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HHhr (Rai wmv ^/%?a Serving USC Sii Chris Dixon, Edit< Stephanie Sonnenfeld,1 Editorial B Achim Hunt, Bryan Johnston, Karen I>ay Ben Muldrow, Jennifer Sta Citadel miss to prove its According to reports from The State and the Charleston n Post and Courier, ex-Citadel C cadets Kim Messer and Jeannie f Mentavlos are planning on r attending USC this spring. Although we are happy to b welcome these new students, d it is unfortunate the h circumstances surrounding the transfers are loaded with such r unsightly charges against the ij Citadel. v The Citadel is supposed to be the shining example of the f good qualities of the South. c The Citadel has enjoyed a c prestigious reputation of turning r out gentlemen committed to family and community. i That reputation is shot, due c to the alleged hazing and I harassment of some cadets ( against Messer and Mentavlos, < including dousing the women i with nail polish remover and 1 lighting the fluid. t There was sentiment against 1 the Citadel, prophecies and i premonitions that the military ? college would fail in successfully integrating the women. ] The Citadel had a chance to i prove the nation wrong. It didn't j Confederate wrong for Si Once upon a time, there was 1 a place called Dixie. It was in ? ii . i a _rii nu o 4.U tne laiiu ui me wiu ouuui. c One day, a war broke out between the Old South and the ] North. Battles were fought and 1 bonds were broken. And, a thing called the ] confederate flag appeared in < battles. It was bold and bright, ,* and represented the old south. < Tbday, the old south is gone and the fabled new south has ] arrived. < The new south is a place j where businesses thrive and a culture is alive. 1 And yes, the confederate flag i of the old south is still alive and well in the new south. Here's where the controversey lies. The confederate flag to many represents hatred, lb them, it comes from a time when other humans were enslaved because of the simple color of their skin, lb opponents of the confederate flag, it is reminiscent of a place which catered to human injustice. lb proponents of the flag, it represents heritage. The confederate flag withstood many bloody battles to stand for a belief and a society which was brave enough to break the U.S. apart. Here in South Carolina, the Student Media Russell Ho Chris Dixon News: 7 hlitor in f.'hirf AdvertlSlDj Stephanie FAX: 7 Sonnenfeid VirwfMtinUi Hitiior Achini Hunt r Karen Layne Bryan Jennifer Stanley Johnston I k ISrws hiitnrx ' V'"' Eililorn John Lyons Nikki Thorpe , Kelly I'holit t 'dilnr McPherson Ben Muldrow Feature* Editors j (>raphi<> hlitrr Fhr (Earner* n k is the student newspaper of the University and Friday during the Fail and Spring semesters, with the Opinions expressed in The Oameeork are those of the edi (Carolina. The Hoard of Student i'uhliealioas and t lommunications is Media is its parent organization. mmmm The Oamtrirt'k will try to print all letters reeei include full name, professional title or year and n ered liy tin' author to The (iameeoek newsroom in the right to edit all letter for style, (mssihle libel o ity eireumstanee. necock nee 1908 jr in Chief /iewpoints Editor ioard ne, John Lyons, Kelly McPherson, nley, Nikki Thorpe. ies chance character Instead, administrators did ot aptly relay to the Corps of Jadets how important it was or them to live up to their eputation as gentlemen. Just about any other term esides "gentlemen" aptly [escribe the cadets who allegedly Lazed Messer and Mentavlos. The rest of the Corps also aade the mistake in believing f they ignored the women, they vould disappear. It is not enough to turn away rom a problem. That is not onquering it and coming out in top. Lack of action is acting n a cowardly manner. Perhaps the greatest light n this whole mess is Mentavlos's ilder brother, Mike Mentavlos. Mentavlos was a senior at the Ditadel, just one short semester iway from graduating. He had nade it through Hell Week, Tell Night, his knob year, and wo ensuing years of a military ife-style and studies. Yet he mmediately stepped down in support of his sister. Looks like the Citadel, or 1 1 x J pernaps nis parents, managea to produce at least one gentleman. stars, bars atehouse lag flies upon the top of the statehouse ? along with the state flag and the U.S. flag. Tuesday, the South Carolina Legislature met in Columbia for its 1997 session. Among topics lawmakers plan to address this session are education, reapportionment and, of course, taking the flag off the top of the statehouse. Late last year, Governor David Beasely voiced his opinion on the matter. He wants the flag down. But, there are members of his legislature who want it to stay where it is. What to do? The flag should be removed from the top of the statehouse. We agree with the stance of flag opponents. However, the flag does have a place at the South Carolina statehouse. Fly the flag on the statehouse grounds as a memorial to the confederacy. The flag is, despite its origins, a legitimate piece of history. It, like the Declaration of Independence and the battle of Iwo Jima, is something which deserves a place in history. The confederate flag of yesterday can remembered today without hindering the future. use USC Columbia, SC '77-7726 Jessica Nash t: 7774249 77-6482 Melissa Sellars On-I.inr h'riilor Wkki la Rorque Mark Hopkins /U* Vir?p,,int* (jW ( hi:r teginna Green Adam Synder \ssl !Srws Offirr Manager Jeff Nicholson Laura Day . Creative Dim-tor Jason JefTers Marilyn Taylor Daniel Brown Vanjp-r (jirtiMinist \ Erik Collins Faculty Advisor of South Garolina and is published on Monday, W?*dnesday, exception of university holidays and exams jM-riodv ilors or the author ami n?H those of the University of South , lb?* Publisher of The Gamecock. The l)e|?artmenl of Student veil. Letters should he 200-250 words and nitis laior if a student, letters must he |>ersonally deliv i Russell Mouse room 3.1.1 I lie Lameeock reservn r space limitations. Names will not lie withheld foi VIEWPOI \ It was a lot of fun. Th them, and in order foi types Larry Davis, senior USC guard, re Charleston has i They usually come either in couples or I happy families. They are not welldressed, as in fanny packs worn right in the middle of the tummy and ? sweatshirts from no-name colleges in the North. Then they utter the words I now declare to be c the most uncreative in the world. ^ "Hi. This is our first time in Charleston. Tell F us what we should do." s How about taking the first flight out of my city? I work for the Visitor Center in downtown c historic Charleston. I enjoy my job for lots of ^ reasons: the building is historic, my co-workers t are great, and I love showing of the best city in r the nation, one far superior to the likes of New I York. I enjoy helping the families with young children ^ the most. I see the fear in the kids' eyes when '< the parents start asking me about two hour bus 1 tours and tours of historic homes. t A house tour is a child's worst nightmare 1 of "look with your eyes, not with your hands" > come true. Nikki saves the day by quickly steering ( the floundering parents to a much shorter horse and carriage tour. Kids are ecstatic because they ' actually get close to a real, live horsey, and the < parents think I'm so sweet as to offer such a charming, unique way of seeing the city. Yeah, 1 thanks, so ah, how about a tip? ; Elderly couples go one of two ways: either a) they're carbon copies of your own grandparents; J they are so sweet, patient, and kind. Helping i these people is a joy. Or, b) elderly couples' eyes Newt Gingrich: Role Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic, their sexual immorality, or their stealing. -Revelations 9:21 He is known by many names. Fat Boy. Visionary. The Gingrich Who Stole Christmas. He's just one person?a guy who got elected to the Congress of the United States of America (which doesn't mean much when one considers the criminals, hooligans and various entertainers who have been elected to such offices). But, obviously, some people think he's more than that. You'd think he was the Antichrist from what they say about him. He got elected to his office because he made certain campaign promises. He said he'd fix the national deficit, repair (or put out of its misery) welfare and start a new era of conservative ideals in the government. He is probably the first politician since James K. Polk to keep his campaign promises. And for doing what we told him to do, for enacting the vision he described to us in great detail beforehand, for keeping his word, he is condemned. To burn in the fiery pits of hell, according to some. The media and, to all appearances, the public, I is ready to string him up for, are you ready for this?, failing to understand the Government Funds and Tax System of the U.S. i Ye who have not sinned, feel free to throw the stones. (I should be hearing the ch-chink of approximately three rocks because that's how e last time we played [at i* us to be a good team, m of games away from hon ferring to the Gamecock's 80-79 basketball vi its fair share of BLSIi-aLTlW 'ff' I a ;laze over as soon as you begin dispensing aformation, then they get cranky because they an't keep the prices straight, and "darn it, I ^ ought in World War II, so how come I have to ^ iay for things around here?" I actually had ^ omeone ask me that once. q Working with the public is tricky. You get so used to answering the same things ^ iver and over. You are here (point to the map). Ye have three different kinds of tours. These are ^ he prices. Don't drive downtown, use the trolley. This is how you get to the Market/Mt. Peasant/West Ashley (again pointing to the map.) P But always out of this routine come the Really Yeird Questions to smack you upside the head r< ind make you take notice. Some of them are ^ eally sweet, like the elderly gentleman who shyly 11 ?ld me he was getting married, and did I have b vedding information, or the young guy who vanted to know the most romantic place in c< Charleston to propose to his girlfriend. The rest of the Really Weird Questions amaze b me with the enormity of their stupidity and lack h }f common sense. "I know you guys have historic plantations, ti out do you still have real working plantations, t] you know with cotton and slaves and everything?' t This was asked of one of my African-American friends. Russell just smiled and handed the man v some brochures. "How do I get to Tara? It's here, isn't it? I know y it. is hficause mv friend saw it last month. And model, despite obvic many people understand the aforementioned Government Funds and Tax System of the U.S.). Now let me just say that by no stretch of the 1 imagination am I excusing Mr. Gingrich. He probably made a mistake. In fact, he ADMITS to making a mistake. Once again a political move unheard of in the 20th century. And on the whole, using the rank system of sins, Gingrich's sin is really quite small. Now if we were talking about murder or lying or stealing or sexual immorality... Either Newt was an incredible magician when he first began, fooling us all into thinking we wanted change with some clever slight of hand, or we, the American public, are a big pile of idiots. I'm tempted toward number two. We knew that the system wasn't working and we finally had the brains to stand up and say, "Yes, let's do something about it!" And the man who listened to us is now the great horned beast. Well, let's talk for a moment about the great horny beast in the White House. I think I mentioned something about murder, lying, stealing and sexual immorality. But he, the man who has yet to look us m tfte eye and tell us his name, rank and i.d. number with honesty, has been re-elected. And instead of investigating liim, we're standing by, nodding our heads and saying, "Now if that bey ain't restoring the majesty of the presidency, ? to nous Florida], we lost to re have to win these le. Ictory over University of Florida i 1 tourist numor here is Khett Butler buried?" This was all mine. Never, ever openly confuse literary work of fiction with reality, especially i front of a Southern English major who has ad Gone With the Wind a few thousand times. First of all, even if GWTW was not fiction, ara was located in Jonesboro, Georgia, not harleston, South Carolina. As for Rhett Sutler, le closest you'll ever get to his grave is Clark able's. Once, in the middle of July, I had a phone call om a woman wanting to know what the weather ould be in Charleston on November 15, because le planned on taking a boat tour. So I told her le average temperature of November and recipitation fall. That wasn't enough. "So, what's the weather for the 15th" she jpeated. "I want to know exactly what it will e. Rainy? Sunny? Cool? Will a warm front come 1?" Oh, hold on and let me whip out my crystal all and find the forecast. Really Weird Questions sometimes involve alloquial faux pas. The Lowcountry is known for she-crab soup, ut once someone got a little mixed up and wanted 3 know where to find "shoe-fly soup." Let's not forget the people who don't want to ake a boat tour out to Fort Sumter, located in tie middle of Charleston Harbor, and insist that bey just want to drive out there. Hey, maybe if you were driving Jesus's car it /ould work, but other than thatwelcome to Charleston. What can I do for ou? Well, we have three different kinds of tours n >us flaws, mistakes t don't know who is." If anyone has cast a magical fog of stupidity and forgetfulness over the public, in my mind it .vould have to be President Clinton. He says one thing and does quite another. Or, as is more often the case, says two or three different things, then does something else entirely. Did we re-elect him because of his unwavering vision? Because of his strong and capable leadership? Because of his glowing "inner beauty"? Or because he can come on television, smile at us benignly and tell us exactly what we want to hear? Nobody ever said it would be easy to bring change to the United States. Nobody said it would be painless and that our grants, food stamps and social security checks wouldn't be touched. Just for the sake of clarification, I am not equating Newt Gingrich with Jesus Christ, nor am I aligning political parties with either good or evil. I am saying there is right and there is wrong. Our justice system is based on morality, and though these morals are not necessarily tied to religious values, religion, and especially ^ *' * * * 1 1- - J 1 _ *_ _ Christianity, nave certainly piayeu a ruie ui uie development of morality in this country. That's part of the reason that it's not okay to assassinate people here, whereas in other countries it is acceptable, if not desirable. It's okay for us to say that some things are bad, nay, it is necessary for us to say some things are bad. So you liberals who keep shouting about how Newt is a demon, the scourge of our country, remember another ancient Biblical adage. It takes one to know one.