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The "lSaffondt Serving USC Since 1908 Nancy Salomonsky, Editor in Chief Ryan Wilson, Viewpoints Editor Editorial Board Jimmy DeButts, Erin Galloway, Carson Henderson, Tina Morgan, Kim Truett Faffing from grace Shannon Faulkner throws in the towel after 2 1/2 years of battling The Citadel Shannon, you let us down. After more than two-and-a-half years of fighting an uphill legal battle, you finally got to march in a military unit as a member of the corps of cadets at The Citadel, only to crawl away less than a week later. Don't get us wrong; No one can belittle what you have accomplished. The precedent has been set, and in your own right, you have become a martyr for every person who ever wanted to challenge the system. You challenged that great fortress on the Ashley that illegally barred women from entrance for more than 100 years and won. Never again can a woman say, "I would like to become a Citadel graduate, but they won't let me. Throughout your battle, the public questioned your true intentions, saying you were just doing it for the notoriety and that you didn't want to live the life of a cadet, but you kept to your guns and professed your dream to become a Citadel alumnus. You started "hell week" under the microscope, and you marched in those ugly black shoes like every other cadet. The South Carolina sun also treated you just like every other cadet, and you were done in before the end of the day. What? After all this time, didn't it occur to you the main reason The Citadel isn't overflowing with applications is because of the harsh climate that is a cadef s life? So now you're waving the white flag, thus living up to everyone's expectations. You fought the battle; now ifs someone else's job to win the war. Hopefully, history will treat you kindly, but the society that fought you for the past two-and-a-half years will not. Ifs a shame that it had to end this way. Sorry, Shannon, but it looks like your 15 minutes are up. SG moves ahead with Carolina Community your new University ID card. These r new cards include such advantages AMY BIGHAM 38 long-distance calling and access to ^ SG President copier machines. In the future, these M | IDs will be used for other things that IMto tBI will make life at Carolina easier. Welcome bade to Carolina! I hope ,He at St"dent Government, everyone accomplished their goals for weJe ^ workmg on many iffere the summer, whether it was to make ??1881168 ^ Prof*8 that ?"money, travel, spend time with friends everyone at the university. Oror just avoid heat exhaustion. I'm gonmngstdety workshops, worhng very excited to have everyone back on fee action and preparso we can have another great semester ln8the Maymcster for this comi ng here at Carolina. ?P g are only a few things we ve I can't wait for this semester to Pi doing, get going. Football season is almost _Wc have bc6n "OfW P1 8 to upon us, and the Gamecodu. are look- omtinue fomer lfreeidentBrimi&ming better than ever. You might no- J?*8 to raise money for die Stutice some other changes to Carolina dent Government Scholarship En, since thespringsemester. dowment. Deanna M(Clendon will Williams-Brice Stadium has a fiaallzme Plan8 f?r the Flrat Stu" new look with the addition of the press dent Gov^mentAhmro Reunion box, and the new basketball practice to be ^Fh&ytfHomeromii* weekfacility will soon be in operation. The fnd: P e6d3,^m tlus ev6nl "ll 8? Residential College has opened, and m the Student Govemmen Scholarthe new parking garage has made shlP Endowment This fall, we will significant progress. The new music accomplish many, if not all, of the building next to the Koger Center will 80al8 we set last spring, be in use this fall, and the renova- 1 encourage everyone to become tions to the business administration an active participant in the organibuilding will soon be completed. rations and actmhes offered at Caruso, some of Carolina's foraier. olma. Whether you are joining a Greek ly single-sex residence halls have gone organization or getting involved in coed. But cosmetic changes are not Pollt1?' community servire or relithe only differences from the Carol!- 8 , I hope everyone can find their na of this past spring. p ,' .. . .. , . As you may have already noticed, Iam optimistic about the . tuition has increased slightly. The in- coming semester, not only for the 1 crease was heldbelow the rate of in- goals of Student Goveniment but for fiation, but we were tiying to avoid ^ff18 of Carolina as a whole. I am any increase at all. We will continue confident that a great new year is upto lobby the Legislature and the ad- Sn d Carolmawill ministration to prevent ftiture in- r p a Carolina creases Commumty. Have a great semester! Hopefully, you've taken advan- _. , fflrro rtf fka TTPS fiin/bfiAno A/MV BlfffUUTl IS d ?~gw VI UIV *** *?livvivili3 _ _ ^ offered this year and already gotten senior Letters to the Editor should include name, major, year, phone number and social security number. Letters must be personally delivered by the author to Room 333 in the Russell House. Length should be between 200-250 words. Names will not be withheld under any circumstances. -|, News: 777-7726 ADamaock ^i?'4249 Student Media Russell House-USO Columbia, SC 29208 Nancy Salomonsky Jimmy DeButts Chris Carroll Editor in Chief Sports Editor Diwtorof Student Media Ryan Wilson Kim Truett Laura Day Viewpoints Editor Photo Editor Creative Director Carson Henderson Ryan Sims Jeff A. Breaux Copy Desk Chief Graphics Editor Ait Director Erin Galloway Derek McKissock Renee Gibson News Editor Asst Features Marketing Director Tina Morgan Kim Hubert Erik Collins Features Editor Production Asst. Faculty Advisor The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the AuaM Da1I/*v University of South Carolina and is published Tuesday i Olicy through Friday during the fall and spring semesters, with The Gamecock will try to print all letters received, the exception of university holidays and exam periods. Letters should be 200-250 words and must include fuU Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the name, professional title or year and major if a student. JUttWr ,Dd n?l QW,e Unive ty 0f Letters must be personally delivered by the author to I Th. n ? . . _ . u The Gamecock newsroom in Russell House room 333. I The Board of Student Publications and Communications _ is the publisher of The Gamecock. The Departnrnt of Tb* Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letters for Student Media is its parent organization. style, possible libel or space limitations. Names will not be withheld under any circumstances. &r. m mi Gamecock VIEWfi 1 Quote Unquote "The potential of a cami Weathered! HSALOMONSKY Editor in Chief Well, ifs official: I will be graduated from the University of South Carolina Dec. 18,1995, in the Carolina Coliseum if all goes well. It sure has been a long and strange road, and there have been many times when I wanted to throw my books (and myself) over the Gervais Street bridge. I have learned many lessons about life and education during my career at Carolina. Most of them I had to learn the hard way. Now that I have (almost) survived life in the fast lane, I will pass on a few of the lessons I have learned to you, my favorite little Gamecocks. This piece of advice took me four years and repeating copy editing to learn, so leam it and live by it, and you will save yourself a great deal of time, energy and stress. In the infamous words of journalism Professor Henry Price, it is OK to make a mistake, but never (and he means never) make (he same mistake twice (in copy editing labs or in life). If you screw up, cut your losses and do it right the second time around. Always say thank you or send thank you notes! You can never thank people enough. Which gives me the per lect opportunity to thank my staff, who Eaulkner-Citad WESLEY LOCKLAIR Guest Columnist Editor's note: This column was submitted before Shannon Faulkner withdrew from the Citadel corps of cadets. The 152-year-old tradition of The Citadel has been destroyed by Shannon Faulkner, and South Carolina will never be the same. The self-proclaimed defenders of The Citadel would have us all believe that the admission of a woman into the corps of cadets is going to destroy a great South Carolina tradition. A tradition built upon honor and integrity that comes with The Citadel's "whole man" education. I hope I can be forgiven for having my doubts about the level of honor and academic excellence that The Citadel instills into its cadets. It has been argued that if The Citadel were to admit a woman that the quality of single-gender education would be lost. But I must ask, where are all of these Citadel grads who excel above those of us who attended coed institutions? Most Citadel graduates are just ordinary college-educated South Carolinians. For many of them, their only advantage is the infamous good ol' boy network that promises gainful employment for even the most inept Citadel alums. All /*^ iui uigumciito ui cuutauuii aaiuc, the key question of The Citadel's great honor must be addressed. The Citadel claims that the cadets are imbued with ; the highest levels of honor and integrity. Having been raised in the South my . entire life, I must strongly disagree with I this statement. Since Shannon Faulkner first began day classes at The Citadel, 1 she has been shown no respect by many ft pus that is the heart of a commui support for it att Walter Jackson, Director, senior pass gave up many hours of their summer vacation to produce this fine publication. Erin Gaflowav. news editor Mv friend. computer expert and all-around problem solver. I owe her my (semi) sanity and a great deal of gratitude. She is a true friend with a promising journalism career. Ryan Wilson, Viewpoints editor; The Gamecock enforcer! I thank him for the late-night comic relief and snap sessions. I promise that I won't categorize him as "every other male" anymore. Tina Morgan, Etc. editor The fastest learner I have ever met. She has proven to herself and me that she is responsible, dedicated and an overall leader. She is now a Gamecock veteran. Jimmy DeButts, sports editor I know that Jimmy took this job more as a favor to me than for himself. I really appreciate his hard work, and I am happy to have him in my circle of "Friends." Jennifer Aniston would be a fool to pass him up! Carson Henderson, copy desk chief; I thank him for commuting to copy edit The Gamecock. He is the best. I hope USC's law school is ready for him. Kim Truett, photo editor: I would like to thank her for coming back to her alma mater to take pictures for the newspaper. She is extremely talented. Listen to your parents (no matter how far away they are). Even though my mom and dad are two states away, they know when I am upset, stressed out and, of course, making a mistake. el saga shows of The Citadel's cadets. She was hissed at in hallways, isolated on campus and insulted in the school newspaper. An anonymous {.ream too cowardly to sign his name") writer for the school paper referred to Ms. Faulkner as "the Divine Bovine" and as "Shrewd Shannon." Is this the type of honor The Citadel wants to imbue in its young men? The greatest lesson that the cadets of The Citadel can learn from this entire ordeal is that honor is more than a code inscribed on a sheet of paper. Honor comes through actions, and among these actions are treating others with the respect and dignity that you would hope to have displayed toward yourself. Honorable cadets, and true Southem gentlemen, would go out of their way to ensure that Ms. Faulkner felt as comfortable as possible at The Citadel. They would engage her in conversation as they would any of their fellow cadets and treat her with the respect that they believe should be conferred upon all members of the corps. Honorable cadets would, and should, defend Ms. Faulkner's integrity when she is attacked by their fellow cadets, The Citadel alumni and the rest of the "Save the Males" crowd. If The Citadel's true purpose is teach ing honor and courage, the the school's leaders should take a close look at Shannon Faulkner. She has withstood great adversity. She has endured insults and ridicule from people across the state. She has spent the better part of her college career fighting for her right to be judged on her merits rather than her gender. Many say Ms. Faulkner did it for publicity, denying any possibility that she just wanted to be treated equally. And while we can never have true "equal August 21, 1995 SB] WW"'^?ICUL f|]f 7/ rw,ite I # ,,1 j| r * i action i ^ i environmental m i 1 wackos, jpl y I P AlllCAKS - 1 ' wSm __i i ^tsxxj/ k ^ lllf lity is exciting. The breadth of this of racted me to USC." Office of Multicultural Affairs es wisdom t Even if you don't think so, they have your best interest in mind. By the way, if you see a man in his early 50s doing cartwheels up and down the East Coast come graduation day, it's just my dad. Don't commit him; congratulate him and say something like, "Way to go, Big Ed. Two kids down and two to go!" College tuition is unbelievable, and he has never complained (at least not to me). Create a bond with your favorite professor. They know more about the academic side of college than you will ever know. Take the advice that they give you to heart Don't forget that they have connections in their area 01 expertise and can hook you up with a job or help you learn the field. Always keep the big picture in mind. Your main goal at this university should be to get a degree and a job. Sometimes, we lose track of that. It is your responsibility to put yourself into the position to get a job. That means learn your field, get involved and build your resume. Nobody is going to make things happen for you; you have to make them happen for yourself! My stay at the University of South Carolina has truly been the most rewarding time in my young but extremely tender life. I have learned more about myself and life itself than I ever thought I would. I will take with me a vast collection of memories. I can honestly say that I don't regret anything I have done. i traditional don ity" of the sexes, we can have a certain level of equality with differences. It has proven effective at West Point, Annapolis and tha Air PVirra AroHemv ari/1 it will prove as effective at The Citadel. As Shannon Faulkner continues her fight for acceptance, I hope her detractors will think of the words of Nicolas In full View mJ^| w. 9 fice and the university o freshmen It is now time for me to move on and leave The Gamecock newspaper. It has been a big part of my college career and one thing that I will miss very much. I have been very lucky to be surrounded by the best that the university has to offer in the many people I have worked with throughout the years. We have all shared many a laugh and late night together. I can't explain it, but I think that an iron gate drops behind you when you walk up to the newsroom, and you are unable to leave. t i. :_i. li i j i tiiiiJLA umi il geus uilu yuui uiuuu, aiiu anyone who has ever worked up here knows what I mean. I guess that my last piece of advice for you is to find that one thing at USC that you can be consumed by, sink your teeth into, become passionate about and call your own. I only hope that you will be lucky enough to have the opportunity that I have had at The Gamecock. It is now time for me to turn the reins over to my friend and colleague Wendy Hudson. I wish her and the fall staff the best of luck, and I have all the confidence in the world in them. Well, I guess all that is left for me to say is: This is Nancy Salomonsky, editor in chief, signing off. Go Cocks! Nancy Salomonsky is a journalism senior ible standards Bioleau-Despreaux: "Honor is like an island, rugged and without a beach; once we have left it, we can never return." Weslev Lncklair is a first-year law student at USC. distributed bt tribune media services j* i4