The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 14, 1972, Page Page 2, Image 2
GLENDA MILLER
INTERIM EDITOR
JIM FARRELL ART FRANK
MGN. ED. 0 AD MANAGER
EDITORIALS
An early circus
A group of 13 persons gathered yesterday to protest the
Vietnam war. Dressed in military uniforms, they carried I
posters, an American flag which they held upside down
and the hearts and livers of calves.
The group marched with the Naval ROTC detachment
and were ignored by the cadets. They asked two Air Force
ROTC cadets if they were aware that the Air Force was
bombing North Vietnam. The cadets said "yes, ain't it
a shame."
Certainly many of us are against -1he war in Vietnam and
the United States' involvement in this conflict. However,
this protest did nothing to demonstrate that. Most student
observators viewed the group indifferently and no one left
their seats on the Russell House lawn to join the protest. t
Students seemed to be saying, "What the hell is wrong with t
them (the protesting 13)?" t
The group's spokesman said they were protesting the
killings in Vietnam. How then do they themselves justify
killing and using the remains of. a deceased animal to"
obnoxiously make their point? If they are so adamant
about the killings in Vietnam they should show more
concern for killings here in the states including the
slaughter of innocent animals. Certainly, almost
everyone's attention was focused on the blood and guts in
the protesters' hands than the purpose and intent of their
demonstration, if there was one.
I suggest they use their time in a more worthwhile
manner if they really want to stop the bombings, the
Vietnam war and destruction of human lives in Southeast
Asia. Their pleas of yesterday, unfortunately, went
unheard.
Preventive medicine
We have the Hotline, which indeed can be called
progressive and very helpful to the student, but why not a
preventive program?
Auckland University in New Zealand, after having 124
extramarital pregnancies on campus last year, has done
just that: they have installed a contraceptive machine on
campus.
What we advocate is not that, but something similar:
infirmary dispensation.
NOBEL PEACE
V.. cW4 WOU4Z> YOU ACctEPT OUR PEACE P-AAQUE?
Jniversity analysis
Are intray
By CHARLES FELLENBAUM
Columnist
The weather was good outsiire
ind a lot of people showed up. They
tood around joking, laughing,
vith a certain amount of visible
inticipation until the playing
tarted.
Most of the biggest guys started
irst, and the rest sat on the bench,
vaiting for their turn. Most of the
oench-warmers got to play, but
here were obvious favorites --
hose who showed extra quickness
ir skill, those who caught the
oach's eye.
The next practice, the number of
olayers dropped considerably. The
avorites had returned, of course,
nd they played most of the time.
or the third practice, the
avorites had the playing area all
o themselves.
The above is a hypothetical
ituation, but it is quite typical of
he situation that exists here when
he intramural sports season
iegins.
Citizen Sanity
Picking a
By STAN SEARS
Columnist
Citizen Sanity watched the
)rimaries, the highlight of
elevision during election year.
Every week a new champion would
irise, as.the previous week's hero
'altered.
The television stations picked
he winners and provided the
inalysis. Sanity occasionally
igreed with the results. Often, the
:ommentary showed
rationalizations for counter-results
to their predictions. The public,
being intelligent, usually.
lismissed the rationalizations and
analyzed things the way they felt
Jest.
Being libertarians in the stric
test sense, they formed opinions as
to their own preferences. The
candidates they voted for were
those that represented their views,
not those of the pseudo
intellectuals, so-called and self
proclaimed experts, or religious
fanatics that decreed morals and
personal social mores, expecting
nthers to conform.
Conformity was a "sin" to the
educated and elite of Sanity's
world. It represented weakness of
character and absence of the God
given quality of imagination. To
those who engaged in reason,
improvisation was a way of life.
Art was abstract, surrealistic
films and novels abounded, and
there were no clothing, grooming,
or behavioral styles.
It is in this type of world that
Sanity's people had to choose their
leader. The present "Fearless
Leader," Trix, was up for re
election. There were those who
opposed him. During his ad
ministration Trix had run the
nation according to the Galloping
Pole, a part-time advisor and full
time fiddler in a Bohemian
restaurant.
The Galloping Pole always had a
hand on the pulse of the nation.
Whenever trouble arose, the
Galloping Pole felt tremors in his
fiddle strings. They vibrated in
coherently to anyone except the
Galloping Pole, who absorbed the
vibrations through his fingertips
and analyzed the reults to findi the
nurals w(
Something is wrong here with
the intramural sports philosophy.
We have . a system based on
competition, concentrated on
winning that has the following
results.
Many, many interested students
don't get to play. Only a select few
with outstanding ability are chosen
for the teams, and that's just too
bad for those who aren't junior
sports heroes.
Intramurals were designed for
the average student who just wants
to get out and have fun, but the
selection process practically
makes the whole idea worthless.
The ones who are chosen are
often a fiercely competitive bunch,
which is fine in its own right. But it
leaves little room for that idealist
axiom, "It's not whether you win
or lose, but how you play the
game." As a result, there have
been discipline problems, with
reports of an occasional knife
being pulled. The coaches
probably do the best they can, and
. sane cho
most popular solution. If many
were against the solution, it would
not matter. Only the majority
counted.
Therefore, Trix would not satisfy
all of the people all of the time, but
he satisfied most of the people all
of the time. This kept him high in
the hearts of his countrymen.
Those who were unsatisfied one
day would be satisfied the next.
This method of ruling kept the
Sane people satisfied.
Of course, there were those who
disliked Trix. They were in
surrectionists who cared not for
the safety of the nation, but for
personal power. Among those
opposed to Trix were McGuv'nor, a
legislator who had only one issue
and claimed to be the best
spokesman for the people. Some
thought highly of him, others knew
he was a farce and would make
shambles of the country. He was a
copy of the Pied Piper, another
candidate who tried to dupe the
youths of the country several years
before. Like the Piper, he was
given little chance of winning.
Another copy of the Pied Piper
was Mooskowskey, who wanted to
ride to victory on his Polish name.
He tried to convince people that
being a Polack, he would be too
honest and absent of craftiness and
cleverness to foul things up. lie
succeeded so well that people
began to realize he was really
absent of the ability of intelligent
reasoning. Without the ability to
reason intelligently, they knew he
wouldn't be able to communicate
with the Galloping Pole, so he
would not be able to run the
country properly. So,
Mooskowskey was soon eliminated
from the list of formidable can
didates for Trix's job.
Another candidate was Hlumper.
Humper was like a clown. He
would stand up and tell people
jokes about the candidates that
opposed him. Humper was a
former Assistant Fearless Leader.
Running for the job of Fearless
leader, he had been defeated by
Trix. Hie now proclaimed himself
to be a "new Hlumper." But, un
fortunately, he was the same
Hiumper -cnnniving withe nn
)rthless?
the situation is not entirely their
fault. Although there are com
plaints in that the coaching is
inadequate, it is obvious that the
university is not taking the in
tramural program seriously.
It is not so at other universities
this size. In some cases, as many
teams are formed as there are 13
available participants. There are
extensive programs at the Ivy
League universities, with inter
school contests.
Adequate equipment is
available, and no one who wants to
play is left out. Basically, the
whole concept is supported to the
fullest extent necessary.
Perhaps our program needs a
little money from the super--rich
athletic department.
There is also the possibility that
the administrative personnel and K
coaches are sadly deficient in their
skill and dedication. At any rate,
something is wrong, and the
general attitude is cynical at best --
- except, of course, from those who
get to play.
100
lice
bosses and pretending to be sin
cere about things. Too bad, he was
on the wrong world for such comic
behavior. The Sane people realized
how corrupt he really was and
rejected him.
These were the primary op
ponents for Trix's job; except for
Wallbanger. Wallbanger was
considered a renegade because he
bolted from his political group to
oppose Trix in the last election.
Many of his critics called
Wallbanger a "racist" and a
"nut." Wallbanger refused to
buckle under the criticism. He was
limited to being a predominately
regional candidate in the previous
election. But, during those years,
Wallbanger branched out. The
national attitudes changed.
"Special laws" that affected only
one part of the country previously
were spread to other parts of the
country. People began to support
Wallbanger more and more. His
support grew, so he was soon the
leading candidate for Fearless
Leader.
While Trix had the Galloping
Pole, Wallbanger had something
that indicated the.public pulse just
as accurately, if not more ac
curate. People all over the nation
were surprised at the strength that
Walibanger showed in previously
hostile territory. The union bosses
were unable to control their
workers. The workers realized that
Humper's payoffs were not going
to them, so they supported
Wallbanger. Many who had scoffed
at Wallbanger's ideas because
they previously did not affect
them,, began to support
Wallbanger.
Perhaps the most shocked were
the people in the media who had
been duped by Mooskowskey and
McGuv'nor, or paid by Humper.
They were slow to reconcile the
f act that Wailbanger was the
candidate to beat. After they
realized that the public was able tO
rationalize, they took a more
humane view toward him.
The showdown came in the
election when Wallbanger opposed
Trix for the job of Fearless Leader.
The results will be announced at
the cnclusion of the Great Choice.