University of South Carolina Libraries
8 _ -1 "It’* kind of like a married cou Unline. P(Dll pie being together for 30 years and What do you think of Mel then divorcing.” Gibson’s new film, “The BOB THOMPSON Passion of the Christ?” use interim Lutheran campus mi www.daUygamecock.com. Tb“p?f* rM°LVE° 'N ™E PEN Results published on Fridays. In.Our.Opinion No need for land mines Last week’s announcement that the United States was changing its defense policy to allow the use of land mines conditionally through 2010 was unfortunate for the world’s remaining superpower. Under the Clinton administration, the Defense Department agreed to discontinue the use of all but new “smart” land mines by 2006, pending the development of these weapons that supposedly are more discriminate in the destruction they cause. However, the United States has not signed a 1997 treaty endorsed by 150 nations that calls for an end Our nation, the global leader politically and militarily, has the responsibility to set an example on the issue of land mines. to the dispersal, production and stockpiling of all anti personnel mines,'chiefly designed to ease the humanitarian crisis posed by the devices. The reversal in policy is not as drastic as it seems, as the United States has only used dumb, or “persistent,” land mines in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, but it is symbolically important on a world scale. Our nation is the political and military global leader, and thus we have a responsibility to set an example for lesser nations. If we fail to back a discontinuation of the use of these devices, which kill and maim over 10,000 people a year, we bear a moral culpability along with nations that use them indiscriminately. While mines serve a tactical purpose, they also impact civilians long after the shooting is over. New technology is designed to limit the duration that antipersonnel mines are active, reducing the risk after a set period. It is comforting that the Bush administration is incre? mg funding by 50 percent to a State Department program for mine removal in 40 countries, but it does not overshadow the symbolic harm done in allowing the continuing use of these insidious weapons. America has the world’s best equipped armed forces, and stooping to the use of overly destructive weapons only demeans their honor. Gamecock.Corrections If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu. AboutThe.Gamecock Editor In Chief Adam Beam Copy Desk Chief Gabrielle Sinclair Design Director Shawn Rourk Asst. Design Director Staci Jordan 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 Johnny Haynes Page Designers Erin Cline, Brad Senkiw, Mary Pinckney Waters, Chaz McCarthy Copy Editors Allyson Bird, Jennifer Freeman, Jessica Foster, Steven Van Haren, Joel Wallace Wire Editor Z’Anne Covell Online Editor James Tolbert Senior Writer _Kevin Fellner 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: gamecockpr@yahoo.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, Burke Lauderdale Advertising Staff Robert Carli, Kate Femino, Latoya Hines Carolina Love, Jesica Johnson, David Weatherford Public Affairs Kimberly Dressier 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 Studell^MP 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 Advertising: 777-3888 1400 Greene St. Classified: 777-1184 Columbia. S.C. 29208 f Fax: 777-6482 f wHiLe We'Re at v / iTLeTS OUTLAW / POWDERGD WiGS \ ANDSiLKBReecHeS. ■ 4 YoU GUYS ARe ■ ■ LOOKING WAY □ Too "SWiSHY"..... CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS ‘Passion’criticism baseless It seems as though a recent, prevalent point of contention has been the message conveyed by Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.” Even before its de but last Wednesday, rumors of anti-Semitism and violence were broadly circulated, and have since ignited the flames of controversy. Rumors of anti-Semitism arose from the ACLU (American Communists and Lucifer United) when the movie was initially an CURTIS CHOW Third-year political science student UVf UUV/bU even when nothing was known about it. Forget about defending American Civil Liberties — let’s persecute the Christians and hinder the promulgation of their ideology. As a result, there has been a framed bias, and of course, anti-Semitism can be found if one is looking for it. Anyone finding anti-Semitism in the movie has completely missed its intended purpose. The movie even depicts a scene from John 10 where Jesus states “I lay down my life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authori ty to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” It’s not as though Jesus was happily ca vorting through a field of poppies when the “evil Christ killer” Jews took him away and mur dered him. Jesus clearly states that He lays down his life will ingly — it is not taken from him. Isaiah 53 states that “the Lord has laid on Him (messiah) the in iquity of us all.” The Bible is clear that God laid on Jesus our iniq uities. Jesus was not killed by the Jews, but rather for the Jews — and then for the Gentiles also. “He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punish ment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5). These words flash across the screen at the opening of the movie — and accurately reflect the ambience of the remainder of the film. What you have heard about the violent content of the movie is true — the depicted scenes are gruesome and disturbing. Jesus is sorely beaten, crushed and pierced throughout the duration of the movie. A common critique I’ve heard has been, “This movie is a blood bath; it depicts violence and not the ‘passion’ of Jesus.” The short answer to this contention is this: The violence portrayed is the pas sion. We are often shown images of a slightly cut, mildly bleeding sad man hanging on a cross and told, “Jesus died on the cross for you.” The fact of the matter is Jesus went through so much more than that, and this movie accurately shows the horrors of the Roman scourging and cruci fixion that Jesus willingly en dured out of his passion (read Matthew 26:53). Romans 6:23 states “the wages of sin is death.” The jus tice of God demands punish ment for sin; punishment that Jesus willingly bore on the be half of sinners. The film depicts John 15:13, where Jesus said to his disciples: “Greater love has no one than this, that He lay down his life for his friends.” So herein lies the passion: Jesus Christ willingly bore the complete and unfettered wrath of God so that we wouldn’t have to; he literally loved you to death. In.Your.Opinion Conservatives not logical on marriage Conservative hypocrisy is on full display these days as the gay marriage debate heats up for the November elections. And this blatant hypocrisy af fects conservatives on all levels: individuals, organizations and even the symbolic leader of all conservatives — President George W. Bush. Conservatives on every lev el are condemning San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom for breaking the law by granting gay marriage li censes. These same people cer tainly weren’t going after Roy Moore in Alabama when he broke the law by posting the Ten Commandments in a gov ernment building. Many of these individuals and groups were very vocal in their support of Moore, who not only broke the law by erect ing the monument, but openly defied a federal court order to remove said monument. How can these people and organiza tions now condemn Mayor Newsom for doing the exact same thing as Roy Moore? That is hypocrisy. As for the gay marriage de bate as a whole, I’m puzzled as to why conservatives, conser vative groups and indeed the president are supporting a het erosexuals-only marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution in the first place. A central domestic policy plat form of the right has always been “states’ rights.” That was certainly the argument they were making with Judge Moore down in Alabama and is an argument they make to this day. Yet with gay mar riage, they want the federal government to prohibit the states from deciding this issue on their own. That is hypocrisy. And finally, there’s George W. Bush. In an interview with Larry King during the 2000 election, Bush was asked about gay marriage. At the time, he said it was up to the states to decide, yet now he’s supporting an amendment that would not let the states de cide. That is, you guessed it, hypocrisy. SCOTT CURRIER SECOND-YEAR SOCIOLOGY STUDENT ner). Moreover, if all meals are not used by the end of the week, they disappear, even though they have already been pur chased. It is easy to understand why many students feel like they are being ripped off — it’s because they are. Sodexho needs to offer meal plans which rollover from week to week and allow students to use as many meals in one day as they wish. If this issue is not soon settled, students will turn to the much more convenient 5 Points Meal Plan, a dining agree ment which will not take advan tage of unaware consumers. THOMAS KLUSKER EIRST-YEAR I'OUTICAI, SCIENCE STUDENT USC dining should offer meal rollover For a mere $1,000, students can purchase a 16-meal plan from Sodexho Dining Services. As one would presumably un der stand, students pay for all 16 meals for a particular week. Therefore, the meals should be used whenever the students are hungry, not when Carolina Dining says they are (i.e. for one breakfast, lunch and din The Gamecock is online five days a week with fresh USC News, Sports & Opinion. WWW. dailygamecock. com 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. Enjoy the time you have in college As we approach another spring break, denoting the midpoint of an other semester, it becomes painful ly clear I’m getting old. It seems like yesterday I was anxiously an ticipating the seemingly mystical realm of college life—endless par ties, midday naps and road trips. Now, my utopian fantasy has transformed into the reality that I will graduate in a year. Just one more year before I enter the cut throat world of “corporate America,” have SHAUNDRA CUNNINGHAM Third-year marketing student to pay real bills and leave the fa miliar confines of dorm life. Lately, my nos talgic reflections caused me to ask the ques tion: Am I get ting the most out of my collegiate experience? While the pri mary purpose oi mairicuiauon is to prepare people for the rigors of a profession and the stress of the real world, based on the curricu lum, what am I retaining that will actually help me in the future? For most, the majority of the subject matter we’ve devoted four years to learning (well, memoriz ing) will be cast into the vast sea of forgetfulness, never to be used again. So, if retention of knowl edge really isn’t critical, then what is the point of all of this? Quite sim ply: the experience. When will I ever get another op portunity to make my own sched ule and decide if I feel like waking up for an 8 a.m. class? When else can you stay up until six in the morning playing spades without a care in the world? At what other point in life can we plan elaborate spring break getaways and road trips, often at the expense of par ents and relatives? Let’s face it: de spite all of the parking woes, tu ition hikes and homework, college is still a fairyland microcosm of the real world. Ideally, most students aspire to attain a degree, find a great job and make a lot of money. In order to do that, work experience in the form of internships and co-ops are es sential. For many, job placement is the only shortfall in attending USC, because it seems as if oppor tunities are bleak. Last week’s rather paltry excuse for a career fair further vindicated that point. While I won’t concede that USC’s recruitment efforts are valiant, I do suggest that students register with the career center and take advantage of the notices they send. For minority students, I would strongly suggest getting in volved with the premiere place ment agency, INROADS; which is what I’ve done to gain the most valuable work experience in col lege. Another area of consideration factoring into my collegiate ex perience revolves around extra curricular activities. Have I merely joined organizations to add to my resume or truly devot ed my time and talents in the pro cess? Most people don’t realize that becoming a member in an or ganization serves a dual purpose. Initially, you’ve decided to em bark upon the mission of that group, but more importantly, you’ve connected to a network of future contacts. And to me, that’s the essence of college; to not only obtain a de gree, but to establish relation ships with future doctors, lawyers, teachers, entrepreneurs and engineers you may need one day. In my three years, I’ve learned that the process is often more significant than the expect ed outcome; and at this point, I’m enjoying the ride. Winners.and.Sinners AFGHANISTAN Signs interim constitution with interim president for interim before American troops leave. “THE RETURN OF THE KING” Ties “Titanic” for most awards; now maybe Peter Jackson can afford a haircut and a bath. MARS WATER Discovery by rover means British will launch expedition now that they can brew tea. /. “GIGLI" Sweeps Razzie awards for film most likely to be used to build a bonfire. SUICIDE BOMBERS Kill own countrymen in Pakistan and Iraq, need to work on PR plan. S.C. SENATE Shoots down Gov. Sanford’s constitutional reform initiatives, proving once again that the state is trapped in the 1800s.