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__Viewpoints_ Letters Rewarding special talents is fair As an Honors freshman, I was outrage* by the ridiculous opinions stated in thi Wednesday editorial “It doesn’t pay to b average.” You claim that we must draw thi line somewhere for privileges foAonor students, and even I would agree witl this. However, you seem to believe that thi most basic reason most honors students cami here, special honors classes, is where thi line should be drawn. What does that leave' Nothing. Next, you argue that special honor freshmen housing in Maxcy is unfair. Le me ask you this: Exactly how is the Hon ors College supposed to attract students i it cannot offer special housing or classes' Perhaps you believe we should not have ai Honors College because after all, reward ing people for their hard work is punish ing others, and therefore must be unfair J(ou next argue that Preston is unfai because they have a special dining facility Did you really not know that residents o Preston are determined through a fair ap plication process that is open to all student: here? Also, Preston students pay substan tially more for their special dining facility than others. If you do not like the option: provided to to you on campus, get an apart ment off campus. Your argument that thi: is “separate but equal” segregation is ridicu lous; sir, we live in a capitalist society when those with special talents are rewarded. Tin fact of the matter is that this institution i: rapidly improving its reputation, and par of the reason for this is the Honors College While I can understand your frustra tions, please understand two things: First the reputation of this institution, improv ing partly because of the Honors College will make your degree more valuable. Sec ond, I worked my tail off in high school t( get these privileges. So is rewarding hart work wrong? No, it is capitalism, and if yot don’t like capitalism, you are not going tc be very happy living in America. You argue that your freedoms are be ing restricted - are you not free to choose what school you attend and to work hard tc gain special privileges? Without basic idea: like these, our country, much less our uni versity, would not be what it is today. Adam T. Wilson Business Freshman President, Maxcy Hall. I ! Flag issue must reach compromise I agree with John Kirby (GC, 4-21 -00) . that both extremes representing the flag is , sue should compromise. . Let me offer one such solution. As flag 1 supporters have enjoyed the spectacle of their defeated banner waving above the i state’s most legitimate sovereign facility for 38 years, it should be taken down for the same amount of time, with the issue being revisited at such time (that is, in the year 1 2038). Seems fair, 38 years on, 38 off. One , would have to guess that as such time, the state should be able to accrue other, more notable achievements, such as an improved educational system, equitable economic growth and well-maintained ecological sys ■ tern; with these, it is to be hoped, usurp ■ ing the divisive cult of the Confederacy that currently and inexplicably grips the state. Robert Stokes Department of Criminal Justice Fans treated unfairly I have been going to DSC sporting events since my freshman year at USC in ' 1996.1 have always enjoyed my time at these events, cheering on the team, whether we won or lost. The first three years were exceptional. This past year, our athletic di rector, Dr. Mike McGee, has dumbfound ed me with his treatment of students as fans. The students are the reason why there is a university and why USC is able to have athletic teams, yet McGee has for gotten this simple fact. Wednesday night at the Carolina-Clemsonbaseball game, I was disgusted as to what happened. When I ar rived at the game, I fully expected to be able to sit in my normal seat on the front row of section 7, which happens to be where the Third-Base Hecklers sit. Well, when 1 got into the stadium, I was told that because 1 had a “green” ticket, I could only sit the bleachers and not my nor mal seat on the front row. My friends and I decided that we would sit in the first row of bleacher seats and just be more loud and obnoxious than ever. Well, we got our heck le on, as my buddy Dave would say, and the Gamecocks went on to victory. After the game, I came to a very important realiza tion. 1 am never donating another dollar to our athletic department until McGee is gone. It seems that he only cares about mak ing money and the fans with money. It is time for a change. It is time for McGee and the rest of the athletic department to real ize that without us, they would not have jobs, and they would not have their over inflated salaries. Students deserve a student section at basketball games, we deserve not to be hassled at baseball games by cops telling us what to say and we deserve to be treat ed as if we matter. Without us, the facilities that our teams play in would be as quiet as a symphony hall. Until things change, I am not sending a dime to our athletic depart ment. I encourage the rest of the students to do the same thing because only then will McGee realize that he is screwing things up. The ball is in your court, McGee, so start treating us students like we matter. It is either that or I am going to become a member of IPTAY! JohnTidikis Sport Administration Senior Open spots in honors classes actually full The honors sections of Journalism 201 and 303 mentioned in “It doesn’t pay...” are actually full - most students just haven’t officially registered for them yet. Honors students reserve spaces in these classes dur ing their honors advisement times well be fore they register. After our registration time, we go back to the Honors College to register officially - this goes on until April 24. (And if Preston is so great, why does n’t Peter Johnson live there?) Jill Martin Journalism Freshman Preston residents not elitist or arrogant I am writing this letter in utter disgust of Peter Johnson’s column, “It Doesn’t Pay to Be Average.” I am a resident of the so called arrogant and pompous Preston Res idential College. I am shocked that one would call us that without first getting the facts about us. We are not an elitist group. Those who call us that are usually the ones who did not get accepted into the Residential College for one reason or another. We have an application so that we can screen out those who will not make Preston and the university a better place to live and learn. We are not anywhere near being “elitists,” and I do not want people to think that we are. To set it straight, since you think that we are so pompous and arrogant, please re fer to us as Prestonisties, not Prestonians. Secondly, the “luxury dining facility” that you speak of, well, I would like to know where this is. Preston Dining Hall is not close to being considered luxurious. If you have ever eaten there, you would surely know this. The dining hall serves the same food as the GMP, and if you ask most resi dents of PRC, they will tell you that they would rather eat at the GMP. Also, the dining hall is not only for Pre ston residents. It is a place for the residents and for their guests. I would surely be happy to invite you, Mr. Johnson, to a Pre ston dinner some night so that you can see firsthand how splendid and luxurious it is. I believe that you need to get all of your in formation straight before you decide to write another article about Preston. Kyle Hickman Medical Technologies Freshman Honors students get too many benefits Pete Johnson should be commended for his words concerning the “elite” of the uni versity. It has become apparent to me in my four years here that if you are in the right organizations, you will receive better treat ment than the average student. I don’t think the Honors College should receive special treatment in terms of housing. I’m surprised that they don’t get favorable parking, as well. A resource that is so scarce on our campus should not be distributed among the elite. It should be distributed equally to all. The average student, after all, pays tu ition, too. Ronald Churches Business Administration Senior Use of force in Elian case unnecessary I was appalled by the events that took place in Miami early Saturday morning involving the relatives of Elian Gonzalez. The question of whether or not the rela tives had a right to keep the boy is a moot point; the excessive use of force by the fed eral agents, on the other hand, is very dis turbing. A small force of paramilitary federal agents burst into the home to assault media personnel, threaten the lives of unarmed civilians and utterly destroy the dwelling. The Justice Department has continually as serted that it had reason to believe there were weapons in the home to justify its tac tics, but it would appear that this is a mere fabrication used to allow them the leverage of submachine guns and riot gear. The infamous photo of a crying child and a cowering man being dragged from their hiding place at gunpoint speaks vol umes. In light of this and other events like the Waco incident, federal law enforcement institutions are gaining considerable leeway in the use of antiterrorist protocol against American citizens in their homes. The federal law enforcement agencies are becoming Janet Reno’s personal Gestapo; situations are no longer resolved through negotiation, but rather through brute force by government-sanctioned goon-squads. Regardless or your views on where Elian belongs, I hope that everyone shares the in dignation of how our government behaved in the exercise of its authority. The situa tion could have been handled in any num ber of other ways. I certainly hope that the Gestapo never show up at my door in the middle of the night. Ryan Morton Anthropology Sophomore Reno from page A13 “Don’t mind the fact that he’ll scream as he is dragged bodily by a strange woman to a strange car before he usually wakes up. It’s all in his best interests.” And, Janet, in all your wis dom, you agreed. Oh, and don’t worry about break ing your promise to not make it look like a military-style operation. I understand perfectly. It had to be done. Those dirty, dangerous Cubans are just too damn unpredictable, right? Not to be trusted. Give that Lazaro man and the Marsleysis girl and that fisherman a chance, and I bet you they’d have gunned down 30 or 40 agents to keep that child. Easy. It was necessary, I’m sure. I would’ve sent in the Marines. But, knowing that that would be a bit too much, you wisely just sent in a few folks with subma chine guns. I bet Juan Miguel will re mind Elian to send you a thank-you note from Cuba for that show of re straint. But most of all, Janet, you showed me the light in one other way. You showed me, by pointing that semi-au tomatic machine gun at a 6-year-old boy at 5 in the morning, that Elian does really belong in Cuba. You showed me that we’re no better than they are. Anyone interested in writing a weekly column next year? Send a sample to cekale@hotmail.com. j Excellent Selection Minutes from Columbia Friendly, Professional Staff 2000 RANGER SUPERCAB #30422 XLTTrim V-6 Engine Automatic Transmission CD Player Speed Control • Tilt Wheel Air Condition Chrome Wheels P225 OWL Tires Cloth Interior * 'Price includes $500 College Graduate Rebate and $1500.00 Ford Rebate. 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