The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 14, 1987, Page 4, Image 4
Viewpoint
4 THE GAMECOCK Wednesday, October 14, 1987
AMY DELPO Editor in Chief
STEPHEN GUILFOYLE Copy Desk Chief
j rpi BRENDA BLYTH News Editor
TAMARA WILLIS Features Editor
1 WAYNE WASHINGTON Sports Editor
VjrameCOCK KEITH JONES Photography Editor
ROBB LANE Graphics Editor
| PAULA WOJTOWICZ Beat Editor
Mudslingers
Media not treating campaign,
issues with fairness. inteeritv
Recent discoveries about the past misdoings of severa
presidential candidates have turned the campaign trail into i
trail of fears.
Not fears of other candidates, but of the media's digging int<
their past history.
Rather th^n reporting the news, the media has become thi
news, turning out stories that would interest any soap opera ad
diet. It seems he who reports the most dirt on a candidate wins
Instead of allowing the candidates to shoot down one another
f Via mnrlin /> ?CI
niv uivuia wain iu gti lllCIC lllbl.
Reporters are going too far in their investigations of the can
didates. Rather than working to inform the public about thing:
relevant to a candidate's qualifications, the media are stooping
to a form of mudslinging that would make any politician proud
Some of the latest facts about the candidates have nothing tc
do with their presidential qualifications. Instead, the "news" i;
aimed to embarrass a candidate and hurt his campaign, all undei
the guise of "the public's right to know."
Certainly, the public should know about things that could af
feet a man's job performance. But somewhere, the public's righi
to know must end, and a person's right to privacy must begin
For too long now, the media has walked that fine line ? anc
now they're going too far. The candidates are public figures
and therefore, facts about their lives are fair game.
But that is not fair play.
Who doesn't have a skeleton in the closet? Who doesn't have
a torrid fact about his past that would be embarrassing to uncover?
If Diogenes, the ancient Greek who went in search of an
honest man, ventured out to find a candidate without blemish,
all the oil in the world couldn't light his lantern long enough tc
see the end of his search.
Voters do not need to know that more than 20 years ago som<
of the candidates helped conceive children out of wedlock. I'
will not affect their performances in the Oval Office should on<
of them win the Nov. '88 election. It will not be pertinent to oui
COlintrv's SPfliritV We arp nr?t mnrA infnrmo/1 oUm.? """
j ~ ,, v ? v ?vi inv/11. niiuiiuv,u auuui uitsL candidates
and their abilities.
Reporters seem to think voters are more concerned with candidates'
lives rather than the issues that will affect this nation ?
issues such as the Iran-Contra Affair, foreign relations in Central
America, the Persian Gulf and the deficit.
A handful of candidates already have been shamed out of th<
race because of past skeletons in the closet. Who will be next tc
experience the mighty blows of the pen and the picture?
As a result of the media's manhunt, some man who may b<
the best president this country could ever have may decide not tc
bother running.
''TFLL Vnil \tJlAAT rAP7J ? 1*1 I Pi IT A I ITTl K
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SUPK^ lM HERE "
The Staff
A cclclanl f'nn., n-?l.
i.mmiuiii i/or \ inn Historian
Andy Bechtcl Bobby Jones
] Assistant News Kditors Adviser
j Todd Mines Bill Rogers
| Jeff Shrewsbury Director of Student Media
Assistant Features Kditor Margaret Michels
r;r/i/x..r ?:: "
. uuwui 111ji t-rouiicuon
Assistant Sports Kditor Chuck Norris
Rae Leigh Son Ha
Assistant Photography Kditor Advertising Manager
! Jonathan Williams Margaret Michels
Datebook Kditor Assistant Advertising Manager
Jenny Sharpe Dawn Miller
Letter* Policy: Th* (imuctxk ?>? lr> 10 print kmr? r??l?fd l?it?ri ?ko?M b*. < mtilmwm. ISO lo MO oortft lon|. (,m?
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I THE NATION'S
J Loch Ness monster se:
I picked up the paper the other day and read that
someone tried to prove or disprove oncc and for all
t the legend of the Loch Ness Monster of Drumnadrochit,
Scotland, fame. j
I Simply because he could, mankind used modern ^ jflj
technology to try and dredge "Nessie" up from the ^ flfeggfl
' depths. I for one think it's a travesty. A Odd
Using a fleet of fishing boats equipped with fish Hines [Mj&jS
sonar devices, they combed the loch in a straight
! line over three days to leave no stone or sunken !
whiskey bottle unturned.
i However, even science wasn't ahl#? tn nmu/? <~?r
disprove that there's a monster down there, and j
they still remain Ness-less. All they could muster
> were a few blips and chartings, and so one side is shout, "I'm goin' ta find the
chanting "Fake," while the other is shouting laddy!"?
; "Told ya so." The suspicious thing is that th
I What it boils down to is that they tried to sored by the Oklahoma-based
, disprove a legend ? a legend that deserves finding device. "Boy, Clem, \
preservation. good promotional-like campaig
Countless movies and books have appeared l'he legend is more than 1,<
about the monster that lurks beneath the wide criminy's sake. It's a beautiful
Scottish lake, and none have proven hard facts of won't forget. The legend of the
any monster. the best things going for Scoth
Does this mean that someone has the right to about family stuff, heritage anc
finally hike up their kilt, dust off their hands and What keeps it so alive is that
Random tidbits fluttei
)
A few random tidbits have been rattling around I"?"""?
* my brain lately like rusty nails in a tin can. As Kurt
) Vonnegut Jr. would say, go like this: ^
As of this past summer, the USC College of
I Iniirnalicm is the Pnllnnn nf Inili-nnlirm ? "' 14
.a m>v -^v/.tv^v v/i jviuiiiaimia aim iviad5 j :I 1
Communications. Ick. Andy
Although this may be a more accurate descrip- Bechtel llfiPP
tion of the school, it certainly echoed of Orwell
when it reached the ears of this news/ed major.
It reminds me of the time in high school when j
the administration decided to call that place with
all the books a "media center" rather than
"library." When language needs all the streamlin- L_______________
ing it can get, this renaming just makes simple It sounds as if Reagan has s<
definitions that much more murky. In the name of wish. Maybe he knows somethir
Henry Price, the journalism school's copy-editing
professor, change the names back. Billboard of the month: "Bo
Beautiful." It must be the hip
Even more tprrifvino lhan thic tr~nA ic th? j-ixi.. ?
j-.-c u Uik rrajf mm mc 3I/.C."> IllUCIlUjy lUUrKCU 0
President Ronald Reagan has been talking lately, give this sport its charisma.
This past week, Reagan said Robert Bork would
lose a bid for the Supreme Court "over my dead Well, it finally happened ?
body." Then, just two days later, Reagan said he airplay on "Fox 102," WNO
would fight for aid for the Nicaraguan Contras un- schlock 'n' roll stations with t
til he "breathed his last breath." "The One I Love." (I know thi;
Letters to the editor
Ol 11 IIIH WTtflHO that cheerleaders work too hard on readc
routines and do not spend enough and <
^hppflpildpr time on cheering to the fans. The safe i
Il/ilUCI SitygC cheerleaders practice only one and i
routine a year and perform it only USC
To the editor: twice, once at Cockfest and also at
After reading the cheerleading arti- the National Chamnionchinc Thp
Jcle on the sports page in The reason for the routine is competition,
Gamecock Oct. 7, I was curious just as in any other sport. The Edito
about the source of Rae Leigh's in- routine is very important to us, but direc
_ formation. USC cheerleading squad the main purpose of a cheerleader is cheer
coach Bill Boggs said the information to bring about crowd enthusiasm. I cheert
he gave to the writer was believe our squad has achieved this,
misrepresented. Being a USC Another misconception of the arti- T p
i cheerleader, I would like to clear up cle was that major injuries arc caused
some misconceptions about this sport by the lack of supervision and
and to note some recent changes in pressure by a coach to do dangerous HIS
collegiate cheerleading. stunts. Was this directed at Bill
! USC's checrleading squad went to Bocas? Coach Robo* urirrlv fnlinu/c iv>
a camp sponsored by the Universal all 37 rules and guidelines offered by It i
Cheerleaders Association (UCA) this the UCA. He also was a USC that
past summer. The camp emphasized cheerleader from 1980 through 1982 again;
the techniques of a "spotter." A and therefore is physically Repul
spotter is a person who helps cradle knowledgeable in the techniques of Cousj
or catch a girl in a stunt. Also, many stunts, gymnastics and spotting. He graspi
restrictions were made prohibiting requires the squad to practice and He d
very difficult and dangerous stunts. work out a total of 13 hours a week, freedc
All of this was done to help performing and perfecting stunts and any w
S cheerleaders avoid major injuries gymnastics with the help of spotters that 1
that have happened during the past to prevent injuries. banne
few years. 1 hope I have cleared up the confu- meanl
The writer also seemed to think sion Rae Leigh presented to the been i
>
mm?w?w???? iiiiimi?'
HOLSTER
arch is a travesty (
people who say they've seen its head skimming
across the misty loch in the early morning. That's
exciting stuff to me. That's what makes it not all
legend.
I think science needs to spend its time on other
:^r things. There are surely better mysteries to uncover
than if there's a monster in a Scottish lake.
What we don't kno;v won't hurt us in this eas*?
It's better not to know.
Seems of late folks are trying to know too much.
Biden, Robertson and Hart would attest to that. So
would the survivors of the Titanic and Geraldo
Rivera.
Nobody really knows what they put in pizza,
slitherin' beastie, Nobody knows why Andy Rooney whines.
There are a host of things mankind doesn't
e project was spon- know. Sometimes it's better that way.
maker of the fish- A legend is good for the people, especially when ^
vouldn't this be a it's harmless. Nessie is a good legend. * >. *
n?" And the thing that seems inevitable is that 1,400
400 vcars old for vears from now enmonno ?ic? ....
? vm itiii [Jiuuuuiy uy
Celtic myth people again. That really burns my britches. There will
: monster is one of still be war, poverty and hunger, and someone will
ind. We're talking try to mess with the Ness again.
i pride. Who's the real monster here?
there are countless
* through column
???????on my car stereo as j frantically search for a tape to
shove into the appropriate receptacle).
Actually, it's an attractive, song, even if Peter
Buck's guitar sounds like it belongs on a Boston
The immortal screech of "sell out" is already being
heard around town if a .1 Ml
w .... .. vuv uujo i i fin niiicil5,
Ga., had recorded a version of a Bon Jovi song.
. I This same thing happened a few months ago when
U2 hit it big with "With Or Without You."
' I just don't buy this talk of bands "selling out."
^ If the band scores hit single on its own terms,
^ which R.E.M. is doing, then kudos to them. Rage
?J on, you heathens behind the firehouse.
)me sort of death
ig we don't. My friend Scott, a junior at Vanderbilt, tells me
in a letter that he is now "digital," i.e., he bought a
wling Makes You compact disc player. Call me a technophobe, but
shoes ? the ones I'm against this trend toward eliminating the
n the heels ? that album from the face of the planet.
I like the pops and scratches in my LPs. They're a
part of the music.
R.E.M. is getting At least I'm not alone in my hopes that albums
K-FM and other will survive this technological onslaught. The other
heir latest single, day I saw car with a bumper sticker that read
5 because I hear it "Save the I P " Amen
.?)
;rs. Chcerleading is a difficult the ones he spoke out against.
complex sport, but it is also a If Cousar's two esteemed
one when precautions are taken "moderate" attackers had taken the
regulations are followed, as the time or the effort to read the letter
cheerleadinR squad has done. - ?j ?
vuiviuu;, nit11 nicy wouiu nave seen
that the purpose of the letter was to
Jody Morris try to moderate the voice of the exKngineering
junior tremist and not deny it. Cousar felt
r's note: The article was not that moderation would save the camZed
specifically at USC pus some real embarrassment. I want
leaders, but at the sport of to stress the point that Cousar is a
leading in general. strong moderate with great personal ^
and political integrity, and he would 9'
f f pi* W1*lf Pl*^k never go so far as to suggest that an
individual or a group have such an
illOYl important right, such as the First
* O Amendment, revoked or imposed
upon.
e editor: These two individuals, who spent
s with great personal distaste so much time attacking the wellI
read the attacks launched meaning intentions of a student who
?t the president of the College cares for the reputation of USC,
ilicans, E. J.Cousar. I feel that claim to be moderates, but I found
ir's two attackers had problems myself wondering if they would have
ing the real concept of his letter. bothered to respond if Cousar had
id not intend to attack the just wanted Janice Kraft and the
>m of the First Amendment in Students For America to tone down ^ .
nt, a:a i- - j -
ay, nui uiu nc micna 10 suggest their harsh statements and not other ? '
hese extremist organizations be extremist organizations on campus.
d from campus. If he had
t these things, he would have D. Troy Mulllnax
m extremist in the same vein as Political tdencc Junior
A