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Quote, Unquote ‘We cannot support the lottery because it will prey upon those who sit in our pews and live in our communities.’ Reverend Joe Darby, Seventh Episcopal Diocese of the AME Church ffiu (Bmccock Serving the Carolina Community since 1Q08 Editorial Board Brock Vergakis • Editor in Chief Kevin Langston • Viewpoints Editor Nathan White • Asst. Viewpoints Editor Patrick Rathbun • Editorial Contributor Brad Walters • Editorial Contributor Martha Wright • Editorial Contributor FDA chooses wisely in RU-486 approval '» -yt’s called mifepristone. RU-486. The abortion pill. It’s also been I called a revolution in women’s reproductive control. The FDA’s -Lapproval of mifepristone this past Thursday gives U.S. women an alternative to surgical abortion, a benefit women in Europe have had since the pill’s 1988 origin in France. When mifepristone hits the market in about a month, women will be able to end their pregnancies early and in their own homes. Only* two days after FDA approval of RU-486, a Catholic priest crashed his car into the Illinois Women’s Center and hacked at the building with an ax. Clinic violence by abortion foes — which in recent years has included harassment, break-ins, bombings and even murder — is a primary reason mifepristone’s approval is a wise decision. Though the drug will initially be available through abortion providers, family practitioners and gynecologists will eventually be able to prescribe RU-486 for about the same price as surgical abortion. This will make it harder for anti-abortion ac tivists to target specific facilities and will further secure anonymity for women seeking abortion services. I Abortion rights is an issue colored by politics, and challenges to Roe v. Wade — such as partial birth abortion bans — have been struck down by only one or two votes. This year, when a presiden tial victory could mean as many as three Supreme Court appoint ments, it’s good to know the FDA has brought the choice to end a pregnancy closer to what Roe v. Wade intended it to be: a private decision between a woman and her physician. Give USC Olympians their hero's welcome The University of South Carolina had 18 participants in the Summer Olympics. These athletes and coaches should be welcomed back to America and USC with open arms. They deserve praise for representing the university and their respective countries in such an admirable manner. Being an Olympian is an accomplishment in itself, and they should be viewed as champions merely because of that title. , Many will be returning to America donning cherished inter national honors. Five medals went to athletes with USC ties, in cluding top honors in baseball. USC athletes were represented in baseball, diving, swimming and track and field events. As long as USC has Olympic repre sentatives, that fact should tell us that we have some of the best and most highly regarded athletes to offer the world. They gave their best efforts, competing or winning against the world’s greatest athletes. USC’s Olympians have made monumental achievements and 'contributed to the success of their countries’ representation in the summer games, and they should be treated with a great deal of respect. About Us 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. Address The Gamecock 1400 Greene Street Columbia, SC 29208 Offices on third floor of the Russell House. ^ 'STUDENT Media Area code 803 Advertising 777-3888 Classified 777-1184 Fax 777-6482 Office 777-3888 Gamecock Area code 803-777-7726 Editor in Chief gamecockeditor@hotmail.com University Desk gamecocudesk@hotmail.com City/State Desk gamecockcitydesk@hotmail.com Viewpoints gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com Spotlight gamecockspotlight@hotrnail.com Sports gamecocksports@hotmail.com Online www.gamecock.sc.edu Submission Policy Letters to the editor or guest columns are welcome from all members of the Carolina community. Letters should be 250-300 words. Guest columns should be an opinion piece of about 600 words Both must include name, phone number, profes sional title or year and major, if a student. Handwritten submissions must be personally delivered to Russell House room 333. E-mail submissions must include telephone number for confirmation and should be sent to gamecockviewpoints@hotmail com. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit for libel, style and space. Anonymous letters will not be pub lished. Photos are required for guest columnist and can provided by the submitter Call 777-7726 for more information. TwaMnoct '-’2MMMMI Brock Vergakis Amy Goulding Editor in Chief Sean Rayford Brandon Larrabee University Editor Charles Prashaw Amanda Silva John Huiett Asst University Editors City/State Editor John Bailey Kevin Langston Asst City/State Editor Viewpoints Editor Nathan White Jared Kelowitz Asst. Viewpoints Editor Day Sports Editor MacKenzie Craven Kyle Almond Meredith Davis Night Sports Editor Asst. Spotlight Editors Mackenzie Clements Miranda LaLonde Jason Harmon Ann Marie Miani Ashley Melton Jennie Moore Martha Wright Katie Smith Copy Editors Design Editors Studcht Mowa Erik Collins Robyn Gombar Faculty Adviser Melissa Millen Ellen Parsons Brantley Roper Director of Nicole Russell Student Media Advertising Staff Susan King Sean De Luna Creative Director Todd Hooks Melanie Hutto Carolyn Griffin Emilie Moca Business Manager Martin Salisbury Sherry F. Holmes Creative Services Classified Manager College Press Exchange BET ARe'tbvJ SURET T TttATS NOTONe OF l ■ THOSe HOUJWOOO UNDeRAGe ._ I HI Movie MBRKeTiNG I Greek Life Fining your way to friendship There are certain things stu dents just have to accept about USC, and one of these is the Greek system. The Greek system at USC provides this school and its in dividual members with a lot of ben efits. But let’s be honest; students don’t join frater so. But for some reason sororities do. Apparently sororities don’t seem to care if someone actually has to work on the night of a meeting. They ap parently think it’s more important for someone to know what fraternity they’re having their next mixer with instead of studying for an im portant exam. This practice is absolutely ludi crous. Real friends wouldn’t fine some one for forgetting to mow the lawn or to meet someone for a drink. But I guess those who are in these soror ities aren’t real friends, or maybe they’re jealous of the actual friend ships had by sororities that don’t fine their members. I wonder just how many sororities told their potential new members dur ing recruitment that if they couldn’t make a meeting, they would be fi nancially penalized until they learned their lesson. I’m guessing none. It’s not exactly something to brag about. But neither is fining someone for not participating in the building of a homecoming float. And then there’s being fined for smoking in a T-shirt with official letters on it or — as one of my sorority friends told me—even for shacking up with someone who you’re not officially lavaliered to. As bad as it is to fine one’s way to friendship, it’s just as bad to-fine one’s way to conformity. Sororities claim they don’t try to strip their girls’ in dividuality, but when you financial ly penalize someone for doing some tliing that the herd doesn’t agree with, that’s exactly what’s being.taught. To counteract the often negative image that seems to accompany Greek life, a lot of Greek oiganizations per form community service. For a lot of these oiganizations, they do this be cause they sincerely want to help oth ers and develop leadership skills. Hey, I think that’s wonderful. What’s not wonderful, is — surprise, surprise! — fining someone who doesn’t partici pate. Once someone is forced to per form community service, it’s no longer service, it’s communism. It amazes me that students actually pay to be part of an organization tliat would hand out so many fines for a plethora of reasons all in the name of friend ship. Now, not all sororities at USC do this. The sororities who don’t mani acally hand out fines left and right to their members should be damn proud they don’t. I would hope everyone who considers going through recruit ment next year takes time to ask each sorority whether they participate in fining their way to friendship, or do they have the real thing. I would also encourage every sorority who does n’t participate in fining to write a let ter to the editor to make students aware of who does and who doesn’t. I’m not going to personally identify those who do fine, but you know who you are. And soon enough, the rest of the university will, too. Happy re cruitment next year. nities and sororities to make great con tributions to society. They join the Greek system to have a good time and make some friends’ But they claim to be more than just friends once they’re finally initiated after pledging. They’re supposed to be brothers .and sisters. While there are undoubtedly strong friendships and bonds formed in fra ternities and sororities, apparently in some sororities, members can’t be trusted to become friends on their own. They’re forced into it through fines and penalties. Call me crazy, but fining your way to friendship isn’t exactly, well, friend ship. A lot of sororities on campus fine their members for things such as miss ing meetings or not participating in sorority events. Some fines can be avoided by writing an excuse, but is the whole fining systemreally nec essary? Fraternities don’t seem to think memmmmmmm m a? Brock Vergakis is a junior jour nalism major. He can be reached at gamecockview points@hotmail. com Letters • Service fraternity continues to provide its services to USC To the Editor, Alpha Phi Omega (APO) has joined a cooperative effort with the University Transportation Services in order to make sure students, faculty and staff can safely get across campus. APO is not egotistical nor ignorant enough to compete with the entity that it serves. It is here to do service to the uni versity as is stated in its founding princi ples. APO is a volunteer oiganization whose members offer their time, free of change, to make sure students, faculty and staff can get across campus safely. The escort ser vice (available 8 p.m-midnight, Sunday - Thursday at 777-DUCK) has been serv ing the needs of its riders for 29 years and continues to do so. The escort service should be used by riders who are unable to get to shuttle stops due to a disability, a dark, unsafe walk to a stop, etc. The shuttle system is simply another way to prevent students from be ing in danger. As a paying organization as well as a single-purpose group, the shut tle service can run longer hours and focus all of its effort on campus safety. APO is dedicated to service to the community, the university and the nation. Therefore, it is unable to focus all of its time on the escort service. The escort ser vice will continue to cooperate with the university for many years to come, and it will continue to fulfill a need that has not been met by any other group. Jim Schwaller Business Management Senior Former President, Alpha Phi Omega Reader takes issue with Viewpoints page To the Editor, I feel I must take issue with Assistant Viewpoints Editor and columnist Nathan While’s latest assault on historical fact and modem life. The Olympic Games had not deteri orated into “slaves competing for their lives against wild animals” by Nero’s reign. i Nero participated in the Olympic Games during his Greek tour, 67-68. The gladiatorial games evolved in Italy inde pendently of the Olympics out of Etruscan funerary custom. As for the revival of that Olympic spir it which Mr. White calls for, both cheat ing ;uid sponsorship were present in the ancient system. When athletes win to day in the Olympics, their corporate spon sors reap the benefits and the athletes have a source of income. If you don’t agree with this system, don’t watch: Please don’t whine. Three individuals are listed as editors, and misspellings still occur in the most blatant of places, like the “Quote, Un quote,” the meaning of which was com pletely lost by the lack of proofreading. How can I have pride in my school’s news paper when even its staff does not? I find my answer in Valerie Match ette’s excellent front-page article on Undeiground Columbia. This article was interesting, informative, and truly a joy to read. Kudos and thank you, Ms. Match ette! You have restored my faith in the media. BrodieLide Classical Studies Senior Get printed in Wni CBamecocIt submit your letters, columns and editorial cartoons gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com Drug Use Marijuana never gets anyone in a ruckus Tnis summer, i saw too much ugliness and misconduct at vari ous social gatherings. I had to restrain and separate too many ag gressive, furious bod ies from colliding. I'd never been involved in any sei> ous physical alterca tion before this sum mer, but my clean fighting record has been tarnished. The attacker thought the attack could easily be excused by the intake of hard liquor, but my sentiment toward him won’t ever be the same. All of this behavior can be blamed on drinking. Alcohol can escalate internal rage and frustration into outward physical ex pression. It’s a depressant and a confronta tionant. At one party, my friends and I had to drag and restrain another friend from a fight that escalated into a brawl. The party’s at tendants were laige in number andaliverse in background. Grappling ensued. Cliques clashed, blood dripped and the authorities arrived. Who knows? The violence might’ve resulted even if alcohol weren’t present, but alcohol certainly didn’t curb anyone’s destructive tendencies. I think those fists of rage wouldn’t have flown if not for drink. n I also attended my share of parties where marijuana was present. There was no fight ing, no violence, no destruction. I’m cer tain the users didn ’t awaken the next morn ing lamenting their decision to ingest the drug because of the behavior it might’ve in duced. I’ve heard countless stories about regrets that generally accompany getting drunk, but I’ve heard few stories about stoned misbehavior. I l/nm.. ------1_•-1 T ’_ happy I’ve gotten to know them. I’ve nev er felt threatened by them. Some have told me they feel like they’re better people for having smoked the amount they did. I know hyperactive people who swear they would’ve been jailed if not for pot. It doesn’t hurt any one’s appetite either. It has generated many bursts of creativity and laughter, which might not have materialized otherwise, though one can make the same case for alcohol. Bill Maher said something about how smoking pot certainly doesn’t hurt your taste in music. Although I’m not the strongest advocate of the drug, I’m also no stranger to it, and my music collection has become more eclectic because of marijuana. But I’ve also heard statistics on the po tency of modem marijuana. If marijuana is 50 percent more potent than it was during the Vietnam era, then this explains a lot. The vast majority of my music and film col lection is comprised of entertainment from the mild-pot era. It seems that the propor tion of entertainment with creativity, rel evance and resonance was much higher then. While the proportion might also be attrib uted to the issues that were present, I doubt this is the only contributing factor. I consider myself a weekend drinker, and if drinking ever made me act with mal ice, then I would stop drinking. Some drinkers tend to drink for the wrong rea sons, just as stoners tend to smoke for the wrong reasons. But 1 have yet to meet a pot smoker who gets stoned to fight or outwardly ex press frustration or discontent. In modera tion, both dnigs are generally acceptable, but in my experiences, drinking has a more detrimental effect. Doctors have told me that a night of drinking yields far more physical harm than does a night of getting high. I would aigue it’s more psychologically damaging as well. If gregariousness is the intended effect of drinking, then pugnacity shouldn’t be sought after. This rhetoric might not prove anything about these dnigs. I’m not suggesting that everyone must get stoned, but I’m also not suggesting that everyone should get drunk. Intake of these drugs should depend on the individual and one’s intent. f Patrick Rathbun is a junior jour nalism major. He writes every Wednesday. He can be reached at gamecock viewpoints@hot mail.com