Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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SOUND OFF ONLINE POLL Create message boards at Do you think Student Government www.dailygamecock.com or . actually makes a difference? send letters to the editor to www.dailygamecock.com. gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com Results published on Fridays. IN OUR OPINION J SG leaders need to actually lead Student Government has made a long to-do list for itself, and time is running out. Candidates for elections must file next week. Now is the beginning of the end for our executive officers and many senators. But what have they done? We’re thankful the Russell House Gameroom’s snazzy paint job now coordinates with the Coliseum tunnel and the Carolina Mall. The fall’s academic advisement forums, however Student success^d> were mereU a . . noteworthy display of some government senators.interestinthelr accomplish its constituents’welfare, long to-do list. But despite accomplishments, many important issues have dwindled into the SG twilight zone. Senators are now reviewing the hefty SDI Committee report. Once they decide whether they agree with the report, they’ll pass a resolution saying so. Seriously, guys. Student government resolutions rarely make it past the mailboxes in the SG office. What about talking with the SDI Committee members and the Board of Trustees? Or holding forums to discuss the recommendations with students? SG tried to get involved in the dining service contract revision last semester. Vice President Nithya Bala said she hopes to involve students in the process, and we hope she does. Also last semester, SG discovered that some groups of graduate assistants might be benefiting from USC funds without paying student activity fees. If this is a situation to be rectified, it’s about time. If USC is a community, then SG is our local government. We are the people, and we are waiting. Winners and Sinners PARKING SERVICES Department plans new commuter lot. Ten or 11 more, and we’ll be set. MLK DAY OF SERVICE USC students and staff brave wind and rain to serve. Dreams survive. MAURICE BESSINGER Only the man who built human bubble suit outshines Bessinger’s appearance on ‘The Daily Show.’ RINGLING BROS., BARNUM & BAILEY Circus might be animal-friendly these days, but taking up Coliseum parking is inhumane. KMART Department store giant files for bankruptcy. The blue light dips into the red. COLIN POWELL Has to help Bush explain why China’s president has bugs in plane’s bathroom. GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS In Friday’s Gamecock Quotables, a quote by men’s basketball head coach Dave Odom should have said the Gamecocks’ one-point loss was to Kentucky, not Arkansas. USC beat Arkansas 62-60. A letter to the editor comparing Arkansas coach Houston Nutt with Lou Holtz should have been titled Nutt and Holtz: Tale of two coaches. The Gamecock regrets the errors. If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK Mary Hartney Editor in Chief Ginny Thornton News Editor Kevin Fellner Asst. News Editor Mackenzie Clements Viewpoints Editor Carrie Phillips The Mix Editor Justin Bajan Asst. The Mix Editor Chris Foy Sports Editor Brandon La rr a bee Special Projects Mark Hartney Online Editor Martha Wright Production Manager Page Designers Crystal Dukes, Sarah McLaulin, Tyrone Simon, Katie Smith, David Stagg Copy Editors Kyle Almond, Crystal Boyles, Jason Harmon, Jill Martin, Paul Rhine Photo Technicians Robert Gruen, Aaron Hark, Candi Hauglum 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 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, Denise Levereaux, Laura Miller, Jackie Rice, Stacey Todd TO PLACE AN AD The Gamecock 1400 Greene Street Columbia, S.C. 29208 Advertising: 777-3888 Classified: 777-1184 Fax: 777-6482 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 oi*'e dollar each from the Department of Student Media. WE HA/E CAUGHT ItCEHLONE WWTBfD usSftt , JWW. h*_M ,«w* si CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Women are differentfrom men JAY COOPER GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Harsh jokes from men aren’t antifeminist - it’s a form of coping. Guys are confused as hell. Most of us are raised to respect women. Our fathers taught us to open doors for you, call you ma’am and stand when you enter a room. Many of us, like me, went to public schools and had black friends, white friends and, yes, even a few girlfriends. We thought we had everything pretty straight. Then one day, in social studies class, we found out we didn’t. We were informed that being a male, especially a white male, meant you were the lowest of the low. Television and the media only made it worse. A theme of the ‘90s was Smart Savvy Woman vs. Bumbling Idiot Man. “Don’t worry, Honey, I already got us the right credit card because you were too stupid to do it.” As males, we are subject to every kind of ridicule, and it’s perfectly acceptable. Call me a redneck or white trash; nobody cares. If I, however, would dare to reciprocate with equally stereotypical language, all hellfire would rain down on me. Something about that just isn’t right. You’re right: Feminists can take a joke, as long as it’s about a dumbass guy. That said, my feelings aren’t hurt. Go ahead, say whatever you want about me. Call me any name you like. I have enough confidence to ignore your pettiness and get on with my life, and other guys, regardless of race or religion, do, too. We don’t need a Men’s Studies class to make us feel worthy. We go out there and prove it. We just wish you had the same attitude. Let’s face it: Women are very different from men, and there’s no way around it. We should be celebrating this fact of life instead of trying to reverse it. We, as guys, knew you were different from an early age. You ran to third base first. You cried and went to Mom when our G.I. Joes invaded Barbieland and shot the hell out of Ken. OK, maybe a few of you slid into home and knocked the crap out of us, but I’m talking about the majority of women. A full time father, for instance, can never be to a child what a mother is. A mother would never turn your underwear inside out and tell you it’s clean. A mother doesn’t cheer the day you get tall enough to open the refrigerator and grab her a beer. People have traditionally recognized these differences and structured society around them. One day, when we got a little bit older, we decided maybe girls weren’t so weird after all, got up the guts to ask that really smart girl in class out on a date, and saw everything we had learned about women go to hell. We approach the ticket booth at the movie theater: “Yeah, I’ll take two tickets for ‘Gladiat—” “NO! I’ll have one ticket for ‘Chocolat,’ and he’ll have the same. Separately.” When we told her this was the wrong counter, but we’d gladly buy her some chocolate inside, we just got a look. That was our last date. The problem is that, in many cases, we as guys can’t understand just exactly what it is you want. We get one message and then a completely different one. It seems as if every time we turn around, we’ve offended you, and this frustrates us. What do guys do when they get frustrated? Cry on our pillows? Talk to the school counselor? No, we usually crack pretty harsh jokes. I’m asking women to cut us guys a little bit of slack. I think that under the circumstances, we deserve it. Cooper is a third-year English student. IN YOUR OPINION Transition Program good for students I am writing about the Strategic Directions and Initiatives Committee (SDIC) recommendation to terminate the Transition Year Program. The program, which has been around for more than a decade, is beneficial and rewarding. The friendships and bonds between peers and professors are what made this school what it is. Unlike most USC freshmen, we have small classes and strong community spirit. We have unique bonds with our professors; we gain support and encouragement from them. They are also unique because they know everyone in their class in a matter of weeks and will help us at anytime. To recommend that Transition Year students go to other smaller campuses would deprive them from experiencing college to the fullest because the other colleges don’t offer nearly as many classes and extracurricular activities. To deny in-state students because they didn’t make an 1175 on the SAT is ludicrous and insulting to the high school students and parents of this state. These sorts of things might not matter to the SDIC, which doesn’t factor the Transition Year Program into its equation to “enhance the quality of life in the state.” It might not matter to SDIC, but it does matter to the professors and hundreds of USC graduates and students involved in the Transition Year Program. So, to the President Palms and the Board of Trustees, the SDIC has recommended many great ideas, but eliminating the Transition Year Program isn’t the solution. In the future, you should let the students whom your decisions affect have input in their future. EMANUEL R. THOMASON FIRST-YEAR TRANSITION YF,AR PROGRAM STUDENT Candidates should ensure fair elections I was somewhat disappointed with last semester’s Student Senate decision to reject a bill requiring disclosure of campaign expenditures in student elections. The bill was on target with modern campaign finance reform, and, while no opinion polls were conducted, the initiative would likely be well received among the majority of student government constituents. However, I have chosen not to pursue the matter further before the quickly approaching SG elections. Therefore, the Elections Commission has no authority to regulate campaign finance. Instead, the burden of fair and open elections rests with individual candidates. I would encourage all candidates in this year’s election to ensure that the student body at-large has as much information available as the students involved in SG. In my opinion, such knowledge is essential to making an informed decision on election day. In any event, I look forward to our upcoming election, and I welcome the active participation of all students. This democracy isn’t a spectator sport, especially in these difficult times. ADAM BOURNE SO ELECTIONS COMMISSIONER FOURTH-YEAR POLITICAL SCIENCE AND ENGLISH STUDENT 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 andean be provided by the submitter. Call 777-7726 for more information. This page needs one thing... more opinions. The Viewpoints page is for you and your opinions. Let us know what you think about Th& Gamecock, or USC, or life in general. It's a sounding board for your complaints, your suggestions and your compliments. E-mall gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com and tell us what you think. Setting a ‘killer' fashion TAYLOR MARSHALL-GREEN GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM When you’re involved in terrorism, you deserve a ‘killer new wardrobe.’ What’s today’s new fashion look? Well, I’m no Ralph Lauren, but I’d say it’s orange jumpsuits, rubber goggles, shackles and cement-heavy gloves. It seems like a fad is slowly making it’s way over here from Cuba, where al-Qaida and Taliban “detainees” are sporting the trend. Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, might disagree with me about the suitability of this new “trend,” but I’d have to take him to the catwalks of New York, the Pentagon and rural Pennsylvania Mr. Straw would probably fire back with his human rights “agents” protesting the new winter look. “These fellows don’t deserve the look they’re getting. They’re not dressed the right way. I want to see less metal and shackling in their solitary appearance.” I’d remind them that all entertainment editors, fashion experts and dress-sawy people know that the clothing industry can change with just one syllable from the popular. If Jennifer Aniston says capris keep her the most comfortable, we will see five times as many women, the next day, wearing those ridiculous Olive Oyl-esque drawers. So when al-Qaida fighters vow to kill an American, the fashion trend of incarceration changes accordingly. They will be wearing shackles and staring at Cuban soil in front of a boring chain link fence. Jack Straw might want queen-sized mattresses, vitamin E and cucumber slices for their eyes, but what would the kids at Levenworth or Riker’s Island say? Like I said, I’m no Ralph Lauren, but these crazy terrorist kids in Cuba have it made. They look just fabulous. Learn from last year’s fashion trend... dust and ash were in! I mean in. Did you see those models running around Lower Manhattan on Sept. 11? The designer did a fabulous job. Who was that guy? Binni something? He really knew how to accentuate blood red and fatherless families. He staged one of the biggest shows I’ve ever seen. He had people running for their lives and still talking about it four months later. Man, that Binni guy made a mark on the fashion industry. So can you blame the United States for lining up those “models” in Cuba and outfitting them with what may or may not ha “in”? Here’s more on that stellar fashion coming out of Guantanamo: Those al-Qaida “models” are getting three hot meals with proper medical attention and wearing government-issued sleeping masks. They’re ready to show the world the fashion of neo terrorism. When they said they'd kill, their outfitting became killer. That’s just what happens in the industry, Jack Straw. When you are involved with a “killer” line of fashion that manufactures hate, terrorism and death, you’ll see the competitors dressing you in tacky orange farm-gear with blindfolds, ski masks and earplugs. Ever heard of the fashion police? Well, they’re alive, influential and in the Caribbean. And if you fashion yourself as a killer of Americans, they will dress you in the above items. Then you’ll be too sexy for the human rights groups, and you’ll do your little dance on the catwalk. Marshall-Green is a fourth-year electronic journalism student.