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# 7 r Jnline.Poll “Our thrust ought not to be on Does the capture of Saddam beconffitg more difficult to get into. Hussein change the way you feel about the Iraq war? nJSSSSSSh on plans to www.dailygamecock.com. raise requirements for admissiomnd the^ Results published on Fridays. school's national ranking y?” In.Our.Opinion Bush needs to prioritize ^ In his yearly State of the Union address before Congress next week, President Bush is expected to announce an initiative for the nation to put a man on Mars by 2030 and establish a permanent base on the moon. Although on paper it seems possible to fight a war on terrorism and colonize the moon, prudence may suggest taking on one at a time. Echoing the original call for the space program issued by President Kennedy in 1961, Bush's proposal is equally risky considering our existing , Next week President Bush will announce ^ plans to land a " man on Mars by 2030 and return to the moon commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq and planned changes in Medicare, all of which will cost billions of dollars. This does not mean the idea lacks merit, as space is, to use a phrase from “Star Trek,” “the final frontier.” More importantly, the research NASA has done since its inception in 1958 has many applications extending beyond pure science. We have NASA to thank for such wonders as freeze-dried ice cream, global positioning systems (GPS) and Velcro. The challenge of putting a man on Mars will be no less daunting than it was for the original Apollo teams, and NASA will scrap the current space shuttle program, which costs $3.5 billion a year to operate, in favor of a new design to be rolled out in 2007. Unlike most other federal agencies, which will a pe few additional dollars next year, NASA will get a ” j percent raise on their existing $15.5 billion budget. Also, the president is suggesting changing the direction of NASA's priorities away from unmanned exploration. , We applaud the noble goals of this new space program, but remember the historic example of President Lyndon Johnson. Our nation must prioritize if we are to avoid overextending our resources and missing our mark. SOUND OFF Create message boards at www.dailygamecock.com or send letters to the editor to gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu Gamecock.Corrections In a story in Monday’s paper Jason White’s name was misspelled. In Monday’s game schedule, the time for the men’s basketball game at Auburn should have read 8 p.m. The Gamecock regrets the errors. If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu About. fhe.Gamecock Editor in Chief Adam Beam CCopy Desk Chief Gabrielle Sinclair Design Director Shawn Rourk News Editor Michael LaForgia Asst. News Editor Alexis Stratton Viewpoints Editor Patrick Augustine The Mix Editor Meg Moore Asst. Mix Editor Jennifer Sitowski Sports Editor Wes Wolfe Asst. Sports Editor Jonathan Hillyard Photo Editor Morgan Ford #Asst. Photo Editor Morgan Ford Page Designers Erin Cline, Staci Jorde Brian Ray, Brad Senki Mary Waters Copy Editors Allyson Bird, Jennifer Freeman, Jessica Fos Steven Van Haren Wire Editor Z'Anne Covell Online Editor James Tolbert Public Affairs Kimberly Dressier CONTACT INFORMATION Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Editor in Chief: gamecockeditor@gwm.sc.edu News: gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu Viewpoints: gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu The Mix: gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu Sports: gamecocksports@.gwm.sc.edu 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 n, Whitney Bridges, n, Robbie Burkett, Trenholm Ninestein Advertising Staff Adam Bourgoin, er’ Latoya Hines, Jesica Johnson, Caroline Vove, Ben Sinclair 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 Stude 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 PUCE AN AD The Gamecock 1400 Greene St. Columbia, S.C. 29208 Advertising: 777-3888 . Classified: 777-1184 Tax: 777-6482 CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Memorial in need of motion Immediately after 9-11, a doc tored photo of a new World Trade Center was circulating online — a building shaped like a clenched fist with a raised middle finger. But now that plans for the memorial at ground zero are ac tually being decided on, no one is joking. Michael Arad’s “Reflecting Absence” de sign was cho sen just over a week ago, but as I watched a news segment ^LYSON about the RIRD . memorial, I ^°nfymr never did see journalism the model for student the structure. And oddly, no timeline was named for the project either. The design features a paved field sprouting pine trees and two reflecting pools at its center. “Reflecting Absence” will com plement the planned Freedom Tower, a 1,776-foot glass tower that will be the largest building in the world. But apparently Arad’s design neither matches architect Daniel Libeskind’s master design, nor is it green enough for Lower Manhattan Development Corp. to get started on its construction. LMDC promises more pines, but it’s not just the scarcity of trees that is generating complaints. The design will cover the foot prints that remain where the Twin Towers once stood. This piece of bedrock is considered sa cred ground by some who lost family members in the attack. Others have expressed the serene gray design masks the horror of the attacks. “Reflecting Absence” was cho sen by a 13-member panel of ar chitects, artists and civic leaders out of over 5,000 entries generat ed from 49 states and 63 countries. But the project now sits at a standstill. We’ve had almost a year and a half to gaze at the rub ble, and it’s time to clean up. As painful as it might be to cover the footprints, it’s time to bandage the wounds. It’s not like Americans, and it’s especially not like New Yorkers, to leave empty space in the mid dle of a city. But we certainly don’t need any more overly artsy memorials. In my home city of Charleston, we have a Holocaust memorial in one of the busiest parts of town that loses emotion to abstraction when onlookers are forced to wonder what exactly it is. Obviously, everyone will never agree on the ground zero memo rial while it’s being built because there’s an emotional investment in that structure that can never be paid off. Expectations will always be higher than they should be, but I’m certain that a monstrous glass tower and a paved forest with two still pools resting in the middle of New York City will give us pause. We don’t need a violent shrine. Maybe when we catch Osama, we can prominently dis play his head; but, until then, let’s get started. A memorial isn’t simply there so that we don’t forget. It’s there so that the generations to come will be left with something more than a pile of rubble or an empty field, but something made by the planning of the surviving gener ation. And it’s a way to cover wounds with a somber beauty that speaks wordlessly to our attackers about the resilience and sense of com munity of our country. In many respects, it’s simply a more poignant way to flip the bird. In.Your.Opinion St. Paul’s message skewed by writer This letter is in response to Peter Copter's letter to the edi tor about St. Paul. I must admit that I was greatly disturbed with Mr. Copter's lack of insight into the mind of St. Paul and the reasoning behind St. Paul's stance on marriage, women and homosexuality. Mr. Copter is correct in say ing that St. Paul began his life as an enemy of the Christian church, but his vision on the road to Damascus changed his life forever. He did not rebel against the Romans, but against the sinfulness that was in the world. From the moment of his amazing vision, St. Paul became a man of love toward all people. Again, in 1 Corinthians 13:1 Paul says, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of an gels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” I will admit that Paul does say that homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. However, in the same breath he says, “Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor ex tortioners will inherit the king dom of God.” How many of us would be clumped into that group of sms r mmamm msmx that St. Paul mentions? The truth of the matter is that ho mosexuality is just one of the many sins people have to work through. Homosexual sex is just as sinful as heterosexual sex outside of a marriage that is blessed by the church. Paul “slams” homosexuality no more than any other sin. His validity lies not within himself, but in the “Body of Christ” that he was writing to, the Church. PHILIP ROGERS FOURTH-YEAR REUCilOUS STHHIES/HISTORY STUDENT. Cocky attributes win to USC support Dear Faithful Carolina Fans: The year 2003 has sure been a roller coaster ride for us all. The peak of my roller coaster ride came when I was selected to the Capital One All-Mascot Team, and from there my little coaster car just picked up speed. Early in the voting period, I took a commanding lead be cause of the response of you, the faithful Gamecock fans. We held that first-place position for a while, too. Even though Ohio State did pass us, I didn't fret because there isn't much you can do when the school itself is popu lated by 50,000 students. The Carolina faithful stood their ground though, sitting through the longest voting sea son ever by far. The mere fact that Gamecock fans never gave up means the world to me. For this, I wanted to extend my most heart-warming thank you. Each Carolina fan who vot ed, especially those who voted daily, showed the nation just how loyal you are. In addition to the entire stu dent body, staff and faculty mem bers at USC, I also want to thank all Gamecock Club members, the USC Athletics Department and the Student Government for their continued support and ef forts during this process. No mat ter the circumstance, we all stick together, and the support I re ceived from you exemplified that. While I may be the one crowned, this title is just as much yours as it is mine. Thank you for sticking with me through this and showing your love. You will never know just how much this is appreciat ed. Thank you once again, and 111 see you at the games. Go Gamecocks! COCKY USC MASCOT ANI) 2003 CAPITAL ONE MASCOT OF THE YEAR 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@gwm.sc.edu. Letters will be edited for space, possible libel and style. Anonymous letters will not be published. Call the newsroom at 777 7726 for more information. Winners.and.Sinners ROCKAWAYS Local restaurant redpens after Are, new location featuring sprinklers RUSH LIMBAUGH ACLU comes to aid of radio tJP- personality after his privacy is violated by H, ■p*—' police search for stash of OxyContiri CANADA Stops saying “eh” in exchange for the chance to bid on Iraq contracts ** “ V BCS COMPUTERS Ditched in favor of abacus after Oklahoma picked over Southern Cal NORTH KOREA Thumbs nose at Washington again, wants to play with nukes like the big boys SUPREME COURT Upholds Ashcroft’s secret lists after talking it over with Joseph McCarthy Political strategy sinks to new lows I love presidential elections. Most would say that the demo cratic process brings out the best in America. Iam not one to disagree, at least not entirely. I am in complete agreement that the discourse cre ated by the choosing of our lead ers is a healthy thing. I have seen college students— a demographic not known for its benevolence volunteer their time to work on . various presidential campaigns. I even have a friend going all the way to Iowa to work for a candidate in the week leading up to the Iowa cau cuses. mcriN Yes, elections SIMMONS *rifng A0Ut the ■ . , best in America. SSSr Unfortunately. science student it seems to me . that the group it brings the best out in is not the one running for office. While I have never called into question the superiority of our political system, I have some times wondered how we have let things arrive at the current state. According to a recent re port, President Bush has raised an unprecedented $131 million for the Republican primary. That amount of money is impressive in and of itself, but when you consider the fact that it's for an unopposed primary it becomes mind-boggling. Of course, President Bush isn t the only candidate rolling in the dough. And the money isn't such a bad thing in itself. My beef lies with the fact that instead of using the money for positive education, most candidates choose to use their cash to inform us of the sins of their opponent. If your only source of political information is propaganda, you would think Bush hates poor peo ple, and the Democrats are all card carrying members of al-Qaida. In one ad, President Bush is even compared to Hitler. Somehow, we have allowed the political discourse to shift from constructive political debate to name-calling and finger-pointing. Not only have we poisoned our elections by allowing this cheap form of political competition, we have also attracted the wrong type of leader to our country's most im portant offices. The problem with cheap politi cal debate is that it draws cheap political participants. Don't insult my intelligence by just telling me what I want to hear. I would love to see a universal healthcare pack age, but be honest about the cost. I'm not naive enough to believe that at the snap of Howard Dean's finger everyone will have insur ance. And the fact that you pro vided health insurance for all three people under the age of 21 in Vermont doesn't impress me either. wi uuuibe, uiis iype ui uuiig isn i limited to one party. That's the sickness of the competition. Both sides try to trump the other, and the American public usually goes along with every word that's said, believing it will happen. Bush is literally promising us the moon and the stars. But let's ignore the $100 billion plus that will be tacked onto the deficit with it. So what do we do? From my pes simistic tone, it would seem that the reasonable thing to do would be to just ignore politics. And yet that's not the solution. Despite its frustrations, and our indifference, political activism is still a worth while investment. After all, you can't affect the score if you're not in the game. F r'm „ .