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Regular columnists Kurt and Felicia will be back to share their stories with you. Monday, March 16,1998 I IMS Serving the Carolina C FDITORly Adam Snyder. Amy Shannon, Kurt Johnson, Assis ' Gamecoc lacks hea For the second year in a row the HHuUiii Gamecocks have been knocked out ,, , of the NCAA Tour- tbe mtlom % nament by a lower will to seeded team. How ______ could this happen? Shouldn't Carolina . have been ready ^eam and learned a les- develop int son from last year? jjec USC should have learned, but the team didn't. The team foiled to recognize that something essential was missing, f This was a big problem. TVio nrnWom fViflf rancori Par olina's loss to Coppin State repeated itself throughout the season. So it shouldn't be a surprise that USC lost to Richmond. In fact, the loss was inevitable. But what was the problem? The problem with USC basketball is that the team lacks heart and intensity. It's something that has plagued the Gamecocks all season. a When USC upset Kentucky in Rupp Arena last year, Carolina reached an emotional high. Since then the Gamecocks have been passionless. The first sign of this calamity was the loss to Marathon Oil in an exhibition game. This embarrassment was followed with four close wins against teams who should have been easy-going for Carolina: apiti0 fill 11-point win over Belmont, then a one-point victory over Virginia Jocassee < not for tr A Last fall, South I w Carolina bought HHHUUUAii 32,000 acres of Jo- "Jhe DN cassee Gorges property from Duke Energy Cor- manageme poration. In May, theJocasse the Department of Natural Resources will be put in _ charge of most of DNR tn\ the land. the area, nc A week, the # ^ a huntt DNR is expected to announce its man agement plan for the Jocassee Gorges tract. The DNR has two main choices. The land can " either be kept as a Wildlife Management Area, or hunting ground, or it can be maintained as a Heritage Trust to preserve rare native species of plants and animals. The DNR should manage the Jocassee Gorges as a Heritage Trust 0 because there is less of a chance for clear cutting of the forest to occur as well as preservation of wildlife. If the DNR maintains the area as a hunting ground, tree logging is likely to take place because the DNR's track record shows that it has already earned millions of dollars from commercially selling timber logged from other hunting grounds, according to an article in The State. ' the?: -^3T Serving the Carolina C The Gamecock is the student newspaper of The Univer. Friday during the fall and spring semesters and five times durir periods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the i The Board of Student Publications and Communications is th is the newspaper's parent organization. Th* Gamecock Adam Snyder Editor in Chief Rosalind Ht Amy Shannon Viewpoints Editor Sara Ladanhelm hurt Johnac Cera Petlatt News Editors Carrie McC Jennifer Stanley Features Editor Krlatln Free Achlm Hunt Nathan Bro Bryan Johnston Sports Editors ;rtn Rayio Susan Meyers Photo Editor Tof10 Ha? Brian Utah Online Editor Erjn Rehad Chris Dixon Copy Desk Chief Connie Hart Student Media Julie Baker Sherry F. H Susan Barrett Allele Dickson Carolyn Qrt Judson Drennan Creative Services _ , Jim Green Ellen Parsons Director of a Student Media Mlchele Da Lao Phlppa Advertising Manager Erik uoiimt 1 "> imecock ommunity since 1908 VL BOARD , Editor in Chief Viewpoints Editor tant Viewpoints Editor kB-ball rt to win ??Tech, a five-point win luUHHi over S.C. State and a tball lacks 10 P0"1* ^ly over j Towson. lasm and ?wait; some say, 1 win. "USC had a good sea_____ son. They fought back to grab big wins _ ? . against UGA twice, needs to UF> Cincinnati and ensityand Ole Miss in the SEC irt. Tournament." Yes, it's true that Carolina climbed back to get these wins, but USC should have never been in the hole in the first place. It was this lack of enthusiasm that caused the early deficits. USC was lucky to get these wins, and eventually the luck ran out, most obviously against the Vols and Richmond. Now with the season over, Carolina needs to regroup and get back that intensity and spirit the team possessed last year when it beat Kentucky twice. If the Gamecocks don't regain this fervor and vitality, be prepared for another good season, not an excellent one but a decent one like this year's, and many more embarrass mg iuoaca 111 gamco tiiau count next season. While Tony Kitchings, Damien Kinloch and Aaron Lucas will bring a lot of talent to the next year's team, let's hope they bring intensity and a will to win. The team doesn't lack talent, just heart, and this makes it a second-rate team. Gorges ee cutting But if the area beLuiiflHIl comes part of the HerR must itage Trust program, i a land is placed on consernt plan jor vation and preservaie Gorges. tion of the natural wilderness. Timber cutting is allowed on Heritage Trust land, UStpreserve but stricter regula )t designate tions must be folng ground. low?d> ^ Sportsmen s groups want the Jocassee Gorges to be a hunting ground. Since the area has always been hunted and logged, they feel things should stay that way. But just because that's the way the land has been taken care of in the past doesn't mean that's the best plan for now and in the future. The Jocassee Gorges is some of the most beautiful and uncontaminated wilderness in the entire state of South Carolina. To let it remain as a hunting ground, and logging area is throwing away an opportunity to preserve some of the state's wild beauty. If the DNR decides against the Heritage Trust program for the Jocassee Gorges, the agency will be making the absolute wrong choice. anecock ? bmmunity since 1908 MtMllNMlSBfeMI iity of South Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday and tg the summer with the exception of university holidays and exam editors or author and not those at The University of South Carolina, e publisher of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media Ml numbers area code 803 TIm Gamecock irvey Public Relations Coordinator Editor 777-3914 in Asst. View points Editor ? . Viewpoints 777-7726 ullough Asst. News Editor mtata Asst. Features Editor News 777-7726 Mm A act Snnrtc Friitnr rd Asst. Photo Editor Etc. 777-3913 Asst. Online Editor Sports 777-7182 'ckhoff Copy Editors Online 777-2833 ftln Business Manager Advertising 777-1184 Creative Director Classifieds 777-1184 me* Creative Services 777C,OT Graduate Asst. Fax 777-6482 i Faculty Advisor office 777-3888 7 VIEWI The Gam foC*. I j I < Object* In my last column, I aired the opinions of a few Christians who take the Bible literally. This week, I'd like to explain my two main objections to the literal approach. The first problem I see with literalism is nlonna if i'a HHH pawuu, 11/ 10 I obvious that the Bf Bible is not ^9 with literal Ik ^ 9 historical instance, |P*I there are kiki MeCORMICK i3flP?a?n: cies among Columnist different Bible writers' accounts of the same story. Look at Matthew's Sermon on the Mount, and compare it to the contexts in which the same teachings are included in Luke's gospel. It is clear that one of the evangelists either doesn't have his facts straight, or doesn't care about the incidentals. I think the latter is true. The evangelists were not trying to be historiA /V* i Anirmai We all know and have been taught that racism and sexism are wrong. We shouldn't judge anyone on race or gender alone because people are just people inside. But numbers are neutral, right? If we can come up with a way to quantify and maybe emily STREYER equalitj Guest Columnist are the ob jectives ol affirmative action proponents, who ei ther support mandating choice in favor of minorities and women with al other things ideally equal or attempl to create diversity or socio-economi< indices in states where it is illegal t< discriminate with gender or race, nc matter how well-intended. Two Supreme Court judges, San dra Day-O'Connor and Clarenc< Thomas, respectively the first female and black members of the country's Nothing wrong wit! artinn? nf Sfi Pfps To the editor: I would like to respond to comment and articles in the March 4 publica tion of The Gamecock. First, I thin! that it is completely asinine and ver inappropriate for the Elections Com mittee to ask SG Pres. Jamel Franklii to resign based on his participation ii the rally held by concerned member of Ithe Carolina community. If thi 'OINTS lecock >!' i'l ! ^3UST MK SCW, SMC TO ai ons to lit ans; they were simply trying, to the best of their abilities, to relay the teach- i t i._ i.i l a.: mgs 01 oesus 10 me next, generation. This brings me to my next point, which is that taking the Bible literally does not make the study of it any < richer; in fact, you risk losing meaning. The risks of literalism are evident in the Creation debate. Literalists say that the Genesis account of a world made in six days is historically true. Yet, scientists are reasonably certain that a long, complicated process (like evolution) went into the development of life as we know it. It seems that these two views cannot be reconciled, but they can in two ways. The first and most obvious explanation is that symbols are used in Genesis to explain how creation really occurred. For instance, one "day," to God, might be a certain number of years m our time. Or the man God calls Adam might really be the first man who had evolved into a true Homo sapi' en, complete with a conscience and soul. However, this explanation (like the strict literal interpretation) begs a question. Why would God want to do this? That is, what is the point of telling tive actior highest court, are against affirmative action. A common response of outrage is to say, "How can these two lawyers be against affirmative action? That's how they got their jobs!" Proponents of affirmative action further say that no woman or minority should be opposed to affirmative action because it especially benefits them. Clearly and equivocally, we have made no strides whatsoever toward racial and gender equality when we attribute the successes or failures of individuals to their reproductive organs or skin color. The problem with affirmative ac[ tion, especially in academic institu tions, is that it attempts to objectify r a subjective quality. In high school, I was not accepted t into a particular prestigious university, while a less qualified but minorityassociated classmate was. It was frusl trating, but I understood that many : prestigious schools place a high val: ue on diversity, which was something } I could not offer them, and I should ' have made up for that shortcoming in other ways. My values were not relevant in assessing my candidacy for a [ place in that freshmen class. The adj missions committee valued other things and a decision was made. the Gamec I J | ] m 11 - a student. Hand elude the author ^ held for any circi ^ rally had been held in order to prevent money from being taken from the debate team or any other such organization, Mr. Franklin would never have come under such criticism. Instead Mr. 3 Franklin would have been praised for standing up and defending the rights t of those having a terrible atrocity done / to them. Unfortunately he has come under heavy criticism for defending i a population of students whom those i in power do not agree with, nor have 3 any sympathy for. I believe that if Kim s Dickerson had participated in any part "Evt right to if | Emilie Gre L OW AIL TWS VAIL i gats: COi eralism as exactly how the world began? It t doesn't really give us any information s about the nature of God; God could use p anv motVinH in anv nnmHor nf Hava Maybe he even used evolution. It doesn't have much religious significance either way. The second explanation of the Genesis story, that it isn't really about creation at all, makes more sense. It can be read as an allegory for the way in. which man separated himself from God through sin. And this would mean something; if we know how we separate ourselves from God, perhaps we can learn how to repair the rifts we cause. If we read the story literally, however, we could miss out on this important lesson. In some respects, then, I agree with Jeremiah Schwartz, who says, "I believe that it is important to read the Bible intelligently. That is why God gave us brains. For example, in Matthew 5:29 where it says, 'If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away,' I don't believe that God wants us to go around mutilating ourselves. We would then eventually be rendered use- 1 less and could not carry out his work, i I believe that this verse is talking about 1 1 solution "Clearly and equivocal! strides whatsoever 1 gender equality whe successes or failures oi reproductive orgar Another problem, especially in aca- < demic institutions, is that sometimes ] to accommodate this desire for diver- < sity, two sets of standards are applied to make up for their lack of ability to , contribute to the diversity in a com- ( munity. Students who are white or ( male must sometimes have higher , quantitative scores to be considered for an award. Let me say, also clearly and equivocally, that we do not raise up individuals in society by lowering society's bar. But attacking the solution is not the same thing as denying the problem. But nonetheless, I propose an alternative to affirmative action. If it is permissible to say that, as a society, we value diversity in our academic and 1 professional institutions, then let's be done with it and declare Potential To Contribute To Diversity of Society a valid and acceptable quality for which ock will try to print all letters received. Letters should be 250-300 words written tetters must be personalty delivered by trie author to The Gamec 's telephone number. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letter ft jmstance. of the rally, instead of working against i those who organized the rally, she would have received praise from President Palms, other students, and the Elections Commission probably would have erected a statue in her honor. It is a shame that when a black man stands up for something that affects his people he is criticized, but if a white person does it they are praised. Second, I would like to respond to the "Letter to the Editor" written by Jamie Jeffords. If Student Government is here to serve the interest of all stu :ry student has the criticize the president it is warranted." ene, elections commission Page 3 J liege press EXCHANGE voiced hings in our lives that cause us to tumble, and should, therefore, be dis J ~c juaeu ui. If, for example, I end up watching ny favorite television show on Sunday nornings instead of going to church, worshipping God and fellowshipping, hen I need to separate myself from hat program. "The Bible has many parables and jarallels, and so we have to be careful >efore we jump to conclusions about what a scripture may mean. Not all hings in the Bible are clear, and no >ne can fully understand everything hat is written. That is because God's vays are higher than ours, and we can lever hope to be at the same intellec;ual level as God." Thanks to Mr. Schwartz, and every>ne else who contributed ideas on this ssue. Next week, let's discuss another contentious topic that gets Chris;ians riled up: faith vs. works. Do fou simply have to accept Jesus as your savior to get into heaven? Or can you jet in if you perform good works, but ire not a believer? Are both required? Or should concerns over a ticket to leaven not be central to belief in the irst place?) E-mail me at tawarth@vm.sc.edu. l offered Ly, we have made no toward racial and n we attribute the f individuals to their is or skin color." lecision makers look, just like a clean permanent record, a high GPA or a demonstrated work ethic. Let's quit pretending. Affirmative action doesn't make anything fair or equal. It's a pathetic attempt at covering discrimination. If we place an importance on gender or race, lets just say so. As a student of economics, I am the hrst to agree that while numbers do not describe everything, all things have value. If we value diversity, lef s just say so and stop trying to be numerical and objective about it. What I despise about affirmative action is that it is a preferential system masquerading as a fair and objective approach to the racial-and gender-related issues in our society. Let's just stop pretending. The next step to real change is realizing the true nature of our actions. : and must include full name, professional title or year and major if ock newsroom in Russell House room 333. E-mail letters must in>r style, possible libel or space limitations. Names will not be withdents then why have they done thenvery best to remove money from one of the largest student organizations on campus? Doesn't that hurt the interest of those students whom they are supposed to protect? We should not be surprised by the recent activities of SG, for these things are to be expected at a university in which the library and student union are named after staunch supporters of slavery and segregation. Erica Meeks journalism, junior