The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 28, 2003, Page 4, Image 4
4 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, March 28, 2003
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IN OUR OPINION
SG act could
fix parking
Aitnougn student government nas Been otten
criticized as purely a self-governing body, this past
Wednesday it passed a reform act that touches an
issue close to the heart of every USC student: parking.
The Campus Parking Reform Act, sponsored by
Sen. J.D. Shipman, is a realistic attempt to alleviate
perhaps the biggest headache at USC. Under the
plan, freshmen will be awarded any leftover garage
spots on a lottery basis after upperclassmen have
If the students
and faculty would
stand behind this
bill and voice
their concerns to
the Board of
Trustees, we
could see this
legislation
become law.
registered.
The bill calls for putting
security cameras in parking
lots to deter crime. It also
speaks against the frustrating
problem of favoring green
space over parking lots and
ticketing cars when their
owners had no prior warning
that their lot would be closed
for an event.
But this legislation isn’t perfect. It calls for a global
positioning system for the Carolina Shuttle so that
students can track the position of a shuttle at any
time. It’s a superfluous decision that will only create
additional costs in a time of harsh budget cuts.
Sadly, the Senate act is only a glorified suggestion
that does not ensure a change in university policy.
But if the students and faculty would stand behind
this bill and voice their concerns to the Board of
Trustees, we could see this legislation become law.
Maybe then, the “parking utopia” promised by
University Parking could begin to come into focus.
Gamecock Quotables
“He’s sitting there in his little
room thinking he’s having a
good morning, and whap,
we’re in, whap, we’re out.”
COL. CHRIS VERNON
BRITISH ARMY SPOKESMAN ON THE CAPTURE
OF A SENIOR LEADER OF BAATH, IRAQ'S
LEADING PARTY
“Regardless of what type of
music you like, or even if you
are a regular listener or not,
this is a great chance to raise
some money for a good cause. ”
TUG BAKER
WUSC STATION MANAGER ON MOOLAH FOR
MUSIC CAMPAIGN
“There are different people
from all different political
affiliations involved in this.
They want to make sure the
party remains diverse, and I
think they are doing a good
job of that.”
ANKIT PATEL
STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT ON THE
PALMETTO PARTY
“It is great to get a win
against Clemson, no matter
what sport you play them in.”
KENT DEMARS
USC MEN’S TENNIS HEAD COACH ON THE
TEAM'S WIN OVER CLEMSON
GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS
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
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
EJessam 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 The Gamecock is the
editorially independent
Faculty Adviser student newspaper of
Erik Collins the University of South
Carolina. It is
Director of Student published Monday.
Media Wednesday and Friday
Ellen Parsons during the fall and
spring semesters and
Creative Director nine times during the
Susan King summer, with the
exception of university
Business Manager holidays and exam
Carolyn Griffin periods. Opinions
expressed in The
Advertising Manager Gamecock are those of
Sarah Scarborough the editors or author
and not those of the
Classified Manager University of South
Sherry F. Holmes Carolina. The Board of
Student Publications
Production Manager and Communications
Patrick Bergen |S the publisher of The
Gamecock. The
Creative Services Department of Student
Derek Goode, Media is the
Earl Jones, newspaper’s parent
Sean O'Meara, organization. The
Anastasia Oppert Gamecock is
supported in part by
Advertising Staff student-activity fees.
John Blackshire, One free copy per
Adam Bourgoin, reader. Additional
Bianca Knowles. copies may be
Denise Levereaux, purchased for $1 each
Jacqueline Rice, from the Department
Stacey Todd of student Media.
TO PLACE AN AD
The Gamecock i Advertising: 777-3888
1400 Greene St. Classified: 777-1184
Columbia, S.C. 29208 Fax:777-6482
*
CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS
Festival uproar is ludicrous
ROB SEAL
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
No one would be upset
if Miles Davis played.
Miles Davis, despite being a
musical genius, was an asshole.
At least that’s the picture his bi
ographers paint. In fact, that’s
how he describes himself in his
autobiography. He hit women,
stole and pawned other musi
cians’ instruments, and even
smacked John Coltrane for try
ing to quit the band. He talked
trash about such people as
Thelonius Monk, Charles
Mingus and Dave Brubeck.
Miles Davis refused, for the
most part, to play in the South, so
he probably would never have
found himself in the position
Ludacris is in. A while ago, I saw
Russell Simmons, founder of Def
Jam Records, defending Ludacris
on Fox News. Simmons was
protesting the fact that Pepsi had
dropped an endorsement deal
with Ludacris because of the con
troversial content of his music. If
this had happened today, there
would have been a reporter em
bedded at Def Jam, eliminating
the need for Simmons to be phys
ically present at the Fox studios.
Watching Simmons stalwartly
defend a rapper on the always
fair-and-balanced Fox News chan
nel was mesmerizing. It goes
without saying that the anchor of
the show — I think it was either
Jerry Falwell or Newt Gingrich
— barely let Simmons get a word
in. What Falwell or Gingrich said
was along the same lines as some
of the protests that have arisen as
a result of Ludacris’ impending
performance at the 3 Rivers
Music Festival. Some people in
the Columbia area have vocally
protested Ludacris’ playing at 3
Rivers. It was even a topic at a
City Council meeting this past
week. This is why Miles Davis
didn’t play in the South.
To those people who are con
cerned with the content of
Ludacris’ music, I would advise
staying home during the 3 Rivers
Festival this year. There — prob
lem solved. The outcry that’s gone
up from the Columbia communi
ty, especially since it was revealed
that there isn’t anything anybody
can do about his playing now, any
way, is ridiculous. Let’s be hon
est. Most of the people protesting
have probably never even heard
his music before. I don’t think I’ve
ever heard his music before. It’s
his character that people have the
real problem with.
Even though Miles Davis was
an asshole, I still would have gone
to see him play. I like his music.
And if a bunch of people who had
never heard his music rose up in
revolt and said: “He can’t play
here! He’s a woman-hitting, in
strument-stealing, Coltrane
smacking, trash-talking asshole!”
I think the most obvious reply
would be to tell those people to
stay home, or at least ask them to
be quiet during his solos.
If the perceived problem is that
Ludacris might be corrupting the
youth of America, then I’m afraid
the adults of America have al
ready been corrupted by idiocy. A
good kid who walks into a
Ludacris concert is not going to
walk out a criminal. Besides,
where was the public outcry when
the String Cheese Incident was at
3 Rivers a couple of years ago? I’m
sure the likelihood of being offered
drugs or debauchery was a lot
higher with that crowd than any
thing Ludacris will muster up. It
would be better if Miles Davis
were playing.
Seal is a fourth-year print
iournalism student.
IN YOUR OPINION
Endorsing Norton
was a bad decision
After reading the editorial
“Norton could make Senate ef
fective” (Wednesday), I have
quite a few comments for The
Gamecock.
First, it seems obvious that
The Gamecock is no longer
looking at the facts or who
would do the best job, but sim
ply favoring an image of
Norton that doesn’t even exist.
The facts speak for themselves,
or so I thought. The problem is
The Gamecock editorial board
chose to ignore them.
First of all, I must point out
that Patrick Norton has only
been part of the Senate for one
month. He knows little about
how the system works, espe
cially compared to Zachery
Scott, who has not only been in
volved in SG since high school,
but is one of the most active in
SG at USC.
pcu i ui me pi uuiem <xi ovj
is that business is not con
ducted in a timely manner,
mostly because the leaders
don’t quite understand Senate
procedures or bills that are to
be followed. The Gamecock is
therefore endorsing a candi
date who has no experience in
this area and ignoring the
more experienced candidate,
Scott. Good job, guys.
Second, when comparing the
candidates on a moral and per
sonal basis, Scott wins by a
landslide. Norton has not only
shown poor judgment in the
past when put in front of the
Judicial Council, but also
shown his lack of loyalty when
ratting out his previous room
mates for something he told
them was ^)K to do. Not to men
tion that I have heard numer
ous people, his own friends,
talking badly about him. He fol
lows his best interests at the
time, caring little about how
his actions might affect others.
On the other hand, Scott has
shown that he is not only doing
what’s best for his con
stituents, but is being true to
himself. He is articulate, open
minded and experienced, al
lowing him to be a better, posi
tive leader for the diverse cam
pus at USC.
The bottom line is The
Gamecock was wrong. It needs
to review what is really going
on here — and realize that if it
wants the Senate to move
faster and get things done, en
dorsing an inexperienced,
sketchy, closed-minded candi
date like Norton is not the way
to go. Scott is the only one who
will get the job done and is who
should be chosen on Election
Day.
JENNIFER DE VITA
SECOND-YEAR SOCIOLOGY STUDENT
Norton’s views are
against progress
I found vice presidential can
didate Patrick Norton’s com
ments regarding the manner in
which the university treats its
students and places its priori
ties in The Gamecock on
Wednesday to be short-sighted
and incorrect.
Norton said: “USC’s not liv
ing up to its potential. It cares
more about football than it does
about students.” I am not ex
actly sure where his perspec
tive is coming from, but it dis
regards tlie rich athletic tradi
tion of this state and university,
the Gamecock pride and its le
gions of devoted fans, as well as
a university that has done an
excellent job taking care of and
communicating with its students.
I have friends from UGA,
UNC, Ohio State and Wake
Forest, all of whom have ex
pressed admiration for Carolina
when I tell them about universi
ty policies and procedures that
affect my everyday life as a stu
dent. They express sentiments
along the lines of, “Wow, I wish
we had it that good.”
Students have access to just
about any information they could
desire, all the way to minutes
from meetings of the Board of
Trustees. The Gamecock does an
excellent job of reporting official
university developments, as does
The State newspaper.
His other point, regarding em
phasis on the Carolina athletics,
is equally disturbing. Major uni
versities’ national image is large
ly based on their sports teams:
Miami football, Kentucky bas
ketball, et cetera. Norton need
only look back one decade to see
how far our Athletics Department
has come in terms of image, staff,
coaches and, most importantly,
overall success. Mike McGee has
done a fantastic job as our athlet
ics director, and the fruits of his
labor are more recognition and
the ability to attract higher-pro
file students to Carolina.
Norton’s philosophies are
counterproductive to the efforts
being taken by this university to
improve both student life and the
Athletics Department.
NICK BOZZUTO
SECOND-YEAR FINANCE STUDENT
Submission Policy
Letters to the editor shduld be less than
300 words and include name, phone
number, professional title or year and
major, if a student. E-mail letters to
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Letters will be edited. Anonymous letters
will not be published. Submissions ac#
limited to two per person per semesti/
Call the newsroom at 777-7726 for more
information.
Don't
miss out
on dorm
living
ANNA LAKE
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Maying on campus isni
as fun as campus life.
I awake each morning to the
sounds of trees being sent
through some sort of grinding
machine outside my window be
cause it is too hot to sleep with
the windows closed. I lie on my
floor for a little nap because I
can’t find my bed, but the floor is
covered in a thin layer of gross
dust — or something. My room
mate is glued to CNN’s coverage
of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and
I’m sick of war coverage, but we
only have one television.
Ah, the joys of living in a dorm.
And now, it’s the most wonderful
time of the year. Nope, not
Christmas. Yes, March Madness,
but that’s not what I’m talking
about. I’m talking about housing
sign-ups. It’s the time when ev
eryone rushes to find someone
with good personal hygiene to
spend nine months with.
It’s the place where all fine col
lege dreams are made — the
dorm room. That wonderful
mold-filled, asbestos.-laced jail
cell that you and your soon-to-be
ex-best friend will share. It’s not
for the weak of heart.
i vc La.rv.cn iwu iuiau,y umcicm
routes to approaching housing at
USC. I came to USC as a fresh
man with a good friend of mine
as a roommate, and we got to
know each other like never be
fore. She moved to the sorority
hall, and I decided I wasn’t that
brave. So I went potluck as a
sophomore and have enjoyed
meeting tons of new people —
some very odd people, but rather
entertaining for the most part.
Living in a college dorm room
is like no other experience in
your life. You are stuck in one
room with one person 24 hours a
day for nine months with no
place else to go. Growing up,
most people generally have their
own bedrooms and have a little
privacy. When married, people
usually share a bedroom but are
graced with other rooms in the
house to have some alone time.
But not in college.
So now that housing sign-ups
are here, I’ve made a list of a few
things you should look out for
when deciding whom to room
with:
X/ XI xxvxng 111 all dydl iineiii
style room or suite, be sure to find
someone who will clean your
bathroom for you. The key here
is to find someone who is border
line obsessive-compulsive.
2) Extreme violence can be a
bad sign. If you’ve ever seen your
potential roommate throw objects
at people or things, watch out.
And don’t be fooled; pillows can
be used as weapons. It’s just com
mon sense, folks.
3) Sleepwalking could also be
dangerous. It just doesn’t sound
like fun to wake up with someone
urinating on the floor beside you.
4) Stay away from stuffed ani
mals, especially monkeys that
make loud squeaking noises. If
your potential roommate has one
of these in her possession, I sug
gest you find a new roommate. It
probably means she wants to see
that new Piglet movie, too.
Those are just a few key sug
gestions. But if presented with the
option of on-campus or off-cam
pus housing, live on campus. You
can’t beat waking up five minutes
before class and still making it on
time.
ou gu uui duu actuun iui yuui
nearest friend with the fewest per
sonality disorders, claim her as
your own and enjoy yourself.
After all, aren’t these our “good
old days”?
--(»-JL
Lake is a second-year electronic
journalism student.