The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 29, 1993, Page 3, Image 3
"?aftodt
Serving USC Since 1908
J.T. Wagenheim, Editor in Chief Shayla Stutts, Viewpoints Editor
EDITORIAL BOARD
Jay King, Gordon Mantler, Rob Rodusky,
Lee Clontz, Carson Henderson
Go Cocks?
Removing mascot nickname suggests vulgarity
instead of traditional spirit of word
^"ike McGee can't seem to win for losing. Just weeks ago, prospec
mtive NFL officials in Charlotte, N.C., wrapped up months of negotiation
with the USC athletics director by thumbing their collective
noses at Columbia and sealing a deal with Clemson for the use of a stadium
during next year's playing season. McGee and other big movers and shakers
at USC have since taken heat from every quarter for allowing the opportunity
to slip through their fingers.
And now this. McGee has targeted for removal the word "cocks," for
years prominently displayed on the front of USC football players' helmets
and less prominently displayed on the rears of USC's female cheerleaders,
administration officials have been, perhaps understandably so, tight-lipped
about the decision.
As a result, confused students and alumni have been privy to only rumors
and hearsav ahnnt thp ctatnc <-?f thp timp-hnnnrpd p.nithpt Talk- nnnppminn
the breadth of the limitation has been so grave, in fact, that many have been
crying for McGee's head in the absence of any official word.
In truth, no official policy exists. Students who were stowing shirts and
hats with "cocks" emblazoned across their fronts need have no fear of being
asked to leave a classroom or being refused entry to the library. McGee has
seen only that cheerleaders and football players are cleansed of the moniker.
Still, although our worst fears have been allayed, the question still haunts
us: Why? The obvious answer is that McGee deems the word tasteless and
uncouth, too crude in its implications to decorate the helmets and undergarments
of our athletics representatives on national television. Certainly, some
of its uses such as bumper stickers and T-shirts have been, well, creative to
say the least.
To our knowledge, however, USC has never officially recognized the
vast majority of these illicit uses but has instead recognized only the standard
definition of the word. A gamecock, that is, a rooster trained for cock- i
fighting, is referred to as a "cock." Webster understands the word to mean,
"The adult male of the domestic fowl; a rooster."
Although popular slang has invested the word with an additional signifi- |
cance, we hardly think the word was originally adopted as a symbol of our (
mascot with that particular definition in mind.
By taking this latest step, however, USC officials have tacitly acknowledged
that the ribald meaning that certain individuals and groups have
ascribed to the word is indeed the true one. By removing it from helmets
and bloomers, USC has established that it feels the rest of the countrv. all
those watching the game, in fact, give more credence to the world's less
decorous meaning than they do its intended meaning. j
McGee's intention was to protect the national integrity and reputation of
the USC athletics program, and for that, he deserves credit. But we disagree j
with his reasoning and his conclusions in this matter. If President John
Palms catr say,'"Go Cocks!" at the end of his halftime radio address as he
did during thej^ouisiana Tech game two weeks ago, the players should be
allowed to carry that same word on their helmets.
Consensual sex policy .
invasion of privacy J
It's been quite a while since I ^^ s
socialize in the residence halls, b
most of their matters private.
However, at Antioch, it's a anything occurred or not. And j
totally different story. believe me, that will happen. a
The school basically has an Antioch s dean of students, p
affection policy that requires Marian Jensen, said she has
anybody who wants to kiss you, invited male students to her
hug you, sleep with you or do office when she hears com- y
anything else remotely romantic plaints of questionable sexual \\
or sexual with you to give and behavior. Sounds to me as if she d
receive verbal consent. assumes any sexual aggression sj
Part of the policy includes is performed by males, one of d
consent for "sexual imposition," the more popular myths a
which is defined as "non-con- espoused by her kind,
sensual contact." This basically Rape is a problem with both
includes any type of affection genders, and any policy dealing
and intimacy between two peo- with it should be treated that '
wav. '
[/IV. v " i
Requiring anybody to give a Rape is a terrible, despicable
formal consent for one of the act, but a borderline male-bash- ?
most private moments in a per- ing unconstitutional policy
son's life is going overboard. In masked as an anti-rape policy is
fact, it's downright authoritarian notJ^e answer,
and a glaring violation of the . lhe administration's intenconstitutional
right to privacy. tl0ns ^re. in some ways
It is nobody else's business admirable in a twisted sort of
who does what with whom waY-But this type of policy is a cl
unless it gets out of hand. And blatant iVIO'ait'(|ni ?* a student's
until thai time, no administra- ?- "8 ? privacy o.
tion has the right to intervene. ? The An lochf ^m.ntsiration q,
A related provision on how to has S?ne 00 farK' " has" t
handle those accused of rape is mt "ia'e1 everybody already P
just as extreme and unfair. The 'nt0 Pfsswely accepting thts h,
policy says anybody who is horrendous policy, maybe some- tt
accused of rape will be immedi- body will sue the college. vi
ately barred from campus until Jhe ePldem,c ,of raP,es aad C
hearings are complete, which othfr ^ assaul's needs 10 P'
could lake months. addressed, but taking away a p,
Punishing somebody that fundamental right is not the way m
severely before he or she is con- 10 11 bi
victed is totally unacceptable. ? , w . . Fi
Under these rules, someone with Gordon Mantler is university
a grudge against you could have editor for The Gamecock. His q
you thrown off campus by column appears every other aJ
accusing you of rape whether Wednesday. (j(
in
VlEWPOI
Should USC bar
"I don't think so. '
Everyone has their own i
logo. It's a tradition at (
USC. Everybody takes it <
the same way." 5
Darya Bryant
Business freshman
Master Minds ?
Completely co
The computer is a digital device. All sorts (
human methods of communication are store
and manipulated symbolically in the compute
in digital form: language, mathematics, sound:
pictures, movies, etc.
Other electronic media such as telephone sy;
terns, television and the recording industry hav
been shifting over to digital storage and tram
mission of data for some time. The music corr
pact disc, now 10 years old, is digitally recon
ed, and its cousin, the computer CD-ROM,
popular for distributing large multimedia con
puter files in digital format.
Fiber optic lines are replacing older twistc
yan anu cuaxiai taoics in me teiepnone an
cable television industries. With the increasir
speeds of digital communications pioneered b
the Internet "superhighway," enormous quant
ties of information are exchanged across tb
country or the globe in what is essential!
instant time.
Fiber optics offering 500 channels of digita
ly-distributed television will make possibl
interactive education at home, foreign langua^
broadcasts, Broadway plays and virtual realil
shopping. Customers might be able to bank i
home with the TV instead of the ATM machim
Interactive movies will let viewers choose di.
ferent scenarios at critical points in the story.
High Density Television (HDTV), no1
Higher educati
As teen illiteracy increases in the Unitet
itates, colleges and universities are worriec
ibout students arriving on campus withou
mowing how to read or write.
The University of Minnesota has evolvet
>eyond such petty concerns. Its problem is wit!
tudents who have no sense of humor.
Two weeks ago, the university was in the
niddle of its freshman orientation fair
ncoming students were invited to meet wiU
epresentatives of on-campus organizations an<
tick up some literature. But their were troubli
nakers in their midst.
The Minnesota College Republicans were no
ontent to press the flesh and pass out "Don'
dame me, I voted for Bush" bumper stickers
nstead, they passed out two handouts that mad<
un of President Clinton.
The university contends the handouts poket
un at gays and feminists. The Republicans dis
gree, claiming they were designed to tweak the
resident.
On the offending flier's first page was
Clinton's Extended Tax Form," which alio wet
le user to check taxpayer filing status boxe?
ke "married," "single," "transsexual," "cross
resser" and "married homosexual filing
ingly." The university thought police argue thai
lis makes fun of homosexuals and did not ere
te a "welcoming environment" for gays. I con
Citadel's foundation He see
xacts public funds women ai
, es, so it i
o the editor:
This is in response to J.T.
, . . , . The Citac
/agenheim s column concerning .
he Citadel's refusal to allow Q^^br
imales acceptance into its day extremely
laccf^c
lcioov,". , ... . while Th
First of all, I would like to point ride
ut to Wagenheim that the girl in Also k
uestion is Shannon Faulkner, not tary cost!
usan as he wrote in his article, keeping
erhaps when he missed her name, shape add
2 also missed the main point of funding
le argument as well. Did state-fun
Wagenheim stop to think that The Carolina,
itadel is funded completely by As .
jblic money? At around $12,000 giris privz
it person, excuse me, I mean question
ale person, this adds up to quite a those coll
it of taxpayers' money, i.e. accept m
lulkner's parents'. them hav
Wagenheim writes, "While then turm
olumbia College doesn't receive Wagenhei
; much public money as USC, it about Hoc
>es receive limited public fund- don't thin)
g." While
NTS.
i the word 'cocks' fror
'I think they should ban "No. People
t. It is offensive. They negative conn
:an find a more positive something th
dogan that is not offen- necessarily h;
;ive." the word 'ga>
i ^ .< . means 'happy,'
Jud Wolfskill pUj nega{jve c
English senior on jt?
Christii
Marine science
mputerized so<
(\ m
i- expected to be available to consumers b
is 2000, will be transmitted in America in d
1. form. Since TV sets process transmissions 1
analog process, digital HDTV would requ
:d viewer to buy a new TV set.
id What can we gain by merging all elect
ig media into a common digital signal? The <
iy ous answer is compatibility, the ability to :
i_ resources stored in a similar technology
ie interactivity among different sources of infc
y tion.
For example, a movie produced in digital
1- mat could be ordered and transmitted direct
le an individual's house with a small hanc
tg computer device much like a remote cot
ty replacing the video store. The h
at controller/computer would access the m
being sent out from a regional center over i
f. and phone lines.
The video game of the next generation c
x offer realistic graphics presented on the te
ion for humor-i
1 I l
! tend it isn't funny because...it isn't funn
j didn't laugh.
; With the administration's tax reform, c
bined with its stance on social issues, tl
t might actually appear on your 1994 tax f<
t right next to the most popular filing categ
"Stepbrother of Bill Clinton."
; The. second flier was merely a reprinted
lection of Clinton jokes, including such gem
i "Did you hear that security's been doubled
. Hillary Clinton's visit? They're scared so
; thing might happen to her, and Bill would 1
to assume the office." This material was dee
5 "offensive to feminists." Again, I don't fin
1 amusing at all.
j The Minnesota College Republicans, 1
. apparently have no sense of humor, petitic
> university President Nils Hasselmo for an ex
[ nation. Then the fun began. The president iss
. a statement explaining that "this is not a
. speech issue" and that the fliers were remc
ms to be digressing from question, keep in n
al topic. USC allows both the all-girls
id men to attend its class- Wagenheim listed <
is entitled to public fund- publicly funded, i.e
Columbia College, like I support The C
lei, only allows one gen- remain an all-male
end its classes. However, admitting a female
i College only receives cadets would disru]
limited public funding, tern that The Citad
e Citadel enjoys a full As long as The Ci
by public funds, th
eep in mind that the mili- deny a woman acc
s (uniforms, equipment) "male-bonding" at
The Pitadpl in nrnnpr r?n fAi-o,rar K,,t
?A?? ^/* vpvi V/II 1V1VVU, UUl UWII
1 up to far more required ents of girls who c
than does the average ed pay for it.
ded school in South
Journt
as male acceptance at all- ^ j 1
ite colleges goes, the real fVIlOW lllCilVl
is not whether any of kpfnrp PnnHi
eges have been forced to UCAU1 c
en but whether any of To the editor:
e accepted a male and This is in res
ed him down. To quote Blume's letter in th
m: "Has Converse? How of The Gamecock,
ad or Mount Holyoke? I Bill, I just read >
c so." editor, and I feel te
you are pondering that years I thought I v
?
ii athletics programs?
are putting "They are called The
otations on Gamecocks. 'Cocks' is
at doesn't just an abbreviation,
tve it, like Banning it would be cen''.
It really sorship."
onnotations Edward Mathews III
Retailing senior
rie Taylor
sophomore
rfety draws near
sion screen and levels of interactive play that
today are available only in the virtual reality
games at some arcades.
The possibilities in the computer industry are
ripe for development in the consumer market as
Lfl shown in several strategic alliances completed
in 1993. The economic attractions are obvious,
^ with 92 million TVs in the United States and 25
million home computers already in place,
efore Time Warner, the entertainment giant which
igital owns the second largest cable network, has
)y an joined with U.S. West, a baby Bell company, to
ire a develop a fully interactive service. Meanwhile,
AA 1 r* rr\ cnft tbo n rrvrl /-I ' r? 1 o ?
i?nvtv/OV/Il, lliv wv/11U O IdlgtOl >UUWdlC 111 111 9
ronic Intel and General Instrument have agreed to
obvi- Work together on a handheld computer that will
share tap into the 500-channel cable systems already
and envisioned with fiber optics.
Kroa- Who ultimately controls this development ?
the computer industry, the telephone companies
I f?r- or the cable systems ? is still to be sorted out.
ly to The world of the all-digital future will soon '
Iheld 5e Up0n us. Are consumers ready for it? Will it
itrol, 0ffer services we will purchase in great numome
bers? Big business already thinks so. The
lovie remainder of us will not have to wait too many
:able years to find out.
:ould Robert Oaktnan is chairman of the cornput:levi
er science department at USC.
mpaired students
because they did not "conform to an atmosphere
(which is respectful to diversity."
Reporters were assured that the school's
action had NOTHING AT ALL to do with a
pending visit from the First Lady.
The assistant director responsible for the university's
action defended himself by calling the
fliers "oppressive material." I had no idea that
humor was oppressive, but now that I think
- about it, I suppose my human rights have been
violated by programs such as "Family Matters"
^ese and "Mr. Belvedere." This issue must be dealt
with!
3rm, , . #
ory. The university s handling of the anti-Clinton
fliers was much funnier than the jokes they concol_
tained. Since the school set a good example for
s as the Republicans to follow and was faced with
for the threat of a lawsuit from the local ACLU, the
me- school reversed ground after a week and
iave allowed the fliers.
med If you have a good non-oppressive Bill
id it Clinton joke, send it to the University of
Minnesota College Republicans, Twin Cities
who Campus, Minneapolis, MN 55455. And next
>ned time you feel like telling a bad joke, think about
pla- the oppressed among us.
;ued
free Patrick McNeill is a columnist
>ved for The Gamecock.
iind that each of son, but according to you, a really
schools that good person has to condemn things
ire privately, not like abortion, gay people, premari.
The Citadel. tal sex, Communists and people of
"itadel's plea to other religions. Anyone who
: school. I think doesn't condemn gays and abortion
to the corps of is wrong, right? That's a good
?t the entire sys- starting point.
ei is known tor. Here s my problem. I don't outtadel
is paid for right condemn anyone. I take peQen
it is unjust to pie on a one-to-one basis, and I try
eptance. Let the to understand them the same way
The Citadel go I'd want them to try and under't
make the par- stand me. But I guess that's stupid,
annot be accept- right? After all, like you said, "Hie
Word doesn't leave room for
Jeniffer Sturgis debate."
ilism sophomore Maybe all I need to do is relax
, _ . anu empiy my mina ot everything
[flUBlS except right and wrong, good and;
pmnincr bad, black and white.
& Hey, it's working! I can already
feel little sparks of self-righteous
ponse to Bill condemnation leaping into my
e Sept. 22 issue brain. Thanks, Bill. This is easier
than I thought! ;
our letter to the A lot easier than thinking!
rrible! All these Dan Roscher
/as a good per- Media arts graduate