The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 04, 2003, Page 4, Image 4
4 ' THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, April 4,2003
SOUND OFF ONLINE POLL
Create message boards at Do SG elections make a difference?
www.dailygamecock.com or YES, OF COURSE 22%
send letters to the editor to NO, NO ONE CARES 67%
gamecockviewpoints@hotmail.com HUH? 11%
IN OUR OPINION
Law school
needs leader
For the second year in a row, the USC Law School
has come up short in its search for a dean. This time,
it was lucrative positions at premier universities
that caught the eyes of the four top prospects. USC
Provost Jerry Odom says that is an indication of tlje
quality of people being sought. But after two years of
no solid leadership in the law school, different steps
need to be taken.
The university is in the middle of a major
_ i__• _ ___11_X
It’s time to start
broadening the
search for the
law school dean.
l uuui mg pi utcaa tiiau
includes a fury of technical
overhaul and mounds of
breaucratic paperwork. It is
not the time for any
department of the university to
be “rudderless,” as law
professor Eldon Wedlock described it.
The administration’s decision to hire an interim
dean is a needed move, but still disappointing. The
fact that two years of searching has not yielded a new
dean is cause for concern in the quality of our law
program. Nevertheless, we commend the university
for realizing the need for a replacement, while
temporary, of the law school leadership.
It’s time to start broadening the search for the law
school dean. There are several university faculty
members who are capable of running the law school.
There is nothing wrong with setting high
expectations, but there is something wrong with not
realizing reality. The law school needs a leader, and
the university might find one right under its nose.
Gamecock Quotables
“The sign on the door says,
‘No nudity or profanity.’ F—k
that! Who wants to see my
ass?”
BRET MCCRACKEN
THE USED'S LEAD SINGER AT A CONCERT
WEDNESDAY
"We are, at this point,
rudderless, essentially. We
don’t have a leader.”
ELDON WEDLOCK
LAW SCHOOL PROFESSOR ON THE LAW
SCHOOL'S DEAN SEARCH
“It’s no time to be feeling
sorry about yourself. We’ve
got to get ready to play, and
we’ve got to play good.”
RAY TANNER
use HEAD COACH ON THE BASEBALL TEAM’S
LOSS TO CLEMSON TUESDAY
“When people can’t get jobs,
they have to get money
somehow.”
KATIE MCCLENDON
STUDENT GOVERNMENT SAFETY DIRECTOR
ON THE INCREASE IN AUTOMOBILE
BREAK-INS.
GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS
Louisa Eyler’s name was misspelled in Wednesday’s USC safety
column.
Denver progressive-hardcore band Vaux’s name was misspelled
in an article Wednesday about the Used’s concert.
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
Sessam 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
View points: 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 PI ACE AN AO
i he bamecocK
1400 Greene St.
Columbia. S.C. 29208
Advertising: 777-3888
Classified: 777-1184
Fax: 777-6482
5EELK&?
KRT Campus
m
BETTERTON,
FEAR FACIDR?
/
The yellow dust of reproduction
DAVID STAGG
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Students don’t stand a
chance against pollen.
The invasion has begun.
No, I’m not talking about Iraq.
I’m not talking about the
“American Idol” domination of
America. I’m not talking about
the anti-war protests that have
almost become a sport.
I’m talking about that stupid
yellow dust that is covering ev
erything I touch. I know you
know it because I bet if you look
down at your feet right now,
there’s either some on your
shoes, some within your imme
diate vicinity or some planning
to attack you after U.N. inspec
tors leave the area.
In order to further your and
my knowledge of this dust that
seems to show up overnight, I did
some research.
ME: So, can you tell me a lit
tle about this yellow stuff that is
covering my car?
REAL BOTANIST: Well, what
you’re referring to is pollen. As
encyclopedia.com describes it,
they are “minute grains bom in
the anther sac at the tip of the
slender filament of the stamen of
a flowering plant or in the male
cone.”
ME: Whoa, whoa, buddy.
There might be little kids read
ing this article. Do you kiss your
mother with that mouth?
REAL BOTANIST: That’s re
ally what pollen is.
ME: Let’s talk on terms every
one can understand. What you’re
trying to tell me is that pollen is
the means of reproduction for
certain trees?
REAL BOTANIST: Correct.
Each pollen grain contains two
sperm and a tube nucleus to
transfer the pollen after success
ful pollination.
ME: Honestly, I don’t think
these trees are playing by the
rifles. It’s impregnating my car.
It didn’t even ask to buy it a
drink first. You don’t see me
walking around sperming ev
erything I see, hoping to repro
duce. The trees would attempt to
impregnate ME if I stood around
long enough, for crying out loud.
It’s worse than the contestants
on ElimiDate.
REAL BOTANIST: Elimi
what?
ME: Let’s get back to the sub
ject at hand. There seems to be a
lot of this “pollen” lying around
this campus.
REAL BOTANIST: Well, in ac
tuality, the life span of the pollen
is only about two hours.
ME: I can still see it though.
It’s about the only thing I can
see. I took my dog for a walk yes
terday and by the time I was
through, someone asked me
why I was walking a yellow Nerf
bah.
REAL BOTANIST: Even
though you can see it, it doesn’t
mean that it is still active.
ME: What if I happen in to an
active pollen grain?
REAL BOTANIST: Nothing.
ME: What if I happen into an
aroused mob of pollen grains that
think I’m a sexy tree?
REAL BOTANIST: I don’t
think that’s possible.
ME: Don’t play coy with me. If
I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it a
hundred times. They don’t know
when to stop. You have to pour
cold water on them to stop them
from coming on to you.
Sta 'gg is a second-year media
arts student.
N
IN YOUR OPINION
College life doesn’t
involve only alcohol
Talent shows, fashion shows
and step shows, oh my!
How is it that whenever
there is one of these taking place
on campus, everyone and their
“momma” are there? But when
there is an event sponsored by
Afro-American students with
the Afro-American student
body in mind—that does not in
volve some level of sex—there
is not much of a turnout?
I have the privilege of being
a part of a wonderful organiza
tion called Savvy that spon
sored a great event this past
weekend: “Back that Thang Up:
Black Women Speak Truth to
iruwtJi. ouiiic vji me auuiciu/c
can attest to the quality of this
event and how thought pro
voking and entertaining it was
to the Afro-American students
at a predominantly white uni
versity.
Yet, sadly, I also have expe
rienced what many others do
when bringing an educational
event to the African-American
students at USC: the diminu
tive amount of participation
and response from those whom
we need the most support. Our
event was a discussion forum
of four extremely influential
women of color who are affili
ated with USC. We discussed
several topics, including inter
racial dating, black men em
powering black women and
vice versa, connecting with our
elders, and becoming our own
individuals. All of these issues
have or are affecting us in some
way or another, but that alone
did not draw a resounding re
sponse from my peers.
Don’t g%t me wrong; a good
step show or frat party can be
just what the doctor ordered
when it comes to getting our
minds off school. But isn’t there
more to the college experience
than just feeding the social as
pect of the African-American
student’s life? How about enjoy
ing the free intellectual stimula
tion brought to you by our own
peers and professors?
TIFFANY STEWART
THIRD-YEAR SPANISH AND PRK
HEADTH STUDENT
Candidate thinks
he’s above the rest
I am the first to admit that I
have failed to keep myself in
formed with USC’s politics. I
am disinterested because it
seems that a number of our
politicians are overly con
cerned with matters that ulti
mately are issues pertaining to
Student Government alone.
The latest example of this
comes from runoff candidate
Tyler Odom. Prior to results be
ing released, candidates were
required to remove their signs
and other bandwagon material
by 7 p.m. as a part of the “Clean
Sweep” program. Obviously,
Odom feels he is too good for
this rule because he refused to
remove his signs. His claim
was that it was unfair to runoff
candidates.
Unfair? According to
Wednesday’s issue of The
Gamecock, Kate Dreiling, his
sole opponent for Thursday and
Friday’s run off, had her signs
removed from campus by the
deadline. It’s unfair that you
held up the results of your elec
tion. Has your political success
already gone to your head so
much that you feel you are
above university policies?
I hope all that have been
elected into SG use this as an ex
ample of what not to do. I expect
our SG president to be an exam
ple to other students, not one who
feels that they are better than the
guidelines that have been set for
the University of South Carolina.
ROD DOOLEY
FIRST-YEAH ACCOUNTING STUDENT
Ludacris’ music isn’t
real entertainment
Tyler Jones clearly represents
a popular opinion of today’s
youth. He is young and wants to
have a good time, jumping around
drinking persimmon juice. I think
that’s great and would never deny
such simple pleasures.
He misses one point, however,
and it’s really not his fault; he
speaks from no experience. There
is a crucial difference between
music as entertainment and as
obscenity. Speaking as someone
who has experimented with
countless pleasures and excesses
of the Studio 54 era, I can say
“been there, done that.” The only
difference is that we kept it to the
confines of the walls of the club
and had a great time doing it.
My point is that everyone has
to have a vice, an outlet.
Screaming it from a stage in a
public forum is not the place to
do that. That’s not music, and
we’re not humored by it. It’s just
plain arrogance, and, be honest,
isn’t that what Ludacris is really
selling?
RAY MURRAY
COLUMBIA
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 aie
limited to two per person per semester.
Call the newsroom at 777-7726 for more
information.
People
like to
show off
stupidity
ALLYSON BIRD
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Ignorance is advertised
on American sleeves.
It’s rare that I ever go to sport
ing events, but the destiny of last
Saturday night found me glowing
with fresh, red sunburn and star
ing down at the bright white ice
of a Charleston Stingrays hockey
game.
I sat with my three friends to
my right. Two servicemen were
seated to our left, and a little girl
sat in front of us, wearing a shirt
with a delicate pink flower that
read, “Peace starts with me.”
I just wanted to tell her how
much of an idiot her mother is for
dressing her in that on military
night at the hockey game.
It’s so easy for detached civil
ians to push the peace flower but
then complain when the pollen
gets bad.
It’s easy for those of us holed
up in the Southern American
springtime to say just about any
thing about the war.
Just ask the Dixie Chicks,
though they even waited until
they were off American soil to
rant, making their band’s name
all the more appropriate. I’ve
bought every one of their CD’s,
4-/\ lnpl t/Miv. om J pir\
cerely pity that their lead singer
didn’t use more discretion in
pumping up the audience. But I
will not go to this year’s tour.
And as much as I would like to
see “Bowling for Columbine,” I’ll
wait until it comes out on video.
After Michael Moore’s Oscar
stunt, I’d rather support my local
video store than an embarrass
ment to American movie awards.
And that’s quite an embarrass
ment.
I told my parents that I hope I
have the opportunity to become
an embedded reporter before I
die. They weren’t too excited
about the prospect, but I assured
them that unless The Gamecock
sends someone to Iraq, they
won’t have to worry for at least
a few years.
I hope that by the time I’ve
worked my way up enough in the
professional world to become a
foreign correspondent, the Iraq
conflict is a closed case. Yet I still
think, if we face another war, re
porting would be a service to the
country, if not a personal re
assessment of life in the most pro
found sense.
I think Geraldo would agree.
But as the days go by and more
journalists are treated like troops
in Iraq—missing, tortured, killed
— I wonder. As more of the live
news reports are interrupted be
cause of missiles overhead, I re
consider.
And I can do that because I’m
a student, I’m a female and I’m
only writing for a newspaper that
can’t afford to send its reporters
past county lines much less to war
zones in the Gulf.
I can change my plans and I
can stay holed up in the Southern
American springtime, listening
to the Dixie Chicks every year if
that’s what I want to do.
But those two boys to our left
on Saturday night can’t. They go
where they’re called when
they’re called. And some of their
fellow men who have been called
to Iraq now are younger than I
am.
As Saturday’s game drew to a
close and the hockey players sat
isfied the hopes of fans by grow
ing considerably more violent, I
looked back at the little girl’s
shirt. “Peace starts with me.” And
hoped those boys to my left never
noticed it.
Bird is a first-year print
journalism student.