University of South Carolina Libraries
Carolir ^By George S. Duffie Editor's note: George S. Duffie has been United Methodist Campus Minister since June 1969. lie works at the Episcopalian. Lutheran. Methodist (ELM) Center. In San Jose, Calif , is the Winchester Mystery House, once the home of Mrs. Winchester, widow of the famous rifle developer. In her later years Mrs. Winchester fell victim to certain delusions, perhaps spurred on by a local soothsayer, who convinced her that her house was to be subject to the haunting activities of the spirits of the innocent victims of Winchester rifles. She came to believe that her onlv defensp against these demons was to continue perpetually building her house. She hired a full complement of carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers and painters believing that the noise of their unceasing labors, added to the confusing outcome of their uncorrelated efforts, would confound the spirits. Financed by her limitless wealth, Mrs. Winchester built and built. A A : * ictciu impromptu, unscientific "person-on-the-street" survey of students, faculty and administrators asked the question: "What is the center of the campus?" Some respondents seemed Cr.A By Frank DeLoache In journalistic lingo they're called freebies. There are always fine lines of distinction between information or assistance and gifts or influence. But, in essence, freebies are given by any person or organization to other persons or organizations whose job it is to monitor mem. it could oe ot very little value such as a $2.50 theatre ticket or the freebie may be as valuable as thousands of dollars. Freebies aren't generally in the form of money. Usually, they're theatre tickets or albums or trips. In other words, freebies arp payoffs. From the smallest to the largest, they're all payoffs. They're an American institution. Whether you call them freebies or "one of the side benefits of my job, something I need to do my job right." That's what Earl Butz, the U.S. secretary of agriculture, said when the Washington Post reported he had visited a hunting lodge in South Carolina around Christmas at the expense of Southern Railway. Butz also said Frank DeLoache * Kerry Northrup Lynn Bumgardner George Morris* Tommy Fowler. Johnny Drumming* Chuck Cromer Kip Blevii* Susan Paquet remr Cecil* Holmes. Billy Baker Mickey Trlmarchi Mark Bolton THE GAMECOCK welcomes letters from rt subject and a maximum of 300 words. They Pseudonyms or other aliases will not be uses, cumsfances warrant. To assist us in verifyin mailing adress and a telephone number when edit all letters, not for content, but to meet ou Drawer A, USC, Columbia, SC 2P208. IIIWIMWIJ LI Will I III I II III! II Ull I \a has I confident that the new Russell House, when completed with i!^ impressive size and undisputedly central location, will become the center of thp ramnnci suggested that the center shifts about-from the coliseum to Williams Bryce Stadiumdepending on the season. Those of a more analytic bent maintained that the computer center is actually the central nervous system of the university. Some suggested that the center of the campus is not on campus at all. but at the State House. Some new religious enthusiasts hastened to add that the center is not geographical, nor political. nor cultural but "spiritual." as though spirituality has no relation to culture and ??? t ? I UL3""I1UI IU lllt'llllUIJ t'L'UIlOI 11 ICS . No state university can avoid being handmaiden to the business community (or the educational, legal or medical communities for that matter). The problem which arises from beine a ron terless campus is closely related to rf1'1'"" T * ?? ""1 n The Gamecock bies neec other lower level agriculture commission officials have been ^ 1 A II. * * auenuing ior years" always mixing business discussions with hunting and socializing. The agriculture department controls what rate a railroad can charge for freight. Butz said these rates were not discussed. So what did the leader of our nation have to say? President Ford said he has no intention of firing u..i 1 J i uuu uui wouiu leave any action to the agriculture department. Remember Butz is the head of that particular federal agency. And, to the department's credit, attorneys ruled Butz had violated regulations And Butz agreed to pay half the expenses wlo avoid even the ap pearance of impropriety." But he added that he's not sorry he attended and might do it again. So what has this got to do with us, the students at the University of South r,nrr?lina*> Ption.'tKinrt . > " v.. J Ullllft. Student senators, your representatives, get choice seats from the athletic department for all athletic events in an effort to compensate for the fact that they ifrinri Editor News Editor Managing Editor Sports Editor Editorial Page Editor Photography Editor Entertainment Editor Graduate Assistant Production Manager Advertising Manage.' Asst. News Editor Asst. Sports Editor Production Supervisor Cartoonist aders. Letters should be limited to a single must be signed with the writer's true name, but the writer's name will be withheld if cirg the identity of writers, please include your e you can be reached. We reserve the right to r space limitations. Adress: Campus Opinion/ J ost its I another more serious issue, v lanu iy the loss of wholeness. The 1 fragmentation of the modern state f university has been known for i decades. Clark Kerr years ago c spoke of "multiversity." The [ "university" is a myth. The < "university" is a generic term 1 under whose cxpansiveness is | subsumed a bewildering array of activities, concerns, institutional arrangements and persons. But let us be clear that the "university" does not serve, or deny, or thwart, or busy itself with self-seeking or self-justifying: persons do these things. One hears I many normative declarations and < imperatives from students and < other constituencies demanding, i that "the university must" do this, < or contrarily, that. Such platitudes presume that (1) the "university" is a unitary entity ; (2) it is subject to imposed, purposeful, internal direction. But we have come to suppose after a brief six years as a campus minister at USC, that the mnro funHampntal asnprts r?f university life have rather to do I review are not paid anything for their work. On the surface there is nothing wrong with that. They should be paid something, and since there is no pay, they deserve the tickets. Or at least some of them. But recently officials in student government have brought forth enough evidence to persuade the Student Supreme Court to enjoin the Senate Athletic Committee from giving these tickets out. Apparently, some senators and at least one member of Steve Hill's administration have I procured more choice tickets than allowed and gone to the point of | . filing mem 10 ienow siuaenis. Steve Brown, SGA attorney 8 general, has told The Gamecock 1 editors that he only dropped the I injunction because Hill gave his * word to fire this particular member of his administration. Well, Hill hasn't acted and neither I has the Student Senate, whose > members have obviously abused > iU/vIM 4 u !-l r men uinct: iu mi' poini oi maneasance. But it's not just Hill or the ( Student Senate, it's the entire ( student body. Are they mad? Are ( there letters to The Gamecock or t angry calls to representatives? No, ( students love to heckle Chuck i Cromer's columns or our news ?W>I Ka it I 11 }/viuv.ic;a uui wiicii wc 11 < i v t' it Slllilll I Watergate on our hands, we get t silence. r And the Gamecock staff is guilty t of the "freebie philosophy," also, i Until this semester, all away \ games covered by sports writers s were paid by the athletic depart- i ment-that's food, hotel and travel. At each home game, football or 1 basketball, writers can get an ? entire meal (fried chicken, potato t salad, dessert, cokes, almost a anvthinf) whilf? fh??v ihn <. J O - ' "-"J -vr.x,. IMV k game. Do you think Gamecock I sports writers came down hard on v Paul Dietzel when he was giving t them free feeds? li Before this semester, any c reviews done or speeches covered a arger > \ith institutional "conditions of ife." What life qualities are acilitated for persons by. the iniversity? What denied? To what xtent does the structure of mowledge, upon which the very conception of the university is sased, still correspond with what is perceived about life? What is the meaning of one's social location tvithin these institutional arrangements-the department, the discipline, the prevailing reward system and its current Folkwnvs ;inH valup rnm?nifmnnt? rhe crisis resides not so much in the corporate policies, nor in the occasional demands of disgruntled students, nor with academic entrepreneurs, but with the growing, deeply disturbing recognition that the intensifying disciplinary fragmentation is only symptomatic of a fragmentation of the humanness of life itself at USC. Here lies John Professor Born a mail Died a sociologist Mind you, we speak of fragmen tation, not pluralism. Anj iien ? A >y our entertainment or news vriters were either free or the vriter was willing to pay for it. That's why, until this semester, we iidn't cover some of the major :oncerts. The snonsnr ? g? v*iv*n i x i rvv. >ur writers and wouldn't give us ickets. Since January The Jamecock has received at least 10 ilbums completely free. And writers don't like it when the reebies get taken away. Thev laim they have a right to go to ^4ew Orleans with the football earn, to receive a free album that ame in the mail or cover a speech vhere the food is free. And they ;ay their objectivity is inquestionable. I don't think so. The whole point is Americans lave heard "conflict of interest" md "payoff" (or freebie) so much hat it doesn't mean anvthino v - o tnymore. Students say, "Aw, >tudent Senate is a joke anyway, ^orget it." Well, those jokes may 'ery likely become your mayor, ity council member, state egislator, governor, congressman >r the U.S. secretary of igriculture. And they are like their /ision university thai is alive and open in I he exploration of knowledge, methods arid the perspectives of civilization will be exposed to more lh<in on<> <frtri nnrl tirill onrtann in UIUII UIIVI ?? III V III pluralistic commitments. By its very nature the academic community should be characterized by pluralism: indeed it may be properly suspect if it is not. Conflicts of interest are healthy and unavoidable. But it is polytheism, not pluralism which makes for social and personal disintegration. Pnlvllmicm ic Ihu olmrulinn i\f Ikn A \/IJ IIIV.IOIII IO HIV* VIV > UllUli V/l illC partialities of life into objects of ultimate concern. The loss of the I larger vision and wider commitment is the precondition of campus polytheism, and the consequences, as might be ex' d\ * I 4 /\ g-\ '\ /A r % / ! ?> * i o i M ft 4 rx |)i:v.icu, i c tiviiii iiiir>ii cilivu uprootedness and departmental i fragmentation. The student is less and less dealt with as a whole person. Life becomes compartmentalized and relationships become a function of function. The ? i _ .. r ? a 1 KtHis oi a ceiucness campus are / always on (rial. Note: The (iameeock provides this space to I'SC faculty for expression of personal opinion on any subject. This is part of the *?hiiiccock s poncv to include a greater sector of llie Carolina Community into its publication. /?NE NKeTWMfrX I I Hboor oo?vsmioHwo.\ pppl Evweofcf.setms ID A iT^ry. I HAvt TOtcm?sr?vm \ Y^ V S^*lT AU-YEAK VO*J4'J constituents and don't care anymore or they've gotten away with it so long, like Earl Butz. that they don't worry about it. But don't believe for a minute that the Southern Railway official didn't ask Karl about freight rates. By the way, William L. Harrelson, the South Carolina commissioner of agriculture, and commissioners of other states were there for "discussions." And The Gamecock is no better. Because of our budget we will probably have to i?o to awav O - - J 0v....VU next semester with the athletic department paying. (We have to cover all the football games or our readers would he irate.) And we'll have to accept free passes to concerts or just not go. And you will have a right to question our credibility. Because if you don't question us or your Student Senate, how can anyone complain when F^arl Butz doesn't feel the slightest compunction about a "hunting trip". They're doing what you told them to do.