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4 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, April 22, 2002 SOUND OFF ONLINE POLL Create message boards at What USC sports star will make the www.dailygamecock.com or biggest impact at the professional level? send letters to the editor to www.dailygamecock.com. gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com Results published on Fridays. THE LEADER Lurking issues Work is rapidly progressing on the Strom Thurmond Fitness and Wellness Center, scheduled to open in January; streetscaping is in full effect on Sumter Street; anc\ the new arena’s management is already scheduling high-profile acts to come to Columbia. But problems lurk beneath the surface. The presidential search The Board of Trustees was supposed to have chosen a new president by May. But that likely won’t happen, creating more tension about what the new president will bring. An interim president, which is an option, would lack the power and resources to implement a forward-thinking plan for USC. The board needs to start communicating its intentions, and the presidential search committee must work more diligently to find a suitable replacement before time runs out. The search for deans Several colleges still are without permanent deans. The College of Journalism and Mass Communications is expected to name one of four choices this week, but other schools, like the'College of Social Work, still lack strong leaders. But what’s enticing to a candidate about a university with budget problems and a continuing hiring freeze? Faculty salaries The American Association of University Professors reported last week that U.S. faculty salaries rose 3.8 percent since last year. But USC’s professors have been paid only an average of 4 percent more in the past 10 years. Salaries are determined by the state legislature, but there aren’t plans to allocate more than usual next year. Palms has been voicing concerns about faculty salaries since his start as president, but little has been done. And professors are starting to teach elsewhere, where they are paid what they deserve. USC is undergoing several changes that will shape the way the school is viewed in the future. But the focus is on externalities, like campus beautification, when serious internal issues and searches for key administrators struggle to draw and retain quality professionals. The school will look great on the outside, but will it be run effectively on the inside? USC is making changes to look great on the outside, but is it really looking that good on the inside? GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS Wednesday’s “Winners and Sinners” should have clarified that WUSC’s music is freely distributed to the station as a means of promotion. 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 Feliner 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 Editors 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 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, Jason Harmon, 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, 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 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 GAM ECOCK GOODBYES Forthe rest of the semester, the normal Viewpoints columnists will be taking some time off. Instead, graduating staff members oflhe Gamecock will be writing their final contributions after years of late nights and missed classes - all forthe love ofThe 'Cock. 'sCiet>rr\ST5 PgvgUQflNfr rtV5CL.t-&v\i~Oi*Kr / vMA \T'5 "TY/we ) v_YovP V I / l\ 1_ CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Looking North for my inspiration GINNY THORNTON GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM A sweet Southern girl learns to be a bitch. I wouldn’t trade my hometown for anything. There’s nowhere else in the world I could have ridden on a pontoon boat in the Striped Bass parade or gone to high school parties at a closed dairy farm. And I suspect there aren’t many other places where you can still charge a purchase at the full-service gas station to your family account. So why can you do that in Manning, S.C.? It’s about trust. In a small town, there are no secrets. If you’re up to no good, someone will find out. and soon. Because I grew up there, I came to college naive, sweet and ready to trust anyone. But in these four years, I’ve learned some valuable lessons. While I still don’t think most people are out to do me wrong, I’ve learned that strangers rarely have my best interest at heart. My roommate is from Chicago. She agrees with me that Southern women aren’t properly trained to defend themselves. She’s also the main cause for my latest theory: In the North, girls are taught to be bitchy. How does this work? I’m not sure, but I have a feeling they must fit it in as an elementary school elective, like art or music. By the time these women come to college, they have it worked out to an exact science. Four years of college have given me a taste of how it feels to be wimpy. But my roommate has cured me of that—I no longer say “I’m sorry” as often, and I’ve even been known to say mean things. But if I could go back four years and give myself some advice, it would look something like this... BE DEMANDING. Sure it’s nice to take care of everyone else, but don’t neglect your own sanity. Did you have a bad day? Don’t just swallow your problems while your neighbor talks about her latest hangnail. Make her listen to you. Then make her go with you to have a latte. It’s the least she can do. Granted, there’s a fine line between being rightfully demanding and annoying, but the point is this: Don’t spend your life trying to be everyone’s hero or counselor. BE SELFISH WITH YOUR TIME. You don’t owe it to anyone. View it as a commodity and make sure everyone else does, too. You’ll meet many college friends who want you to spend all afternoon watching TV and eating M&Ms. And there will always be that creepy guy down the hall who wants you to go out with him. But if you don’t want to go, tell him so. And don’t feel bad about it. ASK QUESTIONS. Don’t accept everything you hear just to make people happy. If your friend asks for advice about the 50-year-old married man she’s dating, ask her why she’s ruining her life. If the guy in class is copying your test answers, ask him why he didn’t study last night. The truth might hurt, but it helps in the long run. PRIORITIZE YOUR LOYALTIES. Give your best to your family and then to your friends. After that, if you have to insult a stranger, so what? You don’t owe it to the world to be nice or to help them out. I’m not suggesting that you become mean on purpose, but just remember you don’t exist to accommodate everyone else. NEVER RUN INTO A PROFESSOR IN A BAR THE SAME DAY YOU SKIPPED CUSS. OK, so that doesn’t relate to women or Southerners in particular, but it’s something I wish I had known four years ago. Thornton is a fourth-year public relations student. She began working at The Gamecock last summer as a reporter and is now news editor. IN YOUR OPINION Founding Fathers weren’t Christian I'd like to provide a history lesson for people who still think the United States was founded on Christianity — a deeply entrenched, though still inaccurate, myth about American culture. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and other Founding Fathers were not Christian. They practiced Deism, a belief system denoting the creation of the universe by a divine intelligence, but containing no sense of personal revelation or salvation of the sort found in Christianity. Franklin and Jefferson, as well as Thomas Paine, were all known to have made some fairly disparaging comments about Christianity in their time. I refer anyone interested to the following Web sites containing quotations from relevant historical documents: www.dimensional.com/ -randl/founders.htm, religion.aynrand.org/ quotes.html and www.theology.edu/joumal/ volume2/ushistor.htm. As to the “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency — added in the 1950s — I refer you to the following source: www.sullivancounty.com/ nfO/dispatch/ fathers_quote2.htm I hope :hese references can help to dispel widely held myths about our nation’s foundations. I’m not writing this as any slight toward Christianity but only to make this point: Freedom for all religions, not allegiance to one in particular, was and is the root of our government. CLAY GILBERT FINE ARTS GRADUATE STUDENT Notebook paper is just perfect for me Way to go, somebody old! f’d like to commend the fine soul that decided to make common notebook paper 8 and 1/2 inches wide. My hat is off to you, my friend! Have you ever realized how many times you take a note in class or finish jotting down a sentence and find yourself right there at the end of the paper? For instance, if I ended this letter right here, I’d be really close to that hard-to-see red line. Instead, I’m going to end with a question that even the inventors of paper probably pondered: What would our lives be like if our knees bent the opposite way? IAN DURNEY FOURTH-YEAR FINANCE STUDENT Sexuality should be a personal issue It’s important to have; weeks on this campus that are dedicated to things like AIDS awareness, sexual violence and child abuse. It’s not necessary or appropriate to have a week dedicated to homophobia awareness. In fact, I find homophobia awareness week to be offensive. I don’t want to see individuals from homosexual and bisexual organizations in front of the Russell House trying to educate me about homophobia, homosexuality, tolerance or acceptance. If you’re gay, I don’t want to know about it. It’s none of my business. I have no right to tell anyone how to live his or her life, and I find it offensive when organizations such as the BGLA try to force me to accept their alternative lifestyles. If you’re homosexual, fine, but don’t flaunt it or rub it in my face. I’m not offended by your sexuality, but I am offended when you rub it in my face. I won’t discriminate against you because of your sexuality, and I won’t harass you or assault you. All I ask is that you keep your sexuality your business and no one else’s. BRIAN D. PHILLIPS FOURTH-YEAR CRIMINAL JUSTICE 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. Earning the public’s confidence MARTHA WRIGHT GAMECOCHVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Journalists must work to eliminate their biases. In a little more than two weeks, I’ll be graduated into the real world of journalism. Journalists, as I’ve been reminded often, are reviled just slightly less than lawyers and politicians. We just don’t make as much money or wield as much influence. I can see how people could get exasperated. At our pinnacle, we expose the corruption of the Nixon administration. At our lowest, we call elections for Dewey instead of Truman. Real or perceived, “media bias” is cited — rightfully — as a stain on our credibility. Sometimes, we pick up bias from high places. Think of a phrase introduced lately by President Bush and his spokesman, Ari Fleischer: “homicide bomber.” This is the buzzword that’s a stand-in for “suicide bomber,” a term for people who blow themselves up, an event that’s now almost daily in the ongoing battle between Israelis and Palestinians. What taints this term tor journalists is its political slant and klutziness: a chilling term turned biased and inaccurate. Its use is an obvious attempt to parrot the president. And while homicide is clearly the bomber’s intention, it’s not always the result. “Homicide bomber” has been picked up by popular media and media figures — Fox News Channel, the New York Post, Larry King—who are eagerly aping the White House. This language in an opinion piece is expected. In news reports, it should be off-limits. It’s a dire mistake for the media to repeat jargon. Contrast the epithets for Palestinian suicide bombers. On one side, we have “martyr.” On the other is “terrorist.” But “suicide bomber” is still preferred by most news services, including the venerated Associated Press. I think it remains the most neutral and accurate option. Sympathizers for Israel complain that the U.S. media is pro-Palestinian. About 1,000 readers of the Los Angeles Times suspended their subscriptions for just that reason. Conversely, the Egyptian paper Al-Ahram wrote in an interview this week that “America’s media... is the most narrow-minded and narrow-visioned.... In America, they only see what Israel wants them to see!” In my journalism education at USC, I’ve been taught better. I know these assertions represent extremes of thought. But if people think U.S. media are biased toward either side, do we average out to impartial? No. Giving equal time is different from finding truth. When people see “bias” everywhere, they’re ignoring that journalism values honesty. At reputable publications, a liberal journalist will expose a liberal politician’s lies. That’s how media earn and keep the public’s trust. I trust that there’s a truth to be found in every story. Under this premise, anyone could be a journalist. Bias comes only from people who are either beholden to someone or ignorant. Like weapons, words are loaded, and journalists must learn to fight fairly. To be a promoter of truth, we must keep our ears and eyes open. Think critically. Research. And shut off Fox News once in a while. Wright is a fourth-year print journalism student. She began working at The Gamecock in the first semester of her junior year and has been copy desk chief design editor and editor in chief.