The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 30, 1989, Page 2, Image 2
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
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ANDY BECHTEL JAN PHILLIPS
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Assign. News Editors Director of Student Media
KELLY C. THOMAS ?D BONZA
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Assistant Features Editor ( aura DAY
TOMMY JOYNER Assistant Production Manager
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. . ? , ?? Assistant Advertising Manager
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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 *