The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 01, 2002, Page 4, Image 4
' ONLINE POLL
SOUND OFF Should Horseshoe housing be reserved
_ ... only for Honors College students?
Create message boards at yES THEY DESERVE IT 24%
www.dailygamecock.com or No, LET THEM STAY IN MAXCY 68%
send letters to the editor to | D0NT CARE , L(VE OFF-CAMPUS 8%
gamecockviewpointsCiphotmail.com
IN OUR OPINION
A new SG era
Elections are over. But a brand-new Student
Government is emerging.
We commend the candidates for running clean
campaigns and not getting caught up in petty struggles
about poster placement. While the newly elected officers
have been focused on the issues and worked hard to win
their offices, the hardest work is just beginning.
Upon their inaugurations, our new executives
must push their platforms and coordinate their ideas
to form a unified and effective SG. We’ve seen some
innovative ideas come out of - •
The newly elected these campaigns, and we’re
SG officers need exc[ted about the possibility of
to follow through real change It,8 important that
with the promises __ _ „ ,
they've made and ,hese ofBcers follow through
work together to with the promises they ve
form a unified made>not let them fade into
and effective SG. obscurity or get caught up in
administrative red tape.
There’s another component, however, to making
SG accountable: Student Senate. Senators need to be
in touch with the students they represent and more
dedicated to progress. They need to hold forums,
sponsor resolutions and strive to make a difference.
And executive officers must be sure to hold
senators to their responsibilities. The Senate must
be a voice to the administration, obviously. But
what’s more important is that it’s a voice that
reflects what students actually want and need.
It’s not completely up to the elected officers,
though. Students must do their part. We realize that
many are disenchanted with and detached from SG.
But even the best ideas can’t get accomplished with
an apathetic student body. Students need to take
genuine interest in their university.
If you don’t like something, change it.
Gamecock Quotables
“It’s.easy for us to go home
and go to sleep after this is
over, but these kids don’t get
to do that.”
BERGAN BRENNEN
DANCE MARATHON CHAIR, ABOUT THE
CHILDREN THE FUNDRAISER BENEFITS
“We’ve had a warm winter;
we’re going to see insects a
little earlier this year.”
GENE LUNA
USC HOUSING DIRECTOR, ON TERMITES
SPOTTED IN PINCKNEY/LEGARE
“The bottom line is this thing
is driven by the budget
crunch, and that’s not the way
to do a report.”
JEREL R0SAT1
FACULTY SENATOR, ON THE SDI REPORT
“Pretty soon, the new Greek
housing will open, and the
Horseshoe will be bumped to
third place on the housing
ladder.”
PETER SEDERBERG
HONORS COLLEGE DEAN, ON THE DECISION
TO MAKE HORSESHOE HOUSING ALL-HONORS
GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS
A CD review in Wednesday’s paper should have said
“Watermelon, Chicken, and Gritz” was Nappy Roots’ first
mainstream release. The Gamecock regrets the error.
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
Adam Beam
Contributing Editor
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, Amanda
Ingram, Denise
Levereaux, Jackie
Rice, Stacey Todd
it
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
?0UC5 SAY Reubtovs ACTlvity fAlLf To PK£-ATU£^£i5 \
I
CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS
The nine digits of identity
CLAYTON KALE
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Protecting your identity
is about protecting your
Social Security number.
“I had a name, but to you I’m
nothing but a number...” go the
lines to one of my favor ite
songs. “Repeater,” by the post
punk rock band Fugazi,
illustrates how it feels to be a
USC student. I know several
students driven away from USC
by huge class registers and
impersonal student-professor
relationships.
That isn’t to say that a large
roll in some classes is a bad
thing. In fact, large classes can
be advantageous. As long as one
stays on the upside of the curve,
large classes make it easy to pass
some of those tricky, yet low
level courses, such as
introductory economics. And
some people, like me, chose to
come to USC because of its large
student body.
I don’t expect most of my
professors to know my name,
but I do object to being known
in some classes by the “student
number.”
The student number, in most
cases, isn’t a unique number
the university gave each
student. It’s a unique number
the federal government gave
each individual at the time of
his or her birth.
This number has become the
cornerstone of your paper
identity. To get a student loan,
you put your Social Security
number on the application. To
get a driver’s license, you put
your Social Security number on
the application. And, of course,
if the nine digits that make up
your paper identity fall into the
wrong hands, financial abuse
and confusion can ensue.
That’s where I take issue
with being known as a number
around here. For some classes,
we must put our Social Security
— er, student number — on
every test. For every attendance
sheet that’s passed around the
auditorium-sized classrooms,
we must put our student
number to prove we were
present and happily listening.
Identity theft is a topic not
uncommon on news magazine
shows. In each case, there are
similarities. Somehow, the
victim’s Social Security number
was used to apply for unwanted
credit cards and fraudulent
address changes.
What do we hear Barbara
Walters saying after the
segment ends? “Mmh,” she
grunts. “We must pwotect owa
Social Secuwity numbahs.” Yes,
we must protect our Social
Security numbers. But it’s hard
when professors demand we
give them (and potentially
whoever sits behind you in
class) private information.
It’s illegal to force people to
disclose their Social Security
number on non-government
documents without first issuing
a privacy statement detailing
what the number will be used
for. At USC, students first give
their Social Security number
on their application, but the
school doesn’t give a privacy
statement in accordance with
the 1974 Privacy Act.
Admissions Director Terry
Davis says students aren’t
required to put their number on
the USC application. “If they
choose not to fill it out, we give
them a nonsensical student
number” without penalty when
considered for admission,
Davis said.
If a Social Security number
isn’t required, and there’s a
potential risk for students when
sensitive information is printed
in every classroom they enter,
then the university needs to
phase out the use of Social
Security numbers as
identification.
Some people might complain
about having to learn a new set
of digits, but memorizing a new
number is nothing compared to
the hassle of getting your
identity back.
Kale is a fourth-year print
journalism student.
IN YOUR OPINION
All students deserve
equal treatment
I’m an honors student, and
I’m annoyed about the new
Horseshoe housing policy. My
roommate and I, both juniors,
desperately want to live on
the Horseshoe. Our problem?
She’s non-honors. We’ve
devoted time and energy to
the Winning Wednesday
contest to no avail. And now
we’ll probably again get stuck
in the Quads, which aren’t
that great — four people
fighting over a thermostat,
and the oh-so-wonderful
policy of “thou shall not put
holes in the precious walls
with sinful thumbtacks or
thou shall surely pay.” We
want to live in a two-bedroom
apartment, which is truly
available only on the
i iui acaiiuc. 111c v^uauo umy
have a few two-bedrooms, and
most of them don’t contain
full kitchens.
I’ve never lived in honors
housing because I’ve wanted
more of a college experience
than just the Honors College.
Now, I’ve never been so
ashamed to be an honors
student. I enjoy my adviser
and the class privilges, but
this is ridiculous. By placing
only honors students in the
Horseshoe, the Honors
College is showing snobbery
to non-honors students and to
honors students with non
honors roommates.
I don’t see how honors
students are more special.
Both can,be equally polite and
rude, studious and non
studious. I don’t consider
myself “better” than my non
honors roommate, but merely
as an equal. That’s how the
Honors College should learn
to treat all students — as
equals.
MELISSA CLOUSE
THIRD-YEAR HONORS COLLEGE
MARINE SCIENCE STUDENT
Seniority should be
first housing factor
What can upperclassmen
do to deter Housing from
making the Horseshoe all
Honors College? My
roommates and I are all rising
juniors and seniors who rely
on on-campus living to attend
this college. None of us can
afford living in the Quads, and
we would appreciate the
apartment-style
accommodations the
Horseshoe residences offer.
We don’t believe that rising
Honors College sophomores
should have more choices
than students who have
planted their roots on campus.
It’s hard enough to share a
room as a freshman, but as
students get older and as
classes get more difficult,
more room is needed. Giving
students choices within their
price range is the most
effective way of keeping
paying students content.
Housing has outraged many
upperclassmen residents who
feel there is little choice
already for living and growing
on campus. If Housing wants
students to live happily, then it
should keep options open for
those of us with seniority.
KRISTIN KOZELSKI
SECOND-YEAR GEOGRAPHY STUDENT
Upperclassmen have
right to Horseshoe
After reading Monday’s
article about proposed changes
in Honors College housing, I
was disappointed. I disagree
with the changes and think
they’re unfair. Juniors and
seniors who aren’t in the
Honors College have the right to
stay on the Horseshoe because
they have earned it. Though
USC has South Quad and East
Quad, tnere are still many
students who want to stay on
the Horseshoe, including
myself.
I feel that honor students
should be treated like all other
students. They shouldn’t have
special privileges. It takes away
from the “college experience”
that every college student
should be entitled to. By making
the Horseshoe an “honors
community,” the university is
segregating students based on
their intelligence.
SHAUNDA PRICE
SECOND-YEAR ACCOUNTING STUDENT
Housing, SCHC don’t
accomplish goals
Housing should be about
♦ LETTERS, SEE PAGE 5
United
we stand,
divided
we fall
ANN MARIE MIAN I
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Uniting for equality is
the best way feminists
can achieve their goals.
As Women’s History Month
begins, I feel I need to remind
feminists around the world that
“United We Stand, Divided We
Fall” is not just a cute catch
phrase.
It’s the only way to get
anything accomplished.
Don’t get me wrong—I’m a
feminist. I’ve always thought
that feminism and women’s
studies were good ideas. I love
that fact that I can now vote,
own property and work outside
the home.
But when I was studying for
my WOST test a few weeks ago, I
was disconcerted. In all the
books I read, there wasn’t one
solid definition of feminism. Not
one book did anything but blame
white males for all the world’s
problems.
Yes, I’m a feminist, but what
good does it do to blame “them”
for what “they” did to “us”?
What these authors fail to
realize is that men were in
control in the 17th century —
that was just the way it was. No
one can change that, so what’s
the point in dwelling on it? It’s
U111C IU pui LHC pcio L UV.111IIU uo
and move on with our lives. No
one ever gets anywhere in life
lamenting the past.
The other things that
disturbed me were the factions
within the women’s movement.
Did you know there are seven
different kinds of feminism?
They vary from radical feminist,
better known as “feminazis,” to
ecofeminists, better known as
“tree huggers.” Is it really a
wonder that it’s so hard for
women ti get anything
accomplished? They can’t even
decide on what exactly they
want to fight for.
If feminists don’t speak with
one voice, how can they ever
hope to be taken seriously? All
these different factions of
feminism need to unite for the
greater cause, not their own
agendas. If these groups unite
for common goals, only then will
their views be considered
legitimate.
All these factions of feminism
want the same thing: equality.
But how can this ever be
achieved if feminists can’t even
decide what feminism means?
I’m sure not every single
member of the NAACP agrees
with the organizations’ embargo
on South Carolina, but I bet they
all support it.
And if women are so set on
dwelling on history, why don’t
they look at their own? History
proves that united is better than
divided.
vviicn wumeii were uyuig iu
get the vote, there were two
major suffrage organizations —
The National Women’s Suffrage
Association and The American
Women’s Suffrage Association,
both established in 1869. For 20
years, these two organizations
made little noise separately, and
neither achieved their common
goal.
They didn’t make a difference
until they began to work
together. It wasn’t long after
these groups merged that the
19th Amendment passed.
And this, my friends, is the
purpose of history — to learn
from the past, not to blame
certain groups for something
they had no control over.
Is the answer to equality to
join together and become one
voice? Maybe, maybe not. But
how will you know until you try?
Miani is a fourth-year print
journalism student.