-standard income are whitewashed with a thin coat of glib phrases and fifty-cent ad ictives. This type of politicking re quires only that the candidate be able to delude the people and still live with himself. On the other hand, it takes a man of rare courage and convic tions to stand before the voters andl tell them that their state has STILL ELECTIONS Dear AMr. iiuitt : Spring elections are over; our leaders chosen for the coming year, and the campus is quiet iagamn. To most studlents, elections mean only more reasons to com plain about lost ballots, unlocked ballot boxes, and violations of election rules. The ultimate blame goes of course to the elec ti()n committee and its chair man. Does he deserve this criti cism? Hlave you stopped to consider w ho must spend hours of his own time checking the eligibility of every candidate, for each of fice? HIave you ever stopped to con s'der the time reqluired to draw up the ballots-not to me*ntion the hours spent counting votes? llave you consIdleredl the task of maintaining voting polls from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in three loca tions? llave you figured the man power that would be necessary to patrol the campus in search of election rule violations? This year, for the first time, a new system of polls was adopted in ordler to make it easie*r andl more convenient for the students to vote. This one inovation helped to increase' the number of students voting by over 30' e. No fellow students! Trhe blame for lost ballots and cheating at the polls cannot be levied at the election committee. nor its chairman; for he has p)erformed his job, perhaps better than any that preceded him. The blame rests with us, the men and women of Carolina who nunealy (dinohay the rules of 4 cC ERSITY OF SOUTH CARC g for a Greater Carolina Since ge Requi university must offer courses of study appropriate for a liberal, cultural education. To get to the crux of the mat ter, why must a person who does not desire a liberal, cul tural education be forced to study extensively a field in which and for which he has no need or interest-namely that of foreign languages. Present requirements of the University of South Carolina for the Bachelor of Arts degree call for 18 semester hours or three years of study of a foreign lan guage. We are here proposing that this number be reduced, but not abolished. Foreign language study offers definite advantages. Because the student is required to learn some thing totally unknown to him, he must devise a method of study for foreign languages unlike any other he employs. He must be willing to practice, over and over again, the sounds of the new language. Above all, the student of foreign language must be will ing to devote time, a great deal of it, to the study of the language. Most professors on campus re Whitewa serious shortcomings which must he overcome if it is ever to be a truly great state. Former Gov. Ernest F. H1ol lings is just such a man. Hlollings has constantly re ninded the people of this state's high illiteracy rate, low per capita income, myriad of farm problems, and almost total lack of graduate research facilities. He has not only pointed out these problems but proposed methods of attacking and solv ing them. The people of South Carolina in general and the young people of S. C. in particu lar have a true friendship in "Fritz" Hollings. As this column goes to press Wednesday a group of Univer sity of North Carolina studlents have begun a fast on the Chapel Ilill campus. They said their the election committee. It rests with those of us who have yet to learn, in the prepara tion for our future, the basic vir tues of honesty and1 decency to east a vote properly at the polls. It rests with us-because we are Carolina, and the University of South Carolina can only he as good or as had as her students. This need( not be t:he story it's going to) change itself-it re ouires you, the men and women of Carolina to build a bigger and greater Carolina. GAlY A. P'O.IAKOFF WUSC Decar Mr1. Iluittf: It is our understanding that (uite a few students on campus are unable to pick up WUSC due to the p)hysical infirmities of the closedl-circuit system. We regret this situation as we have learned in just the p)ast few weeks that WUTSC provides ex cellent nighttime entertainment. If you're h>oking for an abun dance of music andl a magnificent absence of conmmercials, why not try WUSC? TOM WAltiEN 1111,I, lA lt)EN CO(NGR AT TULATIONS )car Mr. Iluiti TUhe athletic dlepart ment joins me in congratulating the staff on winning the top av::ard as the bes't over-all college newspaper in South Ca rolina for the third coinsecut ive year. I amn sure that this honor is richly deserved. hlaving been in Columbia b)ut a short time, I am most impressed with the calibre of Thne Gamecock news. Keep up the good work. C'OAC'h LOUi hlOIf.T' UNA 1908" rement quire their students to spend twu to two and a half hours at home on their course for every hour spent in class. A random survey indicated the student of a foreign language must devote an average of some three and one-half tW four hours of at-home study for every hour of class time. This is not unreasonable to ask of a stu dent in his major field, but is it not totally unreasonable for the biologist or the geographer? Obvious conflicts exist as a re sult of the large number of per sons in Arts and Sciences re quired to take foreign languages. Language facilities a r e ex tremely overcrowded, producing a strain on the faculty of the de partment. Most professors prefer stu dents taking their course because they want to rather than be cause they are required to. This results in prejudice against the student who takes the course be cause he is required to do so and shows no interest in the course other than passing it. The overcrowded conditions in the language department force professors to teach classes too large to handle. Most students sh, Protec purpose was to protest the Viet Nam war. A spokesman said the group's only food for the next five days would be two glasses of orange juice a day. While this sounds like a great way to lose w eight, I think it is about as effective as charging Hell with a glass of water. Now adays there seems to exist a wide spread belief that in order to register a protest one must fast, sit down in a busy street, or burn something ranging from a draft card to one's self. I think that no matter what . our particular position on a given issue might he this type of protest is self defeating and hard as hell on your health. IHowever, since this seems to be the accepted thing to do, per haps we could all join in. We could burn our meal cards in pro test of the food, our I. ID. cards in protest of computer registra tion, and our Social Security cards as a protest against hav ing to work for a living. We have noticed recently that the Student Government Associa Lion has reqluested an appropria tion of $15,000 for the coming ya.This is particularly note vu orthy in view of the fact that their approp~~1riation last year was approximately $5,000. I find it difficult to believe thlat our stutdent goveranment shall increase their efforts three fold. Hy Tl1OlN1 (COMPTON President Pro T[em pore Student Senate Several months ago, the Stu detnt Senate p)assed a resolution onldemnning the c o mn p u 1 s o r y board plan system. A fter months of effort by some nmenmbers of the Student Sen ate, the coupul1. sory board plan has been comn pletely abandoned. '[he sign ifi - canc~e of this event to me is more than an example of what Stu (Itlnt Sen ate (anl do for the stu - dents, it is a major step forward for Student rights. When the bill was first pre sentedl to the Student SenatA. soime senators took the attitude that sItalents give upl a major portion of their rights when they <nter'I an edlucatiionial inrst it ution. These right,s, one Senator ex phi ined, incI ledl t he right to eat when, where. and what they please. To many of us who dix 'ented, this representedt the type of t hinking that cani well para lyvz/e the development of a univer sity and its studtents. Cor Change I taking foreign languages are in need of some personal attention and the professors, through no fault of their own, are unable to give it to them. Added together, these factors result in a high percentage of failures in foreign languages. Contrary to popular opinion the History Department fails a smaller percentage of students than the Language Department. Approximately 40 per cent of the language students fail the first two courses, compared to about 35 per cent in the beginning courses in history. What has resulted is fear of foreign language in some stu dents and apathy in others. Stu dents are even forced to change majors because of fear and dis like for foreign languages. A reduction in the required hours for foreign languages would have obvious advantages. The student would have more time to spend on his major courses, increasing his knowl edge of the field in which he plans to work, not one in which he has little interest and from which he can derive little practi cal value. The hurden on the ts, Allocat Since they have recently pur chased new furniture obviously the money shall be put to other uses. Perhaps they need the money to purchase additional file cabinets for the vast quantity of worthless bills turned out by the Student Senate. This amount ($15,500) is more than last year's allocation for men's i n t r a m u r a I s ($4,000), WUSC ($3,500). University Play ers ($1.750), Crucible ($1,135), Student Bar Association ($1,500), Sailing Club ($1,000), and Wom en's Intramurals ($900) com b)ined. We trust that the allocating hoard will considler the request carefully and we can only hope that the student body officer en trusted with spending this large sum will let his conscience be his guide. And while on the subject of student government, we should like to congratulate the Student Senate on their choice of Thorne (Compton for President Pro Tem pore of that body. We think it verv fitting that he succeeds Bill Youngblood who recently dlefeatedl him in a close election for studlent lbody presi den. t. Thbis shouldI ind icate that two of Carolina's more able stu (sent leaders shall be working to gether to b)uildl an effective stu dent gotvernmentt. The similarity in the platforms of the two men suggests similar jAnother B tir any one i obed~ in inst itu ionarl living must adhere to) cer tain rules, there is a point at ni hich inst itutionalizing b)ecomes blatantly absurd. This point was reached and surpassed in the hoard plan cont roi ersy. There is ab)soluitly no real just ifica tion for requIiring~ all students, or any stctt)r of students to form uni form hab)its of any type, esp)e cially eating habits. 'lThis, ho weve r, i.s all in the past. Whabit we shuld co.ncern-y our sel'es with at this time is as surmyW the individuial student thlat his rights will he preserved, his probilemsi. h e a r d , anid his quetst.ions anisw teel The miost frighatening thin~t mie abou'it t he is-ard plai t nro Wtrsy was the Ukk, or constantly amedm of iniformat Ion about the riton for t thei comiiplsory -ystem, After asking ftour ad motiirag~tion1 of fiiatls, r at nk e d fromgi th lowei~ r echelon,, to the "P- t foundl thatt wie had five tory rea~sgns I one adhumnistrat ioni tiffitial tven conltraitedto, him 5(~ orUtbIoa rdl plan prole m. rimentary oumbia, South Carolina Meeded Language Department would be lessened, allowing more facili ties per student and closer at tention from professors, thus benefiting those students major ing in languages and those stu dents taking them because of special interest. A modification of this kind, possibly resulting in a reduction from 18 to 12 semester hours in the requirements, should he easily implemented. Studies are now be ing made for course schedules and provisions for next fall. Why not make the change now? However, the fact is evident that a detailed study should be made of the possibility of such a modification. If action cannot be taken now, why should iot the faculty and administration have a committee study the pos sibility of a requirements change? Giant strides are being made in the state in education with te realization that courses of study must be adapted to the re quirements of a student's pro posed life work. Let's take a giant stride now and remove a requirement that has become out dated and unnecessary. ions, Etc.1 ideas and there should be no major obstacles to the This week marks the revival of Greek Week on the Carolina campus. The theme chosen is "The Greek System-A Stumb ling Block or Stepping Stone?" We certainly do not subscribe to the theory that the system is a stumbling block. The achieve ments of the system's members in the fields of student govern ment, athletics, campus organiza tions, etc., are readily apparent. llowever, if it is a stopping stone, it is an extremely small one. The fraternity system on the Carolina campus is entirely too small. In adldition there is little or no room for expansion. Fourteen fraternities cannot possibly ac commodate even one-fourth of the male students. Therefore, un less the system expands, the G;reeks are destined to remain a small minority. As the Uiniver sity grows, this discrepancy shall beccome even larger. If the system is to survive drastic changes must be made. The plan to allow fraternities to build their own houses is a step in the right direction-but this is not enough. Other fraternities must be al lowed to enter the system and the Greeks must broaden their appieal to (-eompass a greater number and variety of students. erkeley? :'ld how to cat, b ut they andl the uImin ist rat ion couldn't even fig lre oult why, or at least what awouldl he the best answer to give othe trusting students. The students realize that they omust live under certain rules. Theyv do not, howe-ver, give up) he right to know why they are ~ubjected to these regulations or. the right to protest when they feel tilat these rules are unjusti lied. D)ean Witten, speaking to the IFC' last we-ek asserted that the U'niversity wanted to "avoid an >ther Berkeley."' The only way to ho so is to institute in the ad ninistratio,n a certain sense of -spect for the rights of student" o' qust ion the system they arie ''rced to live undler, to undecr itandl it, and if necessary to dis &ent. hlow can we learn to live ni the fabric of a free society. if 4e are prevented from finding lnswers to our problems, and liscouraged f r o m constructive l iscussion. W~e hope that the administra ion has taken this small step hO he recognition of respect for the n,iid;ual tun.