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Disaster U.S. oil companies must worl to prevent oil spills in future The tremendous oil spill in Alaska this past week has spreac more than 100 miles and sent the petroleum industry into chaos Worse yet, the accident has shown how badly prepared oil com panies are in cleaning up the messes they create. Oil spills have become an unfortunate fact of life in the pas 20 years. They cause severe damage to the environment, kil thousands of marine animals and cost millions of dollars tc clean up. The latest accident, which occurred Thursday night, involvec the tanker Exxon Valdez. The 987-foot vessel, which was carry ing 1.2 million barrels of oil, hit a reef and ran aground whih avoiding chunks of ice from a nearby glacier. Oil began to leal from the damaged ship. At first glance, this incident appears to be an unfortunate unavoidable catastrophe. But as more facts have come to light it has become painfully obvious that this accident could hav< Knon nnpihr 17 /-* * rtuniv*?^l/> ^* ? ? ? - va.311_y ^l^vvuitu. X UI CACUlipiC, LUC ICU1KC1 S CctpictUl was I1UI on the bridge at the time; the third mate, who was not eligible tc be at the helm, was in control when the ship collided with the reef. Beyond that, Exxon officials did not respond to the disaster until 12 hours after it took place, resulting in much more oil being released into Prince William Sound. If they hac acted more quickly, the impact of the disaster would not be nearly as great. One Exxon official said the company is "a little overwhelmed" by the scope of the accident, but they should have been ready for an accident of this magnitude and beer prepared to clean up the mess. Instead, almost 250,000 gallons of oil have spilled into the sea, crippling Alaska's fishing industry and causing discord ir the petroleum market. The impact on the environment is above estimates. Exxon and other oil companies must be held accountable for their mistakes. The government needs to issue a stiff warning tc petroleum firms, telling them that they will be severely penalized for taking a lackadaisical approach to a disaster such as the one in Prince William Sound. America's economy and environment ? u icquiic 5>ucn piuiccuuiis. POWPER BURNS The Gamecock Best Non-daily Collegiate Newspaper, Southeastern Region Society of Professional Journalists, 1987-88 Editor in Chief Photography Editor ANDY BECHTEL TEDDY LEPP Managing Editor Datebook Editor JEFF SHREWSBURY JAN PHILLIPS Copy Desk Chief Graphics Editor KATHY BLACKWELL MICHAEL SHARP Assistant Copy Desk Chief Comics Editor CARYN CRABB TRACY MIXSON News Editor Graduate Assistant MARY PEARSON ROBERT STEVENSON Assistant News Editors Adviser KELLY C. THOMAS PAT MCNEELY SUSAN NESBITT Director of Student Media Features Editor ED BONZA TODD HINES Advertising Manager Assistant Features Editor MARGARET MICHELS TOMMY JOYNER Production Manager Sports Editor LAURA DAY KEVIN ADAMS Assistant Production Manager Assistant Sports Editor RAY BURGOS CHRIS SILVESTRI Assistant Advertising Manager BARBARA BROWN Letters Policy: The Gamecock will trj to print all letters received, l etters should he. at a maximum, 250 to 300 words long. (>ucsl editorials should not exceed 500 words. We reserve the riuhl to edit letters for stsle or possible libel. The Gamecock will not withhold names under am circumstance. 1 A jp|?^ i Rep. Fair try Nobody seems to be making enough fuss about the bone-headed schemes of Rep. Mike Fair, RGreenville, arch-conservative USC trustee. In The Gamecock Friday, he is quoted as saying "By virtue of what the state did last year with sex education, the mandate was to strongly urge students to abstain from sex before marriage." Rep. Fair, there was no bill about sex education in state universities. The only sex education addressed was in high school. The majority of high schoolers have not reached their majority; they are 18 years old or younger. More than half are 16 or younger. Many of those high school students are going to have their first sexual experience during high school years. They need sex education, so they'll "use condom sense" and remember to bring flowers. But, dear sir, almost every college student is 18 or older. Most students in USC's system are more than 21 years old ? more than adults. There's more than a difference of age between high school students and college students. We're adults, mature enough to decide we wanted to seek higher educaton, mature enough to vote, get married, have kids, quit school if we think it's best or stay in school. No one can make us do anything as long as we don't break the law. And sex is not against the law, but sex is not what opposite-sex visitation is about in most 1 Letters to th Contest has Ecology 0 adopted. F mixed message vng y?ur O Trustees ir Associatio To the editor: Michelle L This being a major university in saying where students can come to get a the privile respected education and where we of how thi can look up to what the staff and Work w management does as being correct, a united fr could you please explain to us how soon, you can "print your name and phone number on the back of your receipt from Gamecock Park, Wild Pizza or Fast Break (with) no purchase necessary"? How do you get a receipt without # making a purchase? 011* Scott Riley C^V11 Forestry sophomore Gary Morgan Engineering freshman To the edi In resf Students must ^"?1 # Mike Fair express views position a To the editor: gestions < Visitation is a topic that has gained policy, a great deal of attention lately. As I would such, we are writing to express our Fair that e concern that all students openly sup- tion will port the new visitation policy that has among sti been proposed by President James conducted Holderman. Wisconsin The Ecology Committee spent a women an great deal of time attempting to come men have up with viable options for campus (Mastering living, and we are confident that the Does he ac final proposal best represents the in- a different terests of all on-campus students, convenient especially in consideration of the cir- would alsc cumstances under which we are tempts to 1 working. this counti The new proposal will present an productive entire range of living arrangements, prime exai from no opposite sex visitation to the growir apartment-style visitation. As mature that time, and responsible adults, we deserve prohibit it this choice of how we should live. It did havesc ,t4^ A ing to impose cases. Fair's proposal, as well as the "compromise" to which Student Government and the Residence Hall Association gave in much too easily, offends me because it treats me like the child I am not. Fair, dear sir, you're out of touch. You don't belong on the Board of Trustees because you've shown you are not interested in treating students as adults. Your proposal is disruptive to the general well-being of USC students. His proposal will make the university watch over his daughter ? when he's 100 miles away up in Greenville ? and keep her in a sex-free cage. That's OK for him and her, if that's what they both want. But it isn't what the rest of us want. My father says it's a stupid idea. It's impractical; it'll never work, he says. Those who will i j e eaitor you to ensure that the that period, it did not stop Committee's proposal is truly wished to drink, ; 'lease write a letter express- worse, it gave birth to th< concerns to the Board of this nation ? a much gre i care of the Residence Hall ill and one we are still battl n (RHA, c/o President I realize that restricting efeld, Box 80814). Be firm visitation in two dormitoi that students should have likely to have such an extrt ge of making the decision but it does set some tr< ;y live. precedents for us students ith us. We need to present the implication that even 1 ont. Let us hear from you are mature enough to \ heed, Rep. Fair), we are in making decisions about ou Michelle Lefeld jjves Another problem thii RHA president ^ contjnuatjon Gf th{s Mane-I.ou.se Ramsdale beHef thal you can exacl a S.G. preside... a person's behaviors and a. the simple passage of a lav 1 PQf| f Ptlfl If Rep. Fair has a burnin 1/4111 * influence the youth at this i 1 ^et him do so through ex? I d I dtUVliy not legislation or regulatioi clean up his own House, itor: I truly wish those people >onse to the March 20 to set the moral standards f "Balance," I say shame on of us would do so by exam ?gy Committee and Rep. than rhetoric. We see it . . I fail to see that a com- from TV evangelists to pi s warranted in this situa- candidates: preaching pu ;s it is purely a self-defense practicing lust, greed and d gainst the oppressive sug- The strongest message you 3f Rep. Fair's visitation me is vour examDle. Why doesn't Rep. Fair a like to point out to Rep. on the parking problem o liminating overnight visita- tuition at reasonable levels not stop sexual behavior To the Ecology Commit jdents. In a 1979 survey promise is a valuable lessor by the University of but it is equally importan , 87 percent of 19-year-old when to say this is not a siti d 88 percent of 19-year-old compromise. Please do not : had sexual intercourse ample of compromising ou > Psychology, 433, 436). of choice. :tually believe he will make :e? He may cause some in- T. M :e, but nothing more. I Undeclared > like to point out that atlegislate moral behavior in Tfinfp y have had some counter- lxllllio 1 v t Ci effects. Prohibition is a vc*c* nple. In an effort to stem filTf lg wave of alcoholism of legislation was passed to :s consumption. While it To the editor: >me effect on alcoholism in Although to the casu; ?III I HI ll I I I I lilll III'II? his morality w will still have sex ? on campus when they can, off when they can't. So it's stupid, my dad says, and my dad wouldn't lie. My dad's right. It won't cut sex down; it will just make it more expensive. Maybe, secretly, Fair really just wants the hotel tax collections to increase. But even worse, the proposal suggests that the only reason males and females congregate together at night is to have sex. Again, I am offended. I have been in the apartment of the ladies next door at least three times at night, and they come over all the time at night. But I've never had sex with any of them. Well, I saw one of them naked once, but it -was an accident, and I closed the door quickly. I don't count that as sex. But Rep. Fair probably does. Rep. Fair would prevent me from seeing my friends and talking to them when 1 am accustomed to and able to talk to them. He doesn't have the right. If his proposal said that black and white students could not meet together overnight, people would be screaming about their violated rights. Black or white ? male or female ? what's the essential difference? I'm forming an organization to fight Bozo the Trustee, because Fair's real motivation is hoisting his arch-conservative agenda and his morals down our throats. Sorry, but they're sticking in my craw, and I m about to throw up. those who Republicans and Democrats may apind much pear to be almost indistinguishable, ; mafia in here are some hints that should result ater social in positive identification, according ling today. to The Sterling Bulletin: overnight Democrats buy most of the books ries is not that have been banned somewhere. :me result, Republicans form censorship comaublesome mittees and read them as a group. . One is Republicans consume thrce:hough we fourths of all rutabaga produced in /ote (take this country. The remainder is capable of thrown out. r personal Republicans usually wear hats and 5 creates is almost always clean their paint idealistic brushes. change in Democrats give their worn-out ttitudes by clothes to those less fortunate, v Rpnuhlirans wear theirs gdesireto Republicans employ externniversity, minators, Democrats step on the imple and bugs. i. Let him Democrats name thier children after popular sports figures, politiwho long cians and entertainers. Republican or the rest children are named after their iple rather parents or grandparents, according constantly to where the most money is. residential Democrats keep trying to cut down rity while on smoking, but are not successful, ishonesty. Neither are Republicans, can send Republicans study the financial pages of the newspaper. Democrats mcentrate put them in the bottom of the bird r keeping cage. ? Most of the stuff you see alongside :tee, com- the road has been thrown out of car 1 to learn, windows by Democrats, t to learn Democrats eat the fish they catch, nation for Republicans hang them on the wall, set the ex- Republican boys date Democratic r freedom girls. They plan to marry Republican girls, but think they're entitled to a little fun first. [ike Greer Democrats make up plans and then freshman do something else. Republicans follow the plans their grandfathers ^1 made. rtl Republicans sleep in twin beds ? some even in separate beds. That is J why there are more Democrats. UK Graduate, il glance School of Public Health