The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 15, 2004, Page 9, Image 9
«
“It's Important for us to realize 9
. that on the 350 or more days a
UnlinG. year we aren't competing on the
Should the U.S. have sent athletic fields that we must find
troops to Haiti to stabilize ways to work together for all of
the Caribbean nation? South Carolina. ^
www.daUygamecock.com. ANDREW SORENSEN
Results pubUshed on Fridays. use president, on cooperation with
CLEMSON FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT r
In.our.opinion
Terror knows
no boundary
The bombings that rocked the subway system in
Madrid, Spain last Thursday are a sober reminder
that no country is immune from the specter of
terrorism.
Evidence is emerging that Spain was targeted by
terrorists affiliated with al-Qaida for Prime
Minister Jose Maria Aznar’s support of President
Bush’s war on Iraq. Spain has been afflicted by
domestic terror campaigns for decades, but the
attack by extremist Islamic groups is being called
the Spanish September 11.
' While not as severe in
terms of casualties as the
attacks on New York City
and Washington, the
violence in Madrid woke
Europe to its vulnerability
so long as Osama bin Laden
and his followers are still
arouna.
Europe might have largely condemned the war
with Saddam Hussein’s regime, but the horrors
of Madrid underline there must be a unified
world response to terrorism in the name of any
cause. Our sympathy as Americans must go out
to the families of those who lost loved ones in the
attacks, because their pain is every bit as real as
what we felt when planes slammed into the World
Trade Towers in New York.
The countries that opposed the war with Iraq
are correct about one simple fact — it will not
reduce the threat to all nations posed by a
determined organization with resources like al
Qaida. Furthermore, opposition to the war in
Iraq does not connote a lack of support for the
war on terror.
Our priority as a nation must be to put
Afghanistan and Iraq back together in a way that
ensures they do not become havens for cowardly
terrorists who hide their faces and commit
crimes by proxy. The citizens of those nations,
and indeed the people of the world, will only be
able to rest safely once this is accomplished.
The horrors in
Madrid are a sober
call for a unified
global response to
the specter of
terrorism committed
for any cause
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CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS
Cable gone wild in Columbia
I know you. I know what you
did with your spring break, too. I
know you went to Hilton Head
Island, or Myrtle Beach, or
Charleston, or one of those red
neck sanctuar
ies in Florid;
like Dayton;
or Panam;
City.
I know yoi
spent th<
whole week 01
the beach, sun
bathing witl
your friend
who happen ti
all be foreigi
exchange stu
Hpntc whi
only wear half a bikini, drinking
an endless supply of frozen mar
garitas and maybe taking some
time out of your busy schedule to
frolic with sea otters and various
other drunken spring breakers of
the opposite sex. I know what you
did last week, and I don’t like it.
I stayed in Columbia for spring
break. I know what you’re think
ing — I’m lame. And yeah, I am
pretty lame. But normally, stay
ing behind when 25,000 semi-ed
ucated Gamecock Neanderthals
exit Columbia to rape and pillage
the Southeast coast isn’t that bad
of a setup. I can lie around on my
couch, lie around on my other
couch, and when I get tired of
watching reruns of “Brewster’s
Millions” on Comedy Central and
“Behind the Music: Vanilla Ice”
on VH1, I have the whole
Horseshoe to myself. Not a bad
life, even if I am really lame.
But that’s a usual spring
break. That’s a normal spring
break. That’s what spring break
is like when Viacom is being rea
sonable. I’ve got news for you
guys: this spring break, Viacom
refused to be reasonable.
At least, that’s what Dish
Network said. I know it’s confus
ing, because we have Gamecock
Cable, but apparently our cable is
actually satellite. And apparently
our satellite provider is Dish
Network. And apparently they
didn’t want to pay Viacom for the
rights to certain channels. And so
last week, spring break week, the
week when I should be able to
watch MTV, MTV2 and BET air
the same Missy Elliott video at the
exact same time, I instead just got
to watch a screen that said
“Viacom refuses to be reason
able.” Over and over again.
One time, actually, Dish
Network showed me a map with
all the cities not receiving
Viacom channels (Columbia
wasn’t on it — apparently
Gamecock cable is actually pur
chased from Dish Network
Houston), and that was pretty ex
citing. At least, there was a pic
ture on the screen. Otherwise,
MTV, MTV2, BET, VH1, Comedy
Central and Nickelodeon just had
a black screen reading “Viacom
Refuses to be Reasonable.”
Oh yeah, besides MTV2, which
ran a 30-second video of Dish
Network CEO’s (Charlie some
thing, he wanted me to e-mail him
but I didn’t) ad, “Charlie Chat” in
which he explains just how rea
sonable Viacom was refusing to
be. Well, watching that over and
again might have been better than
watching that Missy Elliott video
over and over again, but at least
MTV2 plays commercials between
Missy Elliott videos. Sheesh.
One last word for the USC
Housing people, who I’m sure do
a great job besides from screw
ing up everything I’ve ever seen
them do: please, call Time
Warner cable and save us from
this satellite madness. And while
you’re at it, look into upgrading
some appliances. I hear these
newfangled “dishwasher” things
are great. Unless they refuse to
be reasonable, that is.
, GRAHAM
; CULBERTSON
> Third-year
English
1 student
In.your.opinion
Fire safety ignored
on most campuses
The fire that destroyed
University Ridge Apartments
in Clemson demonstrates the
dangers students face in fires,
both on- and off-campus. Since
January 2000, over 80 percent of
the fatalities in student fires
have happened in off-campus
houses and apartments where
two-thirds of the students in this
country live. Common threads
include no automatic fire sprin
klers, missing or disabled
smoke alarms, smoking and al
cohol.
There are specific actions
you can take to help avoid a
tragic fire. Look for fire-safe
housing with an automatic fire
sprinkler system. Fire sprin
kler systems have demonstrat
ed their effectiveness time and
again in saving lives.
Sprinklers react in seconds af
ter a fire breaks out, giving you
the chance to escape safely.
Every apartment should be
equipped with smoke alarms
that provide critical early
warning of a fire. Disabling a
smoke alarm puts you and all
of the people around at a much
greater risk from fire. If false
alarms are a problem, relocat
ing or cleaning the smoke
alarm might solve them. All
alarms must be taken serious
ly, and if there are a series of
false alarms occurring, then
engineered solutions to the
problem may be available.
Approximately one-fourth of
all of the fatal fires in resi
dences are caused by carelessly
discarded smoking materials.
In 1999, the latest year for
which statistics are available,
candle fires reached a 20-year
peak according to the National
Fire Protection Association.
Fire safety is a shared and
personal responsibility, and
your actions can have a dra
matic impact on protecting
yourself, your roommates and
those living around you.
Please take the time to learn
and put into practice these ac
tions to save a life — maybe
yours.
ED COMEAU
CENTER FOR CAMPUS FIRE SAFETY.
AMHERST. MA
Dance Marathon
helps sick children
I would like to thank the 260
USC students who participat
ed in the USC Dance Marathon
to benefit Palmetto Health
Children’s Hospital on Feb. 20
and 21. The event raised more
than $84,000 for Children’s
Hospital and donations con
tinue to come in.
As South Carolina’s first
children’s hospital, we treat
more than 82,000 sick and in
jured children each year from
all 46 counties in the state.
USC’s Dance Marathon has
raised more than $212,000 for
Palmetto Health Children’s
Hospital in its first five years.
Donations have helped fund up
grades to the Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit and a children’s am
bulance.
These funds allow Children’s
Hospital to provide programs
and services that we otherwise
could not provide. With contri
butions such as this, we are able
to make being in the hospital
more comfortable for families
and a less frightening experi
ence for a child.
We have tremendous grati
tude for the efforts of the USC
students, who each raised a min
imum of $150 to participate in
the event. They then gave up
their weekend time by dancing
for 24 hours straight.
We’re fortunate to have these
students in our community. On
behalf of the physicians, nurses,
respiratory therapists, Child
Life specialists and staff of
Children’s Hospital, I’d like to
thank the USC students for help
ing us to provide excellent care
for our.children.
DR. CAUGHMAN TAYLOR
PALMETTO HEALTH CIIILDHEWS
HOSPITAL, COLUMBIA
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Labels
reveal
little of
beliefs
I’ve always been confused on
the labeling of people who are for
or against abortion. They don’t
make sense to me. The labels
“pro-choice” and “pro-life” can
easily be misin
cerpretea.
Perhaps if
more people
said that they
were for or
against abor
tion, it would
be simple.
Unfortunately,
both labels are
vague. I could
warrant either
label for my
beliefs.
For exam
pie, my value system supports me
idea of people making choices for
themselyes. I believe in the right
of people to choose. I believe in
the rjght of people to choose to
have sex. I believe in the right of
people to abstain from sex. I be
lieve in the right to choose to use
or not to use protection.
You see-, I actually do believe
in choices. But I don’t believe in
abortions. And because I don’t be
lieve in abortions, I fall shy a few
choices of being a complete back
er for free choice.
Even though I believe there
should be rights for several choic
es, I just cannot believe in the
choice to ignore responsibility.
Women who get abortions have
made their choices long before
they ever walk into a clinic. And
it’s sad that they can still make a
choice down the road to end a life
for no other reason than to allevi
ate a mistake they have made in
their own life.
As far as I’m concerned, wom
en who get abortions fall into that
same category as obese kids who
try to sue McDonalds.
It’s amazing the way these two
situations parallel. Both involve
persons who have willingly
made a choice. Both show ex
treme consequences of that
choice. And both also show that
our society has eiven this fool
ish notion to people that they are
not always accountable for their
own actions.
All right, so I can’t claim pro
choice as my status. I guess I turn
to pro-life. But I’m not really a fan
of this classification either. It’s
quite broad, as it clusters most
people. Isn’t everyone really pro
lifeM’m not about to go out and
say I no longer want to live.
Pro-choice advocates would
say they believe in life for sure —
every breath they use to argue for
the place of abortions comes from
the lives they are living, lives that
wouldn’t be here if their parents
made that “choice” that they so
vehemently fight for.
This label certainly is enticing
to encompass, though. I do believe
in life. And I believe in every mea
sure necessary to ensure that it
happens. Even if it means a wom
an is pregnant for nine months
and then gives up her child for
adoption. Even if it means a wom
an being pressured from her
boyfriend to get an abortion has
to stand up for the right decision.
The pro-life label is as perplexing
as it is filled with choices—choic
es for life.
Well, it appears I’ve run full
circle. Pro-choice doesn’t really
sell my stance; but pro-life is just
too general. If I were to be labeled,
I’d prefer it be a title that’s fit to
my beliefs. I’m anti-abortion, but
I still believe in choices. I’m pro
life, but I’m confident practically
everyone is.
Perhaps it’s just time to start
going with a better label. One that
is more fitting. Maybe one like
pro-responsibility.
CHRIS FOY
First-year
graduate
business
student
College.Quote.Board
TUFTS DAILY
m is rsn HiMTY
"Thursday’s bombings in the heart of Madrid are a tragic re
». minder of terrorism’s global reach. These attacks should serve as
a sobering reminder of the turbulent world in which we live but
not dissuade those students from studying abroad. Terrorism
relies on our succumbing to fear in order to succeed, and the best
way we can combat it is go about our lives, undeterred and un
afraid ”
AP» -ft
COLORADO DAILY
I'NivKRsrrr or Colorado
"For decades, the Sierra Club has advocated stabilizing the
American population for the sake of the environment. (Their) rationale
isn’t “anti-immigrant,” as some claim. Rather, it takes the high road by
calling on the nation’s oldest conservation group to persuade the fed
eral government to make the United States a model in controlling U.S.
population growth, and thus helping protect the environment.”
^ COURTESY OF U WIRE