Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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EDITORIALS Parking worsens The parking situation on campus seems to be getting worse instead of better, despite the Blossom Street garage, and students are not the only ones with parking problems. Faculty members, particularly those with night classes in the Coliseum are having problems too. Parking near the Coliseum when there is an evening concert or other event is next to impossible. Even worse though are basketball nights when the Coliseum faculty lots on Blossom Street and Green Street are closed to faculty. Only those who contribute to the athletic scholarship fund are allowed to park in the Blossom Street lot. The Business Affairs Office decides who parks in the Green Street lot. Meanwhile on those nights, students and faculty have the privilege of parking in the faculty lots on Wheat Street behind the University Press. Supposedly this lot is no further to walk from than the far corners of the student lots on Park Street. Finally the Blossom Street garage, which was intended to help alleviate the problem, is no help at all. There a student or faculty member is guaranteed a slot, but alas the garage is filled and has a waiting list of applicants. It just isn't big enough. It seems the University has gotten its priorities mixed up. For home basketball games, Carolina turns all of its attention to athletics and ceases to function as the in stitution of higher learning for which it was meant. Minority report Up on SCPIRG (Editor's note: Since six members compose the Gamecock editorial board, there will be editorial policies on which not all members agree. To rectify this situation, a "minority report" editorial has been created. This type of editorial is to give dissenting members of the board to have their sayso. This is not to say that the Gamecock can't make up its mind on a certain subject; it is to say it will present both consenting and dissenting arguments. Wednesday we ran a basically ''anti-SCPIRG'' editorial because most members agreed. There were, however, same dissenting members so our first ''minority report'' editorial follows:) Consumer protection is an affair in which we should all be interested. Research has proven that the quality of the goods and services we receive is ''not what it used to be.'' Since consumers need an organization to represent them, support for SCPIRG is essential. In South Carolina, few groups have ever taken an in terest in the consumer or his protection. When it comes to the question of SCPIRG ''tax'' there's more to consider than the financial aspects. If the University community is not the place for an organization such as SCPIRG, what is? The capital in vestment would be large, but the organization would inevitably prove its worth. There are many law students involved with the organization; this Is to Its credit. We, the minority, feel that support for SCPIRG is essential for our own protection. Rather than obnoxious, we find the SCPIRG workers' concern and dedication refreshing. But don't take our word for it. Talk to some of the members of the organization and make up your own mind. We think you will see that such an organization can only benefit the consumer. University analysi SCPIH Editor's note: Charles Fellen baum is a thrid year journalism major from Columbia whose column will appear in the Gamecock each Friday. CHARLES FELLENBAUM Columnist Even without the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) on its back, the S. C. Public Interest Research Group (SCPIRG) will find it hard to be accepted. The organizers have apparently laid little of the extensive ground work so essential to success, and are instead relying heavily on student support. Robert Rosen, one of the many law students involved, has said that SCPIRG will be lobbying at the State House. But going over the administration's head is not the way to gain friends where they are most needed. There is also considerable doubt that the legislature would even consider backing SCPIRG behind the scenes. SCPIRG has promised to work within the system on problems such as environmental protection, but the legislature is directly involved there. For example, suppose the Widget Manufacturing Co. is pouring thousands of gallons of refuse into a nearby river. SC PIRG decides to throw its resources behind a move to force Widget to stop polluting the river and clean up the damage that has already been done. - . Widget is an important industry to South Carolina, and maintains its own extensive lobby at the State Sanity vs. STAN SEARS Columnist Citizen Sanity is a mutation on a world similar to ours. The mutation is the evil ability to reason and think clearly. The alien world of his considers him insane. Perhaps his world is insane: everyone except him.) (telephone rings) "Hello." "Mr. Sanity, please." "Speaking." "Mr. Sanity, this is your in surance agent. I have some in formation for you." "Yes, old buddy, another in crease, right?" "No, Mr. Sanity: Not another 'increase, (said in a cheerful tone.) "Hot damn! You mean we're getting a reduction?" "No, Mr. Sanity, not a reduction. A cancellation. "Cancellation! What do you hean?" "I'm sorry. You have been notified. Written notice will be forthcoming..." "But I have to drive to work!" "Citizen Sanity, you must have been a naughty driver. Forget driving until you are properly insured. You are a menace to our highway safety, you under-40 rascal!" (Click!) Citizen Sanity paced the floor. What was he to do? He had to drive to work tommorrow. Not being allowed to drive to work, there was no other way to get to work. So he wouldn't work. Ha, ha! Now he tss G's plans House. In fact, the legislature gave Widget tax breaks and promises of cheap labor to get it here in the first place. Cleaning up the river and desigiing a way to dispose of the pollutant could cost Widget much more money than they want or are able to spend without going out of business. SCPIRG would try to pressure the state, and indirectly, the legislature, to prosecute an in dustry that the legislature worked so hard to bring into S. C. There would be quite a battle between the environmentalists and the lobbyists, and no doubt much loud muttering among the legislators about why they ever let the University back an organization that caused them such a headache. SCPIRG promised to be non partisan, but such a conflict would ultimately and obviously be political--something the legislature fully realizes and probably wants to avoid. This does not mean that our fine upstanding lawmakers are not against pollution, but it does illustrate how a seemingly in nocuous student organization could raise hell with the power structure a mere two blocks from campus. YAF's charge that students would be taxed unfairly has some merit. Even though SCPIRG promises to refund the $3 yearly fee, to everyone who does not join, such a system could only operate in favor of the special interest group. Citizen Sanity insuranci couldn't pay taxes, so the govern ment would want to know why he wasn't paying taxes. He would tell them he couldn't drive to work, so he couldn't earn the cash, so he couldn't pay the tax. Maybe good ole Big Brother would straighten 1hose dirty crooks out. Citizen Sanity called all of his friends and told them to bring their friends to a big party. At the party everyone pledged to stop driving and cancel their insurance. Now Big Brother would really burn those crooks. The friends spread it all around. Pollock and Italian jokes were being replaced I by "Insurance man" jokes. Insurance companies in Citizen Sanity's world were being forced to fold. A fight broke out in the legislative body when one solon called another a "son of an in surance man." The people in Citizen Sanity's world soon grew tired of walking and riding bicycles. People were suffocating from under-pollution. The Utopia was intolerable. "We want cars again!" "It is annoying to walk great distances, and we get rocket-sick." "Health is not wealth: luxury is," bleated voices of senility. Great pressure arose to return the automobile to its position in the lives of the citizens of Citizen Sanity's world. Some people felt that itwould be advantageous to trust the government to administer in surance. "It can be done cheaper and more standardized," suggested ite npennnnents. shaky Most students have come to detest long lines at this university, and many would not have the patience to wait, even for money. Their loss would be SCPIRG's gain. Even' though the money would be going to an admittedly good cause, it would provide still another irritation. And the last time irritations built up too far, (May, 1970) there was a riot. The administration does realize that students resent being treated like .second class citizens. However, this analysis of potential trouble that SCPIRG could generate is shadowed by the overwhelmingly abrasive per sonalities of some of SCPIRG's organizers. Public relations is of tremendous importance to ghe group's success, but Dick Harpootlian and Robert Rosen have managed to an tagonize several members of the Gamecock staff, and no doubt other people who are in a position to help SCPIRG. This is unfortunate, as bot! seem to be very capable-if somewhat unrealistic. It is a problem that no amount of advertising will help, and could easily affect SCPIRG's operations should the organization be granted approval. Rosen does realize the problem, and it is one that must be dealt with. SCPIRG's organizers, and the students who support it, should carefully consider this, or they will find SCPIRG doomed before they really get started. 3 man "The best government is less government," argued opponents. These people felt that the job could be done efficiently if the govern ment kept out. The companies that provided the best protection and the best rates would survive. Bad companies would collapse. Citizen Sanity knew this system had burned him before. He opposed the return of the system. Citizen Sanity held another par ty. This time, he and his friends decided to chip in together and form their own insurance group. After their initial investment, members didn't have to pay anymore. People scoffed at the arrangement. However, all debts were paid immediately and settled more equitably than those of est ablished companies. Several big insurance com panies put pressure on the legislature to outlaw Citizen Sanity's group. The government did, much to the surprise of all sides. "Private" insurance companies were back in control. They raised rates for bucket seats, radios, and wild-colored cars. These were declared to be the signs of "hot rodders and careless drivers." And eventually they cancelled these people of exotic and deviant character. "Surely they don't belong on our highways," purred one insurance man to another. And then they cancelled Citizen Sanity aain..