Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Direction President needs to set agenda on matters of foreign policy More than two months after taking office, President George Bush seems to be moving aimlessly from issue to issue. While the president continues to oscillate wildly, important events continue to unfold, especially in the arena of foreign policy. Afghanistan, El Salvador, Japan and South Africa are just a few of the countries of top concern for U.S. policy makers. Bush and Secretary of State James Baker, who have been strangely silent about matters of foreign policy, must get to work on these crucial issues. U.S. policy toward Japan, for example, is so muddled that American officials do not even know exactly what is going on. Various government departments are taking conflicting views over the issue of whether America should help Japan develop a new fighter aircraft. As Rep. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told , The New York Times: "There is no one in the cockpit taking an overview, saying this is the direction we want to go with Japan." The person who should be in that cockpit is Bush; it is his duty as chief executive to ensure that U.S. policy is coherent. Japan is too important a country ? strategically and economically ? to ignore or, worse yet, alienate. Central America presents another important situation. In El Salvador, the far right appears to have the upper hand in the government, and the long war in that country is becoming increasingly intense. Bush also needs to look at Nicaragua now that the Contras are virtually irrelevant. Bush also needs to begin working on how the United States is going to deal with the Soviet Union. To this point, the president and the secretary of state have used vague terms in outlining their goals on issues such as Afghanistan, conventional forces and arms control. Further inaction nn thpcp tornrc mnin _______ X/A4 I.1XVUV tvpivu VV/UIU 1VI Mikhail Gorbachev create the strategic atmosphere. The president used his experience in government, especially in foreign policy, as a major part of his campaign. Let him now use that vast experience to organize a coherent, modern foreign policy that is short on rhetoric and long on logic. Anything less will be a fundamental betrayal of his campaign promises. Mi ; igfjj i f Awmm Mmsm ff: v mmm if : I' OF ETHICAL ; j ^ " o SI tl ? . __ ^ The Gamecock i 1 Best Non-daily Collegiate Newspaper, Southeastern Region L Society of Professional Journalists, 1987-88 ? Editor in Chief Photography Editor ^ ANDY BECHTEL TEDDY LEPP I Managing Editor Datebook Editor JEFF SHREWSBURY JAN PHILLIPS 4 Copy Desk Chief Graphics Editor I KATHY BLACKWELL MICHAEL SHARP Assistant Copy Desk Chief Comics Editor CARYNCRABB TRACY MIXSON News Editor Graduate Assistant MARY PEARSON ROBERT STEVENSON Y Assistant News Editors Adviser KELLY C. THOMAS PAT MCNEELY SUSAN NESBITT Director of Student Media f Features Editor ED BONZA n TODD HINES Advertising Manager Assistant Features Editor MARGARET MICHELS TOMMY JOYNER Production Manager [Cj Sports Editor LAURA DAY KEVIN ADAMS Assistant Production Manager Assistant Sports Editor RAY BURGOS CHRIS SIL VESTRI Assistant Advertising Manager BARBARA BROWN th; wi Letters Policy: tne will In to prim all letters received. 1 t ilers should be, at a maximum. iSO to 300 words long. Guest editorials should nol exceed 500 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for stvle or A possible libel. The Gamecock will not withhold names under anv circumstance. J^g ??J Be Yitmhe?1? _ HEM VoRK HEW*W WV iBpr: Formality in Every person in the world, I would imagine, has had to fill out an application at one time or another. It's a necessary function of our modern hi-tech, hurly-gurly world. We have fast cars, plastic people and tofu, so applications for jobs, insurance, purchases, grants and any other ultramodern neccesities are essential to survival. But in these forms we are forced to file, an abuse of the English language is taking place. On applications, resumes and other forms of the like, Americans, and I would venture to say anyone, completely lose control of their basic syntax skills. They write things they would never say. And they say things they would never do. For example, words such as "attended," "previously" and "individual," and phrases such as "shown to be," "excelled at", "prefered to" are all too often used on applications like they are commonplace in language usage. The plain fact is we get ridiculously verbose when we fill aut applications for anything. When you are applying for a job and filling aut the little questionaire at the end, how often tave you written something like this: "I feel I have proven to be responsible in my vork skills. I have a pleasant disposition and am villing to coincide easily with my fellow :mployees. I think I can make an effective transiion into the new position. If you have any ques ions, please leel tree to contact me as soon as xtssible." Who talks like this?! Rep. Fair trie: On Monday, I decided to take personal intiative to try to get some answers to the concerns had over the dorm visitation policy. In the past few days, I talked either by phone ir direct interview to people ranging from the ofice of the lieutenant governor to Student jovernment President Marie-Louise Ramsdale. Everyone I spoke with was very attentive and oncerned with the problems I had. Surprisingly, the most helpful person was Denis Pruitt, vice president of student affairs. I 'alked away from his office feeling relieved and 'ith a copy of the Ecology Committee's report. I as shocked at the positive attitude toward and tr the students and found myself thinking that le university had found a great compromise beteen the students and Rep. Mike Fair. It is not nly a proposal I could live with, but also ippoit. I thought no one on either side would oppose tese recommendations. Well, guess what? I was 'rong. There is one man the recommendations ould not please, and that was Rep. Fair, who is oing to recommend to the Board of Trustees tat the DroDOsal be reiected WKon ?,i|1 thic onAI Di-nKol Jy as far as Fair is Letters to the ; Benson works that possible _ _ n Bensons to 01 o help USC that the\st? * penence. Ano South is, "if a the editor: nice ? keep ; Thank you, Traci Ruediger, for all of you "C riting your letter to and about Rob- take heed; w ' Benson. Being a staff member about it. :re at USC, I've heard a lot of iticism of Benson ? everything om his contributions to the school A how much money he makes. Most it I've just chalked up to overt alousy, but when people (i.e., luck Dean) begin attacking Benn's family, well, that's taking it too r. No one, celebrity or not, deserves ^ Hfl.2 at kind of treatment, especially len they are a visitor at our school. To the editor: lot of people have worked very I wish to exf rd to put USC on the map, and editorial cart nson and his family are working Can't Read" ii writing fascin; Jeff <Ta. Shrewsbury , ; a ?????? ian Why is it that people feel they must dredge out all the stuffy phrases and outdated words they can think of every time they go to a job interview or do a resume'. Why must they use this language of "Applicationese?" Can you imagine if people really talked like that? "Greetings, Bobby, have you enjoyed an interesting day?" "I have, Jeff, sincerely. I anticipate that the remainder of the afternoon will be just as rewarding. Inherently, I have come to enjoy Thursdays since a time far back in my past." "Share with me what you have participated in, in the past 24-hour period." "Well, I have applied my time wisely, my friend. I attended a gathering of musical propors to be USC's ,ames F =* Carter ZZZI^ZI " :# Guest I Column % I concerned, it will end at the A'dhI 15 meerinp nf the trustees. The students have to respond, even if they feel they are not directly affected. If this plan is rejected and Fair is able to decide this issue, where does the university go from there? Do we start adopting policies that do not allow for criticism of the school in The Gamecock, or does the university start having books banned that may or may not be in line with a trustee's thinking? The Board of Trustees has set itself up as guardians, but this question comes into play: Who editor e the rest of us to make Gamecock. In my opinion, . I, too, welcome the that the cartoon showed p ir community and hope for several reasons, ty here is a great ex- First, the cartoon makes i ther custom here in the sense at all. I see no connei you can't say anything ween the Ayatollah Khon your mouth shut." So Johnny's inability to learn huck Deans" out there skills of reading and writin /e're tired of hearing there is an unbeknownst c< between Khomeini and the > public education system Suzanne Moore sciously hinder the Americ administrative assistant from learning their ABi The Writing Center anyone heard of a threat fr meini to kill any student i learns to read the English 1; -Poilc One doesn't need to have a 'Oil IdllS international affairs to 1 dismiss such an absurd com 11^0 S0V1S0 Second, the cartoon disrespect to the important the deficiency of the / education system. It v iress my dislike for the magnitude of the problem oon "Why Johnny spired Rudolf Flesh to w in the March 13 books in which he adre; ites America tions at the coliseum this past evening. I participated in a round of imbibing with some chums, and then I traveled to my parents' residence to slumber. 1 strongly feel as though 1 have enjoyed a typically uneventful time period, but 1 anticipate it will increase in its'propensity." "That's fascinating, Bobby. I have to withdraw now. Warmest regards to you." The English language takes a beating from different influences and innuendos. Each region has its own twist and intonation on similar word phrases, but Applicationese is practiced universally. It doesn't matter if you're Southern, Eastern or a Yankee; verbosity abounds in the matters of formal documents. Why can't we just write as we speak? It's hard to do, but it would make life so much more simple. Writing has always seemed to intimidate people. That's probably why some people insist they can't write. They think they must craft something worthy of being etched in stone and that scares them. Applicationese is a product of Americans' emphasis on formality. Writing for anything doesn't need to be formal. If you can talk, you can write. The world would be a more understandable place if people would just write like they talk and say what they think. A pipe dream? Maybe. father figure guards against the guardians? The answer to that is us, the students. Unfortunately, the only recourse we have is to write and call the trustees and our state representatives. Whether you have only one year or four years left at the university, the quality of that time depends on what we do now. In The State, Fair said he is objecting to overnight visitation because his daughter will attend USC this fall and that he is "thinking like a dad." That is wonderful to see such concern for one's children. My parents are just as concerned over my well-being, but have decided that they nave ciiuugii hum in me to allow me to decide how to live. The difference is not in their independent views so much as the fact that my parents are not trying to dictate a policy for an entire community of students. Playing father to the whole university is too big a job for anyone, and it is a larger responsibility than setting up restrictive ruler. I hope a campus-wide policy of no visitation does not come into effect, but if it does, Fair is casting himself into a role of surrogate father. I would hope that he would at least let me borrow the family car to go out on a date or at least he could help with tuition. 1 believe reasons behind this predicament. 1 >oor taste wonder why another sensible cartoon was not chosen. 1 would have apno logical preciated more a cartoon that I :tion bet- disagree with yet understood, teini and Third, I found the cartoon to be the basic offensive for its implicit suggestion ig, unless that Islam is against learning and tuuv^aiiuii lb syiiunyiiiuub Willi \merican Khomeini in the Westerner's mind), to con- As a Muslim, I feel that a few points an youth need to be stated. First, the act of Cs. Has seeking knowledge is highly recomom Kho- mended in the Quran and in the if he/she Hadith or saying of Prophet Muhamanguage? med. Second, it is most interesting to Ph.D. in note that the first word of the Quran readily revealed to Muhammed was "Iqra" lection. which means "to read or recite." shows Third, it was the learning of Muslims issue of in many varied fields of knowledge American that contributed to the Renaissance vas the of Europe, that inrite two Asif kidwai ssed the biology senior