University of South Carolina Libraries
Viewpoint THE GAMECOCK ??- tmmmmmmmmrn ************ No class Sports info c nn titmmon'c %jii vvuniun o "Carolina Class." That's what the headline says see any class on two pages in A I athletic department's new recrui The book is distributed 1 athletes. It is very informative < such as the names of coaches ai of the USC campus. So where do provocatively pc in? Both the football and basketl /\ Kismg star contain a page th< of pictures of women, and w women athletes. These women are beautiful, have to look at the pictures to Y caption accompanying the picti "Nothing could be finer th Carolina. . .South Carolina wh< the University of South Carolin; just awesome. Their beauty is ei campus and surroundings." Letters to USC was right in not divesting To the editor: A big pat on the back to the USC board of trustees for their decision not to divest university funds in South Africa. Although apartheid is an evil system that needs to be dismantled, divestment of this university's funds would be wrong for several reasons. First, in no way does the move to divest represent the views of USC students. Unlike Columbia University and Stanford, USC Mas a very conservative student body. And while conservatives certainly don't support apartheid, the theory of divestment advocates using business as' a"1 political lever ? something shun--** ned by most every conservative. Moreover, if divestment is a big issue at this university, then perhaps the ' ' A n t i Apartheid/Pro-Divestment" rally, which was held in October, would have been better attended. As the organizers of the rally will reluctantly admit, the turnout The nnlumn B w wgunnisa down like s I always had the lurking suspicion that if this semester plowed on long enough, I'd run out of ideas and turn to cannibalizing my own column for material. The fear of using my column to write about my column, however, is being borne out right now. This is my next-to-last column of the semester, and I'd like to get some things out in the open. First of all, some of you may have wondered what qualified me to write a column in the first place. I'm not qualified to answer that question; despite my prominent position on this page, I'm not really a mover and shaker around the office ? I'm more of a wimper and whiner ? and nobody around here tells me anything. But I'd guess that my speedy typing and masochistic tendencies had something to do with it. Second of all, I have to clear up some misconceptions about how our Viewpoint page works. A lot of people, vastly overestimating the powers of my office, have written letters to the editor addressed to me. This is n -? ... nauering, out my jurisdiction over this page extends no further than the limited acreage beneath ; I ; The uwnvcoai ? ' >%,' % V !/'. *' . ?i i " ; ?' : J ' , > . >. . /// ; WMMHiHHHHMIfeMMMMHMlMMdkn lepartment st SUA appeal 11 It's ironic th; , but we don't to offer as this Rising Star, the to sex appeal t< ting book. Not only do< o prospective the ideals this and lists things for, it promot id descriptions objects. These girls m >sed women fit human beings, plies that all th Dall sections of This publicat it consists only well. e don't mean But in the se< are no suggestr but you don't So not only ;now that. The sex appeal wh< ires says it all: place, it is usin; an to be in Reprinting th :re the girls of time and mon a, well, they're department she ihanced by the higher level ar Carolina truly 1 thg editor was disappointing by any standards. Second, in no way does the move to divest represent the feelings of the state's taxpayers. In searching the local and national media, one is hard pressed to find a South Carolina representative, congressman or senator offering any opinion concerning divestment,' or even South Africa in general. The reason is that their constituents aren't asking for n^*i r wnt. rvauici, auuin Carolina laxpayers are more concerned with issues closer to home ? the depressed textile industry, education, economic growth, etc. Also, it is worth emphasizing that USC is an institution of the state, and in this respect any decisions made by the board of trustees should reflect the interests of the states' "taxpayefsT 'W-Divestment is based on idealistic asumptions and has little chance of contributing to the end of apartheid. The first assumption is that if a few universities divest, then others will follow. The second assumption is that if there is widespread university divestment, then American corporations will feel 's winding i $2 watch Andy Puncqn my photo. Actually, all letters to the editor that we receive are bundled up by our staff and placed on the doorstep each evening before we retire. During the night, a family of elves who live in the cement pond facing the Thomas Cooper Library waft past, pick up the letters and carry them back to their watery lodgings, where they assemble the Viewpoint page and leave just enough room for my column. The next morning, I write the thing with the ink of crushed elderberries, using a hollowed rooster claw as a pen, on parchment made of dried bat hide. Third, some people have asked me how I think up column topics. Sometimes the subject is determined by the calendar, in the case of spring break or Halloween. At other times, the subject is suggested by other people, such as Wednesday's fish story. But most Editor in Chief Spotlight Kdilc Ann Farmer Roni lieu Ka Managing Editor Assistant Spoil Tracy Mixson Ed Chamblis. Copy Desk Chief Viewpoint Edit Andy Duncan Amy DelPo Assistant Copy I>esk Chief Sport* Editor Linda Taylor Gregg Lasky News/Business Editor Assistant Spor Marisa Porto Jeff Owens Assistant News Editors Photography I Juliet Nader Joseph Garm Carl Dawson Assistant Phot Ray Gronber louldn't rely i recruiting at a university that has as much one claims it docs has to resort ) attract student athletes. ;s the page make a mockery of university is supposed to stand es the treatment of women as iay be intelligent and personable but the design of the pages imey have are their looks, ion covers women's athletics, as ctions on women's sports, there ye pictures of men. is the athletic department using ire sex appeal should have no g it unevenly. e book would take far too much ey, but next year the athletic uld put its mind and goals on i id publish a book that shows las class. the pressure and leave South Africa altogether. The third assumption ? and even the liberalest of liberals don't believe this one ? is that if American corporations pull out of South Africa, then the Europeans, who have more invested in South Africa, will also leave. The fourth assumption is that if all foreign operations in South Africa are withdrawn, then the South African government will simply decide to end apartheid. While divestment would amount to nothing more than an asterisk of symbolism, the possible repercussions from big business could be quite serious. It's no secret that USC, like most universities, receives a great deal of corporate support in the form of endowments, scholarships, research grants, etc. These financial goodies help keep tuition down. By divesting, USC would essentially be biting the corporate hand that feeds it. For when the time comes for these wealthy corporations to allocate their financial gifts, there will certainly be an incentive for revenge against those specific universities that of the time, I haven't the foggiest notion of what's going to happen when I sit down with rooster claw in hand and start scratching bat. Usually, most of my ideas come from the peanut gallery of onlookers gathered over my shoulder like a distant, ominous fog bank. So it's all their fault. And finally, I'd like to thank all the folks who have talked to me about the column, in person A r Kt; lntfnr a ? ? v/1 wjr ituvi, >j11v,mis acincMcr got cranked up. The knowledge that somebody out there is reading this stuff helps give me incentive on the days when I feel like shucking all my responsibilities and never writing anything but laundry lists again. After all, I'm just the paper. You people are the ink. And remember, this column is supported entirely by your contributions to the Andy Duncan Fund for the Columnar Arts, P.O. Box 345, Batesburg, S.C. 29006. ?r Adviser yne Bill Rogers light Kditor Director i s Bill Clements lor Production Lewis Covington Mark Armstrong Advertising Manager ts Kditor Margaret Michels Editor ?tt ograpl'; 1-xlitor /? " ' ' ' i I I I I I I llll I II | ''' V 1 ^ % J i I m Be All You Can Be m m This photo package appears twice in th chose to divest. This is especially true when one considers all the bad-guy publicity that corporations receive when divesting universities point the finger at them via the media. It's a real cheap shot for some people to claim that this university endorses racism because of its decision not to divest. Rather, the decision was probably made after taking into consideration a number of factors, such as the in tcrests of the people of the state, the feasibility of divestment in ending apartheid, and the possible repercussions of divestment. After considering such factors, the university made a wise decision. Bart Whiteman Political science senior SDI alternative tn Hestmntinn To the editor: There they go again! I strongly disagree with Ms. Eades' estimation of the SDI debate. 1 also attended the debate. ColQnwt Accuracy grou Efforts to make people conform to one particular position or ideology are almost always justified with lofty-sounding rhetoric such as the need to protect our country from subversion or the need to preserve order. i nc iNew Kignt nas just come up with a new excuse for intimidating those who don't agree with its ideology: to protect college students from "misinformed" or "inaccurate" teaching. This fall, a new national organization was founded, called Accuracy in Academia. While AIA claims to "combat the dissemination of misinformation" on our college and university campuses, it epitomizes the New Right's theory of education, in which diverse points of view and the free flow of ideas are seen as un-American activities. AIA's founder, Reed Irvine, has headed up an organization for the past 16 years entitled Accuracy in Media, whose purpose is to intimidate and harass the members of the media who don't agree with his right-wing views. Irvine has built his reputation, and a $1 million organization, on me principle that there is only one "accurate" way for a journalist to cover a story. Now he's decided there's only one "right" way for a professor to teach. AIA is emerging as a formidable institution. It already has volunteers on about 150 campuses across the country. Now AIA has hired as its new director a former New York congressman, John LeBoutillier. When LeBoutillier warns against creeping socialism, he's referring to activities by members of the Democratic Party leadership, like House Speaker Tip O'Neill. According to Slina /ii? s new recruitment book i i ini.li n i i i i lege Republicans made several excellent points, such as the fact that the Strategic Defense Initiative represents the only viable alternative to mutual assured destruction. With SDI, we will at least have a chance if the Soviets, God forbid, choose to launch a first strike. 1 worry even more about a first strike by a radical nation such as Iran or Libya. Libya already has nuclear warheads. All they need is a rocket to launch them with ? and then what? They believe that martyrdom guarantees them sain mooa, so mey aon t care n we strike back! Think about it. Without SDI, we die! Give mankind a chance ? support the Strategic Defense Initiative. I would alstf'Ilke to inforrti Ms. Eades that women play a vital role in the College Republicans. For example, our vice president, secretary (me), finance cochairperson, publicity chairperson and several active members are women. Janice M. Kraft CoIIpop Rpmihli^anc Itortql ip limits excha LeBoutillier, former presidential contender Sen. George McGovern is "scum." When he talks about radical brainwashing, he's talking about what Harvard professors did to him. LdBoutillier contends that leading American journalists and numerous liberal groups are pawns in a Soviet-sponsored "disinformation" campaign, and while in Congress, co-sponsored a bill that would have created a House subcommittee on internal security. Given AlA's founder and new director, it comes as no surprise that this new watchdog group isn't concerned, as the name suggests, with upgrading the quality of education at our nation's institutions of higher learning. It's not interested in encouraging academic freedom or balance in the classroom. Instead, it is designed to intimidate those who are teaching what AIA's first director, Malcolm Lawrence, calls "incorrect information which leads to conclusions that may be distasteful from the point of view of our national heritage or national securitv . . . in?t r * * - J ? plain bad facts." Take, for example, Dr. Mark Reader's political science course at Arizona State University. According to AIA, it constitutes "anti-nuclear propaganda" because it overemphasizes such things as "tears of nuclear war, power and weapons." It isn't "verifiable" facts AIA is worried about, it's "bad" facts. Take uyntnia Mcciintock, an associate professor of political science. Her course syllabus includes U.S. government papers and a textbook put out by the conservative Hoover Institution. But she's on AIA's hit list dhhhhmm RAY GRONBERGfTtw Gwmcock ;*^v-'?>'.. ' ' " ;. * V ' . I A: ' 1 ^ Citizens for Life educate, neip To the editor: I would like to thank The Gamecock for printing Mark Green's guest editorial on Nov. 18. In it, he cited the inaccurate information that Lois Park of Planned Parenthood provided in ^ an earlier edition of The Gamecock and proceeded to correct her statements one by one. For those of you who missed the excellent presentation by national Right to Life President Jack Willke on abortion, fetal development, etc., on Friday, Nov. 8, in Gambrell Hall, you missed a lot of information. However, it should be noted that the Columbia chapter of the South Carolina Citizens for Life has an excellent Speaker's Bureau that is available for presentations free of charge to any church, school, class, group or organization. Brenda Hucks Public information director S.C. Citizens for Life - I W I !V'V' ; I I nge of ideas because she shows a film that is critical of the U.S.-backed Contras in Nicaragua. AIA "logic" dictates that there is only one correct way to teach students about our involvement ^ in Vietnam; there is only one true cause of the Civil War; and there is only one acceptable interpretation of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency. And if a professor doesn't toe AlA's line, he or she will be investigated by AIA, perhaps pressured to change the content of the course or villified in AIA's new national newsletter. And it's not just professors who are being intimidated. Students will wonder if their future might suffer by asking questions or j) revealing their political beliefs and ideas. Such chilling activities are highly inappropriate anywhere. They seem particularly offensive on a university campus, where teaching different viewpoints and interpretations is an integral part of the education process. Any effort to limit the exchange of ideas leads to the "dumbing down" of education as a whole. Those who are trying to keep "biased" facts or "bad" ideas out of the college classroom are following in the tradition of a) those who want to keep the teaching of evolution out of hieh ? ? ?0? school science classes, and who want to censor Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. They have forgotten that the pu.pose of education is to teach students to grapple with complexities and learn how to think. Not, as Reed Irvine would have it, what to think. President Anthony Podesta People for the l) American Way