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THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, March 31, 2003 5 SOUNDOFF TT?TTT"nr\~r\Tm O ONLINEPOLL Create message boards at I 1-^ ■ l\ I I * I I I \ I Do SG elections make a www.dailygamecock.com or I I J ■/ m/ I V I I I l difference? send letters to the editor to I I J W W I \ ■ 1 ^1 III www.dailygamecock.com. gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com —*-®®^—* —■— A * —■— ' '—' Results published on Fridays. IN OUR OPINION Per-hourfees could be fair University officials are considering charging tuition based on how many credit hours a student is taking. Now, students who take at least 12 hours pay a flat rate. The proposed system would impose additional costs on students who take extra hours. This would eliminate the problem of free riding. Under a flat rate, the university ends up paying the costs of students who take extra hours for a double major or The credit-hour system could and be adapted to fit different colleges’ requirements. for other reasons. But not all credit hours are equal. Some colleges, such as engineering and music, mandate hours above the typical 15 for some semesters because of multiple labs and training. Students in these colleges already pay extra through hefty textbooks, technology fees and instruments. The additional costs imposed by per-credit-hour tuition might drive them away from the university. Because these students are important to the university’s prestige and, to varying extents, to the state’s economy, the university should still distribute the costs that particular students pay. This could be done through a bracketing system under which students would pay extra only for credit hours above the minimum course load assigned by their individual colleges. College-based bracketing would still prevent free riding, but would differentiate among different colleges’ requirements. College Quote Board TUFTS DAILY JACK GRIMES, TUFTS UNIVERSITY “How do you ask someone to disarm who claims not to be armed? A man can be patient with a friend who owes him money and pays him slowly. But in the face of a man who de nies his debt, simply waiting is not patience but acquiescence. Or patience might, of course, be taken as forgiveness of the debt. But with weapons of mass destruction, ‘forgiveness’ of a rogue state’s behavior means condemnation for its victims.” DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN JONATHAN SHAZAR. U. OF PENNSYLVANIA “Television journalists give their viewers all sorts of reasons to cringe on a daily basis. So now that they’re on the air 24 hours a day, it should surprise no one that they would embar rass themselves proportionally more often.... Newsmen have long since given up on objec tively reporting relevant cur rent events. It’s much easier to ask questions of no consequence than to search for truth with probing, critical queries.” GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS. In a profile of treasurer candidate Ben Edwards in Friday’s newspaper, it was incorrectly stated that Edwards has served as Phi Beta Kappa treasurer. Edwards has served as treasurer for the South Carolina Student Legislature and for Carolina Racquetball. In a photo caption in Wednesday’s newspaper, Katryna Bevis’ name was misspelled. 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 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 Big Blue 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 TO PLACE AN AD The Gamecock ^ 1400 Greene St. Columbia, S.C. 29208 i Advertising: 777-3888 Classified: 777-1184 Fax: 777-6482 CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS •* It’s time to replace the UN. PATRICK AUGUSTINE GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM Diplomacy’s failure in Iraq calls for new order. One of my father’s colleagues sent him a letter in which he commented that “the world is broken now, but it has been that way before.” I can’t think of a more poignant description of the current state of things. The ques tion for us becomes not what we will do to win peace in Iraq, but how we will begin to mend the rifts that have become apparent in the international order. Some of the more conservative elements in our nation highlight the inability of the United Nations to broker an agreeable alternative to war as the death knell of the or ganization. Although I don’t think the organization is dead, I think the current criticisms being lev eled at it reveal a need to reform both it and the way in which we pursue diplomacy. Instead of re treating to focus only on domes tic matters, we have been given an opportunity to correct some of the mistakes made while setting up multilateral institutions like the UN. French journalists have la beled the United States a “hyper power,” signifying that we are the world’s sole power broker. This power also confers upon us the responsibility to use our powers, both military and coercive, in a responsible fashion to achieve the broad goals of humanity in stead of the narrow interests of business. To date, we have failed to do this, in withdrawing from the Kyoto protocols, denouncing the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and writing ourselves out of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. We alone are not to blame for undermining the multilateral ap proach — Canada and Norway have pursued their own ends through treaties such as the land mine ban, even though this ap proach undercut the role of the U.N. and the power of the Security Council. If we wish to live in a world defined by multilateral co operation, we must all work with in the strictures of the norms of international organizations. Furthermore, I think tradi tional definitions of just war are unable to respond to the kind of threats we face today, and thus must be expanded. In the old Westphalian world, sovereign na tion states had much to lose should they engage in armed con flict, because they had assets and territory to defend. Now that non state actors (terrorist groups) can wreak widespread destruction anywhere on earth, however, we cannot wait to respond to grow ing threats of this kind. Pre-emption is the only choice in dealing with terrorist groups, but I also think that traditional de terrence continues to be the only logical choice when dealing with nation-states. An expansion of pre emption beyond these boundaries only encourages a dim view of hu man nature in causing us to view all of our fellow man as a threat. Finally, our historical views of just war are in some ways to blame for our sloth in acting in countries such as Germany, Rwanda, Bosnia and Somalia, countries where mass genocide has systematically stripped class es of people of their human rights and their lives. If we want peace in the world, we must find a way to protect not only the rights of our citizens, but also the rights of our fellow man. Augustine is a third-year political-science student. IN YOUR OPINION Protesters should hear the other side War is a terrible thing, but in some cases it is necessary, and I think this is one of those cases. But it is not my intent to change your minds. It is very likely that you have read a tremendous deal about both sides of this issue and have made a decision based on your feelings and life experiences. It is your right to disagree, and I would die to defend that right. I have met many conscien tious objectors who have valid arguments, and I respect their opinion. But many of you have jumped on this anti-war band wagon with the same grace and sobriety you would have in joining any other trend- There are many of you who have not i cacai v,iieu yuui upiiiiuna uu jectively. There are many of you who feed each other misin formation and bandy about jin goist slogans without a true grasp of what they imply. Whenever somebody calls you a dirty hippie or unpatri otic, it pisses you off. I feel the same way whenever you call me a bloodthirsty young Republican fascist. I’m not even a Republican. I believe in freedom of religion and ex pression, the same as most of you. And it is because of this belief in freedom that I choose to support this war. I find some degree of com fort in the fact that a silent ma jority of Americans believe with me. But living on a cam pus full of rabid extremists that brand me as a hater of peace bothers me. And I can’t help but wonder how some of the more extreme protests might affect our troops. I know that most protesters support our troops and want them to come back alive. Indeed, that’s ' the very reason many of the protesters are out there pick eting. But if the Oscars can scale down its celebrations, why can’t some of you? Again, I’d like to emphasize: I agree that pre-emptive at tacks are touchy subjects and that this is a subject that re quires debate and dissent. But try to show some judgment in your deeds and words. Educate yourself. Read news stories and columns that you disagree with, with an open heart and mind. And most important of all, I urge each and every one of you to shake the hand of the next min or woman in uni form you see and to thank them for putting their life on the line for yours. E pluribus unum. AARON JOHNSON FIRST-YEAR HISTORY AND MEDIA ARTS STUDENT Letter writers need to know the facts This is in response to Raymond Coble’s letter (“Iraq is a threat, not Pakistan and Israel,” Wednesday). He said, “Saddam is a militaristic dicta tor, whereas Israeli Prime Minister Sharon and Pakistani Prime Minister Musharraf are quite the opposite.” I would like to remind Coble of the follow ing facts: 1. Gen. Musharraf is the president of Pakistan. The pres ident of Pakistan is supposed to be elected by both houses of the National and Provincial Assemblies and General Musharraf was not elected in this manner. He was “dfrected” through a flawed referendum. Before he “elected” himself pres ident of Pakistan, he was the chief of the Pakistani armed forces, who overthrew the Pakistani gov ernment, headed by Nawaz Sharif, in a military coup. 2. Mir Zaffarullah Khan Jamali is now the prime minister of Pakistan. Some analysts say that he was “appointed” by President ~ Musharraf based on recommen dations of the United States. So to say that Gen. Musharraf is not a militaristic dictator is wrong. To Pakistan mditary dic tators are not new (Ayub in the 1960s, Zia in the 1980s, and now Musharraf). Considering that religious schools, ormadrasas, still teach Taliban philosophy in Pakistan, the United States needs to recon sider its friendship with Pakistan. A recent article in the Asian Wall Street Journal by Husain Haqqani, former advisor to the Pakistani government, very aptly describes United States policy: “Even as it promises to topple the dictatorship of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, the Bush ad ministration curiously appears to have decided not to press Pakistan on democratic reforms.” I will not go deep into Pakistan and United States politics. I will leave that to political-science stu dents. Coble would do good not to put words to paper without con firming facts. ASHISH DHAWAN GRADUATE STUDENT IN THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH 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. Ludacris foes just have ax to grind TYLERJONES GAMEC0CKVIEWP0INTS@H01tMAIL.C0M South Carolinians need to enjoy themselves. After contemplating which is more lethal — anthrax or South Carolina pollen — I cleared my nose long enough to hear the .. phone ringing in the other room. The lit-up screen of my cell phone read “LUDA,” and I knew I had better take the call. So I drew a deep breath and expelled all the crusty, pollinated mucus out of my right nostril and said, “Hello.” “T, What up? It’s Chris. We’re going to be in Columbia on Friday night. You going to be at the show?” “You know I will. Hook up those backstage passes, will ya?” “I gotcha. Yeah, be prepared. I got some girls just for you.” “Hell, yeah. I hope you got something else, too.” “No doubt. Catch ya Friday.” - This year’s 3 Rivers Music Festival, which features my close personal friend, Ludacris, tips off Friday afternoon and is sure to be fun for the whole family, espe cially the Luda performance. It al most didn’t work out for my boy because some moron at Blue Cross Blue Shield decided he was going to pull its sponsorship be cause Ludacris was a controver sial artist and did not reflect the values of the organization. For those of us who happen to watch Bill O’Reilly, we remember when the angry Irishman at tacked Pepsi for its sponsorship of Ludacris and boycotted its products until Ludacris was dropped as a Pepsi pitchman. Of course, the legions of impotent and loathing “O’Reilly Factor” junkies gathered their obese be hinds off the couch and expressed their outrage until Pepsi pulled the plug on the Atlanta rapper’s endorsement deal. So was it a coincidence that Blue Cross, which supported an Outkast show last year without one complaint, decided to remove its endorsement if Ludacris re mained on the bill? Of course not. It proves that some foolish white man in the hierarchy at Blue Cross watches Bill O’Reilly for his take on the world. Which brings me to my bi monthly rant in the space provid ed. Anyone who listens to Ludacris knows the music he pro duces is made for entertainment and, for the most part, involves an element of humor. The prob lem is, that people like O’Reilly have an ax to grind with anything that threatens to challenge the cultural practices they hold most dear. Nationalism, conservatism and intellectual elitism come to the top of my mind, but give me a moment and I can whip up a few more. The bottom line is that some of us like to have a good time while we’re young. Let’s face it, if you had the choice of spending Friday night watching the war on televi sion or drinking a tall glass of per simmon juice and going to the Ludacris concert, I would hope most people would chose the lat ter. Life is not just about books and bombs; sometimes, it is about guilty pleasures and jumping around for an hour listening to a corn-rowed crooner talk about his explicit excesses. The spring has certainly put me in a positive mood. I had origi nally planned to snipe Vice President Dick Cheney for hook ing up his old employer, Halliburton Oil, with a nice con tract to cap all the oil wells in Iraq. But I’ll hold off until after my trip to the Masters, where Jesse and Martha await my arrival. Jones is a graduate student in, the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies