Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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4 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, February 18, 2002 SOUND OFF ONLINE POLL Create message boards at Should The Gamecock endorse www.dailygarnecock.com or Student Government candidates? send letters to the editor to www.daUygamecock.com. gamecockviewpointsCaihotmail.com Results published on Fridays. THE LEADER The reasons for endorsing Student Government endorsements have historically been a battle at The Gamecock. But we reserve our First Amendment right to comment on the news that we report in our paper. In fact, we already do. So why should SG endorsements be any different? A newspaper’s first responsibility is to report the news. But with every responsibility comes a privilege, and our commentary is that privilege. Editorials are intended to provide a thoughtful and intelligent voice on the news. As a recent letter to the editor said, SG is our local government. Many times we have commented on the actions of SG> and we extend that right to the endorsement of candidates. If we don’t voice our opinions on these candidates, why should we comment on anything? The SG election is arguably one of the most important events Along with a that occur on our campus, and we responsibility won.t be in our we're afforded "XIllvsM!,n r"i;:,nilniIi' the privilege to Tta,>s why we dec‘dedto dd H comment on it this now- Its time our editors had the option to endorse, with a process set in place for doing so. We commend the Board of Student Publications and Communications for recognizing our inherent right to endorse, and we hope future editors can now feel comfortable in their choices to endorse. We created a policy this semester that we believe gives us as much opportunity as possible to endorse fairly. Our editorial board was required to read every news story written about the candidates. We’ve had numerous discussions about the candidates and SG in editorial board meetings. Because we co-hosted the debates, we had a unique opportunity to question the candidates and see how they interacted with each other and an audience. We also scheduled personal interviews for clarifications and a more personal view of each candidate. We realize that, as humans, we can’t be completely unbiased. But as journalists, we strive for that. We were open and frank about any biases we might have held toward any candidates and were quick to call each other out if we thought anyone acted on them. We believe we’ve done the best we can, and we ask that you trust our judgment or challenge us if you disagree. Stand up for your principles — we’re standing up for ours. GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us at 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 J. Keith Allen Asst. Sports Editor Brandon Larrabee Special Projects Martha Wright Design Editor Page Designers Crystal Dukes, Sarah McLaulin, Katie Smith, David Stagg Kyle Almond Copy Desk Chief Copy Editors Crystal Boyles, Andrew Festa, Jason Harmon, Jill Martin, Paul Rhine Mark Hartney Online Editor Corey Davis Photo Assignments Photo Technicians Robert Gruen. Candi Hauglum Kelly Petruska Community Affairs 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 EDITORIAL BOARD Kyle Almond, Mackenzie Clements, Chris Foy, Mary Hartney, Brandon Larrabee, Carrie Phillips, Ginny Thornton, Martha Wright 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 Derek Goode, Todd Hooks, Earl Jones, Jennie Moore, Melanie Roberts, Beju Shah Advertising Staff Betsy Baugh, Denise Levereaux, Laura Miller, Jackie Rice, Stacey Todd t 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. TO PLACE AN AD The Gamecock 1400 Greene Street Columbia, S.C. 29208 Advertising: 777-3888 Classified: 777-1184 Fax: 777-6482 The lighter side of the Student Government presidential debate. CARTOON BY DAVID STAGG/THE GAMECOCK SG PRESIDENT Patel's versatility makes him best choice Students will be able to better identify with him. The role of Student Government president is harder to define than those of the other executive Officers. During this campaign, we have seen a wide variety of issues raised and qualities displayed by the five presidential candidates. We have seen candidates who can lead students to achieve a reasonable set of goals. We have seen candidates with a passion to reform SG. We have seen candidates who can effectively present student concerns to the Board of Trustees. We have seen candidates with a fresh perspective and high ideals for the university. We have seen candidates who can call their fellow students to action. The next SG president needs all of these qualities to be successful. All of the candidates have given us glimpses of greatness during the campaign, but only Ankit Patel exemplifies all that is needed to lead the student body. During this year’s campaign, Patel has shown composure and genuine concern for students. His concrete agenda revolves around his “signature test,” which assures us that Patel will aim for goals he can actually achieve with his own signature. Like the other candidates, Patel supports BGLA’s effort to add sexual orientation to USC’s anti-discrimination clause. But he also wants to add ethnicity, ensuring all members of the university community receive equal protection. Patel’s ability to effectively communicate his ideals to students — and convince them that his plan will work —- bodes well for his ability to do the same with the Board of Trustees and other university officials. In times of budget cuts and sweeping change, students need a leader who can get through to those in power. As founder and president of the First Mentors service organization, Patel has shown he has initiative and executive leadership skills. And by serving as Student Senate parliamentarian, he has gained valuable SG experience without becoming ingrained in the “SG clique.” We feel that a majority of USC students will be able to better identify with Patel than with any other candidate. David Bomemann certainly has the experience, competence and intelligence to adequately perform the duties of president. And while he has earnestly tried to convey a specific set of goals, some of his ideas seem to fall flat or appear unrealistic for SG. We aren’t convinced that Bomemann is passionate enough to stand for real change, and we question his ability to reach out to students who aren’t involved in SG. We admire Brook Bristow’s frank, forceful and passionate call for reform. His focus on technology is an original and forward-looking perspective on USC’s future. But Bristow’s bluntness might not go over well with Board members or other students, and it might hurt his ability to build unified support for his agenda. Of all the candidates, Kaleta Brown has the most engaging personality. She lights up a room when she’s in it, and she offers a fresh, outsider perspective with her willingness to question the system. But her need to ask so many questions reflects her lack of experience, which could ultimately delay progress. Brown’s strong mediation skills would be be better suited for the Cabinet or the vice presidency. Jim McFadden has shown courage by running against candidates who have so much more leadership experience. He compensates with an honest and straightforward manner. And he’s willing to take unpopular stances, like his support for more green space at the expense of parking. But if McFadden has such an unpopular view, how can he represent the majority of students’ interests? Patel—or whoever is elected — should incorporate the ideas of all the candidates into his vision. This can be accomplished through Cabinet appointments or simply further consideration of an opponent’s platform. We are confident that Patel will not only be able to bring together these ideas, but will also be able to unite the students of USC. For this, and for his leadership potential, The Gamecock endorses Ahkit Patel for SG president. SG VICE PRESIDENT i Dreiling shows firmness to lead Senate Less squabbling should occur with her at helm. The Student Government vice president has two jobs: to run Student Senate and support the elected president. The best way to evaluate the candidates running for vice president is to consider how they would run the Senate and measure their enthusiasm for the president’s goals. Both candidates have strong platforms and impressive ideas for improvement of the campus and SG, but Katie Dreiling shows the passion to run the Senate with minimal squabbling among its members. The Senate is the best place for SG reform to happen. Senators must be available, motivated and held accountable at all costs. Dreiling’s leadership would be contagious to the senators and make each Senate session as productive as possible. Dreiling is open to ideas to improve student recognition of their senators and plans to hold them accountable, whether it takes them wearing name, tags or holding forums in their colleges. She compensates for her lack of Senate experience with an awareness of the problems that surround the Senate. Not to be discounted is her Mock Trial experience; Dreiling can use that to be firm with senators. In addition, she has set an agenda as safety director on President Corey Ford’s Cabinet that she intends to follow through with, elected or not. This proves her desire to improve the campus for students, and leading the Senate is an extension of that. Dreiling has expressed numerous times her ability to network and communicate with students, and this gives her the proactive edge that SG leaders must have. Shereef El-lb iary has the experience necessary to be an effective leader in the Senate, but he lacks the innovation the Senate desperately needs. He doesn’t have the ability to guide senators to meet the need of their constituents. He has good ideas to improve the Senate, but we can’t help but feel his holding office would be a show of the same old thing. Academic forgiveness is an admirable goal, but the likelihood of obtaining it appears to be beyond grasp. His ideas are commendable, but they lack substance and foresight. Dreiling’s freshness and desire to make the Senate as student oriented as possible make her the best candidate for the job. Her drive and attitude toward SG and supporting the next president make her the ideal vice president. We do caution her, however, to not rely on the SG coordinator to solve problems that might arise, as she mentioned in an interview. The vice president must encourage the independence that SG needs and should use her * talents to mediate pettiness between senators and SG members. Because of her willingness to go the extra mile, The Gamecock endorses Katie Dreiling for SG vice president. SG TREASURER Beeks brings enthusiasm, vision to job Dedication to improving sets him apart in race. This year’s race for Student Government treasurer is substantially more competitive than last year’s, when Hydrick Harden ran unopposed. All three SG treasurer candidates have the intelligence and organizational skills to do the job well, but Terrance Beeks’ ideas and enthusiasm for a job that most people consider mundane set him apart. His dedication to improving USC and moving forward makes Beeks our choice for SG treasurer. It’s true that Beeks has no SG experience, but we think that is to his benefit. We believe he will bring a fresh attitude to the position, feasible ideas about cooperation among student groups, and one-on-one interaction with treasurers of other student organizations. In these groups, people don’t get chosen as treasurers because they know the most about money. Many, if not most, come in unaware of how to handle the books. We are impressed with Beeks’ willingness to reach out to these student organization treasurers and guide them in spending their organizations’ funds. And despite his lack of on the-job experience, we’re confident in Beeks’ intelligence and ability to carry out his plans. The Gamecock respects his clear goal to increase student access to organizations’ financial records. It shows that he’s dedicated to bringing students into the mysterious process of allocating student activity fees. His plan to distribute funds based on performance ensures that lazy groups will get moving and wisely use the money they’re given. While we admire Brant Tosi’s organizational skills and his fire to shake up SG, Becky Floyd and Beeks were two exceptionally tough candidates to oppose. We feel that Tosi lacks Beeks’ passion and Floyd’s knowledge of the system. Floyd has served in Student Senate and is now finance chair, traditionally the stepping-stone | position for SG treasurer. No candidate is more knowledgeable about the job than she. But Floyd’s platform says she wants to “ensure that responsible fiscal management continues.” Continuation of the status quo isn’t what USC needs. The best candidate for SG treasurer doesn’t perpetuate what has been done, but builds a vision on what he or she plans to do. Terrance Beeks has that vision, and that’s why The Gamecock endorses him for treasurer.