Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

.GLENDA MILLER INTERIM EDITOR HOLLY GATLING ART FRAW% INTERIM MNG. ED. AD MANAGER EDITORIALS Next move up to Hanoi in Tuesday night's speech President Nixon not only offered to withdraw all U.S. troops and to hold a new presidential election In South Vietnam but also said there will be an international guarantee for the fundamental rights of the Indochinese and the territorial status of In dochina. The question arises, if this plan is accepted, who will honor this guarantee if fighting breaks out again? An international guarantee concerns a number ot countries --both communist and capitalist. Also Indochina covers more territory than just Vietnam. If the fundamental rights of the Indochinese are en croached in the future, will these other countries help enforce this international guarantee that President Nixon has promised? Nixon's plan has merit simply because if it works it will bring the troops home, including the prisoners of war. This alone has elicited the praise of many war critics. However the plan could lead to involvement in a situation larger than we have already. Thus we may end up coming home only to turn around and go back. The proposal still has to be accepted by the North Vietnamese and their initial reaction was unfavorable. This is unfortunate because most of the plan includes what Hanoi has being screaming for all along. We have been against the war and still are, but we realize that we can't demand that our government com promise without North Vietnam conceding a little also, for we are both imperialistically involved in South Vietnam. Gentlemen of the Press. . . In A sensitive, compassionate a moment, Howard Hughes will man ... a man of complete and hold a press conference via utter financial mystery ... A man who has kept to himself alone the fantastic secret of Yes, operatoA . .. we'll accept how he amassed great wealth the charges ... University analysi Carolina BYCHARLESFELLENBAUM Columnist The academic standing of this university is something like a typical garbage dump. It's tot worth much, but getting higher all the time... And although there has been great progress during the last 10 years, careful examination shows that this is somewhat superficial. Th re are now many beautiful new ouildings such as the Physical Science Center, the Humanities Complex, Capstone, Bates House, the Undergraduate Library, and of course the Coliseum and a newly expanded football stadium. We have a nationally famous poet-in-residence, a nationally famouspbasketball coach, a locally infamous football coach, and a nationally recognized band program. All of this is part of a long range, carefully planned scheme that will, at best, improve USC's standing in the national pecking order of colleges and universities. And that is entirely irrelevant to how well this University educates the students who come here. The scheme is only glitter. It makes USC look much better than it really is. It is a desperate attempt to catch up. Indignant voices cry, "Look at Harvard, look at Ohio State, look at Missouri. They too have beautiful buildings and famous people." But these indignant voices miss a very important point. Harvard did not get where it is by having a Citizen Sanity Sanity BY STAN SEARS Columnist Citizen Sanity studied history luring summer school. He read how taxation without represen lation had brought about revolution in a country called Amerigo. "Hmmm, sounds pretty reasonable. You ought to at least be able to elect the jerks that put the screws to you." Sanity opened his mail. His school had sent him a new bill. "$200 for tuition, $400 for activity fees, $100 for extra activities, and $10 for SHEIT. What the hell is SHElT? I see the $400 for the new football stadium, additions to the old, movies, and the newspaper. Oh yeah. They also have to pay for speakers that I didn't get to hear because I was in evening labs. And I guess it must cover the seats they give to the politicos up the street at the basketball and football games. Let's see now, how about extra activities. Well, now, what are they? Oh, the brochure tells me: 'Many extra-activities are provided to the student so that he may have a well-rounded education. Of course, these are all voluntary.' Well, why can't they be voluntary when it comes to paying for them. 'The activities include a Young Jackass Club; Baby Elephant Tribe; Happy Holy Rollers; Junior Birdman Club; Tattooed Ladies Ltd.;...' ''I always thought that they were private organizations. They sure won't let me in Tattooed Ladies Ltd. or the Young Jackass Club or the Baby Elephant Tribe: Why do I pay for them?", as a garb good athletic program. Instead, the fathers of Harvard put education first, above all else. And THAT is what should be done here. But we are concentrating on recruiting Merit Scholars, top high school students, and building an elitist Honors Program. The greatest value of the Honors Program, by the way, is that it sometimes manages, by small classes and individual instruction, to keep bright kids out of the regular curriculum where their creativity and enthusiasm would be mauled. And that's just too bad for all the rest of the late blooming scholars and average students who would benefit immensely from a similar program. Our glitter is becoming suc cessful. No doubt our $25,000-a year poet, who is prostituting his name here, has indeed attracted students who would not have come. But they find he doesn't teach much. They find it's almost im possible to get into or, of his few and apparently fascinating, classes. Too bad, suckers. Our fairly stimulating athletic program has put the name of the University of South Carolina on television. So what? Will we educate students better because of it? No. It merely monopolizes the all important private donations that would have gone to education purposes. So in an attempt to improve the academic atmosphere, President Jones called the Gravatt Con ference. An important conference, stops the Sanity was still unsure of SHEIT. He had not heard of it yet. Were they putting the screws to him from behind? Maybe the Governor was short on campaign funds again. Was the school paper in legal trouble again? Not likely. The politicos up the street found that they were only sueing themselves and taking coin out of their own slut fund by annoying themselves to be bothered by such lunacies as were printed in the paper. After all, many of the readers weren't of voting age yet. No need to bother with them. The University included a brief note with the bill: 'This year we will have an added fee for SHEIT. Society to Have and Encourage the In tolerable Tolerated) SHEIT will make sure you don't get ripped-off by taking your money and using it to help you understand why certain things are intolerable to you. You may remember the organizers of SHEIT passed around a petition while you were waiting in line to register or eat or use the com mode.' So, they're the guys that were having the beer busts and the smoke-ins for free. Wonder where they got the cash for it? Sanity remembered back to the last semester. SHEIT was promising to be a student interest group. They were going t o combine the community and the campus. "Does the community get screwed by them for $10 too? We sure don't want to discrimiste and not let them be able to con tribute and get ripped-off by the anti-rip-off cats." Sanity called a couple students (hat he krneWlj jb homnWin -- age dump as some very important recom mendat ions came from it, although it was a strange mixture of glitter and good ideas. For example, it suggested smaller classes, departure from the obsolete lecture format and a bet ter, less structured curriculum. However, it appears that a substantial number of people underestimated how important President Jones considers this report. He has scheduled a series of meetings with all the faculty, department heads and deans to, among other things, see what reaction the Gravatt Report has had on their plans for their departments. The first meeting was Jan. 13 with the Business Administration department. Jones asked how many of the 25 persons present had read the report. Two, only two solitary hands waved. The president was rather upset, as well he should be. It might be a good idea for all the faculty members who haven't read the report to do so immediately. It would be even more advisable for the deans to do some quick plan ning for bettering their schools in obvious consideration of the Gravatt recommendations. The job market is tough these days. So there is an attempt, however feeble, to make some substantial changes here. It is essential. It was needed yesterday. And we should abandon the false course that we are presently on. tax "Hey. Are you guys in favor of the SHEIT?" "No," replied the first friend. "What the hell is SHEIT?" answered the other. Together, they drafted a letter to the President of the University: 'Dear President: Being students of history, we find historical backing for our opposition to the payments being sequestered for SH EIT.We would also like to inform you at this time that we are refusing to pay certain fees to support political groups and special-interest groups that should be self-supporting, as they are not in a position conducive to higher education. Sincerely, Stadents Citizen Sanity received a letter that he must pay the fees now and argue later. He was informed that the SHEIT tax was going to be refunded sometime during the semester. However, he must pay the other fees. Being the proper citizen that he is: Citizen Sanity contacted many of the other students that he knew. Spending a great deal of time getting out letters and organizing students that he didn't know, Citizen Sanity triumphed. Everyone except those in the SHEIT group boycotted when the semester began. The University realized that a grievous mistake had been made, so they sent out a let ter to all the absent students: "Come back to campus. We have repealed those fees that are not related to education or the int erest of the student body." Once again, Cit izen Sanity saves the day for the sanity of the people in his