Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Quote, Unquote ‘God hates hands that shed innocent blood.’ Johnny Gardner, anti-abortion activist I Friday, April 27, 2001 Wnz (Samecock 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 Martha Wright Sports Editor Copy Desk Chief Brad Walters Charles Prashaw Design Editor Asst. City & State Editor Cristy Infinger Aubrey Fitzloff Asst. University Editor Asst. Viewpoints Editor Here’s a positive way to fight budget cuts v.. From time to time, USC students prove they actually care about something. On Friday, art studio major Kristen Hard is staging a protest about the impending budget cuts — a demonstration to object the fact that education has seemingly become the first facet of university life to be sacrificed in light of the potential cuts. According to Hard, art classes required for her major have been eliminated from next year’s offerings to help offset the budget problem. Hard didn’t come up with the idea until last week’s Leadership Enrichment and Development program. Vice President for Student and Alumni Services Dennis Pruitt was a featured speaker at the conference, but Hard wasn’t satisfied with his answers to her questions about the impending cuts. She didn’t accept that cuts were being made to education while projects such as the new arena and wellness center were still full steam ahead. In the matter of a week, Hard has organized the entire event, contacted media outlets and recruited students to participate in the protest, which begins at noon Friday in front of McMaster. Instead of simply collecting signatures — which didn’t work for Student Government in its efforts to push back the drop date — Friday’s protest is something that’s going to get some attention. The message behind the demonstration is something that should matter to all USC students, and the more students who turn out, the greater the impact of that message. Education should be the No. 1 concern of a university, not bicentennial campaigns or pretty buildings or contracts for new basketball coaches. While we realize that the money earmarked for education is separate from the money for these other areas, Friday’s protest has the potential to make someone sit up and listen, whether it’s university benefactors, state lawmakers, the board of trustees or President Palms. Some professors have already proven they’re taking notice: By canceling their classes so students can participate, they’ve Shown that they realize the protest might have some impact on the budget situation. Hard’s got the backing of the media and some professors. What she needs next is the support of the student body. If ’ students want to see change at this university, then they need to show the same spirit for activism that Kristen Hard has. 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 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. One free copy per reader. Additional copies may be purchased for one dollar each from the Department of Student Media. Adoress The Gamecock 1400 Greene Street Columbia, SC 29208 Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Stuoewt 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 gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com Spotlight gamecockspotlight@hotmail.com Sports gamecocksports@hotmail.com Online wwwdailygamecock.com Submission Poucy Letters to the editor or guest columns are welcome from all members of the Carolina community. Letters should be 260-300 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 gamecockviewpoints@hotmail 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. The Gamecock James Battle Travis Lynn Ann Marie Miani Sean Rayford Jennie Moore Photo Editors ! Katie Smith Mark Yates Crystal Boyles Page Designers Mackenzie Clements Betsy Baugh Jason Harmon Sara McLaulin Jill Martin Community Affairs Copy Editors SruotHT Meow Erik Collins Carolyn Griffin Faculty Adviser Business Manager Ellen Parsons Sarah Sims Director of Advertising Manager Student Media Susan King Creative Director Robyn 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 gamer.ockviewpointsfthotmail.com. Call /// //?6 for more information College Press Exchange pa^" -- BEELER# W ...I1L BE GRADUATING __ ' i CUM LAUDE WITH A SO? YOU WANT I MAJOR IN BUSINESS, FRIES WITH THAT? 1 X WAS PRESIDENT OF S THE DEBATE CLUB... ' HlUll a» "l( 40®! Former SG member supports Gamecock To the Editor I spent four of the best years of my life at USC, including one year as Judiciary Committee Co-Chairman of student senate. As a USC graduate and as an American, I am offended that the Board of Publications has reprimanded Editor in Chief Brock Vetgakis for endorsing SG candidates. Do we not live in a democracy? Is this not America? Is USC suddenly exempt from the First Amendment, a right we hold most dear? Or does USC actually stand for the University of Soviet Carolina? As a former member of Student Government, I believe it’s perfectly healthy for The Gamecock to endorse candidates. Their staff keeps up with the activities of SG throughout the year and, in turn, reports news to SG’s constituency, the students. SG, while it’s a very important part of this university and does a tremendous amount of good, is not perfect. Like anything else in a healthy government, sometimes SG needs the press to keep it in check. I was often frustrated by things The Gamecock wrote, but the newspaper has a right to report anything they wish to, as long as it is the truth. More importantly, they have the right to free press and to their opinions. mt; ciiguiiieui lidb ueen uictue tiuu The Gamecock is a student organization and is therefore forbidden from endorsing candidates. I am not sure how die condition of being a student organization takes precedent over First Amendment rights, but if someone can show me where in the Constitution or in the Bill of Rights it says that we are assured free speech unless we are a student organization, I’d be glad to sit down and shut up. Shame on the board for attempting to strip away the rights of anyone who wishes to exercise free speech. Or is it that, in USC’s ongoing public relations mission to look good at every possible turn, they have forgotten about our basic rights? What’s next? Is the Board of Publications going to send the Gestapo over to bum down my house because I wrote this letter? My advice to The Gamecock: Free yourself of this board and move off campus. Adam Dawkins USC Class of2000 Freedom of speech is newspaper’s right To the Editor I have spent countless hours in the past three years as a contributor and editor at The Gamecock. During the first two years, The Gamecock grew under competent editorial leadership. It became more visually appealing. Its content beciime more solid, and ad sales went through the roof. Now, under the current editor’s leadership, it has continued to grow, and the paper is exercising its constitutional right to free speech. Political speech is protected absolutely, and prior restraint has long been ruled unconstitutional. There is no aigumcnt here. The Gunccock simply exercised a freedom it chose not to in the past. While it’s not surprising that the Board of Publications nipped Mr. Vcigakis on the wrist for ignoring a portion of his contract, they should recognize that that particular portion of the contract is unconstitutional. It should be removed. » Clayton Kale Third-year Student College of Journalism and Mass Communication Gamecock was only exercising its rights To the Editor As a former staff member of The Gamecock, I’ve had my byline and mug shot appear several times in this publication, but I never thought it would appear for the last time in a letter to the editor about the recent events involving The Gamecock and the Board of Publications. It’s a sad state of affairs when a newspaper becomes part of the news, but the bottom line is that Brock Vergakis and the staff of The Gamecock were right to endorse a candidate for SG. I admit I was shocked at first when I saw it, but that’s because it had never been done before. Several weeks removed from that incident, I stand fully behind Brock in his insistence to endorse SG candidates. I might not agree with all the methods taken by The Gamecock in flexing its First Amendment muscle, but I agree with the fact that they can and should have been flexed. Did Brock violate his contract with the university? As far as I know, yes he did. He signed a contract agreeing he would not enter into student partisan politics. Therefore, the Board of Publications is right to reprimand him. Was he wrong? In the context that he violated his contract, yes. But I see the contract as an unconstitutional one, and it should be rendered null and void. To tell the editor of a newspaper that he cannot endorse a candidate for government is limiting the editorial content of the newspaper. That’s prior restraint, and this is unconstitutional. Are we to believe that the Board of Publications’ law supersedes the law of the United States of America? As a student newspaper, it is in the best interest of the student body to be as well informed as possible about the people vying to represent them. The Gamecock was doing its readers a service by endorsing candidates. “Real” newspapers do the same thing in many cases. Why should The Gamecock be treated differently? Kevin Langston Fouxth-year Student College of Journalism and Mass Communications Newspaper’s editor right in endorsing To the Editor The decision by Brock Veigakis as editor in chief of The Gamecock to endorse candidates for SG executive office was entirely legal and has come, as I believe, far too late in the existence of this newspaper. He did what none of his predecessors had the guts to do while remaining fully within his rights as an editor. His decision was met with criticism from me at first, mainly because I knew how hard it was to run an SG campaign as the former campaign manager in Jotaka lankly’shard-fought victory lor 2(XX)-2(X)I SG president. Butting that aside, I changed my mind because campaigns arc supposed « to be hard, and it’s necessary to consider outside factors, like newspapers, in formulating a campaign and in trying to tell your public what you are going to do for them. It’s not the fault of the media if the public rejects your ideas or accepts them — no matter whether you are running for the presidency of the United States or the SG presidency. Sara Ladenheim USC Class of2000 Gamecock Editor in Chief 1999 Homelessness is not a humorous subject To the Editor. What cracks me up is a young, immature journalist. I’m aware that Charles Prasltaw’s April 20 column, “Homeless people crack me up!” was intended to be a personal viewpoint hoping to solicit some laughs. I’m also aware that we are entitled to free speech because of the First Amendment, but one thing I think people should understand is that just because you can doesn’t mean you should. What angers me more than anything is that the writer captioned his column with the words, “social issues.” I mean, come on — if you’re going to write about homelessness as a social issue, don’t discuss it as a joke. In life, the cookie crumbles differently for us all. The column did nothing to suggest change or discover a new solution, and I think that’s one of the responsibilities we have as journalists. Thp nrfirlp nnR a ctprprrfvnical fare on an issue that most people don’t understand or are afraid to confront. When people read crap like this, they extend the barrier they’ve already placed between themselves and homeless people. Another problem I have with the column is that it attributes conservatism with cruelty. I think any journalist who attributes catch phrases from his roommate in an opinion article in some way accepts that person’s beliefs. If all homeless people were herded into death camps, as his roommate suggests, a lot of successful people would not be here today. It might be true that homeless people are funny. I must admit that growing up in a homeless shelter has equipped me with the humor to rip a young journalist a new asshole. But my overall conclusion is that the column easily could have been used to inspire change in people’s perspective rather than being used as a two-ply afterwipe. So, to all the young journalists out there, use your writing for purposes that are more constructive. Yeah, there’s the First Amendment, but just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Duke Manuhulu Taylor Fourth-year Student College of Journalism and Mass Communication Rancid Jell-O nothing more than a myth To the Editor This letter is in response to the April 25 letter to the editor in which Li/. Supples, a member ol the women’s field hockey leant, spoke about Delta Zola's philanthropy benefiting the deal'and hearing-impaired. In her letter, Miss Supples states that the field on which the field hockey team practices, Field F, was damaged due to leftover, rancid Jell-O. 1 would just like to clear up a few discrepancies from that letter. First of all, it rained tlie day after our event, and the Jell-0 dissolved because of that. There might be mud out there, but when it dries, it hardens. And this is the South, and the mud is red here, so that might have caused the confusion about the hard, dried, crunchy pieces you speak about. Second of all, I work in the P.E. Center and was able to talk with the individual who is in charge of these fields. He said he inspected the field, and there’s nothing wrong with the field that was caused by Delta Zeta’s event. Jell-0 does not turn rancid, nor does it harden. In fact, the opposite is true. When leftover Jell-0 melts or dissolves, it’s absorbed by the ground. Also, there’s no field that is clearly marked for tug-of-war competitions, and if you find one on the map (or a specific map of the field space available), please point it out to me and everyone else on campus because I have been going to this school for four years and have yet to find that space. In conclusion, the members of Delta Zeta are all students at USC, and we all pay student "activity fees. Therefore, we have as much claim to the use of this field as the members of the field hockey, lacrosse and rugby clubs. I agree that if you are upset about something, this is the proper means in which to complain about it; however, before you attempt to smear the reputation of an organization or office on campus, you should get your facts correct before making untrue claims for the entire university to see. Erica Kramer Fourth-year Student School of Public Health Delta Zeta Sister Bad statistics used in Greek GPA article To the Editor There are liars, there are big liars and then there are statisticians. That is all that was going through my head Wednesday as I read the article, “Greeks earn higher Gifts than all-student average.” Let’s be honest here for a minute. While the statistics show that Greeks earn a higher GPA on average, what they don’t show is the way Greeks earn those grades. I don’t know how many times I’ve listened to desperate frat boys try and talk someone into writing their papers for them so they can get a good grade in their class. And if you think that’s bad, you should hear about the “sorority files” that stockpile things ranging from old tests to papers that are available to only members of that sorority. Now, I know it doesn’t Pike agenius to figure out that if you are studying a replica of tomorrow’s test, you’ll probably do well. I’m not saying that there aren’t intelligent people involved in the Greek system, but it’s impossible to fairly compare the Gifts of regular students widi the Greeks because there is a fundamental difference that skews the results—the regular students have to work for their grades. Jessica Jacobs Third-year Student College of Criminal Justice t