Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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GAMECOCK "It is a newspaper's duty to print the news, and raise hell." WILBUR F. STOREY People's will rejected The Constitution versus the will of the people. That is the political dilemma facing South Carolinians after Charles "Pug" Ravenel was declared ineligible to run for governor by the South Carolina Supreme Court. The S.C. Supreme Court could not have ruled any other way. The Constitution explicitly states a candidate for governor must have been a resident of this state for the previous five years. Intent and home is where the heart is do not count for much in Constitutional interpretations. What is important here is the intent of the people who challenged the lower court ruling after Ravenel won the Democratic primary. Milton J. Dukes, Ben Dekle and Mr. Anonymous all say they are ac ting for the good of the people; the Constitution must be upheld. If that really is their motivation, why didn't they challenge the lower court ruling immediately after it was made? The answer to that is because they did not believe Ravenel would win. The State Democratic pprty would not accept Ravenel's filing fee until after a court decision was made to determine his eligibility. The decision was made by a "friendly"court and was not challenged. What happens now? Republican gubernatorial candidate James Edwards just received the biggest boost he could possibly hope for. His chances of being elected have increased from a slim to a fairly even chance. No matter who the Democratic party offers as its candidate now, many disenchanted voters will either stay at home or vote for the opposing candidate out of stite. The only legitimate avenue open to Ravenel is the petition to get Gov. West to call a special session of the General Assembly and have that Assembly approve an amendment to the Constitution and then have it voted on by the people. It should be noted that most of Ravenel's campaign was spent criticising the ac tions of many members of the General Assembly. Chances are now slim to none Ravenel 'will be the next Governor of South Carolina. The pity of the entire situation is the will of the people of this state will have been rejected. A technicality in the Constitution has been used by political smart alecks to maintain the status quo. Instead of Drotecting the interest of the people as it was designed to do, the Constitution has been used as a tool to deny the people what they have already indicated they want. -WNO LETERS... Conteml CU'sembodiment in Contemporary C U's emiseUniversity raises grave doubts and unanswered questions: Will the Unjusifieduniversity any longer be open to Unjustified experiment and innovation? and How may the future of education and of learners best be served? Editois note: The following is an I would next like to interpose excerpt from a letter sent to Dr. several frank and firm objections Oliver, chairman of the committee on the matter at hand that have on liberal and cultural disciplines. never been conclusively answered We consider it, due to the the to my committee's satisfaction. current interest in CJU program, ' fact that no students, or Important enough to reprint here. perhaps one token student, were consulted in the original'summer Dear Dr. Oliver: decision to disband CU remains a ...I would like to make a firm and reasonable restatement of our' I salodfiut o ycm position on the committee. First I would like to explain thatmteeobliv CUwser the most active members on the ae o h asso tsmar committeemembers immediatelybugtTaignoacutth available to respond to the im- vs mut fmnylvsl mediate threat to CU-each had aporae o tltc most prdcieand satisfactorybeidteecsotondC semesters in the program, semesters that for each dsieisfwsuetpr represented a turning ponti ic at,i,i oroiin n or her academic career. cnrosadpty On a personal basis, then, it has Anteexlaio gvnfr become clear to us independent- C' eierltst h study, specifically independent-qusinoabe.Orcmite study through a program lik CU, festa hs aue"wr is the single most valuable isbtniladmnml n alternative available to studenlts onlpiaiydrve rmiune this campus. Creative par--oe hc h soit suet ticipation in the resolution of a drco fC a ocnrl o dilemma, which independentstudythsreonw cnedtato should reresent, cannot be over-etniesrcurloehu a estimate, either financially orneddtrsovthspblm academically. With a view to education, my I side notnt-n o committee finds that independent- atgte nelcieo eti study represents, in Alvin Toffler's fiue ftaiinlaaei phrase, "education in the futureintuioshasofw tdns tense." Not only Futpre Shock buthaeteitnscmivioad countless studies of education pointlerigsanatudrak in the direction of independent- idpnetsuypoet.C' stud. Hnce he nd o itforal iersiy benyalonger beiopenkto Brunton . A breath of fresh air filtered over this campus last week. The statement by Harold Brunton, vice president for operations, to the effect that USC,s expansion policies of the last few years were being scrapped in favor of a program of renovation and relocation. should be welcomed by every member of the USC com munity that has ever had to dodge a bulldozer to get to class. Brunton told the Building and Grounds Committee of the Board of Trustees Friday he thought there were too many "holes" on campus, and that it was time to start filling them up. Certainly even a casual observer to this construction- plagied campus would come to the same con clusion. Yet, one has to wonder what prompted Brunton's apparent change of attitude. Perhaps it was the flood of student and faculty protest that greeted one of his pet projects, the Gibbes Green Mall, last spring. Perhaps it was the formation and subsequent strengthening of the Facilities and Grounds Advisory Committee following the uproar surrounding the Gibbes Green project. The committee, along with the flood of protest, forced the administration to abandon its planned concrete jungle on Gibbes Green in favor of a more sensible and informal plan. While both of these factors un doubtedly had an influence in gorary univer, (it had to secure on its own merit a grant from the Ford Foundation to operate in. its first year)-but its information services may not rightly be discredited as "ad vertising." Its purpose, then as now, was to awaken students to the possibility of concrete and positive accomplishment for the here and now, instead of abstruse exercises for the vague "real world." But CU is gone. How will in dependent-study survive? My committee has found a disturbing educational undercurrent which threatens to drown innovation and imperil independent-study at this university. Contemporary University itself was relentlessly forced to strive against a bulwark of widespread resistance to the creative alternative on many levels of the university. Not only this bulwark, but such problems as lack of information, unavailability of professors, lack "of organizational coordination, and restrictive academic requirements remains to be dealt with after CU. My committee is uncertain whether or not independent-study can survive under these conditions. In brief, it is the belief of my committee that the dismantlement of CU cannot be justified educationally, and hence represents and academically negative step for this university. But we have found it futile to attempt to preserve CU in its present form. At least the possibility of Independent-study remains. Let us categorically guarantee that alternative for eacn motivated student. TIMS IEALI. Chairman,.Committe o ave CUr s change in Brunton's change of heart, there is, perhaps, a far more complex and far-reaching reason. The Board of Trustees has grown increasingly answerable to the politicans in this state for quite some time now. One can only point to the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Dr. Thomas F. Jones as USC president last January as evidence of the power the Legislature wields in the af fairs of this university. The higher-ups in this state let it be known, in not so uncertain terms, that they thought USC was growing just too fast and moving away from their long-standing concepts of higher education and the way it should be administered. They felt something had to be done. Something was. The pressure was turned on, and Dr. Jones found himself, his programs, including campus expansion, and ideas under the proverbial gun. To say nothing of those who worked for Jones, including Brunton. A new president was named, one who, in his words, "serves at the 4ity... Childre Sex pamphlet Disappointing TO THE EDITOR: Tuesday afternoon, a lovely, bronzed coed stopped me on campus. to offer a small paper pamphlet entitled "Sex Works." Instantly visions of erotic secrets and innovative techniques went, playing across my mind. I became further aroused by her invitations to "try some" and "come see us" as she glided away. At last, I thought. Carolina has developed a program for and about students. Alas, it is not so. The leaflet is a conversion experience published by the Children of God. The only racy section of the reading is a paragraph devoted to an affair with Him that makes you want to Campus Opinion The Gamecock welcomes letter' be imited to a Iuind,1 subject anda must he signed withg the writer other aliases will not be used, h withheld if circumstances warram identity of writers, please includ telephone number where you cmi right to edit all letters, not for c< limitations. Address: Campus 4 Columbia mss. outlook Bill Grant will of the board," and new programs, id'eas and ad ministratvrs were ushered in. minifs-rY"s remained were told to tone uuna. While The Gamecock does not condone the way in which the political system was so blatanly thrust into university life, it weems the Legislature has indirectly given students a well-deserved rest from the rapid proliferation of new construction proects on campus. Not that construction will cease all together. A planned addition to the Russell House is to begin shortly and construction will resume wme new biology building as soon as material problems are resolved. A Pendleton Street parking garage and a cultural arts center are also in the works. But, hopefully, the emphasis of all future construction porjects will, indeed, be shifted away from the wholesale destruction policies of recent memory to one of renovation and revision of the University's and surrounding communities' present facilities. It will be a welcome change. n of God "go, go, go until you explode." I am not a sacreligious rascal or atheist or any similarly depraved devil-worshipper. Nor do I deny the Children of G'd their right in saying,"the whole purpose of the teaching of evolution is to eliminate faith in God..." However I am disappointed that the promising title page of this pamphlet is a blatant deception that has, at best, and abstract connection with the content. Its purpose seems to be attracting the attention of a reader interested in sex-oriented information. The God I know hardly would approve of these recruiting tactics Many of you will probably label me a "bitter cynic" for my criticism of this good cause. Please do not. Fortunately I didn't waste a quat te~r on the suggested donation. PATRICK HENRY 0 s from readers. Letters should ' maximum of 3W words. They s true name. Pseudonyms or *it the writer's name will be it. To assist us in verifying the r' your mailing address and a be reached. We reserve the mitent, but to meet our space )pinion. nD.a..,r A U.m