The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 31, 1999, Page Page 4, Image 4
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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
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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