Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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IN OUR OPINION I The faculty salary gap With the succession of stories about apparent racial discrimination in the hiring, pay and promotion practices of USC, it would be easy to read similar numbers on gender and pay at the university in the worst possible light. The figures from an annual university report — the 2000-2001 Faculty Rank/Sex/Salary Report for Professional Women on Campus — shows a gap Numbers showing female faculty members making less than males are concerning, but not inexplicable. between the salaries of men and women assistant and associate faculty. -These numbers are concerning, but not inexplicable. Differences in length of employment and the distribution of female faculty among lower demand disciplines could account for some of the gap. More concerning are numbers showing male faculty outnumber female faculty nearly 3-to-l. That number has an even greater appearance of ■discrimination. There might be nothing discriminatory about the faculty salary gap. But if there are exculpatory reasons for the gap, the university should disclose those to the pulbic. Otherwise, USC faces more allegations of discrimination and intolerance. Winners and Sinners » AUBURN Saves USC from itself by defeating Florida. We’ll be sure to “thank” you if we see you at the SEC title game. If. CNN Might get interview with Osama bin Laden. And none of that Connie Chung B.S., either... SEARCH FOR SIX One (Pat Conroy) is finally on the way. Dalai Lama sends monks in his place. You win some, you lose some. GAMECOCKS Arkansas? Arkansas? Maybe Lou was right about that No. 9 ranking... PETA Attacks Gamecock mascot, calling it equivalent to endorsing spousal abuse. Aren’t there some cows you need to save or something? U.S. MILITARY Hits Afghan Red Cross during bombing raids. Shades of Kosovo? GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS In an article on terrorism in Wednesday’s edition, Dr. Peter Sederberg’s title should have been dean of USC’s honors college. In an article in Wednesday’s paper, anthrax was referred to as a virus. In fact, anthrax is a bacterium spread by spores. And anthrax is not a strain of smallpox, as the article said. An entry in this weekend’s game schedule should have read “Louisiana Tech at Auburn.” The Gamecock regrets the errors. If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. Write us at gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com. f ABOUT THE GAMECOCK Martha Wright Editor in Chief Mary Hartney University Editor Ginny 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 Hark Photo Editor Greg Hambrick Pit\/ Frtitnr 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 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 TO PLACE 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 Hauglum 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. MOFFATT’S VIEW Electric bill, Gas bill, ^ Credit card... ---SLi_* RENE MOFFATT/THE GAMECOCK Free speech makes us a beacon CLAYTON KALE CEKALE@HOTMAIL.COM A crackdown on dissent would damage marketplace of ideas. Last month’s attacks have solidified America. Look no further than polls of President George W. Bush’s performance during the crisis, or polls seeking the extent of the support for the military strikes in Afghanistan. But look also that no poll shows 100-percent support for Mr. Bush’s actions. Note that not everyone cheers when the green and black pictures beamed from the other side of the world flash with the detonation of another U.S. bomb. Mr. Bush’s plan to attack the infrastructure of the al-Qaida terrorist network and the ruling Taliban regime has garnered enough support that it has been justified in the court of public opinion. But some jurors need more convincing than others. Michael Graham, in the Free Times, compares protests against the war to “giving aid and comfort to the terrorists” because it projects an image of a nation divided. Excuse me, Mr. Graham, but since when are Americans required to think alike? I’ll admit that the sticking points in some arguments against the war are lame and people display then ignorance like a neon duncecap when they gay them. But some of the arguments in favor of the war are just as idiotic. There’s no ban on asinine arguments. The freedom to make any sort of political statement, no matter how inflammatory or scandalous or dumb, is what makes America the “beacon of Democracy,” as Mr. Bush put it. Nothing dies quicker than a bad idea, as there won’t be enough voices to sustain the unpopular movement for long. Criticizing groups for their political beliefs in polite debate is what America is all about. Spewing hatred and slandering a group does nothing but blow a hole through the foundation of America herself. The idea of unfettered political speech in America isn’t just some funny joke a professor might allude to. It’s the law of the land. Comparing someone who doesn’t believe that violence is the solution to America’s problem to a terrorist is an unfair generalization. The efforts made to silence the dissenters is more Taliban-like than criticizing the U.S. government for waging a war on our attackers. It’s almost comical how Americans wield the right of free speech. In the good times, it’s OK to denounce the president for having poor judgment. In the bad, it’s “wrong” to do the same. When let out of control, a crackdown on dissent could make Lady Liberty shed tears like she did after Kent State and for all those who suffered beatings for daring to live by the 15th Amendment. The United States is supposed to be the marketplace of ideas, but it sure is hard to have a successful market when the ugly man at the door gets to choose who can come inside. In this time of flag-waving patriotism, it’s important to remember exactly what America is. America is a place where people disagree on everything, whether it’s what brand of soap is best to who should be the president. More often than not, the most popular idea is the best idea. And if it’s not (like Prohibition), the people will move to change it. Maybe I’m wearing a duncecap, but I know this: I’d fight 100 wars to protect my right to say it’s wrong. IN YOUR OPINION PETA requests not worth publication People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an organization so ridiculous that it is not worth even publishing their insane requests. These are the same people who picketed the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile. They also petitioned the state of Wisconsin to change the state drink from regular milk to soy milk. Their reasons: drinking milk is inhumane, unhealthy and racist. They also claimed it reduced cows to mere milking machines. Fora bunch of people who love animals, they sure don’t seem to know much about them. But, seriously, don’t dignify their demented requests by publishing an article about it. It’s not worthy of our attention. KRISTI COGSWELL FOURTH-YEAR STUDENT, COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATIONS PETA people are over-sensitive I must confess I laughed out loud after reading your article “PETA asks USC to Change Mascot.” I am not for abusing animals and I haven’t attended any cock fights, but to assume that the Gamecocks, mascot sends a message of cruelty is absolutely ridiculous! The PETA people are obviously over-sensitive, uneducated, and have too much free time. There is no danger in having a gamecock or a bullet as a mascot. What IS harmful is the power and influence of the ignorant. I’m proud to be a Gamecock and would be devastated to see our name change! GO GAMECOCKS!!! AMY RIVARD FIRST-YEAR STUDENT, COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS Article on salaries was ‘pointless’ Kevin Fellner’s Oct. 17 article on the disparity between median male and female professor salaries is essentially pointless. While never stated in the article, Fellner seems to imply that bias accounts for the differences in salary. When alleging bias, one must first eliminate logical reasons why salary levels mirtVit HifFnr I oqq hirn nhtiinnc reasons for the disparity. First, salaries increase with the number of years of employment, even within the broad salary bands of assistant, associate and full professor. Given the relatively recent increase in the number of female faculty (22.7 percent of faculty in 1990,25.8 percent of faculty in 2000,27.8 percent of faculty today), it is likely that the average female associate has fewer years of service than the average male associate. Similarly, it is likely that the average female assistant has fewer years of service than the average male assistant. Second, market forces ensure that salaries differ systematically across disciplines. Disciplines with fewer outside options, e.g. many fields in the liberal arts, have lower salaries than disciplines with many outside options, e.g. engineering, law, medicine or business. Look at the roster of faculty and you will see that the 27.8 percent of faculty who are female are not randomly dispersed across academic disciplines. If you control for these two effects and you still find that there is a difference between male and female professor salaries, then you may have a story. Even then, the differences may not be statistically significant. In any case, all Mr. Fellner has at this point is some misleading statistics. ERIC A. POWERS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF FINANCE. THE MOORE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS 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. USC the target of PETAs iron hand PHIL WATSON WATSONPHIL@HOTMAIL.COM You can have our ’Cocks when you pry them from our cold, dead fingers. The hell with you all, PETA. Get a life. Go listen to a Phish CD and make love to a oak tree, but leave USC alone, you extremist, left wing Nazis. This week, one of the most dim witted organizations in America aimed its cannon of insanity at USC. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, as they say, took aim at our mascot this week, once more displaying the ignorance they stand for and the spare time they have on their hands. Evidently the Gamecock glorifies the sport of cock fighting. Although I’m not a member of PETA, I love animals. They taste great. Especially dolphins. But the PETA people don’t realize this. Thev think DeoDle should sacrifice their happiness so they don’t offend animals. Screw that. If testing a new chemical on a lab rat will make it easier to drop bombs on Afghanistan, or if can help keep my whites whiter every time I do a load of wash, I say go for it. I don’t mean to be hard on the animal rights folks, though. PETA members are like Civil War re enactors: good people who make bad decisions. And urging USC to change its mascot was one of the worst decisions PETA has made in years. I like USC’s mascot. Where else in America can a guy talk about how much he loves the Cocks and not be considered gay? Only at USC, buddy. What if PETA, with all its power and prestige, does force the USC administration to change the mascot? What will we be called? I’ve thought about this, and after some soul searching I’ve decided if we lose our ’Cocks, our new mascot should be a more politically correct symbol of diversity that doesn’t glorify the cruel sport of cockfighting. Perhaps we could call ourselves the Cows, or follow Clemson’s lead and name ourselves after a big cat, like four out of five schools do. Now that’s creativity. If the iron hand of PETA does come down on USC, like the bombs of the U.S. are coming down on Afghanistan, and we have to change our mascot, will other schools be next? Would PETA go after the College of Charleston Cougars, since the cougar is an obvious symbol of xenophobia? Would College of Charleston have to come up with a more realistic mascot, like the College of Charleston Venereal Disease Carriers? PETA spokeswomen Kristie Phelps said the mascot has to go because cockfighting is cruel and illegal, like drunk-driving and wife-beating. I wonder if PETA would let us switch one illegal mascot for another. We could trade the Gamecocks for the Drunk Drivers. I bet the mascot would be pretty funny. He could drive a littlp onlf part around the sidelines at football games, running over water coolers and the opposing team’s mascot. I can’t say I’m surprised by PETA’s latest crusade. These are the same people that throw paint on women wearing fur coats and dress up in cow costumes to protest McDonald’s. It’s sad that an organization focuses its efforts on such pointless wastes of time. We are in a war right now, and these folks are complaining about a college’s mascot. These PETA people need to pull their heads out of their asses and find a hobby.