University of South Carolina Libraries
Wednesday, May 15, 1996 "IBaiftc Serving USC S Tina Morgan, Ec Keith Boudreaux, V Editorial Chris Dixon, fi Ryan Sims, Cece von K< I O P I N Accountabili benefit state South Carolina has finally taken a step in the right direction as it seeks Higher edl to impro.e higher accounk CUUU1UUU. Last Thursday the General Assembly approved legislation Theaccounti requiring the funding for improv state-supported colleges educat and universities to be tied to thpse institutions' quality and how they perform. ] South Carolina is the first state i in the nation to pass any form of an i accountability bill. That means every other state will be watching to see if i holding state-supported schools i responsible for their quality is feasible. Once the bill becomes law it will j affect the focus, quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the state's publically funded colleges and universities. The key to making this law become truly effective will lie in its implementation. Details of how the goals outlined in the tail will be defined and accomplished have yet to be worked out. Although the bill puts conditions on how each school will get funding, the individual institutions running each school will still be in control of policies and how they will use their resources to meet the demands of accountability. Attention s tudt We need y( letters of editorials and t editors. What gc opinion if no one Our summer dates Jun Tunc Jul: J?iy Augu Thp first fall PC stands Augu *TKllf Tina Morgan John Lyi Editor in Chief Copy Desk Keith Boudreaux Ryan Si Viewpoints Editor Online E< Cece von Kolnitz Robert W News Editor Photo Ed Chris Dixon Jason Ga Features Editor Cartoon Achim Hunt Sue McDi Sports Editor Graduate A; The Gamecock is the student newspaper of The Ur Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday ar the fall and spring semesters and six times during I the exception of university holidays and exa Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those c author and not those of The University of Sot The Board of Student Publications and Comm the publisher of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media is its parent The Gamecock will try to print all letters rec should be 200-250 words and must include professional title or year and major of a stu must be personally delivered by the at The Gamecock newsroom in Russell House The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all le possible libel or space limitations. Names withheld uriti tr any circumstance ntk ince 1908 litor in Chief iewpoints Editor Board ichim Hunt ilnitz, Robert Walton I O N ty bill will ft students jjjjjjl Something else to keep in mind when JCdtion considering the .k.y.fy importance of the accountability bill is the nrm fact that not only were lawmakers involved, but ibility bill educators and business e higher people as well. ion This is very important because the bill includes what type of product employers would like to see come out of the state's colleges and universities. Under accountability, colleges and universities will no longer focus an getting bodies in their classrooms to pay for an ever-growing faculty and administration as well as their pet projects. The focus of higher education will turn to what it should really address... satisfying the customers, meaning the students. Universities were originally founded to focus resources for research, but in today's world they also play a vital role in preparing people for life in a complex world. Accountability will force schools to turn their focus to making sure they are not only premier research institutions but breeding grounds for the leaders, scientists, and business people of the future. summer ;nts! du to send opinion, he like to our 1 ie Kmrinrr on ywu 10 nav ni^ ciix : knows about it? publication ; are: e 3 i 19 V 9 23 st 19 -4V?itc aiuwii lino uiv st 21, 1996. track ons Chris Carroll Chief Director of Student Media ms Marilyn Edwards Taylor iitor Marketing Director alton Laura Day [itor Creative Director imba Jeff A. Breaux list Art Director maid Erik Collins ssistant Faculty Advisor liversity of South id Friday during the summer, witn /JrV m periods. (jfu) >f the editors or ith Carolina. The Gamecock unications is The Universit> ?< ^ Carolina organization. Hews Editor (803)777.7726 Features Editor 777.3913 Viewpoints Editor 777.7181 eived. Letters ; full name. Sports Editor 777.7182 dent. Letters ithor to _. ... . .... ... Classifieds 777.1184 : room 333. :tters for style. Advertising 777.4249 will not be s. 4 Fax 777.6482 >) * 's X. &A QUOTE. UNQUOTE "America is a nation of i Bad cars re? Tn nrrlpr fnr lis as human hpinps to improve our lives and environment we must be responsible for our actions Meeting this responsibility cai come in a variety of ways - from picking up after ourselves to being adult enougl to enjoy our privileges without dirtyinj the world around us. A prime exampl is owning and operating a car. The popular view of driving is it i a right, not a privilege, and, as such is as important as free speech or th right to bear arms. That is wrong. People are permitted to drive car only after they have demonstrated a least a rudimentary knowledge of th rules of the road and are aware of thei mxmnmoiHilitipa Thp rpcnnnsihilitips n ?rv owning a car go beyond what the la\ says. They include providing prope maintenance and care to your ride Part of this care is maintaining th motor and the emissions control system of your car. For the last 30 years, th government has been ordering detroi to build cars with lower emissions t control air pollution. For 30 years th auto industry has complied. The resu] is high priced cars and more pollutio] than ever. Why is this the case? Air pollution from cars is highe than ever for two reasons. First, ther are more cars on the road. Second newer cars with fancy emission contrc systems are being maintained so poorl S 1 HOO I ^wyl5 * I rc?t t?S^ I & r>v! ^ uiversuy: a The University of South Carolir is segregated. Surprised? I sure was. US. Histoi in high school painted a rather ros picture of desegregation and the w? equality was well on its way to beir reached. Equality, maybe bt desegregation, whatever the reason has not happened here. I have spent three years at US and am now preparing to enter tl world with a degree that include courses which hopefully will ha\ prepared me adequately. Many of n friends have trusted the university provide them with knowledge to survr the world outside of the campus. What have we really learned abo life and interaction with others? Th idea of segregation goes beyond tl obvious, more prominent raci segregation and incorporates tl cliquish behavior of students. I was always taught to cheris diversity, whether skin color, financi background or different ideologies, college, I was supposed to meet ne people and learn from their experienc and their friendships. I had to rea] work to find this diversity. I knew v/h3 here, but beyond a few isolat relationships, the university is broki L I [juMUt- 1t M U?_ optimists. America will look do, you can n Attorney General Janet Reno c . -4 r* sponsible tor , that they cause I KEITH , most of the | BOUPREAUX pollution. i What?"-* -" I New cars are responsible for more i pollution? Everyone knows older cars I emit more pollutants. However, there e is no way older cars, by virtue of how few are on the road, can be responsible s for all the pollution. So who is l, responsible? e The answer is the geek in the '86 Buick Sentry that shoots out a large s black, foul smelling, cloud every time t it takes off from a stop. He is responsible e because he hasn't maintained his car ? AnoATvlirtrr tn Anril 1 QQ!% i'cqiu 1 i; 1WVI vuilg W U&lVs Xl/trv 1UUUV if of Car and Driver magazine, 10 percent v of all automobiles are responsible foi r 50 percent of the pollution fron i. hydrocarbon emissions (which leadf e to smog), and five to seven percenl a emit half of the carbon monoxide, e How can that be? The answer is t simple: People drive their cars int< o the ground and then fix them as quickb e and cheaply as possible so they cai It get them back on the road. The ent a result of the quick fix is a few cars an responsible for a huge part of pollution r Older cars are not responsible foi e the pollution because they are usualh I, maintained better than newer cars >1 and even though they were built t< 11 11- 1- A *__X_ i.L. - i.1 y auow more poiiuianis mui uie air uiej W* \r \ [fW-feT?K SWT* i O'/iR1 V&\ jyiovDA^ DuPE. j HZZIS,* j^-fT | ^ | is important j ia intomany I TREVOR groups which SPENCER y isolate >y themselves ly from each other, ig This segregation is self-impose< l t African-Americans stick to each othei s, the Greek community is very tight an generally closes itself off, and religiou C organizations create identities withi le themselves. These are generalization ;s ones that have exceptions, but mor re often than not, they are true, ly It's tense and saddening. I fe< to very fortunate to have had a life < re varying experiences that have mad me a well-rounded person. On the oth( ut hand, I sense that students are n( is getting those experiences. We are i le a rut and we are comfortable. It al comfortable to know your situatioi le It's go to class, lunch with the san people, go out with your own peop sh and go to sleep, wake up and do al again. In STOP. Take time to talk 1 ;w someone new. Learn something aboi es another culture. Ask probing questior ily Find the heart of someone you dor it know. There is more to lean at collej ed than academics! en Professors have more to teach yt !* /J/ / G? ; to you for help. For no matte nake a difference." luring the May 3 commencement address air pollution I do not emit as much as a poorly-maintained, newer car. ' So, what do we do about the small percentage of jerks who don't maintain ! their cars properly? The sad truth is ? not much. Mandatory vehicle ! inspections would be one way, but that r system didn't work because the good 5 'ol boy network in this state made i damn sure anybody who really didn't want to fix their car in order to pass > inspection didn't have to. , So whafs the big deal anyway? Air i pollution is a problem for big cities like i L.A. or New York, not our pristine South Carolina. The problem is that ; South Carolina is booming. As the u state grows, so will its car population. tt i -i i- i r _j ti* unaer me existing system 01 controlling 1 air pollution, breathable air will be 5 rare. t Another option to control polluters is to have police write tickets for air 3 pollution when people drive down the ) road leaving clouds of god-knows-what j choking the drivers behind them. Maybe l we 'could make the fine as high as the 1 one for Uttering. j But wait, that would mean fining people who probably can't afford it. I r agree, it wouldn't be fair to place that / added burden on poor people. Heck, , normally I'm all for social equality. ) But right now, all I want is to be / able to breathe. r 1 PF5" I e - - is academics ~~1 than the course content. Talk to them I as people. Learn their backgrounds. I Learn about life. If we don't know, we can't function. We become ignorant. The real world isn't isolated. We are 1. going to have to deal with all types of r, people: black, white, gay, straight, d Christians, Muslims. I hope you get s the picture. n Respect each other. Trust each 3, other. Learn from each other's life e experiences, because we are in it together. I feel like a hippie, like an il optimistic child of the sixties. They )f made a change and somewhere along le the way lost it. We are segregated, a- Because of this segregation, we are )t losing knowledge and friends and peace n and life. We expect nothing of each 's other outside our groups and, in turn, a. find ourselves wanting. We wish, some le of us, to know our fellow humans, but le are unwilling to risk anything to attain it that knowledge. It is time to stop imagining and to start taking steps ;o toward that end. at Find someone new today and is. become his or her friend. It's not hard, t't Have a glass of tea, have lunch. Feed *e your brains and your heart with the experiences of a fferent cultures and m prepare yourself for OUR world. 3^ r where you go or what you Turn signal could help world peace | TINA 1 Flipping on your MORGAN | car's turn signal M could do a lot for world nfiace. Seeing a blinking red directionaLon a car with a S.C. license plate is as rare as an 80 degree day in mid-July. Even surrounded by confusing construction, where the lines disappear amid orange and white reflective barrels, many drivers still refuse to signal. It appears that most people are looking only ahead and don't care who they cut off when ifs time to turn or make a lane change. Few people realize how their actions affect others. Cutting off someone could lead to a wreck later by upsetting other drivers and diverting their attention. A lot of people hate to drive. Aside from a winding mountain road with no speed limit, some people would prefer to walk for miles to dealing with the erratic driving habits of strangers. How many people have you pushed to denouncing their gas guzzling ways? Actions have consequences. When a butterfly flaps it wings, does it eventually contribute to an air current that sparks a thunderstorm or tornado? Who's to say the leaf you pull off a tree in passing wasn't going to feed a bug carrying a cure for cancer? Are these scenarios farfetched? Who's to say. Everyone has a "me, me, me" complex, with the possible exception of a few saints like Mother Teresa. Even innocent children look to find ways into the cookie jar. This trend has to stop before it gets further out of hand. The low risk of being caught and pumsned contributes to tne trena ana is perhaps the best indication of how people think. Unless the police officer catches a driver in the act, they don't suffer any repercussions. Unless the child gets caught on his make-shift ladder reaching into the cookie jar, he doesn't value the word "no." Unless someone is there to tell about mistakes made, they essentially didn't happen. When parents permit children to leave their chores or homework because they "didn't feel like it," it leaves an imprint that is hard to erase. College students are at the most advantageous point in their life to make i a n ill . J. tnecnange. Away irom parental aemanas and with an unprecedented freedom on their side, they start to make decisions. They have to decide whether to get up for class, skip breakfast or turn in their assignments. Even experienced students get caught making mistakes, such as failing to keep appointments and parking in no parking zones. It takes making mistakes to learn, and no one should be judged by a few bad choices. It's what you do afterwards counts. So, next time you cut someone off in traffic, think about how selfish you may be acting. Not returning phone calls and forgetting about promises made may seem trite examples, but in the end, people remember you for common courtesies, not your GPA or your NASCAR driver impersonation in your daddy's Ferrari. Flipping on your turn signal may not seem like much, but the courtesy done may contribute to world peace, much like the flap of a butterfly's wings can contribute to a whirlwind.