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Viewpoint Wednesday, March 19, 1986 g Speak up Student voict ston nuts, tn J- "/ A S.C. House committee voted to exempt USC from a two percent budget cut that could lead to a tuition in crease. But unless the Senate concurs, the university may lose even more of its dwindling state support. This is something South Carolina cannot afford to do. USC students and the state would both benefit if the legislature joined the House Ways and Means Committee in exempting higher education from the cuts. Oi-A - - ? oiaie coneges ana universities are catalysts for economic progress. Without adequate resources, however, this purpose cannot be served. A university cannot prosper in a negative environment. USC President James Holderman called the UmVerSitt/ O lj a wi uitai pcuinci ill ine capacity to attract industrialization, but said legislators, through their actions, consider USC "not as important as we should be as a higher educational institution." rrancis Borkowski, USC provost and vice president for academic affairs, said the lack of financial support shows the state places little importance on higher education. In 1978, state funds made up 75 percent of USC's Do you want to ensure that j afford to spend any more mom to stop another tuition increase': express your opinion. Fill out the form below. Sen Dennis, chairman, Senate Fin Building. Columbia. S.C. 2920 I^v/'ews, senators will listen. j 1 disagree with the two perce I ff the cut is allowed, I will fac I USC student and as a voter, I ui | all other state colleges and uni1 , We are fighting for our edu< I 1 ^umv I | Major/Class I Address | I i Letters to No good excuse for any suicides To the editor: It seems like almost every tini< I watch the news or turn th< newspapers, I read that suicide: occur among teenagers mon often than adults. It really angers me to se< teenagers and adults taking theii own lives for stupid reasons. Statistics show that suicide i: the 10th leading cause of death: in /Miicnca, !>auiiu iui lAHicgc age deaths, and third for adoles cent deaths. Children under 1( are recorded as "accidenta deaths." By my observations, suicid< occurs when empty people decid* by themselves that there is n( reason for them to continut living. Young people must keep ir mind that God does not give up The Gamecock needs yoi press your likes and dislikes ter to the editor. Letters must be typed, dot a maximum length of 300 w include the writer's name, ac number and where the write for verification. Letters should also incli I writer is a student, statr member. Guest editorials m 1 ?s could help n ^ m H ition increase budget. That figure has dropped to 50 percent. A recent 14 percent increase in enrollment should have been met with a 38 percent funding increase, but instead the funding was decreased. This comes at a time when USC students are paying nigner luition tnan students at other southern schools, according to a study presented to the state's Commission on Higher Education. Federal grants, the Venture Fund and scholarship grants are ways USC has found to A.' a. 1 * 1 P - counter mc iacK 01 siaie research funding. A $100 million reserve fund created by the General Assembly could aid the university in advancement and f research. If the fund is not used, it could discourage future contributions to a facility that j generates economic growth in I ; the state. Legislators have force-fed this budget cut to all state organizations, but this time, they have gone too far. If students care about themselves, their education and their future, they must take a stand. The only way to do that is to write to the Senate Pinanoa P ? A I11UI1VV V/Wlllllllll^v. >our education continues? Can you j 'y for that education? Do you want 7 If so, you, as a USC student, must j d it to The Honorable Rembert C. , ance Committee, Gressette Office j 2. If enough students express their nt budget cut for higher education, j e yet another tuition increase. As a J Q rge you to vote for making USC and j l/prcifr?vpmrst frAm :ation. Who are you fighting for? | ^ n I I 0 | k I I w ! c ! . > the editor - s on us, so we should not give up si on ourselves. In spite of this, a there are still a number of reasons f] why teenagers and adults commit d suicide for their trivial, foolish ii conclusions. ii 1 say trivial because there is no ; reason good enough to cause o ; them or anyone to take God- d s given, supported and sustained tl ; life into his hands. Regardless of p whether it is finished or not, g ; suiciac is a damnable transgrcsr sion in the eyesight of God. n You make two mistakes when d s you commit suicide. You have n s taken a life that was not your a own ? especially if you are a a child of God ? and then you ) have determined your eternal fate f 1 or destination Fr?ro#?t nnr npnu u . 0~. ?? U excuses: God will not allow you o : to take your life and be saved. 1< : If and since he made you, he tl > has a purpose for your living, and j you are to discover that worth 1< and give it in service to God. c t i Kenneth Winns c > Free-lance writer and artist t lr opinions. Ex- 500 words and tl by writing a let- ture. Photos can The Gamecock ible-spaced, with letters a month ords. They must will only be wit Idress, telephone and pseudonyms r can be reached The Gamecoa letters and guest < ide whether the returned. Send or community Gamecock, Drav ust be limited to umbia, S.C. 2921 ?- -r ft , . ?JeanLafitU Pladdb Don't tell the F( H Tim Curry 1 Stan photographer I got burned at the beach in more ways than ne. For most people, spring break was a chance 3 get away from classes, get out and party, fhich is basically what I had in mind. I'm ow asking myself, "Was it all worth it?" Traditionally, students flock to the beaches f southern Florida, and being the traditional ind of guy that I am, I decided to join them. First stop: Tallahassee, Fla., where I stayed rittl OAmn frlnri/lo 1 rim jumi, uikiius wiiu uitiuiuiiaiiy aiicnu lasses at Florida State. Now Tallahassee isn't reenage pregnai Out-of-staters historically have had to visit outh Carolina while on vacation or study at tate universities and colleges to "see that not 11 of us go barefoot and laze around on the ront porches of unpainted houses amid hot, usty tobacco fields, chewing snuff and wearig straw hats. You know ? the oF Hee Haw nage. Fortunately, the Palmetto State seems to be n the verge of changing such notions. Recent levelopments of high-tech industries within he state are making South Carolina a good dace to be for people who enjoy watching rowinc skvlines and an influx of neonle. Nevertheless, socio-economic problems relain in the Palmetto State. A higher-thanesirable unemployment rate, high infant lortality and overcrowded prisons are ex mples of the problems confronting us as we pproach 1990. These problems, to a large extent, are just a ew of the long-term results of another proilem, the significance of which has been long verlooked by political and educational iaders irt South Carolina, as well as across he United States: teenage pregnancy. The time has come for us to take a serious 30k at this blight on our culture and to ask lurselves what we can do about it. Sex educaion is the answer. If the word "sex" offends ?r scares some people, we can call the solution o the nrohlem "familv nlannino erinratinn " he writer may submit a pic- km not be returned. : will print no more than two 'jjjj by the same writer. Names hheld by special exception y* are not allowed. Asjj, k reserves me rignt to edit Bud editorials. Letters will not be letters to: Editor, The J",u ver A, Russell House, Col- //"/ }8. Pau lO wabthc most succ pate of them alL? eafd Heru^y Lo"gc Morgan 5llve irt I ondorriiln nr fit. bauuciuaic ui exactly southern Florida, but I did manage to t get a burn and get "cut off" at a local college 1 beer garden called The Phyrst ? pronounced "The First." These events were a hip insnirji- c ? "-o ?-r** m c tion for me, because I was ready then to party < with the "big guys" in Fort Lauderdale. ? This illusion was shattered the minute I arrived at the Lauderdale strip and looked i around. The "big guys" were, in fact, not in c Lauderdale; rumor had it that they went t down to the Keys or Daytona Beach. i Fort Lauderdale was nothing more than > pandemonium fueled by warm beer and drink specials. I then began to realize that the majority of students vacationing there were ( disillusioned and felt as if thev had to live un ' to the reputation that adhered to Fort I Lauderdale. j But I could do little other than make the best of the situation. This situation included j $5 cover charges, warm Miller draft and crowd scenes surpassed only by the New York < City subway lines at rush hour. < THa rrt in ?* '- 1 1? 1 " ...v iviviiaiiis in me tii tu uuviousiy naa I grown to hate college students, without whom they all would be unemployed. This hatred 1 was demonstrated by the jacked-up prices and \ evil stares I encountered daily. I believe their \ motto was, "Let's milk them for all they're j worth." My beloved McDonald's even short- 1 changed us five McNuggcts. Even the local police apparently had a < grudge against students. While walking along < the barrier?laced strip, I stopped to say hello ; ncies retard stai Our state legislators need to make education about "where babies come from" an essential part of the public education process in this state. We can no longer afford to listen to far right-wingers who say that teaching our young people how to avoid pregnancy is the same as promoting premarital sex. Teenagers don't need anyone's permission to have sex. They're having it, period. The first step toward reducing not only unplanned pregnancies but also sexual activity among teenagers is to get sex out of the closet and into the classroom. We have to face the fact that sex education in the home is not working. Teenagers watch television every day. Contraceptive commercials in good taste need to be commonplace. The advertisements needn't glamorize sex. An informative, educational approach is the answer. The reasons for teenagers to wait to have sex should be a major theme in these commercials. The problem of teenage pregnancy is not going to go away until we come to grips with it. The time is now. We cannot afford to wait until another generation of children is raised by children. The longer we ignore the problem, the bigger it is going to become. Americans are ill-informed when it comes to sex, and until we realize this, we will con- i tinue to be faccd with unplanned babies, many of whom will grow up with the same ig i?- i Chief Business F.dltor jO J. Porto Maria Fratus aging Fxlilor Viewpoint Kditor Rowe Carl Dawson Spotlight Kditor i l>esW Chief Mary Jo Miller In Tnvlnr - -- - Assistant Spotlight Edlto itant Copy Desk Chltf fid Chambliss dy Moore Sports Editor s Editor John Boyette ?l Nader Assistant Sports Editor ilant News Editors Jeff Shrewsbury Millard Photography Editor la WethinRton Ray Gronberg :ess?uL John Ferd Marcos ar*i his Trained inc I IAIQC horo i|iu vvug iiuig o an old acquaintance. Not five seconds ater, two police officers with big clubs and 357-caliber Magnums said, and I quote, "We ;et paid to stand here, you don't, so move ilong before we take you in." So we moved done rather nuirklv :hair two stories into the pool. I guess 1 told lim, huh? After making myself a fugitive, 1 became a efugee at The Elbo Room, where 1 went jnderground for five hours. I had a pretty ;ood time there, and I even managed to enter and win a cigarette rolling contest. It's too oad I don't smoke. Nonetheless, my last day in Fort Lauderdale finally came to an end, and I smiled secretly Knowing tnat l would never go back. I advise you all to do the same. te's progress B.' . 'H| * " * matt Woolsey Copy editor norance their teenage parents have. Generation after generation of povertystricken children, who know neither how to avoid pregnancy nor why they should want to, will perpetuate the neverending cycle that can only be halted if our political leaders realize one of their primary targets should be preventing teenage pregnancy. Assistant Photography hdilor , Sean Keefer Adviser j Bill Rogers IMrector Rill Clptnentc r Production Lewis Covington Mark Armstrong Advertising Mnnager ? . I m: ..L. ..!.. iviurfturci (nunm Student Advertising Manager Kelli Freas \ U, T -"V That was bad, but I think my worst experience occurred the day I was checking out >f the hotel. Having concluded that we had an rxtra guest staying in our room one night, the nanager of the Tropic Kay Hotel decided he vas going to keep our $100 deposit. When we argued the point with him, he :alled the police and said "kids" in his lobby ?vere disturbing the peace. Within minutes, 20 lo be exact, two squad cars showed up looking for us. With my camera and suitcase in hand, I barely managed<U>,e*flape,rthe long arm of the law. Remembering the night before, I was kind :>f fflad I had thrnwn a Trnnir kfav Hor^l lauin