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SOUND OFF ONLINE POLL Create message boards at Should John Palms still be www.dailygamecock.com or - on USC’s payroll? send letters to the editor to YES, HE’S EARNED IT 20% gamecockviewpoints@hotmhil.com NO, USC IS BROKE 80% IN OUR OPINION HOPE cuts not total loss The state Legislature, following its latest round of budget cuts, is considering discontinuing the HOPE scholarship. One specific group is not pleased with this decision — the NAACP. The scholarship covers students who were not deemed eligible for the LIFE scholarship, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People might see its elimination as hurting the ability of minority students to attend a university of their Cutting money for education is never good. But more students will benefit if we preserve other kinds of aid instead of HOPE. choice. But the loss of the HOPE scholarship can still be a benefit to students across the state. Lawmakers have made it clear that our state budget is in a crisis. While cutting money for education is never a good thing, the lawmakers have to maKe me uuis sumewaw e. By cutting HOPE instead of programs such as the Lottery Tuition Assistance Program, which benefits the state’s several thousand technical-college students, legislators are trying to bring some good to a bad situation. Students will still be able to benefit from technical-college scholarships, and there is still LIFE for those who go to a four-year school. With budget cuts, there is never a cure-all solution. Hard times call for hard decisions, and cutting the HOPE scholarship is certainly one of them. Gamecock Quotables “The government’s priorities are not on bettering the quality of its people, but rather on expanding its own power; I cannot, in good conscience, salute the flag.” TONI SMITH MANHATTANVILLE COLLEGE FORWARD ON HER PROTEST AGAINST THE WAR WITH IRAQ “Poise. You have to have control, and you have to know who you are.” MOLESEY BRUNSON MISS COLUMBIA ON WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN A BEAUTY PAGEANT “If there is the hardest nut to crack, it’s the young audience.... Newspaper, broadcast, everybody would like to find out how to get young people a little bit more interested in this.” MARKTHALHIMER PROJECT DIRECTOR FOR THE RADIO AND TELEVISION NEWS DIRECTORS FOUNDATION ON THE MEDIA’S BIGGEST CHALLENGE TODAY “It’s cold, the world is going to hell, but how can you stay home?” • MICHAEL PATRICK MARDI GRAS CELEBRATOR ON ENJOYING FAT TUESDAY GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS In a story about the HOPE scholarship in Wednesday’s paper, Mitra Arthur’s name was misspelled. Also,the story incorrectly reported that USC’s Board of Trustees has a say in the elimination of the HOPE scholarship and that the South Carolina Education Lottery is losing revenue; in fact, the state Legislature has only required the lottery to allocate its revenue to other areas. In Wednesday’s paper, the caption for a photograph of a Gamecock Dance Sport club event misidentified the woman dancing as Carrie Bacon. The Gamecock regrets the errors. 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 Jessica Foster. Alyson Goff. Mary Waters 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, 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 / 1400 Greene St. Columbia, S.C. 29208 ttuveiudiiig. i i f-oooo Classified: 777-1184 Fax: 777-6482 ' c/ 5owth cawuma Eolation / $ Utt*m $ — 1 CARTOON BY HANNAH ANGSTADT/THE GAMECOCK Welcome to the reality-TVera ROB SEAL GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM How will students study about us in 100 years? We all take some of the same things out of public education. For some reason, everyone learns that Eli Whitney created the cotton gin. We all learn that George Washington had wood en teeth, even though it might not be true. Most high school graduates are aware of the fact that the Union won the Civil War. And we read books. At some point, most every stu dent must read “To Kill a • Mockingbird.” We all have to struggle through at least the obligatory minimum of Shakespeare. Somewhere around middle school, I think everyone is forced to read “The Diary of Anne Frank.” High school English class means Kate Chopin and, if you’re lucky, a little Kurt Vonnegut. The literary periods get divid ed up nicely with cool names like “the Enlightenment” and our own “post-modern” era. These required readings are meant to give us all some insight into how the literary works of a time period reflect the reality of that period, right? So I’m wondering, what exact ly will kids in school read in 100 years to get some understanding of the period from the end of the 20th century through the first part of the 21st? I’m betting that students of the future will have to read Tim Dorsey’s “Orange Crush” for in sights into the late-20th-century political system. For sociological research, fu ture literary scholars will turn to the works of Chuck Palahniuk. Let’s hope that sometime after he dies, someone with authority announces that Vonnegut was a genius, and we start making peo ple read “Hocus Pocus” in high school. Let’s also hope that sometime in the near future, every copy of every book written by Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts mysteri ously disappears. I’d hate to think that some pointy-headed scholar of the future might as cribe some sort of literary signif icance to anything either of them ever wrote. Scratch all that. In the future, nobody will think that people from our time period even read books. Instead, I bet they will study what television we watched. People will probably classify our! time period as the “reality-TV pe riod.” They’ll watch reruns of “Joe Millionaire” and “American Idol” and probably make an aca demic conclusion that the end of “Seinfeld” brought a sharp de cline in the entertainment ex pectations of the American peo ple. Imagine scholars of the future poring over endless hours of E!, “Jerry Springer” and “The Osbournes.” What kind bizarre conclusions are they going to make about turn-of-the-millennium society then? I’d almost rather they de clared Danielle Steel the great est literary mind of the 20th cen tury. Almost. Seal is a fourth-year print journalism student. IN YOUR OPINION United States is scapegoating Iraq In response to Allyson Bird’s column (“Ignoring Iraq is not an option,” Feb. 28): I was shocked to read such an inco herent argument. The U.S. government has used the tragic events of Sept. 11 as a reason for everything that is wrong in America, from the struggling economy to ini tiating a war with Iraq. For the author to succumb to this rhetoric and come to the con clusion that the sentiments of the anti-war movement equates with forgetting Sept. 11 is ridiculous. Anti-war movements exist because, as I think, everyone is opposed to war — barring the defense industry, represented by companies such as Boeing, which has annual sales of $50 billion. If not, then why are there no pro-war rallies? War, at times, can be just and necessary; the current pro posed action against Iraq meets neither of these conditions. “How can we protest ridding ourselves of the threat of Saddam?” asks Bird. But how is he a threat to the United States? Since the cessation of the Gulf War, Saddam has been frustrated in his attempts to de velop weapons of mass de struction by U.N. weapons in spectors and regular bombing campaigns by the United States and Britain. Even with the capabilities, what motives would Saddam have for attacking the United States? He is a ,dictator who is only interested in holding his power. As a secularist, he would never support a holy war, and, as Bird points out, the United States is a superpower with unlimited capabilities to destroy Iraq. Saddam is aware of the consequences if he were to attack the United States. LIAM MORRIS THIRD-YEAR POLITICAL-SCIENCE STUDENT Cartoon poked fun at serious situation I’m writing in response to the political cartoon printed Feb. 26 concerning the recent Duke University tragedy. Now, I’m no more of a stiff than Matt Rothenberg is when he com plains about the noise-level at hockey games, and I appreciate a good joke just like the next person, but I'felt that this car toon was a bit much. I don’t know if the people who printed this knew it or not, but the girl died. That’s why I thought this was a seri ous example of dry humor. I know that the aim of the car toon was to pick on Duke University Hospital and the fact that it made an obviously moronic mistake — especially given its caliber — but the pa tient died. I know some people may think, “Geez, it was just a car toon and a joke; get over it,” but, I was just thinking that if it were my sister, cousin or even a close friend, this car toon would not be funny at all — it would even be considered offensive. And even if no one at USC knew this girl personally or otherwise, it’s not funny. The Viewpoints editors should take this into consideration before they print cartoons like this. SHARELL L. GRANT FOURTH-YEAR ENGLISH STUDENT Joint stadium would ruin USC tradition USC has a dominant baseball program that has taken off the past five years because of the loy al fans who make the atmosphere at Sarge Frye Field one of the most intimidating in the nation. But instead of fixing up beauti ful Sarge Frye Field, USC is con sidering jointly building a stadi um with the Capital City Bombers off campus. Anyone who goes to “The Sarge” can’t miss the atmosphere of one of college baseball’s most unique parks. With a new, state of-the-art park, USC won’t even be the majority owner because of Major League rules. Fans can ex pect to attend games in a stadium that doesn’t even seem like it be longs to USC. Recruiting will be enhanced, they say. USC has a great program, so obviously the Sarge isn’t hurt ing recruiting too much. We need better parking, they say. What col lege has adequate parking for its athletics facilities? It’s not impossible to remodel a stadium. Although it pains me to say this, all the USC Athletics Department has to do is look at what our rivals in the Upstate have done with their baseball sta dium. It’s time we do the same and quit thinking about ruining more tradition. ED BLACK FOURTH-YEAR POLITICAL-SCIENCE 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 letters will not be published. Submissions are limited to two per person per semester. Call the newsroom at 777-7726 for more information. Fan says goodbye to Mister Rogers ANNA LAKE GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Today’s children don’t know what they’ve lost. Growing up, there were two things I could count on each day: I would be served vegetables for dinner and I would watch “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” A healthy appetite of broccoli and blue cardi gan sweaters filled my everyday life and I was a happy child. My mother frequently reminds me how odd it was that my fa vorite childhood meal was pork chops and cabbage while most children thrived on pizza and can dy. My uniqueness as a child was seen in other aspects of my life as well; watching Mister Rogers was far more important to me than playing dress-up with my best friend. Six years down the road, my younger sisters came along, and they did not share the same love for my neighbor, Mister Rogers. Instead, the girls drooled over Zach Morris and A.C. Slater from “Saved by the Bell” while munch ing on Goldfish crackers. I guess it’s fitting that Fred Rogers’ death meant much more to me than it did to many of to day's vouth. For those of you who live in your own “Magical World of Make Believe” and didn’t know, our na tion lost a saint last week. Fred Rogers died last Thursday at 74 af ter a battle with stomach cancer. Following his death, numerous people have come forward with their own stories of this man who made life livable for many young children. In my readings, I found one story that truly personifies the life of Mister Rogers. An episode of “Candid Camera” had hidden cameras in a hotel where there was a TV crit ics’ convention. As the story goes, a hotel employee would come into a TV critic’s room and announce that, unfortunately, they must re move the television to give to an other room. Each of the critics re sponded in a better-than-thou fashion that they were television critics and that they must have a television. It so happens that Fred Rogers was at this same convention and “Candid Camera” made a visit to his room for their gag. His re sponse? “Sure. That’s OK.” “You don’t mind if we take your TV?” “That s fine. I m reading a good novel. I’ll just read.” I find it remarkable that a man so influential to the lives of so many children nationwide actu ally does live up to his reputation. No, Fred Rogers was not an ac tor who just played Mister Rogers on television. He really did look like that, talk like that and think like that. In a world where Michael Jackson dangles a baby off a bal cony, the “Dell Dude” gets arrested for marijuana and Mister Rogers will no longer tell children that they are special, I take little com fort in the future of today’s youth. Although “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” might be rerun for ages, no one will ever replace the actual man who was Mister Rogers. My sisters will never under stand why I loved this show. I’m not sure I even know why I loved it so much. I only know that Mister Rogers was always there for me, ready to listen, learn and emphasize to me that even I am important. If there ever were a saint who wore a cardigan, it was most cer tainly this man. Thank you, Mister Rogers. Lake is a second-year electronic journalism student.