The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 22, 2002, Page A10, Image 10
SOUNDOFF TTTITTTTl/^TATm O POLLRESULTS
Create message boards at I M ■ /1 / I—J I III I Should Derek Watson have been
www.dailygamecock.com or I I 1 i ■/ \ I I II % I l allowed to rejoin the Gamecocks?
send letters to the editor to IIJWW I xXliv I k 7 YES 17%
gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com —■ ■ ^ ®^S A l —■— ' NO 83%
♦Poll from Welcome Back edition
IN OUR OPINION
Are we really
improving?
Within the last year, USC has outlined many goals
for the future of its main campus, many of which are
starting to make a visible impact this year. Most
show promise to improve the quality of student life.
Students visiting the school’s Web site can get a
surface view of those improvements. With a new
redesign, the Web site can provide better access and
services to USC students. Making the search function
easier to find and adding direct links to USC news and
sports give the site a more intuitive interface. In
addition, the site looks better to wandering Web
surfers as well as prospective students.
Updating the dreary student union has been a
long-called-for overhaul. With USC’s new 15-year
contract with Sodexho, the Russell House has the
potential to be a source of pride for Carolina
students. New eateries and services give the Russell
House the chance to better serve students.
And to further serve students’ interests, the
university has picked up new leaders to take over
where departed university President John Palms left
off. New deans have finally lifted some schools out of
a rudderless limbo. New university President
Andrew Sorensen has already laid out a vision for
the future of USC, and some of the first tasks he
carried out were efforts to save the school money.
But while most of these projects show promise,
some just are not practical. This year’s freshman
class is record-sized. And while it is great to have a
school that attracts so much interest, someone
should have known better than to let in more people
than the university was prepared to house.
The additions to the Russell House will be
tremendous; yet, despite the fact that three months
passed over the summer during which much of the
student body was away from school, all that was done
was the removal and relocation of some mailboxes.
Students’ lives also could be made easier if the
Board of Trustees had been more up-front about
tuition increases before slapping raises of 17 percent
onto the student body.
With all these changes going on around campus,
students have a voice that needs to be heard. If you
don’t like the changes or think new policies will
harm you or an organization you are a part of, then
do something about it. Go see one of your elected
officials from Student Government. Write a letter to
the editor. Just make sure you do something. As a
student, you have the ability and right to question
the administration. But a silent voice has little
chance of changing anything.
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 CONTACT INFORMATION
Editor in Chief
Offices on third floor of the Russell House.
Adam Beam Editor in Chief: gamecockeditor@hotmaii.com
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Viewpoints: gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com
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Acct Npu/c cHitnr Sports: gamecocksports@hotmail.com
Online: www.dailygamecock.com
Chris Foy Newsroom: 777-7726
Viewpoints Editor Editor: 777-3914
The Gamecock is the
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ousan rung exception of university
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i jm
CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS
A freshman letter to home
J.D. COOPER
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Life is certainly a little
different than what
goes on back home.
Dear Little Brother,
So I read your last letter and
almost puked into my stuffed
shells at the GMP. (“Gimp” is the
cool name we college students
use for the place we eat. You’re
something like a major loser if
you call it the cafeteria.) Queen
Amidala is definitely hotter in
Episodes I and II than Princess
Leia was in Episodes IV-VI. That
is, I would have puked if I cared
about kid stuff like that any
more. I’m in college now, re
member? Don’t send any more
letters unless they’re about girls
or beer, or unless you ever want
to know what a bong is.
I’m kind of homesick, but
don’t tell Mom and Dad. I think
all that USC stuff they bought me
was a mistake. The first day of
class, I wore my gamet-and-black
pants with my Gamecock Club
shirt and my USC windbreaker.
Some senior turned around in
his seat and asked me where the
cheerleading tryouts were.
Everybody laughed. I just kept
taking notes, which is useless in
college anyway because the pro
fessors talk so fast, there’s no
way you can write down every
word.
As for my roommate, I still
don’t know his name. Every few
hours, a group of guys crashes
into the room. They all look ex
actly like him, with long hair and
shirts that say stuff about death,
or sometimes about goats and
pigs. The first day, they came in
and completely covered his side
of the room with black paper.
Then two of them set up a com
puter in as much time as it had
taken me to figure out where my
data jack was.
When I introduced myself, one
of them said, “Who’s that?” and
my roommate said, “He’s the pos
er.” Then they sat down on the
bed, turned on music that’s all
British guys yelling about stuff,
and took turns playing a video
game.
You get a lot of free stuff just
for being in college. I still haven’t
done my laundry, so I’ve been
wearing these shirts they give
you for free just for signing a few
papers outside the Roho (college
speak for the Russell House). The
Russell House is our student
union, which in college is, like,
THE place to hang out. Or it’s
supposed to be. I went there yes
terday, and the only people I met
were two janitors and three guys
playing pool who looked way too
old to be in college. But I went on
a Tuesday, so I’m sure there will
be loads of hot girls there when
I go back Friday night.
I’ve got to stop writing now be
cause my roommate is kicking
me out. He does it every day at
4:20 p.m. I think that’s when his
mom makes him call home, and
he just doesn’t want me knowing
what a loser he is. But I don’t re
ally mind because, after they
talk, he always listens to Pink
Floyd’s “Welcome to the
Machine,” which is a pretty cool
song. All in all, being a college
man is pretty good.
Freshman Student
P.S. If you hear about any
Episode III spoilers, go ahead
and send them because I might
need something to do if I get re
ally, really bored.
Cooper is a fourth-year English
student.
The joys of urban exploration
PHIL WATSON
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Just when I think the Internet
is inhabited totally by liars,
thieves and perverts, it comes
back and redeems itself like
Paul Reubens (the artist for
merly known as Pee Wee
Herman) did in the critically ac
claimed 1996 film “Dunston
Checks In.”
You remember, it was the one
about the monkey who stayed in
a five-star hotel.
I had just finished browsing
the ads on Yahoo Personals, and
I was putting the final touches
on a piece I was going to post on
my favorite Mary-Kate and
Ashley Olsen message board
when I accidentally came across
a Web site that made me rethink
one of my favorite pastimes.
I’ve always loved going places
I’m not supposed to go. Whether
it’s an abandoned prison, a shut
down mill, an underground util
ity tunnel or a Dykes on Bikes
convention, I’ve been there un
invited.
This Web site I came across
told me I am not, in fact, a petty
trespasser like all those judges
told me.1 was. No, sir, I am an ur
ban explorer. Let me say that
one more time. Urban explorer.
Let it sink in.
Magellan, Columbus, Cortes,
Cook, Raleigh ... Watson. Who
would have thought I’d ever be
an explorer?
And not one of the dorky
kinds from high school who
spent their Saturdays washing
squad cars and mopping the
drunk tanks at the local police
stations. I’m talking about a met
al-hat-wearing, gold-stealing,
machete-waving, cannibal-fight
ing, chandelier-swinging ex
plorer.
As if simply being an explorer
weren’t cool enough, I take it a
step further by being an urban
explorer; I think that’s a rank
above a regular explorer.
Evidently, there’s a whole
subculture of people just like
me, who love sneaking into
places they’re not supposed to.
Some even earn the prestigious
title of “vehicular urban explor
er.”
In other words, they find big
storm drains and drive their
trucks in them. Explore on, you
courageous, noble patriots.
In the old days, explorers took
great risks to find out more
about the world in which they
lived. They wanted to see what
was over the horizon - then
plunder and kill it mercilessly.
While I don’t want to kill or
pillage, I do want to see what
hasn’t been seen in weeks. I
want to know whether there re
ally are crazy hobos in the old
prison.
I want to see for myself
whether ghosts lurk in the old
Olympia mill and, OK, I admit,
maybe do a little pillaging while
I’m at it.
My first urban exploration
mission was in the old prison
near the Broad River*
I was as nervous as Mohamed
Atta at a three-day Charlie
Daniels music festival in hell.
Shadows seemed to move. Every
scurrying rat sounded like a ra
zor-wielding meth addict getting
ready to lunge at me.
We eventually made it to the
roof of the three-story building
and took some pictures of the
Columbia skyline.
It was a memorable experi
ence. Calling it urban explo
ration might be a stretch, but it
was fun and adventurous.
Columbia’s a great town for ur
ban exploration, or harmless
trespassing, as some call it.
There are all kinds of old mills,
prisons and waterworks to
check out.
There’s even an elaborate
system of tunnels running un
der this very campus.
I have to hand it to the
Internet. Before I ran across all
these sites, I was a petty tres
passer. Now I’m a prestigious
urban explorer. Just call me Sir
Phil de Watson.
* Any stories involving ille
gal activities in this column are
fictional. Readers are discour
aged from breaking the law and
putting their lives at risk by il
legally entering structures that
are not open to the public, no
matter how fun or cool it might
be.
Watson is a fourth-year print
journalism student.
It’s past
time to
turn off
the TV
SHANNAREED
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Pop culture can remove
appreciation for the
simple things in life.
\
The revolution won’t be tele
vised. If it is, I plan to miss it.
You know what? Screw that.
I’ll start my own. I’m turning it
off. I’ve made a decision. It’s not
unprecedented, but not widely
practiced, either. I don’t know of
anybody who has taken these
measures to maintain a fruitful
mind.
We know a mind is a terrible
thing to waste, but we spend
hours killing brain cells in the re
lentless pursuit of pop culture.
I’m turning my television off.
No more “Ricki Lake” in the
morning, soaps in the afternoon,
or “Must-See TV” and “The Real
\X7/-vv»1 ** i rrV\ -f
We watch MTV and it’s like a
one-stop shop for everything we .
need to be fulfilled. Feeling so- ’
cially conscious? Watch
“UltraSound.” Need a little fash
ion advice? Turn on “House of
Style.” Love life in shambles?
Check out how screwed up some
one else’s is on “Dismissed.”
I’m not saying Satan runs
MTV. And I’m not saying it is to
tally devoid of truth and beauty;
I’m saying that, because of MTV,
we are.
How many hours do you think
we’ve wasted implanting
Hollywood’s ideas into our brains
at the expense of our own?
When was the last time you
made a fashion choice without
first seeing it in the media?
How many shirts have you
thrown away because Cosmo said
they are out? Pop culture has tak
en the fun out of discovery and
creation.
People wonder why celebrity
status has become so important,
but it’s easy to figure out. We put
celebrities on a pedestal because
they have stepped out of the box.
They take the time we don’t to cre
ate something interesting, com
pelling or beautiful.
We watch them in awe and
wonder at the complexity and ex
citement of their lives.
I’m tired of watching; I plan on
living. I’m not striving necessari
ly for celebrity status, just for a
break from the mundane. I never
want to envy another person’s
life, and I pity any person who
does.
When did you have your last
original thought? We toil away in
overpriced classes learning about
the great thinkers of our time.
We learn to regurgitate mag
nificent ideas in history, but fail
to recognize our own. Most of us
rarely write a sentence or read a
book unless it’s assigned.
We lament that we don’t have
time, that we’re too busy working
or whatever the case might be.
Perhaps we’re too busy watching
late-night television to realize our
own beautiful minds.
I'm tired of reaching for vener
able words of wisdom and finding
that all I know has been implant
ed by movies, TV shows and
eighth-grade homework assign
ments.
So I’m turning it off. I’m turn
ing it off so I can write and share
my voice and my own thoughts
with the world. I’m turning it off
so I can read and discover poetry
and prose once again.
There is more to English liter
ature than Shakespeare, and
there is more to literature than
English writers.
I will embrace the African and
Chinese writers. I will search out
the Spanish, Argentine, Korean
and Native American writers. I’ll
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