The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 12, 1990, Page 3, Image 3
Aid?
USC Scholars scholarship funds
misdirected, program terminated
The names of 86 of the 382 students who are receiving or ha-\
received financial assistance through the USC Scholars prograi
were released Tuesday during a press conference held by USC Ii
terim President Arthur Smith.
Under federal law, the names of students receiving aid und<
such a program cannot be released without their prior consent.
One hundred and fitty students requested that their names n<
be released, and the remaining students simply did not respond 1
either of two letters sent requesting permission to release th
information.
The release raises many q uestions:
How were the recipients chosen?
The criteria used to determine who would receive the US
Scholars financial aid were vague, and were not the same as thos
used to determine recipients of other forms of financial ai
(through the Financial Aid office).
Who received the financial aid?
Among the recipients were the children of USC executives A
thur Smith (USC Provost, before becoming Interim President
Dennis Pruitt (Vice President of Student Affairs) and Pete Dentc
(Business and Finance department) ? prominent university fij
ures with equally prominent paychecks.
N How much did the students receive?
The amounts vary, from an unidentified recipient who, by th
end of the 1990-91 academic year, will have received $33,782; t
a former student from Nebraska who received $11 during th
1985-86 academic year. One student is receiving $7,200 for th
1990-91 year, and some have been awarded up to $9,495.50 for
single academic year.
At first glance, the USC Scholars program, which will terminal
at the end of the current academic year, appears to have been
financial assistance program where money was given away at th
USC president's discretion, often to prominent people and often i
amounts exceeding the needs of the average university student.
Whv would Pniitt'c TVntnn'c or Smith'*: rhildrpn nppd mnrif*
ary assistance to get through college when their parents mak
enough to put them through and still be very comfortable? Wh
(except in a very few cases, such as foreign students) are year]
awards of up to $9,500 being given to students, when the averag
year requires only about $6,000? Why were there no set guideline
for this assistance that would have given all students a chance 1
receive it?
There are many students on the USC-Columbia campus alori
who could use idle money, which was given to people who didn
really need it.
Hundreds of students are scraping by on student loans that wi]
take years to pay back, or are working two jobs to put themselve
through school. And our former president finds it ethical and fit t
give huge sum s of money to "rich kids."
The idea is> ridiculous and the fact that it happened adds yc
another blotch to James Holderman's "great achievements."
Arthur Smith should be applauded for terminating the prograir
and we can only hope the money saved by doing so will go tow
ards helping those students at the university that really need it.
^ ove ^ 1j ^
The Gamecock
News: 777-7726 Advertising: 777-424S
Jeff Wilson Sharon Willamson
Editor in Chief Managing Editor/Copy Desk Chief
Lynn Gibson Elizabeth Lynch
News Editor Carolina Life Editor
Doug aube Renee Meyer
Sports Editor Photography Editor
Kelly C. Thomas
Viewpoints Editor
Elizabeth Fox Sherri Tillman
A \7 J9+A* **
nssisw n*. i^uuar Assistant News Editor
David Bowden Kathy Heberger
Assistant Carolina Life Editor Assistant Carolina Life Editor
Brant Long Julie Bouchillon
Assistant Sports Editor Assistant Photography Editor
Octavia Wright
Assistant to the Editors
Kristin Francis Erik Collins
\ Graduate Assistant Faculty Adviser
Ed Bonza Laura s. Day
Director of Student Media Production Manager
Ray Burgos renee Gibson
Assistant Production Manager Advertising Manager
Kyle Berry Carolyn Griffin
Assistant Advertising Manager Business Manager
Letters Policy: The Gamecock will tr^?Q print all letters received. Letters should
be, at maximum, 250 to 300 words long. The writer must include full name, professional
title if a USC employee or South Carolina resident, or year and major if
a student. An address and phone number are required with all letters sent. The
Gamecock reserves the right to edit letters for style, possible libel or in case of
space limitations. The newspaper will not withhold names under any
circumstance.
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16
O
>e STRAH6E CRAFT SI6HTEP Mf PERS
Times may ch
People say the more things change, the more
^ they stay the same. I was flipping through some
old issues of The Gamecock from the Fall of
1980, just to see what the major stories were. I
wanted to see what was upsetting students, and
' what was exciting them. Surprisingly, the issues
that had the students talking 10 years ago are
the issues that have students talking today.
On Sept. 8, 1980, The Gamecock reported
that USC dorms were to have cable TV installed
in the lobby of the dorms. Housing officials
wanted to see how students would react to
the cable before plans could be made to install
cable in individual dorm rooms. The response
must not have been as expected because it took
10 years to get it in installed in the Towers.
And the university is still discussing whether
?1 LI. !11 I 1 - J i
uic *;auic win De expan.uea 10 ail ine aorms on
campus.
^ On Sept. 12, 1980, The Gamecock reported
"Book prices: publishers, book dealers, professors
blame cost increases on inflation rate." The
increasing prices of books in 1990 needs no explanation.
I bought books. The prices are defi- i
j nitely high.
If students think the parking problems this \
year are new, they are sadly mistaken. "Stui
l i i coo to xi i r
i-ii I I trio i vj i nt
. , E.Europeans
SS
need U.S. aid SS3f?5
To the editor: dictatorship,
Powerful and piervasive was or- ? aos a ,rc
thodox communism in Eastern 0111 arl
Europe, and mighty is its fall. we" aS th?.L
Standards of living have dropped cra, 'P,11 1
precipitously, and not a few people aP rcc ,om
look longingly to past years when ^ ^
work was easy and life comfort- ? .
able. Their world has shattered to 0 ov/inS
be replaced bv noisv protesters, in- nouncing co
. should be coi
experienced politicians and empty . . . .
shelves. If communist dictatorship
led to economic stagnation, its end ^
has brought ruination. lest her words
America could do much now to sc serv
alleviate the pains of Eastern Eur- If Americ
ope's transition to democracy. For tervene constr
the most part, however, our leaders will be as des
have simply argued that aid now as her milit;
cannot reform the entrenched bu- South-East Ai
reaucratic systems. They are right America ? w
only in that aid now cannot reform dictators were
the system NOW. The countries of solely due to
Eastern Europe currently face what stance ... a 1
they faced after World War I, America's pa
wh'en democracy and self- wise inves'
i
.
EAST MEETS MIDWEST
riAAi C 'YEAM' ,T SURE & 6
m AA WT SR "* ******
il ^
-iange,
but the
JEFF WILSON
dents hot about parking," was a headline from
the Sept. 5, 1980 issue of 77ie Gamecock.
"I think metermaids should be more understanding
before they start ticketing the way they
do," junior Ginger Greer said 10 years aeo.
"They realize the parking problem we have at
USC, but they don't let up at all." Oddly
enough one of my friends said almost the same
thing Monday. Go figure.
I also noticed in those old newspapers that
there are some things on campus today that we
take for granted that were new and exciting 10
years ago.
I pass the music lounge everyday on my way
to work, never really giving it a second thought.
It just always seemed to be there. It doesn't
seem to get much use these days. But back in
1980, it was built to provide students with a
pniTOP
cui I un
occured in the con- John R
nic disaster. As India (On *
ving the British with- Budapest Univ. of E
ything is worse than
it is anarchy. Yet, Cfiirlpntc rl
al prospect facing at lUUCl 1 lo U
ia and Bulgaria, as i. T T
I.S.S.R., where desp- SUPPOft U
lationalism combine 1 1
means not having to To the editor:
!. - How is it that some s
inge is never easy. USC manage to have su<
jars of rhetoric de- mand of worldly knowle
mmunism, America sophomore writes in a
nmitted to providing badly in reference to Sad
financial aid to East- sein, "he would not att;
nd the Soviet Union, Arabia." Dude, YOU dc
\ be revealed as mere what the hell he would
ropaganda. not do.
a fails now to in- A columnist writes asi
actively, her inaction ?au?ns ?f the President:
tractive and insensate "lem i" 1"temwsiDn of K
ary intervention in him- 1 do that m.
sia Africa and LaUn ?ur government arc of a I
'here oft-times fascist llUca! 'ntelligence than
: (and are) supported would have uwc'Shed **
their 'anti-Commie' cons c"0"?h f? disc?u'
ittle generosity on actlon ,f of
trt now would be a Furthermore, why i
Armed Forces be const:
?v*~ ' -+~
REA.T OP OUR TROOPS TO SIT
ARABIA SO WE CAN SIT HERE'
E, ? ?g | ^? I
It *A
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EEtii:
? !**>*. t-MMS KSj Wt***
; issues don't
/
"perfect escape from a noisy campus/' according
to the Sept. 8, 1980 issue of The Gamecock.
On Sept. 12, 1980, the newspaper did a story
about the newly installed automatic telling machines
and how they were changing students'
banking habits. I use the teller machines without
a second thought. They are no big deal to
me.
We think we are reporting something new,
something fresh, but many of the things we ren/\r?
n/\?U^nn. nri j .< .
pun aic uuuniig new., i lie siuaenis minx uie
problems they face this year are new and different,
but they are not.
It will be interesting to come back to USC in
10 years and see if students will still be complaining
about parking and textbook prices.
It will also be interesting to see if all the dormitories
will have cable then. And what about
the new things that are popping up on campus
that we think are revolutionary, like they call
boxes and phone registration. Will they just be
passe like the ATMs and the music lounge?
Only time will tell.
Historians say history is a cyclical thing.
Looking through old issues of The Gamecock, I
found out how true that really is.
I
Hanson aged with words of their reluctance
Pvrhaiin^ In talet* hnrto-fl rule?
JAVIIUI1 **"w wviMjjVfc . UUV1U1 kJXXJ.
vices don't want.their budget
rConomics . , , . , , b
slashed either; no agency does.
m . Granted, there is some excessive
on7t spending, but it will always exist. I
should be a junior but I gave two
C years of my life to serve my coun
try in the Air National Guard. Being
on active duty at various Air
tudents of F?rce bases has given me the in~h
a com- t0 *cnow lhe firs* cuts made
"dee? One would he in pay ? not toilet seat
nH ctiipc purchases. Inflated prices aren't
* a v* iJ LUIVJ ?
dam Hus- e au*1 ?* l^e government. It s ciick
Saudi vilian contractors who try to screw
>n't know money out of a government that
or would must Pa> ^ Price they Set 10 receive
materials they need.
nine alle- Lastly, why can't people support
s involve- ihejr country, right or wrong? To
uwaJ1, those who can't and who must incumbers
ol cessantly bitch about domestic and
ngner po- international policies, how many of
you and yQU ^ave wrjtten a congressman or
pros and senator instead of a college
age such newspaper?
Tiust the Walter Hummel
rtuly bar- psychology freshman