Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Quote, Unquote ‘It would take pages to record votes for all the different write-in votes, like Mickey Mouse or Lou Holtz’ Michael Cinnamon, S.C. Elections committee member Whc (Bmccock 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 School of Medicine should be ashamed he University of South Carolina School of Medicine is being sued because families of various volunteers who donated their bodies to scientific research have claimed the Medical School improperly disposed of the volunteers’ remains. The original agreement for these volunteers and their families was that volunteers’ bodies, once the research was over, would get a proper and decent burial. However, according to the plantiffs’ at torney, Michael Hart, the Medical School simply cremated volun teers’ remains and buried them in anonymous unkempt burial plots, without headstones. It isn’t certain whether an actual written contract existed be tween the Medical School and these volunteers, but if these allega tions are true, the school deserves to be punished to the fullest ex tent of the law. The Medical School allegedly went back on its promises made to these people, who instilled a trust to them that their loved ones’ final remains would be properly handled. Whether or not these allegations are true, we do know these volunteers weren’t given a proper burial. For that, the Medical School has wrongly taken advantage of the fact that these volun teers are deceased, and in the process has insulted the families of those involved. Moving 'Day of Service' insulting to everyone Logic has once again escaped USC. This year, the Martin Luther King Jr. “Day of Service” will not be on Martin Luther King’s birthday. Ridiculous? Absolutely. Administrators have said students won’t be here on Martin Luther King Jr.’s actual birthday because classes will not have begun yet. They’ve also said his birthday is an official state holiday, so no pro fessional staff would be around to assist with it. This is insulting on many levels. Residence halls will actually be opening earlier than usual for the beginning of USC’s bicentennial celebration, so the administration seems to think students will be here for that. And this is nearly a week before his birthday. Yet, somehow, USC’s logic is that students will want to come to the bicentennial kickoff and not participate in the Day of Service. In addition, depending on professional staff to coordinate the entire event is a slap in the face to student leaders. It seems like the university is essentially saying students are incapable of leading and doing service on their own. We hope students will take the initiative to move the Day of Ser vice to where it should be — on MLK Day — with or without the university’s assistance. If we don’t, maybe the university is right and students who care about MLK Day are incapable of leading on their own. 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 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. Stuoent 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 gamecockeditordhotmail.com University Desk gamecockudeskdhotmail.com City/State Desk gamecockcitydeskdhotmail.com Viewpoints gamecockviewpointsdhotmail.com Spotlight gamecockspotlightdhotmail.com Sports gamecocksportsdhotmail.com 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 tele phone number for confirmation and should be sent to gamecockviewpointsdhotmail.com. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit for libel, style and space. Anonymous letters will not be pub lished. Photos are required for guest columnists and can Provided by the submitter. Call 777-7726 for more information. TWIOMMOOCK Brock Vergakis Editor in Chief Brandon Larrabee University Editor John Huiett City/State Editor Kevin Langston Viewpoints Editor Jared Kelowitz Day Sports Editor Kyle Almond Night Sports Editor Mackenzie Clements Jason Harmon Ashley Melton Brad Walters Martha Wright Copy Editors —UmpaflgjljBf MacKenzie Craven Spotlight Editor Travis Lynn Sean Rayford Photo Editors Charles Prashaw Amanda Silva Asst. University Editors John Bailey Asst. City/State Editor Nathan White Asst. Viewpoints Editor Aubrey Fitzloff Miranda LaLonde Ann Marie Miani Jennie Moore Katie Smith Page Designers SnxmrMtoa Erik Collins Faculty Adviser Ellen Parsons Director of Student Media Susan King Creative Director Sean De Luna Todd Hooks Melanie Hutto Emilie Moca Martin Salisbury Creative Services Carolyn Griffin Business Manager Jannell Deyo Robyn Gombar Kera Khalil Denise Levereaux Brantley Roper Nicole Russell Advertising Staff Jonathan Dunagin Interim Ad Manager Sherry F. Holmes Classified Manager Herblock "ALL WE WANT IS TUB FINAL PUNCHY "WE PUT OUR TRUSTIM MACHINES . - ESPECIALLY OURS" it_ _ <Staoo Ai«£fSiEU<_ae=J< University Issues The effects of college sports Murray Sper ber, a professor of English and Amer ican studies at In diana University, recently wrote a book entitled “Beer and Circus,” which holds that college sports are “crip pling” undergradu ate education. American col lege students, Sper ber contends, are caught up in a kind of frenzy of party ing and spectating, Patrick Rathbun is a junior journalism major. He writes every Wednesday. He can be reached at gamecockview points© hotmaii.com. especially at larger universities. Sperber also asserts that large lecture classes, cheat ing and a lack of rapport between students and professors are common and actually promoted in large university settings. So who perpetrates such an atmos phere? Sperber claims it’s the National Collegiate Athletic Association. By signing a contract with ESPN in 1979, the NCAA introduced extensive coverage of college sports. Sperber writes that education after that point was no longer universities’ first priority because the cov erage “marked a new phenomenon in high er education, one that subsequently be came central to student life.” Tlfe author Morris Berman reviewed the book in the Sept. 17 issue of The New York Times Book Review. Berman thought the book was insightful, but lacked evi dence for establishing a cause-and-ef feet relationship. Even Sperber said the “problems in American undergraduate ed ucation transcend big-time college sports.” Berman maintains the problem is not in sports, but rather “the increasing dom ination of our educational system by the massive corporate-commercial culture that has consolidated itself during the last 15 or 20 years.” Berman contends that when enroll ments decreased in the 1970s, schools be gan marketing themselves and using cor porate language,, referring,to students as “buyers,” “customers” or “consumers.” Speiber’s aforementioned university prob lems combined with grade inflation, open admissions, the pursuit of research fame, “the building of student entertainment cen ters-on campus to the neglect of libraries and classrooms, the rapid expansion of uni versity administrations—all of this moves within the orbit of the new corporate-com mercial paradigm that has come to de fine the United States,” Berman states. Finally, Berman believes ‘beer and cir cus are only the byproduct of a culture that has been dumbed down by the tri umph of the corporate-commercial way of life.” Of course, these negative effects are not Umited to the realm of higher ed ucation, and solutions must also be found for other cultural components affected by this way of life. If cynical, the authors present the ef fects of athletics on higher learning. But what remains unsaid are the positive ef fects of college athletics on universities. Having successful athletic programs can make universities appear more attractive to prospective students. And athletics can influence a variety of prospective students to choose a particular university, thereby diversifying the student body. Obviously, successful programs can yield extensive fiscal benefits. Such ben efits might increase the money available for faculty salaries. Financial benefits pro duced by athletics programs can also ad vance campus facilities and technolo gies. These benefits would all serve to improve the quality of the student body and the overall educational experience. This is by no means an attempt to in dict USC for making ill-advised decisions. It seems USC has made equitable distrib utions, and not just the USC athletics de partment has benefited from its success in athletics. But I wonder, if USC had more success, would a disparity be more likely? Wbuld USC just be another Miami or Flori da State? It would seem that USC is mak ing a concerted effort to maintain as well as to refine its educational methods. But where does this leave the students? Are students content to be diverted from meaningful educations with the obfusca tion of an emphasis on higher education? It appears students are content for the most part, but they also need to bear the brunt of the blame. Any student who chooses to matriculate in part because of big-time sports is not deserving of a meaningful ed ucation. Choosing spectating and tailgat ing over scholarship is not worthy of any reward. - — I I Grand Marketplace employees rude To the Editor I walked into the Grand Market place at 10:56 a.m., Monday, Nov. 20.1 was quickly told I had to wait until 11:00 for service. To kill time, I went through the salad bar line and got my soda. Even though everything was out, the ladies be hind the counter talked about me and the other students waiting like we weren't there. At this point, I brushed it off and checked my watch: 10:58:43. I went to the grilled-cheese line and observed my surroundings. When one girl told an employee she had dropped some fruit, the lady responded, “What do you want me to do about it?” As one of the employees properly measured the tem perature of the food in the hot line, an other employee said, “I hope that .food is cold; then these people will have to leam how to wait.” The worst part was that I counted at least two managers ob serving this behavior. After the lady behind the grilled cheese counter took my order (at 11:02), she yelled at, not told, the student waiting in line behind me that she didn't care if she had made tuna melts in the past, she wasn't going to make them today. as was most ot what was said by GMP employees that morning, the comment was uncalled for and very rudely stated. By this point, I was totally fed up with the situation, so I lbft my food on the counter and went to my room to wait until the Patio opened up. I waited for the Patio to open because I knew I would get great service and bet ter food. As a Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management student, I realize the hard ships of trying to keep a “captive audi ence” like our student body happy with the cafeteria situation, but the Patio is strides ahead of the GMP. Every time I have eaten at The Patio for the past three years, someone has said hello or asked how my day was. Usually it has been John, the man I describe as “the grill guy.” John will always ask how classes are going, how my friends are that haven’t been to the Pa tio lately and if I’m looking forward to go ing home (because he has taken the time to find out where I am from). This man al so cooks the best hamburgers and grilled cheeses on campus and even sneaks me food from the “football line” if that’s what I want. I think every student should take the opportunity to meet this man, since he’s probably one of the nicest people work ing for this university. jl/uii igei me wiuiig, i uiulk mainuu as a whole, isn’t too bad on campus. The only other food outlet I use on a regular basis is the Fast Break in the Coliseum, and those two women are always nice and always try to be friendly to the students even if there are more people in line than fire codes probably allow. The times I've gone to other places on campus, they have all been decent, but on a whole, the GMP makes every food outlet on campus look bad. The food is average at worst, expen sive at best, and the service is always rot ten. In short, I suggest everyone take the extra walk to the Patio or anywhere else on campus, and make sure the employees at the GMP don't have to start before their scheduled time, or at all. Maggie Stanch Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management Junior Reader disappointed not to see columnist To the Editor I was overwhelmingly disappointed when I discovered that Nathan White’s column was not in last Monday’s paper. Every Monday, the only thing that gets me out of bed is that column. I immediately run downstairs to the lobby of my dorm every Monday and grab an issue of The Gamecock. As I was rid ing the elevator back up to my room, I im mediately opened the paper to the View points section and was shocked when I did not see Mr. White’s column. Mr. White’s stinging wit and biting sar casm is what gets me prepared to face eveiy new week of school. Without it, I am noth ing. 1 depressingly sauntered back to my dorm and immediately went back to bed. 1 missed all of my classes, and I had a pa per due in one of them because Mr. White’s column was not in the paper. Please do not let that happen again, for my sake. Stacy Malibu Marketing & Management Junior USC Athletics Gamecock sports need support all year round Rarely does an event occur on a college campus that turns around the attitude and morale of the whole university fam ily. Rarely does a football team — without any taste of victory from the pri or year — turn around the situation to almost win the conference champi onship. Yet, if a mood _1_I_*_it.. Corey Ford is a junior political science major. He writes every Wednesday. He can be reached at game cockviewpoints ©hotmail.com ' jnuig uuv/J uviuunj happen, usually, this event can be attributed to the stunning success of a sports team. And, this fall, USC and its football team provid ed the nation with this atypical miracle. As I have already said in previous columns, Gamecock fans represent the ab solute best in the nation. During the football team’s 21-game los ing streak, the team’s garnet and black-clad faithful filled Williams-Brice Stadium to ca pacity. Gamecock fans even traveled to far-away locations like Tuscaloosa, Ala., Lexington, Ky. and Gainesville, Fla Students were extremely supportive of USC athletics, especially in the late-1980s to the mid-1990s. But student support has dwindled since the days of Duce Staley and Larry Davis. Last football season, after the opposing team took an early lead, students fled Williams-Brice to continue tailgating — a common occurrence all season. Attendance at home basketball games, too, was subpar. Despite this trend, student involvement and noise in the home games during the foot ball season certainly helped rattle the op posing SEC opponents at the most oppor tune times. l ne noise level trom the student section greatly aided in the amazing and miraculous upsets of Geoigia and Mississippi State. Student participation even at the Clem son game was impressive. At particular times during the late part of the game, the enthu siasm and cheers from the student section — placed high in the upper levels of Death Valley — exceeded that of home games in Columbia. The surprising success of the Gamecock football team, however, not only boosted the fan support on game days, but also cre ated a greater sense of school pride around campus. Gamecock apparel became more visi ble, something that has been missing for the years that I have attended the university. Stu dents bragged about the team’s record. We as a student body have to continue this unique display of school spirit through the final football game, wherever that may be, and through the upcoming basketball sea son. The Gamecock football team will either play in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., against the Ohio State Buckeyes or in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta against the offensively explosive Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech. Also, the basketball team has a legiti mate shot at challenging for the SEC championship in basketball. These teams, in cluding all the other spring sports teams, need continuous support from us. This amazing football season has been a dream come true for long awaiting Game cock fans. 1 do not aim for this column to be a sports column, but merely a chance to say thank you to the students who have come early to Williams-Brice every game day, to the stu dents who went wild to 2001. and to the stu dents who traveled to all the away games. Most importantly, thank you to all the football players, especially the seniors, for all these memories from this surprising season.