University of South Carolina Libraries
4 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, December 2, 2002 SOUND OFF TTT^TTT'TI/^T ATm O ONLINE POLL Create message boards at I 1-4 8 l\ I I * 8 8 I ^ I Do you think aU residence www.dailygamecock.com or | I 1 i ■ / • / I ■ ■ 8 8 l halls should be nonsmoking? send letters to the editor to IIJWv I \ # | 81 III www.dailygamecock.com. gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com —8— 8 M ¥ * —■— S —8— " ’ —8— —S Results published on Fridays. • IN OUR OPINION Quiz team lacksfunds It’s funny how universities scramble to find funds to support the football team with the creative excuse that it showcases the university to a broader audience and helps bring in better students. What does a good football team say about the caliber of the student body? Do students make their college choices based on the win-loss column in their Sunday morning newspapers? Consider this alternative: a student organization iVint- in AAAV1 fA oil students and that travels around the country, representing the school based on its academic merit, not its collegiate muscle. If you’re not careful, you could be describing the quiz-bowl team. USC’s team has defied the odds and has consistently USC s team has defied the odds and has consistently taken on the nation’s top academic schools in a battle of the wits, and it has usually come out on top. am maIiam* kUUV/li V/ll HIV IXUllVU U UVWVAVllliV VVllWiV XXX VI X/MVVXV of the wits, and it has usually come out on top. But you won’t read about how USC came one question shy of defeating the University of Chicago five years ago for the quiz-bowl national championship or how the team drove all the way to Iowa State University to finish second out of 15 teams. While the football team enjoys chartered buses and luxurious hotel rooms the night before games, these academic athletes receive only $500 a year for tournament and hotel expenses to represent USC among the likes of Princeton and Vanderbilt universities. For years, the rest of the collegiate world has looked down on South Carolina as a hillbilly state bringing up the rear in SAT scores while raising up the next generation of farmers and NASCAR drivers. But the seven or eight students from the USC quiz-bowl team are making a name for themselves with little recognition from their home state, let alone the university they represent. While quiz bowl might not be the university’s most popular attraction, it is evidence of the academic excellence that exists at USC. It’s time we give some credit to the USC students who are showing the nation just how much a degree from South Carolina’s flagship university is worth. GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS In a story in The Mix on Monday about a concert organized by the Society for Indian Performing Arts in South Carolina, Pandit Debendrakanti was incorrectly referred to as Dasgupta. The Gamecock regrets the error. If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us at gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK tauor in unier 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, Staci Jordan, 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 UUNIAUI INt-UKMAIIUN 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 editorially independent student newspaper of the University of South Carolina. It 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-activity fees. One free copy per reader. Additional copies may be purchased for $1 each from the Department of Student Media. rxiidii oiidii TO PLACE AN AD The Gamecock 1400 Greene St. Columbia, S.C. 29208 Advertising: 777-3888 Classified: 777-1184 Fax: 777-6482 Tf*'SuNE‘ _ GREAT THANKSGiViNG \ DiNHeR^ MOM» J me TuRKer yjas iRRes\STiBLe, THe GRAVrADDiCTiVe, AND I CovjLDNT STDP STUFFiNG DOWM r^* z**v i_ i i ■THi mi!■ iair — i 11 1 rTlCT v.^ meDiSHes? JTS?iSre \ WATCH _ I FOOTBALL? TO DO.., I A NAP? ...SLAP YoUV/iTH ALAVJSUiT AND TAKe YOU FOR EVERY NicKeL Youve GOT' v _,/ CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS RHA must focus on students ;* WSSKk ADAM HARK GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Group caters too much to University Housing. During the past two weeks, the Residence Hall Association has seen its share of attention. Whether it was good attention re mains a question, but any time residents learn more about a group that claims to represent them, it is inherently good. As such, I’d like to shed further light on one that aims to advise the uni versity through its resolutions, which, as The Gamecock put two weeks ago (“USC can’t ignore mold,” Nov. 18), tend to end up as “nothing more than a suggestion that sits at the bottom of a box.” Four resolutions that I can re call were passed last year: popu lar sovereignty over visitation rules, a statement against honors housing on the Horseshoe, better benefits for resident advisers and a guarantee of a smoke-free liv ing environment — the last of which has been openly adopted. In fact, up until The Gamecock denounced the decision (“Smoking is still a right,” Nov. 22), most RHA executives would not have thought twice about hailing the smoking resolution as the finest recent example of RHA’s efficiency. I disagree. Last year, I was one of a hand ful of RHA senators who ad dressed the issue of smoking by having open meetings with resi dents and testing the waters for new ideas. Right after we had passed the visitation resolution, I was preparing another that was aimed at structuring smoking ar eas in halls according to the ven tilation system and projected number of smokers. The RHA president at the time spoke with me about the matter and essen tially told me to be content with the work I had done on visitation and leave smoking up to him and his executive board. He ex plained that he had spoken with University Housing and that he knew what was desired. Not long after, the resolution that has been said to have led to “Smoke Free in 2003” was proposed and passed, despite some dissension, including my own. Nonetheless, RHA has used this action time and time again as the model of potential efficien cy. Yet, I see it as a better exam ple of misrepresentation. The RHA constitution says, “The pri mary purpose of this organiza tion (RHA) shall be to represent the residents and governments of all USC residence halls to admin istrative decision-making bodies affecting USC residents.” Still, in the case of smoking, it appears to me that Housing wanted a policy and was able to get a stamp of ap proval from a body that, on paper, represents the residents of USC. This situation begs a question that has been continually asked in RHA: Do we represent resi dents to University Housing, or are we a liaison between the two? In theory and on paper, we are the former. Yet, in practice, we have gradually shifted to the lat ter. I think this has to change. The truth is, we—both RHA and students at large — are not often taken as seriously as we would like. But what can we expect when those who represent us be come lapdogs to authority? Compromise should occur be tween two parties only when all demands are on the table. We can not have our student representa tives, in RHA or any other orga nization, prematurely giving up anything. They must represent us and our needs in their entire ty. If you’ve had even the most ba sic civics course, you know what to do: Vote, run for office if you can and do not stop bitching until you get what you want! It’s the only way the system works. If you need a place to start, RHA hasn’t had quorum in two meetings. If you live on campus, visit your representatives and ask them to do their jobs. Hark is a senator for the College of Liberal Arts and chairman of the RHA Housing and Campus Concerns Committee. IN YOUR OPINION Foy column parrots gay stereotypes To borrow from the Boy Scouts of America’s slogan, one must always be prepared. We are prepared to challenge ho mophobia and other injustices. Mr. Chris Foy's column (“Scouts’ policy is perfectly le gal,” Nov. 18) requires our re sponse. Mr. Foy's column insults both gay and straight men and women. He reduces straight men to perverts in his Girl Scout scenario. Many people would actually feel comfort able leaving their daughters with straight, adult-male lead ers after knowing their back grounds. To say straight men cate gorically can't be trusted with young females is unfortunate. Writing that because someone is openly gay, he therefore mo lests children is a misinformed parroting of an ugly stereo type. Ranking gay men and women in the same category as “alcoholics or drug abusers” insults homosexual citizens. ' Such columns do nothing to advance the discourse of hu man rights and gay people or what position the Boy Scouts of America should take on characteristics for their Scout leaders. LAURA WOLIVER WOMEN S STI.DIES PROFESSOR LETTER ALSO SION El) BY MEMBERS OF W0STS07: FEMINSTTHEORY USC fails to notice American Indians It is the end of November, and again, this year there has been no mention of National Native American Heritage Month at USC, or in the state of South Carolina, for that mat ter. Native American organiza tions have asked USC over the years to participate in the cele bration of South Carolina’s rich native heritage, yet the univer sity refuses. Other national heritage months, such as African American History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month, are celebrated here with much en thusiasm. USC is participating in the worst form of racism: ig norance. USC has many Native American students, and South Carolina has 20,000-plus count ed on the 2000 Census. I think USC needs to support its Native American community. I want to see USC partici pate in this important month next year. I think it looks bad for all of USC not to honor this important cultural group. Native Americans have been pushed around and ignored for too long, and it’s time we got recognition for the important role we have played in histo ry. MARCY N. LINK SKCOND-YKAlt ANTIIROIMH.OCY STTDKNT Make yourself heard. Send tetters to the editor to gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.i;om. Jab at Sleep-out is not appreciated Like others, I thought it was very distasteful that The Gamecock would take a potshot at an event such as the Sleep-out. True, it was held indoors, not outside in the rain; and true, homeless people don’t get to choose when they get to come in out of the rain. But the sad truth is that no one really knew any thing about the Sleep-out until Maura Kurtz’s letter to the editor (“Sleep-out reveals USC’s selfish ness,” Nov. 25). There was nothing printed that let the students of USC know that anything good came of it, only that it got a thumbs down be cause it was held indoors. The staff should be ashamed that it would even think about printing such a thing about an event that was meant to bring at tention to a serious problem and get homeless people off the street, even if it was just for a night. You people really have no dig nity. I also find it ironic that The Gamecock would make fun of such an event because, judging from the writing, most of the staff are really going to benefit from an event such as this in the fu ture. BRIAN GANDER SKCOXU-YBAIi CHE.VII.STHY .STL'DEXT 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. Contests show off worst of society TYLER .JONES GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Beauty pageants can’t compete with Playboy. Writer’s block is a serious dis ease, especially for someone such as myself who is rarely at a loss for words. The claustrophobic grip of blankness can ruin talent ed wordsmiths and bring careers to an end, but when you are in the seedy and perverted world of jour nalism, there is always some un believable story out there that needs proper criticism. In jour nalism, there is no lowest com mon denominator and so, with that out of the way, let us proceed into the vapid world of beauty pageants. The beauty pageant is a monu ment to the wondrous excesses that we in the Western world have bestowed upon the rest of the god less and savage world. It is a rit ual that holds no rival in its shameless tactics of promoting flesh over spirit. But do not be fooled by my own misgivings, fair j I reader, for I am, in secret, a huge fan of the beauty pageant. And when I heard the news out of Abuja, Nigeria, not only was my writer’s block instantly eradicat ed, but several cumulonimbus clouds began to gather for what was to be the beginning of a seri ous brainstorm. For those of you who do not in dulge in the sordid and sleazy world of beauty pageants, the Miss World contest was to be held in the Nigerian capital but has now relocated to London after of a nasty chain of events that led to a gruesome riot and a death toll that is climbing toward 200. The riots resulted from a local jour- . fe nalist’s proclaiming that the prophet Mohammed probably would have wed a Miss World contestant. A few of the locals took offense to this idea that Khadijah’s husband married for looks only and took to the streets in a stick-weilding riot that turned deadly. As you wouiu expect, tne pageant, scheduled for Dec, 7, has become a lightning rod of contro versy, especially among feminists in England. The pageant’s orga nizer, Julia Morley, blames the whole thing on the journalist in Abuja and not on the parade of skin that was to have taken place in the African nation of Nigeria. So, then, dre beauty pageants m this evil? Or is the journalist truly ■ the one to blame? In truth, there is no answer because our society collectively crossed the Rubicon a long time ago. In fact, beauty pageants are on the way out, sim ply because there is no money in being Miss America. A $50,000 scholarship pales in comparison with the money Hugh Hefner or Bobby Guccione can generate for a beautiful woman. Don’t believe me? Well, look no further than your trusty televi sion set. ABC is set to introduce a new show next year called “Are you Hot?” The show is going to be crafted in the mold of “American Idol,” except the boring talent por tion will be thrown out. That’s right, legions of starved trollops and narcissistic men will march out on prime-time television, and ^ the world will vote via the ^ Internet on whether the contes tant is “hot.” So if you were re pulsed by “American Idol” or “The Bachelor,” then this will certainly sit well in your brain. Me, I can’t wait for it. Of course, I’ll yell at the television and rant on and on about how our culture is doomed, but I’ll be watching and, unfortunately, so will you. Jones is a graduate student in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications.