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? "?aifcock Serving USC Since 1908 J.T. Wagenheim, Editor in Chief Shayla Stutts, Viewpoints Editor EDITORIAL BOARD I Jay King, Gordon Mantler, Rob Rodusky, Lee Clontz, Carson Henderson Vague : Supreme Court ruling provides unclear definition : of sexual harassment, neglects to amend problems The interaction between man and woman is sensitive territory. Our biological differences set the scene for automatic conflict. Much of this stress takes place in the workplace. I Unfortunate in our offices is the occurrence of sexual harassment. Even more disappointing is that the Supreme Court still leaves us dangling with unclear legal definitions. Actions and words are interpreted by the Court, but who says its interpretations is correct? We should resolve these problems ourselves within ? the workplace. _ ; The actions of a few obnoxious people who harass with no regard for other human beings have sent our country into an interpretational frenzy | where everyone is afraid and cannot discern friendly jokes from threats. ^ So, the Supreme Court Tuesday attempted to clear up the ambiguity ^ surrounding sexual harassment and give the public an exact definition of : what actions could be considered harassment in a court of law. _ However, the Court cleared up little with Tuesday's ruling. P Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said in the majority opinion that a vie; tim need not prove harassment caused psychological harm before being ^ able to win money damages from an employer. But "a mere offensive i utterance" by a boss is not illegal, she said. sxst This still leaves quite a large gray area in determining what exactly is ^ ; considered harassment and what is just harmless joking. The only thing Pro ! the new ruling does establish is it is easier to win a sexual harassment des case on merely offensive speech. to '< But does that mean two offensive remarks constitutes harassment? Three? Four? a b ! What we should ask ourselves is, Can we fairly define what sexual son I harassment is, beyond blatant physical violations and threats, in a court ^ of law? Should we really try to define what speech is harassing and what die is not? 1X101 The Supreme Court tried and seems to have failed in eliminating the die vagueness. And it is doubtful that the Court will address the issue again 1 anytime soon. dati But if the Court does try to become more specific in its definition, we ^ian hope the justices realize harassing speech should be dealt with internally S00 and not in a court. Clogging up the judicial system with cases of one's Vlta word against another's, like many sexual harassment cases, is ridiculous. revi ' Sexual harassment is a horrible ordeal to go through for anybody, but ^ unless there is a clear legal definition for it, it does not belong in the e^e courts. 1S11 \ T 1 ? ? Moj 1 ^01 > Parking tickets, transcripts p break students' budgets 0 Ami hands of some otherwise broke inte^ One of the common concerns in8 ( about attending a large universi- H beca ty is that every student is con- for a sidered only a number, not a th ? . T . , that by the time I was back na?Te_ . , nnU, _ downstairs to reclaim my car, an use considers me only a emjre n rf other vehicles number, and that number is had replaced mine Tf? "V"? t d0 nm b u usc,s of $6,000 and nsing, which is CTack f J5 what I pay every year to be shaipness ani^^to Ipl U . ticket on my cht in the mirifllp fleducatols noUree ^ ?f ,he "ighl: afler *" ' was ille flS education is not tree. gally parked. But why in the To So why do I hear the giant gell is such unobtrusive poking ino mghST 0 a my remain* considered a tow-away zone7 say m Se5 Sr-ff fT ^ for Utis fiasco I s bieTcoftos' SC S argUably was $45. Hia. is one expensive Soi First problem is that good old na:.i tie IO USCPD and $30 U' transcript fee. Yes, folks, $6 000 I paid $15 to u$t,FD and $30 is not enough for an officii the k'm"y T"!g bel piece of paper saying that you ^ ^ ^ uunof ?w,flness are a student with these grades. """ efr'cicncy' yanked my Car f; That will cost you $5 more . , , , ' Criminals may be roaming to You see, they call that a pro- f^ut tl? ^pus, but, be sure, our ' cessing fee. That is five bucks the,ls fd ^,nd Sims's welN 38 ' for typing about 30 keys and Palrolle<! The guy who was running it through that strange wa,tin8 fo,rUle sPace ceruunly Autopen signing machine. awhn?' ,k r Five dollars divided by 30 * we on subJe? of keys is almost 20 cents per key. ? "'V0" Wow, those must be some pret- P^mg sticker serve? tv stiff kevs u ^ what we A, 20 cents per key, I would f 8,a lice"se ??" a??ws probably be able to retire jus. JtZZ X f n E'^ you would like a space guaranCha. or Aulopen ink is made (eed jn a gara P 8 ^ from liquid platinum. For five $100. hard-earned dollars, I at least Sjx thousand dol|ars a expect a human being to sign a nol enough fof a parki ' name onto my paper. either, I assume. Let me go on By the way, if The Gamecock This past weekend, I parked office was Petigru j wouJd have illegally in the Sims parking lot. charged more ^an $m [Q I did not want to, but the nearest jjj this column spot was three blocks away, and Except l ^ more generous j I had to, well, urinate quite bad- will happily sign it myself. iyIn about 15 minutes, my car Ue Qontz is Carolina! editor was ticketed and towed. of The Gamecock. His column Now, I suppose I would not appears every other Friday. be so angry except for the fact VlEWPO How "It is making someone else feel uncomfortable, putting them under psychological distress. Certain actions and words could qualify depending on how the harassing person conducts them." Martin Balinsky Geology graduate rarnr hould taxes be By Patrick Sharbaugh [n the latest development in the gun dnesday passed the controversial Brady E s of a required five-day waiting period on rhe many amendments attached to the bil posed by Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, tructive hollow-point type of handgun an is the talon bullet. Moynihan has propose formance bullets some 10,000 percent, efi ox of 20 cartridges from $16 to $1,60C te of which use the ammunition, would tx Vhile Moynihan claims that any money ? health care reform coffer, he is the first i ley will likely result from the tax. As fa less money raised the better. Tie name "talon" refers to the tendency ten out upon impact and expand outwari d, developing jagged tips and razor shai d permanent wound size and still penet 1 organs," as Hand Gunning magazine re ew. )pponents of the measure claim that nonr ctive at stopping criminals and the contin imperative to the safety of millions of Ame his kind of logic on the part of gun-conl ^nihan to propose taxing the ammunition itright. He is fully aware that this logic is 1 lobbying interests in the nation, and Mo er: He has seen it turn reasonable argur mincemeat many times in die past, obbying interests such as the NRA have jricans that valuable Second Amendmen sure to ban ammunition or guns outright i ut people are a fickle lot, swayed easib mihan knows the importance of appearai bill. He may not stand an unbeatable ch nst the efforts of the NRA, but he sta ice than if it was a definitive ban on the a irectness is an admirable quality in a p< ;rity. But what is most important in this < emoved from the streets but that they are civilians and police officers whose lives s use of this ammunition are unlikely to \ t tax instead of an outright ban. Patrick Sharbaugh is a regi nlnmnkt intrnrlpc agams UAMAlAAAAMf UUVU ig supporters' turf a" the editor: ''Ll'tc rhe first thing I would like to 1: r to columnist Stephen King, and which ay this as respectfully as a dome thern gentleman can, is butt King !'ve i rhe Confederate flag issue is in fori :ween the minority of South Gamei rolinians who seek to politically I re anse history and the majority of ion a Jth Carolinians who only wish woulc honor our heritage. We honor uninfc ancestors not as enslavers but courageous people who stood up Ad\ 7 1 SPEA/t> M4PWSIA/A 8A5EMENT -gEHi/VP A CoMFV/Te screew p?strch\n6 m rbtia m Hopes of getting a Job barblh ftos thbcdst of llv/< ~~\WHATAgC Houfi as? ;ual harassme; exual harassment occs when an employer Ids a threat over a >man or man about his her job. But it depends the situation." Kiran Sandrapaty Biology junior INTS HMMfM do you define sex "It's when the opposite "S sex touches you, even if ur they think it is a friendly ho gesture. If it makes you wt uncomfortable, it is still or sexual harassment." on Anna Lesor Mathematics freshman used to contra E -control debate, the House till, the nucleus of which con- bei i the purchase of handguns. bei I, however, include a measure D-N.Y., concerning a highly ide nmunition commonly referred on d raising the tax on the high- coi fectively boosting the price of 1 I. Law-enforcement agencies, ha ; exempt from the tax. hui ;arnered by the tax will go to bul to concede that precious little r as he is concerned, though, me Bu of the bullets' hollow tips to gU1 1, like fingers of an opening gr p edges that "will provide a tha rate deeply enough to reach a^j cendy put it in a praise-filled sio lal bullets are not sufficiently ^ ued availability of the bullets jjje :ricans. . ^ pat rol opponents has convinced ( rather than attempting to ban tied to one of the most pow- jj ynihan fully understands that ^ nents for stricter gun-control no trouble convincing many t rights are at stake when a C01 s at issue. / by rhetoric and semantics, ices and wording to passage on ance of passing this measure ?rc nds an immeasurably better 1 mmunition. ^ac srson, as are conviction and Sei debate is not how the bullets res , The thousands of law-abidtand to be taken in the future nia vorry that Moynihan elected fy leg ilar contributor to Crossfire. ,t all odds against Northern Coa a Yankee, you are not quali- for > meddle in our affairs, s the Confederate battle flag ^ ? ^ ,, \\Tr~ majesucaiiy ines atop our TTt and not the Stars and Bars as copy < wrongly named three times, and / >rown accustomed to half- y0u, < ned opinions in The sjve p "ock" in the spect King s right to an opm- pof ^ is a Southern gentleman 1, but I cannot respect the 1 assi irmed opinion itself. booed Richard Farmer ing ar ^ertising/public relations senior play \ r Mo, /AS S* A TmT OoURMAUSA VS. ? j? -?Cr j|r ^ 1 ammuniti S3 By Marc LaFc "The end justifies the mear sn used to justify many occui ;n unsavory, dishonest or just Sen. Daniel Patrick Moyniha :a of taxing certain types ol ly an elite few Americans wil me as part of the Senate healt One type of bullet being tarj j razor-sharp petals and can ti man body. Moynihan has fillets off the streets, but his m< As Americans, we have a fui rce. If something is legal in it Moynihan wants to change ti ammunition they can sell tl :at that no one will buy thei it are trying to provide consu !e profit. Moynihan is.either unwilling nal lobbies of anti-gun contr ing a stand and trying to rej :gal, Moynihan has decided b of taxation. 3un control is a hot topic : ;sed the Brady Bill Wednesda i waiting period on handgun m background checks on hani Die vote on the Brady Bill v I demonstrate the power of ltrol forces are already geari en the Senate debates it and c Ihe House did the right thin^ the purchasing of handguns >ups opposing gun control anc vioynman could learn a lesso :kdoor method of taxation to late debates as a chance to fi traints on the sale of handgun ro deliberately tax a legal ii kes ammunition, is un-Ameri the means. What the United ally address the gun problem Marc LaFoun HE iches responsible better plays e editor: >uld someone please hand t of this letter to Sparky Wood; ^rt Wilkins. Coaches, I be? Jo not be afraid to try offenklmrc thot mloKt rtr*ti?oll?r iifArt riaya uiai atiuan^ wuir se next two weeks. Speaking amecock fans across the land, ire you that you will not be ! but rather applauded for trylything not resembling a draw vhen faced with another third IMS*. nt? vmA "When men and women don't know how to approach each other, they cross the boundary between what it means to be on the job and off the job." Evelyn Baxter Grandmarket Place employee on purchases? )untain is." This Machiavellian sentiment has rrences in our world's history that have plain wrong. . n, D-N.Y., has come up with the novel " handgun ammunition so heavily that 1 be able to afford them. The tax would h care plan. ?eted by Moynihan is the talon, which ttvel sideways through soft tissue in the le right goal, getting super-destructive ithod for doing so is wrong, idamental belief in open and free comthis nation, we can sell it for a profit, this. He wants to tell suppliers of handteir products but with a tax on them so n. This would be unfair to companies mers with a legal product for a reasonor unable to stand up to the congresol groups such as the NRA. Instead of gulate or make certain types of bullets to take the easier and politically safer in Washington right now. The House y, which will impose a mandatory fivepurchases and encourage police to perdgun buyers during the period, /as 238-189. The 189 votes against the the anti-gun control lobbies. Anti-gun ng up to battle against the Brady Bill >ther gun control issues. ?. It decided it wanted legal constraints . Finally, it stood up to the powerful I passed the Brady Bill, n from the House. Instead of using the control ammunition, he could use the ght for legislation that places true legal ammunition. ndustry into oblivion, even one which can and wrong. The end does not justiStates needs is real legislation that can that we are facing. tain is senior writer for The Gamecock. and a mile to go? Here's a hint: Get rid of Taneyhill. The supply of secret potion that worked for a few games last year has obviously been exhausted. At least Blake can avoid a sack once or twice out of every ' 10 times! I am not asking for razzle-dazzle ' flea flickers or even a double > reverse, but I wish with all my 1 might that at least a couple of your ! play calls Saturday are designed to gain more than three yards. ' Gil Youmans 1 Business graduate 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 the 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.