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=_VIEWPOINTS ...... AMECOCK EDITORIAL BOARD Editor ; Design Director STEVEN VAN HAREN CHAS MCCARTHY News Editor j Sports Editor ' JUSTIN CHAPURA STEPHEN FASTENAU Assistant News Editor \ Viewpoints Editor JACKIE ALEXANDER BRINDY McNAIR The Mix Editor \ Assistant Viewpoints Editor ALEXIS ARNONE AARON BRAZIER IN OUR OPINION S. C. s greatest athletes should stay at home In a stinging stranglehold of Sprewell-ian proportions, S.C.-boys-turned-Auburn-hitmen Travis Williams and Kenny Irons led a 48-7 splintering of our Steve Spurrier honeymoon phase last fall. It was a reminder of who, exactly, we had neglected. That should’ve been us wiping the field with hapless Tigers — with Wdliams and Irons happily wearing garnet and black. Recruiting season is winding down, and orly five out of USC’s 21 football commitments are South Carolinians. We need to keep the We need to keep the Palmetto State’s best athletes right where they are. Palmetto State’s best athletes right where they are, while still pooling whatever obvious talent we can from around the Southeast. Let’s not forget that Williams, a Columbia native and Spring Valley High School graduate, was passed over by USC in 2001. Auburn was the only Division I-A school to come a-knockin’, and we certainly felt his wrath at being overlooked by the state’s flagship university. Irons transferred from USC in 2003 after seemingly getting the brush-off for Demetris Summers. With two touchdowns and a whole lot of karma on his side, we think Irons took it personal — as would any native son with a natural talent who was shunned by his university. Of course the Spurriers, Odoms and Tanners know the science of recruiting, and if going outside the state will better USC’s teams, so be it. But for every in-state high-schooler we pick up, we lose someone to Georgia, Tennessee or a premature NFL Draft. But in Spurrier we trust. If we have any hope of getting and retaining in-state talent, it comes from the ol’ ball coach’s big-name status. A 7-5 record, wins against Tennessee and Florida and an Independence Bowl appearance don’t hurt, either. USC must concentrate on not only recruiting in state talent, but keeping it here for four years. IT'S YOUR RIGHT Voice your opinion on message boards at www.dailygamecock.com or send letters to the editor at gamecockopinions@gurm.sc. edit CORRECTIONS If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know about it. E-mail us at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK Editor STEVEN VAN HAREN Design Director chas McCarthy Copy Desk Chief AARON KIDD News Editor JUSTIN CHAPURA Assistant News Editor JACKIE ALEXANDER Viewpoints Editor BRINDY McNAIR Assistant Viewpoints Editor AARON BRAZIER The Mix Editor ALEXIS ARNONE Assistant Mix Editor KRISTEN TRUESDALE Sports Editor STEPHEN FASTENAU Assistant Sports Editor ALEX RILEY Photo Editor NICK ESARES Assistant Photo Editor KATY BLALOCK Page Designers MIKE CONWAY, MEGAN SINCLAIR Staff Writers AJ. BEMBRY, TOM BENNING, JESS DAVIS, TIM MCMANUS, MARJORIE RIDDLE, GINA VASSELLI Copy Editors MELISSA MAULDIN, KATIE .THOMPSON, JAMISON, TINSLEY, LIZ WHITE CONTACT INFORMATION Offices located on the thirdfloor of the Russell House Editors office hours are from 2-3 pm. on Tuesdays and Thursdays Editor: gamecockeditor@gumt.sc.edu News: gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu Viewpoints: gamecockopinions@gwm. sc. edu The Mix: gamecockfiratures@gwm.sc.edu Sports: garnecocksports@gwm.sc.edu Public Affairs: gamecockPR@yahoo.com Online: www.dailygamecock.com Newsroom: 777-7726 ; Sports: 777-7182 Editors Offer 777-3914 STUDENT MEDIA Director SCOn UNDENBERG Faculty Adviser ERIK COLLINS Creative Director SUSAN KING Business Manager CAROLYN GRIFFIN Advertising Manager SARAH SCARBOROUGH Classifieds Manager SHERRY F. HOLMES Production Manager C. NEIL scon -I* the gamecock if/** 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 ofTW E GAMECOCK. The Department of Student Media is the newspaper's parent organization. THE (I AM EC( X j K « supported in part by student-activity fees. One free copy per reader. Additional copies may be : purchasedfor SI each from the Department of Student Media. Va5A Wlffiou tZeruRVf fo PAfi-TH UJCTH PlfiST VuST | PlZOrA. SPACE 1-d—’ :/ gut 5 \ ( Voi/, TH6 \ V to etwees J /KQyO/ y dJS—r SfAce UA0 tX ' Courtesy KRT Campus ParleZ'Vous francais? No, I speak English! Foreign languages far more challenging than placement exam Toast. Fries. Kisses. What do they all have in common? In my opinion, they’re significandy more enjoyable when they’re French. Reading. Writing. Speaking. What do these things all have in common? In my opinion, they’re infinitely less enjoyable when they’re in French. As a student in the College of Arts & Sciences, I’m required to pass a foreign language through the 122 level. Gross. I tried to ignore it as long as I could. Alas, after a four-year hiatus, I took the plunge this semester and dove back into the language of lovers. This is where things start to go wrong. USC has this silly rule about placement tests. If you’ve studied a language in high school and choose to continue it in college, you have to take a test to determine what level course you belong in. Seems fair enough, at first. I sauntered to the Humanities building last Thursday, hoping to score CHRSE STOUDEnmiRE Second-year history student well enough to be placed in a 121 level course where I belong. Several things happened later that night — cows jumped over the moon, Hell froze over and I placed into French 122. I’m telling you, that’s just not possible. I tried going to a 122 class, but words and phrases were flying over my head like SCUD missiles. But because of my score on the placement test, I can’t get credit for any course below 122. When it reaches the point where students are begging the administration for a lower level, something has gone seriously wrong. Truth is, I didn’t actually take the exam. My long lost evil French twin Jean Luc took it for me, just to piss me off. Jean-Luc and I were separated at birth. I was bom alive and well, naked and screaming like any standard newborn. No ■ one was prepared for what happened next. Out popped Jean-Luc, complete with a croissant in one hand, a bottle of Vittel in the other and a slick, black beret on his head. He was singing some sort of sick song about marching and how. he wanted the blood of infidels spilled in his crib. The nurses acted quickly rushing him to the nearest non-warring country. I hadn’t spoken to him in years until this past week, right before he drugged me, threw me into a van and took my placement test. What do you want me to say? Am I supposed to tell you that I made the whole thing up and in truth the language department’s multiple-guess placement tests require no writing or speaking whatsoever, just do a miserable job of gauging a student’s grasp of a foreign language? I’m fluent in French and I didn’t even know it! Allow me to impress you with my newfound skill: J’ai juste avale un grand enfant vert tout en jouant des controleurs avec une poupee deformee de Barbie! (That’s French for “Thanks for reading, see you next week!”) Love melts in your mouth, not in your hand Like milk chocolate, relationships make you hungry for more Right now, my love life is like a candy mix. Not to go Chase Stoudenmire on you, but I read my fellow columnist’s talk about love. A lot. He’s funny and all, but I doubt you’ll see him write about Creationism or something. Sappy love is on the brain. It’s like water but involves more roses and chocolate. Apparently, love is some New Age attitude where you commit yourself with compassion and respect. Or at least that’s what I get from objective sources. How many of us whine that we haven’t found “the One,” or that there are no good guys or girls out there? Too bloody many of us. We all drift by one another to class and back into our own worlds. Then you have another problem where every person you meet seems to be “the One.” A remotely interesting, attractive person suddenly becomes your entire life. Love does not sound like something easy to find. So, I stood up and made a decision that hurt people. But, in my defense, the choice of candy was 3 Musketeers — a soft nougat, not a chocolate and flflRon BRAZIER Third-year philosophy student peanut butter hybrid of malevolence and spite. Nobody mixes American football with Heidegger, so don’t mix peanut butter with chocolate. Damn it, people! However, that’s the chocolate world we live in. It’s full of different shapes, sizes and fillings. Sometimes we feel like toffee, other times we feel like caramel. On the other hand, deep down we always hold affection for one or two types. It’s just a little too much. It makes you sick. The new candy mix might be so wonderful that nothing else can compare to it. It might be awkward when you combine the two pieces of candy and get some evil concoction — like peanut butter and chocolate. But let s race it — we re young. I love German and Swiss chocolate and even a bit of Belgian on occasion. Usually, it’s British. Tastes change, new experiences happen, and the candy-mix world becomes a confusing and worrying place. Eating too much candy makes you want to go running across the country. And by the time you’ve reached a handy city — some place such as Philadelphia, perhaps — the stomach demands resolution by ejecting its contents. Exciting proposition. The world becomes gray and bland without enough chocolate. It looks like a nightmarish example of a city torn apart in the midst of civil war. Nothing could ever seem bright again until you open a shiny wrapper and bite into the goodness contained inside. Finally, there’s the power of a diet. It’s the love equivalent of taking a break. If the diet works, you learn self-control and about yourself. If the diet doesn’t work, you just end up in an even worse place than before. iou know, mayDe this love thing isn’t too complicated after all. Talking about these things in reference to chocolate makes so much sense. I’ve saved everybody a whole semester’s worth of articles about love. Haven’t I been good to you? But, I’m going to tell you to keep reading The Gamecock. Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking love is easy. Chocolate makes a lot of sense, but love is a unique feeling that can’t be boxed. I IN YOUR OPINION Intramural referees receive proper training I am writing in response to Stephen Fastenau’s article “Have fun despite crummy rules, refs.” Mr. Fastenau repeatedly bashes the officials and our school’s whole intramural program and his comments could not be more off-base. Working for USC’s intramural program is the best job on campus. He comments on how poorly trained the officials are, but all our officials receive # ( week of training before the season begins. They are also evaluated after every game that they officiate. In the past two years, USC has had three All-State officials and has sent officials to regional and AAU tournaments and even into high school officiating. Mr. Fastenau ends his article by saying, “Your opponents are, after all, fellow students.” I am confused to why the same courtesy is not taken with the officials. Our officiatm ^ staff is comprised entirely of students and is open to all students who desire to work. I am not here to say that our officials will be perfect. We are human and will make mistakes. However, without the time and effort that is put forth by these student officials and our excellent staff, USC would have no intramural program for you, the students, to participate in. I have been to other schools in the region fcgw tournaments and clinics am™ I am confident in saying that our staff is the best that I have come in contact with. The writer’s complaint about officials being allowed to play is uncalled for. I can assure you that no officials on our staff are simple-minded enough to hold vendettas and ref in favor of one team over another. It simply would not be tolerated. Besides, why should these students be denied the opportunity to play like every other student? if y I would like to conclude my letter by offering Mr. Fastenau the chance to become an intramural official. We are always looking for new officials who have a passion and a knowledge of the game, as Stephen seems to have. I would just like for you to see the game from the other side and hopefully you will gain a new perspective of our wonderful intramural program here at USC. RIP RIPLEY Third-year sport and entertainment management 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. I Have an opinion? Want to share it? E-mail gamecockopinions @gwm. sc.edu