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Quote, Unquote ‘Comparing the [ranking systems of AAU and U.S. News & World Report] is like comparing apples and oranges.’ Jason Snyder, USC Vice President of Public Relations fflie 0amccock Serving the Carolina Community since 1Q08 Editorial Board Sara Ladenheim • Editor in Chief Kenley Young • Managing Editor Emily Streyer • Viewpoints Editor Bradley Walters • Editorial Contributor Ranking not much more than numbers Cn Monday, U.S. News & World Report released its latest College Guide, ranking the top public schools in the coun try. And, once again, USC has found itself rising in some categories and falling in others. These rankings are certainly useful for the prospective student who wants to simplify the complex process of evaluating a col lege’s quality. However, to the serious student, these rankings shouldn’t be the sole means of judging which school to attend. U.S. News & World Report’s rankings are based on various sta tistical data about a school and its programs and reputation. The magazine changes its rating system every year by introducing new variables, redefining existing ones or assigning them new weights. Without a consistent means of year-by-year comparison, how can a school really say it has improved from the previous year? x uniortunateiy, tne rankings nave noi oniy maue u uecepuveiy easy for students to pick and choose schools, but they have also put administrators on the defensive at times. Universities, and indi vidual schools and departments, cringe when they aren’t highly ranked and tout it when they are. Even if schools in general don’t like the ranking system, they still want to do well in comparison with their peers. And there’s nothing wrong with a little competi tion, as long as it doesn’t lead to the manipulation of data to in crease or maintain a position in the survey. A more reliable way to rank schools would be to track not only the quantifiable qualities of the school, but also to come up with a reliable, consistent measurement of how schools actually foster students’ development and how successful students are after grad uation. When all is said and done, that’s what students should real ly be getting out of an education. S.C. boycott likely to have little effect Chis summer, the South Carolina chapter of the National As sociation for the Advancement of Colored People an nounced that it intends to boycott the state until South Car olina lawmakers decide to remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse dome. The NAACP’s ultimate goal is a lofty and progressive one. But, besides a rather vague and overarching strategy to get people to avoid visiting South Carolina and contributing to its $14.5 billion a-year tourism industry, the NAACP needs to have a more detailed plan of attack. Unfortunately, according to USC’s NAACP president, Douglas Wilson, this university’s chapter has no plan of attack. Douglas*said that, while he and his fellow members support the NAACP’s deci sion, USC chapter members “haven’t discussed any plans” regard inrr tho intonrloH hnurntt It’s difficult enough to determine exactly how to boycott an en tire state, and this state’s money base isn’t necessarily its Achilles’ heel. After all, several NAACP members undoubtedly call South Carolina their home, and so they can’t help but spend money here. The NAACP should either reconstruct or reconsider its strate gy. Otherwise, its boycott likely will have little effect on state law makers, and the Confederate flag will stay where it has been for nearly 30 years. . About Us The Gamecock is the student newspaper of The University of South Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the fall and spring semesters and nine times during the summer with the exception of university holidays and exam periods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the editors or 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 is the newspaper's parent organization. The Gamecock is supported in part by student activities fees. Address The Gamecock 1400 Greene Street Columbia, SC 29208 Offices on third floor of the Russell House. 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The Gamecock Sara Ladenheim Editor in Chief Kenley Young Managing Edita Emily Streyer Viewpoints Edita Kevin Langston Brock Vergakis News Editors Clayton Kale Associate News Editor Kristin Freestate Copy Desk Chief Rachel Helwig Etc. Editor Todd Money Sports Editors Sean Rayford Photo Editor Rob Lindsey Encae Edita John Hueitt Stuoent Media Ellen Parsons Directa of Student Media Lee Phipps Advertising Manager Susan King Creative Services Directa ' Betsy Martin Julie Burnett Chris Black City Desk Chief Will Gillaspy Online Editor Corey Ford Asst. Viewpoints Editor AnnMarie Miani Asst. Etc. Editor Jared Kelowitz Asst. Sports Editor Casey Williams Asst.On-Line Edita Greg Farley Assf. Photo Edita Brad Walters Graphics Copy Edita, Editaial Contributa .MacKenzie Craven Charlie Wallace David Clonninger Phillip Burt Senior Writers Kathy VanNostrand Creative Sen/ices Sherry Holmes Classified Manager Carolyn Griffin Business Manager Erik Collins Faculty Advisor Jonathan Dunagin GraduaAssistant College Press Exchange National Issues Ventura a politician after all You heard it --- here first: Ma* ^ Jesse Ven- '^regular tura is a hypocrite! columnist. He Well, OK, so can be reached that isn’t the first via The time you’ve ever Gamecock at 3| heard that, hi fact, gckviews@sc.edu you probably Hr? heard it all through his political race, beginning the first day he announced his bid to be the next gov ernor of Minnesota I heard it, too, but I never really be lieved it. I always thought it was a mud-slinging ploy devised by his rivals, necessitated by the mixture of fear and jealousy they felt for his nontraditional political background and charismatic motivation of people to work outside the existing political system. On Sunday night, however, he erased all doubt in my mind by taking part as a guest referee in the World Wrestling Fed eration’s pay-per-view event. During his run for governor, one of Jesse (The Mind or The Body or The Hyp ocrite, whichever you prefer) Ventura’s main platforms was morality. He denounced career politicians, finding fault with near ly every person in politics - especially Pres ident Clinton. Ventura lambasted Clinton’s involve ment in “Travelgate,” “Whitewatergate,” the Monica Lewinsky affair and the con troversy surrounding the trading of nights in the White House for campaign funds. He ridiculed those who thought of him as merely a former pro wrestler, citing his background in the military, which includes a stint with the Special Forces Division of the U.S. Army. He painted himself as a secure family man. As a radio talk show host, he made his name known in po litical circles. And then, about a month ;go, the World Wrestling Federation announced that he would be making his return to the ring. Critics abounded from every comer. An environmental group filed a civil lawsuit claiming that Ventura was in vio lation of Minnesota’s conflict-of-interest laws. Another group claimed that Ventura was illegally using his official position of public service in an attempt to profit per sonally. Fellow politicians claimed that Ven tura was degrading the integrity of his of fice. But all of these criticisms ignored the contradiction of Ventura’s words and his actions. Ventura’s claims of morality and fam ily values seem to ring hollow when, less than two years into his reign as governor, he partook in an event with an organiza tion like the WWF. The WWF, which claims not to mar ket toward children but maintains a strong following among adolescents nonetheless, has been much criticized of late for its use of obscene gestures and language, segments containing devil worship, human sacrifice and cannibalism, and a champion who chugs beer while performing. Simply by appearing at this event, Ven tura is giving a tacit approval of the pro gram’s contents, whether or not he actu ally approves of these behaviors. In fact, in the match that ended just minutes before his performance, a wrestler known as Mr. Ass was featured, with the loser of the match having to kiss the oth er one’s... well, you can probably guess where this is going. Ventura’s justification, “No one ever said governors weren’t allowed to have fun,” also rubs me the wrong way. As the holder of the highest office in the state of Minnesota, Ventura is giving the message that fun is more important than his own integrity. The governor, who seemed all too ea ger in countless interviews and during his campaign run to put his wrestling past behind him, stands to pocket an estimated $2 million from licensing fees and royal ties, in addition to the $100,000 he was paid for his appearance. Although he has agreed to donate the appearance fee to char ity, nothing has been said about what will be done with this other money. But again, money is not really the is sue, nor is the supposed conflict of inter est in the governor’s appearance at the event. The issue is Ventura’s obsession with attempting to distance himself from politi cians. He wanted voters to view him as someone who was honest and true to his word, and he used this image to bastardize the concept of a typical politician. Repeatedly during his campaign, he made promises that he would not be some one who said one thing to get elected on ly to do something else once he was. Unfortunately, this is exactly what he has done, and his credibility will sure ly suffer. Washington Post HERBLOCK’S CARTOON "EXPIAIH TO Y0UR MS-6UHS ARE6000— ITS JUST THAT SO MANY THOOSWS OF PEOPLE MISUSE THEM EVERY YEAR" A. ir\ Questions & Answers If the “vulture lots” are going to be replaced with green space within two years, why did USC repave them? It’s true that, according the Master Plan, most parking will be moved to the periph ery of campus, and that the metered park ing lots on either side of the Thomas Cooper reflecting pool will be replaced with green space. However, as returning students remember, those lots were bumpy and full of potholes. They were dangerous for those who had to navigate in wheelchairs or on crutches. Two more years of difficult terrain in the middle of campus is too long, so the lots were repaved so that everyone can use them while they're still here. Do you have questions about anything on campus? E mail us here at CCKVIEWS@sc.edu or bring a letter up to Russell House 333, and we ’ll answer your ques tions. -1 Send a Letter to the Editor. Bring it to Russell House 333, or e-mail us at gckviews@sc.edu 4---* National Issues Time to end media scrutiny President John F. Kennedy ran the nation -like all of his pre decessors - without the hassle of sharp, often ridiculous pry ing by the media and politicians into the private lives of gov- ; _ , emment leaders that * is now common. At is a wee ^ no time did the Con- columnist. He gress of the United can be reached States rally to im- via The peach Kennedy for Gamecock at his adulterous af- gckviews@sc.edu fair with Marilyn Monroe or other I women. A distinc tion, however fuzzy at times, existed be tween the public and private dealings of our presidents. Now, ot course, this respectiui ges ture has been shattered not necessarily by the media, but by the politicians and fan didates themselves. During the Monica Lewinsky scandal last year, ordinary citi zens would not have repeatedly seen round table discussions about perjury and a stained dress on every news network if the blood thirsty Republicans had not continually pushed the issue. Instead, they pursued this course and lost seats in the House in the 1998 election. One would think that political spinsters and party officials alike in Washington would learn from the scandal; however, they ap parently have not heeded the history lesson of the Republican debacle. President Clin ton, the one person in the world who should be the poster boy for ending the politics of personal destruction, has unleashed an attack on his anticipated successor, Gov. George W. Bush. Better known as the son of a former one-term president, George W. Bush main tains a huge lead over all of his rivals for the presidential nomination of his party. The Republican governor, nonetheless, has come under intense scrutiny for personal mis conduct from none other than Bill Clinton. The president has implored Bush to come clean on the question of his supposed co caine use in his youth. Implementing a new campaign strate gy, Gov. Bush has adopted a nice Clinton ian tactic, categorically denying that he snorted cocaine and claiming that he could pass the FBI drug test. The media will not let this story dissipate because of the sim ple fact that Clinton is the central figure in the blasting of Bush. sadly, tms is wnat American politics has diminished to. Ever since the assassina tion of Robert Kennedy and Nixon’s be trayal of the public trust, the people have stopped viewing politics as honorable and noble. Political candidates, especially pres idential wannabes, peep into the lives of their opponents, thus lowering the cam paigns to gossip matches instead of debates on the issues. Whatever Geoige Bush did as a young adult should be irrelevant to his candidacy today. Bush apparently has learned from his youthful indiscretions, and he does not deserve to be punished for something done during an immature period of his life. A majority of the American people agree, according to opinion polls, that the private lives of our leaders should be just that: private. Certainly, we must hold our leaders to a higher standard of morality, but politicians should not use this principle to destroy an opponent simply because he slipped up, however irresponsibly, along the way. The Democrats should leave Bush’s pri vate life alone; they will wage a more suc cessful campaign if they just assault him on the issues, t ne track record or inis gover nor of Texas, who fills a ceremonial posi tion at best, contains hardly any impressive marks. Besides sharing a similar crowd working style and the categorical denials, Bush and Clinton both pursue policy based on polls instead of leading with their con sciences. There is such a thing as Clinton fatigue, and the voters more than likely de sire a president unlike him. (Go, Bradley, go.) If the candidates stick to the issues, however romantic this hope might be, the voters might possibly regain an interest in participating in elections, thus improving not only the lives of the people, but also the life of the political process.