Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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4 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, October 28, 2002 SOUND OFF • ONLINE POLL Create message boards at Should marijuana www.dailygamecock.com or be legalized? send letters to the editor to www.dailygamecock.com. gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com ' Results published on Fridays. ■'.i. . 11 -- ' J.- 1—:'T- ■ IN OUR OPINION Bicycle use benefits USC This past Thursday, bicyclists, along with other student organizations, took part in Columbia’s first Critical Mass as part of Bike to School/Work Day. The movement to increase biker safety could encourage more bike use on campus and possibly around the city. The event’s organizers hope to gain enough support to have a Critical Mass each month. The program itself can be valuable for USC in a number of ways, especially concerning parking. If more on-campus students, or even students who live Encouraging bike use among students who live on or close to campus could free up spaces for off-campus students. fairly close to campus, chose to ride bikes, parking spaces could be freed up for many off-campus students. The environmental benefits are also a good reason for more students to ride bikes. Because bicycles don’t create the pollution that cars do, short-distance bike trips could contribute to cleaner air. But regardless of the benefits, if more bicyclists are on campus, then all motorists must be cautious. Each year, 567,000 people go to the emergency room because of bicycle-related injuries. In 2000,687 fatalities occurred from collisions between bikes and motor vehicles. If drivers paid more attention to the increase in cyclists, then crashes could be reduced significantly. It’s good to see groups such as Students Allied for a Greener Earth taking the initiative by using then agenda to offer new solutions to problems that have long plagued USC, as well as Columbia. So far, the city has embraced, not repressed, the bike movement, from which everyone can benefit. But Critical Mass is just one step. President Sorensen, who is an avid bicyclist, has indicated he would support any proposals for more bike paths if enough students were behind them. If SAGE, as well as other organizations concerned with bicyclists, take the time to organize plans to build more bicycle paths, as well as ways to encourage greater bicycle use, then all of USC and Columbia will stand to. benefit from their work. GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS In the police report on Oct. 21, the correct dates should have read Oct. 15 and Oct. 17. In a caption about “The Birdcage” in Wednesday’s The Mix, photographer Annie Lee should have been credited. Friday’s “Quotables” should have said the sniper’s quote came from the postscript of a letter, not a phone message. The Gamecock regrets the errors. If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us at gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com. 1 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 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 Creates Services Derek Goode. Earl Jones. Sean O’Meara, Anastasia Oppert Melanie Roberts Advertising Staff Adam Bourgoin, Justin Chappell. . 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 durirfg 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 10 rLAUt AN AU aluuenl Media. The Gamecock Advertising: 777-3888 1400 Greene St. Classified: 777-1184 . Columbia, S.C. 29208 ' Fax:777-6482 CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Observing society’s stupidity JASON L. RAPP GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Dude, what happened to higher education? In a weird sort of way, I look at life as my personal episode of “Seinfeld.” Like Jerry Seinfeld, I enjoy ob servation. I think it’s apropos to be aware of my surroundings and form opinions about what’s going on. I’d be bored to death if I weren’t constantly analyzing and making comments about every day life. Absent an issue on which to opine, here are some re cent observations. I’m disappointed that society has crept toward favoring the lowest common denominator. We don’t like big words we should have learned long ago. We have “Dude, Where’s My Car?” and “Dude, you’re getting a Dell.” We have “Jackass.” Newspapers are written at an elementary school reading level and, even then, people don’t read them. Dude, when did we decide to be dumb? The advertising industry is a big culprit. If ever you’ve watched commercials on the tele visions in the GMP, you know of what I speak. Everything is sex and more sex. I’d love to know who thought Marriott food was best served with the sounds of a woman reaching a shampoo-in duced orgasm in the background. If she does that with a $4 bottle, she’d waken even the economy, not to mention the neighbors, Jimmy Hoffa and USC’s offense, with my $11 bottle. Another example is the polit ical apathy so prevalent in our generation. At some point, we gave up or simply stopped car ing. I guess “Fear Factor” or “The Bachelor” was coming on. Is this morass in which we find ourselves the nadir of society, or have we farther to fall? I’m not sure I want to know. This is col lege, people. Let’s raise the bar a little so Plato, Socrates, et al can stop spinning around six feet un der. Staying on the slackness theme, I read last week about the virtues of alcohol. On that, I made this observation: Please drink, or smoke, to your heart’s desire. Ditto for those of you who enjoy blazin’ it up. After your liv er fails, you’ve breathed your last, or you’ve rendered yourself a complete junkie, there will be more jobs for those of us respon sible enough to know better. I’ll gladly take the job you had while you lie face down in the gutter with a bottle tucked inside a brown paper bag. I think people need to be more real to each other. By “real,” I mean honest, open and trans parent. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Life isn’t pol itics. I just think it’s right that peo ple know where they stand with me, and even though I’m by no means an expert, I think that’s a trait we would all do well to ac quire. How we relate to people says a lot about us. You do peo ple a disservice when you can’t level with them. Lastly, does anyone else doubt that putting up “Share the Road” signs will keep bikers from get ting run over on campus? Personally, I’d kind of like to see some “Get Off the Sidewalk” signs; otherwise, a “critical mass” known as my fist might make contact with the hippie pedaling off to class or to the lat est Preston protest. Rapp is a fifth-year print journalism student. IN YOUR OPINION Attack messages, not messengers Mr. Harritt (Oct. 16, “Freshman thinks he has it right”), I would like to say that I will be accepting hugs and cookies at any time from peo ple who know me. Billy, I think your attacks were unjust, be cause you are unaware of my goals or aspirations and you are unaware of what it took me to get into this university. Apparently, Billy, you don’t know me because, if you did, you would know that giving up is the last thing I would do. Giving up is not a term in my dictionary; anyone who truly knows me realizes I am the last person to give up. My message was that the system was corrupt because the selection committee chose only people of a particular col or. The university showed a tremendous lack of integrity when it allowed this injustice to occur, i tnougnt tnat, witn four years in an institution of higher education, you would realize you should attack the argument and not the person. I wonder how you could equate wisdom with classifica tion. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a sophomore or a senior; everyone has different experi ences in life. That is why I asked Jason Rapp to walk a mile in my shoes. When I ask someone to walk a mile in my shoes, I want him to remember that his way might not be the only way, or the right one. In addition, I am not sure why you associated walking a mile in my shoes with commit ting suicide. Your life isn’t over yet, son, but if you’re having those thoughts, you should con tact the Counseling and Human Development Center. If you can’t get help there, get help somewhere. You said I should do some thing with my life. If you knew me, you would know that I’m very active in several student organizations: the Residence Hall Association, Campus Eagle Scouts and University Parking and Transportation Committee. Last year, as a freshman, I was a Snowden hall senator and was awarded the RHA Senator of the Year award, which was a hard award to win, because my com petition was some of the best student leaders on campus. Have you done anything to improve the quality of the uni versity? I hope you have, be cause you’ve been here long enough. But any day you want to compare extracurricular achievements, give me a call. So, Billy, I would like to close by saying that your comments were distasteful and, frankly, immature. I hope that when I become a senior, I will not have to resort to personal attacks to prove an argument. EMANUEL R. THOMASON SECOND-YEAR GRIM INAL JUSTICE STUDENT sidewaiK cnaiK, not war, “useless” I was walking to the Russell House this past weekend when I noticed new chalk graffiti on the Pickens Street bridge. Normally, I ignore your point less banter, but one phrase struck me and hit me hard in the heai;t. “War is useless” was en graved in my mind, and I be came livid. You cowards, how dare you live in the United States, taking advantage* of the freedoms given to you, then slan der the means by which they ar rived. Without war, we would be un der British rule. Without war, the United States would be two sepa rate nations. Without war, Jews would still be persecuted by one tyrant. Without war, this world would not be a myriad of nation alities, but only a handful of em pires. Why don’t you make your point to the faces of those men who fought for your life? Say to their faces that their battle was useless and that they fought and died in vain. Say that to my fa ther, who spent three years in Vietnam, fighting fervently for the United States, a nation in which he prides himself. Tell him that his friends, who he wit nessed dying, died for no purpose but to support a spoiled American like you. ouiuu up ana lace tnose men now in the Middle East. Tell them that their jobs are insignificant and that everything they’ve worked for has been worthless. The freedom, liberty and pursuit of happiness you so freely take ad vantage of was bom on the backs of our ancestors who died with honor in such wars. Don’t you dare defile the free dom I love, and the nation I take pride in. Either keep the chalk in the box, children, or walk the line with those soldiers, and then you can tell me wars are useless. STEFANIE BOPP SECOND-YEAR BIOLOGY 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. -• Three days to English mastery CATHERINE BABB GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Verbalization takes on new meaning in society. Beep. “Cat. It’s your sister, Molly; remember me? I called you days ago, haven’t heard back and it’s pretty important. What are you doing with yourself? Call me.” Beep. “Hey, Cat and Cathleen, Bree here. Just wondering what you girls are up to. Haven’t heard from either of you in a while, but there’s a party at my place tonight, so call me.” Beep. “Ahem — this message is for Catherine Baab. This is Bob Dylan, just wanting to say that I read your columns every week and I’m a big fan. Would you want to get together sometime, maybe get a cup of coffee, or get married? Anyway, my number is...” It had been three days since we answered the phone. It had been three days since we’d answered the door, eaten a solid meal or done our homework. My room mate Cathleen had developed an eyelid twitch. I was drifting in and out of consciousness, beginning to hallucinate And vet the earne showed no signs of ending. “Genuine,” I spelled out in the little wooden squares. “For ingenue, right?” She snorted, “And it took you two hours to come up with that.” That’s the way it goes when you play nine-tile, trilingual, ana grammatic Scrabble. It’s a kind of Candyland for neurotic word smiths — I’ve also found it to be a good cure for chronic sobriety. Professors in the English Department ought to have tourna ments for tenure. There’s no bet ter ring for intellectual wrangling. What’s most fascinating about Scrabble is that it recognizes lan guage as a game; one wins by messing around with words. Thus, it’s a pseudo-official forum for irony, because, in reality, we don’t confine our experimentation to the board game. There’s a whole minigenre of public speak ing and writing devoted to ma nipulating language. We do it be- ■ tween ourselves, too. Remember the last time you dumped someone or were dumped? You’ll recall that “it’s not you, it’s me” really means “it’s you.” And that “I still want to be friends” should translate as “I never want to see you again.” Language is widely celebrated. Sometimes, in poetry, novels or song lyrics, it’s so beautiful, we’re absolutely hung up by it. Other times, its ineptitude is extraordi narily frustrating: We don’t think we can communicate what we ac tually feel, and we can’t. Modem methods of communi cation only intensify the inade quacies of language. Faxes, cell phone and answering-machine messages, and e-mails are all in credibly limited media. They were invented to simplify communica tion and expedite expression, and they provide a greater degree of convenience and brevity. Unfortunately, this does not really signify a true advancement be cause one doesn’t have the time or space to express full thoughts. Nietzche wrote: “That for which we find words is already dead in our hearts. There is always a kind of contempt in the act of speak ing.” His point is relevant today: The ways we go about the act of speaking are contemptible. That’s not to say I agree with him. He’s failing to differentiate between act and effort. The effort made to com municate is itself noble. It is a tes tament to our human capacity to feel deeply, to desire to share. Success is an arcane externali ty, rather like my attempts to beat Cathleen at Scrabble. Babb is a third-year English and advertising student.