Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Vote Students' plans for fall break should include casting ballots The election is now two weeks and a day away. And because our fall break includes Election Day, students will begin making travel olans. Let's hope all those students who didn't plan soon enough to get an absentee ballot will include a trip home in those plans so they can visit their local election district and vote. Voting is an American right, but it's also a responsibility. Students, you need to get out and vote, because if not, we'll get exactly what we deserve, more ineffective government, at least as far as students and young Americans are concerned. Vice President George Bush says he wants to be the education president. If you believe him and support other parts of his platform, you won't be doing him any good by heading to some beach or some party town to get drunk until you stumble back to campus five minutes before classes begin the day after fall break. Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis says he is for better student loans and enforcement of repayment of outstanding student loans. If you think he's sincere, than just make plans to be in a voting booth come Election Day. You won't do him anv good if you take a cross country tour. This is a genuine opportunity for students to unite as a group and choose a president that will serve their interests as well as others. It would be about time too, because the current administration has been no friend to students. Student loans have been cut back, qualifications have been changed so that fewer students from middle income families can qualify or have a tougher time qualifying. Students who need loans are having trouble getting them. Also, it was the Reagan administration that blackmailed most states into raising their drinking ages so the states could qualify for much needed federal funds for highway improvements. This affected students, some high school students, but mostly college students. Many of them didn't like it one bit. So it is easy to see the current administration has been no friend of student voters and young voters. If you think Bush will continue the trend, vote against him. If you think Dukakis will do more harm than good to education, vote against him. But vote. Stand up and be counted as part of the process of America. If you don't, you'll get exactly the kind of government you deserve ? weak, ineffective clowns who think they only have to be responsible to a small American minority of people whn tctlrf* timp tr\ \rr\ia "liV UUIW IXXA1V- IV/ v V/ IV Vote. Make your plans now so that you'll either mail in that absentee ballot on time, or you'll be in your home town or county in time to vote. It's an important decision for you. Plan ahead. The Gamecock Best Non-daily Collegiate Newspaper, Southeastern Region Society of Professional Journalists, 1987-88 Editor in Chief Viewpoint Editor STEPHEN GUILFOYLE SON HA Copy Desk Chief Datebook Editor WAYNE YANG JENNY SHARPE Assistant Copy Desk Chief Graphics Editor KATHY BLACKWELL MICHAEL SHARP News Editor Comics Editor HAL MILLARD TRACY MIXSON Assistant News Editors Adviser STEVE PRADARELLI PAT MCNEELY A d v r*r? a nrr\VT ? . mni\ I rH/\IS.3WI"N graduate Assistant Features Editor PHILLIP MCKENZIE SUSAN NESBITT Director of Student Media Assistant Features Editor ED BONZA TOMMY JOYNER Advertising Manager Spors Editor MARGARET MICHELS KEVIN ADAMS Production Manager Assistant Sports Editor LAURA DAY CHRIS SILVESTRI Assistant Production Manager Photography Editors RAY BURGOS BRIAN SAULS Assistant Advertising Manager TEDDY LEPP BARBARA BROWN Letters Policy: The Gamecock will try to print letters received. Letters should be, at a maximum, 250 to 300 words long. Guest editorials should not exceed 500 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for style or possible libel. The Gamecock will not withhold names under any circumstance. CPS 1 I No parkii Should freshman be allowed to par! No? I bet you're an upperclassr hypocrite. I am constantly amazed at the num who propose, as a partial solution to c parking problem, that freshmen sh allowed to have cars at USC. Who makes these proposals? Not i not freshmen, but upperclassmen w restricted as freshmen themselves (ani fought vehemently if the idea was pr< I am a graduate student, but I oppc against freshmen, or any other class o that matter. I wasn't a freshmen at I sophomore transfer student I was co for administrative purposes. Woul meant I couldn't have my car at car couldn't go to work, or enjoy the sa tivities that other students enjoyed? 1 Most universities don't allow fresh cars, these proponents charge. Even after I told her my position on thi Eastern Michigan didn't. She rode th But iust because something has bee past doesn't mean that it's right. Sou apartheid, but most people would wrong. England has had royalty for c Letters to Fall day had different scent To the editor: It seemed to be one of those ordinary fall days when I woke up around 9 a.m. Wednesday. It had rained the nijdit before, and there was still that damp feeling coming through my open dorm window. I reached for my towel and shower supplies and headed down the hall to start my morning routine. There was a light fiery scent in the air; something like a cross between burnt toast and an overused hairdryer. I thought nothing of it at the time and proceeded through the rest of my itinerary. My choice of clothing was slim, being the end of the wash week, but I managed to collect a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. I collected my books and headed out the door to grab the next available shuttle. That burnt scent became more potent, and I realized by its clearer definition it was the tarring of the Roost roof. It was 30 minutes before class and I felt that was adequate time for the everprompt transportation service to get me to my destination. I had a test in this class, and I wasted no time cracking open the pages as I glazed through those to be covered on this exam. I sat on the curb which put me about two feet from the path of the shuttle. It had only been about 11 minutes waiting time when it finally came. I knew it would stop as it always had in front of my feet. The flashers flashed as the driver overshot his target by only 10 inches. The door fluttered open revealing its need for grease in its hinges as its high-mileage engine puttered at a standstill. As I entered its confines, my eyes 1 searched the cushions for the closest possible vacancy. I checked to the rieht and then to the left and soon after I headed to the rear of the bus. A two-foot gap was parted by two lovely young ladies each eager to tackle their next scheduled class of the day. It was the center spot in the back of the bus; the one with the best view of exactly where we were going. We then started to roll, and I couldn't help but think of the runaway bus scene in Nightmare on Elm Street. (The part when Freddie Kreuger drove the bus wildly through an open-pitted field.) At that moment I had no idea of the events that would occur thereafter. After scooping up, and dropping off various passengers at Bates House and Park Circle, we approached the base of what seemed to be Mount Everest. The driver clinched the steering wheel as if to say "Just one more time Nellie" as he peered up the path of this neverending slope. I had the same view just 12 feet further away which made me feel that it was also my job for the unit to reach the peak. He gunned the engine as the light luintu gittn, anu it icspunucu Willi its usual hesitation. The wheels powered us to our top speed just 50 feet up the 300-foot hill. At that instant, the signs of age set in; our speed sS5 IflAKAMI /M VTllfM/- #V>| I'lwwcMv wbimrtu 911 ag for fresl k on campus? p-^?? nen. And a ber of people >ur imaginary tould not be ne. Certainly Todd ho were not Christensen d would have aposed then). ?se any action f student, for JSC, but as a ???? msidered one d that have it certainly wouldn't go tipus? That I States. Don't make fr< me social ac- because they have been n rhink again. Just imagine ? freshm imen to have pus, because they can my mother, sidewalks become overcr is issue, said underclassmen. And alth _ i i _i. n i i . i e dus a 101. K.ccdok Registration aen: n done in the resolution is passed that th Africa has sidewalk; they shall henc< say that it's Seems fair, huh? :enturies, but And all of that extra w; the editor decreased rapidly as the driver tried to escape the resistance of the height. Onlookers would probably see the headlights squinting and driver leaning forward trying their best to defeat nature and the elements as a team. Drivers behind had to keep their distance as the visibility of their path was lost due to the black diesel smoke too thick to be cut by windshield wipers alone. It poured from our siie pipes with such fury as if to signal a bad storm approaching. Before long, we reached the apex at the pinnacle of this angle. The driver seemed to give a long sigh of relief or at least one of conquering this monsterous escalation. He applied his right direction as I zipped my bag sealing my possessions from emptying on the pavement on my way to class. About 25 feet before our stop, the bus began to fill with an oil stench and light, hazy smoke. The doors parted, and half the volume filed through the passageway as the smoke thickened. "Do you think this will be your last stop?" I questioned our fearless captain as the number of seated passengers dwindled to but a few. The engine cut off. Just then the driver tried to crank the tired engine. "Get out of there!" shouted a passer-by, as flames darted from the cockpit of the engine casing. I was one of the last five left on this brewing nightmare of mechanical miscalculation. I scurried out the exit and proceeded down the street to my class building at LeConte. I entered the building quickly because of my desperate need to use the facilities. I wasn't gone longer than five minutes when I returned to see how they resolved the situation. As I approached the sidewalk in front of LeConte, sirens muted the mutterings of passers-by, explaining to each other what was going on and how it happened. The burnt toast, that had turned to roof-tarring, that had turned to an oil stench was now a towering inferno that had grasped the aural taste of every USC student on that block. Well at least now I have something to write home about. Ken Welch mathematics senior Don't judge homosexuals To the editor: I read with interest the letters to the editor of Oct. 14 concerning the personal ads of homosexuals. I was reminded of a passage in 1 Corinthians 6 which says, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindelers, shall inherit the kingdom >? Ui VJUU. But before we start our condemnation, let's keep reading the rest of the passage. "And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord OH HO fA&OL (FCA-approv&D) A ^ lmen just ??????? some appet campus eat< cupied. De< will be sol\ resolution i: will stand perclassmer of course, tl more rest. If this is j ing for a fe1 and within i ??????I to do some The answ over well in the United found in pei eshmen scapegoats just others. Tha lade to be in the past. some practii ten walking all over cam- For exan 't drive anymore. The should have owded with a deluge of just for faci ough the Department of space for pa ies any problem exists, a tically. Go 1 freshmen cannot use the Work tog iforth walk in the gutter. from the en Hypocrisy \ alking certainly will build any sooner. Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God." It is time we recognize we are sinners in the sight of God, just like homosexuals. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. If it wasn't for the grace of God we would all be doomed to suffer the consequences of our sins. &ut God, out of" His love.for us, sent Hisiohly sen, Jesus Christ, to die for them and to buy us back for the Father. God did not send Jesus here to judge the world, but that the world shoud be saved through Him. And this invitation is open to all, homosexuals and heterosexuals, because we all have sinned. And the promise is this, that "whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." David Koon School of Medicine Newspaper exaggerates To the editor: 'Ah, The Gamecock, beloved bastion of all that is true and objective. Surely I jest. r\nr?P OftOin tUo niftftlar v/nvv U5U111, HIV UVU^lIJ'lt IH55IU of our, dare I say, student newspaper have traipsed their mighty pens on all too sullied ground. I refer to the article on page one of Wednesday's The Gamecock. "Columbia police arrest 3 USC football players" complete with photos and the indictment, er editorial on page three. In no way is this condoning the embarrassing activity that occurred Sunday morning. Rather, it is an attempt to "set the record straight," (funny, I thought that was The Gamecock's job!), as well as, if I may, admonish the here-to-fore unknown editorial writer. It is true that members of any major college athletic program lose certain rights of privacy on account of their public position, and may sacrifice some otherwise natural laws of proportionality. But these facts do not exclude them from fair and proper handling of an isolated incident. As journalists, The Gamecock staff must uphold and protect a specific right available to each and every individual as stated in the U.S. Constitution ? right to a fair trial. Conseauentlv The Gamecock staff must use proper perspective and sound judgment when addressing such an incident to avoid damage or dereliction of each individual's right. The arrest of the three individuals was quickly acted on by the football team staff, irrespective of guilt or innocence. Accordingly, only two of the three individuals, or "thugs," as the anonymous editor so bravely asserted, were suspended for one game because only two of the three are eligible. However, as stated in the police report, it was only this third individual who was implicated in this "attempted rape," which to my understanding is ludicrous hyperbole and will be subjected to trial. The first two were charged with public drunkeness and two counts of disorderly conduct, a far cry from "attempted rape," and were granted beginning ites. The Grand Marketplace and other ;ries are packed; all of the seating is oc>pite Marriot claims that the problem red by arriving to eat earlier, another s passed. For the good of all, freshmen at attention and eat so that the upi may have seats. The rationale being, bat they are older and their bodies need And besides, standing at attention icter. four idea of justice, the Citadel is lookw students, only a hundred miles away t>diking distance of the beach. Feel free gutter-strolling yourself, er for better student parking isn't to be lalizing some students to the benefit of t's been done enough. Come up with cal solutions. iple, all new buildings on campus a parking garage under them. And not ulty, either. We don't have horizontal rking on campus, so we must build verjallistic, as Goose would say. ether or not at all. Only a unified effort tire student body will produce results, von't find an elusive five-hour meter mm '' i mm pre-trial intervention, an option available to first-time pffenders. The editorial writer should refrain from "guilt by association" and recognize the dangers of offering opinions about a defendant's guilt, innocence or character. I will no^ even bother to discuss objectivity because, on this case, it lio&'fiot even-apply, "fhe placement .,of the story and the tone and the erroneous nature of the editorial did much to underscore the inflammatory accentuation of the incident and the persecution of the individuals. The arrest of three USC student athletes is indeed news with merit, but The Gamecock's not-soinadvertant overexposure and distortion of the story itself and the related facts are nothing more than, pardon the vernacular, "piling on." As The Gamecock staff knows, merit may be increased dramatically through gross overstatement, a tactic they employ quite often, especially regarding the Athletic Department. Perhaps there are some ill-feelings or predispositions housed on The Gamecock staff regarding the Athletic Department, but that is mere speculation. It is interesting to note hnwever The Gamecock's instrumental role in crying about alleged preferential treatment for student-athletes juxtaposed with the staff's apparent enthusiasm in deriding the entire program. Yes, The Gamecock staff may sit priggishly in their ivory tower and lambaste all that is wrong with USC and society, anonymity assured. Paradoxically speaking, The Gamecock is the greatest, for students' "editorials" must be signed. If the staff wants to keep this privilege, try factual reporting and not speculative, lest you lose this cowardly defense and scream bloody murder. As for the student-athletes not being "representative of the students," which in this instance may be true, it is of this writer's opinion that The Gamecock staff can hardly hold its collective head high as representative of USC. As for Tommy Chaikin, which The Gamecock will customarily report on three of four days after the fact, it would be wise to carefully consider the source, his vindictiveness and his instability. Jim Pepe journalism graduate Comic strip not amusing To the editor: We are sorry but it has to be said. Ratt U. is just not funny] Ted Moore electrical engineering junior Glenn Williams mechanical engineering junior Herbie Redick mechanical engineering junior Paul Sweany marketing junior