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Online.Poll_ the gamecock ♦ Wednesday, July 7,2004 Online.Poll.Results_5 Do you think USC should close down "1 I T^~I I T I 'l Do you think the increase in tuition is justified? two-year satellite campuses? I . %/%/ I"— | I I I 25% Yes 69% No www.dailygamecock.com J—■—«* * » -*——' 6% I’m not paying so I don’t care. IN OUR OPINION Name change indicates trend If USC Spartanburg’s name change indicates a larger regional appeal of the campus, it could also indicate a first step in phasing out the Union campus. Earlier in the year, Gov. Sanford spoke of plans to close both the Union and Salkahatchie branches in order to keep campaign promises to cut unnecessary state costs. Both campuses only offer two-year associate’s degrees, which are largely held to be insufficient to further advancement in a modern economy. Therefore, such programs are not helpful to the overall prestige of USC. However, this sort of prejudice doesn t take into account the heart of all education programs — the students. Many of the students at these branches are non-traditional stu dents who would be unable to commute greater distances to a more prestigious USC branch. Eliminating these branches essentially says these students are not as impor tant as those pursuing four-year degrees. Of the $790 million used for USC operating costs, these two small campuses don’t constitute a drastic drain on funds. In truth, closing these campuses is more a token gesture at reducing costs than bona fide action against unnecessary spending. USC needs cuts based on efficiency, not prestige. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK STAFF Editor in Chief Steven Van Haren News Editor Michael LaForgia Viewpoints Editor Paige Haggard The Mix Editor Megan Treacy Sports Editor Brad Senkiw Photo Editor Melissa Wallace Page Designers Erin Cline, Chaz McCarthy Copy Editors Tracy Bealer, Joel Wallace STUDENT MEDIA Director Scott Lindenberg Faculty Advisor Erik Collins Advertising Manager Sarah Scarborough Creative Director Susan King Business Manager Carolyn Griffin Classified Manager Sherry F. Holmes Ad Rep Jesica Johnson Production Manager Patrick Bergen TO PLACE AN AD The Gamecock 1400 Greene St. Columbia, S.C. 29208 Advertising: 777-3888 Classified: 777-1184 Fax: 777-6482 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 Online: www.dailygamecock.com Newsroom: 777-7726 The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the University of South Carolina and 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 Student Media is the newspaper's parent organization. The Gamecock is supported in part by student activities fees. One free copy per reader. Additional copies may be purchased for one dollar each from the Department of Student Media. 1 *«5Lp,. , * • CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Home of the free and the SUV PAIGE HAGGARD GAMECOCKOPINIONS@gwm.sc.edu This past Sunday, while inhaling the wafting smells of the grill and gazing over a vast array of pastries, I pon dered what it meant to be an American. Was it about free dom, such as the freedom to choose between a banal situa tion comedy and the adoles cent antics of yet another real ity TV show? Perhaps the focus is more on justice, as in the justice of being able to choose among greedy companies who nickel and dime customers to death without providing any real difference in service. Then again, being American might be about the general welfare of the union — well, the wel fare of those people rich enough to buy professionals to look after it or for those peo ple who are unfortunately poor enough to need provided welfare. To be honest, I never came to a satisfactory answer, but today, I think I found it; it’s all about the “ride.” As my Saturn and I tooled around town, I realized seven out of 10 cars weren’t cars at all. They were trucks or SUVs and one out of 10 were mini vans, making car owners a dying breed. About half or more of these massive vehi cles were new, so I think it’s accurate to assume what you drive is very important in our society. Granted, I believe it’s peo ple’s American right to drive whatever they like, but do they have to take their indi vidual cars everywhere? If everyone is going to the same restaurant to hang out and chat, what harm can a little carpooling do? Ana is it tneir rignt to block my view? Sure, they can’t help it while I’m driving, surrounded by their motor ized swarm, but what about at stop signs and lights when they invariably obstruct my view for turning? The whole issue of the “wave” resurfaced today as well. I’m kind enough to allow entrance when I notice the Olds in front suddenly signal ing right, but I get no acknowledgement of my kind ness. To add insult to injury, the driver goes extra slow in turning, with no curb or dip or bump in sight. Why the rudeness? Because nothing else matters but one’s own personal ride. That’s why turn signals are only used after braking and only imme diately before turning. That’s why turning lanes are only used after one has mostly slowed down to the preferred turning speed. That’s why peo ple stop in the middle of inter sections during rush hour traf fic. That, my readers, is why four cars kept going through a green light even though an ambulance was waiting, sirens blaring, to cross the street. uaii me crazy, out we ao have an oil industry president in office who’s fussing with oil industry Arabs, and we are paying close to $2 a gallon to sit in traffic, blasting our AC, just to get across town. I think we should let the eagle become extinct as our nation al symbol and be honest in our iconography. We could have an SUV with an oil rig at one tire and a gun at the other — that’ll show everybody exactly where our priorities lie. Haggard is a third-year MFA student in creative writing.