Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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9 ^ailltcock Setting USC Since 190S J.T. Wagenheim. Editor in Chief Lee Clontz. Viewpoints Editor Editorial Board Wendy Hudson, Carson Henderson, Gordon Mantler. Melissa Tennen, Tony Santori King Legacy of civil rights leader not fully recognized at USC Today is the observed birthday of one of history's most celebrated leaders, Martin Luther King Jr. In his honor, federal offices and schools across the country are closing down. If you want to mail a letter, cash a check or attend a public school, chances are you'll have to wait until Tuesday. With one notable excepk tion. USC begins classes today, forcing students who want to honor King to either miss class or miss the opportunity to celebrate. Most public universities across the country are simply halting classes for the day, a small price to pay to honor a man who pioneered the civil rights movement and changed the face of American culture. USC's policy flagrantly ignores the concerns of students, white and black alike, who wish to take the day to observe King's legacy. We hope this will be the year that the state and USC will re-examine some of their policies toward minorities. The most pressing race-related issue of the past year was the Confederate flag flying atop the Capitol. We want this issue to be resolved in 1994, although the possibility of a compromise seems unlikely because of the passion of the arguments on each side, r Regardless, there is simply no compelling reason that USC should be exempt from King's holiday. By not observing the holiday, USC both tarnishes its image and potentially makes the campus a less-appealing prospect to black students. Aft Ckf nil T TC IaaL 1 il/n ? ? W ^ ? ail, wnai UUC5 uv)V- iv/y/iy tuvt Wlicu ^UllUUiiunig mihaj^ cllC utKing a day off to celebrate King while we remain in session? In short, it perpetuates every stereotype about Southerners as backward racists when the state's central university ignores a federal holiday in honor of a black individual. Whether King's race is the issue, does anyone doubt this is how it appears? Some might argue that students just want another day off. While that is a possibility for some, the moral benefits of King's legacy are certainly ) worth celebrating. As an advocate ol non-violent protest, King stands as perhaps the greatest black leader of all time. He is responsible for a great majority of the progress made during the civil rights movement, and his assassination was a tremendous loss to society. The highest honor society grants to a leader is a holiday in his name. Few would argue that King is unworthy of the honor, and in most states, the holiday is given the respect it deserves. Why does USC choose to ignore it? We can only hppe that, in addition | to formal celebrations, the university will give Martin Luther King Jr. Day the respect it deserves in the future. HERBLOCK'S CARTOON "STUPID IDIOT?TRIEPTZ? TELL ME ( television CAM cMXVmjce" 1 *t5aifficock SiH"7-4249 c?^SL ^L^CH I E V-iV FAX. 777-6482 Production Manager Student Media Russell House-USO Columbia, SC 29208 Jim Gm:n Asa. Production Manager J.T. Wagenheim Tony Santori Darby Lackey Gregory Perez Editor in Chief Sports Editor Asst. News Production Asst. Lee Ciontz David Mandrell Nancy Salomonsky Brian McGuire Viewpoints Editor Photo Editor Asst. Features Graduate Asst. Carson Henderson Chris Muldrow Matt Haiiley Renee Gibson Copy Desk Chief Graphics Editor Asst. Features Advertising Manager Gordon Manlier Nora Doyle Jimmy Debutts J. Taylor Rutland Copy Desk Chief Asst. News Asst. Sports Asa. Advertising Manager Melissa Tennen Wendy Hudson Paul Jon Boscacci Erik Collins Features Editor Asst. News Cartoonist Faculty Advisor The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the Letters Policy University of South Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the fall and spring semes- Gamecock will try to print all letters received, ters, with the exception of university holidays and exam Letters should be 200-250 words and must include full Periods. name, professional title or year and major if a student. , Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the Letters must be personally delivered by the author to South'caroBna'10' n?' ,'lose University of The Gamecock newsroom in Russell House room 321. The Board of Student Publications and Communications Ttle Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letters for is the publisher of The Gamecock. The Department of style, possible libel or space limitations. Names will not Stvukrnl Media is its parent organization. be withheld under any circumstances. Viewpoii Woufl UNIVERSITY foL foR THE UPCOMM& Bv^SCPoUCE i " SIu^A^TS : ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Whitewater d As the new year begins, President Clinton finds himself enmeshed in another controversy. mis ume, it involves an investment in tne Whitewater Development Corp. that the Clinton family made while Bill was governor of Arkansas. The president maintains he has done nothing wrong, but the Washington press is still not convinced. While it's important to make sure our political leaders aren't using their power to seek financial gain, reporters continually cross the boundaries of personal privacy to pursue a good story. It's reached the point where an elected official can't even cheat on his wife a few dozen times without the press making a big deal out of it. I have closely followed die circumstances surrounding the "Whitewatergate" story, and I believe there are reasonable explanations for the Clintons' conduct. The story begins in 1978, when the Clintons tedmed up with their friend James McDougal to start the Whitewater Corp. A few years later, McDougal bought a savings and loan called Madison Guaranty. The Justice Department is investigating whether McDougal stole money , from the S&L to use in the Whitewater project. Even though Hillary Clinton was the attorney for Madison, certainly the Clintons had no knowledge of the dishonestv of their business partner. Bobbitt inappro The women's rights movement's most beloved and famous weedwacker, Lorena Bobbin, took the stand this past week in Manassas, Va., and told tales of rape, physical abuse and mental torment by her dictator husband, John. She recalled for jurors many different accounts of such abuse as she lost the battle . against the tears that would inevitably fall from her pale face. Prosecuting attorneys appeared to be heartless villains ? descendants of Hitler's S.S. ? as they pressed poor Lorena into revealing the morbid details of a marriage gone awry. The jury should have no trouble finding Lorena not guilty by reason of insanity. Anyone should be able to sympathize with the trauma and anguish she suffered during her shaky mar* riage, and Lorena should serve little or no time for snipping Johnny junior. No one should have ? to go through what she did. What shouldn't be sympathized with is opinions from the feminist movement, such as "Yeh, she showed him. Go Lorena, Go Lorena" or "The sonofabitch deserved it, he raped her." To make Lorena the latest "I think people see Dr. K in m How do you fee 0"I think we should have 2 should have the day off bee importance." Museui H"I think we need to recogni unfortunate that we are not al and it offends me." nts ict force piugea/tlh ffci semester... cEA/reftJF^ J rowns Clinton Patrick McNeill '"r { COLUMNIST A c* ?. n /^i: _. ? i% - ~ ? * amici vjuv. ran lor re-eiecuon in 1984, there was a large campaign debt to be retired. McDougal arranged for a fund-raiser to pay off the money. Reporters are suspicious because the debt was paid off in its entirety by certified checks drawn from Madison Guaranty, but I believe this is just a coincidence. It also comes as no surprise to me that some of the depositors involved don't remember writing five-figure checks to the Clinton campaign. I certainly can't recall every check I've written in the past decade. While diverting federally insured money from an S&L is a federal crime, there is no reason to assume any misconduct. Eventually, the thrift began to get in trouble with federal regulators because of its questionable lending practices. Hillary Clinton's law firm was hired by the FDIC to sue Madison on behalf of the taxpayers. The fact that the linn told federal regulators it had no ties to Madison , ipriate role mode SJ.T. Wagenhiem [ EDITOR'S NOTE ?mm " t spokesmodel for movement cle femme would he a large mistake after her show on the witness stand. Lorena Bobbin appeared to be a weak and 1 vulnerable character. These are two traits one 1 may be blackballed for in any NOW chapter. I 1 believe she also had the opportunity to get help 1 and get the hell out of that cruddy marriage 1 beforehand. The police visited the Bobbin home on sever- \ al occasions to investigate domestic violence I calls. All Lorena had to say was, "Please help $ me officer. I can't take living with this violent bastard anymore, and if you don't do something soon, I'll lose it and chop his penis off or something crazy like that." ing as for blacks only, but he V/ / ' tergroup and global relations. 1 about attending classes i holiday. Everyone "'l's a*r' ause it is ol" national M Ife me." Marianne Reeves Ri in management graduate ze the holiday. It is "1 diink lowed to celebrate it, i want to < they shot Journalism sophomore I I ^cT) m^m.% A w = . 7 AWAW&G?S }f fJ5\ \ ?* * 5 \R2 il PorfoT PICT U? ^ pLf 0? piwT ^a/O?V fHElR. iRAWWG IPC. WAS so ||te^^Rleu6H. 's credibility; Guaranty was just an unfortunate mistake, and it isn't true that Miliary Clinton and law partner Webster Hubbell lied to the FDIC to preserve ' their $400,000 fee. Hubbell's subsequent appointment to a lop Justice Department post is an interesting coincidence. but it isn't anything out of the ordinary. Still, the Justice Department wants io investigate the whole mess because there arc some loose ends to be lied up. Some of McDougal's records from Madison Guaranty are missing. . Also lost in the shuffle are the partnership .. records of Whitewater. McDougal claims he , sent them to Miliary Clinton. The Clintons claim they never received them. This is certainly an unfortunate accident, as these records would be of immense help to the Justice Department investigation. But the president is helping the cause by turning over his personal files on the matter, which had been misplaced for five months a(tcr being mistakenly removed from Vincent Pbfcter's sealed office just alter his suicide. Now that a special prosecutor has been appointed to study the matter. I certainly hope the media will give the president the benefit of the doubt on Whitewater. After all, hasn't Bill Clinton earned our trust by now? Patrick McNeill is a columnist for The Gamecock 1 for feminists By crying and appearing weak on the stand uid not getting out of the relationship earlier, ^orena Bobbin has promoted everything the "eminist movement has tried to void from our lociety. The stereotypes that women are weaker han men, dependent on them for their very ixistence. Women don't have to be victims of domestic dole nee. How many times have we seen Oprah nterview distressed housewives who have been >eaten till they bled? They continue to live with heir husbands alter the abuse, though. By the ime they are qualified for a talk show, they ...L 'I - ?l- * - - ? * mvc uttu uluicii ciiiiu wiuic meir nusoanu iwaits the death penalty. The abuse can stop nuch sooner. Watching the Lorena Bobbin trial on CNN vas much like watching an Oprah episode. And thought the same thing 1 always think when 1 ,ee cases like this: Gel out sooner! ./.Wagenheim is editor in chief of The Gamecock. His column appears every other Monday. was really looking into r/ ?Lawrence Dark, executive assistant to the president for Equal Opportunity Programs on MLK Day? ight, I guess. It doesn't really matter to Robert Long Engineering freshman it's up to the person whether or not they :elebrate. If they don't want to celebrate it, ildn't have to." TYacie Sabb Business administration freshman