The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 22, 1983, Page 6, Image 6
-opinion
Justice missing
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Yesterday's decision by the USC Supreme
Court not to invalidate the March 8 Student
Government elections is just the latest blunder in
the SG election fiasco.
The Court unanimously voted to deny SG
presidential candidate Jim Doyle's request that
the election be declared invalid.
The Court heard hours of testimony documenting
such irregularities as polling places and
ballots left unattended. students heinp unahle to I
vote, consolidation of polling places without
notice and the improper listing of Doyle's name
on the ballot.
Despite overwhelming evidence showing the
election was a comedy of errors, the Court decided
to disregard regulations requiring elections to
be 4'fair, equitable and just."
1 he Court admitted in its decision the election
was problem-ridden and that the current process
needs to undergo drastic reforms. This is certainly
true.
But this was not the point Doyle tried to make
in his appeal. All he wanted was a fair shake in
his run for the SG presidency, anjd he didn't get
it. ]
ine Elections commission, campus court
and now the Supreme Court all overlooked this
simple fact.
The election regulations state a candidate does
not have to show substantial harm for the elec
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lions 10 De mvana. me regulations oniy require
that substantial irregularities exist to preclude a j
fair election. Doyle proved beyond a reasonable i
doubt that a number of substantial irregularities ]
existed. ,
Yet the Supreme Court chose only to commend
Doyle for providing Student Government a
"meaningful service" for bringing these matters '
to the Court's attention
It is the Supreme Court that should have performed
a meaningful service ? by upholding the
regulations that govern elections, and declaring
the March 8 elections invalid.
Although some of the problems experienced in
the election were beyond the Elections Commission's
control, they do not relieve the commission
of the responsibility to provide fair elections.
If, as the defense witnesses stressed, such problems
are neither surprising nor alarming,
something should have been done before now.
Obviously, massive reform is the answer.
The Supreme Court blew it. Though it admitted
the election was plagued by mass confusion,
it only counseled acceptance. After all, accor
ding to SG Attorney General Mark Jones, "you
can only expect so much" from a student election.
Obviously this does not include justice.
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Friitnr in Thinf !
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letters
People shot
Editor:
One young man, a supporter of Bernard
Epton in the recent Chicago
mayoral election, was interviewed the
day before the election, and in the
course of that interview made the comirierc
that he didn't expect the blacks in
that city to support the interest of the
"middle class " or the middle class to
push for the interests of blacks. Apparently,
in his mind, the two interests
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ing one another. In that situation this
may be true, but is it true everywhere?
Is it true here at the university that the
interest of blacks and the middle class,
r upper class in some cases, are different,
in oppostion?
Is it true blacks are only interested in
programs that level the obstacles standing
between them and up-scale
employ ment or in securing handouts?
n
journalism
Editor:
I am responding to the person who wa
by your front-page story this past Frida;
Lynch of the Catholic Student Center. (
opinion of the writer, I was rather impre
It was refreshing to see something in
debated Student Government elections ar
more oroerams at USC. To criticize Forr
ting an enlightening human interest s
typical of a large portion of suppose<
individuals.
As a freshman at Carolina, I am appa
recognize the fact that a campus with a
USC denartii
work togeth
Editor:
Wednesday's ( Gamecock ) article c
45-year-old recordings of Negro Spiritu;
Congress Folksong Archive was accurate
was not the fault of the reporter, Tut Ur
story's source, myself.
I failed to stress the major role played
department at USC. Members of that fa
ed the recording equipment and encouraj
documentation of contemporary spiriti
Holiness church. Soon a media arts grad
taking classes in anthropology got invob
cameras and developed a documentary
master's thesis.
This is but one of several examples of <
ween USC's very media-oriented anthi
and the media arts department that
numerous cultural documentaries. Inte
abound under media arts' roof. This will
media arts denartrnent's third annual h
variety of topics addressed will be match
of media through which they are prese
begins at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in the Lav
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Is it true the middle class is only interested
in programs that secure for
them their status in society or in prohibiting
the distribution of handouts?
Meg Greenfield, editorial page
editor for the Washington Post and
columnist for Newsweek magazine,
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perceive blacks as different. According
to Greenfield, white people deal
with blacks in a condescending,
patronizing manner ? at least those
who are struck with a liberal consciousness.
They handle blacks with
kid gloves for fear of being accused of
racism or intolerance.
She recounts her experience at a dinner
where a black participant proposed
a preposterous plan and got rather
abusive in pushing it. She said not one
of the other participants at the dinner,
who were white, even raised an objec
more than c
provide Knowledge 1
s "highly offended" repeatedly subjected 1
y on Father Stephen focus solely on "obj<
}uite contrary to the To label a Francis<
ssed with the article. - to cpruino o?/-i /-?
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print other than the Catholic Church" is i
id the phasing-out of Lynch and the Catho
est Brown for repor- businesses, associatic
tory is shallow, yet To assume Father
ily educated college Catholicism and to i
ulterior motive ol ev<
lied and disgusted to influence others to
s great a capacity to monetary wealth.
Is it really necessar
numeiy good, honest
1 i religion? Is it possibl
tegrity to respect om
W enough integrity to 1
If it is not possibl
possible to express cc
. . r the hurt of an innoce
,n the donation of dieting religious beli
als to the Library of individual particula,
but incomplete This called for
iderwood, but of the ? js sickening to k
. , for its students as we
by the anthropology slandered b those
ClllfV initiflllv nrrwiri
? , qualities in everyone
?ement to do my own The f.(ct ,he wri(e[
tals sung at a black ,he fa|se im lication
ua'c student who was tha( concerned hself
bro"?ht!'' v,d1eo human being to'the .
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contrived by any stu<
:lose cooperation bet- to persons s
ropology department m<jraIistic, knowledf
has made possible t4 . . !^refJ Brown
rdisciplinary projects objective because
be very evident at the stJai8ht-news i
ledia Fest, where the P01"1 of view. In thi:
ed only by the variety *m,sm because the
nted. This free event Bro.w" s wr,tin8. al
? peripheral vision.
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Park Dougherty
edia Arts graduate student
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others
tion. For fear of being racist, perhaps?
It is not my intention to propose that
we abuse one another for the sake of
liberalism, but that we make an effort
to see people as people ? with
similarities and differences. It seems
that we, in an attempt to be just, have
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demonstrated by patronizing professors
who are more lenient on me ^
because of some supposed disadvan- ^
tages in my background.
If the young man who supported
Bernard Epton is right, I'm afraid our
future is indeed dismal. I would encourage
us to look at one another as
people, thus proving this gentleman
wrong. This would be the only just
thing to do.
Ernie Wiggins
Journalism graduate student ?
objectivity
n areas of which many are ignorant is
to narrow-minded criticism by those who
ectivity."
:an priest who has devoted his entire life
thers as "a political agent of the Roman
not only a personal degradation to Father
>lic Church, but to all religions, charities,
>ns, clubs and people in general.
Lynch is on a "mission" to convert all to
make a hurk for th#? Pr?r*f? ic tr? cnv thp
iry person who performs good deeds is to
his way of thinking and to achieve
y to attempt to defame those who are ge,
selfless persons simply because of their
e for the average person with average ine
who is more than average and bearing 0)
ive a life of chastity and poverty?
e to respect such a person, is it also not
mtrasting views with enough tact to spare
nt individual? It is one thing to hold conefs,
but to purposely, publicly insult any
rly one of Holy Orders, is absolutely un;now
USC offers enriching opportunities
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who cannot resist seeing evil, selfish
or anything.
's name was "withheld by request" gives
i that horrendous criticism of an article
only with introducing a warm, intelligent ?)
eaders of the Gamecock could have been
lent of this campus. This is personally ofuch
as myself who know a few existent
jcauic auuns sucn as hather Lynch,
and the Gamecock cannot be viewed as
they believe there is more to journalism
"eporting, then I applaud a subjective
s case, I would also have to applaud optwo
go hand in hand in the context of
though it is only visible to those with
Suzanne Deep
Education freshman