The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 17, 2001, Page 7, Image 7
_ THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, October 17, 2001
IN OUR OPINION
PETA letter
misses point
In its latest crusade, the People for the Ethical
^ Treatment of Animals faxed a letter to President
Palms on Tuesday, asking him to consider changing
USC’s mascot. The organization claims that, simply
by calling our mascot a Gamecock, the university
supports “needless violence.” Ridiculous.
PETA says our mascot represents tacit approval of
cockfighting, which is illegal in South Carolina.
While the mascot does represent the Fighting
Gamecocks, cockfighting is not what it stands for
today. USC has a long and
For PETA to proud tradition of using the
attack USC’s gamecock as its mascot. The
mascot for its fighting gamecock has become
name while other a symbol of valor and
I schools continue toughness at USC — not a
to use live symbol of condoning illegal
mascots is cockfights. Everyone knows
absurd how cruel those fights can be
— that’s why they’re illegal.
It’s true that the school used to use a live, leashed
gamecock for its mascot at sporting events. But the
school had the foresight to end that, citing “humane”
reasons.
While many schools still use live mascots in
addition to their cartoonish figures, USC only
employs Cocky. For PETA to attack USC’s mascot for
its name while other schools continue to use live
mascots is absurd and completely off the mark.
► PETA also equated using a gamecock as a mascot
with spousal abuse, bank robbery and driving while
intoxicated.
To say that USC’s choice of mascot is the moral
equivalent of perpetrating domestic violence,
robbing a bank or drunk driving is beyond
comprehension. The kind of skewed logic PETA uses
discredits itself as a legitimate organization.
There have been previous attempts to change
USC’s mascot, most notably when a USC alumnus
claimed that doing so would end the dreaded
“Chicken Curse.” But at least that cause was vaguely
related to sports and had the appearance of logic.
Any serious organization that attempts to crusade
^ for animal rights should not be involved in a petty
dispute over a costumed character or its name.
GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS
In a letter published this past Friday, Oblate Benedict Puisys
identified herself as a graduate student in philosophy. USC does
not have Puisys listed as a registered student. The Gamecock
regrets the error.
If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. Write us
at gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com.
ABOUT THE GAMECOCK
m Martha Wright
w Editor in Chief
Mary Hartney
University Editor
Glnny Thornton
Asst. Univ. Editor
Victoria Bennett
The Mix Editor
Justin Bajan
Asst. The Mix Editor
Chris Foy
Sports Editor
Preston Baines
Asst. Sports Editor
Elizabeth Swartz
Online Editor
Aaron Mark
Photo Editor
p Greg Hambrick
City Editor
Alicia Balentine
Asst. City Editor
Brandon Larrabee
Viewpoints Editor
Page Designers
Mackenzie Clements,
Crystal Dukes, Katie
Smith, David Stagg
Copy Editors
Crystal Boyles, Jason
Harmon, Jill Martin,
Carolyn Rowe
Political Cartoonist/
Graphic Artist
Rene Moffatt
♦
TO PUCE AN AD
The Gamecock
1400 Greene Street
Columbia, S.C. 29208
Advertising: 777-3888
Classified: 777-1184
Fax: 777-6482
STUDENT MEDIA
Erik Collins,
Faculty Adviser
Ellen Parsons,
Director of Student Media
Susan King,
Creative Director
Carolyn Griffin,
Business Manager
Sarah Sims,
Advertising Manager
Sherry F. Holmes,
Classified Manager
Creative Services
Todd Hooks, Jennie Moore,
Martin Salisbury, Beju Shah,
Advertising Staff
Betsy Baugh, Caryn
Barowsky, Denise Levereaux,
Jackie Rice, Stacey Todd
Gamecock Community Affairs
Karen Yip
Graphic Artist
Candi
CONTACT INFORMATION
Offices on third floor of the Russell House.
Editor in Chief: gamecockeditor@hotmail.com
University Desk: gamecockudesk@hotmail.com
City Desk: gamecockcitydesk@hotmail.com
Viewpoints: gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com
The Mix: gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com
Sports: gamecocksports@hotmail.com
Online: www.dailygamecock.com
Newsroom: 777-7726
The Gamecock is the
student newspaper of
the University of
South Carolina and is
published Monday,
Wednesday and Friday
during 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 activities
fees. One free copy
per reader. Additional
copies may be
purchased for one
dollar each from the
Department of
Student Media.
■P
Hi »DAD. GUeSS
WHAT—SHe SLEPT
THROUGH THe
NiGHTf
Yep. FIRST TiMe
SiNce we lost
hgr mom.
So Tea Me,Does
THAT COUNT AS A
GLORioUS ViCTORY
in the FiGHT AGAINST
GLOBAL TERRORISM*?
( Does iT
Feeu
' UKe a
[ VICTORY,
I SON?
Yes.Yes
iT Does.
MORNiNG,
DADDY!
I
--- -•• • - ^ ^^«W
COLLEGE PRESS EXCHANGE
WEEK IN REVIEW
A loss in football, a war goes on
Gamecocks suffer
first loss of season
The story was supposed to go
something like this: After
beating Alabama, USC’s football
team would reel off three easy
wins — defeating Kentucky,
Arkansas and Vanderbilt—and
build up a 7-0 record before
facing the dreaded Orange
Crush, where it would play
Tennessee, Florida and
Clemson, breaking only once to
play Wofford. If USC beat
Florida, it could conceivably go
to the SEC championship, win
or lose at Tennessee —
assuming the Gators beat the
Vols. A Gamecock loss to
Florida would send the Gators
back to the title game.
The story got a lot messier
Saturday, as No. 9 USC suffered
its first loss to Arkansas and
Auburn toppled No. 1 Florida.
The USC loss continued
Arkansas coach Houston Nutt’s
unbeaten record at Little Rock
— he is now 11-0 there.
Meanwhile, Auburn
remained the only team
undefeated in SEC play. But
even the Tigers have a non
conference loss — to Syracuse.
WHATS NEXT: The race for the
top of the the SEC East is wide
open. Four teams— USC,
Florida, Tennessee and Georgia
— all have one conference loss.
USC’s only sure way to make the
championship game is by
winning out in SEC play. The
lack of an undefeated team
makes it highly unlikely that the
SEC will be represented in the
national championship game.
INS continues to
hold former student
The Immigration and
Naturalization Service
continued to detain a former
USC student in relation to the
terrorist attacks on New York
and Washington. According to
friends of Mohammad
Alghamdi, the INS was holding
the former student in Dallas. No
charges have been filed against
Alghamdi, and his friends think
he is being held because he has
the same last name as three of
the suspected hijackers, a chage
the INS refuted. “I can state
unequivocally that we wouldn’t
detain someone solely because
they have the same name as
someone else,” INS Chief Press
Officer Russ Bergeron told The
Gamecock.
Meanwhile, 34 students who
planned to come to USC for the
English Program for
Internationals have canceled
their trips. Twelve students
already at USC had returned
earlier in the wake of the
attacks.
WHAT'S NEXT: USC doesn’t
expect the exodus of
international students leaving
the university to continue. “We
think we have stabilizedfor the
semester, ” Russ McKinney said.
U.S. continues to
bomb Afghanistan
The United States-led
bombing campaign against
Afghanistan has entered a
second week as efforts
continued to root out Osama
bin Laden and topple the
Taliban regime that shelters
him.
WHAT'S NEXT: The bombing
could continuefor weeks.
Meanwhile, negotiations to set
up a new Afghan government
appeared to have stalled.
IN YOUR OPINION
The Gamecock has created message boards on its Web site as a new forum for your opinions. Some topics
are already listed. To join the discussions, visit www.dailygamecock.com.
Columnist wrong
about Americans
Ms. Wilson, as I read your
article on “Americans hurt
Americans too,” I would
really like to ask you where in
the hell you get the idea that
Americans sit idly by while
acts of violence are committed
against American citizens? I
suggest it’s you and people
like you who sit in their chair,
pen in hand, and write stupid
columns on which they have
no clue! I see every day
Americans helping or trying
to help people in the exact
situations you speak of! Some
even pay with their lives! Yes,
some people like yourself sit
on their asses and do nothing
and then write an article and
feel they have done their part.
I do understand how you
might not know this, though.
You would much rather
ignore heroes like the NYPD.
and the FDNY until one of
them is accused of a crime,
and there you are again. Pen
in hand, doing absolutely
nothing!
Yes, we need to clean up
America! I would like to start
with you! Your column is
trash! It should be thrown
away! Maybe you should get
out more and meet new
people. You might just meet
one worthy of being called a
human! You, my friend, are
what’s wrong with America!
MICHAEL FARMER
use COMPUTER OPERATIONS
MANAGER
‘Fetish Ball’ article
inappropriate, vile
Sharon Panelo’s article
entitled, “The Fetish Ball”
(Sept. 17,2001) was
inappropriate, unnecessary
and vile. The sick photos and
perverse subject matter were
degrading to the human
person. It also insulted
Christians, especially
Catholics.
In the paragraph “Pain and
Politics,” she wrote, “the
performance was directed
against conservatism and
intolerance, represented by
stereotypes of Catholicism.”
That statement in itself was
moronic and hypocritical. A
bunch of sexual deviants bash
me oamonc cnurcn in a
trashy hang-out. In Panelo’s
opinion, they’re just “against
ignorance and close
mindedness.” Yeah, right.
Would the local public
tolerate a show, if there were
performances of Bob Jones III
chanting “I love Beelzebub,” a
Muslim man abusing his
veiled wife, a rabbi being
tortured by a Nazi, or a black
slave woman getting scourged
by a white master, who was
draped in a confederate flag?
Can you imagine the firestorm
of protest you would receive
from the local Protestant and
Muslim communities, the
Anti-Defamation League and
the NAACP? Apparently, this
type of bigotry, Catholic
bashing, is still “cool,” or you
wouldn’t have printed the
i
article at taxpayer’s expense.
Ms. Panelo, I challenge you to
be open minded and think: This
show was less about a protest
“against conservatism and
intolerance,” (as you stated as
fact), but more about
wickedness committed against
human beings in general and
hatred toward Roman Catholics
in particular. One doesn’t have
to be a Christian to be offended,
just a person that isn’t
desensitized by perversion. To
protest such filth and bigotry in
this “modem” age is to be truly
open-minded and courageous.
Your article extolling the
degradation of the human
person only serves to devalue us
all.
MARY G COCKFIELD
SKC (RET)
COLUMBIA, S.C.
♦ MORE CARTOONS, LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR-PAGE 8
Submission Policy
Letters to the editor or guest columns
are welcome from the Carolina
community. Letters should be 250-300
words. Guest columns should be about
600 words. Both must include name,
phone number, professional title or year
and major, if a student. Deliver
handwritten submissions to Russell
House room 333, or send e-mail 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. Call 777
7726 for more information.
I
Using
God’s
name in
vanity
ANN MARIE MIANI
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Like others before it,
Osama bin Laden’s war
is not supported by God.
I may not be the most
religious person in the world,
but even I am getting upset over
the use of one name in this war
— God. But if I were God, I’d be
pissed that someone like Osama
bin Laden keeps doing evil
things in my name.
Since the beginning of time,
some group has tried to justify
some evil, horrendous act
through God or the gods,
whichever they believed in. The
Crusades were a perfect
example. Both sides, the
Christians and the Muslims,
were fighting in the name of
God. Whose side was God really
on? Did He really pick a favorite
team and cheer them on to win?
Or was He the referee, who
decided which side won?
Now, bin Laden is turning
God’s sacred name into a
propaganda catch phrase.
In his sick, twisted mind, he
seems to think God would
applaud him for the attacks on
Sept. 11 and that God would
actually condone the deaths of
so many more people, both
Christian and Muslim, in this
war.
He said, “I swear by God, who
has elevated the skies without
pillars, neither America nor the
people who live in it will dream
of security before we live it in
Palestine, and not before all the
infidel armies leave the land of
Muhammad, peace be upon
him.”
Bin Laden is calling this a
jihad, a war in the name of God.
If anything, he should be calling
for this war in the name of
Satan, because the terrorist
attacks that started this were
nothing short of evil.
He is calling President Bush
the head of the Infidels. He says
to Americans, “May God show
them his wrath and give them
what they deserve.”
Since when is God wrathful?
Is this still the 16th century? The
last time I checked, this was 2001
and God hasn’t been wrathful
since the days of the Puritans.
And, personally, I would rather
be an infidel than believe in a
God who is hateful.
I was always taught that God
was supposed to love all his
children, not just a select few.
Isn’t that one of the main
principles of religion, that God
loves you no matter what?
Whether it’s Christian,
Jewish, Muslim or whatever, it’s
the radicals who give an entire
faith a bad name. They say they
are fighting for their religion,
when they are actually fighting
against what it stands for. I
think we all know that not all
Muslims believe that America is
evil. In fact, it’s probably just a
fraction of a percent who do. Yet
the entire faith gets blamed for
the actions of one individual.
I’ve always heard that wars
are fought over money or
religion. The money part I can
understand, but the idea that
people fight based on a set of
beliefs completely defeats the
purpose. Religion, whichever
faith, is supposed to preach
caring, open-mindedness and
peace, not hate and intolerance.
Another question that comes
to mind is, what does God have
to do with this war anyway?
There is nothing righteous or
holy about it. During the
Crusades, the Christians were
♦ GOD, SEE PAGE 8