The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 24, 1995, Page 13, Image 13
The Gam
IBaffeotk
Serving USC Since 1908
Wendy Hudson, Editor in Chief Matt Pruitt, Viewpoints Editor
Editorial Board
. % Lucy Arnold, Jamie Clark, Erin Galloway, Stephanie Sonnenfeld,
Allison Williams, Larry Williams, Ryan Wilson
Back to school
Reaffirm objectives before classes begin
Once again, the University of South Carolina opens its arms to
those pursuing degrees of higher learning.
Freshmen and new students will be thrust headlong into a new
realm of possibilities, each with their own indeterminate path ahead
of them.
Returning students will find their academic home to be a new
place as well. The beginning of this school year marks the inception
of the Residential College, the transformation of Capstone to a co-ed
residence hall, the trial run of a new payment system, a change in
the dates of the academic year, additions to Williams-Brice stadium,
as well as many other changes still in the making.
Some aspects of life at USC will remain the same. Long lines at
registration, the exorbitant prices at the Grand Marketplace, and
the proliferation of little yellow trophies which students receive compliments
of the university parking patrol are the all-too-familiar comforts
of home.
The beginning of a new academic year provides students with
many opportunities. One of the most important among these may
be the chance to reaffirm our objectives in attending college. Students
can use this time to remind themselves of their academic goals
and the value of their education. Some may find it necessary to reconsider,
or revise, their chosen path and start a new educational directive.
Others may establish higher criteria for themselves while
shedding behaviors that may inhibit their upward climb. j
In short, this is a time for taking a deep breath, and taking a step
back, before braving the road ahead. Ultimately, the academic path
one chooses, and the success one derives from that path, is an individual
decision. Use this time wisely.
And have fun.
Professor prepares '
for life in Preston
as students move in
H work together for common ends
# BECKY should also live together in a colfsg*
^ 1j| LEWIS legial setting. The connotation of
W m Guest Columnist "college" rests strongly upon sharMI
ing - a sharing of space, a sharing
Hi???i^J of food, a sharing of ideas, a shar
- irirr rvf lifo
Recently, I was greeted by a .
teasing colleague in Cooper Li- University colleges also recogbrary
with the query, "HowYe the nized that communities combinkids
Mom7" ing people of different ages and
He was referring to my hus- experience need differentiated
band's and my new positions as spaces. Thus, residential colleges
principal and co-principal of Pre- have included a senior common
ston College. Even in fun, it is dis- room controlled by faculty memconcerting
to have friends and ac- bers, and a junior common room
quaintances treat our decision to controlled by student members,
leave a cozy home to lie with 240 latter days, the age of gradustudents
as though they are chil- ate study has seen the introduction,
and we, parents. tion of the middle common room
So as we begin our experiment for graduate student members,
in Preston College, I want to ex- However, everyone comes together
plain our positions as principal at specific times - during meals,
and co-principal of Preston. When receptions, seminars, and parties
adults live with younger students, - to share in the communal life,
we tend to assume that the adults Kevin and I see ourselves as
function as house parents. Espe- enthusiastic participants in Precially
for those of us who attend- ston charged with tailoring traed
college in the sixties, when dor- ditions of the residential college
mitories were ruled by house par- to fit our campus. We have both
ents. And, many are familiar with contributed to residential college
the depiction of a house mother life elsewhere and our two chilliving
with college students in the dren have thrived in residential
television series "A Different colleges more recently. We hope
World." to share our experience and our
The concept is that of university ideas with our fellow residents in
officials acting loco parentis (as creating spaces and initiatives
replacement parents) to keep close conducive to mixing people of all
watch upon students and to give ages and levels of experience in
moral guidance whether sought pursuit of common interests. In
or not. the vision for Preston, all of us
In Preston, the enunciators and have a stake in re-inventing the
enforcers of university rules, as 0id meaning of "college" to bring
in all university student residences, humanity and graciousness into
will be our Residential Life Staff, a university grown too big to proconsisting
of residential hall di- vide the feeling of community,
rector and five resident advisors. Kevin and I see ourselves in a
Kevin and I go into Preston to ex- complex role of participants, neperiment
with on older concept of gotiators, facilitators, and listen- ,
college. erg ag student residents and facEarly
European universities ult associates come together to
adapted the tradition of monas- CTeate the best possible local yer.
tones ^ housing their students ^ rf a ie^deam c^ge. We see
and ^tytogeteto fomacom- oureelves heiping to bridge the resprehensive
res.dent^mmua,- ^ ^ the academic ^
ty. ine taeu ? We ^ ^ to parents
l^nfficock E^S?-4249 sfe
Student Media Russell House-USO Columbia, SC 29208 [SSsSm'Sa
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-viewBKn
ffl
aUOTEyHHUOTE
'It took me ten minutes. It's the least an
Seni
Summer vaci
Vacation.
Let's take a look at this word. A quick peek
into Thomas Cooper Library's mammoth, medieval-looking
dictionary will yield roughly forty
varied definitions of this term so oft associated
with summer. The vast majority of these indicate
that a vacation is a time of respite or rest,
an intermission, a break, a time for leisure and
enjoyment.
Ah, yes. Summer vacation. Sleeping late every
day. Rising only in order to bask in the afternoon
sun, followed by several hours of swimming,
then possibly a nap, or maybe a meal that
"?? fnr wnn witVi lmrincr VinnHs Thf>n
wao picpaicu 11/1 juu fvivia ?
on to the night life, which ends only when you
deem fit since your days are obligation free, and
of course you can sleep late again tomorrow.
Right. I think I remember something like this.
It had to be about seven or eight years ago, but
I do seem to recall some period in my life during
which the term "vacation" applied to my
summer activities.
However, those days are long gone. Either
the dictionary is way behind the times, or this
word that college students use to describe the
three month gap between the last class in May
and the first one in August is somewhat of a
Beardman retui
It's a bit strange coming back to school once
you've been around Carolina for a while. Now
that I'm an official senior, entitled to all rights
and privileges associated with that status (which
means I get to register for classes ten minutes
before everyone else and I have to hide my wallet
from the alumni club). I've noticed some odd
aspects of returning for that last year of studying.
First, it seems everyone I know around campus
seems to want me gone. I've already been
asked about 3,076 times why I'm back around
campus after I've been graduated. Now, maybe
the beard makes me look old, but I'm not any
i-"U4-Vt.^v a^ mtr fnllmir cQninrc T nlsn
UlUCJL i/llctil tile 1 cot U1 I11JT IVIIV tt dvmaw* A M?ww
have only been here four years, rather than taking
the six- or eight-year plan like many people
I know. I would say my overwhelming maturity
confuses people if I did, in fact, possess
overwhelming maturity, but I don't, so I won't.
Anyway, for the record, no, I haven't been here
twenty years, and I'm not supposed to be out
making myself a responsible member of society
yet. I'm still qualified to sit around my campus
apartment in my boxer shorts, sipping Kool-Aid
and watching Gamecock Cable.
And speaking of Gamecock Cable, wouldn't
you know we'd get great cable stations the year
I'm leaving. Of course, if we'd had the Comedy
PVionnpl t.hp nast few vears. I never would have
left the apartment. Instead, I'd be vegetating
on the couch in a small but disgusting pool of
my own dribble, staring at the wacky antics (I
don't normally use the words "wacky" or "antics,"
but I decided to pull them out because my thesaurus
is still packed up.) of "Monty Python's Flying
Circus," "Mystery Science Theater 3000" and
"The Kids in the Hall." I believe we also got the
Cartoon Network, which offers special showings
of old '70s cartoons such as "The Super Globetrotters."
Yep, you haven't lived until you've seen
an animated Meadowlark Lemon pull a James
Bondesque assortment of secret weapons out oi
his Volkswagon-sized Afro.
There have been lots of changes around campus
over the summer. I've noticed some prettj
awful-looking signs marking the buildings around
campus. Of course, the Residential College is al
most finished, except some of the students there
said phone service wasn't up a couple of days ago
ITS Thursday, August 24, 1995
JIPMENTj /s
fount of time I've spent in the Coliseum. My f
in, got my schedule and walked out"
or Shondia Lowery on the new fee payment systei
ition isn't real
^ an
MATT PRUITT fai
Viewpoints Editor
coi
misnomer.
mi
Fm not quite sure what the appropriate term -gj
is for this period of academic limbo, but I can't SQ
imagine that the typical college student's activities
are aptly described by the "v-word." Most of ^
us have the ever-stimulating summer job, wnicn, js
for those who don't have internships falls into en
one of three categories: clerical ("File this, then ^h
get me some coffee"), service ("Hey, frantic server
boy, where's my coffee?"), and manual labor fn
("Dig a 30 foot trench in that rock hard ground th
while I stand here and drink my coffee"). m
And if menial labor isn't enough reason to stop in
using the aforementioned term, then here's the to
kicker: after nine months of total independence, 01
you're back under the safe and comfortable wing Oi
(and watchful eye) of mom and dad! Planning on at
one of those little "stress releasers" with your ca
friends that usually last until four in the morn- al
ing and only end when you no longer recognize
ns to senior year
G
CHRIS MULDROW ^
d
The parking lot at the Coliseum has been replaced P1
by a hulking practice facility. The Big Bird is still S(
closed (sigh).
Some of the changes have been nice. We got ^
new refrigerators and stoves, endearing the Hous- y
ing Department to me for at least 10 minutes. Al- i*
so, in a stroke of sheer genius and outstanding y
f>*DQ Ponoio uioro nffiprpH in tVip Colise- y
piailllllig, JLA A V|/OiO ff VAV ?
um during registration. Whoever thought of the w
free drink idea deserves a hug, a raise and a big
wet sloppy kiss. y
I've also noticed some changes in how I got s
ready for school this year. I remember the freshman
year when I bought sheets, blankets, a bath- n
room supply holding container, towels, crates, n
luggage, CD holders, carpet, hangers, clothes,
more clothes, power strips, more crates, bulk pack- v
ages of soap, an iron, an ironing board, a 9-iron E
(actually, no, scratch that...I don't play golf) and 0
assorted other elements of destruction guaran- 3
teed to fill my and my parents' cars. Wal-Mart in
[ S1GNE ^
PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS
PhJadelphia
USA
13
Financial aid was applied; I just walked
m
ly vacation
ybody in the room? Not with the one o'clock
rfew back in full effect and you leaving for the
nily reunion at 6 a.m. Friday.
Thus, back to the original question. What do
: call this 3 month gap that for a short time drius
to pray for class to begin. I've debated; I
asidered "hell," but "Summer hell" sounds too
- "* " i a an
iich like a bad metal concert, summer puuiment"
almost fits, almost like the summer is
me sort of retribution for all those classes
ipped, but it also carries the implication that
e strife is imposed by a higher authority, which
generally not true of the masochistic summer
iployee. I'm left with only one option: rewrite
e dictionary. So, without further ado:
Vacation : a colorful euphemism often used
describe the almost unbearable circumstances
at college students endure during the three
onth gap between classes known as summer,
lposed by the older generation in an attempt
deny recognition of our subjugation and break
ir human will (see also: Doublespeak, George
rwell, 1984); marked in the south by temperures
ranging from 150-175 degrees Fahrenheit,
.using many students to liken the period to apocyptic
tales of hell on earth.
with detergent
reenville opened a Chris Muldrow School Suply
Wing after I spent all that money.
You know what I bought at Wal-Mart this
ear? Two giant vinyl-covered hooks (97 cents)
nd a jumbo-size bottle of detergent (three bucks).
Because of the humid Columbia climate, I've
etermined, anything you bring to school will exand
approximately 1.57 times between the time
:hool starts and the time school ends.
This expanded luggage will, therefore, no longer
t in the vehicle you plan to drive home, causing
du to leave things such as trash cans and ironig
boards in your room in hopes that maybe this
ear they won't totally clean the rooms out and
ou'll be able to convince next year's residents
le leftover goods are yours.
Well, I'm chomping on the bit, ready for this
ear to get started so I can write about assorted
illy things.
If I unintentionally offend you this year, relember
? it was a joke. Laugh it off. Don't hunt
ae down and attempt to kill me. Please.
Oh, and by the way, if you readers see any uniersity
or city rules that are totally inane, drop
ae a note in Matt Pruitt's box at the Gamecock
r in the GBQ office, and I'll see if I can write
ibout it. The Beardman's back...
" >