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|||m i nrmr-rrninnrT WJBWmIP>IBH?WWMWl|j 1 V g Viewpoint GAMEC Friday. April 11, 1986 Raw deal Students misii number of gra Graduation is supposed to be the zenith of a student's college years. Some have made plans months or years in advance for celebrating the event. But this academic high point has been tainted by anger because of an insensitive oversight on the part of university officials. The registrar's office sent a letter to graduating students in March stating they could invite whomever they pleased to commencement. Now, a new letter is being drafted infornii n g students that the "promise" of unlimited tickets has been limited to only four Graduating seniors, however, read the first letter and proceeded to invite guests. They have a short time to uninvitc some of those guests. This could involve some hurl feelings on the part of those uninvited or not invited at all because of space limitations. Instead of springing a lastminute limit, university officials should have looked for Excuse me, may I protest? Prettv oleasp? f I " In Monday's issue of The Gamecock was this interesting account of campus activism, 1986 vintage: ! "USC will squelch the construction of a South African 'shantytown' on The Horseshoe, but may allow the cardboard and plywood structures to be built on another part of campus, a university official said Sunday." Later, a member of the USC | Free South Africa Alliance said | the university couldn't stop the \ project "if we go through the proper channels and tell them what we're doing by following the rules." To that end, the group planned to file a requesf with the Student Affairs office. Nov. the point of putting i shacks on The Horseshoe, as 1 understand it, is to protest USC's < investments with South African companies. Asking USC for per- i mission to do such a thing I beforehand certainly is a novel approach to civil disobedience. If this attitude had prevailed in | the old days, how would history i have been different? ; PARIS, 1789 (AF) ? A possi- I ble "ugly incident" at the Bastille was averted todav when the prison commander reminded an ( unruly crowd of about 900 people i that they couldn't assemble i without a permit. r ''Sucre bleu! How could we 1 forget such a thing?" said Louis "Louie" Clouseau, one of the t leaders of the mob. "Poor plann- I ing, I suppose. Boy, do we have c escargot on our faces now." j The King could not be reached \ for comment, but Cousteau t "Salmon" Mousse, royal assis- t tant vice president for rabble af- 1 fairs, said His Highness had nothing against peaceful protests v of His policies, so long as they t were ineffective and didn't t amount to anything. v f *? " JVIitSS., 1890 (1 (I PI) ? Local eccentric and bug expert Henry David Thoreau o paid his poll tax yesterday, put- 1( Send us a | Express your likes and dislikes b} ter to the editor or a guest editoru I .el tors in ust be typed, doublc-s| more than 300 words. Include yo dress, telephone number and wher reached for verification. l etters also should include whet student, staff or community me ; editorials must be limited to 500 writers must come to the newsrot picture taken. nformed about iduation tickets an alternative place for com 111 c ii c e in c n i ce r c ni onics. Williams-Brice Stadium, for example, would be an exeellent place. With the capacity to hold about 72,(XX) people, it has ample room to seat graduates, guests and dignitaries. Costs for the ceremony would not increase because university-owned WilliamsBrice would not have to be rented. And, finally, the stadium holds many fond memories of college days gone by for many students. Some have started circulating a petition to move the ceremony to the stadium. They think, rightly, that they deserve a say in the matter. All seniors, regardless of their plans to attend the ceremony, should support their peers in this endeavor. Everyone should keep in mind they too might be in the same situation someday, and l they should let officials know the campus is united against L the poor planning of this event. I Andy ' Duncan a ____J ti o ting an end to rumors that he i, would go to jail rather than sup- a port slavery and American in- j volvement in the Mexican War. "1 went in there with the in:, 11tion of throwing their bill in their races," Thorcau told reporters utside the assessor's office. "But they read me the law and old me I could get into bin trou- f Die. What was I to do?" ^ Thoreau said lie's returning to _ Walden Pond to rethink his C philosophy. "Who knows, naybe slavery isn't so bad after ill," he said, scratching his head. 'I mean, if it was, it wouldn't be ri egal, would it?" A tl BIRMINGHAM, Ala., 1963 I AP) ? Plans for a civil rights C( narch through this city have been lc ibandoned because of a ban on acial demonstrations, protest * eaders said today. C( "This doesn't mean we've SI ?iven up the struggle," said the Y <ev. Martin I uther King Jr., 1,1 :hief organizer of the march. "It list means the movement will >ursue other, legal means. We an accomplish the same objecives without breaking any local aws." S! lirst on the agenda, King said, _ sill be the construction of card- |J >oard voting booths to dramatize he plight of Birmingham's black oters. "That's subject to the city's pproval, of course," King said. dii 'We're also planning to write wr >ne or two really eloquent at t :tters." aci letter r'writing a let- The Gamecock w il. letters a month by t paced and no only be withheld ur name, ad pseudonyms arc not e you can be her you are a The Gamecock res mber. Ciuest and guest editorials, ' words, and returned. Send I >m to have a Gamecock, Drawer bia, S.C. 29208. e i i ' Letters to the Nude sunner defends self-expression rights To the editor: This letter is in response to the "Topless unner offends resident" article, which ap>cared in the April 7 Gamecock. I respect this icrson's ability to speak out; however, what listurbs me is the fact that this person conuses a simple, harmless act of self-expression nd self-determination with an all-out attack n Ciod and a pornographic act. The article said,"We are against all forms >f pornography, it leads only to destruction t ? 1 r- r ^ ? uu a imc irom uod . . . Our suggestion to he sunbathcrs is to . . . put on enough lathing suit that you would wear in front of he living God Himself." I would like to make a few comments. I elieve we were created in the image of God, nd any harmless form of self-expression cknowlcdges our gratitude for God's ereaon of life. 1 think the labeling of a simple act f nude sunbathing as a pornographic act is a it too much. This article is dedicated to nyone who has felt a sudden urge to be free, ifferent, and dare to walk in the sun. The nude sunbathcr Name withheld by request Nothing only came in is a result of first sin To the editor: I'd suggest that "Name Withheld" should rcheck Genesis. Scripture indicates that dam and Eve put on coverings only after icy had sinned. When I stand before "the iving Ciod Himself," I hope to have returnJ to such a state of gracc that I shall no >nger need to be covcred. .S. Thank you so much for your excellent average and review of our production of liakcspeare's greatest tragedy, King Lear. our support of campus cultural events is uderwhelming. Gary Heilsberg Theatre and speech, graduate opless sunbather not eing 'pornographic' To the editor: In response to the letter of April 17 regarlg the topless sunbather, we feel that the iter exhibits an ignorant and self-righteous itudc. We don't condone the sunbather's lion, but it is not "pornographic." | Kdilor in ( h ill print no more than two Marisa J. F he same writer. Names will iVfanaK'nx K* Jen Howe by special exception, and allowed. ( op> lyrsk( S Linda Tayl< Assistant Co| erves the right to edit letters Muddy Mac both of which will not be *e*s *fV,0.r e.lcrs to: Edilor, The ^ " KUS5C" "ou$e- Colllm- HaTMillartl Paula Weth BHBflmnnHHmHniB SEE. IT SURE WAS NICE o a* mike deaver W--.-WMTP|DHESAY ALi Webster's defines pornography as "the depiction of erotic behavior intended to cause sexual excitement." Was this the sunbather's intention? We doubt it. Perhaps it was something as simple as the elimination of tan lines. Nudity 1C nAt .I nui iiwgid|;iiy. God created our bodies in his image. We created clothes to protect our bodies from the elements. That day, the elements weren't particularly hostile. To the living God himself, are we not naked in the true sense of the word? In support of more stringent support of obscenity laws, we believe that the offender should have her breasts removed. An eye for an eye? Lighten up! If you've seen one, you've seen 'em both. Micheal Andrews Information Systems, senior Murray Baroody Economics, senior Alan Crim Psychology, senior Protest restrictions hinder free assembly To the editor: As I sit here writing, two of my fellow graduate students are preparing to spend the night in a cardboard shanty built to protest USC's support of apartheid in South Africa. For their efforts in trying to promote an awareness that apartheid is still the incredibly oppressive system it has always been, these guys will have to face charges for sleeping out without a $5-an-hour guard in the Russell House quad. What a farce! It's amazing how petty the administration can be. The message here was: "Sure, have your protest, but have it someplace where you're not visible, and end it ~ -1 ai o o ciock so we can go home and forget about it." So my friends will face the Student Court because they chose not to pander to the neat guidelines for a USC protest. Originally the USC Free South Africa Alliance wanted to put the shanty on The Horseshoe, a much more visible and symbolic place. The administration, however, would have none of that because The Horseshoe is reserved for sunbathers, putting floats together for the Homecoming game, and important stuff like that. It is a shame when a school that is supposed to be encouraging students to use their minds, and stand up for what they think is morally right, resorts to insulting the intelligence of its students. The agreement to let the Alliance protest at Russell House was a token gesture. They knew nothing would come of it, and later they could point to that and say, "We let you have your demonstration, now stop bothering us." Well, it's not that easy. ief Business Kdilor Photogra 'orto Maria / 'ratits Ray Grc lilor Viewpoint Kdilor Assist nut Carl Dawson Sean Ke. Senior Pf hief Spotlight Kdilor David D >r Ed Cham bliss Intonh t * l>> Desk < hief Assistant Spotlight Editors re Stephen Guilfoyle Senior K< Patrick Jean ^ Rohc r Sports Editor Art Boei vs Editors John Hoyetie Amy De Assistant Sports Editor Roni Ret I nut on Jeff Shrewsbury Joanne I UMINUM SIDING, R. PRESIDENT. ^aMDiii^ * : ,'.: -- /v'' ,-') 1 ?? Students have a right to voice their opinions. The need for a permit to do this is ridiculous. My friends were willing to sign waivers releasing USC of any responsibility for their safety, but this was denied. The constitutional right of free assembly is being challenged here. The rules campus organizations must follow have been carefully calculated to squelch any prolonged protest. USC is investing in a system that in no way is compatible with democracy. What's more, it is a poor investment ? actually losing money the past two years. For some reason, the administration has been very reluctant to say exactly why they continue to keep money in South Africa. Whatever the reasons, they cannot possibly be strong enough to outweigh the moral victory that the university could a score by divesting. It was the intention of my friends to make a personal statement to this effect. All they did was sleep on the hard ground in a cardboard box that many SouOi Africans would envy. They bent the organizational rules a little, but it was to prove that they were not able to forget the pain and suffering in South Africa. It will be interesting to see what kind of punishment is handed out to students who have a conscience. f Stephen Olausen History, graduate Last minute limiting of tickets poorly done To the editor: I Silting here in total frustration, I watch my roommate cry. Why? Because a time that should be joyful and heartfelt is becoming more of a trial. She is an out-of-state student who after four years and $25,00() is being told that she can only invite four people to the graduation that she has worked so hard for. She has resorted to calling seniors and offering to pay for their unneeded tickets (hasn't she paid enough at this university?) I understand completely how angry she is and thus was motivated to write this letter. Is there no other way that the university can distribute the tickets? Once informing seniors that there were "unlimited tickets," the college should stand by that statement. Plans have been made, plane tickets bought; and all for naught? Granted, the university has set aside tickets for faculty and dignitaries: however it k th?> student's graduation and should be treated as such. Judi Skilton HRTA, sophomore phy Kditor Kuthy Lewis tnberg Tracy Mixson Photography Kditor Fred Steppe ?fer Adviser lotonraphers Bill Rogers otson Director jamett, Jr. BUI Clements Production 'Por,m Lewis Covington Mark Armstrong 'kv Advertising Manager IPo Murguret Michels j Kavne ?? 1J?** iisiuh rviunager I Korth Kelli Freas I ( ) IM^?W?M?MM???????? " '