The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 18, 1993, Page 7, Image 7
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
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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
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i in ine Cjamecock are tnose or tne editors
of the University of South Carolina.
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