The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 20, 2000, Page 5A, Image 5
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Whc (Bmecock
Serving the Carolina Community since 1908
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 accomplishes
something practical
Student Government is often villified throughout campus as
being a group of students who have an inflated sense of self
importance and do nothing for the students they are supposed
to serve. However, SG has accomplished something all students
can visibly see and benefit from. The tunnel underneath Assembly
Street that leads to the Carolina Coliseum has been repainted. The
visually unappealing worms that have covered the tunnel walls for
more than 20 years have been replaced with paintings of different
Gamecock mascots, a university seal and a palmetto tree.
This is a vast improvement and one fans and students alike can
enjoy when walking to and from the Coliseum. Not only is it more
aesthetically pleasing, but it will also give those who walk through
the tunnel a greater sense of safety. Graffiti has covered the tunnel
walls for years, making those who walk through it realize that
crime has occurred there, and occurred frequently.
When SG does things the entire Carolina community can actu
ally see the results of, it begins to shed its negative image. Students
want SG to do something tangible, and by painting over a campus
eyesore while promoting school spirit, they’ve done exactly that.
Students don’t care when things are done “behind the scenes,” or
about their highly touted and ineffective meetings with adminisn-a
tion that don’t directly affect students. The ««»>«■ 30 realizes
this, the sooner it will actually begin to be recognized as doing
what it’s supposed to do — represent us, the students.
NRA wrong to blame
deaths on president
ayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National
Rifle Association, has refused to apologize to the White
House for saying last week that the Clinton Administra
tion is too lax on violators of existing gun laws.
Clinton has “blood on his hands,” according to LaPierre, who
said the president is responsible for the death of a college basket
ball coach killed by a man who wasn’t prosecuted for allegedly
violating a federal gun law.
It is extraordinarily ironic and hypocritical for an organization
that so vehemently promotes the right to bear arms to suggest that
the president is responsible for gun deaths. In the first place, the
NRA is using individual, isolated incidents as “evidence” of Clin
ton’s responsibility. But criminals always find ways to slip
through the cracks. That’s why they’re criminals.
The organization needs to examine collective statistics if they
hope to fairly justify such a claim. But White House Domestic
Policy Adviser Bruce Reed said gun crime in the United States is
down 35 percent. That doesn’t sound too much like an adminis
tration that’s been lax on gun crime prosecution. Even if the Clin
ton Administration hasn’t prosecuted gun-law violators to the
fullest extent of the law, it doesn’t justify LaPierre’s comment, an
outrageous statement made in poor taste that has alienated other
gun advocates and even Republican presidential nominee George
W. Bush.
Us ~
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 "»* ,lm« 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 Mrt by student activities fees.
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College Press Exchange
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National Issues
Jesus using God as a scare tactic
The following transcript is the fourth
installment in a continuing series depict
mg what might
happen if Satan
and Jesus ran
for the presi
dency oi the
United States of
America in the
year2000.
MAHER Wel
come to
tonight’s edition
of ‘Politically
Incorrect.’ I’m
your host Bill
Maher, and I am
joined this
evening by Sen.
Strom Thur
mond, MTV prankster Tom Green, for
mer Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich,
and Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker.
I’d like to start the show by asking Sen.
Thurmond how he feels about his party’s
candidate.
(Thurmond appears to be either dead or
asleep)
MAHER: OK. How about you, Newt?
GINGRICH: Initially, I was skeptical about
how well Satan would represent the ideals
and values of our party. I was intrigued by
Satan after I heard his position on foreign
policy, but it wasn’t until I learned of his
zero percent tax plan that I realized the
scope of the dark lord’s political vision.
Nevertheless, I was concerned that the
conservative Christian community would
be skeptical about the Prince of Darkness.
But Republicans all over this country have
embraced him.
GREEN: DEAR LORD! YOU’RE SELL
ING YOUR SOULS TO SATAN!
GINGRICH. Not exactly, Tom. We’re just
accepting Satan’s past in order to achieve
our political goals.
(SEEN: So what you’re telling me is that
you like bathing little boys in vegetable
oil?
GINGRICH. WHAT!
MAHER: That’s enough, Tom!
(SEEN: I think it is you who likes bathing
little boys in vegetable oil, Mr. Host.
MAHER: Tom, I’m going to ask you to
leave if you don’t stop.
GREEN: What about my bum-bum, will
it have to leave?
(Green rubs his “bum-bum” on Maher’s
face and is promptly thrown off the set)
MAHER: Sorry about that. As you all
know, Jesus and Satan announced their run
ning mates this week to agreat deal of con
troversy. I’d like to talk first about Satan’s
choice for vice president, Jerry Falwell.
ROCKER Isn’t he the over-zealous Bap
tist bigot?
MAHER: Yes.
ROCKED I like him.
GINGRICH: You see, Bill, having Jerry
Falwell as a vice president attracts a lot of
people who, like John, will vote for Satan
in November.
ROCKER Actually, Newt, I was going to
vote for Satan long before I knew whom
his running mate would be.
MAHHC I don’t understand.
ROCKER Well, it’s quite simple, Bill. I
can’t vote for Jesus because he’s black and
Jewish.
MAHER But he’s Jesus.
ROCKER I hate everyone that’s not a
heterosexual, white, Anglo-Saxon Protes
tant.
MAHER But he’s Jesus.
ROCKER “Doesn’t matter. He oughtago
live in New York or something. I hate him.
MAHER: “There’s an obvious point I
could make here, but I don’t think it would
do any good. Let’s talk about Jesus’ choice
for vice president. I don’t know about you
guys, but I was shocked out of my mind
when Jesus announced that his running
mate would be his dad, God.
GINGRICH: I think it’s obvious what the
Democrats are trying to do here, Bill. They
recognized that we’re going to get a lot of
Christian votes with Jerry Falwell on the
ticket, and so they had Jesus ask his dad to
run as his V.P. It’s the dirtiest trick in the
book. It’s a scare tactic. I mean, would you
vote against God knowing that he’d ban
ish you to eternal damnation if he didn’t
get your vote?
MAHER Actually, yes. I know I’ve said
in the past that I’d rather be sodomized
with a steak knife than vote Republican,
but I am left no choice other than to vote
for Satan in November.
(The audience is stunned; even Sen. Thur
mond wakes up.)
GINGRICH: Uh... Bill, I never thought
I’d ever ask this question, but why are you
voting Republican?
MAHER It’s quite simple, Newt. With
Jesus and God in the White House, there
is no separation between church and state.
And as an ultra-liberal, I cannot accept
that.
GINGRICH: Yes! They’re violating the
separation of church and state! Down with
the Democrats!
ROCKER Yeah! Kill God and that f@#
%ing Jewish bastard.
THURMOND: Yeah! Lynch ‘em fellas!
CROWD: Satan! Satan! J
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Jeremy Touzel
is a mathematics
senior and can
be reached via at
gamecock
viewpoints®
hotmaii.com
Social Issues
Models
often
sluts
In magazines,
television, ad
vertisements,
billboards, and yes,
even The Game
cock newsroom,,
there are pictures
of females with lit
tle or no clothing
on their near-per
fect bodies (in
some cases). These
types of people
don’t deserve the
respect of being
called ladies or
women. No, these
“girls” are sluts.
I define sluts as
people who parade
uieir bodies around as objects ot sex. No
matter the reason, these girls forfeit their
decency when they remove their clothes
and say “cheese” in front of the camera.
Some might aigue that I am jealous be
cause my sizes are nowhere as small as
most of the sluts in society today. How
ever, I am quite confident with myself, and
even if I looked like that, I would NEVER
compromise my pride for a mere paycheck.
I would be quite curious to see how
many of those girls phone home after a
photo shoot and say, “Hey Mom go pick
up a Playboy and look at my centerfold.”
What do sluts put on their resumes?
Do they submit clips to their future em
ployers?
Sluts don’t have to worry about real
problems, like finding a decent job. I sus
pect their looks will last them until they
find men who want to marry them. Of
course, no decent man would want his wife
placed in front of society holding no self
respect or morals to his family name.
What if someone recognizes a slut in
public? Does her face turn bright red as
she hides behind her sunglasses?
Or, do they not get embarrassed? Do
they sign away their pictures to jaw-drop
ping perverted men?
There are many women who are try
ing to change the country and demand more
respect in the business world.
However, sluts are making growth in
society difficult for women. Even though
there are men who model, it isn’t quite the
same. 1 believe male modeling and other
types of entertainment developed long af
ter males were sucessful in the business
world. Sluts have been around since the
1920s. Back then they were called flap
pers.
Not only are sluts amateur models in
society, there are also well-off profession
al sluts. Jennifer Lopez revealed her slut
ty image recently when she graced the most
prestigious music awards cermony in a
scarf.
If you want to dress like that and draw
aftpntinn tn vnnrc/alf fhon vnn’ro a clnf
Mackenzie
Craven
is a journalism
sophomore. She
can be reached
at gamecotk
viewpoints© '
hotmail.com
—
Athletes should have to go
to class, too
Since I have been a student at USC, I have found my
self asking people the same question semester after se
mester. How do athletes come to class with no pencil, pa
per or books and still pass? This has been a big concern to
me and to classmates who struggle to make the grade.
I have looked for answers, but the only one that 1 have
found is that athletes have tutors and note takers who sit
in for them when they are away and when they are in class.
I’m sure I am not the only person who has asked this ques
tion, and I probably will not be the last.
College is supposed to be about academics, not who
wins the most games! So how do the rest of us get VIP
treatment like the athletes? I am sure that the rest of the
college would like to know that secret. I work about 25
hours per week, take 15 hours of classes and struggle to
make the grades I receive. I know an athlete cannot pos
sibly be doing more than that, if so, why should they be
taking class in the first place? I think it’s very shameful to
see sports at USC take the place of academics, and I would
really like to know the answer.
Maybe Dr. Palms or the head of the athletics depart
ment could help us with these answers.
Edward Lewis
Criminal Justice Senior
Baha’i newest independent
world religion
We’re very pleased that The Gamecock chose to fea
ture the Feb. 29 panel on “The Role of Women in Reli
gion” so prominently in the next day’s issue. Covering such
events e xposes readers to different ways of thinking and
can eliminate misunderstandings and fear or ill feelings to
ward others.
Accurate information is necessary to promote under
standing and dispel misconceptions. Therefore, we
would like to correct one statement in an otherwise fine
report of the comments made regarding the Baha’i faith.
The Baha’i faith is not “the newest denomination of
Christianity,” but rather the newest independent world re
ligion on the same order as Judaism, Christianity, Bud
dhism, Islam and Hinduism.
It teaches that there is a single God and that the world’s
great religions have, throughout history, taught the same
essential spiritual truths and brought social teachings ap
propriate to the requirements of each age of a developing
human civilization.
Baha’is revere Abraham, Moses, Christ, Zoroaster,
Buddha, Krishna and Mohammad as bearers of the same
dviine truth. We also believe that Baha’u’llah, the
prophet/founder of our faith, was a manifestation of God
who revealed divine truth and brought teachings to unite
humanity into a peaceful family. We hope this provides
some clarity. Thank you for the wonderful services you
provide the university community.
Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Columbia
Barbara Sheridan
Principal’s position on Cock
is understandable
It greatly humors me to see the politically
correct moral outrage displayed in this paper regarding
the young student in Ohio who was suspended from
school for wearing a Cocks hat. I am glad our campus is
full of those who would stand up and defend the pride of
our school.
However, this situation needs to be viewed in light of
reality. The young Ryan Brewer fan in Ohio might be an
exceptional case, but anyone who lives farther than 400
miles from Columbia knows the truth — that Cocks hats
are not best-selling collegiate merchandise in honor of our
athletic prowess or our numerous national championships.
The nearly exclusive reason these hats are worn north
of the Mason-Dixon line and west of the Mississippi Riv
er is that they are a vulgar expression celebrated by ado
lescent-minded men of all ages.
In this light, the villainous principal’s position is com
pletely understandable. No South Carolina high school of
ficial would allow a similar symbol of vulgarity to be rep
resented among his young Southern gentlemen whom he
requires to say “yes, sir” or “yes, ma’am.”
Chad Glass
English Freshman
Apples should have been
included in computer article
I saw MacKenzie Craven’s timely article about stu
dent computers, and I had to write with a quick comment.
The article should have mentioned Apple computers, es
pecially the latest version of the iMac and the iBook.
Especially in light of the fact that you folks have put
an iBook graphic on the bottom of the front page since
sometime last semester! Apple has really gone out of its
way lately to make sure that students can use Macs for lots
of stuff. Please, the next time The Gamecock rates some
computers, don’t leave out Apple.
Tim Micheal
Phd. Finance Student