The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, July 13, 1983, Page 4, Image 4
.opinion
Lawsuits lower
respect for USC
The university is currently the defendant in three
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lawsuns inea oy auorneys ior iormer coacnes. i wo
of the suits accused the university of breach of contract
in the cases of former head football coach and
athletic director Jim Carlen and his successor as
football coach, Richard Bell.
Both suits claim the university not only broke the
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coacnes contracts out aiso ruinea ineir cnances 01
obtaining positions elsewhere.
The third suit was filed by attorneys for former
women's basketball coach Pam Parsons. She is suing
President James Holderman and Chris
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slander. Parsons says the statments these officials
made were the basis of the article in Sports Illustrated.
The article suggested Parsons was a lesbian
and was having an affair with one of her
players.
Because of its controversial nature, this suit is
receiving the most publicity which is not flattering
to USC.
The university has tried to have each of the suits
thrown out of court before coming to trial. Univer
sity attorneys put forth a motion claiming the
university was a state agency and the *'alter-ego1'
of the state, therefore immune from liability.
The motion was rejected by U.S. District court
Judge Matthew Perry in the Carlen suit and later in
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tut utn ease.
USC also lost an attempt to have Parsons' suit
dismissed on the bases of an employment release
she signed at the time of her resignation.
It presently appears that these suits may make it
to court. Certainly, in a time when the university is
having to raise tuition to meet costs, USC will be
hard-pressed to deal with the additional costs of
three lawsuits.
But the financial cost is not the only problem
with which USC officials will have to deal.
The comments made to the Gamecock at the time
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ui dcii s dismissal inaicate anotner problem. Most
of the students with whom the Gamecock spoke felt
that Bell had not been treated fairly.
Certainly, no one would deny the university's
right to fire employees whom it feels are not performing
up to university standards of conduct and
who refuse to act in the best interest of the school.
But, in light of the lawsuits and student opinions,
their removal could have been handled in a more
professional way.
The controversy surrounding the athletic department
and the tenure of coaching positions hardly
make a strong platform on which to build a fine
athletic department with full student support.
Therefore, future situations .concerning
coaches or any university employees should be examined
more thoroughly before action is taken.
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in uiuci i?j maintain respect lor tne administration
and support for its decisions, sensitive issues
must be handled more carefully.
It is up to the courts to decide whether the
university or the three coaches are right, but it is
obvious that better handling of these situations
couid have resulted in less dissatisfaction and more
conviction that the administration acted in an en- j
tirely proper way.
Got an opinion?
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Letters should be typed, with the author's
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All letters should be sent to Opinion page editor,
Gamecock, Drawer A, Russell House, Columbia,
S.C. 29208.
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..letters
President si
in preprimai
Even though the 1984 presiden
tial election Is more than a year
away, news reports abound, telling
about the activities of the candidates.
The candidates and the
media are doing themselves diservice
with all this attention.
The crowded democratic field
scurries across the country to
parade before any organization or
special interest group that will hear
them. And the media trudges along
and dutifully reports how they
fared. If a straw poll is taken, the
stakes increase, heeanse a virtnrv
by a lesser known candidate is considered
an upset and a sign that the
front runners are faltering.
Indeed, the straw polls are one
of the most absurd facets of this
preprimary campaigning. Straw
polls are meaningless and only
show what a limited number of individuals
think at a given time. No
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Yet, the candidates still strive to
win them.
WHEN FORMER Vice President
Walter Mondale was upset in
the Wisconsin straw poll by Sen.
Alan Cranston, D-Calif., people
began eliminating Mondale. Mondale
then worsened the problem by
stating he would have to spend
more money on the next straw
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The danger in this attitude, and
not just to Mondale, is the candidates
will burn out before the
primaries arrive. If Mondale and
the other candidates were intelligent,
they would avoid these
straw polls.
The risks in participating
outweigh the gains. Mondale's
Winsconsin loss showed this. But
the candidate is not the only one
who loses, the voter also loses. If a
candidate is eliminated or the
media portrays him as a loser
because of the early setbacks, the
voters will not have a chance to
fairly evaluate the candidate.
Another absurdity of this
preprimary season is the constant
reporting of opinion polls that attempt
to show how Reagan fares
when comnared to his wonlH-hp
democratic challengers. The results
of these polls are even more
frivolous than those of the straw
polls.
HOW POPULAR Reagan is
when compared with the
challengers is meaningless because
of shifting public opinion. For proof
of this, one need only look at
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First the polls showed the president
Jimmy Carter could not beat Sen.
Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. What happened?
Carter squashed Kennedy's
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Copy Desk Chief
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l|| I editorials must be typewrit
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I to one newsworthy subjec
;wj jh? Ort?oao editorials MUST be signed
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challenge in the primaries and went
on to win a first ballot nomination.
There were also nolle that shnwpH
Reagan far behind Carter. By election
time, the polls said the election
would be a close one. The
polls missed again as Reagan won
in a landslide that enabled the
Republicans to take control of the
Senate.
Therefore, what is now happening
amounts to little more than hot
air. Though it will never happen, it
would be better if the media backed
away from this early campaigning
and refused to cover it, or at
least gave it minimal coverage.
The results would be better for
all concerned. The would-be candidates
would have more time to
prepare for the primaries without
each mistake magnified by national
media exposure.
The voters would not be inundated
by the early coverage and
would then nrohahlv eive more at
tention to the political process
when it really counted. And the
media can be uncovering real
stories, instead of devoting time
and space to pointless opinion
polls and the special interest
groups the candidates are trying to
court at the time.
Chris Handal
Journalism/English senior
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Editor in Chief
Johnny Boggs
Hurt Pnttlo PAnn AlKonn Ctnin
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Susan Muir General Manager Ron Emler
imy Fretwell Ad Manager Linda S. Haines
Leslie Katz Business Manager Jean Hatchell
Janet Edens Production Mgr Mark McEwan
lave Grimley Graduate Asst Wanda M. Hite
Leigh Jones Adviser Mark Ethridge Jr.
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ins to: Opinion Poge Editor, Gamecock. Drawer A, USC,