Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Quote, Unquote ‘No matter what oddsmakers say, we’re going in as underdogs.’ Phil Petty, starting quarterback against New Mexico State Zhe (Bamecock Serving the Carolina Community since 1Q08 Editorial Board Brock Vergakis • Editor in Chief Kevin Langston • Viewpoints Editor Nathan White • Asst. Viewpoints Editor Patrick Rathbun • Editorial Contributor Brad Walters • Editorial Contributor SG should continue year's early progress Student Government has provided us with some encouraging early signs that this school year will be a very productive one on their part. Already this year, SG work has allowed students to vote on the fate of a new parking lot. Thanks to SG’s early efforts, we’ve been given the chance to help make a campus planning decision that will directly affect us - something that seems simple enough, but rarely happens on our campus.. With the school year getting into full swing and SG senate meetings just around the comer, we hope the positive work con tinues and that President Jotaka Eaddy continues to use her “Con tract for Carolina” as a measuring stick for what SG accomplishes this year. And while this is happening, we hope SG can avoid an im peachment situation for the first time in four years. Such proceed ings are not only a waste of the organization's time, but also a waste of valuable hours that could be used to work for students. History has proven that little worthy action gets accomplished when SG’s members are concerned with having an executive offi cer removed. As the student body of a campus whose face is changing every day, it’s important to let SG members know what we’d like to see accomplished this year. While the organization’s powers are not limitless, they serve as student liaisons to campus administrators who make important decisions on a regular basis. SG is accessible via the Web at www.sg.sc.edu, or via telephone at 777-2654. Late phone books cause inconvenience The university’s online campus directory has probably received more hits than usual since the beginning of the school term. Campus telephone directories have not yet arrived on the doorsteps of campus residents, and students might have been forced to use the USC Web page and university operators for nec essary information. In the past, directories have arrived in resi dence halls prior to students’ arrival, and the directories have suf fered for lack of accuracy. Phone numbers, names and addresses might have been listed incorrectly because of the book's prompt ness. The phone books will be delivered over a two or three day peri od starting September 8, according to the Department of Student Life. By waiting for registration to be completed, the problems with inaccuracies may have been fixed. While students might be inconvenienced when finding a phone number, they should have a sense of security in knowing that the number will be correct when the directories are finally completed. If this delay will ensure a greater accuracy, perhaps it’s worth the wait. We only ask that a formula be found that can have the di rectories finished at the start of the semester, with all the accurate information. About Us The Gamecock is the student newspaper ol 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 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 803-777-7726 Editor in Chief gamecockeditor0hotmail.com University Desk gamecocudeskOhotmail.com City/State Desk gamecockcitydeskOhotm3il.com Viewpoints gamecockviewpointsOhotmail.com Spotlight gamecockspotlightOhotmail.com Sports gamecocksportsOhotmail.com Online www.gamecock.sc.edu 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 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 and should be sent to gamecockviewpointsOhotmail.com. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit for libel, style and space Anonymous letters will .iot be pub lished. Photos are required for guest columnist and can be provided by the submitter. Call 777-7726 for more information. thc gamecock Brock Vergakis MacKenzie Craven Editor in Chief Meredith Davis Brandon Larrabee EditofS University Editor Amy Goulding John Huiett Ph<>to Editor City/State Editor Sean Rayford Kevin Langston Sports Photo Editor Viewpoints Editor Miranda LaLonde Jason Harmon Ann Marie Miani Martha Wright Brad Walters Copy Editors Design Editors Jared Kelowitz Will Gillaspy Sports Editor Online Editor John Bailey Kyle A|mond Asst. City/State Editor Ass, Sports Editw Amanda Silva Charles Prashaw Asst. University Editor Senior Reporters Nathan White Jacquelyn Poston Asst. Viewpoints Editor Writing Coach Sruotkt Mccna Ellen Parsons Robyn Gombar Director Melissa Millen Susan Kins Bran,,'» Ro*‘'r Creative Director N,cole Rus“n „ „ _ , Advertising Staff Sean De Luna Todd Hooks Carolyn Griffin Melanie Hutto Business Mana8er Emilie Moca Sherry Holmes Martin Salisbury Classified Manager Creative Services Erik Collins Kenton Watt Faculty Adviser Advertising Manager College Press Exchange / So^TX A_o»*VA I <3^ r».J4->»e x-iVtA. R>R«sME.,Trte.TEKnN& NEVEREMtSi. State Issues S.C. can find pride in a different war ^^outh Car- |=sBa=ESBas| away out of '.’-y* state, the gov- Corey Ford emment at last , is a junior politi banned the cor- cal science major rupt video pok- and writes every er industry and fother Monday. He removed the can be reached Confederate vja The flag from atop Gamecock at; the Statehouse . . . gamecockview d0me- ■ L ^ ; Despite le- pmntsOhotmail.c gal attempts to 001 prolong poker, the issue is es- , . ' ; sentially dead, yet the flag issue has erupted because of the shenanigans of barbecue entrepreneur Maurice Bessinger. Not only has the owner of the famous Maurice’s Baibecue endorsed Pa Buchanan for president, but he also recently removed the American flag from his headquarters and raised a Confederate banner similar to the one removed from the State house. Never mind that he claimed that the Bible justified slavery and numerous white girls were being abducted across the coun try. Poor South Carolina. We just cannot seem to catch a break. Whether we have a rebellious symbol in a place of promi nence or we are once again near last in ed ucation rankings, the national media un doubtedly has sent the country a negative picture of the Palmetto State. Rather than focus on the confronta tions surrounding the flag, the media should focus on the summer movie “The Patri ot.” For those of you who did not see the movie, “The Patriot” was a story about a reluctant hero of the Revolutionary War; the character represented the legendary Francis Marion, known as the Swamp Fox. While some the latter parts of the movie lacked historical accuracy - yet the end, of course, still happened the way they taught you in 5th grade - the movie gave a factual, flawless depiction of the sacri fice many South Carolinians gave during the most important chapter in our nation’s short history. A large number of South Carolinians relish our role in the states’ rights debate and hence, the Civil Whr. But, why not focus on our role in the one cause that effectively triggered democratic governance in the world and other similar rebellions of hope and free dom? Besides, South Carolina played a much more essential part in the Revolution than the Civil War. In spite of initial secession and Fort Sumter, the state lacked the military sig nificance seen in the Revolution. After capturing all the large Northern cities throughout the late 1770’s - yet un able to demolish Washington’s tattered army - the British converged on the South hoping to bring down the rebellion via Charleston and South Carolina. Their plan nearly succeeded; under Lord Cornwallis, the British Army de stroyed the Continental Army at Camden. As shown in “The Patriot,” only the guerrilla tactics of Francis Marion slowed down the British juggernaut. His constant surprise attacks on the British supply lines reeked havoc on Corn wallis and his infamous officer “The Butch er” Tarleton. The revolutionaries, however, need ed a clear-cut victory against a standing British army to foil their plans of conquest. It came at Cowpens in January 1781, where a smaller Continental group, outnumbered 2-1, defeated Tarleton’s legion, consequently leading to Cornwal lis’ surrender at Yorktown. The movie portrayed a similar deci sive battle in which Mel Gibson fights in Braveheartesque style. Due to South Carolina’s leading part in the Southern campaign, the colonies grew closer to the goal of out-right inde pendence. A sense of relief gripped me when the Confederate flag came down since most Americans would finally be watching a positive history in the theaters instead of rallies supporting the outdated flag on the national news. My only wish is that people like Mau rice Bessinger would appreciate our role in America’s inaugural liberty, instead of one defending an institution of deplorable bondage. If Bessinger misses a third banner atop our Statehouse, maybe we can raise the flag that was raised in Charleston the day we joined the fight in 1776; the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag which showed the world the true independent spirit of South Car olina. College Press Exchange Network Television ( The deceit of reality based TV -j-’m fed up with “ . I reality-based JLtelevision. It seems as if the genre is pro gressively worsen ing. I didn’t fol low “Survivor” or “Big Brother,” and I’m not planning to follow any of the future “reality” shows either. I’ll admit on occasion I’ve watched “The Real World” and “Road Rules,” but not with any reg ularity. There are three new programs now in the works or planning stages that certainly won’t have my viewership either. Iflwanttobea voyeur, there are plen ty of people I’ve met at college that lead far more interesting lives than what can be conn an T\/ ABC is planning a series, “Jailbreak,” in which participants are filmed locked in side a prison attempting to make escapes. This might sound fairly interesting, but it still doesn’t me;tn it will share any par allels with reality. The creators of “The Truman Show” knew of the objection able programming that was to come. “Chains of Love,” an NBC series, will feature four women chained to a man for a week’s time. I’m certain that the NBC think tank could have created something with more universal appeal. Perhaps NBC should have sold this idea to HBO. Finally, “The Human Experiment” will endeavor to recreate a study of obedience to authority. In the original study, an experimenter ordered subjects to give shock treatment to other subjects for various reasons. So, how long until the death penalty will be available on pay-per-view? It’s been said that real human drama is far more compelling than the strangest of fiction. This statetment contains much truth, but the fact is that these shows don’t contain real human drama. While these programs might be re vealing of individuals’ complexity and in ner workings, we must remember the mo tivations of these individuals as well as the agendas of the networks. Let’s not trust the networks for the de livery of reality. Their biggest priority is n’t in furnishing their audiences with truth. The subjects in these programs aren’t chosen at random, but are carefully selected instead. The decision-makers for these pro grams make sure to choose people who will be at odds with one another and who will be certain to yield ratings for their per sonalities or appearance. Wfe shouldn ’t get carried away discussing the authenticity of these programs or the humanity in the show’s characters, because manimilatpd and/or distorted realitv is in volved in all of these shows (with the ex ception of “Cops”). Fame and fortune are also meaningful factors in these individuals’ behavior. There is more at stake than survival or reputation or guilt, and all of us know greed has the potential to destroy individuals. I’m nor mally non-confrontational, but I know that if $1 million were at stake, I might act with more of a primal instinct. “Reality” programming contains more impulsiveness than that soap opera we call “WWF wrestling,” but that still doesn’t mean it comes close to reality. In the competition for personal or mon etary gain, the human element is lost. Unnatural traits make their way into these peoples’ (subjects’) lives. The camera’s presence itself alters behavior because of the inherent violation of privacy. People will never act natilrally in an unnatural set ting, like a deserted island fdled with sev eral crew, members and assistants. Avarice and scheming become part of the norm, while generosity and kindness are lost. The programs legitimize human behavior that is entirely unacceptable in other contexts. Primitive actions and other uncharac teristic behaviors erupt in these “realistic” circumstances. Fame is indeed the worst drug of all, and expect the individual to be altered upon consumption.