Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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AnP 6£m^a IT (5/o‘T^^ y */ Au&fZf&HTS A5 W \Jr| fal Jr >™?£r< nunic> U ^ioe &>*e>e& W jftfmtif C0M&ATANT5 VMe$Et M jjjji IN YOUR OPINION USC police a burden and incompetent The USC Police Department seems unqualified to handle any task, including student safety and traffic control. While I’m certain there are members of the campus police force that are more than capable, I’m saddened that the majority of the campus police force has, at best, an indifferent attitude toward students’ well-being. I’ve witnessed many incidents where different officers would berate students for “getting in their way.” Also, the incompetence of the traffic control division is preposterous. Drawing from recent experiences, it’s failed time and time again to even attempt to help students. My car was towed this morning from an area that was not marked as a tow-away zone, and the officer I spoke to simply said, "There is supposed to be a sign there.” Obviously, there was no sign, and I wasn’t able to get a better answer than one claiming ignorance. Once I got to the office to pay my ticket, I was told that the police department didn’t provide change for the $5 ticket and I would have to find change myself. This would be understandable had I presented a $100 bilVor even a $50 bill. But I had a $20 bill, and the student in front of me paid a $10 ticket with two $5 bills. Even then, I was told they had no change. I now have a book of 20 stamps that I did not need, want or have use for. Also, the officers seemed almost offended that I drew them away from the compelling world of daytime television to do their job. I wasn’t expecting a grand welcome, but I should at least expect someone who could do his or her job. I had to wait at least 30 minutes for the officers to even locate my ticket, and even longer for Jenny Jones to get to commercial so they could write my receipt. I know we can’t do without a police department, but I do insist on one that can be functional at best. I implore the university to either increase training for these officers or have a more strenuous screening process for employment. TONY CHANG FOURTH-YEAR COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS STUDENT Age doesn’t make girls into women What makes a woman a woman and a man a man? This isn’t a question about age; one doesn’t become an adult because they’ve lived 18 years. A fairy doesn’t come touch your head with a wand and, poof, you reach adulthood. It has less to do with age and more to do with responsibility, maturity and experience. Not every female on campus is a woman, just like not every male on campus is a man. Like me, I’m sure there are students out there being supported by their parents — driving cars we didn’t buy and going to school we don’t pay for. I hope those in this situation truly appreciate what their parents are doing for them, but, unintentionally, they might be hurting their kids in the long run and holding them back from taking responsibility of their own lives. Being an adult is about being responsible and taking responsibility for your actions when you’re the goat or the hero. Being an adult is taking control of your life no matter what the consequence. Yes, there are 18-year-olds on campus who are men and women, but I would contend that there is a majority who have a lot of growing up to do before being considered adults. In closing, girls and boys, we must earn the right to be called men and women. JAMES ROCKWELL FOURTH-YEAR MEDIA ARTS STUDENT BGLA has failed its minority members I was pleasantly surprised to see in last Wednesday’s paper that a spinoff of BGLA was formed to address issues of minority bisexuals, gays and lesbians. As a former attendee of BGLA meetings, I was even more surprised to find that BGLA is in an uproar about this, thinking that the new group is trying to “break away” immaturely or accuse them of some injustice. In truth, the BGLA has failed the minority within the minority that has been too polite to voice its complaints; most minority members have abandoned BGLA in disgust. I, however, am more than willing, as an open-minded white heterosexual, to confront BGLA with the truth of their shortcomings. But first, just to prove that I think it is a great organization, let me outline some of the goals of BGLA and how the organization has done a great job in meeting them: Goal one:... to encourage people to be themselves, and if they are gay, to give them a safe place to be open and honest... This goal has been met magnificently. It’s obvious there are people who feel comfortable with BGLA, seeing that they all find the need and loyalty to come together to bash another group, which focuses on building the same community. Goal two:... to increase awareness of the group’s existence and to discourage bigotry on the campus... They have accomplished wonderful strides in this as well. Years ago, they helped invent the Carolinian Creed. Goal three:... to educate... This is where BGLA has failed the racial minority and the rest of the USC community miserably. BGLA has made it necessary to form an organization that targets real concerns among, for instance, blacks... like issues that matter, such as HIV/AIDS, hate crimes and racism, all of which are more likely to affect blacks, especially gay blacks. Yet, BGLA is often silent on these issues. BGLA members talk about hate crimes amongst themselves, fail to acknowledge racism and address HIV/AIDS maybe once a year by bringing in a speaker to talk about condoms. This “education” is not enough — especially considering that a gay black male is at an extremely high risk of getting AIDS, especially compared with a gay white male. This new organization has no desire to handle issues 11 ii.. The group wants to supplement meetings with information that is actually useful and issues that they can do something about, instead of dreaming away about getting “gay rights” pushed through Congress or attending a worthless meeting that has become nothing more than a bisexual, gay and lesbian dating service. So here’s some advice to BGLA: Work with this group! They have real concerns — concerns that are being ignored. REBECCA GAUSE FOURTH-YEAR HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENT Submission Policy Letters to the editor should be less than 300 words and include name, phone number, professional title or year and major, if a student. Bring letters to Russell House 333 or e-mail gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit for libel, style and space. Anonymous letters will not be published. Call the newsroom at 777-7726 for more information. Girl, that just isn’t happening JAY COOPER GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM women snouia juage men’s disrespect on more than word choice. “What up, girl?” “How you doin’, girl?” “Girl, you look good today!” At USC, you’re likely to heai these statements many times a day. They’re so common that we usually don’t pay them any special attention. They’re statements made in greeting, usually reserved for friendly encounters. They’re exclamations any female might be happy to hear. Martha Wright’s column in Monday’s paper addresses the issue of the “girl” word. Her column, “Girl, You’ll be a Woman Soon,” is about female subjugation and how men use the word girl to keep women below them on the social ladder Wright’s request is that men always refer to females who are 18 years old and older as women. But Wright’s ‘ argument is nearsighted and largely incorrect. People of both sexes and of all different ages and backgrounds use the word “girl” in many different contexts and with many different connotations. I suppose that from now on, I’ll have to refer to female friends of mine as “the birthday woman” on their birthdays. None of them have ever taken offense at being called “the birthday girl” before, but according to Wright’s standard, I’m subtly plotting their subjugation. Likewise, I’ll never again have a girlfriend. While I know this statement comes as no surprise to my friends, this time I’m using it to make a different point. Any romantic partner that I have from now on will be called my “womanfriend.” That has a nice ring to it — “Mom, Dad, meet my wdmanfriend.” In her column, Wright uses hypothetical examples of her own. She has an office manager approaching assistants and asking, “What do you girls have planned for this weekend?” To Wright, these words can have no other intent than to illustrate that - the manager doesn’t see his female assistants as equals. As funny as this might sound on your lips, in one respect, Wright is right. An office manager could use the word “girl” to show disrespect. Wright is wrong, however, because in a million other situations, the manager might not mean any disrespect at all. Regardless of the manager’s word choice, women 18 and older have more effective methods of judging the intentions of their bosses. Why is this manager, who supposedly sees himself as so much better than his female assistants, asking about their weekend at all? Couldn’t he be doing more constructive fascist tasks like hiding their birth-control pills or lifting the toilet seats in the female restroom? Could it be that the manager takes a genuine interest in their lives, and is trying to improve office morale by asking about them? Of course. The manager could also be a sexist jerk. We’ll never know. Only the females in that situation would know. I would think that women 18 and older would pay more attention to more important aspects of the man in question rather than his use of a single word. What is his past behavior? Is he always condescending? Does he treat men better than he treats women? These answers would be much more useful in determining his level of respect for females. I believe that Martha Wright means well. I think that she would like to eradicate misogyny and sexism. I have no argument with that. It’s clear to me, however, that she’s chosen the wrong battle. Eliminating the use of a word isn’t going to eliminate the intent behind the word. Women, girls, ladies and females have to be trusted. They have to be trusted to use their own sense to recognize when they are being • discriminated against. Cooper is a third-year English student. L__ □ It's Electric!^ IT’S SYNERGY IT’S JOBS IT’S VISION IT’S CAREER IT’S POWER VJe're -talking, franiiviiscion lines and corporate connections. &y attracting, new business invest ments and providing, low-cost electricity, Santee Cooper provides the power to prosper Santee Coopen power www.santeecooper.com & PRE-PAID PHONE CARDS Now available at our ATM locations and offices! Many phone cards come with "built-in, hidden charges" - but not ours! The only fee attached is the mandatory $.49 if used from a pay phone... YOU GET 120 MINUTES for $10... less than 9 cents a minute! 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