Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Vote! (JSC students need to escape apathy and make some change Student apathy is no new thing to most college campus sometimes it seems that apathy was invented at USC. Students at Carolina have traditionally shown a lack of terest in anything significantly affecting them. But if ever th< was a time for change, that time is rapidly approaching this f< Most students at USC are at least 18 years old. This gh these students the right and responsibility to take an interest American government and vote on political candidates a issues. Yet only a small percentage of USC students i registered voters, let alone politically active. Twenty years ago, college campuses were politi< "hotspots;" students were among the most outspoken of t voting public. And the student voice was not only loud, but al insightful. Students, many of them at the forefront of the Sixt activism, brought the country's attention to many issues tl may have otherwise gone unnoticed by the general public. Today, there are probably some students who couldn't nai the Republican and Democratic presidential contenders, th state governor, their Congressman, or their mayor. Yet mc students are extremely outspoken about our political systei with the majority of outspoken students criticizing existi: policy. "Hypocritical" is too nice a term for students that compla about the political system but make no move to change it. If c( lege campuses could unite a voting block, students would have tremendous amount of influence. When an issue such as "full-formula funding" or "drinkii age" is a concern of a student, that student has a responsibili to exercise his or her political rights and vote for candidates wl have the same opinion. Politicians probably believe that a student's "bark" is wor than their "bite;" and after seeing the failure of Stude Government attempts at a postcard campaign, who could blan Ihem? USC students have a reputation of complaining abo situations but doing nothing to correct them. The public graces students with almost constant attentio and USC students need to take advantage of this. We need i voice our concerns and pressure legislators to understand sti dent needs, electing officials who will fight for students rath than aeainst them. "THIS LOO? UKE A JOB FOR SIPPFRM/V rpi /^i I 1 he Gamecock Editor in Chief TOROD NEPTUNE y^" News Editor BOBBY JONES \ Viewpoint Editor ^J^vl TODD CHRISTENSEN f ^ Features Editor 1 CASSIE YANG 11\ ~~ I Sports Editor | j \ ^ \ dUHdY JUINfcb I ^ ? \ I Photography Editor 11 J ? \ I BRENT WAHL \ ^ Comics Editor TOROD NEPTUNE jflgfc Graphics Editor /J RANDY HALL Advertising Account Executives BARBARA BROWN MEGAN O'KEEFE Director of Student Media ELIZABETH WOMACK ED BONZA Adviser Advertising Manager BILL ROGERS MARGARET MICHELS Production Staff Production Manager SON HA LAURA S. DAY JEFF THOMPSON Assistant Production Manager RAY BURGOS Letters Policy: The Gamecock will In 10 print letters received. Letters should be. at a maximum. 250 to 300 words long. Guest editorials should not exceed 500 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for style or possible libel. The Gamecock will not withhold names under an> circumstance. IS es; ng in ' That hitchhil ng ty Don't you hate it when you walk into the parking lot only to realize that you've forgotten where you parked your car? Really frustrating, isn't it? se And if you have someone with you (perhaps that nt on all-important first date), it can be extremely emflg barrassing as well. Now imagine, if you will, walking into the parking lot - relatively sure of where you parked - and finding another car in place of yours. Try to picn, ture the entire parking lot filled with cars other to than yours. Can you feel the adrenaline pumping u- yet? er Do you think you could take it when you call the Columbia police and find out that your car wasn't towed? Now what do you think happened? After all of this rather lengthy lead-in, did you h guess that my car was stolen two weeks ago? Right out of the very first space in the Whaley's Mill parking lot. Before you ask - yes, I locked the car; and yes, I still have the keys. There are only so many precautions you can take; anyone who really wants your Unfortunately, whoever took my car also got away with my life. Seriously. Like many college students, I live out of my car. And instead of leaving my wallet on my dresser, I always left it in the center console in my Chevy - August 8 was no exception. Every piece of identification I had - driver's license, USC and military ID's, Social Security Thanks for tl This past May, I anticipated a very challenging and demanding summer because, in addition to working part-time to pay for summer school, I was named editor-in-chief of The Gamecock. Although I had five years of journalism experience with nationally acclaimed newspapers, I knew the task would not be easy. Now 17 wpplrc after thf? cnmmpr hcoan it ic hard for me to believe that this week I will have put my last Gamecock to bed. My feelings are both 1 relief and pride. It took a lot of time, dedication, i energy and commitment for the staff to produce a r newspaper every week, but this summer's staff has f a lot to be proud of. We began in May by having to train most of the staff, including myself, in the broad technical aspects of newspaper production. Six of the nine section editors held editorships for the first time on The Gamecock this summer. However, these editors - Rita, Pam, Cassie, Todd, Randy, Bobby, Jody, and Michelle - worked ex* ceptionally hard and turned previously weak areas into strengths. Registration, Registration, what a drag. If there is anything as frustrating and annoying as registration, it has yet to rear its ugly head. Registration ? or rather the week of registration ? can be the closest thing to hell on earth there is, but this year has got to be 20 degrees hotter. "Why is it especially bad this year?" one may ask. Well, if you have to ask, you're probably a freshman or a transfer because, up until this year, USC has granted a full week to get your stuff done. And I'm sorry, but you just can't get used to staying up all night with your favorite beverage, buy your books, get some workable money out of University Dining Services, get your receipt and go through the dreaded drop/add sequence in the coliseum all in four days. It just can't be done. Let's take a look at the registration process, shall we? You can always tell when someone has just returned from the coliseum during registration. Their eyes are wide and pupils dilated. They are moaning as they walk, swaying back and forth, and dragging a bookbag behind them. In one hand hanging limp and lifeless by their side, they clutch a crumpled schedule readout, and two pencils are stuck behind each ear. It's not a pretty sight. It's almost as bad as the bookstore where more heartless Nazis hold your education for ransom by i charging prices for books that Rockefeller would ] puke at the sight of. And the lines would rival a Pink Floyd concert, but the people aren't as happy, i ALL HAT, NO CATTLE. [er you see just Christensen Wm ? Card - nine mv on A r>r-c*A*+ viivvixi/vviv aixu VIVUU WaiUd, LUCy were all gone. Can you imagine not being able to prove who you are? Or get anywhere to find someone who can? Talk about an identity crisis! Luckily, I was able to find a couple of people to help me - legally I had no proof of ID until I got my birth certificate from Charleston. Cancelling the credit cards was easy* so was calling the police (who, as of August 18, I still hadn't heard from). Stopping the checks was another matter. The first teller I spoke with said I to come down to the bank (at Columbia Mall) to stop payment on a book of checks and an ATM card. The 85 cents I had in cash would get me cab fair to the band hall if I was lucky. Only after demanding to speak to the manager was I able to find someone le memories, si ____________________ ^ A< < < A < I I?-??-??????-????????????"' ( 1 Rita Cosby, Pam Head and Son Ha pulled things \ together on the news desk with lots of swearing, \ but needless to say the job was done. Cassie Yang really handled the Features section, always i finishing on time even though she rarely had 1 reporters. Todd Christensen slipped from the news 1 desk to write and edit some great Viewpoints. Bob- a by Jones covered Sports and a lot more when times t buying books s -| tl si si ? d( h1 And as for University Dining Services, well vou'll find out ahnut thpm cnnn ennueh. The only consolation for the entire week is that pi at the end of the day when the lights around the sc library click on and begin to hum and the auburn sun slowly sinks down over the beautiful city of Cayce you can open your fridge, that costs another gj 40 bucks and begin the only college experience that m counts. But take heed there are remedies for this shorten- m ed week of hell. M Here are a few registration tips to pass the time: is Don't look anybody right in the eye, because they'll think you know what you're doing and they'll ask for help. And if that happens you'll o never get out of there alive. y< While you're in that long, long line and you have tf to wait there are certain things you can do to make th might be me who would take my word for it. Can you believe that they wouldn't let me get any money (because I have no ID) but would let whoever had my car get it (because he had my checks)? The insurance company, on another hand, has been a mixed blessing. My adjustor was very nice - she called Dick Smith and fixed me up with a rental car (the contract for which gave me enough ID to get a new driver's license). But although USAA pays for four weeks of my rental car - big spenders at $15 a day - I have to pay for the first two days rental while the police look for my car (two days, yep; leave no stone unturned). And they won't discuss a settlement for 30 days. Then they will make a offer and quit covering the rental. So I have to have a new car picked out by September 9, even though I don't know how much they will give me for my old one. So I figured that, while I was rebuilding my life, I could give you some insight on how to protect yours, our i can i. inese inings are unavoiaaoie, and no amount of paranoia could ever help. Unless you own a Yugo and can park it in your dorm room. If you learn anything at all, learn this - don't leave your wallet in your car. My mother and father can "I-told-you-so" me to death now; maybe I can spare you this fate. Speaking of spare, anyone got a car for sale? Preferably something unattractive, rusted, dilapidated, or just plain unsanitary . . . ? ummer staff got tight, and our Photo guy, Jody Hagins, stuck it yut too. Finally there.was our new Graphics editor, Raniy Hall. Randy really came in and turned things wound in the graphics department. I think he is the jnly one of us who did his job this summer without ;ver losing his cool. Randy has been one of the best graphic editors I think The Gamecock has had in a vhile. I have also learned a great deal during my 'reign" as editor-in-chief. It was a great exjerience, one I will not soon be recovered from. I owe many thanks to Laura Day, the new proiuction manager up here. Laura had to be extremey patient with us this summer. We tested every vrong way of producing a newspaper before we vere able to find the few right ones that did. However, all in all this summer has been more nteresting that any other summer I've had or will lave in a while. I hope that the editorial staff has earned half as much as I have as editor-in-chief ind that somehow someone, other than me. has >enefitted from my summer as "the big dog." i total drag le time a little more bearable. First, look for cute iris if you're a guy and handsome guys if you're a irl. When you've spotted one, pretend to faint, hey'll come to your rescue, and the line will owd around you. Then signal one of your friends > quietly move as far forward in the line as they in. Then ask the babe to help you up and over to here "My friend is waiting for me." Works every time. Second while you're there filling out the bubble leet look over onto your neighbor's and read his >cial security number. Then take a new bubble leet and sign him up for courses in the science spartment. Boy, will he be surprised. Pretty neat, uh? And best.of all, go up to the problem station and etend you're an exchange student and only speak attered English "Yes I like school goodly. Please help me find eat American Novels 101. Thank you verv iuch." The elderly ladies at the desk will flip arj (j laybe even develop a migraine. Revenge is sweet, take me wait, and I'll make your life a living heli what I always say. Registration can be the best of times or the worst f times depending on how many trips to the fridge 3u make. No not really, registration can only be >e worst of times, but it's like taxes. It'll always be ere, and it'll always tick you off. |