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ISaiHlcodt Serving USC Since 1908 J.T. Wagenheim, Editor in Chief Shay la Stutts, Viewpoints Editor BMHiABim BAADn BWII vmwfc wrww ' Jay King, Gordon Mantler, Rob Rodusky, Lee Clontz, Carson Henderson Violence Right to bear arms should be amended to privilege of responsible citizens Scan the headlines in recent newspapers or watch the nightly television reports. Inescapable to our eyes and ears are words such as inhumane, threat, war, seize, martial arts, racism, kill and guns. This past week, a 2-year-old Columbia girl was shot in the head and killed while sleeping next to her mother. The cause of death? A bullet shot from a gun somewhere outside her home. A deadly intruder. Where could that child have been safer than in bed with her mother? The incident is a warning sign about the people our society produces. But confused, hateful adults aren't the only ones who kill with guns. The weapons are somehow accessible to our children, too. The cover of this week's New Yorker depicts happy children arriving from the school bus armed with backpacks, lunch boxes and machine guns. Children, welcome back to school. Hope mommy loaded your gun before you left this morning. Denial of violence, especially with the evidence at hand, is as harmful to our nation as unconditionally upholding the right to keep and bear arms. Modem day problems warrant that we reconsider our forefathers' guidelines in the Constitution. Ideally, we would like to terminate the source from which hardened criminals get guns. But of the alternatives under consideration, none seem to offer a viable solution. Most neonle concede that criminals will find ways to procure weapons. * 1 Beyond this, the question becomes one of how easy it should be for honest citizens to get weapons. Law enforcement agencies and officers' associations support gun control virtually across the board, primarily because the men and women they represent are the ones asked to confront gun-toting criminals. But another facet of their argument is the belief that not everyone should have or be able to get guns. This idea seems to fly in the face of the constitutional guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms. However, the practical matter to consider is the absolute power offered by guns and the responsibility of owning one. Guns have a certain seductiveness that can change the personality of the person holding it. Every gun was made for the express purpose of killing something. Each time a person picks up a gun, he comes that much closer to making the decision to pull the trigger. Chances are that when that decision is made, something or someone will die or be seriously hurt. In an idyllic world, guns and weapons would not be necessary, but the world we have inherited falls far short of that. There are still bad people in the world who victimize innocents. Too often, this process involves guns and violence. It's foolish to deny that there is a necessity for people to be able to defend themselves, but it is prudent to make every effort to require people who would defend themselves to thoroughly consider and take responsi' jility for their actions. The opportunity to buy a gun on a whim should be eliminated. The decision to buy should be considered with all its implications. Possibly, it might come to pass that the gun will have to be used. Would-be gun owners must consider how they will react if blood must be spilled. USC hope chest for harmony, not tensions between cultures I was home in Jersey about a I 1 month ago with my two room- r-B H~~ mates, one of whom is from ! Bf T Ecuador and the other from jB Charleston. Pretty weird combo, right. You have me, a Yankee Jew; Mark, a Low ? JB Danilo, our South American amigo. We all went up to New York City to do the sightseeing thing. I have been there a million times, Danny twice and Mark had never even traveled door or I have to sit next to north of the Mason-Dixon. someone from a different coun Needless to say, Mark and try in my math class. Danny were in absolute awe of I am lucky that my roomthe ta buildings, the crazy and mates are different than me. diverse mixture of people and We are lucky to have a diverse the adu t attractions on population at USC, so we can Broadway and 42nd. To see be prepared to face a diverse Mark and Danny really appreci- WOrld when we graduate, ate the diversity and culture in Believe it or not, there are New York got me 1 ng many more people in this world This university as ad its Wb0 ^ not yOU Biose history of racial and cultural who ^ u an advantag<; misunderstandings. Much like when you can readily accept all NYC, USC is a melting pot of types of people at any time all types of people. From all i encourage those who are corners of the world, people are culturally ignorant to educate here for a common purpose, themselves. It is not a difficult Even in my apartment. There thing to do, and with Diversity are three people from entirely Week coming up, now is an different backgrounds living in ideal time to do it. a close environment. We get When I see friends of mine along just fine. Are we the shocked to see diversity and exception? I think not. success in the same environHarmony among the many ment, it makes me upset. It is types of people on this planet not such a shocking thing, and should not be such a hard idea those who can accept it will be to grasp. And at USC, racial fte successful ones, tension should be the least of Most of us have a good everyone's concerns. I for one understanding of our own culwould rather worry about the tures you will only be a better trillionth tuition niKe in tour person if y0U learn and accept years, getting a class or how others. I'm going to juggle lo hours and hold a job at the same time. yy Wagenheim is the editor To me, these are genuine in chiej Qj ^ Gamecock. His concerns of a college s u ent, column appears every other not the fact that someone differ- Monday ent from me has moved in next VlEWFOE Should we continu "No. There's too many " handguns in the U.S. h already, compared to tl nations like Japan. It is ri scary that the most pow- g prfiil lnhhv in Unnpress is n the NRA." Debra Lattimore Statistics junior Fairness doctrine Congress might reinstate the Fairne Doctrine, which once governed radio and tele^ sion broadcasting. Congress created the Fairness Doctrine 1949, when Americans had only a handful radio frequencies and television channels choose from. The Federal Communicatio Commission, whose members are appointed the president, handles enforcement of the la Over time, presidents used the doctrine harass hosts and stations who disagreed wi administration policies. John Kennedy used the doctrine to bri conservative stations into line with his polici Richard Nixon employed the doctrine duri Watergate to challenge the licenses of televisi stations owned by the Washington Post. Ronald Reagan repealed the doctrine in 19! He said the sheer volume of radio, televisi and cable stations had rendered it unnecessary Now, many in Congress believe the doctr needs to be resurrected in order to control explosion of political talk shows. Part of doctrine requires stations to balance controv sial programming by providing equal time those with opposing viewpoints. Maybe I'm naive, but I had no idea that media was not balanced. Controversial progra cancel each other out. Howard Stern cancels Rush Limbaugh, "Beavis and Butthead" cant Values and tolerance or tJacl , , . one s determine success change _ , counter Xo the editor! Rchc Professor Sue Rosser's article testjm0] (Sept. 8) raises a number of inter- q^s* esting questions. Her position is Qreat that the SAT and other standardized tests are biased in favor of f ?ye white males against members of Qr skin other groups. Ross However, if cultural biases in centra favor of white males, i.e. "institu- . ? , human tional racism and sexism, are the ^rom main obstacles to equity, then how 2erateg does Rosser explain the fact that ?. ^ Asians and Asian-Americans tend to do better on them than white sjt?s males? The fact is well-document- ^ ed so sufficiently that a few years e , , ? , of one ago Berkeley officials were accused of having an unofficial ^ quota ceiling for Asian and AsianAmerican applicants. Rlsitt Could it be that one's values and P attitudes, and not one's race and mud( gender, are the primary determinants in one's educational success? The difference is crucial: One has no control over one's race, gender excuse ? MH.m... MOU /AO College SfuptrtT wter our. natic sns ie to have a constitutional Yes. Everyone should "Yes. Only the crimi ave the right to protect don't abide by the h hemselves even if it They will have hand< squires owning a hand- anyway. [Without un, mace, alarm or any right] the decent citi; ther safety device." will be stopped fi owning a handgun Kiran Sandrapaty protecting themselves.' Pre-med junior Rick Dan Pharmacy ju could stifle media's c H w. to ith out "Barney and Friends," "Masterpiece ing Theatre" balances "Saved by the Bell" and NPR es. balances WUSC. All we need now is a funny ing morning jock to cancel out John Millinder. ion However, that is apparently NOT the way the Fairness Doctrine operates. Let me illustrate. 85. Example #1. Pat McNeill is a columnist for ion the student newspaper. In his column, he makes a joke about low SAT scores in order to prove a ine point. A reader writes back to politely disagree the with McNeill. The editors, thrilled at receiving the mail, congratulate McNeill profusely. The letter er- is printed. Everyone is happy, for Example #2. Pat McNeill is a talk show host for the student radio station. On his show, he the makes the same joke about SAT scores. A lisims tener, instead of writing to the station, pens a out letter to the FCC. Under the Fairness Doctrine, ?ls McNeill's joke is no longer a joke but a controkground; one can control comparable university ii values and attitudes and try. By wellness cente them if they are proving state of the art aerobi productive. It happens. aerobics equipment 1 John Johnson's moving Stairmasters, free w( ny, "Succeeding Against the Nautilus-type equipmt The Autobiography of a people need and expect American Businessman." for a basic exercise prog 3ok contains useful advice The weight room is ryone regardless of gender literally. Located in a 2, color. feet room in the baseme er's position, which derives like the armpits of the f lly important features of brave enough to withste cognition and experience and cramped conditions. ;roup characteristics, exag- I'm not trying to ins differences between groups sent powers, but sxpense of efforts to identify Government's $50,000 ] values. These are prerequi- last year falls short of v r scholastic achievement and ed in the center. I'm ci jccess and are independent idea of a state-of-thes group identity. would be popular enoi Steven Yates vince students to pay ; ssistant philosophy professor dollars a year to build it USC students are no P.E. Center ing than those at the s Hill ate fsrilifv universities. The lAjlldlC Idlllllj University in Charlesto j.djtor. million over the past f : probably has the sorriest ">uild a '?P-notch well for a wellness center of any lts stu 311 ST -BE A 1 My -REAP^ 1o J/sl's WoRKFoRC?. p|||r ? \,1maT's -RigHT... ijiijif ?LL- NAe ABouT 1 1 foToftg. ^ ||||| right to handguns? nals ""Yes.There should be iws. more handgun control ?uns laws or an extended waitthe ing period before buying zens one." Veronica McGill English freshman iele nior :ontroversial voice versial issue. There is someone who DOESN'T think the average S.C. high school student has the IQ of a grilled cheese sandwich. The FCC investigates a possible violation of the Fairness Doctrine. If found guilty, the station faces fines of up to $250,000 or possible revocation of its license. Let's assume the station schedules another show to balance McNeill's. The host of the new show believes that S.C. high school students are the smartest teen-agers in the universe. In fact, she believes they are the future diplomats, researchers and NASA scientists of the world. Is the station off the hook? No. One of the hosts might have the unfair advantage of a better timeslot or more listeners than die other. This is a potential violation. So, what's a radio station to do? If it's smart, it won't do anything controversial: Neither host even gets a talk show. The station sticks to DJs playing industrial-thrash-synth-ska-grunge-pop, and those with diverse viewpoints are denied a voice. In legal terms, this is known as a chilling effect. And even those of us who smack of privilege are frozen in place by it. Pat McNeill is a columnist for The Gamecock. mum * i a the coun- Center officials and other USC | r, I mean administrators are studying ways to cs classes, expand or build a new center. such as If the USC community saw sights and MUSC's center and realized what snt, things they're missing, they'd get riled up in the '90s enough to light a fire under our ;ram. administrators and Board of in the pits, Trustees. 400-square- I hope The Gamecock gets nt, it smells behind this issue and uses its influew students ence to highlight what USC stumd the heat dents need and deserve. ult the pre- David Proffitt Student Law student; of that's need- I VJ i fj !/|j I [|4Ti zmfident the art facility The Gamecock will try to print all igh to COn- letters received. Letters should be a fbw mnrp 200-250 words and must include full name, professional title or year and ^ major if a student. Letters must be ifcsa utavu- persuiiany uenverea Dy amnor 10 jtate's Other The Gamecock newsroom in Russell Medical House room 321. The Gamecock , oic reserves the right to edit all letters n spent for styje> possible libel or space ew years to limitations. Names will not be Iness center withheld under any circumstances, iculty. Blatt lou ijilll' wf illPi iave. s: one. wm, I Jk j/ I wsc i \