The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 02, 1992, Page 4, Image 4
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Vote
Despite hindrances, registered students
should make every effort to go to polls
Despite the fact South Carolina's voter registration office in
Columbia is a cubby hole, and you cannot always trust those who
accept forms during registration drives, it is still fairly easy to vote
in this state in comparison to the rest of the country.
South Carolina's system allows those with motivation to be registered
but also lets groups organize to register voters such as
those on USC's campuses. The system is one having its roots in
the political exclusion of "frivolous" voters, but with registration
drives like the Voter Van sponsored by The State and WIS-TV, the
electorate has expanded in the state.
South Carolina's system has its flaws and advantages, and it
depends on your perspective as a voter on how you see it.
South Carolina keeps voters eligible only if they vote every two
years. If you miss an election, your name is taken off the roll and
you have to re-register. This may have the effect of keeping the
current electorate voting, but it also makes it more difficult for
those who skip an election and wish to vote. a
As far as USC goes, student organizations in most cases have (
gone a long way in making voting easier for most students. Kappa ti
Delta sorority and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity will be sponsor- h
ing a day care at the P.E. Center for those of you with kids or who g
just want to take full advantage of the holiday. Programs such as i
tnese support students ana parents in getting out tne voie.
On your registration card, it says in what precinct you can vote;
however, no information is provided on the card about polling
places. If you do not know where your polling place is, call
Richland County Voter Registration at 748-4944 or Lexington
County Voter Registration at 359-8361.
We know tomorrow you have the day off, but you need to take
advantage of this time. Speak your conscience, and tell America
who is in charge of your ftiture. So put down the beer, get off your
butt and vote.
10. Filling out absent-minded ballots |
9. Putting the names of each of the voters they were
responsible for in a hat and will pick one out: the winner
votes in their place! c
8. Thanking the good Lord there's a place for people ?
like them in SGA b
7. Planning to pull the lever for Dukakis/Bentsen jj
6. Putting off 'that shower thing' for another two weeks ii
5. Will lie, kill or do whatever they can to disrupt the p
democratic Drocess n
I
4. Writing 200 letters of apology c
3. Thinking how they'd like to one day be as smart as fl
Dan Quayle p
2. Eating the Halloween candy they stole from the kids in
the neighborhood c
1. Starting their petition to repeal the 26th Amendment
tl
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TBaiftco cfc<
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Editor in Chief Greg Rickabaugh
Managing Editor Patrick Villegas ]
Copy Desk Chief Jay King
News Editors Chad Bray (
J.T. Waqenheim
Viewpoints Editor Jack Dunn ,,
Features Editor Lee Clontz
Sports tailors nancy oaiomonsKy L
Tim Thorsen t
Photo Editor Stephanie Newlin k
Graphic Editor Ryan Sims t
Cartoonist Paul Jon a
Asst. News Editor Melissa Tennen t
Asst. Features Editor Jennifer Fuller
Asst. Sports Editor Rob Rodusky \
Asst. Photo Editor Lea Clayton r
Asst. Graphics Editors Kristin Buehlman 1
Gregory Perez s
Asst. Copy Desk Editor Brian Garland \
- ...... ... ;
btuaent Meaia uoorainaior jim ivicrveuar
Production Manager Laura Day
Asst. Production Manager Jim Green
Faculty Advisor Erik Collins j
Advertising Manager Renee Gibson t
Graduate Asst Brian McGuire s
Darkroom Technicians Erin Galloway i
Rika Hashimoto a
The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should be no more
than 250 words. Full 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. The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the University
of South Carolina and is published three times a week on Mondays, 1
Wednesdays, and Fridays during the fall and spring semesters and weekly during j
both summer sessions, with the exception of university holidays and examination
periods. V
Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the editors or author and not {
those of the University of South Carolina.
The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the publisher of The t
Gamecock. The Student Media Department is the parent organization of The ,
Gamecock.
Change of address forms, subscriptions, requests and other correspondence
should be sent to The Gamecock, P.O. Box 85131, The University of South
Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208.
Subscription rates are $46 a year. First class postage paid at Columbia, SC.
The Gamecock is a registered student organization of the University of South
Carolina and is partially funded by student activity fees.
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Politicians i
Last spring, I got sick one Saturda;
nd my friends took me to Baptist I
tar A nnroa tr\r\L m\; KIaaH nroee
^uuu. rv iiuiov^ iwuiv iii^ uiva/u pvoo
smperature and put me in a bed fc
iours. When a doctor finally showed
;ave me a dose of green medicine a
ne on my way.
My parents received a bill for $200
If the Thomson Student Health Cer
>pen, I probably could have recer
:ame health care for half of wh;
vledical Center charged.
One month later, I was sitting in ai
ional meeting, and two candidates \
o become student body vice presidem
They both gave good speeches, j
lifficult for me to determine which
vould serve the student body the best
mow either one of them.)
One candidate, however, said she
vork to have the health center open
rhen she told us a heartbreaking stc
;he had to go to Baptist Medical (
Clinton/Gc
As I stood on the Horseshoe listei
U Gore lie about the state of the U.S
>my, I realized how easily misl
American public can be. After moi
>eing bombarded nightly with rept
iow bad the economy is, fear has let
o discard common sense and to vot
nan whose qualifications are seriousl
ng. I suppose Clinton and Gore ha\
oo busy campaigning to notice m
irime economic indicators have showi
nent in the past few months. Unemp
lown, and housing starts are up.
iccurred without government interve
ree market has dictated this recovery.
Clinton and Gore have stated this
>eriod is the worst since the Great De
lave to wonder how they can retain
ility while making outrageously bo<
if this sort. Even CNN, not consideret
ative source, has reported our pre
ecessions ('73?'74 and '81?'82)
han this one. If this is true, then
'resident Bush's approval rating di
apidly? People have a warped vi<
vents of the last twelve years.
Student loses
right to vote
due to trust
ro the editor:
I have been closely following
he election this year. As a firstime
voter, I wanted to make sure I
:new the issues and would be able
o make an educated decision. I
im, however, embarrassed to admit
hat I am not registered to vote.
I filled out my registration form
veil before the deadline, but I
nade a mistake. I trusted my regisration
form to a group of college
tudents running a voter registraion
booth during the organization
air.
Several weeks later, I had not
eceived my registration card,
falling Voter Registration, I
earned my form had never been
urned in. After investigating, it
eems one of the students involved
n the registration drive showed up
it the student legislature with over
tOO forms.
On Election Day, 200 students
vill not be able to vote, myself
ncluded. I would like to thank that
tameless student for teaching me a
valuable lesson. I will never again
rust another person with somehing
as important as my voice in
lemocracy.
Melanie Beth Lewis
English junior
joint
>m, i want woo 76 vote for
: freslpet^al candipate:
o trow unpersttwps the
IR\can people, who has
E CHARACTER) WHO VJOUlPAfT
'E HE OR. USE 0\RTH TRICKS,
3 has 8ach8one anp
EGRiTV...
i ( -r\l ntticd
in v./ i n ui\
l WORPS?
/ use/ A
1 sil
ind the sue]
y night,
Medical
re and
>r three
up, he
nd sent I
COLUMN
iter was
at Baotist weekend, costing her f
1 gave my vote, the
i rvrocni . tioned candidate. Bein
x/prp vvino dld not she COul(]
ve y e or that she did not kn
ind it was ab?ut' .
candidate , J?"est- lnceUl8<
(Idid not 1 dlou8hl 1 was voun8
I was relieved bee
wanted to have lo go to Etap'ist I
weekends, didate kept her pledge,
try of how 1 was upset when 11
Center one edltl0n of ^ Gamef
vice president stated 5
re playdo^
ning to
. econed
the
IthS Of
irts on
1 many
e for a GUEST COLUN
y lack
re been
ad Clinton and Gore h;
i improve- the principles of suppl
1^ ent is deepness of the recessi
Ihis has ^ recent recess
nfirtrt Tnf? . . r\
??"" giooai occurrence, aoi
cyclical change in ir
economic from a production-bas<
pression. I oriented economy cam
any credi- has Hkely been fueled 1
?us claims ment. Even the Democ
1 a conser- George Bush,
vious two My biggest grievanc
as worse their attacks on B
why has my iipS" statement. 1
ropped so 1990 was introduced t
iw of the 0f re(iUcing the deficit.
the luxury of a balance
P
Bookstores
swindle
students
To the editor:
It could be a freshman thing, but
I need a clarification about returning
"like new" books. Several
weeks ago, I returned a "like new"
$23 book to a certain bookstore on
campus. I needed some cash, and,
liKe any rational numan Deing, 1
thought I would get what I paid.
Obviously not! I thought it was a
joke when an employee handed me
$7 for a new book that had hardly
been used.
To my knowledge, scalping is
illegal. Scalping tickets at a football
game is illegal, so why is it
O.K. for a bookstore to scalp books
to money-exerted students?
It seems only Holdermanistic
(referring to former USC President
James Holderman, who used state
funds for personal use) to con students
out of every bit of money
they have.
Why should we, as tax-paying
students, have to put up with this
book scam? is there a reliable
bookstore on or near campus that
does not monopolize books?
Finally, why does the bookstore
overprice books? An answer would
be appreciated.
Jamie Jeffcoat
Undeclared freshman
:s
Poa/'T
VOTE. I
^ \
kers who vot(
health cer
fnot think
What t)
1 to have th
! say it is i
1ST ILg^^Mto A) She
center op<
should ha
larents $2,000. a P31* ?f '
refore, to the above-men- B) She res<
~ ; * t t
g uic naive vuici i was, i uiuiuugii mvt
I have been an opportunist C) She ne
ow what she was talking to have the h
an opportunis
mt, trustworthy candidate j feej m
, ,, , fault, howeve
ause students would not T ,.,
vledical Center if the can- 1 dld n0' ."if
Let this be
*ead a letter in the Oct. 19 speech to de
ck where the student body suited to sen
;he researched having the ? like me.
wn economi<
Clinton dc
in hopes
curb cong
Mproblem li
$ ! ^ * prolonging
1NIST ISfc going alo
1 11 them. On
ing taxes ;
ave continually misstated taxes on
y-side economics and the sports show
on. It is well-documented n^eds for hi:
ion has virtually been a wi^out taxinj
me economists believe a Finally, g<
lany advanced societies Clinton. Und
id economy to a service- Government
>ed this. If this is true, it creating job:
by technological advance- social prograi
rats cannot blame that on government i
e with the Democrats has P"nciPle ?|" (
ush concerning the "Read clual1ty and e
Tie Tax Budget Deal of ment equals <
>y Democrats as a means eminent enla
Bush, who does not have greater. This
d budget amendment like average Amei
Endorsements I
not befitting 1
objectivity
To the editor: 1
After watching CNN this after- ^
noon, my faith in the political
process diminished a little bit c
more. The newscaster stated that
several prominent newspapers from
around the country had announced .
their endorsement of candidates. L
My mouth dropped open. I have c
heard of newspaper support before; ^
however, the situation never
rnomad imrvnrtont tr\ ma until nnu/
d^tiiiV/u niipui lam iu inv^ uiiui itv *t
when I can vote.
Journalism classes teach that the {
newspaper's sole purpose is to f
report the news in an unbiased and (
factual manner and to present all
sides of a situation to readers. Then ^
readers are able to form their own
. . a
opinions.
This situation is analogous to a ^
celebrity endorsing a product. A c
fan of the celebrity might be influ- c
enced into buying a product just [
because of the endorsement. The c
fan probably figured if the celebrity c
likes and uses the product, then it
must be a good product.
The same result is possible when 1
a newspaper endorses a presidential r
candidate. This is not a new car or f
a Pepsi. This is a serious matter. ^
The editor's opinion belongs in the
editorial section alongside an
opposing viewpoint. The founders
of the Constitution gave the power
oif Vot;
me,
vrvoTe
OUR
iSUENCEl
ALL
ION ThIE
WAXES
MT HAVE
ONE.
n j 1
e tor tnem
iter open on weekends, and she did
it was feasible.
i^pe of leader would pledge to work
e health center open weekends, but
not feasible after she is elected?
: really wanted to have the health
en weekends but did not know she ,
ve researched it before she made it
tier platform.
earched the project but did not do a
jstigation.
ver had any intentions of working
lealth center open weekends and is
it who lied to get votes,
vote was wasted. It is partly my
:r, for voting for a candidate whom
ition or check out before I voted.
; a lesson to voters who rely on a
termine which candidates are best
/e our interests. Don't be a sucker
; rebound
>es in Arkansas, went along with it
of reducing the deficit. It did not
;ressional spending where the real
es. In fact, it probably attributed to
I the recession.
iemocrats have attacked Bush for
ng with an idea originating with
top of that, Clinton plans on raisagain.
He claims he will only raise
the richest two percent, but most
he cannot raise the revenue he
s social and economic programs
I the middle class more.
Dvernment will get bigger under
er no circumstances is this good,
is the most inefficient means of
5 imaginable. Any politician or
II cannot remedy this because the
s never subject to the free market
competition. Competition produces
efficiency. Inefficiency in govemi
waste of tax dollars. As the govrges,
taxpayers' burden becomes
means less take-home pay for the
ican.
>f the vote to the people, not the
>ress, because the founders
>elieved in the individual and the
ndividual's right of self-determinaion.
I love this country. I believe in
reedom of speech and freedom of
he press; however, the democratic
irocess, the right of the individual
o choose the president, is the basis
>f this country.
Today's press takes advantage of
tc nnwpr and rights in order to
nfluence individual's opinions. It
s violating the freedom of individlal
choice and attacking the founlation
of this nation. A conflict of
nterest, therefore, arises with the
indorsement of candidates. The
)ress' role as an unbiased informaion
provider is tarnished. Due to
he media's responsibility of
emaining unbiased, endorsement
)f any candidate is unethical.
The media needs to return?if it
vere ever there?to a purely unbiased,
fact-based presentation of the
ssues showing all perspectives.
Nq, the American people, need to
;et up from our La-Z-Boys and
nake our own educated decisions
ibout our country's future instead
)f relying on the media's opinion.
When the mass media moves
rom being deliverers of informaion
(e.g. The postman delivers the
nail) to presidential candidate
?roupies is when the statement
'America is going to hell in a
landbag" is validated.
Vasa William Cate
Undeclared freshman