The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, July 13, 1988, Page 2, Image 2
Vote!
USC students need to escape
apathy and make some changes
Student apathy is no new thing to most college campuses;
* ^ ~xl J- i-J _x TTC/-1
sumtuiiica it 3ccui5 mat ay am y was iriverueu ~ai uo^.
Students at Carolina have traditionally shown a lack of interest
in anything significantly affecting them. But if ever there
was a time for change, that time is rapidly approaching this fall.
Most students at USC are at least 18 years old. This gives
these students the right and responsibility to vote on political
candidates and issues. Yet only a small percentage of USC
students are registered voters, let alone politically active.
Twenty years ago, college campuses were political
"hotspots;" students were among the most outspoken of the
voting public. And the student voice was not only loud, but also
insightful. Students, many of them at the forefront of the Sixties
activism, brought the country's attention to many issues that
may have otherwise gone unnoticed by the general public.
Today, there are probably some students who couldn't name
the Republican and Democratic presidential contenders, their
state governor, their Congressman, or their mayor. Yet most
students are extremely outspoken about our political system,
with the majority of outspoken students criticizing existing
policy.
4'Hypocritical" is too nice a term for students that complain
about the political system but make no move to change it. If college
campuses could unite a voting block, students would have a
tremendous amount of influence.
When an issue such as "full-formula funding" or "drinking
age" is a concern of a student, that student has a responsibility
to exercise his or her political rights and vote for candidates who
have the same opinion. If a student wants to the right to cruise
around Dutch Square Mall and there is a candidate who believes
that students should cruise where they want, then the student
should give the candidate the opportunity to make a change.
Politicians probably believe that a student's "bark" is worse
than their "bite;" and after seeing the failure of Student
Government attempts at a postcard campaign, who could blame
them? USC students have a reputation of complaining about
situations but doing nothing to correct them.
With the tuition at USC rising in the fall, students need to
voice their concerns and pressure legislators to understand student
needs. Don't allow officials who reduce educational funding
to be re-elected; vote for a candidate who will lower your
tuition instead.
'OF COURSE THEYXE NOT EXACTLY COMfftRABLE
? EXCEPT?*
The Gamecock t
;? i m
Editor in Chief
TOROD NEPTUNE
News Editor - J. I
PAMELA HEAD
Assistant News Editors 1
PRABHAKAR KHOLE f
GINGER GADSDEN |^ ? y^ir\ 1 r
Viewpoint Editor 11\ ? ^jk~ \ 1 r
TODD CHRISTENSEN I \ ?X" V I t
Features Editor I \ ^~~" V I
CASSIE YANG 1 / \ f C
Sports Editor 1V ?\
BOBBY JONES V^N .' ...cm
Photography Editor
BRENT WAHL /1 r
Comics Editor \\ / #
TOROD NEPTUNE ^
Graphics Editor
RANDY HALL Director of Student Media
Advertising Account Executives ED BONZA
BARBARA BROWN Advertising Manager
MEGAN O'KEEFE MARGARET MICHELS
ELIZABETH WOMACK Production Manager
Adviser LAURA S. DAY
BILL ROGERS Production Staff
ROBBLANE *
?
:
Letters Policy: Tht Gamecock will try to prijttletters. received. Letters.should be.at a-maxitntmiT 250 lo-300?
words long. (iuest editorials should not exceed 500 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for style or possible t
libel. The Gamecock will not withhold names under any circumstance. {
[(I^Chica^Iribure..
/ om, THEM,.
/ TOCW.WC
^ ACTIVATE 11
Turning 21 a
When in the course of human events it becomt
necessary for one people to limit the freedoms c
another, let age be the discriminatory factor. . .
No, it's not the Declaration of Independence bu
an age-old principle used countless times to restric
the activities of persons without a voice in thei
own defense.
I explore this subject as I approach the last ma
jor hurdle in my life - my 21st birthday. Nex
Wednesday, after I complete my final exam ii
Business Writing, I shall walk proudly into th
Motor Vehicle Division of the South Carolina Stat
Highway Department and have a new driver'
license made, without "Under 21" stamped on it
Not that my current license isn't valid for thre
more years; it's just the principle.
And after that day, there are only three things
cannot do (within reason, folks): be a Represen
tative, a Senator, or the President of the Unite*
States. Except for these speedbumps, the road o
my life will be clear.
I will now (legally) visit all of the exhibits in thi
"carnival of experience" we call life. But what wil
that one day actually change about me? Not i
damn thing. Will I be any smarter? Doubtful - an<
I certainly won't pick up any more maturity.
Someone would really have to be ignorant t<
think something like: Boy, that kid can't hold hi
liquor, and he doesn't know when to quit! You't
think that someone with a college degree and <
30-grand-a-year job would be more responsible
It'll be great when he turns 21 tomorrow am
achieves enlightment!
Age rules our lives. A standard timeline coulc
be: school at 5; makeup (usually girls) at 12
driver's license at 16; vote and be drafted at 18
Klan shouldn
Welcome to the '80s - the decade when mam
kids have grown up with the barest of social con
sciousness and virtually no sense of social respon
sibility. Alienated, scared and looking foi
somebody to blame for the world's malaise, som<
have taken to the streets in gangs, where the rites o:
passage to adulthood involves drugs, guns and kill
inn onrl urbara aoa'c narcAnol u;ArfVi ip r\orifrArr
1115 ailu vvuviw uiiv o ^wjuuai ?ui ui io ulviawvi nv/ii
hurting or killing others.
While it would be naive to suggest that gangs ar<
a new phenomenon, they certainly appear to be or
the resurgence as do the Ku Klux Klan and neo
Nazi groups. The recent trial of Skinhead membei
Dean McKee provides a graphic and very sad ex
ample of a kid gone astray.
But this is America, right? People have the righ
to believe and promote any ideology they desire
This unfortunately includes the KKK, whicl
recently asked to have a show on a public cabl<
television station in Kansas Ciry to promote it:
philosophy and ask for members.
A clip featuring a Klan member made it onto th<
Letters t o thi
:
USC students lesson too
m The result
lisregarded 7$
that seem:
ro the Editor: shoulders
The cost of tuition continues to or a jealoi
ise at the University of South Other p
Carolina, but the quality of educa- cast sequt
ion continues to fall - at least in one the studen
ollege at USC. broken, <
The College of Journalism and faculty do
dass Communications raised the re- to proper!
luirements from a 2.2 GPA to a 2.5 operations
n 1986 in an attempt to raise the frustratior
ating of the school. The main ingre- extra help
lient that seems to be forgotten by ty; in mj
he Broadcast sequence is the quality usually to
>f instruction. personal b
It appears that class time is spent whenever
vith talk of what has been done but Many ti
tot much time on how the student a chance t
hould accomplish the task at hand. dent ratinj
rhe student learns by making very impo:
nistakes on projects turned in for a feel that a
;rade; "You should have done so the class
ind so." Why didn't the professor then the a
nstructon the "How'' and "What" to either r
jefore the project? The student suf- him or 1
ers the bad grade and learned the students' <
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K-UP PRCCEPUPE' . SUfciJU.
EMERGENCY T -t ?fc
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in opportunity
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e
drink at 21; marry at 25; have kids before 30; retire co
I at 65; die at 72. Sounds pretty boring, doesn't it? th
Age barriers would at least make sense if they ou
i were reliable guideposts of maturity. But as wi
f everyone knows (or should know), age is probably
the worst possible scale to judge maturity by. I fo
s know some very immature 25-year-olds whom I re;
II wouldn't trust near my liquor cabinet and some ex- de
a tremely mature 18-year-olds whom I'd give my car es]
i keys for a weekend. T1
Not that it's easy to judge maturity by means be
a other than age; I'm sure that it could be very dif- all
s ficult. But should people be judged inaccurately fr<
1 because authorities aren't willing to take more time
i to make a better evaluation? I j
Anyway, now that I have all of that out of my pl<
i system, let's see if I can't lighten up a bit ... . wi
re;
i Turning 21 - what a feeling! Already I'm plann;
ing out the following weeks, trying to take advan- mi
; tage of my new freedom. What can I do? an
't use TV to spi
?? ? ter
eleven o'clock news. The man in the clip, complete am
with an army hat and a Confederate flag, expound- as
ed on the need to end segragation, eliminate ex- po;
isting Equal Opportunity laws and prevent inter- the
marriage. ]
He did not go so far as to state that blacks, Jews, siti
Catholics, women and persons of varying sexual yoi
orientation are inferior and therefore entitled to ho
fewer rights than a white male. But anyone who
has been privy to the speeches and rallies of the the
Klan has heard these and other profoundly de- suj
meaning, racist and sexist sentiments expressed. rea
Although the American Civil Liberties Union bo
may argue that the Klan has the right to air time on
cable television, to do so would allow an Th
* editor
I IIi i:. 1. I hi mi HI 11111
late to change that grade. Many students get dissatisf
. lb liusiiaicu biuucuib. 111 nabbCb aiiu iwiiitnib
n, the fault lies in the lack class. At the beginning
instruction by a faculty semester, students are given i
s to carry a chip on their outline with required text
- a "don't care" attitude and daily assignments, bui
usy for the students. classes meet and none of the c
roblems exist in the Broad- tures cover the required text
:nce. One, the equipment for the day; but when test tii
t has to use is usually either around, the required text
Dutdated, scarce, or the may be all that is on the test
esn't know enough about it If that is the way the class
ly instruct the student on then why is a professor re
i. Again the student suffers Why not have standardize
1. Then, if students need printed up by the book auth
, they can forget the facul- administer the tests to s
/ opinion, the faculty is periodically, and save th
o busy with committies or thousands of dollars on pi
usiness to spend extra time salaries and benefits. Many
students need it. tests given in the classes an
mes the students do not get type exams which professt
:o rate the professors. Stu- score any way they choos<
is of professors should be a possible that the professor's
rtant factor. If the students toward a student may aff
professor is not instructing grades that student receives,
properly and effectively, In a regular class, the stude
idministration should look certain amount of class mee
eplace the .professor..or let drop the class .without a pena
ier know the about the not in an internship in the Br
:oncerns. sequence. Once the contract i
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.. r^- OPEN THE P<?PTOa,E
for thought
Actually, I probably won't take quite as many
>erties as you might think. For example, I refuse
drink to excess just because I'm old enough to.
/e never been able to understand behavior like
at; why someone would consume so much
:ohol (or other substances) as to lose contact with
ality is beyond me. It certainly isn't "cool" - if
meone gets falling-down drunk at a club, people
rtainly don't stand up and applaud.
More than anything else, I will enjoy the
jedom to go where I want if I choose to. No
nger will I be turned away from seeing my
vorite bands. I can proudly walk into Scarlett's
id watch The Ed Crosby Big Band or go to
>ckefella's to see 10,000 Maniacs.
When I finish a heavy day at work at a local
mputer corporation, I don't have to worry about
e embarrassment of saying, "Uh, I'd like to go
it with you guys, but... I have to spin my
heels, I mean, rotate my tires."
My 21st birthday will not only mark my newund
freedom but also establish me as a person
spected by the under-age community. I will sudnly
be a great person to invite to parties,
pecially if I'm stopping at Green's along the way.
lat little piece of State-issued documentation will
the key to a side of society I have never been
lowed to participate in - although I graduated
3m USC two and a half months ago.
Of course, I could have been wrong all this time,
ust might wake up next Wednesday with a com
sieiy new ouuook on are - a new maiuruy mat
11 help me make better judgments about social
sponsibility.
The only thing I really worry about, though, is
aking sure that my kids never read this
tide ....
ead ideology
janizatiion that is utterly without merit and
>rally reprehensible access to a wider audience,
nply because a group has the right, according to
: First Amendment, to stand out on any public
eet cofner in the land and scream its views to
[h heaven, this right does not and should not exid
to privately-owned media sources. Television
d radio stations have just as much right to refuse
the Klan does to ask. Anyone who wishes to exse
themselves or their children to the ideology of
: Klan can do so.
Parents and other adults need to be aware of the
jation. To run the risk of unknowingly exposing
ung, unsupervised children to these views,
wever, is quite another matter,
rhough people do not need to watch anything
:y don't want to, a case can certainly be made for
jervising children's viewing, knowing what they
id and discussing it with them. Skinheads are not
rn, they're molded.
e Oracle, the University of Southern Florida
;
ied with by the University and the sponsor, I
for the the student has no way out. The stu- ;
of the dent has to accept a grade of A, C or ;
i course F, even if the sponsor decided that
reading after one day that the student is not
t many what was expected. Again, the fee- lass
lec- paying student is the forgotten ingre- I
reading dient in the process,
me rolls Another problem facing a student ;
reading transferring into the College of Journalism
and Mass Communications is *
is to be, the waiting to be accepted into the I
quired? school. Not until grades are recorded I
id tests at the end of the semester and the ap- ;
ors and plication is received is the student
itudents notified of acceptance. If the student
e state desires to pre-register it is impossible
rofessor unless applied for a year in advance. I
of the Students realize that if they do not "
a aooavt nrP_ror?;r>??- MiOflV plopprtr. ...ill Ka filla<-1
- cwaj- F*v-iv5i3ici mo"; win ^ *nicu
>rs can and they will not be able to get into "
It is them,
feelings Therefore, if tuition and professor
ect the salaries continue to increase, some
thought should be given to the main :
nt has a purpose of having the University and
tings to its professors - the student.
Jty; but
oadcast George Deas
s signed Journalism Senior