Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Quote, Unquote ‘When I got up to my room, all I could see were firetrucks and a huge hole in the ground.’ Qarlyn Aldich, psychology sophomore Monday April 17,2000 Wit (Samecvck Serving the Carolina Community since 1Q08 Editorial Board Kenley Young • Editor in Chief Brad Walters • Managing Editor Brock Vergakis • Viewpoints Editor Peter Johnson • Assistant Viewpoints Editor Too many LIFE recipients losing their scholarships An analysis by The State newspaper found that 41 percent of those who received LIFE scholarships in 1998, including 83 percent of LIFE recipients at technical colleges, lost them because they didn’t maintain a 3.0 GPA. The purpose of the scholarship is to keep South Carolina’s best students in state, but almost half of South Carolina’s best students can’t keep a 3.0 grade point average in college. These numbers make an alarming suggestion about the state of secondary educa tion in South Carolina: High schools aren’t preparing students well enough for the rigors of college academics. One solution to the problem is to change the eligibility require ments for the scholarship, which the state has already done: Start ing this fall, students will be required to have a 1,050 SAT score in order to be eligible for the scholarship, and a “B” will be uniform statewide. However, changes should not stop there. The scholar ship should take into account other criteria that colleges and uni versities take into account when deciding which students to admit - factors such as the number of Advanced Placement classes stu dents take, for example. A student with a 2.9 GPA who received 20 hours of AP credit is probably far more likely to succeed in school than a student who received a 3.0 and took no AP classes. The state Legislature, and the Commission on Higher Educa tion specifically, should take a hard look at standards for receiving the scholarship - particularly if the changes they’ve made for this fall don’t affect the alarming loss rate. Amnesty's ambition should be admired Amnesty International of USC is seeking labor resolutions concerning the manufacturing of University of South Car olina merchandise. The sought regulations, which will involve merchandise sold at bookstores and athletic stores, imply that Amnesty International thinks some USC apparel is produced in overseas sweat shops. Whether this is the case or not, the organization should be ap plauded for taking a step toward the fair treatment of workers worldwide. Amnesty has also collected more than 300 signatures support ing the movement. Members also have been meeting with USC Director of Business Affairs Richard Wertz, who is in charge of li censed Gamecock apparel. They are pushing for the regulations through the Collegiate Li censing Code (CLC), which requires working conditions to be “decent.” This is not quite as strict as the Worker’s Rights Consor tium (WRC) code, which allows for the hiring of third-party in vestigators to search manufacturing facilities. Since the United Students Against Sweatshops organization be gan the movement in 1998, about 230 universities nationwide have adopted the regulations. It has been a while since any organization at USC has stood up for a worthy cause. Others should take a cue from Amnesty Inter national and stand up and stand firm for what they believe in. The Gamecock is the student newspaper ot The University of South Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the fall and spring semesters and nine times during the summer 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 Board of Student Publications and Communications is the publisher of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media is the newspaper's parent organization. The Gamecock is supported in part by student activities fees. Adoress The Gamecock 1400 Greene Street Columbia. SC 29208 Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Student Media Area code 803 Advertising 777-3888 Classified 777-1184 Fax 777-6482 Office 777-3888 Gamecock Area code 803 Editor gcked@sc.edu 777-3914 News gamecocknews@hotmail.com 777-7726 Viewpoints gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com Etc gcketc@sc.edu 777-3913 Encore! gamecockencore@hotmail.com 777-3913 Sports gamecocksports@hotmail.com 777-7182 Online www.gamecock.sc.edu 777-2833 Submission Policy Letters to the editor or guest columns are welcome from all members of the Carolina community. Letters should be 250-300 words. Guest columns should be an opinion piece of about 600-700 words. Both must include name, phone number, profes sional title or year and major, if a student. Handwritten submissions must be personally delivered to Russell House room 333. E-mail submissions must include telephone number for confirmation. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit for libel, style and space. Anonymous letters will not be pub lished. Photos are required for guest columnist and can be provided by the submitter. Call 777-7726 for more information. I HE UAMfcCW* Kenley Young Editor in Chief Brad Walters Managing Editor Brock Vergakis Viewpoints Editor Clayton Kale News Editor Brandon Larrabee Associate News Editor Rebecca Cronican Ann Marie Miani EtCetera Editors David Cloninger Shannon Rooke Sports Editors Kristin Freestate Copy Desk Chief Renee Oligny Copy Editor Kevin Langston Encore Editor Student Media Ellen Parsons Director Susan King Creative Director Kris Black Julie Burnett Todd Hooks Betsy Martin Kathy Van Nostrand Creative Services Kenton Watt Advertising Manager Carolyn Griffin Amy Goulding Travis Lynn Photo Editors Will Gillaspy Online Editor Peter Johnson Assf. Viewpoints Editor Kelly Haggerty Patrick Ratbbun Asst. News Editors MacKenzie Craven Asst. EtCetera Editor Elizabeth Rod Asst. Sports Editor Rob Fleming Asst. Encore Edita Charles Prashaw Shawn Singleton Charlie Wallace Senior Writers Emily Streyer Editorial Contributor Business Manager Sherry Holmes Classified Manager Erik Collins Faculty Adviser Jonathan Dunagin Graduate Assistant Robyn Gombar Gina McKelvey Melissa Millen Brantley Roper Nicole Russell Adv^dising Staf\ College Press Exchange TOILET CDPLA^R CAR FULL-COURSE MEAL Campus Issues The media are not to blame -whenever \A/ there’s a Y y problem, it can almost al ways be, and usu ally is, blamed on the media The on ly problem is, more often than not, this is a com pletely idiotic no tion used by those who are unwill ing to take respon sibility for their own actions and who need a scape guai. The media make a perfect target for those who want to blame their lot in life on something. Somehow, our society has gotten to the point where this is accept able and accountability isn’t necessary any more. It’s always somebody else’s fault— that’s what’s being taught these days. Students and administrators moan and complain anytime they are ever criticized in The Gamecock. They complain because they say it’s the newspaper’s fault that peo ple have a negative perception of them or their organization. People never take the time to think that if they hadn’t done some thing stupid in the first place, they would n’t have been criticized. It’s not our job to give anyone publicity or push anyone’s personal agenda. Most importantly, it’s not our job to hide the truth, but rather to bring it to the forefront of debate. If you have a negative image because you don’t do any thing tangible for students, the best way to fix that is to actually do something instead of complaining that people don’t like you because of what they read m the paper. If you think that nobody came to your event because it wasn’t publicized enough, you should have bought an ad or told us so we could do a story on it. We can’t be everywhere at once, and if nobody both ers to tell us anything, we’ll never write a story on anything. If we don’t run a sto ry, it could be for a million reasons, one of which is that nobody other than you cared about what was going on. Just because you’re interested in what you do doesn’t mean anybody else is. And that, more than anything, would explain why nobody came to your event. Aside from students and organizations foolishly blaming The Gamecock, a deep er problem exists within the frame of blam ing the media. We’re accused of causing murders, rapes, eating disorders and every other form of societal degradation imag inable. I visited a Women’s Studies class on eating disorders a couple of weeks ago, and instead of being taught how one might help a friend in need, they were being taught the causes of these disorders. There’s noth ing wrong with that, because to fix a prob lem you must first identify the cause of it. And apparently, the entire semester be fore I came, they had identified the media as the cause for these illnesses. Three-fourths into the semester, the instructor said: “We really haven’t talked about any causes for eating disorders oth er than the media, so we’re going to look at something different today.” How nice. When it comes to these disorders, the me dia are public enemy No. 1. Apparently, it’s our responsibility to make sure that people feel good about themselves. I don’t think so. It’s the individual’s responsibili ty, not ours, to ensure his or her well-be ing. It’s the individual’s responsibility, not ours, to be accountable for his or her ac tions. But nonetheless, people will always blame us for society’s problems. People still blame rap music for murder even though scientific evidence has proved that not a single person has died from listening to a rap song. But nobody wants to think anything is actually his or her fault any more. It’s always the messenger’s fault. And when it comes right down to it, that’s all we really are — messengers. We don’t force people to do anything; we on ly say what is being done or not done. What people do with this information is com pletely up to them. It’s not my job to en sure they’re responsible with information once they get it, but my job is to dissem inate it. And like it or not, we’re not go ing to stop because it hurts your feelings. Brock Vergakis is the Viewpoints editor. He can be reached at gamecock viewpoints® hotmail.com The Washington Post MLl THAT FUSS ABOUT OM flA6 Jrt SOUTH CAROLINA" 'OOR CEO ISA (SENILIS— HE IAIP Off A THOOSAHP*IO,000*A'YEAR EMPLOYES AMP, WCREASEP HIS SAlARf ANOTHK ID MILLION _ State Issues Flag issue calls for education, activism The Confed erate banner flying above the State House is the most divisive symbol in recent South Carolina his tory and, quite ar guably, American history. As the is sue continues to affect more South Carolinians and come to the atten tion of more non South Carolinians, it will become more inescapable. Columbia is now the center of political activism in America. Tens of thousands of South Carolini J ans and other Americans marched on Mar tin Luther King Jr. Day to demand that MLK Day become a state holiday. South Carolina is the only state in which MLK Day is not a holiday. The marchers, led by National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Kweisi Mlume, also demanded that the Confederate flag be removed from the State House dome and from the House and Senate chambers. And thousands marched from Charleston, led by Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley, to demand the flag’s removal from the dome. Hundreds more gathered on the opposite side of the State House to support the flag and marched around the building proud ly waving Confederate flags. You cannot open a South Carolin; | newspaper without mention of the flag. In South Carolina, the issue is inescapable. Soon, the same will be said of all of Amer ica as the issue affects other Southern states like Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and North Carolina, all of whose state flags have vestiges of the Confeder ate flag within them. What is now a South Carolina issue will become a Southern is sue and then a national issue. We are witnessing history in the mak ing, and the story is just beginning to un fold. The current session will end in June, and if legislation fails to make it to the House floor by that time, then the sue will have the opportunity to fester for six more months before the next ses sion even convenes. The University of South Carolina is in the heart of Columbia. We are truly blessed to be at the center of this issue. We as young Americans have the chance to get involved in changing this state and its future. I will not state my opin ions on the issue, nor will I tell you where I stand. But I will tell you this: I have tak en a stand. And you should too. I encourage everyone in the Carolina Community, especially Carolina students, to get involved and take a stand. America has not seen a level of political activism on any issue at this level since the ‘60s.. I# Is it white vs. black? Heritage vs. hate? Ignorance vs. intelligence? What is it? What is this issue all about? Educate yourself and take a stand. I will start you off with a bit of information.The three flags that fly above the State House dome in descending order are the U.S. flag, the South Carolina flag and the Confederate naval jack. There is no battle flag flying above the dome, yet everyone wants the “battle flag” to be re moved or to stay. Did you know that? Leant more, and take an educated stand. Nathan White is a political sci ence junior.The Viewpoints editor can be reached at gamecock viewpoints® hotmaii.com ___^ Send letters to the editor TO GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM