University of South Carolina Libraries
Our next issue will come out on August 20. If you'd like to help, come on up to Student Media. Russell House room 333, or call 777-7726. I " Hit? Serving tlye Carolina Con EDITORIAL Rosalind Harvey, Kathleen McCormicl Staingate, embarrass In theory, an r*5*nrtnji extramarital affair may not necessar- President Cli ily impede a Commander-in-Chiefs r ability to perform smlis presidential func- pTTIIlSSf] tions. Presumably, a president should ^ need a / be smart enough | who doesn If e to carry off an af- himself our fair discreetly, so mmseih our that the American people are not subjected to the in- i timate details of their elected 1 leader's foibles. i In real life, President Clinton's i affair with Monica Lewinsky ] has made us all, from the First ] Lady to the last voter, victims. < We have been cheated upon by j the president of the United States. 1 It's not too much to ask of the i president that he not take time i out from his job to fool around with young girls. He solicited this po- 1 sition from the voters, and we allowed him to have it, either by voting for him or not doing enough to oppose his election. We have given him something he desperately wanted, and he has repaid us by spending hours of his time in office diddling ditzes. If he had pulled it off with some semblance of panache, it wouldn't be such a tragedy for the office he holds. As it is, however, he has made choices that have made his presidency the joke of the cen tury, and we have been laced with the fact we are led by a buffoon. Perhaps we would be less insulted if we could begin to identify with his choice of a mistress. If he occasionally set aside a moment for a sophisticated, brilliant, irresistible woman, many of us would still be upset on moral grounds, and worry about the psyche of his young daughter. We would have to worry a little about his judgement. As it is though, he chose a silly kid with diarrhea of the mouth who saves dresses with, well, souvenirs stuck to them. Now we have to have serious concerns regarding his judgement. TIPS bad j advertise! Using TIPS has always been frustrating at best. TIPS is mc The messages frustrat are spoken slowly, solicits there is much de- ^vrrTTT lay, and there is an Hmm unnecessary de- Wesboul gree of caretaking. subjected to (Your last name trying tOj is spelled ... as though we weren't sure). When we call TIPS, we set aside a large block of time and prepare to be inconvenienced. We do not prepare to be bombarded with solicitation. When we try to pay our fees via TIPS, we are required to listen to a warning about the per?E(?i Setting the Camlhia Com The Gamecock is the student newspaper of The University Friday during the fall and spring semesters and eight times dun exam penods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of Carolina. The Board of Student Publications and Communications Media is the newspaper's parent organization. The Gamecock Rosalind Harvey Editor in Chief Amy McCormi Kikl McCormlck Viewpoints Editor Rebecca Whit Jennifer Stanley News Editor Rob Undsey Marcus Amaker Features Editors Jennifer Stanley Bryan Johnston Sports Editor Student Media Blen Parsons Carolyn Grlffli Director of Student Media Jim Green Lee Phlpps Advertising Manager Erik Collins Sherry F. HolmasClassified Manager < imecod! nmunity since 1908 BOARD Editor in Chief t, Vieupoints Editor Clinton >country mmmmmmmm Someone with such poor decision nton has making ability l making should not be leading the United States of America. [TlTTrTHHB We should not have to be subjected resident to daily analyses of mbarrass Staingate. It is easy country. *? "ame the press J for dwelling on an issue that, at best, sickens us. The press, however, though they may belabor the point, sire simply reporting an actual situation brought about by the poor judgement of a man who happens to be in a position that requires excellent decision making abilities. It is President Clinton's fault that we are in a situation where the bodily fluid on a dress could drastically affect the state of our nation. It is President Clinton's fault that we must hear about a subject so vile. Of course, we will hear complaints that we are condemning him before we know all the facts, as thoflgh we are declaring him guilty when we should presume innocence for the time being. But Lewinsky has already admitted an affair, and we know that he has at least spent time with the girl. Even if this was some grand conspiracy, the president chose to spend his time with this floozie, opening himself up to a situation like this. Surely he didn't require Miss Lewinsky's counsel on issues of foreign policy. He was, at the very least, squandering time he could have been using finding ways to improve our country. Even without a sexual relationship, he has wronged America. Soon, our country may be given a chance to rid itself of this embarrassment of a president. Let's take the opportunity if it comes. We don't have to worry about A1 Gore leaving stains on his after-hours buddies, the Buddhist nuns. Anyway, they'd be smart enough to go to the dry cleaners. place to services jj==n ils ?f not having iiflHHHI health insurance, ide more or at least suffer ing by through a list of opition. tions until we turn j J.-L :_i rnrrrr^n aown me spiei. We are even d not be asked to press a this when certain button if Day fees. we already had in surance, as though that information is the business of the university. Of course health insurance is important. However, personal questions like this invade our privacy for the purpose of trying to get us to purchase a service. Permission to pay our fees should not be contingent upon dealing with advertisements. math nai munity since l'MJH of South Carolina and is published Monday. Wednesday and ng the summer with the exception of university holidays and the editors or author and not those of The University of South is the publisher of The Gamecock. The Department of Student All numbers area code 803 <ck Photo Editor Editor 777-3914 * On-line Editor Viewpoints "7-7726 News 777-7726 Copy Editors ?tc. 777-3913 Sports 777-7132 On-line 777-2833 Student Media t Business Manager Advertising 777-3888 _ . . Classifieds 777-1184 Creative Director fax 777-6482 Faculty Advisor office 777-3888 Vew W I 1 I Two gene I grew up hearing about World War II from my grandfather. I heard about how he met my grandmother, who worked for zn the navy, during the war and how they married M grandfatherwason leave. I've Bff' in read BL jmM telegrams Jennifer STANLEY from that young navy guest columnist to ^ southern girlfriend saying "I'm on leave. I can't wait to see you." I heard about how most of the "courting" took place through letters, short weekends and even poems on matchbook covers. My idea of war has always been very romantic-two people who manage to love each other even when they're separated by an ocean. When my grandfather says "Yep, I fought against the Nazi's and the Japanese," it's always with a big smile. He has never said anything more, but that proud smile has always said a lot. E-mail, tel Is there a time when a Ford is not on sale? The commercials seem all the same - for every ? holiday, there's a i brand new sale, with hundreds of deals for every budJHr|9|^K get, even the poor college student. "One C3.ll Williesha Lakin that's all," a guest columnist lawyer says a bit too enthusiastically with wide eyes and a cheesy grin. Will there be a limit to the number of talk shows allotted on television? The voices all sound alike. The pictures and the commercials blend into noise that seems to have a Dermanent place in the background of my room. Am I the only one out there without a job? Without something to do over the summer that's worthwhile? Basically, I have had an uneventful summer. For the first time in two years, I'm unemployed during the summer. For some reason, I just didn't feel it necessary to get a job. C POINT ropt^o 'TT^ Hi rations, ta It wasn't until I saw the film "Savinrr Priwofn Piron" fl-iof T nn^nrcfnnrl Ulg X iXVCAVVy 1VJ Ull M1UV X UMWVI UVUvVt where that smile came from. The movie focuses on the D-Day, the invasion of Normandy. During the invasion, a small group of fighters are called on to find and save the life of one man who is caught behind enemy lines. "Saving Private Ryan" reminded ' me that World War II was not roman- < tic. It was a war. People died. Guns 1 boomed. Ships sank. And men were afraid. 1 Our generation has heard more about Vietnam. We've seen films about 1 Kent State, San Francisco and other 1 famous protests. We've grown up thinking we should hate war and sneeF at 1 those who fought. 1 But the smiles of my grandfather and grandmother are the same smiles the rest of the nation shared back then. When my grandmother remembers rationing or having to draw a line up the back of her leg because all the nylon went to the war effort, it isn't with a grudge. She remembers making those sacrifices with pride. The whole country was behind the war and rationing was one way people could help out. Our country, along with the rest of the world, was united against Hitler's regime. I wonder now if anyone would evision fill 1 I felt like I needed a break, a time to rest from my active first year of college. Now I feel like if I get any more time to rest, I will literally pull my hair out. Doing ordinary chores tends to get boring. Many days I would literally sit around all day and not even bother to load the dishwasher or straighten up around me. My love for reading has all but extinguished thanks to mounds of class reading assignments I was handed my second semester as a freshman. I'm even (perish the thought) looking forward to preparing for the upcoming semester. I'm so idle even jotting down notes for this column I wrote in doctor's English, better known as chicken scratch. What's keeping me stuck in my pajamas all day, never seeing the light of a beautiful (even if drippingly hot) day? All of these questions surround me as I stare mindlessly at the television or bang my keyboard in frustration with my slow computer. Computers - another way to waste precious hours of summer. In a moment of boredom recently I picked up from on top of my hard drive an editorial cartoon I had clipped out of a Gamecock months ago: drawn is a young woman, shaking helplessly, her peers looking on nervously as she passes a computer on a desk in the center of a classroom. The teacher exclaims, The Gamecoo -j 11 | m 11 dent. Hand written thor's telephone ni H cumstance. I s. ; VTttoT J| AA U-ihA*JsJ p"\ I a o differei "The Holocaust i won that war. Bui worldwide proble De willing to give up their decaf lattes dt put their life on the line to protect the world from such an injustice, rhat might be what my grandparents mean with that smile. They must De rememDenng tne good aid days when people were willing to give up life and limb for others. One Vietnam veteran pointed out that soldiers in any conflict are fighting for their country, yes, but more for their buddy who is fighting along side them. Within a 20 year period, our country went from backing war with countless sacrifices to opposing war and those who dared to protect those who couldn't help themselves. I wonder how our generation would act. Would Generation X protest outside the Russell House or would we drop our cellular phones and laptops to help out. Our generation, most of whom don't exercise the right to vote and probably can't recite the national anthem, probably wouldn't do anything. We would boring sun "You don't know internet addictioi up in the mornin don't have a leeit step outside the t "Look at that everyone! Annette was able to walk right past the computer even though she knows there are 27 e-mails waiting for her!" Written on the chalkboard in capital letters is "The 12Step Program to Overcoming Addiction to E-mail." Next to it is written "Our Credo." My favorite of the three parts of this credo Number 3: "I will not base mir f nlf uta>4V* An fko nnmkov nf o_moilo 111J ocu vv U1 U1 UiX U1 It UlUllU^l ul t ixicuio I receive." You don't know the meaning of internet addiction until you wake up in the morning knowing you don't have a legitimate reason to step outside the entire day. "What's this girl's problem?" you might ask. "She must not have a life." Maybe you're right. There has to be something to do during the day other than sitting around and watching the ceiling fan spin. "Then you think, "Well this is Columbia. Not exactly the entertainment capital of the world. k will try to print all letters received. Letters should be 250-300 words , letters must be personally delivered by the author to The Gamecock ne imber The Gamecock reserves the nght to edit all letter for style, pot "... the thing that I am proudest of is obtaining national accreditation." 1art Stokes, former direcor Law Enforcement and Saftey ollege press EXCHANGE 1 tit worlds is over. We : there are still :ms." rather be entertained by war than impassioned by it. Most of us don't volunteer to help fight the war against poverty, drugs, violent crime or illiteracy, so why would we help fight a war against something like extermination of a group of people. The Holocaust is over. We won that war. But there are still world-wide problems. Some might not be as wide spread as the Holocaust, but they are worth paying attention to. Now I understand why my grandparents smile when they remember those days. My grandparents are proud to part of a generation that took helping others seriously. At least back then people our age weren't afraid to do something. I think I might call my grandparents and ask them to share some other stories with me. Maybe my grandfather will tell me about the blood he saw and the men he fought with. Then it won't take a movid to remind me about being impassioned again. tuner days the meaning of i until you wake ig knowing you imate reason to intire day." As the days whiz by, I can't forget that every moment counts. I'm to appreciate my days here on this earth no matter if I'm active or not. No mat wsi iiuw liiuLii i cuxiipiaui. nu iliattci how many times I pick up my remote and channel surf with nothing meaningful in my mind and nothing meaningful to fill it on the television. Maybe there are others out there like me, wondering if they are the only ones with nothing exciting going on in their lives. Who spend their days daydreaming about having good times and wearing a smile. No matter how many times those brainwashing commercials whisper to you how so many out there have continuously busy, always fulfilling lives, just remember how much the television executives pay those actors. And remember you're not alone. and must include full name, professional title or year and mayor if a stuwsroom in Russell house room 333. E-mail letters must include the au isible libel or space limitations. Names will not be withheld tor any err