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A Congratulations i A great deal of work lies ahead for you and our country Congratulations Mr. President-elect. You have just won a hardfought campaign. What are you going to do now? Go to Disneyworld? Not likely. You have a lot of work ahead of you. You have clawed and scratched your way through the primaries, faced adversity at the hands of others and faced uncertainty at a three-way race. There is no time to rest. You need to hit the ground running come the afternoon of Jan. 20. The time for blaming and accusing is over. It is time to take advantage of the months in this lame-duck period to make a smooth transition without any thoughts of political retribution or reciprocity. Because of your win in a three-way race, your win is by no means a mandate. Most of your wins were pluralities and your administration will be reminded that you never received a majority of the popular vote. Support for your program and your first 100 days will be tentative and many will reserve judgment until you accomplish something. The first months are crucial for the entire tone of your term ? whether you represent something new or something more in line with your predecessors. One major sign of your administration being something "new" is how inclusionary you will be regarding advice from former competitors. You offered a place for Perot in your administration. Whether or not this was only an attempt to gain some of his followers, the percentage of Perot's supporters would put you over the top for a popular majority. His aggressive plan for deficit reduction has gained a lot of support from those who may or may not have voted for the man. It will be your dealings with Congress which will determine the success of your presidency. Though Democrat-controlled, Congress is likely to fight your programs. But do not be dismayed. You will most likely have to use your veto to show independence. The Congress will deride you for doing so, but stand firm. Now that you are in power, Republicans, Independents and Democrats alike should only wish you success in all you do, because no one can criticize your intentions for the country ? for they are surely good. We all should stand behind the leader of our country, no matter his party. His success, and the success of our country, will only come through our support of him. tcrs TAKEA L0|K UtfPFR WHOOfi "?aifitco ck Editor in Chief Greg Rickabaugh Managing Editor Patrick Villeaas Copy Desk Chief Jay tfing News Editors Chad Bray J.T. Waqenheim Viewpoints Editor Jack Dunn Features Editor Lee Clontz Sports Editors Nancy Salomonsky Tim Thorsen Photo Editor Stephanie Newlin Graohic Editor Rvan Sims Cartoonist Paul Jon Asst. News Editor Melissa Tennen Asst. Features Editor Jennifer Fuller Asst. Sports Editor Rob Rodusky Asst. Photo Editor Lea Clayton Asst. Graphics Editors Kristin Buehlman Gregory Perez Asst. Copy Desk Editor Brian Garland Student Media Coordinator Jim McKellar Production Manager Laura Day Asst. Production Manager Jim Green Faculty Advisor Erik Collins Advertising Manager Renee Gibson Graduate Asst Brian McGuire Darkroom Technicians Erin Galloway Rika Hashimoto The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should be no more than 250 words. Full name and professional title, or year and major if a student, must be included along with address and phone number. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit letters. The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the University of South Carolina and is published three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during the fall and spring semesters and weekly during both summer sessions, with the exception of university holidays and examination 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 Student Media Department is the parent organization of The Gamecock. Change of address forms, subscriptions, requests and other correspondence should be sent to The Gamecock, P.O. Box 85131, The University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208. Subscription rates are $46 a year. First class postage paid at Columbia, SC. The Gamecock is a registered student organization of the University of South Carolina and is partially funded by student activity fees. /iewpc after rec 1 letter n tm beglf , questio effective; POSTAL SH5 / Miraculous win, > I can't believe it! I am the luckiest man alive! For those of you who haven't heard, let me , tell you what happened last night. I was driving down 1-26 at about 12:30 a.m., just listening to "Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits," when I got a craving for a peanut butter and barbeque sauce sandwich. So I pulled off and found the nearest 7-11. As I stood in line to pay for my goodies, I watched the TV for election results. And that was when I heard the words that would change my life. Tom Brokaw said, "NBC News is projecting that C.E. Holman is the next President of the United States in the biggest landslide in American history." I was so amazed when I heard the news, I dropped my microwave burrito and Slurpee, and I almost passed a kidney stone! Next thing I knew, I passed out and when I woke up I was in the medical ward of a UFO. They had removed my kidney stone, only to discover that it is a renewable source of energy. It seems they were in need of energy, so they asked if they could use it to power their ship for another 4 billion years. In return, the aliens would heal our planet by Communication 1 This past week, we learned our elected student leaders failed to turn in 200 USC student voter registration cards for the general election. What this means is 200 students who took the time to register to vote and study the presidential races spent Tuesday doing what the media, their parents and even student government told them not to do ? absolutely nothing. Student government blames internal miscommunication. I blame student government. It's a shame students put trust in our student government leaders. When we elected these leaders, the issue of competence was never discussed. Maybe it should have been. In his platform, Student President Tom Young wanted student representation on the Columbia City Council, a student traffic court and cashcard-accessible vending machines. With six weeks before the end of the semester, students have not heard a peep about these goals or their progress. Young said Tuesday his goals are being worked on, but I don't think the mKk \"* JEM USC branches adhering t< offer equal St ' - . These d education times are 1 education is rp ... just beca To the editor: , , . t u . , . , Columbia, I wish to respond to the . . . ' Crossfire entitled "USC branches ^ should go," which appeared in The e . 0S, Gamecock on Oct. 23. expensive a Catgn I transferred to the Columbia campus from the Aiken campus of USC this fall to pursue a degree in pharmacy. I was infuriated at the snoDDisn attitude some students seem to exhibit just because they attend USC-Columbia. To the edit< Mr. Chad Bray is completely mistaken with his statement,"A Ode to person can be graduated from one Fron of these branch campuses without P doing as much as your average * USC-Columbia student." I feel a student at USC-Aiken gets an equal O ?""1 on fr( if not better education than the Why 316 y?' "average USC-Columbia student." With your 1 The classes are smaller, there are Your jeans 1 more opportunities for teacher-stu- O, 10 kno\ dent relationshins, there are more ^rom ^ opportunities for hands-on study, You worc and classes are more in-depth as far as paper writing, projects and spe- But at what cial assignments are concerned. What has a One example would be a friend of Could it be mine enrolled here. He said my 1 lon? to set freshman chemistry labs were more I turned i involved than his here in Columbia. times, yet In summation, I feel that negates I'll never be your statement, "If we allow them sweet kne tints 'liPf "H MlN/G To / v>. fcfcfOR /M) < 'TEM- I S HEARS. / (WW f) w , UFO encounter periormmg a series 01 amazing miracies: The ozone hole closed. Ross Perot flapped his ears and flew away. 1 Bill Clinton inhaled. v James Stockdale's hearing aid worked. c Democratic robot A1 Gore short-circuited, but i then came alive to say "No. 2 is alive." Tipper Gore heard a record she liked. c Hillary Clinton defrosted. f Harry Truman won more votes than George i Bush, and then sued the other candidates for e defamation of character. George Bush spoke in a complete sentence > without mentioning "the trust thing." * ? World hunger ended. The Bosnian and Somalian wars ended. Sinead O'Connor grew hair, and learned how ? to sing. Gennifer Rowers restored her credibility after tey for good stude IUFM111 MANAGING EDITOR ?I rest of the student body knows this. The same holds true for Student Vice President Kelli Lister. She wanted to expand health center services, pave gravel parking lots and create a campus recycling program. In Friday's Gamecock, Lister received some heat for her lack of attention to the health center. As with Young, students Uave not been made aware of the progress of her programs. Although student government had a productive summer issuing area business discount cards, improving pedestrian crosswalks for the disabled and lobbying for education funding ( from the General Assembly, they have failed to ' university down by not Where do you go? Where i 3 our academic stan- you from? ire only defeating our- Why do you torture me? lays when economic But, alas, the fulfillment ol lard, a less expensive knowing you a fortunate choice. But Would only ruin the treasu use it isn't USC- My struggle, the more expensive Only this great enigma can he USC system, don't me sufficed ? choices away. Least oes not mean least edu- To know you would be to anH cr* T cav UtIU VJV A Goodbye, my sweet ? Chip Spradley May we meet someday in ; Pharmacy junior land in which No shadows will ever sepa I bid thee farewell. Amen. )F: Stev the Girl on the Hlsto it of the USC Gil1 honebook Busine )nt of the phonebook? y 11 such a mystery to me XrillULGIlC0 6-oimce Coke and rolled up so daintily? OrOlTIOtGS v you ? please step tan of mystery intolerailCt could you be looking? To the editor: died your attention so? I have just finished a lark? Or another ? Robert Ellington's colun : your face so that Oct. 30 issue of The G; the cover a thousand and I must say I am totall ed at his narrow-minded v : graced with such Mr. Ellington states "... >wledge. practiced only by those i SP M WkS; % \ thatis \ mu.4 _i J HARP pva to I for candidate [posing in Penthouse. I Dan Quayle learned "JFK" was a movie, not the first three letters of the alphabet. The "culturally elite media" drank beer and watched Hee Haw. But then, I was magically transported back to earth, and revived. I was in my transitional center at Days Inn. Those miracles never happened. The aliens ied to me, just so they could get what they vant. They didn't care about earth, they just oraH oHai i t r\ai\/orir?n tboir cno/*o chin T foo 1 ca cuv/U auuui puwuiii^ uiuu opa^oinp. A IVWI OVA ised. The aliens were almost as bad as the presilential candidates. But the candidates also >romised miracles, and will fail to deliver. \fterall, they're politicians, what more can you :xpect. But the voters have elected me as their servant, knowing I will not betray their high ideals ind expectations. As I left Days Inn, I couldn't help but sing 'It's a beautiful morning, I think I'll go outside ind just smile." Thank you America! By the way, I can still taste that burrito! nt government accomplish anything of similar worth during the fall semester. And as far as the rest of the executive branch goes, smiling cabinet members pictured in the outlawed Gamecock Fever, and appointed government leaders goofing up the voting process should really have students on edge. Even the campus senators seem to have been failing in their duties. Can anyone tell me what they have accomplished so rar. What it boils down to is results. I am sure student government is working hard Dn different issues affecting the student body, but heck, they need to tell the students what's going on. It seems the only communication that occurs between student government and the students happens during student elections. So a word of advice to student government: ralk to us! Tell us what is going on in your glass box. Miscommunication can be deadly. Just ask the 200 students who didn't vote. come We don't have to guess who that is." You then, Mr. Ellington, are a racist because you have the power to influence people. As a matter of f fact, the whole world must be racist because we all have a sort of powre of er. But that isn't what you meant is it? No, you were pointing your i keep righteous finger at white people. It is because of people like you -- .1 J ? * ? *1 * _ who uun i wain 10 laxe uie ume 10 die, practice tolerance who cause the ill feelings between two races of human beings. Mr. Ellington, we another all live on this big earth together, so it is absolutely necessary we tolrate us. erate one another. Here is one way you and I can make a difference on campus: e Qunell I respect your individual right to ry senior hate the Confederate flag because you feel it represents slavery and Ifoumens oppression. But respect my right to ss senior love that flag because to me it is a part of my Southern heritage. I also will in return respect your right to wear Malcolm X paraphernalia because he was an important African-American leader. But please accept, I think Malcolm X was a white hater. C We all have differences. Be it color, nationality, or even our likes and dislikes. That is okay! But reading because we are all here together, as in in the one people, concentrate on building amecock, this nation rather than destroying it y offend- further, iews. .racism is Elizabeth Parker in power. Education freshman