Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Quote, Unquote ‘Students who want to keep the amount of learning as low as possible should not enroll in my classes.’ Howard Becker, associate professor of mathematics Page 6 I^IE (BaitiCCOCk Monday, April 3,2000 Whe (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 Rise in housing prices should be same for all Iiving in the best residence halls on campus just got a lot more expensive. A 13 percent increase in the price of the South Quadrangle res idence hall, along with a 9 percent increase in Horseshoe-area apartments, has been approved by the Department of Housing and is expected to be approved this'summer by the university’s board of trustees. Living on the Horseshoe will cost $3,700 a year, while South Quad will cost $3,900 a year and the new East Quadrangle will cost $4,000 a year. If tuition rates increase as they usually do, this means it will cost just as much (or more) for in-state students \o live in those dorms than it will for them to pay for tuition for one semester. Think about that. Is living in a residence hall for a semester really worth the same amount of money as the education we’re suppos edly here to get? Sure, South Quad is getting renovations over the summer and parts of the Horseshoe are getting new furniture. But other resi dence halls are receiving new carpeting, new computers, sprinkler systems and other renovations, and their costs are increasing only 4 percent. It would have made much more sense to increase every dorm’s cost by the same amount, rather than punishing the stu dents who are already paying the most for housing. For the first time since 1996, we’re expected to have more than enough housing available for those who want it. It’s a shame that the increase in spaces has also come with a price increase that’s above the national rate of inflation. We can only hope Hous ing will find a better way to draw the line between providing its students extra amenities and keeping already lofty housing prices at a level that students can afford to pay. It's time to change the school fight song In a movement that’s long overdue, USC head football coach Lou Holtz has begun fighting to change the Carolina fight song. A school’s fight song should be the rallying point at every ath letic event, but sadly enough, this hasn’t been the case at USC. Very few people seem to know the words to the fight song, and very few people ever will unless it’s changed. The school fight song has been used for less than 40 years, so there isn’t a long-standing tradition associated with it. The only tradition our fight song can truly claim is that nobody knows the words to it. Our school needs a song to which everyone knows the words and can sing along. Schools such as the University of Tennessee have fight songs known nationwide. Maybe this football season, when the Volunteers begin to play “Rocky Top” over and over, we’ll finally have something of our own with which to retaliate. USC doesn’t have anything to properly call its own, other than its mascot, when it comes to school spirit. So maybe by changing the fight song we’ll no longer have to depend on “2001,” which is a theme song from a movie, as our only claim to fame. With this change will come increased school pride and spirit. A fight song we can all sing to could give our teams the lift they need to win. 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 The Gamecock Ken ley Young Amy Gould,ng 1400 Greene Street Editor in Chief Travis Lynn Columbia, SC 29208 B,ad Wal,ere Photo Editors . . Managing Editor Will Gillaspy Offices on th.rd floor of the Russell House. Brock Vergakis Online Editor Stuoekt Media Area code 803 Viewpoints Editor Peter Johnson Advertising 777-3888 Clayton Kale Asst. Viewpoints Editor Classified 777-1184 News Editor Kelly Haggerty Fax 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 Assf. Etcetera Editor Editor gckedOsc edu 777-3914 EtCetera Editors Elizabeth Rod News gcknewsOsc edu 777-7726 David Cloninger Asst. Sports Editor Viewpoints gckv,ews®sc.edu 777 7181 Shannon Rooke Rob Fleming Etc. gckelcOsc 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 wwwgamecock sc edu 777-2833 Renee Oligny Charlie Wallace SUBMISSION KOUCY isuyr cuni* Letters to the editor or guest columns are welcome fdZ*c£tribulor from all members of the Carolina community. Letters _ should be 250-300 words Guest columns should be an « K . cnrv 7(vt ^ Ellen Parsons Business Manager opmon piece of about 600-700 words 0,rec(of Shew, Holmes Both must include name, phone number, profes- Susan Kjng Classified Manager sional title or year and ma|or. 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 tetephone number for Bets, Martin Rohm Gomba, The Gamecock reserves the right to edit lor I,bet. Kathy Van Nostrand Gina McKelve, style and space. Anonymous lettefs 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 Stan College Press Exchange Hmm n/nBe iF TRieD A STRoNGeR BREATH MiNT.«.. _ National Issues Focus is on Americans, not Jesus For those of you keep ing up, I’ve been writ ing a series of columns this se mester depict ing what might happen if Jesus and Satan both ran for president later this year. Unfortunately, much of what I’ve written has been misinter preted, so I’m using this final installment to explain the message 1 m trying to express. From its inception, the focus of these columns has been on the American peo ple, not Jesus or Satan. I chose this di chotomous duo because they arc two of the most fascinating characters in litera ture, and I knew they would be easy to manipulate. If I offended anyone’s reli gious views with my ideas, then I am tru ly sorry. However, if I olfended anyone’s nationalist views with my ideas, I am proud of my work. Now, if Jesus and Satan really ran for president, I think Jesus would obviously win. However, if these two were given 21st century qualities and new names, just think about what might happen. Under which party would they run? What would heir platforms be like? And whom would hey choose to be their vice president? If anyone actually thinks Jesus would run as a Republican, they need to remove he cement from their brains and try again. Except for a few issues, Jesus is a die-hard liberal. For starters, think about social pro >rams like welfare and social security: Would Jesus want the rich to stay rich and ihe poor to stay poor? Even though I’m no longer a Christian, 1 did go to church lack in the day, and I do remember hear ing that the meek shall inherit the earth. However, if Jesus had to make policy, do you think he would want the richest 10 percent of this country to have 80 per cent of its wealth? Every time I look at that statistic, it makes me sick, and I think Jesus would feel the same way. Jesus would support welfare. He would support Social Security. He would want every person in this country to have healdi insurance. He would be very sad to know :here are millions of greedy people who aren't willing to contribute to these es sential social programs, knowing the hard ships that would arise if they were not available. But, you Democrats out there should n't feel too righteous. Consider the abor tion issue: If you claim to be Christian, hut are pro-choice, you need to take a se rious look inside. Does any sane person honestly think Jesus would feel that the convenience of an abortion is more im portant than an unborn baby’s right to life? At the same time, Republicans, what about gun control? Would Jesus want Americans to own so many handguns, knowing the lives that they take away? Finally, would this country elect a black, Jewish man as president? Unfortunately, that won’t happen anytime this decade, even if the candidate’s name is Jesus. The bottom line is that we humans, particularly we Americans, are a despi cable people. We’ll spend 20 bucks on a Heidi Klum calendar before we’ll give a penny to the American Diabetes Asso ciation. We’ll buy something as worthless as new rims for our car before we’ll give a penny to the hungry for essential things like foal and water. No one is ex empt, including myself. I shudder to think of the good I could have done in the hun dreds of hours that I’ve spent watching professional wrestling. As Plato said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” We need to think about the choices we make and the di rection that our lives, our country, and, ultimately, air planet arc headed. We need to ask ourselves whether it’s more im portant to watch die “Jerry Springer Show” than spend time writing a letter to our parents. In the long run, is it more im portant to talk with our friends about our dreams for the future or the dress that Jennifer Lope/, wore to the Oscars? In the long run, what is important? Jeremy Touzel ,is a mathematics senior. The view points editor can be reached at gamecockviewpoi nts@hotmail.com College Press Exchange X' J'(7 CrUS?\^ TMe \ ‘ Tve /^»55/n^ £-MAIl 0aJ Pv/aW PAl5(M6- At*P tAot^ic* (?c»r a / ^iTch vyi UOJ^ v^'es^ Letters Letter was only an attack on coaches I have one question for Frank Aber nathy: What was the point of your letter? To me, it appeared to be nothing more than a personal attack on two of the pre mier college coaches in America. How ever, it w;ts quite evident that you kick the knowledge necessary to support your as sessment of these two individuals. Therefore, I will take a second to fill you in. In seven seasons, Eddie Fogler has led the Gamecocks to two NCAA tour nament bids, an NIT tournament bid, as well as the school’s first SEC clrampionship. Under Fogler, the Grimccocks have been ranked as high as number four in the na lion. This year's young team finished strong, and Foglcr has a great recniiting class com ing next season, including one of the lop 10 high school players in the nation. Lou Holtz has only been in control of the football program for one season. It is completely unrealistic to expect him to turn around a losing program in such a short lime span. He, too, has a solid re cruiting class coming in. He is a proven winner, and will do so again in two or three years. Both of these coaches have every right to speak their mind about the Confeder ate flag issue, whether a local or national issue. They both reside in South Carolina (who cares where they are to be buried?). They also have a personal interest in the issue as the NAACP’s boycott of South Carolina could soon alTcct the reemitment of black athletes. I hope both Foglcr and Holtz contin ue to speak their minds. In fact, next time I see them on television talking about the issue, I hope they take a second to respond to a certain idiot by the name of Frank Abernathy who decided to make slanderous remarks about them in their school’s newspaper. They arc both too classy and have too much at slake to do such a thing; howev er, I do not. That is why 1 felt it neces sity to do so. William Parker English Senior Campus Issues Learning fight song possible For years, I’ve ’ been writing j and rewriting a little speech in j my head. I never write it down; I i save it in a little \ bundle of neurons i conveniently j linked to my Mor- j tifying Phenomena file, and I only | think about it when j our state has made j the news for some j blindingly embar rassing reason. I | don’t know when I’ll have to deliver this speech, but someuav i 11 nave iu luiiviiiciiikiy ca plain that I am an intelligent, competent person, despite my place of origin. It might be in a job interview or just a conversation with a colleague from anoth er state. At some point, 1 will have to ex plain that, yes, I come from the state that flew the Confederate Naval Jack into the third millennium, and yes, it’s where the deservedly maligned Bob Jones Universi ty is, and yes, we were the lone state re fusing to grant a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but that somehow, we’re really not all backward morons. Really. Football coach Lou Holtz’s recent com ments have sent me back to the speech. In case you missed it, Holtz complained that USC’s fight song is impossible to learn. He said he has tried to leant it, and that lie’s tried to teach it to his players to no avail. He has given up. First, a disclaimer: 1 have no idea how the fight song goes. I would not recognize the tune, and 1 first saw the lyrics in The Shite the day the story broke. But then, I have been to exactly one USC sporting event. Ever. Despite my lack of sports or fight song knowledge, I understand why the fight song issue is important to Holtz. A good song can bolster the spirit of the troops or be come part of a celebration ritual. I have no quarrel with his assessment of the value of a song. Nor will I aigue that our current song should be kept for sentimental reasons. There can’t be much tradition associated with a song few people know. But say its lyrics arc bland. Say the tunc stinks. Say it’s time for something updat ed, more relevant, more interesting- Say1111 angel told you in a dream that die song must be changed for USC to win a game. But please, don’t say we need to change it because it’s too hard to learn. The world already holds the prejudice that we arc stupid without us complaining that a 77-word song is impossible to memorize. I am confident that even a sub-average human brain can team just about any 77 word document, even if it lias difficult words with worse syntax. Presumably, football players do not have sub-average brains and arc at least in telligent enough to be in college. And the lyrics contain no doozies, but consist most ly of variations on the “Go, fight. Cocks” concept. Just what would the subject matter of an easy fight song be? Even if - or, especially, if it is true - that certain members of the USC commu nity are so simple they can’t learn a song, g we should try to keep that information un der wraps for the sake of other products of this university. Some dirty secrets should be kept. But not only did Holtz find it neces sary to air this view, 77ie State chose to give the issue front-page coverage. Note to The Slate, not every utterance that escapes Holtz’s mouth needs to be recorded on the front page. I’m sure lie’s a nice guy with important tilings to say, but this declaration wasn’t worthy of so much attention. Fortunately, the story didn’t seem to get picked up. I made a paranoid little search on various sports-oriented Web sites and didn’t find any headlines screaming “USC Fumbles Fight Song” or anything else. Maybe we’ll be spared the national spot light over this one. And maybe I’ll never have to assure a prospective employer that, despite being a g USCgnid, I’m able to of learning a 77-word composition. Or even something a little harder. t ' KIkl McCormick is a graduate stu dent. The Viewpoints editor can be reached at gamecock vlewpoints@hot mail.com