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We'll be publishing loads of letters, because you'll be writing us at: GCKVPOINTS ?SC. EDU Hic(5ai Kert'ino the f'nmhnn C.n tm. EDITORIAL 1 Jennifer Stanley, 1 Sara Ladenheim, M Rob Gioielli, Vieu Kurt Johnson, Assistan Kathleen McCormick Candidate lack of pr In a shameless and totally political attempt to gain vot- Beasley's rev er support, Gov. tfre Confedei David Beasley recently announced that he would never again try in any , , way to remove the Confederate flag are just ti from atop the State- to get ik house. Yet just two years earlier, Beasley supported ii the 1994 Heritage Act which would tl have moved the flag to a notice- I able post along the Confederate Memorial on the north side of the c Statehouse. ti This seemingly gutsy attempt, fi which many flag-supporters pro- b claimed never to forgive Beasley t' for, lasted a couple of months, before it feel into oblivion. b Beasley's decision to remove e: the flag came through, according to The State, "late-night prayer p and Bible reading," because he T thought relocating it would "help u the state's racial climate." d But now, Beasley has changed h his mind ... again. So, does this v mean God has changed his mind also? Does Beasley no longer want a to help the racial climate in this a state? e: Jim Hodges, Beasley's oppo- o nent, is no better. He supported tl Beasley during his short-lived attempt to dethrone the flag, now si says he would not push to bring p down the flag. His excuse, quoted Campus n need of o1 Been waiting for rTTTI a letter lately? HBHHLtfU If you've lived on The inefficier campus for any of entire ca your career at USC, mail sis you've experienced the turtle-like speed of our campus mail system. Wenedafu The current postoffice problems with the Russell H campus mail system are only the most recent in what has been a history of slow and incomplete service, p Students have always taken cam- a pus mail with a grain of salt. We si have assumed that when some- ft thing was late, it was because it was sent through campus mail, k What we need is a comDlete b overhaul of the campus mail t system. Right now it is incomplete s, and haphazard. Using facilities in tl the Russell House, students are b able to pick up only their letters c, and packages. g Hit (Bat Sert iuff the Carolina Cninint Hie- Gamecock is the student newspaper <>t 11k* I niversity of Friday durin|?foie lull and spring .semesters and five times during the periods. < )pini< ins expressed in The (iameendt am tin ise iit die editor Tlie Board ot Student Publications and Gxranunkatkins is the puhlis the newspaper's parent organization. The Gamecock Jennifer Stanley Editor in Chief Rob Llndsey Sara Ladenhelm ManayiiiK Eflitor Jessica Barfleld Rob Giolelll I'utijromls lirlitor Jackie Poston Josh Lonon Aero Editors Todd Money Erin Reed Rosalind Harve Kristin Freestate Ecatnres Erlitor Bryan Johnston Editorial Assistant Kurt Johnson , Nathan Brown S/xirts Editor Brad Walters Nlkki Thorpe I in So Editors Kenley Young DntK Mottlpa Brian Rlsh Online lidilor Deneshla Grah; Student Media Ellen Parsons Director of Carolyn Griffin Student Media Jim Green Lee Phipps Adivrtisinx Manager Erik Collins Sherry F. Holmes Classified Ad Jeff Stensland Man ' !er ncrack nunity since lyOts BOARD Editor in Chief 'anaging Editor ipoints Editor t Viewpoints Editor Editorial Writer 5 show inciples from The State, was that "the spirit of iersalon compromise was rate flag ruined by Beasle/s abortive efforts." ' Just because Beasley screwed it JHndaw up before him, i Hodges doesn't mean he ylng couldn't come in 7tes. and fix it. That's like a new coach coming in for a los[ig team and saying, "Oh well, bey're a bunch of losers, nothing can do about it." Both of our candidates have hanged their stance on an issue hat has been tearing at this state ar a long time. They are both eing hypocritical and elusive on his issue. One of them needs to assert limself, take a stand and weathr the storm. What about those who opose the Confederate flag? hese people are in a lose-lose sitation. These people have no canidate to throw their support beind, no candidate to stand up for rhat they believe in. All Beasley and Hodges want re votes, and all they are worried bout are losing potential votrs. The hell with standing by their pinions. Whatever gets the vote, hat's what they believe in. If this is true, what a sorry tatement to make of the politics racticed in South Carolina. nail in yerhaul FMMj] To do anything else we have to go icy of our to the actual post mpus office on Main tem Street. That is me piace you nave to go if you want to send a package, U service send a letter exin the press-mail, buy ouse. stamps, or use any real post office ser vice. With such a large on-campus opulation, USC should have an 11-inclusive post office in the Rusell House. There is plenty of room )r it in the Carolina Mall. There are distribution probims with such a large institution ut when sending a letter via the J.S. Postal Service, we expect the ame speed and quality of service tiat any other citizen gets. Just ecause we are students on a big ampus doesn't mean we should et second-class service. rack ISM iiiity since 190S South Carolina and is published Monday. Wednesday ami summer witli the except km of uniu-rsity holidays and exam >or author and n<? those ijt'The Cniiersity ol South Carolina, .her ot Tlie Gamecock. Tlie Department ot Student Media is All area codes are HO.S Off Milurs Editor 777-.W14 . Viewpoints 777-7726 y ftilAic Relations . News 777-7726 Dinxtor 1 sst Viewpoints Editor j.tc 777-3913 .isst News Editors Sports 777-71H2 Encore Editor Mi Asst Eeatwvs hliktr Online 777-2833 Advertising 777-3888 Business Manager (.'rentuc Director classified 777-1184 faculty Adrisnr ^ m-MHl (iratluale Assistant a Office 777-3HHH VEWP The pif-tv c TGCHMDi.C?(rV I He ni o r* e si M^Tii Laws need? columnist S,1 I 1 d< It seems to me all the finesse has gone j out of lawmaking. Laws are becom- <j] ing increasingly subjective and spe- p, cific. And the more specific laws become, w the less good they are; the less good they ^ j are, the more laws we need. Because of either redundancy or a moral agenda, (j( our laws aren't doing us any good. ^ For example, the idea that we can prosecute someone for a "hate crime" vis silly. I don't doubt that some crimes are committed out of hatred, but is that ^ really important? Why should it be against the law to hate someone? It's . , already against the law to kill some- * __ ? n? one. Does it make any difference to a . dead person whether he was killed over ? an arbitrary genetic issue or killed because a thug wanted his wallet or killed because his nephews wanted his life- n' insurance policy? Murder is against the a? law. Why don't we leave it at that? w It's really nobody's business why they itdid it b< Another recent phenomenon I don't understand is the creation of addition- in er Americans t T ast Friday, in an attempt to look respectable, I thought I'd put on a " JL-ipair of khakis before I went out. ^ ?-i This may ^r not sound ^ is a stretch. b< Well I tl ROB GIOIELLI tried a| columnist on flnf^ they wouldn't n button, so I realized I was getting fat ei again. n Now my weight, like any person's, tl tends to fluctuate. But as I was think- tl ing to myself, "Time to cut back on a, the cheese fries," I began contemplat- ^ ing our country's obsession with weight w and fitness. S( I believe it's important to live a healthy life. I don't, myself, but it's a good thing. Eating right and exercising are the keys to living happier fives. They reduce our stress levels, give us more energy and give us a higher self-esteem. When we look in the mirror in the . morning, we should be pleased with c what we see. ci Student commends ?' b booze-free tailgating u ei To the editor: ?< I am writing concerning the column f? called "Students should assert the right 0 to alcoholism" printed in the Friday, Sept. 18, issue of The Gamecock. Colum- d nist Rob Gioielli criticized the "Third Great Gamecock Tailgate Party of 1998" w sponsored by the Office of Alcohol and ^ Drug Programs. He used the article b to encourage students on campus to rj drink more while promoting irrespon- b sibility and dangerous behavior. In the u article, he made such comments as "Car- t< olina needs more crazed drunkenness tl and self destructive behavior." Com- c, me its like these not only reflect badly OINTS OW.,. TT7T I bis SSi d to protect laws when the ones we have already iffice. For an example I offer the unirage drunk driving law in this state, don't doubt that some underage tinkers drive, but is that really imirtant? Does it make any difference hether people are killed by a drunk 3-year-old or a drunk 30-year-old? If the state wants to penalize unerage drunk drivers, why not first large them with underage drinking, id then charge them with drunk dri- 01 jig? Both are already against the law c< l this state. Why is my tax money wast- n 1 in passing a third law when the first m ro are enough already? Who thinks so s logical to assert that it's worse to ive a 20-year-old on the road with a ce 2 blood-alcohol level than a 21-year- ai d with a .09? I certainly don't, and I ^ low my math's right. 0I Furthermore, laws should protect gi ghts, not serve moral purposes. It's ^ ;ainst the law to murder someone, but hy? Most people will say, "Because s wrong." That doesn't mean it should w i illegal. If murder is immoral, it's immoral til every case, and I can think of sev- w al good instances where it shouldn't a ooobsessa But living a healthy lifestyle is one ling; letting the amount of fat on your lighs and the size of your biceps conol your daily existence is another thing atirely. This is a huge problem in merica. There are too many people at there who have this compulsion bout eating right and exercising. I see them everywhere, men and omen, and it sickens me. For each sex lere is this god-like ideal that everyae is trying to attain. For girls it tends ) be the supermodel, for guys it's the & idy-builder. These are two extremes ^ lat for some reason we have decided re the norm. Take supermodels. Have you ever ^ ;ally looked at these women? It's sick- Ql riing. People need to realize super- ^ lodels are freaks. No one should be jlat skinny. I was reading a magazine ae other day, and I saw a Versace c, d, which I mistook for an article on ^ lortuaries. They all looked dead. I w anted to scream into the pages, "Eat y imething!" In our warped and sick- ^ oing culture, malnourishment is now a le standard, and we have girls driving lemselves and the opposite sex nuts h per their figures. ii Don't get me wrong; guys are just y, 5 bad. But instead of looking like twigs, g re've decided that we should all be mus- si le-bound behemoths. ci Before the dawn of our modern so- o [ety, man proved himself by laboring si The Gamecockl (01. year and major elude the a the columnist and The Gamecock, ut also on the campus. Do we as E rSC students really want to be gen- s ralized as a bunch of students who si stumble into the game at half-time, v ill down the bleacher steps and pass ti ut in the middle of the third quarter." e One out of four students on campus ti o not drink alcohol. y They would like to go and watch it I 'ith their friends without having to t rorry about some drunk person throw- t ig up on them, causing an embarassing fight on the field or being so unearably rude that it ruins their ftin. I nderstand that students have a right d tailgate, but within that right comes 1 tie right to tailgate with or without alohol. r "I Amei ? f | Areth : : lights, not "Drugs, prostitution, \ pornography?what's j one is just a personal er." e illegal. When it involves no contention f rights, however, murder should most Brtainly be illegal. In other words, a mrderer violates a few rights of the urdered, and that should be the reain why it is illegal. I have a very simple formula for asirtaining that a law protects a right id not a moral: If someone wants to ) something which doesn't hurt anyle else, it's okay. Our rights should id only where someone else's begin. Tiv shouldn't an 18-vear-old be al wed to run for president? A country hich elects an 18-year-old for presimt deserves what it gets. Drugs, prostution, gun ownership, pornographyhat's a moral decision for one is just personal decision for another. If we're i with weig "You can't go into a n without seeing that cu next to certain items, fat' or 'healthy choice ii the farm, hunting in the forest or illing on the battlefield. Since we can't o out and kill dinner now, we have to rove our manhood by spending two ours in the gym every day pumping on. Having a good physique is one thing, ut looking like Lou Ferrigno is anther. I don't see any practical reason >r a normal guy to be built like an NFLx nnhool/or Uo rrnfo noirl fn forl/ln iicuauagi. 11c geto ^/axa tu taeiue ound running backs. You get paid beause you're good at selling insurance, low is bench-pressing three times your reight going to help you do that? Are ou going to hold your client above your ead until he buys hurricane insurnce? The male fascination with being uge and the female fixation withbelg skinny have permeated everything 'e do, especially what we eat. You can't o into a restaurant anymore without Being that cute little vegetable next to ertain items, which means "low fat" r "healthy choice." Every item in the upermarket has its corresponding verwlll try to print all letters. Letters should be 250-300 words and n ludent. Hand written letters must be personally delivered by the iephone number. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all lett I applaud the Office of Alcohol and )rug Programs for providing a fun and afe way to tailgate for those who abtain from drinking and for anyone else ffio would like to attend. And to all hose out there who have "been a week nd binge-drinker tor three years and here's no permanent damage," I invite ou to stop by the Office of Alcohol and )rug Programs and pick up a flyer that ells you the long term health problems hat can occur from binge-drinking. Noel Reynolds Journalism Sophomore Office of Alcohol and Drug Programs Volunteer ?o the editor, . It was with great pleasure that I ead Emily Streyer's recent article in feel that most African-ican faculty feel that most )roblems are evident." a Pigford, former professor of education "J t morals ran ownership, a moral decision for decision for anothgoing to call it a free country we need to lighten up a bit. We may have values as a society, but the idea of society having a moral 1 _ *J__ IL.J. _1 1J 1 I coae is an iaea inai snouia nave Deen extinguished long before Prohibition ended. Individuals have moral codes, and a society made of individuals with identical moral codes is awfully boring. We are no longer a collection of Puritan communes, each able to declare that everyone who lives there must adhere to a certain moral code and those who don't like it can live elsewhere. The greatness of this country is clouded by the shadow of the freedoms which are not welcome here, but should be. Comments welcome at The Gamecock or esstreyer@mindspring.com ?ht, fitness istaurant anymore .x- I'xxl- ^ 1 1 nc 111uc vegeiaoie which means low yy> sion in the green box, which means it's lower in calories or has reduced fat. The question I always have is why are these foods more expensive? If they have less ingredients, shouldn't they be cheaper? And if you want to lose weight, it doesn't matter if you are eating low-calorie potato chips or reducedfat cookies. Cookies are still cookies, potato chips are still potato chips. If you are on a diet, don't eat them. America has turned itself into a culture obsessed with image. We assume that, because all the beautiful people are on TV or in the movies, their appearance is some kind of standard. If we don't look like that, then we just qron'f nnrmal We should be happy with who we are. I'm not saying we should give up on living healthy and sit around the TV eating junk food all day (though it sure is fun). But we need to accept the bodies we were born with, and stop idolizing the .001 percent of the population that has no physical flaws. nust Include full name, phone number, professional title or author to the Russell House room 333. E-mail letters must iner for style, libel or space. Names will never be withheld. The Gamecock entitled "Internet chain letters waste time and resources." Her article was informative, well written and very factual. It blended her personal feelings along with "technical" information and made important points on several levels. It's good to know that others besides those in Computer Services are becoming more and more aware of the; detriments of unsolicited e-mail. It is truly amazing, the time and resources that are expended in fighting this type of abuse. I look forward to her future articles in The Gamecock (and not even necessarily about technology). Bill Mowery Computer Systems Director