THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, February 27, 2002 9
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IN OUR OPINION
Repercussions
of a ‘rap sheet ’
It’s right there on the front page. Student
Government presidential candidate David Bornemann
has an arrest record. It wasn’t until this week that we
discovered he had been ticketed — and that’s why the
information isn’t being given to the student body until
today, the first day of runoff elections.
We’re not making a value judgment with our news
section. We’re leaving that up to the voters.
Plenty of students drink before they turn 21, the
i i <* tit
Things like
cheating or
lying aren’t
always possible
for us to report
on. But arrests
.are - they’re
public record.
lcgcu clge iui aiL/Uiiui
consumption. Bornemann just
was unfortunate enough to get
caught. It could be that all of our
candidates have done something
the student body would consider
unethical or immoral. Things
like cheating or lying aren’t
always possible for us to report
on. But no matter the charge, arrests are public
record, and that documentation is a credible source.
As the university’s student news medium, we feel
as if it’s our responsibility to give students
information that they might consider relevant,
which includes information about SG candidates.
Hopefully, learning of Bornemann’s arrest record
won’t be the sole determinant of your voting decision
today or tomorrow. It should be taken into
consideration, of course, but in addition to the other
elements of his campaign and record of service.
Winners and Sinners
UAiMbt MAKAinura Kaisea record5>75,uuutor
Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital during 28
hour event. We hear dancing was also involved.
TEAM CANADA Team USA keeps it close for 50
f minutes, but bow to North American
neighbors in gold-medal hockey game. Team
Mexico unavailable for comment.
WILLIE JEFFRIES Legendary S.C. State football
coach in new “ESPN SportsCentury.” Ryan
Brewer episode unplanned as of yet.
FOX AND COYOTE OWNERS 21 charged in South
> Carolina for owning wild animals. State Tigers
i# still tame.
&■ NAACP AND SCLS Give SG candidates only
two-day notice about debate. Don’t these runoff
things pretty much happen every year a week
after the election?
RUSSIANS Moan about Olympics judging and
disqualifications. Makes you miss the Cold
War, eh, comrade?
GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS
Greg Hambrick’s column on Monday should have ended with
the following sentence: “Jack describing straight sex — now that
would be funny.” Also, a sentence near the end should have read,
“If schools do begin to teach abstinence, where are these kids
going to learn —- openly and honestly — about sex and STDs?” The
Gamecock regrets the errors.
If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us
atgamecockviewpoints@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
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Editor in Chief: gamecockeditor@hotmail.com
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Online: www.dailygamecock.com
Newsroom: 777-7726
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Chris Foy, Mary
Hartney, Brandon
Larrabee, Carrie
Phillips, Ginny
Thornton, Martha
Wright
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The uamecocK is me
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My SG concession speech
PHIL WATSON
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
I’m no radical leader,
just a friendly bear.
Last Thursday, the student
body sent a clear message to the
Student Government fat cats by
casting a write-in vote for me. It
was an emotional roller coaster
of a day. I found out I was a
contender for SG president, and
found out that I lost, all in the
same few seconds.
Above all, I’d like to thank
my voter (surprisingly enough,
it wasn’t me). Without you, my
nonexistent campaign would
have been even more
nonexistent. I’d also like to
thank my imaginary campaign
staff for its loyal work. There’s
always 2003.
I knew this was a dreaded
time of handouts and speeches
from people you didn’t really
care about. But I was a different
kind of candidate. I had new
ideas and a new perspective. I
guess that’s why I had no
campaign. Innovative, wasn’t it?
Looking back on it all, I can’t
help but think that maybe
registering as a candidate and
printing signs with catchy
campaign slogans would have
helped me win.
“Vote for Watson, or Nostaw
if you’re dyslexic.”
“Vote Watson: The only
candidate who hasn’t been
convicted of murder... yet.”
“If you vote for Watson, your
parents will finally approve of .
you and speak to you again.”
I don’t know anything about
SG, nor do I care to. That’s what
would have made me a different
kind of president. How many
times have you heard
something about SG and said to
yourself, “Who cares?”
Not me. That’s why you
should have voted for me. I
would have been late to the few
meetings I actually attended
and probably would have slept
through them anyway. I would
have made a mockery of SG, not
for crackpot hippie reasons, but
because it would’ve been really,
funny. And guess what—it
wouldn’t matter. Life for you as
a student would go on as it
always has.
If I had just gotten a few more
write-in votes, I would have
added two new USC holidays:
“Broken Tailbone Awareness
Week,” whose mascot would be
“Archie the Broken Ass,” and
“The Simpsons History
Month.” Both would be added to
.those wacky holidays in the
Mortar Board. Capital
punishment would also be
advocated for the heads of
Marriott, Housing, campus
laundry and the bookstores.
The SG president also gets a
nice paycheck — from your
pocket. But I wouldn’t have felt
right about keeping your
money.
I would have saved all my
checks and cashed them at the
end of the semester. Then, I’d
take every last dime and dump
it in the middle of Greene Street
and let everyone have a go at it.
Why not? It’s your money in the
first place. Will the winner of
runoff give you your money
back? I think not.
And that’s what you didn’t
vote for, folks: free money, total
disrespect for SG, wacky
holidays and swift deaths to
those who shamelessly get rich
by cheating you with bad
service and overpriced books.
If you truly want a different
kind of candidate, and want to
put him into office through a
truly different kind of method,
gather your friends and storm
the SG office with pitchforks
and torches Thursday. Say you
want free money — say you
want Watson for president.
Watson is a third-year print
journalism student.
IN YOUR OPINION
have patience tor
SG campaigners
Today and tomorrow are the
runoff elections for Student
Government president and
treasurer. Once again, there
will be campaigners all over
campus wearing T-shirts and
buttons and trying to hand you
their respective campaign
pamphlets. Having
campaigned a lot myself, I
know this annoys many
students.
This is understandable.
People you don't know grinning
ear-to-ear and thrusting papers
in your face as you walk along
enjoying your own thoughts or
a conversation with a friend—
it can be unpleasant and
obtrusive.
But I ask you to give the
campaigners a break. After all,
they and the candidates they
support are the ones who care
enough to spend their time
SUcUlCi CU CXI UUUU U1C 1UUI
comers of campus.
Occasionally, they also might
be handing you literature with
platform information. It could
be worth your time to read it
rather than just voting for the
candidate with the coolest
name. I ran for Student Senate
for the College of Liberal Arts
last year, and the best way I
had of communicating to
voters my ideas and platform
was through a mass handout. I
didn't want to annoy anyone,
but I did want voters to have
some idea who I was so they
could make an informed
decision.
Most of the people you'll see
today and tomorrow feel
about the same way. They
don't want to bother you;
they're just doing what they
have to do. My advice, as an
out-going SG member, is to
find out all you can about the
candidates and make an
informed vote. It might make
the difference between an
average schmo and a great
executive officer.
JOEY OPPERMANN
SECOND-YEAR HISTORY STUDENT,
STUDENT SENATOR COLLEGE OF
LIBERAL ARTS
McClendon is right
about SG president
Yay for Katie McClendon's
Monday column! Tve been
waiting three and a half years
for our Student Government
president to admit what a joke
the office is, and I'm glad
McClendon gave voice to the
truth. I’m all for a guerrilla
president, but why not have a
guerrilla election while we’re at
it? I've been bored out of my
mind with this year's SG
campaigns. Scandal improves
voter turnout, so somebody,
start digging in our
candidates’ closets, dirty
laundry or whatever it takes.
SG is a three-ring circus
anyway; let's have some
sideshows while we’re at it.
JULIE K. MILLIGAN
FOURTH-YEAR PSYCHOLOGY
STUDENT
Honors College dean
promotes exclusion
I’m a second-year Honors
College junior, and I disagree
with the recent decision to
make the Horseshoe all
honors housing. I lived in
honors housing my freshman
year and felt isolated, and I’ve
lived in non-honors housing
ever since. Non-honors
housing provides students
with the opportunity to meet a
much wider variety of people; it
helps a person learn to deal with
people from all different types of
backgrounds.
If the decision to separate
honors students further from
non-honors students stands,
honors students will be more
isolated than before. Honors
students might think they’re
benefiting from this decision,
but I can tell you they won’t.
Dean Peter Sederberg said,
“We now have South Quad and
East Quad as the best housing
on campus, so the top end of the
housing market is no longer the
Horseshoe.”' Did he ever think
about the students who have
been waiting two years to live in
on-campus apartments but can’t
afford the Quads? This decision
is forcing people to move off
campus in search of cheaper
housing that once existed in the
Horseshoe apartments.
It isn’t fair for sophomores to
live in apartments at the
exDense of UDDerclassmen. Let
them continue to live in
Capstone where they can meet
non-honors students. Or let
them live with the Greeks
because that’s what the Honors
College is becoming—a
combination of a fraternity and
a sorority. Sederberg wants “a
community.” Let’s call it what it
really is — exclusion.
Other students already resent
honors students for their
privileges. This decision will
only flame the fires of prejudice
and discontent. In a country
where people pride themselves
on living in a democratic
society, we can’t consciously
stand for such a decision that
was made without the support
of the majority. If this decision
stands, it represents nothing
♦ LETTERS, SEE PAGE l6
The elite
deserve
the *elite ’
housing
MARK HARTNEY
. MARKCONVEYSFLIRTATIOUS@HOTMAIL.COM
Let the Honors College
help bolster enrollment.
Lou Holtz has helped the
Office of Admissions more than
any other person in USC’s
history. By having a prominent
football program, we’re
receiving more applications and
selecting students of higher
caliber. Who knows? Our
. average SAT score for the fall
class might be 1200.
Increasing the size of the
incoming class has put new
pressures on Housing, which
resorted to using Holiday Inn as
ahall this year. Another volatile
issue is the plan to further
restrict housing options by
opening Horseshoe-area halls to
Honors College sophomores.
The consequences of
employing this plan aren’t as
tragic as most imagine.
Residence Hall Association
President Brad Dawgert said
this is “essentially throwing
people out who can’t get a 1300 on
their SATs.” He’s correct,
though only generally.
There are certainly students
who scored above 1300 and aren’t
in the Honors College. More
importantly, there will be non
honors students on the Horseshoe.
It’s just more likely that the 10
percent to 15 percent of the spaces
not occupied by honors students
will go to lucky seniors, instead of
juniors and seniors.
Students in the Honors
College arethis institution’s '
elite. Honors students earned 75
percent of the fellowships won in
the past five years. The average
SAT score for the incoming class
is approaching 1400. These
students are gifted and talented
and worked very hard during
high school. There aren’t many
members; the total number of
honors students hovers near
1,000, about 6 percent of the
undergraduate body.
The class size for each year is
about 250 students. From a class of
this size, not all will move to the
Horseshoe. Some will choose to
live on-campus in better halls,
such as East Quad and South
■Quad. Some will move off-campus.
So aside from losing an
estimated half of the 30 percent
of non-honors spaces, what is
the issue? Non-honors students
will feel like their needs are
secondary to those of their
honors peers. They won’t have
an equal chance of experiencing
the “prestige” of living in a
cramped building registered as a
historic place. They will miss
the experience of walking their
laundry across the lawn from
Harper. They will also miss
nmvuig in aiiu uui ui uuimings
with no elevator. Cry me a river.
This adjustment, which has
been planned for several years,
will truly affect about 1 percent
of the student body, if that. If
living on the ’Shoe is that big of a
deal, non-honors students should
have buckled down when they
were 16, instead of whining now
that they’re 20 and being
unseeded by students who have
demonstrated greater academic
skill and ability to succeed.
Honors sophomores can now
live in second-rate housing. If
that’s what they want, more
power to them. Granting a small,
perceived privilege to superior
students will foster academic
growth and help in recruiting the
best students from the country.
Lou Holtz has done his part.
Let the Honors College do its. If
you want to pretend this is an
insult to you as student, be my
guest. Maybe you disagree, but
I’m not wrong.
Hartney is a fourth-year
chemistry student.