Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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V Quote, Unquote ‘We don't have the money. Take what you get. Don’t whine about it. Don’t cry. Do the best you can.’ State Sen. Herb Kirsh, D-York 'ZChe (Bamecock Serving the Carolina Community since 1Q08 Brock Vergakis Editor in Chief Clayton Kale Viewpoints Editor Erin O’Neal Spotlight Editor Kyle Almond Sports Editor Brad Walters Design Editor Brandon Larrabee University Editor Amanda Silva Spotlight Editor Valerie Matchette City & State Editor Martha Wright Copy Desk Chief Hodges’ seat-belt plan impractical, invasive On Wednesday, Gov. Jim Hodges gave his state of the state address. Among the topics, Hodges uiged the State Legislature to enact a law that would allow police officers to pull over and cite drivers who aren’t wearing seat belts. Hodges says saving lives is his motive for supporting such a law. The thought is noble, but impractical, inefficient and invasive. It’s impractical because laws should strengthen actual criminal statutes, not punish citizens for their personal choices. And drivers who don’t wear seat belts now won’t wear seat belts merely because of a law. The law would be inefficient, because law enforcement officers have more to think about than whether the driver ahead is buckled up. The number of citations would roll in and pile up __«... __i_■ :_i_it_j_*_«_ t'l _ r_ in v/uumj ouciiii 3 auu municipal pence ucpai Linen 13. i nc line for not wearing a seat belt wouldn’t be enough to deter anyone from driving without a seat belt after being ticketed a first time. Finally, the law allows an invasion into personal choice. People know the potential danger of an automobile accident, but they may choose not to wear a seat belt. Giving someone a ticket for not abiding by the government’s preferred choice would be invasive and is not the place for government regulation. Infidelity report tarnishes Rev. Jackson’s reputation Che Rev. Jesse Jackson admitted Thursday to fathering a child out of wedlock. The admission came only as reports of a planned expose to be published in the National ^uiiuner’s Jan. 30 edition. The child was apparently conceived around the time Jackson was counseling the president about his extra-marital woes with Monica Lewinsky. Rev. Jackson, who has done much to advance civil rights in the U.S., should have known he couldn’t hide the truth. Public figures’ private lives often become part of their public images. It’s a shame that Jackson’s personal life had to be displayed in the public view. And it’s a shame that a private issue will have such an effect on his public life. Although it’s a shame, it’s not unfair to describe Rev. Jackson as a hypocrite. He’s one of the most prominent church leaders in the United States, and he should have set a good example. To act in this fashion put Rev. Jackson’s credibility at risk and has threatened his ability to advance his causes. A B O U T U s 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 All sections of The Gamecock are updated on the Web site .www.dailygamecock.com).Monday through Friday.Opimons 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. Aooaess The Gamecock 400 Greene Street olumbia, 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 Newsroom 777-7726 Editor's Office 777-3914 Editor in Chief gamecockeditorOhotmail.com University Desk gamecockudeskOhotmail.com City/State Desk gamecockcitydeskOhotmail.com Viewpoints gamecockviewpointsOhotmail.com Spot I ight gamecoc kspot I ightOhotma i I. com Sports gamecocksportsOhotmail.com Online www.dailygamecock.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 gamecockviewpointsOhotmail.com. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit for libel, style and space. Anonymous letters will not be published. Photos are required for guest columnists and can be provided by the submitter. call 777-7726 for more information. The Gamecock Travis Lynn Mackenzie Clements Sean Rayford Jason Harmon Photo Editors Ashley Melton Kenley Young Charles Prashaw Copy Editors Asst. City/State Editor Ann Marie Miani Jennie Moore Betsy Baugh Katie Smith Community Affairs Page Designers e*r Meou msmmmmmmmm Erik Collins Carolyn Griffin Faculty Adviser Business Manager Ellen Parsons Sarah Sims Director of Advertising Manager Student Media Jannell Deyo Susan King Robyn Gombar Creative Director Kera Khalil Sean De Luna Denise Levereaux Todd Hooks Brantley Roper Melanie Hutto Nicole Russell Emilie Moca Advertising Staff Martin Salisbury Sherry F. Holmes Creative Services Classified Manager Only two letters to the editor per student will be print ed in a semester. Staff columns take priority over guest columns, unless the guest columnist offers expertise on a subject, or if the subject's relevance is limited by time. Guest columns and letters to the editor may be sub mitted by e-rail to gamecockviewpoints©hotmail com. w ^ PSESEMTi>(6- THE. WfiSlBSfdT-EvEeT ANfc rtlS OMUfttr, New Year’s Resolution The slippery slope of stealing The New Year’s res olution 1 made is to stop stealing, especially from myself. A few days back, I decided it was high time to get my personal finances in order. In the spirit of new millennium and the USC bicentennial, and with the tax didn’t plan to spend $64.95 for a retail copy. I planned to pay a lot less. Thanks to A1 Gore and his “Internet,” I could get a copy for $0. With the ubiquity of piracy on the Internet, I knew I could download a bootleg copy. I could have, and indeed, I would have, if it weren’t for a seemingly unrelated event that took place less than a month prior. During the recent decimation of the stock market, I decided it was a good time to invest some more of my hard-earned money. By a simple twist of fate, the company I decided to buy shares of was Microsoft, the very company I was planning to bilk. Before I became a shareholder, Microsoft was just a faceless, giant corporation; I wouldn’t have thought twice about pinching a copy of their software — no “sympathy for the devil,” to borrow a line from Mick Jagger. But now I was a part owner in the company. By not paying for that software, I might as well have been picking my own pocket. Granted, $64.95 isn’t going to hurt the company’s bottom line or affect the stock’s price. And there was no fear in my mind that I would ever be punished for the crime. I got to thinking about the situation, however, and I came to the conclusion that theft is morally inexcusable. That conclusion isn’t based on the laws of a rifleman or the words of a preacher. Theft isn’t wrong because the Bible tells us so. Theft is simply an infringement on personal freedom. The jewel of the Constitution is the protection of private property. And there is no enemy of private property more insidious than theft. The modem remedy is often some form of utilitarian rationalization._Bill Gates already has $40 billion, so how is stealing one piece of software going to hurt? It might not hurt him personally, but it leads to a slippery slope. The parade of evils is too awful to list. It runs the gamut from higher software prices to complete moral bankruptcy. I reject such justifications. But with the dawn of the new century, the rationalization seems to be perpetuated by the anarchy of the Internet and, ironically, the entitlement nature of our government. Does my resolution to reject theft mean I plan to live as a saint? That isn’t exactly the case. I won’t not be deleting my Bob Dylan MP3 collection just yet, and I have no plans to return the pens that mysteriously find their way into my pocket from work. Rather, I am trying to recognize that it’s incumbent on myself as an individual to remedy my own situation. The solution doesn’t lie in the halls of government, the texts of ancient religions or my personal browbeating, but in the hearts and minds of the free individuals in our society. Perhaps when the boldest and the pettiest thieves realize who they are truly stealing from, we will have a solution. ueauune grauuauy approacnmg, l asxea myself whether there was a better time to get organized than the first few weeks of 2001.1 had the motivation to get my fi nances straight, but I needed the tools. 1 turned to the pre-eminent software maker of.the world, Microsoft, for help. Glancing over the list of features for Microsoft Money Deluxe 2001,1 made up my mind. The possibilities were endless. The software could help me plan for college (though I might have missed the boat on the “planning” stage), manage my credit cards (of which I have none), get out of debt (which amounts to several dollars I have bummed from friends), pay bills (e.g. USC parking tickets) and get ready for retirement (50 years down the road).Despite its apparent uselessness to me, I decided 1 would get a copy of it, anyway. And I certainly Hamp Nettles is a second-year economics/finance major. Viewpoints can be reached at gamecockviewpoints ©hotmail.com. Letters USC alumnus praises Gamecock Web site To the Editor I just wanted to drop you a note and state that, as a 1993 graduate of USC, I am very grateful to now have the opportunity to keep up with happenings on campus at USC. This Web site (www.dailygame cock.com) is a great resource, and you and your staff are to be commended on the ease of navigation and quality that is evident! Good luck in your efforts to keep the USC community involved and up-to-date! Kevin Heise 1993 USC graduate Student disappointed by bookstore service To the Editor The Russell House Bookstore advertised online that they would be issuing reserved books from Tuesday, Jan. 9, to Tuesday, Jan. 16. On Jan. 9,1 drove from my hometown in Aiken, S.C., to purchase my books. An employee told me that the books would not be ready until the weekend of Saturday, Jan. 13. Upon hearing this, so that my trip would not be in vain, I wrote down the prices of all the books that I needed to purchase when I returned. With schedule in hand, 1 wrote down all of the new and used shelf prices of the |2 books I needed to buy. On Jan 13, when I again returned from Aiken, I found out that the books were still not ready to be purchased by reservation and I would have to just get them t?y hand. An employee greatly assisted me in getting all that I needed. Nine of the 12 books were available, but the problem is that of nine books purchased, I was overchaiged for three of them. On Jan. 16,1 returned to Russell House Bookstore to purchase the remainder of my books and to bring to the attention of the store that the book I was going to buy was also priced incorrectly and to possibly get a refund of the difference. The textbook office told me that they only stand by the prices that were in the computer, and since those prices were correct, that 1 could not be refunded the differences in the price on the shelf. I was told it would be impossible to update eveiy shelf tag as the prices changed and the prices in the computer were what 1 would also have to go by. I am very displeased with this service. I was told that the prices would be changed immediately, but that is all that they could do. 1 would like some sort of resolution to this problem. Please assist me. Jamar K. Mitchell USC freshman Editor's note: The manager of the Russell House Bookstore did contact Mitchell and refunded the difference. Student gives opinion on food drives To the Editor Harvest Hope Food Bank provides a true service to our community. I encourage everyone to donate to Marriott Services/USC’s “Caring Cans” campaign. Although I applaud the giving spirit, the campaign sounds like another case of the rich taking from the poor to give to the poor. Clever. I’d like to take a peek in their pantry. Karrie Joseph Graduate student Construction disturbs South Quad students To the Editor After a 15-hour drive from Massachusetts in bad weather and heavy traffic on five hours of sleep, all I wanted was a nice long night of deep sleep. When I finally arrived in Columbia, I realized as I hauled all of my copious amounts of clothing, food and stuff through the main entrance of South Quad, construction of a sidewalk was yet another thing that wouldn’t be completed anywhere near on time. The sidewalk was supposed to completed on Jan. 10, the day after halls opened and a week before classes started. Starting at 8 a.m., I received the pleasure of hearing bulldozing and various other loud noises directly outside my window. What I find funny about this is that as students, we pay for the classes we attend and are penalized if we are late. The University is paying the construction company to do this job, and even though they are a week late and nowhere near being done, they’re not moving any faster than when we left for winter break. I, for one, wish they would hurry up, so those of us on the front side of South Quad could get a decent amount of sleep, not to men tion a much easier way to get out of the building. Jim Crowley USC student Classroom rules r Surviving lectures in the new millennium The break is over, the Christmas presents have long lost their allure, and all of your New Year’s resolutions Michelle Pittman have been broken, is a second-year All we students journalism major, have to look Viewpoints can be forward to is reached at another semester of gamecockviewpoints books, tests, papers ©hotmail.com. and long, dull classes that pro mote napping more tnan actual education. We might as well save the appeal of something, so why not classes? After all, it does cost a pretty penny to sit through those lectures, and 1 believe I’ve discov ered a way to make them more interest ing. Unfortunately, the heavy weight of saving the educational system sits upon the shoulders of every single USC student. If this thought makes you want to curl up in your bed and hide under the covers for a few weeks, as it did for me at first, don’t despair. Just like sports and politics and relationships, there are rules to being a student. If everyone follows them, that lecture could actually be an enjoyable experience. First, if you don’t give a damn about the class and have no intention ef paying attention, stay home and take a nap. Might as well start resting up for happy hour. Or if attendance is mandatory, sit in the back and shut up. Class isn’t the time for socializing. The majority of people in your class don’t want to be there either, but they at least have the respect to keep it down — for those who do. Read a book. Play some Game Boy. Something —just be quiet about it. Secondly, don’t expect your professor to spoon-feed information to you. In case you haven’t noticed, this isn’t high school, . and students at an institute of higher education are expected to learn on their ~ own. ijcviuic is a icaujiiikuiuu ui wiuu. we ve • already read in our spare time. Now, I know as well as anyone that no one actually does this, but let’s just pretend. Stop wasting time asking obvious questions because you’ve failed to do your part. Here’s a perfect example of this: if you feel the need to start any question with “This might sound stupid, but... ”—just stop. Don’t bother raising your hand. There are, in tact, dumb questions, and if you start with this phrase, you’d better believe you're about to ask one. Thirdly, don’t suck up to your professors. Word has it that they don’t even like when students do this. Go ahead and have a chat with them after class (I think we all know this improves your final semester grade), but there’s no need to waste everyone else’s time kissing ass. Go in, sit down (preferably in the middle of the aisle so we all don’t have to climb over you), and wait for the time to pass. When class starts late, often it ends late, and if you’re like me, you have more important things to do than to listen to impatient kids shuffle their papers and zip up their bookbags. So you see, it’s really very simple. Either get really involved in your classes and enjoy the time you have to spend in those huge lecture halls, or pretend that you like it. At least have some respect for the few people who do get a kick out of learning. You’d think there’d be a latger majority, considering all the money we’re shucking out for this education.