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Quote, Unquote ‘Over half of [Judicial Council’s] budget was blank pages.’ Sally Ballentine, Senate Finance Committe Chairwoman Page 5 . ... ■ ,-r=r*j%K • Vf 'V - . v,r ... >.-: .-r-*7^7~ ; v' Whe (Bmecock 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 Expedience necessary in colleges' dean searches * * fter much fruitless searching, seven of USC’s colleges are /\ still without deans. Interim deans have been running the 1.VSchool of Music, the College of Education, the Darla Moore School of Business, the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, and the College of Engineering and Informa tion Technology for several months now. And when Judy VanSlyke Thrk resigned as dean of USC’s Col lege of Journalism and Mass Communications earlier this semester, it brought that total to six. What does Provost Jerome Odom have to say about this alarming trend and the progress of these dean searches? Only that “we are moving on all fronts with our search es.” Could he be more vague? During the faculty senate meeting Wednesday, Odom men tioned no specific dean candidates by name. In fact, it appears as if ^dean searches for these colleges haven’t even moved past the pre liminary stages yet, as most are still awaiting the recommendations of search committees. The College of Engineering, whose latest dean was indicted on embezzlement charges this past summer, has been searching for a replacement for about eight months. But Odom says they’re “get ting very close to narrowing that search down.” Whew. What a re lief. The Darla Moore School of Business represents perhaps the most severe problem. Even the home of one of the world’s best MIBS programs can’t find a dean and might face accreditation problems because of it. Six of USC’s 19 academic colleges have no deans. Something’s seriously wrong with that picture, and the search committees need to get on the ball before it costs these col leges their accreditation, their enrollment numbers or, quite possi bly, their reputations. * Pharmacy allocations unfair to other students Student Senate passed its 2000-2001 budget on Wednesday, and it looks similar to previous years’ budgets except for one ma jor difference: The College of Pharmacy’s student oiganiza tions are receiving almost $4,000 of the fees allocated for under graduate clubs and organizations - $2,000 more than last year. The reason? A controversial bill was passed by senate three weeks ago that placed the College of Pharmacy on the same level as the schools of law and medicine in terms of funding, allowing the Col 0 lege of Pharmacy to receive more money. As the new budget figures show, passing that bill was a mistake. By doing so, Senate effectively agreed that the College of Pharma cy is a professional school, yet the school’s new funding - now a set percentage - came out of the same pool as other undeigraduate student organizations’. As a result, every undergraduate organiza tion who applied for funding suffered a little bit this year. Hardest hit was the New Clubs Fund, which lost around two thirds of its 1999-2000 funding. The New Clubs Fund provides monies for organizations whose members come from all areas of the university - not just pharmacy. While pharmacy organizations obviously deserve funding, next year’s Finance Committee should explore the possibility of chang ing the current system of funding for those clubs. * 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. The Gamecock ^f0?688 . Ken ley Young Amy Gould ing The Gamecock Editor in Chief Travis Lynn Brad Walters Pho,o Ed,tors Columbia, SC 29208 Managing Editor Will Gillaspy Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Brock Vergakis Online Editor frr C0" S0777 3888 % Te^nts Editor 777-6482 Brandon Larrabee Patrick Rathbun * 777-3888 Associate News Editor Asst. News Editors Rebecca Cronican MacKenzie Craven GAMECOCK Area code 803 Ann Marie Miani Asst. EtCetera Editor Editor gcked@sc.edu 777-3914 EtCetera Editors Elizabeth Rod News gcknews@sc.edu 777-7726 David Cioninger Asst. Sports Editor Viewpoints gckviews@sc.edu 777-7181 Shannon Rooke Rob Fleming Etc. gcketc@sc.edu 777-3913 Sports Editors . Asst. Encore Editor Encore! gamecockencore@hotmail.com 777-3913 Kristin Freestate Charles Prashaw Sports gcksports@sc.edu 777-7182 Copy Desk Chief Shawn Singleton Online www.gamecock.sc.edu 777-2833 Renee Oligny Charlie Wallace Submission Policy Copy Editor oenror writers SUBMISSION ROUCV Kevin Langston Emily Streyer Letters to the editor or guest columns are welcome &cofe Mto(. Editorial Contributor ^ Irom all members of the Carolina community. Letters Student Media *9* be 250-300 words. Guest columns should be an E||en parsons Business Manager opinion piece of about 600-700 words. Director Sherry Holmes Both must include name, phone number, profes Susan Kjog Classified Manager sional title or year and major, if a student Handwritten Creative Director Erik Collins submissions must be personally delivered to Russell Kris Black Faculty Adviser House room 333. E-mail submissions must include Julie Burnett Jonathan Dunagin . , . , Todd Hooks Graduate Assistant telephone number tor confirmation „ . r„h,, K i i Betsy Martin Robyn Gombar The Gamecock reserves the right to edit for libel, Kathy Van Nostrand Gina McKelvey style and space. Anonymous letters will not be pub- Creative Services Melissa Millen lished Photos are required for guest columnists and Kenton Watt Brantley Roper can provided by the submitter Advertising Manager Nicole Russell tell 777-7726 for more informal >n Carolyn Griffif' Advertising Staft College Press Exchange Letters Sports columnist wrong about Carter On March 1, David Cloninger finally did it. I know I don’t stand alone in my outrage over his column that rips Vince Carter for not being a good basketball play er. Are you ignorant? Carter is the one good thing the NEA has to offer right now. How many guys can score 51 points and shoot "better than 50 percent? 1 mean, are you telling me that Michael Jordan is even more of a “no talent hack” because he scored 40 points on 14-31 shoot ing? Or better yet, for you, Dave, your beloved Gamecocks, and their former star B. J. McKie. Is he a “no-Uilent hack,” too, for scor ing 28 on 9-26 shooting? C’mon man, wake up. Vince Carter scored the most points in a game this season by playing within the Raptors’ offense, and taking ad vantage of his strengths. Now that was bad enough, but then you had to go insult my Tar Heels, too. Do some research next time. Coach Guthiidge didn’t recruit Julius Peppers. He plays football, and walked onto the basketball team because of numerous injuries. Did you see his line from Wednesday night’s game? 6-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the line, 14 points, not bad for a football play er. If USC had half as many “no-talent hacks” as UNC, maybe they wouldn’t have lost in the first round of the NCAA tour nament to the team from my hometown, the Richmond Spiders! So, Mr. Cloninger, I say go convince coach Fogler to take his team up to Chapel Hill one time, and we’ll see who the “no-talent hacks” are, and who the REAL Carolina is. They bleed Tar Heel blue! Chris Bennett Sport Administration Sophomore Carter a class act In response to David Cloninger’s high ly opinionated and inappropriate column entitled “Raptors’ Outer nothing but a ‘no talent hack,”’ (March 1), we here at Pro fessional Management, and PMI Sports Marketing, are highly upset. Professional Management Inc. is Outer’s sports agency and management company. As part of the PMI staff, and as a USC student, I am highly disappointed in Cloninger and his column. One of the first points Cloninger ad dresses is Carter’s athletic skills. Carter ranks fifth in the NBA in scoring with 25.3 points a game, ranks ahead of All-Star 3 Point Shootout runner-up.Dirk Nowit/.ki in field goal percentage, and also ranks ahead of three-point threats Glen Rice and Gary Payton in 3-point percentage. Carter’s game speaks for itself. That’s why he led the league in All-Star votes and amassed a total second to only Michael Jordan all time. Not only was he the first Toronto Raptor to be named to the starting lineup of an All-Star team, but looks destined to lead his team to the first playoff birth in franchise history. The next and most important point that Cloninger addresses is Outer’s char acter by using the term “no-talent hack” ;uid “thug.” What is the literal definition of the word “hack”? To be honest, 1 am re ally not interested in the definition, just the basis of Cloningcr's no-class remark. The next classless remark I’d like to address is the association with individuals like Dennis Rodman ;uid LatrcII Sprewell, who have noticeably been under the me dia’s microscope of negativity. Outer, win ner of the 1999 NM Sportsmanship Award for the Eastern Conference, founded Em bassy of Hope, one of the most highly ac tive community service programs among athletes. Carter has not, is not, and never will be a “thug.” His upbringing is far superi or than most. First-class guys such as Grant Hill are more commonly heard associated with the likes of Carter. Never before now have I seen the names Carter and Rodman associated with one another. Much like his on the court performances, Carter’s class and character speak for themselves. Anyone who sees otherwise is simply clueless. As far as your assumption of “any idiot can dunk a basketball,” Mr. Cloninger, that is far from valid. Need 1 remind you that I’ve seen your vertical, thus proving the point that every “idiot” cannot dunk a basketball. I am highly disappointed in you and your work. Scott Shealy Professional Management, Inc. Sport Administration Sophomore Minorities can’t be racist 1 read the column, “SG funding NAACP unjust.” I thought this column was worth replying to. The first thing I must ask is whether Mr. Gaskins knows the real meaning behind NAACP. In the column, he does tell the meaning of NAACP which is the National Associa tion for the Advancement of Colored Peo ple. This column seems to be focused on the “black communities” in the United States and that “black” people are the fo cus of the NAACP. The organization that involves all colored people. Black people are not the only people who are consid ered colored. How does Mr. Gaskins know what “black” people experience when it comes to education and the legal system? The whole reason behind political issues in the NAACP is to better the lives of all colored people in the United States. You act as if racist times are gone in the Unit ed States. Another reason I thought to reply to this was the comment on the NAACP be ing racist. How can races that are subor dinate in this society be racist? Do you know the definition of RACISM? Appar ently not. Our founding fathers you quote so well were owners of slaves; what does that say to you when you think about free dom. My founding fathers are the same as yours, but they do not hold any kind of im portance to me. Their words were fdled with hypocritical remarks. Why do you think minorities have to have groups such as this to try and help people who are not the privileged races in America. Do not get me wrong; I do believe that “white" people have been subjected to prejudice, but please do not compare that lo ihe “mi nority” experience. Open your eyes; please, and see what really is going on. Myleata Eldridge Freshman, College of Science and Math USCs ‘Cock’ is highly offensive As is unfortunately usual for The Game cock, your editorial on the suspension of an eigth-gradc student in Ohio for wear ing a “Cocks” hat was utterly lacking in aucful thought. In aisc you hadn’t noticed, the word “cocks” printed on a hat or a T shirt is actually quite offensive. Words like “Morchcad,” which would have lobe scru tinized for sexual innuendo, do not com pare to the word “cocks” printed on a hat or shirt, especially ifira place so far removed from the context of USC sports. While suspending the student might have been a little harsh, 1 certainly think that he should be prohibited from wearing the hat to school. And if I were the prin cipal, and the student tried to talk nfe out of my decision by using examples like the ones you used in your editorial" 1 would suspend him in less than a minute for us ing such poor critical thinking skills. Anna Bk 'kmon Moore M.FA Candidate, Creative Writing ’Cock a proud symbol of USC Kyle Hutchinson, an 8th grader at New ton High School in Pleasant Hill, Ohio, was given a three-day suspension for wear ing a USC baseball hat to a school bas ketball game that was held at the Univer sity of Dayton Arena. The hat was emblazoned with the word “Cocks” in bold with USC’s initials in lowercase under neath. It was also autographed by USC run ning back Ryan Brewer, who attended near by Troy High School. The school’s principal, Steve Brandeberry, justified this action by saying that Webster's HI International Dic tionary cites the word “cock” as “vulgar.” He apparently missed the following definition found in Webster’s New Col legiate Dictionary: the adult male of the domestic fowl, which is obviously the con text in which the hat was created. This is the worst type of First Amend ment violation, one that distorts the con text of speech in order to substantiate dra conian control. I have mailed several USC bumper stickers to the principal, along with a letter expressing my disgust over this abominable display of politically correct word mongering. If you feel the same way, you should support your university and its mascot by addressing your correspondence to the fol lowing location: Principal SteVe Brandeberry Newton High School 201 North Long Street Pleasant Hill, Ohio 45359 Jacob McCormick Educational Doctoral Student NAACP column shines light on truth Bravo, Mr. Gaskins, in regard to his column about the funding of the NAACP. Mr. Gaskins has a wonderful insight on the presence of the NAACP and what this or ganization represents. In fact, I am quite surprised that the University of South Car olina even allowed this article to be pub lished, considering that USC (board of trustees, President, etc...) in its judgment appears to speak for till students on the ba sis of racism (or outside the point of your article — the Confederate flag). All the NAACP has accomplished widi its economic boycott is to take money away from the hard-working black population of South Carolina, who work the majori ty of the tourism jobs in the state. But with a shroud of cloth (the flag) the NAACP has blinded everyone to this fact, by bang ing on the racist drum. Again, congratu lations on a wonderful column. Darrell Fraley History/ Geography Senior Editor’s note: The Editor in Chief, not the University of South Carolina, deter mines the content o/The G;tmcct>ck. Campus Issues Greeks need to get a hobby I’d like to wish everybody a wonderful spring break. Have a relaxing week in whatever you do. I’d also like to remind you that break is a time for excess, not success, as it is every day for some. Why is that, anyway? Why is it that people don’t strive to better themselves like they used to? It seems 10 me mat our priorities are out oi ■ whack. Too many of us are too con cerned with Playstation and beer to see through these simple college traps to the real world going on around us. Take my first two years at USC, for ex ample. They were spent in one of four ways — drinking beer, playing Playstation, lis tening to CDs or looking at girls around campus. Granted, these were two of the best years of my life, but I didn't really ac complish much and. in reality, 1 wasn’t very happy. If you know me well and have since I arrived at college, you’ve probably no ticed quite a change. This is not to say I ve matured very mucli on the surface, but I’ve cut down on a few of these pastimes significantlyand picked up a few more productive hobbies. After I’m graduated, I can honestly believe that I did something with my college ex perience. Freshman year put me in a new place full of new people and a new way of life. It takes awhile for it all to set in, but it’s too easy to become complacent and remain that way for all four years of school. Be fore you know it, you’ll be interviewing for jobs and handing in a blank resume. Too many students find themselves with too much time and not enough motivation to do anything productive. College is supposed to be the greatest time of our lives. I find it despicable how many people become ‘active’ by joyfully spending their time in a drunken haze, think ing that flirting with scantily clad women and extending their keg stand record time makes their lives better. Too many good people get sucked in to the Greek system and lose their sense of self. It’s no surprise that joining an or ganization based around superficialities can kill one’s sensitivity and humanity. You are all asking for it. I have walked around this campus and overheard too many vulgar conversations about “some bitch” at a party from the weekend before, and it makes me sick. Most of these guys were all dorks in high school who wanted to rein vent themselves when they got to college. Well, chances are you probably did. You are officially cool now that you proudly strut around with those letters on your chest. You can be as loud and vulgar and unproductive as you want to be because of the 40 bodyguards you paid to get your back and be your friend. Well, I have the answer: I think most of you need to get a hobby. Oh yeah, sorority girls piss me off, too. Every time I hear a group of you simulta neously shreiking “Hi y’all!” and “Bye | y’all!” I want to strangle someone. Not to generalize, but the majority of you think J that you’re better than the rest of the free world because your daddy is rich and you’ve always been his little princess. Little does he know (gasp!) you've done the walk of shame. I know plenty of nice Greeks who have managed to stay true to themselves, and I admire their resistance to the system. Too many take their new-found cool ness too far and think they’re better than the rest of us simply because of those let ters. There was a time that this attitude re ally got to me, but I now find it somewhat comical. Those letters might “represent” brother or sisterhood, but in reality, peo ple join to get friends, drink beer and hook up. It’s the whole “I watched ‘Animal House’ one too many times in high school, and now I think Greeks really have that much Tun at zero consequence” syndrome. Do you really maintain such lofty as pirations as managing a hotel bar or being a cheerleader Tor a company whose prod ucts will have no bearing on any oT our lives? Or is going to class just something to do until the bars open? The choice is yours. Just remember that life really be gins after college. We haven’t even been bom yet. / . Pete Johnson is a journalism senior. He can be reached at • gamecock viewpoints® hotmail.com