University of South Carolina Libraries
Respect USC should suspt in honor of civil r He was the leader of the civil rights He was the catalyst for long-needed tice towards African-Americans, espec And today is Martin Luther King J day. However, USC, along with the state entities, have chosen to remain open. This policy bucks the trend of wh; universities are doing. Public univ< including fellow Southeastern Confere and Tennessee, recognize King's birth* However, in South Carolina, buzz v ities" and "working voluntarily" are u: state to get around an official observai The negative symbolism of this poli makes a casual observer wonder abc ment to racial harmony and diversity. Incidents from the past year are racial tension on this campus. Gamecock Fever, a newspaper give ated a firestorm for the second straig Additionally, the poor turnout of whi tions forum in the fall and racial slui are more evidence that race relations 2 In addition to USC, every institi Carolina should be more sensitive t minorities because of its abhorrent rec T TCr^ nannrvt offnrH tn maintain of vjvjv vuiiiiv; i aiiv.au iv iiiiuiiiuiii o i affect recruiting of top students. A uni relations, whether the administration \ has been and will be an important facl consideration of where they go to coll No wonder African-Americans mal USC student body and 33 percent of t! But observing King's birthday is n< keep minorities happy. There's a lot m Martin Luther King is arguably th leader ever. And few leaders did mor of Americans. He was also a great orator and is gi emphasis on non-violent protest. Without his leadership, the civil ri come later, and more blood would pro True leaders deserve respect, and h is traditionally the American way ol quite painless. This not only goes for King's birt men who left their mark on us: Georj Lincoln. The university should also February. The Gamecock hopes the adminisl that the benefits of observing King' costs of suspending classes. Remembering Gam< Diversity; accuracy impor A good friend of mine recently asked me if I was aware of a prominent Hispanic USC student who had a major impact on the university more than 80 years ago. Of course, I had no idea about whom she was talking, and I soon became embarrassed that I didn't know about the life of Robert Elliott Gonzales, a 1910 USC graduate. To my surprise, Gonzales, who was part Latino, was the founder and first editor-in-chief ,or of The Gamecock in 1908. s,an And although he wasn't pre- *sts dominantly Hispanic, I am mal proud that a person who had avo some Latino roots was able to den create a worthy student publica- resf tion of which I am happy to be a )n= part of today. De 1 If I have learned anything ,a^ from this little anecdote, it's that culture and heritage do matter in today's society. As Americans PaP celebrate the accomplishments m01 of Martin Luther King Jr. today, ec^' we must continue to remember cr ' our past to help retain a sense of loc our future. This is especially so ?Pa in a college setting. Because of this belief, I want r The Gamecock to maintain a 0( tin*" sense of diversity in its writings. ^ YY p As editor tor die spring semes- n,. ter, I encourage writers of all na,! wil different backgrounds to write for their student publication. j I admit this publication has cor become narrow-minded in its no( past coverage, and believe me, lac it's about to change. I want to wjj ensure all people that The lv Gamecock will be a more hej respectable college paper that will represent the entire student I body. trui As for other changes in The Ro Gamecock, consistency and jusi accuracy will become a staple his V md classes "ights leader movement. change in attitude and pracially in the South, r.'s officially observed birthI timmrnmpnl 'lnH nthur ' o VLIIIIUVSAJI unu uuiti iv/v^ai at most of the nation's state ^rsities across the country, nee schools Florida, Georgia jay by not having classes, vords such as "cultural activsed by the university and the ice of the holiday, icy by USC is disturbing and )ut the university's commithard evidence that there is n out at football games, ereht year with its racial jokes. V-^C ite students at the race relars printed in The Gamecock My ] it USC are all but sterling. when 1 jtion in the state of South the 41 o possible offensiveness to States. ord over the years. T his upid policies that adversely enormi versity's policy towards race aatl0r vould like to admit it or not, ^omal concei ;or for many students in their crjme eSe- care, ce up only 13 percent of the ins, he state. Consr ot just a symbolic gesture to ing of lore to it. issue j e greatest African-American I ur e to help such a large group ferent in teres "eatly respected by all for his ights movement would have dllllUC bably have been shed. domin onoring them with a holiday ^he f doing it. Besides, it's also for m decern hday, but also for two other and si ge Washington and Abraham staff f recognize Presidents Day in ration will realize next year XJ? s birthday far outweieh the Nov an ord It w fo< respoi ! r t Ameri ^cock rounder the ho lems 1 tant in new year human my be And Rock, that cian k ^ iPwSSH ' us ho place ! changi We scared PATRICK seen t V I L L E G A S nc -x Tw< I power this publication. We under- that a d that being student journal- proble doesn't give us the right to proble <e mistakes that can be We ided. The law states that stu- Clintc t journalists are just as future >onsible as journalists workin the "big time." There will io room for incompetent mis- rnmmmm :s. Ve have re-tooled the wpoint section of die newser, and hopefully, it will be re pleasing to the eye. The orials and columns will covnore aspects of USC and the al community, and strong p ( [lions will still be a mainstay. Editc rhe comic strip "Mother Asso 3se and Grimm" will see its View d days in the next two weeks. New have decided to add a Asst ional comic ship, which we c ' 1 soon unveil. Asst Spor Finally, we will tocus our Phot itent on matters that pertain ASSl only to students, but to both Grap ulty and university staff. This Asst. 1 include local and communi- Cart< issues that affect our well- CoP) nc as residents of Columbia. Stud Prod f The Gamecock can hold the Asst. Lhs of proper journalism as Adv< bert Gonzales did, maybe, Facu t maybe, we can live up to ^rad ... ... Dark initial expectations. iewpc I THANK GOOMES 'PEOPLE IN AMERICA HAVE "RIGHTS'. I tlj ^W!wL^>?y ^ jngress must c< 3rayers are with Bill Clinton iMnaaHiHi lie is sworn in Wednesday as st president of the United Jr^k ; is not directly related to the I f ous budget deficit, the interlal problems in Bosnia, ia and elsewhere, nor does it n the national epidemics of pollution and poor health K1 . . G O R D tead, m^ problem is with . ess and its 535 voices, spout- M A I n I f 535 different ideas on any L??? /ou can think of. iderstand those voices represent many dif- s districts with hundreds of competing L its, but this is a time to put the nation first ii a region, state or county, recent fellowship in Washington provided d th invaluable insight on the methods and i les, both positive and negative, which v ate on Capitol Hill. s institution of Congress is inherently slow any reasons, including the tremendous c trahzation oi power through committees f ib-committees and the increase in support e or both congressional members and com- f ,S. needs comn ember 3 was more tlian just inary day this past year. r ~~ as a day of change, redirect- ^ :us and, most importantly, Jp isibility. It was a day the ^ can voters took the bull by ms and demanded that problike the deficit, civil rights, i rights and a sagging econofixed. 1 there at a podium in Little y | q Ark. stood the symbol for lange. The small-town politi- W A I :nown as "Bill" preached to w courageous we were to such power in his hands. 1 the real question is: Are we ready to c ;? i see a cliff in front of us, but we are too c to see what's over that cliff. We haven't i he other side for the past 12 years. And ve still don't want to. J ) days before a new administration takes t and a new Congress begins work with c dministration, there are too many minor i :ms blocking the road to fix the major ms in this country. i worry about what kind of school Chelsea t in will attend rather than what kind of > she'll have. ( NEWSROOM fjflW 777-7726 ^ 0. BOX 85131 UNIVER! >r in Chief ciate Editors Lee Clo point Editor Desk Chief s Editors Jack Di News Editors Lea Clayton, I lina! Editor Carolina! Editor ts Editors Nancy Salon' o Editor Photo Editor hies Editor Graphics Editor jonist ' Editors Chris C ent Media Coordinator uction Manager Production Manager >rtising Manager Ity Adviser uate Assistant room Technicians Erin Callow )int [>operate to acc< * mittees. The slowness of Congress is not k necessarily the fault of the memm hers or of anybody else in particular, but blatant greediness for power and survival do come into play with some decisions made "up on the hill." A good example of this decentralization and lack of unity within q |yj Congress was a particular provision of last fall's energy bill that I L t l\ worked with. Offshore drilling has been an important issue to many coastal tates, especially since the 1970s. States such as .ouisiana rely heavily on the oil production ndustry. This issue became a center of controversy luring negotiations over the energy bill, where t pitted environmental advocates and states vithout drilling against business supporters and tatcs which depend on oil. The majority and the minority in the House >f Representatives could not decide on a comiromise stance on offshore drilling, even after ixtensive meetings between members of the Merchant Marine Committee and congressional nitment to pres mmmmmmm David Letterman receives front page attention for his multi-million dollar salary, while racism plagues the front offices of baseball and is covered on the back pages of the sports section, f And to top it all off, we are just now focusing on the problems of a # deficit we have rung up through 12 years of heavy borrowing. Had it ? not been for the Ross Perots of America, last year's election would T S have been 1988 all over again. If you are reading this, President Clinton, take this advice: Don't ose the courage you had in the campaign. Focus >n the social and economic problems of this lation. Keep your people devoted to putting the :ountry back on track. Show this world you are lot an indecisive and waffling leader. Stay committed to overturning the ban on zays and lesbians in the military. Don't waste ime by stalling and consulting with top military ldvisers when they are the same ones who have natured in a military without gays or lesbians. Keep our direction turned to cutting the leficit by half in four years. Don't lay blame or he Bush administration and argue aboui vhether it would be better to stimulate the economy or cut the deficit. v.irifrrn SITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA Vl,,eg'ls The Gamecock is t ntzJ.T. Wagenheim Cordon Mantler South Carolina and is | Brian Garland Wednesdays and Frida unn, Melissa Tennen weekly during both su Rochelle Killingbeck versity holidays and ex iS!; Opinions expressec lonskv, Tim Thorsen or 'ulthor flnd not those Stephanie Newlin The Board of Studc Kellv Johnson publisher of The Game Gregory Perez parent organization of Chris Muldrow r-, f , , I' ,,,! Ion Change of address )avis, Thorn Harman correspondence should Jim McKellar The University of South Laura Day Subscription rates Jim Green Columbia, SC. The Gai :::::SSmns of the University Of So, Brian McCuire dent activity fees. ay, Rika Hashimoto - Nort! SMoKERS omplish change members representing the affected states. That was not the only problem either. The Senate had its own version of the offshore drilling provision, and it did not correspond with the House's. Neither side budged within the House, so the provision was dropped entirely. I was dismayed to see all those efforts by numerous staffers and members wasted because of the stubbornness and sometimes selfishness of a select few who have their own personal agendas. Yes, there is such a thing as states' rights, and local districts need to be tended to, but the new president will ask these legislators to make some hard decisions and to look beyond their states. The country is a mess, and nothing, not the congressional bureaucracy or short-term political gains, should jeopardize this nation's progress. So I ask Sens. Thurmond and Hollings, and South Carolina's six House members to work with the new president in getting something done. Congress might be a slow institution, but, with cooperation and compromise, anything can be accomplished, and that's exactly what the American people expect. jident's ideals You must keep your promise for a middleclass tax cut. The middle class has been squeezed too much; they need a break, even if it is less than $200 per person. You promised this to us. Now, you ve noticed we're not too hip on taking responsibility for our actions. We've begged for a leader with courage and conviction. Don't change just because we're afraid. Show us it's okay to be afraid, but also show us that things will work out as long as we stay focused. And to the American voters, don't be too afraid to be responsible. It was our irresponsibility that got us into this mess. It's the end of the innocence, and we must take responsibility to fix our problems. Our generation will be the first to mature in an environment that is as uncertain about the future since the Great Depression. Things will i get worse before they get better. In order to sur: vive, we must realize that we must be tough r enough to get through the difficulties. : We must keep the sense of responsibility we had on Election Day, everyday. : We must be committed to fixing our probi lems. If we don't fix the country and our probt lems, who will? They won't just go away. After all, they didn't disappear after 12 years. d ADVERTISING 777-4249 i COLUMBIA, SC 29208 he student newspaper of the University of published three times a week on Mondays, ys during the fall and spring semesters and mmer sessions, with the exception of uniamination periods. i in ine Cjamecock are tnose or tne editors of the University of South Carolina. >nt Publications and Communications is the cock. The Student Media Department is the ITie Gamecock. > forms, subscriptions, requests and other be sent to The Gamecock, P.O. Box 85131, t Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208. are $46 a year. First class postage paid at necock is a registered student organization nth Carolina and is partially funded by stu