The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 10, 2003, Page 4, Image 4
0 4,
THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, February 10, 2003
miTTW VTfTIO ONLINE POLL
1-^ ■ l\ I I * ■ I % I Will you be doing anything
1 i \l \l I ■ I % I l special for Valentine’s Day?
JWWI \ ¥ yt I L I www.dailygamecock.com.
M f * —H— ^-1 —■— rV / Results published on Fridays.
_
IN OUR OPINION
E-mail system
merges skills
Behind Columbia’s new e-mail filtering system are
two USC-supported computer companies. Two Toads
and Digital Systems Support play a significant role
in the system introduced by Mayor Bob Coble at a
news conference Friday.
Both companies are supported by the USC
Technology Incubator program, which helps
students trying to start their own companies.
implementing the Incubator
program was a large
investment — it gives students
sta^t-up capital, free legal
advice and rent-free office
space to launch their
companies.^
The new e-mail filtering
system is proof that the
investment has paid off; it is a
prime example of how the
program nas gone Deyona an academic exercise and
made a tangible impact on the community.
The project’s success also is evidence of
strengthened ties between the city of Columbia and
the university. With its computer-science and
engineering programs, USC could be a valuable
source of technologically skilled workers for the city.
The city is making a smart move by taking
advantage of the resources right in its own
downtown.
The filtering system itself, dubbed “Clean Cyber
City,” shows innovation on Columbia’s part; it’s the
first city to implement such a program. The e-mail
filtering system, found at www.columbia.se,
eliminates pornography, profanity and most junk
mail by putting such letters in a separate folder for
easy disposal. It’s free for any citizen who wants it.
_)_j._n_a. i_l. • _j_
vuiumuxa o jy olcau, at xu oi iwuiv, xo tauux cu xxxui c
smartly than the junk-mail filters that are now
standard issue in Web-based e-mail services such as
Hotmail and Yahoo. It targets more than just porn, it
takes context into account, and it can be used with
existing e-mail accounts.
“Clean Cyber-City” is just a good idea. The system
provides a service that will likely appeal to many
Columbia residents, and it could help cement the
newly improved USC-Columbia relations by
combining the skills of both.
-:-.—
The success of
the newly
unveiled e-mail
filtering system
also is evidence
of strengthened
ties between
Columbia and the
university.
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
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
Waters, Jessica Foster
Online Editor
Bessam Khadraoui
i*
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,
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 PLACE AN AD
i ne uamwwn
1400 Greene St.
Columbia. S.C. 29208
Advertising: 777-3888
Classified: 777-1184
Fax: 777-6482
nifty
POINTER.
s'
WHere’D
eeT
p THOSe
v CUFF
LINKS?...
Fanatics take things too far
SHAWN ROURK
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Anti-abortion protesters
shouldn’t be on campus.
I was under the impression
that in college, we as students
were supposed to be able to study
the ways of the world and form
our own opinions about life as we
take one more step on the road
toward adulthood.
So why the devil do we have
idiots like “Brother Bob” and our
newest anti-abortion brethren
coming to this campus to try to
persuade us away from our opin
ions? There must be a law
against this or something.
As I walked to class the other
day, these insistent jerks accost
ed me. Being the apathetic per
son I am, I just kept walking
through their barrage of dead ba
bies and, when accosted, re
sponded only by politely giving
one of them the finger as he tried
to pass out more propaganda.
Granted, I am all for free
speech. I’d be the first one in line
for a giant freedom-of-speech par
ty on campus, and we could have
as much freedom of speech as we
pleased.
I have learned from a few gov
ernment teachers, however, that
those freedoms, which we love so
much, are not absolute—they’re
subject to the next person in line.
We have freedom of speech up to
the point at which we offend
somebody else. And, frankly, be
ing forced to look at gruesome
photos of dead babies on the way
to class is quite offensive.
Whether you agree with abor
tion and whatever else they are
trying to preach to students, post
ing those kinds of posters is a bit
much in their quest for world
domination. When this first hap
pened this past semester with
Brother Bob, I thought that if the
students of this campus ignored
him and his comrades, they
would go away. But that only
works if the students actually ig
nore them.
I sat in awe as some students
went up and actually talked
with these “righteous” fascists.
Can’t people in this pathetic ex
istence we call society think for
themselves? Is it really neces
sary for people to come to this
campus and wave signs in our
faces to try to scare us into be
lieving them?
At this point in most stu
dents’ lives, they have had
enough time away from home to
make their own decisions about
things and accept the results of
their choices. We don’t need rab
ble-rousers coming to campus
and interrupting everyone’s day
while they are trying to live in
reality.
These idiots need to grow up
and get a job: one that does not
involve going to campuses and
bothering students while they
are trying to better their lives
and not end up like these people.
Students can make their own
decisions; I’m not discounting
the intelligence of the universi
ty or the students. I would like to
think that the students here are
actually informed and intelligent
— although every time I go to a
basketball game, my faith in
their intelligence dwindles.
Therefore, Brother Bob and
his comrades need to take then
little signs, put them back in
their beat-up van and go park it
back down by the river.
Rourk is a first-year print
journalism student.
IN YOUR OPINION
Freedom of speech
protects taunting
I didn’t understand why USC
felt it had to apologize for
Carolina fans’ “rude” behavior.
I thought the First Amendment
allowed me freedom of speech.
Was I misinformed, Mr. McGee?
I was not threatening anyone;
I was just speaking my opinion.
The students paid for the new
arena and for the tickets. I think
we should be able to cheer the
way we want.
I have been to a lot of games
here at USC and remember
when ragging on a particular
player showed how good that
player really was. So I started
to think, why is this an issue
now? The past 10 years, it was
fine, but now, all of a sudden,
the fans are just “horrible.” I
will tell you why: The directors
of USC think students will
drive away all the high-paying
customers who attend the
game. This was not a problem
at the old arena. Now it’s all
about money.
Are you telling me that USC
is the only place that rags on the
opposing team’s players? Go to
UNC; the things we say are mild
compared to a school like UNC.
They boo their own head coach,
for God’s sake.
Everyone knows that USC’s
rival is Clemson, which we will
play on Wednesday. I will be
there in full force — but for
how long will be the question. I
absolutely hate Clemson; and
just like the old days, I will be
yelling my head off, even if it’s
for only five minutes before I
am kicked out. But I am a true
fan who cares about basketball
and not about filling seats with
people who don’t care at all.
NIRMESH SHAH
GRADUATE STUDENT
I
Ignoring Iraq would
show weakness
It has become impossible for
me to read The Gamecock late
ly without subjecting myself to
the opinions of misguided op
ponents of military action
against Iraq.
It is a fact that Saddam
Hussein has shown belligerent
tendencies toward his own peo
ple — the Kurds — and toward
other nations, such as Kuwait.
When a leader such as Saddam
sets his country on a course
that endangers the people of the
world, it’s up to the global com
munity to make certain that the
world is safe. And, as the most
powerful nation in the world, it
is our responsibility, both to
ourselves and to those who are
unable to defend themselves, to
fight the just fight when the rest
of the world refuses.
It comes to this: The burden
of proof of the disarmament of
Iraq does not fall to the United
Nations, but to Iraq, because
Iraq has shown itself to be a
danger in the past. The U.N.
resolution passed last year re
quires Iraq to furnish proof that
it has disarmed itself. This has
not happened; indeed, not only
has Iraq been uncooperative
with regards to the weapons in
spections, but also Secretary of
State Colin Powell has provided
the world with evidence that
Iraq is hiding something.
Even if the U.N. refuses to
act, we cannot afford to do the
same. If we fail in our resolve
now, we prove beyond any
doubt that anyone with
weapons of mass destruction
and the will to use them can
threaten the rest of the world
with impunity.
WALLY ALTMAN
GRADUATE STUDENT
I
Rothenberg forgets
his own argument
I find it amusing that Matt
Rothenberg wrote an entire col
umn on the words and actions of a
few Carolina fans (“Carolina stu
dents don’t get the point,” Friday)
and ended it with such a hypocrit
ical statement. That statement, if
you missed it, was for everyone to
“just go out there and make your
selves heard through your positive
cheers.” Well, Rothenberg, you
quickly forgot your argument and
the very negative statements con
tained within. I think you call
“some, but of course not all,
Carolina students” ignorant. What
kind of positive cheer is that?
Profane language is not the
mark of an ignorant person. Look
at George Carlin, for example:
Would you call him ignorant?
Maybe you are calling our fellow
students names because you think
they misunderstand the sport of
basketball, do not understand los
ing and are bragging or too proud.
I think those were not the rea
sons for the “verbal assault” that
occurred last Saturday. Did you
ever stop to think that those same
fans were at previous games
when people were on their feet
cheering positively and loudly for
our beloved Gamecocks only to
see them lose? But, if the game
would have been exciting and the
team, God forbid, had won, I
doubt reporters would have been
writing about fans.
CHAD CRUMBAKER
FOURTH-YEAR INTERNATIONAL
STUDIES 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 betters
will not be published. Call the newsroom
at 777-7726 for more information.
Brain
surgery
is back
in style
TYLERJONES
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Watching TV kills your
senses like a lobotomy.
I am utterly sick and wretched
ly ill from this monotonous ooze
that is coming out of the televi
sion and wedging its filth into my
frontal cortex. Yes, friends, I feel
like I have been lobotomized by
those wicked imbeciles in the tele
vised media.
Historically, the lobotomy has
been a practice reserved for
quacks, drunken railroad work
ers, and highly educated yahoos
with grandiose visions of medical
discovery. In fact, a bizarre physi
cian named Walter Freeman per
fected the “ice-pick lobotomy,” in
which the good doctor inserted an
ice pick into the patient’s eye
socket and up into the brain, then
proceeded to dislodge several
pieces of brain matter by striking
the ice pick with a hammer.
Although this practice seems
to be a ghastly form of medicine,
swarms of soldiers who had
snapped in World War II were
herded into Freeman’s assembly
line-style lobotomy clinics. In
1949, Dr. Antonio Egas Moniz was
awarded the Nobel Prize for
medicine because of his discover
ies in prefrontal leukotomy, a
more scientific method of per
forming the lobotomy.
Oops — excuse me if I have a
tendency to drift; the entire front
half of my brain is seeping out of
my ears, and I have come to grips
with the nasty truth that Jon
Stewart is the only anchorperson
I can watch these days. Between
the war, exploding space shuttles
and that alien named Michael
Jackson, the television has be- |
come littered with enough apoca
lyptic tidings to put Freeman
back in business.
But who is to say that
Freeman, or perhaps one of his
disciples, isn’t ice picking away
at the American public? How do
you explain the fools filled with
pseudo-hubris who march out on
“American Idol,” only to shriek
and shrill like a paralyzed pea
cock?
Actually, it is a fact that the
lobotomy is most commonly used
in the political arena, especially
for those hard-luck losers who
can’t bear the brunt of reality out
of office. My sources tell me that
A1 Gore and Jim Hodges both
booked a weekend together at a
resort in Switzerland where
beautiful blondes in bikinis per
form a more savage version of
the ice-pick lobotomy. In fact, I’ve
heard several stories of how
Kichard Nixon once ice pick
lobotomized the entire
Democratic Party in the early
’70s. It makes sense; since then,
no Democrat has taken the White
House except two Southern
yokels who were probably over
looked because of the drool and
dazed look on their faces.
There I go again, almost to the
end of the column and nothing to
show for it but a quick history
lesson and a polluted stream of
consciousness. Ah, but such are
the breaks in the hard-luck
worlds of journalism and exper
imental medicine. But fear not,
there is hope on the horizon. My
hero and spiritual savior returns
to the spotlight on Feb. 22 in
Memphis, Tenn., and keeping
with the theme of lobotomy, I
will be on the front lines to re
port all the mayhem and de
bauchery at the Mike Tyson
fight.
Just in case you’re wondering,
I hear Greene’s has ice picks on
sale: two for $3.99.
Jones is a graduate student in She
College of Mass Communications
and Information Studies.