The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 27, 2000, Page 4, Image 4
I
Quote, Unquote
‘I like to play the guy ... who gets screwed with a lot.
In real life, I’ve been the underdog, and I’ve been a real jerk.’
Adam Sandler, on the range of his acting career
Monday, November 27, 2000
t'ht'CSmmck
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
Martha Wright • Editorial Contributor
Complete old projects,
then create new ones
The Strom Thurmond Fitness and Wellness Center is a classic ex
ample of USC’s unfulfilled promises. Plans to build the center
were approved in 1997, and the project was allotted a budget of
$38.6 million. Now, three years later, the Fitness and Wellness Cen
ter is behind schedule and over budget.
Right now, there’s not much to look at on the comer of Blossom
and Assembly streets — tumed earth, metal rods and concrete blocks
litter the spot where one day will stand a sophisticated fitness center
with a track, a weight room, indoor and outdoor pools. Plans call for
an 180,000-square-foot behemoth of a building, but we should be see
ing a lot more than the beginnings of its construction.
Though the university originally planned to open the center in fall
2001, university representatives have pushed the completion date
all the way to the end of 2002. This means students won’t be able to
access the facilities until 2003. Initial construction bids were $10 mil
lion more than the administration expected, causing them not only to
cut back on some plans, but also to pad the budget with an addition
al $6.3 million. Of that amount, $3.8 million will come frdm student
fees.
Today, though construction of the Strom Thurmond Fitness and
Wellness Center is not yet behind them, the administration is buzzing
with ideas for campus improvements. USC is pumping hundreds of
millions of dollars into construction projects such as streetscaping, a
Greek village and a new law school. This is too much, too soon. Set
ting goals is admirable but USC should take care of old projects be
fore it embarks on ne,v ones.
'Search for Six' shows no
respect for USC's alumni
This newspaper has been a bit skeptical about the university’s
bicentennial search for six public figures who embody the
overall mission and purpose of USC.
This “Search for Six” was contradictory in its early stages for
the simple reason that it didn’t restrict the nominees to graduates
of the university (we say ‘graduates’ because, by definition, people
have to take only one course at this university to be considered alum
ni). Therefore, saying we think Tiger Woods is the embodiment of
our ideals in sports is essentially saying that no USC athlete has lived
up to our ideals. What message does this convey to the rest of the
universities in this country?
It would have been a better service to this university and the na
tion if we could have found six graduates who personify these ideals.
Instead, we’ve chosen people who have nothing to do with this uni
veristy.
We were curious to see what nominees the students would come
up with for the Search for Six, and we must say we are disappoint
ed. This cast of nominees is slim pickings for the student or staff
member who takes the Search for Six seriously. We fear that students
might have been too caught up in recent trends and fads in their nom
inations, and that they might not have chosen their nominees thought
fully.
We fear Search for Six might be a publicity stunt to lure all
these prominent public figures to our campus to speak. What, for ex
ample, do you think it would take to get Henry Kissinger here?
About Us
The Gamecock is the student newspaper of The University of South Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday
during the fall and spring semestersand nine times during the summer with the exception of university holidays and exam periods.
Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the editor; or author and not those of The University of South Carolina. The
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newspaper’s parent oraaniaation. The Gamecock is supported in part bv student activities fees
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The Gamecock ‘g1Bai8i|—I
Brock Vergakis MacKenzie Craven
Editor in Chief Spotlight Editor
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USC Football
A fan's apology to Lou Holtz
Dear Coach
Holtz: I’m
sorry.
Being a Game
cock fan for 22
years, I was as hap
py as anyone else
when you were
hired in 1998.1 did
n’t know whether
you still had the
magic that led your
teams to Top 25
finishes and peren
nial bowl games; I
didn’t know
whether the job
was going to be
uavia uionmger
is a journalism
graduate student.
He can be reached
at gamecockview
points
©hotmail.com.
worth your time and trouble. All I knew
was that anyone and anything had to be
better than the 1-10 season the Gamecocks
had just completed.
Then came 1999.
As USC slid further and further down
into the depths of Division I football, I
looked at you — as we always do here in
America— and I heaped every bit of the
blame squarely on the shoulders of the
head coach. Everything that went wrong
was directly attributed to you, never mind
the fact that Bear Bryant himself would
have probably had a tough time trying to
win with that team.
I looked past the crippling injuries, the
personal problems and the toughest sched
ule in the nation. All I saw was agood foot
ball coach, who had won many times be
fore, trying to turn around a bad program
and falling flat on his face.
I knew you weren’t going to win right
away, given the lack of talent you had to
work with and the new systems being in
stalled. But I didn’t think you were go
ing to take the Gamecocks where they had
never been before — an 0-11 season.
And 1 called for your head, m more
than just conversation among fellow fans.
Then came this season.
I don’t know how you did it, but you
took a team that was short on talent but
long on hope, and you made them believe
in themselves. You made them into win
ners.
This team — the one that had been
told it was never going to be successful
and had no chance of competing in any
league (much less the Southeastern Con
ference), the one that lost most of its best
segment, the starting defense — was
suddenly good.
The Gamecocks were 4-0 and had beat
en two ranked teams. This hadn’t happened
since the days when I was still idolizing
Sterling Sharpe and wearing a black No. 2
jersey everywhere. National rankings and
bowl games were once again being dis
cussed in Columbia, and the spectre of last
season was slowly fading away.
I looked at you and you were the same
person as last season, the same coach who
had tried to give USC fans a winner de
spite being severely undermanned. You
went through more personal problems last
season than any person should ever have
to deal with, and then once those were
solved, you had to figure out ways to turn
a down-and-out football team into con
tenders.
Many others would have folded their
arms and sent in their resignations. Many
others would have dismissed it as bad luck.
You took every bit of the blame and stat
ed it was your fault, nobody else’s.
Though you had bad press, insults and
your reputation as a savior at stake, you
went back to work and found out ways
to do what you had promised to do: win.
■ Now, the Gamecocks are only wait
ing, not to find out whether the season will
be extended one more game as in years
past, but simply to find out which bowl
game USC will appear in. To win seven
games at a school that’s only had six eight
win seasons in 100-plus years is a huge ac
complishment. And you did it in the first
eight weeks of the season.
You, who had a right above anybody
to crow and strut the team’s newfound
success, kept quiet and ran the team. Even
when the Gamecocks lost a heartbreaker
to Clemson two Saturdays ago, you said
nothing about any kind of controversial
call, preferring instead to discuss the next
game and dismissing it as a loss.
There are Gamecock fans all around
who are putting off last season as a fluke
and generalizing your success as “just a
matter of time.” Maybe that’s true, but
I’m being honest.
I blamed you for the losses in 1999,
and I’m giving you the credit for USC’s
success in 2000.
I was at the end of my rope in 1999.
As a Gamecock fan, I had been through
many losses. But if the team couldn’t win
under Lou Holtz, how could they ever
have any hope of reaching the promised
land ofTitletown?
Now the team is together, playing with
ferocity and its collective hearts on its
sleeves, trying to make itself a bigger part
of history as the weeks progress.
They owe it all to you.
Congratulations on your season, and
no matter where the team ends up in the
bowl picture, I know that no matter what
happens, you and your squad will repre
sent the university well and will be justi
fiably proud of the 2000 season.
Just thought someone should apolo
gize.
Cycling Safety
Columbia cyclists are brave people
The safety of Shawn Miller
cyclists is a .
.. r is a philosophy
matter of
__ graduate student.
public concern.
In the same He can be reached
way that a city has at 8arnec°ckview
an obligation to ac- points
commodate pedes- ©hotmail.com.
trian traffic by pro
viding sidewalks
and safe areas to walk, our cities must pro
vide something analogous to this for cy
clists. It is simply unacceptable for a city
to declare that no measures whatsoever
be taken to ensure the safety of its citizens
as they walk around town. Similarly, a city
and its citizens must not neglect whole
sale the safety of its cyclists.
The Sept. 30 death of cyclist Dr. Har
ry Sunshine on Two Notch Road has gen
erated some sentiment that Columbia is
not an especially safe city for cycling. Dr.
Sunshine was struck by what is believed
to be a 300-model Lexus while riding on
the side of the road early in the morning.
Dr. Sunshine, 55, was wearing a reflective
vest at the time of the accident. The cul
prit is still at large.
The tragedy of Dr. Sunshine has sparked
some level of concern in Columbia. After
the accident, cyclists I know spoke of roads
they find especially hazardous (Greene,
Harden, Blossom, etc.). I’ve even been
called brave by someone at the bookstore
just because he saw that I ride a bicycle in
Columbia.
The fact of the matter is that cycling
taken by itself isn’t very dangerous. One
rarely reaches speeds exceeding 25 mph
on a bicycle, and cycling accidents in
volving only cyclists are rare outside of
bicycle races. Really, the main danger posed
to cyclists comes from automobiles. Cars
are dangerous, not bicycles.
Columbia does not have any bike lanes,
and some claim this is dangerous. How
ever, Columbia tends to have wide roads
with more than enough room to accom
modate both cyclists and motorists —As
sembly Street is a good example of this.
What makes cycling hazardous in Columbia
is the impatience of motorists and the ever
increasing size of automobiles.
In these days when gigantic sport util
ity vehicles rule the road, room for cy
clists on our streets has all but disappeared.
SUVs, with their extreme width, leave no
room for cyclists.
Thus, when a motorist encounters a
cyclist in the road, there often isn’t enough
space for the automobile to pass. The cars
on the road or parked on the side of the
road are simply too wide.
What is required of motorists in such
situations is patience. It is absolutely im
perative that the motorist wait until there
is a safe opportunity to pass. Passing a
cyclist before there is ample room is high
ly irresponsible and puts the life of the cy
clist in danger. Perhaps the danger of the
situation is lost on motorists whose vehi
cles weigh thousands of pounds and who
are in no danger themselves. But it’s un
nerving to a cyclist to be passed at 40 mph
by a Chevy Suburban at close range.
Cyclists are a fact of life in cities, es
pecially cities like Columbia which have
laige student populations who use bicy
cles for transportation. It is everyone’s re
sponsibility to make sure that cyclists
are safe. Cyclists must, therefore, ride re
sponsibly. City planners and officials must
make every effort to ensure our streets are
as safe as possible for cyclists and motorists.
Most importantly, motorists must use good
judgment and respect the right of cy
clists to be on the road. Impatience and
recklessness on the part of motorist will
only lead to further accidents and poten
tial fatalities.
/
The case of Dr. Harry Sunshine illus
trates this point only too well.
.
USC’s Bicentennial
USC parties
like it's 2005
because we
can't count
I hope you’re
ready to cele
brate 200 years
of USC. You’re
about to be inundat
ed with more bicen
tennial information
and propaganda than
you could ever hope
for. They’re even go
ing to open the res
idence halls early so
everyone can partic
ipate in the kickoff
celebration in Janu
ary. Wbohoo. There’s
nothing like an ad
ministration-planned
party at 11 a.m. on
the Horseshoe to be followed by a picnic
outside the Russell House in 30-degree
weather.
Unfortunately, I won’t be attending
this bicentennial kickoff. I have a tough
time celebrating next year as USC’s 200th
anniversary. The reason is pretty simple.
USC won’t be 200 years old until 2005.
USC was merely chartered in 1801.
Classes didn’t begin until 1805. This means
we’re celebrating this whole bicentenni
al thing four years too early.
So when you hear all of the talk about
200 years of “excellence” in education,
don’t be fooled. Be smarter than the ad
ministration and prove that you can count.
While I think celebrating the bicen
tennial next year is foolish, I really can’t
blame the school. Every university
wants to impress others by how old it is.
The University of North Carolina and the
University of Georgia still argue over which
is the oldest public university in the coun
try.
Georgia, like USC, considers the char
tering date to be most important and
thus claims it is the oldest. UNC, on the
other hand, chooses the logical approach
and says it is the oldest because it was
the first school to begin classes. UNC was
a functioning college for six years before
students at UGA ever began classes. This
is why UNC has the national reputation
for being the oldest public school in the
country.
While UGA should probably give up
its lost cause, at least there’s a little more
pride at stake with them than there is at
USC. USC isn’t even the oldest college in
South Carolina. The College of Charleston
has beaten us there. Sure, if you throw
enough adjectives in front of something.
I’m sure we’re the first in something,
but that cheapens being first.
But it’s too late now. They’ve released
that ugly black, garnet, white and gold bi
centennial logo and plan on plastering it
all over campus and our athletes’ uniforms.
They even want to put it on the football
•field for next season. God help us if we ad
vertise to the world we can’t count cor
rectly.
But accurate starting dates have nev
er really been a priority here. The new Fit
ness and Wellness Center was supposed to
open for business next year, but beginning
construction was delayed. The university
Greek Village was supposed to exist be
fore most of us even had our driver’s li
censes. The new basketball arena had to
face a score of setbacks because of design
complications and our incapability to bud
get properly. Hell, why not celebrate their
anniversaries?
None of them exist, but they’ve all
been chartered. And at USC, that’s what’s
important. This school doesn’t care when
VA11115J 6cl uuiic, juai (Vi lung as uiey iu
planned. Isn’t that what Student Govern
ment is all about, anyway? Always plan
ning, never doing.
The bicentennial becomes more lu
dicrous every time I think about how ridicu
lous it would be to celebrate the “char
tering” of other things. It’s like celebrating
not only the wedding date, but also the
proposal date. Nobody counts the en
gagement period when saying how long
they’ve been married. But if USC wrote
the rules on that sort of thing, they sure
would, and guys would have yet another
day they’d struggle not to forget.
So while the administration does every
thing it can to persuade us to be excited
rbout 196 years of existence, they’ll have
to excuse my apathy. Maybe it’s just me,
:>ut I’d prefer for my school to use some
ogic for once. You might fool some peo
ple from South Carolina and Georgia in
0 thinking we’re 200 years old, but not
his North Carolinian.
Brock
Vergakis
is a junior jour
nalism major. He
can be reached
at gamecock
viewpoints
©hotmail.com