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i r i "tSaifUcock Serving USC Since 1908 J.T. Wagenheim, Editor in Chief Shayla Stutts, Viewpoints Editor ! EDITORIAL BOARD Jay King, Gordon Mantler, Rob Rodusky, Lee Clontz, Carson Henderson i I nniiiilifipfl ie- )/ The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should be i 200-250 words and must include full name, professional title or year and major if a student. Letters must be personally delivered by author to The Gamecock newsroom in Russell House room 321. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letters for style, possible libel or space limitations. Names will not be withheld under any circumstances. I Student employees lack experience : to shoulder others' financial aid problems The Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships is perhaps one of the most important entities of the USC community. Each year, it handles tens of thousands of applications for university, state and federal aid. The necessity for an efficient, timely system of submission, approval and disbursement is all-important. USC financial aid administrators, however, need to be more userfriendly and accessible. Presently, the administration has work-study students on the front lines of the financial aid battle, sitting before a computer or answering phones to field questions from stressed, distraught applicants. How qualified is a student to bear the burden of responsibility for financing what amounts to the future of almost 27,000 people? Surely, there are others who have already obtained at least a bachelor's degree who could better assist student-aid applicants. We understand that student employment is an essential part of the backbone of an economic system such as USC's. The thousands of dollars that go hand-in-hand with so many academic lives, however, must be in the ; care of those who understand the sensitivity of being dependent on loans, grants and scholarships. This being the case, how wise is it to have undergraduates as the medium through which these funds are regularly chan! neled? We recognize that a number of professionals are employed with the department, but they need to be more visible. Students seeking financial aid feel understandably more secure with someone they can recognize as a professional than someone trying to pass English 102. Another problem plaguing the department is the electronic phone answering system that answers calls to the 777-8134 phone number. This problem is certainly not unique to the Office of Financial Aid, nor is it to USC. Computer simulated voices are replacing human ones on a national scale. And in most facets, it's fine. ! But when we talk about higher education and financial assistance for ; those who partake in it, there is no room for things that some might label unsatisfactory. Instead of former journalism professor Bill Brown's electronically-enhanced voice, perhaps someone who is actually on the other end of the phone would do. We understand that handling such a large amount of financial aid appli; cations is a time-consuming, difficult task. We also think USC's metbod| ology in handling some of these tasks needs to be revamped to better i accommodate the needs of students. ^^ f(?fSl?>?/VT CUNfoN, p>o KOU : IF 1 ASK 40U W OPlMION ^?6AH.OlN& IMPORTANT ISSUESP V Viewpoints What are the problems wil "I haven't had any any "People want to know problems except waiting what kind of aid is availfor loans to come in. It able. Finding the right makes sense that they information from the right wait for students to stay people is so important." in school a month before giving them the loan." Jonathan Beane Marketing senior Beth Koss Pharmacy freshman Is USC under economic obi rn?l By Patrick Sharbaugh j To say USC Athletics Director Mike McGee was red-faced recent) when prospective NFL owners in Charlotte took their business to Clemso is to dip precipitously into understatement. Certainly, McGee and oth< higher-ups in die USC establishment have had to call on their creativ muses more than once to justify the snafu to outraged Columbia busines owners and residents, most of whom feel the capital city would have ber efited from the estimated $40 million or so the venture would have injeci ed into the local economy. And justify it they have. A reasonable paraphrase, I think, of what the finally came up with is that USC's first and foremost responsibility is t USC, not to the city of Columbia. While this might strike USC officials a a perfectly reasonable ideological umbrella under which to work, it is nc necessarily a sage one for them to promote. I realize John Palms is eager to disassociate himself as much as possi ble from the oft-execrated ghost of Jim Holderman, but it must be consid ered that Holderman was not an unpopular man in the Columbia commu nity or among USC affiliates while he was here. Of course, Holderma was guilty of hideous ethical trespasses, but bringing Pope John Paul II t< Columbia took a lot of doing, and it benefited both the city and US( tremendously. While Holderman made cultivating this kind of symbiotic relationship priority, it often seems that Palms must be kicked regularly to keep hir from forgetting that there's a city out there. Remember the Rolling Stone disaster four years ago? As things stand now, the city of Columbia is struggling to revitalize th downtown area and attract business from out of town. Administration offi cials might feel USC has outstanding qualifications as an academic insti tution, but academics alone aren't going to draw students here. Clemsor acial issue, but what about the 'U'J ul"cl lyPc' url"? nasses of intoxicated white people Christianity has always held that n Five Points on weekends? Do sin is, in fact, a cancer. ,ou feel threatened around an area . Believing that you will evolve ,f intoxicated white people? I m,? something better may serve now 1 would! as temporal medicine for the dtsDo you object to the parties held ease s'n' bat ' must warn every>y white fraternities in the quad? one 11 w . not cure* e {ou never even mentioned the par- ^ase is present in us all and is fatal ies held by other whites around ^ or wages of sin is death ). his campus. I don't object to them ? n,e ?cure: however is not high lecause everyone has their idea of h0Pes bat ,ns!ead,a "fe-changing un. I have nothing against while mlauonsh.p with Jesus Christ ( ieople. For those who fear a gath- but ?lfl ?f God 15 f1 ! I,fe ring of black people, fret not and throu8h Jesus Cbr'st our Lo'd > e Wyman Richardson om in the fun. c . History freshman as we have recently become only too aware, is closer than we think, a are Furman, Winthrop and the College of Charleston. The equation is self evident: if Columbia hurts, USC hurts. Palms is right to feel a weighty responsibility to USC. But whether hi likes it or not, he is in a position to effect change on a level much greate than that of simply the university. He has an obligation, both practical an< civil, to the city of Columbia and its residents. He also has a 200-yea precedent urging him on. USC does not exist in a vacuum. There is a city full of people ou there, and they're getting tired of being ignored. Palms can play the par of Marie Antoinette for now if he likes, but the residents of Columbi: aren't going to stand for eating bread much longer. Patrick Sharbaugh is a regular contributor to Crossfire Color not issue ^iss ^ry^)ula? y?u shoul(1 con, , sider everybody whenever yoi ill lOWerS incident voice your opinion on safety. To the editor: . Byron McKie ( hpmtcal pnotnppnno inis is in response to Kitti "sophomore Trybula s letter concerning v Towers security. ChriStiailitV hfillls It is not fair for you to blame the ^U1 15) 11(1111 V ????? (JSC Police Department for the racist thoughts recent armed robberies. The departmem can only patrol so much. I, Totthe ef,'t,?,r: for one, applaud the efforts of the J ^ould,1,ke comment on JaV department to ensure safely on ^ about racism in the ca]^ Sept. 22 issue of The Gamecock. In use students congregate around Ki"g's Piece, he states that human the Towers on weekend nights. It ls on? of the intangibles o seems that you feel "unsafe" when- llfe. (as 15 ^'dea ^ ^ rools ?f ever you meet a certain "group" at raclsm ^ lnherent ln "> 3,1(1 that night. These students are having he believf in 3 f" ?f "evolution harmless fun and could care less I"10 foodness. He also slates that rbout you and your friends. Just 1 re!use l? reslSn 10 1116 because the armed robber is a black h^ary bequest of such a cancer nale does not mean that these T* blacks students pose a threat to you 1 ^ould llke 10 say ?at 3 ^,son tnd others. The robber's actions can refuse to resign oneself to rave nothing to do with being dle canceKr of and oUier )lacl( sins just about as much as one can I do not want to turn this into a re_fuse lo.[csi8n oneself ? ^ ;h USC's financial aid system? ii ^ i 1 i "Once I called and asked "I'm not able to get finana question about my cial aid because I'm marscholarship, and it was ried. The point system is days before I got an unfair. Students who realanswer. These were things ly need a loan can't get it. that needed to be worked I deserve financial aid out. It was stressful." more than anyone else _ because I have a family to Vernica Downey support." International studies freshman Carlton McAllister Electrical engineer junior ligation to city of Columbia? PCTTj By Ryan Atkinson ly I was as dismayed as anyone when I heard that the NFL wasn't comm ing to Williams-Brice Stadium. The economic thrust that pro football -r games could have given Columbia would have been astounding. This is not to mention the exposure it would have given the community, which could have led to further growth, t- Who could blame the business owners for being livid with the administrators at USC? Many people feel that USC had an obligation to the y community to seal this deal. But can we really say that USC is responsible for the economic well-being of Columbia? is ? )t First of all, the mere presence of USC is an economic boost. About 26,000 students attend the fall and spring sessions. Many of these stUi dents are from other areas of the state, other regions of the country or l" even from foreign countries. How many of these people would be here if it weren't for USC? How much revenue would be lost if that was the case? How much smaller 2 and less developed would Columbia be? Of course, Columbia is the state capital, which means it would have grown anyway. Nevertheless, a the city still has a debt to USC. a Activities such as football games, concerts and plays all help make s Columbia more economically prosperous as well as more culturally e diverse. These events have been made possible largely because of USC. Hasn't USC done enough? Let no one misunderstand me. I think we missed a prime opportunity. l? The entire community could have prospered from NFL games at s Williams-Brice. But the administrators felt they had other obligations. President Palms said USC wasn't responsible for the Columbia commu2 nity at large. r Palms was exactly right. His responsibility is to USC first. It is his i job to see that USC is the best academic institution it can be. While I r lament the lost opportunity, I agree with Palms. | Ryan Atkinson is a regular contributor to Crossfire. i ; Cries for health care Postage fees hinder finally answered students' real needs r To the editor: To the Editor, Young adults across the country I would like to thank the adminare crying out in a plea for help, istration of USC for finally sending Upon graduation from college, so me a copy of the USC Student many of us lose health care cover- Handbook and Policy Guide after age under our parents' insurance seven previous years of failing to and do not have a job which offers do so while i was ^ undergraduate comprehensive coverage. graduate student. Recently, a friend of mine was It is so refreshing not to have to sick and unable to visit a physician go through all the trouble of dialing because he was no longer covered the phone (to find out where to get by insurance. He could not afford ?ne) ?r making that'horribly inconthe cost of a doctor visit on his venient trip to the Russell House own. He got better without a doc- (which most of us pass almost tor's care, but a more serious ill- everyday) to obtain a copy, ness could have bankrupted him or 1 am sure that the enormous his family. Young people should postage fees incurred by doing this not have to make a choice between for all 26.000 students could not going to see a doctor and taking a possibly be better utilized for chance that they'll get well on their POLICE PROTECTION, scholarown. ships, services, lab equipment, All Americans should have TUITION REDUCTIONS or anyhealth insurance coverage. This is thing else more worthwhile, conan important goal which President sidering all the cutbacks the univerClinton has set and will reach with sity is suffering, his health care plan. Our cries have It's nice to know that USC has been ignored for 12 years by its priorities straight after all the Reagan and Bush. Finally, they Futures Committee meetings and will be heard and answered by recommendations. Is this what my President Clinton. tuition increase paid for? I wonder Please support President just exactly how much of our and Clinton's health care plan so the state's money we wasted on America can get on a positive road such a STUPID idea!? r\f r*KanaQ orm t Dnfn v/i. wiaii^u. ivutj' i aiw Byron James Earth resources management President, graduate S.C. Young Democrats