The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 05, 1999, Page Page 3, Image 3
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Friday, February 5, 1999
TtirfR
Serving the Carolina C
EDITORIA
Sara Ladenheim
Rob Gioielli, V
Kevin Langston, Assii
Emily Streyer, Assist,
Jennifer Stanley, Spec\
Olympics
spirit, not
Christmas, the MKTT
Super Bowl, the HBHBLaJi
Winter Olympics ffje Salt j
- everything's
commercialized. r
It's nearly old bCar'
news that the In- vmri'iTr
ternational wKKmmmmm
Olympic Commit- The attenti
tee was open to, ah, ^ mf(x
material persua- Games-rei
sion when it came
to awarding a city ?
with the summer or winter events.
It's clear that the driving force
behind the Olympics is money.
The motives of the men behind
the bids are unilaterally suspect
now; city officials in several recent
host cities are being investigated,
and it's common knowledge
that, while there might be
no evidence of unethical actions
in the case of Atlanta's bid, the
man behind it schmoozed his way
to votes and in some cases lied
outright to the IOC to get the
Games.
But what of the true purpose
of the Games, vou ask? Surely, a
germ of nobility still exists.
Well, sure, it exists somewhere,
but it's not growing. Hardly a
shred of healthy amateur competition
is left; countries regularly
send professional athletes to perStates
futi
to iundinj
Of the 50 env- '
erning bodies that HHHUMh
make up the Unit- South Ci
ed States of America,
there are obvi- jc>J
ously a few that are '
more well-known, fl|
more prosperous
and overall more Successful i
celebrated than five key it
some of the others. South Carol
Go to any for- sta
eign country and ?
ask the people
which states they know about.
They'll say California, New York
and Texas before Idaho, Alabama
or New Hampshire.
There are numerous factors
that bring a state prominence and
prosperity, but one of these is having
a great education system, particularly
higher education. To succeed,
a state needs cutting-edge
institutions that provide its citi
zens wnn tne best possible instruction,
no matter what their
age or field of inquiry.
A strong state university system
goes hand in hand with a
great state, and South Carolina
is no different from any other. One
of the keys to its future is going
itfe UcGai
Swing ibe Carolina Com
The Gamecock is the student newspaper of The I'niversity
Friday during ihe fall and spring .semesters and live times during t
periods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of tile edi
The Hoard of Student Publications and Communicalkxis is the pu
the newspaper s parent organization
The Gamecock
Sara Ladenhcim lidilor in Chief Emily Strcyei
Rob Giolelli . Vii-upiinls lidilor Kevin Langsti
Kenley Young A'cu s lidilor Rachel Helwi
Brad Walters heirs lidilor Clayton Kale
Nathan Brown S/mrts lidilor Brock Vergak
Erin Reed lealitn-s lidilor Charlie Walla
Rob Lindsey l-ealun-s lidilor Katy Evans
Sean Rayford I'hoto liililor Dencsllia Gra
Matt Ryan Online liililor Ashton June
Kristin Freestate Cupy lied- Chief Ann Marie Mi
Todd Money Ofn liililor Jennifer Stan
Rebecca Cronlcan Cope liililor
Student Media
Ellen Parsons Director of Jason Curry
Sluilenl Media Katliy VanNo
Lee Phipps Advertising Manager Sherry Holmi
Susan King Crealiee Din-dor Carolyn Grifl
Susan Barrett Cn-aline Servici-s Erik Collins
Daniel Brown Creatine Seniices Jeff Stenslanc
A
amccod!
Community since 1908
L BUAKL>
i, Editor in Chief
iewpoints Editor
;tant Viewpoints Editor
ant Viewpoints Editor
ial Projects Coordinator
about
t money
form. An internaImHHHH
tional celebration
Lake City ?f athleticism and
s bribery good-natured comjt
petitive spirit has
too often been used,
sometimes violent iiMHBI
ly, as a forum for
ionshould political state:us
on the ments. llpurpose.
And you can rer
r allv SDot the in- a
' ternational spirit |
when the significance of the
Olympics to the townfolk is the
traffic inconvenience caused by
the construction. |
So who cares where the Games \
are, anyway? The IOC clearly
doesn't, and the populations of the
cities don't ? the benefits seem
to be for the business community
and the hotel and restaurant services.
Unless the IOC does some
thorough housecleaning, hosting
the Olympic Games will be
nothing more than a badge advertising
that a city has moneyhungry,
unscrupulous officials
in charge. I
Perhaps the Salt Lake City ?
scandal will jolt us into a return
to what the Games are supposed $
to be: an affirmation that cultural
differences are enriching and
peace is possible.
ire tied !:
e for USC
Ui
to crea^0n P<
ImBHB of some truly great
irolina's institutions of
ror higher hi?her 'earning. ]
lHon. . Rig^ n?w. ufC J
is poised to enter
that prestigious circle
of great Amer- T
universities -can universities.
l making We already have
'ina a great some of the top pro
le grams in the coun
try and a prestigious
honors
college. And USC President John
Palms has raised the bar for the
rest of the* university.
But this requires money, and
the State Higher Education Commission
isn't willing to give us the
support we need.
The commission needs to realize
that the University of South j
Carolina is a reflection of South
Carolina. As a relatively mediocre pr
institution, we help make South vi
Plornlinn lnnk likp n mirlrllo-r?f-fV.a ?
VW1V1"IM ~ "UUUIV U11C- 111
road state. th
If state administrators are tru- th
ly interested in improving South
Carolina, they need to provide re
USC with the funding it needs to wi
succeed.
tn
wrack ?
nmthty since 190H
(>l South Carolina and is published Monday. Wednesday and
he summer with the exception of university holidays and exam
tors or author and not those of The I niversiiy of South Carolina.
Wisher of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media is
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/jewf
The Gam
PRE
/THE IMP
/ EXPERIE
A SLIGP
CoRREC!
Kin rucr
w ^nuvUHi&MONl
^ 1
Cigars up
Dptimistic pundits across the ^
country are trying to tell us
there is some kind of unside to
jk. ui iruiiic uitenuuii just tu nuw ia
i it feels. e>
? At an aca- g\
JpHIk demic insti- w
mf tution, you ^
vious, by de- V
ajj^BX. j^HKj given, but ^
mk quently, its
L-JflBH grasp is ei
EMILY STREYER seen as a m
olumnist profound in
thing. m
The best 0f
ofessors assume a basic level of ob- [n
ous-grasping in their students. The f0
ediocre ones have not learned that n(
ey do not separate the fine minds from i
e dull ones by asking easy questions.
They may find out who has done the
ading, certainly an understandable st
ish, but after a point, they merely sep- ^
ate the suck-ups from those who have
Lie pride in (rather than insecure ar- s*gance
about) their intellectual ca- or
ed
1 ir.f
^uiucii jusimcu wc
i being cautious hu
& th
i the Editor;
After reading the Jan. 25 column co
titled "Southern Hospitality Not
and in South Carolina" by Guerman 1(?a
aev, we found it necessary to respond, r1'
Although he made many different j1?
leralizations, we would like to comnt
on and refute Abaev's ignorance . a
the portrayal of women in the media in^
i his outrageous stereotypes of Amerof]
this whole ^
president
IOB GIOIELLI (not much) Sl
olumnist an(j (Jjgcov- ^
ering that f?
le Republican Party, no matter how
ard it tries, is really just a bunch of
itter white guys. These are just a n
w of the things the optimists are say ig
to fill up air time on MSNBC. fi
Until recently, the only real thing
ve been sure of is that we will be the ^
lbject of ridicule for future generaons.
JNo matter how much Bob Barr and ei
enry Hyde talk about moral and eth- hi
al standards, middle school history ri
achers of the 22nd century will still hi
>e this as an example of how dumb m
iople were before Bill Gates released b*
ir
Pointing 01
rhis is a column. I thought I might p?
state the obvious in the absence as
~r: * * i. 4.; n
joints
iecock
r irv-wrr- r\ iii-rr>Ki?xkOAr>i
Dll/CINI r?KI
reserves goilp be
*ket\ m
in smoke t
Endows for the human brain. Don't
link he's not planning it.
But aside from areas like politics,
istory and citizenship, I've recently
>me to the revelation that President
linton has unknowingly saved Amera
from one of the most evil cultural
ids of the late 20th century: cigars,
nyone who can still puff on a Do- empty
linican after learning what our com- er p0j,
lander in chief has done with them on
just disturbed. Leave it to the leader subur
f the free world to mistake Monica adult'
ewinsky for a humidor. smart
No trend has swept America with yianr|1(
ich controlled, rationalized idiocy since ^
le Clapper. A vice that was reserved ,
r your grandfather in Florida was all e re<
' a sudden legitimized by yuppie smoke sw^
lops, cigar bars and that pretentious (
ig "Cigar Aficionado." | e as
In a culture obsessed with eating ^
ght, staying fit and recycling, suck- wou"f:
ig on the noxious fumes of a rolled-up Out. '
mch of dead loaves suddenly became Schwa
lip." Out Al
This bitterness arises from experi- Be
ices I had as a youngster. While in reattai
igh school, when I was not the noto- We do
ous substance abuser I am now, any trying
;tle bit of rebellion was a big deal. For job froi
ie and a certain group of friends, re- cigar a
illion meant smoking cigars. We'd pile polyes
ito somebody's car, roll up to an Sweet;
ut the obvic
icity. The ones who keep silent when t
sked who the first president was (I
bricate an only mildly exaggerated ? _ _
:ample to prevent identification of the c,v-vlilty)
are not idiots; they are the ones ojfi
ho reserve class participation for
ie times when they can make a true
ntribution. Don't ask Schrodinger to
ke a basic derivative, professors ? ^1
;rhaps your students' lack of enthu: me: a
asm stems from expecting too little of
tern.
Although I have not succeeded in ,,
i . , .. , proble
ltirely removing not-to-mention-ed smjje
entionables from the papers I turn
, I proudly note that I have weaned g
yself from the academic equivalent ujar Q(
chewing ice, the use of "obviously" to geives
troduce a premise I do not see a need reiiev
r explaining. If it's obvious, you don't ty to e
ied to say it. If you do need to say it, their f
isn't obvious. It's
Snmptimps this npnrhant for thp
j. ui mt: a
atement of the obvious is a guy thing. seen b
n my way to class last fall, I found the gift, p
>orknob mechanism on a BA building gence
airwell door jammed, so I pulled once often fi
twice, realized it was broken and opt- out th:
1 for the other set of stairs. movie
EMliuHiriissions lor columns arc
length.
777-7720).
The to prmi
student Handwritten letters must hi
j Ixt. The (ianiefock re-serves the riy
in women, particularly Southern not a n
>men. In Abaev's rage of frustration, encour
irt and anger, he wrote some things Ameri<
at are misleading and potentially proud
maging to the readers of his guest ginninj
lumn. sexual
For one, in stating that many Amer- ati n g t
n women are obsessed with the idea our soci
it all men are potential rapists, which Jusi
believes is "heavily reinforced by the in four \
3. media," Abaev takes a negative or expe
nt on the seriousness of rape by us- sault b>
I the word "obsessed" incorrectly. Eigl
A woman being aware and cautious commit
potentially dangerous situations is quainti
I
QUOTE,
"We'vi
parkir
I really 1
i
' Law
- ^ ^
of Social sec
put into skxk
?}
hanks to
^11, if anyone needet
is, it \yas those of us
were suddenly coo
parking lot and discuss the fin- ar;
its of adolescent life while puff- PI;
a thick stogie. In my white-bread I r
bia, it was a small taunt to the
world that didn't think we were da
enough or responsible enough to bu
3 anything. cjg
is all happened years ago, before bot
:ent cigar craze. Its plague-like j
across the nation has made my
i finger to the adult world look gv(
pirations to yuppie-dom. If I had ^
1 what image smoking cigars ^
attain, I would have sniffed White
[ don't expect to see Arnold F1^
rzenegger on the cover of "Whiteficionado"
any time soon,
it thanks to Clinton, cigars should
n the sleazy image they deserve. an
n't need trendy accountants '
; puffing on some hand-rolled coi
n Central America at the newest cor
nd martini bar. I want guys with cid
ter shirts chewing on Swisher Th
3 in a rot-gut bowling alley. Cig- the
us annoy
metimes, this grasp
n by the grasper as.
. ?
nale student walked up behind to
ving seen my difficulty with such ovi
>le task, and pulled on the door dis
or four times. He turned to me dei
id, having cleverly identified the int
m, "It's stuck." I gave him a big thi
nodded and continued toward de:
ler stairwell. lai
:h things are, unfortunately, reg- gol
:currences. Men will find them
in better relationships when they da
t themselves of the responsibili- GL
xplain the readily apparent to fin
emale companions. tio
a relative thing, certainly. Some- ic i
, this grasp of the obvious is soi
y the grasper as, in fact, a rare er|
eople of above-average intelli(Mensa
members, any of you?) ha
nd it obligatory to helpfully point th(
it the rude brother-in-law in the Or
is a real jerk, or explain a joke wa
welcome from all memlx'rs of the Carolina Community
can only lx* printed twice a semester. Please deliver al
letters. Letters should Ix 250-3M words and must include full nar
_ personally delivered by the author to the Russell I louse room I
hi to edit all Idler for style, lilx'l or space. Names will never be *
egative attribute. In fact, it is an ha1
aging sign of assertiveness in the
can culture. Abaev should be
that American women are be- all
I to stand up for themselves in cav
situations rather than insinu- "n<
hat rape is not a problem in [wo
iety.
t on the college level alone, one
vomen will be sexually assaulted
rience an attempt of sexual as/
the time they graduate,
ity-four percent of all rapes are
ted by someone the victim is acid
with, showing that women
UNQUOTE
e given solutions to the
lg committee ... but I'm
rearful of people coming
blows at this point."
'en Tucker, Journalism
Professor
Page 3
SU Vj f
}
urttv ^ f
Hi ** ?
i ?
" /
Clinton
i a moral com
i who decided cigL"
3
shouldn't say, "Look at me, I read
ayboy"; they should say, "Run away,
ead Hustler."
Some would say the Lewinsky scanI
has weakened America's morality,
II contend the opposite. By helping
;ars resecure their proper place at the
torn of American society, Clinton has
ie us a great service. <
And it's not that I dislike cigars,
jn expensive ones. At times, they can
quite enjoyable. It's just horrible
len such a simple pleasure is comimised
by the mainstream not for its
lerent value, but for the image as:iated
with it.
The Republican House managers
i berating Clinton because he failed
be a moral compass to the rest of the
intry. Well, if anyone needed a moral
npass, it was those of us who had deed
that cigars were suddenly cool,
ank you, Mr. President, for bringing
i misguided in from the cold.
s people
? of the obvious is
, in fact, a rare
their seemingly duller companions,
erlooking the fact that you can't
;sect something without its being
ad, humor being no exception. (With
riguing frequency, these people are
a last to get the joke and deduce,
spite the fact that everyone else is
lghing, that no one else could have
Lten it at all.)
I rather like the physicist's stanrd
of obvious, as described by James
eick: If something can be deduced
m any number of mathematical equans,
it's obvious; if a small leap of logis
required, it's not so obvious; if it's
nething like equating mass and en
jy, it's deep.
This isn't practical, however. Perps,
in an increasingly complex world,
5 obvious becomes more important.
, obviously, the obvious isn't altys
so obvious.
/. They must lx' !>el\\ecn 630 and "So words in
II submissions 10 Russell House room 333. or call
ne. phone number, professional liile or sear and major if a
33. E-mail letters musl include the authors lelephone nunv
ivilhheld
/e the right to be wary of the men
y know and meet.
Now that this is known, maybe we
can appreciate a woman being
itious instead of, as Abaev puts it,
jurotic and two-faced because
men] are taught that way.
Juliette Muellner
Sociology Senior
Jennifer Mackie
Advertising Junior