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4 IN OUR OPINION Distributing the suffering It has finally happened. The short-sightedness of several legislatures and two governors, the Republicans’ unstoppable urge to cut every tax that exists and this state’s lagging economy have finally caught up to USC. On Tuesday, the state Budget and Control Board approved cuts of 4 percent to all state agencies, including the university. It’s unfortunate that the kind of budget hijinks that have gone on over the past few years — such as using one-time money for recurring spending and cutting taxes even as revenues fail to meet expectations — will now end ud hurtine South Carolina’s There will be budget cuts, and the university’s reaction to those cuts must be handled fairly institutions of higher education. But there will be budget cuts, and the university’s reaction to those' cuts must be handled fairly. First, all of USC’s colleges should be cut evenly. It isn’t right to cut some colleges more than others — even if it protects the university’s “Cathedrals of Excellence,” namely the Moore School of Business, College of Liberal Arts, College of Science and Mathematics and College of Engineering and Information Technology. All cuts should be distributed equally so that all student^ will be affected equally. Second, the university must avoid — at all costs — a mid-year increase in tuition. Though this would be an easy way for the university to increase revenue, it would hurt thousands of students who depend on the promises the university made at the beginning of the year. A mid-year tuition increase could leave students who rely on financial aid in the cold, because the amount of aid someone receives is based partly on tuition costs and is set at the beginning of the year. And it would impact every student at the university, making us tighten our belts to make up for the foolishness of South Carolina’s “leaders.” The administration knew these cuts were possible and had drawn up contigency plans. We applaud it for its foresight. However, USC must make sure that students aren’t hurt in the crossfire of the budget cuts. GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS An article in Monday’s newspaper incorrectly stated that Connie Tingin was a member of Tau Beta Sigma band sorority. The Gamecock regrets the error. If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. Write us atgamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK Martha Wright Editor in Chief Mary Hartney University Editor Glnny Thornton Asst. Univ. Editor Victoria Bennett The Mix Editor Justin Bajan Asst. The Mix Edit< Chris Foy Sports Editor Preston Baines Asst. Sports ^ditor Elizabeth Swartz Online Editor Aaron Hark Photo Editor Andrew Rogers Asst. Photo Editor Greg Hambrick City Editor Alicia Balentine Asst. City Editor Brandon Larrabee Viewpoints Editor Rene Moffatt Political Cartoonis illustrator Candi Hauglum Graphic Artist Page Designers Mackenzie Clemen Crystal Dukes, Kat Smith, David Stagj Copy Editors Crystal Boyles. Jas Harmon, Jill Martin Carolyn Rowe 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 ir 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 Scarborough Advertising Manager Sherry F. Holmes Classified Manager :/ Creative Services Todd Hooks, Jennie Moore, Martin Salisbury, Beju Shah, Advertising Staff Betsy Baugh, Caryn Barowsi' ts, Denise Levereaux, Jackie e Rice, Stacey Todd Gamecock Community Affair Karen Yip on 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 y copies may be purchased for one dollar each from the Department of } Student Media. LATASHA GIBBS/THE GAMECOCK MSA PA/chEcK BEALuy worth \ THE HEAPAcHE? Channel 93.5 is lame, repetitive PHIL WATSON WATSONPHIL@YAHOO.COM This is how you remind me... of why I listen to CDs instead of the radio. Halloween is here and scarier than ever. I celebrated a little early by going with some friends to that old abandoned prison by the river. Scary stuff, but not nearly as scary as the reprimand I got for my column last week. Evidently Channel 93.5 sponsors those Momentum ass bologna toss and banana deep throating contests I talked about. Although I didn’t hear it, I was told one of the DJs from 93.5 spent almost five minutes bashing my column. That’s fine. He has the right to because this is America and we’re not a bunch of dirty stink X bags that kill people for making eye contact with women, like those in Afghanistan. I started thinking about this D J and 93.5.1 was reminded of why I don’t like radio. They play the same songs over and over. How about "Chop Suey!"? I cry when overplayed songs deserve to die. I gotta take a quick break folks, I’ll be right back: No lemon (beep beep), used cars. No lemon (beep beep), used cars. Tonight at Momentum... college night. If you’re not there, you ’re a Peking d*ck!!H! We’re back, folks. I’m Phil, and I’m going to be rocking you through the rest of this column. I’m going to give you three brand spanking new insults in a row, right here in The Gamecock. “I used to love the way you smack my ass”... but now it’s getting old. When in the name of all that is holy and good are you people going to stop playing that song? If I could control you, I would make you throw that Puddle of Mudd CD away or start playing other songs from it. But my intuition tells me they probably don’t have any other good songs, like most of the bands you play. They still call that Puddle of Mudd song “new rock.” Sad at best. Yes, I did hear it first on Channel 93.5... four years ago. And Afroman? What on Earth was that little phase about? New Rock? It might have been new, but it sure wasn’t rock. I don’t even think it was rap. I’m just glad that sad chapter in our nation’s music history is over. As I write this, I’m listening to 93.5 for inspiration. “New rock now, only on Channel 93.5.” Then they play a 10-year-old Metallica song. New rock? Actual rocks are newer than some of the stuff they play. I’ll be right back after this: Platinum Plus of Columbia has the hottest women and the biggest lunch buffet in town. Come and bury your face in both!!! What’s the buzz? Tell me what's a-happening: Tonight at The Elbow Room, some crappy band you’ve never heard of, but probably will hear soon on our station. We’re back. How about that “Lipstick and Bruises” song? Every time I hear that song I want someone to give me a bruise big enough to render me unconscious. At least most of the songs 93.5 overplays were good the first few hundred times around. But that “Lipstick and Bruises” song is appalling. I haven’t talked to one person who likes it. It doesn’t have a good beat, and its lyrics are a bunch of poorly thrown together cliches. I gotta pay some bills folks; we’ll be right back: Hey, ladies, tonight is your chance to win free breast implants compliments of Channel 93.5. Come on down to the club, show us your undesirable boobs and we just might treat you to some new ones!!! Hey, we’re back. A lot of the songs I hear on 93.5 don’t mix. One minute itV’Let-the Bodies Hit the Floor” and “Down With the Sickness,” and the next it’s Coldplay’s “Trouble” and Lifehouse’s “Hanging by a Moment.” Now that’s schizophrenic. All right, folks, I’m out. This is Phil, and I enjoyed rocking you through another weekly column. Take care. Caribou is up next, and he’s going to be rocking you through another 600 words of uninterrupted new stuff. Watson is a third-year student in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. IN YOUR OPINION Remembering a dedicated friend This week, almost unnoticed, a member of the USC family was taken from us. I can’t complain that most people didn’t know, because if it hadn’t been someone I knew, I probably wouldn’t have noticed, either. But I wanted to take a moment and tell everyone here at USC who didn’t know Connie that they really missed out. Connie attended high school with me at Goose Creek High, and we came to USC together with many of our classmates. Connie was vivacious, hilarious, interesting, charming, loving, lovable ... I could go on for years. It’s hard to understand at a time like this why things happen the way they do, and I don’t presume to have all or any of the answers. I just want to tell everyone who didn’t know Connie, and who wasn’t affected by her loss, to learn the lesson that this tragedy has taught her friends, myself included. You have a Connie in your life, a best friend you take for granted, a smiling face that you don’t take time to appreciate, and a laugh that, were it gone, you would beg to hear again. Take the time to appreciate your friends. Tell them you love them. Spend as much time with them as possible. We aren’t invincible simply because we’re young. We too shall die, some much too early. We didn’t let Connie go without telling her we loved her, and you shouldn’t wait until the last minute to do the same for your friends. In Connie’s memory, pick up your phone and dial those special people’s numbers. It doesn’t hurt to say “I love you.” What would hurt is not getting the chance. We will love you and miss you always, Cons. COLLEEN DIXON FOURTH-YEAR STUDENT, COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS Green’s Bessinger column ‘ignorant’ How ignorant can you be?! You just seem to get more so every time I open The Gamecock. No, not the editors. I’m talking about people like Darryl Green. Actually, I’m talking to Darryl Green. You seem to think that equating Maurice Bessinger with Osama bin Laden will help alleviate some of the “black man’s burden.” Well, I hope you are enjoying yourself, because you are helping the terrorists just as much as good ol’ Maurice. He sells tracts and tapes in his store, items which advocate slavery. If he’s selling them, then you aren’t required to buy them, right? You’re a business major, Darryl. This should be a familiar concept for a fifth-year business student, because I as a first year business student have it down pat. So don’t buy his tracts and tapes. It is the same idea that Marilyn Manson spoke of in an interview: If Christian music made money, he’d be praising God. So Maurice has found that people buy these tracts and tapes, and so he’s making money. He waves a rebel flag. Is this illegal? Don’t attack him if you think it should be, go through the proper channels of government to make it illegal. Takes too much time? Well it seems that you have quite a lot of time, at least if you go around drawing facial hair and turbans on advertisements. How do you justify your hatred of Maurice? How does anyone truly justify hatred? The whole point of my submission here is this: you have compared Osama bin Laden to Maurice Bessinger. If I were to compare bin Laden to someone like Jesse Jackson, who promotes racism just as much as Maurice, perhaps you would see where I am coming from. But, as a patriot of the United States, I can’t do that. Because what you have done by making your little comparison is help the terrorists much more than Maurice ever can. There are no similarities between him and bin Laden, other than that they are both human. The terrorists killed thousands of people, and will continue to kill until they are killed themselves. Maurice should be classified as more of a radical historian than a terrorist. He has done nothing personally that directly caused the death of anyone, unless he has at some point sold shady pork. If we can’t have a united front against the terrorists, how can we ever win against them? Would you honestly rather make reparations for an age-old wrong before dealing with a current threat to freedom? Because even if you do manage to use America’s resources coupled with the terrorist actions of two months ago to gain a victory over Maurice Bessinger, the real Osama bin Laden, the true threat to freedom, is still out there, still hoping not to enslave us, but to eradicate us. And Osama doesn’t differentiate between Americans and African Americans. We are all in his sights. JOHN BRETT NOLAN FIRST-YEAR STUDENT MOORE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Department looks out for students This letter is in response to the letter by Ashley Little on Oct. 29. In the past two years, many “bandwagon” fans have begun to cheer for our beloved Gamecocks. Thus, demand for tickets has gone up. In an ideal world, all students would be able to get a ticket, but this is not the case. When students pay their activity fees at the beginning of the semester, a portion goes to support intercollegiate athletics at the university. This fee supports Olympic sports and services for our student athletes. In return, the Athletics Department allows students to go to any athletic event by showing their student ID, with the ♦ LETTERS, SEE PAGE 5