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Apartment hunting for the clever college student COREY HUTCHINS GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Be careful of older neighbors and drunk roomates during search I read somewhere that college is starting up again in the fall. Someone told me it’s been hap pening like that for the past three years too, but whose keeping score? One thing that you may have to worry about, though, is where you’re going to live. Because after you shake Dad’s hand, get the "remember what you’re here for son” speech, listen to Mom cry about the day you were bom and hope she wraps it up somewhere between happy hour and the new Road Rules, you don’t want to be one of those kids staying at the Holiday Inn until you can find an apartment. If you already have an on-cam pus assignment then this article isn’t for you and you can stop reading now and go back to ar ranging furniture around the garage with your friends saying "Dude, pretend this old tire is the bean bag chair and this big box is the refrigerator, what do you think about this set-up? I just bought a Scarface poster on e-Bay. Man, this semester’s gonna rule. High five!” If you are already set up to live in the Greek Village you can also stop reading this and go back to the cigar club, looking for Widespread Panic tickets or fix ing the lift kit on your SUV. If you’re sick of hiding kegs in computer boxes, blowing smoke through toilet paper rolls with dryer sheets, having your room mate mess with your away mes sages and you’re ready to live in an apartment, then this article is for you. Keep reading. I lived on campus for two years and they were the best two years of my life. I lived in an apartment this year and it was a blast as well. I am a complete advocate for on campus housing, but if you’re fi nally sick of it, or can’t get it, then I’m going to break down apart ment living real quick. An apartment is your place, not the university’s, and that can be a great thing. Try getting a Slip n’ Slide set up in a dorm room. Adversely, an apartment complex can lack certain floor camaraderie and you might feel awkward ask ing the 40 year old next door if he wants to flood the hallway, freeze it and play hockey with Busch Light boxes. The last thing I’m going to say is look at the lobby before you rent. While my future roommate crunched numbers and inquired about Internet access, I was run ning a small clip through my head of the same drunk kid bursting through the lobby doors at 3 a.m., bouncing off the marble pillars and crashing through the glass coffee table. Good luck finding a place this fall and if it doesn’t work out drop me a line and stay at my place for the weekend. Bring a girl. Corey Hutchins is a fourth-year public relations student. IN YOUR OP-INION I Homophobia has dangerous results There is a New York Times article from July 9 that talks about a Lt. Col. who is challenging in court his 1997 discharge for being gay. This decorated Vietnam veteran was eight days away from his twenty year retirement date and was found to be gay, then discharged and denied his hard-earned pension. Imagine suffering for your country the hell that was the Vietnam War only to be treated like this later. This is dangerous. This discourages patriotism, for one thing, Decause tnis is a classic example of our country betraying this man. One of the fundamentals of American society and tradition is separation of church and state. The prejudice against gay men and women is based upon interpretations of the Christian bible. The only argument "against homosexuality", is that it is not an acceptable way of being to that particular religion. As if it were a choice, just like being black or having blond hair is not a choice. This prejudice is shameful in the world today and will be even more so when we look back on today from the future. Our great nation claims today to be the harbinger of virtue to the world, yet many of our politicians are cowards when it comes to standing up for virtue at home and facing the hypocrisy that is allowed to exist in our system today. The greatest people in history have stood up against hypocrisy like this. It is hardest to stand up for what is right when those around you are supporting what is wrong. How hard was it for southern politicians in the days of slavery to denounce the legality of slavery, which was in direct contradiction to our constitutional principles? ALEX NICHOLSON III THIRD-YEAR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES MAJOR Submission Policy Letters to the editor should be less than 300 words and include name, phone number, professional title or year and major, if a student. E-mail letters to gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com. Letters will be edited. Anonymous letters will not be published. Call the newsroom at 777-7726 for more information. Winners and Sinners U.S. MILITARY A hearty thanks goes out to the. men and women in uniform who ended Uday and Qusay Hussein’s days on Earth. jg CEASE-FIRE IN LIBERIA Hopefully now the ^ government and the rebels can work out a concrete peace plan. CARLTON DOTSON Murder is never good, but | mudering one’s teammate and best friend is If even worse. H’ CALIFORNIA A recall vote? If you don’t like Gov. Gray Davis, then wait until the next gubenatorial election like normal citizens. Gamecock Guotables "There is probably no other artist in music history that makes sense to play for 24 hours." ELYN BLACKMAN WUSC STATION MANAGER, ON THE UPCOMING 24-HOUR BEATLES MARATHON "It is a critical state in the nomination process. It is, in fact, the state in which I was born.” SEN. JOHN EDWARDS ON SOUTH CAROLINA'S ROLE IN THE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY RACE GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS In last weeks paper, an article incorrectly stated that Nic Thompson had no formal musical education. The Gamecock regrets this error. If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us at gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com. ONLINE This week’s question Should WUSC be broadcast on the Gamecock Cable preview channel? Vote at www.dailygamecock.com. IN THEIR WORDS "History has taught us not to assume. Not only does it make an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me,’ but it is bad politics." CASSIE DUONG WASHINGTON STATE DAILY EVERGREEN ON THE ICIA INTEELIGENCE SNAFU REGARDING IRAQ “Whether it's Texas and Oklahoma's annual Red River Shootout game or Florida and Florida State's battle for bragging rights every season on the gridiron, football fans can enjoy the feel of a Saturday afternoon spent in the trenches, regardless of their respective height, speed or body-fat percentage.” CUNT HALE UNIVERSITY Of TEXAS DAILY TEXAN ON EA SPORTS’ NCAA FOOTBALL 2004