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"tSaflto Serving USC Since Lee Gontz, Editor in Giief * Susan C Editorial Bo Keith Boudreaux, Lupe Eyde Jimmy DeButts, Kj Fioafli until rl 17V/UU1 TT1U1 U Terminally-ill deserve r nature, circumstances c With the passing of a law legalizin voters have reopened a divisive is the vote, this law is the first of i effect on Dec. 8, Oregon physicians will be of drugs to terminally ill patients, actions under those circumstances. If s easy to take a black-and-white app finality of the decisions to be made and die ing another die are two thoughts that lea longing life is the only answer. For someo ever, prolonging a painful life may not be 1 situations cling to life as much as possible their lives on their terms. Though such cl should be allowed the chance to make the: well as the one to live. As hard as it is to decide to end one's 1 tients with a dignified closure. On-going family members, both financially and em< sible and death in the near future inevita may not be as difficult to make. The law protects family members as i ly ill. People who cany out suicide wishes be prosecuted as murderers. Such an act ii other states do not take into consideratioi grant the desires of the dying without fe scribe the drugs, and the patient will tak The new law does not come without gc haphazardly. The patient must have onh imum of two doctors must agree on the t ual, who in turn, must ask for the drugs in written form. Also, doctors will have to i the request. All these measures are taker the qualifications for the service and the consider before the final step. Hie recent debate has seen a number play any part in the suicide. They don't h they can grant such a wish, the law enab] about legal retaliation. No one likes to think that they may 1 deadly disease and a peaceful death or < that choice. With growing numbers of All patients, the reality is that someday you ly takes the painful debate over such a ch the homes of family and friends where it Giving bloc a little, hel g; DEANNA 61 MCLENDON Columnist 1 I 11 That needle scares me. a These four little words were re a- r] son enough for me to avoid last year's P blood drive like the plague. There wasn't anything anyone could've said I or done to persuade me to set foot in S1 that ballroom. No way was I going to y let some stranger stick me in the arm, ? drain me like Dracula, then shove a b stale cookie in my hand. Uh-uh. Not e a chance. That is, not until someone e else's blood helped give me a second b one. n Until Jan. 16,1994,1 had never h spent the night in a hospital. Then b suddenly, as the result of a freak car 1' i accident on my way back from Christ- f mas break, I found myself in critical i< condition in intensive care at men- ^ land Memorial Hospital. In a fraction v of a second, my pretty red sports car P was shish-kebabbed across the end d of a guardrail on 1-26, and my body lay pinned between the driver's seat ii and the stump where the steering ti wheel used to be. My outside ap- d pearance was relatively good?some ii cuts, bruises and a small scratch across ti my forehead? but my insides were mangled. Due to the incredible forces r my body absorbed on impact with the t guardrail, I sustained extensive in- u ternal injuries, including ten broken bones, two collapsed lungs, a torn liv- ii er and a ruptured spleen. This final b , injury resulted in a tremendous blood o loss. Overall, I received four pints of A- negative blood. The doctors told y me most people only have five in their p whole system. After a 17-day stay at Richland, I was allowed to go home, where I be"iSaffeod? ?j Student Media Russell House-USC* Coin Lee Clontz Allison Williams Editor in Chief Features Editor Susan Goodwin Jimmy DeButts Viewpoints Editor Sports Editor Steven C. Burritt Kim Truett Copy Desk Chief Photo Editor Keith Boudreaux Ethan Myerson News Editor Graphics Editor Lupe Eyde Erin Galloway Features Editor Asst. News The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the University of South Carolina and is published Monday, I Wednesday and Priday during the fill and spring semesters, with the exception of university holidays and exam periods. Opinions ex pre wed in The Gamecock are those of the editors or author and not those of the University of South Carolina. The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the publisher of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media is its parent organization. The Qai xk 1908 roodwin, Viewpoints Editor ard , Steven C. Burritt, im Truett ignity ight to decide f death ig doctor-assisted suicide, Oregon 3sue. Sliding by with 52 percent of ts kind. When its provisions take allowed to prescribe a lethal dose hard to understand without living roach to debating euthanasia. The idea of someone deliberating helpd some to the conclusion that prone who will never get better, howthe solution. While others in those i, there are those who wish to end tioices are difficult, those patients m, given the opportunity to die, as ife, euthanasia provides dying pamedical treatment is a strain on jtionally. If recuperation is imposble, the choice to take an overdose nnnVi oci if Vi/alvia rvnf fVin farmmol. UUUi HO lb UUl^fO UUb U1V Wi iUUXMi of their sick loved ones should not 3 out of love, not malice; something a. With this new law, families can ar of retribution. Doctors will pree them. lidelinee to keep it from being used f six months or less to live. A minenninally-ill status of the individthree times, with the last request wait 15 days before complying with i to ensure the person really meets patient has several chances to reof doctors who insist they will not ave to. For the doctors who believe les them to do so without worrying rave to choose between life with a :hoose to help someone else make DS, cancer and other terminally-ill will. The new law in Oregon mereoice out of the courts and puts it in belongs. J ?u nuris ps alot an a lengthy recuperation. Over this ight-month period of recovery, I had lenty of time to adjust my views on uite a few issues concerning life, eath, pain and healing. In a way, m ashamed that it took something s drastic as a life-threatening expeience to make me realize the imortance of donating blood. At no time before my accident had imagined I would need the extenive transfusions that I required. This ear, I see the blood drive as an ocasion to exercise an incredible privege?an opportunity to provide othrs with the second chance I was givn. It is no longer something I dread, ut something for which I am eterally grateful. This time, I'm not gong to run away; I'm going to voluneer. (Due to certain circumstances, m not allowed to make a donation.) \irthermore, I've realized that there 3 nothing scary about giving blood, lonors are heroes and life- savers rno proviae nospuaia witu ? mu?i recious commodity. The process oesn't hurt you; it heals others. As for those who have given blood i the past or are planning on giving bis week, I thank all of you from the epths of my heart, which is still beatng today as a result of your donaions. As for those like me who for some eason cannot contribute blood, I hope hat you will contribute time. Volinteers are always in short supply. Finally, for those who are still balkng at the idea of giving either your ilood or your time, I have only this ne request to make of you: Please don't let the needle scare ou. Believe me, some things are simily worth the pain. Deanna McLendon is a journalism sophomore. im 770a Chris CmtoII ///-//ZO Director of Student Media ising: 777-4249 Laura Day 77-6482 Creative Director imbia, SC 29208 Jim Green Ait Director Robert Wertz Gregory Perez Asa. News Production Ami. Wendy Hudson Elizabeth Thomas Asa. Copy Desk Adv. Graduate Asst. Tanja Kropf Renee Gibson Asa. Copy Desk Marketing Director Ryan Wilson Christoplier Wood Asst. Sports Ask. Advertising Manner Jason JefTers Erik Collins Cartoonist Faculty Advisor Letters Policy The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should be 200-250 words aod must include full name, professional title or year and major if a student. Letters mutt be personally delivered by the author to The Gamecock newaoom in Russell House room 333. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letters for style, possible libel or space Umitatioos. Names will not be withheld under any circumstances. - QUOTEUNQUOTE "Occasionally people won't want to get anres It's amazing to see your friends Peter Siachos GOP basks in I I'd like to warn our readers at the outset that this column may upset those who wish to put Tuesday's election behind them. Ideological discretion is advised. As promised, Fm going to review the highlights of Election ^ and use all of the cheap shots I have saved through the entire campaign season. But Fm not here to gloat. Not much, anyway. Ding, Dong, The Dick is dead!? Despite an endorsement from The State newspaper (snicker! snicker!), hypocritical 5th Circuit Solicitor Dick Harpootlian lost to Charleston attorney Charles Condon in his bid to become South Carolina's Attorney General. I could repeat all of the obnoxious statements Tricky Dick has made about blacks, Christians and conservatives. I could denounce Harpo as an "ambitious creep," but Will Moredock, the liberal apologist for Free Times, already did it last week. Instead, I will give you an example of what it means to be Tricky Dick: Those of you who saw Tricky Dick's campaign ads saw him denounce Charlie Condon as a defender of drunk drivers, rapists and drug offenders. Harpootlian announced on Wednesday that he will return to his private criminal law practices,where he will be defending ... drunk drivers, rapists and drug offenders! The Bill Clinton Waffle King Award? goes to Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nick "Hey, Buddy" Theodore. You will recall that in '92, Slick Nick was on the campaign platform with Bill Clinton, happily proclaiming that the Democratic ticket was "Clinton, Week full of reve How-dee-do boys and girls, this is your old pal PNut the Woozle and Fm here today to talk to you about wnai 10 ao wnen a sirange man mes 10 gei yuu mm his car. Two words... cash only. Sorry, I seem to have this strange fixation with public service announcements for kids starring some big, dopey safety mascot... those and the infamous "Schoolhouse Rock" series (Lolly, lolly, lolly get your adverbs here!).Though I must say, Fve always had a soft spot in my heart for "Mr. Yuk-mouth." Well, the biggest newsworthy event of this past week was (trumpets and fanfare) Election Day '94. Of course, the entire nation was watching with bated breath that most crucial of all races: South Carolina Comptroller General. I don't know what in the hell a Comptroller General is, but his name is Earle Jr., so God help us lef hope ifs not a position of power. In a political sidenote, Ronald Reagan was recently diagnosed with Alzhiemefs disease. I don't think this came as a surprise to anyone. In cultural news, I hope everyone took timeout last week to see the Department of Theatre, Speech and Dance's production of the opera "Dido and Aeneas" (pronounced Anus). It was a smashing show and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ifs the story of a young kitten and puppy who have to learn to put their differences aside and work together as friends if they hope to survive in the wildern... wait, I'm sorry, thafs "Milo and Otis", never mind. Incidentally, for those of you who loved that movie and thought it was tender and heartwarming... just remember that it was made in Japan where there are no animal-cruelty laws governing the Should doctor-assfc ^ "Yes, that's their choice. If the) because they only have six monti be able to make that choice." W Computer infon P"No, because I think suicide is ITS Monday, November 14, 1994 ted, and they get pretty uptight and angry, but mo and teachers in jail, but it's even better when you , chairman of Kappa Alpha's philanthropy committee on the Je [arpootlian, The* ~mHEri be fm PAT MCNEILL de Columnist po v | * "p' / \ ^ SS/ ^ Q( Gore and Theodore!" ^ However, like the leader of his party, Slick Nick somehow found the courage to change. During his final debate, Theodore was looking for a snappy comeback against David Beasley. The best line he could 1 come up with "You're an opportunist, just like Bill Clin- mi ton!" m To paraphrase the lieutenant governor's speech on Election Night *92: Put a fork in Nick Theodore. He's re| done. W( They're coming to take me away, ha, ha? My Tues- i day night was a long one, as I pinballed among the various victory parties going on in Columbia. In fact, to by the end of the evening, I had more Coke in me than Washington, D.C. mayor Marion "Cracklin'" Barry. As I was on my way over to the Bob Peeler party, ^ I had to stop for the light at Main and Gervais. About ei, 50 yards away, there was a parked jeep decorated in th red, white and blue. Standing alone atop the back of 0n the jeep was a lone figure, gesticulating wildly into the ce air and ranting about a conspiracy. I wasn't sure, but it looked a lot like Republican adjutant general candidate Tom Hendrix! Free advice? Major Hendrix, I know that you must stations on 'Milo i rFI 1s m MATT HORGAN jo pp Columnist yi 1I I film industry. Apparently they had a cage full of Mi- ^ los and a cage full of Otis's (watch how their spots tend ^ to migrate throughout the film) and whenever little Milo slipped off a log into the icy cold waters... "Cut! Get Milo #23 and let's take it from the top. See if we can hot glue this one's paws to the log so he doesn't u* fall off." UKay, 1 apologize tor tnat last remain, it was a tad tasteless, but I swear I'm not making this up. ^ But hey, what am I doing writing about this dreck? ^ I need to "focus on better issues", don't you know. So fv has anyone out there eaten a "Meaty Meatball" pizza yet? Meaty Meatball... it sounds like a bad nickname u] for a fat rapper. Lord knows Fm not criticizing the ad- &1 vertising wizards at Pizza Hut, but it seems they really want us to know there is meat in the pizza. It's almost as if they're insecure about it, because when I ^ hear meatball I automatically think, "Jinkies, there's : meat in that there pizza!" But then they try to rein- 1 force that by sticking the word "meaty" in front of it. r I just don't get it. P1 Ahem... er, well I think Fve focused enough for to- ei day on tough issues. I hope it was enlightening in some ?: form or another. I guess all of you noticed we recently had another nasty outbreak of "information booths" around campus. Those things are like a pesky rash, ited suicide be legal fc ' want their life to end [iSH *w j-^T"S1 "I agree w is left, then they should restriction Nakia Holloway w* nation systems sophomore wrong." "Yes, if th Ue^obs ucated de Pre-pharmacy freshman HL 4e9| t- ^ 5 I I >^ ' s 5 4, st people are pretty good sports about it know it's for a good cause." iil and Bail )dore defeats disappointed in your loss, and I know that it is your eatest desire to once again be a militaiy commanr. Here is my simple, 7-step plan to return you to wer 1) Write a letter to Stan Spears, the new Guard immander, disassociating yourself from the Guard, fact, tell him that you violently dislike the Guard. 2) When someone asks for your political opinions, 1 them whatever they want to hear. 3) Take some time off to travel around the world, iring each stop, protest American military involvejnt in countries like Haiti and Somalia. 4) Divorce your lovely wife and hook up with a feale attorney who specializes in securities and health gulations. 5) Try smoking marijuana. However, since the evil ;ed is known to impair brain activity, try not to inile too much. 6) Switch your political affiliation from Republican Democrat. 7) Run for President. More free advice? My fellow conservatives, I know at many of your liberal friends are upset over the jction results. Don't rub it in. In fact, I recommend at you walk up to your friend, put a comforting arm i that person's shoulder, and say, in your most sinre voice, 1 feel your pain." Then, be sure to duck. Pat McNeill is a third-year law student. His column appears every Monday. indOtis,' pizza ist when you think you're rid of them for good, they are up somewhere else, and 1-800-COLLECT is the ck-itch of the info booths. My God, I can't express to )u people how much I loathe that crusty animated -800-COLLECT commercial that is on tv. nowadays, wanted to stomp the crap out of that life=size "Potenessman" cardboard cutout that was in front of the ussell House ("Stick your pinky where the sun don't line Politenessman! And here, choke on a hanky"). Plus those people are so damn pushy, now I know lat I've written about this before, but they never give 3. "Smiley": Would you like a Calling card sir? 20% f in the first three months if your bill totals over $100! ^ t i ?i ii ur\ ?i ? n i ii >___ e: i aon t can anyone... ever, omney : cui in eyre liny and fun to look at! Cmon, sign the form, please? te: Let go of my leg, you freak. I have a feeling that le same people who staff these booths eventually end p selling Amway or doing "infomercials"... ifs a Godven talent. Anyway folks, time flies when you're being evil, so ice again I must bring this column to a close. Oh, I most forgot, the Gamecock is starting an "Ask Myre" advice column, and you might say that Myrtle and go way back. She helps me out with any personal aumas I might have, so if you have any questions or roblems for Myrtle, send 'em to P.O. Box 85131, draw* A in the Russell House. Well, I've got to go drain ty big toe, so until next time, "If 11 be a cold day in [ell when Hell freezes over." Matt Horgan is a journalism junior. >r dying patients? ith it But there's going to have to be so many ls. It's a good idea, but I don't know how they ment it judiciously." Mike Lepine Computer engineering sophomore ey're terminally ill, they have a right to die i they're .sane and capable of making an edcision Penry Patel Pharmacy junior