The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 21, 1998, Page Page 3, Image 3
Read the weekly appearance
of our own Kurt
Johnson, plus some editorials
you'll be sure to find
interesting and low in fat.
Serving the Carolina Coi
EDITORIAL
Jennifer Stanley,
Sara Ladenheim,,
Rob Gioielli, Vie
Kurt Johnson, Assist a
Kathleen McCormic
Funds ne
improve
With the recent
burning of two cars HHRJiifl
in the Blossom The recent 1
Street Garage, a in
call for better secu- Cam
rity in these facilities
is being heard
loud and clear.
A male, who runei
was videotaped funding tc
walking out of the better se*
garage by surveil
lance cameras, set
fire to two cars and keyed several
others. The university police department
has worked hard on this
case, and the suspects they saw
on the security cameras have been
charged.
Vandalism has been a constant
problem in the Blossom Street
Garage for some time now.
There are no posted security
guards, but USC police officers patrol
the area in cars.
And this harassment needs to
stop. It's not a problem with the
police department. They are doing
a great job on this case and
have not withheld any information.
They want the students to
know about it, so it can be a recognized
as a serious situation.
No, the problem is more universal.
The university needs to
give the police department more
on nrxry rJn o KnffAi* inK
lLU-lVXlllg OVJ LIl^J UU1 UU a Juu
CP applai
strong co
Seen Carolina HMnr
Productions lately? HHm
We have, and it Carolina Pr
seems everywhere multitude
you look lately, CP events on
is doing something.
From the "Swing
Thing," which was
co-sponsored with orgai
WUSC 90.5 FM, in should be a
the Russell House for doing i\
Ballroom to the after abig
Thursday concerts L. ?
on the Russell House Patio and
tree movies in tne ruissen Mouse
Theater they really seem to be outdoing
themselves.
CP has done a great job these
first few weeks of school, and with
Homecoming and other events
coming up, it only looks like it'll
get better.
This is a long way from the
same organization that last year
lost $40,000 with one Wallflowers
concert. They seem to have made
a great comeback this year, giving
us a lot of interesting programming.
We hope they can keep this up
and continue to improve through
out the year. CP is, along with Stu ffe
?ie(5ai
OJ" Sen inn the Carolina (.mm
Tile Gamecrxk is the- student newspaper ot lire I niversity
Friday during die tall and spring semesters and five times during tl
|Xtkx1s (tpinions expressed in The (ianxuxk are those ot die edit
Ihe Board ot Student Publications and (Communications is the pul
the newspaper's parent organization.
The Gamecock
Jennifer Stanley Editor in ClneJ Rob Lindsey
Sara Ladenhcim Managing Editor Jessica Barfle
Rob Glolelli Viewpoints Editor Jackie Poston
Josh Lonon News Editors Todd Money
Erin Reed Rosalind Har
Kristin Freestate Features blitor
Bryan Johnston blilorial Assistant Kurt Johnson
Nathan Brown s/xirts blilnr Brad Walters
Nlkki Thorpe limn FAitnrs Kenley Youni
Sean Rayford Ruth Nettles
Brian Rlsh Online kdilnr Deneshla Gra
Student Media
Ellen Parsons Director nj Carolyn Grifl
Student Media Jim Green
Lee Phipps Adeertisin/t Manager Erik Collins
Sherry F. Holmes Classified Ad Jeff Stenslant
g Mci^ayer
?
1
nrntodt
nmunity since 1908
.BOARD
Editor in Chief
Managing Editor
?ivpoints Editor
nt Viewpoints Editor
:k, Editorial Writer
eded to
security
and make this campus
as safe as pos'andalism
sible. This could
om Street mean having more
officers and cruis^
ers patrolling the
I campus area, set,
ting up a security
ids more guaVposition at
)proiide the garage, or any
Clirity. other methods of
improvement necessary.
The students whose cars are
parked in that, or any garage, need
to know their cars are safe. It costs
$160 to use a space in the garages.
That's a lot of pudding.
That's money the students are
giving the university for a protective
and convenient place to
park their cars. If this money
doesn't do that, and it seems like
it hasn't, what's the point? Why
not just spend $20 and park
anywhere?
Another big point is the fact
that people love their cars. They're
almost Idee another member of the
family to them. They will pretty
much do anvthine for their car to
0
be as healthy and usable as possible.
Giving more money to parking
and security will help in warding
off such stupid nonsense.
ided for
meback
dent Media and
Student Govern1oductions'
ment, one of the
of recent most visible student
organizations
on campus. They
also have one of the
toughest jobs
nizatton around
mmended Providing frets
job well quent, diverse, and
1 setback. interesting pro
? grams is a very
tough job to do, especially when
you're trying to appeal to a campus
of 26,000 students.
When they do their job right,
CP provides events we can all eniatr
r\r\^ lnorn daty\/-*
juy aiiu icaiii ^uiiictiiing liuiii at
the same time. They, probably
more than any other student organization,
have the power to bring
a little more unity to such a large
campus.
And it's great to see a group
that was under so much fire last
year jump right back into things.
It's that kind of resilience and energy
that we need more of in the
Carolina Community. Often, we
get too much talk and not enough
action.
nrrnrk umai
since I'MM iBlMiMMMjllli
of South Carolina and is published Monday Wednesday and
it summer with the exception of university holidays a nil exam
ore or audit* and n<< those of Hit Cniveisity of South Carolina
Mistier of Hit (iumecock. The Department <4 Student Media is
Atl area codes are 803
Oify Hdiion, ?
Id editor 777-39 14
Viewpoints 777-7726
vey 1'iihlc Relations _
News 777-7726
Director
I Assl.Vieufximts lirlitor |.tt 777-3913
Ut /Vews Editors
g Sports 777-7182
low ire lulitor
iham Ati? Ivrttuns Fdtior Online 777-2833
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Creative Director Classified 777-1183
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Office 777-3HHH
VSewe
* NOTHING LI
Newstuder
These are some of my observations
I've made in my first weeks in
Columbia:
The Hot
TrrWe^in
columnist Columbia
this August
about midnight, hoping to avoid a day's
heat, but I didn't escape it. Suddenly,
"In the Heat of the Night" had a new
meaning to me.
Midnight Express
My first night in the capital city was
not a very quiet one. At 2 a.m., a deafening
series of horn blasts made my fellow
early-arriving roommate and I sit
up in our beds in Bates House. My roommate,
still half-asleep, asked if that was
a ship. "Yeah, Titanic," I answered, as
I recalled there being no ocean near Columbia.
Later on, it turned out to be just a
train. Trains must mean a lot to people
here; once it's on the tracks everyone
is sure to know.
Students, SG defend
Second Serving
To the Editor,
I understand that there is a regular
need to fill the opinion page of The
Gamecock with a unique editorial perspective
based on recent facts and
events. However, original thought being
the precious commodity that it is,
what filled the space on Wednesday arrived
far to quickly and cheaply.
Your opinion that "SG needs not to
divert attpntinn from TTSf!" contains an
undocumented assumption about our
agenda: that Second Serving is the one
and only effort and concern of those SG
administration. Patronizing remarks
about the plight of the homeless serve
as poor camouflage for this attack, and
an equivocating anti-conclusion that,
maybe SG is sort-of focused on USC,
makes the craven charge even less palatable.
The fact of the matter is USC Student
Government's top priority is the
representation of student body welfare
and interests to the faculty and administration
of this institution. We are
laboring and lobbying to change policies
and living conditions in favor of our
fellow students on a daily basis. But
just as an oil tanker can't turn on a
dime, the fruit of our labor is slow to
blossom.
I
HEY YOU! THE
Within days
The Gamecock
Now you can c
internet. Lo
?
'PINT'
KE A SUMMIT <
)FF OUR POMES
mgm
it finds beai
Legs vs. Wheels
Being used to the well-developed
public transportation system in Moscow,
I have never needed a car and never
driven one. That turned out to be bad
news for me in Columbia.
Initially, I tried to walk everywhere.
But the hike from Five Points to Fort
Jackson, which took an hour and 40
minutes, changed my mind about walking.
Just as I entered Forest Acres, the
heat was killing me, and I was soaked
with sweat. I was so hot I decided to
take off my shoes and keep walking
barefoot, hoping for a little relief.
Suddenly, I saw a local woman who
gave me a bad "no bums allowed in this
neighborhood" look. So since then, I ride
my bike.
Mouthful of the South
I had virtually no trouble understanding
Americans in Moscow, because
they were all from the Midwest.
But talking to South Carolinians
made me doubt my knowledge of the
English language as a whole. It actually
made me feel like an idiot. It was
either: (1.) people here speak a different
language, or (2.) they taught me
Chinese.
To my relief, I later discovered South
Carolinians do speak English, but with
a southern accent, which sounds rather
hot and sweet once you start to understand
it.
The Gamecc
9 1 I |9I . jor a student.
telephone numhe
Nonetheless, it is an honor and privllocro
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decided to give something back to the
greater Carolina Community; good
stewardship of our position is not an
option, it's an obligation. Second
Serving requires very little on our part
- a few phone calls, a few hours of an
afternoon - yet it satisfies hunger and
may even touch a broken heart. Whaf s
more, it is a program with indisputable
relevance to this school: after all, student
money buys the meal plans that
pay for the food that, as we have learned,
often goes to waste.
If tailoring the policies and conditions
of this university to students were
as simple as giving away surplus
food, within a year we could transform
USC into a paradise of scholarship, a
city on a learned hill. Unfortunately, it
isn't that easy. That is why each new
administration takes up the burdens
of their predecessors-academic forgiveness,
housing conditions, parking,
and the cost of tuition, while trying
to leave the grounds we tread a little
more friendly, caring and welcoming
by volunteering in and around our campus.
We will continue to bring the needs
and desires of students before the powers
that be at the University of South
Carolina, as we will continue to strive
to make Carolina a community. Our
only hope of success in this endeavor is
that our constituents know what it is
LAZY ONE IN
you will be c
:omplain with
ok for the ac
"We
eratii
GET-TOGETHER
TIC TROUBLES.
Lity in Soutl
"...talking to South O
doubt my knowledge
guage. It actually mac
idiot."
Beautiful Places
I discovered that mentioning South
Carolina is beautiful on license tags
is no advertising trick. I haven't yet
been to the beaches or mountains of the
state, but Columbia is beautiful to me.
The only disappointment so far has
been the Congaree River. During my
first week here, I was taking the heat
pretty badly.
I longed to take a swim so I decided
to do so in the River. Just before I
was about to go in, people told me there
were poisonous snakes and even alligators
in there. I opted for a safer alternative:
the USC pool.
Smiling Faces
South Carolinians do smile a lot.
You notice after living in a non-smiling
country like Russia. I expected retail
store clerks to be smiling. But I
didn't expect that people in the street,
and I mean complete strangers, even
attractive women, would be smiling and
even saying "hello" and initiating small
talk.
*:k will try to print all letters received. Letters should lie 2Sil-3(*( wc
and written letters must be personally delivered by the author to tin
r. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letter for style, possih
that we do; their support is our legitimacy.
As the masters of the greatest
conduit in that process, you, the editors
of The Gamecock, wield a weighty power
that compels impartiality.
That is why we are more saddened
by the festering cynicism that
belied your editorial than the slight it
was-to your colleagues. We sincerely
hope that you have not fallen prey at
such a young age to the ill-reasoned
premise that pervades journalism today;
that wisdom and jadedness are one
and the same.
Blakely Hallman
SG Community Service Director
To the editor:
I want to express my opinion regarding
the "Take Our Word" section
in September 16th's paper, specifical
ly in response to the article entitled
"USC Community Needs SG Support."
I can understand why there is some
hesitancy among some students
about "Second Serving," the new program
that SG has begun that gives leftovers
to the Oliver Gospel Mission, because
of short-sited fears that SG will
possibly abandon the student body's desires
for improvements to be made on
campus. I don't understand why The
Gamecock, presumably the voice of the
students, is taking such a negative
stance toward this innovative, positive
program.
THE BACK!
Lble to perso:
the ease and
Idress on Wed]
were tickled with the coopon
we got from the fraternities."
rnie Ellis, Director of Law
Enforcement and Safety
: TO TAKE H
EH. BORIS"?* g
' '
- *
SS*. i
Carolina
irolinians made me
of the English lanle
me feel like an
But what really killed me was a policeman
smiling at me at the entrance
to the State Capital. Russian police officers
NEVER smile at people. Unless
they succeed in extorting a bribe from
you.
Getting Rednecked
Well, it's been a month and I have
come to realize I'm starting to like it.
I guess they call the South beautiful
because you get to feel beautiful about
being here sooner or later. You see beautiful
people, go to beautiful places, hear
a beautiful accent, your neck gets
tanned, and it makes you feel good. It
starts to feel like home.
Guerman Abaev is originally from
Moscow. He is getting his Master's degree
in Public Relations from the College
of Journalism and Mass Communications.
>rds and nmst ini'lude full name, profesMnrul title or year and ma.
Russell House r<x)m 333. E-mail letteis musl include the author's
le libel or space limitations. Names will never he withheld.
True, you enumerated a list of qualities
that are admirable about "Second
Serving," but to imply that more parking
spaces and better Shuttlecock services
are the true domain of student
government is laughable. Student government
can say all it wants about needing
more parking spaces and better
shuttle services ~ the impact of their
efforts will be minimal, at best. Real
impact on our community - and I include
USC within this community -is
creating programs like "Second Serving."
Your editorial stated, "It (Second
Serving) does not affect the USC community
in any way."
We do damage to ourselves as an
institution of higher learning when we
pretend that we exist in a comfortable,
academic bubble that is totally separate
from the outside world. USC students
make up a significant percentage
of Columbia's population. If we send
Al ______ 1 *1 il. _ 1 ' 1
me message, inte me one contained
within your editorial, that people outside
of USC who struggle to find their
next meal do not affect us, we have done
a great disservice to a school that constantly
touts itself as "community-minded."
If that community only includes the
USC campus, count me out.
Sarah Dings
Graduate Student
Social work
nally e-mail
speed of the
nesday.
) \