University of South Carolina Libraries
Viewpoint Monday, February 1, 1988 THE GAMECOCK 3 Visitation Trustee's comments lack of respect for si To listen to state Rep. Michael Fair, R-Greenv nf thf RnnrH r*f TriiQfppc vmi wmilH think rnllpop pack of crazed, sex-starved beasts who can't live of the opposite sex nearby without losing control cience flies to the wind, compelling them to jumi at the first chance. Clearly, Fair misunderstand relationships and wants to make his moral code In a letter to Board Chairman Othniel Wienges 1987, Fair mentions the danger of sexually transn saying, "I wonder how much help it would be housing policies with these things in mind." He tion to dorm floors above ground floor should t the same sex and that coed dorms should be elimi ^ The State that he saw "no practical reason for allc sex visitation to take place." By the time we reach college, most of us pr sound idea of how we want to carry on as adults. 1 Fair thinks that separating us from each other help foment the correct moral conscience he thir developed yet. Does he really think separating reduce the cases of sexual diseases? Does he real! too weak to put up with the temptation of living n ones ? the men and women of USC? For those of us who choose to be sexually ac rangements have very little to do with our choic< us who choose not to be, separating us even furthi posite sex will do little to strengthen what Fair se< fiber, a fiber to be woven from his loom. Such merely protect us from choices we will have to ma place to learn about ourselves. ? Perhaps Fair has missed the point about visita coed dorms. Visitation rights allow students tc right to spend time together with their favorite pai not. Our dorms are not some youth hostels whe guidance; these are, at least for now, our homes, we should have the right to use them as we pleas don't interfere with others. USC's sign-in augmented by additional security funded with $1 6.7 Dercent increase in housinsz fees this fall, nrr safety. Let the students decide if the visitors hap or female and what goes on when they get togetl Pruitt, vice president of student affairs, said Fair's letter, "We've found the best influence 01 treat them as adults." We appreciate Pruitt's re: Pruitt was also correct when he said, "There false assumption that if there are coed dormitorie tare sexually promiscuous. And I don't know th evidence that that is the case." But Fair believes > of being around one another too long without be ly corrupt. We're sorry he thinks so little of us. Li" rt 1 * n 1 r /> ? 1 O i-v a M r\ n m <4 4 t? < * * 4 t? /%/< a . mma * i an aisu iaii5 iu uuuciMditu uiai incac uuuii: tionships between the sexes. Segregation leads to ] separated parties are robbed of opportunities to ii dorms, students learn to respect members of th and develop mutual understanding, as well as rel are not sexual. This is the "practical reason" f Fair cannot see. The representative should worry less about guiding our behavior. Our rights as adults, our r to conduct our own affairs in our own homes terference, demand that we ask Fair to spend his t his own affairs and let us get to know one anothe ^ We're all bound to learn a great deal in the pro - The Gamecc : ' ... . - . ..... : - - Kditor in Chief Photography Ed JEFF SHREWSBURY BRIAN SAULS \.m i Assistant Phitnc iTiNHHKiiig ivuiiur ( I STEPHEN OUILFOYLE KEITH JONES j C-opy Desk Chief Senior Reporter ANDY BECHTEL MARY PEARSOf* ; Assistant Copy Desk Chief Datebook Kdltoi EILEEN ROSS JENNY SHARPE & News Editor Graphics Editor TODD HINES TROY TAGUE Assistant News Editors Comics Editor TONY MORENO TRACY MIXSON WCDTI IWt. A i ? v/iii, rm YI.TCI Viewpoint Editor BILL ROGERS F'ETE MACKEV Graduate Assisti Features Editor KAREN ADDY PATRICK JEAN Acting Director S Assistant Features Kditor Media/Advertisi KELLY MARSHALL MARGARET MI< Sports Editor Production WAYNE WASHINGTON CHUCK NORRIS Assistant Sports Editor SON HA I JIM STUCKEY Assistant Advert f MELISSA HEND I I*l(cn Policy: Thi (irnnnotk ?1U <r> la prtal klleri r?diH l?tMr? ikonU b?, *1 a niilni <??ariaH tfcoaM Ml ?K?fd *0* wofrfi. tlHKI llw rlflrt lo Mil Ml?n lot U>W of psiiibk tltxl itMl tm4*f H) tirtfnM??:?. display _____ tudents ille, a member lVjWfiL students are a ^ with members as moral cons3 into the sack s the value of ours. . ?x?? dated Dec. 11, r litted diseases, ??r w to review our believes visita- ^^ait in, i11 >e restricted to WiT ^ nated. He told >wing opposite T obably have a & ' Jnfortunately, will somehow iks we haven't [ UV to y think wc are HSHnfln ear those other HHnHjLVvHU^ ice. College is a > exercise their rtner, sexual or w-7-0 re we need his fc\ and as adults. Jm3JL1' JL i e as long as we policy to be Board of Trustees' Executiv I?"* nnn f met Thursday in the Faculty House. IZ3,UUU ij"om 3 been to a Board meeting before and Y )tects students the Faculty House only once before pen to be male uncomfortable. her. As Dennis I was dressed in a suit so new the p in response to coat ^a^n t even been cut ?Pen- ^ . . report on a meeting of USC's top doj 1 S U entS IS to of Trustees and President James Hoi spect. high an authority as USC has. seems to be a So instead of waiting around outsi< :s then students room on the second floor, I was wail iat there is any " thc den on the first. ji/e'rp inranahlP 1 Th? den 15 ^here-l}^ bar l*'~ nc re incapable An(j as j stootj arounci uncomft coming sexual- den, I watched the bartender do his ding is always fascinating. You ki > improve rela- martini, shaken not stirred," a prejudice as the bartender chat - tell me your woes , So I watched. lteract. in coed ^ncj a J-CW mjnutes before the m le opposite sex begin, some orders started coming lationships that ordered a Miller Lite, and the rest w 'or coed dorms drinks. A wine list was sitting on a table ir , . I just turned one page, but it seemed US and about a bottle listed for about $30. ight to privacy, This struck me funny. I was without his in- meeting because Trustee Michael Fa Lime counseling Bible s st? As a child, 1 was always encoi grandmother to read the Bible, ai scorn me if 1 questioned its contents jfiap' 4 claimed that the stories of Adam an arc anc* Moses' parting of the F absolutely true. Well, my grandmother is deceasec would probably roll over in her gra | that I no longer believed these stor * having become an independent, ana \ tional thinker. I' J My grandmother ? bless her soul jrj ^^ ft be upset with the United States Su C ^)| 1987 ruling that struck down a Lou Jtffhijf} required the teaching of "creatio ffijy public schools alongside evolution liftitSfff It decision restricts religious fundam B8tHSKy (i promoting their beliefs in public clas KPUMllUi j?J! that it would be a violation of the ' pjrst Amendment. Although the court has dealt a < Louisiana's religious right, many religious and non-religious, remain so-called conflict between "creatioi kdJtC. evolution, which first became far Scopes "Monkey" trial of 1925. The Bible's creation story, whi hkhnbhuhh Genesis, creates problems and ques1 readers and has resulted in heated jtor among fundamentalists, acada politicians. ;raphy Editor Fundamentalists believe Genesis count of how the universe was crea grandmother believed. Acadameci. i ifjetters tc Store's policy needs changes ?' ^u<*en* To the editor: wg Manager , know ,,rn no( the firs( t0 have m ^HELS book bag stolen from the Universit Bookstore, and I'm probably not g( ing to be the last. This problem mu: hf? IimikIIivI hrffpr Manager It's bad enough we, the students c USC, have 10 pay so much for boo^ and get next to nothing back whe jmxomo? >,*.io., <.?.? returning these books. But havin Ih* (r*m*xOtk ?ttl not wHIihok! your book bag full of books, pen pencils, calculators and oth< iculty House, bar i e Committee ??????????????????? < Never having <p, m, laving been in \ I was a bit . 1 >ockets on the Stcohen Vnd I was to r* '\c i * ^ gs. The Board vjuilroyle x derman arc as i^?? / ie the meeting g I ting around in ' srtably in the stuff. Barten- representative, had written a letter saying he had low, "Vodka problems with USC's alcohol policy, with regards nd "friendly to advertisements. , mate." Ads. And the bartender asked me if 1 would like to leeting was to have a drink. I was tempted to say, "Look, I'm a in. Someone student, and I am having a 'two-drink' lunch with ere just mixed the boys in the Board." But I didn't want to be part of that hypocrisy, i the den. And There are the ones who sit in the Faculty House, lib-** i -u i i lift.*, waa uiuci ujj 5vj111 v uiiiiis.^ auu lUiiLU ailU lUllMUH iciters saying, "We shouldn't give students bad ideas covering this by having these awful ads all over campus." ir, also a state Apparently, the esteemed representative Fair imory of creationism iraged by my ' ~ ) nd she would . She fervently d Eve, Noah's (ed Sea were f 1 i r I now, but she "T > ies to be true, ' ? would also |g^? f$k BE , preme Court's lifiiljl Hla SaKfil isiana law that ( - 4 n science" in i. The court's entalists from cians, however, tend to accept the theory of evolusrooms, ruling tion as the leading account of man's origin, as do constitution's most intelligent people. The story of Adam and Eve is not meant to be severe blow to interpreted literally a.id should not be considered a people, both factual account or a good scientific theory of the baffled by the universe's origin. There is no historical evidence i science" and that Adam and five ever existed; therefore, any nous with the argument to install Biblical creation in public classrooms as part of science curriculums is ch appears in absurd. tions lor many public debate Not only is there no historical evidence to supmecians and port the Bible's creation account, but also Genesis presents two distinctively different accounts of is a factual ac- creation, providing a further reason to question a ted, just as my literal interpretation of Genesis. ins and politi- It is useless to interpret Genesis literally. By do '> ) the editor -' ' - valuable things stolen is just not can wait an extra tw right. minutes to have their b What about these so-called instead of having the | "security guards?" What are they target for anyone to tak getting paid tor.' Most ot the time I ine students to nring tnt see these so-called "security guards" the exit and entrance tern iy reading magazines, looking at stop the problem wi y clothing and doing other things ex- mistakenly taking the )- ccpt what they should be getting paid Even if my bag was i st for. doesn't matter. This is I think that students should have a that shouldn't happen, >f right to carry their bags inside the students, have rights, to< cs bookstore. At all other stores I go in- To those who might d n to, I may carry my bag, and they what I've said, I know tl ig check it as I leave. I don't see women lockers there, but 1) if s, leaving their purses at the front. Why enough 2) they are not b ;r should anyone else? I think everyone suppose you don't have t reveals much plies, students will see an ad and have no choice but to get drunk. Students, you see, are not people. "Kids" is the operative word in his letter. "Kids" (us) can't be trusted to ignore such an ad if we want to ignore it. And thanks to people who think as Fair does, this state adopted a brutally unfair, reactionary and paranoid law, a distrusting piece of legislation designed to make those considered adults by any other legal measure ? the right to vote, the requirement to register for a non existent draft and others ? the scapegoats in an emerging war against drunk drivers. Why? Because the guys who sit in the State House and 7" consider legislation over a 10-drink lunch think to teach us responsibility by completely denying us a right we once held. But never did they think to perhaps teach by example. Could they give up these "two-drink" lunches? Why doesn't the state make it illegal for everyone to drink, or the university cease to serve and sell alcohol everywhere on campus? You can't send a clearer message than that. But how much do you want to bet this state and the university aren't really interested in clear messages? That's why the university continues to flaunt its drinking privileges in front of the thousands of students who can't drink by operating the Faculty House, which houses the most exclusive bar on campus. not scientific ing so, you place yourself in a position that is impossible to defend intelligently. Instead, one can spare themselves this frustration by accepting Genesis for what it really is ? a myth ? and then by proceeding to understand its meaning and value. Regardless of people's religion, they should not he iroiihled bv science or the fact of evolution. Unless, however, like religious fundamentalists, they seek to go beyond the boundaries of religion into the boundaries of science. The same holds true for scientists; they should not be troubled by religion. No correlation or conflict exists between religion and science; each discipline has its own concerns. In the case of evolution, science is concerned with the origin of life, while the Bible's creation story is concerned with how one should live. The experts agree. "Science and religion make different claims about reality because they ask fundamentally difr a: ti ?i r ? i n:uu ~u~ iereni questions ... i lie cictmis ui mc diuic auuui creation are religious, not scientific," says Carl Evans, associate professor of religious studies at use. The teaching or acceptance of evolution does not make one an atheist or any less religious. Those who truly understand the message' of Genesis would know that what is least important is whether it is a true story. America has enough legitimate issues that deserve the concern of our brightest minds, so I wish fundamentalists would end their attempt to put creationism over religion. - *. a nr thrpp opffino rhanop fr/\m thp r?mnlnuppc 'if v v" vv v,,M,,c>v vi" i,,v v...|/.vVw.? ags checked the University Bookstore is like trybags a free ing to get into Green's if you're ;e. Enabling younger than 21. Even if they give Mr bags past you change, they look at you as if ninals would you've killed their parents, th students Lockers aren't the solution to this wrong nag. problem. I he solution is simple ? lei mistaken, it not only the students, but anyone a problem who enters the store earry their book and we, as bags into the store. I really hope the o. bookstores (USC and South Carolina lisagree with BookStore)do something about this hat there are problem. lere are not ig enough 3) Chris (iennarelli a quarter ? Business sophomore