The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 23, 1994, Page 5, Image 5
Wednesday, March 23, 1994
"ISaiiStock
Serving USC Since 1908
J.T. Wagenheim, Editor in Chief Lee Clontz, Viewpoints Editor
Editorial Board
Wendy Hudson, Carson Henderson, Gordon Mantler,
Nancy Salomonsky, Tony Santori
Gambling
As USC study shows, casinos would bring
state needed revenue, tourism
Professors from the College of Business Administration recently conducted
research into the issue of dockside gambling in South Carolina.
The bottom line: Gambling would mean $168 million in tax revenue,
tens of thousands of new jobs and a tourism implosion.
Things aren't getting better. With a Legislature that spends its time arguing
about the state insect, it's no wonder why the economy isn't in shape.
Something needs to be done, and hastily.
There are six proposed sites for dockside gambling, five in coastal regions
and one in Columbia. While the USC researchers warn it wouldn't be a good
idea to consider gambling a cure-all for the woeful economy, we believe it's
a step in the right direction.
The report mentioned a few downsides to gambling, including an increase
in the amount of money spent on crime prevention, gambling addiction
and new roads to accommodate more traffic.
The money for the roads is a one-time cost that will easily be covered by the
revenue generated from the casinos. Gambling addiction is also easy to cover;
those who need help will have to pay for it. New Orleans launched an excellent
plan to cover the crime problem, and it only cost the city $1.7 million.
In these dire economic times, everyone complains, but nothing ever gets
done. There is an excellent opportunity here to take initiative and save our
sad economic fate.
Let's take a look at the bright side:
Of the $168 million, $124 million would go to the state and about $45
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sure to lower property taxes. Localities could pour the money into paries,
schools and programs to better their communities.
More than 18,600 jobs would be created during the initial construction
phases alone. The initial investment would mean $577 million to state construction
companies. We can't argue the positive impact this type of growth
would create.
The casinos would produce almost 10,000 jobs, and employees can expert
an average annual salary of $18,000. Because unemployment is a problem
in South Carolina, who wouldn't welcome the potential for more jobs?
Three million new tourists would flock to South Carolina and bring about
$385 million to local nongambling businesses such as restaurants, hotels
and recreational activities.
Plus, these tourists would cause the state to add 15,000 jobs to its payroll.
To those Southerners who gamble, South Carolina would be more than
a state on the way to Atlantic City or a place for a pitstop to fill up their tanks
and have a Big Mac. They would stay here.
Are you starting to get it now? We have to think about the bottom line.
More than 15 states now have casino gambling and have found it to be a
great success. South Carolina needs to jump on the bandwagon and make
an attempt to better its economy.
S.C. lottery, sales tax cut
solution to money problems
In this era of budget crunches, ^ I
hieher taxes and rebelling taxoavers. I It * >( < (f77T~1 r? ?
plans to relieve the ta* burden on . V
the citizens seem to be coming out
And South Carolina is no exception.
The latest plan, sponsored by
Lexington County Reps. Lenoir
Sturkie and Larry Koon, both Re- ftnrHnn MantW
publicans, proposed to eliminate all VjuiUOIl iVlcll 1 LlCl
property taxes on homes, business- ?
es and personal property including COPY DESK CHIEF
cars and equipment.
To replace die lost revenue, about community to help fund the public
$2.1 billion, the sales tax would be schools. Most of the people comraised
to 8 1/2 cents, the highest plaining now had children at one
such tax in the country. time and depended on other homeThankfully,
this plan was defeat- owners for funding. That's how it
ed, but by just three votes. should stay. It s only fair.
Anti-property tax sentiment, es- The state's tax structure does
pecially that tax's relationship with need to be reformed, but cutting
public school funding, is on the rise property taxes is simply not the anin
many parts of the nation, includ- swer. That's only a tax cut for the
ing South Carolina. The argument wealthy
against the old system is that the Here? mV s?lution 10 the statc s
wealthy suburbs ultimately can af- Problems: Keep property taxes
ford more and better teachers, class- lhe same' ,nsmute a lonety and oth1
es and books er 111511111 g111168' and then eliminate
Many older taxpayers also find it the 5a*es tax ?n groceries. And deunfair
that they must help fund the pending on the numbers, legislators
schools even though they have no could actually try to lower the sales
children. In Illinois, where the issue 1231 ...
is becoming dominant in the gu- Doin8 away with J* sales tax on
i . . _i . fond mnsf he the first steo m anv tax
Dcniaiunai race, only aouui one in ? / -?
four homeowners have school- reform since the current system is
children. quite unfair to the working class.
So to satisfy wealthy, and mostly ^ lowering the overall sales tax
older, taxpayers, many states such would bring out-of-state consumers
as Michigan have hiked up their to s c- businesses. Delaware, one of
sales tax, gasoline tax or sin taxes on the few states with n0 sales tax-is
cigarettes and alcohol All of these VIsited by thousands of people from
are flat taxes, which means the 1??bboring states just to save a lit1
working poor get to foot more of Am?ney" .
the bill. Isn't that typical' a lottery has proven to bring
The public arguments made for a 'n a **ady avenue. Not only will
property tax cut are full of holes. Sout? Cfolinians be buying tickets,
Money from the tax could be put in so Wl11 those from North Carolina,
one pool and then divied up be- an untapped market,
tween the different school districts. . J*1?1 * my solIu,tlon to thls he^y
That would eliminate the inequity deba!ed fSue" However, I m afraid
between schools in wealthy and ?makesu>? much sense to actually
poor areas. enac e
And my answer to griping people - , ,, ,
who have no schoolchildren: It's Gordon
your duty as a member of the local ^otber
Wrj-,. JL&rnr-l* N?ws: V?'1 ,,.Q
nBamtcocR is^r249
Student Media Russell House-USO Columbia, SC 29208 Gr?*n
' Ami. Production Manager
J.T. Wagenheim Nancy Salomonsky Keith Boudreaux Gregory Perez
Editor in Chief Cuolina! Editor _ Asst. News Production Asst.
Lee Clontz ?n- ?ntor' Brian Garland Brian McGuire
Viewpoints Editor P?ns Editor Asst. Carolins! Graduate Asst.
Carson Henderson av' t^?"dre'' Emily Peterson Renee Gibson
Copy Desk Chief ?Edltor Asst. Photo Advertising Manager
Gordon Mantler Jimmy Debutts J. Taylor Rutland
Copy Desk Chief Ptacs Editor Asst. Sports Ant. Advertiriog Manager
Wendy Hudson J)?yle Paul Jon Boscacci Erik Collins
News Editor " s Cartoonist Faculty Advisor
The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the Letters Policy
University of South CsroHns ind is published Monday.
Wednesday and Friday during trie fall and spring semes- The 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
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| Opinions expressed in The Gtunecock are: those of the Utters must be personally delivered by the author to
sSllS'cSoSI?0' University of ^ Glmecock newsroom in RusseU House room 321.
The Board of Student Publications and Communications T** Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letters for
is the publisher of The Gamecock. The Department of style, passible libel or space limitations. Names will not
Student Media to its parent organixaUoo. be withheld under any circumstances.
TDie 6am t
Viewp<
mm' * n<
Jg|l IVI NOT ^
gg?f I CAN QUA
"College students are c
and 70 to 80 pero
of colleg
Baha'i faith t<
Several gunmen burst into the Baha'i Cento
East London, South Africa, Sunday, March
as a prayer service was concluding and deir
that the black and white Baha'is divide then
along different sides of the hall.
They asked the white members to empt
pockets and give them their car keys and th<
the three men in front of the large group,
included many children.
The irony of these murders, is that the I
nave always Deenamuiuraciai religious cor
ty. Baha'is, for the past 40 years of their pr
in South Africa, have espoused the principle
unity and celebrated this unity among the i
racial and ethnic groups represented in the
community in that country.
The killings were also ironic in that the
have consistently advocated nonviolent so
to South Africa's racial conflicts.
The Baha'i Faith, the youngest of the wori
jor independent religions, is the second mos
spread religion in the world after Christian
has adherents in some 220 countries, repre
Sexual harassment
unlawful discrimination
h
To the editor: d
This is in response to Jeff Turbitt's w
column in the March 21 issue of The p
Gamecock, in which he airs his view ir
about sexual harassment. ai
sexual harassment, like racial harassment,
is a type of conduct that
constitutes unlawful workplace discrimination
under federal law. It's not
a crime and carries no criminal sanctions.
t
i In Harris, the Court held that sexual
harassment is that conduct which d
a reasonable person would find hostile
or abusive, based on an examina- T
tion of all the circumstances, including
the frequency and severity of the b
conduct, whether it is physically oi
threatening and whether it unrea- tl
sonably interferes with an employee's a
work performance. h
Turbitt is right both that the Court p
declined to specifically define sexual e:
harassment, and that this failure per- o
petuates uncertainty about what is
reasonable conduct between men and o
women in me workplace. ci
But he's wrong to conclude that w
"natural," "romantic overtures" in the tl
Should ca;
i
cock
Dints
3T A
D0CTED; AMP
r wneKteVeR
lefinitely at risk. One in fc
ent of all assaults involve;
e students, you'll see that
caches docti
sr near
landed J
y their J G
in shot L m |
which ? J
" " '"
laha'is more than 2,000 facial ani
nmuni- The cofnerstorie of Bah
esence one God, that the great reli
of race from the same God with tl
diverse man to carry forward an ei
: Baha'i and that the peace and pr
pends on unity.
Baha'is Years of oppression an
lutions lines in South Africa as we
have culminated in a leve
d's ma- ness that find expression it
>t wide- The most distressing p
ity and lives were taken, but that
senting driven to such desperatioi
orkplace aren't, in any case, sexual
arassment.
His observation that "women will
ave to deal with it" reflects a stanard
that is no more precise and,
orse, is infected with an unsuported
stereotype about the inevitable
lability of men to consider women
> co-workers rather than sexual prey.
Marie Reilly
Assistant professor
School of Law
[arassment beyond
iefinition of flirting
o the editor:
In response to the column written
y Jeff Turbitt in the March 21 issue
f The Gamecock, I find it disturbing
lat anyone with a college education
Duld hold such a biased opinion. Has
e been completely ignorant to the
o/%U1a<m(< / ?f caininl k/imccmant tkit
lUUlUlld U1 d^AUdl IliUA^lliWlU IUAI
dst not only in the workplace, but
n college campuses as well?
And is he totally unaware of the
vert forms of sexual harassment ocjrring
in many other environments,
bich are, in most cases, much more
lan just "flirting," to borrow one of
?ino gambling be
ley for the schools than it's a
Suzanne Johnson
Biology freshman
Cullen Nolan
English/history freshman
>ur will be the victim of a rapi
alcohol. If you look at some c
awareness is valuable to stuc
graduate assistar
? ? rine
of patien
. love is presse
I this one in Sc
viucu uic rat
The first st
1UEST COLUMNIST tion of the pr
unity celebrai
one that aim
principle im{
i ethnic groups. u -such as race,
a'i beliefs is that there is able people t<
igions of the world come ers.
tie purpose of educating Although v
/er-advancing civilization thorny and t<
osperity of mankind de- versed. The E
of genuine lc
d division among racial consummate
11 as in the United States and deliberai
:1 of mistrust and bitter- succeed in bl
1 rage and even violence, left on the fal
oint isn't just that three
human beings could be
i that revenge instead of an*
nMH
his terms?
Actually, with the current lack of education
and awareness about sexual
harassment on college campuses, it
isn't surprising to me that a college
male could write such offensive rubbish
and make that kind of general
statement concerning American society.
Indeed, to my knowledge, the
U.S. legal system does everything but
"cater" to sexually-harassed women.
On the contrary, if Mr. Turbitt read
the newspaper more often, he would
soon learn and realize that this hasn't
been the case in the United States, as
the majority of sexual harassment cases
never even make it to the Supreme
Court. The Anita Hill hearings that Mr.
Turbitt mentions in his column were
a unique exception as they also
touched on a racial issue.
Furthermore, maybe Mr. Turbitt
should attend a corporate seminar or
business meeting to observe how differently
women are treated from men.
How can he guess or even imagine
what happens to these women behind
the scenes?
I know several women who have
been sexually harassed on this campus,
and they are too afraid to tell
anyone and make a "big deal" about
it. And I'm not just talking about ca^
legalized in South <
"If it is the last r
ey, then they she
I .
^Mjjk "I think it shoul
erated from garr
higher educatior
balancing the bu
V
\ Environmental
5_
^ P ?fc$i^xjj255^e
or attempted rape,
)f the behaviors
lents."
Todd Parks
it in the Office of Sexual Assault Programs
about Sexual Assault Awareness Days
ce, humility
d into their hearts. Tragedies such as
>uth Africa reiterate the pressing need
the barriers that have for so long dies.
ep in overcoming racism is recogniinciple
of the oneness of humanity, a
ting the diversity of humanity and not
s at uniformity. Recognition of this
jlies the abandonment of prejudices
color, creed, nation and class that en3
consider themselves superior to othmust
traverse a path at once long,
ortuous, it's a path that must be tralaha'i
writings say that "nothing short
>ve, extreme patience, true humility,
tact, sound initiative, mature wisdom
te, persistent and prayerful effort can
lotting out the stain" that racism has
One of our society.
Marc Rivers is a MIBS student
i is president of the USC Baha'i club.
sual flirting at a "bar or tavern." I'm
talking about harassing phone calls,
sexual passes behind closed doors
and degrading and derogatory sexual
innuendo.
At USC, if a girl feels she is being
sexually harassed, she must take her
case to Department of Student Life,
and it will then go before the Judicial
Board, where she might have to appear
before a group of her peers. It's
too large an embarrassment and an
ordeal to go through, so most college
women just put up with the sexual
harassment and try to forget about it.
After listening to these women, I
simply can't believe that these aggressive
actions by men are merely
"flirtatious" and not sexual harassment.
That comparison isn't at all accurate
and applicable to its incidence.
Before Mr. Turbitt makes such a
claim, he should read some literature
about it or talk to a few people who
have experienced it. Unless he does
so, Mr. Turbitt's ridiculous argument
is obviously unsubstantiated.
Amy Meyer
GINT/French senior
Carolina?
esort for the state to get mon>uld
do it."
Tanisha Young
Journalism sophomore
d be legal. I see revenue genlbling
going to things such as
1, increasing employment and
dget."
Scott Williams
l engineering/pre-med sophomore