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Viewpoint Scandal Lawmakers' check bouncing -u rpinfnrrp? rnihlir rvnirivm tre; # n i'/ w # vx /y ^ (y H/L/ r f f?y f i ^ J 1 do It's no wonder our country is billions of dollars in debt. Our lawmakers can't even balance their own checkbooks. ? A lot of information is coming out in a very helter-skelter man- ? ner about what some are calling "Rubbergate." It's a scandal in which hundreds of federal lawmakers, past and present, overdrew their personal checking accounts in the House of Representatives A Bank up to 700 or 800 times over the course of many years. fl What to think about this? Some representatives say it was carelessness, some say it was a bad banking system, others say it was plain wrong. All of the above. And of course, the Republicans and Democrats are politicking and blaming each other. How typical. Positive aspects of Rubbergate are that we found out about it, which is a tribute to our somewhat open system of government, S' and that the House banking system will be overhauled. ^ There are obvious negative aspects. Public cynicism about government justifiably sinks deeper, and heads spin as people try to o think of a way to achieve honest government. p Rubbergate is a stinging slap in the face to us. The underlying message says, 'Because we have power, we don't have to play by Vl the rules.' sl The average person would be imprisoned for committing a simi- (1' lar offense. Some representatives wrote huge checks for cash knowing that the bank would cover them. That amounts to interest-free loans ti and is quite likely a violation of United States tax laws. $ News reports are circulating that the Internal Revenue Service will investigate those who did so. The IRS should investigate and q prosecute if any laws were broken. il But when we sit on the couch staring blankly into the television si screen in disillusionment wondering how, what we can do, there is one thing to consider. te Depending on how you view people in specific and government ti in general, consider that perhaps, and unfortunately, it's a constant n fight. That power corrupts, and it's our job to check the power, fight the power. People are people and occasionally, or often, they do the wrong thing. ^ And when we find out, consider it not another sign of a corrupt system, but another sign that our system is working the way it should. \ E C V -a /. L. ? ' * SI '? "-A" GUMS - ALL SHARK -s ITC " , \ - 11 A A " tl - " - ; .1 . A|\ : , is ' : - -W:& \ I 6?at l~ < .WHITE. . '(? #< ^VT ,W| --_- =";/ : F - ,1 .. ' \ W ,^-VtMiif ,,, \? .ne^l ? A fVi |pi"ir?C CPffinn le" y?u p'a'n and Simple what tl /lUHCU^ BCllIUg problem is, and how to fix it. USC CwiorfP #V|f? seen as a sports school. The perceptii 1 ITld^C IUI ^Ji3v_x is that the amount spent on sports 1 outweighs that spent on education. F To the editor: this reason, talented high school st Here we go again. USC is once dents look elsewhere to universiti again demonstrating to its students and which do spend the money on educ to the state that the priority in South tion> because the students feel they w Carolina is not on higher education, but Set a better return on their investme higher entertainment. All of a sudden d they go there. And who can blan we need to spend $17.5 million on them? Who blames them for takii more seating at Williams- Brice Sta- scholarships that are given to them I - err better institutions? T pprlainlv Hnn 't (lllim SO OUI JiiV, yai 1111/1 3 Will liaVV/ * Wiiuiiu; UUII enough places to sit. The administration at this institution might as well Some time back there was an artic give up the charade of being a univer- about the computer labs in the Human sity and just join the NFL! ties and Social Sciences Departmer We aren't here to play football or Come over to LeConte and check o exercise; we are here to get an educa- the Computer Science labs some tim tion. While I realize that athletics are a Of 16 computers in one lab there, foi big part of university life, they are not are broken bad enough that they can why universities were started in the be used. They are all wearing sigi first place, and they should not become saying that there are no funds for r the focus of this or any other school. pair. The others have a bare minimu A recurring theme of the administra- of software installed on them, and mo tion is the desire to see more talented of that is virus infested and causes tl in-state high school graduates stay in system to crash if you try to use it. South Carolina and come to USC. I'll Now take a trip over to the Biolo^ Question: How would you m ^ hley Duncan Shj glish major Journali ion't think he would, but if "Initially did tell me, I would have to comforl at him the same because I friend, t not want to be a bigot." and ge would her, too WB * wros! Expansion sho $17.5 million. That's how much our university wants to pend to expand Williams-Brice Stadium. $17.5 million for a stadium, not for you. fot for me. Not for our professors. $17.5 million for a football stadium. All f it. And how much will go for academic rograms? Not a single dime. Is it just me or is the center of this uniersity shifting from the Horseshoe to the :adium? Something's wrong. Something's ead wrong. This is a university for the students and y the students, not for and by the football jam. Lord knows if they judged universies by the football team, we'd be one of le worst. But they don't. They judge it by the uality of students. So, is it fair to disregard le academic quality of this institution? Abolutely not. It's time to stand up to King Dixon and ;11 him this school is not run by the athlec department. It's time to tell him he is ot the ruler of this university and that we, le students are. After all, our tuition does elp to pay for the food on his table. It's me for him to listen to us. It's time he onsidered this school a place of learning nd not a training ground for jocks. stadium addn Imagine a sunny Saturday at Williamsirice Stadium. The Gamecocks are playing ieorgia. South Carolina is the three point nderdog. Now you tell me, would 84,550 creaming Gamecock fans be better than 2,400? Of course more fans would be better, 'he proposal for expansion at Williamsirice would benefit not only the university ut also the city of Columbia in many /ays. First of all, as most people know, the Jamecocks are now members of the outheastern Conference. This is a big hange from the football that this university as grown accustomed to. In the SEC, visitig teams actually bring fans, loads of tern. Georgia and Tennessee have already )ld South Carolina Athletic Director King )ixon they want 10,000 to 12,000 tickets. A problem arises here. With the current eating, only 11,457 seats remain after the llotment to students, season-ticket holders, jculty and staff. If schools like Georgia nd Tennessee want 12,000 tickets, what ckets will be available to the general ublic? If you have an Isi you would like to see addressed in C drop it in a Suggestion Box or Call The C Dp.narlmp.nl Ask them how rhp. is microscopes are holding up. I'll b< 3n ihey could use some new ones. In fac ar I'll bet $17.5 million thai if they wei or asked, the faculty at this school coul u" come up with ways to spend that m< es ney on equipment for education in le: a" than one week, ill nt The Athletic Department should n< ne be setting the image of USC to tl ng public. They are a part of this unive t>y sity, and should play the game with tl rest of the team. Doug Hellman je Computer Science junic j. Robert Par lt Computer Science senic ut e. u,rt Housing hike I inevitable m st To the editor: I told you so! Back in Feburary, I wrote a letter ;y the editor which was critical for pre feel if your roommate told y< Chris Duncan ism major Graphic Desic f it might make me un- "I have absoli table, but if it is my with that bee hen I would get over it business, an< t on with my life. I There is noth still be friends with homosexuality 99 i Fire >ws disrespect Sure, expanding the stadium does mean money for us. But, let's at least show where our priorities are. President John Palms has said we can't t;ut any more and that we're operating at minimal funds. So what happens? We propose spending S17.5 million for the stadium. I have a bright idea! Let's use some of that money for academic services! Or would that be too much for us to comprehend? What good is a university if its academic programs are hurting? What good is a university if the only good thing it can show is a wonderful football stadium? That's the question we have to answer. That's the question we have to pound into the heads of the administration. USC has shown its students and faculty disrespect. It has said it doesn't give a rat's ass about the students and that the only important thing is having a huge stadium generating a lot of money. So, what gives? Does USC care more about money or its students? The answer's quite obvious. Why don't we ask King Dixon and the Board of Trustees who they really care about. ?Tige Watts Tige Watts is Managing Editor for The Gamecock. tion helpful Another advantage to expanding Williams-Brice is the money that will pour into the university. Revenue from suites and skyboxes to be constructed from 1994 to 1997 are estimated at $1.1 million a year. Admission fees and South Carolina's share of SEC revenues will bring $800,000 to $950,000 each year. This will pay off the expenses for the construction in a few years, and by 2001, the money will stay with the university. Columbia will be aided by the expansion loo. As long as there are seats for visiting SEC fans, they are going to need a place to stay. The fans also will be spending their bucks at local restaurants and other places of entertainment in Columbia. One final reason to add seats is because the orange clad bums from the northern part of this state have a stadium with 81,473 seats. With the estimated 84,550 seats, South Carolina will be a step ahead of Clemson. ?Sean Ryan Sean Ryan is Assistant Sports Editor for The Gamecock. sue or question 1ross Fire or USC Voices, Please 3amecock Newsroom at 777-7726. ir dent Palms' decision to buy the Car et olina Plaza Hotel with student housing :t, money, money which should have been re used to improve the living standards of 1^ the Carolina community. We were -)_ promised that no tuition hike would be 5S needed to pay for the purchase. NOT! Just one month later, it was an3t nounced that students living on campus ie would have to pay an extra $38 per r- semester for dormitory improvements, ie Wake up, boys and girls! YOUR mon ney was spent so that overpaid admini(r strators could have skyline views and K ^iivait/ uauiiwuiiid. /as ysju m ,r your rooms this spring and next fall, take comfort in the fact that your administrators are doing their work in airconditioned comfort. One final thought ? where was our student government during the time the housing hike was being contemplated? Oh, I forgot, they were very busy putting up re-election signs up all over campus. to John W. Griffiths si- History graduate student du he or she was homosexual? Avery Weaver in major History major itely no problem "I'd be surprised, but I :ause it is their couldn't hold it against him. It i it is their life, is his decision to make, and ling wrong with I'd support him through it." / " B-GLAD week i fights prejudice - Shelley Magee Look around you. Are you sitting in a class, in the Grand Marketp1 arp in thp Inhhv r?f vnnr It doesn't matter where you are because it's the same everywhere. One in 10 people are gay. They don't wear signs on their foreheads. They don't look funny. They look just like you. And there's a really good reason for that. Because they are just like you. They are people. They may be black or white, Asian or Hispanic, male or female, attractive or plain, outgoing or shy. To quote a slogan, love does not ^p|HB| discriminate. 8^r But people do. Every one of us is the member of some minority. Whether .. it is our ethnicity or the fact that ***&+* we like anchovies on our Dizza. fk there is something about every one of us that is different. And that's what makes us individuals. It's what makes people worth knowing. Being gay or bisexual is not a disease. It is not something you just wake up one day and decide might be a nice change. It is what you are. It is as much a part of a person's being as skin color or a sense of humor. You can't change it. If you ignore it, it won't go away. It's part of you, and denying it only succeeds in creating an unhappy person who isn't honest about his or her own identity. You have gay or bisexual friends. Every one of you does. You just may not know it. You like them for who they are, because they make you laugh, or maybe because they always listen. But because you couldn't deal with a homosexual friend, they hide ihat from you. Because of haired and homophobia. You teach them to hate themselves. And it's wrong. You're wrong. Everyone of you who crosses the street because you see the Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Association have a table set up in front of the Russle House. Everyone of you who wouldn't wear a shirt supporting gay rights because someone might think you're "one of them." Everyone of you who sits and listens to someone tell a hateful joke, but doesn't stand up and say "that's wrong" because you're afraid of what your friends might think. You're all wrong. B-GLAD week is trying to make it right. This is an effort to eliminate predjudice and erradicate homophobia. It's just another step towards breaking down bigotry. If you believe in equality among men, support it. Don't let hatred make a slave of you. The only way to overcome is to endure, and if we don't stand up and fight, there's no way we can win the battle. Anathv is advnrarv . J J A world in which people must be afraid to face m themselves is a world we must change. Homosexuality is about love. Hate is the opposite of love. Let's keep them separate. iGamecock Editor in Chief - Eric Ward ' managing Editor Tige Watts Copy Desk Chief Kathy Heberger Asst. Copy Desk Chief Jennifer Jablonski Viewpoint Editor Shelley Magee News Editors... Patrick Villegas/Gordon Man tier Asst. News Editor Kim Everitt Carolina! Editor Greg Rickabaugh Asst. Carolina! Editor Lee Clontz Graphics Editor Ryan Sims Cartoonist Paul Jon Photography Editor Virginia Marshall Asst. Photography Editor Eric Glenn Sports Editor Chad Bray Asst. Sports Editor Sean Ryan Faculty Adviser Erik Collins Asst. Advertising Manager Melissa Owenby Asst. Classified Manager Amy Taylor TheGamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should be 200-250 words. Full name and professional title, or year and major a student, must be included along with address and phone number. he Gamecock reserves the right to edit letters for style, possible oel or space limitations. The Gamecock will not withhold names under any circumstances.