The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 23, 1992, Page 3, Image 3
Cable
Who wants the Cable Consume
,i; Protection Act of 1992?
Someone has been promoting an expensive ad campaic
behalf of more regulation for the cable industry. The regul
conies in the form of the Cable Consumer Protection Act, v
will attempt to break up what are called local monopolies. TT
attempts to reduce cable rates but also seeks to micromanag
industry in ways such as telling companies how many cust
complaint lines they should have, something that may hav
opposite effect.
Who's behind the bill? Hollywood moviemakers say th
siding with the cable companies, but the moviemakers hav
most to gain by new regulations. The bill represents Hollyvvi
f greatest opportunity yet to damage cable and regain king-o
hill status in the highly-competitive visual market.
Already, cable is showing signs of wear as it becomes inc
ingly diffuse in its programming, with entire channels devot
specific genres (The Cartoon Network, The Sci-Fi Channel).
The quality of the big movie channels is also fading. Cha
like Home Box Office are experiencing a drought of big
titles.
This is because Hollywood has restricted access to its films
has gone straight to the videotape market for its more rreleases.
A final blow would be to get legislation that woul?
, fuse cable operations on the local level by allowing an inJX
1 competitor
The Cable Consumer Protection Act, if passed, would lVe
effect of allowing a number of disreputable companies cha
lower rates. These companies would also exhibit even poer
ity and maintenance than present local cable companies.
If consumers were given the choice, there would n *>e mi
movement from cable company to cable companymuch 1
phone service.
Local cable companies are often the targets of "fjhchise te<
which take away resources from maintenance, and lC compan
pass along these fees to consumers. Last week, Roland Cou
I Pniinpil rnicrvl tha fan fram 7 . OfftCQ
| ^i'Ui;v.n icliov^u 1.11^, 1IU111 J JJtlV,tlll U1 LUlIl[JcUiy &*w" *
to 5 percent. Five percent of gross, not net, and tfs is before t;
es. How can an industry provide quality service nd niairtenar
in a business atmosphere like this?
Some monopolies are better cultivated with overnmen sup
vision and others by promoting competition We've sen t
adverse effects of busting monopolies with he breakuj of r
Bell. The solution to less expensive and bett-r quality able s
vice is not more inept cable companies, but government ?sistar
to one company for the entire community ?od the elimiation
franchise fees.
A SoVWMENf AP!/?RTiSING faCRltS
THf GROWING PloBlflWILllfERgf.
_ X/fwoirtJ? HOU
Editor in Chief Greg Rickabaugh
Managing Editor Patrick Villegas
Copy Desk Chief Jay King
News Editors .....Chad Bray
J.T. Wagenheim
Viewpoints Editor Jack Gunn
Features Editor -Lee Clontz
Sports Editors Nancy Salomonsky
Tim Thorsen
Photo Editor Stephanie Newlin
Graphics Editor Ryan Sims
Cartoonist Paul Jon
Asst. News Editor. Melissa Tennen
Asst. Features Edr Jennifer Fuller
Asst. Sports Editor Rob Rodusky
Asst. Viewpoints Jltor C.E. Holman
Asst. Photo Edito Lea Clayton
Asst. Graphics Ecjrs Kristin Buehlman
Gregory Perez
Asst. Copy Desk J'tor Kim Everitt
I on?"? r\?.?
riuuuouuu l Via 1I'" way
Asst. Productio' Manager Jim Green
Faculty Advisor Erik Collins
Advertising M?*9er Renee Gibson
Student Medi; Coordinator Jim McKellar
Graduate Ass*-:-: Brian McGuire
Darkroom "phnicians Erin Galloway
Rika Hashimoto
The Gamefk will try to print all letters received.
Letters sho?l be 200-250 words. Full name and
Crofessionaf*'e> or Year and major if a student, must
e included'on9 with address and phone number.
The Gamec:k reserves the right to edit letters for
style, pos^l? libel or space limitations. The
Ga/necocfcwill not withcid names under any
circumstar^s
Mew
I Terrorists ]
Locking through the paper over
jy. ' weel it seems as though Colt
-' heiu invaded by the Irish. Last I
we aemiered the film Leprachi
tonfhl we host one of Ireland's
t rep u res ? 112.
in on /nil U2 comes something muc
lation th* their lyrics, or their ulua-hi
vhich Bono's shoulders rides the p
le act ^ highly complex people ? the
. .k ? 1 he Irish, descended from til
e the ... , .
(icrors ot Ireland, are a strong,
omer 1(j passjonatc pCOpic. Much ot
e )day comes from what they have
The ancient Celts were a not
ey re billed warriors, renowned for t
e the tenacity, and brutality in comb;
ood's were a volatile mix of anger, passi
f-lhe- mination.
Over the centuries, the strong
reas have heen tempered due to their
ecj j with the British, Scotish, and i
Saxons to nrndnre tnHnvk Irkhmp
in their hearts are the trails ot
nnfi
anscestors.
Centuries ago the English trie
Ireland only to find the Celts, whc
4n<^ ed Ireland for 2,000 years, wen
ent gjve Up [he land peacefully,
on- What has ensued is a series ol
of flicts between factions of Irish C;
Protestants, and British loyalists,
the In 1921, Ireland divided into
S T^icnncriKln
ich \ye need heroes,
ike When I was a kid, my biggest h
Spider-Man. I'd collect all the
2S" books, (and still do, on occasion)' a
ies down in front of the tube, hop
nty would make a guest cameo on the
pts Company.
ax_ It was so much easier to find
1C(2 when I was a kid. Life was so sim
to worry about was where my ne:
cr was coming from, and when the
, Man comic book was comins or
he
wholesome American lad, who ton
vl n
justice and the whole bit. It didn t
er~ if Spidey was real or imaginary. He
,ce It's a little tougher to dig up
days. Somewhere along the line, st
me to get real. Spider-Man wasn't ;
therefore. Spider-Man wasn't a real
I feel ripped off as far as reality
the '90s, idealism and creative lea
been buried in commercialism an<
social movement in our nation tod;
in desperate environmentalist!! and
Students res
To the editor:
ZtP I am writing in response to the
letter written by Brett Mosley that
appeared in the Sept. 21 issue ol
The Gamecock. Mr. Mosley feels
ic/c
n he was forced to take part in "a
celebration of mediocrity," however
die only mediocrity I can see is
his total lack of understanding of
the Greek community.
I want to address Mr. Mosley
| with plain and simple facts. I will
l not try to impress anyone with the
^ use of dressed up rhetoric. Mr.
Mosley, you were quick to pass
judgment on the Greek system of
USC. however I find it odd that
you failed to mention most of die
facts that were printed on the full
page ad that appeared in last
Friday's edition of The Gamecock.
During the most recent semester,
the USC sorority system achieved
a combined CfPA of 3.005. 1'his is
quite an iinppressive accomplishment.
considering the all-women's
e.PA was a 2.935. In fact, eight of
the 14 sororities exceeded the allwomen's
GPAs.
The purpose of the ad purchased
hy the Sorority and I-Taternitv
councils was to recognize outstanding
individual achievement. I will
never see how recognizing individuals
for achieving a GPA of a 3.5
or higher is giving undue praise.
Finally, 1 don't think you should
have associated your attack on the
Greek community with the South
Carolina Honors College. I tun also
a member of the South Carolina
Honors College, along with many
other individuals who belong to a
Greek organization who do not
hold your same opinion of the
Greek community. I suggest you
do your homework, not just consult
a dictionary, next time you make
statements about organizations with
which you are grossly misinformed.
point
misunderstot
the past
imhia is
hursday.
LS ^LS
hdecper ASST. VIEWPOINT?
p image.
aide and spirit stales. Southern lrel;
Irish. Catholics, became I
e Celtic con- State. Northern Irelan
fierce, proud. and Protestants, chose
what they are Kingdom,
been. Free State Irishmen
rv.wlir m decision, while North
heir strength, more upset,
it. The Celts 'n true Celtic fas
on, and deter- Irishmen believed Irel
had been under the <
Celtic straits options, they did vvl
intermingling done: fight. Banding
other Anglo- Irish Republican Arm
n. But always Ireland and end all
their Celtic Ireland.
For four decades,
d to conquer mant, but in 1969 the)
) had inhabit- using tactics like as
I .? M . i
in t going to nungei sinices, anu sni
Since 1969, more
bloody con- been killed as a resu
atholics, Irish death of 3,000 Irish is
437,500 Americans. T
two separate hon ol Columbia!
heroes for t]
plop
>ing he _, ^
Electric C O L U
a hero
pic. All 1 had ac,lvism- neither ot" wl
<t set of toys ,ul leader 10 ^'chrate.
next Spider- Back in our Paron,s
it. He was a wheie. Wheie aie the J
ioht for truth. time. Who couh
matter to me J'- 01 Maleom X
. vvas a |iero heroes and rightcousm
heroes these die
>mehody told . 1 "uess lhe answer 1
a real person, 'n no' aav'nc heioes a
jlcm to be the demigod of c
goes. Here hi Takc Bat,nan- tor 1
tdership have millions ol ta
J creed The ey 10 see the inovic in
iv ~is lathered vvith tlyinS rats- Perhal
human rights dve '10w l'as natioi
a new kind of hero A
ImLS
>pond to criti
Lauren LaCoste
President, USC Sorority
Council
Honors College senior
To the editor:
This being our sixth year- at our
university, we find ourselves being
HlCOlielpH k\r on ono/-lnmi/?
u j cm cli_ciu^ JIUV. CHUM
whose narcissism has blinded him
to the facts. We are, of course,
referring to the article written by
Brett Mosley, a.k.a. Master of
Lexicon.
Master Mosley, in his letter to
the editor on Sept. 21, was quite
irritated that The Gamecock forced
him "unwillingly to lake ptut in a
celebration of" Greeks who made
the Dean's List. He, himself, being
part of the all Men's average GPA
of 2.733 failed to mention that the
majority of fraternities scored
above this and that the sorority
average GPA of 3.005 supercedes
the all-women's GPA of 2.935.
We, having both served for over
two years as Scholarship Chairmen
in our respective fraternities realize
some people have to work very
hard for their grades ? unlike
Master Mosley, we're sure. We
feel these people <ire well deserving
of academic accolades.
While we are sure Master
Mosley's mom is very proud of the
fact he can use all of the vocabulary
in a SAT preparation book, we
are also aware that not everyone is
dealt the DNA codes for die genetic
hand of aces which only Master
u~,, A r? A r >
Lvi\jni\^y ll(l>. /A J.r> ITlclClC
by any USC student, including
Master Mosley, is not indicative of
"base learning" but is deserving of
praise. If Master Mosley is so jealous
of these individuals with their
names in The Gamecock, we will
be happy to support him in an
ts
[)d I Irish conflict has
?i
rtr IRA's
> HUl 1UK | 1 j U.N. S
could
uul. populated with Irish _ punishment
cnown as the Irish Free ties with In
id. populated by Catholics I could s;
to remain with the United Being h<
strong ties
were upset by die north's myself exhi
Irish Catholics were even As tut Irisl
IRA's inetfi
hion. Northern Catholic their cause
and should be united, as it Ireland, to
Celts. Seeing no political 0f die Nord
lat any Celt would have in Ameri
together under the naifte act of viok
iv, dicy sought to reunify either highli
British involvement in Freedom
to fight for.
the IRA was fairly dor- ail, isn't tl
' awoke with a vengeance. Fathers foui
isassinalions, bombings, As you 1
pers to make their point. the pain ant
than 3,000 people have their most p
It of IRA activities. The i don't a*
equivalent to the death of wrone. But
"hat is almost the popula- en from yo
you do abou
tie 6 90s '.Search]
Vigilan
Knight;
B-VWm I Knrhrvrvr
9 p UV/V/V
I thii
M N I S T making
lude on
? 1 Americ;
liich has spawned a force- "Cop Kille
attention. P
days, heroes were every- - lot of big 1
lohn Lennons and JFKs of hero for the
il replace Martin Luther Politician
? The era of indispensable George Bus
ess has blown away with to be Amcri
one of them
o finding a hero now lies tion. It's no
t all. The anti-hero seems ing. When f
hoice in the '90s. er of two 1
example. Although he is bound to ru
ins forked over their moil- our country
1989. A simple obsession need heroes
[>s? To me, it was indica- While tl
i is rattling its swords for November. 1
darker, more violent one. Vote Spid
cism of Greek
advertisement which states his
grades and further inflates his ego.
Being graduates of USC and
South Carolina College, we refuse
to agree with Master Mosley's
view that these grades can be considered
"banal marks" and fear his
remarks may suggest a stereotype
of Honors College students as
book-nosed myopic egotists. In
actuality, Honors College students
and Greeks are among the most
involved students on campus.
Master Mosley, your holier-thanthou
opinions suggest you have
had too much of your fine "academic
liquour" and sniffed too many
"Pierian roses!"
<
Eric Beckner I
Phi Delta Theta Scholarship i
Chairman 19X9-90 '
Paul Aitchison i
Si^ma Alpha Epsilon
Scholarship Chairman 1989-90
To the editor:
Despite the tact that this has
been rehashed several times, we
would like to clear the air concerning
the "controversy" over the
Greek system. In The Gamecock on
Sept. 21, Mr. Brett Mosley lashed
out against The Gamecock tor pub- 'I
lishing what he considered to be a
"celebration of the mediocrity" in t,
our Paternities anil sororities. Mr. ii
Mosley makes a point that Greeks v
(Jo not all have 3.5 and above. I
Well, Mr. Mosley, surprise, neither k
do a large number of students who tl
attend the University of South e
Carolina and many other schools, n
Are you proposing that because we n
are a group we should be of equal N
intelligence? Please step down
from the "Golden Gilded Pedestal"
from which you condescend upon
us all and take hold of reality.
roots in Celtic pcist
: governments of the world have
the IRA one of the most ruthless tergroups.
Is the IRA nothing more
group of terrorists?
an American. I tun shocked by the
brutality. I could say the U.S. and
hould do something about the IRA. I
say the IRA deserves swift, brutal
. I could say that we should cut all
dand.
ay all tliis, but I can't.
ill-Irish. I. much like the IRA, feel
to my Celtic heritage, and find
biting many Celtic traits,
unan, I can't say I approve of the
od. Neither can I say I disapprove of
. I would love to see a reunified
again be die sparkling Emerald Isle
1 Sea.
ca. we tend to see "terrorism" as an
mee. and not as an action taken to
ight a problem, or achieve a goal,
and self-rule are truly noble things
even if "terrorism" is needed. After
tat what our "terrorist" Founding
iht for.
isten to U2's music, keep in mind
l anguish that has produced some of
rofound music.
dvocate terrorism. I do believe it is
if your homeland was wrongly taku
and broken in two, what would
it it?
for saviors bleak
tism is the way to go, says- the Dark
a far cry from our friendly neigh1
Spider-Man. And the paying public
lk that's why fellows like Ice-T are
their mark on our nation. His attithe
system and the gaping holes in
an justice is not a new one. But with
r" he gained an audience and our
eople agreed with him. and made a
kvigs very nervous. Ice T: an Ami4
f\r\ -
vus.
s are uying too hard to be heroes,
h and Bill Clinton are battling it out
ca's Number One Guy. when neither
has what it takes to keep our attenwonder
18-25 year-olds aren't votaeed
with a ehoiee between the lessessers,
apathy among the young is
n rampant. Something is missing in
. (The Password is: Integrity.) We
le eleetion creeps our way this
ceep in mind Ross Perot is out.
icr-Man for President.
nTTM
mAbmbbmIJI
advertising
Truly we do not all possess your
gifted use of a thesaurus nor do we
all attend the Honors College. The
greek system as a whole is a fairly
accurate "slice" of college life and
that too is reflected in our grades.
If everyone was to continue read
ing about the "Greek's Grades,"
they would have found that the
USC Greeks ranked above our
national counterparts. We have
recently become pledges at one of
the fraternities on campus and have
found that we look forward to our
strict study halls, which help us
maintain a high academic standard.
In conclusion, Mr. Mosley. we do
not need you to be the policeman
of our grades, just like the rest of
the campus. If it worries you that
much, put down that thesaurus and
Wall Street Journal, because a
l'ype-A personality like yourself is
n lint* Inr cpriiMic
... ....v, ft va ci .7V1IV/U.> IlVtUI
David A. Brown
Advertising/public relations
sophomore
Peyton Thomas
Pre-medicine freshman
Geoffrey Richardson
Advertising/public relations
sophomore
To the editor:
What the heck is Brett Mosley
alking about? io quote from the
[ifamous Dennis Leary. "I got two
yords for you Brett: Roget's
hesaurus. I think you hear me
nockin' Brett, and I'm bringing
he Beverly Hillbillies and an
ntire remedial English class with
le." I think I'm going to renew
\y subscription to Hot Rod
lagazine.
Spencer Lueders
Engineering senior