Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VOL. LXII NO. 49 University of South Carolin, Columbia, S. C. 29208 Manuary 31, 1972 An emphasis on tradition i this meeting of the Euphra The society plans an open Euphradi Chalb BY KARIN BURCHSTEAD Staff Writer USC's oldest student organization has come out of limbo, at least temporarily, to challenge the powers and responsibilities of the Student Allocations Commission. The Euphradian Society, a debate society founded in 1806, came into conflict with the com mission last October over the terminology in the society's constilution. The conflict arose out of a recommendation by the com mission that the Euphradian Society formally make, by con st itutional change the organization open to blacks, women and graduate students in order to receive funds. Wescoat Sandlin, president of he Euphradian Society, said, "The constitution goes back to the days when there were no women or blacks and very few graduate st udent s on campus. "The need for a constitutional change never presented itself," he 'Inqgiry' coming Watch for INQUIRY, a question and answer column coming in the Gamecock. Send your questions to Inquiry, The Gamecock, Drawer A, USC. Debating the issue s reflected in Thursday nigi dian Society. Harper. meeting this ans rise fi ,nge Student Alloci said. "We are an open institution; I here are no women or blacks in ihe organization simply because none have ever wanted to join. "We have actively sought membership of blacks and women," Sandlin added. "We've done everything but grabbed one off the street." Student Allocations Commission Ch9jrman Wayne Grooms said, "The organization has a history of being an all male and racist organization." Grooms said that in response to a $400 request for funds, the com mission told the society that constitutional changes would be necessary to make the society eligible to receive funds. According to student statute, religious, political and fraternal organizations are ineligible to receive funds. Grooms said that two weeks after the original request, Mike West , president of the society last semest er, came to the commission with the recommended changes and the funds were granted. According to Grooms, a month later West t old him the funds would probably not be used because the societ y did not want to be dictated to by the commission. "The constitutional changes were not valid because another aspect of their archaic constitution stipulated that any change must be voted on during three con secut ive meetings." Granms aid. -Muray Sill it at 7:00 on the third floor of om limbo itions "Apparently this had not been done, and as a result the com mission froze the funds." Last Tuesday the society came before the commission with valid constitutional changes. The funds were unfrozen but the commission refused to rescind the original recommendation for the changes. Sandlin described as "black mail" the commission's position. "There is a legal question in my mind of whether or not the Allocations Commission has the aut horit y to change an organization's charter." He said a bill will be introduced into the Student Senate within the next Iwo weeks which would give to a charter committee the authority of determining an organization's eligibility for receiving funds. The membership of the society has dwindled to 14 as a result of the conflict , Sandlin said."The conflict over funding has dissipated our energy. "At one time we were a debate societ y but we haven't had a real debat e in over t wo years," he said. "Our basic function was similar to that provided by the Speakout at t he Russell House that the Student Senate sponsored at one time." Grooms said he believes that the basic scope and direction of the societ y is good. "But the organization has practically been defunct since the early '60s." DiFigl con cer BY BOB CRAFT Staff Writer "The time has come for a change. I have no animosity toward anyone," said University Union Concert Committee Chairman Tom Difiglio. DiFiglio was announcing his "retirement" as chairman of the Concert Committee, a post he has held for two years. "It's been a hell of a lot of work. II's like being a full time promoter and a full time student. There have been a lot of hassles and there have been a lot of rewards, but the hassles have just about overtaken the rewards." He said he was "retiring" -because the time was right for a change. He said that a lot of people feel that he might be railroading his taste in choosing concerts. He said he had made the transition from "The Tams" type of concert to acid rock and that he felt it was time to train new people for the Concert Committee. "It is time for a change of leadership," DiFiglio said. DiFiglio said the Concert Committee was given no money from the Union; it had to run itself on a self-sustaining basis. He said the committee was being checked by the Executive Council and that the Committee lost some concert dates because it had to check with the council. 'We are not allocated one cent of student money,' DiFiglio said. He said the Committee was still ex pected to give discounts on student tickets. DiFiglio said he had four proposals he wanted the Executive Committee to consider. He really wanted proposals three and four to be given serious consideration, he said. They are--one: To abolish the Concert Committee; Two: For the si udent s not to expect discounts on t ickets; Three: For the Concert Committee to be allocated $15,000 and to continue giving student discounts; Four: For the students West to anszv via phone tor Gov. John C. West will< Carolinians in an hour-long tele E TV Network stat ions. A special incoming telephone the state to call the E TV studic their questions. The SC E TV Network has ti television hook-up In the natovn S0 to quits t post to tax themselves a dollar and to have all of the concerts for a very low price perhaps 50 cents or a dollar. DiFiglio said he thought that college concerts should be the 'holtest new talent'. He said this had been the policy of the com mittee in the past bringing in unknown groups at low prices. DiFiglio said he thinks that students liked to get ripped off for large prices, that they think the higher the price the better the act. "People just don't show up for concerts." He said there were a lot of reasons for this. This is a suit case campus, he said and many people stay here during the week, then go home for the weekend. Because we aren't '"stuck out in the sticks somewhere," he said, people just won't come to the concerts. He also said that a lot of people are just turned off when they see that the University Union Concert Committee is sponsoring a concert and they think the concert won't be worth seeing. "If people would just trust the Concert Committee they would see a lot of good groups." The Feb. 25 concert would be his last DiFiglio said and there will be "an individual chairman" responsible for each of the remaining concerts. He invited all interested persons to join the Concert Committee immediately if they wished to take part in the election for the new chairman. DiFiglio's last concert will feature "McKendree Spring", "The New York Rock Ensemble" and possibly "The Mahavishnu' Orchestra" featuring John McLaughlin. "We are spending a great deal of iime and effort on the sound for I his concert and we are awesomely excited about it." He said that "any type of hard rock" you could want would be at this concert. It will start at 7:30 p.m. and will probably not be over before 11:30 p.m. Ticket s are $2.50 and $3.50 for students. er questions right on ETV answer questions from South cast 9: 30 p.m. Monday over SC line will enable citizens across s In Columbia at no charge with e only statewide telephone , enabling viewer participaion.