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Kurt Johnson will speak about great Olympic terms such as "mogul" and "luge' Page 2 IM Serving the Caroitne , EDITOF Adam Snydc Amy Shannor Kurt Johnson, Asi Survey si relations Will it ever be possible for every- HSHmL one to get along, or The Pah) at least for every- c< one to stand each , . other? changei According to a . new survey by The State, if there is a To help W possibility, then it effort i might take some , . time. The Palmet- 10 to Project survey is people J on race relations in South Carolina and was last taken in 1995. It showed little improvement ii race relations. Thirty-seven percen surveyed thought relations had im proved in the last decade. That wa up 6 percent since the last survey in 1995. But opinions on other issues con cerning jobs and financial opportu nities remained stagnant. Forty-four percent of white peo pie agreed that non-whites had jusi as good a chance to get a job as ? white person, while 43 percent o: blacks disagreed with that state ment. The survey also showed that s majority of black people feel white children have a better opportunitj for financial success, while only 20 percent of white people agreed. Skater sli receive a On Saturday night in Nagano, American figure Figure sk skater Todd El- Eldred? dredge performed .. . ? poorly idlest his chance for an per/or, Olympic gold medal. HKfelL Eldredge was He Still di considered by judges as favorite- r jf, to win a medal, but CIS an Otyft he executed a weak program and ended up falling during a triple axel. Eldredge was ranked third aft.. mi LCI LUC SI1U1 L piUglOUlS UU 1UUI5day and had a definite possibility of being a medal winner. But he finished fourth overall after Saturday's free skate event. After completing his four and a half minute free skate, Eldredge hung his head in disappointment with a mixture of shame and frustration written on his face. Despite his hellish episode on the ice, Eldredge cannot let this experience affect his future hopes of winning a medal. He should not be ashamed as much as he should now feel even more ravenous for the gold. Americans should not fault Eldredge for losing an Olympic medal m tut? ~ Serving the Carolina C The Gamecock is the student newspaper of The linker Friday durirg the fad and sprrg semesters and five times due periods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the The Board of Student Publications and Communications is th is the newspaper's parent organization. Th? Qamacock Adam Snyder Editor in Chief Rosalind Hi Amy Shannon Viewpoints Editor Sma Ladenheim Jo,,n*e Care Pedatt News Editors Carrie McC Jennifer Stanley Features Editor Kristin Free Achkn Hunt Nathan Bro Bryan Jehnotoa Sports Editors g0m Susan Meyers Phcto Editor Toff Q ,H^a Brian RMi Online Editor Chris Dbron Copy Desk Chief Connie Karl Stud wit Media Julie Baker Sherry F. H, Susan Barrett Mela Dickson Carolyn Grli Judson Drennan Creative Services ? Jim Green Dion Parsons Director of Student Media Mlchole Dm Loo PMppa Advertising Manager ^ Codlnt ? 1 J iamecock a Community since 1908 JAL BOARD :r, Editor in Chief i, Viewpoints Editor distant Viewpoints Editor hows race stagnant This could be imMMMyHHI proved. Augustus letto Project Rodgers, aUSC soihows little cial work professor, r said it best: If we n relations. WOuld have the same rrrrr^^^M commitment to reLuLiiJHH solving racial matters ith this, more as we do to scientific is needed advancement, I bet r , lieve there is hope for itforth by us? '? general. This is so true. All we need to do as a society is put forth a little effort. Surely, things are better i than years past, but hopefully, it t will be a lot better in years to come. The first step is to get people to 3 stop thinking in such narrow 1 ways and get rid of bigoted thought. But when such thoughts were a com mon and accepted ideology only 35 - years ago, that might take a little fimo 1/liMC. It's not like we all have to like t each other, but respect is what is i needed. People need to learn to ref spect other people's lives, what they believe, what they do and how they do certain things, i When a majority of people try i and start doing this, race relations ' will drastically and quickly start I changing. It just takes a little effort to make things between the races a little mere cosy. lould still ccolades TTjrmmm] ^or our country- He UdUflHH may have let the aterTodd American people rlnum Kit# Kn lnf kirn. VCll-X? Ci UUbUg 1VV 111111 self down more. Those 8 y- P blaming Eldredge for YMMlce. skating badly should take a closer look at JlUU^BI themselves. How 2serves our many of them can competing even claim to know *11? how to ice skate let VplC athlete. aione d0 triple axels? All the athletes competing in the Olympics deserve to be applauded. They earned the right to represent their native country by practicing every day and devoting their lives to a single sport. In short, they are the best of the best. To compete on that level with such tremendous pressure placed upon them is a feat which demands being commended. Maybe Eldredge did cost the United Statres a medal. But he still warrants the respect of our country for making it to the Olympics and giving his best to honor the U.S. in the figure skatinv cnmnet.it.inn No one can be critical of Eldredge. Everybody has a bad day now and then. smecodt RBI Community since 1908 srty of South Carolina and is published Monday, Wechesday and ig the simmer with the exception eg miversity holidays and exam editors or author and not those of The University of South Carolina e publisher of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media All numbers area code 803 TIm Gamecock may Public Relations Coordinator Editor 777-3914 aiAsst.Viewpoints Editor ulhxugh Asst. News Editor We"po"'fs 777 7726 atata Asst. Features Editor yjews 777-7726 am Asst. Sports Editor rd Asst. Photo Editor Etc. 777-3913 Asst. Online Editor Sports 777-7182 ekhoff Copy Editors Online 777-2833 c""?m ??""'? ? Hn Sl? >s ManagerAlv Creative Director Classifieds 777-1184 moo Creative Services _ Graduate Asst. Fa* 777-6482 Faculty Advisor office 777-3888 i View The Gamec< RAD tea Right now, I'm sitting in one of those blue and wooden chairs F in the third floor lobby of the tl Russell House, listening to an inane E conversation while I try to write. The u participants, a young man and woman, s: are dis- d cussing the w hh| joys of fake T IDs and rig- p K arettes, and a JSKm the peril of si mmm having al- S jM one's dorm fc when one is e: under 21. W MCCORMICK ve ^?onn J! Columnist | has been y going on for I at least half an hour, with no end in vi sight. I keeD hoDine that, one of them rv will say something bordering on the interesting so I can be assured that st college is doing these people some good. I It just isn't happening. Fortunately, m there are folks who come to college for tc something more. w This past week, a diverse array of ul campus organizations sponsored an occasion for intellectual stimulation in Hi the form of Religious Awareness Days, fa which included films, discussions and th midday prayers in several religious W traditions. b( w Race not kelly LEE Guest Columnist pi As I was sitting in my SOCY 355 re class on minority group rela- m tions, I had a revelation. This hi one really struck me and enlightened me. As Professor Mitzell was talking p? about how our personal life experiences se shape our attitudes and the way we m live, I realized that South Carolina has til changed me. It's made me more aware yc of the racial prejudices that exist on jy our campus. As a native Floridian, raised by col- jn or-blind parents, I never really con- ^ sidered my race an issue. At one of the elementary schools I attended, I was actually in the racial minority, and my two best friends were African-Ameri- P4 cans. Needless to say, I never felt the et need to attach a color to my person- 03 ality because no one else did. co I guess if you look at me, you may see a white girl, Pink Toes or what F1 have you, but that's not all that I am. p? And as Professor Mitzell said, race will w< always be a factor because, by our texf s 0f definition, it's characterized by obvi- pr ous physical differences. I suppose up- \y on looking at me one can unmistak- pr ably see that I'm a Caucasian female. CO Victim should not w, be faulted for rape "E To the editor: Vr Regarding the front page headlines W1 of the Feb. 11, Gamecock about the ica sexual assault, I am thoroughly upset at the victim-blaming slant you took, jui specifically Lawrence Pathel's com- he ment, "males and females...[need] to use communication, common sense and on judgment." ^ for OINTS ock iches cu The first event was a discussion in 'reston, which attempted to answer he question, "Spirituality in Higher !ducation: Does It Have a Place?" Natrally, we didn't come to any concluions on such a lofty topic in one short iscussion, but interesting questions 'ere raised. Among them, what is ligher' about higher education? Is the oint of higher education simply to get inV* nr fn lilra mv Knrl/liaa in flio Pno jvw vi uav mj vuuuico ill uic ivuosll House, experiment with alcohol? o hould the college experience re- tl uire us to open our minds to new in- e irmation and ideas that we might not p ave to grapple with in our everyday d ristence? p Personally, I came to college for the itellectual stimulation that events t< ke Religious Awareness Days pro- S ide, and I haven't been disappointed, is just wish more students took ad- ti antage of these extracurricular op- a artunities. ol The Muslim Midday Prayer, for in- c< ance, gave me lots of food for thought, tl know about as little as any religion e: lajor can about Islam, so I was eager tl i learn more about this religion to d hich an entire fifth of the world's pop- n iation belongs. fe Like most people, I knew that Mus- ir m women wear veils to cover their w ces, and I had a vague assumption it lat this was evidence of misogyny. re assume head-to-toe coverings must s( ; worn to act as shackles of sorts, that y< omen are being kept as possessions 01 part of 1 But those who know me, the soul rapped in my skin, can see that my gment (or lack thereof) is simply a flection of light bouncing off the retiis in the color categorizing eyes of iunans around me. One of my roommates, who hapjns to be an African-American female, iid something to me recently to reind me of my color-blind Florida attude. She said, "Kelly, when I look at 01 >u, I don't see a color. I just see Kel- ti ? Perhaps if she just saw me walk- ef g across campus, she'd think, "Oh, ai lere's a white girl," but because she m :tually knows me, she can see Kelly. I won't deny the fact that I love the 0 * irson I've become and the open-mind- c* 1 attitude I have. The fact that I n live in this diverse world filled with w ntroversy drives me every day. In fact, my triangle of friends in ^ orida includes a Caucasian, a His- or inic and an African American, and a s're often mistaken for some version y? the Spice Girls. Personally, we jj] efer to call ourselves the Unity Crew, e rejoice in our sameness and ap- I ] eciate the differences. We've even ju nsidered starting a sorority of our w ill#]" a student. Hand writt elude the author's tel held for any circunst In regards to communication, when foi is the perpetrator supposed to say, isl xcuse me, may I rape you now?" In terms of common sense, the sur- qu vor was the only one who used it is len she reached out for help and med- p J attention after the assault occurred. w< And please, don't fault her for her ro dgment for letting her date into r room. ca When (and if) you have gone out us a date, is it not usually customary roi the date to be invited in either be- T1 I I > stoms < "I came to college stimulation that eve Awareness Day haven't been ver whom men are so jealous that ley hide them from rival males. Howver, I found the explanation of this ractice, given by the young men conucting the prayer meeting, to be comelling and eye opening. The men pointed out that men have ) cover their bodies just like women, horts are not worn, and the clothing i kept loose to attract as little attenon as possible to the shape of the body, s a safe guard against the temptation f sexual immorality. The point of such iverings is explained in a brochure le men gave us: "Modesty of dress (eternalizes moderation of behavior... le moral affirmation of the bounds of ecency, honesty, self-respect, honor, iade visible. The veil continues to ofsr recognition and freedom to women i many ways: It is a signal sent out hich demands respect and receives in return." The Muslim prayer rituals themslves were fascinating, as well. The >ung men showed us how to cleanse irselves in preparation for the prayers, true pei "I never felt the need personality...I guess may see a white girl, you, but that vn, encouraging females of all naonalities and races to join. And these days, we could all benit from experiencing more cultural id racial diversity in our lives, but ost people on this campus have probily been taught to stay with people their own kind, and most people loose to do so. Sociologists have discovered that e usually feel most comfortable *ound people like us, people who look ke us. But who's to say that the frican American male across the room the Native American female sitting few rows behind you isn't more like >u than that person who merely looks te you? I'm sure you'd be highly insulted if merely categorized, classified and dged you by the pigment in your skin ithout any consideration of the feelwill try to print all letters received. Letters should be 250300 ? en tetters must be personally delivered by the author to The Ga ephone number. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all let I ance. re you leave or after the date is fintied? The point here is that so many aclaintance rapes occur because there no reason not to trust the would-be srp. If she didn't trust him, she luldn't have let him come up to her om. It is so easy to fault her for this beuse then we can separate her from i. "If we never let anyone into our oms, then we will never be violated." laf s absurd. All victim-blaming does "It was and is a way of airing society's dirty laundry." Carol Chichetto, chair of Clothesline Project. Monday, February 16, 1998 college press EXCHANGE )f Islam for the intellectual :nts such as Religious rs provide, and I disappointed." which must be made five times a day. They allowed us to follow them tVirnnnrVi fVio ontiro nravop oo tViav Vlll VUgll HIV V11V11 V MJ VI J UO HIVJ bowed, kneeled and stood with their bodies, even their toes, pointing towards Mecca. I found their practices to be humbling. When you make such elaborate prayers five times a day, your religion has to be an intimate part of you. I found myself thinking that other religions could learn a lot from Islam, in that respect. If we were all reminded of our faith throughout the day, it would have to affect our actions more than it does when we gather for prayer only once a week. For next week, I'd like you to tell me how your religion affects you. Do you think about your beliefs often during the day? How does your religion help you to make decisions? Are you a different person now than you were before you were converted or began to ' be active in your faith? Please share your experiences by e-mailing me at kawarth@vm.sc.edu. *sonality I to attach a color to my | if you look at me, you Pink Toes or what have :'s not all I am." ings, interests or ideas beneath the surface. The fact is, many of us don't even take the time to find out how different or similar someone of another d pigment really is. You may be surprised. You may find you have absolutely nothing in common, or you may find the person is so much like you its frightening. Think about being different and actually be that way, if only for a few minutes. Go to a place where you wouldn't normally go (like a place where you're a racial minority), read something "in- tended" for a target audience different than vour own or sit bv someone who doesn't look like you and actually converse with them. Make an attempt to see through the pigment for once, and you might find something you like. ords and must include full name, professKnat title or year and mqor if mecock newsroom in Russell House room 333. Email letters must in let for style, possible libel or space limitations. Names will not be withis scare us from engaging in any activities with the opposite sex by paint- ^ ing all males as rapists and all females as victims. If we should focus on anything here, let it be on why such violence continues to occur and then what should be done about it today, here, for us and by us. Stacy Race Chair of S.H.A.R.E. _ * 4