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VlEWI Bush r t ;? , upturning election to get rid of ineffec George Bush is an ineffective pre rid ourselves of this bumbling politic Since we overwhelmingly electee but wallow in the shadows of Ro idency. Unfortunately for Bush, the glamour it once had and Bush' Hu/inHlaH U TTI1IUIVU. So, where does that leave us? We dent who has no effective game plar self-seeking. Bush said he went to Japan to 1 crippled by the Far East's economic the only reason he went is to look lil American businesses. He made that mission more obvi City and New Hampshire to increase Bush is intelligent, but he's ass aren't. Bush knows he's in deep trou to boost his 46 percent approval rati dent who's not just concerned about 1 Bush is too weak to lead us out c setting deadlines for when the recess comes and goes, we find we are sti nomic spiral. We also need a president who wil ing partners. When Bush goes to J mercy, the United States looks like a puts high quotas on our products, le Sometimes rolling up your sleeves is on your knees. Bush's only claim to effectivene when we clobbered Iraq in the Persi times is there going to be a swarth} attitude trying to throw around his po We need to get rid of a person \ nomy with a war halfway around th get rid of George Bush. If you have an lssu< you would like to see addressed in Cross J it in a suggestion Box or Call The Gam\ Parking woes anger student To the editor: At the beginning of last fall semester, I plunked down my money to buy a time-share (i.e., a parking space) on that vast expanse of asphalt behind the coliseum. I received for my tribute a small bumper sticker, which I disnloitp/1 u/ith nriHp On the afternoon of Dec. 2, I drove my humble Honda into the aforementioned parking lot and was chagrined to find not a single empty parking space on the six acres of asphalt. So I did the reasonable thing (I thought) and parked in the driveway at the end of a row of cars. When I returned to my Honda a few hours later, I was even more chagrined to find a parking ticket on my windshield, assessing me an $18 fine. I immediately appealed the fine and was recently notified that my fine had been reduced from $18 to $10. Now isn't that special? Today, former tele-evangelist Jim Bakker is breaking rocks at a federal penitentiary in Minnesota because he oversold time shares at Heritage USA. The folks who run USC Vehicle Registration might take a lesson from Jim's experience. 'OINT c i is the time . 7 Duke tive president Engu I thin sident and the time is right to see ian. with i Bush, he has done nothing ai,y?r nald Reagan's popular pres- _ Reagan's presidency has lost s popularity has dramatically :'re in a country with a presii, and the one he does have is A fight for American industries powerhouse. Don't be fooled, ke a brave soldier fighting for p ous when he flew to Kansas his popularity. A urning the American voters educ ble and that's why he's trying impc tng. But, voters want a presi- ness himself. Havi if this recession. He has been ?ver ion will end, but as each date ih?rr 11 suffering from a slow eco- univ( Fc 1 get tough with foreign trad- p0ii, fapan and pleads for trading awa) l country of whiners. If Japan port! ;t's put high tariffs on theirs. New ; more effective than begging Poli| threa ;ss came almost a year ago leges an Gulf War. But how many r, mustached man with a bad lp0ji wer- slitu vho ducks handling the ecoe world. Now is the time to litica It whic cludi r: "5 TKLL ] - \ det>a Wm \V least v fende 5 or question Fire or USC Voices. nlease dron -m. ecock Newsroom at 777-7726. But to Jim Bakker's credit, it should be said that never ? even in his darkest, most larcenous dreams ? did he have the gumption to levy a fine against his victims when they showed up to use their oversold time-shares. Of course, poor old Jim was nothing but a simple country preacher compared to the USC Vehicle Registration office. Will Moredock Graduate Student Students abuse weight room To the editor: This letter is in response to Patrick Villegas' article on the weight room in the Jan. 13 issue of The Gamecock. In the article, Villegas is pushing for the university to expand and improve the student/faculty weight room at Blatt P.E. Center. Villegas covered some nice issues, but he forgot that, to quote an axiom, "stopping the symptoms will not cure the disease." While I certainly agree the facility leaves much to be desired, the facility users (encompassing both students and faculty) cannot expect the university to Do you think Chung Wednesday leering major English maj ik people should be able to I think they t. There's nothing wrong degrading to it because it's not hurting it's really ni le. rent from pr< ^fross olitical Correctm debate has raged in American higher Insti ation and society as well, regarding the sepa irtance and impact of Political Correct- bate . Is it overblown or about to blowup? port ing studied Political Correctness for Thei a vear. I have concluded that Political ture ectness will NOT significantly impact broa future of our nation's colleges and B ^rsities. the < >r the last year, the media has portrayed min< .ical Correctness as a disease eating the ' at the core of higher education. Re- year 5 in the media, including Time and sidei sweek, would lead one to believe that Arm ical Correctness poses a significant char l to most, if not all, of the 3,500 col- tion, ; and universities in this country. How- Tl a survey by the American Council on plac nation found "Little controversy over cduc tical Correctness.'" Only one in ten in- and) tions overall have experienced con- high :rsies on their campuses regarding Po- syste 1 Correctness. and is important to consider the issues threa h are central to the "PC" debate inng: harassment policies, ethnic studies, - Jo cular reform, multiculturalism, affirmaaction, racism and intolerance. Despite Johr iracterization by the media to the con- ,n ? , this is not an organized movement. and PC" causing contn iort and sweet, political correctness is rectn nportant topic on this campus. Look ar- Ca I you. It's everywhere. looki tse one: The student senate last year Palm ted the word "handi-capable" for at porta 30 minutes. They were caught in a Wi h place. The word "handicapped" is ting idered insensitive to disabled students, acctk ever, the word "handi-capable," ac- evide ing to Webster's Dictionary, does not correi Ca > what does the senate call someone fair e has physical disabilities? They don't icant j, and eventually a compromise word- It so vas put on the bill. upon ise two: Student groups showed disple- corec i with Gamecock Fever, a publication W1 buted at home football games, because politii editor used the character Cockwheat. not a wheat is a cross between Cocky and man, bers of the African-American culture. "PC" >wever, when some students opposed is an :wheat, there were others who de- thoug id the character. This was the first in a . line of racial-tolerance arguments that " 1 ed up last semester. " Tige ese examples prove that political cor- Gan , spend thousands of dollars to build a new facility while we destroy the old one. Villegas, this "administrator" he quotes, and Cole Parker (Letters to the Editor, same issue) all miss the point. I have worked out in various student weight rooms in the past ten years, and I found none of the mistreatment of equipment found here. Watching the deterioration of our weight room due to user abuse over the past four years has been a revolting experience. Users drop weight stacks, send stacks crashing into the upper bumpers, break dumbbells, and just generally abuse the equipment found here. I understand the machines and free weights are not trlass hut thpv ctill 0 o ? J ??" must be treated with some form of respect. It seems to me that college students and faculty should have learned by now to put their toys back when finished, but even this seems to be beyond hope. Often I must spend ten minutes putting dumbbells in pairs in their rack, and picking plates up from all over the room and putting them where they belong before I can work out. People should clean up their own mess so not to inconvenience others, not to mention the hazard of injury in a cluttered nude dancing should be b Coker La-el Carter or Engeneering ma should because it's If I want to see women and to me able to see it, an )t that much diffe- want to see it then sstitution. Fire^ iss overblown ^ad, each of these issues represents a irate debate and a separate group of ders to whom an issue is of particular imance. There is no "PC" movement, re is no group conspiring to alter the fuof American higher education along a d front! ut, the question remains of the value of :urrent debate. It has had a positive, but :>r, impact upon higher education within last year. For the first time in many s, America and its students have reconred the importance of many areas of irican higher education. Although few iges may come from this reconsiderathe process itself is a healthy one. le fractured debates which have taken e around this country in both higher ation and the media will not signific' change the complexion of American er education. It is one of the strongest <ms of higher education in the world, Political Correctness is not a significant it to that standing. ihn Wesley Lowery i Wesley Lowery is a graduate student le Student Personnel Services program the College of Education. jversy at USC ess is a hot topic on this campus, se three: USC President John Palms is ng for a new affirmative action officer, s called this post one of the most imnt in the USC administrative structure, ith the president of our university putthis much importance on affirmative >n, I would say that's another piece of nee showing how important political ctness is to the campus, se four: USC is the host of a culture very year. Multiculturalism is a signifissue relating to political correctness, unds like we're putting importance another topic relating to poltical tness. Ituitl WC die ^UllbClUUS U1 11 U1 I1UL, Dal correctness is around us. "PC" is shocking topic like, such as Holderthat screams across the headlines, is instead, a more subtle topic, and it i issue worth some attention and ht. ge Watts s Watts is the managing editor of The tecock. weight room. I understand that some blame belongs with the university. Servicing the equipment seems to be an unheard of thought, as has teaching proper techniques to users. Perhaps that would be the answer; to teach people what to and what not to do. Certainly the attendants (when present) ignore this abuse, and this tolerance could be taken as condoning this action. Regardless of the cause, I would be quite disappointed if the university spends the thousands of dollars to rebuild the weight room. I personally would like nothing more than a proper facility, and will no doubt be chastised by my peers and my department for this letter, but the students and faculty of this university have got to accept a little personal responsibility for the condition of that weight room. With all due respect and apologies to Mr. Villegas, Cole Parker and "the administrator," the key to resolving this problem is not to accept "the squeaky wheel gets the oil attitude". Rather, take the initiative to show the students and faculty will support and properly treat the weight room that we have now. Only then can we reasonably expect, and demand, a proper facility for Our use. Nicholas M. D'Aiello Jr. Exercise Science senior anned in S.C.? an iisi MmMmt 4flHHHL*rwF ^ I Todd Potter ijor Accounting major it I should be No, because that blocks freedom id if you don't of expression and people's freei don't go. dom of choice. Education needs sadly ignored - Eric Ward The pillars of our society are crumbling. Do you see it happening? Think of the one thing, above all others, that America needs to thrive. America depends upon an informed, educated populace. Democracy breaks down without it. Individual rights are insignificant if people don't know what they are, why they exist and their limits. The free market cannot function without welltrained workers who understand how it operates. And so on. A few scary facts: Millions of Americans wander the streets illiterate. Our science and math prog- ^^99^ _ rams lag far behind Japan, Ger- r \ many and other countries'. Those competitors are hammer- ?v/~7 v^ f ing our economy. Blame the government, * blame the media, blame your- * Njfcr self and blame me. The government: Bush the Education President. What an oxymoron, what an insult and what a lie. His efforts have been limited to public relations photo opportunities in schools. He is the latest in a historical pattern. There is an attitude that pervades in governments that education is a low priority. The Napoleanic budgets of France contained huge expenditures for the military and the deficit, and a pitiful amount for education. Sound familiar? Politicians believe there will always be a group of educated people around to run the country. Correct, but they don't realize they may be governing uneducated masses who don't understand their rights well enougn 10 cnecK ineir leaders power, out perhaps that is an "unintended" result Or they might be governing people who are out of work because of foreign competition, governing a society headed for implosion, and if that happens, there won't be a country to run. The media: They talk about education in numerical terms, test scores, salaries etc., not about what makes a good teacher and how schools can assume the role families once did. The media have asked Bush fewer than 10 questions about education during his entire presidency. You and I: We do nothing. We tolerate elitest politicians who are out of touch from being surounded by educated, well-spoken people; who are in the top-10 percent income bracket; who live in the wine-and-cheese party atmosphere of Washington, D.C., their cigarettes lit and drinks paid for by lobbyists. There is a simple solution - more money. It will pay for higher teacher salaries, attracting those who are gifted, not just those who are idealists. It will pay for computers and new textbooks for schools, such as in rural South Carolina, where 10 and 20-year-old texts are used. It will pay for daycare in __i i r i _ CA. l _ l i_ - scnoois oeiore anu aner nours 10 neip ieenagc mothers and working parents. It will pay for new buses, new schools, year-round schooling. The needs are incredible. \ Pick up pen and paper and write your representatives. Tell them we'll throw them out of office if they don't appropriate more money. It's the only way. It's our future. Write the letter. Right here, right now. IGamecock Editor in Chief Managing Editor Eric Ward Tige Watts Copy Desk Chief Viewpoint Editor Kathy Heberger Shelley Magee News Editors Patrick Villegas/Gordon Mantler Carolina! Editor Photography Editor flrprf Rtrlrnhnntfh Virtflnto Marcholl V Jliw ? Graphics Editor Sports Editor Ryan Sims Ben Breazeale Faculty Adviser Erik Collins The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should be 200-250 words. Fyll name and professional title, or year and major if a student, must be included along with address and phone number. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit letters for style, possible libel or space limitations. The Gamecock will not withhold names under any circumstances.