The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 11, 1998, Page Page 3, Image 3
Look for Guerman Abaev
as he discusses the improprieties
of American businessmen
in Moscow.
Hie 6a
Serving lire Carolina Con
EDITORIAL
Jennifer Stanley,
Sara Ladenheim, 1
Rob Gioielli, Vie
Kurt Johnson, Assista
Kamieen Mc^ormic
Campus
needs ov
Anyone who
has ever had a IHHHmLba
car, thought about Campus pa\
having a car or inadequa
borrowed some- poorly distr
one else s car r J
knows what a CTITJEIJT
headache parking
on this campus A bettershutt
can be. and senio\
There are not garage spac
enough spaces, . ? : ..
the garages cost to be,tutu
too much and too
many of the lots
are on the edge of campus. These
are just a few of the complaints
students have about parking at
use.
With new buildings going up
all the time and the university taking
away many of the central campus
lots to increase green space,
it looks as if things are only going
to get worse.
This is something USC is going
to have to deal with in the very
near future, and all signs indicate
that they are addressing the problem.
The question is whether their
solutions will be enough and
whether they will come soon
enough to help those of us who are
at Carolina right now.
It's not really a question of
building more lots or more parking
garages. Most of this school's
extra space is devoted to parking,
especially on the outskirts of campus.
We could create more spaces
in the center of campus, but then
we would be stuck in a sea of as~ij.
o i.: 11., i
pililll. ou piacutmiy cum aeauiei.ically,
more lots are not the answer.
New parking garages are expensive,
and that's something we
just don't have the money for. The
federal government had to pay for
the Bull Street Garage, our newest.
Although USC will probably
have to add another garage and
more commuter spaces in the future,
more parking is not the answer
to our problems. What we
need is better use of the parking
we have.
First, there are the commuter
spots. They are all on the
outside of campus, and it takes up
to half an hour to walk from one
of those lots to many classroom
buildings.
There is the Gamecock Shuttle,
but it is quite possibly the worst
excuse for a mass transit system
known to man.
The buses are chronically late,
overcrowded and unprofessionally
run. Many people have simply
learned not to depend on the shuttle
because of all these problems.
What we need is a new comprehensive
bus system on this campus.
The network should not just
run from the parking lots to classSfetMBa
~ Selling the Carolina Can,
The Gamecock is the student newspaper of The' I niversitj
rrklay (luring die fall and spring semesters and Cue times during
perkxls. Opinions ex|*vssed in Hie liamettx'k are those of theed
Tlie Board of Student Publications and Communications is tin.' pi
tlie newspaper's parent organization.
The Gamecock
Jennifer Stanley liililnr in CbteJ Rob Llndsey
Sara Ladenhelm Maiuwim lulilttr Jessica Barfl
Rob GlolellJ Vktipiiiits litlilttr Jackie Posto
Josh Lonon IVegs lUlilors Todd Money
Erin Reed Rosalind Ha
Kristin Freestate I'ealuns lulilor
Bryan Johnston lulilunal Assistant Kurt Johnso
Nathan Brown s/torts VAtUtr Brad Walter!
Nlkki Thorpe li'atn htUnrs Kenley Youi
Sean Rayford Ruth Nettles
Brian Rish (Mime IjiUt/r Deneshia Gi
Student Media
Ellen Parsons Director of Carolyn Grll
Student Media Jim Green
Lee Phipps Advertising Manager Erik Collins
Sherry F. Holmes Classified Ad Jeff Stenslar
Manager
1
nek
nmunily since 1908
BOARD
Editor in Chief
Managing Editor
ivpoints Editor
nt Viewpoints Editor
:k, Editorial Writer
parking
A 1
email!
???room buildings, but
HHI all over campus.
rking is Students with a class
e aruj in the Coliseum after
ihntp/i a C^ass *n Gambrell
shouldn't have to
TTJ7TnBB| worry about sprinting
down Greene
le system Street. Our campus
rity in is big and is only gogc
need ing to get bigger.
f j Services should be
timed so a student
leaving her house at
10:30 a.m. can catch
the bus at 10:45 p.m. to make her
11 a.m. class.
Buses need to be air-conditioned
and able to hold as many
people as need be. Right now the
"ShuttleCock" runs on antiquated
school buses that are easily
overcrowded and feel like sweatboxes
on hot, fall days.
Similar sized schools already
have systems in place that efficiently
transport their students
around campus and beyond to
local hangouts. We need a service
that people can use and depend
on.
The other way to improve current
parking problems on campus
is to reassess how we allocate
garage spaces and parking passes.
Right now any student of any
year can get a space in either a
garage or other kind of lot. This
has erot to stoD. At universities
o x
around the country there is a severe
limit on where freshmen are
allowed to park.
At many schools, freshman
have to park on the outskirts of
campus, if they are allowed to have
cars at all.
Because of the nature of our
university, freshmen should be
able to have cars, especially if they
live far away from school. But a
first-semester freshman should
not be on equal footing with a senior
when it comes to who gets the
space in a garage.
Spots in the Bull Street Garage
are the most coveted on campus.
But many of these are taken up
by freshmen whose parents sign
them up for it during the summer.
By the time fall rolls around,
the senior who has to pay for his
or her own space is stuck in
Blossom Street or down in the Tit"
because Bull Street is full of cars
fViof 1*7-111 Kp hcpH nnlv nn frVip wppIt
LllUb 11XXX wv uuvu wiiy Ull W1V "" V/Vik
ends.
Yes, there are freshman who
have jobs and need a car everyday.
But more upperclassmen need
this convenience. We should simply
go to a seniority system to
make things fair.
Parking is a big problem, and
it will not be fixed easily. But with
some better work utilizing the resources
we have now and making
the system more efficient, much
of the headache can be alleviated.
rack ?
ununity since l[X)N
I of South Carolina and Is puWislu.il Monday. Wednesday and
tlx- summer with the extvfition of university holklays and exam
itors ix autlux and n<? those of Hie l iiiversity ot south Carolina.
lWisher of The (iamecock. The Department of Student Media is
All area ecxles are 8U.3
C.iyn Mtltirs
Kditor 777-3911
n
Viewpoints 777-772ft
rvey hilJu. Miliums . ,,
News 777-772ft
IHnxkir
n Asst VhllfMimts lirliliir 777-3913
I Assl Mux l-ilUiirs
>g Slums 777-7182
Uncore liililnr
a ham Asa lixunm Hdiliir Online 777-2833
Advertising 777-3888
flln Business Manager
(Creative Director Classified 777-1183
Faculty Advisor ^ rn-MHl
id Craduatc Assistant I
Office 777-3888
VlEWP
talking with close friends, my reaction c
tended toward a "little brother" de- j
fensiveness: I can pick on my little broth- ^
er as much as I want, but everyone else c
had better leave him alone. The re- s
suit was that, despite the criticisms I c
have presented previously, I spent much c
time abroad defending the United
States. I love this country; it frustrates
me when I see Americans behaving badly
abroad.
I began to wonder how I could be simultaneously
proud of my country and
embarrassed by my fellow citizens.
One key to Americans' behavior is
their affluence. Americans are largely
perceived as being wealthy. While the
"Beverly Hills 90210" concept of the average
American teenager is a gross disStrange
Yan
The Horseshoe after dark can be a
strange place. Avid runners (
and rabid bikers zipping by, and 1
all manner of !
ing oaks and
JONATHAN SHARPE whtfe others
guest columnist just want to !
get home
with their safety and wallets intact.
So there I am amongst them, jogging
around the Horseshoe with some
friends last Wednesday evening. None
of us is the super-fitness type, and we're
looking rough as we make our laps.
Coming down the brick road toward
us was a flock of suits. I figure they're
faculty-administration types, getting
out of a late meeting.
SG's performance
^ * 4
has Deen suopar
To the editor:
I would like to congratulate Student
Government for a successful beginning
of the school year. Student Government
was competent enough to place cardboard
boxes in all of the residence halls
so that we could place our old and used
clothing in them before we left. Then,
Student Government began trying to
convince local food charities to accept
left-over campus food. Now, Student
Government has managed to really
do something useful. One of the most
//. >" '
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U.S. great*
E2II5EI2335MIM t
| columnist | ^
This column concludes a series that v
has explored some of my obser- ^
vations of Americans abroad.
Many Europeans felt at liberty to ^
criticize the United States or Ameri- Q
cans to me while I was abroad. This
openness may or may not have been a ^
hackward comDliment. but exceDt when
'PINT
z
less does
ortion resulting from the voracious
/orldwide consumption of our enterainment,
the idea that Americans are
wealthy is well-foimded. We have the
ichest "poor" in the world, and our stanlard
of living?the middle-class niceard-two-cars-three-televisions-and
naybe-a-boat?is enjoyed by very few
ther countries.
We have freedoms in this country
hat others don't. They range from ecolomic
freedoms, which result in free loal
phone calls and lower CD prices, to
egal guarantees such as the State's
lurden of proof, to liberties such as a
ompletely free press. This may be a
cary statement, but comparatively,
iur government owns very little of
mr lives.
The ease with which Americans may
ravel abroad is frequently an incenive
to make our hosts cater to our needs
ind desires in terms of language, food
ind custom?when it should be the oth?r
way around; the visitor should be dong
the adapting.
Plainly put, we're spoiled. That term,
lowever. imDlies that we don't deserve
t. And perhaps the present generations
lave not personally earned it, but the
nen who founded this country believed,
kee sightin
For a brief, devious moment I decided
not to move out of their path-just
to see if these well-to-do-types would
scatter (strenuous exercise brings out
my inner caveman). Well, they didn't.
[ yielded, splat, splat, splat, into the
mud.
But I had been in a meeting with
the faculty and administration earlier
that day, representing the student body,
and I recognized none of these faces.
None but one, that is. As they passed
on my right, I saw a man standing a
couple inches shorter than me, leading
the group in a light gray suit with a
bright blue tie. He wore round-frame
glasses and little hair on top. I knew
this face.
Just as I reached the rear flank, I
placed a name with that face: none other
than Rudolph Giuliani, mayor of the
Big Apple!
I sprinted up to my friends, babbling,
"Gi-Giu-Giuuu~Ffrreakin' Giuliani!
Rudy Giuliani!-pant, gasp, cough-Rudy
Giuliani just walked by! Giuliani
on the Horseshoe!?!" They looked at
me incredulously, like, "sure, whatev__
?
er.
IJ I (11 b i
| phone numlvi
important committees ot tne university
was pondering a fundamental change
to the USC grading policy. Such a
change would affect students of all programs
at USC campuses. Instead of being
our voice of the university faculty,
Student Government couldn't find anyone
to make the meeting! The excuse
our wonderful student leaders have
come up with for missing this meeting
is "the faculty meeting time conflicted
with the schedules of the representatives
we suggested." Another
gem of enlightenment was provided by
our Student Body Vice President Chris
Dorsel. Mr. Dorsel quips "Whether it
was our fault or not, Student Govern
"I doi
They c
^
^ electn
*
not carry*
"As much as I lament <
flaws, I must say our ?
Americans is the choi<
tionally guaranteed."
as I do, that all humans deserve the 1
economic and personal liberties we have \
in this country. It is in fact the great- s
ness of this country which leads its cit- 3
izens to behave in a manner which dis- t
gusts the rest of the world. 1
We have everything here. This coun- t
try is so big, so providing and so insu- {
lating that we don't know how to be- 1
have when we leave. We have not grown i
up learning how to live in close quar- i
ters with other cultures. A valid comparison
between our states and Eu- i
rope's countries ends with geography, i
Recently, however, I have touched !
only briefly the importance of individ- 1
uality and choice, important themes i
when visiting foreign lands. One has a 1
choice whether to be a traveler or a j
tourist. It has nothing to do with how
gs on the H
By the time I turned around Giuliani
and company were too far away
for me to casually sidle up to. To catch
him I would have had to sprint back,
and looking as I did at the time, accosting
the mayor of the largest city
in the nation probably would have landed
me at the bottom of a pile of heatpacking
security.
So we finished our jog. My bud
dies sun weren t Duying it wnen we
went to our respective dorms. I then
proceeded to call some less skeptical
folks to share my story with, but I got
nothing but answering machines.
So I mustered up the courage to call
my Neighbor-yes, that's with a capital
"N." How surprised was I when the actual
president of the university answered
his phone directly.
I introduced myself as his next-door
neighbor, the one involved with Student
Government. He was quite friendly,
asking me if I was settling in well.
Then I told him about the sighting.
Pause.
JP: "Really? Hmmph. I wonder why
I didn't know about that?"
iccock will try to print all letters received. Utters should lx* 25<MOO words and r
iters mast Ix* personally delivered by the author to The (iameixxk newsnxim n
. The (iamecock reserves tlx* right to edit all letter lor style, possible libel or spj
ment will probably get some of the blame
for this."
The university allows Student Government
to collect over $1 million dollars
of your money in the student activity
fee. The student body president,
vice president and treasurer all collect
stipends of at least $1,500 a semester.
What are we paying for? You couldn't
find at least one student to make a meeting?
Maybe you haven't noticed, but a
meeting with the faculty to discuss grading
problems is very important. Maybe
r the quickest way to "have better relai
tionships with the faculty" is to go to
meetings when they ask for student input!
Vt think they're necessary,
io the job students did last
year."
Joey Schrage,
mic journalism sophomore
on security guards
0
1
I
IT
X
at. '
overseas
our countries
greatest gift as
:e we are constituong
you stay or how many cities you
risit or how much money you have to
spend. Being a traveler begins before
?)u leave home and means showing a
;rue interest in other cultures by atsempting
to integrate yourself into them
;o the best of your circumstances. One
ilways has a choice in dealing with a
lost who seems inhospitable, which itself
may be merely a matter of custom?
fou can catch a ball as you wish.
As much as I lament our country's
n t . x 11 a. i. i
[laws, l must say tnat our greatest gut
as Americans is the choice we are constitutionally
guaranteed. We don't have
to be ugly Americans; we each have the
opportunity to take off our cloaks of
wealth and freedom and trade them for
passes with which to see the world from
someone else's perspective.
orseshoe
JS: "Umm. I dunno. Well, I just
thought, er, I'd let you know. Thanks,
uh... Good evening."
JP: "Thanks, buh-bye"
JS: nervous chuckle "hehehe B-bbye."
Now I had to tell the folks upstairs.
They weren't sure whether to believe
me, but they liked the part about calling
up The Neighbor.
I needed proof. To confirm the story
I called up a local TV station. Indeed,
Giuliani was in town doing a GOP fundraiser
at Henry McMaster's place.
The 11:00 news footage proved me
right. There was Giuliani wearing his
light gray suit and blue tie, stumping
for Gov. Beasley and friends.
So I called up my doubting-Thomas
jogging cohorts. Now it was time to brag.
"@#&*!" and the like came out of the
receiver, [think: "geegoshgolly-well,
I'll be a monkey's uncle."]
I guess you just never know what
you'll see on the Horseshoe after
dark.
nust include full name, professional title or year and major if a student
1 Russell House nx>m AM I-mail letters must include tlx.' author's telece
limitations Names will not Ix- withheld lor any circumstance.
So far, what has Student Government
really done to earn its keep? Oh,
yeah. The clothes project. Don't get me
wrong. Helping the needy is a very
worthwhile project. An organization
with as many people and as much money
as Student Government should or
could be doing a lot more to benefit the
one group of people who really need
their help: the students of USC. Here's
a piece ot advice: taxe care 01 Dusiness
at home before you worry about your
neighbor.
Brian Gambrell
Law Student