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4 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, November 3, 2003 soundoff I TT^TTTAATATm H online poll ■ I J ' m /■ / I W M H I ^ f | | * Do you think the Gamecocks will Create message boards at | « / « / I—* ■ ■ I % I be bowl-eligible this season? www.dailygamecock.com or I I A %/ W I 1 VI I \ I i ^ www.daUygamecock.com. send letters to the editor to I I i I I I Ik/ Results published on Fridays. gamecockopinions@hotmail.com —■ ■—m’ m ' v—* i IN OUR OPINION Referees need instant replay It’s hard to believe that Saturday’s football game between USC and Ole Miss would be decided by anything other than football players and coaches— but another factor had a big impact. With a little more than 12 minutes to go in the second quarter, Dondrial Pinkins scrambled to recover a high snap and threw the ball away. Referee Jay Vines threw a flag and called intentional grounding, which means the passer intentionally threw the ball away to avoid being tackled for a loss. But the officials also ruled that Pinkins was in the Football officials have a tough job, and they are only human. But it is frustrating when a call that is so blatantly wrong ends up being the deciding factor in a game. ena zone wnen ne tnrew the ball away and awarded Ole Miss two points for a safety. Still images, however, showed Pinkins was a good two yards outside of the end zone when he threw the ball. Later. ESPN analysts called the play the worst call of the year, and we agree with them. Football officials have a tough job, and they are only human. But it is frustrating when a call that is so blatantly wrong ends up being a deciding factor in a game. If the safety had not been called, USC would have kicked extra points instead of trying two point conversions and might have won the game. Bringing instant replay into college football would help alleviate this problem. We are not advocating a system just like the NFL’s, in which teams can challenge referees’ calls, but a system where, if the officials have any doubt or disagreement, they can look at the replay to make sure they get the call right. College football games can be just as contentious and as important as NFL games. If instant replay is appropriate for them, then it’s appropriate for us. College Quote Board PIPE DREAM SUNY-BINGHAMTON “Enforce less. The ‘scared straight’ tactic may be keeping the hardened youth of America out of prisons nowadays, but it’s certainly not deterring the aver age BU student’s thirst for the frothy stuff. “As the first portion of last century demonstrated, prohibi tion doesn’t wprk. Just as the university assumed its role as a smoke-free campus, students, staff and faculty alike are still lighting up.” GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS Friday’s staff editorial should have stated that the APO escort service runs Sunday hights. The Gamecock regrets the error. If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us at gamecockopinions@hotmail.com. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK Editor in Chief Charles Tomlinson Managing Editor Adam Beam News Editor Michael LaForgia Asst. News Editor Alexis Stratton Viewpoints Editor Gabrielle Sinclair The Mix Editor Meg Moore Sports Editor Brad Senkiw Asst. Sports Editor Wes Wolfe Photo Editor Morgan Ford Head Page Designer Shawn Rourk Page Designers Justin Bajan, Samantha Hall. Staci Jordan. Philip Whitehead Slot Copy Editors Amy Genoble, Mary Pinckney Waters, Tricia Ridgway Copy Editors Jessica Foster, Steven Van Haren Online Editor James Tolbert Public Affairs Kimberly Dressier CONTACT INFORMATION Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Editor in Chief: gamecockeditor@hotmail.com News: gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Viewpoints: gameccckopinions@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 Director Scott Lindenberg Faculty Adviser Erik Collins Creative Director Susan King Business Manager Carolyn Griffin Advertising Manager Sarah Scarborough Classified Manager Sherry F. Holmes Production Manager Amber Justice Creative Services Whitney Bridges, Robbie Burkett, Sean O'Meara Advertising Staff John Blackshire, Adam Bourgoin, Ben Sinclair, Jesica Johnson, Ryan Gorman, Laytoya Hines ine uamecock is tne 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 The Gamecock 1400 Greene St. Columbia, S.C. 29208 Advertising: 777-3888 Classified: 777-1184 Fax: 777-6482 Bj've 6or a Fopc amp^ > I5Ko(2T a ' "...Wovcp yiv Uf^ 7b Vfo fto?< c^rtez va/£ / >£? IK TH£ UAv/Atb^y T4 Return daily prayer to schools RYAN HOLT GAMECOCKOPINIONS@HOTMAIL.COM Everyone should have opportunity to worship. Recent discussions in this pub lication regarding the creation evolution debate have prompted me to explore the concept of reli gion in our educational system. So does religion belong? More specifically, should prayer be re turned to our schools? Loyalists to the Jeffersonian doctrine of separation of church and state would likely say no. Because the primary religion in our nation is Christianity, a lot of times it is Christianity that bears the brunt of the enforce ment of separation of church and state. But what if religion in our , schools matched the favored re ligions of all citizens? I believe Jesus Christ is my personal Lord and Savior, and thus I abide by the Christian faith. Because of this, the issue of prayer in our schools is im portant to me. For years, I argued in my mind how the revival of prayer could be implemented in an ap propriate fashion. After all, I have never thought someone should be forced to be a Christian, so how could prayer occur without that happening? At the beginning of the day, teachers should be permitted and encouraged to offer a time for prayer to start the day of classes. It would be solely up to the stu dents as to whether or not they want to participate. No one ever said that if someone is praying, you have to pray with them. If I were around a praying Muslim or a Buddhist, I would re main silent but would not join in the prayer to Allah or Buddha. The beauty of our country is that while these prayers are being of fered to others, I could simulta neously offer a prayer to my God. The same would occur in our schools. If students engage in a time of prayer, whether prayers are offered to Christ, Buddha, Allah or another, the individuals could themselves pray to the be ing they worship. I think that in this time of prayer each student and teacher may pray silently to the entity he wishes. Now of course, for the sake of young children, seances involving incense and physical contortions would likely be inappropriate. While these instances are hard to explain to children and might frighten them, prayer is universal in our country. Yet the interest ing fact is that as familiar as we are with prayer, it is still viewed as inappropriate in schools. The point is that religion and prayer are important for our so ciety, and the cradle for the mind set of this society is the educa tional system. In his work “Democracy in America,” French statesman Alexis de Tocqueville observed the religion of America. “I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of America in her harbors,” he wrote. “In her fertile fields and boundless forests; in her rich mines and vast world commerce; in her pub lic school system and institutions ofleaming. “I sought for it in her demo cratic Congress and in her matchless Constitution. “Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righ teousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.” An important part of our na tion is religion, and I hope that one day prayer is reinstituted for the greater betterment of society. Holt is a first-year political science student. Evolution is best theory we have In response to “Evolution is still a theory,” I have realized that some people will let reli gion diminish widely accepted views from the scientific com munity. Although the theory of evolution is just that, one must wonder if all material in the Bible has been proved. Yes, it is widely accepted, but then again, so was the idea that Earth was flat. It is an idiosyn crasy of human nature “to deny, and it seems Mr. Simmons has exemplified this flaw, as will I. The best example of evolution is the mutation and survival of bacteria exposed to the prolific use of antibiotics. Further, how does one deny the anthropologi cal evidence, which recognizes ancestors of Homo sapiens? It’s possible some higher being couia nave createa me many an cestors of the primates. Evolution, however, seems to be ' a more direct cause because of the various time periods in which our many different an cestors lived. To ignore that would be to ignore carbon dat ing, a very sound process. As mutations occur, the more adaptable of the species thrives. It’s a process that will go on. All the facts might never be known. People should leave the theories to the theorists and form their own delusional opin ions, just as Mr. Simmons and I have done. If religion happens to be at the heart of these opin ions, then so be it. Whether one believes God created humans or that evolution created hu mans or both, we will all still be here tomorrow. t THOMAS KLUSKER FIRST-YEAR LIBERAL ARTS . STUDENT; IN YOUR OPINIO Morals necessary for civilization I don’t know what kind of long-haired, pot-smoking, hero in-addict, hippie-types Sid Littlefield has been hanging around, but this modern-day Socrates has stumbled across something great. The heck with all this fight ing about religion; just outlaw it and solve all the problems of this nation. The heck with com petition and consumer demand driving capitalism — it’s im morality that really drives it. Without the moral constraints of religion, this country will soar. Wow, we’ve come across the solution to our economic woes. Just imagine all the little ille gitimate children running around stealing everything that nasn i Deen naueu uown, inai is, if they can make it through all the crack heads and prostitutes filling our streets. Downtown Columbia seems better already. With the drug cartel running the show in the States, we surely won’t need police enforcing any morals. Saving taxpayer dollars, all right! No, wait, it gets even better. Since we have no morals, there will be nothing wrong with mo nopolies — that means Wal Mart and McDonalds will take over the earth. We’ll drive our McCars to Wal-Mart while Ronald rings us up and Hamburglar bags our McGoods. And don’t forget Microsoft. I know all you left wingers love that. Think of how wonderful this nation would be without any moral guidance. What were our forefathers thinking? MATT FLOYD FOURTH-YEAR BIOLOGY STUDENT" N USC is on a kick of self-destruction I would like to congratulate USC for its construction work on campus. Nothing is needed more than to waste our millions of dollars. I think the next pro ject the university should take on is to knock down all the buildings and rebuild them ex actly the way they are. The new Russell House is amazing. There is a guaranteed to be only one register open at the busiest time of the day or your money back. After going to Mein Bowl, I found myself say ing, "Even Taco Bell has better chicken than this.” At least they are finding a good use for the stray cats around campus. Clearly, there is no need to pave that nasty clay lot by the en gineering uunumg wiieii mere are plenty of walkways that need re-bricking. From my understanding, the bricks were damaged by heavy construction equipment brought in for the Russell House. So, with construction you need more construction to fix the de struction of the first construc tion. This makes so much sense. I know I’m not the only one here that would rather have quality teachers and paper any day over a nicer campus. We have had a nice campus and we are just paying millions of dollars for that ‘r’ at the end. If we need green space, spray paint all the parking lots green. Both parties are happy, and both goals are accomplished. It would be nice if the university put stu dents first and everything else last. It is such a crazy idea that it just might work. JEFFREY BOYCE THIRD-YEAR CHEMICAL ENGINEERING STUDENT Letters, continued Iraq, Vietnam aren’t parallel situations Oh my God, I hate the media so much. How in blazes can you pos sibly compare what’s going on in Iraa to the Vietnam War? The war in Iraq — wait, war? What war? What am I talking about? The on going skirmish with a disgruntled faction of the civilian population? Almost 2.6 million GIs served in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, with a peak force of more than half a million troops. Between 1 and 1.6 million of those engaged in combat or provided close support to combat troops. 58.000 troops died in Vietnam. 75.000 were severely disabled. So what if 300 people die in Iraq? That’s horrible! 500? Atrocious! It goes without saying that human life is priceless, but what is 300 to 58,000? The Vietnam War, if not actually defining its generation of young people, shaped them con siderably. Citizens’ protests and the deaf ears they fell on com pletely changed the attitude of the American people toward their government. The Vietnam War ushered in the Era of Disbelief. Polls released by Harvard have indicated that President Bush is actually more popular on campus than off it. The Vietnam War was indisputably a war of North Vietnamese aggres sion. The Iraqi conflict is indis-' putably a conflict of American ag gression. No, it wasn’t a preemp tive strike — the White House has admitted that there were no nu clear weapons, and there were never any more terrorists there than there were in the states of our Middle Eastern allies. We’re not fighting an army, we’re fight ing a civilian population. If the general populace of Iraq really wanted a democracy, it wouldn’t be hard to establish. Somehow, Americans seem to be suffering under the collective delusion that the Iraqi people “may not be ready for democracy” and that the United States is going to establish a beneficent govern ment there. Does nobody realize that those two premises essential ly equate to our replacing a harm less but unfriendly totalitarian state with a friendly, economical ly viable totalitarian government? The Vietnam War was fought against a nuclear-capable com munist menace. The truth is that we were scared as hell that the communists were going to blow us off the face of the planet. With good reason: The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 proved that the USSR was more than willing to. No. The two conflicts have noth ing in common. MATT VANE FIRST-YEAR BUSINESS Students should use shuttles more often I have recently read about all of the proposals made in Student Government to reform the park ing system. But wait a minute — what happened to the plans to have GPS systems put on every bus so that we could make those more reliable? I am a third-year student, and I lived on campus for two years. Why should sophomores living on campus De given higher priority than seniors living off campus when it comes to parking garage spots? I do not think this is right. I think the system that we have in place is just fine. SG needs to realize that parking is not as bad as it could be. Parking is not lacking on this campus. The only reason people complain about parking is because they can’t stand walking from the Coliseum to class because it’s “too far to walk.” More students need to use our bus system to and from the Coliseum and other lots. After all, your tuition is paying for it; you might as well use it. I think SG needs to encourage students to ride the bus instead of messing with parking. MARC SIZEMORE THIRD-YEAR BIOLOGY 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 gamecockopinions@hotmail.com. Letters will be edited. Anonymous letters will not'be published. Call the newsroom at 777-7726 for more information.