Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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The dilemma of law students DEAR MS. MILLER: How predictable the first year law students are--the professors must have known this all along! Nearly every class' grades fall so neatly into minute stacks of A, small stacks of Bs, and a big barrel of Cs, not to mention a generous portion of Ds and Fs. Let me admit from the beginning that I am NOT a Law Student, but an interested and irritated ob server. Few law students would share this opinion so openly for fear they would be recognized and cast off the Good Ship "Law Luck" to be drowned unmercifully in an ocean of Cs, Ds and Fs. It seems to me that the quality of a professor should be reflected in the achievement of his students. After all, is it the job of a professor to stand above his students, daz zling them with his great aura of wisdom? Or should he be more concerned with effectively teaching them all he could about his particular field of law? If we assume the latter, what a pity it is to find such an average group of law students who would seem to reflect only an average caliber of law professors. Why must a student study and sweat for hundreds of hours to take a grueling two-or three-hour exam which supposedly reflects his total achievement, and consequently his grade, for the entire semester? Relieved of the pressure and anxiety of finals, the student then waits from six to eight weeks to Wo /a oN 1IEp PAAEjP receive his grades. When they finally come, many students feel relieved to have passed, but at the same time dismayed to see such a large proportion of Cs, and in some cases, one or more Ds. Is this all we can expect from intelligent, superior graduate students, some of whom were cum laude graduates and Phi Beta Kappas? Let us take, for example, a student who comes to his professor to discuss a D he received. The student feels he surely knew more and did better than a D on his exam. When handed the exam by the professor, the student finds not one mark on his paper. What a brilliant professor who can thoroughly evaluate a 1200-word ("below average") test without one stroke of his uncritical red pen! When asked the difference between a C paper and the student's D paper, the student is told that there wasn't really much difference, but it was just the "luck of the draw." How pathetic that intelligent, legal-minded men must resort to the "luck of the draw" to deter mine the distribution of the grades in their classes. All grades are formed by some standard, but is a predetermined, artificial curve the best way? Who's threatening you, professors? Is it the politicians, most of whom are lawyers who may be fearful of good, upcoming competition? Or is it the students you fear, who must be in tellectually controlled to maintain your scholastic authority and dignity? los Lavvs rmE sToaE C /N TAU TRti ~C PA1(. Levis 74 r Ijo2. Assepi $o APIAciqrd - f/44 o&.a Letters What a pity that the very young men who are learning to defend man's legal rights must have their own rights suppressed and put themselves at the mercy of the "luck of the draw." PATRICIA SMITH A giant step for USC music DEAR MS. MILLER: I saw via my Creative World of Stan Kenton Newsletter that the Kenton Band will conduct a 2-day clinic on the USC campus March 17-18. Beautiful!! This is a giant step forward for music in the Carolinas. I grew up in Augusta, Georgia, and Myrtle Beach, S.C., and spent 6 years at Clemson University, receiving my Masters degree this past December. During those 6 years, not one single name Big Band (Stan Kenton, Woody Her man, Buddy Rich, Count Basie, etc.) appeared at the Clemson Campus. I could never figure out why that those in command and able to take action were seemingly "out of it" when the subject turned to education in jazz. I hope that this Kenton Adventure will awaken our music educators in South Carolina to what the young musicians need so urgently exposure to and communication ,4*A)rEsr. VY V P with the most dynamic professional musicians in the land. For those of you who have not heard the new Stan Kenton Band in person, you are in for a shocking new dimension, as I was when I first heard the Band in 1969. I have heard the Kenton Band twice at the Charcoal Steak House in Green ville, S.C., a beautiful place that has also entertained the Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, and Count Basie Bands on numerous oc casions the past couple of years. By the way, the Kenton Band will play the Charcoal Steak House a couple of days prior to arriving at the USC campus-March 13. As a forever loyal Clemson Tiger fan, I must admit that you Gamecocks have temporarily got us beat in the field of music education. However, you can hang it up in football. I see no way the Cocks will ever beat the mighty Tigers again. COLONEL J. GADDY VA hospital not political DEAR MS. MILLER: Senator Thurmond's injection of partisan politics in a recent news conference concerning the care of our veterans is disturbing and shocking. The new VA hospital in Columbia will not be built by Democrats or Republicans but by taxpayers for the honorably discharged veterans of South Carolina. The VA hospital will not be built for the Senior Senator alone, although he was promoted to Major General while in the United States Senate, which incidentally is dual office holding and in violation of the United States Constitution. The VA hospital will be built in Columbia for the more than 250,000 GI Officers and men who served in the World Wars and during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. The new hospital is a result of years of devoted efforts by South Carolina Veterans Organizations, State and Local officials and by the splendid cooperation, regardless of political affiliations, of the South Carolina delegation to the Congress. MAXWELL GLENN G AME The GAMECOCK is published tri semesters with the exception of Uni Changes of address forms, subscrip should be sent to Drawer A, USC, Col $3 per semester or $6 for both semesi GAME COCK this year received $50, entitling full-time students to a subs: GAMECOCK are in Rooms 316 ani University campus. Phones are 777 class postage paid at Columbia, S. publication of the students of the Unis official publication of the University not necessarily represent those of the staff members of the GAMECOCK. Editor......... . .. .... Managing Editor.... .. .. .. Associate Editor.... . ... .. Assistant Managing Editor. .. .. Business Manager.... .. .. Sports Editor..... .. . ... Asst. Sports Editor.... .. .. Photo Editor.... .. .. . ..... Chief Reporter............. News Editors.... .. .... Feature Editor.... .. .... Circulation.... .. .. .. .... Classified Advertising.. ... .. Staff Writers .. .. .. .. .. ...Lai Gilbert, Bob Grondahl, Julie Lum; Ellen Murray, K ris Schweickert, Va Betty Woodruff, Charlie Fellenbaui Sports Writers .. .. .. .. ..Bill G Photographers.-.........Courtn Ste Advertising Manager . . .. Why black versus white? DEAR MS. MILLER: I would like to offer another opinion in the racial dispute that is being fought in the "Letters to the Editor" section of the GAMECOCK. The key to success in life in not so often determined by one's race. An individual's personality is a much more important factor. True, black people havs been suppressed for three hundred, years. However, the answer to that is NOT three hundred years of revenge. Many black people have shown that color does not deter mine success. There is an un countable number of black teachers, skilled laborers, businessmen, atheletes, etc. These people made it by taking a positive approach to life. The letter from Larry Wilson, Richard Williams, and Vivian Woods is a prime example of a negative attitude. These people took one area of campus life (Frank McGuire and the Gamecocks) and used it to unload their negative attitudes toward whites. If they were really in terested in finding out if McGuire is a racist, why didn't they ask INQUIRY to investigate. In terviews with McGuire, Casey Manning, and other Gamecocks might prove interesting. An in vestigation into McGuire's past teams might also bring light on the subject. I don't know if McGuire is a racist or not, because I don't have the facts. I don't think anyone does at this time. The captilization of the word black as opposed to the lower case w in the word "white", the use of the word "brother" to refer only to blacks, the attack that most whites are racists, and the phrase "Black people are tired of whites who think they can fool us into believing that color of our skin doesn't matter," only proves that these people are racists themselves. To this trio, I say why alienate yourselves? Why not take a positive attitude and prove to Carolina that blacks and whites are equal? And last of all, quit thinking revenge and give whites a chance to break away from three hundred years of brainwashing. RON WRIGHT COCK -weekly during the fall and spring' versity holidays and exam periods. tion requests and other- rnal items umbia, S. C. Subscription rates are ers. Bulk copies are $6 per 100. The 000 from the student activity fund, :riptioni to the paper. Offices of the 318 of the Russell House on the 8178, 777-4249 and 777-3888. Second C. Although the GAMECOCK is a 'ersity of South Carolina, it is not an .The opinions expressed herein do University, the student body, or all . - - . . Glenda Miller -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.*Jim Farrell -.-.-... .. ..John T. -Gash -.. .. .. .. ....Sharon Givens -... .. .. ....Ute Huckabee . .... .....Doug Williams . . .. . . . Steve Parker -.-.-.-.-.-.-........ Tom Price ........... ..Rusty Robinson ... .. ....Karin Burchstead Vicki Thomas . . . . . . . Bob Craft . .. .. .. .Monty Preston -.-.-.-. .. ..Patty McGuillian ry Evans, K. Wayne Ford, Armida kin, Ruthie Lyon, Hugh McKinight, n Steigiti, Lou Tenant, Ann Winters, n, and Fran Zupan. rant, Jim Hersh, Gary West, Teddly Hefner, Charles Collins ey Dicely, Doug Holladay, Alan Hui, ve K ish, Lewis Phillips, Murry Sill -.-.-.-.-.-.-... ..Art Frank din staff organi.zan.