Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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_*ix! GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, August 4, 2004 Online.Poll. Results 5 OhmiC.Poll J^TTTTITrnATIiTmn Do you agree with Teresa Heinz Kerry's Do you plan to watch the Olympics in , J I |j 1 \ \ / I If I I f\ ' I ’ remark to a conservative journalist to the coming weeks? IPjl/V ll II \ | L 1 “shove r? 49% Yes 42% No www.dailygameoock.com » -L * » * J- '—' J- ' J- *—' 9% Is she the ketchup heiress? IN OUR OPINION Campus projects must be punctual USC has put a lot of money into refurbishing the campus. This summer, the university repaved the Bates parking lot. The West Quadrangle is the most recent university housing development. Conversely, the university doesn’t seem as focused on the punctuality of its projects’ completion. The Russell House has been under ongoing construction for more than a year. With the start of school less than two weeks away, the West Quadrangle is not yet completed, despite its projected completion time frame of August 2004. This is too close for comfort for many of the almost 500 students scheduled to live in the facility. Most students appreciate the money and effort invested in the refurbishment of USC facilities, but these renovations don’t mean much if they are drawn out to such an extent that the student populace can’t benefit from them. USC needs to keep in mind whom this construction is for - its students. GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS In the July 21 issue of The Gamecock, Jonathan Leader should have been identified as the director of the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. The Gamecock regrets the error. If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu. 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, David Stagg 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 Advertising Staff John Blacks’hire CONTACT INFORMATION Offices on third floor of the Russell House. Editor in Chief: gamecockeditor@gwm.sc.edu News: gamecocknews@gwm.sc.eu 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. EMERGENCY Amotk^ ( WTO \pCaOeNT^/ ^ / fit Poured who A5K6<? / (Ats. xenM to 6tfu*i>j / S0AA^T*HlM6 5M£ 5A'<? /N \ H££ CoN\/6^Jtc»J Sfttcti ) \ PPDMot<N^ f^HTICAC-/ £MUTV/ ^ Hosecv S&, CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Hypocrisy cheapens justice PAIGE HAGGARD GAMECOCKOPINIONS@GWM.SC.EDU I was listening to NPR the oth er day and was appalled by a story about the Israeli army. They were looking for members of a terror ist group, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and they bombed an entire neigh borhood. Two men, still in paja mas, were shot through a window that had been opened to inform the army that the people within the structure were coming out. The army’s spokesperson said the civilian loss of life was “re grettable” and commented on how successful the army’s mis sions are when they target neigh borhoods to ferret out “terror ists.” It’s certainly not the first time we’ve heard of violence between Palestinians and the Israeli Army. Most recently, in May, an Israeli helicopter opened fire on Palestinians protesters. Ten died, and six were between the ages of 11 and 18. First, I was struck by the fact that the terrorist group utilized the word “democratic.” Anybody can bandy about words but since the hardships Israel inflicts upon its Palestinian citizens have been well-broadcast, the term “demo cratic” seemed less ironic in this context and more tragic. The fact that the deaths of bystanders were merely “regrettable” was pretty jaw-dropping. But mostly, I was struck by the fact that the Israeli Army sounded like gov ernment-funded terrorists to me. Terrorism, as it’s defined in Webster’s, is “the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.” The spokesperson ad mitted they’ve destroyed neigh borhoods before when searching for “terrorists” so the aspect of “systematic” is fulfilled. Nothing could instill more terror than a.) being woken up in the middle of the night to evacuate your home and then seeing your son and hus band shot or b.) having your child/sibling/friend blown up by a helicopter’s missile. In essence, the Israeli Army terrorizes the Palestine population so its liber ation groups will give up. It seems to me that the only difference be tween the Israeli Army and oth er recognized terrorist groups is the Israeli Army gets support by the Israeli government. What is most trustratmg to me is the fact that we are “at war with terrorism,” but only against terrorists who threaten the American way. The U.S. supports Israel and indirectly, supports this terrorism of the Palestinians. All Bush had to say about the hel icopter incident was that he ex pected restraint on both sides. There are no easy solutions to the problems of the Gaza strip, but I do know continued bloodshed will only lead to more bloodshed. Any idiot can do that math: violence + deaths = more death. Haggard is a third-year MFA Creative Writing student.