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Tuesday, November 7,1995 "XSaiflcock 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 Rabin's assassination marks new low point Over the course of history, several heads of state have fallen victim to misguided political activist, extremists, or madmen. In almost every case, the world has paused with the aftershock. The loss of Yitzhak Rabin Saturday sent similar waves throughout the Middle East and Europe. It seems that the perhaps the severity of the event has not struck Americans ? yet. Many have compared Rabin's assassination to that of John F. Kennedy in 1963. Kennedy was supposed to be the Ail-American boy that would lead the U.S. into another golden age. However, nobody was waiting for Rabin to do anything; he had already done so much. He fought for a home for his fellow Jews and then assured its safety by pacifying the volatile neighbors that bordered it. The good that Kennedy might have done for America, Rabin had already done for Israel. And, chances are, Rabin would have done a great deal more. The peacemaker's time was cut short by one who would undo the peace that required so much effort. Fortunately, those who share the murderer's ideas seem to be a minority. Rabin's funeral is testament to this: Arabs and Jews alike went to pay homage to the great prime minister. The fact that President Clinton attended in person, along with a few dozen delegates and other VIP's, points to Rabin's value as a diplomat. Many people on college campuses were not around for Kennedy's assassination; many of us don't have the memory to revive. Nevertheless, this is not a death we can write off just, because it happened several thousand miles away. If world peace means anything to you, you should be concerned about this loss. Hopefully, leaders in the Middle East will remember Rabin's example and follow it. Hopefully, the peace that Rabin formed will last much longer than the grief that accompanies his death. Some good can come from Israel's loss The events of the past week ^ have been shocking. The assas- CARSON BUSH sination of Yitzhak Rabin came Columnist at a time when my mind was swirling enough with classes and reason, God seems to work to help career decisions, and I was not people recover, but does not alable to hold everything together, ways step in to protect us. I admit it: I cried. When I heard j. hold fast against the belief that he had been brought down that everything is pre-ordained by a gunman who was proud of by God, which would make God what he had done I could not be- the root of human suffering. My lieve it. But I had no choice. Ra- God does not cause harm. Maybe bin was dead. yours does, but mine does not. I At a time like this it is very can't explain where the suffering easv to crv out to God in anrror. v..i.1 ?j. 1 ?? j o?7 vuuica iiuui, uui now it gut nere and I almost did. Rabin had done is not as important as what we so much to foster the peace move- must do with it now. ment within Israel, and his ab- To deal with the pain, God has sence will be difficult to overcome, given us tools that we can use in So why would God force the world times of trouble. The first ones to accept the loss of someone so that comes to mind are the churchimportant? What purpose does es, synagogues, temples, and this death have? Why must he mosques, where God's people gathsuffer death, and why must we er, and where they work togethgrieve his departure? er to help those around them. The best theological answer I We have organizations such have is "I don't know." I do not as the Red Cross and the United believe God did it to make us Nations that go in to help those stronger, or that 20 years from in hunger and other disasters now we will be able to sit back around the world. Locally, we and say that his death served a have the Cooperative Ministry, purpose that led to a lasting peace, Oliver Gospel Mission, and Oxand therefore it was legitimate, fam (which we be holding its anNo. nual events next week) who are What I do believe is that God working to help those in need in will find good in this. From the Columbia. God's hand is defiheights of heaven, God will look nitely here, down on Israel and the world, and What happened to Rabin is use this loss for some greater end. tragic, and I mourn his death. But be it clear, God does not ap- But I have faith that God will conprove of this death. tinue to bless the people of the If God is omnipotent, why Earth, and that he can find good didn't he stop the killing? We in even an event as Rabin's death, must then ask why he doesn't Yitzhak Rabin, you were a stop the hurricane, the drought, great man, and you will be missed the war. I don't know. For some by all who strive for peace. write now Reader responses are welcome. Letters should be between 200 and 250 words and should be delivered personally to The Gamecock, Room 333 of the Russell House News: 777-7726 Ryan Sims VDol I ILIUIK Advertising: 777-4249 0nline Editor FAX: 777-6482 Suzanne Student Media Russell House-USO Columbia, SC 29208 McDonald mm* w? . . , , , . . Graduate Assistant Wendy Hudson Lucy Arnold Martha Hotop rh . rQr_ni| Editor inChief Stephanie Cece von Kolnitz Director of Student Media Matt Pruitt Sonnenfeld Asst. News , p. Viewpoints Editor Features Editors Ben Pillow CrcatTve^ctor Jap?!ep?,ark Chris Dixon Jeff A. Breaux Copy Desk Chief Photo Editor Asst. Features Director Allison Williams Robert Walton Jason Jeffers Marilyn Edwards News Editor Asst. Photo Editor Cartoonist Tsiylor Larry Williams Robbie Meek Keith Boudreaux Marketing Director Ryan Wilson r '"0" p"8" Erik Co,,ins Sports Editors Ethan Myerson Gregory Perez Faculty Advisor ' Graphics Editor Design Editor The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the University of _ r t .. , , . . , ? South Carolina and is pubhshed Tuesday through Friday dur- ^ w,ll ,r> 10 Pnm a? lct,ers re?lved ing the fall and spring semesters, with the exception of univer- should be 200-250 words and must include full name, professity holidays and exam periods. sional title or year and major if a student. Letters must be perOpinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the editors sonally delivered by the author to The Gamecock newsroom or author and not those of the University of South Carolina. in Russell House room 333. The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letters for style, publisher of The Gamecock. The D'partment of Student Media possible libel or space limitations. Names will not be withheld is its parent organization. undtr any circumstances. VIEW1 _jw Hp QUOTE. UNQUOTE Ml think it's a really good Super WalThe eighth wonder of the world has arrived in Columbia: the Super WalMart on Forest Drive by Fort Jackson is now open for business. Maybe the word of mouth hasn't reached you yet, so let me fill you in. The Super Wal-Mart is all you need in life. All needs, physical and spiritual, are met within it's automatic glass doors. If s the size of about three football fields and contains enough consumer goods to singlehandedly turn Bangladesh into a first-world coun try. Now, I have always held the rather middle-class opinion that Wal-Mart is the White Trash Mecca. But the Super Wal-Mart, my friends, was an epiphany. As I stumbled through the aisles in wide-eyed wonder, it suddenly dawned on me what I was looking at... Biosphere 3. That's right, it's another experiment with humans living in a contained, self-sufficient environment. How do I know this? Because the employee's never leave the store. It was three in the morning and there were people making doughnuts, cashiers standing in front of empty check-out LETTERS TO WE EDITO Alternative ra< I would like to respond to Ryan Wilson's editorial which essentially slams the format of WUSC-FM. I worked at WUSC from 1982-1986 and again from 1990-1992.1 followed the rules of the format at WUSC to the best of my ability, although it was hard at first because I knew so little about music that wasn't commercial. It's the best musical education I could have asked for and then some. If I had not been "forced" to play alternative music, I would have never discovered my favorite bands, would have never heard most of them. In 1982, R.E.M. were too weird for commercial radio. WUSC played them, as did other alternative format college stations around the country. That, combined with their exhaustive touring schedule, made them a standard for rock music in this country. The same story is true of Nirvana. But it's not even about what have become very visible bands. It's about Sonic Youth and Pavement and Se badoh and Superchunk and many other bands that have been like viewing astounding paintings hidden in someone's closet. The music industry has an agenda. They want to make money. Thafs all. They don't care if a band is breaking ground; if the music is too complex, no go. If not for the alternative format of WUSC, I would have never even heard Tom Waits. Never heard Coltrane, never heard Bessie Smith, never heard Frank Zappa. Never. And that would have my life less than it is, because the arts do not entertain. The arts express and enhance JOINT n 1 EWWiME,/ ^ idea. I think it's good that stud Sophomore Rebecca Hargra Mart to col MATT HORGAN Columnist aisles, and other various employees walking around trying to look busy. So lefs take a careful look at what we have so far: a huge warehouse (or so it appears) with a capacity of God knows how many thousands of people; enough food and supplies in the store to support all of it's customers for at least 10 years; and it has it's own video store. Suddenly the realization smacks you in the face like a lnw-flvintr nlhflfrnss* MAS A ia nlan. ning to launch the Super Wal-Mart into space and colonize Alpha-Centauri with ifs motherlode of customers and consumer goods! Think about it, they've got the food to make the long trip (sub-light speeds dictate an estimated 5.2 years for the trip), and the gardening department will help them grow more in the hostile soil of a new planet. The camping department provides temporary housing while hardware and housewares build and furnish permanent structures. The automotive department serR dio format fa( the human condition. Mr. Wilson may think, "what would it hurt to sprinkle some of the less heard songs that were once hits oh commercial radio, just sprinkle them here and there on WUSC?" I believe it wuuiu cause a inucu larger gray area than the one he perceived during his brief time working there. Out of sheer ignorance of the possibilities most Disc Jockeys would probably have never explored the vast music library at WUSC. And then the incredible variety would be left collecting dust, and we'd all get to listen to the nice safe music that we're accustomed to. And for those of us that bore of the same old, same old, that would be something akin to a crime. I am constantly surprised by points of view like Mi* Wilson's. It seems to say, "let's get rid of the little guy. Lefs get rid of the odd man out. Let's get rid of Papa Jazz and New Clear Days 'cause we can get what we want at Peaches. Lefs get rid of the Blue Cactus and the Village Idiot 'cause there's a McDonald's and a Pizza Hut right around the corner. Lefs get rid of Intermezzo 'cause, hey, we've got Waldenbooks. Lefs get rid of Nickelodeon 'cause Litchfield has all the hits." I mean, really. Homogenizing everything (and I do mean everything) seems to be the active trend in America right now, and it makes no sense in light of the fact that there is so much to lose. Sandra Stringer Staff, USC Law Library s mms warn 10 matte outer STUCK ve, on the APO escort service onize Alph; vices and repairs the moon rovers they use for transportation, and the clothing department makes sure the "space pilgrims" are tastefully, yet sensibly, dressed. The McDonald's in the rear of the store serves as a place for "town meetings" and as a temple for worship, while the bakery makes wedding and birthday cakes as the new colonists grow and multiply. Finally, and most disturbing of all, the colonists reach a point where they in turn send out a Super Wal-Mart to inhabit a nearby planet. Thus spreading Sam Walton's vision of quality and economy like some deadly virus throughout the universe. Yes, it's so painfully obvious that Fm ashamed I didn't see it sooner. But then again, I wasn't taking the blue pills last week. But all insidious plots aside, while I was in the Super Wal-mart, I made a perfunctory trip to the toy department. There, amongst all the "My Little Ponies" and Pound Puppies I found the Legends Of Batman action figures. The gimmick here is that they take Batman and put him in some historical context and create a new concept: :ilitates indivic Political campaigning offensive, insulting I often find myself overwhelmed by all for the political hype that surrounds us today. At any given time, I can turn on my television and see a future "hero of politics" who tries to convince me that he is the one who can get the job done. Everyone knows that campaigns are an essential part of elections. They give each candidate an opportunity to voice his/her own opinions. Often candidates take their efforts to win over their opponent a little too far. I find that politicians find a way to work on a person's soft spots. All too often, politicians use cooing babies of cuddly pets to wedge their ideas into a person's mind. Personally, I find these tasteless tactics offensive. In general, the American people are not as easily convinced by : 1 ? 4.1 piuiiiiBiiig imiipciigii aiugcuio uicj used to be. Presidential debates pose a lot of questions about the importance of "campaigning." Often candidates will make promises that have no relevance except to override their opponents. I believe that they often get so wrapped up in the competition of the debate that they overlook the fact that people are listening with the belief that all of the promises will be met. During the 1992 presidential election presidential candidates, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot, stood on a stage in front of a nation p ~7 gfii ^gl ints feel safe on campus." a-Centauri superheros in ancient history! They had Samurai Batman and Knight Batman, but the most ridiculous one of all was Viking Batman. Are kids these days really stupid enough to fell for this? On the back of the package it read "Viking Batman roams the frozen North, seeking out new civilizations to protect from evildoers. The Nordic blood that coarses through his veins gives him superior ability to wield his mighty axe against his foes." Come on, Viking Batman is just a little too much to believe. Maybe a Dueling Dandy Batman who slaps the Joker with his lacy gloves, or a Bubonic Plague Batman who teaches people to boil the water... but not Viking Batman (instead of ripping kids off they should educate them. Now Beowulf Batman would be fun to play with and have literary value. (Are you listening Mattel?) Well, time to go. Cold weather has hit the Midlands and since my house has no central heat, we try to get roaring fires going. Though for somerea son, whenever we use the fireplace, the whole house smells like bacon. This disturbs me very much. iual growth al audience and bickered at one another. It was as if it was a popularity contest instead of a presidential election. Each candidate had differing views on issues such as abortion, the national debt, and the military. Bill Clinton represented a change for America. He made repeated promises to cut the national debt. The American people were ready for someone who could keep promises and not just make them in the heat of a debate. To many people's surprise, Clinton chose increasing taxes as his way of decreasing the debt, which by the way, is still increasing at a rapid pace today. Ross Perot sided will Bill Clinton 4-U? ik: 1 * L..1 i-l? ? Uil 1HUOL VJI UilC puiiuucu issues, uut lilt; third opponent, George Bush, focused on completely opposite views. These conflicts in interest became evident in the 1992 election. The candidates became wrapped up in overpowering their opponents. The debate resembled an auction. The highest bidder, or should I say, the candidate with the most promises would come out on top. I wonder if there is not a better way for candidates to voice their opinions. It is evident that too many promises are made with no power to back them. It is the time for politicians to stop the "mudslinging" when campaigning season comes around. They need to focus on the promises that they often forget that they made. Ivy Miranda Fields Freshman