The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 10, 1978, Page Page 14, Image 14
viewpoints
Awards selecti
By WAYNE BROOKS
Opinion Page Editor
On Thursday, April 20, meritorious awards will
be presented to graduating seniors who have
excelled in academics and contributed their time
and efforts to extracurricular activities. Among
the awards to be presented are Outstanding Senior
awards.
Manv of the reciDients of thp Ontstanriinc* Conmr
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awards (there are about 35 awards to be given)
will be of no surprise to those attending the
ceremonies. Many of the most likely recipients
are quite visible and are well-known for their
contributions to the Carolina community. Other
recipients will not be too much of a surprise, while
others may be held in question by many. Then
again, there will be some students who will
rweive nu recognition ana win oe thought to have
been slighted.
BUT THERE'S no reason that an undeserving
student should be awarded, nor that a deserving
student should not be awarded ? unless, of
course, the process of selecting recipients needs
improvement. Even without knowing who will
receive awards, I must say that the selection
process is not the best one.
n is 1101 my intention 10 discredit the members
of the Outstanding Seniors Committee. The
personalities involved are not the problem,
although some of them can conceivably hinder a
fair selection. The main problem with the
selection process is that it is too subjective.
Criteria for selection is poorly defined, if at all.
And whereas there should be no room in the
process for politics, personal biases and
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ALSO, MANY nominees who could offer impressive
resumes to the committee are given little
consideration because committee members are
not familiar with their qualifications. No resumes
are required. So how can a nominee be given
serious consideration if his qualifications are not
made known to the committee? This, of course,
limits selection to only those nominees with whom
committee members are acquainted. Personal
friends of committee members obviously, under
these circumstances, stand the greatest chances
of being selected.
A bill calling for the creation of a Student
Honors and Awards Commission (SHAC), which
. would base the selection process on a point
5 CVCtom Ilior ?4.-J *. '
I ujukvin, nno uppiuvcu uy me biuucm senate
I (under former Vice President Joe Drawdy). The
I bill's sponsor, Michelle Crout, a member of the
I Outstanding Seniors Committee and a student
Lechner's
will be loss to univt
To the Editor: be ii
advi
Thanks to Mr. Gross' letter in the Anril fi corii
edition of The Gamecock, readers have been publ
alerted to the tragic situation concerning the repr
dismissal of Dr. E. T. Lechner from the English this
Department. Lecl
I do not wish to assault the rules and policies com
of the English Department. Instead, i hope to Di
direct as much attention as possible to this excc
problem.. excc
As Mr. Gross stated, Dr. Lechner has many
worthy credits to his name. I am one of the Eric
fortunate students who have had the chance to Eng
on process nee<
senator, said she had been trying to get the
selection process revised for three years. The bill
is a good one, and is sorely needed.
But thanks to former Student Government
President Brad Steele, who is also a member of
f rv*Will 2? J 1 1 *A * *
uk I.V1I1UIHICC, urc urn is ueau. tie veioea 11. And
for what reason? Sources say Steele claims that
he "wanted to give President (Seamus) O'Boyle
something to do when he gets into office."
Whether or not Steele wishes to keep politics and
personal biases in the selection process, I don't
know, but that is one heck of an alibi.
kaattly what ifie selection process needs is
a comprehensive, well-defined point system.
Resumes would be required in order that commission
members consider all criteria (academic
achievement, participation and offices held in
organizations, etc.) for all nominees. Those who
accumulate the most points would be selected; no
other criteria, including politics and personal biases,
would be considered.
Because there are probably students who will be
slighted on Awards Day, I feel that it is necessary
to give recognition to those who have consistently
made the most, the greatest and the most
significant contributions to the Carolina community.
And what qualifies me to compose such a
list? It is my job to know who does what on this
campus.
MANY OF those I have selected will probably
be among the recipients next week, for there are
those who are highly visible and could not concievably
be overlooked. Because of space
limitations, I must restrict my list to those who
have made contributions that are the most
significant and of the greatest number. Because
the Outstanding Seniors Committee. considered
only those who graduated in the summer and fall
of 1977 and those who will graduate next month. I
will attempt to maintain consistency by restricting
my selections to those who could have been
considered by the committee.
Before I make my selections known, I must
explain my reasons for not selecting one highly
visible student who will undoubtedly receive an
award next week because of the position he held ?
former SG President Brad Steele. If one is to be
purely objective about the whole matter, he could
give the award to Steele only for holding a
position.
STEELE CLAIMS credit for countless accomplishments,
some of which he had little or
nothing to do with (aside from signing bills) and
some of which were not accomplishments at all.
Yes, student government did accomplish certain
things, but with little help from Steele. And on
i! ([
srsity
/ N<
ifluenced by him both as a student and an
see. His contributions to this university
ainly outweigh his distaste for th#? I ^
? I t-OP!
ication requirements. I feel ,my voice I
esents many Carolina students when I say
school will suffer a heavy loss if Dr.
iner does not return next year due to this
plication.
dn't someone once say that there is an
option to every rule? Dr. Lechner is that I Psaudony
>P?on
class star
- Knopf
lish Sophomore
4
ds revision
numerous occasions, Steele was a hindrance to
what could have been accomplished, including
Ms. Grout's SHAC bill.
Steve Beckham. For his service to the student.
senate as Athletics Committee Chairman and to
Carolina Cares and Homecoming 1977, and for the
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services.
Michelle Crout. For her three years of service in
the student senate, her countless, well-intended
bills, and her service on numerous senate and
university committees.
ANDY ELLIS. For his four years of service to
WUSC-FM, including the past two years during
which hp has ?PrVPH ac ctaHrtn TT~ 1
?? w<wm ? vu UU ?.!*/? HiailOgCl . I'll?
served as manager when WUSC received its FM
license.
Faye Flowers. For her contributions to
University Union, in which she served as chairperson
of the Ideas and Issues Committee, and for
her service to the Young Democrats, in which she
had served as vice president.
Doug Kotti. For his continued service to student
government as a senator and a mpmiw nf CAi70t*n1 i
committees, for his efforts in directing the airport
shuttle service; and for exceptional performance
in academics.
TANYA LEWIS. For providing the Association
of Afro-American Students with exceptional
leadership and strengthening it to become a
powerful force in student politics, and for her
service to the student senate and university 1
committees. I
Harry Palmer. For his service to University
Union, specifically the Contemporary Sounds and
Cinematic Arts Committees, and for excelling
without recognition as one of the most visible
student leaders on campus. (His reluctance to
conform to certain standards of dress and lifestyle
should not be considered as criteria for selection.
The unselfish interest and concern for the welfare |
of the student body he has expressed during his
service in the union is only one example. He is a
leader of students, he has many followers and he
speaks for them.)
KENNY PALUCH. For his involvement and
work behind-the-scenes in student government,
his service to the Student Allocations Commission,
and his three years of service to University Union.
Jan Price. For her service to the Garnet &
Black, of which she is editor-in-chief.
Peter Shahid. For his two years of hard work as
chairman nf Pnmlina
-vui V11MU VOl
Mickey Trimarchi. For his four years of service
to The Gamecock, including one semester as
Editor, and his service to the Board of
Publications and Communications. ]
/
iAMEOOCK
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irws Editor Opinion Page Editor
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anFobes Barry Glenn
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jraphy Editor Production Manager Ad Manager
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