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« THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, March 24, 2004 S 7 Online.Poll TTITITA ATATm n Should Spain have withdrawn I 1 1 ' 1 /l / ■ 1 I I % I I I * someone tell us that.” its troops from Iraq following I ri 1/1/ I- I 111 I . LINDSEY DUPREE the Madrid bombings? ■ ■ J My M/ ■ M III m 111 uscsyta president pointing out the www dailveamecock com ■ ■ J W M ■ \ # ■ 1 M I By/ sorority does good things for the use www.aauygdmecocK.com. _|_ji| f f ■ . —I_JL- 1 M f\ / community that are forgotten in uttfT of' Results published on Fridays. the controversy over the big man Qti CAMPUS FUNDRAISER’ . ■■ . . ' -.-. ...—t In.Our.Opinion Elect leaders for abilities Students might have been unaware that they were voting for the state’s first openly gay student government president when they elected Zachery Scott in February, but his sexual preference does not matter when it comes to the ability to do his job. Indeed, Scott’s personal proclivities are not the issue, and he has said as much in subsequent interviews. It is refreshing that USC students elected him based on his record as a student leader and his potential to lead student government to the achievement of its goals, instead of on a narrow aspect ot ms personal me. Universities should be known for evaluating people based on their abilities and performance, and thus far the Carolina community has acted admirably in doing so. Scott had a role in pushing for the change in USC’s nondiscrimination policy, which was modified to include sexual orientation last year, after years of inactivity by the Board of Trustees, whose job it is to approve alterations to university policy. While this was a personal success for Scott, it was also a leap forward in terms of USC’s ability to compete with peer institutions. However, the policy change should not be seen as an indication of the direction Scott will presumably take USC’s Student Government. The role of SG president is limited in terms of the systemic change that it is able to achieve. Students worried about the t implications of a gay president can rest assured that Scott will hopefully pursue an agenda advantageous to all students, and that his role as SG president has little power to achieve systemic change. USC should be proud that it is leading the state toward a future where people are judged on the service they can provide their communities and not on arbitrary personal qualities. In a state defined by paralyzing conservatism on social matters from seat belts to the cigarette tax to tattooing, Carolina must lead the way in providing a forum for discussion of issues that would not receive consideration in other public forums. It is refreshing that Scott was chosen based on his record as a leader instead of > on a narrow aspect of his personal life. SOUND OFF Create message boards at www.dallygamecock.com or send letters to the editor to gamecockopinlons@gwm.sc.edu Gamecock.Corrections If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu. AboutThe.Gamecoek 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. Chas McCarthy Copy Editors • Allyson Bird. Jennifer Freeman, Jessica Foster, Steven Van Haren. Joel Wallace Wire Editor Z'Anne Coveil Online Editor James Tolbert Senior Writer Kevin Fellner Y 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, Paul Koska Advertising Staff Robert Carli, Kate Femino, Latoya Hines Caroline Love, Jesica Johnson, David Weatherford Public Affairs Director 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 Studei 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 Fax- 777-6482 * * FRieND! PALI \ / IMPARTIAL JSSSj!" INDEPENDENT iffifrAGe ^Tiu}SnFD REJECTING JURIST. UNFAVORED ( PUViNfiFF. I BUDDY' CHUM! \ I CoMRADe? MR£! I / KWeR! ' . / CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS These are my favorite things s>o i was excitea aoout writing this week’s column - that is, un til I realized that I have ex hausted my reserves of stuff to make fun of. What you, the reader, need to know is that I truly understand how you feel. You faithfully pick up the Wednesday Gamecock for the sole pur pose of seeing what “that Chinese guy who writes on iTTETtn CURTIS CHOW is going to rkc r f this week, only science student to find this — an incoherent rambling about how he’s out of stuff to make fun of. But alas, I assure you that as much stress as you’re feeling, it doesn’t begin to compare to the emptiness I feel for lack of stupid stuff to make fun of; after all, mak ing fun of stupid stuff is an im portant part of my daily routine. But no worries — I am quite con fident in the perseverance of hu man stupidity — for my amuse ment and yours. So it has dawned upon me that instead oi nnaing sometning to sardonically deride, I could do something different this week and write about stuff I like — at least until I replenish my “stupid stuff to make fun of’ stock (which should take a little less than two minutes). So here goes: Shiny stuff: Ever walk down the street and notice a “shiny?” You don’t actually care what it is — all you know is that it’s shiny and awesome and you want it. My friend Derrick and I once tested this theory by waving a CD (which we called “the shiny”) out of my car window while driving through his neighborhood. No kidding — within 15 sec onds, a neighborhood girl ran up to the car inquiring what it was and grabbing at it, while Derrick frantically tried to keep our the shiny out of the hands of the dirty shiny grabber. I floored it, which only incited her give chase—her arms turn ing into liquid metal hooks. There was no escape — I had to sacrifice Derrick to her. She may take my friend, but I wasn’t about to give up my the shiny. She let him go, but I think it cost him his belt buckle. He-Man: Holy crap! Can your name get any more masculine? JNot oniy is nis name comprised of a masculine pronoun and noun lumped into a single manly hy phenation, he is also beefy and runs around in a man-thong with a sword. Clothes? Ha! Not for He Man! How awesome would that be in everyday life? Host: “Excuse me sir, but this is a five star restaurant. We have a shirt and pants requirement.” He-Man: (pulls out his sword) “Unless your name is Male-Man, you’re not the boss of me.” The host would get scared and run away, and all the ladies would swoon over the hero who bravely stood his ground against the tyrannical restaurant host. America Online: Forget the ac tual quality of its software, ser vice,and customer privacy prac tices. AOL makes an excellent scapegoat for any and every com puter problem. You have a friend with computer problems who won’t leave you alone even after you wrote an article about friends with stupid computer problems? Simply click some icons and say “Aha! It’s a problem with AOL.” They’ll call up AOL tech support, who will keep them occupied for days. So maybe I’m making fun of stuff after all... oh well. In.Your.Opinion Learn from mishap at ZTA fundraiser I think that ZTA raising money for breast cancer is a very noble service but the pur pose of Wednesday's article in The Gamecock (“USC apolo gizes for ZTA incident,” March 17) was not to applaud ZTA. The purpose of Wednesday's article was to inform us about the actions being taken against Tim Tice and ZTA. The inci dent that occurred during the Big Man on Campus competi tion was very inappropriate re gardless of the cause, regard less of the context. If he wanted to portray Janet Jackson, then the shirt he wore with her name on it would have been enough. Instead, he paint ed himself black — Janet Jackson is brown, her com plexion is closer to his com plexion than it is to the black paint. Why did he use slang when he spoke? Janet Jackson speaks correct English. Tim Tice's intentions were to portray Janet Jackson and in his actions he portrayed strictly negative stereotypes, none of which are characteris tics of Janet Jackson — all of which being characteristics of the “Black Face” of the 1920s 1940s, the very negativity Jim Crow laws derived from. My suggestion to ZTA is that in the future it previews the acts of its contestants so that the sorority’s good deeds are not tainted by negativity. To Tim Tice and ZTA, I will say apology accepted, but “I'm sor ry” is not a balm. It is only a Band-Aid. And no matter how sorry you are or how good your intentions were, you have to suffer the consequences. Use this as a learning experi ence and grow from it so that the campus community can heal. RANDI JOHNSON TIIIHD-YEAli I’UUUC IlKUTIONS STUDENT Culbertson wastes time going to class After reading Graham Culbertson’s column, (“Teachers live in own world,” Monday) I felt I should write a defense for both the professors and students of USC. According to Culbertson, university professors have no reason to live outside of crack ing crossword puzzles and teaching to apathetic students three hours a week. This isn’t the case. Aside from the time they dedicate to meeting with troubled students during their office hours and grading pa pers, many professors publish their writings or conduct re search. Dull students like Culbertson only waste the time of the professors. This indiffer ence is something I’ve seen since high school, and I wonder when I’ll see an end to it. Our generation is being defined by this kind of impudence. I often hear that college is just a stepping stone that helps with success in the business world, a procrastination of the real world. I apply attitudes of this type to people like Culbertson, people whose interest in educa tion ends outside the classroom. For those diligent students out there, they can rest assured that the real world rewards intelli gence and the right attitude. Beguiled by the worthlessness of everything, the apathetic can only achieve so little. If I were a professor, I’d in crease the grade weight of class room discussions to keep people like Culbertson from graduating. If our education is only second rate, the logical way to increase its value is to expel apathy from school grounds. What advantage could having an education be, if they feel it’s so worthless? If indeed our college is second rate, it’s because of people like Graham Culbertson. TIM BOITEAU TIIIKD-YKAK KXtiUSII STl’DKXT 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. Process to Iraqi self-rule positive Over the weekend, opposition to,the new Iraq Constitution has picked up significant steam. Iraq's most popular spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, wrote a letter last week to the United Nations and Iraq's Civilian Provisional Authority Chief Paul Bremer in which he expressed his concerns. To many, this seems to be a major roadblock. I, however, believe this to be a setback only if wefail to consider our own consti tutionaimstory. A problem develops when we view opposi tion as being in herently nega tive. It is true that some of al SIMMONS °ds might not Th',rH„o„r be Senerating poiitkal an extremely science student positive influ ence, but in the constitutional process, opposition is a necessary evil. While it would be easier to throw something down on paper just to have a signed constitution, dealing with all of the constitu tion's perceived flaws now will go much further in helping to ensure a lasting success in Iraq's new po litical system. We need only look at our own history to see the dan gers of passing the buck to the next generation. In all our found ing fathers’ wisdom, I cannot help but wonder what would have hap pened if they would have had the courage to take a stand on the slavery issue in 1787, rather than passing it on to be dealt with through the Civil War. Iraq's problems, while different in sub stance, could prove to be very sim ilar in effect. iviaiiy ui uic piuuicma cu-oisicun addresses are extremely valid, pressing concerns relating to the future of Iraq; concerns that might not be addressed in the absence of a popular voice such as al-Sistani’s. According to al-Sistani, “this con stitution that gives the presidency in Iraq to a three-member council, a Kurd, a Sunni Arab and a Shiite Arab, enshrines sectarianism and ethnicity in the future political sys tem in the country.” Given Iraq’s history of ethnic tensions between Sunnis and Shiites, Arabs and Kurds, it is dif ficult to argue against the validity of such worries. Another of al Sistani's objections is that the pro posed presidential system “will lead to a dead end and puts the country in an unstable situation and could lead to partition and di vision.” The proposed system calls for a three-person presidency, with the Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites all represented by one person. Only unanimous decisions made by this ii__: j_1 j 1 uiixjyjii picaiucuv/j nuiuu uc acted upon. These are just two ex amples of problems illuminated by al-Sistani’s vocal opposition. Having voiced my support for the current political discourse in Iraq, I feel it’s imperative to add one caveat. In any country, dur ing any political process, it is cru cial that all political discourse be productive. The first attempt at anything we undertake will nev er be perfect. After all, as much as we have learned in our collective journey, we are still only human. It is how the imperfections are worked through and amended that defines us as a people, just as it will de fine the new Iraq. Our arguments must always be tempered with a willingness to compromise for the greater good. And for once, in stead of complaining about oppo sition to what’s proposed, let’s be happy that opposition and differ ence of opinion is now possible where it once was not. i Winners.and.Sinners m '#1 j i MARCH MADNESS Excitement of NCAA tournament outweighs damage done to our feeble brackets. PRESIDENT BUSH Advocates two-state solution to Mideast violence in first good foreign policy decision of career. MLB Catches up to NFL, NBA in testing for THG, putting a damper on the home run race. • ? k- -ip ISRAEL Assassinates paralyzed 70-year old blind sheik in attempt to reduce terrorism. FDA Approves use of antidepressants despite suicide risk in children and adolescents. RUSSIAN BALLOTS ‘None of the above’ consistently wins over candidates, proving that democracy thrives in former communist nation. . 9