The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 31, 1998, Page Page 4, Image 4
Look for columns by Kiki
McCormick and Student
Body President Kim
Dickerson, as well as a
great editorial.
tie
Serving the Carolina i
EDITORS
* !f Oi. 1
jennucrauuuc
Sara Ladenheim
Kurt Johnson,
Rob Gioelli, Assistc
Kathleen McCorm
Diana's (
still sho<
One year ago
this week, Diana, HBHHm
Princess of Wales, Media covt
was killed in a
tragic car crash. If ^ p
you didnt already ' ,
have that date
marked on your
1 J ? i.1 1 I
caienuar, me multitude
of television Americans
specials, maga- royal Jam
zines and books own to <
out there has probably
helped re- [___
mind you.
One year has not tempered the
amazing amount of publicity surrounding
this woman, her life,
death and love affairs. The American
public still has an obsession
with this woman who married into
royalty and then decided it
wasn't for her.
The question surrounding all
the hype is, "Why?"
She was a great woman, was
very active with charity and did
a great job raising her children.
But beyond her charismatic personality
and what appeared to be
a vezy caring attitude towards the
unfortunate, what was it about
Diana that makes her an icon of
this decade?
Americans can't get enough of
Diana. Go to the checkout line
at the local supermarket. Her face
is everywhere. People magazine
should make a contribution to her
charities from all the money
they've made putting her face on
numerous magazine covers.
And it isn't just Americans.
People all over the world are part
of this phenomenon. The Italian
state television station is devoting
almost all of their programming
tomorrow to the late Princess
of Wales.
The funny thing about this is
the British are nowhere near as
crazy about this as the rest of the
world seems to be. Diana was and
is still very respected, but people
in Great Britain seem to be
i-.!-- !i-l_ 1.1- - 1 * 3
gelling un wiiu uieir uvea mm reverting
back to their rather reserved
national character.
m the 6;
- Serving the Carolina Co
The Gamecock is the student newspaper of The Univer.
Fhday during the fall and spring semesters and five times durii
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? Gamecock
Jennifer Stanley Editor in Chief Rob Undee.
Sara Ladenhelm Managing Editor Jessica Bat
Kurt Johnson Viewpoints Editor Jackie Posi
Josh Lonon News Editors Todd Mono
Erin Reed Rosalind Hi
Kristin Freestate Features Editor
Bryan Johnston Editorial Assistant Rob Gloelll
Nathan Brown Sports Editor Brad Walte
Nlkkl Thorpe Photo Editors Kenley You
Sean Rayford Ruth Nettlt
Brian Rlsh Online Editor Denlsha Gr,
QturiAnt MAHIA
Ellen Parsona Director of Erik Collins
Student Media Jeff Stensli
Lee Phlppa Advertising Manager
Sherry F. Holmes Classified Ad
Manager
Carolyn Grlflln Business Manager
Jim Green Creative Director
Do you like to draw?
Do you have strong opi
Ions about campus am
national issues?
Then we need you.
Bring us an editorial cartoc
or call 777-7726. Put your t
ent to good use.
The Gamecock.
Take our wo
I 1' g
amecock
Community since 1908
UL BOARD
y, Editor in Chief
, Managing Editor
Viewpoints Editor
int Viewpoints Editor
tick. Editorial Writer
death
cks U.S.
Newspapers re JmHHH
ported Sunday that
rrage of the tourists outnumversaryof
' bered locals in
Hneessof mourning the
Princess at her foraeatft.
mer resjclence in
JTJTnaB London.
For a country
long JOT a that was founded on
ily of our the idea of not havexploit.
ing royalty, it's interesting
that we
___] have this great interest
in what happens
to our friends across the
ocean.
Maybe it's our way of justifying
our own decision more than
200 years ago. We like to see their
problems and then pat ourselves
on the back for the Declaration of
Independence.
This could also be more jealousy
than anything, and the
royal family is perfect for the
American tabloid appetite. They
are beautiful people who live exciting
lives. They are rich and
famous, but not like the rich and
famous here. Most Americans who
fit into this category have done
something or have earned their
prosperity and notoriety. But
the royals were simply born that
way.
The royal family is safe though.
They don't really do anything. We
talk about our president's private
life just as much, but at the end
of the day, he is our president. The
fact he had an affair in the White
House is disturbing to many people,
because this is the man who
runs our country.
But if the whole royal family
died tomorrow, it wouldn't mean
a thing. They are all figureheads.
The queen's real political power
amounts to nothing.
Although she was a great person,
Diana's death has no real effect
on our lives. There really
seems to be no reason for the
plethora of coverage we are seeing
one year after the woman's
death. Let her rest in peace and
her family get on with their lives.
imccoct! ?i
mmumty since 1908 jMgMMBllMMSiMHil
sity of South Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday and
ig the summer with the excepbon of university 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 area codes are 803
Y Copy Editors EMof 777-3914
Held
ton Viewpoints 777-7726
y
srvey Public Relations News 777-7726
Director
Asst.Viewpoints Editor Etc. 777-3913
rs Asst. News Editors
ng Sports 777-7182
is Encore Editor ? ,
Online 777-2833
sham Asst. Features Editor
i Faculty Advisor Student Media
jnd Graduate Assistant Advertising 777-3888
Classified 777-1184
Fax 777-6482
Office 777-3888
Ml
Bird
'
tiEWP
TTRKnP
^i
il
HI
u
Media cov<
You know, I'm getting sick and
rather weaiy of all this nonsense tak
about the media and its cover- loot
^ age and win
: ^ y. Ploits ^2* tell
* ^ makes a
, .^?ve? urc
dT IL - the littlest
wUmm cJB things
KURT JOHNSON piopl"e sue
columnist were com. and
plaining
over the amount of airtime and printing
ink wasted over the whole Clinton don
versus Lewinsky match. ovei
People busted the chops of media f?n
outlets with outrages over getting sto- We
ries wrong or not having accurate information.
F
Lately, people have just grown yucky wai
over the press and their coverage of cer
tain events. pie
They think it's just like lecture is ti
class?yada, yada, yada, words, words,
words.Well, all I've got to say is shut a ti
up. est<
1999 predict
BOB EVATT I fon
guest columnist stn
I ey(Columnist's
note: I was talking to
Shanala, a helpful woman on the Psy- 1)111
chic Friends Network, when she sud- &or
denly dictated to me a news article I 1S0
would write one year in the future. She ^p
also informed me of some truly embarrassing
habits of Kenneth Starr, but, ^01
in the interests of journalistic integri- the
ty, I will limit myself to reprinting the ?*a
article.)
October 13, 1999- First it was the
smooth crooning of the lounge singers. f?r
Then it was the upbeat tempo of swing. He:
Now, America's youth are listening to ed
a different sound, a sound that has, in
their minds, gone from being univer- res
sally detested to widely embraced. For fes
whatever unknown reason, polka mu- AT
sic has become the hot new sensation, to i
"Wooooo! Polka rocks!" stated Chad ter
Hapablap, when approached in a nightclub
to explain in detail why polka has era
become popular. "I mean, it's just cool, the
you know? Chicks love it, you can't de- wh
nyit! ItH be around forever! Wooooo!"
** _i.i i:i_~ . i u .TTu
iviany uuiers iiR.e 111111 wuu snaie wu
these sentiments have helped trans- sai
Column not jour- Di
nalistic, humorous
To the editor:
This is in regard to your column ^
"Mormons take fiin out of polygamy,"
in the August 24th issue.
Was your column supposed to be
satirical, an editorial, a spoof or parody
with some purpose? Is it truly your jq
personal viewpoint, or it merely a poor- pQ
ly done, hastily completed piece to fill
some column inches? Perhaps it should jgs
have been titled "Johnson takes jour- ^
nalism out of newspaper." Tasteless!
Unfunny. Try again. Do better. ^
PINTS
<vr?\fte N?yr LsaN
e
-- <wSn
erage oft*
We're human too. We make mis- es.
We just happen to write or to
L better than the rest of you, so that's
i we have these very important jobs.
And what an important job it is.
s job is almost the most important
of all jobs that require pens, tape _
)rders and words.
This job is so important because we
you what to think. d
That's right. e
You guys would be mindless sea
hins if it were not for us. c
We present the topics, offer the iss,
give you the "how's your father," *
I then tell you what to think about d
t<
You see, we do so much for you. You J
i't have to take the time to worry a
r issues or cramp precious brain cells o
ning opinions and ideas of things. 1<
do it for you. a
We deserve multitudinous portions
iraise and large, ostentatious re- ii
ds. t:
As far as the mistakes go, you peo- b
just don't understand how hard it
3 be a iournalist. 1
I mean, we talk to a lot of people at a
me, acting like we're really inter- t
id in what they're saying. 1:
ion: Polka
n the polka genera of music from a
iggling niche market to a huge monrnaking
machine.
Sales of Frankie Yankovic's new aln,
"Terrific Toe Tappin' Tunes," have
le quadruple platinum. By comparn,
his previous album, "Polka Till'
.m.," only sold 42 copies.
Top 40 and modern rock radio stais
have multiple polka acts, such as
Oompahmeisters and The Jolly Bel- ~
ns, on heavy rotation. 1
The number one video on MTV for [
i weeks running has been a live permance
of Lawrence Welk's "I Gave ^
r a Light Smooch," originally recordin
1971. 1
"It's truly bizarre, suddenly getting !
pect from frat boys and such," con- s
sed occasional polka-smith "Weird 1
1 Yankovic. "I don't know whether
evel in it or run away, screaming in 1
ror!" 1
Nightclubs have capitalized on this
ize by staging "polka nights," and '
ise events draw crowds of thousands, 1
o happily polka till early morning, i
"I'd say that most of these people <
0 come to the polka nights are the 1
ne ones that used to flock to swing !
The (iamecock
1 J I I I J . l land written i
0 phone number "Hie
Sej Warman I
rector of Publications for College of i
Applied Sciences ,
ne student !
ffended, disgusted
To the editor: 1
In the August 24th edition of your I
per, there was an article by Kurt i
hnson relating to Mormons and
lygamy. 1
Being a member of the Church of
jus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I am ]
sply injured by the fact that an or- ,
aization would allow one student to
ittle another student's beliefs so open\
"Com]:
ver
I
)
liaS JAG
'F WiGGLG.
STArr....
y-/
tfolWltfG
> SM3* )
2ii miscon
"As far as the mistakes g
just don't understand he
a journalist."
Then, we have to write all that stuff i
own. There's bound to be a mistake you
very now and again. feet
And all the other nonsense about i
overage and stuff is your fault. do t
We're just giving you what you ]
'ant?large, obnoxious photos of Sad- ^os
am Hussein, exploding headlines about pro^
srmites and their effects in the Dow j
ones average, and cool little graphs
nd diagrams about bombs, with lots gr a
f pretty colors and arrows for you to
)ok at instead of actually reading the
rticle.
So how do some people get a job as
mportant as controlling the minds of tlon
he university, the nation, and possi- wan
ly, the world? f?re
It's kind of like kings, you know. ki's
Tie whole thought process behind kings er v
nd other reigning supremes was 1
hat they were some how directly re- we <
ated to God or the gods, or whatever, thin
spnsfltinn hi
^ V^X AWWVXVyjL JL JL.JL.JL.
"The number one video
weeks running has beei
mance of Lawrence Wei
Light Smooch," original
1971."
lights," theorized Earl Quark, owner firi
>f New York City's Jumpers nightclub, will
'It don't really matter to me, as long as che
[ keep selling a ton of beer!"
This new trend has moved beypnd ^
lie music industry. Many trendy young
idults can be spotted wearing puffy to
shirts and feathered caps, which can mei
low be bought at The Gap. sor
Not one to be upstaged, Tommy Hil- the
5ger has recently released a line of leder- wit
losen. ^
In Hollywood, more and more movie s^c
soundtracks have sported a polka soundtrack.
Leonardo DiCaprio reportedly
insisted that the soundtrack for his lat- 1
Bst movie, "Squiggly Things", include
tracks from Lawrence Welk and The na*
Squeezebox Posse, and recent news con- hig
will try to print all letters received. Letters should I* 250-300 words and must in
must Ix: personally delivered by the author to The Gamecock newsroom in Russ<
Gamecock reserves the ri#ht to edit all letter for style possible libel or space limi
[y. I feel that I have a few things to clear
in TTiret rvf oil .TneonVi Qmi+Vi rtiH nflt tiff
decide to "start" a religion. We believe cat
as a church that he was ordained of God the
to bring about another word of scripture.
Sm
On the subject of polygamy, the lead- dec
ers of our church once made the suggestion
to practice plural marriage to Bri
stabilize the population. During the late a ti
1800's, there was shortage of men in
die West. a d
Many of the men in the area were be i
lost in war or fights with Native Amer- cul
icans. mLater on, the leaders of my
:hurch completely retracted the original
suggestion to practice polygamy.
4
)uter services were not
y helpful and rude."
Ryan Stilling,
Preston resident
n
o
52
C?
$
v>
m
X
o
X '
z
o
m
||
strued
;o, you people
>w hard it is to be
So, what I'm saying is that, well,
know, we're gods, however imperwe
may be.
Ne are the chosen few who get to
his job.
[t's not like we apply or go through
e regular, non-deitic processes and
[rams like the rest of you.
Mo, we have a secret handshake and
stare, so we know whom each othre
when we go for a job or some8
But really, I can understand some
le frustration of over-mediaza.
Things happen and everybody
its to out-scoop each other, and beyou
know, we know Ted Kazinsunderwear
size and how his moth- 1
ras a devout nose hair plucker.
Sometimes we can go too far. But if
iidn't you wouldn't know what to
k about us.
ts MTV
on MTV for five
i a live performs
"I Gave Her a
ly recorded in
ns that the teens in "Scream 4"
i be hacked to bits to the time of this
erful music
-? -a J_*?i ; /~i _ _ i_ l
Hiven son, utuik giant uoca-v^uia nas
en notice of this trend. In addition
'eaturing polka music in its comrcials,
its Surge brand of cola is sponing
a contest to see who can inflict
most creative injury on themselves
h an accordion.
lough this interest in polka must
iws no signs of ending anytime soon,
sic critics remain baffled as to how
3 sudden interest began.
Some of them believe that it origi;ed
with a drunken wager placed by
h-ranking executives at MTV.
elude lull name, professional title or year and major if a student
11 House room iM E-mail letters must include the author s telenations.
Names wall not I* withheld for any circumstance
The members who continue to praci
polygamy have been excommuni
ed and are no longer recognized by
members of our church.
Contrary to popular beliefs, Joseph
ith did not make the monumental
ision to practice polygamy.
It was another leader at the time,
gham Young, who decided to give it
tyI
would hope that, coming from such
iverse school as ours, there would
[io prejudiced writings in public ciration.
Jennifer Hagler
Music Education Major
V