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Bad press South Carolina needs help getting a better national reputation While most editorials are bv their nature critical, it is time for a * little praise. The state of South Carolina has gotten a reputation as a cultural and intellectual backwater, and this is undeserved. S.C. has a rich, controversial history of independence from federal control. In the past, this has meant S.C.'s standing out for its poor academic performance and poverty. This is no longer the case. South Carolina does not hover near the bottom of national educational achievement tests anymore, and has many excellent institutes of higher learning such as USC, Furman and, yes, Clemson. ^ Culturally, Columbia and Charleston regularly have theater and dance productions in town. Charleston also receives worldwide attention every year for Spoletto. True, Columbia pales in comparison to other Southern metropolitan areas such as Charlotte and Atlanta, but it is hardly in the boondocks, either. Columbia boasts an excellent coliseum and cultural arts center, as well as a stadium that could easily support a professional sports franchise. Part of the blame for S.C.'s poor national image is the state's leaders. It is unfortunate that so many archly conservative politicians still infest the State House, constantly trying to drag S.C. back into the Stone Age. On the federal level, foimer-Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond is always ready, willing and able to bring national embarrassment to the state. At the very least, Governor Carroll Campbell is showing the rest of the country a younger, more articulate S.C. leadership. Another reason for S.C.'s poor national reputation is its bad press coverage. The national press only focuses on S.C. when there is some controversy about a Ku Klux Klan march or when a hurricane strikes. That is a narrow focus with which to cover a state that has so much to offer. "ITGlVES m GREAT PLEASURE TO PRESENT B(tAMR(',()CR1 News: 111-7726 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 ED Bonza 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 t Business Manager ^ Letters Policy: The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should rbe, 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 f circumstance. ^ 1 I Affirmati A few days ago a friend of mi something that really upset me. He applied for a job that he was extre fied for and found out through th that he didn't get it because he's bl; he didn't want to believe it, but he c ize it was true. Then, the very next day, anothe mine was in a similar situation. He a position that he was the most quali ant for and was turned down bee white and someone black was give tion because of a quota that had to b< All this black-white stuff is just make me sick. What ever happened losophy "may the best man win?" Unfortunately, quotas are a catc f l! | I S.C. idealistic place to live To the editor: When I came to South Carolina, the only thing I knew about it was that it was a Southern state. Most of what I knew was based on my readings in American literature, particularly William Faulkner. It was The Sound and the Fury that had mostly formed my image of the American South, namely the decline of the old aristocracy and the impact of slavery on society. When I came to South Carolina, I quickly found out that literary ideas of the '50s and '60s were, indeed, changing in value today. It was no longer the slave-ridden South that I saw. The African Americans, as I saw them, were a new, transformed race, cruising their land on their Cadillacs which JUUiiUMi U&& HIUUllt> U13UJUl&4UCd along the serenity of tree-lined avenues. I could feel a new idealism in the air, or maybe this was reality after all. There is something of the literary idealism of 19th and mid-20th century authors that can still be felt in South Carolina. In fact, was I anticipating to come across a revived Miss Daisy driven by her black chaffeur? Not indeed! South Carolina had long done away with black servanthood. Only the memory remains, and I am glad it's just a memory, not a reality. Speaking of more day-to-day business matters, South Carolina has developed extensive trade links with the world. South Carolina has already had contacts with Bulgaria, the country of my origin. One of the major events in that country, the first free democratic election in June 1991, was marked by the presence of the first international delegation of observers. Senator Joe Wilson of South Carolina was one of the people involved in the campaign, and he shared his memories of those times. The late Chairman of the National Republican Institute, Lee Atwater, was the person who organized the American Republican party observer earn that went to Bulgaria in June his past year. The brightly colored spring rfossoms and the smile on peo- >le's faces seem to point out the ;eneral feeling of warmth, as if it vere the weather that generates it Vnd there is nothing more beautiul as springtime in South Carolina vith the birds chirping and squirels bouncing across the campus. r?? ~ AMP THE GOOD NE\A HOV CAM FORGET A& ve action < ne told me said he had mely quali- SHELLE e grapevine ack. At first ame to realr friend of were started with the ppliedfora bigotry out of the w fied applic- sometimes they defeai :ause he is a less qualified indivii n the posi- a quota, that is also an i filled. Racism is an ugly t enough to eiy solution, there is i to the phi- nately in this wonder seem to need someor h-22. They the greatest things to ffiliTHF PTMT X XXXAn*/ Xi.i^X^-^X X Maybe it is South Carolina tha could give me this unforgettabh experience to sense the wildlife a almost tame, and to give me th< feeling that I find myself more in side a garden than a noisy urbai metropolis. And the peculia Southern drawl, as if attuned to th< undisturbed pace of life in S.C., re minds one of the soft serenity o the region. Katerina Kaloyanov; USC graduate studen USC athletes studying hard To the editor: I would like to write in response to Christy Whitlock's letter in the April 22 edition of The Game cod referring to the payment tc scholar-athletes for their efforts. ] am not, however, writing this lettei to criticize Ms. Whitlock, but tc resolve some misconceptions she seems to have about college athletics. Ms. Whitlock, first responded tc an op-ed statement in The Game cock April 17 edition which read "College athletes are supposed tc practice, play to the best of thei] ability and still keep up theii grades?" Her response was "Whai is so tough about keeping a simple 2.0 average? Anyone who attend* class should be able to do that." In point of fact, Coach Spark) Woods does have a mandator) /-?1ooc imr waao aiibiiuaiivv/ punvjr. n um. many professors do not, and some even suggest that class attendance is not necessary, Coach Woods requires ALL football players a necessary breakfast check every morning, Monday through Friday. This is done not so much to make sure breakfast is eaten, but to assure the student-athletes are out ol bed and started to class. It may also be of interest to you, Mc Whitlrvt of thp inrrpacp ol j^vxua | T llXM WAVf MX fettlV xaivxVWilV UFJ the grade point averages among the student-athletes at the University of South Carolina. For youi information, during the spring and fall 1990 semesters, over 161 student-athletes earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher, 16 of which had a perfect 4.0. These are some of the same students who participated in the Lady Gamecock basketball program and reached the NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" during their season in the spring of 1990. Along with the Lady Gamecocks, our men's soccer team completed their season this fall ranked fourth in the nation. Ms. Whitlock also posed the quotas not color is one Every on :Y MAGEE crime in d black or wli ? '?A this. How ^ and like ha 1 same pers( best of intentions, to keep were house ork place. Unfortunately, If you h t their own purpose. When were just a dual gets a job because of criminated i injustice. and think al hing. It seems that for ev- I hope I mother problem. Unfortu- color blind ful world, people always things like < le to hate. And they find I'll get c 1 base this hate on. Skin semester. iRHSSiil t Question in her letter- "What ic 5 wrong with a little part-time or s full-time work in season?" And 5 she stated, "all these athletes that don't think they get enough can 1 join the ranks of students who work 20-30 hours per week or 5 more all year long." First, I think it is necessary for ^ people to understand the NCAA's point of view on this matter. Ac1 cording to NCAA rules, it is illegal * and a violation for a scholarship athlete to hold any job during the fall and spring semesters. In theory, this was to prevent fiscal abuses of overzealous alumni and booster employers. This leaves approximately three months in the summer and the 5 short time around Christmas (when 5 school is not in session or the team : is not preparing for a bowl game) ) for student-athletes to hold jobs. 1 Many of these students come from r lower-middle to lower class fami> lies and would not have had the ' opportunity to attend ANY institu' tion of higher education without an c/^kAlorchtn Ajf r?ct nf tkic uuuvuv jwiiuiaiiuuoi ui uiio > money earned during this time will go towards laundry, school sup? plies (i.e.: paper, pens and note* books), gas, food, clothes and r pocket money. It is also important to look at the t time and training requirements ' placed on the student-athletes at ! this level of competition. A typical student-athlete carries a minimum ' of 12 credit hours, with an average r of 15 to 16 each semester. This ' must be done to complete satisfac tory progress set forth by the : NCAA which enables the studentathletes to become eligible for 1 competition. r All of his classes must be prior to noon because of afternoon practice. The student-athlete spends : from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. five days a week at Williams Brice Stadium. His time consists of three ? weight training workouts each weeK, live weekly pre-practice ' meetings prior to the two and a half practice sessions. [ This time spent weekly can't exceed 20 hours of pre-game preparation per week as set by the NCAA. This does not include game time, individual film study, treatment and rehabilitation in the case of an injury. [ The spring, summer and winter months (which are the "offseason") for football consist of four weight workouts per week, three days of afternoon running in the Carolina sun and two days of morning running, the latter beginning prior to 6:00 a.m. By all of this hard work, solution ' of the best examples of this, e out there who doesn't see the big iisliking someone because they're lite or green for that matter,, consider vould you feel if someone you know ted you, even if you were exactly the >n you are now, just because you d in a different skin? qup npupr pnncirlprpH thot if thinno w v iiv t v* vv/iajiuvi vu uiui 11 uiliigo little bit different, you could be disagainst every day, you should stop bout it a little more often, live to see the day when people are enough that there isn't a need for quotas. >ff my soap box now . . . until next I ^ ' student-athletes such as football and basketball players (as well as others) hope to be successful, For by this success, such as a bowl game and national recognition for the institution, money is generated and recycled through the university's financial office. Examples of this are computers, desks and professor endowments. The Athletic Department directly donated to the university's Thomas Cooper Library $500,000 for the purchase of books, periodi oaii team Dealing rionaa diate University two out of three games. We are used to some stereotypic opinions because we may be bigger, faster or stronger than others. Through this letter, I hoped to have swayed these opinions. We are not "guys and girls" taking from YOUR university, but student-athletes giving blood, sweat, tears and yes, even brain cells to give something back to OUR University of South Carolina. Ben Hogan Pre-med/history sophomore football player cal and other informative supplies for use by the entire student population. Our department has also endowed a Carolina Scholars scholarship here at USC. Incidentally, USC has been chosen the past two years to attend the Independence Bowl, but declined the offer because of final examinations. It might also be of some interest that the money for a scholarathlete's scholarship is not given by the university, its faculty, or the students, but by the revenues generated by the university's Athletic Support Club known as the Gamecock Club. I would like to close this letter by stating that none of the Carolina student-athletes are demanding payment, all of us are happy to have the chance to extend our athletic careers past the high school level and possibly to continue to play on the professional level, like "Bo and Jordan," who both eventually graduated college with degrees. I simply wanted to write to inform you of the demands placed on us and the amount of hard work and effort we contribute to the use. We do know "diddly," Ms. Whitlock. We, the student-athletes of Carolina, are pre-med, pre-law and business students, as well as athletes. We take pride in our business school being voted the topranked international business school in the country; the same pride professors take in our base1 11 A t a! l * J nA_