Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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SOUND OFF ONLINE POLL Create message boards at Are you happy with the www.dailygamecock.com or results of the election? send letters to the editor to www.dailygamecock.com. gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com Results published on Fridays. IN OUR OPINION Forget early admissions (ft This past week, Yale announced it would be dropping its early-decision program, and Stanford quickly followed suit. It’s time that other schools do the same and cut out a policy that restricts their ability to build a strong academic class. As it stands, early admission hurts financially burdened students. Because the policy requires them to attend the first institution they gain acceptance to, students don’t have the option to shop around for High school students should have as many options as possible in their choices of • colleges because It’s such a critical part of their lives. schools that might offer them better scholarship packages. Moreover, financial burdens hamper a student’s ability to go to college. If they don’t have the ability to bargain shop, they could find themselves in serious financial trouble before their college careers are over. In addition to helping financially burdened students, the removal of early-decision programs would allow high-school seniors more time to make one of the most important decisions of their lives. Once a student is accepted to a school through early admission, that student is required to attend it. Yale’s and Stanford’s new plans allow for students to waive that requirement, and though they can still be accepted early, they won’t be obligated to attend that school. High-school students should have as many options as possible in their choices of colleges because it is such a critical part of their lives. Early admission might be better for the schools’ planning, but its removal is a better service to the students. Winners and Sinners U.S. SUPREME COURT Denied act that would require public libraries to block pornographic Web sites. First Amendment, perverts are safe. NEWSPLEX Newsroom revolution takes its first steps at USC. Well, at least journalism students are excited. THEJ-SPOT Certified sex educator Jay Friedman knows all there is to know about sex. The key to a successful sex life is a cute mullet. FLORIDA Mass confusion in second straight election has made it official: Florida residents must now pass test to be eligible to vote. LONGHORNS BASEBALL Team gets probation for coaching violation. College World Series play looked good last year — a little too good. “JACKASS” IMITATOR Fifteen-year-old suffers severe bums after re-enacting movie stunt. Johnny Knoxville is no longer the biggest idiot. 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 Ml* 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, Staci ' •• Jordan, Julia Knetzer, ^ Sarah McLaulin, Shawn Rourkv David Stagg Copy Desk Chief Jill Martin Copy Editors Jennie Duggan, Tricia Ridgway, Holly Totherow Karen Vaught Online Editor Bessam Khadraoui Community Affairs Ckoh 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 Public Affairs: gckpublicaffairs@hotmail.com Online: www.dailygamecock.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, 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 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. rvi r oi • TO PLACE AN AD The Gamecock 1*00 Greene St. Columbia, S.C. 29208 Advertising: 777-3888 ^Classified: 777-1184 fax: 777-6482 "EEH3?ce CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Stress stinks, relaxing works EDRIN WILLIAMS GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Don’t let the end of the semester get you down. As the end of the semester draws near, college life begins to show its ugly side. For many freshmen, you find yourself in the midst of that overwhelming pain a drowning victim feels as he succumbs to the inevitable. For many sophomores, your rooms reek of marijuana and vodka as you try to escape the agony of last year’s freshman ex perience. Juniors from all over campus flock to the library, but even those hollow, moldy walls cannot keep you from shivering at memories of last year's brush with alcohol poisoning. All the while, seniors laugh at you all and wait for the first chance to sell back books. If there is anything college has taught me, it would be connect ed to the idea that, as a student, it is your responsibility to look af ter your own best interests. That can mean a lot of things, but at the risk of angering some people, I have the perfect interpretation. An overwhelming proportion of the student-body population is involved in extracurricular ac tivities. Whether under the um brella of Student Government, in tramural sports, Greek life or a professional organization, few students list class as their soli tary obligation. At about this time each semester, things begin to tighten up. Every professor decides to as sign one more test and one more paper to be completed in time for the final. Every organization pulls the reins a little harder and swears the group needs you more than ever. Your boss suddenly decides that your presence is needed for at least two extra hours per day. Last, but perhaps of most probability and conse quence, the person with whom you are involved claims that the two of you are at a critical time in your relationship. What the hell? Don’t scream; it does nothing to relieve the stress of the situa tion. Luckily, I have a practical solution that has been proven ef fective since 1801. The solution basically says that you have to do what is in your best interest and let the other things fall where they may. Since three out of five people here seem genuinely concerned with getting an education before they exit the stage, I would dare to say that academics should hold the trump card on all oth er interests. Therefore, when the semester tries to suck the life out of you, let the other things take their places in coach. If that means missing a few volunteer hours, so be it. I’m positive that those hours will still be there, whether you fail or pass a class. If you can’t figure out how to study for those tests and make your shift as a refreshment coor dinator at Dutch Square Cinema, let the popcorn wait. I don’t know too many people who were per manently relegated to serfdom by taking leave from Pizza Hut. I’m sure that educators every where would agree with me. Anyone who would disagree probably is profiting from your time and efforts. There is no bet ter time to take control of time, and I promise that soon you’ll re alize you can take control of your future, too. Williams is a fourth-year African American studies student. IN YOUR OPINION Negative ads don’t portray democracy This letter is in response to Phil Watson’s Nov. 6 column on negative advertising (“Vitriolic ads are tons of fun”). I appreci ated his sense of humor, but it failed to convey the point. I would have given him a big hand, if he had bothered to dig deep into the present-day de cline of standards in campaign advertising and come out with an antidote. The founders of democracy never thought of television. I’m sure in the days before mass media existed, the road to an elective office involved meeting with as many of your con stituents as possible, winning a++a«/1i«a mAAtinno ---) “ * and shaking hands. But the pre sent-day situation isn’t about any of the above competencies. The pathetic standards in cam paign advertising, the person al attacks, the absence of any concrete debates, all point to certain palpable conclusions: 1. The “who-cares” attitude among voters has encouraged this poison tree to grow for quite a long time. I remember Craig Kilbom saying: “The big worry for this year’s elections is apa thy. You know it’s a problem when there’s a bigger line to see ‘Jackass’ than there is to vote.” 2. A candidate wins or dies based on his or her television advertising. Because it takes a lot of money to do television ad vertising, those candidates who are rich have a significant ad vantage over their less-wealthy opponents. And again, who cares whether the rich guy is wise or otherwise. 3. Rather than projecting their own Strengths and con structive beliefs, candidates are content with incriminating their opponents, thereby forc ing people to choose between “the lesser of evils.” And the general consensus is that it works and the candidates know that this works, and they will be doing this again and again, unless people realize the truth and stop it from working. People need to give democ racy its true meaning, and they need to realize that the only way to do that is through an ac tive participation in under standing the reality and resist getting carried away by falla cies. We need to pause a bit and ask ourselves this rather odd question — are we learning? VIJAY SETHURAMAN SECOND-YEAR CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DOCTORAI, STUDENT Zipsheet new form of urban terrorism I have some very important news. USC is under attack by a vigilante group of militant en forcers! They are at every cor ner of USC, forcing their yellow sheets of propaganda on young, impressionable minds. A deter mined glare is quickly turned into a blank gaze after helpless students read the sheets. The evildoers do not take “No” for an answer, chasing and even div ing on students until they are able to force their anti-USC agen da upon the students. Whatever it takes, they go to any length. I have managed to avoid them: I dove into a thicket of brush seconds before they saw me. Another time, I placed my arms above my head and acted like a tree, frozen until they walked by. They had no idea. They are from Zipylvania, and their boss is, well, I guess the guy who drops them off in front of the Russell House in his Honda Accord. The guy who takes about 10 pounds of useless Zipsheets out, hands them to his helper and speeds away, “catching a wheel” in the process. At first, when they approached me, I would accept my Zipsheet to avoid any awkwardness. But after a while, I started to politely say, “No, thank you.” Doesn’t matter, one guy shoved one in my face and said, “Zipsheet, sir!” af ter I already said, “No, thank you.” Students have enough to worry about on their way to class. One guy was chased all the way from the Russell House to the science building, where he was caught and beaten for hours by a gang of Zipsheet dudes until he took a Zipsheet. OK, I’m exagger ating. I dread walking on campus and seeing a glimpse of yellow up ahead, ready to say, “Here you go. Sir. Sir? Zipsheet!” One day, I was given so many Zipsheets, I started handing them out to other students! I had be come what I had long feared. Just kidding. Seriously, are these guys the only legitimate solicitors able to be on campus? If they are, USC should ensure ways of dealing with the students are improved. And, it’s not just the attitudes of the “Zippers,” but the fact that their boss encourages them to do it. Dr. Sorensen, protect your students from being annoyed. TODD HAM THIRD-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 gamecockviewpolnts@hotmail.com. Letters will be edited. Anonymous letters will not be published. Call the newsroom at 777-7726 for more information. Money assures victory for GOP TYLERJONES GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS®HOTMAIL.COM Big Money, names come out on top in elections. It wasn’t a coincidence that I was ravaged by a rare case of “swine flu” after this past Tuesday’s election. I found myself in bed with a triple-digit fever and a swollen face that resembled Phyllis Diller at her best. The Big Money had stomped its way to victory, which was no surprise to me, but'the gruesome truth of it all was probably what sent me to the ihfirmary. Slowly, but surely, my senses returned to normal and the inces sant nose blowing was replaced with the usual seething distrust for the establishment. The vapid NyQuil dreams had morphed into nightmares of Donnie Rumsfeld running naked on the White House lawn, while Dubya and Dickie Cheney watched reruns of “Knots Landing” in their under wear, with World War IH raging in the Middle East. It was enough to make an honest man like my sen mm evil wiinoui nesnauon. Fortunately, I still clung to my somewhat rational sense of being. I remembered that politics are nothing more than a class war played out in cycles. The rich ver sus the poor or the elite versus the intelligent, it’s all the same—that is, until the last dozen years or so. The robust economy of the ’90s, coupled with the new threat of ter rorism, has caused a shift in polit ical thinking across America. And let’s not forget that the Republican Party has a virtual lock on charis matic or name-worthy politicians. If all this banter is true about how “stupid the American public is,” then there should be some mer it to the fact that recognizable can didates fare better than unknown candidates do. Republicans are sending big names into the politi cal arena and winning: George Jr., Jeb, Fred Thompson, and now it looks as though the Terminator will be California governor. The prime example of this “New Party of Lincoln” is the Round Mound of Rebound, Sir Charles Barkley. The outspoken former NBA superstar has taken public his political ideas on more than one occasion. Barkley has threatened to run for the gover norship of Alabama more times than he has threatened opposing fans. And though Barkley is noth ing more than a neophyte in the world of politics, his credo de serves proper analysis. Barkley is a symbol of the New Republican: wealthy, young and completely re pulsed with political correctness. 'I'hic io nnt tn coat tVio nlHor less affluent America has re mained in stasis. These are the in dividuals who flock to Bill O’Reilly and buy Viagra by the bushel. The simple fact of the matter is that there has been a birth of a New Republican who has core beliefs of fiscal conservatism and a much more moderate social agenda. These are 30-something men and women who probably listen to Eminem; pay their taxes; claim to believe in a Christian deity, but don’t attend church; plan on, or are, raising several children; watch and read the news daily; and think that being a Democrat is the most insane choice a person could make. Of course, I could be wrong and horribly askew on my stereotyp ing, but this New World we live in needs new rules and new poli tics. Just watch. The Democrats will start to shake things up rather quickly. Perhaps Santa Claus can endorse Tom Daschle’s presidential campaign this holi day season in hopes of spicing things up for the Dems. Jones is a graduate student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. I