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Bad news I Bad debating and planning give USC students useless S.G. debate This year's Student Government races were moving along un 11-- ^ ./* ' I4-*+ timn until norlmr tVit c \t raDl/" usually ClCOll clllU pusiuvc. lliai waa UiHH una w^iv. Tuesday's Student Government debate was not only poorly organized but also a haven for some political candidates to have their supporters attack their opponents' platforms and experience. The platform blasting was surprisingly rampant in the vice presidential debate when supporters of one candidate began a barrage of questioning to all three vice presidential candidates. However, it was evident the questioning was to take a direct hit at one oppo*-*'f tnniA?< *! + ICCllOC a majui uiauuim i^uvo, When addressing the questions, the candidate, whose supporters began the incident, gave misleading information to the audience saying he was told no other school in the South has such a policy and it would jeopardize USC's accreditation. However, that's not the case. Florida State University does have such a policy, and the University of Tennessee began a similar policy in 1987 under recently-appointed Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander. Regardless if such a policy is feasible for USC or not, the fact remains the line of questioning that erupted at the debate was not -w only an insult to the candidates but the audience as well. Ir The presidential questioning session was much cleaner with only a few "planted" questions about candidates' past Student Government experience. Obviously there was not enough planning for the debate be- wl cause of the lack of publicity and the moderators' inability to pro- de nounce several of the candidates' names. That's inexcusable. dc The debate would have been more successful if there had been pr the traditional panel of questioners at the beginning to assure at ni] ti ir The Gamecock : a: o News: 777-7726 Advertising: 777-4249 S< Kathy Blackwell robyn Thompson it Edkor in Chief Managing Editor h ai Chris Silvestri David Bowden * Copy Desk Chief Viewpoint Editor n Lucy Soto Kathy Heberger p( News Editor Carolina Life Editor ^ rr Steve Johnson Renee Meyer Sports Editor Photography Editor e Aaron Sheinin Tige Watts Assistant News Editor Assistant News Editor Octavia Wright Patrick Villegas " Assistant Carolina Life Editor Assistant Sports Editor n Jennifer Jablonski Julie bouchillon t( Assistant Copy Desk Chief Assistant Photography Editor ^ Eric Glenn Wayne Williams v Darkroom Lab Technician Comics Editor g s; Ed Bonza Erik Collins tc r? \A ! _ r? _ 4 j . Lfirecior uj incuia ruuuiiy nuviser j\ Laura s. Day ray Burgos o Production Manager Assistant Production Manager b Renee Gibson Kyle Berry Advertising Manager Assistant Advertising Manager d p Carolyn Griffin a Business Manager y 0 Letters Policy: The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should f be, at maximum, 250 to 300 words long. The writer must include full name, pro- r fessional 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 a space limitations. The newspaper will not withhold names under any e circumstance. j( least some objective questions. Traditionally, the panelists are var- ^ ious student leaders representing the various cross sections of the in, campus. Ai Perhaps if the debate was better organized it would have come se across without these unfortunate circumstances. Otherwise, USC be might be gearing up for even more dirty politics if there is a run- en 1 off election next week. to ? WHEN VO WE 6ET THE TOUR Of KUWAIT?" in IUli ire patriotic o the editor: Why is there a growing animosy towards anyone who might )eak out in question of our gov-nment's war policies? Perhaps it a recurring sociological problem lat when a nation enters a combat tuation it becomes increasingly lore difficult to question governlent policy. Indeed, patriotism often muddies le water as those who question leir government's policies during mes of war become subject to eason. This anti-anti-war sentilent was best expressed by Joe .saro who, at the USC troopjpport-march this past Thursday, "t : :??? UU, X UI111K 11 12) lllipUlUUU 1U1 US 5 Americans to show our support f the troops. I get really tired of seing all the anit-war protests." Indeed, there exists a common lisconception that one cannot love is country, support his brothers ad sisters at arms, and be against 'ar. Is it impossible to simultaeously question and love one's Duntry? Veritably, should we not uestion the actions of our governlent because we love our country? Perhaps Martin Luther King best ^pressed this when he recognized lat "just as Socrates felt that it 'as necessary to create a tension i the mind so that individuals ould rise from the bondage of lyths and half-truths to the unfetsred realm of creative analysis nd objective appraisal, so must /& see the need for nonviolent adflies to create the kind of tenion in society that will help men ) rise from the dark depths of pretdice ... to the majestic heights f understanding and rotherhood." Such tension arises from the odged and unanswered questions resented by the individual, and ddressed to society. Such tensions earn to be resolved. Consequently, it seems that one f the greatest dangers Americans ace comes not so much from the ew who have taken extreme posiions either for or against the war, s from the many detached modrates whose credulous apathy has sft them believing all they hear nd see flickering before them ig on top of what the oil industry be a huge deposit of oil. About two years ago, I remember terview with oil company executive ought were going to foam at the nr g about the oil that could be taken ea if they would just be allowed to < ad into the refuge, lay down some lild wells and pumping stations, 2 ork. And they promised to do all of it disturbing the environment. Luckily, national law protected it 2 ICTTCDCT LIZ I I E no I 5eace-seekers j / jl federal en Well, we finally have a national en rich I suppose is intended to reduce pendency on foreign oil. Hmmm? n't waste too much paper having c inted. 'I 'V? /-? nntii r nlon oollo fr\f m/At*? UK/ IIWw yiaii s^aiid I\JI inuiv [ production. Logical enough, I sup the prime candidates for this prop g is the Arctic National Refuge ii iaska. I don't know how many of en or heard of this area, but it is autiful and home to numerous type: n wilrllifp. Trvt hart it iiist hanne.ns mis Wlin- puwci anu uic uij>pu:> nuclear energy is a is a refuge doesn't leak and the - - -J- 1 > ? J- ' .v..?". *f. 0 THE EDIT( without question. The dogma which has led sc many to the conviction tha "America can do no wrong" i frightening. After all, was not Hit ler's Germany relatively unques tioned by its people? No, nonvio lent peace protesters are not th< cause of tension, they simply brinj to the surface the tension alread; deep in all of our hearts by ques tioning our government's policie of war. Perhaps they express universa fears we all are afraid to admit. In deed, we are an idealistic peopl ? which is to say, we do not lik to hear the dark truths which ar required to answer such questions. Always, there is danger in dis tortion and oversimplification o the issues. The reduction the Pei sian Gulf War to a "good guy v< bad guy" scenario deludes the trut that in war no one's hands ar clean. In as much, there is a moral ot licratinn fn nnestinn the. ar.tinns r our government and ourselves; t ask how many innocent lives ar lost to our bombs. Is it a doubl standard to defend Kuwait, and nc Lithuania? Why, in the face of 01 oil dependency, have we failed t fund any substantial energy research programs? How can we spend billions c dollars and risk a multitude c lives to "liberate" a country whic oppresses its women, while mil lions in our country are oppresse by homelessness, illiteracy, dis ease, racism, unemployment, po\ erty, crime, pollution, etc.? What other governments do w support militarily, forgiving thei disregard for human rights becaus we share common interests? It seems obvious that questior are vital. Let us not be all too u\ cot ot thncA uihn havp thp pnnron at uiujv r* nv 11U? V uiv vwuiu^ to ask them. I stand in oppositio to war because I value the lives c our troops. Too often my pro-wt friends confuse this concept c troop-support with support in som context of "winning," as if thi were a football game. Indeed, it is a fallacy to think is impossible to be against the wi and support the troops. To say th dehumanizes our loved one caught in the Middle East and ii suits their intelligence. My firienc in the Middle East have expresse appreciation that protesters suppo tergy plan ergy plan, r?? J the U.S.'s ' I n I hope we U opies of it i domestic pose. One osed drill- v i northern and the green stayed you have go into the oil industr incredibly that may may change 3 of north- ally, in the same inter to be sit- representatives from speculates wen as citizens in adamant about keepii seeing an the refuge so hopefu ;s whom I protest to keep it then louth talk- Gee George, did tl from this cient engines or oil, construct a transit ever cross your i concrete, The new energy pk md get to of regulations for tfo ' -1 -? I A1 i does harm ^ ' with. If we I CMMIQ QMCAI V years for a n LIllllW Wl I fc-r-tta IVLUVV^ 1 SJ W nuclear pow ? safe plant ir but I wouldr get it built would be b on the ground and didn't build a safe ] y's wallets. Unfortunately, Ease reg' now. Yeah, Bush. (Actu- waste? Well view there were numerous buried under environmental groups as Complaini Alaska who were quite cludi ^ ( lg the oil industry out of in this new illy there will be enough gas ^ US 1 out^ _ _ , ? make the U. le idea of more fuel effi- long mn /gas substitutes or mass mind (mind?)? This plan in also includes the easing some of its e construction of nuclear are going tc al of nuclear waste. Now, least be a go rtAArl if tbn roo/^tAr HACtrnv thp ( 1UV/U 11 LI IV/ 1 V/OVIVJ1 UVJUWJ uiv V waste is effectively dealt dark. t' * : 3R them. ) So again I quote King: "It really t all boils down to this: that all life s is interrelated .... Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated e structure of reality." g . Daniel Bush y Media arts sophomore ] Paper treated ; dorm unfairly e e To the editor: "Police Discover Drugs in Preston" screams the front page of a ,f recent The Gamecock. How nice of you to notice. On behalf of Pre5. ston, we would like to thank you h for your invaluable news services, e We have wondered though, why 1 4.! A.1 you are so seiecuve in presenting i- news to the public. When hall gov,f ernment turned Preston into a giant o haunted house and raised over e $400 for Epworth Children's e Home, where was The Gamecock? >t When Preston put on awardir winning programs designed to reo duce perceived racial tensions, where was The Gamecock? When our own Fred Jones, Resident Ad,f viser of the Semester, was shipped off to Saudi Arabia to proudly h serve his country, where was The [. Gamecock? d These articles must have "slipped under the rug" in your r. feverish intent on publishing negative news, racially-biased editorials e and aggressive accusations. You ir send a reporter to the USC Police e Station every Friday. Perhaps if you sent one to the Resident Hall ,c Programming Office, they ). wouldn't. re Shaun Heneghan !n Mark A. Fernandez Steve Coburn ir Preston Resident Advisers >f is USC bureau u unwarranted is :s To the editor: 1- The recent response of the USC Is administration as to why the d school needs an office in Washingrt ton, D.C., does not justify the of I )$$$^ , not good have to wait an extra three to four uclear plant's completion, so be it rer, a major designer and builder of er plants, says that it can build a i five to six years. That might be, 1't mind if it took them 10 years to with the regulations in place. It etter than finding out they can't plant in less time. illation on disposing of nuclear , only if they're willing to have it the White House and the Capitol. ng aside, I will give credit for injxpansion of solar and wind power plan as well as the use of natural 5 of renewable energy sources will ,S. and the planet better off in the for the most part is weak; hell, points are downright awful. If we > have an energy plan it should at od one. You know, one that doesn't mvironment or make it glow in the vK % s * | > ; fice's existence or its overpaid staff. Attempting to build support for the office the administration is relying on a weak tactic, USC's unproductive rivalry with Clemson University. That USC receives more federal dollars than its up-state counterpart a. :i_. *1 -i. UMts ana a caomet memoer. Regretfully, USC's D.C. office appears to be yet another shameful legacy of the departed James Holderman, and an example of this university's fraudulent waste of taxpayers' money, and its continuing corruption. Benton G. Calmes History graduate student is noi necessarily me wor*. ui lis D.C. office. USC is a much larger school, has a more varied curriculum and far more graduate programs than Clemson. There is no proof that the D.C. office helps USC obtain more federal funding. This past summer, as an intern in the Executive Office of the President, I worked on a report for the Office of Management and Budget on reforms in federal laws regarding secondary and higher education. While drafting segments of the report, I heard from many states, places as diverse as Puerto Rico, Louisiana and Montana. Two or more of the proposed changes in federal regulations would affect South Carolina. Yet I never heard from the state office or USC's D.C. office ? which I did not know existed The report was later issued by the White House Office of Policy Development to the National Governors' Association conference. If one of the purposes of the office, as justified by the administration, is to monitor changes in federal programs regarding higher education, why weren't they interested in the OMB report? I find it hard to believe any justification for the inflated salaries of the D.C. office's staff. Few people in public service earn such wages. The head of my department this past summer makes under $80,000 a year. Yet he comes right under Dick Darman, the Director of