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"I an i, for WIS-TV worked for production staff." -L Senior, Graphi Cable compan Thursday nights ~ ~ without "Seinfeld." Saturdays without . USC football. No Children" and no "In Living Color." Shows such as "Saturday Night Live," "Days of Our Lives" and JENI "Roseanne" will all be SE1 gone. Even the 7 o'clock report with Susan Aude Fisher and Ed Carter will be gone. This is the future of cable TV. Under the provisions of the 1992 Cable Consumer Protection Act, cable companies must enter into fair compensation agreements with local television stations, which allows local stations to negotiate for compensation for the use of their signals, i Translation: If cable companies do not reach a fair compensation agreement with local TV stations before Oct. 6, local television will be dropped from your cable lineup. British cultur Returning to " Columbia after three weeks in a more tern- jffl perate, civilized land mL such as Great Britain <f is akin to swapping nrime rih fnr fripH pickles. 9 That sums up my g sentiments about the 1 resumption of my reg- J' ular American life Kl after a marvelous trip to Oxford and points elsewhere in the U.K. Columbia has a certain charm if you're a mosquito or some other swamp critter, but as cities go, it's just a puppy, an ugly, little half-bred Chihuahua that keeps humping your leg. You try to run away, but it follows you. Those of you who read this and We wa The Gameco letters to the . .1 i- x some tnougni everyone kno author to the them. Keep i edit all letters Br\ What was tl n tern "I i and ovi the tin set Ch ee Dixon c Design F ies shouldn't d That means no WIS TV and no WACHTV programming. WLTX-TV and WOLO-TV have already reached agreements. So, what's the big deal? As a virtually unregulated monopMIFER oly, cable has been TZER able to impose a string of substantial ~ " rate hikes with no accountability to the consumer. Why? Because cable companies knew that you couldn't do anything about it. Congress believed cable operators were abusing their power, and that's why Congress passed the cable act last vear. The Cable CONSUMER PROTECTION Act. This act is designed to protect you, the consumer, from inflated prices. For more than 40 years, cable companies have been charging you for local stations' signals without paying for them. Think of your basic cable package. In a typical 12-channel basic e teaches appi know from experience what it's like to return to tedium after ^^1 an exhilarating trip Hpfrf abroad can corrobogr rate what I write. Namely, after such a trip, it's hard to iJT evade the depression and disorientation associated with endNG ing a new experience. Of course, fried chicken and grits help the Southern psyche heal itself, but even those of us who are pan-fried Bubbas lament the homecoming a bit. As many of my friends know, I'm thoroughly Southern and unlikely to ever stray far from home. Yet, I feel a bit of the wanderlust and think it is healthy to nt to know ck encourages all sti editor. If something ; or if you just want t< w about it. All letters i Russell House room 3 in mind though that T for style and try to ke lco: J Co le most interest I' traveled all er the U.S. setg up junior and lior high ristian camps." -Whitney Gardner :reshman, Undeclared iscard most po cable package, cable companies don't pay a single penny for more than one-half the programs that they sell to you at an unfairly high rate. If cable companies can pay for MTV, CNN and ESPN, why not local TV? Local television offers first-time programming, local news, sports, weadier, local election coverage, value-added services such as closed-captioning, emergency bulletins and many other services you simply cannot find anywhere else on cable. Plus, you know that local sta tions are good neighbors to the communities they serve. They not only capture the spirit of the community, but they contribute hours of public service work to improve the cities they serve. Compensation from the cable systems for use of local television's only property, its signal, will allow local stations to invest more money to enhance news coverage, purchase advanced weather technology and improve programming. Cable subscribers spend 70 per'eciation of So taste life in different places before we really come to understand the beauty of what we have at home. Within the first two days of my return from abroad, I noticed I saw things here I'd never seen, heard things that had gone unappreciated and became aware of that special rhythm of American cities. I also noticed how quiet American toilets are compared to the British loos. They're practically bloody silent. It's strange in a way, but I experienced an epiphany of sorts after this trip was over. From my experiences in Britain and with the British culture, I did indeed come to a better appreciation of what we have here. But more importantly, I realized that if it wasn't for the places abroad, the different cultures and what you idents, faculty and s concerns or upsets y< 3 get something off yi mist be personally del 21 and we'll do our b< he Gamecock reserve ep them to 250 words. re, iriing soon to a n ing thing you d r "I skied every Monday in Mississippi. 11 lead life guard a country club -Wendy Wil Senior, Athletic Jre pular stations cent of their television viewing time watching local stations. And a recent Roper study indicated that 82 percent of viewers said they would object to a cable company that dropped local stations. Twothirds of those surveyed said they would cancel their cable service if cable refused to carry local programming. So, why do cable companies refuse to pay fees to the people who create and produce 70 percent of the stuff you like to watch? If you live off campus and don't want to lose your Thursday night lineup on NBC or vour favorite Fox television shows, call your cable company and voice your concerns. If you live on campus, USC supplies your cable. Find out how the re-transmission consent will affect you. Tell the cable companies to play fair. We can't afford to lose the quality and contributions Of local television. Jennifer Setzer is a columnist for The Gamecock. uthern living the different peoples beyond our kith and kin, we would lead bland lives. I hate to quote it, but it's appropriate: Familiarity breeds contempt. It all boils down to diversity. Sure, it's a catch word now, and I suspect there are a good many of you out there who say blow it out your $#%&"*. But without those subtle and not so subde shades of difference between ourselves and others ? wherever and whomever these others are ? our lives would be as bland as the brown gravy and boiled new potatoes I had every single day in England. Life needs a little spice now and thnn T cav; nlH /^han no c c thp paprika. Jay King is City Editor for The Gamecock think! taff to write ou, provokes our chest, let ivered by the est to publish s the right to 11 En ewsstand near y> ? id this summer? leybal vas merits 1 at in Cle, Atlant liams lining Jun An open letter jf* MELISSA TENNEN Dear Woman, My God, what have you done? You have taken a man by the shoulders with your hands shaped as jaggedly as your grandmother's. And looking into his eyes, you told him you are alive. But he did not know what to say. Each time he slaps you, each time he rapes you, each time he walks out the door on your pregnant belly, you remember, stagger backwards and lose your place for a moment. He aims at the core of your womanness repeatedly. You know this. But it is each time that you wipe your body clean, knowing he can't prove he is better than you. Not ever. It is because he fears you that he is violent to your maternity, your beauty. Oh, your beauty. He said you can't fight for your country, you can't rule a country and you can't even work next to him at the factory. "You are too emotional," he \JUST A LITTLE MORE Nl THE THREE OF YOU WIL 9Iff? St lout r?flr-puv??M COl ou. ; red in volI tournaall summer mson and a." -Meridith McCue ior, Anthropology to a woman cried with his square fist raised next to his country's flag. But you, in your s-curves, saw his lies clearly. You knew he cried in the middle of the night, too. Because you want to choose if you want to have a baby, if you want to make love, if you want to go to a nine-to-five job, .he calls you a slut. What does he know? He cannot understand how you love, how you live because he refuses to look inside your beautiful eyes. But what is in those eyes of yours? I see the haunting tongues of Gloria Steineim, Alice Walker, Joyce Carol Oates, Anais Nin, Toni Morrison, the Central Park Jogger, Georgia O'Keeffe, Margaret O'Bourke-White and so many more. They knew like you do. Life's circle of courage is shaped for both men and women. Think of this as you touch his face with your mouth. You are kissing him because you want to. And as long as he sees the colors of your soul as clearly as his own, you will live. Yes, embrace him, Woman. But don't let him crush your soul. I feel you smile while you rub your grandmother's palms together. I know this because I am Woman, too. With Love, The Next Generation Melissa Tennen is an Encore Editor for The Gamecock. EGOTIATING AND I THINK L GET IT ALL WORKED OUT' WKB*"''* ^ STr^awLi1.!" tW el