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D r ug testing USC needs different direction in drug abuse policy for athletes (JSC's Athletic Department has faced a lot of problems with : drugs and steroid use among student athletes in the past year. The public began to see a glimmer of the problem when Ryan > Bethea was arrested in February 1988 on marijuana possession > charges. Soon after the arrest, President James Holderman set up a y task force to study the existing drug testing progam at USC ; because of pressure from the public and press. The task force found that testing was virtually nonexistent and inadequate > because student athletes were given enough advance notice to > cleanse themselves of some drugs. The university fired then Athletic Director Bob Marcum. He was replaced by Dick Best wick, who established a revised drug - testing progam on March 1, 1988. Events, however, did not stop there. What little public confidence was left in the department was seriously damaged when . former USC offensive lineman Tommy Chaikin told his story to ' Sports Illustrated. The latest chapter occured less than two weeks ago when three former USC football coaches pleaded guilty to federal charges ; of obtaining or providing steroids. ; Why has the Athletic Department been riddled with these pro: blems? The answer could be two-fold. First, in the past the ! department placed the priority emphasis on winning, putting in credible pressure on the player. Second, until public pressure caused USC to come up with solutions, the department let their judgement be clouded by a win-at-all-cost attitude and let that attitude become the primary goal of the department. The loser in all of this has been and continues to be the USC athlete. The university has let the athlete take second place in their goals for the department. There is no question that athletes should be drug free, but drug testing is not an effective treatment for a drug problem. Prevention and education are effective tools, and the department has taken a positive step in this direction. But, the department should not wait until the athlete has tested positive for steriods, drugs or alcohol use before they are required to go to some type of counseling. The university should set up classes like University 101 which will educate the athlete from the beginning of his or her career about the dangers of chemical substance abuse. The university has taken some positive steps to restore public confidence in the Athletic Department, but they are at the expense of the student athletes' privacy. USC should haveja'^rug"^ abuse prevention program," not a "drug testing program^" "WW! THANK 6C0PHESS WE P0NT HAVE ANYETHIC^p^^ The Gamecock I I Best Non-daily Collegiate Newspaper, Southeastern Region Society of Professional Journalists, 1987-88 Editor in Chief MARY PEARSON " \V ^ \ News Editor ^^ RON BAKER J '> } Features Editor '' CAREN CAMPBELL IK ? \ I Sports Editor I \ ??"\ I DEBBIE JORDAN I \ '?A I Photography Editor I J \/ I LESALVERSON 11/ --f _ Gamecock Advisor \ ERIK COLLINS flgg)& ) Director of Student Media /J ed bonza yy Production Manager ; LAURA DAY Assistant Production Manager Campus Representive RAY BURGOS Terence Green Advertising Personnel Account Executives Advertising Manager Terrence Manigault MARGARET MICHELS Lorrie Yonas * ? Letters Policy: The Gamecock will try to print all letters received, letters should be. at a maximum. 250 to 300 words long. (iuesl 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. MaiPIK?"*' nevi>v%<NEYjstt\Y B n> 1 j, p \j A A/ ( * ^Nb Unnecessary 1 K _ The City of Angels is in flames, purple and gold * rdgs fueling the inferno. Lumbering hulks limp through the smoke, searching for medical attention or divine intervention. Their leader delves into black books for a clue to the magic they need. Men with microphones and notepads babble incoherently to anyone who will listen. One sullen band escapes the fray and is welcomed to the Motor City, where quiet celebration ensues. But elsewhere, there is mourning after the death of the giant. Was it a dream? Did the Lakers save themselves Tuesday night? Or did the Pistons complete their sweep of the NBA Finals to the dismay of sportscasters everywhere? (1 don't know; we went to press before game time.) It's a damn shame, though, no matter what the outcome. If L. A. won, the Pistons were robbed, at least partially, of their rightful moment in the sun. And if Detroit won, they will be needlessly subjected to cries of "Fluke!" and an unending barrage of "What if's." Detroit deserves better. There are probably none more anguished by the Lakers' loss of guards Byron Scott and Earvin "Magic" Johnson than Detroit. They don't want a tainted victory, but a true contest between great teams. Yet, their victory will prohaoiy oe remembered as an accident, impossible if Johnson and Scott were healthy. L. A. won last year with Detroit point guard Isiah Thomas barely able to move, but L. A.'s victory was never called a fluke (except maybe by Detroit). It just isn't fair. Not to the Pistons, the Lakers, the fans, or especially Lakers' center Kareem Chinese stude "War is over, if you want it. " ?John Lennon Hundreds of thousands of people poured out into the streets of China to show their support for democracy in Beijing. Did it have an effect? The world thought so as Chinese government officials feared a general strike by the people which would ultimately cripple the city. "There truly is power in numbers," said our ideological whispers to ourselves and each other. As students at USC, we should look to our fellow students overseas for inspiration in our attempt to be heard in the never-ending visitation issue. Chinese men and women throw themselves at tanks ?risking their lives for what they believe in. In early April here in Columbia, 75 students appeared on a campus of more than 20,000 people to peacefully protest what they felt was a violation of their rights. The impact of these 75 was not of little significance. They had a voice with their prescence. Their point was made. However, as an individual, you're only as strong as your voice. By banding together we can create a chorus that everyone and their mother will either have to listen to or drown in. Letters Sanctions harm O A.1 AO* C3lled f01 South Africans a*fst Accord To the editor: tions agai The hypocrisy of the pro-South to the de Africa sanctions forces is again evi- economy, , FOR ANOTHER knocks not fair I rW I n, .? , r" Christensen o! dl vhmh^p w p< th Abdul-Jabbar, playing his last series before his w retirement at 42. They all deserve better than this. K But the Pistons will bear the brunt of the criticism d' for the next year, and they don't deserve it. The main reason the Pistons are where they are tl today is the ever-fading concept of team play. d Detroit is a team that is not reliant on any in- h dividual player. If one, two or even five starters are s< benched, the Pistons are still on the court with the ci same team, talent and style. a Consider that Detroit has no players on an NBA d first-team All-Star roster; consequently, the L Pistons have not grown dependent on the play of T those players. Thomas, Joe Dumars and Vinnie ii "The Microwave" Johnson, Detroit's 70-point backcourt, are interchangeable, and second-string n center James Edwards has seen more playing time s than head "Bad Boy" Bill Laimbeer. And Brent 1Mussberger's favorite "pest," Dennis Rodman, is nts set example piss 1 H >. ^u > :^x r > ??????????????????J t Students continually emphasize that they are 1 now adults and that they have the rights of adults < when it comes to their precious visitation rights. t However, the most important right ?the right to be heard and stand up for what we believe in I without fear of being shot or run over by tanks < ?has been sadly neglected. i Traditionally, schools were for the students. i Why is it that the only time we can assemoie ovei 1,000 students for one cause is at a football game? The power that these bureaucrats are exercising ! 1 j on the poorest of the poor, J unemployment and aggrava problems." Now, reasonable people why the archbishop denies March 20, a statement writ- tions have had the same disa irchbishop Desmond Tutu feet on the most vulnerable an end to U.S. sanctions Africa's population, the poi anama. Perhaps he is too close to ing to the archbishop, sane- tion to see the suffering o inst that country "have led people that has directly resu struction of that country's the international sanction caused immense suffering South Africa. $ I a > < ? a ? J 1 f f // HOLY MAN! " ' to Pistons W ? /,. ;v .> ??v obably the best "sixth man" in the NBA. But Detroit's opponents are crippled by the loss starting players. Johnson and Scott have no placements in Los Angeles, only substitutes. And hicago is not a threat to anyone without star lichael Jordan. If these teams had more depth id weren't so dependent on certain players, they ould probably have been more successful. Should etroit's victory be any less because of their depth id versatility? Before discrediting the Pistons, realize that they ad the NBA's best regular-season and home-court ;cords, have held Finals opponents under 100 oints in 16 of 18 games, and stopped Jordan with leir unparalleled defensive efforts. All this, ithout a Jordan, Johnson, Scott, Patrick Ewing, arl Malone or Larry Bird; just a team of players etermined to avenge last year's seventh-game loss. It's unfortunate that Detroit, or any other team lat beats the favorites, will not get the credit they eserve. When Detroit beat the Chicago Bulls, olding Jordan to his lowest games ever, sportasters said Jordan had a bad game, rather than rediting the outstanding defensive play of Dumars nd Rodman. In the same manner, the Pistons' ofoot r?f I A will hf> nttrihiitpfl onlv to the akers' injuries, ignoring the fact that both homas and Rodman are playing with painful ijuries. You don't have to like Detroit, but you have to espect them. Even after Laimbeer puts a bumper ticker on his Jaguar that says, "Injuries lappen." I for students ruly comes from us. Shocked? You shouldn't be. Yithout students, parents, alumni and faculty here would be no USC. We cannot selectively pick and choose our rights hat accommodate our mood at the time. If we vant to be treated as adults, we must act like adults ind demand our rights, which are not surrendered :verytime we enter a dorm room or a classroom. Protected by a blanket of apathy that has effecively covered this campus, people like Mike Fair vill remain impervious to the very group of people vho gave him the power he weilds. He is not the problem. He didn't take our visitaion rights from us. We gave them to him and every nember of the Board of Trustees who voted igainst us when we, as students, could not band ogether and just say no. We can't change the opinions of the powers that oe overnight. What we can change is our attitude, our actions and subsequently our status in this inane hierarchy that places students on the bottom rung of the ladder towards education. How did Tiananmen start? Maybe somebody with a little too much power took other people's rights away and then. . .well, you never know. increased Whatever the reason for his shortted social sightedness, it would do the archbishop well to apply the same may ask wisdom to the problems of his nation that sane- that he prescribes for the ill will of istrous ef- others. Otherwise, the plight of South of South African blacks will continue to be or blacks. worsened by a well-meaning but the situa- uninformed international f his own community, ilted from s against Michael Reed Columbia resident