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THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, November 2, 2001 *i S' ■ ° • T • % -*•' •-* . .v. - -x ^ ‘ . >.-• ' ’ ,<* * . V - • ; y ’ :V. ■ IN OUR OPINION USC’s unfair ticket lottery Today, many students will discover that they cannot participate in one of USC’s greatest traditions — the USC-Clemson football game — because of the annual lottery conducted by the Athletics Department to dole out the limited number of tickets available for home games. When USC travels to Clemson, the lottery is necessary because the number of tickets Clemson gives the university doesn’t meet demand. But why is a lottery needed for home games? Usually, every student who Why should wants one of the 11000 tickets USC students has no trouble getting one. But Who want to With an improved football team, participate in demand for USC-Clemson this illustrious tickets.has shot up. And while tradition be college students are the heart of denied? any college football team’s following, they will make up less than one-fifth of the crowd. Why should USC students who want to participate in this illustrious tradition be denied? The Athletics Department should allot more tickets to the student body until demand is met. Students pay an athletics fee as part of our tuition. Why pay for nothing? , If the entire student body can’t get a ticket, then perhaps the school should consider handing out tickets based on seniority instead of chance. This is the last time seniors and juniors can see the game in Columbia, and if the university must cheat students, it should at least give the tickets to those who won’t get another chace in USC’s unfair lottery. Winners and Sinners COLLEGES Good news: Lottery money on the way. Bad news: Other money going away. USC FUND RAISING Back on track after Sept. 11 aftermath. Tried the Athletics Department? m ESPN’S GAMEDAY Will come to Columbia if USC r beats Wofford and Florida beats Vandy. Lee Corso booking tickets now... SOUTH CAROLINA Budget and Control Board deals budget cuts to everyone. State invested heavily in dot-com stocks? CHANNEL 93.5 Feels compelled to respond to college column. Does so badly. SEC REFEREES Harry Caray has been | resurrected, cloned and deprived of glasses. GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. Write us at gamecockviewpoints@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 Editor Chris Foy Sports Editor Preston Baines Asst. Sports Editor 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 Cartoonist/ illustrator Candi Hauglum Graphic Artist Page Designers Mackenzie Clements, Crystal Dukes, Katie Smith, David Stagg Copy Editors Crystal Boyles, Jason 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@hotTnail.com The Mix: gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Sports: gamecocksports@hotmail.com Online: www.dailygamecock.com Newsroom: 777-7726 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 Scarborough 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 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. LATASHA GIBBS/THE GAMECOCK /TuRGE Americans^ Not to panic 1 OVERTWIS UTTit y/Wm/XvimfJ IN YOUR OPINION Thanks for article on Connie Tingin Thank you so much for your article on Connie Tingin. I am a saxophone player in the USC Marching Band; therefore, I can tell you first hand how much it meant to us. Having 200-plus members, it is almost impossible for all of us to be close. Regardless, the entire band knew Connie by the smiles and laughter she brought to everyone around her. As Dr. O’Shields stated, the band is truly a big, unified family atmosphere. Losing anyone, close friend or not, is like losing a sister or brother. One point in the article bears correcting: Connie was not a member of the Tau Beta Sigma band sorority. Her life, however, embodied much of what this organization stands for. TBS serves to promote an appreciation for music among the public. Connie’s great attitude and love for band were undeniable by anyone who knew her, making her a great ambassador for both music and our band program. For this as wpII fnr thp inv shp brought to our lives, we are grateful. Again, thank you for revealing this beautiful person to the campus community. Please keep her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. LYNDSEY R.GORE THIRD-YEAR STUDENT. SCHOOL OF MUSIC; EPSILON ALPHA CHAPTER SECRETARY. TAU BETA SIOMA Note: The Gamecock printed a correction about Tingin’s not being a member of the Tau Beta Sigma band sorority in Wednesday’s edition. Bessinger, bin Laden not alike Comparing Maurice Bessinger to Osama bin Laden during this era in American history is appalling. Osama bin Laden is the mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks that killed 5,000 people. He is also the mastermind behind the bombings of the American Embassies in Africa. Maurice Bessinger is not and never has planned an attack to kill anyone. He is a man expressing his opinion, which, in America, every man and woman has the right to do. If this freedom were not allowed in this country, letters such as Mr. Green’s would never be printed. Mr. Green is expressing his opinion, just as Mr. Bessinger has about the Confederate flag. Freedom is what African-Americans sought during their enslavement. Freedom is what allows Maurice Bessinger to display his Confederate flag at every restaurant. Osama bin Laden has been quoted as saying, “We—with God’s help — call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to he rewarded to comply with God’s order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it.” I feel like that, during this dark day in history, it is important for all Americans to join together as one. A quote that I see frequently is “United We Stand.” This is not a time for Americans to turn against each other. America is under attack, regardless of race, gender or religion. We are under attack by a man named Osama bin Laden, and the thousands of terrorists that he has trained and funded. We are priding ourselves on being united, yet articles such as this do not show America being united. It shows America using a national tragedy to single out those who have stood up for what they believed in, which is what this country has prided itself on since the 18th century. We are the United States of America, and we pride ourselves on our freedom. Freedom is what allows Mr. Bessinger to fly his flag, and freedom is what allows us to write articles such as the one that Mr. Green wrote. Being divided in a time like this is more harmful than any attack that bin Laden could plan, for, as the saying goes “United we stand, divided we fall.” FRANCES BEDENBAUGH roURTH-YEAH STUDENT, . COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS Channel 93.5 got people to interact So I’m driving along yesterday and I turn up the radio because I hear the DJ mention that he had been reading The Gamecock. The DJ, who calls himself Dave, began a rant about an article in the paper which was entitled “Channel 93.5 is lame, repetitive.” This article, he explained, was written by a USC student named Phil. Well, Dave proceeded to rip poor Phillip to shreds on air. At first, I thought this Phil bashing was a little harsh because I agree that I do get tired of hearing some songs played way too often and because some songs really suck. But not everybody is going to like every song - come ON! And Phil also ranted in his article about 93.5’s commercials.... Um, isn’t this commercial radio? Aren’t they trying to make money? So anyway, a couple of hours later, I was back in the car. I turned the radio on and they were STILL at it. But now the situation had evolved, and the station was taking callers. Many were people who claimed to know Phil — one was a girl who claimed to be in his English class, for example. With a great deal of coaxing from Dave, nearly all of them confirmed his estimations that Phil is, among many things, a “dork,” a “complete tool” and you see where it was heading. Those who didn’t know Phil eloquently stated that “Phil sucks!” Really entertaining radio, I must say — seriously. That’s when I realized that this on-air Dave guy (though he may not have realized it) was pretty genius in what he was doing. He was using Phil’s criticism to get listeners from the station’s main demographic (basically, USC students) to listen to then station and INTERACT with it. I can just imagine people who know Phil hearing it, snatching up their cell phone and calling everyone they know to tell them to turn the radio on. That’s money in the bank! 93.5 should capitalize on this and make bumper stickers that read “Phil Sucks.” It would be so funny. Of course, maybe I’m just trying to start a “Bert Rocks” call-in. BERT MORRIS FIFTH-YEAR JOURNALISM SENIOR ■_I_U.^1. uiraii icuuudia made reader sick Phil Watson criticizes local radio station Channel 93.5 in a clever editorial, and their best rebuttal is to question his sexual orientation on the air? It made me sick Wednesday to listen to caller after caller phone in and refer to a person they’d never met as a “homo” for writing an opinion piece they’d never read. The overall stupidity of the rebuttal reflected some of the opinions Watson wrote in his column. And is referring to homosexuality in a negative connotation the best idea? I’m sure the station’s sponsors aren’t paying for them to settle the score with a kid writing for a local college newspaper or to alienate an entire group of people that may contain a significant part of their fan base. Phil, while I don’t necessarily agree with all your opinions in the story, I will support your freedom of speech before I support widespread broadcasting of ignorance, bigotry and overall stupidity. JASON NOLL FIRST-YEAR STUDENT, COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATIONS 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. Drop the bookstore, UNIV101, Sizemore 1_ 1 ■Willi— _I CLAYTON KALE CEKALE@HOTMAIL.COM Three ways the university can save money in the face of the budget crisis. USC, like many state agencies, is facing budget cuts. It's a fact that a university won't be worth spit if it’s in danger of running into debt. It prevents hiring new staff, giving raises to exceptional faculty to keep them here and funding new and innovative programs. Here are three ways the university could save or perhaps make some money. Like any other time you talk about cutting budgets, those affected will be angry. But don't blame me. Blame the state legislators more concerned with retaining their seats than raising money to keep state agencies operating. USC didn't ask for its budget problem. It was delivered by the legislature, wrapped in fiscal irresponsibility and red tape. 1. SCRAP SIZEMORE Instead of hiring security guards to doze at dormitory doors, install locks that operate on our student ID cards. The technology has existed for years; these kinds of locks are already installed in the Honeycombs. It would take a little money to get all the dorms equipped, but by canceling the Sizemore Security contract on the grounds of inefficient delivery of services, the university would have the money. Nonstudents wouldn't be able to get in, and the university wouldn't have to pay someone whose job apparently is to dream. 2. DROP UNIVERSITY 101 PROGRAM Many faculty members tout the program as beneficial to ofnrlonto onH monv ctnHanfc recommend the class on the basis that it is an "easy A.” While the program might be beneficial to someone who has lived in a cave for most of his life and has no idea what a phone book is for, for the average student, it's a waste of time. Don't know where the Health Center is? Look it up in the phone book like an adult. College students shouldn't need a class to teach them how to function in the real world. And easy A's to pad the GPA can be obtained in any number of 100-level classes such as Music 140 and Geology 103. Who knows, you might actually learn something. State "education accountability" morons forced my high school teachers to hold my hand for those four years. By the time I was a freshman here, I didn't need anyone to hold my hand. I expected a trial by fire, not day care. 3. CLOSE RH BOOKSTORE, OPEN A BAR There are only so many bookstores a fixed population needs. Not to endorse one store over the other, but Addam's and the South Carolina Bookstore are more efficient, less expensive and friendlier than the university subsidized Russell House Bookstore. The off-campus stores are all we need, and they have free blue books, for Julio's sake! Unlike with bookstores (as sad as this might seem), a college town can always use another bar. This being a college i_orntViniiconrlo H1 olds thirsty for firewater. The upperclassman dorms tire practically across the street from the Russell House, and the walk to Five Points is dark, scary and often unsafe. By having a bar in the campus's heart it would save plenty of students from a dangerous walk (or an even more dangerous drunken-driving experience), and it would put money into the university's coffers. Until the state legislature learns that the only way to have a budget that works is to raise money, we’re going to be in a mess. Folks will always complain about taxes, but which is worse, paying a few hundred dollars more or having an inefficient, nearly bankrupt state government that can't even provide enough money for its flagship university? Clayton Kale is a fourth-year student in the College Of Journalism and \ Mass Communications.