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Quote, Unquote ‘For now I no longer stand as Jotaka Eaddy, but I stand as a represtentative of 26,000 students.’ Jotaka Eaddy, SG president I ®it ©amtCDCl! Wt\z (5amcock Serving the Carolina Community since 1Q08 Editorial Board Kenley Young • Editor in Chief Brad Walters • Managing Editor Brock Vergakis • Viewpoints Editor Peter Johnson • Assistant Viewpoints Editor Emily Streyer • Editorial Contributor Enrollment decline needs more attention USC’s graduate school enrollment dropped almost 18 percent from last year, continuing a five-year trend that doesn’t seem to be turning as many heads in the graduate school as it should be. In fact, graduate school directors from different academic units on campus have attributed the floundering graduate school admis sions to a robust economy in which undergraduates want to go straight to the'work force upon graduation. However, USC is the only large university in the Carolinas whose graduate enrollment saw such a pronounced decrease: from 8,111 students in 1998 to 6,670 in 1999. Eighteen percent. Think about that. If USC lost 18 percent of its undergraduate enrollment, our total student body population ^ would be down to about 21,000, which would be the lowest en rollment we’ve seen in decades. That’s not something to be only passively concerned about. If 18 percent isn’t a high enough number to be concerned, consider this: The College of Education lost more than half its graduate enrollment between 1998 and 1999. Part of the problem, although certainly not the whole problem, seems to be the graduate school’s movement toward online appli cations. Director of Graduate Admissions Dale Moore said the Web-based application system should be fully operational next month. We can only hope administrators in charge of keeping graduate enrollment at a healthy level are more concerned about this prob lem than they actually seem to be, and that they’re taking active steps-to correct it. If the fully operational status of our Web-based admissions process doesn’t turn things around for next year, it’s '' .ime for all of us — administrators and students alike — to be con cerned. Statement by Penn State baseball team a weak one Pennsylvania State University’s baseball team has announced that it won’t play any more games in the state of South Carolina until the Confederate flag is removed from the top of the State house. The Nittany Lions played two games while wearing red arm " mds at Winthrop University last weekend. One African-Ameri can Penn State outfielder claimed the statement was one “against racism.” This might seem admirable, but in reality, the team isn’t making any sacrifices. Penn State does not routinely play games in South Carolina. In fact, their two games in Winthrop were the only two games they will be playing in South Carolina this season. If the players wanted to make a real statement, they should have boycotted the games before they were played, thus forfeiting the games and conceding two losses. You might as well not even bother making a statement if you don’t stand to lose anything by making it. A BO U T U s . 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. Address TheGamecock The Gamecock Amy Goulding 1400 Greene Street Tra,“Ljfnn Columbia, SC 29208 ,, Wal,e?j Photo Editors Managing Editor Will Gillasoy Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Brock Vergakis Online Edita Stuoeht Media Area code 803 Viewpoints Editor Peter Johnson Advertising 777-3888 Clayton Kale Asst. Viewpoints Edita Classified 777-1184 News Edita Kelly Haggerty Pax 777-6482 Brandon Larrabee Patrick Rathbun Office 777-3888 Associate News Edita Asst. News Editas Rebecca Cronican MacKenzie Craven Gamecock Area code 803 Ann Marie Miani Asst. EtCetera Edita Editor gckedesc.edu 777-3914 EtCetera Editors Elizabeth Rod News gcknewsSsc.edu 777-7726 David Cloninger Asst. Sports Edita Viewpoints gckviewsasc.edu 777-7181 Shannon Rooke Rob Fleming Etc. gcketcSsc.edu 777-3913 Sports Editors Asst. Encore Edita Encore! gamecockencoreShotmail.com 777-3913 Kristin Freestate Charles Prashaw Sports gcksportsSsc.edu 777-7182 Copy Desk Chief Shawn Singleton Online www.gamecock.sc.edu 777-2833 Renee Oligny Charlie Wallace Submission policy Lopytonor j"'** Letters to the editor or guest columns are welcome uZiScZtributor from all members of the Carolina community. Letters Student Media should be 250-300 words. Guest columns should be an opinion piece of about 600-700 words. Tec,™' L" ' > B'**' must include name, phone number, profes- Susan King Unified Manage, jonal A or year and major, if a student. Handwritten Creative Director Erik Collins submissions must be personally delivered to Russell Kris Black Faculty Adviser House room 333. E-mail submissions must include Julie Burnett Jonathan Dunagin telephone number for confirmation. Todd Hooks Graduate Assistant The Gamecock resenres the right to edit for libel, ^ *artl" a Robyn Gombar . , _ . . . „ ...... Kathy Van Nostrand Gina McKelvey style and space. Anonymous letters will not be pub- Creative Services Melissa Millen lished. Photos are required for guest columnist and can Kenton Watt Brantley Roper be provided by the submitter. Advertising Manager Nicole Russell Call 777-7726 for more information. Carolyn Griffin Advertising Start %■ •*, The Washington Post THE 6lM-Pl)$H0?S IflByCOflES UP WITH ANEWOME | CHILLI; AW | KILLEP 1 BV K**7*0* IS TOflms AT<j/£ PRCES,1W WWPB? IPAWSE people iv vwhvwm w> mmum/Tm rr—_—___ Mm? B/66EP- ! SK>X7S-U7E f GOZZLEZS 1 WfU PLEASC U ST*i< iH UrtEjUj _~\ Problem more with 'service' than 'dining' For all of you who read my Feb. 23 col umn, I’m sure that you’ve been chomping at the bit waiting for my next column on how we can empower our selves to a better way of life. This col umn will be about “the dining ques tion.” Fust, some food for thought. A friend of mine whose sis ter attends Indiana University showed me IU s Fall 1999 Parent s Newsletter, which had the results of a recent survey of on-campus dining services at U.S. colleges. He showed me the newsletter because in the bottom six was Carolina. This confirmed what I had been think ing all along: Our dining services are bad. But what are we hapless college students to do? Demand better. Empower yourselves. Imagine eating non-reconstituted food and hydrated water. At the core of USC’s dining problem is Marriott Dining Services. This evil empire dominates the food industry on campus and squelches any chal lenge to its power. (Used your meal plan at Smoothie King in the Blatt P.E. Center? I didn’t think so.) USC needs to start looking for an al ternative to Marriott. Here’s why. First of all, the problem is not so much the “din ing” as it is the “service.” The people of the Grand Market Place, Taco Bell, etc., are apathetic, rude and in competent. Just for the sake of contro versy, I’d like to share this story with you. Last year, I was in the GMP and I asked the lady for some fried chicken. She was quite generous, and as she was handing me the plate, the other lady said (as if I were deaf), “Why you give him that much? He white.” I managed to hide any emotion and pretended not to have heard it. (Hey, I had my fried chicken, right?) That is what I think of Marriott Din ing Services. I also think of the stupid “meal times” and the fact that you can only use one meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Inconvenient times, rude help, bad food and outrageous prices make on-cam pus dining worthless. All this outweighs the fact that all you need to get this is an easy-to-lose little card. Of course, I don’t see USC getting rid of Marriott anytime soon. I am sure they are cashing in on the exploitation of USC students just as much as Marriott. So what you need to do is get rid of Marriott. That’s right. From here on, don’t get a meal plan. I didn’t this semester, and it is pure genius. What you need to do is get a cash card. Here’s how it works. If you get a cash card, it’s basically a credit card for on campus. But unlike a meal plan, you can use it whenever you want and eat as much as you want No more telling the cashier that your Sprite is wa ter so that you don’t go over your desig nated meal price because you ran out of bonus bucks last week. EVERY MEAL GOES OVER! AHH! And here’s the clinch er. If you don’t use your entire cash card at semester’s end, your balance is refund ed. Any missed meals aren’t refunded when you have a meal plan. I have a $200 cash card. It’s mainly for coffee in the morning and smoothies in the afternoon. ,1 occasionally eat a meal or two, but I mainly subsist by doing my own cook ing or eating out. In the long run, it’s cheap er than a meal plan and the food is a hel luva lot better. So that’s it. Get a cash card and tell Marriott to turn its meal plans sideways and stick them, well, you know where. Nathan White is a political sci ence junior. He can be reached at gamecock viewpoints® hotmail.com Meal plans easier, more convenient It's 8:45 am. You just woke up and you have class in less than 20 min utes. You scramble out of bed looking for a pair of jeans and a t shiit. You grab your books and head out of your residence hall. As you ap proach Gambrell, you realize that you’re starving. You dodge into the Side walk Cafe and hope that they have your favorite chocolate- covered doughnut. As you approach the register, you sud denly realize you didn’t bring any money with you. The clerk gives you a blank stare as she takes your card." Meal," you say, remembering your faithful meal card. You take a bite out of that doughnut as you clumsily walk into your least favorite class, history. Oh well, you think to yourself, at least I have a meal plan. The meal plans are here for .one rea son — convenience. If you have a car and spend only a few hours on campus per week, the meal plan isn't the right choice for you. However, if you have 15 hours of class es and live in a dorm, the meal plan is the most logical way to eat. Having a meal plan guarantees that you will have between five and 21 hot meals per week, depending on which plan you get. It also promises that these meals will be satisfying. Mar riott prides itself on service. If for any rea son you are not satisfied, you can bring your food back and tell the manager. They will be more than happy to give you a re fund or accommodate you accordingly. You can also join the food commit tee and discuss issues that concern you about Marriott Dining Services. One great benefit of having a meal plan is Bonus Bucks. Sophomores have an ex tra $ 100 at their disposal. You can use that money to get an extra snack or drink. Most of the meals are set up so you don't have to use your Bonus Bucks to contribute to your meal. (Unless you want two entrees and dessert every night of the week.) Perhaps the best thing about having a meal plan at'USC is having fast-food ser vices right at our doorstep. True, other schools also have fast-food restaurants, but, for example, at Clemson, students can't use their meal plan to pay for meals from Chick-Ftl-A or similar venues. Some students complain about not hav ing enough choices, but we have a ton of places to eat on campus. Wfe have five din ing halls within residence halls, and the Grand Market Place has five lines. We have eight franchises/specialty restaurants. We also have three express cafes around cam pus. If students would take the time to vis it these places, they could see we have a lot of places to eat on campus, all of which accept your meal plan. Meal plans are by no means better than shopping for food and cooking in your dorm. Sure, you can go to Wal-Mart and buy two weeks of groceries for less than $70. But, if you have a hectic schedule and tons of meetings and otheractivities, it may be hard to find time to clean up and cook meals during the week. When you break down the cost of the meal plan, the num bers are somewhat surprising. Students with 21 meals per semester are paying $2.72 per meal. Basically, meal plans are simple, con venient and economically sensible. We should support meal plans because the more students have them, the more Marriott will do to improve the program. MacKenzie Craven is a journalism sophomore. She can be reached at gamecock viewpoints® hotmail.com Letters Cat catcher not racist After reading The Gamecock's article “Black cat causes racial allegations” in the March 22 edition, I laughed hysterically. But then I became concerned. According to the article, a student in correctly believed that a cat was being harmed and wished to help it. This is un derstandable. But the way the student confronted the problem reveals a major problem in today’s society. Though amusing, the student sincere ly maintained that the cat was being trapped and confined on the basis of the cat's color and that the trapper, who uses his free time to help animals, was guilty of racism. This exposes the fact that some members of so ciety are conditioned to falsely ciy out racism when dealing with a problem. They are con ditioned to do this because it usually gets results. I in no way condone racism (especial ly against cats) and I am aware that it exists in many parts of our lives. However, to encourage racial harmony in our society, we need to make efforts to confront problems without using the “race card,” especially when race has noth ing to do with it. Will Fogle Finance and Economics Junior College Press Exchange I and stop being Co FRIENDLY WITH PAKISTANIS— VT S REALLY MAKiNG ME UNCOMFORTABLE [