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F'age 4 ? July 25, 1984 Opinion THE GAMECOCK Holderman plays; now wno paysv Last week USC hosted a three-day conference for 15 visiting Caribbean leaders. The expense of this conference was unimportant ? as well as elusive ? because the university got something money couldn't buy - a place "on the map," Stan Applegate, USC vice president of research and sponsored nro^rams. said Mondav. USC President James Holderman echoed this opinion by saying the cost wasn't important because, whatever the price was, the conference was a landmark, historical event. For a dinner held Wednesday night for the Caribbean leaders and state and local dignitaries. the basketball ronrt in thp Carolina Coliseum was transformed from a functional athletic facility to a virtual setting from a Rudolph Valentino "sheik" movie. A tan and white awning was hung from the center of the ceiling and pulled back to create the illusion of an airy tent. Garnet shag carpeting covered the 315,000 square-foot floor. Tables with tasteful centerpieces were arranged so everyone in attendance would have an unobscured view of our Caribbean guests. Wine and champagne was abundant, and waiters and waitresses were at beck and call to make sure the glasses were full and the food was adequate. Because no one was available to provide any lype ot accurate ana substantiated information as to the identity of the conference's contributors or its costs, one can only guess as to where all the money for this extravaganza came from. In an attempt to estimate some of the expenditures, The Gamecock contacted several area businesses. One pstimatpH thp cost of such a canvas to drape over the basketball court was $8.71 per square yard, or about $11,600. The carpeting for Wednesday's dinner was a type of special seamless material, reportedly custommade at a company in Georgia. Even if you could find caroet at $1.00 a satiare foot, a deal we doubt even Jim Holderman could find, carpeting the 315.000-square-foot coliseum floor would run well over a quarter of a million dollars. (Not including snipping charges.) Needless to say, one cannot even begin to estimate manpower hours spent roorlvin0 tho nniirorcitir fnr cnoVn on /**???! i V/Wvtj blIV UI1IT VI iVFl t3U1.ll Clll CVCllti The list could go on and on. Since spokesmen like Applegate and Holderman believe the cost of the conference "doesn't make any difference/' we, the students of this institution, can only hope the funding did indeed come, as they say, from the university's budget and private funding (non-appropriated state dollars). V* 1 4.1 i.- i-1 * r-ernaps me answer 10 inese questions, and others, will be apparent in the near future. Let's just hope we don't find them in a tuition hike. ~~~ Gamecock Crl.tn, io rk?( lumui ill UIIICI [ Leslie J. 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Hite Copy Editor Hal Hewell Adviser Mark Ethridge Jr. Mm..rrnnm 777 71B1 AHuorficinn 777.A9AO Business Office 777 3888 Production 777 2833 The Gamecock welcomes letters and guest editorials All letters and guest editorials must be typewritten, triple spaced on a 65 space line j letters should be no longer than 300 words and guest editorials should be limited to one newsworthy subject no longer than four typed pages letters and guest editorials MUSI he signed with the writer's name telephone number, mailing ad dress, class standing or faculty position and major Pseudonyms are unacceptable, but the writer's name may be withheld upon request if the circumstances warrant We reserve the right to edit guest editorials and letters Address letters and columns to: upsnion cage tditor. itamecock Drawer n ubu. Columbia. S.C ?9208 wipp'^juw m rflll, IB' i mvjji , p- "H fc, r?Uy^ v.h* | p . i. \? ?L \ * i ^TT VT%?tT W\w?' Garage, baki Anyone who reads the papers these days knows that America is in debt. Yes, Uncle ?am owes a lot of money. Jrufact, by the time Sou finish reading this column le national debt will have increased by at least a nickel. Of course, most of you won't finish this column. Alas, that debt will still keep climbing, scaling the peaks of financial irresponsibility just like Sir Edmund Hillary. Faced with this mounting debt, Presient Reagan wrings his hands and blames Congress. Congressmen'shake their hands, all 535 of them, 'and blame Reagan. What the country needs is not blame, but solutions, neither Reagan nor Congress has searched very hard for alternatives to this problem. I have a few suggestions which I will patriotically put forth at this moment: Garage sales. These are always a good way to make money, and who has a bigger garage than the President of the United States? I'm sure hat Ike must have left some of his comic books at the Wliite House when he moved out. And no doubt LBJ left ^ -f _ i. ? i i* * many ui ins toy soioiers in me White House rather than shell out all that money to have hem shipped home to Texas. Regan himself probably has many old movie stills lying around which he would be only too happy to i 1 ouviei uiiiu The Soviet's desire to talk about banning space weapons, but not about nuclear arms reductions, and Regan's apparent willingness to talk about anything when it comes to U.S.Sftvipt rplntinns micrht IoqH tho ? . BDU^aBV ?VMU MIV overly optimistic to believe that the Cold War is on the brink of a major thaw. However, it should be kept in mind that Moscow is not known for dramatic shifts in foreign policy, especially when At tr n * " ? tne u.s. is involved. For the past several months the Soviet Union has been very critical of President Reagan's policies, going so far as to pullout of the Olympics and calling the possibility of future talks with Reagan ''almost impossible." In , ff, Nb'v wil^f V S^eP\ Faa^-^st Rf a^??Xki $k$v Y. '^^3^Ma k m?& J / - # ^1t? J ih^ til flit flL Vt tPlb / IntereampuS i sales may autograph for his friends and admirers. Bake sales. Obviously Regan believes that a woman's place is in the home. Let's see him bake ? uh, back that up. Get Nancy out in the kitchen and tell her to whip up some chocolate chip cookies. Get Sandra Day O'Connor out there baking those famous apple pies of hers. Get Annp Rnfnrri to phnrn nut cnmp nf her not-so-famous pollution-proof cream puffs. Regan is right. The future of this country does lie in the hands of the GOP's women. They can bake our way out of this boo-boo. Car washes. Everyone believes that dirt and Washington go hand in had. Well, some of that dirt has 10 tind its way onto the cars of the capital. Who wouldn't be proud to say they had their Honaa Civic washed by the President of the United States, the leader of the free world? Although, given Reagan's record on trade, it's quite probable that he would refuse to wash a foreign car. Still, the sight of Reagan and Tip O'Neill sprucing up a Cadillac would do wonders for the nation's morale and bring us together as a people. Betting on football games. Aha, you say ? those of you who have made it this far ? that's against the law. true, but most people do it anyway. And it wouldn't be the first time we had a president break the law, would it? n in a no-los short, Russia has been doing its best not to do anythign that might help Regan ge re-elected. . Yet, now the Soviets are nrnnncinrr follr*? ? v^/vuiii^ vu&no VFii UClIlIllllg dpclC^ weapons realizing that this could potentially give the appearance (in the eyes of American voters) that Reagan hs been effective on U.S.-Soviet relations. Judging by the anti-Reagan rhetoric which has been streaming out of Moscow the last few months, it is reasonably likely that the Soviets did not expect Reagan to agree to such talks (thus politically damaging his chances in November) based on his expressed interest in a spaceoriented ('Star Wars') defense system. "Jr 0 Jv// ^ ^ > ^ x' dltV . *?' NttH v isxr, cut deficit But, just to avoid the embarrassing spectacle of having the White House raided by a vice squad, Reagan could have Paul Lqxalt, his good friend and the senior senator from Nevada, place bets for him in Las Vegas. Certainly, this scheme has risks. There's always the c'hance the national debt ; could rise rathpr than fall if thp crnmpa an the other way. And you ve got to pay off a bookie. But these are desperate times and they call for desperate measures. A big bet on UCLA in this year's Rose Bowl would have take quite a chunk out of the debt. In fact any bet on the Pac Ten team in every Rose Bowl is almost a sure thing. Walter Mondale would be well advised to put a plank in the Democratic platform pledging to bet on the Fac Ten team in every Rose Bowl ana tnen press Keagan hard on this issue. Reagan's biggest Alchilles Heel is the Roese Bowl and, more specifically, his fondness for the Big Ten. Lastly, I would urge the president to be frugal. Have him turn off the lights when he leaves a room. Give fewer dinner parties and. when he does en tertain, have guests bring a casserole. Remember sir: the money you save today may pay for a nuclear warhead tomorrow. "The Daily Nebraskan" University of Nebraska-Lincoln e situation It appears the Soviets think they can work themselves into a ?? 1 a. i: o.'ii n uu-iusc siiuttiiuu. Ciiumr rveaga" rejects their offer, thus perpetuating his reputation for having an unreasonable hard line with the Soviets; or he accepts and the Soviets get a chance to negotiate in an area where they are beginning to feel inferior. Keagan's willingness to talk iust might have caught the Russians off guard enough to give them the uncomfortable feeling that their political games aren't succeeding and four more years of dealing with Reagan is increasingly possible. "The Tar Heel" University of North Carolina