University of South Carolina Libraries
I No boundaries Desire t< By NAIMAHMED Guest Columnist "The streets of our country are in turmoil. The Universities are filled w;th students rebelling and rioting. Communists are seeking to destroy our country. Russia is threatening us with her might. And the republic is in danger. Yes, danger from within and without. We need law and order!! --- Without law and order our nation cannot survive." 0 These words were spoken in 1932 by Adolf Hitler. So many of these familiar assertions have been used here as justifications for repressing student protests, I think there is an urgent need to rectify the legitimate causes of dissatisfaction. As a student from Pakistan I would like to 9 share with you my views about the student unrest on American campuses. America is a country of high ideals and democratic traditions. The youth are brought up in an at mosphere where they are told repeatedly that trust and courage are stand-ards to emulate. They are taught that equality and justice are inviolable concepts. I think the fault of the protestors is that they have taken their elders seriously. They are not trying to destroy; rather they are trying to achieve the very values that have been instilled in them. "Thou shall not kill," they are taught in their Sunday school. But the absurdity of the premises which control American policy in Letters R.S.V.P. Dear Mr. Stepp: Moratorium. We have grossly mi: We sponsors of the R.S.V.P. position and ask t rally scheduled for this Wed- letter to straight nesday would like to object to the Richard oines, coverage given in the Monday Youth Coordinatc issue of The Gamecock. Yot oorn Your first two sentences clearly Rex Morrow. identified us as a part of the President, USC Vietnam Moratorium scheduled Walter Holmes, for that day. By interspersing Representative, paragraphs describing our ac- S.C. College Rep tivities with comments on the Ben Wynn. Chai Moratorium you made us seem to Ernie Coggins, be an integral part of the President CCL Moratorium plans. We would like to spell out clearly Def to you and your readers that our R.S.V.P. rally is not in any way Dear Mr. Stepp: linked with the Vietnam Moratorium. Our rally is planned Fear was not & as a positive bipartisan demon- legal announce: stration of support for our fighting Americans for F1 men in Vietnam. However, the lacd It is not a rally in support of any shown by th war strategy or governmental frightening. policy, but a pledge of our ad- The Gamecock miration of and respect for those inoteu selln ofH soldiers involved in the Asian land int eth t se war. nodphtex We feel that the objectives of the program pertiner Vietnam Moratorium are in op The reporte position to the goals of our rally. Gamecock walki We feel that groups such as the through the confi Moratorium, with their incessant tativofcen USC ap)peals for peace at any price, are haivdo the USCan undercutting President Nixon in herteexl his attempts to achieve a approach only.T negotiated peace and turn the war not print an arti over to the soldiers of South was said at this p Vietnam. It is frightening We feel that in this the pr-esented in an et Mioratorium is knifing our fighting readers have not men in the back by encouraging the facts. The o Hanoi to prolong the war in the ference at the Stai hope that internal American Gamecock chose I pressure will force the U. S. to was not reported surrender. The Gamecock We have made it clear in all of failed to recogni SOu r news conferences and in- statements mad terviews. including our interview conference in with you, that we are a group When asked about entirely independent of the application of leg .We'vE great car the long It's a discounted fore plan tha the return portion of your roun some points. We call it the Piedmont Weeker It applies when you fly aw, or up until noon Monda 'For other excursions PIEDMOA We've put regional iccent 01 ) be free Vietnam seem to belle this. Vietnam is a fun damental ralson d'etre of student unrest. . One lesson one can draw from here, and it is that the people's desire to be free is more powerful than the most powerful nation. But - "the conflict in Vietnam, that absurd and barbarous residue of the Crusades, will inevitably come to an end." The tendency to dub as unpatriotic those students who protest the war only escalates the unrest. Patriotism has never been the monopoly of war mongers. The protestors want a society where aman is judqed not by the color of his skin, but by his acts and deeds. They want a society which should condemn the rape of Czechoslovakia, but does not forget the oppressed people of Angola, Mozambique, South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. One wonders what the reaction of some Western countries would have been if the Smith reg ieme in Rhodesia that defied the British and established a racist state would have been composed of black men and not whites. So an American youth can say to his elders: "You have given us our visions and then asked us to curb them. You have offered us dreams and then asked us to abandon them. You have made us idealists and then told us to go slowly." Let not Americanism destroy America. The service of America must mean the service of the millions who suffer everywhere. That maybe a difficult task. But as long as there is ignorance, suffering and inequality of opportunity, so long the work of the protestors will not be over. -respect fl feel that you Ben Wynn stated that he felt such srepresented our action would not be necessary and hat you print this that he expects the University !n the record. administration to guarantee the rights of the majority of in r RSVP dividuals. The speakers, as I listened, did YR's not attack the administration of USC or any other educational facility in South Carolina. Lblicans Universtiy administrations rman USC YAF themselves have used the system of legal injuction against violent disruption as at Dartmouth University on May 6. The editorial also did not in feedom vestigate that YAF accepts "the right of students to organize for common goals and to demonstrate in element in the for them in a peaceful manner." mnent of Young If the writer had researched a bit reedom on Oct.3. more he would have discovered of responsibility successful peaceful demon e press was strations utilized in favor of YAF goals. Such peaceful demon printed an an- stra tions have been used with IBM, press conference Firestone, in sympathy with the use which went people of Czechoslovakia, in lain facts of the freeing buildings at Stanford It to USC. University, and North Vietnam from The flag burnings in Oberlin, Ohio, etc. hd in half way YAF's stand on peaceful 1rence, after the demonstration was made clear at y the represen- the conference by both attorneys, VAF chapter and Sen. Floyd Spence, R1 tion of the legal Lexington, and Ken Powell who bie Gamecock did stated, "We recognize the right of :le stating what any student to participate in ress conference. peaceful protests." It is violence to see opinion that we despise.. litorial when the You "were hard pressed to een informed of believe that they could possibly be ther press con- serious." Individuals don't have e House that the polio vaccinations hoping for a o editorialize on confrontation with the disease and either. neither did concerned individuals editorial of Oct. 6 spend much time preparing legal ze some of the files and taking time to set up e at the press conferences to explain the tusseill House. program to the public in the hope the possibility of of having to spend more i.ime in the al action at USC, actual law courts. got a neback for weekend. t gives you a substantial saving on d-trip ticket-up to 2/'3 off between d-Plus. my on a Saturday, and return Sunday y check into Piedmont's other plans. Just call Piedmont or your travel ''' agent for convenient flight times, exact fares, and reservations. TAIRLINES service on a new plane. OPINIOP R.oT~c g Rough draft? Dear Mr. Stepp: talk to- you guessed it- my draft How ironic that the Vietnam board. Moratorium is scheduled for Maybe I could talk them into today. I would like to participate, taking the day off. but I have to go to Spartanburg to Jim Turner >)r soldiers YAF will try in every peaceful dividual by the United States constructive manner to prevent Constitution, then YAF will not the necessity of such action. hesitate to bring the minority to the law. YAF stands in a positive position. "For" in "Young Your editorial asked whom YAF Americans for Freedom" is to us a has to fear? When individuals most significant word. Our action stand up to preserve the freedoms in opposition to disruptions from in which they believe then there is any group is a part of this positive no fear. Fear is the failure to speak approach. out for what one believes. Those of We don't anticipate trouble, but us who are Americans cannot we're prepared. We do not want to depend upon perpetuation of U.S. restrict the rights of any in- freedom unless we are willing to dividual. However, when a defend it against all onslaughts. minority of individuals tread upon the rights granted to every in- Trisha Thackston The cll.ouca' hsTh ear Whlen individulsn int ih theelv then theris la;nofar liary th filure tors peak us wo are Ame'icanEleannot deedupo pertuti onnt ofiiie* s U.. freedom~.1~ unls. we ar te iingitI tobr deen i p* tee.ita is tall onuts. Th o :l ,g yo 'uI.can ou Theu,' clleg is r W etern Cete r m Noeell.r00? Aew ersey A obatWestern Elec Let 'Tell it 1 on drug Dear Mr. Stepp: Our organization is most con cerned over President Jones's refusal to respond to the drug situation at USC. As most knowledgeable students recognize - LSD and marijuana are here at this campus to stay. Occasional and full-time marijuana smokers at this campus number into the thousands. And occasional and full-time LSD users are into the hundreds. The University for too long has turned its back on this situation. Our organization has pressed President Jones on this subject since last spring and he of course, following the superstitions true to the leaders of this state, has refused to co-operate in any way with our reasonable requests (largely based on policies adopted by other universities) except that he appointed a committee Sep tember 16 (through our original request came last May) and this committee has yet to meet. Already students at this campus have been arrested for drug in volvments. Sure drugs are illegal, but any thinking individual knows that laws and justice are not always synonymous. Ideally the University should be a vanguard for social change and a leading voice in the eradication of social injustice. Sadly at this school, such is not the case. Marijuana, as nearly everyone knows and studies have documented, is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. Why then can you be jailed for up to two years and suffer a $2,000 fine for the first offense in this state? LSD users may suffer the same penalties and for what? Is sense experience in your own home a crime? Is consciousness expansion illegal? Apparently yes. If one were to look into William James' definition of a religious experience. he would find the symptoms closely correlated to an LSD session. Ilave you ever heard of any LSD users robbing banks, assaulting individuals or destroying property? Compare that number to the number of alcohol users who commit various offenses. The comparison is revealing. ~et into without ajoi Electric's Corporate Education impus ruith dorms, dining halls. c.m't get imto ours without .a job. i1Ci S .md~ other pi ofessionalIs ut.h a iu iet y of courses, fr om ectrome IS. To hel p hrmug better roug~h the Bell System. nlacem',lent o/tice. Or wrrite: College ie Co.. Room 2500. 222 Broadway, 1.1 o)pporiunlity employer. tric Lers rke it is' 0 tssue Our organization wisheS to educate the population on the truth concerning both of these drugs. For too long, the state and federal authorities have perpetrated myths and deliberate lies con cerning these drugs. Sadly, this University's administration has become an accomplice to this crime of repression upon a peaceful minority. You may ask, "Why would they do such things if the drugs are essentially harmless?" The most apparent solution to this is a phenomenom that the sociologists call, "scapegoatism," which is when a corrupt society recognizing its own ills (i.e., Vietnam, civil rights, unequal opportunities, corrupt political machines, etc.) feels guilty and selects a minority (in this case marijuana and [SD users) for persecution through the punishment of the smaller group, the society vicariously punishes itself and hence gains its redemp tion. An easy example of this would be ancient Rome and the Christians. Perhaps an even easier solution is just plain fear. If people see a man with skin different than their own and resort to such bizarre behavior as has occurred in the past in this very state, then their reaction to individuals whom they fear may be in a different state of mind, even if its just transitory well. it's easy enough to imagine. We aren't trying to impress our beliefs on others. All our group asks is that the University adopt a policy of education and not propaganda on this matter. (This does not mean the construction of phony committees that never meet. Drug teach-ins may be a solution. The importation of drug authorities (by this we don't mean Harry Snipes or J.P. Strom or Dean Witten or Sonny Clark, for we want educated authorities) to speak at this campus would be one helpful step also. At any rate we believe that the situation must be alleviated and soon. Peace. Robert Johnson Freedom to Research Every Aspect of Knowledge. F. R. E. K.