The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 16, 1998, Page 2, Image 2
Kikki McCormick presents
an opportunity for religious
feedback.
Page 2
Serving tbe Carolina t
EDITOR]
Adam Snydei
Amy Shannon,
Kurt Johnson, Assi
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USC wor]
against v;
n i i i
Dravo, Dravo!
USC deserves this HHhbmm
cheer for solving, VaTldolis
or at least bettering, r?, , p
the recurring gate Otreet UC
crashing problem at reclU
the Bull Street
Garage.
During the win- HKUi
ter break, USC of- Bravo to
ficials diverted the t
possible problem by finalh ta*
switching the second P1"
and fourth floors of
the garage to better [____
suit parking space
availability.
also cuts down on the vandalism of
entrance and exit gates. This, in turn,
will save the university money on having
to deal with such ludicrous activities
as gate crashing.
To help with that aspect, USCPD
will be present at the gate, as well
as do walk-throughs, drive-throughs
and undercover missions to make sure
everything is going okay.
The university is doing a good
thing here. It's not only looking out
for its financial situation, it also is
looking after the students and their
Certain st
need spec
The Supreme
Court decided Mon- HHHililMi
day to reject a case Parents O
in which the parents ctlj
of an autistic child aiuwtea 5111
wanted a public their childre
% % . i .t t t
scnooi to place tneir regular SCO
child in regular
classes full-time. TT7TTT
School officials said
the boy was dis- Place Stll
rupting the classby M me
hitting and pmching ,
others and taking off V ^ ^
his clothes.
The Supreme
Court made the right decision in choosing
to uphold a lower court's ruling
that enrolled the student in a special
class for autistic students while still
allowing him to participate in general
music, art and gym classes.
In no way should this ruling be
perceived as discrimination against
the mentally challenged. All students,
not just severely disabled or mentally
challenged ones, must behave in
class. Hitting, pinching and removing
clothes is simply not appropriate,
and any student behaving in this type
of disruptive manner should be asked
to leave the class either on a temporary
basis by visiting the principal or
on a more permanent basis in serious
cases by being moved to another class.
It is extremely unfortunate that
some mentally challenged children,
such as autistics, are unable to control
their disruptive behavior even
though they may want to do so. Taking
these children out of the regular
classroom should not be discerned as
punishment.
fgk Hit?
~ TjT Serving the Carolina Cc
The Gamecock is the student newspaper of The Univers,
Friday during the fall and spring semesters and five times durirt,
periods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of thee
The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the
is the newspaper's parent organization.
The Gamecock
Adam Snyder Editor In Chief RoaaUnd Hat
Amy Shannon Viewpoints Editor Kurt Johnaot
Sara Ladenheim Carrie McCu
'vevv5 co'lors Kristin Frees
Jennifer Stanley Features Editor Nathan Bros
Achim Hunt ~ n oavMn
Bryan Johnston Sports Editors **an "aywn
Susan Meyers Phofo Ed/for Tort 0 H*n
Brian Rlsh Online Editor conntoKarfc
Chris Dixon Copy Desk Chief
Student Media
Julie Baker Carolyn Ortfl
Susan Barrett ..
Alicia Dickson Creative Services
Mlchele Dan
Ellen Parsons Director of
Student Media
Erik Collins
Lee Phlppe Advertising Manager
Sherry F. Holmes Classified Ad
Manager
V <
" 1
wiirrnrb
UllllAUUX
Community since 1908
AL BOARD
r, Editor in Chief
, Viewpoints Editor
stant Viewpoints Editor
king well
andaHsm
TTgrjjjggll P1"*2^possessions.Tht
? university is looking tx
m at Bull make the most out 0
its available facilities
ir??e was 'With that, it is al
TlUg. lowing more students
to have access to con
venient parking places
JaJHIIH and the school is mak
use fir ing a couple extra
irw care of bucks because of thaj
.ing care of MwelL
Oblem. However, it was sad
that the University had
to even deal with this
problem in the first
place (the gate vandalism, that is). It
was simply unacceptable for the University
to have to keep dealing and
keep paying with such nonsense. It's
pretty sick that people took the initiative
to break the gate over repeatedly.
Hopefully, some damage
was done to their cars.
Again, bravo to the university for
hopefiilly ending this ridiculous string
of petty destruction. Now that silly
little nuisances such as that are out
of the way, the university can spend
its much-needed time worrying about
more pertinent problems. .
udents
:ial classes
T^Tr^Tl Placing severely
ibUiJHIH disabled children in a
f severely class with other stu?
. . dents similar to themdents
want 3elve3 caters t0 theil
W to attend special needs. It is not
OOl classes. much different than
grouping the children
|rrnHH who take regular classes
into certain reading
dents in sections based on their
i i ahilit.v and rppdinpss
UIIUUUV mKSpp
immunity since 1908 BMHIHiiiliBMBMiHil
ity of Sooth Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday and
g the summer with the exception of university holidays and exam
ditors or author and not those of The University of South Carolina.
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St
as classes ~ JA tt ;
j, . to read. Students with
iisruptive. such reading ability are
homogeneously
matched up in the
same section.
In today's overcrowded public
schools, each teacher must singly attempt
to capture the attention of more
than 30 fidgety elementary students
and convey academic material to them.
Extra distractions from students with
special needs cause disruptions that
are unfair to other students, the
teacher and other special-needs students,
as well.
Students placed in special education
classes receive more attention
from their instructor because of the
smaller number of students in attendance.
Often, the teacher has completed
course work in working with
and understanding disabled students
and is better equipped to teach these
children.
Discriminating against the mentally
challenged is unforgivable, but
creating special classes for them to
meet their needs is nowhere near discrimination
or prejudice. In fact, the
Supreme Court has done a great justice
to public schools and all the
children they educate.
VIEWI
The Gam
1m my
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& ONI
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i
I have caught the fever?gambling
fever that is. It all started over
Thanksgiving which I spent in
Myrtle Beach. My uncle decided to put
a dollar in the blackjack machine on
the Pier in Garden City and as I watched,
L ' i_
poinis
/red LEACH tKdte
Columnist had won
$38.
He asked the man behind the counter
incredulously if he had really won $38.
The man took the slip of paper and,
giving my uncle the money right out of
his drawer, told us both to have a nice
rlntr TV>r*4" iiton oil if frv/ilr mn T nrAVif
uay. iiiat was an it tuun. iui inc. i went
right back over to that machine, put a
dollar in and busted on the first try.
Celebrit
i
My family and I spent Christmas
in Hawaii, learning to
hula and eating way too many
pineapples. But my biggest lesson from
the trip did not occur on the island,
speaking to the locals and learning
about their
en/ZsiHAW the red-eye
Columnist flight from
Honolulu to
Los Angeles. The fun was about to end
as we waited for our flight in the airport
lounge. I was immersed in John
Krakeur's Into Thin Air, his first-person
account of the tragedy on Mount
. Everest, in which several people were
killed.
Just as I started to get into the
fatal climb in the book, I heard my
mother's best attempt at whispering
in her New York accent... "The Fonz
is watching the Bucs game." Was this
some secret code signaling me to get
her some Chex mix from the bar?
HocnifD m\r 1 c*n\r nf mnfirlonpo in
HXJ luvu vyx vv.muv..vv "
Mom's vision, I humored her and looked
UlajHUJUil
MLK holiday not
just any other day
To the editor:
The Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday
is a day that should be used to reflect,
educate and celebrate the outstanding
achievements of Dr. King,
and the Civil Rights Movement. This
day should be used also to celebrate
the progress that we have made on
race-relations and to shed light upon
the need for further racial harmony.
In response to Ms. Felicia Brown's column
on Wednesday, which advocated
a position against suspending classes
on the MLK holiday, it is important to
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However, I am not one to be discouraged
by Mure, so I put another in and ended
up with $30.
I was ecstatic since this was the
easiest money I had ever made in my
life. I am a bit on the lazy side, so any
method of obtaining money this easily
naturally appealed to me. " I have found
my true calling in life," I said to my
uncle as we walked out of the arcade.
Gambling used to be a noble trade in
the old West, but there doesn't seem tc
be much of a demand for it these days.
Brett Maverick used to make a good
living by gambling, so if he could do it,
surely I could, too. However, Brett didn't
have to worry about the South Carolina
government making it illegal.
Beasley has said that video poker,
which includes any form of games that
give payouts (including blackjack, 1
presume) is a "cancer." Sadly, I am afraid
that in South Carolina it will soon be
illegal to play these games. Those
opposed to these games say that they
destroy families and cause people tc
ui? u 4-u ? i?? 4-~
uiuw ail men muiicy, uupiiig tu win uig.
Using this rationale, we must bring
back prohibition. Think of how many
y run-in
to my left, only to spot Henry Winkler,
a.k.a., Arthur Fonzarelli from the lovable
television show Happy Days. So
the Fonz was watching football. It was
a little out of the ordinary, but I quickly
decided to remain composed.
I tried not to look. Mostly because
I could hear the "oohs" and "aahs" ol
the makeshift passenger paparazzi
that insisted on crowding around him
3 J * "L : MT~ D
ana discussing sucn issues as is ivuij
Howard as nice in real life as Richie
Cunnigham?" and "Can you just do
that 'hey-hey-hey' thing once...please?*
Meanwhile, he was squirming in his
seat, trying to appease them, although
only half pleasing them with his
reminiscence of Happy Days.
The more I listened to them, the
more I disliked those people hounding
him. Then a strange thing happened.
I couldn't stop turning my head to see
what he was doing. Like getting another
glimpse of this man with his family
was going to give me some strange
gratification, a look at a piece of our
beloved popular culture.
I found mvself drawn to refill mv
Coke, conveniently passing the couch
where Winkler was sitting. Fd go back
and join my family in trying to contain
our bizarre excitement, but it was a
lost cause. As much as I tried to concentrate
on my book, it was hopeless.
I was a spectator.
The commotion only increased as
he boarded the same plane. My brothThe
?j | ] b d 11 " a
dude the a
held for anj
indicate some flaws in the facts and
reasoning presented in the column.
While it is true that some would
not take full advantage of a suspension
of classes on this holiday, it is not
fair to Drevent all students from hav
ing the opportunity to fully reflect and
celebrate in their own way. The existence
of classes on this day prevents
students from attending educational
University programs, taking the day
to do community service, celebrating
with family and friends, and the many
other ways people choose to commemorate
this holiday. Ms. Brown, despite
the fact that you would rather do
laundry or hang out rather than take
advantage of this day to remember and
H
EH
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Q S
3 **
'
<
>y to gai
[
"'I have found my tru
to my uncle as we wal
Gambling used to be a
West, but there doesn
I
demand for i
L
i lives are shattered by alcoholism. I have
no statistics, but I suspect that alcoholism
[ destroys families at a much higher rate
than video poker machines. Let's also
; ban any tobacco products considering
i how many people die from lung cancer,
thus destroying families. The list of
, things that can have harmful enects on
; society, if we overindulge ourselves,
goes on and on. Anything, if taken to
[ extremes, can be detrimental to our
! society. Therefore, moderation is the
i key. Unfortunately, it is difficult to
r regulate moderation,
i Is banning the games the answer?
I don't think so. If we ban these games,
f those who waste all their money holding
r on to the hope that they can win some,
causes e
, er, a hopeful actor, tried to get a look
at the Fonz's ticket to see if there
i was a chance to be near the star. No
i such luck. We filed onto the plane, took
our seats and fate was forever
sealed. I was sitting next to the Fonz.
i That is where the gripping epic of
the flight begins.
Everyone on the plane was staring
l at him. Then they looked at me, as 11
awaiting my launch of a beautiful
friendship during our four hour flight,
i I didn't know what to do. I wanted to
' talk to him, and he seemed friendly,
i like he wouldn't mind talking to me.
This is when I went into irrational
mode. I decided I wasn't going to talk
to him, even when he was showing interest
in the book I was holding and
giving me that "I'm your fellow passenger,
let's talk about the bad plane
food" look. I was torn. I thought, "If he
was anyone else, would you talk to
him?"
This is where one of my primary
problems occurred. I wouldn't have
talked to him if he was just an ordinary
guy sitting next to me. And I didn't
want to make him feel uncomfortable
like the other people seemingly
had done. I imagined he would appreciate
a few hours of privacy and
non-recognition.
In between the flight attendants
perching in the aisle doting over him
and the in-flight movie, something happened
to change all this. We hit turamecock
will try to print all letters received. Letters should be 250-300 ?
Hand written letters must be personally delivered by the author to The Ga
uthor's telephone number. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all let
1 circumstance.
celebrate the achievements of the past
if classes were suspended.
Furthermore, there are more than
just some social programs at night
on this holiday. The University has established
a tradition of having a breakn
i i.1 r
last program in me morning, an aiternoon
program at the law school and
1 an educational and entertaining
evening program at the law school and
an educational and entertaining
[ evening program at the Koger center
as advertised in this newspaper. These
programs have become yearly traditions
at USC.
i The solution to the problem of
! some students not using this holiday
; to properly reflect on the valuable con
9
\.t noon I walked into my
iiatrician's office, at 6 p.m. I
ked out of the cancer unit."
n Dickersoti SG Vice Pres.
Friday, January 16,1998 ^
college press EXCHANGE
m M in or
e calling in life,' I said
Iked out of the arcade.
. noble trade in the old
i't seem to be much of
t these days."
may overindulge in other distractions
such as alcohol.
For some reason, South Carolinians
are fearful of gambling. We don't even
have a lotteiy. Many South Carolinians
play the ueorgia lottery, which helps
pay the college tuition of every student
with a 3.0 average. How many students
here at USC would be going to school
for free if we had a lottery similar to
Georgia? For some reason, however, the A
government doesn't think we have
enough self-control not to overindulge
in gambling. True, gambling can become
a serious problem if it is not done in
moderation but so can just about
anything.
piphany
bulence. I'm usually never afraid to
fly, but set in the disaster mode of the
book I was reading, I panicked.
Tm going to die sitting next to The
Fonz," I thought. My clammy hands
gripped the seat at the thought. I'd
nmrnr ovon llVP fn fnll mV nf ani*.
XIV/ V V/i VTVXX v wv l/VXX VV?*V Ui oux
vival with Henry Winkler, how the two
of us would be bonded amidst our desperate
attempt at survival.
Just then it hit me -1 was not going
to die sitting next to The Fonz. If
anything happened to me, it would occur
sitting next to a person. He was an
. ordinary guy, too. And in those moments
of shaky turbulence, I felt a
strange sense of equality.
It only lasted for about an hour.
Each of us left the plane unharmed.
The biggest blow I received occurred
as I walked away from my traveling
counterpart, Henry Winkler.
I hadn't said anything to him. Not
one word about our dooks, the turbulence
or overhead compartments. I had
succeeded in giving him "privacy," but
in the process failed at treating him in
the light that I now understood - not
as a television personality but as a person
who hits turbulence, too.
ords and must include full name, professional title or year and major if
imecock newsroom in Russell House room 333. E-mail letters must inter
for style, possible libel or space limitations. Names will not be with
tributions of Dr. King is not to prevent
everyone else from having the opportunity
to attend the University programs,
city activities, or other func- ^
tions by having class throughout the ^
day. The answer is to have a school
wide suspension of classes on that day
and for each of us to take advantage
of the many productive ways to reflect
on and celebrate the achievements of
the past. Thank you and God Bless
Carolina.
Jamel Franklin
President of the Student Body
I