The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 03, 1993, Page 3, Image 3
Sidney Park
?roposals for stage, housing should go forward
The debate over Sidney Park continues.
The "Save Sidney Park" movement wants a permanent
tage built in the park, while, at the same time, it urges city
eaders to reconsider their support for a housing development
>lanned for public land next to the park.
Supporters of the housing include developers and city lead:rs
who want to lure more residents into downtown.
A hearing will be held tonight before the Columbia City
:i ?.'tU liAnac rvf laoHinn trv a ^nnctriifhuP mmnrn.
^UUllLll Willi lilt lltpto Ul ItUUUlg, IV/ U. vuiljuuvun/ vuiupu
nise. The city has distributed flyers encouraging concerned
esidents to attend the hearing.
The whole debate seems silly since both projects would
lave a positive effect on the city of Columbia if done right.
Other than USC and a few neighborhoods which dot the
>erimeter of downtown, such as Shandon and Five Points,
here are a limited amount of people living in the center of
Columbia.
The national trend of the past 20 years is also evident in Columbia,
where 75 percent of the metropolitan population is
iving in the suburbs.
A permanent stage in Sidney Park would also be an excelent
addition to the park, bringing more concerts and enter- s
ainment to the area. Anything to liven up downtown
Columbia on the weekends is welcome.
But concerts could bring additional noise to the area, mak- ,
ng it less conducive fof a quiet residential neighborhood. ,
And a concern of the Sidney Park supporters is that the
tew residents will complain, eventually limiting the activities '
if the park. J
This type of confrontation could be avoided if it is :
iddressed beforehand. Many stadiums and parks in other
:ities are in residential areas, and the residents accept it. i
^ootball games and rock concerts can be a part of the neigh- i
lorhood's charm and will be if both plans go forward.
Sidney Park is more of an attraction than a detraction for 1
he housing development. Rather than fight each other, city ,
eaders, developers, the "Save Sidney Park" movement and \
ither concerned groups should cooperate. j
"" ? " J J it
wnen oiuney rauv was upcncu iwu ycais agu, u woo
leemed the centerpiece of Columbia's downtown revitalizaion.
It seems absurd to limit the park's activities for a small j
development which ultimately has the same goal of revitaliza;ion
in mind. '
Budget accountability
a must for state
It seems more and more people
are sending "messages" these
days, and some are actually
receiving them. 1
For example, representatives of
the South Carolina legislature told I ^ |
USC President John Palms they I ^ |& 1
would be "watching" campus
administration to see how the bud- | 1
get crunch would be handled. And
Palms passed on that message to ANN
the faculty at the Jan. 15 meeting. w I N P H F I I
Does that mean the legislature
will finally get "in touch" with
university business, what with all *nS itself the students, ana we
that "watching?" are watching our pennies, oops, I
Now this presents an intensely mean ?ur quarters,
interesting situation. didn 1 create the problems
The legislature has to rely on either, but we have to pay for
the academic community for the them.
expert testimony that informs and ^be question is, who s going to
shapes budget policy. he watching the legislators to
USC feeds the political system. make sure they do something right
This testimony had to have 10 us out this mess? Are
included a lot of clues, if not out- they going to be tightening their
and-out warnings, over the years, bells t00? 0r do we have to keep
that a serious economic downturn on supporting them in the style to
was developing. which they ^ accustomed, while
USC's budget crunch didn't they do whatever it is they have
surprise anyone I know, except doing?
perhaps the legislators. . Does this P^ess have to conGovernor
Carroll Campbell tmue to be a one-way street?
went on record last year as saying Accountability in education" is
South Carolina had weathered the a c?ncfPt that was developed and
recession applied some time ago, and it was
But it didn't. Government had a hf'th>' one- Sin?re educators
spent according to projected rushed l? trV 10 become more
income, and the income didn't accounta e.
n s a simuie process inai means
come in. , .. .
So the legislators were forced to you have t0 ac,ually produce some
tell the u1iver?hy thefe" n? ?sul.s front the ?me spent doing
enAU?Srth?? rat;ngKm0nKy- n 1. y?Early last year. The State ran a
he ' i ey Wh series on government accountabilibe
watching to see how the bC b , . , 14t,u .
mess is cleaned up ty in which they said, The people
Interesting, isn't it? That's like ?f South C^linaarepaymg fora
biting the hand that feeds you. government that doesn t work
Don't get me wrong. The legis- because the PeoP e ?re" !
lature didn't create the economic charge, the governor s not in
crisis, but they didn't do anything char8e' and even the 0nCe
to help either, until it was too late. Powerful legislature is not in
So USC departments have had charge "
to "watch" themselves and dig Finally, it seems, government
into their own pockets to tighten officials are at least talking about
their belts. Students are asked to beinS accountable. Sunday s State
tighten their belts. Tuition has newspaper reported legislators are
gone up. Lab fees have gone up. It making plans to make agency
costs the same thing to audit a heads accountable, for example,
class now as it does to register. ^or *he success or failure of their
Parking meter fees have doubled, programs.
and parking fines have increased That's not too much to ask. Do
66 percent. y?u suPP?se they got our mesSo
far, we and the faculty are sa8e?
absorbing the brunt of this crisis
with these back-door taxes. Am Winc>< ;i is a staff wrtier for
Legislators are watching the The Gamecock
university, the university is watch
n
Banks, not v
Getting credit way back when was
;imple ? all you had to do was ask.
Of course, you usually had to ask
iome seedy gangster, probably
tamed "Snakes" or "Lefty," who
vas perfectly willing to give you as
ouch as you could carry.
Of course, when you were unable
o pay back his substantial "lender's
'ee," you were promptly relieved of
your kneecaps.
Well, welcome to the '90s.
Today, getting credit is usually
ouch more difficult. Banks process
ind reprocess applications, require nu
signers and make the lendee prove n(
le can pay the money back, but thr
loesn't need it in the first place,
young adults struggling with jobs,
;redit card is something to be pr<
iccomplishment.
That is, unless you're a college stu<
Did you ever wonder why studei
targets of countless credit card promc
they have little money, while adults
have a difficult time?
Buy a book from a university
Chances are, the bag, and probabb
itself, is stuffed with credit card appli
Gay debate misses
important points
To the editor:
President Bill Clinton was recently
elected on the premise of change;
apparently, his highest priority for
change in America today is the issue
of homosexuals in the military, not
the deficit or a middle class tax cut.
Regardless of one's stance on this
issue, several points have yet to be
discussed.
Many Americans join the military
for the great benefits available to
them and their dependents: health
care, housing, etc. If homosexuals
are accepted as part of the military
community, will the marriage
between two people of the same sex
constitute the same family unit as a
heterosexual couple? Will they, and
their presumably adopted children,
awi. opuns nuirur
Photo Editor
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?
endors, s
L E E
C L O N TZ
merous co- shelling out
)t only that of college s
it he really CDs and Cir
For many So why
getting a screw up.
:>ud of, an Yes, as h
that little nil
Jent. the applicati
nts are the cent" or higl
'lions when terrible reali
; with jobs Mother
"just wants
bookstore. casjj comes
/ the book Nineteen
cations. expensive h<
uc given ine dainc ueucuia a* a nv/imal"
family? Would a soldier object
to having his child exposed to two
lesbians with children living next
door to them in on-post housing?
Would the military's schools have to
introduce a new curriculum to force
the children with heterosexual parents
to accept what they see as normal?
The military has had one job and
one job only throughout history, and
NEWSROOM %
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vD(
UNIVERSITY
Patrii
Lee Clontz, J.T. V
Gordc
Bria
Jack Dunn, Melii
Lea Clayton, Rochelle Y
Jem
Melind
Nancy Salomonsky, Ti
Rot
Stephai
Kel
Grej
Chris
Chris Davis, Tho
Jirr
Rei
E
Bria
Erin Galloway, Rika E
that is to fight wars ai
doing whatever it takes,
testing ground for idiotic :
neering programs.As
this debate continue
ber we as heterosexuals I
tinct advantage over the 1
community: we can r
whereas they can only rec
Chi
Chemistry :
Race panelist s
To the editor:
This letter is a result
forum held at the USC I
held Jan. 25 to 27. I serve
elist at the Open 1
Community Forum Tue
noon. I made some com]
that were provocative to
embraced by many.
My main contention w;
one focusing on the race
vidual when race is not
factor in the decision or d
hand is harmful to all in
to society at large. In fac
in very rare circumstance
has any bearing at all on
concern; however, race 1
to do with whether you th
payments should be de{
?TRr
...IT'S BIG60? I
TUAN WETMOUGHi;
BtlU
Hi r? [( | Iff ? ?
p " fefl *
.. WMS
hould peddle
Walk across the Russell House
Patio on any given day. Chances c
are some group with a battery- c
operated copier and a rack of two- a
liter Pepsis are there, just dying to tj
give you credit with their business.
P
Now, I ask you ? would you ^
lend yourself money?
Speaking as someone who
hardly lends money to people I
have known since birth, I find it
C
difficult to believe that these c
saints are only being kind by L
their hard-earned funds to a bunch
tudents who will only spend it on c
cle K hot dogs anyway,
do they do it? They hope you'll a
a
orrible as it sounds, they're hoping I
imber that looks so insignificant on 3
on ? usually looking like "19 pericr
? will soon become a harsh and 1
ty to you. This equals big bucks for ^
Theresa Credit Card Company who 1
to help the student," and the excess
out of your pocket. 1
percent makes for one hell of an
3t dog. 1
I BIB I ppilj il
btcj i r*
UJLUmAMAM
id win by marital status and shouk
It is not a asked about or considered,
social engi- One of the main issues c
at this forum was affirmati
es, remem- based on race in reference
nave a dis- admissions and other areas
lomosexual argue that affirmative actioi
eproduce, ed in many circumstances i
ruit. a good purpose, I do que
means by which it is adn
arles Kopp My main objection to the a
sophomore action programs as {
designed is that they decid
noobc vidual's need bv the irrelev
,Fv?i*o of race ThiS) (n effect> sa
are a member of the targ
you are an individual who
of the race disadvantaged past and t
.aw School need of assistance.
:d as a pan- attempt to undo past
Jniversity tage is a good and proper g
sday after- ever> t0 assume that if you
ments there y0U have had a disadvant;
some, but ,s racist and inefficient.
My proposal is to base a
as that any- action program decisions
of the indi- disadvantage. Thus, if you
a relevant and grew up in a poor horn
iscussion at Work during high scho
volved and affected your GPA, your
t, it is only WOuld merit affirmative act
?s that race i<- ? ?
ii yuu wcic uiacK anu
the issue ot went tQ a gQ(Xj prjvate pr
ias nothing wj{^ au acjvantage mo:
ink welfare huy, however, you would 1
pendent on hie for affirmative action
itwrn
M IIVVU
OF SOUTH CAROLINA
:k Villegas
/agenheim The Gamecock is th<
in Mantler South Carolina and is pi
s^Tennen Wednesdays and Friday:
Cillingbeck weekly during both sun
lifer Fuller versity holidays and exai
a Waldrop Opinions expressed
m T^orsen or author and not those c
nie Nevvlin The Board of Studen
ly Johnson publisher of The Gamect
gory Perez parent organization of T1
. Muldrow Change of address
^on correspondence should I
I'^lcKe'uar1 The University of South <
Laura Day Subscription rates a
Jim Green Columbia, SC. The Gam
nee Gibson Gf the University of Sout
-"k Collins ^ent activity fees,
n McGuire y
lashimoto
ri^WG&ER 1
YOUTMOUWr? I
credit cards
This is certainly not to look down on credit
ards as an institution, but for freshman new to
ampus with a minimum of financial guidance
nd a maximum of new freedoms and tempta10ns,
a $500 credit limit doesn't last long.
Anyone who has seen students sitting in the
lost office crying with a two-foot-long phone
ill knows what I mean.
Credit cards, when used responsibly, can be
in extraordinary convenience and a handy way
0 buy what you want, but be careful you don't
;et caught in what American Express so eloluendy
calls "revolving debt."
Perhaps more importantly, don't get a credit
aid from a firm you don't trust.
In other words, get one from a bank, preferibly
your own. If you don't have a bank
iccount, you certainly don't need a credit card,
f the bank won't give you one, there's probably
1 good reason.
After all, they don't break kneecaps anymore;
hey don't have to. They can ruin your credit.
\nd while that may not scare you now, just wait
mtil you want to buy a house.
That hot dog won't taste very good five years
rom now.
jee Clontz is an Associate Editor of The Gamecock
1 not be of your race. These scenarios apply
equally for any race.
>f concern This approach seems to be much
ive action more effective and efficient in severto
hiring, al regards. First, it will distribute
. While I money to those in genuine need of
n is need- assistance, regardless of their race,
ind serves This alone is a sufficient reason to
:stion the implement this program. Second, it
linistered. will diffuse, almost instantaneously,
ffirmative any resentment felt by those people
)resently who did not get affirmative action
e an indi- because they were in the wrong
ant factor racial group. Removal of this one
ys if you idea from our campus and others
et group, across America would be a welhas
had a corned change and a step in the right
hus is in direction.
disadvan- Richard Lee Bolen
;oal; how- Law student
are black.
xk. l he btuclent Media Department ib me
~\e Gamecock.
forms, subscriptions, requests and other
?e sent to The Gamecock, P.O. Box 85131,
Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208.
re $46 a year. First class postage paid at
ecock is a registered student organization
:h Carolina and is partially funded by stu
f . The Gamecock will try to print all
irmative letters received. Letters should be
on actual , . ? ?
. , , 200-250 words maximum. Full
are black , , .,
e and had name and professional title or year
ol which and maj?r' ^ a stucJent, must be
situation included along with an address and
jon phone number. The Gamecock
rich and reserves the right to edit for style,
ep school possible libel or space limitations.
ney could The Gamecock will not withhold
)e ineligi- names under any circumstances.
regardless
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