The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 29, 1993, Page 3, Image 3
)
ISaifcock
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
W* A -v - A
Liberties
Defense of Klan by African-American lawyer
shows grasp of constitutional principles
There is a rare brand of courage that prevails when a man suppre:
his personal feelings to uphold a higher principle. Such a mai
Anthony Griffin, a Texas attorney causing a stir for representing
Ku Klux Klan.
| Griffin is an African-American.
His defense of the Klan represents something more than a bit of hist
cal irony. Perhaps, it's a bit of flamboyant PR posturing. His actions st
as a reminder that our nation is founded on the bedrock principle of ec
application of the guarantees of civil liberties in our Constitution.
Beyond the constitutional reminder lies an even more inspiring tr
Griffin is proclaiming for us all to hear that hate can be overcome,
mictnisf ran hp mit acirlp
If an African-American man can overcome what surely must be a pi
erful feeling of revulsion for the Klan, this indicates that the republi
not dead; that its laws are not hollow; that its citizens have not succum
meekly to the demands of the powerful.
It's doubtful that the Klan has had a change of heart in hiring
African-American as its legal counsel. But its motivations in hiring Gri
*are irrelevant. If truth be known, the purposes might be as dark as
"nature of the organization itself.
Griffin has learned the powerful lessons of the plight of the Afric
American in the United States. He admits to being inspired by men si
as Frederick Douglas, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and W.E
DuBois. These men stood for principles of equality but not an equa
where some are more equal than others.
Griffin has'taken his beliefs in equality to its limits, testing our co
try's readiness to decide if we are indeed ready to admit that groups si
as the Klan deserve equal protection under the Constitution.
It seems history is replete with examples of how Americans h
extolled the virtues of equality among all people as long as you belong
the group in power. It's like Henry Ford saying a customer could h
any color Ford he wanted as long as it was black.
Equal treatment under the Constitution doesn't mean equal when
^convenient or when those granted equality are members of the major
Griffin demonstrates that one of the highest principles in our country ti
scends the ugliness of one group and grants protection to all.
I
Charlotte's NFL prosperity
proves to be USC's mistake
11 Well, the wait is over. j
After months of speculation, p9 j|p
confusion and edge-of-your-seat
panic, the NFL gave its unanimous
endorsement to the Kfl Wik
Carolina Panthers, the new football
team to be based in wk # -^5^
To make us prouder, ours pBMMp
was the only team picked
P immediately. The other four
cities in contention will continue
to duke it out for another
five weeks. It seems a similar decision
I can hardly wait to see real, was made in 1989 when the
live NFL football in our back- Rolling Stones wanted to play
yard. All the heroes, highlights at Williams-Brice.
and harrowing finishes that One of the great decisions of
make football America s most- all time. Clemson was waiting
watched sport will be a part of with open arms, and Death
the Carolinas. Valley was still standing afterIt
seems, though, that the ward
only people who weren't Don't we ever learn?
impressed with the team were at Mn?,
USC. . .. r another opportunity to really do
whEyX wfdS.^eTlhWetan- . P?shive,for ,he
chise's inaugural season Some sch00' s lma8e Ima8,ne'
say Mike McGee didn't By hard ^1?nday ^ight Football from
enough, while others argue that Wtlhams-Brtce Stad.um in
the team's owner never had any Columbia, South Carolina,
intention of coming here. Nope. Death Valley. From
I can only hope the latter is Clemson.
^e To be sure, the football team
Debates about the loss will would have been a risk. But
continue for years to come, successes are built on risk. The
Some say that we're better off risks were only for a season, but
without ever having had the the benefits had the potential to
Panthers play here. "After all," last much longer.
I 4l 44*. 1 _ 1J I * A ? A 1 : Crtl ~ ~ ~ C AL
m uicy say, inai wouiu nave gui- /as a mciuug ouuui
ted the football program." Carolinian, my feelings of
Well, the football program is excitement when the team was
gutting itself without anyone announced were tempered by
else's assistance. other emotions: frustration and
I find it difficult to believe anger,
that anyone would consider pro- It didn't hurt as much when
fessional and college football the team wasn't definite. But
fans in the same breed. Can you now, if I want to see a game, a
imagine someone saying, "What three-hour road trip lies ahead
should we do? The Carolina 0f me. But it's all for the good
game Saturday or the Panthers of ^ school> right?
game Sunday? Right. To paraphrase a
Unlikely scenario. famous rock singer we've never
I Gamecock fans are heard around here, "Ifd make a
Gamecock fans. They wouldn t m.m ..
be swayed from their mission XM . u a u(read:
tailgating, fried chicken) Maybe you heard h.m s,ng
. . onrp whilp nrivinc throiioh
oy me upstari infl team. ~ " - ? ?
Likewise, the Panthers would ^Iemsonhave
no historical base of fans
from which to draw, so it's Clontz is Carolina, edidoubtful
that they would leach tor ?f ^he Gamecock. His colfans
away from the college umn appears every other
team. Friday.
Viewpoints
Should a black law}
He has the right to take "If that is what he wants
on any case he wants in to do, then that is his
defense of the Consti- privilege."
tution. But as a black Tonya Clamp
sses American affected by Spanish freshing
n is racism, it is morally
the wrong."
Warrenette
Witherspoon
on~ Media arts senior
;rve
jual
that
Should Congress have stoppe
bed
LmIiO By Marc LaFountain
an
ffin After 11 years of construction and a projected cost of more than
the $11 billion, the superconducting super collider had a collision with
reality this past week. An uprising in the House sparked a vote in a
an- congressional conference committee to cut off funding for the collider,
ch This project is a symbol of government waste and pork barrel politics
r jj. in Washington.
lity The 1982 collider plan had a noble purpose. A 54-mile underground,
circular tunnel would be constructed in Texas. Inside the tunun
nel would be magnetic tubes used to create high-speed collisions of
uch protons so scientists could examine the true nature of matter and pos
sibly explore the creation of our universe. The Department of Energy
ave also gave it a noble price tag: $4.4 billion.
i to The plan was approved, and construction began outside of
ave Waxahachie, Texas. But there were problems. In 1989, the DOE said
it had underestimated the cost of the collider: It still needed $5.9 bilit's
lion. Congress, eager to support big missions of pure science, went
ity. along with the increase.
an- Then, the collider was plagued with other problems. A DOE inspector
general's report earlier this year questioned up to 40 percent of the
funds paid to subcontractors. The report also questioned funds spent
non expensive furniture for offices, liquor and entertainment.
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plants was necessary to smash atoms. University Research Associates
Inc., the consortium of scientists hired by the DOE to design and construct
the collider, was unable to account for its expenses.
The final straw came this year when Congress tried to cut the
deficit and saw the estimated cost of the collider had ballooned to
more than $11 billion. Only 14.7 miles of tunnel had been completed.
The House sent a $22.2 billion appropriations bill back to a conference
committee with a simple instruction: Kill the collider. It did.
Powerful senators such as Phil Gramm of Texas and Bennett
Johnson of Louisiana (where a major contractor is located) wanted to
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politics, $11 billion is an awfully big slab of bacon to bring home to
constituents. For many, the collider wasn't a matter of science but a
matter of money. However, the United States has other needs that take
priority over Filling the pockets of Texas and Louisiana contractors.
Scientists are saying the loss of the collider will hurt America's
position as the world leader in science, that the United States must
maintain support for pure science projects. After all, many of NASA's
greatest missions have been for pure science without political or economic
rewards.
However, the United States can't blindly support pure science missions
that are poorly managed and executed and are maintained to
keep congressional pork rolling into the states of powerful senators.
Maybe when the DOE has a better plan to manage it, the collider can
be revived. Until that time, it should remain a closed project.
Marc LaFountain is a regular contributor to Crossfire.
Religious freedom Crime not solved
shouldn't be violated by incarceration
To the editor: To the editor:
For too many weeks, I have wit- I feel compelled to reply to Brad
nessed the battle between right- Keisler's letter to the editor conwing
Christians and eveiyone else, ceming my column. He suggested
The solution to this rather annoying imprisonment is taking valuable
holy war rests in Article 1 of our resources away from education. I
Constitution. The foremost freedom would like to comment on two
we Americans chose for ourselves points: Keisler's assertion that he's
was that of religion: "Congress "a law-abiding citizen and would
shall make no law respecting an rather have the criminal element
establishment of religion, or pro- behind bars" and that he is able to
hibiting the free exercise thereof." "sleep better at night knowing that
Each and every individual in this those guilty of crime aren't on the
country has the right to create his streets to do it again."
own eod. Dractice his own relieion First, if Keisler savs he is law
o ' r o 7 ? j- ?? ?
or do none of the above. abiding, I will take his word for it.
Some people find happiness in This places him in an elite group
their chosen deities. Others are sat- indeed. More than nine out of 10
isfied with atheism or agnosticism. Americans admit to breaking laws
But no matter what we believe, we for which they could be jailed or
as Americans must respect each imprisoned if captured and senother's
right to choose his own tenced. He says petty thieves
higher power. Your religious deserve punishment and suggests
beliefs or lack thereof are none of imprisonment for larcenists.
my concern, just as my beliefs are Survey research indicates over
none of yours. half of the population has commitIf
your god tells you that abor- ted larceny (primarily shoplifting)
tion is a sin, then don't have one. If by the age of 18. Should we
your god has declared homosexual- imprison 130 million Americans?
itv to be wrong. then don't be a There are alreadv ahnut 1 million
homosexual. No one is asking you in prison today,
to. Second, as to sleeping better
When it comes to religion, truth knowing the criminal element is off
is relative to each individual. We the street, wake up. Most criminals
can't say that another person's remain on the streets. Even for
beliefs are right or wrong, just right crimes reported to police, a fraction
or wrong for us. Nor can we vio- of actual crime, only one in five
late another's religious freedom major crimes is cleared by arrest,
and expect to keep our own. and only about three in 100 result
Shannon Wiley *n convicli?nEnglish
junior There isn't enough money in the
rer defend the KKK?
"He has a right to do "It's great. Race or gender
whatever job he chooses should not matter as long
to do. I don't agree with as they get the best
him, but we shouldn't defense possible."
judge him." wil|ie Stanse?
Mark Buckner Sociology senior
Civil engineering senior
id funding the super collider?
nrii 71 Rv Pa triple Sharhanoh
?J ??* ?
In the midst of the rhetorical melee concerning the fate of the Texasbased
superconducting super collider, or SSC, this past week, Sen. Dale
Bumpers of Arkansas said Congress must oppose "extraordinarily expensive
projects that are of relatively little worth."
Fortunately, President Kennedy got us to the moon when he did. I hate
to think what Bumpers and her crowd would have to say about the Apollo
project if it were suggested today. "Too expensive!" they would cry.
"What's the point?" they would exclaim, "It's just a circle in the sky
we're throwing money at! What good could possibly come of this project?"
Because of the challenges the Apollo project posed to engineering,
though, we have such things as implantable pacemakers, CAT and MRI
scans, lasers, transistors and personal computers. The ultimate goal of the
Apollo project, to place an American on the moon, was a worthwhile end
in itself; but the value of the frontier technologies that the project
spawned are inestimable. The peripheral developments needed only the
single goal and the necessary Financial resources to become real.
Similarly, the ultimate value of a completed super collider, while
invaluable to the Field of particle physics, lies also in the journey to
accomplishing that end: When the world's most brilliant scientists and
engineers collaborate on a goal, they inevitably invent new materials and
technologies.
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include particle beam treatment of inoperable tumors, vast advances in
supercomputing technology and immeasurable progress in superconductivity
research. Already, more than 60 records of invention have been
logged by the SSC, and 10 patents have been applied for.
Ostensibly, the House voted down further funding for the SSC because
it felt trimming the budget was of greater national exigency. In 1992,
however, the SSC budget accounted for about one ten-thousandth of the
national deficit.
With 20 percent of the super collider already built, Congress has opted
to retract its original statement of commitment to seeing the job through
to completion. Nearly 15,000 people have made similar long-term career
and financial commitments to the same project, but theirs can't be retracted
quite so easily.
Scrapping the SSC at this point in time is self-defeating both to our
present and future economic development and to our international credibility.
Are we to expect today's youth to pursue careers in research and
development after witnessing this kind of precedent? How eager are other
countries likely to be at the prospect of collaborating on U.S.-led international
science projects in the future?
Economic strength is a direct function of industrial and technological
power. We can't afford to relegate ourselves to the status of a service
economy merely because we are afraid to invest in long-term production*
there are too many countries waiting in the wings who are all too willing
to make that investment.
Patrick Sharbaugh is a regular contributor to Crossfire.
nation to provide you peace of citizens in trouble before they turn
mind by locking up all criminals, to crime. We'll still have to incarWe
can't build our way out of the cerate the violent and career crimicrime
problem. The reactive nals, but there will be fewer of
approach, trying to catch criminals them, and the problem will become
after the fact, will never work. manageable.
The only chance we have is to Then, we'll have most of our
adopt a proactive approach. We valuable resources left to invest in
could stop crime by making rea- education and other programs that
sonable laws, socializing citizens to can make a positive difference in
the values of obeying, educating the quality of life for each of us.
citizens so they can lead productive Gene Stephens
lives and intervening early to assist Criminal justice professor
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