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THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, July 16, 2003 5 VIEWPOINTS IN OUR OPINION Shuttle service helps parking Once again, we're trading parking spaces for grass. Students were outraged when the university took away parking near the Russell House two years ago, and this move to remove parking from behind Preston will certainly anger students now. In the end, though, the Trustees are right about this. Central campus should be beautified, and that means tearing up asphalt and concrete and laying down sod. Parking should be moved to the edges of campus so that students can walk to and from their classes without having to worry about being run over. First, though, Parking Services needs to stop handing out more passes than there are parking spots. Also, an easy solution to the parking mess is already in effect. The Carolina Shuttle System does a good job at getting students around campus in a timely manner. If more students rode the shuttle, they would not have to worry about paying parking meters or parking fines. Additionally, there would be more parking available on campus. If nothing else, students should ride the shuttle because since some of the shuttles will be running on biodiesel fuel, and riding the shuttle would be environmentally friendly. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK STAFF Editor in Chief Corey Garriott Managing Editor Julia Knetzer News Editor Gabrielle Sinclair Viewpoints Editoi Wes Wolfe The Mix Editor Brian Ray Sports Editor Brad Senkiw Photo Editor Patricia Shadwell Page Designers Rachel Edwards, Patricia Shadwell Copy Editors Amy Genoble, Parul Joshi STUDENT MEDIA Faculty Advisor Erik Collins Advertising Manager Sarah Scarborough Creative Director Susan King Production Manager Patrick Bergen Business Manager Carolyn Griffin Classified Manager Sherry F. Holmes Advertising Staff John Blackshire TO PUCE AN AD The Gamecock 1400 Greene St. Columbia, S.C. 29208 Advertising: 777-3888 Classified: 777-1184 Fax: 777-6482 CONTACT INFORMATION Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Editor in Chief: gamecockeditor@hotmail.com News: gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Viewpoints: gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com The Mix: gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Sports: gamecocksports@hotmail.com Online: www.dailygamecock.com Newsroom: 777-7726 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. 'we know Trtev HAVe cHeM5CALWeAPotfs,Bur i THinK me reports on meiR EFFecTiveNess HAVe BeeN HYPED.' CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Students need a ‘drunk bus’ COREY HUTCHINS GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM A Five Points shuttle would keep USC safe South Carolina is the leading state in the nation for pedestri an deaths. It is also number one in the nation for alcohol-related deaths and bicycle fatalities. South Carolina is also last in line for public education. Not that these three could have anything to do with one another, of course. Especially while state-funded USC denies their students ade quate transportation to Five Points at night. Right now students walk from campus to Five Points, an area of Columbia so notorious for crime it has cameras covering it. Or we call a cab, waiting up to 40 min utes for it to arrive, and spend ing the equivalent of one drink on the three-minute ride. Our last option finds us driving or riding with impaired drivers. That is not supposed to happen, but it does. This option is inex cusable and cheap, just like the rationalization that driving while intoxicated is just as much a part of college life as underage drinking and pot. USC students drink and drive. And like the one time you have a date over and she happens to spot that booger stuck to the arm of your futon, the one time a driv er is involved with an alcohol re lated accident on the road you are forced to look at the problem. And deal with it. "Yeah, I drink and drive when I go to Five Points," said a USC student who wished to remain anonymous. "The only reason I do it is because I don't want to wait and pay for a cab, and I'm sure as hell not going to walk to there." As horrible as it is to hear, it's like catching your parents hav ing sex; you always knew it hap pened, but you never wanted to think about it. Being at USC I hear an awful lot of bad talk about Clemson. One thing I won't hear about, though, is Clemson's lack of free transportation to the bars and to fraternity parties. "Clemson Area Transit is dedicated to ex cellence in serving everyone with safe, friendly, and reliable public transportation” is the mis sion statement of the fare-free service paid for the by the city of Clemson. The University of South Carolina should adopt a similar service to their students. Because if USC cannot beat Clemson in football, it should at least help its students have an easier time get ting to the bars to forget about it. Corey Hutchins is a fourth-year public relations student.