The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 24, 2004, Page 7, Image 7
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THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, March 24, 2004 S 7
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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
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www.dallygamecock.com
or send letters to the editor to
gamecockopinlons@gwm.sc.edu
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at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu.
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INDEPENDENT iffifrAGe
^Tiu}SnFD REJECTING
JURIST. UNFAVORED
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BUDDY' CHUM!
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KWeR!
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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
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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