Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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1 6 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, September 18, 2002 SOUND OFF ONLINE POLL Create message boards at Should the United States try to www.dailygamecock.com or force out Saddam Hussein? send letters to the editor to ' www.dailygamecock.com. gamecockviewpoints@hptmail.com Results published on Fridays. ' ^ IN OUR OPINION A new idea for parking Complaints about campus parking are so numerous, they’ve started to fall on deaf ears. But creative solutions have been few and far between — until now. One group of students is actually doing something about it. Members of Students Allied for a Greener Earth are proposing bike lanes on streets that run through campus, and they’ve made plans to talk to President Andrew Sorensen about their While SAGE’S idea. Sorensen is a cyclist, and ideas are the idea might actually become underdeveloped, reality With his support, they have serious While SAGE’S ideas are potential, underdeveloped, they have serious potential. SAGE members should continue to press for a more bike friendly campus — but it’s going to take a lot of work and time. The organization will need the support of the administration and the city. Most of all, it will need the support of students: Bike lanes will never work if students still insist on driving everywhere. SAGE must make a solid proposal that addresses such questions as how to get support, what to do about streets with side parking, how to fund the project and whether the school or the city will be responsible for it. Members must outline specific streets and prove they’ve done their research to garner support. Because parking is continually being removed from the center of campus, and more changes are in store, students are being forced to ride shuttles from perimeter lots and garages. Cycling can be a solution— SAGE members just have their work cut out for them. Winners and Sinners GAMECOCK DEFENSE Gave up only six points to UGA. Unfortunately, the offense gave up the other seven. BUSINESS SCHOOL Once again ranked No. 1. Darla remains bitter. SAUDI ARABIA Allows U.S. to use military bases to attack Iraq. Starbucks and AOL Time Warner to follow suit. FLORIDA ELECTIONS Two elections, nearly two years apart, and you’re still counting. Next election, voters are urged to write in “Chad.” SEC REFEREES Could prevent arm strains if they just started to leave flags on ground. LUDACRIS Getting no joy from Pepsi. Rapper going on a venting tour to “hit” up girls in every area code instead of Bill O’Reilly. GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS If you see an error in today’s paper, we waiit to know. E-mail us at gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK Editor In Chief Mary Hart ney News Editor Adam Beam Asst. News Editor Emma Ritch Viewpoints Editor Chris Foy Asst. Viewpoints Editor Erin O'Neal The Mix Editors Justin Bajan, Charles Tomlinson Sports Editor Kyle Almond Asst. Sports Editor Matt Rothenberg Photo Editor Candi Hauglum Head Designer Katie Smith Page Designers Samantha Hall, Julia Knetzer, Shawn Rourke, David Stagg Copy Desk Chief Jill Martin Copy Editors Jennie Dugan, Tricia Ridgeway, Holly Totherow, Karen Vaught Online Editor Bessam Khadraoui Community Affairs Kiran Shah CONTACT INFORMATION Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Editor in Chief: gamecockeditor@hotmail.com News Desk: gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Viewpoints: gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com The Mix: gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Sports: gamecocksports@hotmail.com Online: www.dailygamecock.com Public Affairs: gckpublicaffairs@hotmail.com Newsroom: 777-7726 Editor's Office: 777-3914 STUDENT MEDIA Faculty Adviser Erik Collins Director of Student Media Ellen Parsons Creative Director Susan King Business Manager Carolyn Griffin Advertising Manager Sarah Scarborough Classified Manager Sherry F. Holmes Creative Services Derek Goode, Earl Jones, Kimberly Myles, Melanie Roberts Advertising Staff Adam Bourgoin, Justin Chappell, Amanda Ingram, Bianca Knowles, Denise Levereaux, Jacqueline Rice, 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 Advertising: 777-3888 1400 Greene St. Classified: 777-1184 Columbia, S.C. 29208 Fax:777-6482 m,my!LfKE - t WHAT W SEE? NOT HER. PICK ME, HONEY/ PICK MEf _ J J OOOHfPICKW 1 Dr™-' CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS To my good friend, Dubya EDRIN WILLIAMS GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Having friends in high places has its perks. Dear GW, This is your good buddy Ed. I say “good buddy” because your every action affects me, those I care about and my future plans. With all that influence, I figure I have the right to call you buddy. The truth is, however, you don’t even know I exist, and you reflect that shameful truth in many of your actions. I won’t waste your time or mine recol lecting numerous past inconsid erate actions, like November 2000 in Dade County, Fla. What I will do is offer my advice on a issue that is pressing as we speak. Last I heard, you were press ing the U.N. and our allies for support to go and finish a fight your father couldn’t finish a lit tle over 10 years ago. Honestly, G-dub, I think you should step back and see the bigger picture. My grandmother would say, “you can’t see the fores because you are too busy looking at the trees,” and in your case, the trees include cementing a more hon orable place in history and avoid ing the stigma of being the “ben eficiary of the presidency.” So, in order to raise your stock, you are running around begging for support in your effort to “take jt to Saddam Hussein once and for all.” How easy is that? Everyone knows that if you want to make yourself look like a humanitarian and a war mas termind, you can always pick on ‘ole Saddam. So, unlike Carolina’s offense on Saturday, you went with the guarantee. It’s just like the loser guys who can’t get any action from regular or fine girls; they go to the known trick because they know they can get it easy. And like the trick, Saddam has not disappointed. He’s given you just enough resistance so that you and your sock puppets in the me dia can blow this out of propor tion. Just too easy! Well, unlike the guy who gets with the easy girl, G, I need you to act smarter than you really are. Look at the facts. What is dif ferent today than in 1991? First of all, the country was a lot more stable then. In the midst of a war on terrorism, we continue to be an unstable union. Look at the charade that occurred last week where three medical students of middle-eastern descent were de tained for 17 hours by federal of ficers based on the account of one woman at Shoney’s. Profiling and prejudice against this group of people is at an all-time high. I empathize with the innocent be cause, unlike many of my read ers, I have been subjected to pro filing. Not to stray to far off subject, I believe that the economy is an other major difference. We are in the midst of a depressing eco nomic downturn. Any war is ex pensive, but a war using chemi cal and biological warfare could prove detrimental to financial re covery in the coming months. Last, but perhaps of most im portance, we have little support from other countries. That alone should make you think twice about your actions. If we are as justified as you say, why are so few nations backing us? GW, as a close friend, I ask you to think about this. This country is seemingly head and shoulders above most other nations. We pride ourselves on the tenets of life, liberty and justice for all. But much of that statement is blem ished. The life and liberty we hold so dear are often at the ex pense of citizens of countries that happen to be under control of bad leaders. The justice we boast about is restricted to those who can afford it or those who look most like the lawmakers and en forcers. I could write for hours about the wrongs that need to be cor rected in this country before we try and clean up another, but it’s late and I have to study for my ed ucational psychology exam. You see, I’ve found a means of civiliz ing people that does not include air strikes while they sleep. I want to be a professor. Please write back. Edrin Williams is a fourth-year African American studies student. IN YOUR OPINION U.S. abusing global governing powers The U.S. has always had somewhat of a moral advantage in world affairs. The U.S. leaned toward democracy and human rights and against ag gressors. But that advantage is now being wasted. The CIA taught torture in Latin America and other places. When Iraq was busy gassing the Iranians, the U.S. was silent. When the U.S. res cued Kuwait, they restored a dictatorship rather than create a democracy. In the fight against al-Qaida, the U.S. does not treat their prisoners as prisoners of war, nor as criminals. Rather, they keep them blinded in open-air mesh kennels in Cuba. They prevent access by their con sular officials or lawyers. This is all contrary to the Geneva Convention and other interna tional law. The only white American al Qaida caught in Afghanistan was convicted in criminal court in the U.S. But non white Americans and citizens of Sweden, Canada, Britain, Pakistan, Afghanistan and others are just housed like dogs. Now, the U.S. is demanding Iraq adhere to U.N. resolutions on threat of invasion. But they don’t insist on the same com pliance for Israel, that is vio lating more U.N. resolutions than Iraq and already has nu clear weapons. Power has never been so naked. Isn’t it time for the U.S. to fol low its own Constitution? Isn’t it time for the U.S. to regain the moral high ground as well as the military high ground? Isn’t it time for the only su perpower to become a law-abid ing member of the world com munity? Or will the U.S. continue to make enemies until the whole world is against them? TOM TROTTIER OTTAWA, CANADA USC shouldn’t be so quick to tow I’m a part-time transfer stu dent here at USC. The other day my car was towed from the Coliseum parking lot. It cost me $130. The USC police said that my car was parked illegally. First of all, there were several other cars that were parked illegally as well. I’m paying $700 a class here, so I feel that students should receive adequate park ing. I also feel that faculty mem bers should receive assigned parking. I’m going speak my mind as much as possible about the USC police towing my car and about the parking problems at USC. Why does the college wait un til the fall term to start construc tion at the Coliseum? I’m going to write a letter to the parking services office and complain to them and try to get my money back. If the students and facultly were not here, no one else here would have jobs. Yet they can’t provide students and faculty with fair parking. I feel that the USC police could have at least have put a parking and towing notice on my car. I did receive help from a graduate as sistant in the HRTM office. He let me use the phone and gave me the phone number for the USC police as well. I don’t know what this GA’s name was, but thanks for your help. At least you care about stu dents and don’t get your kicks from having a student’s car towed. To all USC students and facul ty: stand up for yourself and if you get a ticket, at least try to fight it and complain to parking services. EDWARD BRECHT SECOND-YEAR HOTEL, RESTAURANT it TOURISM MANAGEMENT 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. WANT YOUR VOICE HEARD? SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR TO GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM. Dark days for football, politics TYLERJONES GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Honda fans are as odd as the rest of the state. The pain was low as I felt the gravity of what had happened. I knew I had a long walk through a muddy and depressed fairground with nothing but the vision of that ball bouncing off Andrew Pinnock’s hands. As I passed through the maze of SUV’s and discarded barbeque, I saw my reflection in the tint of the windows and thought not of my own disappointment, but of the money that drifted out of Andrew’s hands, as everyone from Jerry Jones to Ryan Leaf was sure to see the fumble on na tional television. “Tough loss, kid,” a gravelly voice echoed from a huge orange Winnebago. “How about some Wild Turkey, soften the blow?” It was true. My nerves were raw and my esteem was as non existent as the Democratic Party. Whiskey was just what I needed, so I walked into the stranger’s home-with-wheels and saddled ud to a bar with alligator skin for a surface top. There were naked pic tures of Steve Spurrier and auto graphed glossies of Danny Wuerffel and Emmitt Smith cov ering the walls. My hosts were both decked in the most garish outfits imaginable: electric orange overalls and neon blue shirts with hats that looked like stuffed animal alligators. “Are you gentlemen Florida fans?” “Sure are, son,” the large one replied, “We hate Georgia so much that we travel up heres to see them Dawgs get beat.” “Actually, we are just trying to get the hell out of Florida. The state is a mess,” replied the younger man, who was obvious ly more intelligent. Buster, the horizontally im posing one, opened a third bottle of whiskey and I began to think of why running from Florida wasn’t such a bad idea. Politics is a cruel sport — much crueler than football. Jeb Bush is a virtual lock to take the throne in 2008 and no one will stop him — not even his crack-addled daughter Noelle, who celebrated Sept. 11 in jail after her third bust this year. It is fitting in a way that the Governor can’t raise his own spoiled princess, especially in a state that has over 750 missing children roaming the retirement communities ui nuing witn Noelle in South Beach. In fact, the only thing right with Florida is the weather, and much of that is spoiled by the sight of an unemployed and de feated Janet Reno sunbathing on heavily populated beaches. Yes, Mr. Reno was beaten by Vietnam war hero, Billy McBride, in a disputed election for the Democratic nomination in the race for Governor. Despite a $30 million upgrade in the voting booth machinery, Florida botched it again and Reno is still sitting by the phone waiting for A1 Gore to call and say “I know how ya feel.” As I stumbled out of the “Gator Wagon,” the anguish of defeat had subsided and the madness of the world had once again returned to my brain, hot with drink. I began to fear the realization that Florida’s incompetency would be coming to a theatre near you. Jeb Bush and his crack-smok ing daughter sitting in the ivory towers of Washington by the decade’s end was a menacing im age. So I turned around, jumped back in the Gator Wagon and said, “Who’s game for Mexico?” Jones is a graduate student in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications.