The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, June 23, 1999, Page Page 3, Image 3
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GCKVBEWS@SC.EDU
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Serving Ibe Carolina
ULUIUKL
Brad Walters,
Kevin Langston.
Emily Streyer.
Kenley Young,
USC give
cold sho
It's customary for
a basketball head
coach's contract to be r ^
rolled over when he
gives the school a Mfe FO&e
winning season. So
it was no real surprise
when USC
Head Basketball mh ,
Coach Eddie Fogler's H m ony
contract wasn't ex- seasons in
tended. After an 8-21 head COOCl
season with no road has tyfOl^en
victories, Fogler's *
tenure at USC might
be in jeopardy.
In more than 10 years of coaching,
Fogler has lead his respective
teams to six NCAA appearances and
four National Invitational Tournament
appearances, while winning the
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1990.
Fogler's only two losing seasons
have come as head coach at USC. Nevertheless,
they're the only two losing
seasons in his 27 years of coaching
experience. Fogler has turned USC's
basketball program around. He gave
USC its first Southeastern Confertjk
tte?
Seti'inc the Carolina i
The Gamecock is ihe siudenl newspaper of The L'niversi
Friday during the fall and spnng semesters and eight times durin)
periods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the e
The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the p
the newspaper's parent organization.
HHHIBHHH22X
The Gai
Brad Walters Editor in Chief
Clayton Kale News Editor
Kevin Langston Viewpoints Editor
Emily Streyer Features Editor
Student
Ellen S. Parsons Director of Student Media
Lee Phipps Advertising Manager
susan King Creative Uirector
Kris Black Creative Services
MSSSEl
Editor gcked@sc.edu 777-3914
News gcknetvs@sc.edu 777-7726
Viewpoints gckvietvs@sc.edu 777-7726
Advertising 777-3888
Classified 777-1184
V;
-amccodf
Community since 1908
\L BOARD
Editor in Chief
T firtt i tn ic Z7/7VMv
, V HZU/JSISUtto UlAMKJ!
, Features Editor
Copy Desk Chief
sFogler
iilder
ence Ibumament victory
in 1994, his inextending
augural season. He
O hoc nrmrnn tn hn on
y iiuo ^iurvyii i/u wt au
TS COfttVflCt. effective recruiter
by getting such talented
players as BJ
McKie, Melvin Wattim
losine son'Ryan Stack'Her"
two losing bert Lee Davig and
13 years of Antonio Grant. It was
ling, Fogler his great recruiting
his ability. 'hatJJf!f?b'ed the
1997 SEC championship
team.
Fogler has given South Carolina
men's high school basketball players
a reason to play college ball in state.
This is a true measure of Focler's
worth as a head coach. Granted, his
contract doesn't expire until the 20022003
season, but the lack of a contract
extension is USC's way of saying
it wants more from Fogler.
It seems the days are gone when
a victory for USC's men's basketball
team was a big deal. Fogler obviously
has spoiled us, and now the university
expects too much from him.
amccock Mill
Community since 1908
ty of South Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday and
; the summer with the exception of university holidays and exam
ditors or author and not those of The Inrversity of South Carolina
ublisher of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media is
mecock
Jeff Romig Sports Editor
Kenley Young Copy Desk Chief
Justine Wells Copy Editor
Asntonjune rhoto tditor
t Media
Sherry F. Holmes Classified Manager
Carolyn Griffin Business Manager
Erik Collins Faculty Aduisor
i
Etc. gckelc@sc.edu 777-3913
Sports gcksports@sc.edu 777-7182
Online gckonli@sc edit 777-2833
Fax ' 777-6482
Business Office 777-3888 i
["EW7D/^M
LJ^ VV ? WJ
The Gamecock
Sir ...60 WHEN P0 YOU
I THINGS WILL GET E
jV TO NORMAL AROUNP
No vote bet
T don't plan on voting in next No
vember's presidential election.!
js_ seems use sucn a long ume away u
?- make such j
1 presidential
columnist candidates
to be able U
cast a vote I can feel confident about
T'lrn onnr? nnnnorVi iinArlimnl-A/1 im+nr
ivc occii uiiuuutaicu vutcj
for the wrong candidates, and I've hearc
enough people complain later on aboui
the candidates they voted into office
Why not just leave the voting to thai
small percentage of the population who
knows enough about the candidates to
make an educated vote?
A good case in point, at least on a
small scale, is last February's student
government election. Granted, it wasn't
exactly the most important election
that's ever been held, and it would have
been impossible for voters to know
enough about the candidates (especially
those running for student senate) to
make an educated vote.
I was one of the few in the The
Gamecock news section who wasn't
covering the election, so it gave me a
chance to view the whole thing from an
outsider's perspective while still being
around to see it happen close-up.
[NTS
ter than lined
USC's version of Election Day came \
t around, and my friends and colleagues {
here tried to persuade me to vote, i
"Make your voice heard," they told me. 1
"Voting is the moral thing to do." I took
one look at the names of the candidates j
for student senate in my college, and
I knew not the first thing about any j
of them. I decided not to vote, even if ]
it meant sacrificing that candy apple I j
would have gotten. ,
That day, I asked people who they x
voted for and why. One friend of ^
mine, a liberal arts major, said he j
voted for the women or minorities in t
the list of candidates. Someone else said
she circled the last 10 names on the al
) phabetical list, her reasoning being that
the last in the alphabet always got ,
5 screwed over. Two of my friends in j
I the journalism school said they circled
t two names at random.
Stop.me-if I'm wrong, but isn't that ^
t taking "morality" just a little too far?
i If making my voice heard was going to
i mean voting for someone I'd never heard _
of, then Fd just be happy to stick to the
old adage. "It's better to remain silent *
and appear to be a fool than to open it
and remove all doubt."
Clearly, I'm no model citizen. If I
were, I guess Fd know everything about v
every candidate and make a vote based 11
on what I believe. But at least my vote ^
didn't lead to a candidate reaching of- *
fice whose ideals I didn't believe in or, P
worse, one>who had no ideals. f
T?_i' . jl . . r C
xxjueve n or nor, tne exact son oi
thing happens out there in the real n
world. Pepple circle names on ballots t
; yvhen they have no clue who they're v
voting for. They circle names only be- y
Cause they recognize them, which is t:
QUOTE, UNQUOTE
"Iowa is the introduction. New
Hampshire is the preliminary.
South Carolina is the main
event."
Henry McMaster, S C. GOP Chairman
Page 3
Lucated one
why so many candidates seek only to
*et their names out ? so people will
ecognize them among the list of untnowns.
On a grand scale, we have the presdential
race 2000.
I've got an internship with a politcal
reporter in Columbia, and already
['ve had a chance to do research on a
pw nf tViP mnrliHn+Pc TVip rpriorfor
vith decades of experience, has told me
nany politicians consistently at?mpt
to manipulate the media, makng
cookie-cutter statements that are
neant to get them good press and shed
i positive light on them for all people
jo see.
Does tearing this make me cynical
md even less likely to vote? Of course.
' can only plead that those of you who
ire hell-bent on voting just because "it's
;he right thing to do" at least have
lie presence of mind to see behind the
learning faces and warm smiles and
ook at both sides of a candidate,
lake time to really take a look at what
hey believe in. Don't cast a meaning2ss
vote.
Ideally, everyone would take the
ime to do the research and cast a smart
ote, particularly in an election as
l i. iL.i r i i r i i
lupuruuu as max. ior presiaent 01 me
Jnited States, but even in smaller elecions.
Inevitably, though, it won't hapien
that way. So, if you're too apathetic*
a delve deeply into the candidates'platsrms,
then, instead of circling random
Lames on the ballot, leave the voting
o those people who know exactly
/ho they're voting for and why. And if
ou're one of those people, congratulaions.
Vote your heart out.