The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 24, 1993, Page 3, Image 3
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"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
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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