University of South Carolina Libraries
Quote, Unquote ‘The penalty was a real turning point in the game for us, but I don’t know who got chop-blocked.’ Steve Spurrier, UF head football coach a Wat (5amecock 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 Republican abortion measure unjustified Congressional Republicans - in an ever increasing creative mood - are at it again. In the current, tricky budget deal, Republicans have tried to link a controversial abortion mea sure to the dues the U.S. owes - and has refused to pay - the Unit ed Nations. Republicans have had to resort to these controversial measures in recent years. Despite saying that the Democrats are robbing them of their issues, the Republicans are beginning to find out that the American people embrace the key Democratic issues - saving Social Security and education - much more than they do their own traditional issues such as tax cuts and defense spending increases. So, the shrewd majority has tried to grab education and Social Se curity from the Democrats. Now the group is rallying the troops to • i . i i t ii .1 r ii ii r\ lull uic uuugci piueci!> oiiu Miuve me iauu uiuu me nucleus. The Republicans want the United Nations to work to restrict the ability of planned parenting groups in foreign nations. The ma jority seems quite content on getting this approved despite the chance that this act could very well ruin the already tentative bud get deal. President Clinton has already expressed an interest in compromising on the issue in order to secure the funds for the United Nations, yet he is not too keen on the idea. The Republicans should not attach one of their conservative, conventional issues to the paying of UN dues. Returning the funds to the United Nations is not only important to the entire world, but also to U.S. national security. If the Republicans want to con tinue to push the abortion debate, then they should do so here at home in the U.S. However, the UN, an oiganization whose sole purpose is to maintain peace among the nations, deserves the funds our government has all too often refused to pay. Instead, the Republican leadership has to realize that the cur -«nt frame of mind from the voters is one of contentment with the economy and one of wanting to improve education and save Social Security. The electorate wants the partisanship to end. This con troversy being a prime example of how partisanship can kill the budget process. Republicans should end the debate on foreign abortions and refocus their efforts on constructing pragmatic solu tions to the problems of Americans. Saturday's officials stole USC's chance CThe SEC referees that officiated Saturday’s game against Florida was, in one word, horrendous. Never in recent mem ory has officiating ruined the chance for a USC victory as happened Saturday. In the final seconds of the first half, with Florida winning 10-3, a 17-yard touchdown reception by Brian Scott from Phil Petty was called back due to an “apparent” chop block against Carolina. This call, in turn, stole the momentum from the Gamecocks going into halftime and eventually the game. The “chop block” call was just one of many controversial calls that began with the Gamecocks’ initial possession. Of course, offi ciating hardly can be perfect, but the one-sided calling from this SEC crew played a crucial role in the outcome of the contest against the Gators. It’s hoped that the ‘Cocks can move past this unfortunate mishap and knock off the Clemson Tigers this Saturday. 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. Stuoeht Msma Area code 803 Advertising 777-3888 Classified 777-1184 Fax 777-6482 Office 777-3888 Gamecock Area code 803 Editor gckedasc.edu 777-3914 News gcknewsasc.edu 777-7726 Viewpoints gckviewsasc.edu 777-7181 Etc. gcketcasc.edu 777-3913 Sports gcksportsasc.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 an 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 can be provii^ed by the submitter. Call'777-7726 for more information. I HE VaAMECOCK Sara Laden heim 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 Carolyn Griffin Business Manager Susan King Creative Director Sheny Holmes Classified Manager Will Gillespy Online Edita Cony Ford Asst. Viewpoints Editor John Huiett Asst. News Edita Ann Marie Miani Asst. EtCetera Edita Pete Johnson Asst. Encore Edita David Cloninger Asst. Spats Edita Greg Farley Asst. Photo Edita Casey Williams Asst. Online Edita Brad Waiters Graphics Edita Philip Burt Mackenzie Craven Patrick Rathbun Charlie Wallace Senior Writers Kris Black Julia Burnett Todd Hooks Betsy Martin Kathy Van Nostrand Creative Services Erik Collins Faculty Adviser Jonathan Dunagin Graduate Assistant College Press Exchange Social Issues 'Good' drugs vs. 'bad' drugs oiling off last L* week's topic, X\l find myself amazed with how chemical our soci ety has become. Ws work with coffee, party with alcohol, and despite the ji had against it, to bacco is still going strong. It doesn’t end there. Wfe have de veloped a seeming ly infinite variety of chemicals to cure our ailments, make our grass green and kill our enemies. Of these, we are pri marily concerned with the chemicals we allow to enter our bodies. We have categorized chemicals into “good” chemicals, those taken to cure ill ness or prescribed by a doctor, and “bad” chemicals, those that we use for enjoy ment. It is this “chemical notion” that inter ests me so. At one point, I thought that there were great, gaping holes in our chem ical notion. Sure, there is a utility in tak ing “good” drugs, and “bad” drugs seem indulgent, but what is the point in living in the wealthiest nation in the world if you don’t indulge yourself every once in a while? “Bad” drugs affect the way I think. and this bothers you? I don’t hear any complaints when some body is taking St. John’s Wart or Prozac. Why is it that you get upset when I get gid dy, and then sloppy, when drinking alco hol? Oh, 1 see...you like the way the first two make people act, but not the sec ond. It’s a matter of your preferences. Hon estly, there is nothing horrible about al cohol, provided that you observe some moderation and consume it in the proper place and time. Break these parameters, however, and alcohol can be extremely destructive - but we all know that. Yet, I move forward and wonder, “Why are alcohol and tobacco OK, but drugs like cannabis are illegal?” I’ve seen people after smoking pot, and 1 feel much safer around them than I do around drinkers. At least if somebody overindulges in mar ijuana, they won’t vomit all over the place or get violent. The conclusion I came to is “While marijuana might give me.a great buzz, a great buzz is pretty low on the list of le gal battles to embark on.” The means of indulgence open to me shall suffice. As with anything, you must reach a point where you allow yourself to be connect ed. There are also the long-term effects of marijuana. I know plenty of people that, although they will vehemently deny it, should have really cut back on the weed a long time ago. When people yell about making marijuana legal, I think about how people overindulge in tobacco and stoout these people I know. The last thing I want to hear the sur geon say when I turn on the surgery chan nel is “Hey man, give me the uh, that urn.. .that thing. The uh, ummiji, huh-huh, yeah that sharp thing! The...the...yeah man, the scalpel! Hand the scalpel, man.” In tackling the concept of “good” drugs and “bad” drugs, I’ve come to realize that it isn’t a matter of what the drug does, but how it is used. “Good” drugs are used in the attempt to make things better inside of your own body. Killing bacterial in fections, correcting chemicals imbalances, and relieving certain symptoms are all ex amples of the aims when using “good” drugs. What does this means? It means that if marijuana, although illegal, is proven to be the only thing to relieve the pain of can cer sufferers, then they should be allowed. I wouldn’t want any of it, though, because that would mean I have cancer. Many of the drugs doctors prescribe can be abused, but common notions see it as a “good” drug because it is perceived as medicine, not a drug. The opposite applies for substances commonly abused, that have medical pur poses, like morphine. “Bad” drugs are used to make the out side world better. This often proves ridicu lous. Drinking at a party and havingagood time is one thing, but I don’t see the use in getting drunk to make a bad time bet ter. Feeling better physically will have no effect on bad circumstances, except per haps to give you a false impression of your surroundings. utiT r jm&iMmimmimMmBmmmmli,, i.... wwwwwwwwwwwwtwwQwwwwwwrowwgggogawgtwwwwwwwwwgcw SG Attorney General on impeachment charges To the Editor. As attorney general of the student body of USC, it is my duty to interpret and pro vide opinions regarding the constitution of Student Government. In last week’s sen ate meeting, a question of constitutional ity arose among the members concerning whether the recommendation by the court of impeachment was final or whether the senate could further debate the issue of [SG Treasurer Elizabeth] Fordham’s im peachment. The part of the constitution referred to by the members in favor of the senate serving as its own court of impeachment was Article III, Section 4, A.16.g„ which states that “Conviction or acquittal shall require a two-thirds (2/3) concurrence vote of the recommendation of the court of im peachment by the student senate.” One can be led to believe that this clause means that regardless, the recommendation of the COI must be debated and approved by the student senate. However, if one reads the paragraph just preceding the above clause, one will find that the COI is charged with the re sponsibility to make a “recommendation for conviction or acquittal to the full senate.” In this case, they had to make a decision as to whether the charges brought against Fordham warranted her conviction and therefore should be passed along to the student senate for a debate and a de cision. There are two possibilities in this case. First, the COI could recommend con viction, and then the senate would have the power to either convict or acquit. The second alternative is for the COI to rec ommend acquittal, and then the senate has no reason to even decide on the recom mendation. In this case, the COI found on all charges that Fordham had not commit ted any acts worthy of impeachment. In short, they acquitted her. It is my opinion that with this acquit tal, the question of impeachment offi cially stopped We have laws against a per son being tried twice for the same issue, which is termed “double Jeopardy,” and 1 feel those laws apply here. Fordham’s case has already been tried once, and to bring her case and the recommendation from tlie COI of acquittal to the student senate would not only violate her rights, but also the laws of our state and our nation. To avoid future confusion, 1 think that Article III, Section 4, A.16.g. of the con stitution needs to be changed and written more clearly and definitively. It needs to read along the lines of, “If the court of im peachment recommends conviction, then conviction or acquittal shall require a two thirds (2/3) vote by the student senate.” I think this change will help avoid confu sion in the future and allow impeachment proceedings to be run more smoothly. Chris Danel SG Attorney General Write The Gamecock You have an opinion; we want to hear it! Send a Letter to the Editor to gckviews@sc.edu. Be heard! Social Issues Peter Pan Syndrome lives on I’ve contracted a not-so-rare disorder during my three-year tenure as a col lege student. It’s not life threatening. It’s not debilitating. It’s not even painful. But my bout with this af fliction has the very real and frightening ^ baft ^ potential to com- be reached vta plicate my life in a The Gamecock at post-university en- gckviews@ec.edu vironment. I am one of the thousands of college students who suffer from Peter Pan Syn drome. That is, I am no closer to adulthood than I was three years ago. In fact, in many ways, I’ve regressed. My behavior is more juvenile in this stage of my life than it’s ever been. I’m not ready to be a grown-up, and I’ll be a liability to anyone who as sumes otherwise. This fact became abundantly clear to me fast week as I was searching for my tele vision remote. After conducting what turned into an exhaustive search of my dorm room, I was forced to confront and acknowledge several alarming facts about my place of residence. My roommates and I had no toilet paper. We didn’t even have anything that could’ve passed as a substitute. 1 had no clean socks, and the contents of my laun dry hamper, such as it is, were spilling over into my trash can. Newspapers from four months ago were strewn across the room like so much refuse at the bottom of a parakeet cage. The dust bunnies under the sofa practically leapt into my lap as I searched in vain to recov er my prize. The kitchen sink was littered with spaghetti-soiled dishes and Kool-Aid-stained Dixie Cups. Jif Peanut Butter, Captain’s Wafers and a few meager morsels of Sathers’ Candy Com represented the sole sources of solid food in our cupboard. And later in the evening, after a full day of fruitless searching, my roommate turned to me and said, “I think it’s your year to clean the bathroom.” 1 am not a responsible tenant. I am not a responsible roommate. I am not a re sponsible shopper, and my domestic skills rival those of Keith Richards. As I look ahead to my senior year, I re alize that I’ve adopted some habits and ten dencies that would undoubtedly curdle the blood of any prospective employer. These are a few of my favorite things: • Sony PlayStation is still my top pri ority (and undisputed champion), with the opposite sex a close second and school com ing in a distant third. • I’ve given up all hope of balancing my checkbook, as keeping abreast of the cupies most of my free time. • I still get the sudden and overwhelming urge to blare George Michael’s “1 Want Your Sex” out of my car window as I pass by South Tower. • A $100 meal at California Dream ing takes a back seat these days to an Ar by’s roast beef sandwich and a cold Bud Light. • 1 offer prayers of thanksgiving when channel 97 at home picks up a scrambled reception of The Playboy Channel (the old “tin foil and rabbit ears” trick — works every time). • I inadvertently teach my kid broth er and his friends a new expletive every time I visit home. Then, we all adjourn to the living room to watch Beavis and Butlhead and laugh at their sophomoric jokes about bodily functions. • 1 still get a kick out of The Great Mid dle School Pastime — making fun of oth er people. It’s one of the few sources of unadulterated joy in my life. So I’m immature. And juvenile. And unprofessional. But, God help me, I’m en joying my college lifestyle so that I won’t collapse under the pressure of it. And in our daily battles to keep our wits about us, age mustn’t be a factor. Tech nically, I left my adolescent years behind me a few months ago. But I’ll never aban don them. Besides, I think it’s a far better thing to indulge in a little impetuous revelry every now and then than to take life (and yourself) too seriously. Never underesti mate the therapeutic value of fun, and you’ll never forget how to enjoy yourself.