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ONLINE POLL Will the football team beat Clemson this year? Go to www.dailygamecock.com to vote. Results posted Friday. TH AMECOCK EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR Adam Beam DESIGN DIRECTOR David Stagg NEWS EDITOR Michael LaForgia . THE MIX EDITOR Meg Moore COPY DESK CHIEF Gabrielle Sinclair VIEWPOINTS EDITOR Wes Wolfe SENIOR WRITER Kevin Fellner ASST. NEWS EDITOR Jon Turner IN OUR OPINION Worthy cause fuels annual blood feud USC-Clemson is more than a football game — it’s a blood drive. This week, students from the largest universities in the state will square off to see who can give the most blood. USC has more students than Clemson, so if everyone gave blood this competition is in the bag. But giving blood is bigger than just beating Clemson, though beating those orange-clad upstate denizens is good, no matter People need your blood, and what better way to serve than to help save a life while beating Clemson. the contest. According to the American Red Cross, every two seconds an American needs blood. Only 5 percent of the eligible U.S. population donates blood every year, while approxi mately 5 million people need hlnnrl rrancfiicirme ve*ar Tn 2001, Americans donated 15 million units of blood. In the same year, doctors transfused 14 million units of blood to 4.9 million patients —. about 38,000 units a day. Some students and faculty members might be squeamish about being pricked and drained of a few pints of blood, but the Red Cross has a few suggestions that can help with the experi ence. First, get a good night’s sleep before you donate blood, and be sure and eat breakfast or lunch. Drink extra water to help replace the blood you donate and avoid caffeine drinks, such as soda, tea and coffee. You should avoid alcohol after donating as well, since your tolerance level will be significandy lower. Eat rood with plenty or iron, such as red meat, hsh or beans. 1 ry to avoid fatty foods, such as hamburgers or fries, because they can affect the blood testing and cause it to be discarded. After you donate, make sure to continue drinking plenty of water and avoid heavy lifting or strenuous activity for about five hours. People need your blood, and what better way to serve than to help save a life while beating Clemson. It’s a win-win situation because, in the end, we all bleed garnet. IT’S YOUR RIGHT Exercise your right to voice your opii Create message boards at www.dailygamecock.com or send letters to the editor to gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu. ------“I ABOUT THE GAMECOCK EDITOR I I Adam beam DESIGN DIRECTOR David Stagg COPY DESK CHIEF Gabrielle Sinclair NEWS EDITOR Michael LaForgia ASST. NEWS EDITOR Jon Turner VIEWPOINTS EDITOR Wes Wolfe THE MIX EDITOR Meg Moore SPORTS EDITOR Jonathan Hillyard ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Daniel Kerr SENIOR WRITER Kevin Fellner PHOTO EDITOR Jason Steelman SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR Katie Kirkland PAGE DESIGNERS trin Cline, Staci Jordan, Jennifer Logan, Chas McCarthy, Jessica Ann Nielsen COPY EDITORS Jennifer Freeman, Anna Huntley, Daniel Regenscheit, Jason Reynolds, Jennifer Sitkowski, Shana Till, Steven Van Haren, Joey Wallace ONLINE EDITOR E.B. Davis PUBLIC AFFAIRS Jane Fielden, Katie Miles TO PLACE AN AD i ( The Gamecock ) 1400 Greene St. Columbia, S.C. 29208 F LUiN 1 AL 1 lINrUKMAlIUIN Offices on third floor of the Russell House. The Editor's office hours are Monday and Wednesday from 3-5 p.m. Editor: gamecockeditor@gwm.sc.edu News: gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu Viewpoints: gamecockopipions@gwm.sc.edu The Mix: gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu Sports: gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu Public Affairs: gamecockPR@yahoo.com Online: www.dailygamecock.com Newsroom-. 777-7726; Sports: 777-7182 Editor’s Office: 777-3914 3 1 U Ut.i’l 1 (UEUIA DIRECTOR Scott Lindenberg FACULTY ADVISER Erik Collins CREATIVE DIRECTOR Susan King BUSINESS MANAGER Carolyn Griffin ADVERTISING MANAGER Sarah Scarborough CLASSIFIED MANAGER Sherry F. Holmes PRODUCTION MANAGER Garen Cansler CREATIVE SERVICES Burke Lauderdale, Chelsea Felder, Laura Gough, Joseph Dannelly, Kristen Williams ADVERTISING STAFF Robert Carli, Breanna Evans, Ryan Gorman, Caroline Love, Jesica Johnson, Katie Stephens dvertising: 777-3888 lassified: 777-1184 ax: 777-6482 i ne udinet-uuK 15 uie editorially independent student newspaper of the University of South Carolina. It 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-activity fees. One free copy per reader. Additional V copies may be ' purchased for $1 each from the Department of Student Media. A fgoPOfeV CoMSTiTuTionAl u/0uU> Auu>w fog£l6N-&QgN d\TiZEHS TO Rv/N ?OR FR^SWC^T (T5 fo$5i$l£ 1 60v/£RNOR StoWtttet&eeR COUU? Run IN ‘00 A6AIN5T j 5WouU? Vo j weur wiwr A mrcHvei/ I T ThAT/ Vo£5 [ 5CH\WA«teN£66gft I, HAve A M<WAM4 Too 7 / _ * 9u CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Mom and Dad know how to party ■ When you move out, it’s time for the parents to have a good time After much consideration, I believe I am ready to announce to the world that I am officially an initiated member of the collegiate species. Having slept through a quiz, attended my first sorority function, walked to Domino’s at 2 a.m. and woken up in a strange room with strange people, I’ve started to make a dent in the list of mandatory college experiences. Oddly enough, my parents seemed to view me as an official college student long before 1 did. That, or they don’t love me anymore. My parents swore to me they were not going to pack up and move as soon as I left for college. Seeing as how they painted our house, completely re landscaped the backyard, installed a new patio and indoor porch, built a new fence, replaced all the windows in the house and installed a sprinkler system all within the eight months immediately preceding my departure, I had my doubts. I soon discovered my parents weren’t planning on moving out of the house; they just planned on having a lot more fun there once I was gone. With all of the kids off at school or on their own, they can now throw the kinds of parties 1 threw only when they were out of town. In what must have been an effort to make sure their friends also knew that they had the house to themselves; the answering machine only took three days from my departure to change from “Hi, you’ve reached the Stoudenmires” to “Hi, you’ve reached Lynn CHASE and Kim." They STOUDENMIRE aJways told me I couldn’t be FIRST-YEAR POLITICAL replaced, but SCIENCE they had never STUDENT c gone so tar as to say that they wouldn’t even py I suppose I shouldn’t take too much offense from the answering machine message. I never used the home phone, anyway. At least I knew they wouldn’t mess with my room. When my oldest sister left for college, her bedroom remained untouched for three years until I stole it. The next one is now a junior at Furman, and her bedroom is still as dull as the day she left it. Within 14 days, my room was “adult-ified” into a guest bedroom. Upon discovery, I immediately ran downstairs to the kitchen to drown my sorrows in some saltine crackers and Kool-Aid, when I discovered nothing other than a botde of margarita mix in the refrigerator! To put it in perspective, this would be like walking into Bill Gates’ home office and seeing a Macintosh on the desk. My parents? Alcohol? They just don’t go together. Looking back, I should have seen the signs at a young age that this was going to happen. I tried my best to fulfill my duties as the youngest child. I gave my parents as many opportunities as possible to spoil me rotten, and it often worked. Unfortunately, people told me I was the youngest solely because my parents didn’t want to risk making such a terrible mistake again, hampering my enjoyment of being the youngest child. I preferred to believe my parents were wise enough to not try and beat perfection. In early discussions of what I would do with my life, my mother told me I would be great for radio or television. I was ecstatic that she thought I would make a great star until she went on to say that that way she could turn me off whenever she felt like it. With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, I fully expect to return home and find that not only has my house been sold to a traveling Slovakian circus crew, but also that all traces of my parents have disappeared from public records. So I ask all of you to help me out, and if you ever happen to find yourself on a small Pacific island and run into a gray-haired man wearing black sneakers on the beach with his sun tan-lotioned nose buried in a cookbook, sitting next to a middle-aged woman gossiping about Harry Potter with some like-minded sixth graders, tell them I said hello, I’m happily breeding, and that I need money. IN YOUR OPINION Maxcy monument prank child’s play Is' prankster extraordinaire Ben Springer touring the nation anytime soon? We could easily utilize his inspired and cerebral antics at the University of Arizona. On Friday morning, a column ("It was a practical joke," Friday) once again left me aghast and openly questioning the reality of this universe. Seeing Corey Hutchins, the second-best writer on staff, provide a forum for Mr. Springer’s asinine ego trip effectively crushed what remains of my soul. I guess Curtis Chow was unavailable at home while practicing his Short Round impression. If Springer and his friends consider drunkenly snatching and hiding a metal ball to be real “wit," then you’re in bad shape, folks. Wit could be replacing the ball with a large globe marking Iraq and Afghanistan with craters, or perhaps swapping it with a human head from the medical school, or substituting for it with a bag of prophylactics for when those unlucky passerby virgins finally get lucky. Those Maxcy girls, as inept as they may be, had the right idea. At Arizona I have joyously participated in two top-flight pranks already. Within the first week I had infiltrated the Chancellor’s inner circle and stolen his supply of insulin. Just this Friday, a group of Arizona pranksters planted an effigy of Yasser Arafat holding the sign “I ’m Sleepy” in front of the Muslim Student Association’s weekly meeting. Not only have these activities won me friends in all the major Greek organizations, interviews with Reuters and a restraining order from the Student Union, but also they took the starch out of the stuffed shirts at the Arizona Board of Regents. The bottom line is, you need to get more edgy and creative with your pranks, hijinks, monkeyshines, capering, tomfoolery and ballyhoo. If you reek of desperation next time, take a page from the folks at MIT who set the gold standard for all college pranks: http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/ ANDY FRASSETTO Class of2004 Graduate student at the University of Arizona Unity requires open political discussion I can agree on one point, and only one, that Curtis Chow made in his column last week ("Liberals should stop wasting our oxygen," Wednesday). Yes, the country needs to come together. ^ The rest of his column included a gross misunderstanding of the issues of the 2000 election, skewed statistics (true the most popular votes, but the biggest margin, I think not), and opinionated dribble reminiscent of “Faux” News Channel. One of the fundamental tenets of this country is the freedom of speech, and political discourse has led to such advancements as the abolishment of slavery, suffrage for women, the Civil Rights movement and the Environmental Protection Act, most of which occurred within the last 100 years or so. Everyone in this country has a voice and should use it, but many choose not to. Others choose to use their voice to speak up for the right and some for the left, but both are essential to having a truly free society. While I don’t have a political science or economics degree, nor am 1 an expert in international relations, I have no problem recognizing “dose-mindedness” when I see it. It is Curtis’ brand of dose mindedness that needs to be suppressed, if we are ever to truly come together. JASON BYBEE Graduate student in the Law School 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 gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu. Letters will be edited. Anonymous letters will not be published. Call the newsroom at 777 7726 for more information. COLLEGE QUOTE BOARD THE OBSERVER >ggtA UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME Where would Jesus stand on homosexuals? The Catholic Church would like for us to Believe that Jesus would express disapproval of such a group. But, when we ex amide Jesus' teachings historically, social pariahs of the times, such as prostimtes and lepers, wfteWelcomed. His acceptance of all teaches us to love our neighbors, re gardless pf their religious belief, or any other view that they hold. NORTHERN STAR * NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY The FCC already rulfed that airing “Schindlers List” on television was not in decent. With this precedent set, there is no reason fof the affiliate stations to think that the Academy Award-winning film would incur fines either. In both cases, the content and language of the films — while sometimes harsh — is not intended to shock nor is it used gratuitous/y. U-WIRE Student’s behavior disrespects Carolina m Civility, respect for others part of good decisions in college OK, first of all I have to get this off my chest: Witty (adj.) - having good intellectual capacity; quick to express illuminating or amusing relationships or insights Stealing the Maxcy ball does not raise one to the level of Descartes, Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein or even A1 Franken. ZACHERY It has been SCOTT thought of before, and it has probably STUDENT ,, GOVERNMENT even bcen done nvEouviux1 before. When ben Springer, in his infinite wisdom and drunken stupor thought it would be witty to steal the Maxcy ball, all he did was reinforce the stereotype of the absolute and incomprehensible stupidity of some students. I’m sure he was “stoked” to see his theft make the front page of The Gamecock, but if he thinks his attempt will go down in USC history as a great prank, he’s going to be about as disappointed as Anna-Nicole Smith realizing that she will never be known for her opinions on modem day culture. This was a dumb stunt. Period.lt wasn’t funny, it wasn’t clever, and it sure as hell wasn’t witty. It was just an immature freshman trying to elevate himself the only way he knew how — by acting sophomoric. Whew, that feels better. I had been holding that in for way too long. It pains me though to see students acting out in an attempt to either be funny or try and make a point. Like for instance, at the Tennessee game. I have no problem supporting our team, and disagreeing with the referees when you think they made a wrong call. But who honestly believes that the refs would ever reverse a call if the fans were to start throwing bottles and trash on the field? Honestly! Do you really think it helps? All it does is stall the game and make the USC students look like crybabies. I’ve never been more disappointed in our students than when I saw some of them throwing garbage on the field. The SEC has a sportsmanship guideline for a reason. It states, “Coaches and student-athletes of a member institution, as well as individuals employed by or associated with that institution, including alumni, fens, patrons and boosters, shall conduct themselves with honesty and good sportsmanship. Their behavior shall at all times reflea the high standards of honor and dignity that characterize participation in the collegiate setting." Getting drunk and thinking you know more than the game officials (despite how many of your friends back you up) is never reason to aa out and disrupt the game by throwing botdes on the field and embarrassing our school. Refs are going to make calls that you dislike, just as they are going to make ones that you agree with. However, until everyone is willing to openly disagree with a call in which our team benefits, then we need to sit back, enjoy the game and let them do their job. As I write this column, I can’t help but visualize myself as this admonishing father figure, which is certainly not my intention. 1 • believe that in spite of the attempts of a few unsavory people, that Carolina’s best days ohnc T nr»^/»rcrir*rl tk-if rk» Uma o majority of our smdents and fans know how to have fun, and not at the sake of our university’s reputation. I am also aware that for the most part, we are above the pettiness that has exhibited itself recently. In the South we not only use words like honor, tact, civility and respect, but we take pride in the fact that these concepts are the backbone of the culture and society in which many of us grew up. So whether you’re an underclassman wanting to spice up a Friday night with a drunken prank or a sports fan wanting to vent your frustrations at a game, take time to think about your actions. Chances are they aren’t as bright as you might first believe.