The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 06, 2001, Page 4, Image 4
Quote, Unquote
‘There’s no leaking in South Carolina. There’s only a fire hose.’
John Palms, USC president
on media attention for his Senate bid
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Serving the Carolina Community since'1Q08
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Asst. Viewpoints Editor
There s no such thing
as a ‘fetal’ personhood
Cnder the pretense of protecting pregnant women, some
South Carolina legislators are trying to sneak in a law
that could erode the right to abortion. In the Unborn Vic
tims Act of 2001, which received a favorable report from the Ju
diciary Committee this past Wednesday, women could collect
civil damages from a third party who harms or kills their “unborn
children.”
It falls under the guise of justice — if a woman is beaten so se
verely that she miscarries, her assailant could be charged with
murder. Certainly the loss of a wanted pregnancy is emotionally
equivalent to the death of an child.
The catch? The bill defines “person” as “an unborn child at
every stage of gestation ... from conception until live birth.” And
suddenly, here’s your court docket: A woman in her fourth week
of pregnancy sues because she miscarried a week after a fender
bender. Someone tries to outlaw IUDs as murder weapons be
cause they prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg. Worker’s
compensation claims are filed by women who say physical-or
emotional job stress caused them to miscarry. Clearly, by granting
“personhood” to a zygote, this bill’s passage creates a million le
gal problems and zero solutions. A cluster of cells has no legal
standing. The Unborn Victims.Act isn’t a measure to give women
legal recourse for unwanted termination of a pregnancy; instead,
it’s chipping away at abortion rights.
Parking decreases daily
e all know parking on campus is nowhere near satisfac
tory. But lately, Parking Services has been playing a
new game with students. More and more reserved
spaces for high-brow faculty and administrators, or for certain
students who get favors from the administration, have been added
without any notice, leaving fewer spaces open for students.
Also, spaces are often reserved on a temporary basis — mean
ing that students might return to their parked car to find it ticket
ed or towed because the space has “suddenly” been reserved.
But that’s not the only problem. Parking spaces lately have
been swallowed up without notice. More than 20 spaces behind
Woodrow and Rutledge have been closed off for more than a
week for construction, and nobody seems to know when they’ll
be made available again.
Not only is this inconvenient for students and faculty alike,
but it’s also unfair. Parking is too scarce now for the university to
arbitrarily take away more spaces.
About Us
The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the University of South Carolina and is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday
dunng 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 erf South
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College Press Exchange
THE NEXT STEP FOR AMERICAN UUSTiCE
USC’s future without Palms
May 1, 2001—
USC President
John Palms today
announced he
would resign to
run for the U.S.
Senate seat Brandon
currently held by La,Tabee
Strom Thumiond. is a third-year
Immediately, student in the
state Sen. Arthur College of
Rivenel was named Journalism and Mass
interim president Commnications.
before beginning Send responses to
the search for a gamecockviewpoints
permanent ©hotmaii.com.
replacement....
In Washington, reaction was mixed.
“Lindsey Graham is the hope of our
nation, not Palms. The Repubhcan Party
is where wings take dream,”President
Bush said....
□fter the announcement that
Palms will move on, the
candidates for university
president come in droves.
Former Vice President A1 Gore,
despondent at the news that Bush really
did beat him (even in the media re-re
recount) and desperate to be president
of something, jumps into the race.
“We need to put tuition funds in a
lockbox,” Gore says to a stunned press
corps, whose eyes glaze over as they try
to understand what he means.
Meanwhile, Ravenel announces he
will revoke the university’s desegregation
policy, saying it was instituted by “the
board of retards.”
“I’ve always said the colleges need
to do their part to help out in the budget
cuts,” Ravenel said. “By cutting out all
of these students, we can save millions.”
Eventually, early speculation centers
on former Georgia Tech coach Bobby
Cremins, who declares himself a
candidate for the job. No one really knows
why, but Cremins is taken seriously.
However, three days later, he changes
his mind.
Finally, the buzz revolves around
none other than Lou Holtz.
“We need to get him away from the
goal posts,” an anonymous source in the
department of facilities and management
says.
Meanwhile, John Palms begins his
run for Senate.
“We can make the University States
of America worthy of entrance into
the AAU,” he says in one early mistake.
Lindsey Graham derides him as “a
pointy-headed professor.”
Democrats are furious.
“Wfell, I never knew George Wallace
was light in the loafers,” Party Chairman
Dick Harpootlian responds.
In an astounding move, Bobby
Cremins announces he will challenge
Palms. However, three days later, he
changes his mind.
After denying the reports that she
wouldn’t run for the USC presidency,
Darla Moore announces she’s decided
to make a bid. She announces she wants
to donate $30 million to create the “Darla
Moore University of South Carolina,”
but trustees decline the offer.
Meanwhile, Attorney General
Charlie Condon declares “open season”
on all Democrats and small children.
University officials announce May
8 that Holtz will be taking over as
president. Charlie Strong is made provost,
and Skip Holtz is made “vice president
who will take over when his dad leaves.”
A1 Gore demands a recount.
Holtz’s job change sets off an even
greater flurry of speculation, as several
candidates put in applications to join the
now-decent Gamecock football team.
“I wish we had this easy a time
finding a basketball coach,” Holtz says.
“Maybe I will end up doing it.”
On May 12, Hodges and House
Republican leaders announce that
$356 million has magically appeared in
the state budget, all of which will be
allocated toward education.
However, the Senate is more
skeptical, so they call Holtz in for
tpctimnnv
After a long and contentious session,
Holtz eventually leaps out of his seat and
puts Education Subcommittee Chairman
Warren Giese in a headlock.
“Give me my funding — now!”
Holtz roars.
The speculation about who will be
football coach finally centers on none
other than Bobby Cremins.
Cremins says he’ll take the football
coach position. However, three days
later, he changes his mind.
Palms loses his race and is named
head football coach. He automatically
starts raising money for a new stadium.
Ravenel becomes CEO of Denny’s.
Gore’s recount is denied.
After a dismal first year as president,
Holtz leads the university to gain AAU
status.
And, having nowhere else to move,
Bobby Cremins finally decides that he
will never commit to running for another
office of any sort.
However, three days later, he changes
his mind.
Campus Issue
University food is disgusting
—
bout two ' ’ ’
weeks
ago, I
went to The Patio
at Patterson for
dinner. I used to
be a big fan of
Patterson. It AubreyFitzloff
wasn’t that bad, is a first-year
considering it’s student in the
university food. College of
And it’s all you Journalism & Mass
can eat, which is Communications,
certainly a plus, Send responses to
instead of adding gamecockviewpoints
the price of each ehotmaii.com.
item at The Grand
Marketplace and
Sidewalk Cafe, hoping you don’t go over
the allotment for each meal.
But this particular visit changed my
view of Patterson and many of USC’s
dining establishments.
While I was eating, I found not one,
but two eyelashes in my rice. Call me
crazy, but does this strike anyone else its
... disgusting?
Obviously, I haven’t been back to
Patterson anytime recently, and I’ve told
all my friends.
I’ve heard other stories about the
treasures left in the food at our fine dining
facilities. One friend told me she found
fingernail clippings in her chicken salad
from the Grand Marketplace. Another
friend found a live fly in her Caesar salad,
also from the Grand Marketplace.
I know everyone bitches about
university food. None of us like the hours,
the selection or the way Marriott’s
employees treat students. But I think a
line has been crossed.
Frankly, other people’s body parts
and insects aren’t what I want to be
consuming, and I have this little inkling
that many other students are agreeing
with me.
Being a lowly freshman with no car,
I don’t have a whole lot of choice about
where I’m going to eat. It has to be on
campus or very near to it.
I would be more than happy to walk
to a nearby eating establishment and
purchase food that’s more than likely
much healthier, safer and better tasting.
But there’s a money issue involved
here. I already purchased my meal plan,
spending a pretty penny to be able to
have my card swiped and get food on
campus.
It really pisses me off to think that
I have to pay for my meals twice because
Marriott's employees don’t understand
the meaning of the word “cleanliness.”
I shouldn’t have to.
This really is disgusting. There are
things called sanitation standards, and
I’m pretty sure my experience with some
employee’s eyelashes isn’t meeting them.
I spent a few years in the food
business, working part-time jobs to earn
money for college, and I know this
cleanliness concept isn’t too difficult.
W;ish your hands. Pull your hair back.
Clip your fingernails, and do other
personal grooming at home.
Or here’s a better rule of thumb, if
you aren’t sure. Don’t do anything to
the food you’re serving somebody else
that you wouldn’t do to your own food.
How many of us would invite our parents
over for dinner and serve them food with
hair in it?
Very few. So why do students have
to worry about it when they eat food
from university dining services?
University Policy
University
needs to be
be more
forgiving
To err is human;
to forgive, divine.
—Alexander
Pope, An Essay on
Criticism.
People make
mistakes. Ben Edwardt
Alarms ^ a first-year
don’t go off, and student in the
grades slip. Often, College of Libeal
a person’s grade Arts. Send
point average responses to
doesn’t reflect a gamecockviewpints
student’s actual ©hotmail.com.
qualifications in
his or her respective field. An acaemic
forgiveness policy could addres this
concern and provide a way to ini]rove
ritimfinn
Ideally, the policy would only beised
once by each student. This stipultion
would prevent people from decidip just
to give up in some classes becausehey
can retake them. GPAs wouldn’t chnge
on a drastic basis because of this pricy;
only one class could be forgiverin a
student’s academic career.
Hopefully, the forgiven corse
wouldn’t be on a USC transcipt.
Otherwise, the administration wuld
be granting a hollow forgiveness.
Matthew 6:12 says, “Forgiv us
our debts, as we also have forgiverour
debtors.” To truly forgive someone nuns
you don’t hold a grudge against he
offender.
If USC kept record of the failurion
the transcript, then graduate schoolsnd
employers would be able to discrinuite
on the basis of the failed course. This tpe
of forgiveness is almost useless and ot
worth the student’s effort to retake te
course.
Another key stipulation wouldie
that, when the student retakes the coue,
he or she must make at least a B c a
B+ in the course.
That way, the university would hre
justification in forgiving the student >r
the prior grade. The high grade in te
retaken class is necessary to ensue
competence in the subject matter.
Furthermore, the retaken coue
should be under a different professor thi
the first course because, if the studet
retook the course under the sane
professor, he would have already be«
exposed to the professor’s tests.
Sometimes, university employe;
seem to forget they’re being paid 1
student tuition and federal funds to assi
the students at this institution. The;
students might need assistance wit
learning the material in many cases.
Some professors seem to think they’i
merely screening students for employe)
and graduate schools; however, employe
and graduate schools don’t universit
officials’salaries.
USC ought to focus on helping r
students excel in every way possible. Ar
host of ills could cause a student to fa
a course. Medical conditions, leamir
disabilities, family emergencies, fire alam
and poor planning all could contribu
to a student’s failure of a course.
An academic forgiveness polic
would be a reasonable change to betti
represent students. After all, the universi
is here to serve its students.
Let your
voice be
heard.
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to. the editor to
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@hotmail.com
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