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Quote, Unquote ‘ ... let me say that officials who cheat or abuse the public must be held accountable for their actions.’ Charlie Condon, S.C. attorney general I_ 777 Whe (5mcock 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 Health center should stay open weekends ith the scarcity of parking at USC, it’s a shame Health Center employees get reserved parking 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even though employees are there less than half that time. If students get sick or injured at USC, they better do it during business hours — besides a drop-in clinic open from 4-8 p.m. on Sundays, the Health Center is only open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The reality is that students get sick and hurt on weekends and during the night just as frequently as during business hours. When the Health Center is closed, a prerecorded message di rects students to call 911 in case of an emeigency. But students certainly have a harder time finding, or persuading, friends and roommates to take them to the emeigency room late at night or on the weekend. And it’s kind of ridiculous to call an ambulance just because you have the flu. In addition, many students without health insurance rely heav ily on the Health Center when they’re sick or injured. And it’s a hassle for out-of-state students to deal with out-of-state insurance at local hospitals. The Health Center is supposed to serve the students, and right now it’s doing a poor job by not extending its hours. Just like the Health Center employee parking, students need medical care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Pass legislation so students don’t lose LIFE for alcohol Finally, a law that makes sense. A bill introduced in the S.C. House last week would change the rules about Life Schol arships. Currently, if students are convicted of an alcohol offense — even the most minor of offenses — they could lose their LIFE Scholarships. The bill introduced by Rep. Jake Knotts would change the law so that students convicted of alcohol offenses wouldn’t lose their scholarships. It’s about time. Under the current rules, students are treated too harshly — if you get busted at a party while drinking a beer, then, according to the law, you will be treated just like someone who was caught driving drunk. Because of just one drink, students must stand by helplessly as the scholarship > money they’ve earned through their entire academic career goes down the drain. This simply isn’t right. College students have al ways consumed alcohol and always will. When most legislators were in college, the drinking age was 18. And unless Knotts’ leg islation passes, many students will be forced out of school for the very same thing legislators did in their youth: drinking a beer. 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 St. Columbia. SC 29208 Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Stuoeht Media Area code 803 Advertising 777-3888 Classified 777-1184 Fax 777-6482 Office 777-3888 Gamecock 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 Online www.dailygamecock.com Letters Policy The Gamecock welcomes letters to the editor from any point of view. Letters should be less than 400 words, e-mailed or clearly handwritten and include the author's phone number, professional title, year in school and college, or place of resi dence if not affiliated with the university. Handwritten submissions must be personally delivered to Russell House 333. Anonymous let ters or those with pseudonyms will not be printed. ^ The editor reserves the right to edit for length, clarity, style and libel as well as the right to pub lish letters exclusively on The Gamecock’s Web site Submission doesn't guarantee publication. The GUftccocx Aubrey Fitzloff Travis Lynn Ann Marie Miani Sean Rayford Jennie Moore Photo Editors Jk*'e Smith Mackenzie Clements Mark Yates Jason Hafmon Page Designers Copy Editors Cristy Infinger Betsy Baugh Charles Tomlinson Sara McLaulin Senior Reporters Community Affairs Snaoenr Mem* fJGJSKBSSL' SMMBBI Erik Collins Carolyn Griffin Faculty Adviser Business Manager Ellen Parsons Sarah Sims Director of Advertising Manager Student Media Susan King JanneMDeyo Creative Director RobY" Gombar Kera Khalil Geab ,, buna Denise Levereaux Todd Hooks Njco|e Russe|| EmiMeMocT Advertising Staff Martin Salisbury Sherry F. Holmes Creative Services 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. ■ ■ I ■ Letters Hill should research before criticizing To the Editor, I would like to comment on the letter written by student Eddie Hill in Monday’s issue of The Gamecock. This letter shocked and appalled me for many reasons. 1 would like to address Mr. Hill as a student in the Darla Moore School of Business. I assume that as a responsible student who is concerned about his future, you have researched your choice of profession. If this is the case, you should know that all U.S. presidents from 1885 to the present, with the exception of three, have belonged to Greek organizations. Also, a great number of CEOs and high executives of large corporations have belonged to Greek organizations. As someone considering a career in the business world, I would encourage you to think about your behavior. Not only are you insulting those with whom you attend school, you are insulting those who will give you a start into the career path you choose ... your future bosses. Immature behavior such as this is not tolerated in the business world, and if you would like to conduct yourself this way, maybe you should reconsider your choice of studies. Laura Byrd Second-year student Darla Moore School of Business Non-Greek chastises letter writer To the Editor, I am writing in response to the infantile letter written by Mr. Eddie Hill. He apparently has some problem with members of Greek organizations. At least that’s what I assume, after noting that the word “hate” appeared three times in his letter, along with a reference to his “impulses to kick the stupid [fraternity member] right in the head.” I am not a member of a fraternity, but I feel this kind of intellectually lazy attack should offend anyone with an even partially developed sense of fairness. Let me illustrate my point. Mr. Hill begins by complaining about the topics of Greeks’ conversations. He gives two examples, and then admits he made them both up. Nice. A few sentences later, Hill disapproves of Greeks’ facial expressions as opposed to those of “regular people.-” Wbw. The heinous crimes these Greeks are guilty of. Mr. Hill is not close to finished. After suggesting that all sorority members try to seduce their professors for grades, he unleashes a brilliant conclusion in a dramatic display of deductive prowess: “all Greeks suck!” 1 don’t know if the readers of The Gamecock will ever be the same. We now know that it is reasonable and acceptable to hate a group of people for superficial reasons, without bothering to interact with any member of that group individually. Hey, we could apply this lesson to other groups of people that it’s okay to hate: rich people, drivers of SUVs, evangelical Christians, people of other races... the list goes on and on. What? That’s bigotry, you say? Eddie Hill has the social conscience of David Duke? Yeah, that’s what I thought you said. Jeff Moblpy Third-year student College of Science and Math News articles reveal true story of Greeks To the Editor, I am sure you have received many outraged letters from Greeks regarding Mr. Hill’s letter. Allow me to humbly add to your mail load. Mr. Hill intelligently insults women to a degree that is simply unacceptable. By writing such comments, he immediately identifies himself as someone who shouldn’t be in an institutioa of higher learning. I am sure Darla Moore would not care to have someone as ignorant as Mr. Hill associated with a school named after her. Ironically, Mr. Hill’s comments came in an issue where two Greeks were featured. One of them is running for Student Body Vice President on a finance reform platform. The other is riding his bicycle across the United States for people with disabilities. Further, Sigma Chi successfully raised $10,000 for charity with the support of Greek women. Hmm... I guess these are the “fiat wankers” he so eloquently describes. This is a disturbed, jealous individual. I certainly hope you will think before you write next time. Please refrain from using vulgar and third-grade-level descriptions of females in my student newspaper, Mr. Hill. Remember that you are a college student and not a middle-school student. Gabriel N. Fluhier Third-year student College of liberal Arts Pi Kappa Phi fraternity member Build parking lots, not Greek housing To the Editor, I know I’m raising an old issue by writing this letter, but it is an issue that I can no longer tolerate in silence. How many students currently attend USC? I don’t remember either, but I can tell you there are a lot of us. Why, then, are there so few parking spaces for us? While it’s a problem for everyone, my cries ring true and clear in the ears of fellow off-campus students. As a student of the College of Journalism,! know the frustration of hurrying to school every day so as to possibly claim a parking space (one that I purchased a CS parking sticker for.) However, I often have to resort to making my own spot at the end of the row, hoping that I make it back to my vehicle before the USC parking militia catch me and slap me with one of their lovely $15 fines. Excuse me, but I recall that I already paid $15 to park. I feel safe saying I believe everyone agrees that something should be done. I can’t help but notice some prioritization that I disagree with. Why are the Greeks getting new housing, while the off-campus students are getting the shaft? I think multilevel parking on the current Coliseum parking lot site would be an excellent proposal. This wouldn’t eliminate any existinggreen spaces, and it would actually be a much more space-efficient usage of the lot. Bert Morris Fourth-year student College of Journalism and Mass Communications Greek profiling not always true To the Editor, ' Eddie Hill, why are you so bitter? Wbw, are you so wrong! First of all, I am from a single-parent home where my mother raised me while receiving no child support. I am far from rich, but, wait, I’m Greek. I pay my own sorority dues because I have a job, which I work three to four days a week while maintaining a 3.9 GR\. I did not get such a high GPA by flaunting my breasts but by working and studying hard, which is far from having sex with one of my professors to obtain such good grades. I am an out-of-state student in a school where I came not knowing anyone. By joining my sorority, I have made life-long friends and have been involved in many different campus activities. Do not think that I am an exception to the stereotype — I know many girls in other sororities who come from the same background as I do. Hill, stop staring at our chests and stop stereotyping Greeks. All of us are not rich; we don’t talk about our hair all the time and flirt with our professors. Wfe are a part of an organization that is filled with a diverse group of people. Don’t blame the sorority women for you not having a date on Valentine’s Day or the fraternity men that we might be with... blame your filthy mouth and your bitterness. D. Copley Second-year student College of Journalism and Mass Communications BGLA wants only to protect its members To the Editor, In regard to the overwhelming response The Gamecock has published in regard to BGLA and its quest to change the school’s anti-discrimination policy, I now offer my view. -- " Two letters were outrageous. BGLA is not out to disrupt or destroy any organization. We are merely trying to ensure that members of this community are protected from discrimination. Another point: BGLA is not the KKK or the Nazis, as the letter suggested. Those are hate groups, and let me assure you, BGLA is far from a hate group. In fact, if the authors were smart enough, they might have attended one of BGLA’s meetings before they started writing. Then they could have seen that BGLA is an organization that welcomes everyone, regardless of who you are or what walk of life you are from. I have said it again and again. I offer you this advice: let’s not forget that we are all members of this community — this public university. Everyone deserves to be free from discrimination. It’s no one’s position to judge if BGLA is right or wrong in this matter. As long as one single student is being discriminated against, there is an issue at hand. BGLA will stop at nothing to ensure that everyone on this campus is safe and free from discrimination. Brandon J. Ray First-year student College of Liberal Arts BGLA member Campus Safety USCPD is ‘useless as cancer’ Darryl Green is a fourth-year student in the Darla Moore School of Business. The editor can be reached at gamecockviewpoints 8hotmail.com. The “USC ' Police Department ain’t nothing but a bunch of toy cops.” Those aren’t my words, but the sentiments echoed by many of my friends and associ ates. However, after seeing the police operate over the years, I would have to say that I have been made a firm believer in the above statement. I mean no disrespect to those hard-working, honest officers who do their job to the best of then ability, but the USCPD is as useless as cancer. There have been far too many muggings, thefts, break-ins, attacks, attempted rapes and violent acts committed at this institution. Why? How? This campus isn’t that big, is it? After all, it takes the average student about 15 minutes to walk from one end of the campus to the other. Our tuition pays for the USCPD to have nice cars to ride around in. The state police patrols the entire state, so why is it so difficult to patrol such a small area? While I don’t doubt the competence of the police officers, I do doubt the tenacity of their patrol and their willingness to assist the students. Let me give you a personal example. My car was broken into this past semester in the parking lot of the P.E. center. I, of course, went to the university police to report the break-in. The officer I talked to seemed all too nonchalant about the incident and all too willing to sweep my “minor” break-in under the rug. What’s worse, she said there have been numerous break-ins in that very same lot. Now, I’m no rocket scientist, but shouldn’t you beef up security in areas of high crime? Well, the USCPD didn’t think it was necessary. I guess they aren’t rocket scientists either. A friend of mine had his entire car hoisted onto blocks. The thieves had just enough time to remove all four of his tires and strip his car, removing his stereo system and other parts. And what was the police department doing for the hour or two it must have taken the thieves to strip his car? I don’t know. And that’s the • most frightening thing. We don’t know. When someone is following you at night, when your car is being vandalized, when your dorm room is being burglarized, we don’t know. Another complaint 1 have about the USCPD is that they walk around like they own the campus, as if our tuition didn’t pay their gas and electric bills this past month. It appears they get a boost of self-esteem out of showing us they have a little authority. Instead of nice, polite law enforcement persons, what we have are a bunch of happy-to-have-a-gun, look-at my-shiny-new-badge police officers who take every opportunity to put their power on display. Of course, they don’t like to enforce this power over criminals committing any felony of any kind. They seem to have a preference for civil, law-abiding students who have come to school to be educated. I am certain there have been many occasions when an officer has helped someone with directions to a building, or gave someone a much-needed lift at night or helped a cat out of a tree. But those acts of kindness are few and far between, while the acts of showmanship and passiveness are great and plentiful. Criminal activity is rampant on our campus, and it’s time for the USCPD to get in gear. We pay their salaries, we furnish their equipment — it’s time for the USC Police Department to get off their behinds and protect the students, our property and our peace of mind. I Send your letters to gamecockviewpoints @ hotmail.com Letters should be less than 300 words. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit for style, libel and space. Submission does not guarantee publication. All letters must include name, year, college and phone • number for verification.