Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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1 2 I Z ' I tSaitEcocR ^erving VSC Since 1908 Wendy Hudson, Editor in Chief Matt Pruitt, Viewpoints Editor Editorial Board Lucy Arnold, Jamie Clark, Gregory Perez, Stephanie Sonnenfeld, Allison Williams, Larry Williams, Ryan Wilson, Chris Winston University needs new financial priorities Are you aware that the University of South Carolina owns one of the finest centers for disease research in the nation? Are you aware that the University of South Carolina is planning to close this center down within the next year? This institution, located in the low country and affectionately referred to as "The Wedge," is the home to extensive research in public health fields. Much of the research focuses on curing and controlling diseases such as malaria. The Wedge is the only facility of its kind that provides extensive training for students. It also acts as host to various conferences and lectures. Unfortunately, the numbers of these conferences, which are a major source of revenue, are down lately. Hence, The Wedge no longer pays fnr itcolf cn if ia Koincr rlrGnruvl The rationale behind our university's spending practices is elusive. One could look and look and not notice a consistency. For instance, the administration claims to be taking steps to make us a highly respectable and competitive university by the year 2001. Will strictly structural changes accomplish this? The only projects that seem to receive adequate funding are new buildings. Granted, the campus needs to be attractive to draw new students, and new buildings often accompany new programs. However, wouldn't it be more beneficial for the status of our university to fund those academic programs that excel? Why build a practice facility and Greek housing and then cut strong academic programs? Where are our priorities? Beasley's lies reveal truth about leaders In September, as you all proba- ^ bly already know, Governor David LARRY WILLIAMS Beasley gave a speech at Rock Hill's Columnist Northwestern High School. And, as you all likely know as his public mendaciousness reflected well, the governor included some in- on his public integrity, credible claims that, by today's stan- Lying is an insult to the recipidards (or yesterday's, for that mat- ent-s intelligence; therefore, after ter), just don t happen too often. Beasley insulted Northwestern High Among the fibs told by Beasley, School's intelligence, he didn't think these are some of the more comical: that it should ^ a reflection of his Beasley said he ran a 9.5 second integrity. Hmm. For starters, let's 100-yard dash - close to world record look up ^ word integrity in the dietime in the mid-1970's - and a 4.3 ti "in.teg.ri.ty - honesty, sinsecond 4(Vyaris^^ cerity, etc." <Nuff said. Now, the 9.5 hundred yard dash Qr consider the words of local -asbadenough but a 4.3 - 40? author^colunmistMichaelGraRaghib (Rocket) Ismail, a wide re- ^ who authors a weekl 0lAwm ceiver from Notre Game, ran a4JJ ^ Columbia's "Free Times." Perhaps 40-yard dash in his pnmei with the ^ words from the October 25th ediInsh. Now it^a htde ^-fetdied ^ matter ^ tive to me that a HIGH SCHOOL play- , . r er in the SEVENTIES would regis- Stj i . ? . , . f, He says lying about past accomter a time comparable to the fastest ,. , . ? , 1 <T , n 4.u i x lij plishments is similar to saying I player m college m the late eighties. , j . , -c ? j Beasley also told students that would be Ve^ upset .f you allowed he batted .500 to .600 coming out of the fed ttet I am pregnant toreflect high school and played in the Col- negatively on my vuguuty. The oblege Worid Series. It needs to be nob ?uest10^ S"hfte!se would't ed that Beaslev lettered in three !?flect ufT record? sports at Lamar High School and lat- Y ?^" crean report r er made the Clemson baseball team ? could ask the governor one as a walk-on. When the Tigers went question, I would question the fact to the World Series, Beasley said he ^ Pjace- What hi pinch-ran in the fined game. A for- bed was thinking? Does he, mer teammate said he played, but ^or a nbnute, believe that a group of there is no mention of his name in bigh schoolers is dumb enough to beNCAA box scores. beve his outrageous claims? About that batting average, Now> don't get me wrong - South Beasley told the Charlotte Observ- Carolina's educational system, ranked er that he was not referring to his right UP there with Mississippi's, high school career, but he batted doesn't have much to write home "around .500" in American Legion about, but this is way beyond dumb baseball. and dumber. If anyone was dumb, Despite these "slightly" exagger- we all know who it was this time, a ted claims, perhaps Beastey^ re- If this was just a one-time episode, sponse to them is the most appalling, it would be a different story, but all "I admit to some exaggerations, to many times our leaders insult but that's it," he said. "And I take it America's intelligence by blowing off very seriously if anyone were to sug- or pinning on others a foible that is gest that these off-the-cuff remarks no one's responsibility but their own. in any way reflected negatively on Bill Clinton, when admitting to my personal integrity or character." his own fault of raising taxes too SnnwW if <u*>m.q inst minute- much, resorts to his age-old habit of ly appalling that a man of high po- blaming Republicans in Congress for litical esteem (or any man, for that the mistake..It's not a Republicanmatter) would, when acknowledging Democrat thing, ifs an integrity thing, an untruth or two (or five), take the Something that our leaders, home defensive and threaten to take very and abroad, need to think about obseriously anyone who contended that taining. Rhifl^rrirb News: 777-7726 Ry*n Sims vDtJl IILLULK Advertising: 777-4249 online Editor FAX: 777-6482 Suzanne Student Media Russell House-USO Columbia, SC 29208 McDonald Graduate Assistant Wendy Hudson Lucy Arnold Martha Hotop Chris Carroll Editor in Chief Stephanie Cece von Kolnitz Director of Student Media Matt Pruitt Sonnenfeld Asst. News Laura Day t/Uur^infc PHirnr Feature* Editor* Dan Dillnw <ivn|wu.M * ,1,v" v^reauvc l/iici;iuiChris Winston Jamie Clark Chris Dixon JeffA. Breaux Copy Desk Chief Photo Editor Asst Features Art Director Allison Williams Robert Walton Jason JefTers Marilyn Edwards News Editor Asst. Photo Editor Cartoonist Taylor Larry Williams Robbie Meek Keith Boudreaux Marketing Director Ryan Wilson A^- Sports Circulation Manager Erik Collins Sports Editors Ethan MyerSOn Gregory Perez Faculty Advisor Graphics Editor Design Editor The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the University of _ . . ' 'hifl Policy South Carolina and is published Tuesday through Friday dur- ^ CLamecock WI" 10 P < ? ' 1="=" ing the fall and spring semesters, with the exception of univer- should * 200-250 words and must include full name, professity holidays and exam periods. sional title or year and major if a student. Letters must be perOpinions expressed in The Gamecock arc those of the editors so^'y delivered by the author to The Gamecock newsroom or author and not those of the University of South Carolina. in Russell House room 333. The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letters for style, publisher of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media possible libel or space limitations. Names will not be withheld is its parent organization. under any circumstances. vmwp f s>0... \ I . r* . x | r nfc QUOTE, UNQUOTE "Advisement is not somethin Mary Ann Byrnes Hazing rai Perceived obedient behavior due to a structured authoritative leadership is an interesting topic for debate. The act of obeying (obedience) has been a known, practical, and proven methodology for the controlling and brainwashing of people. In fact, Stanley Milgram, a noted and published social scientist states that, "obedience is of particular relevance to our time. Obedient behavior could be explained by normative actions which take place within a specified organization, for example, the armed forces, our legal system, or fraternity hazing. Milgram further explains, "Some system of authority is a requirement of all com*vm?nl liirinrr fV\W\nrfV> AT* QllK. iiiuiiai uvmg...uuvugii uvuuiivv va uiaw mission, to the commands of others." (Obedience, p.l). So then what is "hazing?" There are many perceived definitions of hazing, mostly socialized from the system or organization in power. But instructing others to perform a certain task against their will and causing them undue degradation is in fact hazing. This definition should be extremely clear in diction, but rather vague in how one interprets. If obedience to authority is such a societal standard that continually persists, as with the Nazi extermination of European Jews, Stanley Milgram's controversial shock experiments, and Zimbardo's simulated prison experiment, than why isn't there more punishable emphasis put on prosecuting college fraternity hazing? Moreover, when using Milgram's theory as a defining mechanism of language, why shouldn't more socialized and normative acts of disobedient and deviant LETTERS TO THE EDITC Coverage of I am writing in response to the article "Proposal for Greek Village," and the editorial that appeared in the Oct. 31 issue of The Gamecock. I believe that both of these articles presented the issue of the Greek housing in a negative way. As president of Sorority Council, it is my responsibility to respond to this article and editorial. The editorial made it appear as if the opportunity of building individual free standing Greek houses is only aimed at certain groups. This is incorrect. Every Greek organization is provided with the same opportunity to build a house, including the eight historically black fraternities and sororities. It is up to each individual chapter of ? i j.' / A. nn rrtL - our .54 organizations t,noi oo as me Gamecock mentioned) to take their own initiative to lead to the steps it takes to build a house. It is true that some groups are receiving more support from their national headquarters, but in the end it is up to the local chapter to raise the funds to build a house. Having one out of the eight National Pan-Hellenic Council groups (the national governing body of the historical OINTJ _ut-; WHfiT HPPPfNiX / sets his j I <APOW? J I ~r 1 g done to a student, it's a part have responsibilit , assistant dean in the College of ses questic KEN TRAUM Columnist behaviors be constituted as illegal, thus prosecutable? Deciding whether or not hazing is morally good or morally bad is difficult and should only depend on individual impressions. Unfortunately, individuals make up communal living establishments, therefore negating all individual bias and sincerity. For example, if one fraternity member in an organization of 20 men believes that hazing is a violation of his personal morals, then he only has two decisions. The first is to modify his belief and the other is to dissociate himself from the group entirely and no longer be a member of that fraternity. However, if all 20 fraternity members swallow, accept, and institutionalize the concept of hazing, then there is no observable and voiced conflict. Conflict can arise when a group similar in size and location feels pressure to conform. The conflict is even more intensified when the boundaries of defining hazing have not been standardized. For those of you who respond to hazing negatively and with a closed mind, I propose that a majority of you have never been subject to positive hazing techniques. Similarly, as subjects of obedience to authority, you cannot clearly recognize hazing when it is in fact hazing; therefore, you cannot clearly and notably understand its positive characteristics. Just ask Citadel students about their "knob" experience and then again W Greek housi ly black fraternities and sororities) express interest in building a house is more than many campuses have nationwide. The university has looked at options to help furnish housing to all groups regardless of chapter size. NPHC groups' membership numbers fluctuate so much due to the fact they can take new members at any time, as opposed to NPC and NIC groups that take a larger amount of members at a specific time of the year, having a house that sleeps 40 people might be very detrimental to their chapter, but may be appropriate for larger chapters. As for the statement, "Perhaps a similar practice of dividing up the Greek money could be implemented," the money a chapter has been collecting for funding for a house comes from their individual alumni. Some groups haye been r?r?11<v*finor fl-iis mnnpv fnr vpars and nth ers just recently started in the hopes that Greek housing will become a reality. When you say that we should divide up the money, it just like saying when USC alumni donate money for scholarships, we should give other schools some T ~~^7F\ I I THfM H? \ I Does for. \ * PRBIPFNT J | 5 icipatory system. We think that bo ies in this area." Liberal Arts, on the academic adviserr >ns about ol when they are upperclassmen. dei If performed with compassion, em- be, pathy, trust, and the knowledge of personal and interpersonal behavior, haz- of i ing can be beneficial to the subject. The wa individual(s) receiving the hazing can, tin in ideal situations, break old habits, find coi new inner and creative strengths, and thi develop decisive self-esteem. tht When presented in this way, hazing Wj takes alternative meanings, such as for teaching, as within the educational sys- tio tem, parental guidance, or peer pres- on] sure influences. Should educational sys- ed] terns, such as this university, be on tri- flu al for hazing violations? Many times I have felt humiliated sh< in performing difficult tasks while in- in| side a college classroom. Is this hazing? all And who is to blame, the professor, the do students, the university, or myself? mi Homeless people often harass and mi order me to give them spare change. Is ch this hazing? What if I comply? Is this pr obedience to authority? Yes, because I sto am manipulated by the guilt of individ- en ual power that the homeless has over ov me. jui The authority established by the homeless is condescending, where I suf- en fer obligation for the poor. Thus, my cul- as pability allows for submission to the com- th mand of another. lei When people are quick to judge what usi is and what is not hazing, they are not col conceding to all of the facts involved, en Without actually experiencing the act, ab people are left to envision through stereo- die types created by peers, media, educa- fai tion, etc. what hazing actually is. or Since hazing is not a tangible and pk definite word, people cannot clearly un- no ng issue too r of this money for their scholarship funds, to The proposal for Greek Housing has Hi been in the works for several years. I (w find it interesting that the committee thi which met on Monday just found an in- toi terest in this issue. The article failed to ve mention the committee was about to put th their decision to a vote without having tr extensive facts on the issue of Greek tei housing. ha I also find it interesting that the com- ho mittee would act in such haste to make sa a decision, but I also find it scary that ti? decisions can be made like this on our ta campus. Greek housing can be beneficial to our USC community. It helps beautify our campus, as well as serving as a recruiting tool for incoming freshmen. I support the opportunity for Greek housing. Maria Stathakls Sorority Council President Psychology/Art History senior Additional Halloween info I am writing this letter in response [_ , - v * *?" # V It / V _ ;> ; ^ th advisors and students lent process jt sedience stand what hazing could or could not unlike concrete objects. For example, if I am shown a picture a "hazing incident", or even better, tched a video that was believed by i majority to be a hazing incident, ild I genuinely and honestly state that s was hazing without succumbing to i majority? Whereas if a picture of the ishington Monument was delivered my viewing, I could wisely and r^ nally state that this object exists, but ly because of prior and factual knowlge. I would not be under majority inence. In short, the educational system auld be punished and convicted ofhazr. Often students are forced to stay up night, perform tasks to which they not want to do, such as attending dterms, writing papers, and are huiliated by faculty members if they oose to disagree. But the system of osecution doesn't seem to favor the idents rights. Students suffer obedice by authority and have no control er their circumstances. The system of jtice prevails. Fraternity hazing has been so ir jdibly sensationalized by such moves "Animal House" and other stereotypes All A 1 - ? A. A. * 1 1 at tne actual intention nas ueen si* aced. Proper and positive hazing is ed by the army, our parents, and by leges. Hazing extracts self-empow aent and lets us believe in attain-ility. People should realize that obe^ ;nce and hazing will continue to exist beyond our hfe span. And whether not it is morally right or wrong, peoi who are not directly involved should t make ignorant judgements. legative the article concerning the origin L dloween. The holiday, called Samhain hich is Gaelic for "summer's end") was e Celtic New Year, also called Ances Night. The Druids believed that the II VkAftiTfion +Vna waria fVio novf mas U UCVVYCUi W HO T?V*XV? MAAV* VXXV AXVAW IT MW e thinnest on this night, and did not j to do "combat with spirits," but atmpted to contact their ancestors who id passed over to the next world. The iliday was not evil, and certainly not tanic, since Druids preceded Chrisinity and the Christian concept of San. Shannon Davis Anthropology Freshman write now Reader responses are welcome. Letters should be between 200 and 250 words and should be delivered personally to The Gamecock, Room 333 of the Russell House A