Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Kiki will be here as always and so will another columnist, as of yet unnamed. Page 2 Hit (Sam Serving the Carolina Commu EDITORIAL I Adam Snyder, Ed Amy Shannon, Vie Kurt Johnson, Assist am On-campm reducing n Enough is .w i.ibj enough. Every time HHHLliMaiAdi a student here at Lately, mealpt use turns around, haw ^ someone new is try- ? ing to rip him or her off. It's as if high- campus eate priced textbooks and price-inflated stamps don't do a good enough job of . , taking advantage of increased to students. original amc Now, on-campus dining services wants to get in on the action. Sadly, th students have already become accus- dv tomed to Marriott's meal plan/cash pi card system being overpriced and over- mi rated. It's a dismally accepted fact for those who eat on campus. Le But this time, it's the recently th reduced portion sizes that warrant attention. Everyday, portion sizes be- cu come smaller and smaller at on-cam- tei pus eateries. In particular, this an phenomenon is occurring at Manchu sa Wok, Baker Street and Subcity. In the beginning of the semester, ad Monnkn Wrvlr nmrtlAirono fl^ncn mouwiiu ? ? ua tuo iui^u uiuoc ti c styrofoam take-out containers to the pr brim. The container actually had a crt weight to it. Now, the styrofoam car- thi rier is as light as a feather. Barely half The South blame in 1 For some reason, i ii j \ people will always HHHiUiJUMii point the finger in Blame has been the other direction. aU directions I Alotofpeoplefailto . , take responsibility Arkansas a for their actions; they Kentucky mut would rather blame someone, or some- HIHaMtaLUftJ thing, else. Let's Stop poit Such is the case fingers and star for the looming ^ . , Arkansas middle- ah school killings last week, in which two kids, 11 and 13, opened fire on a crowd of middle-school students. Four young Soi girls and a teacher were killed. And tht this hangs over the Kentucky killings ani a few months earlier, in which a 15- no< year-old-student killed students praying around a school flag pole. enl There have been three such mur- us< ders in the past six months. And the ly i nkiriAiia Aimotmn ia "wkv?" Rnf in. tin UUY 1UUO iO ?Ujr . i-?UV lli wAA ' stead of people trying to figure out what to do with the problem, every- qui body is more worried about who to to i blame for the problem. frc And the blame has been put on we just about everyone except Hugh sor Heifner. Blame has been placed on rai television shows, movies and video ers games, but the best one so far has in? been the South. Yes, these past three po; incidents have occurred in the South, pre but this is generalization, to say the the least. Reasoning behind this entails the ity "facts" that more people own guns in poi Hlfe Uc(5ann Serving the Carolina Commun The Gamecock is the student newspaper of The University of So Friday during the fall and spring semesters and five times during the su periods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock ate those of the editors ot The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the publish is the newspaper's parent organization. The Gamecock Adam Snyder Editor in Chief RoeaUnd Harvey Amy Shannon Viewpoints Editor Son Ladenhoim nwr junn&on h&si. 1 Can Pellatt News Editors Carrie McCullough Jennifer Stanley Features Editor Kristin Free state J Ac him Hunt Nathan Brown Bryan Johnston Sports Editors ^ Rayford Susan Meyers Photo Editor Tof) Q Han Brian Rlsh Online Editor Raosj Chris Dixon Copy Desk Chief Connie Kariekholt Student Media Julie Baker Sherry F. Holmes Susan Barrett AIM* Dickson Carolyn QrifHn Bi Judson Drennan Creative Services _ Jim Green I Ellen Parsons Director of Student Media Mlchele Dames C Lee Phlppe Advertising Manager ColHne J - ( J itlUlK nity since 1908 50ARD Htor in Chief wpoints Editor t Viewpoints Editor > dining leal sizes ^jji] a ladle of each type of Chinese dish is scooped )rtions onto the plate. What >tting happened? Is there a shortage of sweet and te OTl- gour pQj.^ gjjjj Gener. "ties. al Tso's chicken? At Baker Street, the Nacho Supreme used uld he to be the best deal on the menu. Thev served their loads of nacho chips Mnts. plus generous amounts of toppings all heaped onto a pile. Lately, ough, the number of nachos has mulled, and the toppings aren't as entiful. The Nacho Supreme is a sager shadow of its formerself. Subcity is acting the same way. iss sandwich fixings are making a inner sandwich. Why is there this sudden portion t tback in the middle of the semes- r ? Prices haven't been reduced. The lount of food served should be the me as it was originally. Students are tired of being taken vantage of: Dining services has a idition of charging students high ices. Now meal sizes are being deiased. They're just taking food from e mouths of hungiy students. nnt tn XA\7 w ^Vf killings the South because t! IflHB there is more hunting d Cast in going on around here. t: 'n the Others go further in , stating the ludicrosity v of laws and restrictions s rdeTS. that inhabit the South I because of the "power" fi mHH of the Bible Belt. Iting Yes, the South is n f Hnina notorious for its back- s . wardness of sorts, ? but this does not encourage to students to pick up a gun. These incidents are not about the i nth. The United States has one of I ; highest crime rates in the world, i guns can be found in almost every )k and cranny in the United States. rn * : J i x il ? iiiese uiuuexius are auuui uit; pazis. If a parent teaches their child to i a gun, then a child will most like- ' ! lse a gun, and this goes for the ens United States. And so this brings back the estion that should be asked: "what do about this?" The answer stems im a lack of responsibility by, 11, those people involved in the peri's life: the parents, for possibly not sing their child correctly; the teach>, for possibly not properly direct\ the kids, and the community, for ssihlv nnt institnt.incr artivitips nnd )grams to ensure the innocence of ; child. Someone has to take responsibil- [_ , but usually everyone just keeps nting in the other direction. c track H&H : ity since 1908 Mk ill imiflMi<n^l'tl MM \ uth Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday and ^ mmer with the exception of university holidays and exam author and not those of The University of South Carolina. t er of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media All numbers area code 803 The Gamecock Public Relations ~ Coordinator Editor 777-3914 Viewpoints Editor Viewpoints 777-7726 Asst. News Editor Issf. Features Editor News 777-7726 Asst. Sports Editor Asst. Photo Editor Etc. 777-3913 Asst. Online Editor C Sports 777-7182 c Copy Editors Online 7772833 1 C'aSManager Student Media usiness Manager Advertising 777-1184 n Creative Director Classifieds 777-1184 h reative Services _ 7 77.fi a ftp li Graduate Asst. Fax 777*482 Faculty Advisor office 777-3888 Ci /iEWI The Gamec ...oi4 TUE < Baseba If you have read my column more than once, you know my usual topics: books that produce sudden revelations, sudden revelaions resulting from an engaging classoom discussion, the value of Mexican Thai food ~~~i and the oc. casional poI litical quesI m tion. Today, ? I enter a rarely apil proached I W&t zone'a sub" Jik ject I only ^ ' - tackle a few times a Sin SHAW ^!ar:?ny" thing havColumnist +rt jrt j i. aj. g yj uu with sports. Last semester I focused on football, lamely conquering the challenge of xperiencing an entire game. I went - twice. This semester's sporting heme is a little different, but has to o with a similar focus on connecion: to America's "national pastime" - baseball. While I failed to fall in love nth football, baseball hits a more peronal note, as the Tampa Bay Devil lays, my new "home team" took the ield for the first time this week. As another season begins, there is lore talk about enthusiasm for the port waning for several reasons. Some ttribute it to the sport being overcome y "big business" and greed. Players Clinton ['ve tried very hard to stay away from politics in my columns this year. Politics is about as interestng to me as watching the grass grow n my front yard. Anyway, it amazes me how our ?i president w can Set away with r :4 I anything, ^ sexual ha! 'ir* vll rassment, : . <?r ::'S extramantal affairs, ? and who J knows what 1 > ' else. Is our c nation so [red LEACH apathetic as Columnist to accept this kind of >ehavior from our president? Obvilusly, the answer is yes. I've talked to a few exchange stulents recently, one from Japan, and me from Russia, and I asked them vhat the people in their countries think >f Bill Clinton. They both responded hat everyone thinks he is a clown, a 3ozo, a punch line to a joke. But this s what America elected ? twice. I lsed to get so confused when I thought lankings system i little overrated 'o the editor: I would like to take this opportuity to voice my dissatisfaction at the ypocrisy emanating from the USC iw school. For the past few weeks The Gameock has been publishing numerous ? 'OINTS ock A _ - a? vt ^ 3TKER WAMt>,WE ARE It ARE bAKGEROUS <a ill fan r( are often mere commodities, traded at the drop of a hat. Fans used to become attached to a team over a long period of time. Teams usually kept their players for the duration of individual careers. This created a sense of continuous loyalty, connection to a team's identity. Now team identity seems to be as tradable as less-valued players, passed off from team to team. How can someone become connected to a team and a sport if he or she can't identify with a player who is displaced and undervalued? The Florida Marlins traded several of their players soon after winning last year's world series in order to get "even better" players. And while this may be "the best" decision to move toward "the perfect team," it has the effect of chipping away at the character of a team. How wise is "perfection" if there are no loyal fans to fill stadiums? Is a ] person a fan because a team is win- < ning or because they admire players 1 and coaches, action and strategy? Char- 1 acter? What does this kind of action i say about how much ownership and < management value the players who bring the fans, who create the revenue for the sport to continue? 1 Not much. But finances are not the i extent of baseball's challenge. Not on- 1 ly do younger generations have a < tougher time than their parents in con- ] necting with the identity of a team, but 1 many are enthralled by "faster-paced ] games" like basketball and soccer. As 1 embarra; flhnnt. if hut. T hnvp nuit t.rvincr tn - "" ~ J ?? ? find the answers. All you can do is sit back and laugh at it. Something that does bother me, however, is how everyone is saying that Clinton is such a great president because our economy is in such good shape. Want to know why it's in good shape? Because of the election of 1994. Before that, the economy was stumbling. If it were not for the Republican takeover in '94, Clinton would have been able to implement his own agenda which would have driven the economy into the ground. After the election of '94, Clinton virtually turned into a fiscal conservative. Like it or not, the credit for a booming economy is due to the Republican Congress. Two days ago, a judge in Arkansas threw out the Jones lawsuit against the president, saying there was no proof that Jones was hurt. Harassment doesn't have to do with getting hurt; I thought that would be assault. If that's not sexual harassment, then what is? If a boss at an office walked up to a female secretary, pulled down his pants, and asked her to perform oral sex, he would be fired faster than you could say "Monica." 11 |||]> a Hand \ elude the M held for any circu national rankings, ones which favor USC in one wav or another. We are now confronted with a ranking that does not look favorably upon our university, and our administrators now seem to think the whole idea of collegiate rankings is an unfair and biased process. The message seeming to come from our administration is "Rankings are good when they talk about our number two in the nation MIBS program, i ) I T~t* *1 ^ L GL Wi iu w. ..iv'-f /, vSi; i Lb TWAT IA6M&AT0R krtfr 1N0MW M?&4T. imains "How wise is 'perfec fans to fill stadiu because a team i tney aamire pL the mythology of baseball recedes the growing capitalization of spor children aren't drawn to the heroes baseball to keep them captivated the sport. One of the most interesting co: ments I've heard is that the magic baseball isn't always the fantastic hoi run or save ? it's the long momer between batters, the nine innings time that provide another Americ pastime ? talking. And in betwe parents and children focusing the syes on their star player, learning sta back and forth, they turn their fac to each other and communicate, ro for their favorite winner or unde My father's team is the New Yo Yankees. His den is filled with sign oaseballs and caps and glossy ph tos. He's been beaming since the World Series victory, proudly exclaim an his license plate: "Yanks." And ] lost a little part of his own fascinate with baseball's mythology when h hero, Mickey Mantle, died. And whi lie mourned the loss of the man, 1 ssment "They both resj thinks he is punch line tc what A mprJr Another thing: where are all tl feminists who rushed to Anita Hil side when she accused Claren Thomas? They're probably out the polluting a beach by violating my bil ni ordinances, thinking of new wa to be pains in the butt. It also amazes me with how mu our president has gotten out of ( n to mention how much he's gotten i to). A friend of mine, a wild-eyed li eral, said she didn't care if he was fou guilty of a crime; she would still vt for him because he is a good preside: On what basis are we calling Clint a good president? Let's consider soi good presidents of the past, and h< Clinton compares to them. Teddy R< 1 . A 1 T * seveit ? no comparison, ADe l.i coin ? get real, Franklin Roosevi ? he had a nutty wife, too. xk will try to print all letters received Letters should be 250-1 vritten letters must be personally delivered by the author to I s telephone number. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit mstance. or our top 50 National Merit Sch< ars ranking, but not when they ta about our third tier law school." Rankings are a fact of life. Whetl: it be college basketball, music sal< or yes, law schools, rankings provi a way for us to compare similar ins tutions and determine excellen among them. These rankings allow the lesser ranked schools to see wh( their weak areas are and allow th< to improve upon these problems a i "It was just a pathetic performance as far as I'm concerned on our part." oftball Coach Joyce Compton Friday, April 3,1998 /Ale? SUhJ UOCKS college press EXCHANGE i loyal tion' if there are no loyal ms? Is a person a fan s winnino or because 0 ? ayers and coaches?" to mourned the loss of an era, the memts, ories of countless conversations about of the legendary baseball demigod, by That's a nice thing to have ? a hero, a pastime, something to talk m- about that doesn't revolve around of salary or advertisement. It's not surne prising that generations have loved its the sport and it's warm-weather comof forts ? the smell of new grass, the an shared hot dog and the reassuring anen them-song. t , ;ir Maybe I am hoping for a renewal its of a time that has passed, caught in es stale nostalgia. I don't claim it's posot sible to go back to the "golden age" of ;r- the sport. I do support the continuing of its traditions. Baseball will rk adapt to this culture, maybe losing ed some of its mjah, some of its luster, o- But the boys of summer will continiir ue to play ball and maybe, just maybe, ed team identity and loyalty won't be a be thing of the past. Maybe we can find on ways to support "our" teams, to show d s anger, however futile, at big business ile that rips identity apart, be I'll be rooting for the Devil Rays. to U.S. >onded that everyone a clown, a Bozo, a > a joke. But this is :a elected?twice." he I would have gotten real frustratl's ed two years ago if I was talking about c e Clinton, but now it's just a joke. Howre ever, I am not going to sit idly by and ki- watch the U.S. being the laughingys stock of the world. I am going to take advantage of Clinton's presidency by ch inventing a new party game that is lot sure to become the rage. Out of my n- way, "Twister," move over, "Charades." ib- "Three degrees of Bill Clinton" will nd soon become the game of choice just >te because it's so easy to play. All you it. have to do is connect any woman in on the world to our president within 3 ne women. It's like the "Six degrees of m Kevin Bacon" game, only easier. A re)o cent poll asked women living inside n- the Washington Beltway if they would elt ever sleep with Bill Clinton. Seventy percent said never again. 100 words and must include full name, professional title or year and major if be Gamecock newsroom In Russell House room 333. E-mail letters must inall letter for style, possible libel or space limitations. Names will not be withol take steps to ameliorate them instead ilk of crying about rankings a magazine publishes. ler One last suggestion: If USC Law es, Dean Montgomery feels that rankings de are so inherently evil and unfair, maybe iti- he should think of abolishing the rankco inrr ovotom r\f eHi/lonfo uri+V?in flip T TSf1 lV/V x 0 J UWVAil UVUUV/11U} ? iVIllA* for law school. ire Patrick Daly 2m Senior, Political Science nd 4