The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 29, 2002, Page 4, Image 4
4 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, March 29, 2002
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IN OUR OPINION .
Safety deferred
If you need the latest evidence that USC isn’t
putting students first, take a walk through the halls
of Sum wait.
Or, better yet, don’t.
Maintenance catch-up
Maintenance Services is finally doing what should
have been done years ago: Catch up on some long
overdue projects in the building, where computer
science classes are held.
Sum wait is the perfect example of so-called
deferred maintenance taken to an extreme.
Basically, the university administration has been
dragging its feet on long overdue face-lifts to
buildings all over campus.
Part of this is because of a lack of funds. Some of it
can be chalked up to pure procrastination.
By potting off Sloppy work .
maintenance In the past week, two public
work for years, health students have
the complained about three
administration separate incidents at Sumwalt
has been putting involving sloppy work by usc
u r TL" In one instance, a master key
. health m danger. . . , .
: Sumwalt is the was missmg for almost three
perfect example. days before the police were
contacted. By that time,
someone had broken in and stolen some CDs from a
lab in the building.
Katy Dunlap and Sam Walker also have reported
possible violations of OSHA’s policy for removing
asbestos, and they informed the fire department that
; the fire alarms in the building aren’t working.
Irresponsibility to the extreme
That the university would allow a building to
nearly break down before doing anything about it is
disappointing. That it would allow students to
continue attending class in a building where life
saving equipment doesn’t work is alarming. And in a
time of budget cuts, that it would fail to report
missing keys, and thus give a free pass to would-be
. thieves, is irresponsible.
But the height of such irresponsibility is allowing
lives and health to be endangered by maintenance
work that’s been put off for years. It’s time for the
university to close Sumwalt, make it safe, and then
■ re-open the building.
And then it’s time for USC to get to the business of
fixing other potentially dangerous buildings on
campus, before something goes horribly wrong.
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
r
, Kevin Fellner
Asst. News Editor
4 Mackenzie Clements
r, Viewpoints Editor
Carrie Phillips
The Mix Editor
Justin Bajan
Asst. The Mix Editor
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Sports Editor
J. Keith Allen
Asst. Sports Editor
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Special Projects
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* ' Design Editor
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Kyle Almond,
Mackenzie Clements,
Chris Foy, Jason
Harmon, Mary Hartney,
Brandon Larrabee,
Carrie Phillips, Ginny
Thornton, Martha
Wright
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Erik Collins
Faculty Adviser
Ellen Parsons
Director of Student
Media
Susan King
Creative Director
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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, Gloria
Simpson, Stacey
Todd
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
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Department of Student
Media.
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^ ; -0 * % ’• V -v- . .
STAINED GLASS
CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS
SG SPEAKS
Future of SG lies with students
COREY FORD
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
The next SG president
needs student support
to accomplish goals.
I’d like to begin by thanking
you, the student body, for
electing me to serve as Student
Government president this past
term. It was an honor to
represent your interests before
the Board of Trustees and
defend your quality of
education before the South
Carolina General Assembly.
SG faced many new and
difficult challenges, namely the
budget crisis with the
Legislature. I was particularly
proud of the SG Cabinet and
Student Senate uniting to
address the issue. Yet you, the
student, deserve the credit for
the success of our protest.
You held us accountable by
showing your dissatisfaction
with the proposed cuts, and we
acted upon your calls for action.
SG tirelessly met with
legislators and organized an
effective letter-writing
campaign; thousands of student
letters were delivered to the
Legislature. With the help of
Gov. Jim Hodges, our protest
was heard and our victory won.
This incoming SG will again
face this critical political issue.
The new president, Ankit Patel,
needs the support you gave me.
He is a passionate, reform
minded leader who will work
diligently to improve the
quality of life on campus. But,
as even Patel will tell you, he
needs not only your support
throughout his term, but also
your help in accomplishing his
goals. \
Throughout his campaign,
Patel outlined the problem
areas in the Student Life
Department and SG that
desperately need reform.
Organizational funding,
minority representation and
even the SG budget itself are
areas that either need to be
strengthened or reviewed
altogether, arid I support him in
this endeavor.
The SG president is
primarily a liaison between the
students and the Board of
Trustees, voicing our concerns
at meetings. The
administration, while not
entirely at fault, often neglects
our opinion simply because it
hears only the SG president
defending the students.
This must change. They need
to hear your voice, not just
Patel’s. It’s your responsibility
to hold SG accountable and to
ensure that it stands up for the
student body. I call on all of you
to aid Patel, Vice President
Katie Dreiling, Treasurer
Becky Floyd and the Senate in
their endeavors this term.
Once again, I want to thank
you for my opportunity this
past term. I enjoyed listening to
your concerns, serving as your
voice before the administration
and even going crazy with you
on Saturdays at Billy-Brice (and
at Sanford Stadium in Athens,
too).
Former Vice President
Nithya Bala, former Treasurer
Hydrick Harden and I can’t be
happier to turn over SG to such
able, intelligent and committed
leaders. They will not let you
down.
The future of SG lies with
you, not the executive officers. I
urge all of you to become
involved in this process.
Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy
in this nation is one of
commitment and sacrifice. I
leave you with his words: “It is
not the critic who counts, or
how the strongman stumbled
and fell, or where the doer of
deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man
who is actually in the arena,
who knows the great
enthusiasms, the great
devotion, and who spends
himself in a worthy cause. If he
fails, at least he fails while
daring greatly so that he may
never be one of those cold and
timid souls who know neither
victory nor defeat.”
Ford is a fourth-year political
science student and former SG
president.
IN YOUR OPINION
lecnmcai colleges
offer many classes
In response to Franky
Brown’s letter to the editor in
the March 6 issue of the The
Gamecock, I believe Brown
had good intentions, but she
appears to be unaware of the
curriculum required at South
Carolina’s 16 technical
colleges.
The general education
requirement for any
associate’s-degree program
includes English 101 and 102.
There’s also a requirement for
an approved humanities
course. In addition, the
general education curriculum
for most associate’s degrees
have a required psychology or
sociology class. Math classes
are also part of the general
education curriculum.
Arts and sciences programs at
Technical Colleges are offered
for students who are planning to
transfer to a four-year college.
As stated in the Midlands
Technical College catalog, “The
primary function of arts and
sciences at Midlands Technical
College is to broaden students’
understanding of themselves,
their culture and their universe,
thus providing a strong
foundation upon which they may
build throughout their lives.”
Associate’s degrees in art and
science require that students
take 12 credit hours of
humanities courses, 14 credit
hours of analytical
reasoning/science courses, and
six credit hours of
social/behavioral science
courses. These are in addition to
the electives of the intended
four-year program.
I’m not sure what Brown
was implying by saying,
“Reed belongs in a technical
college and not at a
university,” but, as you can
see, by enrolling in an
associate’s degree program at
a technical “school,'’ Reed
would be exposed to math,
philosophy, reasoning and
logic.
CHRIS PORTER
STUDENT RECRUITMENT
COORDINATOR FOR MIDLANDS
TECHNICAL COLLEOE, SECOND
YEAR HIGHER EDUCATION AND
STUDENT AFFAIRS STUDENT
Submission Policy
Letters to the editor should be less
than 300 words and include name,
phone number, professional title or year
and major, if a student. E-mail letters to
gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com.
Letters will be edited. Anonymous
letters will not be published. Call the
newsroom at 777-7726 for more
information.
Gamecock Quotables
“We need creative, alternative
solutions if we’re going to fix
this problem. Even ones that
sound outlandish.”
DARLA MOORE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEMBER, ON
DEFERRED MAINTENANCE
“We would like to have
somebody, obviously, in place
by the time Dr. Palms retires.”
WILLIAM HUBBARD
TRUSTEE AND PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH
COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
✓
“Imagine you seeing your
name with racial words next
to it and having to wipe off
your own name. It’s pretty
tough.”
DEMETRIUS JOHNSON
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF RESIDENCE LIFE,
ON VANDALISM AT SIMS
"Someone is going to have to
beat Corey out.”
LOU HOLTZ
USC FOOTBALL HEAD COACH, ON COREV
JENKINS BEING THE FRONT-RUNNER FOR
QUARTERBACK
I
“If they’re going to institute a
new plan, they should do more
planning and research first.”
CASEY WHITE
' SECOND-YEAR PSYCHOLOGY STUDENT, ON
HOW HOUSING SHOULD HAVE ANTICIPATED
MORE HONORS COLLEGE WOMEN TO SIGN
UP FOR HORSESHOE APARTMENTS
“This is a special group of
women, and I’m just blessed
to be a part of this team.”
JOCELYN PENN
use WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER
b
When
college
years
are over
BETHANY MITCHELL
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Going to graduate or
medical school is just
avoiding the inevitable.
At times, I wonder where my
life is headed. I wonder where
I’m going and how I’m going to
get there. I look back at the past
years of college, and I’m awed at
how the time flew. 1
The truth is, I’m scared. What
happens when I leave here and
graduate, not only from college,
but also from childhood?
Young people love to say, “I’m
grown.” They’re the first words
out of your mouth when
someone challenges you or
when your loved ones hold on
too long. But we don’t realize
that we’re going to miss long
hugs and family talks.
I found my first love in
college, something I’ve never
gotten over. I can equate that to
many college experiences. I
never got over my first time
living in a dorm with a stranger.
I never got over my first drunk (
experience. I never got over
being away from home for the
first time.
I have a close-knit family, but
I don’t want to be like my sisters.
I don’t want to be what my
parents were. Sometimes,
parents pressure us into jobs
even though they have nothing
to do with our passion in life.
Some of you might go to
medical school only because
someone said you would be a
good doctor. Or maybe you
joined a fraternity or sorority
because your parents were
members. Maybe you came to
USC because it was a family
tradition. But what do you want?
It was easy to graduate from (
high school because it meant I
could really party. But for my
college graduation in May, I
would rather wait.
Some try avoiding the
graduation monster by
attending graduate school. But
you’re just prolonging the
inevitable. None of us can run.
I wish I could offer a solution
on how to swallow this bitter
reality. But I don’t have a
remedy for myself.
There’s one thing I can
suggest: Blaze your own trail.
New doors are opening, and
those are the doors I run to with
hope.
But I have one last fear. The
thing that scares me more than 1
graduation day is the feeling
that my life might not amount to
anything. My African-American
Studies professor says our
generation has nothing to fight
for and that we don’t care about
anything.
We all want to make a
difference. But how? You might
want to be a world-class athlete,
find a cure for a disease or just
grow up and be better parents to
your children than your parents
were to you.
Whatever your plan in life, do
it. Don’t be stopped by haters. I
assure you mine will eat their
words; make yours do the same.
------- )
Mitchell is a fourth-year
electronic journalism student.
-- --1
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