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I Viewpoint 4 THE GAMECOCK Wednesday, March 16, 1988 Machine Tlnn nn //z? rlnt* ZVWI C- V//t difficulties of j On March 3, the Senate pas outlaw the use of lie detector t< private workplace. Approved by written by Sens. Edward K Hatch, R-Utah, ? who are norn management issues ? would outl; of polygraph examinations. The bill will affect an estimal them seeking jobs, who are reqi every year. President Ronald Rea once a final version comes ou Similar but more restrictive legi House 254-158 this past Novem much about the legislature's perc procedures and about other Ame 1-! 1 ?- - * naien cxpiaiiieu inai nis oiggi tests is that they are conducted in ditions that render false results be time. His reaction to these figun way people are using these de Americans are branded as liars evi they have to wear every day the r Of course, the bill has its oj restricting the use of lie detec reliability of our work force and ii hire honest workers. But we acre gress that the inefficiency of the < be trusted. When the machinery justly punished. We wonder wh punishment. It's not too great a leap in logic machinery is capable of malfum has gone awry plenty of times, wh for capital punishment is so exten human error. And in a matter of justly killing someone? The price nere is too great. No doubt, many claim capital rent. But statistics suggest there is in countries with it versus countri is one of retribution. But who is w carries out a murder or a society fallibility that it carefully chur: toward the death chambers? We s murder when we support, either qi another. dearlv thp r1iffWf?nr>f? systemized capital punishment is condemning the former fits the la test, human logic and reasoning a have no right to assume that our perfection. That would be ignon that risks killing someone in erro "WHAT PO YOU MFAtf 'HOW A YOU MUST BE BIGff r? nnt I h e ism '* I' Mill II M.I>. Editor in Chief JEFF SHREWSBURY Managing Editor STEPHEN GUILFOYLE Copy Desk Chief ANDY BECHTEI. News Kditor TODD HINES Assistant News Kditor TONY MORENO Viewpoint Kdior PETE MACKEY Features Editors CLAIRE DIEPENBROCK SUSAN NESBITT Sports Editor WAYNE WASHINGTON Assistant Sports Editor JIM STUCKEY Photography Editor BRIAN SAULS Assistant Photography Editor TEDDY LEPP letters Policy: Th* (ramecock will try to priat letteri word* long. <?ue?l editorials ihould not nt?i1 MO word*. Ilbrl. fht (,<imtcock will not withhold mmn under My < Social Security number. s ictors indicates: 'ustice system sed a bill that would largely :sts in job interviews and the a 69-27 vote, the measure, coennedy, D-Mass., and Orrin lally in opposition over labor aw aoout ?:> percent oI the uses ed 2 million people, most of lired to take lie detector tests igan is expected to sign the bill t of Senate-House meetings, islation was approved by the iber. These developments say eption of the viability of such rican machinery. 2St difficulty with lie detector 15-minute sessions under contween 15 and 50 percent of the ss: "I'm sick and tired of the jvices. Some 320,000 honest sry single year. That's a stigma est of their lives and careers." ?ponents. These forces claim tor tests will undermine the mpede on employers' ability to e with the perception of Consquipment harms too many to doesn't work, people are un at this suggests about capital to suggest that another kind of itioning. The judicial process lich is why the appeals process isive. But that doesn't prevent life or death, why chance unof malfunctioning machinery punishment serves as a deteri no difference in murder rates es without. The question then 'orse. a criminal who carefullv that is so arrogant of its inns those it deems deserving limply share in the guilt of the Liietly or openly, the murder of ;en a lie detector test and great. But the reasoning now tter. Like the poor lie detector ire certainly not infallible. We judicial process will guarantee ,^4 ^f l..- r_ 11 ?i- a i mi ui Human ianiDiuty. /\na r. And that's a crime. RE THEY QUALIFIED? TS OR RACISTS" JippPipVIVVVIffNJ^PPPPPPNpilPlVJPIVPPVVip^^ | onecock h',F- ii-i ' >i/ ' Science Editor JIM NEWMAN Senior Reporter MARY PEARSON Datebook Editor JENNY SHARPE Graphics Editor TROY TACiUE Comics Editor TRACY MIXSON Adviser BILL ROGERS Graduate Assistant KAREN ADDY Acting Director of Student Media/Advertising Manager MARGARET MICHELS Production RICHARD GRIFFIN ! SON HA Assistant Advertising Manager ; MELISSA HENDERSON retflvtd. letter* itaould be, at imalmum, 150 (o 300 W? rrttrvr tht right to tdll letter* for itjrle or pottlbk lrcum?lanc*. letttri mud Include wrltrr'i aitu and i Predictions f< Talk show guru Phil Donahue offered yet another frightening vision of the world on his show this past week when he had a trio of "career strategists" as his guests. (A "career strategist" must be one step up the ladder from "concept consultant.") These three women, led by one who calls herself Faith Popcorn, babbled for an hour about the shape of things to come in fashion and lifestyles. Popcorn and her two cohorts have a terrifyinsly tacky view of the future, and if their predictions come true, we are in trouble. If they have their way, we will have no taste. The 1990s will be life in hell indeed. In Popcorn's best of all possible worlds, shorthaired young people dressed in vinyl swimsuits and rubber sports jackets will listen to generic, dance uiiciucu iuck u ron, wnicri win Diare irom a purple tape player or a radio with a big, smiling face painted on it. Women will be back in the kitchen, being homemakers, although they will also run their own businesses and make tons of money. And cars will be "powder-puff blue" and continue the rounded look that has been all the rage the past few years with American automakers. Popcorn says these fashion statements and O'Connor sh< Although I seldom support or agree with the political actions of conservatives, I must give praise wnere praise is due. President Ronald Reagan's appointment of Sandra Day O'Connor to the U.S. Supreme Court was a great victory for women and a significant step toward social change in America. With March being "Women's History Month," Americans of all ages, races and cultural backgrounds must set aside their personal biases and recognize the contributions women have made, and continue to make, to the advancement of America. And as America reflects on the great achievements and accomplishments of women this month, many people will probably think of Supreme Court Associate Justice O'Connor, and rightfully so. Of the 103 justices that have been appointed to the nntir?n'c nniiri in a ? .v .... u 111511VJ1 wuuu in no history, O'Connor is the only woman ever to be nominated and ever to serve on the court. Although some feeble-minded, male chauvinists think women are inferior to men and are therefore unable to perform certain jobs, agreement is growing among the population that women are as intelligent and competent as men. And O'Connor's lifetime appointment to one of the government's most important and prestigious offices is evidence of women's improving status in America. After seven years of dedicated service as one of the country's nine most di<stinoiii?h#?H inHo? whnc* JW?'Ovj ",,V,JV job is to interpret the Constitution, O'Connor has Right S.G. pi Much as I'd like to talk about St. Paddy's day, which is Thursday, there's something more important I need to discuss. Student Government elections will be held March 23. You have one week to decide if you want to vote. And if you decide you want to vote, you have one week to decide who you want to lead us. The Gamecock has a rule ? we don't endorse S.G. candidates, much as some of us would like to. The rule does let us write about candidates, but we can't come out on our editorial page and say, "Vote for Candidate X because he's a swell guy, has a spotless academic record, is a trifle boring, but who cares?" But what this paper has tried to do for the past few years is get some interest up for S.G. and the elections. I want people to take it seriously, because, while it usually proves to be a ludicrous organization packed with fools and idiots only interested in serving themselves, it can be a worthy organization. It just needs the right people in it. Amy Houser, a graduate student at USC now, was in my opinion the best S.G. president USC ever had. She wanted to accomplish many things, but she was especially interested in two things ? fighting a tuition increase and getting a voting student on KEPUWl jr* jr '90s reveal si Bechtel s lifestyle changes will create a hannier Am^rim fr?r everyone, because everyone will be having fun. n Isn't that great? I Rather than signaling a return to fun and excite- v ment, these predictions really point toward a tl sickening trend in American society called post- e modernism, which uses the mindless mixture of n historical elements to ridiculous proportions. Post- b modernists shuffle styles, exaggerate the simple, combine recklessness with hedonism and inflate the c whole mess into huge inside jokes (such as a p lavender stereos) that ultimately fall flat. it In post-modernistn, style streamrolls over con- S >ws what womei i t! _____ q c proven to be an independent thinker and a compe- h tent justice. And although the appointment of p Supreme Court judges is a highly political process, p O'Connor's unique place in the political and social S history of America deserves praise from all Americans who believe in the freedoms and oppor- r< tunities for all, as guaranteed in our Constitution. n This is probably why O'Connor's Supreme C Court appointment was approved by a 99-0 vote in JC the U.S. Senate, unlike the recent difficulty Presi- s< dent Reagan experienced with his Supreme Court p nominee, Judge Robert Bork, whose nomination was defeated by the Senate. n O'Connor, a distinguished honor graduate of c< Stanford University's School of Law, served as 1> judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals and as h Superior Court judge. She was also a member of o esident can mal _ ? a I f/: ^ , I ,, s USC's Board of Trustees. ir If you were here this past year, then you know that your tuition wasn't raised 1 ccnt this year. sj Houser badgered not only the administration, but 7 also the state legislature. She also spearheaded two marches to the State st House to protest the lack of full-formula funHino She wanted to get a voting student on the Board G of Trustees. Because she badgered the administra- h tion and the board long enough and hard enough, fc they allowed the S.G. president to sit in on board h meetings. She wasn't satisfied with that. She also managed a; to get enough attention on her efforts and to sway uperficiality ent ? all in the name of fun. Atlanta's recentl^^ ompleted IBM building, an architectural ibomination of pink marble, golden spires and rowning cuplet, epitomizes post-modernist >hilosophy. Post-modernism's downfall comcs in its selfonscious tackiness. Velvet paintings of Elvis Lesley, Playboy air fresheners and beach towels mblazoncd with the Confederate flag reflect on he inherent bad taste in our society, but they also how a sense of humor. In that way, they are fun. Mus, these items carry sincerity, a trait sorely abent in Popcorn's world. But Popcorn and the other purveyors of postnodernism ignore the spontaniety of such items, nstead, they purposely create tackiness, leaving us /ith a stale, sterile world, which is exactly what hey are attempting to steer away from. Because verything is planned in advance, these premeditated attempts at fun are really not fun at all -A >ut just plain boring. This sense of forced whimsicality dooms Popom and her post-modernist friends. Their hilosophy is shallow and fake, not fun. Let's hope goes the way of Stretch Armstrong, pet rocks and igue Sigue Sputnik. i can aciueve he Arizona Senate, where she served as majority :ader, the first woman in the country to ever hold hat office in a state senate. Before her appointment to the court, she successfully managed and maintained an active, impressive community and >ublic service career while also caring for her hus ana and her three sons. Although she is not considered an arden?efr eminist, O'Connor has opposed sex discrimina ion and defended traditional civil rights issues hroughout her political careeer. "She is truly a erson for all seasons, possessing those unique ualities of temperament, fairness, intellectual apacity and devotion to the public good which ave characterized the 'brethren' who have receeded her," said President Reagan after his apointment of O'Connor to replace retiring UDreme Court Justio Potter Ct?iuort k/lVT^ai i i in a nation that has denied women the rights and :spect they deserve for far too long, O'Connor's omination and appointment to the Supreme )ourt should be hailed by all, Republican or >emocrat, liberal or conservative. Her success ;nds an encouraging message to women and a ositive message to all Americans. The time has come for America to stop underlining and underplaying the role and acamplishments of women in society. If there is tru-^ r ortino tn f D?0 ? uuvi.; unu juMitc iur an, we cannotV ave a society that is male-dominated and maleriented. ke difference tew state legislators so that in both the state louse of Representatives and the state Senate, bills /ere introduced to increase the USC's Board of "rustees by one ? a student representative. That's a lot of work, and it's not like the other .G. presidents I've seen. These were acomplishments, successes. One had great impact ii my inc. i aon't want to pay more money to omc to USC. It's worth about what I pay for it ight now. But the point is, S.G. can be effective, if students^ ike an interest in who is running for what office^? nd who gets those offices. And tonight, you can find out who is running for .G. president, basically the most important office i S.G. if the right person gets it. The Athenian Literary and Debating Society is ^onsoring a presidential candidates' debate at :30 p.m. in the Russell House Room 327. The candidates will be allowed to make atements; they will be questioned by a panel consting of Todd Hines, news editor of The 'amernrk- a fnrm.r ?1? n ^ 1 , ? luiiuvi intniuci ui a.u., wno just appens to be the aforementioned Houser; and a >rmer member of the Athenian Society, who just appens to be myself. ^ And there's a time worked in for students to ask.0 j many questions as they want to. This is important. Attend.