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SGsec retary position needs serious review Lately the Student Government has been fighting attempts to do away with the office of student body secretary. The fact is they wish so much to retain the position they are looking for jobs in hopes of legitimizing the office and its stipend of $576. There has been much criticism that the Secretary has nothing to do and therefore the position should be abolished. But SG has gone to creating jobs for the position, not to mention raising the stipend to $800. Representatives of Student Government say the stipend for the office is not high enough to require the Secretary to put in 40 hours a week. Why do people run for the office? TTiey know very well ahead of time that the pay is low so there is no validity in saying the pay is not jcr: A : i_ i_ 1 i _ fi n it i i suiuuieiu iu require suuu a worn loau, aneran mey aia run to serve the students. Another major point we disagree with is an attempt to suddenly make the secretary chairman of the Board of Publications. This board is the one that interviews and selects people to fill the executive positions for each of the campus media-The Gamecock, WUSC radio, The Garnet and Black and The Crucible. Having a Student Government official in charge of such a panel would greatly enhance the possibility for censorship and do away with criticism, esoeciallv of the Student Government altogether. With this, there is also a great possibility for the Secretary to play favorites. Why not do away with an office that has no real duties anyway? To listen to Student Government, it would take too long. It would take two years because first it would have to be voted on next spring by the student body. Second, a new secretary would be elected in the same election as the vote on the amendment to do away with the office. Therefore, it would take another year after the voting when the office would again be vacated to impose the decision. The only way around this would be a very expensive special election. If the process is going to take so long why not get starte" now? There is no need to maintain a position that is useless. Has anyone tried to find a Student Senate bill lately? There is not even a good filing system. This should be the duty of the secretarv. not sticking him or hpr in chairmanship of a committee. Getting the secretary involved is one thing, but the Student Government is going to extremes. There is enough to be done right in the office, such as an adequate filing system for important governmental documents. We hope the Student Government as a whole will weigh the necessity of the position before granting such power to an ftffipp thflf is nnt npprlo^ Alert nnncii^nt*?iUKin w v?.??v AM JIAV/V IAVVVIVVII i &1UV y VV/UOlVl^yl CItlUlly VV 1 LI 1111 the same porposal, has been given to making the Secretary chairman of the Chartering Commission. This is just another instance of creating a job. 1 Frank DeLoache - Editor Kerry Northrup Newt Editor Lynn Bumgardnef* * Managing Editor George Morris* Sports Editor Tommy Fowler* Editorial Pago Editor \ Johnny Drumming* Photography Editor Chuck Cromer -Entertainment Editor | nip oievin ? Graduate Assistant Susan Production Manager Peter LaHatte Advertising Manay*r Cecil* Holmes....... . -.Asst. News Editor Billy Baker* Asst. Sports Editor Mickey Trlmarchl ?...- ?production Supervisor Marti ..???.??? .. Cartoonist TNll'- OAMECO^K welcomes letters front readers. Letters should be 'limited "to a slngl* . subject and a maximum of 300 words. They must be signed With the writer's true name .Pseudonym* or other altaufcs will not be uses, but the Writer's heme wilt be withheld if clr distances warrant. To gsslst us in verifying the identity of writers, please include youi mailing wlreu and a telephone number where you can be reac&Kl. We reserve the right t< ell letters, net for content* but to meet our space limitation. A drew: Campus Opinion Drawer A, USC, Columbia. SC 2WW. .? *??ifr?-T|?i 1 |?i 1 -|?i n, | | n mi i | i 4 * fj&MTAtt rrffHtdflSi- ttmw < WMMI WWW""" ' ^IMBMMnnaEaBMRavmMvanMMm^MManBMBRKnHHanaaiJjiiuwmaii nam Gamecock {j|^| 11,^11 i ||i i utirrjLirr 1 i ^ -i <i i i n w i rr rin ii ii ii .mil iiLiii in m--i.injjju i-i i i il im mi mm mum n i mil ifhup in i. hi '- mm Is 18 old enoual Pro... Eighteen years old is now considered fully legal except in two instances, buying liquor and running for the State House of Ppnrpspntntivps nr Spnnfp Rut a Kill hac * "VV/JM? V/^^/??VV?V* V V/?J W* K/VIIMVVt JU^MV %4 *7111 IIV4U been introduced in the legislature that would lower the minimum age of House members to 18 and minimum age of senators to 21. Every full citizen should have the right to run for office and offer him or herself as 1 V P 1 ? Vi 1 a leader 01 nis or ner peers, it is ludicrous to allow an 18-year-old the right to sign himself or herself into debt and not buy liquor. It is just as ludicrous to say that all 18-year-olds have not the experience or wisdom to cope with the problems of government. Of course, many 18-year-olds are not prepared for this type of job. But Con... For once Governor Edwards is right. Lowering the age to 18 for becoming a member of the S.C. House of Representatives would be wrong. The main objection, as Edwards said, is a person has not had the proper amount of experience to enable him to make the necessary j _ -i i ? . decisions required 01 a legislator. Most people in that age range, believe they are more than competent to hold office but any one can think back to those days and remember how little one truly knows about life in general. We would hate to think of a senior in high school trying to fathom some understanding from this i ? S I 'P9RHIOH i for politics? there are also a lot of people older than 18 who are not prepared for such a job either. That's why some people are recognized as leaders. And that's where the voter comes in; Our system allows a person's peers to decide if he or she is the one to lead them. But the system does not prevent a person from rnnnina unlncc tKif 10 - - univoo uiai pel own Id 10 yccll is Ulli. In essence the restriction on 18-year-olds is an instult to the voters. It says they have mrvf ? a - t * * nut Luc i c?ijuiisiuiiiiy 10 cnoose tneir own leaders. No one should be considered a halfcitizen. An 18-year-old can be as good a leader as a 23-year-old. Let the voters decide. state's budget bill or judicial reform for pxamnlp There would be a certain amount of discrimination involved from the aged legislators also. They would tend to try to sway the young members into making a decision based on information they could not possibly understand. It is a pure, simple case of not enough i experience and no employer wants to hire someone for a top position without some experience. The same holds true in this case and, hopefully, the state legislature will not pass this bill.