The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 25, 1993, Page 3, Image 3
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"?aifficock
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
Retreat
Confederate battle flag not significant enough
to justify its flying above State House
The Confederate battle flag. A symbol of the pride of Southern history?
An emblem that shines in the eyes of Dixie revelers? A shadowy
cloth looming, despite its brilliance, as a dark reminder of
A slavery? A banner that echoes the spirit of the Southern cause during the
Civil War?
At this point in history, the Confederate flag means something different
to each of us. A segment of the S.C. population strongly believes that it
should be removed from our State House because it represents one of the
darkest periods of American history: the enslavement of other humans.
To fly a flag is to say that one believes in something. If someone from
another country was to ask why we fly the Confederate flag, there would
be a myriad of answers. As it flies, it's so easy to throw several meanings
under it, all of which are reasonable, but none of them justify our flying
it.
We've spent years in debate over the location of this flag. We have yet
to appoint one good, solid reason for flying it. Think about it.
This leads us back to the conclusion that it means something different
to everyone. Honestly, it's doubtful there are many people today who
41 actually believe that slavery should still exist. However, the flag's flying
offends a significant number of people, and their reasons for removing it
carry much deeper feelings of harm than those who feel it should remain.
As the* post-civil rights generation grows older in a more racially-balanced
society, the offense taken by the flag might even seem petty. The
meaning behind it will be lessened because we're moving further away
from the historical civil rights movement of the '60s. We see these rights
put into action. There is no turning back. A mere piece of cloth won't
change the progress we've made.
This isn't to undermine those who are offended by the flag, especially
those who had ancestors to die within the bondage of slaverv or dnrino
w o
the Civil War. Indeed, the flag should come down and be displayed in the
State House as a memorial to something that's now nonexistent.
Imagination leads
to eventful journey
At times, the mind plays .? -?.
_ tricks on us when we're thor- _ ML.
^ oughly bored. pM
This I discovered on a certain
long airplane journey when my Wm PS HI \
neighbor seemed more intent on pfl * /Jk r Hit
doing full justice to the airline's n 4 Hi 1
complimentary beverages than IH Hp
carry on small talk. It was then ? ; Wm
that my mind became an innovative
entertainer, amusing me mm (
with the help of the simplest
tools at its disposal. 1
With great ingenuity, it trans- sejf for assauit Then he j
formed the view outside to a , . . t. ? . , c J
thrilling motion picture that clotsed ,n as ^ 'w? ct,un^f of <
starred shadows of three distant water vapor ** d.usl> CaUfht s
clouds and the foothills of the '?S 1SSS 1
n i wru t clashed for territorial nghts in ,
Rockies. When I finally discov- ? , . . ? (
ered that no further amusement tde ""tosphere An intense
could be extracted from the pre- "???? e e"s,uad'. w,lhha s
Vinns nassenoer's nlastic fork kniSht s athleticism pitted ,
. P ? . ' against the dragon's destrucdve '
the emergency procedure manu- no
al or the air sickness bag the approached
show began through the oval j(s c Floating like a
transparent screen. a cloud and stinging like a bee, *
I observed in wonderment a tho , < ., f tU J e
^ princess below, shaped by ^ hand" fought valiantly^
<-ui .w, jviuiiap^u uy a above all personal perils. ,
cruel dragon, his presence Cleverly obscuring the dragbrought
out by the shadow of an on's vision by extending toward
adjacent, mean-looking cloud. ^ a wjSp from hjs own self, he
Confined by the dragon s body at the dragon's jugular to
and the Rocky foothills, escape driver the final coup de grace,
seemed out of the question. dragon thus breathed its
But as I crushed ice and jast, and its fragmented remains n
peanuts in my mouth, help dispersed over the Western n
arrived. Along came a brave majniand. p
knight, uncannily outlined by j^jght extended inviting
the shadow of a lean onH KrioU
? cumulus. His head juued ou. f 8 towa? P"nce8$' *s
aggressively, challenging the "!e T "'?U T8 ' She
dragon to make the fit move. gleef"lly ff 'fn,? thefm> efur"
burst of flame exploded from 'ng herself a future . rehe fron!
the dragon's mouth just as a "l?80"8' m0ttSW'S- T T
large 747-B zipped through die f olher ass0Ited vllla,ns under
clouds. ecsun'. .
The combination of searing Stra'Tg my.ne<* t0 w"nes*
heat and early morning bad ?e te?der reun.on from behind
breath was lethal, and our hero ^ .wln8' I.,knew "f mey
was momentarily stunned, would live happ.ly ever after.
Taking but a few seconds to D . .
recoup himself, he readied him- *a,AB' Sha/a%PaJ"
F columnist for The Gamecock.
m
The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters
should be 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.
VlEWPOD
Should the Coi
"No, because it has racial "I
significance. It's clearly a sh
symbol of racism and has re
no positive effect on peo- in
pie." thi
Artis McLendon ar
Theatre freshman ^
n i i
sex education cc
Many people are quick to point the blame at
our teachers and school boards when our education
system is not doing well. However, I don't
see much recognition when our educators DO
succeed. It's with this in mind that I write about
our triumphant teen-age sex education policy.
I have followed with interest the debate on
teaching reproductive awareness in America's
schools. I have heard the outrage of many parents
and conservative thinkers such as William
Bennett and Pat Robertson over how this subject
is taught. I even remember one prominent
Republican's concern that when prepubescents
learn how to use condoms in the classrooms,
sex ends up becoming "just another class in the
school day."
I agree that sex education is becoming "just
another class in the school day." And I support
it wholeheartedly.
Let's look at the record. We have been bomharrfprl
hv cfntictirc chnunnn hnm A r
j uvuwwivo auvTTiii^ iiv*? niiivuva o
public schools are lagging behind those of the
rest of the industrial world. Our children
haven't been learning basic math skills, geography,
natural science, applied science or even
reading and writing in our secondary schools.
Meanwhile, there have been corresponding
stories on the steady increase of teen-age pregnancy
coupled with more stories about the
resurgence of sexually transmitted diseases.
Criminals deserve and three
, services fc
more penalties committing
To the editor: 10 ,C
I hesitate to reply to Professor c?mmumt.
jene Stephen's article that ee.r ^0ur
, . , ~ __ . volunteer i
rppeared in the Oct 20 tssue ciUzen an<
because I m sure that he s more criminal e
ipprised of the situation than I. mowino ^
however iail ac an nnfirrn fnr
j~- -- ??? where chi
ieterrence shouldn t be ruled out chanCes at
limply because of overcrowding t be
md large expenditures of taxpayers jt?s ajsc
lollars. yOU pj
The question I want to ask is cenists anc
imple. Have you, Professor j'm COrre<
itephens, ever been a victim of people are
issault or been attacked by these mjt yioleni
petty thieves or others" that you ls addictei
ippear to be so compassionate such as ccx
oward? I assure you from experi- bly going t
nee it's not pleasant, and it's get their fu
omething that deserves punish- or pillage,
nent in addition to education. Xs you
Tiose guilty of wrongdoing should article, jail
>e punished. I believe that's what answer fo
>ur justice system is based upon. until somec
Maybe in addition to education ter idea, I
f criminals, there should be more better at n
enalties for crime, such as no TV guilty of a
nd less recreational activity. This to do it aga
lay indeed be insensitive to crimials'
needs because they are peole,
too, but a roof over their heads
I A LAS, A sOUMRfiEK WAAIJaI
CotifeDERtft AfifiOf/AL FlA6 To 1
The Battle Flag ABove The s)
unlike The haTe-Fille1
BATTlE fLA6, The rnTic
FM6 represents A Mo
TMPITioa/AL SouTH
NITS
lfederate battle flag fly <
*Jo, I don't think it "No, I understand
lould because it does part of history, bi
present the racial part of history is ov
equality that existed in Aninsia R
e Southern states before J
id during the (Civil) Accounting fre
ar."
Laura Stover
miucai science
sophomore
mid make kids pr
Apparently, our young teen-agers, many of
whom live in single-parent homes, were not
brought up or persuaded to "just say no" to
underage fornication.
As the AIDS epidemic began to spread, the
nation's educators, led by the liberal National
Education Association, discussed possible solutions.
They knew there was not a way to solve
our schools' failures without shipping all of our
kids to private schools. So they looked at the
teen-age pregnancy issue. Their attitudes seem
to fall somewhere along these lines:
"We teach history, geography and math,
right? None of our kids are learning them,
right? Why don't we just teach kids how to
have sex? That way, none of the little snots will
ever reproduce!"
This concept was so revolutionary and
breathtakingly simple that it caught on at once.
Teen-age sex went from being revolutionary
meals a day are ample SuCCeSS after C
?r those that are guilty of
i crimes depends on int
riminals being placed in _ ,
1 service, please volun- To'he ed,tor:., ^ aw
community before you ? Piec| tlde
mine. I'm a law-abiding the,?ictT ,18 edltl0,n 15
1 would rather have the guided. It s quite alarm
lement behind bars than e ors 0 s enl
e grass along my streets supposedly enlightenet
ildren who have more wou'd proffer such a
a better future are likely P'ece- While I would
p\/pr\/Anp u/nn't mol'o n
V? V? JV4IV ??V1I I U1CUVU I
come to my attention- 'e&e environment, you
ace less emphasis on lar- about who should and 5
I drug addicts. I believe here ^ ludicrous.
;t in saying that these ^he assumption that
often the ones that com- reaHy shouldn't have g
t crimes. Someone who le8e ^d earned a degr<
1 to a dangerous drug die way ?f diose who 1
:aine or heroin is proba- how t0 use their degree
0 do whatever it takes to shallow. After graduatic
c, including murder, rape vidual performance that
mine success. If the ec<
clearly define in your decline and the jc
is certainly not the best becomes more restricti\
r stopping crime. But ultimately performance ;
)ne comes up with a bet- don, not the number o
must admit that I sleep diat decide achievement
ight knowing that those The assertion that
ime aren't on the streets people get degrees 1
in. would be better off w
lacks any understandi
Brad Keisler what a college educati
English graduate posed to be. Am I to inf
6 TftE
replace
'AfeibusE...
3 6ff/60 Oft AH' 6kt
f/ai hoop - That caoss
wal AitJ'r Gonha Bum
kt \
uTH I \
aver the Capitol?
it's a "No, I think maybe they
jt that should take it down. It
er." represents the putting
~ down of black people for
rown 11 r.u .?
all of these years.
ishman
VnHrav Hnlli?
Mechanical engineering
junior
oud to be virgins
and exciting to becoming something you had to
take notes on. Cheerleaders began to push football
players off of them, saying "How can you
think of school at a time like this?" Couples
who hadn't paid attention during the condom
lectures decided to forego the sex and go out
for pizza instead. Children decided to rebel
against their baby-boomer, free-love parents by
remaining virgins.
You don't believe me? I'll prove it to you.
Who are the No. 1 role models for trendy teenagers
everywhere? Beavis and Butt-head, that's
who. They're both virgins. There have also
been articles about this trend in many newspapers,
including Thursday's edition of The State.
"Five years ago, if you were a virgin, you
wouldn't tell anybody," a Philadelphia teen-ager
said. "But now, people at school are openly saying,
'I'm a virgin' and their friends are saying,
'That's cool.'"
So, there you have it. Soon, only nerds will
be havine sex. Honefllllv our pdnratnrc rsn fnl
low up on this triumph, too. Maybe they should
start teaching kids how to use drugs or join
gangs.
That would be cool. Huh-huh, huh huh.
Patrick McNeill is a columnist
for The Gamecock.
'ftllpPP statement that a person who choosi?
es carpentry or plumbing doesn't
lividual deserve a college education, though
he will pay taxes to help support
. those very institutions?
tsguided in mjssjon 0f a public, tax-supf
tfU h mih ported institution such as USC
nng that the sbould be to educate and enlighten
organ ot a ag many individuals as possible
institution given tbe resources available, nq
sophomonc matter bow they ultimately support
aorpp fhat . -
7?*" ? themselves.
t in the col- for student in the Voiced
r assertions section who said "Everyone has a
ihouldn t be purp0se. Some people are meant to
be janitors and other things like
those who ^ -p^ey shouldn't be in college."
;one to col- XhiS has the familiar sound of the
ic stand in argument the Southern planters and
really know legislators used to justify slavery
s is at best an(i iater segregation. I believe
>n, it s indi- mosl college history courses conwill
deter- cerning that era discuss these
}nomy is in issues. But then again, maybe car>b
market penters don't need to know that.
rt, then it's Thomas Shook;
and motiva- History transfer
f graduates,
"too many
when they
ith a skill"
mg of just
IUII 5>up- t
er from this
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