The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 18, 2000, Page 5, Image 5
Quote, Unquote
‘I love our student section; it’s just fun out there.
It’s tough, and it’s hard, but it's fun.’
Chuck Eidson, guard, USC men’s basketball team
Whe (damcock
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
SG runoff shows
every vote counts
Returns from this year’s Student Government elections show
that only about 600 more students voted this year than last.
And because online voting should have made the process
much easier this year, it’s disappointing that almost 23,000 stu
dents chose not to take five minutes out of their days to log on
and vote.
But despite the relatively small increase in voter turnout, 600
votes can still make a difference. While national elections often
make people feel as if their vote doesn’t count, every vote is im
portant in SG elections.
For instance, in the presidential election, 100 votes here or
there could have resulted in a completely different turnout. Every
vote counts.
If your candidate lost in the presidential race, don’t let your
,voice go unheard. Vote for the one who best represents what you
believe in. Almost 900 votes went to the two presidential candi
dates who didn’t make the runoff. Their voters might very well
decide who wins the presidency, but only if they choose to vote
again.
The runoff election for SG president will be held online again
from 9 a.m. Wednesday to 5 p.m. Thursday, and all students
should take the extra five minutes out of their day to vote. USC
still needs a student government president.
Don’t be lazy. It takes only a couple of minutes, and your vote
can make all the difference.
Hanging shows need
•for more garage security
At 8 a.m. Saturday, a student walked into the Senate Street
garage, only to find a hanged body in the lower ground
level stairwell. The body, which had presumably been
hanging for many hours, should have been found before a student
stumbled upon it. If university police officers patrolled the area
regularly, the body might have been found earlier, or the death
might have been prevented altogether. Overall, the situation
could have been averted. Attacks and vandalizations plagued USC
garages last year.
Two students were chaiged and expelled for lighting cars on
ire in Blossom Street garage last fall. In the spring, there was an
armed robbery in Bull Street garage, and several attacks on stu
dents in Pendleton Street garage. Despite the dangers in our park
ing garages, university administration hasn’t made strides toward
safety.
More cameras have not been installed, additional guards have
not been posted and university police have not been patrolling
parking garage areas more frequently. On top of that, parking
garage safety has not been a main priority on many of the presi
dential candidates’ platforms. Saturday’s mishap should be a re
minder of how important safety is in our parking garages.
About Us
I he 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.
Adoress
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Offices on third floor of the Russell House.
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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
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sional title or year and major, if a student. Handwritten
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Call 777-7726 for more information
Ken ley Young
Editor in Chief
Brad Walters
Managing Editor
Brock Vergakis
Viewpoints Editor
Clayton Kale
News Editor
Brandon Larrabee
Associate News Editor
Rebecca Cronican
Ann Marie Miani
EtCetera Editors
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Peter Johnson
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Kelly Haggerty
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Asst. EtCetera Editor
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Asst. Sports Editor
Rob Fleming
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Senior Writers
Emily Streyer
Editorial Contributor
Business Manager
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College Press Exchange
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Cultural Issues
Free will causes crime, drug use
For a col
umn I
wrote a
few weeks back,
I was called a
.hypocrite. Us
ing biblical doc
umentation to
justify her argu
ment, which is
always nice to
see, a reader
said I was a hyp
ocrite for being
Latino and fo
cusing on the
problems of
African Ameri
cans instead of Latinos. Random House
defines a hypocrite as “a person who pre
tends to have desirable or publicly approved
attitudes, beliefs, principles, etc. he does
not actually possess.”
So, at least in definition, criticizing
another group when your group has its
own share of problems is not being a hyp
ocrite. Nonetheless, I always enjoy taking
a challenge.
I was challenged to confront Latino
issues, so here we go. To begin with, I think
it is premature to make a call on the im
migration and assimilation of the Latino
in the United States.
We are still immigrating, and so far, we
bring nothing more and nothing less than
every other immigrating group has brought
to the United States.
It is fact that the crime rate in low-in
come, predominantly Latino neighbor
hoods is substantially higher than in oth
er regions or neighborhoods.
But that in itself cannot be attrib
uted to the culture. Although I neither
make apologies nor give justification for
Latinos, it needs to be recognized that so
cioeconomic status is a much more accu
rate identifier of crime than ethnic make
up is. Poverty creates desperation, and
desperation creates lawlessness.
When the Irish immigrated, they, too,
brought crime, as did the Russians, Ger
mans and Hungarians. It wasn’t that their
culture was a lower culture or a crime
oriented culture. It was that the motiva
tion for crime was there.
It was the will to survive taken to a
drastic measure. Although I cannot advo
cate lawlessness, there are some crimes
that, under certain circumstances, almost
seem justifiable. A father stealing to feed
his infant, for example. We aren’t neces
sarily talking about a person with a
criminal past. We are talking about an av
erage citizen, who, despite putting in the
hours going to work, doing everything he
can, still is unable to provide basic neces
sities.
If I were in a similar circumstance, I
cannot say with any degree of certainty
that I would not resort to the same thing.
Sometimes, survival comes at any cost.
Drug use, on the other hand, is where I
will stab my culture in the heart and of
fer no justification. I think a Latino who
comes to this country and consumes dmgs
should get his or her ass sent home. To
me, this crime has no justification.
There is no clear objective with drug
use. People steal to have money, and mon
ey makes things happen.
From a very pragmatic angle, there
seems to be some justification. The moti
vation is real. Money feeds people. Mon
ey shelters people. Drug use, however,
leads to what end? To get high? For recre
ational purposes? In our country, there
simply is no room for that. I believe in free
will. Latinos choose whether to do
dmgs.
Although there might be some cir
cumstances that make some people more
vulnerable, the bottom line is people can
make that choice. This whole metaphor
of dmgs being some kind of epidemic is
crass. It’s like some rampant disease that
people just get. No one chooses cancer.
Some people might do things to increase
their chances of getting cancer, but no one
asks for cancer.
The same aigument can’t be made for
drug addiction. No matter what the cir
cumstances are, there comes a point when
someone needs to actively decide to in
dulge in drug use. People who choose this
route should also be ready to pay for the
consequences.
I am a cigarette smoker and am aware
that if I get cancer, it had to do with some
of the choices I have made. I would nev
er try to pass the buck and say, “Oh, this
cigarette epidemic got a hold of me, and
there was nothing I could do.”
At least I feel that I am taking re
sponsibility for my actions. I can’t say the
same thing with drug addicts. These crim
inals, who CHOOSE to do drugs, should
not be treated like patients.
They should be treated like the crim
inals they willfully choose to become. The
problem with the drug war in the United
States, and perhaps the world, is that we
are going after the wrong people. Basic
economics tells us that when there is de
mand, there will be supply.
We are going after the suppliers and
failing to realize that if we lessened the de
mand, then by logic and economic theo
ry, the supply would also go down. I think
the drug user a worse criminal than the
drug supplier. After all, the drug supplier
has a legitimate reason to sell — to make
money. What motivates the drug addict?
Hallucinations? Getting high? Trip
ping? What objective does this satisfy?
For now, as a Latino looking at Latinos, I
have no excuses for drug addicts.
For other crimes, I think we have to
wait and see how things work out once
Latinos get their feet in the door.
Mario Ona
is a naval science
senior and can be
reached at game
cockviewpoints®
hotmail.com
State Issues
Candidate's
platform
announced
Last week, I an
nounced my inten
tions to run for
president of the
United States of
America, revealing
my Cabinet to you.
But my campaign
isn’t just about who
I’ve got on my side.
No, people, it’s
about my beliefs
and values and my
stance on the con
troversial issues that
shape our world.
Yes, it is true
that I am the youngest man to ever run
for president, and admittedly, I’m not the
most mature individual you will ever meet,
but I have a Cabinet full of hard-working,
camera-friendly celebrities who will look
pretty while they work for me. Who could
ask for anything more? YOU, that’s who,
because the American people deserve more,
dammit. (Whs that powerful enough?)
One score and 16 months ago, a baby
was bom. That baby, now grown, stands be
fore you today. By implementing my ideas
for reform, America will be forever changed
for a brighter future.
We live in a country that forbids inno
cent, fun-loving college students from legal
ly quenching their thirst for beer. I WILL
CHANGE THIS! I suffered under the vice
grips of drinking-age restrictions for three
years of college until the government fi
nally decided I was mature enough to
handle a beer. We are not going to take it
anymore! I say, “Hell no! We want Strohs!”
(Lets put aside the fact that Strohs is piss in
a can, for the sake of the rhyme.)
Secondly, I intend to punish to the fullest
those people who piss me off. Yes - YOU
who spilled beer on me at that party once
upon a time and dicfri’t apologize, you have
not been foigotten. YOU with your nose
high in the air... do you feel superior to the
rest of mankind? Nobody cares how ex
pensive your car was or how cool you think
you look with those letters on your chest.
Yes, you will be banished to the “Isle
of Degenerates,” along with all the child
molesters and rapists of the world, angst
ridden teen-agers who insist that Korn is
better than the Beatles, that annoying girl
who played Blossom on television and
the rest of the scum of the Earth.
Also gone will be all of those reli
gious extremists who annoy the piss out of
me. Yes, I intend to make America free from
the Brother Jims of the world. There is
something called free will. How dare you
try to force your salvation upon another?
I will eliminate religious television. I’ve
never seen more of a blatant display of re
ligiously blinded ignorance in my entire life
than the rhetoric I saw spouting from the
lips of Pat Robertson on the “700 Club.”
If I only had the space to ramble on for
another page and a half, I would. Send all
campaign contributions to me, please.
It’s fun trying to sound like a politician,
but who am I kidding? It’s Friday, and you’re
probably thinking about beer right now.
BEER Vbte BEER for BEER Pete BEER
in BEER 2000 BEER
Letters
SG candidates are
nuisances during lunch
As voting day in the Student Government elections ar
rived, we students were once again showered with pam
phlets, fliers and those lovely 3x5 cards with the candi
dates’ names on them.
While this election has shown some legitimate de
bate and an overall increase in student interest, one major
problem came to light Wednesday. I was sitting with my
friends in the Grand Market Place, enjoying my chicken
sandwich, when a volunteer walked up to the table and be
gan pitching a candidate. Here I was, trying to enjoy a nice
meal with my friends, and this person began bothering me
about who 1 should vote for in this election.
I do not know if this is an acceptable activity by the
rules of SG elections; however, I belie ve it should be stopped.
When I questioned the volunteer on why she inter
rupted my meal, she said that since it was chicken-finger
day at the Grand Market Place, they were campaigning
where the largest concentration of students was located. I
did not further my aigument, but I think that campaigning
should be left outside.
Bothering students while they are eating is a sure-fire
way to get them to vote for someone else, as is true in
my case. I also noted that other candidates had their vol
t3SS83Sg^8aBa^o«g^SS^giSW36S8»^a:f «-www.w<»o «»ccbboboc u. ...
unteers inside, as if competing with one another over the
students. This is something that should not be stood for by
the students at this or any university. Students are people
with their own ideals and beliefs.
They will vote for the person who best demonstrates
their personal beliefs, not for someone who bothers them
during their meal.
Stephan Dukes
Chemistry Senior
McCain not everything he
has been made out to be
Apparently, the staff of this paper was too busy patting
John McCain on the back for his “honorable” decision to
quit attacking George W. Bush to watch the Republican
debates Tuesday night. During the debate, Bush confront
ed McCain with a flier that attacked the governor’s stance
on Social Security. Curiously, the document was distrib
uted Monday, well after McCain had claimed to take the
“high road.”
When faced with his hypocrisy, the “honorable” sen
ator then proceeded to lie. He disavowed any connec
tion between his campaign and the negative leaflet, despite
the fact that it said it was paid for by John McCain. After
V i
the debate, the senator even acknowledged that Bush could
have been right.
He acknowledged that it was made by his campaign
last week but said he does not know how it was distributed
this week. So he made it but did not pass it out. This sounds
like our current president, who smoked marijuana but
did not inhale. It’s ironic that McCain compares Bush to
Clinton when it is the senator who seems to be playing
games with the truth.
You question Bush’s character, but at least he is not
dishonest.
Before you print another attack on Bush or a com
mendation of McCain, perhaps you should broaden your
narrow understanding of the political landscape. Even if
McCain had stopped all of his negative ads, he has al
ready taken plenty of cheap shots at the governor in the
preceding weeks. Yet, by claiming the “high road" a week
before the election, he can pretend that he is above such
tactics.
The editorial board seems to have completely fallen
for this cheap political ploy without considering other mo
tives for McCain's sudden decision to end negative ads.
Chris Major
History Senior