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Serving USC Lee Clontz, Editor in Chief CI Edltorla Erin Galloway, Wendy Hudson, S Jimmy DeButts, Ryan Wilson, Ca rut vegeta out to pasi Did you just say you didn't lil buddy. Actually, you can't be arrested veggies...yet. Unfortunately, that might cht ture debates a vegetable libel bill state's crops illegal. That means p and on television would be subject not right in the pumpkin patch. The bill is motivated by farmers to markets for the goods they prod ington state apple crisis of severa the chemical Alar contaminated a plummeted and took about two y? of contamination were never subs It makes sense that farmers w( on comment about their products; kind words will ruin sales and pi advantage. The American right to freely * outweighs the potential threat to try could regulate through libel 1 ucts, we might never find out ab< structed, falsely advertised or pol farmers are often characterized as mean they are free from criticism If insecticides are injuring us, crops aren't edible, the public she responsible for proving claims thi tributed or that a danger exists; to perpetuate unbased rumors an< of selling a few newspapers. To pi tion in choosing products is ridicu] -i-Li? ? i?J: etauiea liuui wiiwicisiii is iuuiuuu Generatio lazy, imnn f BYRON 1/V I JAMES P Columnist Is Generation X lazy or just unmotivated? On the way back r. /"ii- 1 x ] 1 t irum uiim icsiuii, a menu axiu x had this discussion about our age group. Dave argued that most of us were lazy and didn't work hard enough. I argued that, just like any age group, there will be a wide range of personalities: hard drivers, lazy, motivated and cynical. I believe Gen X is given such a bad reputation because we tend to be more adventurous and daring. We bungee jump, streak and pierce anything not tied down. We like rap music, raves and the TV show "The Grind" ? well, that's just me. I don't think you can generalize or label a group by a few outrageous 20-somethings. We like to party and have fun, but we are serious about the causes we support. For instance, we are more environmentally and socially conscious than our moneygrubbing baby boomer predecessors. Some Gen Xers are inventive and seek to rebuild America through programs like City Year and AmeriCorps. Those programs were started by and for the members of our generation. We are also preparing for bright and successful careers. The law schools ol Virginia, Georgetown, uuKe and Emory will be sprinkled with USC Gen Xers who want to sit on the Supreme Court, head the EPA and even occupy the White House. If these people are lazy and unmotivated, I want to see the successful examples. Dave also argued that we watch too much television and don't read enough. I call bull on "XBaiffeod? ? Lee ClonU Jimmy DeButts Editor in Chief Ryan Wilson Chris Muldrow Sports Editors Viewpoints Editor Kim Truett Carson Henderson Photo Editor Radhika Taiwan! Ethan Myerson Copy Desk Chiefs Ryan Sims Erin Galloway Graphics Editors Wendy Hudson Gregory Perez News Editors Design Editor Susan Goodwin Ali Ansaar Allison Williams Jason JefTers Features Editors Cartoonists The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the University of South Carolina and is published Tuesday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters, with the exception of university holidays and exam periods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the editors or author and not those of the University of South Carolina. The Stock ' Since 1908 iris Muldrow, Viewpoints Editor il Board usan Goodwin, Allison Williams, rson Henderson, Radhika Talwani m i i ra i Die noei ture ce broccoli? You're under arrest, for saying bad things about your inge as South Carolina's Legislal that would make criticizing the leople commenting in newspapers ; to fines if they suggested all was 3 who see "veggie libel" as a threat uce. They often point to the Wash1 years ago, when media reported pples. Sales of Washington apples ;ars to recover, though the claims itantiated. >uld want some kind of restriction it appears to them that a few unit them at quite an economic discomment and criticize, however, vegetable profits. If every indusaws what people say about prodDut products that are poorly con anliollw dantrarnnc .Tnaf h^cnnap UUllgVlUUUl W V4WW MVVMMWV the lifeblood of this country doesn't i. if vegetables are contaminated, if >uld know. Of course, the press is it certain crops should not be disno respectable journalist is going 1 villanize farmers for the purpose iinish someone for promoting caulous. To make laws protecting vegnX isn't rtivated that argument. Sixty percent of my peers grew up as latch-key kids, and the television became our babysitters. Many afternoons, - "Supers tation Fun time" was my after-school entertainment. With the advent of MTV and ESPN, there was no need to read Alice Walker or Maya Angelou because there was "Downtown" Julie Brown. But I read Walker and Angelou anyway. It's easier to watch an image than to create one after reading a book. Ifs hard to break a habit that is so ingrained in your environment and culture. The baby boomers like to talk about how politically unconscious the Gen Xers are, but I would rather be unconscious than guided by the racism, sexism and classism that laws and policies have been laced with over the last 40 years. We are a generation that read about Watergate and lived through Iran-Contra and the greed and stupidity of the Reagan years. No wonder we don't care or trust the government ? what has the government done to gain our trust? Gen Xers seek a government that is representative and responsive to all the people of the United States. Our generation is more diverse and racially tolerant than the baby boomers, and we seek to heal the wounds of a racially intolerant past. Gen Xers refuse to be categorized in terms of time tables for success. We don't lock ourselves in being "this" by age 25. We want to live life and enjoy every minute of it ? I sure have. At the end of the debate, Dave thought Gen X was lazy and unmotivated, and I told him to shut up and drive because I wanted to get home to see "The Grind." Byron James is a political strip nrp sspnior. ___ 777A Chris Carroll /S: ///-//ZO Director of Student Media ertising: 777-4249 Laura (: 777-6482 Creative Director Jim Green Art Director TMTa Harper Elizabeth Thomas Tina Morgan Adv. Graduate Asst. Asst. News James Ponce Renee Gibson Asst. Photo Marketing Director Ben Pillow Christopher Wood Stephanie Sonnenfeld Asst. Advertising Asst.Featurcs Manager Larry Williams Erik Co||ins ? Faculty Advisor Keith Boudreaux 3 Circulation Editor Letters Policy The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should be 200-230 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 333. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letters for style, possible libel or space limitations. Names will not be withheld under any circumstances. FALLOUT FAOfi\ 1 1 We R0BB6M... I V ? QUOTEUNQUOTS "The fact that people spoke out a the s Anti-violence i Event excuse tor NOW to bash Republican policy Here at the Mean-Spirited, Smug, Intolerant, Right-Wing Division of The Gamecock editorial page, we spend countless hours searching for stupid people to make fun of in this column. This week, we were aided in our efforts by the good folks at the C-Span cable network (motto: "You don't need a doctor's prescription to get a good night's sleep."). Sunday afternoon, C-Span broadcast live coverage of the "Stop Violence Against Women" rally from the Mall in Washington. You might be asking yourself, "Pat, what on earth is funny about violence against women?" There is NOTHING remotely amusing about violence directed at women. This rally, however, was sponsored by our good friends at the Nutty, Out-of-Touch, National Organization of Women (NOT-NOW), and whenever Patricia Ireland's gang is involved, you know there will be some hilarious hijinks going on. The day's program was designed to protest violence against women in America. According to NOT-NOW, what is the primary cause of violence against women? a. Rapists, murderers, abusive boyfriends and Social Security: In today's society, we are becoming inundated with Newt and the boys' cries for less government. That's all you hear coming out of the mouth of Georgia's finest. One of ol' Newt's targets is something that many politicians have tried to attack before because they use the negative connotations of society to drive their attack. That's right, I'm talking about the welfare system. Before you stop reading this because you agree with Mr. Gingrich, I would like to give you some facts about welfare and also suggest something else that even takes more of our tax dollars every year. If you doubt the figures, check Donald Kettl's book "Deficit Politics" or talk with Professor Shirley Geiger in the political science department. I would suggest doing both because you would be amazed at the facts and appalled by the lies our Republican Congress is telling us. Many past attacks on the welfare system have been focused on the black community's abuse of the system. Well, contrary to this popular belief, the majority of people on welfare are white. Most people also believe that welfare spending takes up a large part of the federal budget. Yeah, it takes up a huge 1 percent of the budget. That's right, just 1 percent, Mr. Gingrich. About 34 million to 35 million people receive the benefits of welfare, and in 1992,14.5 percent of families were below the poverty line. South Carolina would lose over $4 billion if welfare is cut. Trust me, these proposed cuts will affect everyone. Where will Mr. Beasley come up with $4 billion? Anyone? Anyone? That's a four with nine zeros after it. Did you know that the fastest growing group in poverty is the two-parent household? That's families with two people working to support them ? now tell me how many people are affected by that, Mr. Gingrich? TS Tuesday, April 11,1995 " p T~p "][_ Ish /dh.m ( we PAY '.^;*i77gpr gainst bigotry, the fact that people spoke for 1 peakers and participants is really a relief to se BGLA member Christa Tumell "ally exploited PAT MCNEILL other scum masquerading as men. b. The lack of attention paid by law enforcement to domestic violence and abusive relationships. c. The continued positive media attention given to women-beaters such as John Wayne Bobbitt, Jeff Stone Gilooly, the late Kurt "CocaineBrain" Cobain, Axl Rose, O.J. Simpson and Mike Tyson. d. The steady mass-media diet of misogynist rap and music videos, gory Oscar-nominated films, soft-core pornography and trashy television shows where women are treated primarily as sex obi /i4- <-i JCl/tO. e. Newt Gingrich and the Republicans' "Contract with America." Needless to say, if you picked "e," you, too, could have been a guest speaker at the NOTNOW rally Sunday. In fact, I heard at least two news reports explain the rally was designed to stop the "anti-woman agenda of the 'Contract with America.'" The afternoon's final speaker, one Jackson Katz, told the thinning crowd that the problem is "not just batterers and rapists who are in prison or are in treatment programs. It's the men in this building right here. (Points tosacred cow that RYAN WILSON Poverty among children has doubled in the last five years. Where is all this money going, you ask? Well, to give you a hint, in 1986, $200 billion was cut from youth welfare programs and given to Social Security. Whoa, calm down, Bossy, I haven't killed you just yet, but I have found the reason for some of our spending woes, the "Sacred Cow" of politics: the Social Security system. Did you know this entitlement system takes up 45 percent of all domestic spending? You would think this 45 percent would be going to a large part of the population, but it's not. The 45 percent goes to a mere 12 percent of the population of the United States, or, in other words, the elderly. I not saying the elderly do not deserve some kind of stipend after they retire, but the elderly are among the fastest growing segments of the population, and they already take almost half of all domestic spending. Something must change. I have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that there won't be any Social Security for me when I am old enough to collect it. Because the elderly of today are receiving money they have not earned. It takes the average retired married couple <*4- 1 1 imovo 7 mnnfVio fn anon A all \IC til mg at \j%j j xx j v>cxx o, juxvuvijio tv o|/vuu u*< the money it has put into Social Security. This wouldn't be a problem, but on average, today's life expectancy for males is 79, with women living, on average, five years longer at 84. So if you take a rough average, most elderly v i sun MUcJli MT, AlN'rX | # Yoo boys J 5 / V. 0/ > 0 tolerance, the sheer diversity of _ ?> .A women's pain ward the U.S. Capitol.) The Newt Gingrichs, the Dick Armeys (pause for tasteless "Dick" joke), and the Rush Limbaughs of the workL.we as men need to call attention to how ridiculous some of these men are." After hearing this excellent summation of the issue, I have decided to agree with Mr. Katz that the solution to violence against women should begin on Capitol Hill. I am therefore recommending that any members of the Columbia chapter of NOW should purchase a copy of "Senatorial Privilege: The Chappaquiddick Cover-up" by Leo Demore, which details how one evil, rich, white male Senator left a beautiful young female aide to die rather than risk sullying his public image. Knock ^ yourselves out, people. I am sure that many readers have friends or relatives who have been the victims of rape, sexual assault or some form of abusive relationship. These are traumatic experiences that some people never recover from. The women who have to deal with these problems are real people with real emotions. They need love, understanding and support. If NOW had thought things through;' perhaps it would not have exploited the women's! pain for the sake of stopping a balanced-budget amendment. Pat McNeill is a third-year law student. needs reform i. 1 4 get 5.5 years worth of money they haven't earned and won't pay taxes on when they get it. I hope these facts don't escape us when it comes to the '96 elections. It is clear that welfare isn't the big problem it is made out to be. Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, must soon address its "Sacred Cow" 1 r ? ? ?11 l/\/l fV*n oloiirrkfAw utJiure we arc ati icu w tuc oiaugn^i. Ryan Wilson is a political science junior. 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