The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 18, 2002, Page 5, Image 5
THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, October 18, 2002 5
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OVERPAIC CRYBABIES 50%
f
IN OUR OPINION
Motives are
in question
Last week, the House and the Senate both voted in
favor of President Bush’s call to attack Iraq if the
country does not comply with the United Nations’
inspections resolutions. The decisions came after
weeks of protest and Bush’s adamant charge for war if
necessary.
Even though the votes weren’t unanimous, the
convincing majority that supported the resolution
reflects the absence of partisanship. While it is
encouraging to see the U.S. government quell the
constant bickering between
Now that Bush Senate Majority Leader Tom
has been panted DascUe ^ (he Bush
® aU rtnMiic administration to reach a
carry out his . J ^
plan, he needs to umted agreement’both
act with a higher parties'motives reraain in
sense of <iuestion
aCCOUtability. Bush’s agenda coincides with
election time, when those same
politicians, many oi wftom are seeKing another term,
must appease their constituents. Members of the
Senate and House should cast votes not merely to look
good in front of their voters and competitors. Right
now, the nation needs sound judgment, and that will
come only when legislators vote without regard to
political leverage and use their conscience as a gauge.
Now that Bush has been granted the authority to
carry out his plan, he needs to act with a higher
sense of accountability. To prevent unnecessary
conflict, Bush should be reasonably patient with the
U.N. and its inspections; Iraq, after all, might
t
cooperate. But the president should also assert his
power to do what he feels is necessary in the United
States’ best interest.
Gamecock Quotables
“The message gives me a little
glow when I walk between
classes. It’s a subtle transition
that gets my mind off of
numbers and on humanity.”
PETER COOLIDGE
FIRST-YEAR STUDENT, ON THE SIDEWALK
CHALK MESSAGES
“This makes me want to kiss
someone.”
DARLA MOORE
MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, ON
PRESIDENT SORENSEN'S ENROLLMENT
MANAGEMENT PROPOSAL
“I just love being with the
students, and I really mean
that. ...Youth are the most
exciting group to be around
because they have such an
exuberance and energy.”
LOU HOLTZ
use FOOTBALL COACH, ON VISITING CAMPUS
“After a few times, he’d say,
‘Pick up the damn phone.’ ”
MEGAN MOXIE
FIRST-YEAR BUSINESS STUDENT, ON
RECEIVING CALLS FROM A PRISON INMATE
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
Editor in Chief
Mary Hartney
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, Sarah McLaulin,
Shawn Rourk, David
Stagg
Copy Desk Chief
Jill Martin
Copy Editors
Jennie Duggan, Tricia
Ridgway, Holly Totherow,
Karen Vaught
Online Editor
Bessam Khadraoui
Community Affairs
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
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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,
Bianca Knowles,
Denise Levereaux.
Jacqueline Rice,
Stacey Todd
TO PLACE AN AD
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.
The Gamecock Advertising: 777-3888 ^
1400 Greene St. Classified: 777-1184
'Columbia, S.C. 29208 Fax: 777-6482
Be
WJH IRAQ
’SffiBsr
•••
CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS
Saints, souls and Batman
ROB SEAL
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Halloween’s tricks and
treats are still evolving.
Halloween is a weird holiday.
For kids, it means dressing up and
going on a sugar binge. For many
college students, it means dress
ing up and going on a different
kind of binge—or not dressing up
and going on a binge, anyway.
For most of us, it does not mean
making a giant fire from the bones
of sacrificed animals to keep mi
gratory demons at bay. That’s
how this whole business started
though. The Celts celebrated a hol
iday called Samhain on the first
of November. They figured the
night before was when dead folks
made the journey to the under
world.
To keep the dead people from
ruining their party, they sacri
ficed animals, fruit and the occa
sional person. They would throw
the bones from the sacrifices into
a giant fire, which is where we
get the phrase “bonfire.”
Christianity got.its hands on
Samhain just prior to the Middle
Ages. In 601, Pope Gregory I had
an idea to help convert irritating
pagans the world over. He sug
gested that missionaries not try to
eradicate the religious practices
of other peoples completely, just
scramble them around until they
fit in with the Church. All Saint’s
Day was stuck on Nov. 1 to try to
cover up Samhain.
Honoring a pantheon of saints
didn’t have the same kind of ap
peal to the Celts as bigfires, ritual
sacrifices and walking dead peo
ple. Noticing some sleepy looks on
Celtic faces during All Saint’s Day,
the Church made Nov. 2 All Soul’s
Day. Early November became a
two-for-one deal in terms of reli
gious holidays.
The Celts stuck it out, despite
the fact that the Druids — the
closest thing they had to a cler
gy— were being hunted down
and killed as practitioners of the
dark arts. They adjusted the
name of All Saint’s Day to All
Hallow’s Day, meaning “every
thing is holy” day. They were
still fond of the night-of-the-walk
ing-dead concept, so the night of
Oct. 31 became All Hallow’s Eve,
or Hallowe’en (which has to be
said with the Irish accent).
The Celts were still leaving of
ferings of food and drink out to
placate evil spirits on Hallow
Evening. Some hungry guy had
a moment of inspiration, put on a
costume, screamed some demon
ic gibberish and ganked the food
that was left out for the creatures
of the underworld. This was the
inception of trick-or-treating and
dressing up on Halloween.
The Irish and Scottish, geo
graphical and cultural heirs to the
Celts, took this practice even far
ther from Christianity by dubbing
Hallow Evening “Mischief Night”
and getting drunk and pulling
pranks on people, unless placated
with a treat of some kind. They
brought this tradition to America,
and now we’ve got Halloween.
The modern Halloween en
thusiast can order a statuette of
Freddy Kruger, Pinhead or
Batman. Why Batman, you say?
How the hell should I know?
So, the only constant through
out the last two millennia, in re
gards to Halloween, is that people
need a night before winter starts
to binge and celebrate. I think,
this year I’ll dress up like Pope
Gregory I, sacrifice some animals
to a Freddy Kruger lawn stat
uette, set the bones on fire, and
give away candy and orange beer.
Seal is a fourth-year print
journalism student.
IN YOUR OPINION
’60s music wasn’t
all about protests
I'll apologize from the get-go,
because by the time I read The
Gamecock on Oct. 9, the retro
spective of’60s rock had already
taken place. For all I know, it
was an early-’60s fest and this
letter is a waste of space. If his
tory repeats itself, however, I
suspect the presentation fo
cused on a “life-changing rebel
lion and tumultuous conflict set
against an explosive soundtrack
of innovative new music.”
It seems that whenever peo
ple think of the ’60s, they hear
protest, hippies and make-love
not-war music. This, of course,
is only half true, and represen
tative of the mid- to late ’60s.
The first half of the decade
was a musical celebration of
true love, the one who got away
and short love stories that usu
ally ended badly. I never could
resist a tear over “Town
Without Pity” or “Take Good
Care of My Baby.” We had oc
casional silly songs, such as
“Purple People Eater,” that you
liked in spite of yourself — and
besides, you could sing and
dance to them.
Please, as a favor to this old
’63 high school graduate, when
you think of ’60s performers,
also remember Gene Pitney,
Jackie Wilson, the Shirelles,
Little Anthony and the
Imperials, Bobby Vinton, Neil
Sedaka, and Dion & the,
Belmonts. They, along with
hundreds of other successful
musicians, were huge. They
had hit after hit after hit, and
their music was very satisfying.
Protest and rebellion have
their place, but please leave a
little room for feeling good, too.
MOLLYf BRADY
RESIDENCE EIFE
Intelligent debate
offered to students
I am writing in response to
Edrin Williams’ column
(“Social burden lingers at
USC,” Oct. 16) bemoaning the
lack of intelligent discussion on
campus.
Although it is not a huge
event, I think it is important to
mention the International Cafe,
a weekly informal discus
sion/debate organized by resi
dents of Carolina’s Global
Community. The weekly topic,
decided at the end of the previ
ous meeting by those in atten
dance, so far, has included the
debate over Iraq and the death
penalty.
Anyone is welcome to attend
the discussion, which is usually
framed by speakers from the
university faculty or the
Columbia area. Although it
isn’t as high-profile as the re
cent Preston protest, it does pro
vide an opportunity to express
and debate important issues.
The Cafe meets in the South
Quad Lounge every Wednesday
at 4 p.m.
DUNCAN ISAAC
THIRD-YEAR HISTORY STUDENT
First Amendment
protects chalking
The recent chalking by un
known individuals is anything
but graffiti. Free speech is one
of the founding pillars of
America, and the chalk is com
pletely in line with those values.
It caused no permanent dam
age, was not obscene and ex
pressed a valid political argu
ment. If anything, the chalking
should be encouraged by the
university, as it promotes citi
zenship and participation in
democracy with harm to none. It
seems absurd that one would
have to pay a fine for free and
harmless speech on public prop
erty. I'm proud that someone has
the guts to defy these stupid rules.
Chalkers were correct in call
ing for the United States to “drop
Bush not bombs.” Iraq has not
made any aggressive moves to
threaten the United States.
Remembering that the United
States has used “neutral” weapons
inspectors as spies, one would
think it only natural that Iraq
would hesitate to allow more “in
spectors" into their country.
The United States has little
room to talk when it comes to dic
tators. The United States govern
ment has at one time supported
or allied itself with the repressive
Shah of Iran, the fascist Pinochet
of Chile, the Saudi monarchy and
tne Pakistani military regime.
And, the United States even
supported “President” Saddam
Hussein when he was fighting the
anti-Shah Iranians. Now, of
course, would be an excellent
time for the United States to
change the direction of its foreign
policy and begin to promote
democracy around the world. But
we have failed time and again.
After Hussein, it's not hard to
imagine another Pinochet or
Shah in power. Most assuredly,
Hussein needs to go. But I chal
lenge “President” Bush to end
support for all oppressive
regimes in all countries.
DANIEL REGENSCHEIT
FIRST-YEAR JOURNALISM STUDENT
Submission Policy
Letters to the editor should be less than
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Letters will be edited. Anonymous liters
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at 777-7726 for more information.
Passage
of time .
allows
growth .
TERRANCE BEEKS
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Enjoy life’s pleasures by
breaking down barriers.
“Oftentimes, what causes us to
stop growing is simply growing
up. When we are young, we are
constantly exploring new ideas,
new ways of being in the world. As
we get older, we tend to figure out
what it is we know and who it is
we are. ”—Jae Malone
I feel as though I have under
gone a complete metamorphosis
since coming to USC. The changes
involve much more than being old
er and more mature. The Terrance
Beeks of that day has long since
passed, never to return again.
Please do not misunderstand
me. I do not dislike or hate the guy
I was when I first entered
Carolina. I am thankful, howev
er, for the alterations. I continue
to grow as an individual. I strive
to be a dynamic figure.
The current semester has been
one of intense self-discovery and
evaluation. I have been subject to
a great deal of new situations in
the past seven weeks of the
semester. I normally welcome
new experiences because I con
stantly try to learn things about
myself as well as the environment
around me. Unfortunately, I can
not say that I am delightful given
something that really happened
to me.
I have always thought of myself
as being reasonable, mature and
accepting. Recently, I have not em
anated any of those qualities.
I developed a sincere attraction
to someone for the first time in my
21 years. I dare not say I fell in
love, for I believe that love devel
ops over the passage of time. That
length of time had not yet elapsed
in order for love to truly form.
I have never liked someone so
much that I wanted to spend all
my time with that person, even if
I neglected such important activ
ities in my life as friends, classes
and other responsibilities. This
was an original experience for
me. I was neither prepared for nor
informed about how to deal with
the situation. I had simply never
been subjected to the feeling.
I pride myself on my ability to
shield my feelings and emotions
from others. I thought I had long
since surpassed the weakness of
emotions and dependency.
I vowed that I would never al
low anyone to affect me negative
ly to the extent to which my par
ents did to my sister and me.
Unfortunately, my longstanding,
impregnable fortress proved its
true worth this semester.
I succumbed to human emo
tion and I could not ignore it.
Regrettably, the promise of a re
lationship was all but possible. It
was not meant to be no matter
how much I longed for it.
I could not accept reality. I was
angry and disappointed in myself
for letting an external factor have
such an impact on my life. My
self-worth began to fade away. I
responded by wanting to build an
even stronger fortress than before
to protect myself.
Finally, it struck me that this is
part of life. I realized that growing
up is a complex matter. One must
accept the positives along with the
negatives of life. I cannot attempt
to strangle part of my humanity
for fear of getting hurt or being re
jected.
I grew up a little more this
semester. Please, don’t build walls
in a vain attempt to shield the
most vulnerable part of your be
ing. You will certainly miss out
on the wonderful experience of
living life to the fullest. It is all
part of growing up.
Beeks is a fourth-year politicof
science student.