The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 21, 2003, Image 4
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IN OUR OPINION
Making every
penny count
The Associated Press reported that former USC
President John Palms is still receiving his
president’s salary eight months after he resigned his
position. University officials said Palms stayed on
the payroll to assist Sorensen during his transition.
Palms served the USC community for 11 years.
During that time, he restored the university, which
was rocked by scandals involving former President
James Holderman. His achievements and service to
The university
could use the
money that
former USC
President John
Palms is still
receiving.
the university can’t be
overstated, and he probably
deserves the $211,923 that, under
normal circumstances, would
be customary for retiring
presidents.
But these are not normal
circumstances. Facing $41
mrnion m uuugei cuts, me umversuy is reauimig a
critical point in providing services. Classes are being
scrapped, teaching positions are left vacant, and
tuition is constantly increasing. But those being hurt
most are those the university is trying to serve — the
students.
Although $200,000 isn’t much compared to the
millions being cut from the budget, it is still taking
away from the university that Palms tried so hard to
build. If Palms’ commitment and concern for this
university is real, he will be willing to take a pay cut
while on sabbatical, then return to continue his
investments in the future of South Carolina.
Gamecock Quotables
“Saddam Hussein is a threat to
the Iraqi people. He is not a
threat to the American people.
George Bush is a threat—a
clear and present threat—to
the American people.”
MICHAEL BERG
MEMBER OF CAROLINA PEACE RESOURCE
CENTER ON THE POSSIBLE WAR IN IRAQ
“There is something wrong
with an education system
where the education of a child
is based on geography.”
GILDA COBB-HUNTER
STATE REPRESENTATIVE ON EQUITY IN
EDUCATION FUNDING
“I would go so far to call some
of them idiots, but that is just
because their political views
are so far left that it scares
me.”
JOSH JOHNSON
•THE TEEN FORUM SHOW CO-HOST ON THE
PEOPLE WHO LISTEN TO THE SHOW
“I’m just playing every game
like it’s my last. It’s my last
year, and I’ve got nothing to
hold back.”
CHRIS WARREN
FORWARD ON THE MEN'S BASKETBALL
TEAM’S FOUR-GAME WINNING STREAK
GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS
In a story Wednesday about MCAT scores, one of the test dates
was incorrect. The MCAT will be given on April 26 and Aug. 16.
In The Mix on Wednesday, the Counseling Center’s Web
address should have been www.sa.sc.edu/chdc.
The Gamecock regrets the errors.
If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us
atgamecockviewpoints@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
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Sarah McLaulin, Katie
Smith, David Stagg
Page Designers
Justin Bajan, Samantha
Hall, Staci Jordan. Julia
Knetzer, Shawn Rourk
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Ridgway, Emma Ritch
Copy Editors
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Goff, Mary Waters
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Bessam Khadraoui
. Community Affairs
Kiran Shah
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The Gamecock is the
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' 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
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Gamecock are those of
the editors or author
and not those of the
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Gamecock. The
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Gamecock is
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One free copy per
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CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS
News channels are distracting
ROB SEAL
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Viewers are confused
more than informed.
According to CNN’s own ad
vertisements, more Americans
get their news from CNN than
from any other source. This is all
well and good for CNN and AOL
Time-Warner, but what does it re
ally say about the rest of us? More
importantly, what does it say to
the rest of the world about us?
I can imagine some fellow in
Sri Lanka watching a satellite feed
of CNN Headline News. Think of
the questions about America the
poor fellow — let’s call him Fred
— would have after just one rota
tion of the SportsCenter of
American news. In the first 10
minutes, he would have seen a sto
ry about the progress of the
United Nations weapons inspec
tions, immediately followed by
coverage of the dispute over
whether the United States will be
able to use Turkey as a staging
ground for a war with Iraq. Of
course, Fred would have to con
centrate on the upper right comer
of the screen so as not to be con
fused by the line of tickers at the
bottom and the headline taking up
the left column.
Headlines, such as “Ice Floe
Fido — dog saved from floating
on ice” and “Spidey’s new foe:
Actor found to play Dr. Octopus
in ‘Spiderman’ sequel,” scrolling
across the bottom of the screen
might have distracted Fred from
the sound clip of President Bush
talking about outlaw regimes,
weapons of mass destruction,
terr’rism networks and the end
of the death tax.
Distracting people from other
countries from listening to the
words of our country’s leader
would be the best possible func
tion of the little headlines that ap
pear at the bottom of the screen
above the stock ticker, below the
time and to the right of the weath
er. Now, Fred would know the
temperature in Oakland, the
progress of the Dow Jones indus
trial and all about the discovery
of a 1.8-million-year-old jawbone
found on the coast of Africa, or he
would be as confused as the rest
of us are after viewing a rotation
of Headline News.
Scarier still would be the effect
Fox News would have on Fred, Sri
Lanka native and cable-news
junkie. I imagine Fred would be
come a staunch right-wing
Republican, screaming about the
death of affirmative action, the in
gratitude of Frenchie pansies and
the overthrow of the “Axis of
Evil.” Either that, or he would
switch off his TV, scurry back to
his home and curl into a ball,
whimpering: “The Americans are
coming! General Bill O’Riley is
leading them, and they’re all real
ly rich and mad!”
But enough about the effect of
the news networks on Fred. We
should support our media. They
let us know when Lacy Peterson’s
house was being searched, and
they were there for us for the dog
floating-on-the-iceberg story.
They covered O.J., and they cov
ered the Menendez brothers.
Sure, the media might not
have gotten enough votes to be
elected, but the Florida Supreme
Court said they won fair and
square, and we should support
them through this upcoming war
for American justice.
Wait, no. That’s the other
thing we just have to live with.
Seal is a fourth-year print
journalism student.
IN YOUR OPINION
Article’s preaching
wasn’t appreciated
I am writing this in regard
to an article in The Gamecock
(“Band Mourns Death of Pawn
Shop’s Front Man,” Feb. 12).
Felicia Law, coordinator for
Alcohol and Drug Programs at
USC, thinks there are lessons
to be learned from a situation
such as this.
“It’s a very sad story, but un
fortunately, those are the very
real consequences when you
drive drunk,” she said. “While
it may be an individual’s
choice to drink and drive, once
you get in that car, you are in
fringing on another individu
al’s right to safety,” Law said.
I did not think this was the
time or the place to put that
comment in the article. I was a
friend of Ryan Beville. I think
the article would have been
much better if that part were
left out. We all understand that
this is the consequence, obvi
ously. We have lost not only an
amazing person but also a good
friend. That comment was rub
bing it in our faces just a little
bit more.
It is hard enough to deal
with his tragic death, but to
have someone preach at the
end of a great article was just
uncalled for. It seemed as
though The Gamecock was try
ing to justify Ryan’s death.
Though it might not have in
tended to sound that way, it
did. Trust me, the dangers and
lessons of driving drunk have
come across loud and clear. It
did not need to be reiterated. It
is an important issue for future
articles. But not in one so soon
describing the life of our friend
Ryan.
COURTNEY CHANDLER
LEXINGTON
Anti-war protest is
amusingly ironic
I attended the anti-war protest
at the Russell House on Saturday
hoping to hear some new argu
ment or reason to change my
views on the impending war
with Iraq. But all I heard were
the same half-truths, empty slo
gans and misinformed messages.
But the trip wasn’t a total waste;
I did experience some delicious
irony as I sat and listened to the
music, panels and speakers.
I saw a scrawny little oak
with a plaque in front of it. Most
people in the crowd had their
backs to it, so they did not notice
it. The plaque said: “This tree is
planted in memory of the sacri
fices made and courage dis
played by our Nation on Sept. 11,
2001. The strength and longevi
ty of this oak is symbolic of our
nation’s continued resolve to
promote freedom and peace.”
As I read the plaque, it hit
me: This small group was here
to advocate action that would
give us a temporary peace by al
lowing 14 million Iraqis to re
main in the clutches of tyranny.
One of them mentioned that
an Iraqi life was equal to an
American life. Although I don’t
disagree, I wonder at the logic.
If our lives are equal, then why
must they remain in bondage to
guarantee our peace? This war
is not about the freedom of the
Iraqis; it’s about securing an un
stable region that is very impor
tant to our economic survival by
eliminating a tyrant. But is it
worth fighting for?
Seeing the protesters ignore
this tree and the spirit it stands
for, I felt the irony of the situa
tion, and I knew I had to share
it with my fellow students.
JAMES D. MILLER
FOURTH-YEAR POLITICAL-SCIENCE
STUDENT
Oil, money not good
reasons to go to war
After seeing all the news about
Iraq and about how the French
and Germans are opposing the
war, I can’t help but sigh at our
own country’s hypocrisy.
We supported the dictatorial
Shah of Iran, and because of that,
the people hate us. So we gave
weapons to Iraq to combat the
Iranians, and now that has come
back to bite us. Now we are plan
ning to invade Iraq over some
thing as paltry as a violation of a
resolution of an agency that only
has power economically.
We are being drilled with the
rhetoric that Iraq is tied to the
Sept. 11 attacks. Attacking Iraq in
stead of Saudi Arabia, where the
vast majority of the attackers came
from, would be like attacking
Mexico for having cocaine shipped
into our country by Colombians.
We don’t attack Saudi Arabia
because it is serving our interests
now, ignoring that the people rul
ing it are just about as despotic
as Saddam Hussein. We can’t say
we’re attacking for the rights of
the Iraqi people. The only reason
left to attack would be to access
the oil fields.
We are abdut to embark on a
campaign involving urban war
fare, which will be much bloodier
than forcing Iraq’s military to re
treat, and will only be to give big
business more money, which is a
terrible reason for any war.
MATT GONSIEWSKI
FIRST-YEAR PSYCHOLOGY STUDENT
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Saddam
is using
germ
warfare
ANNA LAKE
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
It’s no coincidence that
we all have the sniffles.
My nose is running, my throat
hurts and I have a headache. Cold
and flu season, you say? I think
not. It’s germ warfare, my friend.
The dreaded month of
February is upon us, and the
weather is changing from 75 de
grees to 25 degrees overnight. It’s
time for class, and all I can think
about is how, suddenly, my head
weighs 10 times more than it did
yesterday. Somehow, I manage to
get up for my economics test, but
instead of thinking about the pro
duction possibilities frontier, all I
can concentrate on is the chorus
of sniffles throughout the room.
I can handle “One call, that’s
all!” commercials over and over
again, but the sounds of sniff,
snort and swallow are a little
much for my weak stomach to
bear. Everyone in every class
has the same symptoms: runny
nose, dry cough and a strong
urge to sleep for hours on end.
Instead of sleeping and getting
well, I’ve been trying to figure
out how everyone has the exact
same uisease.
A friend of mine beat me to it.
This is not just something that
the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing,
coughing, achy, stuffy-head,
fever-so-you-can-rest-and-have-a
good-morning medicine can fix.
No, she says, this is germ war
fare. Saddam is trying to make us
look for those weapons of mass
destruction that he has actually
already used.
Bioterrorism has reached a
new level: the common cold.
Saddam is a clever one. “What
weapons?” he says as he pumps a
few flu germs into the air and
grins mischievously.
America’s finest hop into their
fighter planes to search for the
weapons of mass destruction, but
suddenly they change their
minds. “I’m not feeling so well,
my head is swimmy and my body
aches. We’ll look for those
weapons tomorrow.”
While the entire country lies
in bed clutching a Kleenex and
some cough drops, Saddam sits
back and laughs — without
coughing.
So here’s the plan: Drop flu-in
fected barbecue sandwiches, not
bombs. And cough on them. All
high and mighty watching me
hack up a lung — who thinks mi
nor aches and pains are funny
now?
x eu the protesters at the State
House to go home; we’re not fight
ing a war today. We’ll have to
wait five to 10 days and let our
stomachs settle and our noses
clear. If our soldiers feel anything
like me, they will be asking the
guy beside them to “pass me that
big gun—and some tissues.”
G. Dub should declare it a na
tional emergency and mandate
that everyone stay home from
school and work, drink plenty of
fluids and eat some chicken-noo
dle soup. Together, we can fight
this thing.
Saddam might be upset that
we’ve got him figured out. So be
careful when you drink water
from the water fountains at the
Blatt. He’ll be targeting them with
high-powered streptococcus bac
teria, and in a matter of time, we
won’t be able to complain at all —
or even speak, for that matter.
Hey, at least the sniffling in
class will have stopped, and all of
those annoying people won’t be
able to talk anymore.
Way to go, Iraq; that was a good
one.
Lake is a second-year electronic
journalism student.