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State South Carolina has to improve its neolithic reputation South Carolina was one of the original 13 states of the allegedl democratic Union, but some in the state are being anything bi democratic. Over the past several years, this state has been movin backward, not forward, in many aspects. The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education con tinued its war on education by recommending only 80.5 percent c funding for public universities in the state. This will mean eve higher tuitions, reduction of needed maintenance and a general re duction in the efficiency of our higher educational facilities. With budgetary strains on state elementary and secondary edu cation as well, a student in South Carolina will receive a decer education more by accident than design. The powers-that-be seer to care more about keeping their precious AAA credit rating thai about the state's youth. # The second point is less important than education, but de monstrative of the state's misplaced priorities. Our state is one o the few states to still criminalize sodomy and oral sex. Whether ii hetero- or homosexual relations, South Carolina has seen fit to tel us citizenry wuai 11 can or cannot do in tne oearoom. Although few have been prosecuted for this offense, it onl; takes one overzealous police officer to arrest someone for thi; "crime." Witness the Georgia native who was arrested severa years ago. # The blue laws have long been criticized in this state, bu still survive. The purchase of alcohol on Sundays is a ludicroui thing to ban, as is certain styles of sexual activity, yet South Car olina still does it. Except for a few progressive communities sue! as North Myrtle Beach, most of the state's drinkers must still con tend with this archaic legislation. In a related area, South Carolina became the only state in th( United States to require mini-bottles on mixed drinks when Utal lifted its own requirement. The mini-bottle law is yet another example of pointless legislation that seems to only exist to annoj South Carolinians. Tf Anhancar 1 J ill - xx i-xiiAi\^uov/i-x-*udvii anu nit/ j at/it jLyaiiit^id v^UIiipdliy IlclCl lUDDyisu greasing the wheels of government, the blue laws would have been repealed long ago. In sum, South Carolina is nationally infamous for low educational standards and conservative, Bible-Belt morality. We should stop trying to live up to this reputation and start crafting a new image as a progressive humanistic society in the New South. "HONEY, JUST TEU. SOME OF THEM THAT The Gamecock News: 777-7726 Advertising: 777-4249 Kathy Blackwell robyn Thompson Editor in Chief Managing Editor Chris Silvestri David Bowden Copy Desk Chief Viewpoint Editor Lucy Soto Kathy Heberger News Editor Carolina Life Editor Steve Johnson renee Meyer Sports Editor Photography Editor Aaron Sheinin Tige Watts Assistant News Editor Assistant News Editor Oct a via Wright Patrick Villegas Assistant Carolina Life Editor Assistant Sports Editor jennifer jablonski julie bouchillon Assistant Copy Desk Chief Assistant Photography Editor Eric Glenn Wayne Williams Darkroom Lab Technician Comics Editor tsv duinaa Erik Collins Director of Student Media Faculty Adviser Laura S. Day ray Burgos Production Manager Assistant Production Manager Renee Gibson Kyle Berry Advertising Manager Assistant Advertising Manager Carolyn Griffin Business Manager Letters Policy: The Gamecock will try to 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. H pim i f n : ?%] /* n / n / f k / l 1 ! s 1 : Card compan j One of the best pieces of advice my parents gave me was to make the most of a bad situation. The word most did not have any financial overtones. Topps Co., the largest sports card marketeer, 1 knows how to make the most of a bad situation, too. In their case, however, they're making the r most profits. Newspapers across the nation reported Mon; day that Topps has issued an Operation Desert ? Storm card set. For only 50 cents, a Desert Storm card collector can get eight Persian Gulf War cards and a sticker. The company also said there are two kinds of cards ? personalities and weapons. Bob Ibach of Topps said, "Over the course of time, this may become one of the hot collectibles." Excuse me, Mr. Ibach, are you saying that you have a direct plan to make money off this war? Oh, what a bitter taste has come over my tastebuds. I cannot even begin to fathom the insensitivity of Topps. While friends and family members are put in jeopardy to fight that "evil Persian tyrant," indolent, overweight, doughnut-pushing executives will make money. When morals and ethics were handed out, these executives weren't around. Instead, they were putting in overtime for their insensitivity class. Hey, I have an idea for the Topps executives. Why don't you guys do update sets on LETTERS TO Tf Press distorts Sf a n Thus, th issues of war sectors of of illiterac ?-p .. ... of this is tl To the editor: ahilitv rn Mr. Papleacos' claim that his th. f ] letters are free of ideology is a fa- ^ miliar story. For instance, the . American media system claims its T ,1 news coverage is unbiased and ob- ait jective while at the same time p , most newspapers, magazines, pu- .a? ea ' blishers and radio and television ? c_ ... , . media s so broadcasting companies are largely . under the control of wealthy pentag0n American families, directors of , ?. ' , . , ' / and a host multi-national corporations (not to . , mention their financial sponsor- y e ^ ship), pressures from integration in a market economy and flak from p ' government officials. ropagai xt _u i u on what is Nevertheless, no one would ever effective oi have the audacity to question why , , ... the media continually pictures e, ?,ef Palestinians as terrorists and Israel au en 1C1 y as the liberal, democratic state or Nicaraguan contras as freedom fighters and the Sandinista govern- \ f*fji ment as a communist, totalitarian zYI LH regime bent on destablizing the moderately authoritarian govern- Cldi 1 ments in Latin America which de- j0 tf,e serve U.S. support. The cost Snmp. IWtrtlp lilrv* ?Via Into Hr r?ottice certa Martin Luther King Jr., are honest \ fm(j it d enough to admit the power of a stan ideas to change and transform soc- to clarify J iety. Others, like Mr. Papleacos recent edito and The New York Times, seem Your sta content to obscure, and as Mr. Pa- $400,000 b pleacos himself admits, rewrite nets multihistory in order to erase the true implies that origins of current problems played a lar threatening the world today. more than One moment, they assert their research gra traditionally liberal (though at pre- in fact, sent fashionably conservative) faith are> for th in the "dynamic," "pluralistic" and through a "meritOQratic" nature of "late capi- process that talist" society, and yet the next of the Wa moment, fear the threat "special guess is tht , interest groups" place on the sec- tage of the r saodam, th* our,tactics a thcst new b settle thai happy faces represent < A iy takes advan ?- wk. 4&b- ^TV<' Tige Watts A '? America's past wars. I'm sure any collector would pay $5 for a card of a soldier having his legs blown off, courtesy of our Vietnam conflict. Why stop there? Why don't you guys issue a Civil War card set. After all, who wouldn't pay dearly for the card picturing a doctor amputating a Union soldier's arm. I'm sure anybody would trade for a nuked Japanese child's card. Just think of how clear his deformed face would be on a piece of cardboard. Hold me back from running out-to get that one. Topps has been in business for 40 years. Over the years, they have made tons of money with their baseball cards. They are financial experts in satisfying the public's demand. If the public wants a Desert Storm card collection, Topps will provide it. Obviously, the public wanted to see this collection come out into the market. Since the start of this war, America has made this into a football game. We want to simplify war into sets of winners and losers. However, what we forgot was there are no winners in war, just losers. HE EDITOR n orderly democratic the Washington office i manner. This should ough they admit certain mind as numbers are tc society exist in a cycle during debate on this is y and stagnation, none Franklii le result of a hegemonic Biological Science engineer the consent of . 1 _ natter, but is rather pos- Jt) 1 ?1C K S Clt -mined by the genetic i of these unfortunate opportun lerican media, like Mr. , . _ nn_ _ i'. claims to be impartial 10 ine editor: mtation of ideas, yet the Spiros Papleacos' re urces are almost always invite us, despite thei the White House, the ^ink about the conditi the State Department Americans today and of "experts" sponsored own prejudices. Black erican government, cor- viously has nothing to rerica and their client dividual ability. If one is reasonabl ida is often dependent ar?d looks at how ma not asserted and is most and talented Afro-Am 11 those who have-been poor, unemployed 01 ve that convictions lack ployed, while white A; mediocre abilities hold Jim Varn power and privilege, 01 USC graduate ity lay to rest any th _ quote IQ scores. clc needs Black p?vertystems causes and must be add fjloll ously. Allow me to fo one cause as an exan }r: white ethnic groups, su of USC's Washington Italians and Irish peop inly merits debate, and tained some measure ifficult at this point to mobility, after a long s d. However, I do want with serious casualties, in implication of your as the fruit of individua rial of Friday, Feb. 1. talents, tement that "even the These groups have b udget is justifiable if it form capital, which the; million dollar returns" to acquire stability, po^ : the Washington office fluence in society. This ge role in procuring the ble in part because a fe $37 million in federal als within each er ints this past year. wealthy to begin with ; federal grants at USC the country with son e most part, obtained They would then lend rigorous peer review their relatives to start is entirely independent ses or to finance educt shington bureau. My they were in the far it only a small percen- loans were usually ii $37 million involved and were tied to arrange * * : amcakams claim ^ chiloish, 8ut attle plans will r. Now these t?? 4 * < . I0PC no! unkers Round _"?? j. ' O la dM^ lAdl a iv jwr*~ mi itage of war We want to "root, root, root for the home team and if they don't win it's a shame. For it's one, two, three strikes you're out in the old ball game." I'm sorry to inform you sorry folks, but there are distinct differences between ball games and ' war. In baseball games, Nolan Ryan's fastball screams by a hitter's face nicely at 101 mph. In war, a stealth fighter screams and levels a city at 690 mph. Folks, our ambition to market the war did not start with baseball cards. Video and board games have popped up all over the place with the player(s) killing evil Iraqis led by the tyrant Hussein and winning the war for the good ol' United States. In order to win a war with Iraq, we will have to fight a long time. We have to wipe them off the face of the earth. It's not like a football game where you play hard and knock each other around for 60 minutes. We can't walk off the field and say we're going to Disney World if we win. No Vince Lombardi trophy is awarded. We can't skate around holding the Stanley Cup over our head after our big win. Topps symbolizes America's ambition to make this war simpler than it is. President Bush has spouted off a myriad of reasons for this war. He has also accomplished the difficult task of making Hussein into another Hitler. The public, however, has made this war into a sporting event. ' 1 111" " 'V1 $PV> Av '% v| Vs jj X ' x in any direct as marriages and wills, be kept in Afro-Americans entered North >ssed around America as slaves, obviously withsue. out capital. When they became a G. Berger free, they were thus at the mercy is professor of public (white} financial institu ! tions 10 lencl at interest where others might have family members / VU lending for free, jfipo Banks did and do discriminate, lllCd frequently making capitalformation deliberately impossible. Even now that we have anti?,cent letters discrimination laws, they are almselves, to most impossible to enforce. Young on of Afro- Afro-Americans may be expected about our to show little enthusiasm for the poverty ob- "American Way," seeing that it is do with in- not really available to them. Changes must be made in instiy objective tutions and laws, but also in the ny brilliant heart itself. And first of all, one ericans are must speak with some knowledge underem- and sensitivity to the reality one mericans of claims to be explaining, positions of le may eas- Amitai F. Avi-ram leories that English professor from many ? p Iressed vari- CoIUmil IUIlIiy cus on just -,?1o U ^ " I ^ Tuui useless ch as Jews, le, have at- To ^ 0 uPwar Mr. Shealy's column has always trugg e an WQrtj1 a ^ past, but on y in par ^ la^t WOrk on pe5 g} jt a rs an has become a total joke, becoming ,. even more amusing than the humor *tnablet? column. 1 ave used From Mr. Shealy's quote-the>ver and in- dictionary-like-we-did-in-juniorwas possi- 0pening iine to his overly w individu- simplistic solutions, i.e. "we oup were should all pull together and solve and entered ^-s oeacefullv" jMSt shows rhat ne capital. ^jr Shealy is a master at writing a money to u^i^s column, and not someone up busines- t0 ^ ^ seriousiy. ition. Since 1 teres t-free Stephen Edwards iments such History sophomore