The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 27, 1998, Page A4, Image 4
Kiki McCormick will bust
out with your responses to
her religous column.
Page A4
?
. Serving the Carolina Co
EDITORS
Adam Snyder,
Amy Shannon,
Kurt Johnson. Assist
Changes i
revamp D
Desk assistants n5jS5^7Ti
came under fire HHUaLm
this week when an jt's obviou
article in The , ^A
Gamecock showed syste)
certain dorm DAs working /
were not doing
their job. Their job
New idea:
in guests oi residents
and checking security g:
to make sure the identificatn
people entering the should be C,
building are residents
of that area.
When a reporter
did a "test" to see if' DAs
would do their jobs, three out ol tour
DAs did not ask for any form of identification,
and one DA was not even
present. This was a cause for concern
by many students who felt this
kind of sub-par behavior was putting
themselves and their property in
some form of danger.
Blame went in all directions: the
DA coordinator, the Resident Hall
Director, even the residents who live
in the buildings.
But there is nobody to blame except
the people who are supposed
to be working at the desk. The Housing
Department and Towers Area
Office have been coming under the
mm fnr irrocrwM-iciVwlifv r\f +V>*?
0U11 IU1 l/AAl/ 11 1 UX I/11&
DAs. Truly, it is not either department's
fault? maybe for hiring the
person, yes, but how are they supposed
to know such a thing would
happen when they first hire someone?
Farmers 1
needs a ?
nun ui me mainei, nam my its
chipped paint and water leakage,
does not meet their strict sanitation
standards.
To revitalize the market, politicians
have suggested either to relocate
the market or to refurbish it.
Choosing to move it to a new site
?ie(Bai
Serving the Carohnn Com
The Gamecock is the student newspaper of The Unfrersity
Friday dtrrig the fall rnd spring semesters and thre times during tl
periods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the edit*
The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the pi
is the newspaper s parent organisation.
The Qamecocfc
Adam Snyder Editor in Chief Roeallnd Ham
Amy Shannon Viewpoints Editor
i MtnotilUm Hurt JohneonA
Care Pedant News Editors Carrie McCullo
Jennifer Stanley Features Editor Kristin Freest a
Achkn Hunt Nathan Brown
Bryan Johnston Sports Editors Sem
Susan Meyers Photo Editor Tgfl Q
Brian Pish Online Editor
Chris Dixon Copy Desk Chief Connie Harlckh
Student Media
Julie Baker Sherry F. Holm
Susan Barrett
A*da Uckeon Carolyn Griffin
Judaon Drennan Creative Services
_ Jim Green
Blen Parsons Director of
Student Media Mlchele Dam at
Lee Phlppt Advertising Manager coUlna
For 50 years, [ jrTTTTT
the South Carolina HHuiiiil
State Fanners Mar- South Caro
ket has done busi- a
ness in Columbia at
the Bluff Road fa- dilapid
cility. Some of the ^
state's largest produce
wholesalers as D ^, . .
well as several r Refurbi
smaller farmers sell farmers IT
their wares at the bring it up
market.
Today the mar
ket s in a state of disrepair. The
whole facility is in dire need of a
paint job, the potholes are horrendous,
and vendors are experiencing
roof leakage.
Because the market has become
dilapidated, questions about the level
of sanitation and food safety are
being raised. Vendors fear that customers
have stopped patronizing the
market because of these concerns.
Some grocery store and restaurant
chains no longer buy produce at the
market because the current condi
1
mccodt
mmunily since 1908
X BOARD
Editor in Chief
Viewpoints Editor
T i ir>
uni v ivuuyyjinis r.unur
needed to
>A svstem
rrjrm^m] TheDAs are paid
LuU^HH to do a job, a job
S that the they're obviously not
VC wnf doing. So, the obvious
thing would be to fire
yroperly. them. And it has been
done, but still the
problem persists. The
- d,rh /7C- Desk Coordinator's
> su o jQk make gure
uards or there is someone at
on Stickers the desk at all times.
onsidered. To ensure this, a
schedule is made up
so those who want to
work certain hours
can sign up for them.
But when a employee fails to
show up, as the case may be regu
larly, the coordinator is put in a
tough situation. And then when a
story like this comes out, they get
the blame. No, it's not fair, but that's
what happens. So, old workers are
fired and new ones hired; it a vicious
cycle.
Obviously, a better plan is needed.
Maybe something simpler than
having DAs? possibly full time security
guards working the desk, or
having a sticker on residents' IDs
that show the person lives in that
building. Residents-in the Towers
have to use their IDs anyway to enter
the building; while it's out,
why not flash it to the person
waiting at the desk to confirm residence?
Whatever happens, the blame
should go to no one, or nowhere, other
than on those who failed to be responsible.
Market
ace lift
is the wrong decision.
The best option to get
Una state the market back in
larketis fM?e is to complete,
ly remodel it.
Qted- The market has remained
in flnlnmbia
f?r the past 50 years,
ch tho It has become an engaging
part of Colarket
to lumbia's "local town"
> to date. feel. Losing the market
to another county
is saying goodbye to a
piece of the capital city's local
flair. It will result in Columbia becoming
just like any other generic,
industrialized city.
Consumers are already accustomed
to the market's presence on
Bluff Road. They know where to
go and how to get what they need.
For those customers, travelling
to the market from distant places,
moving the market may lengthen
their driving time and discourage
them from making the trip. With
Columbia's central location in the
state, the market is roughly equidisi
. n n ,1 n l ?i i
tant irom soutn uaronna s ooraers.
Instead of relocating the market,
it should be refurbished and brought
up to date with sanitation and food
safety standards. Columbia shouldn't
let its hometown ambiance slip away.
Tltcocb BH
munity since 1908
of South Carolina and is pdolished Monday, Wednesday and
te simmer with the exception of miversity holidays and exam
ofs or author and not those of The Urwersity of South Carolina
tfisher of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media
All numbers area code 803
The Gamecock
ty Public Relations
Coordinator Editor 777-3914
ssi. viewpoints conor
. . . ... Viewpoints 777-7726
ugh Asst. News Editor
te Asst. Features Editor News 777-7726
Asst. Sports Editor
Asst. Photo Editor Etc. 777-3913
Asst. Online Editor
Sports 777-7162
ioff Copy Editors
Online 777-2833
" "a'na^r
Business Manager Advertising 777-1184
Creative Director Classifieds 777-1184
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Graduate Asst. hax /'f-b482
Faculty Advisor Office 777-3888
Vewf
The Gam(
r kwm
l Hkc
vW \
Author
CC A n interesting life is an inter'
l\ esting book waiting to be
-^written."
These are the words of
Frank McCourt, the Pulitzer Prize winning
author of the memoir, Angela's
Ashes. Any~T|one
W^?
J P - Sf \::: w e e k a g o
flki" | j;:-.. :jljL got the
' % 4. chance to
jllk J |<- get near
;>||fl j P the wit,
|pfe8g^^:;,$1|| charm and
ertn SHAW contagious
?? - creativity
r-?'""mfa' | McCourt
exudes in
his storytelling. McCourt, quite simply,
compels people to want to write
their stories.
I was fortunate to have the experience
of talking with McCourt earlier
in the afternoon at a small discussion
session, mostly for students in the
graduate English and MFA programs.
For one hour, the small group that
gathered in the English Department
lounge could pose any question to
m i
i eievisn
Don't believe everything you see
on television.
I sat down late one night to
see what was on around 1 a.m. There
are slim pickings after Leno as far as
things to
h =n wateh-I<M
k -4' featured a
black bear
had
gotten itself
fired LEACH stuck up in
J- a tree. After
Columnist they
managed to
get the bear down by shooting him with
a tranquilizer and letting him fall onto
a trampoline, a commercial came on for
a free 10 minutes of psychic chat.
I couldn't pass up a free conversation
with a psychic, so I called.
"Hello, welcome to your free psychic
reading," she said. "Please state your
name."
"My name is Dan," I responded. I
was paying close attention to my watch
Dickerson did have
a role in the AAAS
budget cut
To the editor
This letter is in response to Mr.
Jared Moble/s letter concerning newly-elected
president Kim Dickerson's
role in the the AAAS budget cut. For
someone to say that Kim Dickerson
played no role in AAAS budget cut because
she isn't on the finance com
'OINTf
BCOCk
5KTO Ripi^o
'AJ?T? _/ni ,
/ I
4 ?/, 4
gives v
the writer who's captured the attention
of the country and the world with
his tale nf crrnwincr nn nnnr in Ireland
My first question pertained to
the trend of non-fiction works consistently
rising to the top of the bestseller
list. What is drawing Americans to
purchase memoirs, autobiographies,
first-person accounts in such great
number? McCourt recounted the
lack of availability of popular entertainment
in Ireland, which contributed
to his lack of desire to watch packaged
sitcoms and sit through fantastical
movies in the United States.
When he arrived in the United
States, instead of turning the television
on to watch "The Brady Bunch,"
he wrote his life story, what he knew
the most, in notebook upon notebook.
He believes Americans want to know
more about themselves and less of the
images of what they should be ? from
fiction and popular culture accounts.
In McCourf s world, anything that involves
little thought is not worthy to
ui^upjr iai gc auiuuiii/d ui uiic o nine ?
especially the world of entertainment.
I've taken in what McCourt said
and thought about it in terms of what
Americans consider "entertainment"
by the standards of popular culture.
While ifs good to see a "fluff" movie or
Dn leads
so I would not surpass my allotted time.
I figured that giving her a false name
would provide her with an easy
opportunity to prove that she was,
indeed, psychic.
"What would you like to know, Dan?"
sIig bsKgc!
"Well, first of all," I began, "I would
like to know if my name really is Dan."
"Of course not," she asserted
confidently.
"How do you know?" I shot back.
"Because Fm psychic," said the lady
on the other end of the line. 1 was duly
impressed. I guess I thought I could put
one over on 'em by not giving my real
name, but she was keen.
"Tell me who is going to win the
NCAA tournament," I said.
"Clemson," she responded. At this
point I realized that she was full of crap.
My second experience of being duped
by the television came by watching one
of those fishing shows where a guy in
a boat talks about his lure and technique
while catching more fish in 30 minutes
than I have in my lifetime. This
particular program showcased a new
lure that was guaranteed to make the
fish bite. It operated somehow by
triggering the fish's sense of sight.
They kept on showing clips of fish
The Came
jl'iill* 3 stuaenl-Hanc
elude the
held for any ciri
mittee proves that Mr. Mobley has little
insight to politics.
Ms. Dickerson cannot play an innocent
role in a bad decision made by
the finance committee. As vice president,
it is her responsibility to make
sure that the finance committee has
the proper experience to do a job
such as budget approval.
With only one retiring member from
last year's finance committee, Sen. Zerrel
Hall, this year's committee, including
the chairperson, had no knowledge
on which to draw its conclusions.
Furthermore, Ms. Dickerson made it
E
"]
>
TO Lllft A
~kf ^EERARoi
col
Tritinff s
read what a friend of mine calls the
"K-Mart novel" (books a dime a dozen
in such stores), Americans are catching
on to the pleasure of learning about
someone's real life story through nonfiction
accounts. Of course there is a
time when one wants to suspend reality
through entertainment, but there
are other times when one can actually
learn while being entertained.
We're scooping up books like McCourt's,
books that tell of adventures,
tragedies or sometimes what could be
considered "everyday American life"
by the millions. Maybe this is because
there is no "everyday American life,"
that an individual perspective that
may seem commonplace in one's mind
is transformed by the talented writer.
I think Angela's Ashes is so popular
in part, because it is the fiber of a
man who could be any immigrant to
America, anyone's parent or grandparent.
McCourt's attractiveness is
how he tells it and that he tells it. How
many rich stories exist in the memories
of our own grandparents, or
even of modern-day immigrants? And
how many stories will be lost because
no one dared to listen to the stories,
confront the blank page and turn
the images into words?
to fishin:
(
MMy second experien*
the television came by
fishing shows w
boat talks atw
biting this lure. It never failed. Big,
hungry stripers were ravenous when
they saw this thing dangling in front
of them.
This particular lure was only $19.99,
a paltry sum for such an effective tool.
I ordered it from some place in Tenn.
that I had never heard of. It finally came
two months later. It was much smaller
than it looked on TV, but size must not
matter to bass.
I went down to the pond to try my
new lures out, with visions of Large
Mouths swimming in my head as I fixed
the lure to my line and cast it out almost
to the center of the pond.
I slowly reeled it in, expecting to get
a hit anytime. Imagine my surprise
when I pulled the thing out of the water
with no huge bass attached. There just
weren't any bass around where I cast,
cock will try to prinl all letters received. Letters should be 250300 word;
I written letters must be personally delivered by the author to The Garnet
r's telephone number. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letter It
instance.
blatantly obvious that Sen. Hall's experience
was of no use when she appointed
someone with no experience.
Ignorance combined with inexperience
equals the irresponsibility of a decision
made by Ms. Dickerson.
Despite the committee's inexperience,
the Committee, nor Ms. Dickerson
didn't know how many people
AAAS programs affect outside of its
membership. Ms. Dickerson and most
of the Finance Committee aren't mem
bers of AAAS, but that is no reason
to not be in touch with an organization
which is essentially the voice of
still feel in the eyes of a %
lot of students that I am
Student Body President."
ZereU HaU, SG Senator
Friday, February 27,1998
CoCUR*
W ^ 95?
WI..J
m %
#*I|feE3?
lege press EXCHANGE
idvice *
It is often daunting to be faced with
the empty notebook, the blank screen,
notions of what is important to
write. How should one go about putting
their memories nr the stories of nth
ui ucui^ uupcu uy ^
watching one of those
here a guy in a
3ut his lure"
I rationalized, so I moved to another
part of the pond. A different place, but
the same result.
After about three or four more casts
with no fish to show for them, I decided %
to go. I was heartily disappointed as I
began to pack up my things, but wait?
just one more cast, I thought, and this
will be the lucky one. So I drew back,
pressed the button, and with a flick of
my wrist watched the lure sail across
the lake.
It wasn't until I saw my line drifting
softly towards the surface, that I realized
my wonderful lure had popped off the
line and flew untethered into the lake.
I was so mad that I almost threw my %
Zebco in the lake after it, but I had just
lost q>zu ana l didn't want to lose any
more. The lesson was learned. Next
time I go fishing, 111 stick with bread.
s and must include full name, professional title or year and major il
:ocli newsroom in Russell House room 333. Email letters must in
x style, possible libel or space limitations Names will not be with
the African American community here
on campus.
Finally, it was not the intent of the
African American community to com- w
plain about the story on Ms. Dickerson's
illness. Our main concern was
that the timing of the story was bad,
and that the story played a psychological
role in the election by giving a
personal story about a candidate's fight
for life as well as their fight for presidency.
Terrence Wilson %
Senior, Mechanical Engineering
ers, on the page? This was my next
question to McCourt.
The answer: there is no one way to
write (with the near completion of an ^
English d I should
His advice to any burgeoning writer
didn't come in the method of writing
their stories, planning composing rituals
or how to achieve the success he
has. His advice comes more by example:
a man who wrote, who preserved
his memories despite his daily obligations
(he was a high school teacher up
to the success of the book).
McCourt's example and his enor- ^
mously popular book is his guidance
to all writers. His invitation is that
of an automatic "initiation" into writing
? the preservation of the written
word. His lesson: have something to
say? Write it down now. McCourt gives
Americans the courage to write it
down.
Regardless if one's story becomes
a bestseller or a carefully preserved ^
memory, it will exist. Have an inter
esting life? Make it an interesting story.
g lesson