The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 28, 1995, Page 3, Image 3
' 1
Thursday, September 28,1995
"?affcock
Serving USC Since 1908
Wendy Hudson, Editor in Chief Matt Pruitt, Viewpoints Editor
Editorial Board
Lucy Arnold, Jamie Clark, Gregory Perez, Stephanie Sonnenfeld, Allison Williams,
Larry Williams, Ryan Wilson, Chris Winston
Go watch winners,
watch women athletes
Question: If you go down to Williams-Brice stadium on Saturday to
watch the Gamecock football team, which currently owns a 1-3 record,
play a team that is decidedly superior, approximately how many fans do
you expect to see?
Question: If you were to go down to the Coliseum to watch the women's
volleyball or basketball team, or to the spring sports complex to watch
the softball team, or to the natatorium to watch the women's swim team,
all very competative in tough conferences, how many fans would you see?
Unfortunately, a large discrepancy lies between the answers to these
two questions. Sadly enough, that large discrepancy would exist between
any given male and female athletic team.
Why is there a stigma attached to women's sports? Part of the answer
probably lies in the fact that the NCAA has only begun to promote
and assist women's athletics on a large scale in the past 20 years. Secondly,
large and small schools alike, especially in the South, are often focused
primarily on revenue sports (you know, the 'f word? The game
they play on Saturdays?).
While both of the aforementioned may seem like somewhat valid reasons
for the current neglect, one might find a flaw in the logic of the USC
community. For years, USC has only won limited success in the big revenue
sports. However, many women's sports have seen success.
Did vou know that USC women's teams currently boast: 2 All-Amer
ican swim team captains, a softball pitcher who lead the nation in strikeouts
last year, an All-SEC volleyball player, a basketball player who will
probably break the scoring record for men's and women's basketball, and
one of the premier lady golfers in the nation? Add to this an upstart soccer
team with a 6-4 record (remember, it's their first season), and you
have some pretty impressive programs.
Why go see the losing team just because males participate? Why not
go see some winning teams that help foster pride in our athletics?
Don't wait around for that "one day" or the "next year" in football and
men's basketball that everybody talks about (although it might actually
happen this time). Get out and watch those teams who are already
winning.
High school football
religion in small town
In the Wonderful Iodine State of ^
South Carolina, there is a certain tra- DREW STUART
dition that takes place every Friday -
night. It brings folks together while Columnist
dividing some at the same time. It
can be the start of a career for some, the "biggest filthy dirt-eating son of
while being the end for others. What a gun there ever was," until he awards
is this it? High school football. a fumble to your team. Then half the
For most small towns in the South, crowd wants to buy him a steak dinits
source of pride stems from its high ner>
school football team. Towns become ifs to try to lick the front of
famous far and wide around the state a moving combine than it is to make
it their high school rootbaii teams are a bad call at a high school football
Sooa' game, especially when the call is
The folks in my hometown of Sum- against the home team,
merton (pop 975) are never prouder Another aspect ofhigh school footthan
when the Ctoendon Hall Saints ball is the creative mascots of some
take the field on Fnday nights. In the of the teams m<> can forget such
neighboring town of Manning, the names as the Shamrocks (Eau Claire
whole town s conversation centers ofColmnbia)i Griffins (Faiifield Cenaround
who ffie Manning Monarohs ^ ofWinnaboro) thc Green Wave
outofRamse5'Sta- (Summerville), or the Swampcats
"And folks, I don't think there are (La? n?Mannii? Acadmy)?How.
l j f c ,, ever, my personal favonte was the
Many towns in the state now hate bee" told that mascot has been ^
each other because of football rival- COn'nu, , ,f ., ?
^eg High school football also allows
And the funny thing is, most of ?ne ta a d,f1 of tbe
the students I observe are there for ^ rf ^ town- f"- a
dates or to socialise. But the parents Same there is always some old guy
are there for war mih a beer there telling
They show up in their (insert ^ut the^e Ve beat Bubba High
name) High School jackets and hats Sch?d nght there in Bubbatown, and
along with their stadium seats ready was w n ^ quarto
swing, yell, scream and cheer. Even terback there who thou?ht he could
if they haven't had a hit, they still act beat anybody. I sacked that joker 50
as if the team's victory is going to de- hmes.
cide between their life and death. But folks, I do believe there is a
I've seen old ladies who I didn't divine purpose behind high school
even think could yell cuss with ob- football. I believe the Good Lord HimdAAnifiofl
an nfiat.v fViaf moat nnn- SGlf inVGnted th.6 Sport SO SII1&11 tOWTl
OVWliVivw ww vnuv rnvw ww
struction workers would blush with folks like us would have something
shame because that "oF sonofa@#$% to do on Friday nights. Let the folks
rat%##% of a referee forgot his glass- in New York have their dance clubs,
es." the inhabitants of Los Angeles have
Definitely, the toughest j ob at a their Rodeo Drive, and the sinners of
high school football game is that of Las Vegas have their casinos. Fd much
referee. I would rather have the job rather have my ticket to the Manof
scrubbing graffiti off the wall at ning High or Clarendon Hall football
the Thomas Cooper Libraiy. game, and I think most of the rest of
A referee is usually regarded as us small town folk would too.
mrrr. lift , I. News: 777-7726
VSnTltCOCK ?^6^:777-4249
rAA: III-o4?2 Online Editor
Student Media Russell House-USC* Columbia, SC 29208 <-nns *-arroii
Director of Student Media
Wendy Hudson Lucy Arnold Martha Hot op Laura Day
Editor in Chief Stephanie Tina Morgan Creative Director
Matt Pruitt Sonnenfeld Assl-News Jeff A. Breaux
Viewpoints Editor Features Editors Ben Pillow Art Director
Chris Winston Larry Williams Chris Dixon Gregory Perez
Copy Desk Chief Ryan Wilson Asst. Features Design Director
Allison Williams Sports EdStors Robbie Meek Kim Golden
News Editor Jamie Clark Asst' ^P0115 Asst. Advertising Manager
Keith Boudreaux pj^ Edilor Jason Jeffers Erik Collins
Circulation Manager Cartoonist Faculty Advisor
Lattars Policy
Stfrw* ETTPS * w V Tity The Gamecock will try to print all letters received.
South Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday and , v . , . , ?
Friday during the fall and spring semesters, with the exception UttCTS * Z00"250 words and st include fuU
of univeisity holidays and exam periods name, professional title or year and major if a student
Opinions expreaed in The Gamecock are those of the editors Letters 1111151 personally delivered by the author to
or author and not those of the University of South Carolina. The Gamecock newsroom in Russell House room 333.
The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letters for
publisher of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media ^ possible ubei or space limitations. Names will not
\ Parent organization. bef withheld under any circumstances.
HEWPOIM
QUOTE UNQUOTE
"Hie worst part is when you try and eat lunch
Biology freshman Frai
Talk show epi
500 pound transvestites who have
sex with aliens! Men who are having LARRY WILLIAMS
sex with their mothers! Women who
have had sex with every male over 40 Sports Editor
in the continental United States! See it
all today on the Joe Smut show! with talk show fodder.
Talk shows. I hate 'em. I despise The producers and the hosts n
them. For a long time now, a disturb- have figured, "Hey, people liked Ger
ing trend has been emerging. Afternoon getting whacked over the head, lets
talk shows are becoming more sicken- what we can figure out... maybe wo
ing by the minute, and it seems that peo- that cheat on their husbands. Yes! T
pie actually like them. it!" And the rest, as they say, is hisl
Ricky Lake, Jerry Springer, and yes, Yes, 111 admit that I've watche
Geraldo are only a few of the "pioneers" episode or two of Jerry Springer. 11
who have taken the concept of an also concede that I have flipped
afternoon talk show to a whole new lev- television to one of the talk shows tc
el of nausea. What used to be appalling what kind of outrageous crap the
is now funny. What used to be disgust- thought of next. And lastly, I'll ac
ing is now, well, disgusting. The prob- that I usually die laughing in disb
lem is this: who is watching these shows, at some of the ideas the producers 1
and why? squeezed out of their sleazy brains.
The evolution of these crappy talk then, all of a sudden I stop laughing
shows must have all begun in the late alizing that there are actually pe
80*3 on the Geraldo show. You remem- who live and die with these shows,
ber. Geraldo had a bunch of Neo-Nazis ting swept up in the tasteless lifes
on his show, they were confronted by that the guests of this show take
blacks, and in the end Geraldo Rivera I'll make an educated guess r
had a broken nose to show tor it. l he now as to who most of the viewers oi
thing is, people were interested in it. It ly talk shows are - trash, just like
was on the news and everywhere else people who are on them. No, you
in the world of media. This is something O.K., then, let's look deeper into thi
that could have gotten the ball rolling temoon fiasco. Who are the advert:
Open up to sy
As receiver's of the mid 1990's me- i-~~~~i^
dia onslaught, it is amazing that our cur- KEN TRAUM
rent society has never heard of the "pad- . _
fier condom." In fact, to the best of my Columnist
knowledge, I'm the only one who really I
knows what a pacifier condom is used condom and make rational dedsior
for. This column will explain my origi- fleeting his/her "safe sex" methodo
nal idea and discuss the uses and the Jean Piaget sets the ground wor
implications for mass distribution of this my
product. Piaget's research pinpointe<
As with all of my columns, the goal stages of development that progress
is to encourage people to think openly, earfy childhood to young adulthood.!
elicit responses, and allow readers to of Piaget's stages of developmen
make independent choices regarding pre-operaticnal, concrete, and foi
their own personal beliefs and values. I Most introductory psychology <
don't want to upset anyone. Thus, try to gg y^ll cover all of these stages in d
keep an open mind. however, for my purpose of exam
Perhaps the mere mention of link- significance ofPiagefs work an
ing a pacifier with a condom is not nor- tably~the reasons for the effectiv<
mal. I mean, introducing a child to a 0f the pacifier condom, I wish to
pacifier in the shape of a penis with a on the pre-operational stage, age
fluorescent condom around its edges is At this crucial stage of developmer
in fact pornographic, disturbing, and aget notes the use of symbolic fansickening.
Further, hoping that the child ing. He describes pre-operational
will use the pacifier in hopes of preventing dren as "pre-schoolers (who) play
safe oral sex later in life is stretching objects in new ways and try, thr
the limit. - lefs pretend games, to represent
However, with all major controver- ty." Moreover, in this stage, "chi
sial ideas comes direct criticism and, (attempt to) represent the world
specifically, at this point, I am opening bolically."
mvself un to much hate mail. But. as An ovamnlo fnllnws- tAllina a 5
with many new ideas, there are often 0id child that a specific object is a "1
two sides to the story. the child understands the object s
The goal of a pacifier condom is to be referred to as a table. Of cours
promote and instill symbolic memory child will not be able to understar
into children. Therefore, later in life, complexities which encompass tl
when the child reaches the age of sexu- jed known as "table," such as wha
ality decision making, the now young 0f wood it is made out of, why it is sj
?>iult will be able to link a penis with a or rough, ^ad the economic implic
$
3
around 4 pm and find out later you really ate dmer.w
nkieCiain, on eating on campus
demir sickening
that regularly offer their services for children are watching these shows,
these shows? The last time I checked, Bang raised on Bat and Ernie myself,
the commercials were filled with lawyers, I find it hard to comprehend the idea of
loan sharks and psychic hotlines - not this nations youth being educated by
? exactly what most of us would call classy someone such as Ricky Lake or Jenny
or dignified advertising. Jones. Yes, for some of us, these shows
lust A commercial for a sleazy law firm are quite hilarious at times to watch,
aldo would go something like this: "Have you but we also benefit from the knowledge
3 see been in an accident, not been hurt at all, 0f years, knowing that these people are
men but still feel like you need some money? freaks in their own right and (I hope)
hafs Call McCrook and Weasel, well get you that we won>t be influenced by the
tory. the money you deserve." A psychic hotline garbage. But children are a different
d an commercial will have a previous "calle? ^ Yes, these shows are a reflection
enst to ten of their wonderful experience: 1 mfKe ^ but m ^ medium>
I my was broke, down m the dumps and lone- ethics do ,
)See ly.1 cahed the psychic hotline, and they Ks amazing how afternoon talk shows
,/ve told me that, the next day, I would find haye ey0,yed jnt0 fte waste ftat
imit ajob and a man. Now, Fm a millionaire ^ , , ,
,J j, i j ,, , . are now. Whars more shocking is how
elief lawyer and have a handsome blond- , ,ir,, - ?
i . j ii mi , popular they are. With a few exceptions,
lave haired, blue-eyed fox. Thank you psy- , ,, , , , v.
cj. hotline!" we can judge from the shows advertisers
, re. Its not a mistake that these adver- tl,8t ?ost wf8 ^ 8^ely b?rel?
ople Users choose to run their commercials and also not too bn^ft. With the content
get- during talk shows-they know who's ofthe shows being profane vulgar, and
,tvle watching them. extremely obnoxious, its obvious that
,uP. Daily talk shows are usually aired the shows shouldn't be run in the midight
Monday through Friday in between the die ofthe day; the reruns ofthe shows
rir.3 bmiTH of 3 n m. tn ahnnt. fi nr fi n.m. Nnw appear at 3 and 4 a.m.. advertised by -
> the common sense would tell us that small guess who -1-900 sex lines. Let's let
say? children's after school TV Hours" just that be the only time talk shows run on
is af- happen to fall in that time frame, so we television, so we'll have a little peace of
isers could also assume that many small mind.
mbolic learning
? and advantages of making a table. for you as creative thinkers and listenThis
is extremely important for un- ers: Could the pacifier condom be atderstanding
how the pacifier condom ae- tacked for promoting homosexuality
tually works. The pacifier condom, as among children? If so, why? What would
previously mentioned, mirrors the shape be your recommendations?
^ re_ of a two-inch penis and the fluorescent And lastly, I leave the readers with
]0gy condom, whether red, blue, green, is eas- one simple thought: All morals aside, if
u- ilv recognizable and distinguishable as you knew a possibility existed that would
n. iv/i " ? - - it
covers the penis. When the child stops sometimes prevent the spread of disease
1 the breast feeding, the pacifier condom is later in life, would you let your children
then used. First, it satisfies the need for suck on a pacifier condom? If so, what
jojHg oral stimulation, and second, and much color?
t are more important, like the table example, Still cynical? Abraham Lincoln said,
Tjial the child will classify and label the pe- "What is conservatism? It is not adherdass
n^s condom together symbolically, ence to the old and tried, against the
epth, When the child becomes sexually ac- new and untried."
ining hve (hopefully much later in life), then
id no- he/she will remember the symbols as a
mess child and effectively make a behavior
focus judgement when giving or receiving oral
3 2-7. sex (this does assume that oral sex is an
it, Pi- option-make sure and check the state J# Jff 0% 0% ill
r>tion- laws). The key here is that the sexual- ?ni EEE H EE M a M?
chil_ ly active young adult will postulate EMU WW
with whether or not to use a condom as a bar- j ' i
W1U1 ... Rparlpr m?nonsp.s arp. wp.l
oueh rier method for contracting or receiving "??. \~r~t ,? ?
reali- STEfs transmission. If a measurable be- COITte. All letters should be
ldren havioral change does take place, then between ^00 and 250
sym- possibly the pacifier condom earned its WOfds and delivered permerit.
sonally to The Gamecock
{year In order to stop the spread of disease, newsroom in room 333 of
safe oral sex is a must. And as educa- the Russell House . Major
hould tors, we should focus on new and ere- and classification should
e, the adve ideas to promote this notion. I know also be included. The
id the that some people do believe this and ap- Gamecock reserves the
ie ob- Plaud my efforts, while other are shocked right to edit all letters for
t kind and dismayed. They even question my length and
mooth credibility. possible libel,
ations For thp latter, I extend one more hope