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THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, September 12, 2001 MTV ™™ CONTACT US I I P , 1/ I I \ • GILBERT KEITH CHESTERTON: ' ■ ■ ■ ■ i I ■/ 11/ “Most Americans are born Story ideas? Questions? Comments? B I I I A I W I I / drunk and really require a little Writeusatgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com . B B B ■ ^ _J|L- T * B ^ " wine or beer to sober them.” Terrorist attacks force entertainment shutdown LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Emmys and Latin Grammys can celed their awards ceremonies, amusement parks closed and Hollywood studios locked their gates as Tuesday’s terrorist at tacks darkened a stunned enter tainment industry. All Broadway shows were can celed in New York and box offices at the theaters were closed indef initely, said Jed Bernstein, pres ident of the League of American Theaters and Producers. Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland and Universal Studios in Southern California were shut down, while most re sort hotels remained open. In Southern California, major movie studios such as Paramount, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros, were shuttered, in cluding studio tours and produc tion of movies and TV shows. Many of the landmark attrac tions on the Las Vegas Strip, in cluding the Eiffel and Stratosphere towers, were closed Tuesday. Gambling continued at all of the resort’s casinos and the evening’s slate of headliner en tertainment remained on sched ule. The second annual Latin Grammys, scheduled to he broad cast live Tuesday night from Los Angeles, were canceled “due to unimaginable events,” according to a written statement. Workers outside the arena hurried to dismantle the elabo rate stages shortly after the at tacks, and Recording Academy officials said the show would not be rescheduled. “It’s over,” said Barb Deeghan, a spokeswoman for the show. “That’s it. It’s canceled.” The 53rd annual Primetime Emmys, which had been sched uled for Sunday night in Los Angeles, were postponed, but or ganizers expected to reschedule the show. “We will set no new date until we find out the extent of this tragedy and the national mourn ing that’s going to take place,” said Jim Chabin, president of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. ♦ SHUT DOWN, SEE PAGE 11 CANCELED Emmys Latin Grammys All Broadway shows Tapings of Jay Leno Tapings of Conan O’Brien Madonna Concert All Major League Baseball games CLOSED Hollywood Studios Disney World and Disneyland Eiffel and Stratosphere in Las Vegas FISHER OF MEN BY VICTORIA BENNETT THE GAMECOCK Students crowded the hall beneath the Carolina Coliseum, waiting by the locked door for the professor to start the year’s first copy editing lab. Rumors about the demanding class, as well as its professor, spread through the group. “Half the class always fails,” one student whispered. “He’s mean, and he likes to make girls cry,” another said. Worried looks cross the faces of even the most confident students, se mester after semester. Dr. Henry Price, a copyediting pro fessor for 32 years, definitely had a reputation, though by the end of each semester, even those who failed the class would admit he was an out standing teacher. Only one year before retiring, Dr. Price surprised students this fall by announcing he would leave the class room to become interim dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Suddenly, the talk surrounding the copyediting course shifted to its new professor. Would he be as good as Dr. Price? Would the course maintain its credibility? BIG SHOES TO FILL Doug Fisher is the answer to those questions. When he accepted the job, Fisher knew he was taking the reins of a legendary class. Following in Dr. Price’s footsteps “scared the heck out ofme,”hesaid. But the journalism school’s faculty felt confident Fisher, a man of impos ing stature, was up to the challenge. Price, having a “proprietary interest,” helped select his successor. “Professor [Pat] McNeely thought she had found the right professor,” Price said, “and I was extremely im pressed. I had no qualms about turn ing it over to him. He has the soul of a professor of copy editing, as well as the experience.” Fisher’s experience with radio, tele vision, newspaper and The Associated Press impressed Price, and so did his shoe size. “I knew he was the right person when I realized he wore a size 12,” Price said. “I wear a size 13. A big foot shows great understanding.” Fisher agrees he and Price have things in common. “We’re similar in that we both take the idea of journalism very seriously,” he said. On his first day of class, Fisher expressed this in.no uncertain terms. “Journalists are researching every day and imparting that to people every day. Copy editing is one aspect of learning that. We need to get it right. We take fact and create knowledge.” When he attended Indiana University, Fisher intended to major in astrophysics and political science. Though he loved astrophysics, he de cided to switch to economics, retaining the degree in political science, after no one in his physics class could finish a three-question test even though they had weeks to do it. BITTEN BY THE BUG It was also at Indiana University that Fisher became interested in journal ism. “I got involved with the campus radio station and did the news, and I really liked it.” His first big story was reporting on draft dodgers going to Canada. He credits his mentor, former NBC producer Dick Yoakam, with helping him break into the field. “He was a crusty old newsman, but he was a good guy. He had you do it right, and as a re sult, it got you a job,” Fisher said. “He served as a mentor to a lot of people, a spiritual journalism father.” After graduation, Fisher worked as a radio reporter and anchor for WONE/WTUE in Dayton, Ohio. He soon moved on to the 50,000-watt WOWO, an AM radio station in Fort Wayne, Ind., where he also worked as a reporter and anchor, specializing in business reporting. Fort Wayne, Fisher found, was a “good media town.” After four years with WOWO, he started work ing in television as an assignment editor at WPTA, also in Fort Wayne. He said that, though he has enjoyed working in all types of media, tele vision was his least favorite be cause he had to wake up at 4 a.m. Fisher tried his hand at print journalism when he worked for Fort Wayne’s Journal-Gazette for three years, specializing in envi ronment and transportation. Next, Fisher decided to return to school. As a Kiplinger Fellow, he earned his M. A. in journalism from Ohio State University, with con centrations in business, utility reg ulation and public administration. He also taught classes on public af fairs reporting, writing and broad cast production at Ohio State. Fisher’s career with the AP be gan in 1983 in Columbus, Ohio, where he worked as a newsman, soon becoming a correspondent in Dayton, Ohio. From there, he moved to Providence, R.I., where he served as managing correspondent, supervising an office responsible for statewide coverage. in 199X, risner was nirea as an AP news editor in Columbia, S.C., where he worked until he accepted his current position with USC. Fisher said the AP represented the best and worst of journalism for him. “The wire has got the reach and the resources. Most people don’t know it’s nonprofit, so the job is not to make money, it’s to do the news.” But Fisher said pressure was high at the AP be cause there were “so many people wait ing to see what you’re doing.” TEACHING TESTS Though most of his professional ex perience has been outside a universi ty, Fisher doesn’t see the transition to academia as a stretch. “As an editor, you’re teaching, any how. You’re constantly having discus sions with your writers, helping them grow and learn.” The hardest part, Fisher said, comes during the first se ♦ FISHER, SEE PAGE 10 Doug Fisher replaces Dr. Henry Price as copy editing professor. PHOTO BY JOSH SKIDMORE CD REVIEW Ben Folds ’first solo album doesn’t disappoint fans by william mills THE GAMECOCK Ben Folds' latest release, Rockin' the Suburbs, proves the piano should not be excluded from rock ‘n’ roll. This multi-tal ented poet's new album not only utilizes numerous instruments, but also demonstrates his ability to survive as a solo artist. With total creative indepen dence, Folds' fate is sealed, good or bad. A solo career doesn't al low the luxury of shifting blame for a plummeting album. However, this isn’t something he has to worry about. Rockin' the Suburbs is lyrically poppy and easy to consume. Keeping up with recent musical trends, high emotion, loneliness and rela tionships are the overwhelming themes of the album. Songs like “Gone” and “Losing Lisa” show how catchy loneliness can be. Just before the listener drifts into depression, Folds lifts things up with dance-inducing piano. While some of the songs have an emotional appeal, the music is simply not powerful enough to cause sadness. The se riousness of some of the lyrics are dulled by the light-hearted feeling of the instruments. The beauty of the piano energizes less and calms more. This music is perfect for long road trips or mellowing out during a traffic jam. The crispness of the piano bet ter accents the lyrics than a gui tar would, but the album does leave you with an insatiable thirst for heavy guitars. Perhaps after listening to this album, you should jam out to some AC/DC or Twisted Sister. The album is far from controversial - it’s sim ply good music by a talented guy. For more information and up coming tour dates, check out Ben Folds*at www.benfolds.com. One day changes a world we knew DENISE LEVEREAUX . GAMECOCKMIXEDITOR@HOTMAfL.COM I don’t normally pay attention to my roommate’s alarm clock. After all, I only occasionally pay attention to my own alarm clock. So it follows that I should pay even less attention to her alarm clock than mine. At least, that’s how it was before yesterday. Yesterday, however, when her alarm clock when off “ A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center—” My roommate’s hand fell heavily on the snooze button. She looked over at me; we were silent for a moment. Then, in unison, “TURN ON THE TV!” We rubbed the sleep out of our eyes and stared as the picture came into focus. I was about to say, “What’s that?” and point at the tiny shape hurtling toward the already smoking World Trade Center. Before I could, another ball of fire erupted from the building’s side. Moments later, we were told another plane had crashed into the other Twin Tower. Tension was tnick yesterday, walking to class. People still talked on their cell phones, but the snippets of conversation were of a different tone. “Have you heard from so and-so yet?” Foreheads were creased, and people cried as they made their way from one building to another. Early in the morning, I could tell who had watched the news and who had not; it showed on their faces. Those who knew looked like ghosts of themselves. I envied the blissfully ignorant. I am sorry if I intimated in my earlier column that we needed more important things to think about. In the past 24 hours, the Twin Towers have been reduced to several tons of rubble, the Pentagon is half demolished and doomsday prophets are screaming World War Three. I don’t want to think about the events of today any more. This is not the world I have known, nor is it one I believed could be known. I was safely content in my sheltered college world, full of college problems and college agonies. One day changed all that. One day killed the idea that I was safe as long as I was an American. One day showed me that I could be vulnerable, even in my own home. We all felt so innocently safe because nobody had ever been able to do anything this devastating, this close to home. But now, somebody has. I don’t know if I am ready to exist in a world like that. I don’t know that any of us are. I’m not ready to exist in a world where someone woke up yesterday morning and knew he was going to kill tens of thousands of people that day. I imagine him as a petulant schoolboy. He’s mad because someone else knocked down his Lego building. Determined to retaliate, he marches over to the offending kid and smashes three of that boy’s Lego buildings. Little Lego men and women run screaming through the streets of their Lego cities. Lego mothers cry over the loss of their Lego children. ♦ LEVEREAUX, SEE PAGE il