Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VIEW Vote Upcoming electi to make studem College campuses are usu Long recognized as one of tht trend has been on the decline. College-age students are be issues which effect them most mary and national general ele gouraging trend. The last day to register to b< primary is this Saturday. To i the County Voter Registration Richland County, this office Harden streets. If you register ble to vote in the primary but election in November. Many important topics are balls this election year, amoi loans. This is something which and watch the news, find out excercise that most important r Those who talk politics and vote. Why? The most commo difference." Utter garbage. If > The fraction of Americans whc It is disturbing that so few i take part in the single most i happens in these elections will for years to come, not only th< to come. If you're from another state mission and find out about r state's offer, or about the avaih It's quick, it's easy and it's i important right. Use it, don't al BACt' ^ ^ POINT ons offer chance ts voice heard ally a hot-bed of political interes ; most vocal of political forums, thi :coming apathetic and ambivalent t t. The upcoming South Carolina pri r?ttAn to r\ /"? V\ nr\r>r? fr* ^tiwn id a v^nain^ isj cuangc uud uii e eligible to vote in the Aug. 25 S.C egister, a person must simply go t office of his or her home county. Fc is at the corner of Hampton an after Saturday, you will not be eligi will be eligible to vote in the genera being tossed around like so man; ag them the availability of studer i affects many of us. Read the paper which candidates you agree with, ai icht and vote. make their views known often don n answer is "my vote won't make rour vote doesn't count, whose does > do vote? n this country of progressive though mportant events of our lives. Wha decide the road our country follow 3 next few years, but for generation ;, contact your state's election com nail-in registration, something mos ioiiiiy or aoseniee oanots. relatively painless. It's also our mos 3use it. fgjjl my flashing wit? at wm demeanor? my single Question: What do you think a fi "Well first of all, it was "I think refreshing because he wasn't because I a Republican or a Democrat, his opini He had different ideas for the an excuse country. But then he didn't the race, back everything he said in the wasn't klrviif -fit* !'?** * paoi. nu?*, ao iai ao I in uuu- uiuppt;u v. 1 cerned, I think it's fine that he he couldn s dropped out." Jill Count 0 Jimmy Teeter Pharmacy l~ Business I" 1 Across y it ? Euthanasia makes p t a Our courts have again reinforced the f ? deep-seated belief in this society that every- t thing is disposable when it is no longer use- r ful. Even people. ti In many cultures the aged and infirm are t regarded as special, even sacred vessels of d life. They are not seen as a burden, but as an s affirmation of the preciousness of life. r Yet in our country, when a loved one is in f pain and suffering, many of us believe we i; ;t have the right and obligation to terminate cl that suffering. Our society pressures us to 1 ;t find the quick fix for the harsher problems of life. We are not conditioned to endure p lingering suffering or to love the wretched, c When they burden us, we dispose of them. a I concede there are cases when the suffer- p ing of some is unendurable. These are the u cases which make us question the benevo- J lence of God, for such a kind god would not inflict people with such pain. ( But more often than not, the extended suf | Legalizing euthana; Yesterday, a Michigan court threw out Ii ? first-degree murder charges against Dr. Jack n Kevorkian, inventor of the suicide machine, n He had been accused of murdering two s elderly women who asked him to help end g their lives. The case was dismissed because i Michigan has no law against assisted sui- li I cide. p F In a year when the legal system has given c ,\ us such "brilliant" decisions as in the n \ ' Rodney King, William Kennedy Smith and ii . RU-486 cases, it is good to see that justice r< u still exists. p Euthanasia, or "mercy-killing," is not y murder. Under the law, murder is defined as e ' "to kill a human being unlawfully and with n premeditated malice." When a terminally ill tl patient asks to end his or her life, there is c no malice because the decision is made c with good intentions. How can someone be j punished for the patient's death when the n f patient asked for it? Isn't it honoring a d dying person's last request? li Some would say that euthanasia is d immoral. But is it? Often, the terminally ill ti endure long treatments that are physically o painful to themselves and psychologically p distressing to their loved ones Rv killine themselves, not only are they ending their n suffering, but they are ending the emotional v trauma of their family. So, is it immoral to tl do something for the good of the family, or o is it simply humane? t( Because of skyrocketing health care costs, long-term treatment for the ill drains a family's financial and emotional reserves. C _ i iijl music, politics and literature? flip flJjgM; my willingness to experiment? ?IgK w/m\w sexual prowess? ^ ibout H. Ross Perot dropping oul negatively of him "I think it's good he ( hie wouldn't back up out. He's got a busii ons. He also made run and probably w * for dropping out of have time to run bi and you know that things and the pres the reason. He He's probably just a r >ut because he knew who just said 'I wai 't win." then decided he couh it." s Gidgett Gaskin Math-Educatio ~ i t ; smgftr j Firr* aii ?Shi We quite >eople disposable Sy, A A does. can te ering of our sick is caused by the ministra- jt S( ions of modern medicine. I can accept emoving the unnatural medical support sys- frien(j ems which prolong pain as well as life, but reajiv 0 take a more proactive approach is a step j^0' lown the evolutionary ladder. jj , We have come so far making our lives w nore endurable and pleasant. Perhaps we fanin, lave lost our inherent reluctance to take life atjem' n our efforts to preserve it. After all, with Qne ? loctors around like Jack Kevorkian, taking a ife is effortless. friend Maybe if we endeavored to cope with the aoain >ain of a loved one, we might discover our y^hen iwn humanity. Intead of casting ourselves as heart 1 troupe of godplayers, we should let Nature We ironounce life or death and endure contin- an(J -t led suffering with love. search ,aY Kin9 a part Jay King is copy desk chief for The waters Jamecock K 1 Q/J A uitu a ... , import sia not immoral 1,1 probat us up. nevitably the patient dies, and the family j w nust begin grieving. By allowing the termi- Witho ally ill to die early, the family saves thou- aarba? ands of dollars, and is able to end the wasn't rieving process sooner. were n Many states recognize the legality of the started ving will, a contract which states that if a n0 j erson should lapse into an irreversible j was oma, all methods to sustain life will be 0f voj( ifused. If states are willing to allow people years j. i irreversible comas to die at their own YVh> jquest, why won't they let terminally ill coverir eople die? seems To ensure that a safe, legal method of ,e uthanasia is performed, the government tionshii eeds to set standards. It isn't something lat can be decided by the overburdened _ ... ,. i and sav ourt system, or some Washington bureau- ^em a rat. It is a matter of individual choice. 'ea When children are involved, the idea of j kn( lercy-killing becomes complicated. Who couid ] ecides whether a terminally ill child will iearned ive or not? The child? The parent? The touch b octor? Can an ill child know the ramifica- jt?s ons of such a decision? If any legal form , f euthanasia is to become reality, this ^ san roblem will need to be addressed. dwellin Whether we like it or not, once a termi- starte(j ally ill patient decides to end his life, he mofe /ill find a way to do it. Is it better to allow Com] lem to free their soul through their death, Diac;d r to be condemned to live out a death sen. i t o WaVCS S snce m their own body/ Th -C.E. Holman , " , C.E. Holman is a staff writer for The jt? iameccick. slrong t But r special a I I jj Editor in C M Manaaina; Copy Des Viewpoint Carolina L || Graphics, Photograp Sports Ed Student hi ^sst' ^roc Faculty A< Advertisin ^pi ^ \ ^sst ^'a? e ^ar r Letters s professio ||Y J ^|. included R||||y Gamecoc jk ]^^KS||t possible JHHBiiii^MMMMLnaHMJii^^^^P notwithhi ? ? vuiivoua; J uiy 1 yyz, t of the presidential race? dropped "I think it hurt the Democrats ness to because his supporters might ouldn't go to Bush. I'm a Clinton sup isiness porter." idency. ich guy Christina Augustinos it that' History dn't get i I J fe on sea of love I rough sailing? jlly Magee 11, I've been waiting to write this column for some time. Normally, we shun writing too columns which are personal. But I think this? of applies to everyone, or at least I hope it Besides, I'm the editor, so it's not like Tige II me not to print it. 2ems lately, I've been having lots of conversaabout relationships. And as I was saying to a yesterday, what else is the world all about, matter what else we have in life, we are eterseeking the right person to bring us happiness. hole process of dating and g in love is a series of pts to home on "the jMHHL I look around at my W Is, I see over and over that the fates can be cruel it comes to matters of the ^|||^gpp jsmm jm\ live in complicated times, breeds complicated relationships. We are all ing for some ideal, some level of perfection in ner which will lull us into eternally calm on the sea of love. lie part of this universal search myself, I stumcross someone who didn't fit into my list of ant prerequisites. We aren't really very alike t, listening to a description of this person, l >ly would have laughed if someone tried to set ent into this thing expecting very little, ut the normal standards test, and all the e we rate our dates with. We went in friends. I looking for those particulars I had decided ecessary to forge a relationship. Instead, I just appreciating the things I stumbled upon, equirements. So I wasn't dissapointed. Instead thrilled with every new look, every new tone x, every new idea. And I still am now, two ater. ' doesn't anyone find joy in the process of disig the person we fall in love with anymore? It like dating now requires a resume complete tters of recommendation and a complete relap history up front. t happened to learning about people slowly oring the new discoveries as we come across nd embracing the new closeness which comes ch. ow now I've found "the one." No resume have convinced me this would happen. I it the best way, day by day, word by word, y touch. ailed falling in love. I look at my friends and hope they can find le. Sometimes I think if they only stopped g on the little things which bother them, and appreciating the important things a little mitment takes work. My sea of love is hardly However, we all can enjoy making a few ometimes. important thing is I'm drifting along blissfulI never want to return to shore, ink or swim out there, guys. May you have a >ack stroke. neanwhile, I just wanted to stop and let my person know I couldn't stay afloat alone.. 5amtcock uSCmta isct yhief Shelley Magee. 'News Editor Tige Watts k Chief Jay King Editor Aaron Sheinin ife Editors Clay Murphy Parasettia Singleton Artist Sean McGuinness >hy Editor Jeff Mabon itor Jack Dunn ledia Coordin Jim McKellar i Manager Laura Day iuction Manager Ray Burgos dviser Erik collins g Manager Renee Gibson isified Manager Neha Samagond ne:.> x will try to print all letters received. ;houid be 200-250 words. Full name and nal title, or year and major if a student, must be along with address and phone number. The k reserves the right to edit letters for style, libel or space limitations. The Gamecock will old names under any circumstances.