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Quote, Unquote N4 ‘ Besides my mother I’ve always looked up to W Claire Huxtable.’ Jotaka Eaddy, student government president mm-^ SaS Wit (Bmtcock 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 Teacher evaluations must be accessible Thanks to the developing technology of various Web compa nies, students throughout the country can now post and re view teacher evaluations on the Web, usually for free. USC, in fact, is getting in on the act, as students from our uni versity have posted more than 20 reviews so far on a site called www.teacherreviews.com. The concept of online teacher evaluation is extremely valuable for students, as it can help ease the advisement process by giving them insight into a professor’s teaching methods and personality. The written evaluations that students fill out in class at the end of the semester are notoriously secretive, as only professors are al lowed to see them. USC’s Honors College seems to be the only college on campus interested in making evaluations easily avail able and accessible to advisees. Granted, students who think they have been ill-treated by pro fessors will be the most likely respondents, and thus advisees who visit these sites are more likely to encounter negative comments than positive ones. But injustices have always been bigger catalysts for change than anything else has.. No student wants to get saddled with a bad, dull, ineffectual or unfair teacher, but there’s really no way of knowing without read ing other students’ accounts. And as long as students can back up their claims with legitimate reasons and examples, these Web sites can be valuable tools for advisees. With the advent of online evaluations, even particularly stub born professors understand that criticism concerning their teaching abilities is available to anyone with a computer. And it just might influence them to change their ways. New look for arena good for city, campus Architects on Tuesday unveiled the newest plan for the USC sports arena, a vast improvement from what architects originally released to the board of trustees in February. The new look, featuring a contemporary glass atrium and a fountain in front, won’t cost USC any more than it already has budgeted, according to architects for the Atlanta firm in chaige of building the arena. The old design, far more plain looking, didn’t match well the looks of other construction projects (like the Strom Thurmond Fitness and Wellness Center) that USC has planned for that area of campus expansion. The new design is not only a better match for USC and for the city, but it’s far more reminiscent of the region’s newest arenas, including the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, which will be one of this new arena’s chief competitors for concerts and shows. USC’s trustees are to be commended for not accepting less than the best, and Carolina now has an arena plan it can be proud of. The arena will be at Greene and Lincoln streets. About IJ s 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 th4 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. . The Gamecock AOORESS ' The Gamecock , Am, Godding 1400 Greene Street ldit0'..'P.Chie' Tr,,,s L)mn Columbia.SC 29208 Brad Walters Photo Editors ... , „ .„ Managing Editor Will Giltasp, Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Brock Vergakis Online Editor Student Media Area code 803 Viewpoints Editor Peter Johnson Advertising 777-3888 Clayton Kale Asst. Viewpoints Editor Classified 777-1184 News Editor Kell, Haggerty Fax 777-6482 Brandon Lanabee Patrick Rathbun Office 777-3888 Associate News Editor Asst. News Editors Rebecca Cronican MacKenzie Craven Gamecock Area code 803 Ann Marie Miani Asst. EtCetera Editor Editor gckedasc.edu 777-3914 EtCetera Editors Elizabeth Rod News gamecocknewsahotmail.com 777-7726 David Clonlnger Ass!. Sports Editor Viewpoints gamecockviewpointsahotmail.com Shannon Rooke Rob Fleming Etc. gcketcasc.edu 777-3913 Sports Editors Asst. Encore Editor Encore! gamecockencoreahotmail.com 777-3913 Kristin F reestate Charles Prashaw Sports gamecocksportsehotmail.com 777-7182 Cop, Desk Chief Shawn Singleton Online www.gamecock.sc.edu 777-2833 Renee Olign, Charlie Wallace Submission Policy copy tana senior writer* Letters to the editor or guest columns are welcome *',in Em", Streyer „ . .. . , „ Encore Edita Editaial Contributor from all members of the Carolina community. Letters _ \jld *-jj 250-300 words. Guest columns should be an H>IA opinion^tece of about 600-700 words- SCT Both must include name, phone number, profes- Sus3n King Citified Manager sional title or year and major, if a student. Handwritten Creative Directa 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. ^odd Hooks Graduate Assistant The Gamecock reserves the right to edit for libel, . Robyn Combar . . . .. ... .. . 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 Staff College Press Exchange r J I w you W& SHOULD Wife CON® L.___ State Issues Time to improve civil rights is now In South Caroli na’s controver sial history, one social and political aspect exists that differentiates the Palmetto State from most other South eastern states. While Arkansas, Mississippi, Geor gia and Alabama faced a swarm of civil rights march es and nonviolent demonstrations throughout the 1960s, South Car olina dodged many oi me issues in me name 01 peaceiui in tegration.” By engaging in this process, the state’s citizens never had the opportuni ty to outright address the question of civ il rights through civil disobedience. Fi nally, we do. With the remarkable King Day rally at the Statehouse — the laigest demon stration in state history with nearly 50,000 protestors—South Carolina finally began to deal with this question of how nonvio lent protests can bring about an enormous tide of social reform. True, the S.C. House — out of step with mainstream citizens — has yet to adopt any proposal for the flag’s removal, but with a tremendous back ing from the business and religious com munities, more than 60 percent of the state’s citizens want it down. Quite possi bly, maybe the only solution for bringing the banner down is to knock these legis lators out of office in November, thus re warding Gov. Hodges and S.C. Democrats. As many of you might know, Mayor Joe Riley, D-Charleston, has organized a march — Get In Step with the People of South Carolina—from Charleston to Co lumbia to gamer even more support for the flag’s removal. While not quite as large as the King Day rally because it is more of a grass-roots effort rather than organize by a national organization, this event still has a lot of marchers. The march will end at the Statehouse on Thursday, unfortu nately with a counter rally by Confeder ate supporters on the other side of the build ing. Finally with this week’s march, we can address civil rights in a straightforward manner. Unlike the King Day rally, the Legislature will be in session, and they will not be able to miss the demonstrators. A staunch defender of the flag, Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, said the march was only a “political stunt” and he would not budge on the issue. Yet, if the House holds out, the national media will shed an even more negative light upon the state, creating a fed-up atmosphere among most South Carolinians who want immediate closure. Get In Step has broad-based support from many of the state’s respected lead ers. Besides Riley and S.C. NAACP President James Gallman, other marchers include novelist Pat Conroy (The Prince of Tides), former Lt. Gov. Nick Theodore, USC head coaches Lou Holtz and Eddie Fogler, future Democratic gubernatorial candidates Inez Tenenbaum and Bob Coble, and even university President John Palms. Give credit to Gov. Hodges also for his controversial participation. The following cast breaks the generalization that the flag’s removal is an issue pertinent to only the African-American community. And, then do not foiget the ordinary citizens who just want to move on to more critical issues. A state bottoming out an- - nually in national rankings in education, obesity and teen-age pregnancy cannot af ford to waste a legislative session on a pet ty problem like this —although the Leg islature always finds a way to squander a session on pointless matters like video pok er and this flag. The state government, I hope a Democratic one after November, will initiate conscientious efforts on ex panding child healthcare and revamping our education system in a state where many children start grade school malnour ished, un-immunized or just plain ill. The power of peaceful, social protest has become the one instrument that can generate reform in recent decades. We, as one state, one people, must end this de bate by removing the flag. Some conservatives will brand the marchers extremists. In the midst of the civil rights struggle, when others labeled Dr. King an extremist, he replied, “I grad ually gained a bit of satisfaction from be ing considered an extremist.” He then pro ceeded to show how Paul, Martin Luther, Lincoln, Jefferson and even Jesus were ex tremists for justice. So by this measure of extremism, we too should adopt this cause. Whether you believe the flag symbolizes racial hatred or whether you promote the flag as an honor to Confederate dead, you must march Thursday to bring an end to this divisive debate; our population has an enormous potential to show the nation a shining example of how democratic ac tivism and economic development can lift a state from despair. Corey Ford is a liberal arts sophomore. The Viewpoints editor can be reached at gamecock viewpoints® hotmaii.com Letters March to Columbia a weak statement As many of you know, Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley has recently set out to make a statement by leading a group of people in a 120-mile march in protest of the Confederate Naval Jack. Now, I love that flag and I do not want to see it re moved, but I must admit that I was awed at the thought of people marching 120 miles to take a stand for what they believe. Until I learned that the marchers will walk as far as they can in one day and then be bused back to sleep in their warm beds at night. Then, in the morning, the buses will ship them back to where they left off so they can pick it up qgain. This is the lamest excuse for a protest march that I have ever heard. They are making no statement what soever except that they are going to walk 120 miles and get to the Statehouse and look like a bunch of pansies. Oh yeah, and their respected leader, Joe Riley, forgot to reserve the Statehouse, so they are going to walk all that way just to be able to stand on the sidewalk. Big statement. They are insulting the great civil rights marches of the ‘60s and making themselves out to h i a huge joke. I know one thing; I will be at the Statehouse to greet them on Thursday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and I will have a nice big sign saying, “Want to make a statement? Leave the buses at home!” Rebecca Gause History/Political Science Sophomore Confederate flag not an important issue Although I am, in every meaning of the word, a nonracist, I am a South Car olinian. I believe this great state has im pacted our nation in many ways. Whether they have been good or bad, South Car olina has had many effects on our great na tion that will remain throughout our his tory. I believe that the Confederate flag rep resents many of South Carolina’s accom plishments as well as its mistakes. The Con federate flag represents the bold character that South Carolina has possessed through out the years and it reminds the sandlap pers of the tragedy that took place during the Civil War. I know that to some, the Confederate flag represents the struggle of the slaves or the injustices of America, which poi soned our culture 3$, the time, but to many « others, it represents the lives of their an cestors who were sacrificed for their be liefs. I know many people say that the flag should come down because it offends some South Carolinians but I propose to them that there are many things in our nation and state that offend me and I know that they must be tolerated because that is what our nation encourages — tolerance. If everything that offends a portion of the population were “brought down,” what would we have to remind us of the im pressive journey we have taken to becoming the great country we are? I understand the NAACP’s claims that the Civil War ended many years ago, and that is why the flag should come down, but honestly, the war will never end. The Civil War will continue until we as a peo ple, as a nation, step back and realize that things such as the Confederate flag are not important. We are letting these trivial things be come hindrances to a progression to gen uinely be “one nation, under God.” , Brent Cooler Social Issues Males failing to evolve Men are an exception to Dar win’s theory. But, for some reason, men inflict their dominance on all as pects of American, no, strike that, world society. I remember an after-class rap ses sion with a biology professor, when we were discussing the different aspects of evolution. One thing he pointed out to me is women seem to be further evoivea ororogicany man men. I’m not trying to get into an anatomy lesson, so I’ll paraphrase what he said by - putting it like this: Men’s bodies are con siderably simpler than the bodies of women. Think about the complexity of women’s reproductive organs compared with men’s. But biology isn’t the only thing that separates men from women on the evolu tionary ladder. Behavior is one thing that can be taken per se as evidence of man’s failure to evolve further. Here is a scene from a party. It could be any party, any clique of people. People are sitting around the room and standing around the keg, and everybody everywhere is drunk. Then, two guys (they are friends) begin “play-fighting.” One of them is obviously the dominant one, but the aggressor is like a juvenile chimpanzee trying to become the leader of the group. A few playful jabs to the ribs... a few el bows to the head — all while smiling and laughing — the challenger seems to be win ning. But the alpha male refuses to be beat en. He sees his “leadership” sliding away from him, so he grabs the challenger and brings him to the floor with a sleeper hold. The challenger at this point knows he’s defeated but still tries to break free. But Al pha wants the challenger and all the sur rounding males to know who the leader of the pack is. He goes on to try to humil iate his competitor by forcing him to beg for mercy. I saw this scene about a month ago. The whole time, I thought I was watching “Wild Discovery.” And now, it seems males everywhere are applying the sleeper-hold, not just on each other, but on society in general. There is a definite backlash on the feminist move ment. Blame it on the images seen on tele vision, blame it (as many have) on the Na tional Organization for Women’s inaction during Zippeigate; it doesn’t matter. The fact is that women everywhere are being seen as — and treated as — objects. What else is new, right? WfeU, it’s just selling more than ever now. Just turn on E! after 10 p.m. or watch “The Man Show.” These are prime examples of the backlash on feminism. Maxim magazine is one of the most sexist publications I’ve ever read (despite the fact that much of its content is written by or ad vised by women). Women have made great gains in leadership roles in society, but they could be doing more. Think about the impact women have on society. It is impossible for a man to be as nurturing and loving to a child as a woman. Wbmen should use these hurturing instincts and go after more lead ership roles. It would be for the betterment of society. I realize this is a generalization, but could you imagine having a woman presi dent? Especially a woman who has been a mother. She’s washed enough skid-marked underwear to be able to start cleaning Wash ington’s dirty laundry. And she has sense enough not to go knocking on the neigh bor’s door before picking up the garbage that has blown into her yard. I honestly don’t believe a woman com mander-in-chief would commit troops half a world away unless America’s survival or the survival of an important ally were at stake (do you think a woman president would have sent troops to Vietnam — a country many Americans had never heard of — I doubt it). While I don’t think women should be given special opportunities just because they are women, I believe they should have every opportunity that men have had forever. I believe this not because I feel guilty be cause I’m a white, middle-class male, but because a woman is no less of a person than I am. And if you ask me, there are traits in women that should be emulated by men. . Clayton Kate is a journalism sophomore. The Viewpoints editor can be reached at gamecock viewpoints® hotmaii.com