The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 21, 2002, Page 5, Image 5
OTHE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, October 21, 2002 5
VTmci online poll
B—^ B / B / I_J fl B B What will you do this weekend
1 1 B / B / B B B B I without Carolina football?
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IN OUR OPINION
Creed Week
stands out
Once again, it’s Carolinian Creed Week at USC.
But what does that mean?
Students wonder why they should care about one
more week dedicated to an idealist cause when there
seem to be a hundred others fighting for their
attention. But Creed Week is different from the rest
of those weeks because it promotes and celebrates
the core principals of the university.
Carolinian Creed
Wteek encourages
students to look
past minor
differences and
learn to respect
each other by
adhering to
principles laid
out in the creed.
The Carolinian Creed was
born in a time of turmoil.
About 10 years ago, USC
students and faculty became
concerned about violence and
hate on campuses around the
United States. So they took a
stand and developed the
Carolinian Creed: a code by
which members of the
Carolina community could
better themselves and, in turn,
the university. Since then, the Creed has encouraged
students to better understand each other, and the
ideals it stresses should be as important now as they
were when it was first written.
The Creed tells students to respect each other, to
practice personal and academic integrity, and to
discourage small-mindedness in their fellow
Carolinians. Creed Week reminds students of these
principles and provides them with the opportunity to
recommit themselves to its cause. By participating
in the events this week, students can broaden then
perspectives, learn from the differences in others
and demonstrate concern for other students. They
can take in a talk from a speaker on the Iraq
situation, witness the lifestyle of someone in The
Birdcage who might be different from them or
participate in a step show, an activity they might not
have tried before. Whatever they do, students should
try something new and learn about others while
they’re doing it.
And while it is important to live up to the ideals in
the Carolinian Creed right now, students should
remember that the Creed doesn’t exist only for this
week. It is a commitment they should strive to honor
every day. Allegiance to these principles can make
us not only better students at a better university, but
also better human beings.
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
Kiran Shah
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CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS
Shift focus from trivialities
CATHERINE BAAB
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Important news slips
through the cracks.
Though I’m similarly situated
and equipped, I’ve never had
much enthusiasm for the com
pany of other women. It isn’t
something I seek out or enjoy.
The making of conversations
with most chicks has, historical
ly, proven an arduous task for
yours truly. Oprah gives me the
creeps. I’ve told my parents to ex
pect Grand-novels, not children.
I don’t go shopping for shoes of
ten —or anything else for that mat
ter. So, when I knocked on the door
of Daisy’s downtown apartment
last Friday night, and that famil
iar dread again visited my insides,
I knew exactly where to file it: un
der Feminine Affairs. (See also
Angst, Anorexia, Ann Taylor.)
Weeks ago, my sister’s friends
had invited me to this, her bach
elorette party. The invitation laid
out our itinerary in military
time, rounding off within several
hundredths of a second, the pre
cise moment of our arrival and
departure. We were to have a
quick dinner, barhop, then spend
the night at a posh hotel nearby.
According to my usual cus
tom, I showed up late and broke.
My patient older sister rolled her
eyes and threw up her hands.
Her friends followed suit. I fol
lowed them from the foyer into
the kitchen, where the drinks
were free. Their rapid conversa
tion raced on, eddying around
me, enveloping me in its intima
cy.
Ada, another friend of theirs,
walked in the next minute. After
a few frantic hugs, the hostess of
fered her a drink.
“No thanks,” said Ada shyly.
“I don’t drink anymore.”
“You’re?” asked the entire
company, in chorus.
“I am,” answered Ada.
“Oh. My. God,” they responded.
You would have thought that
each and every one of them was
the pregnant one, their shock was
so great. The formerly breakneck
pace of their talk was broken; si
lence descended. Ada’s gentle ad
mission constituted a classic con
versational speed bump.
Later, of course, the
“Congratulations!” flowed as
freely as the Jack Daniels ... if
memory serves.
But all that night my buzz was
tinged with a certain morbidity.
Between the impending wedding
and the expected baby, I found
myself contemplating the scarce
ly to be believed (or endured)
speed of everyday life. And of
love. And death.
Our national culture, too,
moves so quickly it can’t be
clocked. Each morning brings
the flood of new information, be
it tragic or happy. Hundreds of
events compete for our too-brief
attentions; unfortunately, many
of the most important receive too
little consideration.
Perhaps it is that the agenda-set
ting media fails to create a hierar
chy of significant news. Consider
how CNN’s Web site sandwiches a
review of Madonna’s most recent
release just next to the latest D.C.
sniper casualty. Are these two
events comparably relevant? One
hopes they are not as associated as
their placement seems to assert.
It shall only corroborate my
sentiments of that evening, if
you’ve difficulty recalling the
news report I refer to now.
Months ago, the U.S. military
bombed an Afghan wedding cel
ebration. Some 40 civilians died.
I’m not sure how many of those
people were terrorists. CNN ran
the story for perhaps two days to
tal. I am sure a few of us have for
gotten that incident altogether.
If you dig my drift—what
often slips through the cracks is
precisely that which ought to
command our utmost
concentration. What should
function as a cultural speed
bump doesn’t affect us enough.
We rarely blink, or look back,
or step back.
For shame.
Baab is a third-year English and
advertising student.
IN YOUR OPINION
r«
Chalking should be
allowed for protest
I agree with Friday’s writer
on the right of students to use
sidewalk chalking as a means
of nonviolent protest. At a uni
versity as large as ours, it is im
portant that concerned groups
have a way to communicate
messages to the masses, and e
mail just doesn’t have the same
effect. Officials should consid
er whether they prefer chalk to
spray paint.
At the same time, I must dis
agree with the writer about
what was written on the side
walks. The “Drop Bush, not
bombs” phrase that rings so
nicely was much less prefer
able than writings outside
uamDreu mat react, mtsn is
right, Iraq is wrong.” The sug
gestion that Iraq does not act
or has not acted aggressively is
a difficult one to support; Iraq
is the most aggressive nation
in the world, especially toward
smaller, neighboring nations
(to which the United States has
a responsibility as a trade part
ner and as the world’s only su
perpower).
In a nutshell, sidewalk
chalk: yes. Iraq: no.
ADAM SHAW
fourth-year political science
STUDENT
Brother Matt gets
free speech, too
Thursday afternoon, I was at
the Russell House to once again
cram my face with the heaven
ly gourmet that is Taco Bell. As
I crossed the courtyard, my
ears were suddenly assaulted
by such interesting words that I
took a pause from my journey
to hear more. It was Brother
Matt, spreading the gospel and
damning the wicked.
A crowd quickly grew, and,
with accusations of whoredom
flying across the brick expanse,
the audience grew infuriated at
the judgmental flavoring of this
particular preacher. No sooner
had I sat down to enjoy the
spectacle when a dildo-waving
female student stormed the
scene and, with a variety of at
tempts, tried to usher Brother
Matt off the stage. Her trials un
successful, it appeared to me
that she began to complain to
the police, who had just arrived
at the show. (As I did not actu
ally hear the exchange, I am as
suming this was what she was
doing. If I am wrong, I apologize
in advance for any misunder
standing.)
Not long after that, the now
reinforced police presence es
corted the bespectacled man
away.
Those who know me will say
that I am as far from being
Christian as George W. Bush is
from being competent. But I
find these circumstances to be a
manifestation of bigotry such
that I must speak out. The val
ue of men such as Brother Matt
and his comrade Brother Jim,
who used to frequent our cam
pus, is one of Socratic essence,
and it is integral to the devel
opment of a healthy social con
sciousness. With such shocking
words pouring forth*' from
Brother Matt’s lips, not one
among the crowd failed to re-ex
amine his own beliefs. Whether
Brother Matt meant to play the
devil’s advocate is immaterial;
the effect remains. His message
of intolerance only made the stu
dents there more willing to accept
the possibly immoral actions of
their peers. And yet, there are
those who only take his words at
face value and fail to see beyond
what they findoffensive. This fail
ure was the reason Brother Matt
was unable to finish his sermon.
Freedom of speech aside, those
people who lack the depth of per
ception to realize the importance
and potential benefits of what
Brother Matt was doing have cost
us a public forum that would
have made anyone there wiser at
the end of the day. This is a letter
of protest from one who shudders
at the idea that college students
can’t be open-minded enough to
withstand the views of someone
else, that those who differ must
be silenced.
Is this not an action of preju
dice, the same that fueled the fires
of fury that drove Brother Matt
from his work? All this under the
flag of tolerance — perhaps
Brother Matt was right to call us
hypocrites.
ANDY SU
SECOND-YEAR MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING 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.
Musical
terror
hits U.S.
charts
SHAWN ROURK
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Get your bandannas and
beads; it’s protest time
Something interesting hap
pened to me lately; I have had a
mind-numbing trip back to the
1960s—completely unassisted by
drugs, I might add.
This flashback came as a result
of a news story I saw on the
College Television Network news
while I was sitting in the GMP one
early morning.
The story was about the anti-war
protests going on in college cam
puSes around the country. Recently,
having to experience Preston’s lit
‘tle demonstration on my way to
class and listening to anti-war
protests from around the country,
I pondered what it would be like to
have another Woodstock for this
generation. Not one of those com
mercially driven Woodstock sub
stitutes that Fred Durst dubiously
put an end to in 1999. Thanks a lot,
Fred. What awe-inspiring bands,
however, would represent this dis
illusioned generation? Woodstock
in 1969 had performers such as The
Who, Credence Clearwater Revival,
Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.
Who do we have these days?
My question was quickly an
swered. The first video that came
on after this realization was one
from Moby, and I thought,
“Excellent, there’s a real intimi
dating figure to lead a giant protest
against war — a 5-foot-l-inch bald
man with a gray guitar, standing
on stage repeating the same words
over and over again. Ooh, scary.”
Someone sitting near me heard
my angry mumbling and suggest
ed that some of the newest pop
sensations would like to voice
their opinions. I didn’t know they
had an opinion in their little
(deleted expletive) brains. I don’t
think “Genie in a Bottle” is a
great protest song.
isew r ouna uiory s viaeo men
came on, reminding everyone
that “punk” has reached an all
time low. I wish Joey Ramone
were here; he’d kick the crap out
of these impostors.
And don’t forget the emo kids,
. such as Dashboard Confessional
and Something Corporate. I feel
sure they could add a sensitive
side to the whole concert and bring
everyone to tears. It brings me to
tears to think people actually pay
money for their stuff. I guess the
old adage is correct: Fools and
their money are soon parted.
At this point, I was nearly in
tears from this “musical” on
slaught. And I thought, “Why is
his happening to me?” The only
answer I could come up with came
in the immortal words of Matt
Stone and Trey Parker: “Blame
Canada.” Between Nickleback and
Avril Lavigne, Canadian music
has ruined everything for
Canadian bands these days. And
because the music industry is seiz
ing these new bands, they domi
nate the new music.
11 you naven t gotten tne point ot
this exercise, it is to show how crap
py music has become. There was a
time when music had purpose and
meaning. But, people, U2 will die
out sometime; where’s music’s con
science then? (Yet again, note sar
casm.) With all this talk about ter
rorism these days, I have found a
new form; pop music. Making us
live in fear to turn on the television
or radio. Therefore, we should just
turn away from the constant 24
hour downloading, turn off MTV,
turn off the local radio stations and
get out and appreciate good music
at your local club.
And someone let me know
whether that Woodstock thing hap
pens. If my ears must endure that
much pain, I’m going to cause it.
Rourk is a first-year print
journalism student.