University of South Carolina Libraries
k Robert Waites, Pastor of the Faith J Covenant Church in Florence, S.C. Wat (5amttotk Serving the Carojina 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 USC proposals ignore student safety interests Some of USC’s proposals for renovating streets around campus have been met with preliminary approval from the Columbia City Council. Planners intend to beautify and narrow streets in the vicinity of campus. Plans include the construction of two pedestrian bridges over Assembly and Blossom streets for access to the Strom Thur mond Fitness and Wellness Center, as well as the removal of the gates from Greene Street in front of the Russell House. These plans might improve the aesthetics of the USC campus, and the plan might increase student safety by separating pedestri ans from busy streets, but they also have their drawbacks. The uni versity would be wise to reconsider some aspects of the proposals. Some causes of concern are the deterioration of the bridges, the elimination of valued parking spaces and the problems that might arise from the opening of Greene Street. The foot bridges might promote campus safety, but the elimina tion of the Greene Street gates will not. Students will have to deal with passing traffic, and this is certainly not a visually pleasing ad dition to the USC campus. Improving the beauty of the campus might be a high priority to university planners, but there are more important considerations, including parking concerns, which will be heightened when USC’s new arena is in working order. Instead of focusing on scenic additions to the USC campus, the university might do well in considering the future of outdated or deteriorating structures, including existing residence halls. Gamecock fans given cause for celebration The second-hugest crowd ever at Williams-Brice Stadium saw USC beat the ninth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs Saturday. For the second week in a row, spectators have been treated to a stellar performance by a team that, in the past two seasons, had given them few reasons to celebrate. While the New Mexico State game was satisfying from the fans’ standpoint, this one was even more so. Saturday’s game had it all - suspense, excitement, noise, and most of all, the satisfac tion of knowing the team has finally arrived. Pandemonium ensued when the clock struck zero and it con tinued well into the night. The goalposts came down again, and this time, the athletics department doesn’t have a replacement pair on hand. When you’ve lost 21 games in a row, it’s amazing what winning two straight will do. Now that the team has reeled off two straight wins, the fans are waiting to sec whether Lou Holtz can direct USC to a bowl game in its second year, something lie’s done with every team lie’s coached to this point. Would it be a miracle? Probably. But after yesterday, fans know that miracles are possible. About Us The Gamecock is the student newspaper ot The University ot South Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the tall and spring semesters and nine times during the summer with the exception ot university holidays and exam periods Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those ot the editors or author and not those ot 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. AOOftESS The Gamecock 1400 Greene Street Columbia. SC 29208 Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Stuoent Media Area code 803 Advertising 777-3888 Classified 777-1184 Fa* 777-6482 Office 777-3888 Gamecock Area code 803-777-7726 Editor in Chief gamecockeditor@hotmail.com University Desk gamecocudesk@hotmail com City/State Desk gamecockcitydesk@hotmail.com Viewpoints gamecockviewpomts@hotmail com Spotlight gamecockspotlight@hotmail com Sports gamecocksports@hotmail com Online wwwgamecock.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 lor confirmation and should lx; sent to garnecockviewpoinWlliotmail.com Ihe Gamecock reserves tlx; right to edit lor liliel, style and space Anonymous letters will not tv |*uh IrJied Ptiotos are required for giK;st columnist and can be .provided liy ttv submith* Call III lt’/b for more information I HE VIAMECOCK Brock Vergakis Editor m Chief , Brandon Larrabee University Editor John Huiett City/State Editor Kevin Langston Viewpoints Editor Brad Walters Martha Wright Jason Harmon Copy Editors Jared Kelowitz Sports Editor John Bailey Asst City/State Editor Stuockt Media Erik Collins / acuity Adviser Susan King Creative Director Sean De Luna Todd Hooks Melanie Hutto Emilic Moca Martin Salisbury Creative CetVH e-. Kenton Watt Amanda Silva Charles Prashaw Asst. University Editors Nathan White Asst Viewpoints Editor MacKenzie Craven Meredith Davis Asst Spotlight Editors Amy Goulding Photo Editor Sean Rayford Sports Photo Editor Miranda LaLonde Ann Marie Miani Design Editors Kyle Almond Asst Sports Editor Advertising Manager Robyn Gombar Melissa Millen Brantley Roper Nicole Russell Advertising Stall Carolyn Griffin Htisiness M.in.iger Sherry Holmes ClnssilHHfi M.nuiger College Press Exchange A POTENTIALSNAG IN THE INNOVATIVE." PUT GOb IN CHARGE* SOLUTION TO THE JERUSALEM PROBlBA. __ lir^iSKSH School Pride This ain't Utopia—It's Columbia Before I be gin, 1 want to dedicate this column to the classes of 2001 ami 2002 that have pa tiently endured the last two football seasons. Maybe in a utopiiui world foot ball teams’ perfor niiutces would not be a determining factor in some facets of life, but this ain’t Utopia. Tltat's the rea son I tint dedicat ing this column to the above-men tioned classes. We in these classes Life is a book, and college is the best chapter. These are our formative years, when many of us will complete the so cialization that will be the hisis for the rest of the decisions we make in life. It boils down to pride. To say, “I became a man (or woman) at the greatest school in the country.” Who wouldn’t want to say that? College football matters not because it's all-important; it matters because it is a part of what’ij important. You can’t re al ly compare schools to one another by saying “we are smarter than you” or “our dining facilities are better than yours.” Because the basis of sport is competi tion, it is inherently an elitist phenome non. Personally, I am more persuaded by elitist titan egalitarian thought, and college sports is an example of why. There is no such thing as equality in sports. Two or more teams might be tied for first in the polls once in a while, but in the end, there can be only one. Right now, USC is No. 1 in the South eastern Conference's Eiisl Division. Also, the grass around campus seems a little greener, the sun a little a brighter, the park ing dilemma not ;ts pressing. For the past two years, the question of “why USC?” is being answered. Maybe it takes a big up set win over an evil school with rude fims to make us realize what we already knew. So what? This is the only school I applied to. For me, USC was not the University of Second Qioice. It was my only choice. In the past, I did question my decision to come here, but I never regretted it. I al ways knew that this was the best school in the country, and now everyone else should, too. I hope (he victory over Georgia will breathe new life into USC. Last year was an all-time low, and now Carolina is a phoenix rising from the itshes. Okay, maybe that’s too corny of tin analogy. There was an electricity that every body felt in Williams-Brice Stadium dur ing the game. It was magical; so were the drunken fans driving around Columbia all night. The vibe around campus this week is going to be great. I expect pro fessors to cancel classes (or at least give out cookies), students to dance on the Horseshoe naked and maintenance work ers to actually do some work. Maybe, just maybe, and this is pushing it, the GMP ladies will actually be nice to students. Despite the football program’s losing record over the last couple of years, the fans have still packed the stands and USC has been in the Top 10 in attendance during those years. The loyalty of the fans and the students is finally paying off. So, USC, how does it feel? Maybe it feels good enough to wear your school col ors to class or to the game. Maybe it feels good enough not to wear other colleges’ apparel around campus or to the game. Maybe it feels good enough for fresh men not to flee school Friday after class es to go to the high school game and see Mommy and Daddy. I hope so. Be proud, Carolina. It’s about time this happened. I have a feeling this won’t be a fleeting thing, either. Right now, we have everything. A win ning football team, an administration with a vision and, most importantly, the hottest fan support coordinator (you know what I'm talkin' about) in the country! The leather pants were a nice touch, Laura. Gimme a call sometime. This school rocks. This is USC. were witnesses to the painful reality that football matters. It'snot so much that it’s football, but that it is a measuring stick by which to com pare us to other schools. In a Utopiiui world, things like foot ball wouldn’t matter as much as they do. But they do. I am sure I am not the only student here who began to question many more things because of the fact that our football team was terrible. To better understand where I'm com ing from, there is a television commercial that accentuates my point. I’m not sure what the product or company was (I think it was a car commercial), but there was a message that made perfect sense to me. It talks about how there really isn’t anything such as a good winner because deep down inside, you're saying. “I’m better titan you are." That's why college football matters. Nathan White is a senior politi cal science and history major. He writes a column every Monday and can be reached via The Gamecock at: gamecockview points@hotmail. com Letters Eating right should be a priority for fans of fast food 1 really liked Peter Johnson’s letter ;iboul fast food. I will be a nutrition major next fall at Winthrop, ttnd his article caught my attention. My family does not go out to eat hard ly ever because it is expensive ;uid mostly high fat. Nothing is more disgusting than seeing someone eating McDonald’s food everyday, wearing trashy clothes, and be ing overweight. 1 think to myself that person needs to lose weight ;uid buy a new wardrobe with the money they spend eating out every day. It is very important to eat right. Being overweight hits become ;ui epidemic in the United States. Thanks for writing that arti cle. 1 would give you iui A+. Marianne Corder Wildcat enthusiast challenges "tough” basketball schedule I’m writing out of curiosity about what makes the US( 2(KK»-2(K)I Utsl*etball sclied uk* “one of the toughest in the 'country,'’ as you claim in your Sept. 8 article. Who do they play before they reach the SEC schedule? Who are these elite teams? Tennessee Tech? Wofford? South Carolina State? Mercer? University of North Curolina-Charlotte? The Citadel? UNC Ashville? Wyoming? Virginia Military In stitute? Any one of these teams are the' “breather" g.inte in another program's sched ule. True, USC plays Clentson and Provi dence. but neither of these programs have much stains on the national level. So. before USC rettches the SEC sched ule. when they can no longer schedule cream-puds, they won't play one single Top 25 team. The SEC is very tough, but USC shouldn't receive a pat on the back for play ing who they tire forced to. On the other hand, Kentucky plays St. John's in New York, Kansas or UCLA in New York, Penn Stale, North Carolina in Cltapel Mill, GcoigiaTech in Atlanta, Michi gan State in East Lansing, Louisville in Louisville, ;md Indiana before they play a single SEC team, and then they play Notre Dame. That is “one of the toughest sched ules in the country.” Stacking your sched ule with Wolford and Wyoming won't get you very far in March. Clay Motley English Ph.D Candidate Get published in Wat 0ammk. Bring your let ters, sample columns and editorial cartoons to Room 333 in the Russell House, or write us at: gamecockview points ©hotmail.com Political Issues Gore, Bush cast from same mold Liberal De mocrats: here is some convention al wisdom that needs destruction. The Democrats are the "liberal" party. This is as much of a fallacv as saving Jennie that the media is u9htweis liberal. is a senior A quick pe- Engllsh major , ... She writes a col rusal ol the pascs , , ' umn every of this newspaper ... Monday. She can will prove the sec .. .. be reached via oral honulv wrong. .... / , The Gamecock at 1 wdl endeavor to , r , gamecockview dtsprovc the first. ... . pomts@hotmail. with the example r i • com of this year s De mocratic ticket. 1) Joe Lieberman: Sen. Liebennan led Senate hearings against rock artists with al legedly dangerous lyrics. This included a hearing against Marilyn Munson, where the parents of suicide casualties were paraded in front of the Senate to testify about their children's obsession with Munson. If you have difficulty believing the lovable Senator could lead such a witch hum. I'm sure a search on Yahoo! will find a some what famous newspaper shot of Liebennan standing in front of a huge, blown-up poster of the back cover of Munson’s Antichrist Superslnr. It's an almost poetic photograph, with Liebennan's head aligned exactly with Manson’s crotch. Just desserts, for the ra bid moral watchdog. 2) Tipper Gore: On the first Clinton Gore ticket, Clinton tried to appeal to the thrifty American character by talking about himself and Ms. Rodham-CIinton as “two for the price of one.” Consider A1 and Tipper Gore to be the same. Ms. Gore is the founder of the Parents' Music Resource Center and the author of Raising PG Kids in an X-Rated Society. The PMRC led a campaign in the 1980s to label records. The campaign was successful - not only are records labeled, but huge chains like Tar get and Wal-Mart refuse to carry records with parental advisory stickers on them. Some artists, in the interests of reaching the widest audience possible, now cut two versions of their albums - the “clean” one and the uncensored one. It is a com promise of artistic integrity necessary in an industry in which money and commerce have mated. 3) A1 Gore’s Campaign Past. Does any one recall the Willie Horton scandal of the 1988 election? Michael Dukakis, then gov ernor of Massachusetts, was attacked by opponent George Bush for his weekend lunougll piiUl 1UI sunv pm ons. While on a furlough, an African-Amer ic;ui man named Willie Horton committed a second crime. Using racist rhetoric and a picture doctored to make Dukakis's skin look darker, Bush nude Horton a campaign by-word. Yet, it wasn’t Bush who was the engineer of this smear campaign - A1 Gore originated the subtle racist rhetoric in the 1988 Democratic Primary against Dukakis. 4) A1 Gore’s Fund-raisers: During the primaries, John McGtin talked extensive ly about the improprieties of the Clinton Gore campaign during the last election. There tire many widely circulated pho tographs of Gore raising money at a Bud dhist monastery in Gilifomia, asking peo ple who lud taken a vow of poverty to give generously to his campaign. There are d so many stories about the Clinton Ad ministration’s use of the Lincoln Bedroom, which has been auctioned oil to the high est campaign contributors. Most recently exposed was Michael Moore - there is also evidence that Gore’s one-hundred-mil lion-plus dollar campaign has been funded by fewer than seven hundred donors. A Populist campaign, indeed. lliese lour points are not in anyway an endorsement of Gov. Bush: quite the op posite. I’m suggesting the t>Vocompetitors are. in fact, cut from the same ideological cloth. I suggest we look at the lads Ih' lore accepting the popular wisdom that I Vmocials and Republicans ate on the op posite end of the political spectrum.