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Editorials Commentary Friday, December 2, 196 Columbia, South Carolina Fee Iii The proposed increase it received much attention in r ing but confusion of the isst Probably the least under: per semester is the scope of I ing the proposal thus far h. individual student can gain. the University community, v the betterment of the whole, mately benefit. In relation to the fees alr4 $5 increase amounts to aim ers the amount multiplied b3 to see the broad scope of the Some arguments present< crease have attempted to si tually save money if the iner a student will save only if he paid for by the activity fee. We realize that not ever, concerts, or buys a Garnet an However, the fee increase w organizations that almost ex some way. Some of the major orga Government, Student Union, Debate Team, University The As Vice President Witt money is needed if we want student activities. However, student activities program, w Consider the plight of ?' tion. Through no fault of th campus-wide-many areas < They Just don't have the faci they don't have the facilitie money. The Carolina Comn radio station. We can point with pride that wins everywhere it goes it wants because it does not standing team could easily school all over the nation. If that is. One of the best Student ( has been the "Great Issues" bringing knowledgeable peo people do not come cheaply. willing to come to the campi of national prominence, ho with a lecture agency. The agencies ranges from $300 t speaker. We cannot afford Government budget. To get back to the scop the present allocations of W'USC gets $4,210, the deba Student Government receive being accomplished with the these organizations, the lar make these programs top-r In addition to the majc also be cut for the intram Sailing Club, International l sociation, literary societies, activities. The Carolina Community and has always been ready get the best. Vote for the b sity community, not for indl fee increase Nov. 9. Colleges WASHIING;TON, D. C.-CoI lege students and their parents were cautioned here recently not to becomle unwitting supporte'rs of a proposal that would lead to higher tuition fees across the c'ountry'. The warning camne from the joint meeting of the National Association of State Universi ties and L.and-Grant Colleges NASULGC() and the Associa tion of State Colleges and Uni versities (ASCU). In reaffirming their opposi tion to proposed federal income tax credit for educational ex p,enses, the Associations urged the 90th Congress and citizens not to be deceived hy the seem ing attractiveness of the pro p)osalI. The only way colleges couldl benefit from tax credits would be by hiking tuition, the as sociations noted, and this in turin woulId increase---not reduce-the hu rdenl of college costs that many families now hear. Le.gishation to authorize the tax eredits has been introduced at every sessiomn of Congress over the past several years, although it has yet to win majority sup port. In its most frequently cited form, the proposal would alilow taxpayers to deduct up to t'32f from their annual tax. crease the student activity fee has ecent weeks, with little result le. ;tood aspect of the $5 increase ;he proposal. Arguments favor ive been centered on what the Since we are all members of te must concern ourselves with assuming individuals will ulti ady paid by most students, the ost nothing. When one consid 10,000 students, he can begin proposal. d in favor of the proposed in iow how each student can ac ease is instituted. Realistically, takes advantage of everything student cares for dances and d Black or reads The Gamecock. 11 benefit such a wide range of ery student will be affected in nizations affected are Student Garnet and Black, the Crucible, ater, WUSC and The Gamecock. en has emphasized, no more to maintain the present level of if we want a bigger and better e have got to have more money. USC-our "campus" radio sta eir own, the station is not even in campus cannot pick it up. lities to reach these areas. And s because they don't have the unity deserves a campus-wide to our debate team-a team But it cannot go everywhere have the money. Such an out build the reputation of our it could go all over the nation, overnment-instituted programs series. These programs involve )le to the campus, and these True, some speakers may be s for nothing. To get speakers ,vever, one must usually deal going price charged by these o $1200, plus expenses for the this on our present Student of the fee increase, consider the organizations mentioned. te team is allocated $5,000 and 1 $11,500. Considering what is se relatively small amounts by ge amount that is needed to otch becomes apparent. r organizations, the pie must urals program, YMCA-YWCA, elations Club, Student Bar As and Awards D)ay-May L)ay deserves the best of everything, to do whatever is necessary to 4tterment of the whole Univer ividuals. Vote for the activity Oppose Ta> Proponents of the measure have sought to emphasize the fi nancial relief it appears to im ply for parents of college stu dents. But the 300 publicly sup ported institutions represented at this week's meeting remain cron vinced that "tax credits would offer most help to those who need it the least--while giving the least help, or none at all, to those who need it the most." The associations noted, for e'x ample, that relatively high-in come families paying tuition of $1500 or more a year could deC dluct as much as $325 from their tax bills, while low-income families paying little or no fed eral taxes would receive no bene fits at all under the plan. These poorer families would he all - the - more hard pressedl to meet consequently higher college expenses, the associations dle cla red. At the same time, they con tinued, the tax-credit idea has been advanced by some of its advocates as a simple method of bringing federal aid to the col leges without government stipu lations on how the money should be spent. Pointing out that the tax credit approach would cost the U. S. Treasury at least one hil ion dlollars in lost revenue dur H4 our "Yo) LiHe Dear Mr. Elliott: As a member of the Carolina Community, I take this oppor tunity to point out one instance of many in which The Gamecock has presented an editorial-com mentary which displays a crass lack of reason in attempting to seduce its readers into voting for an issue which is detrimental to the community as a whole. Mr. IElliott, you ask why we must continue to have second rate speakers. You imply that the increase will bring first-rate speakers to Carolina, but with the present U.S.C. policy on speakers how can the increase produce more than a greater in flux of second-rate "proper" in fluences? Controversial speakers would willingly journey for travel ex penses to challenge this student body, but the administration seems to feel that our young minds are too vulnerable to at tack; a policy which I find in sulting to say the least. Mr. Elliott, do you actually believe a $5 increase will allow the committee to have free en tertainment? I hardly think so. Miss Carroll claims that we'd save money. Rubbish! Do I save money when I buy a $7 shirt for $5 when I don't even need a shirt? Only a person who attends all Studlent Union dance's and con certs st.andls to benefit from the proposedl increase, and he bene fits because' everyone else who SProposal soc iatitons warned t.hat its adop tion would likely preclude other forms of sorely needed goverin me-nt aid1 to colleges for the foreseeable f u t u r e. Knowing~ this, college trustees would be unable to avoid imposing higher, tuition fees as a primary sourc( of add(itional funds. And higher- tuition would, at the least, off-set the "advan tages'' many fanmil ies might real ize from tax credits. The associations also pointed to these objections: Supporters of the tax-credil plan have concedled that it would by -pass constitutional provisions against using public funds foi discriminatory p u r p Osa e s . By raising tuition, all colleges andI universities -- whether they ad hered to non-discriminatory poli. cies or not--could receive the in direct government assistance thai tax credits would provide. The money lost to the federal government through tax credits for college expenses would pr-oh ably have to be recouped-nc dloubt through additional federal taxation. The associations feel there arc a number of affirmative ways by which federal funds, stata- taxo dollars and private support car be used to halt the rising cost of higher education to the individ can't leave yet. I'm not finis r' ilo illie does not attend is paying for part of his ticket, and, Mr. El liott, I do not intend to pay an other student's way to anything. Miss Carroll, you claim we'll save $10 per year on tickets, $3 per year on each yearbook, and an undetermined amount on pool, babysitters, and art exhibits. Even a moron can see that the books don't quite balance. If you can turn my $10 into $15 you're either a genius and should patent your method, or you are a counterfeiter and should be arrested. I think the pool rates are cheap enough; that married stu dents who can afford a baby can afford tc pay a babysitter, and that the Columbia Art Museum is only a few blocks away. The walk might do you some good; fresh air may clear the cobwebs out of your somewhat hazy mind. Finally, you want two editions of The Gameccock per week, yet you barely scrape together enough trivial garbage for one issue per week. Instead of try ing to better the community you consistently pat each other on the back and support such far cical proposals as the fee in crease referendum. Why don't you fight for re forms such as liquor in the dorms, more freedom for women students, and better food in the cafeterias. i.e.. fight for student responsibility. As the voice of the student body this is your duty-not your choice. Mr. Elliott, where and when dlo the students of this University vote the fee increase dlown ? I believe that this student body is not so apathetic that it will vote $l00,000O of its money to support a malignant tumor such as the Student Union has proven to be. I have better ways of spending my monevy than supporting an organization which does not sup prt1 nme, a student. JOSEPII M. IIITCIIMAN l)ea r .3Ir. Elliot t: There haos been a "'newsletter'' eirculatinag on campus called "'Cognizant.'' Its pu rported pu r pose5 is the "fe exchange of idleas relevant in) the st udents on this campus," which they claim ourJ GaImer-ock dloes aot give us. I would like to angrily disagree. The "Great D)ebate" between Rick Stringer and Ed Ilond in this semester's paper is, tO me', an interchanog( of ideas rel!evant to Carolina students. (Cogn izant 's inner pages, dealing with race' p)roblems andl radicalism (10 not interest Carolina students in the least. Our students are~ too apathe'tic tA) be concerned with such matters. Cogniz,ant should itself look to see* what. is relevant! The Game-c rock is too limited in its c'apaci - ties to (do it alone. It is limited, as are many important obrganiza ions on campu(s, by its bOudget. (Cogn izant should grow ump and support something. A good place tA) start would be the Stum dent Activity Fee incraae, It ted!" 1)oes the "Editorial Board" of Cognizant realize how important it is that this referendum be passed ? low much this increase could do to reduce student apa thy? The Gamecock has been be hind it for weeks--Cognizant is just behind! Cognizant seems to me to be part of the apathy backlash on campus. Their pride is injured because someone realizes that we are not a mature campus, aca demically or socially; and we are so through our own fault. JACK D. MICHAELS Dear Mr. Elliott: In the past few weeks many student leaders have been con tacted in regard to the upcoming referendum on student activity fees. All have readily endorsed it, recognizing that this is a step Carolina must make if her Lud'ents are to be offered more and better activities and services. Although these people are opinion leaders on campus, they constitute only about one-half of one per cent of the votes at USC. It is the remaining ninety nine and one-half percent that we must reach. In this election, unlike other elections, a simple majority vote from 1,000 to 1,500 students will be as ineffective as if no one had voted. In order for the pro. posal to go to the Hoard of Trus tees not only must there be a two-thirds majority vote in favor but, also, this vote must come from a majority of the USC stu dents. Endorsement alone will not get this bill passed. It is up to those pe(ople interested in re ce(iving more activities andl ser-v ices for less mone-y andl those peop)le in the organizations which have the opportunity to benefit from increasedl allocations to get out and work for these badly needed votes. Wit hout active involvement of students with students the re-fer endum will undoubtedly fall flat. Students complain c-onstantly about paying for (lances and con certs, paying for the annual, too many adls in The Ga'me-ockA; they clamor for bigger name artists, c-ampus-widei W/USC, a better in tramurals program, etc., etc., adI infinitum. Now is th(eir one, and only, chanlce to re-medy these sit uations5. If the individual students do not care enough to activ'ely work for the things they want but in stead only talk, wish and com plain, how can they expect their student organizations to knock themselves out trying to serve students who could care less? Those studlents who do not vo t e will be- hardl pressedi to jus. tify any complaint theyv might wish toi make aboiut (hariges or limited pirograms ini the future. US'C( st udents' fuitutre e'nter tit'he oist. utnpritale of hank ..theirs. E-AltI,' Il,ACK MON USC Act Ranks Wi1 South Carolina is once again endowed with the dubious dis tinction of being ranked last. Where ? In Student Activities Fees assessed per semester to each student. According to a survey con ducted two years ago by Uni versity of Tennessee Executive Dean Charles Lewis, activities fees in colleges and universities in the Southeast ranged from $8 to $20. USC's activity fee two years ago was $8-the lowest figure submitted. Now it is $8.50-which places the University near if not on the bottom. The USC Student body will have a chance Dec. 9 to raise Carolina from the bott<n> of the activities fund heap. A referendum will provide the opportunity. The referendum will not auto matically raise the fee level from $8.50 to $13.50, but will place an indication of student opinion before the Board of Trustees, the sole body with power to raise fees. President Thomas F. Jones has said that before he can recom mend the proposal to the board, students must. show by a sub stantial majority their wish for an ierease. Iut is the situation elsewhere tiat much better? Florida State University, with a 14.,000 enrollment, had an ap proximate activities fund last year of $1;00,000. USC's 10,000 on-campus students this year reaped the benefits of $143,375 delegated for activities. At Duke University, a com plete breakdown was not readily available. Howem er, the Duke Chronicle, student newspaper, re cently published a breakdown of at portion of their $187 per year t;eneral fee. The Chronicle survey showed $7 of the $187 devoted to pub lications and $3 for Student Gov College Se Work Of P ('I1)ITOR'.t NOTE: This is t, progress and effect of the Peace eith a poll conductedl by Louis lla The I'm ace Corps has gone f States' ima e' abroad, particularl: developini count w's where 15,001 An o pinion profilec drawn recer convei rations wAithi 1,2in college that 51 p.wr cent felt the- I'we American imai: ,e o've-r.:a,. Coi'ps was dloll., :I! ts'rA The poll was u . t u.[, d the Peace Corps and u i blh, Nam war, civil rights and the "V The Peace Corps was judged l abroad in terms of not only p)romh proving the well-being of foreign Attitudes diverged, however, lh and about 250 who aclready had be The latter group viewed P'eac make personal contact and help tween Americans and foreigners, an improved 1'. S. image was the Peace Corps. Tlhis last point aparenitly refle nment by the Peace (Corps applicant Saidl the IIlarris repoIlrt: "Thera commini tment and ac'tion" among th: appliedjU to thle Peace Corps. "The liberal and activist senti "is correlated with a strong feelin made in the last 10 years in dealing. "T'he IPeace~ Corps is cons ide(re.I example of' what A merit-a enn doi at.tract ion foir t he coimmaitted yout lIut how many "commlittedi yo(r srv ey pointed out , ale careerc-uri "It is clear," the re-port says5, "-I afl( intensify its appeal it must years in the Peace ( orps is relev; What these students want, the contivin&ed that thev would be snug they would not lo.se seniiority in c,ui iesiult oif an idealistic hiatus, how amuo. it .I1n ,- o .,, the rnde t , ods a - ii b I h r .s,n ,~ ,, lei (ea.mecock %c, , ep lente 4441.4,]I '4-4,u ut,4,ion,4 rats ,4re 5-4 0 pe pu - a e I''(I'n t.I'n.4:III:. ivity Fee th Lowest ernment Association. This $10 total for these two organizations alone is more than the $8.50 divided among more than a dozen organizations at USC. According to USC Student Union Director David W. Phillips, former assistant director of North Carolina State's Student Union, the Union fee alone at N. C. State is $17.50. Student government receives 75 cents from each student. The news paper gets $1.75; athletics, $17.50; the yearbook, $1.50. Total -$39. Other schools' Student Union fees alone, Phillips said, are, for example: University of Indiana, $45; University of North Caro ina, $10; Michigan State Uni. versity, $35; Florida Southern University, $17. The national average for Student Union fees alone per semester per student is $17.50. The USC Student Union re ceived $60,000 this year or about $3 per on-campus student per semester. However, Student Union is only one of 16 organizations which must divide the $8.50. The Gam1ecock explored in its Nov. 18 issue the benefits such an increase would provide to these organizations and, through them, to the entire student body. Among the benefits would be possible free dances and con certs, more issues of the news paper, a free yearbook, a radio station which could be heard all over the campus, a bigger and better program for intramural' andi a nationally recognized de bate team. Student and administration leaders have given approval to the proposal, but the choice is not in their hands alone. Each student in the Carolina Community provides the key to make this dream a reality-by making the simple but all-im portant decision to vote Dec. 9. niors Favor eace Corps ie first of two articles about the Corps. This wecek's article deals rris.) ar toward iimproving the United in the globe-circling belt of 52 Volunteers now serve. tly by Louis Harris pollsters from seniors across the nation showed (Corps helped to cast a favorable cent said they believed the Peace ''"good'' job. i'terinen student attitudes toward affairs issues, such as the Viet air on P'osertyi." e m 1a mecssful American effort it m rg a bet te'r " uaae,'' but, of im 'tween the total samailI' ,f senior's e'n acceptad 'b ly the P,"r (' rpi's. e Corps sea' ice as a 'chbance to create mutual understanding' be, while the average se'nioar felt that i best thing to be derived from the 'ted an obvious and closer involve s with the realities of service. e is a dlistinct sense of potential ose thinking of or having already ment they express," it continued. c of dissatisfaction about progress with a roster of major problems." by the enlt ire sampling) the best n t he woarld. It providles a natu ral it" are there ? Most seniors, the E'nted. hat if the Peace C'orps is to widen convince many seniors that two tnt to their future career." liarris suarvey' concludes, is "to be ht after whe'n they returned, that highly competitive soc'iety as~ the ever personally rewarding." F.lahait G;onzales, as the first echator, I be I,'nti o,f the t',mve.rsity of Snthl Carahne ag hoa ys anci e'iain aions. foesaraly' reqfIect the vie,ws of the auimn-l by N.aionai A<itveutising Sa'ice, lic. T'he S'aalle'gaate Pressi. ithe S,outh Carohana l'0l ege~ Presas Smaace andl the lantercollie~ DJICK EI.I(YII