University of South Carolina Libraries
Necessary Needs of Russell House justify increase in student activity fees Nothing comes for free, especially on college campuses. USC students, who face a mountain of fees and tuition every semester, are familiar with this fact of life. Although these costs rise all too often, a proposed increase in student activity fees is a necessary burden. Student activity fees pay for many of the benefits that students enjoy at USC. The $25 fee is mandatory for full-time undergraduate students and optional for part-time and graduate students. Under the proposal, students would pay $12 more a semester. More than $264,000 of the fees goes toward the Golden Spur, Carolina Program Union, intramurals, Bell Camp, women's student services, the student life activities office and many other facets of life on campus. The revenue the fee generates also allows students to see Gamecock football and basketball games, events that non-students pay a lot of money to see. In short, the fees provide students with the entertainment and recreation of college life. USC students pay one of the lowest non-academic fees in the South. Each semester, the university charges about $107 per student to pay for student activities, the health center and athletics. By comparison, Florida State students pay $230 a semester for* those services, and the University of Virginia charges $273. Furthermore, student activity fees at USC have not been raised since 1981. A fee increase will provide about $50,000 for minor renovations at the Russell House. Much of the furniture, carpeting and equipment in the university union is more than 12 years old and needs to be replaced. Still, even the proposed increase will not cover the costs of all the renovations needed at the Russell House, including a new projector for the theater. No one wants any kind of costs to rise, but an increase in student activity fees is an inevitable burden. Extra funds are needed to renovate the Russell House, the hub of student activity at USC. The increase is justified, and students should be prepared to accept it. RETURN OF THE PlhlOSAUfiS The Gamecock Best Non-daily Collegiate Newspaper, Southeastern Region Society of Professional Journalists, 1987-88 Editor in Chief Datebook Editor v ANDY BECHTEL JAN PHILLIPS Managing Editor Graphics Editor JEEP SHREWSBURY MICHAEL SHARP Copy Desk Chief Comjcs Edjtor KATHY BLACKWELL TRACY MIXSON Assistant Copy Desk Chief Graduate Assistant CARYN CRABB ROBERT STEVENSON News Ed,tor Adviser MAKY PEARSON PAT MCNEELY Assign. News Editors Director of Student Media KELLY C. THOMAS ?D BONZA SUSAN NESBITT Advertising Manager Features Editor MARGARET MICHELS TODD HINES Production Manager Assistant Features Editor ( aura DAY TOMMY JOYNER Assistant Production Manager Sports Editor RAY BURGOS KEVIN ADAMS A *A a w . . ? , ?? Assistant Advertising Manager Assistant Sports Editor BARBARA BROWN CHRIS SILVESTRI Photography Editor TEDDY LEPP Letters Policy! The Gamecock will try to prinl all letters received. Letters should he. at a maximum. 25*) It* 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. /lite Shower Sial Av^miTz mi Lawyers wl If I were a lawyer, I would be angry. I'd 1 as hell, in fact. Lawyers already have a sleazy reputation i people's eyes, anyway. They are conside many to be cheap, money-sucking scum. 1 thought to be parasites on the truth and onl> advance their own personal political ambiti For the most part, they are not. The law sion is an honorable, respectable on< sometimes lawyers don't think about wf public thinks and do something so inc stupid that all the bad feelings resurface. Take, for example, these commercials we television by law firms advertising about t vices they offer for those who have been hui accident. You see some lawyer, or an actor pla lawyer, coming on the screen telling you to c if you've been hurt in an industrial or auto accident. "If you've been in an accident y get compensation, so just call us," they saj Now I'm not suggesting in any way that who have been seriously hurt in an accident entitled to compensation, because in man; they are. What I am saying, however, is thes mercials that implore people to sue are desp These ads always seem to make the sta lifters tn i -m** w w "m** w * Article on Dali < disrespectful *? thr< To the editor: Arr Maybe this letter should be ad- hav dressed to the assistant features eve editor. I found the first paragraph of age the article about the death of edu Salvador Dali distasteful. gur In reading the first paragraph, I da> was not expecting a "sick" punch dru line, only the facts of his death ? saf< where, when and how, not sick rap humor. As a final remembrance of a we' person, try to make it a peaceful one, lost not a punch line. the estt Les Alverson Nal Broadcast journalism junior Is gre des Moral decline j| plagues U.S. 1 o the editor: In response to Wednesday's editorial about abortion, we wish to correct a common misconception. To think that as Americans we must have the freedom to choose to do whatever we want reflects the mind "D set responsible for the decline of XT ethics and moral values so prevalent today. J*| As a nation, we must have freedom with form. That means guidelines; a world without guidelines is a world in To chaos. Abortion is not an issue of I depriving us of our personal bac freedom; it is a moral issue involving tior the sanctity of life. con Despite our vast knowledge, the the beginnings of life are still mysterious. sioi All we really know is that the miracle gov of life begins at the moment of con- agn ception. We need to stop looking for abo ways to justify abortion. We must chil begin taking responsibility for our 1 actions instead of punishing the un- pro born for our indiscretions. out Abortion is one of the many issues farr that is leading America and her value we Advances ii GERMAJ ENGINEERS r-:v I. tio adverti De mad r " " """-~" n most red by rhey're 01,110 icff ons. jcii profes- Shrewsbury but lat the , redibly see on he serrt in an that the lawyers don't get If they're going to do thi ying a come out and say "Hey, hi all him Well, call us, and we'll mobile anything we can get. We'll ou can what happens. If we can /. him, great, all the better f people Partners in, dare I say, aren't When I see these comm y cases that comes to my mind is ;e com- Like I said, if I were a h licable. lawyer, I would be hoppin tement These commercials are the editor tern down a path of destruction. : modern "age of enlightenment" produced a large following of ular humanists who believe man i bring about a better society ough his own means. Wake up, lerica! Why do you think we're 'ing a tremendous moral decline in ry facet of our lives? Thirty years >, the biggest problems in public [cation were students chewing n, talking in class and graffiti. To' we've got rampant crime, illicit igs and escort services to provide a e way home so women don't get ed. Could the answer be that ve turned our backs on God and : the values that He gave to us ? same ones our forefathers iblished this great nation upon? h, that would be too simple. Jo pessimism here ? God has at things in store for people who ire a relationship with Him. Our )e is that you turn your eyes to n and ask Him how you can iblish that relationship and help ke this a better place to live. Scott Lamar School of medicine Jeff Robinson School of engineering l* n no ro-iiiers otter jal choices the editor: 'm sure you're expecting a klash to your editorial on abor1, and I feel obliged to aclodate you. Examine, if you will, title ? "Abortion: crucial deci1 should remain with mother, not ernment." That sounds like we're eeing on something. We're talking >ut mothers, and mothers have dren. 'hroughout your treatment of -lifers, you never really did come from behind your own all-tooliliar pro-choice lines. Likewise, tire of hearing yours. You, in ri di i . i m rnarmaceuticai riz 1939ise taint rep 1 people who have for the truth anc for below-avera? to do e sue and make a # ! f Why don't th '*"* ' JL^^mBB throw themselve f*~ people who hit t M| Lawyers have JJf believe they are i bitious scum w for Lawyers shou desire, because t paid unless you do. clients as much ; s, I wish they would just mercials are hid ive you had an accident? I wonder if the I squeeze the guy for really understan I sue that mutha and see public image of get some money out of comfortable wit or both of us." wonder if these ? crime. in their possessic lercials, the only phrase scene of an acci< "ambulance chasers." Slimers, that': ard-working, honorable They are a pin ig mad. sion, and it's up not for the benefit of and say "no mc i I , : tact, tail to see the point. wil Children are dying because sea Americans are apathetic. They hide wh behind the pro-choice slogan and pec don't provide any choices. I worked to at a crisis pregnancy center for two years, and do you have any idea how many girls came in there crying because they didn't want to have an abortion, but couldn't see any other choice? A So you think you're pro-choice? ?1 What choices do you believe in? If you truly believe in choice, why don't rl all you great supporters of it go and start a support group for young mothers? Where are you when a To woman makes her choice to try and I give her child a chance at life? Who wa: provides the homes for teenage lib< mothers, the maternity clothes to the sim struggling mother and the shoulder rep to cry on for the girl who sacrificed ove the love of her boyfriend for the life > of her child? The pro-life supporters det are there. Where are you? vs. In life, we all have choices, but just mo having them doesn't make them of equally good. The choice to have an test abortion may not cause great emo- Foi tional pain. The choice to have an plei abortion may not physically harm a pre woman, but the choice to have an Co abortion does halt a pregnancy by vat violently ending the early stages of unr the life of a human being. woi Oh. but "science hasn't determin- fre< ed when life begins." Now there's a con catchy line. It's a lot like saying the spe demolition crew hasn't determined if tivt anyone lives in the building yet, so cor let's destroy it anyway. har Whaf if someone does live there? clin The truth is the demolition crew is gov getting paid a whole lot of money to tovv knock down the building, so they pre don't care who's inside. will Even if science admitted that any S reasonable definition of life would sho include the tiny, little child in the tiot womb, would anybody care? Hardly. oth Most of the great, humanitarian sile abortion providers (variation on dist "murderers" this time, Mr. Editor) con are making large profits off of our hav society's whole arrangement. You're right. Abortion won't end if Roe vs. Wade is changed. Someone mt" lutation : really been hurt. They do nothing 1 fair compensation. These ads are >e law firms that have no other way xcept get people to think they can living at it. ese slime kings just hire people to s in front of cars and then sue the hem? enough problems getting people to not money-sucking, politically amithout these pinheads giving the he fight. Id be able to advertise if they so hey need to get their services to the as anyone, but these types of corneous. :se law firms that advertise like this d the damage they're doing to the attorneys. I wonder if they feel h the message they are sending. I ;uys have an emergency band radio >n at all times so they can be on the dent before the police. 5 what they are. iple on the face of the legal profesto the legal profession to stand up ?re." 1 always be there to prey on the red and ashamed young women o become pregnant; only this time )Dle like von will finallv he fnrreH provide them options. Elizabeth Calhoun Humanities freshman Former Birthright volunteer ibortion must e kept legal the editor: n 1973, Roe vs. Wade passed and s heralded as a major step in the :ration of women. The decision iply gave women choice in their roductive responsibilities, but the :rall meaning was not that simple. Ve have all witnessed bitter >ates about the rights of the fetus the rights of women. In recent nths, we have seen an escalation the pro-life movement as pro:ers block entrances of clinics, mer president Ronald Reagan has dged to continue pushing forth the -life movement as the Supreme urt becomes increasingly conserive. As we watch these events avel, I can only wonder if we, men and men who enjoy our :uonis as Americans, are going 10 inter-protest. Are we going to ak up for the need for reproduc: rights in this country? Will we itinue to sit by idly as protesters ass women seeking help in legal lies? Are we going to tolerate our 'ernment's lack of responsibility /ard reasonable alternatives and ventatives? As we continue forth, I we march for the right of choice? ladly, we rest the burden on the ulders of groups such as the Nalal Organization for Women and er special-interest groups. As we I ntly stand back and watch, it I urbs me that action will only ; ae too late when we no longer e the right of choice. Karen Smith Sociology jun<or *