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“Che 0amecock Serving the Carolina Community since 1Q08 Brock Vergakis Editor in Chief Brandon Larrabee Valerie Matchette University Editor City & State Editor Erin O’Neal' Amanda Silva Spotlight Editor Spotlight Editor Kyle Almond Charles Prashaw Sports Editor Asst. City & State Editor Brad Walters Martha Wright Design Editor Copy Desk Chief Aubrey Fitzloff Cristy Infinger Asst. Viewpoints Editor Asst. University Editor SG restrictions defy First Amendment Creedom of speech is to be guarded as an inalienable right of people in a free society. Freedom of expression — particu larly political expression — takes on even greater impor tance when placed in a university setting. However, Student Government election codes restrict free dom of speech and actually encourage students to be ignorant about candidates. The university has a right to restrict the time, place and man ner of speech, but not its content. SG candidates are being unfair ly discriminated against and have had their First Amendment rights stripped from them — they’re forbidden to talk to individ ual students about their platforms and face restrictions on what information they can post in buildings. This blatant, content based discrimination violates every principle of the First Amend ment. SG struggles for respect among students, and trampling over their First Amendment rights is hardly the way to get it. If stu dents can’t expect SG to support the U.S. Constitution, how can anyone take the organization seriously? University shouldn’t endorse sweatshops One of the quietest scandals involving higher education is the use of sweatshops to create clothing bearing logos of America’s colleges and universities. This weekend, the United Students Against Sweatshops met at USC for its annual Southeast convention. One of its goals is to pressure higher education institutions into joining the Workers’ Rights Consortium. The consortium has stricter standards than its larger counterpart, the industry-backed Fair Labor Association, which isn’t strict enough about enforcing standards of labor in other countries. USC should join the WRC and cut its ties with the FLA. To allow Carolina’s logos and name to be used on apparel endorses the factories those goods are made in. But, because the university is a member of the FLA, we might never know what is going on in those factories. The administration should act on this now. Otherwise, it’s tacitly endorsing the methods of the companies who manufacture our goods. And for better or worse, USC will eventually bear the full responsibility for those companies’ ac tions. A B O U T U s The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the University of South Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesoay and Friday during the fall and spring semesters and nine times during the summer with the exception of university holidays and exam penods. 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 activity fees. Adoress 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 gamecockeditor@hotmail.com University Desk gamecockudesk@hotmail.com City/State Desk gamecockcitydesk@hotmail.com Viewpoints gamecockviewpomts@hotmail.com Spot I ight gamecockspot I ight@hot mai I. com Sports gamecocksports@hotmail.com . Online www.dailygamecock.com Letter Poucy 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 Gamecocks Web site. Submission doesn't guarantee publication. Tw CUpmcock Ann Marie Miani Betsy Baugh Jennie Moore Sara McLauiin Katie Smith Community Affairs Mark Yates Travis Lynn Page Designers Sean Rayford Mackenzie Clements pho,° Edltors Jason Harmon Charles Tomlinson Copy Editors Senior Reporter SnjDBrr Mbm Erik Collins Carolyn Griffin Faculty Adviser Business Manager Ellen Parsons Sarah Sims Director of Advertising Manager Student Media Susan King JannellDeyo Creative Dtrltcr Rob»n Gombar Kera Khalil Sean De Luna Denise Levereaux Todd Hooks Nicole Russell Melanie Hutto Advertising Staff Emilie Moca 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 gamecockviewpointsdhotmail.com. Call 777-7726 for more information. v -«, I Was TRYlrtGTOTirtk A WAY TC> GET SOME VALUE from OUR DOT COM _ STOCK. r ■ I Election codes are easy to understand To the Editor I only have one real thing to say about the numerous elections violations already turned in on the vice-presidential candi dates for Student Government: If you do not have the basic literacy skills to com prehend the rules for posting elections ma terials, you shouldn’t be running for of fice. It’s that simple. Read the rules. Un derstand them. Follow them. Patrick Gearman Alumnus, College of Math and Science Alumnus, College of Engineering Former SG senator Stereotyping hurts Greeks, Eddie Hill . To the Editor I am writing this in reply to two let ters to the editor, from Eddie Hill and from Dana Shannon, that are one-sided and shal low. I don’t want to turn this section of the paper into a bad Jerry Springer episode, but some of their remarks were stereo typical. Eddie needs to realize he’s bashing a large group at his own school with imma ture language. Maybe he doesn’t know the Greeks’ purpose is to raise money for USC programs and other organizations that help needy people. I’m sorry he’s so filled with hate. I had respect for Dana until she brought a random group of people into her argu ment and called them a waste of space. From her letter, she doesn’t seem to know one person with “multi-colored spiked hair, baggy pants and one of those silver chains that dangle from [his or her] pants.” If she tried to get to know one of them, she might have a different opinion. I’m glad she told Eddie what she thought, but she’s no better than him for making these comments. 1 m a junior, and I m not in a frater nity. I date a sorority girl who is neither a “yuppie” nor a “prostitute.” I’m also friends with a lot of the “freaks” who hang out side the GMP. They’re a group of people who are enjoying their youth and deserve an apology. I don’t like the idea that col lege students — the future leaders of the world—aren’t using what they’ve learned: that there arc many groups of people in the world whom we can’t relate to but are here to stay. Matt Plunkett Third-year student College of Liberal Arts Greek girl blatantly snobbish in letter To the Editor Any attempt to aigue that the Greek system isn’t inherently exclusive is ludi crous. The blatant snobbery of Dana Shan non’s Feb. 14 letter to the editor is cer tainly proof of that. If Shannon wishes to refute the anti-Greek arguments of Ed die Hill, she would be wise to use logic, rather than resort to name-calling and oth er assorted juvenile tactics. This isn’t to say I agree with Eddie’s views, however. It’s merely to assert the correlation between his sentiments and those expressed by Dana Shannon: Both are fundamentally intolerant. To condemn any other group or orga nization, whether they be “freaks” 01 “sorority bitches,” is merely to practice snobbery and arbitrary social categoriza tion. Additionally, Hamp Nettles’ contention in his Feb. 14 column that homosexuali ty or bisexuality is a “choice” is farther evidence that intolerance exists on our campus. As one doesn’t choose his eth nicity or physical features, one doesn’t choose the direction of his sexuality. It would be interesting to hear whether Nettles’ “chose” to be intolerant and ho mophobic, or whether he was bom that way. Personally, I believe it must be the latter. I can’t imagine anybody would want to live like that. It’s time USC students stop harassing one another and truly ac cept the diversity of our school. Catherine Baab First-year student College of Journalism and Mass Communications Hill: Future letters won’t be offensive To the Editor Due to the “Kill Eddie Hill” policies recently initiated at all local Greek chapters, I’ve decided to make the fol lowing statements: First off, I do not hate all Greeks, nor do I think all of you suck. Monday’s letter was extremely sar castic and insensitive, and I shouldn’t have written it. But, damn, wasn’t it funny? Secondly, I owe all the big-breasted soro-chicks a huge apology. I totally stereo typed your “titties,” and for that I’m sor ry. You girls have obviously worked hard to get the GPAs you have. Thirdly, I would like to announce that all of the negative criticism from Greek and Geek alike have caused me to enter into a massive state of depression. I have decided to withdraw from the university and transfer to a school where my comedic talents can be fully appreciated, such as T?.__ _ Z-' 1_A » 1 * /'"l_ A UUIUU1 V_M ivuot Ul v-ivmjuil, no one can read, so I can write whatever the hell I want in the campus paper. Hey, if I’m not cool enough to generate a laugh from a catch phrase like “frat bastard,” it’s the only respectable thing to do. Finally, I’d like to say this incident has' taught me a lot. I am really sorry if I of fended anyone. I am a lonely and poor stu dent who craves attention like a Ritalin addict. I was out of line for writing a let ter that was nothing more than “Greek profiling.” Next lime I feel like giving the campus a good laugh, I’ll pick on the or ganizations I belong to, such as “Fat guys and the food we love” or “The handicapped: Do we really drive cars?” Eddie Hill Second-year student Darla Moore School of Business Step back, breathe, quit throwing insults To the Editor I’m tired of reading the constant bash ing that happens in the letters to the edi tor. We all need to take a deep breath and realize that everyone is different. No one is the same as anybody else. People join groups that represent some part of them, but everyone in the group has different ideas. Students on this cam pus seem to take great pride in telling some one they’re wrong, instead of trying to see the world from the other person’s per spective. I’m not saying we aren’t entitled to our opinions, but sometimes we need to express our opinions in a sensitive man ner. We all know how it feels to be in sulted, yet we continue to throw insults right back. Students should use the letters to the editor to express serious problems on cam pus that need to be addressed. The let ters shouldn’t be used to attack someone who has attacked you. The people involved in Greek Life shouldn’t have attacked Ed die Hill. They should realize this is a per ception of them on campus and should work to change that perception. We need to leant to appreciate the uniqueness of every human being. SeanC. Kayman First-year student College of Engineering Greek’s comments as offensive as Hill’s To the Editor I’m pledging a Greek service sorori ty this semester. I also “hang out in that open area by the GMP taking up too much of* what Dana Shannon apparently thinks is her space. 1 didn’t read the letter to which so many Greek members have angrily re sponded, but I find it incredibly childish and sad that the few who felt the need to respond did so in the exact negative and derogatory way that they were so rudely referred to in the first place. Like them, I don’t appreciate being dropped into a stereotype, but I would be the first one to admit that I spend a lot of time sitting out at those tables procrastinating and “tak ing up space.” It’s as much my space as it vnnrQ As for the fact that Greeks have high er grade-point averages than that of the student body, you have to have a higher GPA to even get in, so of course they will have a higher average than the en tirety of the student body. A high GFA has little to do with intelligence and more to do with your drive to succeed and how hard you work toward getting those grades. Some of the most intelligent people in the world are sitting around on their asses some where, doing absolutely nothing and get ting absolutely nowhere. 1 wear baggy pants and unconventional clothes, and I wouldn’t be offended to be termed a freak. 1 would much rather be a freak than a cookie-cutter image of every one else. In fact, if Dana ever bothered to stop by and speak to any of the people I sit with, she might be surprised to find that several of us arc either in the Greek sys tem or are pledging to be in it, that many of us are in the Honors College, that we have a plethora offriends, and while none of us arc huge fans of the social sorority, we don’t sit around seeing the only “sal vation” from our “pathetic” lives as mak ing fun of your oiganizalions. I don’t ap preciate your comments, which were so ignorantly directed at my group of friends. I f you were trying to prove to me that you are a “rich, stuck-up sorority bitch”... well, you almost had me convinced. Brandy Glett Second-year student College of Math and Science Member of Tau Beta Sigma Get top stories from The Gamecock in your e-mail every weekday! Go to www.dailygamecock.com to sign up. • 1 Social Issues t Wrestling fanatic confesses addiction OK, I’ve kept this hidden long enough. Everyone has dirty little se crets, but I can’t keep this to myself any longer. Here goes: My name is Mike, and I’m a professional wrestling fanatic. Woo! You have no idea how good it feels to get that off my chest. I felt like I’ve been liv ing a lie all these years. For years, I’ve been sneaking Michael Kerr is a third-year student in the College of Journalism & Mass Communications, major. Send letters to the editor to gamecockviewpoints ©hotmail.com. home on Monday nights by saying I had homework or that I was tired, all the while just trying to get home to see the begin ning of the World Wrestling Federation’s Raw is War. I’d like to thank a friend of mine for giving me the courage to come forward. He mentioned professional wrestling dur ing a discussion in one of our classes. His j openness showed me that I, too, could come out of the professional wrestling closet. Professional wrestling is, as rriy friend said, a soap opera for men. There’s so much more than just steroid-fueled men pre tending to beat the hell out of each other with their fists, steel chairs, stop signs and tables. Pro wrestling has a continual story line filled with relationship problems, backstabbing and broken hearts. I missed Raw this week, and I already feel com pletely out of the loop. Professional wrestling has come a long way since Hulk Hogan preached the ben efits of training, saying your prayers and taking your vitamins. Hulk Hogan was the ideal “good guy,” or “face,” as they say in the business. Men like him don’t exist any more in wrestling. There is no real “good The “New Generation” of profession- | al wrestling, characterized by racier pro gramming, soap-opera antics and off-col or language, was really started by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s arrival in the WWF. Austin is the epitome of the classic “bad guy,” or “heel.” He wears black, attacks Christian morals, swears like a sailor and chugs beer in the ring. But a strange thing happened on Austin’s way to hell; he be came the most popular wrestler ever. This “New Generation” led to the downfall of Ted Turner’s World Champi onship Wrestling, a more old-school fed eration. Turner used his billions to buy all of the WWF’s old stars, but Vince McMa hon used wrestling genius to turn a new group of athletes into the superstars of today. McMahon also gave the fans what they wanted; blood, guts and sex. Ted Turn er is now in the process of selling WCW. Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) experienced a surge, thanks to the New Generation of wrestling fans. ECW takes everything to the “extreme,” more than even the WWF. There’s more blood, more sex, more violence and more vulgarity on an ECW pay-per-view than in your average John Carpenter movie. This extreme style of wrestling is spawning new federations all over the na tion, including New Jersey All-Pro Wrestling and the infamous Juggalo Championshil Wrestling (owned by and starring the In /-■i_n.—r». _i Milt; » ujjv/. ijuc,i\juiu .■.vjmuijj also popping up in suburbs nationwide, as well. Every day, kids are jumping o(T roofs and smashing each other with chain while their friends watch and cheer. The kids make their own characters, story lines, valets, announcers and everything else that goes into a professional wrestling show. Wrestling is different now, thanks in part to Austin. In this fan’s opinion, it’s bel ter. The shows arc a lot less about who will win a scripted match and a lot more about who’s sleeping with whom, who the masked man in the getaway car was and nudity, lots and lots of nudity. What more could a guy want? So I’d like to once again thank my friend — he knows who he is — for giving me the courage to speak my mind. I know there arc more people like me out there, and I encourage you to do the same. Nine mil lion people watch Raw each week; I know I’m not the only one at USC. So stand up and say, “Damn it, I love professional wrestling.” You arc not alone.