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-opinion Victories improve -4" i jjj 4^ "4" MA oldlc UUUbdllUII South Carolina seems intent on winning the war aeainst mediocritv in its nublic school svstem. In ? J J- ~ J the past, surveys among the states have consistently ranked South Carolina in the bottom ten for its public education. But recently, there have been several victories for this state for improved education. One of the best indications of success was the ir. elusion ot tour boutn Carolina nign scnoois in a us of the nation's top 144 secondary institutions. Th schools were judged on criteria which included dai ly attendance rates and student performance on thi Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and minimum com petency tests. About 4UU scnoois nationwide sud mitted applications. This is a definite sign that South Carolina is at least partially successful in the battle to bring its schools up to a nationally competitive level. Although guilty of dragging its feet a bit, USC recently showed its commitment to the cause by agreeing to raise its admission standards. It is not hard to understand why USC officials seemed a little hesitant about tightening the screening of potential students. The potential pool of students 18-21 years old will decline over the next decade or so. This decline, coupled with the financial straits of most schools, would seem to argue against further reduction of the number of possible tuition-paying freshmen. nnoh fpwpr frpchmpn mnv hp flip immpHiatp x &1V11V/U^11 1 V TT VI II VOUUlVli 111UJ c V 111V 4UH1IVV41WVV result of more stringent acceptance standards, it will ultimaiely benefit the university. Better-educated freshmen will lead to bettereducated graduates, assuming the university maintains its own standards. Competent, successful graduates wi\\ further improve the university's reputation and thus increase its ability to attract students in the competitive realm of college recruitment. 1-. . l__ ^ 1 t I . ? - ? ? - wuviuusiy, me legislature and UbC officials understand this and have elected to risk a few years of lower enrollment for benefits in the years to come. In a less selfish view, the university's move should prompt secondary schools to raise their own quality of education in order to produce graduates capable of attending college. It was definitely in the best interest of the state as a whole for the university to agree to higher admission standards. There is still another area of education in which South Carolina is finally beginning to catch up to other states. Although it took a federal order, South Carolina is desegregating its college boards. (Jov. Riley appointed eight blacks to serve on state institutions of higher education. The USC board of trustees received a new member, Larry Weston, a Sumter attorney, Alberta Grimes, who has almost 25 years experience as an educator in South Carolina, will sit in the governor's place on the board as his designee. The new board member and designee for MUSC were also appointed by the governor to meet federal demands for desegregation. Although the desegregation process should have occurred naturally over time, the governor did very well in his selections. All the appointees appear to 1 ...:n .1 ? 1 ut nigiiiy qiuumcu anu win tiOUDliess DC great assets to their respective schools. These are only battles. The long struggle to raise South Carolina's public school system into one of the finest in the country has just begun. It would not be wise to become complacent with changes already enacted. But the current events would seem to indicate that this state is indeed serious about education and it will continue to improve its public school system. s J 1MI9 TOP SECRET, C0HER.T % MISSION HAS BEEN APfteucr our government:. j gj( . On discrimin Two events in June have captured America's imagination and dramatized this nation's rush into future. Voyager 10 flew into the headlines by becoming the first man-made object to venture outside our solar system. Then the space shuttle Challenger carried America's first woman astronaut and the largest spacecrew ever into orbit. Meanwhile, back on Earth, we are led to remark how slowly this country has joined the 20th century in terms of respecting the rights of women. Today it seems that true equality between the sexes is, at last, on the horizon. After all, we now have one woman on the Supreme Court and another in space. Late as they may be, these are significant <#ymbolic"victories for American women. Yet they are more than merely symbolic victories, and this is important, for the enemies of sexual equality cannot say that Justice Sandra O'Connor and physicist-astronaut Sally Ride were given something for nothing. Each has risen to the top of a very skilled and competitive field to positions traditionally accorded the highest respect. Still, O'Connor arid Ride stand as symbols of the progress of the American woman, and it is sadly ironic that something other than the cause of equality may reap the greatest benefit from that fact. It is ironic that the Soviet Union was putting women in orbit long before we had heard of Sally Ride; perhaps even more ironic that Ronald Reagan ? whose stand against the Equal Rights amendment marked him for many as an opponent of women's rights ? was the first to name a woman to our highest court. Centainly no one understands the importance of symbolic victories for equality more than those who intend to veto any real gains. It would be wrorie fn dnwnnlnv a vllWWPt0* EMIfOiN?l INSTITUTE "1M AFRAID WE'VE. &EE.N FOR??C OF EITHER N*?EIN6 WITH JWAtf. OR COtAWfe OOT IM FAVOR OF EAf MHnMHnnMDHWWMHMIHn 6*' 4 ' ^. <*<&&&&& mKmaa^ C kightai >, '*sa a<*% THE EVENII ? | ~ J*w m7? tv* lation, registi these signs of progress entirely, however, for they represent the first steps down a road we must travel ? it matters little in the end who starts us off. In other words, we should not look these gifts horses in the mouth. But as we reflect that it was the Rus sians and the Keagans who have, so far, raised women to the highest levels, a timeless piece of advice suggests itself. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. The Pitt News University of Pittsburgh A judge ruled recently that a law re quiring male students to disclose their draft registration status when applying for financial aid is unconstitutional. The law, has been on the books since September. It deserved to be thrown out the window. U.S. District Judge Donald Alsop issued a permanent injunction against the federal government and ordered that the law not be enforced in any state. This week the judge rejected requests from U.S. Justice Department attorneys to stay his order to allow for an appeal to the U.S. SupremeCourt. Kudos to Alsop. The law, known as the Solomon Amendment, exhibits a simple attempt by the government to coerce members of society. It takes away an important tool of democracy, that of protest, and curbs freedom of speech. Proponents of the amendment say they are prepared to argue the case before the Supreme Court immediately. If it gets that far, hopefully the bretheren will have insight enough to uphold Alsop's injunction. The Tar Heal Universitv of North f!nrnlina Two days before Pope John Paul II met with Poland's military ruler, ^ t WL 7 Copy Desk Chief ___ News Editor Asst. News Editor -n.p Sports Editor Sc -f Wire Editor L Opinion Page Editor *V> /d?}m ? Photo Editor fj ^^'t0r By yj -\V V w Business Office -^pr j I I- I'he Gamecock welco Mm ( " editorials must be typew Letters should he no lor to one newsworthy sub] / editorials MUST he signi dress, class standino or * bill tlie wtile**s name mi ) IMTO A RDSIT10M Wc ,csl",c ",c "ah'1 Address letters and col . WATT OM SOME THIW6 I Columbia, S.C. 29208. H-E PCACWN& " ' ' --rniMi | ation, Pope General Wojciech Jaruzelski, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko gave a speech that helped the general explain away Poland's martial law as "a dramatically difficult but indispensable decision (taken) ... in extremis, an ultimate rhrm-f " Gromyko said: "Poland . . . has been and remains an inalienable part of the socialist commui ;ty." It was as simple and straightforward an assessment of a nation's geopolitical status as one could hope for. It was also wrong. The millions of Poles who gathered in stadiums and lined the streets to greet the pontiff prove Gromyko wrong. The pope's refreshingly honest remarks about the plight ot the Polish people under marial law ? in place since Dec. 13, 1981 ? and under communism in general prove Gromyko wrong. John Paul's ordinary language of truth flew in the face of the nervous propaganda of a frightened military regime ? frightened because the idea of a free Polish people, a true renewal of Polish society, threatens the Warsaw dictatorship and the Soviet Union. But should freedom be won in Poland ? through revolution or what Walesa calls "daily acts of courage" on the part of Polish people ? it will be won in years to come. It was there that the crowd sang thereligious and patriotic hymn "God Save Poland " while a secret policeman checked the credentials of a Polish journalist who had raised his hand in the V-for-victorv sien The crowd did not sing "Preserve our free motherland," the last line of the hymn sung traditionally in troubled times. Rather the people sang "Give us back our free motherland." Indiana Daily Student Indiana University iomccoch??? Editor in Chief Johnny Boggs j Curt Cottle Copy Editor Allison Stein John Vaughan Susan Muir General Manager Ron Emler immy Fretwell Ad Manager Linda S. Haines Leslie Katz Business Manager Jean Hatchell Janet Edens Production Mgr. Mark McEwan Dave Grimley Graduate Asst. Wanda M. Hite Leigh Jones Adviser Mark Ethridge Jr. 777 7181 Advertising 777 4249 777 3888 Production 777 2833 mcs letters and guest editorials. All letters and guest ritten, triple spaced on a 65 space line. lger than 300 words and guest editorials should be limited lect no longer than tour typed panes. Letters and guest :d with the writer's name, telephone number, mailing ad faculty position and major. Pseudonyms are unacceptable, jy be withheld upon request if the circumstances warrant o edit guest editorials and letters. umns to: Opinion Page Editor, Gamecock, Drawer A, USC,