Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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<t . ■ * THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, July 10, 2002 5 THjfSSAMECOCK EDITORIAL BOARD Chris Foy Editor-in-Chief Ben Bryan News Editor Carrie Phillips The Mix Editor J. Keith Allen Sports Editor Jason L. Rapp Viewpoints Editor Voucher dissent We're inclined to agree with the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion on how school vouchers relate to church and state and constitutionality. However, we don't agree with vouchers. Vouchers are quick fixes that appear to be good ideas. They have their merits, most of which are obvious to the informed. But they don't fix the underlying dilemma: underperforming public schools. Our editorial board is comprised of five proud products of public schools. We believe in that system. We also believe there are better ways to fix that system than voucher advocates propose. You can transfer any number ot students to participating public schools or private or parochial schools, but vouchers are limited in number and you can't hang a "bad" school and its students out to dry. Doing so would be a grave injustice to students who don't get vouchers and to the community in which the school is located. Money alone won't fix public education and neither will busing students to a better school. Involvement beyond election-year lip service and higher standards for teachers is a better investment in a system America pioneered and needs to improve. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK STAFF Angel Sizemore Asst. News Editor Robert Gruen Photo Editor Lindsey Walker Online Editor Page Designers Shameka Holloway, Melissa Miklus Copy Editors Laura Dalrymple. Lyndsey Hicks PLACING ADS The Gamecock 1400 Greene St. Columbia, SC 29208 Advertising reps: 777-3888 Classified ads: 777-1184 Fax: 777-6482 STUDENT MEDIA Erik Collins Faculty Adviser Ellen Parsons Director of Student Media Susan King Creative Director Carolyn Griffin Business Manager Sarah Scarborough Advertising Manager Sherry F. Holmes Classified Manager Creative Services Derek Goode, Earl Jones, Jennie Moore, Melanie Roberts, Beju Shah Advertising Staff Jackie Rice, Stacey Todd CONTACT INFORMATION Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Editor in Chief: gamecockeditor@hotmail.com University Desk: gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Viewpoints: gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com The Mix: gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Sports: gamecocksports@hotmail.com Online: www.dailygamecock.com Newsroom: 777-7726 GAMECOCK POLICIES The Gamecock is the student newspaper of 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. One free copy per reader. Additional copies may be purchased for one dollar each from the Department of Student Media. CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS “Green ” efforts lack substance CLAYTON KALE GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM An alien watching and listening to our radio and television trans missions in space might get the im pression that America is full of en vironmentalists; a term I don’t like but use for simplicity. Public radio devotes hours to earth-conscious programs, and fuel-efficient hybrid cars are getting a bigger push in TV advertising. But if the alien were to make a visit to our corner of the planet, it would know im mediately that it had been hood winked by feel-good advertising and optimistic liberal media. An SUV with a sticker remind ing me to "Think Green" made me think of this bizarre little scenario. There are a number of self-pro fessed environmentalists out there (explaining how shows like “Earth and Sky” stay on the air), but our culture dictates that owning a fuel inefficient SUV is cooler than own ing a small car. Proof: Saturn has an SUV line. Environmental awareness is low on the agenda of social progress. Even oil companies have gotten in on the "green is cool" trend. Shell ran a series of ads praising their staff of environmentalists who drive around in white pickup trucks, camp at the foot of moun tains and enjoy nature. It's nice they have men and women who love the great outdoors, but that doesn't change the fact that Shell's principal product is the principal polluter of our skies. utner ousinesses are tapping the environmentalist niche mar ket. Farming conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland runs ads during the Sunday morning network news programs. The earth is screaming, the ad tells us. Then it advertises ethanol, a gasoline additive that lowers greenhouse gas emissions. They have a right to advertise their products, but I question the effectiveness of advertising a prod uct unavailable in most parts of the country. Ostensibly, they want to save the planet. But if they real ly wanted to change things, their advertising dollars would be bet ter spent on Washington lobbyists. Don't blame me, I didn't invent the big-money politics game. America seems to be getting more earth conscious, something unseen generations can rejoice about. However, don't let the fact that your household sends soda cans to the recycling center instead of the landfill lull you into a state of complacency. Giant steps have been made, but America is far from being the world leader in environ mental responsibility. In most public places there are few, if any. garbage cans that offer recycling. Highway littering is punished only on "Zero Tolerance Weekend,” or that's what I'm led to believe after looking at any medi an on the Interstate. Another step in the right direc tion would be for the governor to encourage law enforcement to bust litterbugs daily, and for the legis lature to mandate public recycling bins in towns and cities already equipped with recycling service. Like any great social undertak ing - from the civil rights move ment to the war on terrorism - it's going to take everybody doing more to get the job done. Kale is a 4th-year print journalism student.