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Monday, September 30, 1996 nsaffe Serving USC S Stephanie Sonnenfeld Chris Dixon, Vie\ Editorial Martha Hotop, Achim Hunt, Jennifer Stanley, Lisa Noworatzky, ( HA 0 P I M USC Alumni de for accomplisl Homecoming weekend has come and gone. A lot of people Homecomir rrr\ 4- aiii* i 1. gui ui una, uui OTOUgO football team alumn was once again t not the team we saw two weeks ago against Georgia (but basketball practice starts in 15 days), and many of Carolina's Alumni returned to Columbia for the weekend. In a certain sense, that's what Homecoming is for. Alumni and current students can come together to remember the past, celebrate the present and look towards the future. These folks are our connection to this University's history. It's great they can come back and show they are still part of the University community. Many of our alumni have left Carolina and gone on to do great things, and they still give back to the school. Leeza Gibbons is a national celebrity, but she gladly came back to participate in the Homecoming ceremonies and to accept an award for her other work in giving back to her alma mater. But Gibbons was part of a group of alumni who received awards for the work they have done after graduating. Politicians wn movies for pol Republican |?JJTTVn!f9 presidential candidate Bob n i ^ ? Dole was Bob Dole featured in an ad movies t in LA Weekly fcr attacks the soundtrack of promoting the film "Trainspotting," which Dole accused, along with "Pulp Fiction," of promoting drug use. In the ad, Dole is shown wearing a button that says, "Iggy Pop For President." Pop's song, "Lust For Life," is included on the Trainspotting" soundtrack. After accusing "Trainspotting" and "Pulp Fiction" of promoting drug use, Dole admitted never seeing either movie. As a presidential candidate, Dole has a responsibility to use his influence to speak out against drug use. He should, however, do rnrmr/ili f/l molro Clirp wbflt he i^ovaivil IV lAAUA^V ?JV?* v says is factually correct. Anyone who has seen "Trainspotting" knows the film is anti-drug use because it exposes Stephanie Cece von 1 Sonnenfeld Kolnitz Editor in Qiief Special Protects Chris Dixon Lisa Viewpoints Editor Noworatzky Martha Hotop Copy Desk ' Adam Snyder Robert Walton News Editors Photo Editor Jennifer Stanley Brian Rish Features Editor Graphics Editor Achim Hunt Rob Gioielli Sports Editor Asst. Viewpoints 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, 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. T Department of Student Media is its parent organizatio. 1 cock ince 1908 , Editor in Chief vpoints Editor Hn irl Brian Rish, Adam Snyder, Z&c& von Kolnitz, Robert Walton, I I 0 N serve respect menls in life These alumni are part of many who have gone ig weekend on to be t IJSC's innovators and 4 h/irb leaders in their fields. They have V ' shown us what can be done with an education f- a:- \IT? 1IU1I1 WHS UIHVCISlt^. YTC ttic a major university that produces top notch graduates. We can and should be proud of these graduates. We can say, yes, they went to Carolina, the school where we go now. Much of the pride a school has comes from its alumni. Whether that graduate went on to win a Nobel Prize or become president, there is a tremendous feeling that his or her experience at that particular school helped them achieve success. Whether it is true or not, it still means a lot to students and alumni of that certain school. And it should because you and that successful person got the same education, so maybe there is some of that greatness in you. So let's always remember and honor our alumni, especially those who have been successful because well be one of them some day, and maybe some of that greatness will be in us. Dngly attack ! irncai gain the realities of heroin's insidious , * ? effects. should see Iftheenter. before he t a i n m e n t them for industry was ] drug use. actually producing films promoting drug use, we would expect Dole to come out against those movies. Dole's attack of the entertainment industry is obviously election year politics. Calling the entertainment industry into question is an easy way to get votes. Dole needs to work on issues like the economy and health care reform because they are the issues that actually have a day to day effect on all of our lives. People don't start doing illicit drugs because ot the entertainment industry. They start doing drugs because they want to. Why would someone destroy his or her life by taking drugs because of a movie? It just doesn't make sense. 777-7726 rtising: 777-1184 . 777-6482 Keith Boudreaux Mirniiwrniima Chris Carrol] Dipka Bhambhani Director of Studea Media Jessica Nash Laura Day Asst. Features Creative Director Bryan Johnston J.T. Wagenheim Dwsynt Ait Diroctoc McLemore Mark Hopkins Asst. Sports Graduate Assistant Nikki Thorpe Marilyn Edwards Asst. Photo Taylor Jason JefTers Maricding Director Daniel Brown Erik Collins Cartoonists Faculty Advisor The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should be 200-250 words and must include full name, professional title or year and major if a student. Letters must be personally delivered by the author to The Gamecock newsroom in Russell House room 333. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letters for style, potato libel or space limitations. Names will not be withheld jnder any circumstances. vmwp / cUR>tW/Mi / suwi^cfe AeouT OUR ' \ pc^SN'T IT OAPK "I guess that's SEC f< aqd the game coi Shawbegii Erin Shaw Dear Carolina, I'm spending a quiet night at the townhouse, debating international issues with my roommates, listening to Billie Holiday and in between, staring at the Supreme Court from my balcony. In the ? A 1 T* ? ? 1 - _i. !_ _ past lew weeKS, ive started my miemsmp on Capitol Hill, lingered for hours at the Smithsonian and negotiated the Metro trains during rush hour traffic. Fve stood engulfed in histoiy around countless memorials, but even more exciting, I am standing at the future of the country as well. Okay, in between being inspired by the symbols to our freedom, I will admit to having a great time exploring bookstores, shopping at Georgetown and even getting my palm read. And just what will my future have in store? It depends on who you ask. The woman who read my palm predicted a long life, a career serving people and two Homecoming To the editor, Homecoming is a time of fun and celebration. It is a time the Carolina Community can come together in a festive atmosphere. This is exactly what happened on the night of Tuesday, September 24,1996 at the Student Government sponsored (not the Homecoming Commission or Carolina Productions, against whom I hold no hard feelings) Homecoming King and Queen Showcase. Students laughed, danced and cried tears of joy during the program. The Showcase also honored and highlighted the accomplishments of some of USC's stellar students. Eileen Grana did not win her crown because she looks like Cindy Crawford, and Emest Sessoms did not win his title because he looks like Denzel Washington, and neither won because they are the two most popular people on campus. They both earned their titles because they are talented students that have shown excellence in leadership, service and academics, as have all of the semi-finalists. No fights broke out! No gunshots -- - t? were fired! No one had to fire teargas into the crowd or call in the National Guard to stop a race riot. The audience clapped and yelled for eveiy contestant. Yes, this was a Student Government sponsored program, but all the students in attendance took ownership of the program. It was their program, and they made it a success. If Mr. Wesley Walker (the young man who wrote the column that unfairly criticized this year's Homecoming Showcase because of his ignorance of, and lack of research about, the process) had done an iota of research about the PINTS Showcase a si process, he would have known it was not an election but a showcase of both males < and females and the process was a fair one. I would also appreciate, Mr. Walker, that any complaints about the job Student Government is doing be brought to me face to face, Russell House room 110. Fm sure the success of the Showcase has disappointed a few people, such as Wesley Walker, that were looking forward to racial discord and campus division to occur, but it has shown us all that running away from tough issues doesn't solve anything. We must face the things in which we fear and come up with solutions to the problems and difficult issues that face us. I thought that was why I was elected. My job is to address the issues that concern students and find solutions to these problems, l thinK so lar tnis year in Student Government we have been active and done an outstanding job. So, Mr. Walker, maybe you should go back to doing nothing, and leave journalism to those trained to do it. I encourage everyone to Pray, Trust God and Grow! Patrick Wright SG President Columnist should direct anger over DOMA to U.S. Congress, not Clinton To the editor, Although I wholeheartedly agree with CeCe von Kolnitz's column (DOMA W^ww \ \ a ',d&CK? / >otball, maybe at its best, * lies down to the execution < Brad Scott, USC hear is adventur children. For now, though, the present is overwhelming enough. li My first week I spent touring the city v and getting to know the 10 other s participants in the program. The group t is made up of 11 from USC, Clemson c and the Citadel, six of whom I am living f with in the Carolina Townhouse. t And, yes, the living arrangements are quite similar to The Real World," I otherwise titled "Nine Republicans and t Two Democrats," which provides for i continual political dialogue. c I walk every day to the Senate Office a Building, where I work for Senator Ernest 1 Hollings of South Carolina. Things are i getting to be crazy in the office since 1 Congress is back in session. That means I get to open up even more letters and 1 answer even more calls from disgruntled 1 constituents. < The hot issues right now are the Partial Birth Abortion Act and DOMA- 1 Defense of Marriage Act. My issues, < however, include trying to keep cool in i my power suit and asking for any job i they will give me. No task to small. ; I > vw <SuSTCCNl L rfc > *k"''here you go out and conr if a few plays at the end 1 football coach es in natic I will confess, though, that there are alls in the day when I stare at CNN and vonder what my place is in the whole cheme of things. As much as it is exciting o live in the most important nation's apital in the world and to be, in fact, a >art of government, it is also humbling 0 start out on the lowest rung. As inspiring as it is to stare at the incoln Memorial on a clear night over he reflecting pond, I wonder just what 1 junior English major from the University >f South Carolina is doing here. And vhen lost in the tunnels under the Capitol building, I confess to longing, if just for a moment, for the safety of the Russell douse. As I have met so many new people aere, they seem to ask what I want to ae. I honestly don't know, and thafs one )f the reasons I'm here. I'm constantly reshaping what I relieve in and what passions I will focus )n, and I think the best way to do that s to throw myself into the middle of the action. With my interests in literature and the arts, I might just decide to spend IC*~CCV>, ucopiu legalized homophobia," Sept.23) regarding Congress' dastardly endorsement of a bill that targets a single identifiable group of Americans and subjects them to discrimination, I must take exception tot the writers criticisms of President Bill Clinton. At first I thought this column signaled a refreshing'break from the conservative doldrums from such columnists (should I really use the term so loosely?) like Fred Leach. However, von Kolnitz's otherwise excellent analysis of the Defense of Marriage Act produced an unfair criticism ofTresident Clinton. The debate over same-sex marriages boils down to a matter of discrimination And while the US Congress continues to support measures like DOMA and nol pass bills like the Employment Non Discrimination Act, a measure that woulc have made it illegal for employers to firi an employee because of his/her sexua orientation, Americans are starting ti see the problem in Washington is no the White House, but with the House o Representatives. For all practical political purposes Clinton was forced into signing DOMA In addition to the federal bill, simila 1-:11 A 11?J 1K unis were siecuiii uncu uuuu^u ?u otai legislatures during the summer month of 1996, primarily because of outsid pressures by the Christian Coalition an other conservative groups. Had Clinton vetoed the measure, h would have subjected himself to way t many nasty political sound bites an negative ads by the Dole Campaign (b the way, Dole was one of the original a sponsors of DOMA in the Senate befor he retired). President Clinton told gay and lesbia voters that we were part of his visio ' I ~ , 3 0^ Clip r do rfl ?199 b i*fe ipete for 60 minutes, of a ball game." >n's capital countless weekends mulling over the work at the Museum of Women in the Arts and go home to work on a novel. Maybe I'll discover I want to make politics and government my career, or I want nothing to do with it. I may decide to go on to law school and work for an agency that truly helps people. As we speed toward our collective future with the election close at hand, I continue onward toward the answer which not even the palm reader could give me-how will I make an impression on the world? But the streets of D.C. might help me figure things out. This is the first part in a series of columns by Erin Shaw, a participant in the Washington Semester program through the Honors College. She is in D.C. this fall interning on Capitol Hill and will report her many adventures. This column will not always be a political one, but kind of a storytelling through experience. t expectations back in 1992, and he has kept his word. Not easy for a man who made 159 campaign promises and kept 103 of them. During the first four years, Clinton has had more openly gay and lesbian members serve in his administration than any other previous president Clinton was also the first U.S. president to support measures securing equal rights for gays and lesbians. To say Clinton will be remembered as the one "who started the ball rolling [ on legalized homophobia" is not fair, and quite frankly, an anachronism, especially given President Reagan's witch hunts lur gays anu icsuiaj is 111 luc uiuiuu j mai . cost the US more that $890 million. [ Meanwhile, since 1994, GOP House . and Senate members (many of which 1 come from the Southeast) have initiated ; bills to prevent AIDS research funding, 1 overturn the District of Columbia's ) domestic partner registry, eliminate gay t and lesbian groups for employees of the f US government, and ban same-sex marriages. '? As a former columnist for The l- Gamecock, I can sympathize with Von r Kolnitz's outrage that such a measure e like DOMA was passed. The bill is clearly s illegal and even conflicts with the US e Constitution's Ninth Amendment, leaving it again to the courts to settle this matter. However, von Kolnitz should redirect 0 her rage towards the real instigators of ^ DOMA, like House Speaker Newt y Gingrich, Dole, and co-sponsors Rep. y Bob Barr, R-Ga., and Sen. Don Nickles, ^ R-Neb. ii Tige Watts n Executive Editor, In Unison