The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 02, 1983, Page 4, Image 4
-opinion
Special program
remains confusing
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program designed to help athletes enrolled in
the university who can barely read and write.
The program was not well-publicized. In fact, it
was listed as a course in the College of Education,
and the students were given college credit for it.
All this was uncovered by The State newspaper,
which, in a burst of investigative journalism,
revealed athletes were being admitted with
Scholastic Aptitude Test scores as low as 200, the
equivalent of zero.
The resulting public outcry prompted USC Presi
dent James Holderman to announce the number of
students admitted without meeting the university's
entrance standards would be reduced substantially.
Once again, The State discovered as many as
seven freshmen athletes may be admitted without
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The justification for their acceptance is given as
the unique and special contribution they will make
to the university. That translates into a winning
athletic team.
These revelations are a bit confusing. University
officials often repeat the maxim that students are
here primarily for a good education and all other
things are secondary.
This rings false in light of their intentions to
jeopardize the school's reputation and high stanJ
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uarus in orcier 10 nave a winning atnietic team.
Perhaps, their intentions are noble, and they
want to offer these students an education in exchange
for their athletic skills.
If so, then President Holderman, to be fair,
should find other students who can not meet
university admission standards hut arp sWillpH in
other ways. Perhaps someone who would be a
tremendous asset to the theater department painting
scenery.
Futhermore, the school may not be doing these
athletes any favors by teaching them they are ex
empt from the rules applied to everyone else simply
because they excel in sports. It is not the best way to
prepare them for the day when they can't play
sports anymore.
Certainly, it is beneficial to these students to be
given intensive lessons in remedial English. It
would probably be the best thing that could happen
to them.
Rut it isn't the thino fr\r pvpvnnp It ic
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forcing the idea athletes are beyond rules and
regulations. Obviously, this seems to be a prevalent
feeling among South Carolina's major schools.
Actually, it is the dominant theme for the entire
country. Maybe USC shouldn't be faulted for
following the trend.
If that is the case, USC should simply make
athletes an exception to university rules openly and
forego cliches about all being here for a good
education.
I Gomecoc k
Editor in Chief
Johnny Boggs
Cnnv Dnsk Chinf Hurt P.ntflfi Pnn? fdiinr Alllcnn Qtnln
News Editor John Vaughan
Asst. News Editor Susan Muir General Manager Ron Emler
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The campus housing situation this
summer has caused several problems
and has adversely affected my grades.
I am a senior at USC, and the courses I
am taking do not allow much time to
take care of the several inconveniences
the summer housing situation has
caused.
First of all, staying on campus this
summer is expensive. Two students,
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$420 for housing during Summer Session
II. This would cover the rent and
utilities for an two-bedroom apartment
at any of several apartment complexes
in Columbia.
About two weeks before Summer
Session I began, I received a letter informing
me I was going to live in
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LaBorde because Moore, the dorm I
requested, was not going to be ready
for the summer. All of my friends to
whom I had given my summer phone
number now had the wrong number.
For the first week of Summer II, the
air conditioning for which I had paid,
did not work. This made studying and
sleeping in the room almost impossible.
I went home for the weekend to
get out of the "hot box" in which I
had been living for the past week.
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learned I had to move to University
Inn before Tuesday. Just great! I had a
paper due Monday, and my roommate
had a big exam Tuesday. Needless to
say, neither of us had the time to spare
to move, but we moved anyway.
After getting moved over to Univer
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sity Inn, we discovered the phones in
the place did not work. The whole
building had one pay phone for
everyone to share. In effect, no one
knew where I was until Wednesday,
when the phones began working.
I feel the university owes the
students affected by the housing situation
a big apology. I also think the
students should get a partial refund
from the university for the inconveniences
caused and for the services for
which we paid but did not receive, such
as air conditioning and telephones.
I hope the university will plan better
and be more considerate of students in
the future.
Randal Henry
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