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^aritcock Serving USC Since 1908 J.T. Wagenheim, Editor in Chief Shayla Stutts, Viewpoints Editor EDITORIAL BOARD Jay King, Cordon Mantler, Rob Rodusky, Greg Perez, Carson Henderson Cultural values Americans have the chance to encounter many cultures without leaving home Could you go around the world in 80 days? Pretend that you are traveling, inhaling the newness of exotic lifestyles. Open your pocket-sized atlas and notice a big and beautiful country called America. You've never been there, and upon arrival, you step onto the young and rich soil. Everyone is smiling at you. When students from other countries come to study at USC, they might find a community where the smiles and warm welcomes elude them. The understanding and kindness is here somewhere, but new students certainly must search for their niche while trying to assimilate cultural values. If you've been in America all of your life, and especially if you've never traveled to another country, take off your shoes and try to walk in someone else's. Step back from familiar surroundings and imagine yourself residing in Columbia as a new participant in American culture for the first time. The weekend is upon us, and you'll notice that students will be frolicking through Five Points. It is undoubtedly the most popular area for college socializing in Columbia. The social activity within the string of bars and restaurants tends to attract the same people, and there is an almost tribal nature in the way students interact there. Knowing this, it should come as no surprise that few foreign students flock to Five Points comfortably. Familiarity, a small-town American trait, is alive and well in the university community. To students who have been here before, USC feels like home. It might be certain students' lifestyles not to frequent Five Points. Some wish there was something else to do on the weekends besides hang out in bars. Columbia's changing, colorful side, best seen among USC's exchange students and the people who support them, emanates the need for more cultural awareness. Those who have domain over the social scene in Five Points should seek to combine cultures there. This could start with taking a friend from another country out on the town or participating in the International Students Association or any club where ethnic and racial tolerance exists. Just as it helps individuals to make connections with different types of people, it would increase Columbia's potential as a cultural center to provide more activities where foreigners and local citizens can share ideas. Ultimately, it should be our goal to assimilate and to learn from each other while we have the opportunity to do so. Five Points, as popular as it is, could be the tool to enhance our multicultural perspectives. It's wonderful to have a place to go where everybody knows your name, but it's even more fulfilling to share the experience with someone who is thousands of miles from home. If you've never been far from home, go around the world without packing a suitcase by meeting new friends in the international community. State universities not responsible for unemployed, indebted graduates I had just finished Day 2 of J ~~~ L ^ the USC Registration Triathlon (distance walking, stair climbing and line formation) when I ?.,<? B 1 heard South Carolina's own I B <j Dick Riley, the nation's beloved secretary of education, on the Ij^B v car radio during a news update. n Riley was discussing the astronomical student loan :BBjMAM&ft|B<;r. default rate and what should be c done about it. More than one- f sixth of the loans made to stu- t dents are never repaid. our money without paying it c You'll recall that Gov. Riley ^ck 1 was not selected for this presli- Fof me> ^ s[ud was a c|as. gious position because of his sic ,e of ^ news ba(J n c ose friendship and political news^ ^ news is ^ jf alliance with President Clinton , a decent job af(er v No he was chosen because of three years of ,aw school al < his tremendous work retort..,.,g l; nQ[ faul| 1(>s ^ this state s educational system. r . ' TTC~ nrx. . TKo f? .. / , , fault of USC for not educating The fruits of Riley s labors . .. . are still visible every year when P^f^; eHbf news ? SAT scores reveal that the aver- that HI st.ll be dm poor and age South Carolina high school deeply 111' ' student has the IQ of a grilled Currently. USC enrolls about cheese sandwich. 25'000 students. Statistics show After extensive study, Riley diat a^?ut 2,000, or 8 percent, and his cohorts have concluded of students Wl11 be under' that this problem is the fault of employed after they leave USC. , the nation's colleges and univer- Since we now know that their , sides According to the secre- employment situation is the , tary, the education system is so fault of the school, every gradu- , pathetic that our graduates can- a*e Wl11 be entitled to $30,000, not earn the money to pay back the salaD of a successful, welltheir loans. * educated person However, I must admit that 1 herefore, if all the unemRiley did provide a solution for ployed alumni were to tile a the problem. From now on, c'ass acuon suit against USC for oHn^atinnctl malnrapfir>A tUoxr schools with high default rates ," , 1 ' .* will not be allowed to partici- coultl la|^e tbe university, the pate in the government's student state ot ^oulh ^aroll"a 311(1 1116 loan program. These schools are Department of Education not producing graduates capable tor...$60 million! I, of course, of succeeding in today's society. will require nothing more than Now, I am not an education the standard attorney s fee of 30 expert, but I submit to you that percent. those young adults who manage 'l'hat's an ior now. ahu to spend large sums of other remember, if someone tries to people's money without paying educate you and you don't get it back are the ones who have any money out of it, DON'T made the most of their educa- TAKE THE LAW INTO lion. YOUR OWN HANDS! Take In fact, they are the leaders of 'em to court, tomorrow. Think about it. Over the past 25 years, America's Patrick McNeill is a columnist legislators have spent $6 trillion for The Gamecock. [, How can USC b "We are human beings. "I i We cannot differentiate wa people because of race, ize color and religion. We ms should see people based hei on what they are." Yoriyasu Maeda Sociology graduate Should sexual orii DOQ By Patrick Sharbaugh Not long ago, I was eating dinner with my cousins' family. They traditionally eat about nightly news time, and the television was offering up its usual course of insensate rhetorical litter. I wasn't paying attention until suddenly, between mouthfuls, my uncle took a long look at the TV and said, "Jesus Christ, I'm sick to death of hearing about what the fass and the dvkes want. Whv - - - C7 * * can't they just leave well enough alone?" I pondered this for a moment and replied, "Martin Luther King must have really gotten your goat." "You don't know the half of it," he muttered, digging in again. My aunt nodded sympathetically, "It was simply awful." They would probably choke on their chicken pot pies to hear that their alma mater is considering adding sexual orientation to its equal opportunity and affirmative action statement. Good. The point my uncle so effectively articulated becomes clearer everyday: Prejudice is not simply a matter of black and white or even one of ethnicity. Three decades ago, the idea that blacks were Privately dj I might just be in a crotchety mood, but latey, I have not been able to stomach society's lo-gooders. These people hog the pages of the paper and yaste precious time airing their agendas for a (tore just society. These crusaders usually want o save something, be it whales or babies. The latest do-gooder is John O'Hair, a proseutor for Wayne County, Mich. O'Hair has iled criminal charges against Jack Kevorkian, he doctor who has helped 17 terminally 01 hronically ill people to commit suicide sine 990. To begin with, Kevorkian provides a legiti nate service. However, I am not an apologis or the doctor's activities. I just do not car vhat Kevorkian and his patients do in privat :onfines. When there is demand for a service, there i Conviction, virt ro the editor: Monday's editorial cartoon depicting th irmy of the Confederacy and its present-da idmirers as a group of rag-tag, uneducatet jncultured idiots is perhaps the worst thing lave ever seen in The Gamecock. The men and women of the South wh [NASA PEVELofs NEW AMP IA Fo? LAUNCHING Its SWTTU= ecome a more cultural w. think things are fine the "On the gradual y they are. I never real- think it's prettj d there would be so but not on the u iny kinds of people uate level. Mor< e. I like that." schools have ben ? ,, . mic and athle Janet Baldwin ? Biology freshman Scott1 Public health jntation be added to the U{ entitled by birth to the same privileges and rights accorded any other American was anathema to much of the nation. Today, few would dispute this fact. So how on earth can we deny those same rights to people who, whether they choose it or not, lead a different sexual lifestyle? Have we learned nothing in the intervening 30 years? Is it not clear that the most basic proprieties that come with being human carry more weieht than the idiosvncrasies of personal preference? To many, evidently not. Still, USC officials have shown remarkable foresight in considering the addition and should be congratulated. Of course, there will always be people who would have us believe that those who are not like us are inferior. Such has been the unfortunate nature of society since the dawn of man. But a move, even a timid step, in the direction of recognizing that the fundamental value of a human lies in birth, not in lifestyle, is a leap forward for all the world. Patrick Sharbaugh is a regular contributor to Crossfire. ring is legitii e going to be a supplier. Capitalist econoi does not get any simpler. Also, O'Hair is trying to punish and humi ;t Kevorkian for being in the same room e someone who does not want to live any lon? e As moralists such as O'Hair continue waltz into our bedrooms, I would hope tha s choice of preserving my life would be a < lie of Confederal gave their lives for what they believet e whether or not Ron Jon feels the same y about the lost cause, should be respected i, ridiculed. They had conviction and v 1 enough to fight for it. In this day of P and Bill Clinton, we should look to men 0 as General Lee and Wade Hampton and 1 ?R0VBP METHODS S \Nlo SPACE... f I ly diverse campus? ? e level, I "I think it is a culturally / diverse diverse campus. More ndergrad- people should know about e diverse the international proter acade- grams." llc pro Joan Heberger Humanities freshman Winnail 1 graduate >C discrimination clause? By Ryan Atkinson In response to the recent proposal to add a sexual orientation clause to the campus discrimination code, I would like to congratulate USC for being at the forefront of political correctness. Once again, those who normally seek to suppress economic freedoms such as the right to exchange goods and services without the intervention of a gov ernmental third party hope to expand civil rights. These people believe that sexual orientation belongs beside words such as race, creed and gender. Some recent studies have shown the possibility that - homosexuality could be hereditary. Although none of these studies are conclusive, gay rights activists have jumped on the bandwagon to further their own objectives. Being that homosexuality can't as yet be labeled a hereditary trait, it seems more appropriate to consider it a behavioral characteristic. If this is the case, homosexuality can't necessarily be classified as a civil right. To set such a precedent opens the door to a myriad of questions. If an applicant's lifestyle choice results in ail empiuyei hui lining uie applicant, wuuiu unj> always constitute a civil right violation? Prejudice pervades in our society under the guise of subjectivity. The answer to prejudice is to educate the people. The sexual orientation clause that has been proposed is premature. When more is known about the genetic link to homosexuality, the debate should be reopened. Ryan Atkinson is a regular contributor to Crossfire. mate practice sion that I alone could continue to make. If a doctor is with me when I take my life, so I be it. At least I would be getting professional assistance during a time of crisis. Of course, do-gooders on the right and the left will praise O'Hair for standing up to an evij, independent-minded killer. Republicans will mutter something about God __J and country, and liberals will complain abouti the shrinking supply of terminally ill patients T11CS eligible to be supported by government subsi-' liate dized health care. with Meanwhile, I will continue to act crotchety i r 'l 1- ? ?mo ou/0%i ,er oeiore uie uiuugin ponce ??v their i the Carson Henderson is copy desk chief jeci- for The Gamecock. zy deserve respect 1 in, sider them worthwhile role models, way The Confederate flag is a symbol of this , not conviction and pride, and I am embarrassed irtue for anyone who treads on the dignity it stands rfTV for. such Christian Stegmaier, con- Political science senior The Gamecock will try to f' I ' - - -11 : i I print an icucia. received. Letters should be 200-250 words and must include full name, professional title or year and major if a 1 student. Letters must be personally delivered by < author to The Gamecock newsroom (Russell House 321). The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letters for style, possible libel or space limitations. * ' li The Gamecock will not IUSP withhold names under any circumstances.