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-'fjhteSi T 7A • , Quote, Unquote JH/% / “I /ATT -tt^v >^v - |^v -I- r^d ‘I know you will get there. You are good people.’ \j I—" \/\/ Iff I Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., expressing confidence that South ? _l_V_y f ▼ V^/_I_l_ Carolinans will resolve the flag issue Page 6 IDlC 03111C CO Ck Friday, April 21, 2000 Wie (Bamecock . 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 Defeating Clemson proves team's valor Congratulations are in order for the members of the USC baseball team, who on Monday were named the No. 1 team in America by all major polls. It’s the first time a USC team has held that position since 1994, when our soccer team was ranked No. 1 in the country. The Gamecocks didn’t disappoint last night, either, as they beat archrivals the Clemson Tigers 9-8 in the 12th inning, one of the most exciting games of the season. Season after season, the Gamecock baseball team has turned in solid performances and consistent winning records. And while hardcore USC fans have offered them honest, undying support, the team hasn’t received the respect they so richly deserve from the Carolina and Columbia communities, who are more concerned with our struggling football and basketball programs. For Coach Ray Tanner and his team, this ranking represents the culmination of years of hard work and dedication. They earned this position, and we’re proud of them for it. Plus, they’ve beaten Clemson twice in eight days. What more can we ask of them? USC heads to Kentucky on Friday to play the No. 23 Wildcats. The Gamecock wishes good luck to the baseball team, the No. 1 college baseball program in America. Housing resolution to be commended Xt seems Student Government is finally getting the picture that students want them to achieve something we’ll actually care about. Sen. Brian Hunter proposed a resolution that would make Rousing sign up operate in the same manner as registering for classes. Many upperclassmen got less than desirable housing assign ments for the fall, and SG is trying to do something about it so it won’t happen again. The housing department knows upperclass men want apartment-style residences and led many students to believe that those with 60 or more hours would get into these halls. However, the housing department said that “virtually” all up erclassmen would get into these halls. Many students decided not to seek off-campus housing because they believed they wouldn’t get into an apartment-style residence hall, only to be disappointed by being assigned to such residence halls as The Roost. Under the resoloution proposed by Sen. Hunter, students could see what rooms are available so they could make a more informed decision as to whether to commit to living on campus. After the completion of East Quadrangle, it will be a long time before any more apartment-style residence halls will become available. If the housing department can’t offer us any additional apartment-style residence halls, the least they can do is offer a better system of signing up for housing. We urge the housing de partment to take a close look at Sen. Hunter’s plan, for it has the potential to truly benefit students. .The other memebers of SG should follow Hunter’s lead, and begin offering more resolutions that, as Hunter says, “ ... people actually want.” After all, that’s exactly why we have student gov ernment in the first place — to do things we actually want them to___ A B O U T U S mi 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 1400 Greene Street Columbia, SC 29208 Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Student Media Area code 803 Advertising 777-3888 Classified 777-1184 Fax 777-6482 Office 777-3888 Gamecock Area code 803 Editor gcked@sc.edu 777-3914 News gamecocknews@hotmail.com 777-7726 Viewpoints gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com Etc. gcketc@sc.edu 777-3913 Encore! gamecockencore@hotmail.com 777-3913 Sports gamecocksports@hotmail.com 777-7182 Online www.gamecock.sc.edu 777-2833 Submission Policy 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 opinion piece of about 600-700 words. Both must include name, phone number, profes sional title or year and major, if a student Handwritten submissions must be personally delivered to Russell House room 333. E-mail submissions must include telephone number for confirmation. . The Gamecock reserves the right to edit for libel, style and space. Anonymous letters will not be pub lished. Photos are required for guest columnist and can be provided by the submitter. ^Call 777-7726 for more informatirft. I HE VjAMECOCK 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 David Cloninger Shannon Rooke Sports Editors Kristin Free state Copy Desk Chief Renee Oligny Copy Editor Kevin Langston Encore Editor Student Media Ellen Parsons Director Susan King Creative Director Kris Black Julie Burnett Todd Hooks Betsy Martin Kathy Van Nostrand Creative Services Kenton Watt Advertising Manager Carolyn Griffin Amy Goulding Travis Lynn Photo Editors Will Gillaspy Online Edita Peter Johnson Asst. Viewpoints Edita Kelly Haggerty Patrick Rathbun Asst. News Editors MacKenzie Craven Asst. EtCetera Edita Elizabeth Rod Asst. Sports Edita Rob Fleming Asst. Encore Edita Charles Prashaw Shawn Singleton Charlie Wallace 4 Senia Writers Emily Streyer Editorial Contributor Business Manager Sherry Holmes Classified Manager Erik Collins Faculty Adviser Jonathan Dunagin Graduate Assistant Robyn Gombar Gina McKelvey Melissa Millen Brantley Roper Nicole Russell AdvertisinpStaft College Press Exchange r \ JUST AS WE \( ISEMNbEb, JUAN MIGUEL. NAS COME TO THE US.)fc077/mS.W(FE ANt> CMiUb. I NOVI WMAT ? •-\ NOW, «EWusr£\M&- „ *GUANlANAtAEW\ BACKWARD WWl£ STANWMG-ON HIS HEAb • ^-„-J Social Issues Mainstream music not 'art' -w- ■w'Shshs — I—I olih God A AHahaha haha! (And for you “e” kids: LOL) Lar, Lars, Lars... (Lars Ul rich, drummer of Metallica) You kill me man! I am laughing at the article that ap peared on the front page of the Gamecock on Wednesday, April 18,2000, “Metallica at tacks Napster _»» Mario Ona is a public rela tions senior. The Viewpoints editor can be reached at gamecock viewpoints® hotmail.com MCU JllV. Now people, before I begin, let me just say this: I think Metallica is great. I really do. And Lars Ulrich is a phenom enal drummer. But would I pirate a Metal lica MP3 off the net? You bet your sweet little leather and lace ass I would! For those of you who missed the ar ticle, Metallica sued a Web company that was making MP3s more accessible without any authorization from the mu sicians whose music was being traded. Metallica won, and that’s fine. Between the rich and greedy, one tak ing several hundred thousand from an other-no biggie! Who cares! What repulses me to the point of gid dy laughter; is Ulrich’s anger with people having access to Metallica music without paying for it. He said, “It is sickening to know that our art [hahahahaha! - this is me laughing] is being traded like a com modity rather than the art that it is. Can you freaking believe this guy? Metallica being art. Maybe at one point it was, but as soon as THEY - Lars, James, and the other boys of Metallica - decid ed to use their music to become mil lionaires, it is THEY who made their art a commodity. Apparently, it is “sickening” for others to use their “art” like a commod ity, but when Metallica chooses to plas ter “Metallica” on everything from T shirts to bumper stickers and treat their own name, music and image as a Happy Meal, then it is OK. Whatever, Lars... I love you, man, but whatever! You’re funny to me, like most corporate “artists” who sell their souls for the dough. Not that there is any thing wrong with getting some royalties for your passion. Sounds like a damn good plan: getting paid to do something you love. I’d sell out. But don’t try to sell us this crap about how your art is being treated as a com modity. Sounds like you’re just pissed off because you aren’t making any royalties off.MP3s. Well, you know what? Suck it up, big boy. Your fans have paid $15 a pop for CDs, they have given you your three sports cars and your cruises to the Ba hamas, and now they want a piece of the pie. What’s wrong with that? As an artist, shouldn’t you be happy with just knowing people adore your mu sic, knowing that people are inspired by your “art?” Is that not a reward in itself? OK, let’s be more practical. Aren’t the three sports cars in your garage enough? Haven’t the fans paid enough? Yeah, yeah, you rock and you deserve to make mon ey, but when do you cross the line be tween musician and entrepreneur? The musician who is motivated by an intangi ble, priceless passion that bums inside and the entrepreneur who is inspired by mon ey. The musician-artist who writes or sings from the heart for its intrinsic sense of accomplishment and the musician-en - trepreneur who sings or writes albums to make money. Who is real? What prod uct is art? Van Gogh didn’t try to sell T-shirts with his ear on them, did he? Did Pablo Picasso ever add red and white paint to his art as a form of product placement for Coca-Cola? I hope not. The point is, art stops being art when the inspiration becomes something as tan gible as money. And how dare Lars call Metallica’s work “art” when it is conve nient, yet exploit his “art” when some royalties can be made. Finally, this is what I’m going to say: To hell with these big rock stars! If you can get free MP3s, do it! But do it IF you plan to enjoy the music. If you are us ing someone else’s talents to make mon ey for yourself then you’re even more pa thetic than these corporate sold-soul “artists.” You want to support musicians, true artists? Support small record labels. Sup port local musicians. Pay $15 and support them. Buy a Hurt Reynolds CD, buy a Love Apple CD, buy a Speakeasies CD. This early in the game, they are doing mu sic because they love their music. Their motivation is having a good turnout at a gig. Any money they make will go into making better music for you. But once they get too big, screw them. Get their stuff online for free. You helped them get there, now its time to help yourself. Letters Flag a symbol of rich man’s exploitations Corey Ford’s column on the true caus es of the Civil War raises an interesting issue: Whether the majority of Confed erate soldiers were misled by the wealthy Southern aristocracy into believing a false hood (i.e. that the war was provoked by concerns over States Rights, and not by the plantation owners’greed) but fails to follow through to its logical conclu sion. At the Core of this question stands the basic conflict of interests between poor and rich. I believe this is a realisti cally self-evident issue: My great grandfathers (who were struggling small farmers in North Carolina at the time, a.k.a. “poor”) did not risk their lives be cause they believed that slavery was an ethical institution. Rather, the rich men who controlled Southern society tricked them into believing that they would have to defend their homes against an evil North. In reality, President Lincoln and the abo litionists had nothing against my (non slaveowning) family or any other poor Southerners. Instead, the Southern aris tocrats duped their sharecropping tenants and other poor neighbors into believing that the North had it in for them. Don tget me wrong: 1 m not ashamed of my great grandfathers’ commitment to a cause that they thought was defending their homes and families. But they were wrong, and their lives would not have been any better under a Confederate gov ernment. They would still have been poor and exploited, and the rich planters would still have enjoyed the luxury of feudal barons, at the expense of the vast major ity of the South’s population. It is time to exile to the past the lie that says the 'Civ il War was a noble fight. It is time to bring down from our Statehouse dowme that symbol of the rich man’s exploitation of our society, and demonstrate that South Carolinians are democratically minded, that we do not cling to the vestiges of the aristocratic system. Down with the ex ploiting plantation overlords! Robert Davis History and Philosophy Senior Honors College column lacks research, Peter Johnson’s whining about the unfair university policies concerning the Honors College do not make up for blatantly disregarding the duty to research your material. Let me start with your first error. The Honors College is not respon sible for the College of Journalism and Mass Communications’ scheduling prob lems. Instead of blaming others, please go and talk to your dean. The Honors Col lege can offer any class it wants to, just as the College of Journalism and Mass Com munications can. If the Honors College wants to offer five journalism classes and six special dorms, that is the right of the college. It has earned its place at the uni versity by attracting National Merit Schol ars, among other scholars, which as a re sult gives USC a higher national rating and brings in more donation money. You and I go to a better school because of these facts. Also, for the record, hon ors housing is exclusing to honors students just as greek housing is exclusive to greek students. I couldn’t live on a “hall” if I wanted, and that is the same principl^. Oh, and by the way, Preston Residential College is not an honors dorm. Anyone accepted, after an application process, is allowed to live there and and have “their own luxury dining facility.” For your in formation, most of the food is the same as that offered at the GMP. SonaShah Biology Junior Class ring sign of school pride When I was in high school, something that 1 looked forward to was wearing a class ring and receiving that all-important senior class standing. As a junior at USC about to enter my senior year, I realize how important it is to have a class ring bearing the school’s seal and my graduation year. As I think about the university, 1 think about the deep- rooted tradition that stu dents contribute to everyday. The stu dents at USC pride themselves on at tending a school with a historic horseshoe and an amazing football stadium. People always say that your college years are the best years of your life. A class ring is one way to remember these years. It is a tangible symbol of the tradition and pride associated with the University of South Carolina. I hope the students at USC rec ognize the importance of school pride and how wearing a class ring unites students from the past, the present and the future. Rachel McCurry Public Relations Junior * Campus Issues NAACP d! should compromise I find it hypocritical of Nathan White to proclaim that “he will not sate his opin ion” concerning the flying of the Confed erate ensign above the Statehouse dome, when the context of his column clearly in dicates his anti-flag views. To further in sult the intelligence of the informed readers of this campus, few that they maybe, Mr. White provides in correct and slanderous insinuations in his an John Kirby is a guest columnist. The Viewpoints editor can be reached at gamecockview points® hotmail.com ti-tlag propaganda. The battle flag above the Statehouse is more than the flag of the Confederate Navy; it is al so the battle flag of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, in which thousands of South Car olinians served. Claims that thousands marched from Charleston to Columbia exaggerate the true participation, with the exception of the last two miles here in Columbia The average number of participants for the march itself was no more than 50. The Confederate flag above the dome is not the most divisive issue in South Girolina; the activities of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and their legal and racially motivated boycott are. The NAACP is unwilling to compromise, and now the nation will have the opportunity to see this oiganization for what it truly is; a self-serving, divisive oiganization lacking the creativity and desire to address the real issues confronting those they claim to represent. Where has the NAACP made an effort to solve problems with crime, dnigs, teercge preg nancy, unemployment or education amongst their supporters or of the nation in general? No, these are issues that call for innovation and sacrifice, truths and effort, all of which the NAACP would prefer to ignore. ') The flag has not prevented those opposed to its flying from education and opportunity, the realities that self-responsibility rests with each individual to succeed in this world. The flag has become a soft taiget for some, those unwilling to accept their responsibility for suc cess or failure. I am an unapologetic flag sup- ■ porter, proud of my state, my nation and my ancestors who fought and sacrificed under both flags. A compromise was offered, and the NAACP rejected this offer. Just as the Palmetto tree would bend yet not break in 1776, when under fire gainst the British, so shall the spir it rtf tk/\ Crtutk nrti/Ar iiiaiiiam Anti flag groups have aligned themselves with Bill Clinton, A1 Gore, Kweisi Mfume, A1 Sharpton and so forth. None of these individ uals is from South Carolina, and I question the *, character of each of these anti flag leaders. Clin ton and Gore, need I even offer explanation as to their lack of credibility? Mr. Mfume, per haps he should occupy himself more with the parenting of his children before lecturing South Carolinians; his son was sentenced to prison last week for possession and distribution of co caine, along with possession of an illegally ob tained firearm. Sharpton is as much of a racist as is to be found on either side of the issue, yet the liberal media portray him as a crusader of justice. Is he helping 0. J. find the killer? No, he is busy depicting 0. J. as another victim! As for Mr. White’s question as to this be ing an issue of intelligence vs. ignorance? The obvious answer is yes, and the intelligent par ticipants in this debate are those who know their history, family, state and nation. Perhaps^ Mr. White should consider incorporating a few v history lessons into his education before at tempting to follow in the footsteps of other re constructionists, or more accurately, revision ists. Slavery was wrong, but placed in its historical context, which a truly knowledgeable histori an does, it is understandable how this institu tion existed not only in die South, but the North, the Caribbean, Central America, South Amer ica, Europe, Asia, and most of all, Africa! This fight is not over slavery. I am unaware of any slaves that are protesting this issue. It is on the attempted desecration and misrepre sentation of the Confederate flag and those who fought under it. I encourage USC to hold an open debate on this issue. Those who know their history are from South Carolina. Those who will live, work and die in South Carolina after completion of school best understand the importance of the flag. And before the left brands me ‘isolated,’ I have either lived 0or^ visited 39 countries and six continents! Most of all, lest we foiget that South Carolinians ;uid other Southerners never called themselves any thing other than Americans. 4 a