The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 06, 1996, Page 4, Image 4
_4
Third party
would disruf
U.S. election
I Anotl
TOUCH&ERRY Pr"idenl
eiec^?n ye{
HBaiMMMfifllH upon us.
Hopefully, this year's election
feature Bill Clinton against one C
candidate. A clear choice between
two political viewpoints would be 1
for America. A third party candic
can only damage the process.
This election will be a turning p
in American history. We will have
ability to decide which direction
government and our country she
1UUUVV .
Almost 80 percent of the election
already been decided. It's the othei
percent that will make the differei
This group to which I am referrin
the "center," or "independent" vote. T
will determine the direction of our g
country.
What we do know is Bill Clinton
get at least 40 percent of the vote,
wifl have the vote of liberal special inte
groups and their sympathizers. Tfc
groups include the environmer
extremists, animal rights activists, ]
abortion crowd, civil rights'quotas groi
labor union sympathizers, Hollywc
types and the intellectual elitists.
I can also guarantee you the G
candidate will get at least 40 percer
the vote. He will have strong supi
from religious conservatives, the busii
community and other middle-cl
Americans.
We often hear two types of rheto
coming from the liberal media. Fi
they say for a Republican candidat
win a presidential election, he will h
to move to the center. In other woi
he must drop his conservative culti
and moral views, his drive to refc
welfare and entitlement spending i
his promise to let Americans keep m
of their paycheck. Second, the me
says the "sensible center" is the b
place for any American to be.
Both of these ideas are dead wro
Whoever wins the GOP nominat
should not abandon his conservat
principles. Ranald Reagan didn't in li
or 1984. George Bush didn't in 19
Newt and company didn't during
1994 elections.
In feet, it was the 1992 presiden
election where a weakened George B
lost. He lost because many Ameria
felt he had abandoned the conserval
promises he had made during the 1!
campaign. They saw a president v
signed a huge tax increase in 19901
failed to make any inroads towar
balanced budget. Ross Perot canmuch
of the independent vote.
If you look at poll research, you f
a vast majority of Americans agree v
conservative positions on most issv
Most Americans really do wan
balanced budget, lower and feirer ta:
welfare reform and entitlement refoi
A majority of Americans are dying
a rohim tn frarlifinnal values TVipv w
to reform public education, they wi
to respect the institution of mania
they want stranger family and they w
victims to have more rights th
criminals.
The best way for a Republicar
beat Bill Clinton in 1996 is by stick
to a conservative message. The "cent
consists mostly of conservatives v
either don't like party affiliations or
a kick out of claiming to be
independent thinker.
I, too, am an independent think
I agree 95 percent of the time with
x ' i rrn T
conservative viewpoint, inus, i ai
conservative and a Republican. I w
more of our independent voters wo
come to this realization, too.
Further, I totally disagree with
idea that it's best to be in the "sensi
center." That's hogwash! If s best to \
your convictions. It's best to mak
choice between big government, hig:
taxes, liberal values and less intrus
government, lower taxes and ccnserval
values. There is nothing noble ab<
being wish-washy on ideology. I th:
the bravest thing a person can d<
decide on their ideology in accordaj
with their values and then stand up
their beliefs.
In conclusion, I want to speak to
of you who consider yourselves to
independent I know you probably ag
in principle with most conservative id<
I invite you to join us in the fight to si
America from the liberal welfare stf
We need to make America better.
It doesn't matter if you are black
white, Christian or Jewish, male
female. Conservatives need your stren
and your energy to end the destruct
of liberalism.
Letters to the Edito
welcome! Letters shoul
be 200-250 words lonj
and personally
. delivered to Russell
House room 333.
\
)t
brat
reat ~
will olS^W^
He
rest
lese
ital
proops,
;
xxi" QUOTE, UNQUOTE
;?p "This thing I
xjrt Robert Wilcox, Faculty Chair for the Boar
less
z WUSC-FM con
one
rs^' In case you students at the t
e to University of South Carolina haven't s
^ve heard, or just don't care, our own i
j campus radio station, WUSC-FM 90.5, i
is going through a revolution, and, t
,rr*j depending cm who you talk to, ifs either
md a glorious one or one that borders on ?
? Bolshevism. c
dl* In the changing of the guard that c
has taken place at the WUSC studios c
up on the third floor of the Russell c
House, we have seen a transformation i
30n of monstrous proportions. e
USC Director of Student Media
Chris Carroll recently shut down the i
station and dismissed the executive ?
board citing several violations on the \
. part of former station manager Trey t
^ Lofton and WUSC staff. Last Monday, i
WUSC was back on the air under the 1
guidance of Carroll. t
There are two sides to this story,
3oo u.,4. ? 1 ;
. UUL U1CIC L3 11U WimilUll fclUUiiU ill LIilo i
? issue. While the administration charges v
violations by the radio station of Federal i
. a Communications Commission and i
ie university regulations, the former ?
. , executive board says they were victims i
of unfair dismissal and no
communication was made from the F
[?s' administration about alleged violations t
or problems to the station's staff before a
ies' the shutdown. The former board also i
[TX says no time was given to correct the t
? violations i
The question now isn't necessarily I
who is right and wrong in this situation, a
?e' but instead to determine what exactly v
311 must be done ? very, very carefully, t
an The integrity and independence WUSC
has always been known for hinges on i
\ every critical decision made. a
To set the record straight, tuition- ^
* paying students are the proprietors of t
the radio station. Period. Each student ?
pays activity fees that go towards r
supporting WUSC; therefore, each F
student should have ample opportunity, 1"
J? ' if desired, to participate in what the F
e radio station has to offer. . i
n a The former executive board was a
^ , so because of a noteo-fbreign democratic
process ? they were elected. Not j
, apFX)inted. Not handed off. Elected. v
,,e Thus, the confidence of students who o
participated was placed in the executive s
ote board.
f 3 There's no doubt there were *
.er violations of FCC rules that took place t
at the station during Lofton's tenure; fi
he and the former WUSC Executive a
^ Board will be the first to tell you. (
The thing was that there have d
ALWAYS been a measure of violations f
?or that have taken place at WUSC ? it's
an amateur radio station. To punish a
? the former executive board for the ^
mistakes and decisions of past boards a
and managers is illogical. Instead, *
steps should have been taken to see if ^
as.
ayp
lte. Letters to the Editor
:or Kappa Alpha frat
i or
gth I am a 21-year old African-American F
ion female here at USC. I was highly n
offended by the article on the front t
/* mi n 1 l_ _t_ _
page 01 rne uamecoca, wmcn was u
? printed Friday, Feb. 2,1996. The t
v members of Kappa Alpha fraternity
, were marching around campus wearing
Confederate uniforms claiming to
? "celebrate Southern heritage." I realize
some people look at this issue as one's
right to preserve history. For others
of us this period in history should not
be forgotten, but certainly not celebrated.
w I
las really gotten into a bloo<
d of Student Publications and Communications, sf
troversy sparks
;he dismissed I larry I ^i
itaff was | williams i
vorking to tHRtTVflTftTlTMl wo
mprove on wi
;hose past violations. em
Most of the infractions committed mo
it WUSC included obscenities uttered bo<
>ver the air. What might look serious rec
m the outside isn't so bad when probing fall
leeper into the problem. Most inr
ibscenities occurred late at night, or
n the wee hours of the morning?not tha
sxactly prime-time hours. ha\
Since most have to work their way the
lp at WUSC, new DJs are given a time ab<
dot late at night or early in the morning d0(
V11CI1 I1U UilC 13 ilStCilillg. X11C puuit 13 gft]
hat these mistakes were correctable
nistakes, mistakes that could have j n
?en corrected with the former executive ov(
ward intact. ch{
As far as programming is concerned, ^
f repetition is bad then the old WUSC ^h(
vas good. Despite the FCC flaws, the prc
nanagement at WUSC did have strict e(jj
ules prohibiting repetitiveness, thus n0I
governing and protecting the station's
ntegrity. ser]
One great thing about the we]
>rogramming at WUSC was it was je?
he only station on the dial that had gu^
ind maintained such aforementioned w e
ntegrity. So many bands who are now CQU
videly popular were played at WUSC
n their early, not so popular years,
lands like Nirvana, Jane's Addiction ^
ind, yes, even Hootie and the Blowfish
vere played on WUSC before they
^ n wol
tecame famous.
WUSC's programming fosters the
dea of the traditional college educational ^
letting. If one is truly interested in the
rariety of aspects of music, they don't
urn the dial to 93.5. Why? Because
>3.5 is commercial, and commercial ^e(
neans business, and business means
>romotion, and promotion means Prc
tearing a rotation advertising of a beli
troduct ? a CD, in this case. This ?
neans hearing the SAME music over con
md over.
The huge misconception is that jsn'
ast because a band is popular, WUSC gTC
nil not play them because they sold mu
ut or aren't that cool anymore. Not pja
o* cla*
People fail to realize WUSC is
nostly an avenue for the "little guy," ,
he band who has vet to reach dod
ame, whose hit song isn't played once ?V
in hour over the commercial airwaves.
)nce an artist becomes Top 40, WUSCs au(
luty is over, and the torch is passed stu
ram educational to commercial radio. nuj
In the opposition to the old regime ave
it WUSC, there are some good points. Wb
fes, there were violations committed, sidi
ind yes, they needed to be corrected, tha
lowever, in defense of Trey Lofton, I, a r
ike many, believe he had the station tho
ernity tradition ol
'erhaps these fraternity brothers did tha
ot take the feelings of people who do I fe
tot wish to commemorate this period stu
if history into consideration. Maybe is a
hey failed to remember that this was be
i time in history where African I p
Americans were brought to this country per
igainst their will, used as slaves for wh
he white man and were beaten and pri
rilled. The caption beside the picture pri
itated that "the march was a 50-year
raditian." Because this is 1996,1 think
t is safe to say this is one tradition
PENT
rg% i
^'SIGNE " ^ ^
PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS
Philadelphia
USA
ly war."
)eaking of the WUSC controversy
n mT r/^i 1i lti
a iLvwiuuwii
its best shape in years.
Unlike his predecessors, Lofton
rked long and hard to improve
JSC's reputation on campus. With
phasis on making the programming
re reflective of the USC student
ly, Lofton worked harder in the
ruitment of future DJs. This past
he informed me people turned out
ecord numbers at the initial meeting.
Every student pays activity fees
t support the station, and therefore
re the right to say what goes on at
s station. Many have complained
3ut the programming, saying it
?sn't cater to the average USC
dent.
Historically speaking, isn't change
stituted when there is an
;rwhelming desire to enforce the
inge? If there was a compelling
jrest to change the format at WUSC,
m why wasn't there noticeable
(test? Besides a few letters to the
tor at The Gamecock, there was
le.
T_. _ J 1 * i_l_ _
in a survey aone earner mis
tiester by The Gamecock, students
re asked which type of format they
lired for WUSC. As if it were any
prise, genres of music most desired
re alternative, rock, R&B and
intry.
Now, common sense tells us hell
lid freeze over before WUSC became
country or rock. But consider this:
old there be protest then? Sure there
uld. And reasonably so, by people
dng that all-country or all-rap is
representative of the USC student
lyThe
old format at the station WAS
iresentative of the student body,
iple have misconceived the word
amative," the title under WUSC's
igramming. Contrary to popular
e? this doesn't mean punk or grunge
it's merely an alternative to
nmercial radio.
Commercial radio stations' goal
t diversity. They cater to a particular
tup, and play a specific genre of
isic. 93.5 plays rock, the Big DM
ys rap and R&B and Fox 102 plays
3sic rock.
The staff or programming of WUSC
is not rest ultimately in the hands
;he executive board or with USC
ninistrators. Students have the
hority. There are close to 30,000
dents here, and power comes in
nbers. If you have an opinion, the
snues are there for you to voice it.
richever side you're on, make that
3 heard. Your money is the reason
t station is on the air, and you have
ight to influence what goes over
se airwaves. Be heard.
ffends student
t needs to be broken. Furthermore,
el The Gamecock represents the
dent body as a whole at USC. If this
i true statement, then there should
nothing printed that offends anyone,
ay full tuition here just like the next
;suu fcuiu uu ihm. wiflii i? occ aiiyuuiig
ich is offensive to me or my heritage
nted in it I feel that this is both my
vilege and my right.
ItalwIsliM McQriff
Junior
'S
Wendy Hudson, Ed
Tina Morg
Phric nivnn Martha WrVr*r? 1
Ryan Sims, Stephanie Sonner
1 o
Candidate
tobeupfi
With the recent
snow, chances are youH
find plenty of mud to
sling while candidates
are out on the student
government election traiL
Executive candidates
will be establishing their
platforms this week in
preparation for a debate
scheduled for Feb. 14. (Let
talk about the irony of tl
falling on Valentine's Dj
from the usual "Lets get Bi
down at the Coliseum" rallj
are these candidates real!
offer?
Past presidents have n
retaliation to raising pai
and have also marched an tl
ot the Statehouse in res
attempts to cut higher e
funding. Some voices have b
So who will speak fin* us in i
and what will they have t
A candidate's platform
for them. The issues they
single out can determine
they will really stand up
they feel is right or whethe
sit in office, soaking up th
and writing thank you 1<
students' participation in
bake sale on the Russell He
Important things are h
on this campus, and we, as ti
body, need to wary o
sidesteppers who choose
Atten
Studen
executive
present
in the
Thursd
edit
Gameco
candidat
will run
presiden
can
treasi
It's you:
studer
anc
SOR]
I tBatod
Student Media Russell Hou
Wendy Hudson Robbi<
Editor in Chief Matt
Ryan Wilson sports
Managing Editor ^|[
Tina Morgan Will
Brent Seeliger Special
Viewpoint* Editors Ethan f
Martha Hotop Ortphk
Cece von Kolnitz Karen
Newt Editon q.
Chris Dixon McL
Stephanie copy
Sonne nfeld Ryan
Features Editor Onlint
The Oamecock is the student ncws|
University of South Caroline end is publ
through Friday during the fell and spring i
the exception of university holidays end ea
2>inions expressed in The Oamecock an
itors or author and not those of the
South Carolina.
The Board of Student Publications and G
is the publisher of The Oamecock. The
Student Media is its parent organisation.
TiiiUfcfirfimw A 4 AAA
IMMMjf PPmWJ ?f 19W
"ISaffeock
Serving USC Sine* I90S
litor in Chief Ryan Wilson. Managing Editor,
an. Brent Seeliger, Viewpoints Editors
unocul BOM
iCaren Layne, Robbie Meek, Tyson Pettigrew, Matt Pruitt
ifeld, Cece von Kolnitz, Robert Walton. Allison Williams
PINION I
5 owe it to public
ont with platfonns
about things we really
IHLiHBaflaS^I can't change. It might be
SG election hel?M for 80016 to
platforms we have a contract with
p 1 Marriott Food Services
before they decide to
mmmmmmmmmm gypp^ someone yelling
Listen well. for more food choices.
Perhaps the most
visible power SG has is
's not even the allocation of student activity
tie debate funds. How will your choice candidate
ly.) Aside plan on spending our money? We all
nger King bitch and moan about rising tuition
r cry, what and how we have to spend so much
y going to money on books, classes and housing.
What are they doing with the flatlarched
in rate fee we all have to pay? Who
'king fees supports what and do you support
% grounds their decision?
jponse to Platforms are supposed to be
iducation simple evaluations of the concerns
een heard, of the student body. Some suggested
the future, topics would be campus safety, what
osay? they think about the WUSC situation,
^ys a lot the condition of univeristy facilities
decide to ^ their position on Greek matters.
i whether Fortunately, we don't have to deal
?r w a with the highly-emotional issues of
f a na^on?J presidential debate.
Hters for ^or the rest of the week The
the latest Gamecock will allow the candidates
>use patio to over the Viewpoints page to
appening outline their platforms. Simply put,
he student this is the CM Notes to SG elections,
f issue- No one has a reason not to vote this
to worry year.
tion readers!
t finvernment
s candidates will
their platforms
: Wednesday,
lay and Friday
ions of The
ck. Columns by
es for president
Wednesday, vice
it Thursday and
dictates for
urer will run
Friday.
r campus, your
it activity fees
I your vote
ELAD IT, YOU!
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idled Tuesday wwewmem #
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