University of South Carolina Libraries
Viewpoint ^^^y, September 9' 1987 THE GAMECOCK 5 AMY DELPO Editor in Chic 5 STEPHEN GUILFOYLE Cor BRENDA BLYTH News Edi HAL MILLARD Viewpoint 1 9 Gamernrk TAMARA WILLIS Features w WAYNE WASHINGTON Sp i KEITH JONES Photography j ROBB LANE Graphics Edito PAULA WOJTOWICZ Bea Calamity Florida's new gun law v 1A7lJJ MX"*/ ^ /* " ^ yyin nui riCip [JUllCC SMJp a Florida is one of the fastest growing states in th ^ The southern part of the state, namely Miami, i distinguished by clashes among police, blacks, Cubans. Florida also has one of the highest crime rates ii According to the FBI, Dade County, which include' the highest violent-crime rate this past year with crimes ner 100 OOO mciH^ntc A new law, however, will soon go into effect to 1 rampant crime in the state. It's not tougher jail sent fenders, and it's not legislation placing strict guide! dgun ownership. No, Florida's answer is more gur It will become legal for residents to carry concea next month after an exceptionally popular bill houses of the legislature earlier this year. The sad the law is that Floridians overwhelmingly accepted The requirements of the law state that an applk Q21, a Florida resident, and take an approved course. The applicant must also not have been co felony or known to be a habitual user of drugs an These requirements are not nearly as tough as the The law itself is regressive and a throwback to a Wil tality. It's the kind of law that will get people kille Residents say they are tired of being victims. Nol be a victim, but being able to carry a concealed we* right that is so easily handed out. This is a law of ig out-dated thinking. Even calling it a law is a con terms, because in fact it is a short-cut to carnage parently, few people in Florida understand. Marion Hammer, executive director of Unified S Florida, a National Rifle Association affiliate, said are already out there ? the new law just makes it law-abiding citizen already carrying outside the lav What? A 'Maw-abiding citizen already carrying ^Plaw?" That rlnpcn't maL- t* con co There is no defense for this law. It's a knee-jerk i problem with no easy answer. As for our right to be; argument is moot. Guns are one thing, but h< another. They are good for one thing and one thing ing human beings. For that reason, the law sh examined. Even law enforcement agencies such as the Fit Chiefs Association opposed the bill and only begr cepted it after a compromise was reached. These what's going on, and they think the bill is bad neu They know people will die. Michael Friedman, a Democratic state represei Miami Beach, knows this as well. "The rules have c it'c oninrt toln fiolomitii ? ->^ ^~ ? ?? *? 1?-? ? .? w iu iunv ttu(unu) anu c<nii<igc iu uring us senses," he said. "I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it. +of innocent poeple will die." Time will tell if this horrendous law will cause d serve life. But one thing is for sure: the odds ar favor, and every card is wild. ?r tLZ qTzh. Ji MA c: kJL&LL Assistant Copy Desk Chief Comics Editor : Andy Hcchtcl Tracy Mixson Assistant News Editors Historian Todd Hines Bobby Jones Jeff Shrewsbury Adviser Assistant Features Editor Bill Rogers Mrdous Bamji Director of Student P Assistant Sports Editor Bill Clements Rae Leigh Production Assistant Photography Fditor Chuck Norris ^ Jonathan Williams Son Ma r'Jii-- A J -v I'nicuuuK r^uiiiir /\uvtTiisinj4 rvsuimj^er Kalherine (iilbcrt Margaicl Michels letters Policy: 7 hi ltamtco<A Mill try lo p.-1 n? ktler? recehed. hutit tliovM be, al a mmliniir., 250 lo edtlorlah ihould noi exited 500 wordt. Wr reier*? (he rfghl <o edit ie(iev> for t()le or poitfhlt libel the irumi Kimei u?d*r any circumtdnce. 4 ; -I >y Desk Chief ' lor Editor I i Ks.c 1 1 ( anp^'reco 1 I V"SSj j 1 W IOC I i i f ^g iled weapons "" ?? passed both thing about il , Th^Gano thai WOULI :ant must be ? gun-training nvicted of a d alcohol. a ~m ;y should be. B Jf /\nv rl rv?? ^ ^ ~? ? d West men- ixcMucius mtve say i :d. j ijk t Upon reading the editorial entitled "Changes" ^ . in the Sept. 4 issue of The Gamecock, I must say I ipon IS not a am appalled at the inaccuracy of the information norance and contained therein. tradiction in Certainly the editorial staff of the paper ought to j which, ap- be able to research their own articles to ensure that , , correct information is being printed. Please allow * OQQ me to illustrate some of the mistakes in this article: Christcnscn POrtsmen OI ? There is no USC Housing Authority. The cor: "The guns rect name is University Housing Services. legal for the ? Housing is not responsible in any way for the v ?' residence hall visitation policy. This policy is con outside the trolled through the Deparment of Resident Student I Development. ' ? There has been no change in the visitation investigated incident reaction to a policy this year. The visitation procedures have (including vandalism ar arms, that changed to include restricted access through multi- hours, and criminal ass indguns are P'e entrances ar>d exits, signing in of guests, and dations to make the res i kill- enforcement of previously established visiting pleasant places to live. , hours. a direct reflection of th OUla re~ ? The visitation policy was reviewed by a com- committee. mittee comprised of two residence hall directors orida Police (students/staff), two resident advisers ? Students were as udgingly ac- (students/staff), three RHA members (students), possible changes in the know and one resident-at-Iarge(student). This committee forum was held in the F ? * was chaired by two resident student development forum was advertised ir staff members. The Visitation Policy Committee * The Gamecock, which ESS A boy, a girl, the u back to our I think a lot "Listen! There's a hell of a good universe next """" door. . . Let's go!" ? e. e. cummings C?1)" Like Ernest Hemingway, I consider myself an e in death S afficionado. Ernest had his bulls; I've got my favorite,movie. Stephen Star Wars. r 1 Really. Guilfoyle TPL||0 Ten years ago, 1 saw Star Wars for the first time, mSmmmmmSSSSm )l?r1 d ^llt seems ''^e onJy yesterday when 1 went downtown with my brother and my father to sec jr . I this particular film that evervono was taiUno about. | So we went to the Loews Orpheum on 82nd ^ ^ I Street and Third Avenue and waited for about two first time, and George houi o see it in 70 millimeter with Dolby stereo. imagination for me, ins It was oui first time, and yeah, it was good for us, It never really dawned too. ft was the most incrcdible thing we'd ever could go so far and do - c, 1 seen. And heard. Wars. It was so realistii When you're a kid, you use much of your mental gone back to "a long tir HMMMPgnfl energy to power your imagination, which turns away." IUyBUilSSfl those hot summer days into non-stop adventure You sit down in the "" 1 and excitement; turns games of tag into monster bored farmboy dying . ^ - - r | hunts, mysteries and countless other types of fun. think, "He's not the onl But your imagination gets worn out, tired and ing for some kind of ex' frazzled. You get tired of constantly coming up riMwrt^r "'1 w't^1 somet^'n8 new every day. And in one of those You sit back, but you yJwi tired points of the summer, I saw Star Wars for the You become the hero, v ggjH Watching freshman ( I was minding my own business, eating pizza in EKMBBm the Russell House second floor lobby when she K^OyB||fl| wandered toward me. "Can you, like, tell me where Russell's house "You're in it," 1 said, looking up. She had to be Paula a freshman. Nobody else on this campus would j wear a "Smith High School Class of 1987" shirt or Wojtowicz ; carry a purse as large as her bookbag. 5?55S555iii55iii55 "Oh, this doesn't look much like a house to me. waa?mmmmmm By the way, my name is Buffy. What's yours?" "F'aula." "Hey, can you tell me how to get to the mall? I was told my mailbox was in Russell's house in the mall. My mother is sending me some money so I "It's a piece of papei ; can eat in the cafeteria." your bill. You should ha | 1 glanced at my pizza and tried to keep from "i threw that out, too Ylei|ja laughing. "Didn't you get on the meal plan?" 1 "Why?" asked. "They know I've paid "Oh, sure, they told me 1 was, but I never got a "Not anymore," 1 sa meal card." get to Petigru. "Do you have a USC ID?" "Petigru? They have < "Oh, that thing I got at registration? I just threw here. I thought I lived in I it out. It doesn't look a thing like me." pie just told me they're c "Buffy, that was your meal card." "They're also called tl A00 word* long. "Oh, wow. So what do I do?" "Huh? Why can't th '?>< *?mnotoiiktoM ..[)Q yOU |iave your fee recejpt9?? You can't find anything Buffy looked blankly at me. "What's that?" long as I'm talking nan * XXWtNTS |lwf KAIM' IMTliCDC IHvW ggaWSlBH )M'T Shoot Straight in visitation policies the issues discussed there. Also, questionnaires were distributed in the residence halls to allow -m^A- students to write down their opinions. C*..J J ? oiuucnih uu nave a say in how these policies WMtBPHt are sot up anc* cn^orcec^- This is one of the primary *<^fc2BL2W purposes of the RHA and the individual hall governments, which any interested student is encouraged to participate in. "* ? All studies indicate that most of the violations V res'dence hall policy are done by non-residents *' 5?^" ant*' frecluentW. by non-students. The sign-inpolicy allows the halls to monitor traffic of thece * individuals in an effort to reduce policy violations, ts of policy violations Hopefully, the information presented here will , disregarding visitation give a clearer understanding of the reasons behind ault) and made recommen- the new visitation procedures. If students still have idence halls safer and more concerns on how these policies affect them or how The current procedures are they may change in the future, they should attend a ie recommendations of this government meeting in the residence hall or an RHA meeting and make their voice known. Perhaps in the future The Gamecock will approach ked for input concerning RHA to gain more thorough knowledge of an visitation policy. An open RHA-related issue before attempting to write an Uissell House Theater. This article or editorial on it. iwtij icsiucute uan ana in loaa cnristensen is president of the Residence reported on the forum and Hall Association. iniverse and me too ?wildest bar in the universe, shooting a blaster at HMnwnmHH stormtroopcrs on the Death Star and piloting your i X-wing down the trench to the auxiliary exhaust I' - - You rescue the princess and destroy the Death K|L?|^3iiBnHu) Star, which ain't bad for a kid just out of parochial ? MM school for the summer. I And mov'e had beneficial effects for me, r because my imagination went wild after 1 saw Star ' IWars. 1 started to write and draw the weird new im| a8es and places and people that were coming into my head. While 1 don't draw as much as I used to ? nor as Lucas used his own active well as I used to, I'm sure ? 1 still write, and my tead of me using mine. imagination is the first tool 1 use when I write, on me that the imagination I write because I saw that movie. Just your so much, until I saw Star average story about a boy, a girl and the universe, : that 1 felt I had actually and it set my imagination free, because the way it ne ago, in a galaxy far, far was done so well, it made the movie a story about a boy, a girl, the universe and me too. balcony and you meet a for adventure, and you So this is the 10-year anniversary of Star Wars, y one who's bored and dy- and I thought it would be nice to reflect on my tavorite movie, and say thanks to its creator, George Lucas. 're not really in the theater. And, of course, /ielding a light saber in the May the Force be with you. rope with new reality ?????????called The Horseshoe? It doesn't look to me like * any stables are around." jmMl "Not anymore, there aren't." vPSBys "Well, this school is just too weird. ! can't Dfc Juk. believe I have to pick up my books at a bookstore. They're supposed to eive vr?u th<? in .-lat. And did you know that none of my professors I l'ie rest 1 he pizza in my mouth so I wouldn't I "Yeah, I figure I'll be able to study the night of ????????? ?I. the exam. You don't think three chapters of r with your schedule and physics is too much for one test, do you? ve got it at the coliseum." she said. "You might want to study a little before then," 1 answered. , don't they?" Buffy smiled and gave me a look that said she id, and explained how to knew better. "Well, my favorite class is University ioi where I get to learn all about USC. It's so neat ;uch funny names around because all these freshmen are in it. Who did you Ihe Towers, but some peo- have for that class?" ailed the 'Honeycombs.'" ic 'Six-pack.'" "I didn't take that class. I transferred here from ey make up their mind? another school." I stood up and excused myself, on this campus. And as "You poor thing. However did you learn your les, you know that park way around?"