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nouirosuay, January 24, JL9SO Serving USl Wendy Hudson, Editor in Chief1 Tina Morgan, Brent Seel EdKoria Chris Dixon, Martha Hotop, Karen Layne, Ryan Sims, Stephanie Sonnenfeld, Cece voi I O P I h Congress, Clin stop acting an Articulate dialogue vpm and thunderous applause. No, it wasn't The Stat the Oscars or any other Union c awards ceremonv but perhaps one of the next BTflmT best-staged events that mmmmm takes place every year Democn in the United States. Republicc President Clinton to end p> gave a Oscar-caliber polit performance in delivering his fourth State of the Union address last night in front of a packed house in the Capitol building. Clinton painted a optimistic picture of the future of America that focused on the theme of making communities stronger and improving the economy as the country heads into the 21st century. Overall, his speech pushed all the right buttons and gave most Americans what they wanted to hear. As with most addresses of this nature, there were obvious bits of staging by both Republicans and Democrats, who gave standing ovations as if on cue. Most of these standing ovations were done out ^ of reverence; after all, in theory, , Clinton is still the most powerful Columnist e email frvum U11IU11 IV VV 11 I am very ] happy, folks. My j Pittsburgh Steelers are ( going back to the ? Super Bowl. They're playing against the most rotten, vile team that ever set foot ( on a football field: the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Cowboys are the type of team that can talk a pile of exactly what they are ? trash. This is a team of big, 8 ugly goons who slobber like black lab v puppies. And thafs just the cheerleaders. The players are even worse. f No folks, I'm not writing a sports o column. But I figured since Ryan Wilson g and Larry Williams tend to invade the t' Viewpoints page from time to time, I y had to try my hand at sports for a bit. Now on with the Summerton tl (pop.975) stuff. Every time I turn on the TV, radio, " or read the newspaper, I always hear about how much faster communication has gotten around the world. r< Especially the phone system. I can w remember when phone reception used tl to be so bad, it was more efficient to raise T your window and yell than to pick up S the old GTE. tl And those old rotary phones. If you ^ had to call anyone who had a phone number more than seven digits long, g( you would rub your finger down to the bone. ^ Rut now hptfliisp nf tfvVinnlnov wp don't have to to put up with that any longer. Communication systems are very m efficient. m While these systems have gotten fast and effective, nothing can hold a candle la to what I call the SCN (Summerton go Communications Network). Ifs very ingenious. I don't know who m invented it, but it's been around for a re long time and has become one of the g0 I IT *t5ai?8cocfe si Student Media Russell House-USO Columl Wendy Hudson Robbie Meek Ty: Editor in Chief Matt Pruitt R( Ryan Wilson spoits Editors Managing Editor Allison Al Tina Morgan Williams Jen Brent Seeliger Special Projects Viewpoints Editors Ethan Myerson L Martha Hotop Graphics Editor Djpj Cece von Kolnitz Karen Layne News Editors Deanna A Chris Dixon McLendon ' Stephanie Copy Desk Keil Sonnenfeld Ryan Sims Ci Features Editor Online Editorr The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the University of South Carolina and is published Tuesday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters, with The < the exception of university holidays and exam periods. Lettei Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the name editors or author and not those of the University of Lettei South Carolina. The ( The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the publisher of The Gamecock. The Department of The Student Media is its parent organization. sty.'. be wii fecodt : Since 1908 Ryan Wilson, Managing Editor, liger, Viewpoints Editors il Board Robbie Meek, Tyson Pettigrew, Matt Pruitt n Kolnitz, Robert Walton, Allison Williams II 0 N j., ij nun snuuin d take action man in the world. Clinton pointed out e of the many other social iddress problems and stated the need for bipartisan I solutions to every one, but that may be easier its and said than done. It is no ins need secret that the 73 House artisan GOP freshman are ics furious with Clinton for opposing many of the planks in the platform they used 4. _1 L-J Jil ? tu get ciwjteu in ana uiey nave used every opportunity to belittle President Clinton. It is this fighting between the parties that has stalled any progress toward improving the United States. Congress has wasted too much time and taxpayer money warring over how they should go about instituting change rather than actually changing things. The end will always justify the means, and both President Clinton and Congress should remember that The State of the Union showed a great job of acting for all those involved. Now it is time to close the circus that has become Washington and start to plan for tomorrow. xplains network most popular forms of communication in the world. Hie network begins in Summerton. Dnce news breaks (such as when somebody gets a new car, house or ?j\ xi jinirieuu;, tne reporter Geneve me, iverybody in Summerton is a SCN eporter, whether they know it or not) ries to get all of the information available ind goes to the Summerton Post Office, yhich serves as the network center. Upon entrance, the reporter often inds another reporter, usually a peer f the same gender. The reporter then ives out the report, which always has he same few words in the lead: "Did ou hear about....?" The receiving reporter then takes he story he or she has compiled and dates it to the other reporter, who then les the report in his or her mind. When the exchange is over, the innrf at? Iaottao fV*A r*Aaf /v?C?. i. ? ici icavuo uic puot uilit't; IU IiH5t7i# ith other reporters at other SCN offices iroughout Summerton, which includes he Summerton Diner, the Piggly Wiggiy, ummerton Drugs, Clarendon Hall and le many churches in and around the letro-Summerton area. There are also satellite offices to the CN, including the Manning Bi-Lo, tanning Central Coffee Shop, Lawrence tanning Academy, Manning High School, ie Santee Food Lion, McLeod's Store Paxville, and various other locations the Rimini area. Now some of you are saying the SCN aksjust a little like good ol' fashioned issiD. That's nnt. fmo WV>\r? Gossip is what little old ladies without uch time on their hands do. SCN porters like myself aren't spreading ssip; we're giving out the news. 7-7726 ] lg: 777-4249 ] "64^2 Chris Carroll ] bia, SC 29208 Director of Student Media , Laura Day son Pettigrew Creative Director 1 tbert Walton Jeff A. Breaux < Photo Editors Art Director r dam Snyder Sue McDonald inifer Stanley JimSpeelmon ns5i. rNcws Uraauaic Assistant [ ucy Arnold Marilyn Edwards ] ta Bhambhani Taylor Asst. Features Maiteting Director chim Hunt Erik Collins i Asst. Sports Faculty Advisor th Boudreaux Jasoti Jeffers r rculation Editor Cartoonist Letters Policy t Gamecock will try to print all letters received. (j rs should be 200-250 words and must include full . professional title or year and major if a student. t s must be personally delivered by the author to g jamecock newsroom in Russell House room 321. jamecock reserves the right to edit all letters for possible libel or space limitations. Names will not S thheld under any circumstances. U/HEKt W? Re QUOTE. UNQUOTE "I interviewed for nri rm Courts igr At^this very moment, the Suprei Court of the United States of Amer is deciding the future of equality in ( country. Over six years ago, the Virgir Military Institute began a legal strug to keep women out of the all-male sta funded college. The case receives final appeal in the Supreme Coc Wednesday. Now, the U.S. Departme of Justice and VMI are sitting on pi and needles awaiting the Couri decision. For some unfathomable reason, t lower appellate courts have decided ignore the Constitution, saying VI may remain all male as long as comparable all-female program offered. VMI and the state of Virgin have answered the appellate courts 1 giving Maiy Baldwin College, a priva all-female college, massive funding ^reate a military training program f women. While I applaud the efforts to beg such a program for women, I do n see how it can be comparable to tl program at VMI. Mary Baldwin is liberal arts college that just happei to have a new, small military trainii program. VMI is an institution foundt 1_1 xl- _ * J - 01 i suieiy uu uie iaea 01 training people I serve in the military. For more tha 100 years, they have built upon an strengthened this program. Mary Baldwin's ROTC-like prograi simply cannot compete. I thought w learned a long time ago from Brow vs. the Board of Education that ther LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Balanced bu I think Ryan Wilson needs to g back to the sports page. In his column on the "downfall" c r<r\T> ?* _ Tir-i 1 urc uui, ivii . vviison maK.es six majo errors. First, he says WIS was "pretentious for saying South Carolina will have j major hand in the upcoming electioi because of our eight electoral votes While we may not play a major role ii November, only those who finish wel in the S.C. GOP primary will have i legitimate chance at the Republicai nomination. That makes us a ver^ important state to each of the eighl candidates. Secondly, he says the "budget battle brought out some aspects of the Republicans...they would probablj have liked to have kept in check." Does he mean they can make a promise and keep it? Everything Republicans are r n A ii ' ugiiLiiig iur reuects tne promise tney made under the Contract with America m the electorate. Shame on them for lot being typical politicians by not changing their minds with the latest rime/CNN poll. And if the Republicans vere the ones made to look bad by the ludget fight, explain Clinton's recent LO to 15 point drop in the polls. Next Wilson savs a balanced hndopfr s "asinine." What? Not only is a >alanced budget not foolish, but is lecessary for the well-being of our uture. I hope his parents do have a talanced budget, or else they will go leeper into debt every day. Their nortgage does not grow by the hour, is our national debt does thanks to he past few decades of uncontrollable poinding. QLiy VJfiNT TO ??E n ?urW/... SPeC'tiL 7 Pa s ) ft many different schools, find ogram was the most chalilen Ali Freeman 1995 Carolina Scholar lore Constitu me isnosuch I ica thing as inr separate but equal. lia I'm still not sure exactly what ^/MTs gle problem with allowing women into j-p. fJlPlT pnllooo lO PVnm tl4>of T w wuvgv IU. M. iV/ill TTliUt X UliUai^UUiU) its they don't want to give up their tradition irt of a single-gender education. :nt The 14th Amendment guarantees ns all U.S. citizens equal protection under t's the law. The Constitution is the supreme law of our country, and it cannot be he ignored because a few people w ant to to keep their tradition of il legal dl discrimination. , a Fm sure there are many benefits is to a single-gender education, but that ia education should not be provided for by with public funds, te VMI also wants to keep women out to because they feel they woul d be a or distraction to men in the training program. If these men cannot control in their hormones enough to go to college ot with members of the opposite sex, then le I don't possibly see how they an i going a to be competent enough to serve and is defend our country in a time of crisis. ig West Point, possibly the world's >d best military institution, at fij-st had to doubts about allowing women to n participate in their program. However, #4 \XjVlOr* urnmnr? n 4-1 u ?? ".VII n v/iuuii wcic auillItl/CU, nicy became a successful part of the college. 11 West Point has continued to thrive, e In the 1960s and 1970s, military n schools such as VMI and The Citadel e had the same reservations about dget necessary, o Another misunderstandinj {on his part is he says Republicans are gutting if money for higher education. Nothing r could be further from the truth! They are simply going to make us pay a little " interest on the money we're bo rrowing, a How arrogant are college students 1 today to think our nation owes us money? 1 Cutting spending is the ordy long1 term solution to our nation's; budget i woes. We can see the devastation l caused by years of reckless t ax-andf spend liberalism on our nation today I in our inner cities and a paternalistic Washington. ; Finally, a flat tax will benefit i everyone, but will eliminate the ' loopholes many of the wealthiest i Americans have been able to jump I through with our current tax system. i Under a flat tax, a familyr making r $500,000 will pay ten times as much money in taxes as a family only making $50,000. How can (Hie say this is unfair? To those who think that the GOP is quickly passing away; reality check. The Republicans haven't ev en started to campaign against Cliinton yet. America will remember that the Republicans did exactly what they said they'd do. Even if Clinton does win, he will be as irrelevant as Andn jw Jackson was, as I believe the GOP l.vill have a veto-proof Congress. Join the revolution, or get left in our dust. I Kirk Whitwortli Pre-med freshman I i i?" "FtflZUQS" ObJ -TAj* r t t/nfnS mPv.vav.v.v.v.v.vXvX ?KOFf... IT AT THf 15... jlllf KP frr rue 17 j||| LITERALLY AfA? i?|$ the Carolina Scholars ging." I f 4 /^ 4* A AV t> 4- o LUU11, llgiJLlb allowing African-Americans in their programs as they do today about women. Yet, when African-Americans were integrated into the colleges, they became a vital element through which the schools flourished and prospered. Today, such racial discrimination would be intolerable. For some reason. the same blatant gender discrimination is perfectly acceptable". It's not fair that a woman can meet all the requirements to attend a college she helps fund with her tax dollars, but is denied admission because the school feels a tradition is more important to follow than the law. Every student deserves the right to pursue an education on her own merit A woman shouldn't have to settle for an inferior education because she has different reproductive organs than the controlling gender of the American government. Gender, race, or sexual orientation shouldn't even be an issue in a public school system. The U.S. Constitution is the basic foundation of our country. If the state of Virginia cannot follow the Constitution it agreed to obey, then I do not see how it can provide a decent education for those who attend the military institution it funds. VMTs main purpose is to teach its students to protect, defend and uphold , the Constitution, yet it says it cannot ( properly do so unless it violates the document it claims to embrace. i 1 i ] < v not "asinine" < < i Notes service owner ( clarifies position c I would like to address and clarify ^ three points made in the article, "Note Service Expands for Second Semester," published Jan. 18 by Adam Snyder. ) First, I want to address the reference made in regard to Addams University ) Bookstore being a "university-affiliated bookstore." I want to clarify that Addams University Bookstore is a business that serves primarily the USC population. Second, I want to address c the reference made in regard to Addams ^ "endorsing" our product. Since I am n not a spokesperson for them, I cannot ? be positively sure they "endorse" our product. What I do know is they provide a a valuable service to us by providing t another outlet for the selling of Class o Notes. Also, they provide a necessary e convenient location so more students may obtain Class Notes. Thirdly, I want to address the reference made in regard to my feelings about how the notes being in the bookstore makes the service more "university accepted." This statement by no means reflects ^ my feelings about "university acceptance." The notes being placed and sold on shelves in Addams Bookstore does not in any way mean that Addams Bookstore "endorses" or ~ makes my product, Class Notes, more accepted at the University of South 1 Carolina. Michael R. Poelvoorde 1 Owner of Class Notes I 3^ Clinton must respect free speech You know it's really amusing when certain people will campaign for 100 percent freedom of speech, larry expression and williams God knows what eise, wini une simple condition - the speech or expression is in accordance to that particular person's views. ' This was more than apparent when our own president, Bill Clinton, responded to a column by syndicated writer William ; - Satire in which the former speech writer for Richard Nixon detailed three episodes that he said proved first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to be a congenital liar. White House press secretary (boxing promoter) Mike McCurry quoted the president's response to the column, expressing the president's desire to deliver "a more forceful response to the bridge of Mr. Safire's nose." Aw. now come on Willie T would fhinlr that being, like, you know, the president and stuff, you could, like, set a good example for the rest of America instead of threatening a measly old columnist with your fist, don't ya think? Mr. Clinton, since you might have dodged the second grade, let me clue you in on something. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me. Live it. Learn it. TllO ilivonilo lnoonn ooi/lo AUV JUTVU11V awoovtax UOIUV, lCi O gCt down to exactly who was wrong, and who is right in this fiasco (for those of you on a different planet). Okay, we'have a syndicated columnist that is denouncing a politician with a record of untruths, evasions and lawyerly deceptions. This politician (who elected her?) just happens to be the first lady of the United States. "Lies?" you say? "What lies?" Oh goody. Fm glad you asked. This will be the easy part. In a story of boodle and corruption, one that has been the downfall of many a politician, the Clintons' greed-induced problems are just beginning to be exposed. From the near bailing Whitewater scandal to Hillary's dubious commodity trades, to the firing of White House personnel, the Clinton's are beginning to feel the heat, and America is beginning to see the sweat. In what has become the latest of the "gate" scandals, the Clintons are now facing the newest in a line of rising legal hurdles in what is known as Travelgate, another "gate" that epitomizes the greed of the first lady and her husband. Travelgate centers on whether Hillary ordered the firing of the White House travel office staff. Former White House aide David Watkins recently alleged that Hillary and Hollywood producer Harry Ihomason orchestrated the firing of seven former employees of the White House travel office. Watkins also said everyone knew there would be "hell to pay" if Mrs. Clinton didn't get her way. If indeed Mr. Watkins' accusations and observations are correct, then the first lady of our country broke the law, \nd we're not talking about something oetty like jaywalking, folks. This is serious. Serious as in obstruction of justice. Ubstruction of justice laws prohibit in effort "corruptly...by any :ommunication... to obstruct, or mpede..the (Congress') due and proper ;xercise of the power of inquiry." Officials in die Reagan era got bigger :onvictions for concealing less than Vatkins accuses Hillary of hiding. The question of whether Hillary ictually ordered the firings is only the >eginning of the quandary. Byron York, n the Jan. 22 issue of The Weekly Standard, documents an attempt by a Clinton friend and his business associate o take over all of the federal government's ion-military aircraft business, not just uc iiui nicuiy tiiax w;ieu picas uavei run ut of the White House. Had this ontroversy not occurred when the firings rak place, the Clintons would have netted aillions of dollars in profits to their riends. It seems Mrs. Clinton is putting on front that she was too busy saving axpayer money to kick the employees ut of the Travel Office. Sure. Someone lse fired those people. It appears both Bill and Hillary Jlinton have done themselves in this ime. Is Travelgate serious? Yes. Will le first lady be prosecuted? Probably ot. However, with the Whitewater nisnde raar+nner a fevprod Vm'l anmofV>in<T r o ~ ~ 1 5 about to happen. We know it. The lintons know it Whether they'll be able ) brush this tidal wave of accusations side until the November election is nybody's guess.