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E-MAILI Remember, we have an email address, so don't hesitate to write us. It's GCKVIEWS@SC.EDU. Write one, write all! Page 4 Hie (Bar Serving the Carolina Comm EDITORIAL I Sara Ladenheim, E Rob Gioieili, View Kevin Langston, Assistar Emily Streyer, Assistant Jennifer Stanley, Special Student tu silences si USC deserves a pat on the back. HHHaiftflM What we thought JJSCsparticp was going to be a the Martin Lut small gatheringon Monday s Martin J J Luther King Jr. Day ended up be- ^ ^ ing a major com- turnou munity event that incredible aru was 750-strong. sign of the liu The Student wanted us tc Life staff was there to work with student organizers. College of Jour- be nalism and Mass Communications Dean Judy Van Slyke Turk was ev there, and perhaps other deans of] and professors. Members of the th USC Student Government, the th presidents of the Association of M African-American Students and a i USC chapter of the NAACP, honor societies, and individual stu- pr dents participated in the event, th making it one of the biggest events Jr of this nature at USC in the past W several years. pa Rarely do different races in the de USC community work together in Clinton ui by contro Some ques-; Hjjwvrvr tioned his timing, others the fact he Clinton's Stat was giving a speech Union Ada at all (even though it's constitutionally mandated). But | rJS With the hnpec with guns blazing hanging in what was the bead, Clinton most important the speech of \ speech of his life. With the House Republicans who are prosecuting him firmly ch planted in the front row, Clinton is immediately pointed out the wl strength of the economy, pro- fic claiming, "The state of the union is strong." sp It was the opening shot of an ta address that Clinton was obvi- al ously using to sway public opin- Le ion in his favor. so Some expected him to be ner- ris vous, but advisers said he start- ta ed practicing the speech last week, and it showed. The Bill Clinton lei of old was on the podium, blend- co ing a statesman like elegance with inj words that show he truly cares about the American people. all At first, it was comforting to sh see our leader, who has appeared CI to us so shaken or remarkably of somber whenever he's appeared an in nnVilir naot aiv mnntKe an U1 |/Ulk/A*V VA1V |/UUV U1A tlAV/tl VAAUa UAJ Those thoughts didn't last long tu: because our president, no matter tic On ? "*^S" Serving the Carolina Commun The Gamecock u the student newspaper of The University of S< Friday during the Eal and spring semesters and five times during the su periods. Opinrona atprnsed in The Gamecock are those of the editors c The Board of Student Pthkcabons and Cooomunications is the publish* the newspaper's parent orgarazation The Gamecock Sara Ladenhefan Editor in Chief Emily Streyer Rob GioicU Viewpoints Editor Kevin Langston Keniey Young News Editor Rachel Hdwig Brad Wahers News Editor Clayton Kale Nathan Brown Sports Editor Brock Vergakia Erin Reed Features Editor Charlie Wallace Rob Undaey Features Editor Katy Evans Sean Rayford Photo Editor Denes hia Grahan Kristin Fraeatate Copy Desk Chief Aahton June Todd Money Copy Editor Ann Marie Miani Rebecca Croeucan Copy Editor Jennifer Stanley Man Ryan Online Editor Student Media EUen Parsons Director of Sherry F. Holmes Lee Phipps Advertising Manager Carolyn Griffin Susan King Creative Director Erik Collins Jeff S ten stand i rack unity tine* 1908 IOARD 'ditor in Chief points Editor it Viewpoints Editor Viewpoints Editor Projects Coordinator irnout Peptics toward a common goal. It just goes to ation in show that when all her King areas ?f the uniryyfcg versity back an ' event or goal, it's likely to be successful. The Gametux? cock gives credit i a true where credit is due. es King On Friday, we were )lead. skeptical that ? many students would get out of d to participate. However, we hoped that the ent would prove that this day f was more than a free day. As e day's theme proclaims and as e participants proved correct, onday was not a day off, it was day on. USC students have finally oved that diversity, service and e memory of Martin Luther King are worth sacrificing apathy, e hope this passion for particiition will continue through Stusnt Government elections and to the next semester. ifazed versy ' how eloquent or H caring, is still bee of the ing tried for perIress. jury and abuse of power in the U.S. Senate. I Clinton's protes, . tations about our ichment successes and his over "is hope for the future delivers were thus marked his life. with an air of sur realism. Here was our president proliming the state of our union as good as it's been in years, lile he's so close leaving the ofe in disgrace. The big question during the eech was whether Clinton would lk about the impeachment tri or anything to do with the jwinsky scandal. Surprising me, he didn't go near the issue, sing above the scandalous deils of his impeachment. Even though he has two years ft Clinton acknowledged this uld be his last address by givg a farewell of sorts. These last words and the overl theme of hope in his speech * owed us how we lost out with inton. He could have been one the greatest, but personal faults id bad decisions have led him d this country down the unfornate road we're on. crack bm ity tince 1908 xith Carolina and ia published Monday, Wednesday and mm with the exception oI university holidays and exam ? author and not those of The Umverstv of South Carolina x of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media is All area codes are 303 Asst Viewpoints Editors Editor 777-3914 Asst News EdUor, gcked9scedu Viewpoints 777-7726 Astt. Sports Editors gcktnews9sc .edu News 777-7726 Asst. Featum Editors gcknews9sc.edu > Etc 777 3913 Aist Photo Editors gcketc9scedu Sports 777-7182 Special ProfKt gcksports9sc.edu Coordinator Online 777-2833 Advertising 777-3888 Classified Classified 777 1184 Manager Business Manager Fax 777-6482 Facultv Advisor Graduate Assistant I ? * ? view The G? v* 2 <& Z j USC outdo In the past few months, the Clemson Tigers have had their way with the Gamecock teams in nearly every ? sport. But as -- tii a former Clemson 'm- * student, I I can say from 4 ' -jit; ^ Cf experience \ that USC's W ' ' involvement 1 in the MarJHK* ?lk-. tin Luther * - M King Jr. Day of Service far JEREMY TOUZEL exceeded columnist that of our in-state rival. I attended Clemson University as a freshman and decided to participate in the Martin Luther King activities planned by the university. There was a rally and a march from one side of campus to the other. When I got to the rally, I thought I was early because there were only about 200 people, most of whom were not students. Once I realized I was on time, I was shocked to find that I was the only white person King's visic The voice still echoes. It flows over every plain, through every valley and over every mountain across ?i" na^on* mountains ^Mountain of COREY FORD Georgia, Let columnist freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside, let freedom rinDr!" Even today, the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. vividly capture the hearts and consciences of the Amer ican people, inat urgent, penetrating echo still challenges the emotions and feelings that every American possesses. Many people know the basic story of King's life. As a Southern preacher, King was a leader in the struggle against the injustice of racial segregation during the '50s and '60s. From a boycott in Montgomery to a march to Selma to a Reader prays for columnist To the Editor: I read Erin Reed's column in the Jan. 13 issue of The Gamecock , and I was appalled by all her comments. I really feel sorry for her that she will never know God's grace in her life. That she will never know a real peace. If you try to run your own life without God's guidance, you will always be running into a brick wall. point imecock z o ' 2 ' ?? yz I? THE ELECTRON es Clemsor in the crowd. I simply could not believe there were so few people who felt it important to recognize this American hero. The fact that there were no whites oth- 1 er than myself left me feeling disgusted and embarrassed. So in the days before USC's inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, I was worried that the apathy, ] indifference and subtle racism I noticed ] in Clemson would show up in Colum- , bia. Would the students of USC use the \ day to catch up on sleep? Would there , be diversity among the people who i did choose to participate? ] When I arrived at the Russell House , at 9 in the morning, I was shocked to , see hundreds and hundreds of students ] of different races and nationalities. 1 As I looked around, I saw young and old, big and small, black and white, as 1 well as every color in between. It was j a wonderful sight to behold. At one point during our march to the Martin Luther j King Jr. Park behind Five Points, the marchers extended from the intersec- 1 tion of Pickens and Greene streets to the railroad tracks at Five Points! After the march, we were split into groups and transported to various com>n carried 01 prophecy at the Lincoln Memorial, his leadership provided the needed catalyst to end the immoral precedent set by Plessy vs. Ferguson. However, the means by which King carried out his goals serve as his service to humanity and demonstrate his greatest quality as a human. Unlike manv other leaders throughout hist.o ry who sought to achieve success through violent means, King promoted social protest through nonviolent resistance. In King's article "Nonviolence and Racial Justice," he outlined the effectiveness of nonviolence used by Gandhi in India. Without the use of physical aggression, King's protesters bravely resisted injustice, while his method served to gain the fellowship and empathy of white segregationists. Finally, King writes, "At the center of nonviolent resistance stands the principle of love. To retaliate with hate and bitterness would do nothing but intensify the hate in the world." Love for fellow mankind was King's essential message to his followers and their oppressors. In the shadow of the Great Emancipator, Lincoln, King delivered the "I Have A Dream" speech on Aug. 28, 1963. In this well-known speech, he created the formula for a loving bond of understanding and acceptance between whites and blacks. BfSuEmissions for col\ r "^| length, and cc 110 L ~ J k w The Gamecock will try student Handwritten J ber The Gamecock rest I will pray for her and hope that i someday she can say she was wrong. I Kaye Coble Parking Services ] I Hodges could learn from JFK To the editor: ' As 1 read Corey r ord s reaction to i last week's inaugural address by James i Hodges, all I could do was shake my head in disagreement. It just blows my 1 mind that anyone in his right mind < Ql "I S v i on servi< "As I looked arounc old, big and small, 1 well as every color munity service sites. My group went ti Denny Terrace Elementary, wher< we worked on a recycling project, cleane< the campus and restored an overgrowi nature trail. The diversity of our grouj was amazing; Chinese, Russian, Philip pine, African and European descen dants worked together for the benefi Df the community. In all, there wen more than 650 volunteers who mad< the inaugural event a success. We, as a society, are closer than eve to the vision in King's dream, yet there' still racism in communities, discrimi nation in the workplace and prejudic in the federal justice system. Even ii 1999, as advanced and smart as we hav I ii _ i. J i._ A_l_ _ ever neara. it was odvious mat section of his speech were labeled "pause," s the audience could applaud, but the au dience was not clued in to these "cla] lines," and did not always feel the neei to applaud at those times; maybe be cause they had already fallen asleep o tuned him out. The thing that made Kennedy grea was that he used motivational speech es to instill excitement in his audiences Decome, mere are steps we neea 10 tase Here at USC, there are still all-whit and all-black fraternities and sorori ties, and there are still students wh aren't willing to learn how different it through "The only way our the optimism of olc increased commun Yet, King's message of hope kep his followers faithful to the cause of jus tice. Despite the backlash fror whites during the civil rights move ment, King never surrendered. His de termined will inspired the people to con tmue tne cause even past his deatr Our society could certainly follow the example of King today. A sense c hope for the future serves as America' greatest asset to its people and th world. Yet, poll after poll from thi decade finds that a majority of Amer: cans believe their children's futures ar not bright. The decline of the middl and working classes along with con tinued racial inequalities buries the op timism shared by earlier generation in our history. Today, Americans too often work t achieve only goals of self-interest in stead of those of the community Sim ply, communities across the wintry n longer serve as the cohesive buildin blocks of a positive society. The onl; way our nation can harness the opti imns arc welcome from all members of the Carolina < >lumnists can only be printed twice a semester Pleast to print all letters Letters should be 250-300 words and must inc ters must be personally delivered by the author to the Pussell H srves the right to edit all letter for style, libel or space Names w could compare James Hodges to Johi F. Kennedy, especially in the aspec Df delivering speeches. James Hodges delivered one of th most boring, uneventful speeches I hav IOTE, UNQUOTE t was a very diverse crowd. It wasn't just a black thing. Everyone was out there." Debra Mitchell, English senior Vednesday, January 20y 1999 ] S ce holiday 1,1 saw young and black and white, as in between." a yet how similar, we all are. We make J iokes about Clemson's backward ways, * but the same can be said about our uni3 versity in this situation. Two years ago at Clemson, I felt alone with little hope for the future. Aft ter Monday, I feel confident that we are g e making progress to fulfill King's dream. We should live King's dream every day r of the year, not just the third Monday 8 in January. So the next time you hear a racist joke, don't laugh. The next time 1 you see an act of prejudice, don't ignore e it because ignoring it won't make it go away. And next year, wake all of your 6 friends who slept late on Monday, be0 cause the Martin Luther King Jr. Day ;, of Service is a day on, not a day off. service acts nation can harness 1 is through ity involvement." t mism of old is through increased comi munity involvement, a Certainly, the turnout for the MLK j. Day of Service provided needed ens couragement: nearly 750 students comh mitted themselves to community sert. vice despite the early start and threat v of storms. (f The MLK Day of Service re-ems phasizes what we as a society have to e do to solve our problems. Through his g subjective leadership, King fought I against the accepted injustices of his e day. Now, Americans should also refuse to accept racism as reality and rebel against injustices today by aiding their communities. Finally, I overheard others on Mons day discussing the legacy of King. So, what is the legacy ot Martin Luther 0 King Jr.? Simply, he was a martyr whose patriotic dream allows us to trul* ly be the leader of the free world. In oth0 er words, King was the greatest AmerS ican ever to live. y 1Community They must be between 650 and "50 words in ; deliver all submissions to Russell House room 333, or call Jude full name, phone number, professional tide or year and major if a ouse room 333 E-mail letters must include the author's telephone numill never be withheld t and ha imnlnrpd citizens to do more for t their country during a historical time. James Hodges simply read a bunch e of pointless stories about irrelevant peoe pie, while covering a long list of all s the people he wanted to thank. James 0 Hodges' acceptance speech was in no > way comparable to anything related to p Kennedy because it lacked the enthu1 siasm and excitement that surroundi ed Kennedy and his administration. r M. D. Princi t Political Science Junior { T *