The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 27, 2000, Page 6, Image 6
Quote, Unquote
‘If we want to be ... one of the top five institutions in the South, we
have to raise our standards.’
i 1
SG President Jotaka Eaddy, on USC’s goals for 2005
Whe (damecock
Serving the Carolina Community since 1Q08
Editorial Board
Brock Vergakis • Editor in Chief
Kevin Langston • Viewpoints Editor
Nathan White • Asst. Viewpoints Editor
Patrick Rathbun • Editorial Contributor
Brad Walters • Editorial Contributor
Martha Wright • Editorial Contributor
Goals for university
should be reached
The University of South Carolina Board of Trustees have
recently set a list of goals for the university to reach by
the year 2005. These goals, according to Board Chair
man Mack Whittle, will move USC closer to the require
ments for the Association of American Universities.
Of these goals, USC is to achieve an endowment of $600
million, increase state financial support to-100 percent,
achieve an average SAT-score of 1175 for all incoming fresh
men, promote diversity to prepare students for the workplace
of the 21st century, promote the achievement of every facul
ty member’s full potential, provide one of the five best un
dergraduate programs in the South and be nationally ranked
annuallv in all SDorts.
It would be absurd for us to say setting these goals is a bad
thing. It isn’t. Every university should set high standards in
their mission to better their services and students, regardless
of any underlying reasons or intentions. While the goals
might be a bit lofty and along the lines of wishful thinking, it
is better than having a Board of Trustees with no goals.
Of course, now that these goals have been set, the Board
of Trustees has placed added pressure on themselves and USC
to see that they are reached or, at least, strived for. We’ve
seen how this university can be a bit late in projected goals.
Just look at the Strom Thurmond Health and Wellness Center
(or lack thereof). We simply ask that the board follow
through.
Pregnant addicts' arrest
a dangerous precedent
AU.S. Supreme Court decision expected early next year
could set a dangerous precedent for both illegal search
es and cases of child abuse. In October 1989, the Med
ical University of South Carolina in Charleston turned over
to police urine samples from pregnant women who tested
positive for illegal drug use, though no search warrant was
filed. And after giving birth, 30 women were arrested for
child abuse. In 1993, 10 women sued the hospital, Attorney
General Charlie Condon, and others for inhumane treatment.
South Carolina is the only state that prosecutes pregnant
drug users for child abuse. It’s clearly a tragedy when a baby
is born addicted to drugs. But prosecution of pregnant drug
users doesn’t ensure prevention. The only thing the policy it
might prevent is prenatal care, because women won’t seek
treatment when doctors’ samples can become state evidence.
So far, cases have dealt with women who tested positive
for cocaine, marijuana, heroin, LSD and amphetamines. But
charges were brought against one woman who went into la
bor with a 0.14 blood-alcohol level, though alcohol is a legal
drug. So what’s next? Can we prosecute pregnant women
who smoke? How about their partners who smoke — sec
ondhand smoke is also dangerous. Caffeine isn’t good for de
veloping fetuses, either. Shall we lead away in shackles preg
naru rrappucino-unnKers.'
Perhaps if the Supreme Court finds in favor of the women
who were arrested, our state will learn prevention is better
than prosecution.
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War In The Middle East
A mother's prayer for her daughter
My prayer,
penned
on a scrap
of paper, was only
five letters long:
Devin, my daugh
ter’s name.
I reached high
for a crevice to K,ia McKorm,ck
push my prayer in- is a graduate stu'
to; I found a good dent in educational
niche and wedged psychology. She
it tightly. Stepping can be reached at
back I heard chirp- gamecockview
ing, and looked up p0jnts
to see little birds @hotmaii.com and
hoPPing about m at kikjwm
brush growing out x
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of the Wall. They
thrive there, obliv
ious to Bar Mitzvahs and chanted prayers,
just as I imagine they have for hundreds
of years.
Around the bend from this, the West
ern (“Wailing”) Will, are steps they say Je
sus sat upon to teach. In the same small
stone block of Jerusalem sit the Dome of
the Rock and Al-Aqsa. Both mosques
are understandably dear to Muslims, as the
surrounding landmarks are to Christians
and Jews.
I plan to do a great deal of traveling in
my life, but I don’t ever expect to find a
more solemn comer of the world.
Nor do I expect to find a sunrise more
stunning than the one that surfaces over
the mountains of Jordan, as glimpsed from
a perch across the Dead Sea in the desert
oasis of En Gedi. And I’ll be content if I
never find a place where the stars are
brighter than from the shores of the Sea
of Galilee. Most of all, I’m convinced I’ll
never understand Jesus of Nazareth as I do
in the Holy Land, whether gazing at mil
lenia-old olive trees in the Garden ofGeth
semane or hiking through the still desert.
Israel is a beautiful, peaceful place.
Just recalling my trip there, almost two
years ago, calms and comforts me. I like
to think about the thousands of prayers
said every day at the Western Wall, join
ing and lifting my prayer.
For the past few weeks, we’ve been
seeing images that blow my ideal to pieces.
Tear gas in Nazareth. Bombs, bullets, stones
flying in Jerusalem. Ftre and smoke bil
lowing out of vqhides behind which armed
soldiers crouch - in Bethlehem, of all
places.
Hundreds of people dead over terri
tory, over the right to claim this peaceful
land. (And yes, I’ll continue to use the “p”
word to describe Israel because I think a
landscape can have inherent affective qual
ities, especially as coupled with historical
significance that transcends current events).
And I take it personally.
I, like millions representing several
faiths worldwide, take it personally be
cause Israel houses the most important
memorials of my own religious heritage.
I resent the scrabbling that is taking
place over and around said memorials. It
is wrong that it should not be safe to take
a pilgrimage there because of violent po
litical bickering. Some places should be
held sacred.
One of the most sacred places in
Jerusalem is tire Church of the Holy Sepul
chre. Like Israel itself, the church is di
vided among factions; the Orthodox,
Catholics, and others guard their inches of
tomb jealously. I vaguely remember our
tour guide saying that to reduce conflict,
a family of Muslims has held the keys to
the church for generations.
It is time for a disinterested party to
hold the keys to Jerusalem.
I don’t know enough about interna
tional politics to recommend any party for
the job. I do think Jerusalem needs some
new, creative designation, perhaps unlike
anything we’ve ever seen before: a city
that is technically part of one or more
states, but which is controlled by an in
ternational committee. I have no idea how
it would work; I just know that as long as
both Israel and Palestine claim Jerusalem,
it is going to be a major point of contention.
The best solution I have is to make Is
rael part of the United States. (Yes, I’m
actually serious.) It already feels like the
51st state — or, more accurately, the 6th
borough of New York City. Half the
population has a Long Island accent. The
first thing I saw driving out of Ben Guri
on Airport was a Corona billboard; I
thought we’d taken a wrong turn and land
ed in Newark. With that much in com
mon, why not?
Okay, I know, radical intervention
would destroy part of the charm of the
place, and certainly, it might be stepping
on the rights of those who claim it as then
own, but we all have a little ownership
in Jerusalem, and therefore we should all
have access to it. In fact, I hope that Some
day I’ll feel it’s safe enough to take Devin
there, and show her the Western Wall.
Letters
College students
justifiably apathetic
To the Editor
The 2000 Election is less than two
weeks away and the presidential election
appears as if it will be close. With both of
the candidates scratching for votes in the
states still up for grabs (South Carolina is
not one of those states) they are trying to
get undecided voters as well as trying to
pick up some of the non-voting popula
tion. Much of this non-voting cast group
can be found amongst ourselves.
The young, college-age population is
consistently a non-voting demographic.
Hoping to spark our interest in voting,
Gore and Bush have spelled out what they
will do specifically to redress the problem
of low voter turnout. Gore will push for
campaign finance, specifically through the
McCain-Feingold Bill, and Bush pledges
to end Washington’s political bickering.
Both of these gentlemen will have no more
success than if the big bad wolf tried to
blow down Williams-Brice stadium.
Sure, many of us “college youth” might
be turned off from politics by its vulner
ability to corporate money and by the seem
ingly endless arguing in which nothing
seems to get done; however, these issues
are page one of the list of grievances the
length of a Kenneth Starr report that eli
gible young voters have against current
politics. Of these, I’ll attempt to name a
few.
First off on the indifference list: Social
Security. This is a hot topic of debate be
tween the two candidates, whether to put
this money one place or put some in one
place and give the rest back to whomev
er to do whatever they choose with it. Does
this interest the young voters? No, be
cause few expect that under either plan
it will be around when we end up at the
retirement age.
Next in line is the question of what to
do with public schools. OK, this is an easy
one. Being somewhat recently departed
from primary education, 1 think 1 can say
that neither candidate will do enough ei
ther way for education, public, private or
home-schooled. The amount of influence
the federal government has over schools
is next to nothing. As I was once told, if
you want to make a real difference, stay
out of Washington. What many of these
school districts need is nothing short of a
revolution, which neither the local, state
or federal government is willing to pay for.
After these first two topics, you have
to wonder what the election is about.
Tax cuts are one of the remaining hot top
ics. I haven’t made any money yet, so I
don’t expect any money back from either
candidate. But I would like to see them
take all that great surplus money and pay
off the national debt that I had nothing to
do with. I don’t fancy paying the inter
est on that laige sum through my taxes
through the course of my working years.
OK, the next few reasons for the ab
sence of college people at the polling booths
are my personal favorites. First, lots of col
lege students smoke. The government is
anti-tobacco (and whatever else you may
smoke). Students like to drink.
There are more complaints of the “col
lege class” I’m sure; these are just those
that come prevalently to mind. If these
complaints don’t seem to concern you,
then that’s fine; you’re a good follower.
It pisses me off, but I’m going to vote Nov.
7 just so next year I can whine and moan
about why I voted for the other guy.
Jason Bailey
International Studies Junior
Lottery not linked to
S.C. blue laws
To The Editor
In response to Jennifer Murray’s let
ter on Oct. 25, I’d first like to agree that
Brock Veigakis’ column, “Charleston res
idents destined for hell,” was hilarious, that
blue laws are pretty stupid for the most
part and that legislating morality general
ly doesn’t work so well.
My agreement quickly ended when
the letter unreasonably and absurdly at
tempted to link blue laws with the forth
coming lottery vote. There is a blindingly
obvious difference between blue laws and
a lottery; blue laws don’t hurt anyone, but
it has been demonstrated that lotteries op
erate off the poor, for the most part.
“So what,” you might say, and then
proceed to make an invalid analogy with
the sale of alcohol. A state-run lottery is
n’t like being able to buy liquor. It’s like
the state selling liquor, while advertising
using methods that normal businesses are
prohibited from making use of and telling
the public that the quickest way to get rich
is to drink. The difference is, the state is
obligated to protect its citizens, while busi
nesses have no such obligation. If we al
low South Carolina to get into the gam
bling business, we effectively forfeit our
rights to protection.
Wally Altman
Mathematics Junior
War In The Middle East
Alliance with
Israel might
stall peace in
Middle East
And now, the
ugly side of
our alliance
with Israel, serial vi
olator of U.N. reso
lutions and occa
sional abuser of
human rights.
What has been
on display in the
Middle East over the
past couple of weeks
is an example of
what happens when
an entire army acts
like the NYPD. “You
throw rocks at us,
we’ll hit you with
rockets from heli
copter gunships and
automatic machine
guns, i ne picture 01 witness ana oaiance,
don’t you think?
For anyone who wants to look at an
example of partisanship ending and politics
beginning at the water’s edge, just look at
U.S. policy toward the Middle East—a pol
icy so skewed and so unbelievably entrenched,
it seems more ingrained in American polit
ical thought than the Cold War mentality
that spawned it.
Republicans and Democrats both seem
to want to come to bat for Israel whenever
something happens. Both sides of the aisle
roundly denounced America’s decision to
abstain from a U.N. Security Council reso
lution (as if those mean anything to Israel)
condemning Israel’s excessive use of force.
(Imagine that — using one of the world’s
most powerful armies to combat a rag-tag
group of stone throwers is viewed by some
as excessive force. Foreigners are crazy like
that.)
Of course, the Cold War can’t be com
pletely blamed for what happened in
Palestine. There are some things that politi
cians find even more important than our pet
ty political differences with Russia, namely
New York and California’s electoral votes.
Foiget the fact that Israel repeatedly vi
olates or tries to negotiate away any Secu
rity Council resolutions it doesn’t like. Res
olution 242, for example, calls on Israel to
withdraw from all of the territories it oc
cupied during the 1967 war. That would
include East Jerusalem.
But Barak knew he could call Clinton,
have a little heart-to-heart and get praise for
his decision to agree to partially follow the
resolution. And maybe get some more
weapons. Gotta keep those kids and stone
throwers from destroying the Israeli army,
y’know.
In the meantime, the ugliest part of the
death toll — of more than 100 killed, all but
a handful have been Palestinians — was ig
nored. The initial gunship attacks were
sparked by the brutal lynching of two Israeli
soldiers by a Palestinian mob. The murders
were horrifying, but let’s give the Palestini
ans a break. After all, they don’t have the
right kinds of weapons to make it look clean
and anesthetic, as Israel does when it cuts
down nine- and 12-year-old children in the
street.
Perhaps the most surprising fact about
the Middle East is the fact that U.S. policy '
toward Israel and its Arab neighbors is based
on a Cold War mentality: Arab nations ac
tually accepted aid and weapons from the
Soviet Union (sometimes after the U.S. re
fused to provide such aid), and were there
fore inherently evil. Fan of Ronald Reagan
that I am, I must say: Get over it. Even the
Gipper knew when the Cold War was over.
The horrible, awful truth is that both
sides are at least partly to blame. If nothing
else, Arafat’s rhetoric has contributed to a
climate where violence was the inevitable
outcome of any disagreement. However, Is
f ull V PAmAnPA fl*-A ■ 1 rllAA ir/ua AAA t l-\A *.aa1-a
in their hands—was in no way proportional
to the crime. (Imagine if we had rocketed ^
the protestors in Seattle. The uproar would
have been deafening.) But where is the out
rage at Sharon’s visit to the temple? Where
is Clinton’s bottom lip-biting condemnation
of Sharon intentionally trying to pick a fight?
Here is a man who allowed attacks on
Palestinian refugees and then visits one of
Islam’s holiest sites. Sorry they didn’t role
out the red carpet for ya, pal. The fact of the
matter is that the United States can never
pretend to be “an honest broker” if it re
fuses to respect the fact that Israel can be
wrong.
And there can never be peace if Israel
cannot bring itself to the conclusion that the
world should not bend over backward to ac
commodate slaughter, defiance and inflam
matory acts that reek of tribalism and in
tolerance.
0
Brandon
Larrabee
is a junior jour
nalism major. He
can be reached
at gamecock
viewpoints@hot
mail.com