Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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.Opinion "It Is a newspaper's duty to print the news,and raise hell." --Wilbur F. Storey, The Chicago Times, 1861 Intelietuals Unpopular Anti-intellectualism in the United States is gaining strength and popularity. It has always had i's firm believers, but what was once an attitude held primarily by.rabbit-like idiots is being espoused by an ever-increasing majority. The trend is most frightening in the educational system itself. Despite efforts to modernize, update, and expand education, SAT scores keep getting lower on the average, many professors confess they believe freshmen get more dolfish and uninformed each year, and college is more than ever the limbo between ma's arms amd business success. Thought is not a marketable commodity in this country. Training in professional and technical fields, to be sure, are held in high esteem but poets, writers, teachers, and thinkers are not. larents send their youngsters to school not to teach them to think and evaluate . but to learn a lucrative trade. South Carolina in general and USC in particular uoint up this pervasive anti-thought attitude. South Carolina's educational system is rated near the bottom nationally, but the state will not provide state supported kinder ardens, continues to underpay teachers, and produces very poorly educated high school graduates. Once at USC , the situation is little bettter. Con centration on athletics rather than academics, widespread student apathy and ignorance and an administrative tendency to play politics rafher than teach make mental activity and learning virtually non-existent. What little one finds is usually outside the classroom . If an unfortunate man or woman wishes to go on to gratluate school, he or she finds little encouragement or help. For example, a teaching assistant in English teaching two classes recieves $2800 for the school year. Out of this pittance, he or she must support his or herself and often a family, buy books, and pay a small amount for tuition. The state even refusess to exempt graduate students from taxes which hit the graduate student's paltry salary fairly hard. Since South Carolina has for so long been the cow's tail in education, this lack of educational support is hardly surprismng. But the Federal government with the Nixonadministrationhasalso taken up the trend by extensively cutting back college loans to middle mcom arons,cutting back on grants to universities ehmmt'ma several federal fellowships, and refusing to exempt the graduate student from taxes. The odds are against the intellectuaJ from all sides, from the slogan "If you're so smart why ain't you rich," to the attempt to muzzle the press. The next decade and perhaps for a long time to come threatens to be called in retrospect "The Age of the Human Vegetable." Letters Policy Although theGAMECOCKwill attempt to run all letters received, preference will be given to those typed and under 200 words. We will not run anonymous letters, although we can withhold names for valid reasons. While we try to guarantee that letters will be printed, we do not guarantee when letters will be nrinted. Sports ( The funding of sport clubs such as bowling, sailing, and wrestling once again has become the subject of controversy in the Student Allocations Commission (SAC). The controversy centers on the apparent unwillingness of the Athletic Department to render financial assistance to these clubs. This results in the clubs having to obtain their funds from the SAC on a year-to-year basis. The Athletic Department is vague regarding its nolicy on this matter. All the Athletic Depart ment will say is that the clubs must apply to the Athletic Department for acceptance and the Athletic Department makes its recom mendation to the Board of Trustees which makes the final decision. It is easy to see that the Board of Trustees decision depends almost entirely on the Athletic Depart ment's recommendation. 'Slap On Gov. John C. West's press conference at the Coliseum Tuesday was a great thing. It showed the students what a real, live political figure did during a real, live press conference with real, live newspaper people asking the questions. But more than that, the con ference showed how a policitan can turn a seemingly harmless gathering into a "Slap Myself on the Back" party. Because that's exactly what he did. The conference was ostensibly for West to announce that state law enforcement officers would be getting better retirement benefits. Not only did West announce this, but he brought on a motley crew of officers who looked like extras for the old "Highway Patrol" television series to tell him how great he was. Then, in his inimmitable way, he took a mock vote of the Budget and Control Board, who approved even imprisoned To The Editor I would like to make a few very necessary clarifications concerning the open house survey distributed during the fall semester. First and perhaps most important is the fact that a majority of people were not informed about the survey--pure chance led me to discover one hidden away in a box in my lobby. The assumed apathy or in difference associated with female students toward twenty-four hour open house is a farce. We have quite simply given up. We realize with a good deal of insight that we are living on a conservative, back wards university. While men (illegally) have open house con tinuously despite what AWS tells us, women are subjected to comply with the laws. We have house mothers, locked doors etc. In short open house regulations are en forced for females where they are not for men. We are trapped females in prison cells and we know it. This university violates our personal freedom, our adulthood, and calls it protection. We are aware that we have no power--the power lies in the hands of men. If we do not fill out a survey it is not a question of apathy, but neonf fighting a never. F um lubs: The SGA has indicated it feels that clubs competing on an in tercollegiate level should be funded by the Athletic Depart ment. Members of the SGA do not feel that the student should be paying for "clubs" which compete on an intercollegiate level. Figures released by the Athletic Department show that it is barely existing within its present budget. It is interesting to note some of the figures they release. For instance, the Athletic Department has budgeted over $300,000 a year for supplies alone. What are the athletes wearing, gold-plated shoulder pads? The clubs themselves seem reluctant to be funded by the Athletic: Department because they fear the Athletic Department will require them to adhere to its regulations. It is obvious that the The Bac though some members were ab sent. It was their way of telling John what a great guy he was. He then fielded some questions from the "working press" as the pseudo-journalists of this state call themselves.) West proceeded to dodge a series of questions con cerning William Westmoreland; avoided the Jones issue as best he could; and generally looked like a freshly polished delicious apple. In fact, West did not answer much of anything by the working press, who supposedly were to have only 15 minutes to batter the governor with mind-taxing questions. After more than 30 minutes, two students got questions in. Both were probably better than any asked by the professional press. Then Chip McKinney, one of West's aides, came zipping onto the scene and reiterated what he had said so often during the morning: "We're on a tight )ur Mail ending losing battle. Cynthia Strouse Accusation UTnfair TO TIlE EDITOR: I believe you owe the women students of Carolina an apology for the statement in your story on shoplifting at campus bookstores: "Both store operators believe that females, not male students, are doing most of the shoplifting. Again neither could explain why." If this statement is basedon some evidence, the statistics should be cited. Otherwise, no such statement about any group should be printed in a responsible newspaper. Happily, we have passed the point when such generalizations could be printed about a racial or ethnic group; could we now stop classifying people by sex as well as color? Linda M. Maloney Assistant Professor of IIistory Elspeth Pope Associate Professor ling Guidelines e Necessary "clubs" must make a decision one way or another. If they are to remain clubs they should not compete on an intercollegiate level and should not expect to receive funds from the Athletic Depart ment. If they want to compete on an intercollegiate level, they should no longer call themselves clubs, subject themselves to Athletic Department requirements and should not be funded by the SAC, but by the Athletic Department. Amid all of the complexities and confusion surrounding this issue it is evident that the Athletic Department, the SAC, and spokesmen for these clubs should get together and set down specific guidelines for these clubs to operate under. If this is not done, it will continue to be an issue which is belabored each year. k'Party schedule." West, still smiling even though he said he was going to get out of politics, made it for the door. It was a fine performance. Perhaps if West employed some of those advertising people so ef fectively used by Richard Nixon, he might move on to bigger and better things. In any event, the entire affair was rather humorous. Everybody got a look at a politician dodge questions just like you always hear about. But even more than that, they got a look at government and the press in South Carolina, neither of which came off particularly well. Before West came out, one clever newsman asked a friend if his tape recorder had "Hail to The Cheif" on it. A girl sitting about five rows back muttered something to the effect of "I think I'm going to be sick." It was a rather good indication of things to come. Spoiled Child To The Editor: Reference is to the "Responsible Press" editorial appearing in the Feb. 4, 1974 edition of your Teeny bop scandal sheet. The demeanor of your writer when speaking of "ultimate truth, the mad mandate of a responsible press, and the requirements of the First Amendment" sounds curiously like the noises of a spoiled child when his mother has taken away his pacifier. If the framers of the First Amendment knew that it would be interpreted by a bunch of pouting, post-puberty adolescents as giving themselves the right of irresponsible character assassination and rumor mongering, they would surely arise from the dead and lead a fight for the repeal of that revered amendment. I would suggest that as the of ficial mouthpiece and ego builder for Rita McKinney, you confine your editorials to the mentaility of your writers; to balloons, lollipops and kindred subjects. Leave the "mandate of a responsible press" to reponsible people. nD..g n..af,rd