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E-MAIL! ^ We like e-mail. ^ E-mail makes us happy. ' ' Send us e-mail. GCKVIEWS@SC.EDU. E-mail is good for the soul. Page 4 Uie (Samecodi Sen'ing the Carolina Community since 1908 EDITQRIAL BOARD Sara Ladenheim, Editor in Chief Rob Gioielli, Viewpoints Editor Kevin Langston, Assistant Viewpoints Editor Emily Streyer, Assistant Viewpoints Editor Jennifer Stanley, Special Projects Coordinator Computer science's problems too many At a time when has known about computers are be- these problems for coming central to The problems facing a while, it is just our existence, the dpOartmpnt nf now taking steps to US C's own com- computer sciences. A thene Mergputer science de- r ing with the Colpartment is head- I 0f Engineering ed toward an ? , ,, looks like the aduncertain future. Jhe university should ministration's idea The depart- handle theseproblems of an easy fix. ment faces two ma- with more concern for Not only are facjor changes. The students and staff. ulty and students first is a possible J opposed to the merger with the move, but most stuCollege of Engineering. Opinions dents weren't even informed ahout differ on the move; the depart- it until a few weeks ago. It seems ment would gain better access to as if the administration isn't dotechnological and monetary re- ing a good job of communicating sources but would lose much of its with its students, either, autonomy. This kind of conduct is reStudents and faculty within proachable in any institution, but the department are afraid a merg- especially for the Association of er would change the program's fo- American Universities institution cus from computer theory to ap- USC aspires to be. Faculty and plications. But certain students are the most important administrators and external busi- part of this school. Their desires ness interests are still pushing for and goals are what should prompt the change. a change as drastic as switching The second change is the pos- colleges ? not the ideas of a dissible loss of accreditation. This tant administration, would be bad for the university The current problems have al but worse for students ? even ready demoralized the departthose who received their degrees ment. Some faculty members have while the university was accred- left, and others are looking to ited would find diminished value move. Unless the administration in it on the job market. starts to listen to the department Neither of these changes could and genuinely work with profesthreaten the department at a sors and students to solve the probworse time. Society has never dis- lems, things are only going to get played greater need for strong worse. computer science departments to It's 1999, and every school (estrain future leaders. pecially those seeking AAU staFurthermore, the main reason tus) ought to have a good cornthreatening accreditation is a lack puter science department. It's of administrative support. And regrettable that ours is in such a even though the administration state. Students' reactions to team's loss rash Instead of cele- j ments by destroybrating their finish ing the campus, in the Final Four, The riots on the This is a blatant students at Michi- campus of Michigan illustration of how gan State Univer- State serious we take sity decided to riot ' sports. This riot after their loss to might have come Duke last week. ^ A , , , unexpectedly, but Several thou- The students should it was no surprise. sand students raid- have focused on \ye always overreed the campus, set- their team s loss. but on act when it comes ting fire to cars and their achievements. to sports. destroying local The tearing businesses. The ri- down of goalposts ot made state and national news and the raiding of fields and courts as yet another misguided reaction are commonplace now. It is a dis to an achievement that should play of how dedicated the students have been commemorated, not de- are to their team's cause: "We will rided. support you and destroy your field It makes no sense for a school when you win and destroy our that saw its basketball team reach campus when you lose." It just the pinnacle of college basketball doesn't make sense, to honor its team's accomplishi$ij& Uc Gamecock ? * ~ ^9 Serving the Carolina Community since !90tt The Gamecock Is the studenl newspaper of The University of South Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the fall and spring semesters and five times during the summer with the exception of university holidays and exam periods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the editors ex author and not those of The University of South Carolina. The Board.of Student Publications and Communications is the publisher of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media Ls the newspaper s parent organization. The Gamecock All arca ax|cs arc Kill Sara Ladenheim Editor in Chief Emily Streyer Asst. Viewpoints Rob Gioielli Vleupoints Editor Kevin Lartgston Editors ' 'lor >ci\-d@scedu Kenley Young News Editor Rachel Helwig Asst. Nttes Editors k ^ '' Brad Walters News Editor Clayton Kale Viewpoints 7- 2b Brock Vergakls Sports Editor Michael Strickland Asst Sports Editors Charlie Wallace S^ds Editor Jared Kelowit2 V'WS .,chleus@sc edu Erin Reed Eeatnres Editor Ka Evans dor. Ivulim-s Editors M ? ' Rob Undsey Eeatnres Editor . . 1.1c. 777-.191J Sean Rayford EN,to Editor Deneshla Graham gclx-lc@sc.edu Matt Ryan Online Editor Ashton June Asst iPoto Idilors I Sp<ms 777-7182 Kristin Freestate Copy Ik-si- Chief Ann Marie Mlanl gcks/x>r1s9sc.edit Todd Money Oft Editor Jennifer Stanley S/ksmII'm/eels 0n|jn(. 777-281.1 DoKorri f rnnlran fiJn< l-Jih.r C,*>nlniular Student Media Ellen Parsons Din-dor of Jason Curry (.'real in- Sen-ices /advertising 777- WIS station Media Kathy VanNostrandCreu/inr Serenes Lee Phlpps Advertising Manager Sherry Holmes Classified Manager Classified 777- ] 1H1 Susan King Creatine Din-dor Carolyn Griffin Hnsiness Manager Susan Barrett Cn-atin-Services Erik Collins i'acullv Advisor ' :lx MK2 Daniel Brown Cn-uttee Services JelT Stensland Graduate Assistant 777 VWK """""""" a View] me uan (dH -ifcuR1 Um~J o ?- ? = Four easy: With the recent resurgence of 11 ever-cheesy "boy bands" to the v musical forefront, most tra- F d^tional mm *j abundance 11 PETE JOHNSON of boy bands ^ ?2bHHEL is sickening and lame, r there is a brilliant element of exploita- n tion to be gained at the expense of every " 12-year-old girl in our fine country. J? First came the Backstreet Boys, then hFSYNC, and now there is a whole new crop of clean-cut, wholesome twenty- ^ somethings from somewhere in middle ^ America. None of these groups have Sl any talent, besides being capable of ? cincnncr a fmxr Viqt*c fn fiino nf an olop. ^ AA 1V.T WU1U W UAAV KttiiV, V/A CAA A V.IVV, tronic beat. tJ The music industry has hit the low e point in the roller coaster ride, and there n U.S. strikes This past weekend, the United ^ States sent what some consider a our greatest pastime to Cuba, P?when the v ALI FREEMAN low the av- hi columnist erageAmer- j ican to pass F time there and send not only baseball hi but also American goods. It has been 1} 38 years since the United States has n traded with Cuba, but this method of attack has been a strikeout for U.S. pol- ^ icy. Is The trade embargo against Cuba n: began because Cuba was seen as a threat to American national security si and has continued in protest against tl Castro communism. But Cuba is no ti longer a threat, and the embargo works it against its own efforts to tear down Cas- in tro. The free trade of baseball should r> teach us. It's time to open up to Cuba. C? President Kennedy started the trade it embargo with Cuba as part of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Cuba b; was on the "naughty list" because it was 1! exporting Marxist-Leninist revolutions ti Blockade violates iii economic rights th ic To the Editor: D< I would like to comment on the th March 29 editorial concerning baseball th in Cuba. Ci . I spent spring break in Cuba, and I suggest a few addition? for amelio- th 3oint necock [5iS r-. steps toy* s nowhere to go but up. The last time ye saw music this bad was with the lopularity of New Kids on the Block md Vanilla Ice at the beginning of the .ecade. Now that boy bands have resurfaced tnd talentless white rappers (i.e. Emtiem) seem to be on the rise, there must le something around the bend to save ock *n' roll. 1991 saw grunge take over is Nirvana, Pearl Jam and a host of ther bands showed there were other easons to play music besides the fame md monev. Unfortunately, the alter lative to the mainstream soon became he mainstream itself. Fans who run away from the horid teeny-bopper scene in search of the ew "alternative" are finding salvation i the pitiful excuses for rock 'n' roll ands: Korn, Limp Bizkit, Orgy and ad Rock. This proves the theory that if you arn the volume up, mindless, crazed sens will flock to buy your records and ee your shows. This leaves a small, ray area for true music-lovers. With owhere to turn, they're forced to eiler look to the past or delve into othr genres. Sure, selling out is less than adlirable, but it is profitable. The ex-New out with ti ) Third-World countries like Angola nd Nicaragua. In 1970, authoritarian regimes preailed in 17 of the 26 countries in Latin inerica and the Caribbean. But Cuba ; the only dictatorial regime left. Some f the countries have a way to go, but ley are making the transition toward emocracy. Not as a result of trade sancons, though. lhe real impetus tor the sanctions gainst Cuba was that, at the Cold War's eight, it made itself into what was seen s a real threat. Castro offered the oviet Union port access rights and a ase for Soviet intelligence operations 1 Cuba, a mere 90 miles away from the lorida coast. Thus, Castro became the USSR's main Western Hemisphere alt and America's Western Hemisphere emesis. But last time I checked, the Cold Jar was over. The Soviet Union colipsed, and we all learned that commnism does not work. The Soviet Union even ceased lbsidizing Cuba in the early '90s. Sure, lere is always the possibility that Cas o will try to take over the world, but 's about as likely as Yogi Berra leadig the Twins to a World Series victoi. The security threat and the justifiitions for the embargo that went with have ceased to exist. Yet the trade sanctions against Cu a have not. In fact, they're worse. The 392 Cuban Democracy Act tightened le embargo, and the 1996 Helms-BurI Letters to the editor or guest columns arc columns should be an opinion piece of ; major, if a student. Handwritten submissir telephone number for confirmation. The ( Photos are required for guest columnist am tting Cuba-U.S. relations. First, the egal, unilateral blockade of Cuba by ie United States must end. Economrights are included in the Universal aclaration of Human Rights, which e U.S. signed. The blockade violates e economic rights of both U.S. and iban citizens. In addition, if the U.S. press reports e imprisonment of political dissidents QU01 "T aspe Ca W< i our own b "Now, I just need to three about that girl \ out with me in high s Kids on the Block who have too much pride to embarrass themselves a second time are living life comfortably in anonymity. I'd sacrifice respectability and being able to show myself in public for the next five years for millions of dollars and 15 minutes of fame. Sure, I'd get laughed at every time I went to the supermarket, but that's 1 all part of the deal. After a few years, people would eventually forget about my checkered past, and I might actu- 1 ally enjoy a normal life again. ] It's a simple formula, really. Take five wholesome all-American kids, one i "bad boy," an overabundance of sweater 1 vests and a great publicist, and you've s got yourself a million bucks and twice i as many screaming teeny-bopper fans. Now, all that's left to do is find a few ! friends who can sing, think of a i catchy and annoying name, and write i some songs. i adc embarg "The free trade of bas us. It's time to open u ton Act discourages investment in ] Cuba via sanctions on foreign compa- ' nies profiting from property confiscat- j ed by the Castro regime. I Sans Cold War, what's the fuss? j Well, Castro's not the nicest guy in the j world, and he is still trying to head up a communist dictatorship. The problem ^ is in thinking that a trade embargo is going to allow democracy's home run ( into Cuba. Economic sanctions have failed to 1 bring democracy anywhere in the hemisphere, not even to Cuba's poorest and '< most vulnerable neighbor, Haiti. But 1 they do have a history of harming those < they seek to help. The average Cuban ( suffers, but Castro is the last person to i feel the pain of the U.S. embargo. ( In fact, some would say the embar- ] go is an aid to Castro, allowing him to ^ score points on walks. Castro uses the embargo as an excuse for his failed poli- ] cies, pitting them against the external enemy. Cuban officials reckon the cost of the embargo at more than $40 ' billion and blame the United States for the scant situations of Cuban citi- * zens. ' We should have learned that democ- < racy cannot be directly and forcibly ex- i ported from Washington to Havana. ] u/<'lrnm/> from -ill mpmlvrc nf fhr? C-irnlirvi rnmnni about 600-700 words. Both must include name, pi >ns must be personally delivered to Kussell House jamecock reserves the right to edit for libel, style J can be provided by the submitter.Call 777-7726 fo in Cuba, it should also explain the oth- i er trial that was going on at the same s time in Cuba. This was a trial of a sol- t dier from El Salvador who was paid by i the Cuban American National Foun- r dation to detonate bombs in Cuban hotels. The CANF is a US based organization, and terrorist activities such as these bombings do not foster improved fE, UNQUOTE 'here's so many negative cts that are portrayed concerning fraternities." rl Johnson, coordinator of Greek Life sdnesday, March 31, 1999 | | & 0 1 s co y/y fl oyband ivrite' a song or vho wouldn't go ichooL" My associates and I at The Gamecock have decided on The Hi-Notes as an acceptable name for our group. Now, I just need to "write" a song or three about that girl who wouldn't go out with me in high school. It's key that I stress the fact that she did me wrong and how it wasn't right to (pardon the reference, but) play games with my heart. The bulk of the songs, however, need to focus on that special girl from around the way Tm currently sweating. It's important I explain just how I'd like to get freaky with her. Now, just a quick stop at Abercrombie and Fitch on the way to a performance at the local junior high school, and we are a bona fide pop sensation. So, you see, it's as simple as that. Soon enough, you'll have a poster of me and my band on your wall. I'll be the ane on the left wearing the sweater vest and the big, goofy smile. ;o to Cuba eball should teach tp to Cuba." But a lack of trade barriers might help, rrading goods can be the trading of ideas. At the beginning of the baseball game, Castro stood for the U.S. national anthem. That is probably a better reaction from him than those we've gained in years of sanctions. Demol ishing an all-encompassing state requires strengthening groups not dependent on the government, and trade is a great way to do that. It's a lot more likely to happen in an environment of increased interaction with the outside world than in one if increased isolation and control. By ipening trade, civil society develops the mechanisms to go with it, including increased communications. Once Cubans lave the opportunity to interact with fie political ideals we hold so dear, they can have the chance to play in the major leagues. Castro's communism doesn't work; ae's not been hitting any home runs. We've set up a system that allows him ;o avoid playing the game. If the United States wants to see positive change in Cuba, they should start throwing the pitches. End the embargo and alay ball. nity. Letters should be 250-300 words. Guest lione number, professional title or year and room 333- E-mail submissions must include and space. Names will never be withheld, r more information. elations with Cuba. Finally, Cuba is a sovereign nation, and not all states and heir leaders wish to conform to U.S. deals, and America must accept that eality. Christy Lentz GINT Graduate Student t