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English Federal government should not legislate on issue of language In the wakev of 13 state referendums about the issue of language in the past five years, the move toward making English the official tongue of the United States is gaining momentum at an alarming rate. An amendment to the Constitution declaring English the official language would have a chilling effect on not only recent immigrants, but all Americans. A number of organizations have formed in the past few years to advocate English as the official language of the United States. The names of these groups ? U.S. English, the American Ethnic Coalition ? reflect the underlying tone of discrimination in their quest. These advocates warn that the influx of Hispanics, Asians and other immigrants could create a culturally divided, bilingual country. They claim that recent immigrants are not learning English. The answer, they say, is an amendment to the Constitution making English the official language and legislation restricting rules for prospective citizens. Immigrants to this country should be ready to accept aspects of its culture, and studies show that they are willing to do so. A survey in Florida indicated that Hispanic parents are more concerned about their children reading and writing English than non-Hispanic parents are. Most immigrants are eager to join the mainstream of American society, which happens to use the English language to communicate. It is in their own best interest to become fluent in the tongue that most people in this country speak; they do not need a law to force them to learn English because most immigrants do so voluntarily. Furthermore, the framers of the Constitution did not include an amendment concerning an official language when they drafted the document, although at that time many people spoke languages other than English. They did not include an amend- f ment because it was not needed. More than 200 years later, it still is not needed. America has a rich tradition of assimilating the "huddled masses" into this land. This nation was built on immigrants, most of whom could speak little English when they arrived. Now r is not the time to break from that tradition. a Making English the official language of the United States s would be a slap in the face to immigrants past and present. Worse yet, such legislation could be used as a tool of discrimina- ( tion and worsen ethnic tensions in this country. ( ( Helping University shows compassion [ for victims of off-campus fire i c Although the university's administration is often criticized for not caring about students, it has done an excellent job helping d out some USC students left homeless by a devastating fire. The blaze, which destroyed an apartment building on Gregg Street Friday, left 11 students without a place to live. In a matter \, of a few minutes, these students lost almost everything they owned. They were left standing on the cold, wet street with not v much more than the clothes on their backs. e The shock of what had happened must have been devastating ^ for them. University officials acted swiftly to help the students pick up h the pieces and adjust to the crisis. They offered free temporary w housing in the Towers, helped get them new ID cards and worked with the University Bookstore to replace textbooks. The n university also provided pillows, sheets and other necessities to rthe displaced students. Campus chaplains visited with them to offer advice and support. Neighbors offered coats and allowed the students to call k home to tell their parents what had happened. Fellow students 1 have also helped out, donating clothes and raising money. Many on campus at the time of the fire rushed to the scene to see what ^ they could do to help. ^ The victims of the fire said they cannot thank everyone k enough for the kindness and help they have received. Everyone involved in helping these students deserves to be T praised, especially the people at Off-Campus Student Services. The university should be commended for going above and ^ beyond the call of duty by helping these off-campus students s< rone with this disaster h o The Gamecock it ???.q Best Non-daily Collegiate Newspaper, Southeastern Region ei Society of Professional Journalists, 1987-88 r< Editor in Chief Datebook Editor 1 ANDV BECHTEL JAN PHILLIPS Managing Editor Graphics Editor S| JEFL SHREWSBURY MICHAEL SHARP Sl Copy Desk Chief Comics Editor KATHY BLACKWELL TR\CY MIXSON Assistant Copy Desk Chief Graduate Assistant CARYNCRABB ROBERT STEVENSON P Ne?s Editor Adviser et MARY PEARSON pAT MCNEELY ? Assistant NewsEdilors Director of Stndent Media tc KtLLY C. 1 HUMAS pn D?N,? . SUSAN NESBITT ' BONZA a Features Editor Advert,sing Manager ? TODD HINES MARGARET MIC HELS Assistant Features Editor LAU^Ra"da\ TOMMY JOYNER Assjs(an( produc|ion Mana A S ' " RAY BURGOS ** KEVIN ADAMS . . . D Assistant Sports Editor A^"wn 8 P' CHRIS SILVESTRI BARBARA BR( WN vj Photography Editor m TEDDY LEPP u T Letters Policj . the Gamecock will ir> to print all Inters received. I.etlers should he. at a maximum, 250 to 300 words long, (.uesl editorials should not exceed 500 s-ords. We reserve the right to edit letters for stvle or A possible libel. The Gamecock will not withhold names under anv circumstance fc Typecasting pi Whpnpvpr I CPP Pnmmprpiolc that or/a ctrir?tl\; f nade up of actors and actresses playing parts they nade famous years ago, I get a strange feeling. It's i feeling of either disgust for the advertisers or ympathy for the actors. I am not sure which. Take Gilligan of Gilligan's Island. His name is Bob Denver. Everyone sees him as jilligan. He says people on the street call him jilligan. Whenever he is on television, he is jilligan. It doesn't matter if he is playing another >art. I saw Denver in a movie once with Michael J. :ox where he played the father of one of the haracters. He was completely different from jilligan, but the whole time I kept thinking, "Hey, vhat's Gilligan doing as this guy's father?" t They call it typecasting. When actors get famous t n one memorable role, people expect them to stay n that role or at least that genre forever. They get Z ised to seeing them one way, and they can't deviate A r disassociate him from that role. b It's really not the fault of the viewers. They ti lon't do it on purpose, but it happens just the t; ame. c Take the tragic case of George Reeves. His story V 5 the epitome of the typecasting problem. b Reeves played Superman in the old TV series and C /as tremendously famous for it. He was loved by tl veryone as Superman. When his show was cancelld, everyone still thought of him as Superman. He si ad trouble getting roles for a long time after that. Reeves killed himself. Some who were close to tl im say he was distraught because he could not get /ork other than playing Superman. n The feeling I get now when I see old actors n egurgitating their famous roles is mixed, but I h Letters to the Armenia needs those affected i . ^ i i nation or peop Students help Armenians net * us think about Armenia who r o the editor: attend and v I am an American-Armenian stu- rather than ho ent attending Rutgers University in futufe. Please lew Jersey. As 1 began this new Donations ?mester, 1 couldn't help but wonder AGBU Armer ow students in Armenia feel. Most River Rd., J f the students have lost loved ones 07662. nd friends, and many have been inared. In addition, most of the niversities in the area have been ampletely destroyed. It is estimated lat 88 schools were leveled within tree minutes on the day the earthuake hit. No one could have predicted the T^lnfln arthquake. However, we can help 1l Ivtlii ;build shattered lives. In particular, am asking that we as students T*?*?|| Fl rganize fund-raising events for the 1^ pecific purpose of rebuilding :hools and universities. To the editor: Funds can be raised in many dif- This letter is ;rent ways. Dances, concerts and the discussion c ther activities can be held for the son's article titl urpose of aiding the victims of the may ban pledg arthquake. Students can even in the Feb. rpanizp a neiphhnrhnnrl carrmaion dmnprnrk WP ) raise money. ing is a mattei Since the earthquake, I have been among fratern :tively involved in relief efforts that increasing rganized by the Armenian General nities are favoi enevolent Union. The AGBU, was dismayed itablished in 1906, is the largest failed to ment rmenian philanthropic organiza- citing example on in the world. AGBU's Board of have taken star irectors has pledged to spend 100 Perhaps t ;rcent of all money raised to aid the understandabl ctims in Armenia. Donations ear- Gamecock is a arked for a specific purpose will be Upsilon's stanc sed only for that purpose. not really cc herefore, all money raised by whereas opposi merican students will be used only cent trend amo >r that purpose. Upsilon has exf The cost to rebuild the shattered odious traditioi ( I uts performer Slisbury hink it really stems from a feeling of sadness for hem. When I see the entire GUligan cast, the cast from .eave It To Beaver and Grandpa from The Tunsters doing McDonald's commercials, 1 laugh ecause 1 like those characters, but I cry for the acars who probably want to continue their craft and ackle other roles. It leads me to wonder how much I would be conerned with roles I was taking if I were an actor. Vould I be conscious of the roles 1 was taking ecause 1 didn't want to get stuck into any genre? )r would I take a role regardless, with the feeling nat work is work? It's a tough dilemma. Look at the actors who are tarting to be typecast. Bill Murray, for one, plays different roles, but ley are really all the same. Murray plays Murray cutting up and being funy in different situations in almost every movie he takes. Sure, he is a great comedic actor, but that is ow he plays all his roles. He is being typecast in editor lenia and the lives of founding in 1834. Whe s too large for any one fraternities are only now b >le to bear alone. The realize that human dignit :d our assistance. Let and should never be con our fellow students in Delta Upsilon has known tow have no schools to pie since the moment of vho have questions, tion and has upheld it for 'pe, surrounding their a century and a half. Del help. Thank you. applauds the stands taken should be sent to da Chi Alpha and Zeta lia Aid, 585 Saddle against hazing and encoui saddle Brook, N.J. fraternities to do the sam< While the elimination o a worthy goal, I must, David Kevorkian question the elimination c AGBU as effective means towarc Saddle Brook, N.J. Pledging, in and of itself, My pledgeship was a positive experience, and it in achieving its goal of edc preparing me for active, f 111^ HOI. membership. The evil lies 1 i " during pledging; the decisi roulcni *s a c?nsci?us and voiui Delta Upsilon has pledge don't haze them. ; written in regard to E >f hazing in Lynn Gib- Del ed "Fraternity leaders ing," which appeared 13 issue of The lile it is true that haz of growing concern J-ilCV'U.vfMl al organizations and ~ # : numbers of fra.er; ensure tair 'ing its elimination, I to note that Gibson ion Delta Upsilon in To the editor: s of fraternities that In regards to the article ids against hazing. troversy delays vote coun his oversight is day's issue of The Gameci e. After all, The to respond as a memb newspaper, and Delta Judiciary Committee, a ' 1 against hazing does Student Government and, institute news. For portantly, a concerned stu tion to hazing is a re- When I filed the compla >ng fraternities, Delta ning Lorri Shealy and tf ?ressly forbidden that codes, my intentions wen l since the date of its the responsibility on any c s in dilemma those roles. When he tried to play a more serious, different role in Razor's Edge, the public and the critics pounded him as not being right for the part. Were they pounding him because he was wrong for the part, or were they pounding him because they were used to seeing him be funny and sarcastic? Look at Christopher Reeves ? no relation to George. Christopher has played Superman in all the four films, but he has done other work. His other films, however, have received little viewer response and bad reviews. Is that because he is a bad actor or because the public can't deal with him doing anything other than Superman? The dilemma is understandable. They get a part at the beginning of their fame that will pay them, well, and since they had probably been struggling for years to make it, they jump at it without thinking about the cinematic consequences. After their initial success, they accept a similar role because they are afraid the public will forget them. If they turn down a role, they may never get another chance. Then all of the sudden they are typecast, regardless of their success. Actors should not turn down roles or worry about where their success will lead them. They should take success wherever they can get it. But the critics and the rest of the world should try and remember these people are actors and can do more than one role. We should stop saying, "Hey, that's Superman. Um, Chris Reeves." We should be saying "Hey, that's Chris Reeves, the guy who plaved Superman." No actor is a character, and the sooner the public starts treating them as actors, the sooner their successes will stop crushing their lives. reas other part. It is extremely important to eginning to protect the election codes, since we y is sacred must have guidelines for the activities apromised, of USC's caliber and to protect this princi- students who are in effect protected its concep- by the very same codes, more than It is not my intention at all to quesIta Upsilon tion Shealy's integrity or her capacity by Lamb- to be a responsible president, nor Beta Tau should it be Student Affairs' intenrages other tion when trying this case. To stop dwelling on the ethics and biases on f hazing is everyone's part should be our main however, concern now, so we may work quick>f pledging ly and effectively on the main con1 that end. cern ? the prevalence of these very is not evil. important election codes, completely The code is as follows: Neither SULLecaeu campaign iiiaiciicti iiui liiuiviuuai icating and campaigning shall be allowed within ull-fledged 50 feet of the poll or within the lobby in hazing of any polling precinct where voting on to haze is taking place. It was decided that "a ntary one. candidate could easily interpret the s; we just code to mean that the two requirements were exclusive ? not inclusive. In that case, if the poster lane Secoy was outside the lobby, the candidate ta Upsilon could assume it was legal." Why, first of all, would a candidate want to risk something this important, and secondly, this code interpreted inclusively or exclusively* still renders this action illegal. My decision to call out Shealy on this action was not based on Shealv herself, but the election codes and interpreting these codes in the favor of the students to protect them from "Sign con- last-minute persuasion on the way to it" in Fri- the polls. Since the election codes ~>ck, 1 wish violation has been made a public er of the issue, Student Affairs has the responsenator of sibility to take action. If this situamore im- tion is not properly rectified, the elecdent. tion codes that protect the students int concer- will be discredited, le election s to stress Bunni Sanchez andidate's Political science freshman