Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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"T T# • , Quote, Unquote "I think students take our leadership for granted because they don't see what we do every day.' Malik Husser, student body president r Wat (Bamcock Serving the Carolina Community since 1Q08 Editorial Board Kenley Young • Editor in Chief Brad Walters • Managing Editor Brock Vergakis • Viewpoints Editor Peter Johnson • Assistant Viewpoints Editor Emily Streyer • Editorial Contributor N.H. results show power of the voters epublican presidential candidate John McCain is riding high hr after a 19-point victory in Tuesday’s New Hampshire prima \ry. Whether McCain will ride this surprising victory all the way to the White House remains to be seen, but Tuesday’s primary proved one thing: When people get out and vote, even the most unexpected can happen. Despite the fact that polls on the last day before the primary projected a’ virtual dead heat between George W. Bush and Mc Cain, the Texas governor’s supporters seem to have thought their candidate had it in the bag. McCain’s supporters, on the other hand, showed up at the polls, taking nothing for granted. This turn of events can serve as a lesson, not only for those of us voting in the South Carolina primary Feb. 19, but also for everyone else. When people come out en masse and cast their vote, even the most scientific of polls can be proven wrong - and when people work together as one, almost anything can happen. The day after winning the primary, McCain expressed his ela tion at receiving more than $500 thousand in donations on his Web site alone. McCain’s campaign does not have the financial backing that Bush’s does. Character sometimes can make the difference. McCain proved his character was strong at his rally at the Swearingen Engineering center Wednesday evening. The results of the New Hampshire primary have led to another dead heat between Bush and McCain - this time in South Carolina, a place where Bush has led since the outset of the campaign. , One thing is for sure: Bush’s South Carolina supporters won’t be sitting at home on Feb. 9. Business school shows fiscal irresponsibility The Darla Moore School of Business finds itself in a laige fi nancial hole after an overestimation of the number of gradu ate students who would enroll led to a decrease in revenue. Particularly disheartening about this debt is the fact that the school received commitments of more than $45 million in dona tions in the past two years alone. The school’s blatant lack of fiscal responsibility will hamper further efforts by fund-raisers to secure laige donations. Provost Jerry Odom said USC needs more state funding to be come a major research university. However, if USC has difficulty securing funding from either private or public sources, it has only itself to blame. We’d be surprised to see anyone who wanted to donate to a business school that can’t manage funds properly. And it definitely gives prospective students something to think about when deciding which school to attend, as well. The way to enhance a school’s reputation is to prosper academ ically and financially. The financial debacle the school has gotten itself into has scared away prospective students and donors. The business school has just received an “F” in recruiting and, ironical I fT-nough, economics. 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. Adohess The Gamecock The Gamecock Kenley Youn* Amy Goulding 1400 Greene Street Editor m Chief Travis Lynn Columbia. SC 29208 Brad Wa,tm Photo Editors ... . Managing Editor Will Gillaspy Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Brock Vergakis Online Editor STUDENT Media Area code 803 Viewpoints Editor Peter Johnson Advertising 777-3888 Clayton Kale Asst. Viewpoints Editor Classified 777-1184 News Editor Kelly Haggerty pax 777-6482 Brandon Larrabee Patrick Rathbun Office 777-3888 Associate News Editor Asst. News Editors Rebecca Cronican MacKenzie Craven Gamecock Area code 803 Ann Marie Miani Asst. EtCetera Editor Editor gckedOsc.edu 777-3914 EtCetera Editors Shannon Rooke News gcknewsOsc.edu 777-7726 David Cloninger Asst. Sports Editor Viewpoints gckviewsOsc.edu 777-7181 Jeff Romig Bob Fleming Etc. gcketcOsc.edu 777-3913 Sports Editors Asst. Encore Editor Encore! gamecockencoreOhotmail.com 777-3913 Kristin Freestate Charles Prashaw Sports gcksportsOsc.edu 777-7182 Copy Desk Chief Shawn Singleton Online www.gamecock.sc.edu 777-2833 Renee Oligny Charlie Wallace 1 ^Lrrr^r“'“ico- ss.'sr "on' all members of the Carolina community. Letters _ should be 250-300 words. Guest columns should be an Siudoit Media opinion piece of about 600-700words ““ " Both must include name, phone number, profes- SuMn King Classified Manager sional title or year and major, if a student. Handwritten Craaf/ve 0/rector Erik Collins submissions must be personally delivered to Russell Kris Black Faculty Advisei House room 333. E-mail submissions must include Julie Burnett Jonathan Dunagin telephone number for confirmation. Todd Hooks Graduate Assistant The Gamecock reserves the right to edit for libel, Robyn Gombar ... . _. „ . . Kathy Van Nostrand Gina McKelvey style and space. Anonymous letters will not be pub- Creative Services Melissa Millen lished. Photos are required for guest columnist and can Kenton Watt Brantley Roper be provided by the submitter. Advertising Manager Nicole Russell Call 777-7726 for more information. Carolyn Griffin Advertising Staff College Press Exchange "OF COURSE, IF I WERE IN A TEMPLE WHERE THEV WAU7EP 70 CONTRIWH: POllTCAI. fUNP?, rPA$KM5El£ Wl MV BWHA VOV oOCIETAL ISSUES 'Yankee's' thoughts on rednecks Let me start off by saying that I love it here in South Carolina. I have been here for al most four years now and it has been a wonder ful experience. I love the weather. I love how the major ity of people are friendly. I love getting a smile from a passing stranger. I love Palmetto trees and flowers and all those happy things. Most southerners couldn’t be more pleasant to be around. But there is a small group of misfits. There are those who’ve perfected their rebel yell. They drive around in their pick-em-up truck with a giant con federate flag sticker in the back window. They remain insistent that on the eighth day God really did make sweet tea. Yes, they are called rednecks. Before you crucify me, hear me out. I am NOT generalizing that all southerners are red necks. Honestly, I can estimate that only about 10 percent of the student popula tion here at USC could be considered red necks. But that number could stand to be whit tled down a bit more. There are rednecks, and there are ignant rednecks. If we sep arate the two, that leaves, well, lets see, about 9.9 percent of our campus to be ig nant rednecks. Yes, there is such a thing as an intelligent redneck. They just know how to hide their intelligence until you get to know them well enough. First of all (because I KNOW you’re getting pissed off and putting words in my mouth as you readers LOVE to do to us columnists), it’s not the drawl that per turbs me, it’s the closed-mindedness of these people. The main symptom of redneckism is being ignorant...just in case I didn’t make that clear. The definition of “ignorant” is a) lacking knowledge or experience, 2) un informed, and/or d) ill-mannered or un couth. Most of my friends were bom and raised in the South. There’s nothing wrong with that at all. They are all pleasant people. Some of them call me a “yankee” sometimes, but it doesn’t bother me be cause of the context in which they use it. They don’t hold me in contempt. They are not bitter and angry at me because I am from above the Mason-Dixon line, on the side of those bastard yankees that “beat” them in a war which truly had no winner 140 years ago. That mindset would be ridiculous, yet some southerners still feel that way. To some southerners, the Civil War is a very touchy subject. I’m not going to get into who was fighting for what, because my mailbox isn’t big enough. But I will say that some people need to get over the fact that their great great grandfather’s blood was spilled in a “losing effort” Every body lost. Soldiers died on both sides. Lots of blood was spilled. What makes the blood of one side more sacred than the blood of another? Every life is precious, no matter what “side” they fought for. I have relatives who live in the South today, and I had relatives who died fight ing for the South in the Civil War. Maybe if I was bom and raised here, I would be brainwashed by the same system which still holds hard feelings. Say whatever you want to about New York or the North. I’ll welcome comments. They don’t faze me one bit. People call it a dump, a wasteland of degenerates, etc. Maybe it WOULD upset me if I were called a degenerate low life. Maybe being called “yankee scum” would be hurtful, but on ly if I knew it was true. Only if I fit the mold. Those of you who are offended by this should give me a piece of your mind. If you feel you’ve been insulted, then I en courage you. More power to you. The Frrst Amendment says that we, as Americans, are entitled to freedom of speech. It is the most important thing that our country is based on. I laughed at John Rocker’s comments about New York. You know what? In a very primitive sense, he is right. What Rocker was trying to say is that New York is a very diverse place. The problem was with how he expressed himself - through hatred and racial slurs. He fits the “igno rant redneck” prototype this column is based around, simply because of what he said and the manner in which he said-it. And just what is “Southern by the grace of God”? Grace means ‘goodwill’ or ‘fa vor.’ Granted, the South is a wonderful place to live, but don’t brag about how much nicer it is in the South than where those bastard yankees come from in the cold, polluted wasteland known as the North. Dare I ask, but are you still angry or frustrated about something? Note that I am asking you, not telling you. I am not southern by the grace of God, so I have trouble understanding these things. What if downtrodden refugees from Somalia claimed that they were “Somali by the grace of God?” I bet those of you who thrive on your southern pride would probably scoff and laugh at them. They have as much of a right to be proud of who they are as you do. Don’t take your pride too far, you should know that it is one of the seven deadly sins. If you have to say that it is God’s grace to which you owe your an cestry, then so does everyone else. If there are some of you who believe that God made you a better person simply because you are southern, then you are taking away from what makes the South a beautiful place to live. I’ll tell you flat out that there are more pleasant South Carolinians than New Yotk ers. But it’s those of you who insist upon it who make it unpleasant. You are cheating yourselves out of being pleasant through your arrogance. I know plenty of you wilfhate me for writing this, but it is just a testament to what I am trying to prove. If you didn’t feel that you fit the mold of the “igno rant redneck,” what I’m saying here would n’t bother you, because it wouldn’t apply. One final note: Please don’t wear your heritage on your sleeve. Keep it sacred and keep it to yourself. It’s just as annoying as that guy or girl who knows EVERY an swer in class. Yeah, you know those peo ple and you make fun of them just like the rest of us. Admit it. Pete Johnson is a journalism senior. He Can be •reached at. gamecockvlew- Jf po!nts®hotmail.c ■ om Societal Issues 'No vacancy7 policy unfair and outrageous at my family her itage, many proud memories of my Irish roots emeige. My great-grandfather moved from county Kerry Ire land to America in the early 20th century, but be fore he did, he planted an oak tree. Today, that oak tree is among the largest trees in all of County Kern I think back on that, and I am proud. I am proud of who I am and of where I come from. I am also proud that I can call myself an American. America is country that for so many years has opened its arms to the rest of the world. To think that my great-grandfather at a young age just picked upandlefthis homeland to pursue a better life in America is a beautiful image for me to behold. I am certain that many of you share similiar feelings toward your ances try and their coming to this country. I couldn’t imagine looking back on that moment and hearing that he was turned away and that the borders of America were no longer open to the. people of the world. Future generations might see such a story if certain people have their way. When riding on Huger street, I see a billboard that more or less urges Americans to take a stand against immigration. The billboard uses a “scare” tactic, making it seem like this country will be a terrible and overpopulated place for our children if we continue to allow immigration. My first question is, who are we to say when we can shut down the borders of this country? I would say that only Native Americans have a rightful claim to this continent, but even a Native American colleague of mine admits that his people came to this continent from a land bridge from Asia. Thus, no one has a legitimate claim to this land except for the animals. So why do these people take on a “finders keepers, losers weepers” attitude about this country? When did we reach the “cut oft” point? When did we say it was too much? Since the first English settlement, Americans have always tram pled on the foot of someone else, when it comes to this country. We never apolo gized for this, so we never made it right. Nevertheless, we insist this land is ours, or more so than anyone else’s. It wasn’t ours to begin with, yet these people don’t see a contradiction or double stan dard here. I cannot fathom how these people see their daim as being justified. I like to think that there is still an “American Dream” that still draws peo ple to this country. Sure, immigrants need to create their own opportunities to be successful, but how can they if we close off the country to them? As Ameri cans, we should see this mentality is wrong, and as former Irishmen, English men, Germans, or whatever, we should not be denying people this glorious op portunity. No one denied us. Langston is a journalism junior and encore editor. He can be reached at game* cockviepoints@ho tmaii.com Hunters aren’t criminals with guns Well, I’m just writing to comment or Wednesday’s column “Drinking, gun ages reversed,” but the real reason for writing is to let you know a little truth about whal you say about our gun laws. To start off an M-16, Uzi and bazooka are all illegal, and no one is allowed to buy them. I’m not sure where you are from, bul I guess you know everything there is about guns. So that’s why it is okay for you to tell us what the laws should be concerning them. My family owns guns, and we have nev er shot anyone or had anyone shot in our family. You make it sound like it is only we Southerners who hunt. I personally hunt with people who live in New York, Maine, Maryland and Rhode Island. And these people aren’t the trash that you might think own a gun. Then you go talking about the Con federate flag like it has any reason for people owning guns. I’m tired of everyone bitching about the flag. Why can’t people just let it be? Plus, do you think most of the guns used in crimes are the same guns used in hunt ing? Most criminals own illegal guns, and if they’re illegal, how can you possibly get them off the streets? Hell, half the cops in this world are nothing but a bunch of crooks themselves, so it wouldn’t do any good by leaving them with guns. About the drinking age I don’t have a whole lot of opinions on it, but I think it is freaking ridiculous that you have to bring the people in the world who hunt into your article to voice your opinions. Ashley Varner Engineering Junior * Pornography should not be allowed at libraries On Monday Jan. 31, a Gamecock edi torial commented on proposed legislation that would censor Internet content avail able at South Carolina’s public libraries. The editorial stated that requiring all pornography to be eliminated from the sys tems of every public library in South Car olina is ridiculous, and the limitations on what is and what isn’t pornography should be left up to the individual. The Gamecock goes on to decry that lawmakers are blatantly infringing on li brary patrons’ rights to free speech. This free speech argument has consistently baf fled me. Consider your local public library before the advent of the Internet. If you looked in the card catalog .would you have found entries for Playboy and Penthouse? Obviously not, because they are inappropriate, given community stan dards. I suspect that you also would have had difficulty finding books like Nabokov’s Lolita or Hitler’s Mein Kampf. We have always engaged in some form of censorship at our public libraries. Why should we treat content on the Internet any differently? Admittedly, it is much more difficult to censor content on the Internet than it is to censor what goes into a library’s hardcopy collections. Internet censorship will almost always restrict access to some benign sites containing suspect terms like Gamecock or breast cancer. I would much prefer some level of cen sorship. The obvious reason is because many library patrons are children. I want to be able to encourage my child to access all of the resources at his public library, without the concern that he will encounter material that is obviously inap propriate for his age. How would you feel about your future children? Eric Powers Assistant Professor of finance Darla Moore School of Business