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Quote, Unquote ‘I just can’t understand why we don’t perform on Saturdays like we do in practice.’ Lou Holtz, USC football coach Wednesday, September 22,1999 Whe (Samcock Serving the Carolina Community since 1Q08 Editorial Board Sara Ladenheim • Editor in Chief Kenley Young • Managing Editor Emily Streyer • Viewpoints Editor Corey Ford • Assistant Viewpoints Editor Brad Walters • Editorial Contributor Kiki McCormick • Editorial Contributor Football miracles not expected overnight What fair-weather fans some Gamecocks are. True, it’s frus trating that our football team’s losing streak is nearly a record, especially when our hopes were high for coach Lou Holtz’s wizardry, but miracles don’t occur overnight - or over one summer, where football teams are concerned. We seem to have lost sight of this in our excitement over hiring a coach with a national reputation. A football coach is only one element of a winning football team. We hired Holtz for a reason - his record and coaching ability - but he needs time to orchestrate the other elements needed for a winning season. Although many Gamecocks expected the season to begin with a satisfying win as if to prove that hiring Holtz was the right decision, realistically, we should recognize that rebuild ing a football team takes time - and support from its fans. Psychology is another part of a winning team, and we make a bad situation worse when we send our athletes the message that we care nothing for their hard work and dedication if they aren’t putting enough points on the scoreboard. Finally, luck is another element of a winning record, and we simply don’t have it right now. But bad luck will turn to good in time. And in the meantime, it’s petty and unbecoming of Game cocks to criticize the coach and players for not having luck on their side - especially when most fans couldn’t do the work our football players do. Our football team deserves our support through good times and bad. Gamecocks, stay in the stands until the game is over and cheer until the clock runs out. With unwavering support from us, the team’s luck will change sooner rather than later. Hospitality speaks well of football team East Carolina football players couldn’t get home to celebrate the 21-3 shellacking they administered to the Gamecock football team Saturday. Hurricane Floyd caused enough flooding in North Carolina to keep the East Carolina campus closed until Monday. Instead, the Pirates spent the weekend here in Columbia and were treated to a healthy dose of Southern hospitality from the very team they defeated four days ago. The Gamecocks opened up their indoor facility and their weight rooms for the beleaguered Pi rates squad so that the team could practice for its game Saturday against Miami. That game will now take place at Carter-Finley Sta dium in Raleigh, N.C., home to the North Carolina State Wolfpack r_^1 n . luuiuan itaiu. The magnanimous Gamecocks haven’t stopped there. Accord ing to the Associated Press, “South Carolina has washed East Car olina uniforms, opened the visitors locker room and provided video equipment so the Pirates can plan for Miami.” The Gamecock commends the members of USC’s football team, who could just as easily have turned a blind eye to their op ponents’ misfortunes. An admirable display of Southern hospitality is always a welcome sight, particularly when it is the vanquished who come to the aid of their conquerors. It speaks highly of both our team and our state. 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. Student Media Area code 803 Advertising 777-3888 Classified 777-1184 Fax 777-6482 Office 777-3888 Gamecock Area code 803 Editor gckedOsc.edu 777-3914 News gcknewsOsc.edu 777-7726 Viewpoints gckviewsOsc.edu 777-7181 Etc. gcketcOsc.edu 777-3913 Sports gcksportsOsc.edu 777-7182 Online www.gamecock.sc.edu 777-2833 Submission Poucy Letters to the editor or guest columns are welcome from all members of the Carolina community. Letters should be 250-300 words. Guest columns should be ar opinion piece of about 600-700 words. Both must include name, phone number, profes ; sional title or year and major, if a student. Handwritten • submissions must be personally delivered to Russell House room 333. E-mail submissions must include telephone number for confirmation. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit for libel, style and space. Anonymous letters will not be pub lished. Photos are required for guest columnist and car be provided by the submitter. Call 777-7726 for more information. '_ _ __ The Gamecock Sara Ladenheim Editor in Chief Kenley Young Managing Editor Emily Streyer Viewpoints Editor Kevin Langston Brock Vergakis News Editors Clayton Kale Associate News Editor Rachel Helwig EtCetera Editor Todd Money Jared Kelowitz Sports Editor Kristin Freestate Copy Desk Chief Sean Rayford Photo Editor Rob Lindsey Encore Editor Student Media Ellen Parsons Director of Student Media Susan King Creative Director Kris Black Julia Burnett Betsy Martin Kathy Van Nostrand Creative Services Will Gillaspy Online Editor Corey Ford Asst. Viewpoints Editor John Huiett Asst. News Editor Ann Marie Miani Asst. EtCetera Editor David Cloninger Asst. Sports Editor Greg Farley Asst. Photo Editor Casey Williams Asst. Online Editor Brad Walters Graphics Editor, Copy Editor, Editorial Contributor MacKenzie Craven Charlie Wallace Philip Burt Senior Writers Lee Phipps Advertising Manager Sherry Holmes Classified Manager Carolyn Griffin Business Manager Erik Collins Faculty Adviser Jonathan Dunagin Graduate Assistant Washington Post t nl CAN'T HOLD IT UP ANYMORE - IT'S GETTING TOO HOT" State Issues Are Hugo's lessons learned? A decade might seem like a large amount of time, but to any coastal South Carolinian resi dent, September 22,1989, seems like yesterday. This date re mains a vivid, horrifying memory of how the powers of nature can un leash their aw- ; ful wrath upon human civilization. Hurricane Hugo paid a visit to the Palmetto State 10 years ago today. Now, ever since the beginning of time, beaches have held a remarkable appeal for humans. With its gorgeous landscape or tempting climate, the coast always draws us near. But with our obsession with beach es comes an annual phenomenon that al ways threatens to destroy our paradise. Building oceanfront property does come with a price. Especially this past decade, an abnormal number of tropical storms have threatened beaches all the way from Texas to the Carolinas. Hugo de stroyed most of the coastal property be tween Charleston and Georgetown, while hurricanes Fran, Floyd and Bonnie devas tated coastal regions of North Carolina. Despite the appeals of the beach, own ing property on the coast is treacherous because owners have to deal with the threats of these storms. Especially after Hugo and the other hurricanes, why would anyone want to build on the beach if the storms continue to hit? Many of the property owners have ig nored the lessons Hugo taught South Car olina 10 years ago. That hurricane, the third-costliest natural disaster in the his tory of the nation, caused nearly $7 billion in damage. Insurance claims came to $5.5 billion while an additional $2 billion went uncovered. The only two disasters to top Hugo were Hurricane Andrew (1992, $15.5 billion) and the Northrrdge earthquake (1994, $15.3 billion) in California. Insurance companies, however, can not measure the most harmful damage left behind from Hugo. The actual legacy Hugo left behind is not measured in dollars, but in how the storm destroyed the hopes and dreams of its victims. Some families lost homes and property; others lost loved ones to the hurricane’s huge flood or fero cious winds. One aspect of Hugo’s destruction - the one most overlooked - was the damage done to the Lowcountry’s natural envi ronment. Possibly a century will pass be fore the Francis Marion National Forest, nearly obliterated by 135 mph winds, will be restored to its former capacity and beau ty - that is, barring another hurricane land fall. Hugo inspired an array of new build ing standards and codes on two of Charleston’s barrier islands, Sullivan’s Is land and the Isle of Palms. The codes sup posedly are able to withstand a Category 3 hurricane (winds up to 130 mph). I am no construction expert, but it seems to me that the codes still are not perfect. Maybe the recent, rebuilt houses can survive a Category 1,2 or 3 storm without major damage. Another Hugo might change some minds, though, unlikely as it this might be. But what if it did happen? What if a hurricane stronger than Hugo or even Floyd struck the Carolina coast? Now, the chances of a Category 5 storm (winds over 155 mph) slamming into S.C. are slim to none. Only two have hit the U.S. this century: the Florida Keys Labor Day hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Camille. Contrary to the odds, the possibility of a strong Category 4 or 5 hurricane land fall still exists, especially for South Car olina As an approaching hurricane swings closer to the state, the storm crosses the Gulf Stream. By providing even warmer water - the “fuel” of tropical storms - than the Caribbean Sea for hurricanes, this stream can increase a storm’s strength with little to no warning. Hugo strengthened from a weak Category 2 to a powerful Category 4 in one day over the Gulf Stream. This day just happened to be the day it came ashore north of Charleston. Despite the advancement in building codes, coastal property owners and resi dents must remain skeptical of them. If, nevertheless, the people become confi dent that the new construction will with stand a strong hurricane, then a large num ber of people might perish in the next major landfall. The codes and the improving weather forecasting tools do help the sit uation. Although mankind can put a man on the moon, we absolutely still do not have control over our natural meteoro logical and climatological systems. The coast draws man to enjoy its plea sures, but we must heed the lessons from past hurricanes, including Hugo. If not, then the devastation from 10 years ago might be minute in comparison to the next Hugo. Letters Flag represents only part of state’s heritage To the Editor I am a 20-year old African American, and as a USC student, 1 get to see the Con federate flag practically every day. Al though I see it as a symbol of oppression, I also feel that it is not flying over the Capi tol for that reason. I agree with flag sup porters 100 percent when they say, “The flag is atop the Statehouse as a symbol of THEIR heritage and to honor the brave soldiers who fought for their rights under it.” The flag supporters who spout this statement seem to forget that not all South Carolinians are included under the word “their”-just Caucasians. The flags on the Statehouse should be a symbol of all peo ple it represents. When I see the Con federate flag, I see a symbol of total dis respect and indifference to the feelings and emotional wounds of minorities living un der it. I think the flag would be more ap preciate in another place of honor on the Statehouse grounds because it is a part of the history of South Carolina (both posi tive and negative), but seeing it atop the Statehouse makes me think the capital city’s slogan should be WHITES ONLY. Retrick L. Smith Computer Science Junior Students not the focus ot The Gamecock news To the Editor. The Gamecock has disappointingly lost sight of its primary focus: the students at the University of South Carolina. Ex cluding the sports section, The Gamecock is covering fewer and fewer activities of USC students and becoming a carbon copy of The State newspaper. There are so many student-related events happening every day at USC that are truly newsworthy and deserve atten tion from the student media 1 think The Gamecock needs to do a better job re porting on these. While I recognize the importance of keeping readers informed on state and na tional issues, I feel that the recent increased coverage of topics from the Associated Press and other non-USC sources have come at the expense of covering events going on at USC. 1 can hear news from the Associated Press anywhere, but The Game cock is the place for news about our uni versity and students. For example, why does The Game cock include in its “Briefs” section infor mation about city and county council meet ings but not information about USC student government meetings that USC students 4‘ may actually be attending? Nevertheless, I would like to thank The Gamecock for its Sept. 13 article about Students Allied for a Greener Earth and their plans for the coming year. It would be an improvement for the The Gamecock to write more articles about the various USC oiganizations and student activities. Doing this would support stu dent activism and create a greater sense of community within our university. Also, perhaps if the student newspa per were about students, more members of our community would read it. Lastly, I uige student oiganizations to demand the coverage they deserve from the student newspaper. Send press re leases to The Gamecock to let them know about your upcoming events. Invite re porters to your meetings. Suggest arti cles for them to write. Students, be a guest columnist and write an article about what you would like the USC community to know. Students, take back the student news paper! Holly Selvig Biolqgy Senior National Issues Time ripe for Reno to resign In the wake of Mark Plras revelations by writes a biweekly the FBI that it , - , . . column every used pyrotechnic Wednesdav gas canisters in the 0ther efl ^ y' Branch Davidian He can be raid of 1993, an- reached at other brick has cockwriterOhot been laid in the mail.com foundation of a Swi'TriTrTrrirtiniiiiir compelling argu ment; Janet Reno is an ineffective leader as attorney general. For six years, the FBI has claimed that it did not use any incendiary devices ca pable of starting the blaze that killed ap proximately 80 members of the Whco, Tex., religious sect. The blaze was so intense that it devoured the entire complex and left bodies so charred that the number dead re mains at “about 80” instead of a definite figure. rvimu me yuunc iuiui uvci me whole Waco debacle, Reno won public sup port in April 1993 for her willingness (if not eagerness) to take the blame df the failed raid. In the past few weeks, howev er, Reno has begun to steadily deny that she had knowledge of the FBI’s exact ac tivities - an almost direct contrast to her position in 1993. What is at issue is not whether Reno had knowledge that the FBI used devices capable of starting the fire and then lied about it; that is an issue for a court to de cide. Rather, it brings up a curious dichoto my. Ether Reno did have knowledge of the FBI’s cover-up or she did not. If she did, she is surely unfit for her office as attorney general. The office demands that she act as a legal adviser to the president, guiding him through the legal minefields while serving the law of the country. Involving herself in and helping to perpetuate a cover-up would certainly run contrary to these ideals. But if she did not, if she had no knowledge whatsoever, then she is also unfit for her office. She took the reins during the stand off, guiding the actions of the FBI and ATF. By failing to involve herself enough to give her knowledge on a matter as sensitive as this one, she has also failed her office. Her . negligence in follow-up investigations of Waco to divulge this embarrassing fact be fore it was uncovered by a Texas newspa per proves her unfit. And this is not the first time she has been criticized. In to, members of Con gress have asked for her resignation three times in the past two years regarding three separate incidents. TKo firct time ii/ac u/han tVio PRI uel'arl for her permission to conduct a wiretap on Wen Ho Lee, the scientist accused of steal ing nuclear secrets for China from the Los Alamos lab. She refused. The second in cident occurred when Republicans asked her to appoint an independent counsel to investigate allegations of campaign-finance abuses by both President Clinton and Vice President A1 Gore. Again, she refused. And now, the Waco allegations have come back to her doorstep, and for the third time, members of Congress have asked for her resignation. She has attempted to save herself by ordering the FBI files regarding Waco seized, and by appointing the well-respected for mer Republican senator James Danforth to oversee a new Waco investigation. These are both good moves, and will serve the country well in finally answering the Wa co questions once and for all. But they are long overdue. Ms. Reno should do the country a fa vor and resign immediately, allowing some one capable of handling the job to carry her dropped torch. For apparently, we should call her “butterfingers”; she will drop that torch again and again. She is like the little boy that you stick in right field in Little League and pray to God that nobody hits the ball to him. She has failed her duty to her country; she is unfit for the office. And she should resign. Right now. t