Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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%\\t (Bamccock Chuck CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 began when he asked us what we were doing in Poland. We told him we were there with hundreds of other students from around the world as part of the March of Remembrance and Hope, learning about the Holocaust and touring Nazi death camps. Chuck seemed to think it was, a waste of our time, and he sure let us know. Of course, this was right after he let us know we weren’t real Americans and we should be ashamed of our country for being so sympathetic to Jews and the state of Israel. Chuck used to support Israel’s statehood, but that was before he became so wise. That’s before he realized that Jews were a bunch of whiners — especially about the Holocaust. Amy politely left early in the conversation, and I admire her for that. Chuck did everything he could to try and provoke her, but she knew better than to try to change the mind of an ignorant man hell-bent on trivializing the tragic deaths of millions. And as she left our table, she stopped to say hello to a little girl who had been playing a few feet from us the entire time. The little girl was Chuck’s daughter. And after my friend left, he told me how his daughter was going to get a good education, unlike my friend, who obviously had a needless obsession with facts. More than anything else he said, this frightened me. I spoke with Chuck a little while longer before it was time for me to go, and I bid him farewell. When I caught up with the rest of my group, I couldn’t help but feel hopeful, however. Many of the people I had spent the week with from St. Elizabeth’s planned on pursuing a career in education. One girl proudly wore a coat proclaiming her chosen profession. And as I thought about Chuck’s little girl being subjected to his hateful ranting, I had hope that she would have a teacher like the one who wore that coat. And hopefully, one day his little girl will come home from school and listen to her dad for the last time before saying, “You’re wrong daddy. Ms. Cafiero told me so.” Letters Parents of injured student look for help from USC community To the Editor: A little over four months ago, my husband and I received a horrifying call at 6:00 in the morning. Our twenty-two year old son had been hurt on Pickens Street on the University of South Car olina campus while walking to his dor mitory around 3 a.m. Somehow Dan Duke, our son, had received a severe head injury and was left in the road to die. Since that morning, our family has held a vigil by Dan’s bedside, watch ing for any sign of life. Any movement which would give us hope that our son would soon be out of his coma. Whoever did this horrible act of vio lence, 1 hope you can sleep at mgnt be cause my family can’t. I hope you can walk and talk because, as of right now four months after our son’s accident, he can not. He can not as of this date, tell us when he is in pain or if he can even hear us when we talk to him. As the college year finishes, we would like to remind the University of South Carolina student body and fac ulty of this tragic incident and some of the ramifications of someone’s care less action. We can not understand how someone can live with himself/herself after doing this senseless act of violence against another human being. Whoev er committed this atrocity, you know who you are and you know that you hit someone on Pickens Street. You know that you left that person to die. How can you live with this guilt? Our son is on ly twenty-two years old and our hopes and dreams ended on December 15, 2000, when he was seriously hurt. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Duke Parents of Daniel Duke Firing of Community Services Coordinator upsetting to student To the Editor: Below is a copy of a letter I sent out in response to the recent firing of the Coordinator of the Office of Commu nity Service Programs: Mr. Brewer: This letter is in response to the re cent firing of Tim Miller, the former Coordinator of Community Service Pro grams in the department of Student Life. As an active Honors College student in the Carolina community over the past four years, especially with the Office of Community Service Programs as a founder of the Alternative Break Corps community service organization, I can testify firsthand to the tremendous progress that Mr. Miller has provided to our organization, and numerous oth er organizations that are overseen by the Office of Community Service. Mr. Miller’s efforts this year have been exhaustive, precise, and worthwhile, but have largely gone unappreciated, as evidenced by his recent release from the university. I am unsure of how much more your office can expect from one of its employees, given Mr. Miller’s ter mination just before the completion of one year of excellent service in his field. It saddens me to see how a univer sity so committed to excellence can so easily part ways with such an excep tional mentor to the students at this uni versity. Unfortunately this is not the first time I have seen this occur in the department of Student Life, as it was decided two years ago by your office, and Ms. Cindy Benton, to part ways with another excellent former staff mem ber, Mr. David Janes, who was as equal ly committed to serving students as Mr. Miller was. I thank you for your attention to this matter, and would appreciate a more detailed explanation of Mr. Miller’s fir ing at your earliest convenience. Liam Aleguire College of Liberal Arts. Submission Policy Letters to the editor or guest columns are welcome from a) members of foe Carolina commonly. 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 personalty delivered to Russel House room 333. E-mail submissions must include telephone number for confirmation and should be e-mailed to gamecockviawpointseiioeiiall.com. Though The Gamecock reserves the right to edit for Bet. style and space, tetters to foe editor will be published as is. Speing, grammar mi ether mistakes winotbeedted. Only tero letters to the editor per student wi be primed in a semester or during the summer. Staff columns Cake prtorty over guest columns, unless foe guest oolunfoist offers expertise on a subject or if the subject's relevance is Smiled by time. Anonymous letters w* not be published. Guest cofomns and tetters may be submitted try e-mei to g8mscockviewpointsehotmail.com. Can (803) 777-7736 lor more information. There's 10 more things I hate about Housing * For all of you who were here last summer, I wrote a column — “10 things I hate about Housing. The basic premise of that column was that I was sick and tired of campus living. Just as a review, here are the 10 reasons why: 10. Roaches, 9. Maintenance, 8. Fire drills, 7. Uncomfortable furniture, 6. Cable selection, 5. Computer labs, 4. Toilet-paper gnomes, 3. Visitation, 2. Parking, 1. Prices. Now, as I look back, I decided there are more than 10 reasons why campus living sucks. So here are the top 10 reasons why I hate Housing in 2001. 10. The Bates Area — I lived there for my first two years at USC. Just for the record, I did make many friends while I was there. But for Christ’s sake, could it be a little farther away from civilization? 9. The Towers — Enough said. I think anyone who has ever lived there or just walked by knows what I mean. 8. South and East Quads — Can I just say how overpriced these places are? My place off campus is closer to most classes and is much nicer in general (dishwasher and washer/dryer included). And it still costs less than either one of these places. 7. Capstone — Or as many residents refer to it, Crapstone. Isn’t it nice of the university to put students in an asbestos-ridden dorm? I’m glad the health of current students matters so much to USC. 6. The 17th floor of Capstone — I know many of you have heard rumors about a hotel on the 17th floor of Capstone. The rumors are true. This hotel is for the “big wigs” of the university. I’m one of the few students on this campus who’ve actually seen what this place looks like. Just picture a room in Crapstone. Now, imagine that room 1,000 times nicer, and you’re imagining what the hotel on top of Crapstone looks like. I wonder how many of the “big wigs” who’ve stayed on the 17th floor know about the asbestos. 5. Campus dining — I know Housing has nothing to do with campus dining, but it’s always fun to take a cheap shot at Marriott. 4. The elevators — Either they’re broken or running so slowly a quadriplegic could rufi up the .stairs in less time than it would take to wait on the elevators. When I was living in Bates West, it seemed like the elevators weren’t working more than they were. And let’s not forget about Crapstone — three elevators, but students can use only two. 3. Fees — The amount these people charge for wanting to break the Housing contract is ridiculous. Just because the student has smartened up and decided it’s cheaper and more convenient to live off campus, that’s no reason to financially punish that student. Housing says it’s the same as breaking a lease. Well, if you break a lease, you aren’t out a half-year’s rent. So, sony guys, you’re wrong about this one. 2. Who wants to be a Carolini-what? — I’ve asked it before, and I’ll ask it again. What the hell is a Caroliniare? That was the lamest “ad campaign” I’ve ever seen. Not to mention there’s no such thing as a Caroliniare, so how are students supposed to know if they want to be one? I guess Housing showed us who “The Weakest Link” is at this university. 1. The Housing Administration — As in most university offices, the upper-level people at Housing have a tendency to have a God complex. So here’s some advice: Stop taking yourselves so seriously. You work for a state supported university, for cryin’ out loud. You’re not senior advisers at the White House. So, please get over yourselves. You’re not that important. Ann Marie Miam is Viewpoints editor and can be reached at gamecockviewpoints @ hotmail.com.