The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 18, 1980, Image 1

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.... & ,, ^ .' . j ^ ^ &&&' "'-Sm * m BB w&spr ^^TT11TM?ffi^ VolumeLXX,No.79 University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C. April18,1980 Hear in By Davkl Keller Gamacock Staff Writar Ten people took the stand Wednesday to testify at a public hearing before a S.C. House subcommittee on a proposed bill to outlaw drug parapnernaua. Personal freedom, economic interest, excessive laws and the effect the bill would have on drug use were the main concerns voiced by those who testified before the |l| Br W G19& ' Thomas D. \Nyatt, middle, ri Department of Health and A 141 0* introc By Tammy Kilpatricl Gamecock Staff Writer A bill introduced in student s< v allowing part-time students who p; I run for Student Government officc reaction among student senators. Sen. Lorean Evans, chairman c senate committee, introduced the time students the same rights as 1 o o 1'ittrc i ll/wi; V/UI K till omuiv. ia wo aiiun put i_n pay activity fees to participate iri tions except student government. Fees permit part-time students i tickets, use the P.E. Center, use the Health Center and join clubs students taking less than 12 hou part-time, while full-time student; hours a semester. AKNOIJ) EVANS, co-writer of time student, said the bill was ir time students can have full repi university. "Right now they don' representation. They don't really vote for things," he said. Seven thousand part-time stude of 24,386 at USC, Evans said. On activitv fees of $69.50. of which ! S Evans said if part-time studei representation in the senate, more pay activity fees. 14Why not extend the rights to and give them incentive to pa; fees?" he asked. The bill was voted into committe after Sen. Rusty Carroll propose the legislation. The Rules and mitfooc vi/ill rnnciHnr thp hill F ",,llvw ? ? * meetings. Sen. Eric Miller said he wa measure since part-time students obligations, such as jobs, that w from becoming familiar with the needs of full-time students. 4,A six-hour student just doe House sub-cot _1 1 J _ ig neiu c House Sub-Committee in Criminal s Laws. c The bill has already passed in ( the S.C. Senate, and the House of s Representatives will consider it r after all committee reports are in. v The occupations of those testifying r ranged from bureaucrats and t businessmen to students and c 4 'concerned citizens." v Rep. John C. Pracht, DAnderson, was the first to take the 15 A . H: . \? H^T Ji rT/1 Itt^^::: -ij>> rkbjjt- Z'^WB^^KM ?presenting the Control, prepare Environmental sub-committee y me studei iuced in s< k contact with the i people who are full snate Wednesday ay activity fees to MILLER SAID ; prompted mixed was good, but imp segment of the Dai if the Off-Campus a seat in student ; ; bill giving part- have a large volu :ull-time students. acquainted with e; ime students who there was a specif i all student func- part-time student ,, . candidate to run ft to pick-up athletic Evans said man i Thomson Student because they fear Undergraduate was concern in t rs are considered would be taking th s take 12 or more Members of the the bill and a full- now seeking a cl itroduced so part- been lobbying in resentation in the ^ox? a full-time s t have any direct program, said th< get the chance to students the same "It's not just a nts are registered having all the righ ly 189 pay student uox saia more $13.50 goes to SG. t,v,ty fees? helP,n its were allowed committee. would be willing to Members of the Cox said. "Peopi part-time students suddenly flood thi y their university he said, for consideration An amendment d further study on would create sepa Off-Campus Com- to represent par riday in separate fringing on full-ti add two or more s s opposed to the time students elec usually have other Evans said cr ould orevent them students would no university and the of the USC stud students. 4,It soun sn't have enough small part of the p nmittee hear, >n pare tand, and said he had "serious onstitutional problems with this paraphernalia) legislation." He aid if someone wants to smoke narijuana, "they will do it,' and varned the legislators, "Just don't nislead the public into thinking nis is going 10 eliminate me use 01 Irugs, because I assure you it von't." REPRESENTATIVES OF the >.C. Law Enforcement Agency and L ppfjjpm" H I Dave Kellrr (JAMK('(K'K s to testify before the House 'esterday. i/-q hill mate iniversity to represent 300 or 400 -time students," Miller said. part-time student representation >ractical. "There's a large enough 't-time students for them to qualify nmmrnmarit hut I Hnn'l think VOI1 iiiiiv/iiv, i/ui & v?\/?i v v.^ me of part-time students who are ach other," he said. He said unless ic organization representing them, s would have trouble finding a >r a seat. y senators were opposed to the bill ed their seats woul be lost. "There he senate that part-time students eir seats," he said Organization for Mature Students, larter from SG, have unofficially the senate to pass the bill. Robert tudent in the continuing education ? bill is designed to give part-time rights as full-time students. a a _ r A 1 A 4 L A rnauer 01 siuueni government, um its of full-time students," he said, part-time students would pay acg to generate funds for the finance senate feel jeopardized by the bill, le were afraid we were going to e senate with part-time students," proposed by Sen. Jill Mitcheltree irate seats in the 49-member senate t-time students. "Instead of inme students rights, we could just >eats to the senate and let the partt among themselves," she said, eating new seats for part-time t be sufficient to cover the one-third lent body made up of part-time ds more like a handout to appease a copulation," he said. s arguments iphern< the State Law Enforcement c Division brought a box of bongs, t pipes, roach clips and other exotic r devices used to administer illegal r drugs. A copy of the drug-oriented t (High Times) magazine was r passed around and it was pointed c out that "it even has a price list at the back to show you how much J you should pay for your marijuana ? so you don't get ripped off." t Infringement on individual t freedom was the concern of most s who spoke in opposition to the bill, c Melissa Langston, director of the t S.C. American Civil Liberties s Union and USC philosophy professor James Stiver directly i attacked the possible rights ( violations the bill would cause. < Langston said the bill has i "serious constitutional defects," 1 and is "overbroad in the definition 5 of paraphernalia." She also expressed disapproval of the fact I fhot it limnM ronnirn (Tnaccirict o VIIUV II TfVUIVI 1 VVjU II V gUVOOIII^ CI I person's intent concerning the use I of sale of the products. Stiver, said South Carolina is i "hypocritical in its treatment of drug abuse." ' If we make any s drug illegal, we ought to make all I drugs illegal," Stiver said, ( referring to the legality of i cigarettes, alcohol and pharmaceutical drugs. < "I oppose the laws that prohibit < the use of drugs for adults," Stiver < said, but "the state has an obligation to be paternalistic to minors." The bill would not only outlaw the use or possession of drug paraphernalia, it also would prohibit the sale or advertisement Greene Str still und By Loslie Smith i Gamecock Staff Writer No decision has been made on final plans to close Greene Street I between Sumter and Bull Streets. USC officials say. Harold Brunton, USC vice I president for Operations, said university President James B. I Holaerman sent a letter to the Columbia City Council this week requesting that Greene Street be Klnnl/nr^ ?r /\or?r*r\4 un/v ni.vi uii t vui jr uuj e.w ujji holidays and Sundays. The letter outlined parking and garage entrance modifications but did not give specific new parking plans, Bruntonsaid. City Maganer Gray Olive said he had not received a letter from Holderman. The Greene Street closing is still being informally discussed and there have been no recent requests by the university to close the area, he said. COLUMBIA CITY traffic engineer Mike Cribb said the Greene street closing is out of the city's hands. He said the proposal is still under consideration by Brunton. Brunton said the decision is up to Holderman and Olive and they will make the final closure plans. Olive said the city of Columbia will twuin a traffic survev of Greene Street through the traffic engineering division. Cribb, however, said he was not involved in a traffic survey project. Larry Kellner, Student Government president, said the Greene Street closing should be completed within 1980. SG has ilia bill if it. This would seriously affect he economic interest of those nerchants who sell the drugelated products as well as hreaten freedom of the press by estricting advertising, those opposing the bill contend. MAE GUESS, part-owner of Foyful Alternative, a Green Street ;ift shop, told the sub-committee he bill would hurt her ability to compete in the marketplace. She .aid she doubted the bill would leter the use of drugs and added hat the paraphernalia sold in >tores is not always used for drugs. "One woman came in (Joyful Mternative), bought a bong and iidn't know it was a smoking ievice. She only knew the color natched her living room and she wanted to use it as a vase," Guess >aid. William J. McCoy, chairman of the State Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, was worried that lue open sale of paraphernalia "promotes the idea of legitimacy" in those who see the products. AFTEK THE sub-committee iubmits its report to the House, the Dill will either be placed on the enc )f its calendar or could be brought jp for special consideration. After the hearing, Michael hooding, president of the USC chapter of the National [Organization for the Reform ol Marijuana Laws tNORML) said he was worried that a healing would had been reopened "The initial excitement over the bill had died down, but now it's on the minds of people again,' Gooding said. II eet dosing ler study ML HMHH ' H ' IP*} ^H^pg':-^BWBjWBKjBBW^|ii -- * * - 1 > -r. V!i lTl-VV:":?> - 4_ j wmSBIUBEm ?l;'vHMHnH Harold Brunt on nothing to do with the project, he said. Former SG President Peter Haeseker said the closure plan selected earlier this year woulc remove the temporary gates blocking Greene Street anc replace them with more forma brick walls with iron gates. He Ur? rlirt r*/\f r?Lr m w>c?ivi uc uiu iiwi rvnwvv v> iicu pai rvni^ plan had been selected THE PLANS for blocking the street have been altered several times in the past two years, Haeseker said. "I had been under the impression that the work done on mossom aireei was 10 compensate for the permanent closing and alteration of traffic flow. However, this plan with the street (Greene) open on Sundays and holidays is an intermediate step with the permanent closing in the distance," he said.