The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 03, 1993, Page 3, Image 3
^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
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