Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Quote, Unquote ‘There’s no reason not to come skating or shred your old love letters.’ Mandy Reeves, residence hall programming chair I %\it (gamecock Serving the Carolina Community since 1Q08 Brock Vergakis Editor in Chief Brandon Larrabee University Editor Erin O’Neal Spotlight Editor Kyle Almond Sports Editor Brad Walters Design Editor Valerie Matchette City & State Editor Amanda Silva Spotlight Editor Charles Prashaw Asst. City & State Editor Martha Wright Copy Desk Chief Norton needs to make a decision on deanship A few weeks ago, the most qualified candidate for dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications re jected USC’s offer. While this is disappointing, it’s more annoying than anything else. This is the second time William Norton, dean of Nebraska’s journalism school, has said he will not come to Carolina. wnat is even more irusiraung is mai usl. trovosi Jerome Odom told the Faculty Senate at this past week’s meeting that President John Palms thinks there is still a possibility the univer sity can persuade Norton to work here. The Gamecock has said before how Norton could do a wonderful job at USC, but he’s re ally starting to annoy us with his vascillations. Norton cited the proposed budget cuts as a reason he’s staying away, but in the same letter, he mentions a proposed increase in funding for the college that the provost has offered. Norton wants to make USC’s journalism school a first-rate program, but apparently he can only do so with the most ideal of situations. If USC had an ideal situa tion, we would probably already have a first-rate program. Re forming the journalism school will take a lot of hard work, and we don’t want a dean who’s scared to take on that challenge. Norton needs to make a decision about whether he’s going to work here. It’s not fair to Nebraska, and it’s not fair to USC. The journalism school has been without a dean for much too long, and if Norton’s not going to accept the job, then it’s time to begin a new search. It’s time for both Norton and USC to make a final decision on each other. Concealing bomb threats dangerous for students In keeping with the police phobia of informing the public, the university failed this past Saturday to tell residents of South Tower that what they thought was a fire drill was really a bomb threat. USC’s silence about the threat is unacceptable. We understand the need to avoid a panic by not saying anything while police de termine whether the bomb threat was real, but students should have been told what happened after the incident. Students should also have been told to stand farther away from the building than they do during a normal fire drill. If the bomb had been real, its blast radius would have covered the area in which students were standing. In the future, USCPD should understand silence is not always the best policy. In this case, silence was the worst, endangering students in the name of finding a criminal. Fortunately, that poli , cy wasn’t fatal. 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. Stuoemt 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 gamecockeditorOhotmail.com University Desk gamecockudeskOhotmail.com City/State Desk gamecockcitydeskOhotmail.com Viewpoints gamecockviewpointsOhotmail.com Spotlight gamecockspotlightOhotmail.com Sports gamecocksportsOhotmail.com Online www.dailygamecock.com SUBMBSION POUCY 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, professional 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 e-mailed 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. 1HEUAMBCOCK ^ ^ nuuitj I IU.IUII Ann Marie Miani Jennie Moore Katie Smith Fran Wood Mark Yates Page Designers Cristy Infinger Charles Tomlinson Senior Reporters Kdvia L.71111 Sean Rayford Photo Editors Mackenzie Clements Jason Harmon Copy Editors Betsy Baugh Sara McLaulin Community Affairs 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 Sarah Sims Advertising Manager Jannell Deyo Robyn Gombar Kera Khalil Denise Levereaux Nicole Russell Advertising Staff Sherry F. Holmes Classified Manager Only two letters to the editor per student will be printed 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 may be submitted by e-mail to gamecockviewpointsOhotmail.com. Call 777-7726 for more information. {u&wttMftni&Y 1 r u m pest® ' 3 uxanwi lEsR PS. tot Jh W 'N ***# u«s V Letters Student defends BGLA amendment To the Editor In a few recent letters to the editor, students have expressed feelings that the BGLA’s proposed nondiscrimination clause change is “admirable but unnecessary.” I must disagree completely. Students and faculty are obligated to behave under the guidelines set forth in the clause. While it is true that one would expect common courtesy should keep gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender students from being harassed or discriminated against, it is not always the case. There have been numerous attacks and cases of vandalism against us in this past semester alone. African-American or Asian students would obviously be protected against discrimination based on their race; they had nothing to do with who they are in that respect. While some people find it hard to believe or accept, homosexuality is the same way. Student Government passed our motion to amend the clause with only three dissenting votes, which shows that at least our elected representatives see that our purpose is worthy. Because so many students have written in and said it was “unnecessary” or would even “cause problems,” it leads me to wonder whether they have even considered our problems at all. Mr. Richardson’s implied malice of the BGLA and how it could use its “‘innocent’ policy change to disrupt and destroy other organizations” is irrelevant and incorrect. The BGLA merely wants its members to be safe from discrimination, which most people would find exceedingly understandable. If there have been any secret plans to disrupt the “organizations of the straight people,” then I must have missed those particular meetings. I am a student here, just like any male or female of any race or cultural background. I got here, the same as anyone else, by proving myself in school. Nobody gave me a free ride because of “gay rights” or anything. I have just as much of a right to be here as anyone else. All I want is to be judged and treated on my scholastic ability and personal ctiaractenstics, nothmg more. If wanting a basic human right like equality is such a crime, then lock me up. Chris Wright Fourth-year Student College of Engineering and Information Technology ‘All Greeks suck,’ student concludes To the Editor Don’t you hate it when you are standing in line, at the GMP, bookstore or someone’s bedroom, and some yuppie sorority chick or her equally dorky counterpart — the frat wanker — stands in front of you. Firstly, you have to listen to the most absurd conversations ever from “My hair is so pretty” to “I’m so happy I’m rich.” OK, maybe I didn’t use the best examples, but you know what I mean. Secondly, you have to calm yourself of those impulses to kick the stupid frat bastard right in his head — or at least I do. I just hate when they walk into class 15 minutes late, wearing a facial expression regular people get when they have to take a dump. I also hate the chicks who always butter up to the professors. They thrust their mosquito-bite titties in his face in hopes of “raising” their GPA, or Grinding Professor Averages. In conclusion, all Greeks suck! Who else but Greeks have to pay for people to associate with them? I thought prostitution was illegal. Eddie Hill Second-year Student Daria Moore School of Business USC like a ghetto because of noise To the Editor I enjoy reading The Gamecock, because it usually makes me laugh or gets me shaking my head. I want to address something that was mentioned by a student last semester — the university campus. Specifically, the campus appearing like a ghetto because of the loud, blaring bass music emanating from cars on campus. The other student added that trash was all over campus as well, but I think this has improved. Nevertheless, why do the students have to play the radio so loud you can hear it three blocks away? It always seems to be the deep bass music that vibrates the whole car. This continues all down Greene Street as I am walking to the Russell House and makes me feel like I’m walking in a ghetto, not the university campus. Didn’t the City of Columbia pass a noise ordinance last year about loud car stereos being a violation, which would result in a fine? The campus must be exempt from this new law. I feel as though I am in Colon, a movie about crime and police in a tough neighborhood, as I walk down Greene Street. Is our university trying to attain AAU status? This noise reflects part of our University’s image, too. Thomas Davis Graduate Student College of Criminal Justice Columnist’s economic ideas full of errors To the Editor I would be remiss if I failed to respond to Mr. Nettles’ column about the minimum wage. Mr. Nettles makes the link between minimum wage and unemployment, which is not an appropriate link. Comparing fast-food employment between Pennsylvania ($4.25/hour) and New Jersey ($5.05/hour), it was found that New Jersey actually had higher levels of employment in fast-food restaurants. Given Mr. Nettles’ argument about supply and demand, the higher price of labor in New Jersey should have decreased employment. Increased employment where there is a higher minimum wage shows distortion in the labor market. It also indicates that the minimum wage is actually set below the wage a competitive market would have set using supply and demand. Secondly, the example used by Mr. Nettles of the homeless “rolling stone” is a poor example for unemployment. To be officially unemployed, a person must fulfill two criteria — they must be without a job (which the “rolling stone” meets) and be actively seeking employment. Failure to meet the second portion would result in the individual being out of the labor force. Finally, the minimum wage is laigely being earned not by the working poor, but by teenagers. Increases in the minimum wage actually improve their earnings. The figures used by Mr. Nettles are actually the responsiveness for teenage labor demand. The unemployment rate can’t be extracted from these figures. I appreciate Mr. Nettles’ avoidance of the politics of the minimum wage in his assessment of its impact, but there were some points that needed to be more carefully researched. Christopher J. Surfield Economics Doctoral Candidate Racial profiling likely an honest mistake To the Editor I have been following the debate in recent letters regarding perceived vs. real racial profiling. The current dialogue was initiated by an account of security announcements in a store, apparently aimed at Darryl Green. The loudspeaker announced, “security, scan section C,” then, as Mr. Green moved to another section of the store, the announcement made was “security, scan section D.” Perhaps, based on Mr. Green’s potentially negative history of interactions with non-i\frican-Americans, he is well within his right to feel that these announcements (accompanied by the fixed gaze of the store manager) constitute racial profiling. Profiling, and racism in general, are horrendous social boils that should be dealt with swiftly and severely. However, Mr. Green might have jumped the gun in this particular case. I have had the unfortunate experience of working in retail stores. One standard was the “security tape,” which occasionally interrupted the background music to make a fake security announcement similar to the ones Mr. Green encountered. The thought behind this was, of course, that it might scare off would-be shoplifters who hadn’t been seen by security. interestingly, wnen we reany did have a need to call security, there was a code name we would use so as not to alert perpetrators to the fact that they were about to be apprehended. Given Mr. Green’s description of the incident, I am compelled to belieye that Mr. Green was the victim of the “security tape.” Unlike Ms. Hall, I was not appalled by Mr. Britton’s comments that this might have been merely perceived racism. Without substantial evidence, one must be wary of making serious claims such as this. Otherwise, the will and resources of those who favor your cause might be exhausted for a phantom offense much as the shepherd-boy’s village was jaded from coming to his aid in search of a wolf. When the boy really did encounter a wolf, his pleading cries went unheard. Mark Roberts Graduate Student College of Science and Mathematics Send your letters to the editor to gamecockviewpoints@hotrnail.coifi Gift suggestions rin Valentine’s Day at the last second OK, fellas, - Valentine’s ; Day is almost upon us. The cold sweat dripping down your face means you foigot; a mortal sin in the eyes of any Michael Kerr woman. But you’re is a third-year in luck; you still journalism major. have two days to Reach him at find your special gamecockviewpoints little lady the ehotmail.com. perfect gift to say, “I love you.” wnat it you non t nave the cash to get your lady friend what she wants? Well, you’re in luck, because I’m going to give you some first-rate, cheap-ass gifts that should please just about any woman. First, my disclaimer: I don’t claim to be an expert on women, by any means. I’m just an expert on being broke. Let me clear one thing up first. Many of you might feel that Valentine’s Day is nothing more than a commercialized, generic holiday created by Hallmark and Carlton Cards. Now, however true this argument might be, it won’t fly with your girlfriend, so don’t even try it. You can talk until you’re blue in the face about how ridiculous this so-called holiday is, but she will still want and expect a gift. Don’t be an idiot. Have something for her on Feb. 14. II you have the slightest artistic Hair, Valentine’s Day will be a snap for you. Girls, no matter how strong or smart they are, are still girls at heart. This means that they love mushy crap. It’s like guys and sports. Some things are just inborn. If you take the time to do something sweet, she’ll love you forever, or at least until the next time you owe her a gift. Just take some red construction paper and cut out little hearts. Glue the hearts on a piece of posterboard with pictures of the two of you. Write in some cute little phrases like “Made For Each Other” or “True Love Through the Years,” and you’ve got yourself a can’t-miss Valentine’s Day gift. If art isn’t your strong point, don’t . sweat. Sometimes a romantic walk is all 1 you need. Here’s a hint: the Horseshoe is the perfect spot. The trees, the brick walkway and the rose garden, even though the roses aren’t in bloom right now, make for the perfect ambiance to tell her how much you wished you could have taken her out for a fancy dinner. Chances are she’ll tell you how sweet the walk was and how she didn’t need a fancy dinner to be happy; all she needed was you. You won’t sleep alone tonight, my friend. Mark mv u/nrrfc If you have enough money for some candy and a card, you’re in good shape. Make sure the card says Hallmark, because girls really do check like those people in the commercial. When you buy the candy, do yourself a favor and buy the kind she likes, not the kind you like. The fact that you listen closely enough to know ' what kind of candy she likes will impress her, and the fact that you don’t like it yourself will keep you from eating it before you give it to her. A final approach is the simplest, least romantic, but often the most effective approach. My father got me a credit card “for books and emergencies only” when I went away for school. If a Valentine’s Day with no present isn’t a Code Red emergency, nothing is. You wine her and dine her and spring for a room at the Adam’s Mark Hotel because Dad is paying for it. You can explain it to him later. He’ll be mad, but he had to do sweet stuff for your mom once, too, so he’ll understand. Good luck, guys. Remember, if my advice leaves you tarred and feathered outside South Tower, I never claimed to be an expert. CORRECTION In Friday’s article, “Strange laws run rampant,” there was an error. The article should have read: “Lee Coggiola, Richland County chief public defender, says she believes they (strange laws) were put in the books because of the times.” The Gamecock Regrets the error. 1