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a tr -r^ im /% U-AlVliHUULi Founded 1908 Fletcher Johnson, Acting Editor-in Jerry Brewer, General Manage Linda S. Haines, Advertising Mat Jean Hatchell, Business Manag Mark McEwan, Prodfction Manai Athlete* When college basketball first Vbegan, it was an extracurricular activity for students. Today, it is becoming more apparent that college basketball is no longer an "extracurricular" activity for students who are in school to receive a college education. It is becoming more and more a breeding ground for t ie National Basketball Association. This would oe good, if the athletes remained amateurs, and students. However, in many schools this is allegedly no longer true. While college basketball fans all over the country are focusing on New Orleans for the NCAA tournament, Notre Dame Coach Digger Phelps gave the basketball world something else to think about. Phelps charged that some colleges have been paying athletes as muchi as $10,000 to play at their schools. Phelos declined tn namp anu specific violators, but did state that he had lost several recruits to other schools due to illegal payments. NCAA officials have refused to comment on Phelps' comments, or to even acknowledge whether or not Phelps filed a report. This comes to no surprise to many basketball fans. Many have speculated that college athletes have been being paid illegally for quite a while. Many just believe <ihat there is nothing wrong with it, and just choose to overlook it. The fact that many colleges are violating NCAA rules should not be overlooked. Phelps should be commended for his efforts to rectify the wrongs being done by the various schools. If he has enough evidence to back his allegations, then he was right to make this information public. A free four-year education should be enough for any athlete. If an athlete wants to make money instead of receive an education, why not turn pro immediately after high school? Let them get paid legally if t 4- /\ i f ll o 4* Ko vr uicjr wciiii iu gci [/(tiu uiai uauiy. Other coaches should follow Phelps' lead and turn in any violators that they know of. College I Tom Coyne, News Editor | ^ Johnny Boggs, Sports Editor John Vaughan. Entertainment Editor I aein zunaria, <Jopyaenk Chic/ Chief Mike Fisher, Graphics Editor j. Lezlie Wallace, Editorial Page Editor Patty McCarthy, Asst. News Editor lager Buddy Horres, Asst. Sports Editor er Chris Hughes, Intramurals Editor . ^ Mark Ethridge Jr., Adviser *er' s r aia.r basketball needs to get back on the college level. Paying college athletes makes college basketball seem more like a professional game. Coaches continue to allow this to occur. However, when it comes to a shot clock in the college game, coaches overwhelmingly voted against it. r The reasons that many coaches gave was mat it would make the game too much like the pro game. ! It's hard to understand how establishing a shot clock would make the college game pro, and paying the college athletes won't. College coaches need to get their j priorities straight. The shot clock, which would make the game more interesting for the spectators and players, and would make the teams prove that they have the all around skills that make them better than the opposing team, would not make college basketball like professional basketball. Paying athletes will. j College athletes need to get their priorities straight. Is a college education important to them, or do they want to get out and start making money in the professional world. If money is the answer, then go pro. If they want sl college education, then they should be willing to sacrifice the money until they graduate. Phelps has stirred up something that everyone has been aware of for quite some time. Hopefully he can prove what he is saying. His timing may have made the situation more "scandalous" since it was announced in New Orleans during the NCAA tournament. Regardless, the situation needs to be investigated, and illegal payments need to be halted. Money has no place in college sports at all. If this illegal action is being done in basketball, then it can be assumed that other sports are being affected as well. It needs to be remembered that the athletes involved are students, and because of their talents are fnrtunntp enough to be able to receive a free college education. That should be enough. ?? i i ?? iDoNTGem,,. viewe tor m. Kit JMmiH&fPnK AMD <JI? TUWIKIIICTI V"" - M|W1I\ VI\W|VIIII WW ||IV| IMUIV/t I ? "Letters To The E( Time To Ignore Pe rO THE EDITOR Something really strange is going on around here. I c? lawsuits and contested elections and even the removal of all let me say that many students voted for Mark Platte I liked the irony in it, some wanted a change and some wei acting like a group of forty year old professional politici; just students here. We are learning, growing, preparing o WP all malrp mictalrpc Nnut in /mllocta ic tha timo fn nni our mistakes. Should we take ourselves so seriously thj sidering lawsuits? What are we going to be doing when we Whatever happened to large student bodies uniting t< believed to be wrong or unjust in society? Whatever haf students joining to fight for what they believed in? Was 1 only not understand it, but we refuse to acknowledge th about long hair, love beads and LSD. I'm talking about causes ? good causes, trying to make things a little bett be working with the students and the students with the place to be. But the students have incorporated the Student. Government officials act like politicians, they ar politicians, so you just don't pay any attention. Well I'm you want to get things done, get involved. And elected off the real political world and start finding out what the stu we have developed. That only we can change. Keep in m and at this point is epidemic. There are so many major important things that are wrc issues like El Salvador, ERA, Reaganomics, in our edito because we are busy making our personal attacks on e< only have we stopped trying to change the system to launched ourselves into it 100 percent, and have begun pei of apathetic, ignorant creatures have we become? We ; together and do something constructive and instead we well go to El Salvador. One more thing, before we start throwing stones at f< what they are trying to do, Mark Platte and elected offic could do ? or motivate ourselves to do. Mark Platte ma< mad enough to get a response. That in itself is somethii criticism and printed a lot of things that criticized him. i Lamecock, I saw many things about Platte and the Gar was really good about it and took it as it was supposed to Thft T.n momnb u/ac moont i/\ mqlrn n 11 I-.?1- -1 * ?uu ...vu?t w niaivc UO ail lclUgll ell ourseii laughed. I really think it's about time that we stop taking all these can't work together to improve things, at least we can try I GAMECOCK ?- ? Business Office: 777-3888 Sole reproduction rights granted to the Associated number, n Press. All other material contained herein may not be position an reproduced without the permission of the editor. the writer Opinions expressed in the Gamecock are those, if request, if t Cl'ono/I A/ *JI/? J - ' * * iif,'ilu, ?j tri*: vji kpi unti, ij u ns iff nea, oj the cdttor. We reser The Gamecock welcomes letters and columns. All space and letters and columns must be typewritten, triple-spaced column for on a 65 space-line. Address I Letters should be no longer than 300 words, and Gamecock, columns should be limited to one newsworthy subject no "Qar longer than four typed panes. Letters and columns MI.'ST Lfnivpr .. be signed with the writer's correct name, telephone from studer S3 MeSMOKtTHQRTDBACCO. litor' ? tty Things an't believe what I read about the editor of the paper. First of for a number of reasons. Some *e tired of Student Government ans. But come on ? we are all urselves for the real world and ite, help each other learn from it at the age of 21 we are con- * get to the age of 40? jgether to fight for things they >pened to concerned, intelligent :hat so far away that we cannot iOf if T mi it nopi^iicu ; 1 in iiul utiMllg . students fighting for common er. Student Government should m to make this school a better American notion that because e politicians and you can't trust saying if you're not satisfied, if icials stop acting like you are in dents want. It is a vicious circle ind apathy is highly contagious >ng. There has been no room for rial columns in our newspaper, ich other. Wake up people, not make things better, we have Meeting their games. What kind are the future ? we could join choose to fight ? we might as jllow students ? let's consider ers. It's probably more than we 1e us challenge him ? made us ig. Platte was very good about Ys one of the contributors to the necock I didn't like. But Platte be ? a spoof on the Gamecock. /es and Platte knew that and he s petty things so seriously, if we to get along. MARY COLEMAN English Major i 'f Newsroom: 771-7181 Production: 777-2833 Mining uuaress, ciass scanning or /acuity d major. Pseudonyms are unacceptable, but 's name may be withheld on letter, upon he circumstances warrant it. ve the right to edit columns and letters for style, and we reserve the right to reject any any reason. letters and columns to: Editorial Page Editor, , Drawer A, USC, Columbia, S C. 29208 necock" is a licensed student organization of sity of South Carolina and receives funding \t activity fees.