The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 30, 1986, Page 4, Image 4
Viewpoint
Wednesday, April 30, 1986
Hasty
Eviction of Si?
should have bi
USC's decision to suddenly
evict all members of Sigma Phi
t-.psilon fraternity for damage
done to their lounge is one ot
bad timing and insensitivity.
The decision should have been
postponed.
Early Friday morning after
a five-keg party, six Sigma Phi
Epsilon brothers broke four
windows and knocked out ceiling
tiles in the fraternity's
M c B r y d e Quadrangle
residence hall.
About 4 p.m. Saturday, the
fraternity's charter was revoked;
the 13-room hall was
padlocked, and 26 USC
students were without a home.
A hearing to investigate the
matter has been scheduled, it
the incident must still be investigated,
the university obviously
has made a hasty and
ill-informed decision.
The Gamecock does not
condone vandalism. The
destructive actions of the six
members arc condemnable
and wrong. But 75 people
should not have to suffer the
punishment deserved by a
half-dozen.
Just two weeks before final
exams, during the most intense
part of the semester, the
O II ?
uooaDye ana
many thanks,
a little early
"// is more worthy in the eyes
of (io(J and heller for us us a people
if a writer makes three panes
sharp and funny about the lives
oj \>eese than to make 300 flat
and JIubby about God or the
American people. "
? Garrison Keillor
I his is a farewell column,
although I still have two left. I
want to get my goodbyes out ol
the way early, you see, because I
want my last columns to be doing
honest work and making people
laugh.
But I graduate two weeks from
Saturday, some things need to be
said, and now ? or never ? is
the time to say them.
A year ago, when some doggerel
1 wrote was to be in Portfolio,
the editors asked me for a
o n c - p a r a g r a p h, t h i r d - pe r s o n
autobiography they could tack to
W.v.vrwl ... ?
II iv; VIIU . vv LII, l IJ V tl l l C 111 J Jl IU lulldense
my lite into four sentences
depressed me ? not because my
life wouldn't fit, but because 1
didn't really need the fourth
sentence.
1 was proud of the third
sentence, though: "He has never
been anywhere, but he knows an
awful lot of people anyway."
Since I wrote that, I've continued
to meet people. But many
more people have met me,
although I've never seen them.
I hey met me through my
columns.
A n/l Mm/* t'i t /I/mi
to write one (Ins semester
whet Met I was before a computer
terminal in the office, or betore ;i
notebook in the library, or betore
a legal pad out in the back yard
with (tic mockingbirds screaming
oaths at me ? I thought about
the person who might be reading
the thing for the lirst time, who
didn't know me from Adam's
house cat and had no reason to be
impressed.
I fhonuht' K tine
Send us ?
l'.xpress your likes and clislik
ter to the editor or a guest edi
I etters must he typed, doul
more than MH) words. Includ
dress, telephone number and
reached lor verification.
I oilers also should include
student, staff or community
editorials must he limited to
writers must come to the nev
picture taken.
ima Phi Fnsilnn
, - ... ?s
sen postponed
evicted members are now forced
to deal with a doubly
stressful situation
If the university's main goal
is truly the academic welfare
and well-being ot its students,
it seems any punishment
against Sigma Phi 1-psilon
would have come after the
semester was over.
Because the eviction comes
after housing sign-up,
members without rooms for
the fall semester may be forced
to seek off-campus, and
possibly more expensive,
housing.
The administration mamtains
that the disciplinary action
was severe because the incident
wasn't reported to
university officials the next
day. Is the fraternity being
punished for \andalism 01 tor
its unresponsiveness?
This could have been a
situation that was quickly and
fairly studied, corrected and
forgotten. The fraternity could
have been renrim.-mdi-d :tnd
fined for damages aiul the
guilty students kicked out ol
the liaternity. Instead it lias
created undue stress, bitter
resent m ent ait d j.' ross
unfairness.
Andy
Duncan
l\ inteiesimg to any ol those
strangers out I here* Is ii astunm
as I can make it'.' Is H worth the
three or four or five minutes
they'll have to spend reading it'.'
And most importantls: How
good an introduction is tins'.' I'll
likely never meet mosi <>! these
people in person Is tins column
a pood enough substituteU
any ol nw in it''
I hat explains uh\ I spent set
many hours this M-mrstci paunj?
around like Hamlet's dadd\.
moaninp and rendm;.' tu\
garments ,md t:\inr i?> think i>! ,i
new topic, ,i new |oke, .1 new ap
proach, a new pie^e ot me.
Hut the lahoj panr. hccarnc
worthwhile eveiv tmn- miiuc pio
lessor 1 didn't know eineim'd
I torn his classroom.
wr sour- waitress i tiicui i kii"a
came over lo the table.
Or some hicwlist ! didn't hnw
came il(?w n t he sidew alk
And said to me " 11< \. I tcallv
liked the column
I was even happiei wt;en
friends 01 ici.Uives told tin ihe
same thin)' Heeause il '.mi i m
please iht'/n, vm. v.ir. pie.ise
an\ hod\
Well, enouyh -.etmoii I h.un s
lor ie;tdmi> <iil l!us Mope \mi like
I lie ne.M two columns Mope\ou
don't forget me too smi'u ;t11?.-r
I in f'one.
And it vv .is ,iii h> no! to hi' > a
you even it out relationship
has been a trilie <>rie sided
a letter
es b\ v*riling a let f he (tunicah
tonal. let lei S .1 II|(Mil11
^le spaced and no onl\ t>c wiihhc
e your name, at! pseudonyms aie
where you tan he
whether >011 .ire a /In (mmcc/xl
member ( mesi and guesi ediioi
500 words, and reluined. Seni
ksrooin lo have a (imneioek, |)ra
hi.i S ( 2l)?A)H
1 The dustierDspartment I
i Want's this man barred I
I from the US- because I
Ke allegedly knew about I
I Nazi war crimes.
Km PKj ^llokay...
I ILXS as iongas ^
I xnJ dc&sn't mess
I
Letters to the
Violence not answer,
causes more problems
I o the editor:
I his letter is addressed to whoever spraypainted
the "Kill A Hippie" sign on the
Russell House patio last week. As Joan Rivers
would say: grow up!
Violence causes twice as many problems as
ii solves, and totalitarian thinking shows a
definite lack of imagination. And imagination
is exactly what the human race must have to
survive in ihis nuclear age. We cannot afford
to take (tie easy way out by bombing our
enemies. I hat is a short-term answer which
really verves to worsen the global situation in
the long run.
I hose who try to stifle people who are willing
to work for peace are really cutting their
own throats. I hope oppression is not what
this country is about. The type of thinking
which acts to silence all opposition and make
everyone conform to one political (or
religious, 01 social) ideology is narrowminded,
and very dangerous to the American
way of life.
Mindless militarism is not going to stop the
spread of communism ? in fact, it may
u.. I i i i . -
imumic anu iiutKc certain areas more open to
communism. Hey, Uncle Sam needs you to
think' I Ins is a democracy, and some ol us
hippies want to keep ii that way.
Amy Brown
Lnglish, sophomore
U.S. should question
why it is attacked
I o !Ik' editor:
Well, the I niicd States linally attacked
I I his. as Mr. Ciawford writes in his letter
on April IX, is something that was anticipated
bin may have happened sooner than
everyone expected. I he United States cannot
he hi.nned loi responding to actions that
threaten the American citi/ens or properties.
Any counti y that has been attacked in any
was has the right to defend and retaliate. The
lype ol retaliation depends on the people who
an in power In this case, Mr. Reagan decided
to respond militarily.
Ml <>I tin s is based on the assumption that
I ib\a li.is been responsible lor the attacks. Of
outse, the { nited States, like any other coun
' i v, lias to expect sonic kind of counterattacks,
which wc can see happening around
i he w (?i Id
Wc .an devote pages of newspapers and 20
i>ui ot minutes ol the television news
teports to expressing opinions about whether
what the I uited States did was right or not.
I Ins will not solve the problem of terrorism.
What I have not seen so far is someone who
would ask whv a group ol people would resort
to tcrionst activities. ( ould it be that those
terrorists see terrorism as the only means to
B?? Na
SC Press
Fall 1
Krtilor in
A will prnil no more than two Munui J
l>\ the same writer. Names will Mann|<inK
, , . . . Ivri Row
kl ny special exception, and
not allowed. ..
(op> I
/ uuht h
Assistant
I tescises the nwlit to edit letters Muddy A
mis. both ol winch will not be Nrws Kdi
(I letters to: I ditor, The Juhet N'
wei A, Russell House, ( oluin- //w/mI/J
i\ih i a h
Question5 I?ao*'^
{ v**%t??4 - * '
\ editor
reach lo the people and ask tor their help?
There is no doubt they are choosing the
wrong approach. Hut can vse ask ourselves:
Could it be terrorism is a reaction to the sufferings
that those people have seen? Could it
be that the United States is being blamed for
mar sunenngs; is ttic i micti Mates responsible,
at least in part, lor their sufferings?
Maybe we should control our emotions for
a second and think rationally about this very
important matter. Maybe instead of spending
time to make a sign asking to "Kill
Khadafy," one should tiy to find out what
the United Slates might have done wrong that
has caused the terrorists to resort to these inhumane
acts.
Mohsen Mohammadi
Engineering, graduate student
Pro-Israeli letter was
flawed, student says
1 o the editor:
I found in Randall Krawcheck's letter in
reply to tu\ letter conceining the Arab-Israeli
conflict numerous mistakes 1 would like to
correct.
1 irst. Mr. Kraweheck says "the problem
does not start with ttie Palestinians. I he problem
is the Palestinians " He goes tin to say
that the Palestinians i el used the U.N. partitioning
plan of Palestine but he did not explain
why. So, I would like to shed some light
on that plan since he wants to gel into some
historical facts.
In 1947 the United Nations adopted the
partitioning plan that envisaged two states: a
Jewish state and an Arab state, with
Jerusalem and the area around it CORPUS
SI PARA I UM. I hat is a I ;itin phrase meaning
something separate, or having its own
status. When I he United Nations adopted the
partitioning plan, the lews in Palestine owned
only 5.6 percent ol Palestinian territory. The
Palestinian Arabs owned between 92 and 93
percent And the other property was owned
hv 11 \ r#?i ii nr? r c. ? t ( luir/ i, ,v( u,
iwi v?f,uvi > Hiv. x illliv.ll \JI 1\ imitl, I VJJ
example.
Just imagine two communities. One is one
million, and the other is 6(X),(X)0. I he one
million own l)2 percent ot the territory. Yet
the partitioning plan allocated the Jews 54
percent ot Palestine, and the rest was
allocated lot the Arahs.
I hat created a very unbalanced position, a
very unfair position, which drove the Arahs
to refuse the pardoning plan. I hey could not
bear it. They thought they should hold to
nun luiiiiuiy iv) set"uit* men ngnis even li
I hey had to liyht.
Mr. Krawcheck j/oes on to say, "As for
American-Arab relationships, well, it's amazing
we even bother to talk to them." My comment
is that you are very naive when it comes
to politics. He, then, relcrs to the Iranians as
Arabs and this is another mistake. I he Iranians
are Moslems, not Arabs.
Association ThOam
985 * XIVIiI1
( hief Business hdilor Cholo
\ l>orto Maria hu/us Ray (
hdllor Wwpoinl I dilor ,\ss?sli
( art Dawson Sean
Spotlight Idilor Senior
/ d ( hum bliss / )u vie
Assistant Spotlight I diiors /ow>/?
Sn;,hcn vie J' H
<'?? ?'*'I'aUK k ./run '
Iff ore . t t , r.a b
Sporls Ml tor
'?.r John Hovelle
Assistant Sporls Kdiior Shun
News I diiors jvff Shrewsbur v Amy
]urd Duicliook l.diior Rom
'eOunxton Laurie Rhoden Joan
?>t
?bes {his current j
resident of Hawaii I
l know anything about ?
4 "-'no wunder>?
Then, he refers to ligypt as the country that
"jerked us around with the Achille 1 auro incident."
Mr. Krawcheck, let me tell you that
ligypt did its best to save the lives of the innocent
people on that ship, while Israel, your
"real friend," when secretly asked by the
U.S. to answer the hijacker's demands of
releasing some Palestinian prisoners, said
through its foreign minister that it was
America's problem, not theirs, and that they
had nothing to do with it. I hope you don't
have a selective memory!
Mr. Krawcheck goes on making mistakes
and jumps into the wrong conclusion, saying
"just because you arc Palestinian does not
make a bit of difference." Well, 1 am not
Palestinian. 1 come from the country you _
think "icrked vou around " Our dncs not S
have to be Palestinian to sympathize with the
Palestinian causc.
Finally, Mr. Krawcheck mistakenly believes
that I take terrorism to be excusable, which is
totally wrong. In my letter I said "no one accepts
terrorism, be it against Americans, Libyans
or Israelis."
Mahmoud Salem
Comparative literature,
graduate student
Investment policy
negates donations
To l he editor:
As a graduating senior who lias been lucky
enough to "land" a dream job with travel,
benefits, use of my creative and human m
resource talents, and good money m a field V
that I enjoy, 1 could have been easily persuaded
to meet the Senior Challenge, lortunately,
1 realized that the money would be used by the
Education F oundation, l or those ol you who
have not followed the questions of I JSC's
poucy 10 uivest luncls in Souili Alrica,
perhaps 1, an enlightened student, can relresh
your memories.
The education foundation chose 10 ignore
the pressures of a concerned student com
munity and keep funds invested in South
Africa. I do not feel that I need to embarrass
this board of private trustees by enclosing the ^
actual statistics of the university's portfolio
investment in South Africa, for they are very
much aware of the uncomfortable position
they insist on placing US( in. Yet, when it is a
matter of my controlling the ways in which
my money is funded at this institution, 1 will
be damned if 1 will contribute to this policy of
continued ignorance, l or other enlightened
students of this university, I would advise that
VOU rlnvr*lv ?!><' 1
, } *,,v 1/v)iiviv-1 iiuii iiic r.uucation
Foundation rests upon before taking the
Senior Challenge.
Leslie Miller
Art History / History senior
ecock | 1
grjiph) hdltor Kuth\ / rwis
ironberx I racy Mixsoti
*nl Photograph) Kdilor / red Stvppi'
Km/it Ad>isrr
Photographers Hill Royyrs
1 Dot son Director
h Garnett, Jr. Hill ('lenients
r Urporirrs Production
'ohun l.ewis Covinytim
ioerke Mark Armstrong
">H Coste AthrrlisitiK Miihu^it
Delf'o Mar nurd Xfii he Is g
Hl'U Kuyne Sliu'enl Advertising Manager
ne Korth Kctli / 'reus
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