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6 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, February 5, 2003 SOUND OFF ONLINE POLL Create message boards at Should LeBron James have www.dailygamecock.com or lost his amateur status? send letters to the editor to www.dailygamecock.com. gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com Results published on Fridays. IN OUR OPINION I Cutting costs and corners The financial crisis reached a new height this week as university administrators revealed that it would take a 17.4 percent tuition increase to cover a 10 percent state budget cut. That would mean an $684.74 increase for in-state students and a $1,853.68 increase for out-of-state students. We recognize that the university is experiencing hard times. To date, $33 million have been cut from its budget. The university has tried to keep tuition Tuition increases are sometimes necessary, but they shouldn’t be a knee-jerk reaction to budget cuts. increases minimal oy cupping into reserve funding and asking deans to cut back certain percentages of their budget. But this kind of trimming has left the university hurting. A hiring freeze has left more than 800 vacancies, resulting in fewer classes and more adjunct professors. Building maintenance continues to go on the deferred list. USC Provost Jerry Odom said, “We can’t continue to cut the budget like this without hurting the people we are trying to serve, and that is the students.” When faced with tremendous budget cuts, sometimes tuition increases can’t be avoided. But a 17 percent increase is different from a 5 percent increase. Tuition increases are sometimes necessary, but they shouldn’t be a knee-jerk reaction to budget cuts. Other ways of generating revenue should be explored in an attempt to minimize any increase in tuition. Winners and Sinners ROSA PARKS Former seamstress turned civil rights figure from Montgomery, Ala., celebrated her 89th birthday yesterday. - ALTERNATIVE BREAK CORPS Students spend their spring break doing volunteer work instead of drunk on a beach somewhere. ■P MIKE MCGEE Apologized to the University of Kentucky for the behavior of some Carolina fans. But Clemson won’t get any apologies. JONES PSC Will hold class on Saturdays to recover time lost because of a leak. Maybe everyone can compromise: Meet in Five Points, i ABORTION PROTESTERS Illegally gathered on 10 Greene Street. Stop harassing students before you end up living in a van down by the reflection pool. LEBRON JAMES The high school basketball prodigy who wows fans with his slam dunks, and awes with his lack of common sense. GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS In the Sports section Monday, the softball score against UNC should have been USC 3, UNC 0. 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 Editor in Chief Jill Martin Managing Editor Charles Tomlinson News Editor Adam Beam Asst. News Editor Wendy Jeffcoat Viewpoints Editor Erin O'Neal The Mix Editor Corey Garriott Asst. The Mix Editor Meg Moore Sports Editor Matt Rothenberg Asst. Sports Editor Brad Senkiw Photo Editor Johnny Haynes Asst. Photo Editor Morgan Ford Head Page Designers Sarah McLaulin, Katie Smith. David Stagg Page Designers Justin Bajan, Samantha Hall, Staci Jordan, Julia Knetzer. Shawn Rourk Slot Copy Editors Crystal Boyles, Tricia Ridgway, Emma Ritch Copy Editors Alyson Goff, Mary Water 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: 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 Production Manager Patrick Bergen Creative Services Derek Goode, Earl Jones, Sean O’Meara, Anastasia Oppert Advertising Staff John Blackshire, Adam Bourgoin, Bianca Knowles, Denise Levereaux, 5 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. TO PUCE AN AD 1400 Greene St. Columbia, S.C. 29208 nuvci Lioiiig. r i i juuu Classified: 777-1184 Fax: 777-6482 Feeling zn+ified +o Special benefits: ( POINTLESS I —r--U CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Bush shouldn’t pursue war , mam wr VIVIAN BARAJAS GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Hippies aren’t the only proponents of peace. We are on the brink of war and, with the events that hap pened on Sept. 11, it is easy for many people to mistake the ac tions of our “great” president. Though his fight for retaliation might seem heroic and necessary to some, I beg to differ. I have found — especially on campus — that most people who are ready to jump on the war bandwagon without thinking are those who will never see the war front. Many may be quick to call me a “hippie” who believes in all of the “make love not war” rub bish; however, I am far from it or anything of that nature. I simply find it hard to believe that the public is equipped to make correct decisions when the media are far from revealing what is really going on in Iraq. Try remembering the last time you turned on the tube and saw images of Iraqi women and chil dren or the conditions of their country. Could it be a mere coin cidence that media have left all of this out? Or is there much more to it? After all, let’s remember that in the 1960’s, it was the gory im ages of what was really happen ing in Vietnam that turned the American people away from sup porting the war. Do you think the government would make the same mistake? And let’s not close our eyes to the fact that Iraq is only the sec ond-largest oil reserve, and if we go to war, then we will most like ly inherit some of this oil. Coincidentally, Bush has had ex perience in the oil business pri or to his political career — I guess once a businessman al ways a businessman. So let’s face it — the war with Iraq has very little to do with making the United States a safer place for you and me, and has ev erything to do with the treasure hidden under its land. Not to mention that a war would definitely gain President Bush credibility as a leader, at least in the eyes of some people — though it will take a lot more to convince me that he is capable of running a country. I find it scary that our Commander in Chief is the same guy that waves to Stevie Wonder from across a room. This is not to say that I don’t think Saddam Hussein is not hid ing something; I most certainly find him to be a suspicious and dangerous character. However, I do not feel that a country should have to pay for the mistakes of its leader. It is important that we open our eyes and not sit back as citi zens of our country, unaware of what our own “leaders” are do ing. So before you agree with bombing Iraq and sending thou sands of troops — one of which may be my father — to fight a war, think long and hard about what kind of message we would be sending to the rest of the world: We are the United States of America and for the love of oil we are willing to sacrifice some of our own. But don’t take my word for it, in months we, as a country, will realize that just as the Vietnam War was a mistake, this one will be too. Barajas is a second-year business student. IN YOUR OPINION Sanford’s decision to serve is noble I was reading Friday's edito rial (“The state of the governor”) and have to take issue with this line: “Although Sanford's deci sion is admirable in that he is keeping his word, he gave South Carolina his promise that he would lead the state, not a re serve unit.” Mark Sanford swore an oath to serve long before — one year, • I think — before he took anoth er oath that made him our gov ernor. Although I am not a huge fan of Gov. Sanford, as a veter an, I do applaud his decision to honor the first commitment he made, rather than take the easy way out. Furthermore, I am not a Strom Thurmond fan, either, but regardless of this man's checkered past, he did the right thing during World War D; he stepped down and stormed the beaches on June 6,1944. JIM GERRICK FOURTH-YEAR HISTORY STUDENT Propaganda veils real war concerns Lately, I've been clinging steadfastly to an idealistic hope that the United States and Iraq will reach some type of amica ble compromise and that this impending war with Iraq will become diminutive and that U.S. agendas will redirect to more pressing domestic mat ters. I don't want to mitigate the horrendous acts of tyranny that Saddam Hussein has com mitted against his own coun try. He is an evil dictator, but does he- pose an imminent harm to the livelihood of Americans? Saddam has never explicitly stated that he wants to harm Americans. But Osama Bin Laden has. By the way, where is Osama? Saddam retains control of a demoralized, ill-led and feeble military that will probably de fect once this war commences, which will result in an absolute victory for the United States. Thousands of innocent Iraqi lives will perish like unrefriger ated meat, but the United States will sustain minimal casualties. Also, the U.S. military promises that this war will be “swift and precise,” but what then? What happens after we massacre Iraq? From my understanding, the U.N. and the United States will establish an Afghanistan-type government for 18 months that will assist Iraq in forming a new government. Eighteen months and Iraq's problems are solved? Excuse me while I remain a bit skeptical about this solution. Anri what about thp TTnitpri States? From my understanding, preliminary estimates for the cost of war with Iraq is in the $60 billion price range, pretty high considering that we are still in a moderate recession, unemploy ment rates are still climbing and every state in the nation is fac ing severe financial deficits. And there's no guarantee that this war will stimulate the economy. Ten years ago diming the Gulf War, the United States relied heavily on industrial businesses, but industry is not as prominent as it was 10 years ago; however, technology, healthcare and domestic busi nesses are booming. How will a war with Iraq ben efit non-industrial sectors? The pending war with Iraq is not about removing an evil dictator and transforming a primitive nation into a quasi-democracy, it's about Bush's use of media pro paganda to brainwash American citizens into thinking Saddam is dangerous, so that he can remain popular with Americans, gamer re-election in 2004 and promote conservative legislation that will decimate civil liberties and cater to the rich and super-rich. A war with Iraq will not solve problems with terrorism. Although, maybe in a distorted viewpoint, American apprehen sion and fear of terrorists will be ameliorated when a scapegoat is found and Americans can contin ue to sit on the globally permeat ing hegemony throne. A victory in Iraq will boost Bush's rating even higher, but how long will his pop ularity last when Americans are faced with a plethora of domestic problems after the war? Consider the disappointing turn of events Dubya's father faced after the Gulf War. Will history repeat? I’ll continue to cling to ray ide alism and hope that Americans will rebel against propaganda, and not willingly submit to every figure of authority just because he or she happens to be “like able.” We live in a great nation where, for idealists like myself, truth, justice, individual autono my and democratic values should prevail. We should promote such values and steer away from agen das that promote selfish self preservation. KEVIN BRINGMAN THIRD-YEAR ENGLISH AND PSYCHOLOGY 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. 4 Letters will be edited. Anonymous betters will not be published. Call the newsroom at 777-7726 for more information. Love— neither exciting nor new BROOK BRISTOW GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Valentine’s Day and TV distort honest emotion. Maybe it’s just me, but while the upcoming spring season, tra ditionally described as the “sea- , son of love,” is fast on its way, it’s still a cold, cold winter outside, which must mean that Valentine’s Day is upon us. Now what is the point of Valentines Day? Well, that de pends on whom you ask. Hallmark will tell you that love is measured in-how deep your bank account goes and how willingly you fork over your green in ex change for some of its “passion ate” red. Nothing says, “I love you” quite like nauseatingly ap ple-red, knee-high socks with hearts all over them alongside a Harry Potter valentine remind ing us to “Have a magical Hallmark doesn’t understand that green doesn’t always mean go. Retailers have taken a big red machine and turned it into a big green machine, simply by mar keting roses, chocolates and cards as ways to the heart. I don’t know about you, but if the way to a girl’s heart were simply through chocolates, greeting cards and the appearance of having money, then you can start calling me “Joe Millionaire.” And by the way, we don’t need any more reality dat ing shows. Most of us live in this far off, distant land called “reali ty” and don’t need to relive it on television. We’ve all been the “The Fifth Wheel” and “Dismissed,” so thank you Hollywood for the friendly re minder. Now seating bitter, table for one. In theory, Valentine’s Day is a celebration of the concept of true love. The holiday gets its name from Saint Valentine, who was beheaded for helping young lovers marry against the wishes of the mad emperor Claudius in fifth-century Rome. Before exe cution, Valentine himself had fallen in love with his jailer’s daughter. He signed his final note to her, “From Your Valentine,” and the phrase has lasted through the centuries. daa me. While single people may flock to HBO’s “Sex and the City,” it isn’t exactly a true Rembrandt of single life. Young, attractive peo ple with money live in a plush Manhattan apartment and go out with anyone and everyone with no problem and then go to their local luxury watering hole to dis cuss their “problems.” It’s differ ent everywhere. In Columbia, you leave from your cinder block cells to go to Monterrey’s. In Clemson, you go from your cinder block cells to go to the hay fields. It’s all relative anyway. Upon becoming single yet again, your friends will tell you “there are other fish in the sea.” Well, that may be true, but on the other hand, most of those other “fish” have too many fishlike characteristics to precipitate a date in the first place. This leaves most single people more frustrated than Gary Busey after last call. Coming home after a date is al ways fun, too. “I think it’s going to work out,” someone will say. And of course the cynical, pes simistic friend will be there to re mind you that: “No relationship you’ve ever had has ever worked out. That’s why you’re single. If it works out, then it’s called mar riage.” Ah, where would we be without our friends? But maybe it’s just me. Bristow is a fourth-year advertising student.