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THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, August 13, 2004 A / SOUND OFF T TTT TA f\ T TV T fT\ ONLINE POLL *Mate message boards at I 1-^ % l\ I I * I I I % I Do you plan to watch Hie www.dailygamecock.com or I I 1 i ■ / I / I I III I l Olympics in the coming send letters to the editor to IIJWW I I k. 7 weeks? gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu ™ *—“ w * ^ ®— " * —®^ www.dailygamecock.com. IN OUR OPINION A new year of opportunity Now begins another year. Much has happened since many of you were here in the spring. USC athletes qualified for the Olympics and will soon grace screens nationwide. USC now boasts a new and environmentally sound dorm — the West Quadrangle opened on schedule in spite of the rainy summer. USC’s “green dorm” stands as an example of the university’s goals to develop an environmentally sustainable campus. The dorm also shines as the In the rush of semester’s start (and perhaps in the new anxiety of your first university jsemester), let‘s not forget why we’re all here - to study, to learn and to succeed. start ot tnree otner aorms which should save the university a significant amount of money. We have nearly 1,000 new, conveniently located parking spaces on Bull Street and the remodeling continues at the Russell House. Even our shuttles have GPS systems. As the new semester begins, mere is also mucn aneaa oi us. me new lootoan season, probably most prevalent on our minds, brings concerns and hopes. What cheers and losses will be witnessed at the Williams-Brice? Will we defeat Vanderbilt and begin the season off right? All of us are wondering who will win November’s elections. Student Government is sponsoring a voter drive to ensure we all remember to utilize the power ol our vote Nov. 2. The university even cancels classes in ^onor of the occasion. But there is more here on campus to anticipate. The Student Government continues to strive for a seat on the USC Board of Trustees so students will have more say in where their money is focused. There are more sports at USC than football and all our athletes deserve our support. Most importantly, there are our classes. In the rush of semester’s start (and perhaps in the new anxiety and freedom of your first university semester), let’s not forget why we’re all here — to study, to learn and, ultimately, to succeed. Winners and Sinners WEST QUAD RESIDENTS After a rainy summer and delay rumors, the new residence hall will open on schedule. BLOATED FEDERAL GOVERNMENT Bush Bf announces creation of intelligence director IP position. It pays to be informed. 9 CINCINNATI MUSIC LOVERS City lifts 25-year general-admission concert ban. Rock on. U.S. OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TEAM American squad is shellacked by Italy in first exhibition game. * CHARLES SHARPE S.C. agriculture chief **r arrested in connection with cockfighting ring. Cocky rejoices. MARK HACKING Police still search for the victim of America’s latest spouse killer. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK 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, Chas McCarthy I dopy Editors Tjacy Bealer, Joel Wallace 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: gamjcocksports@gwm.sc.edu Online: wwwTdailygamecock.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 Advertising Rep Jesica Johanson Production Manager Patrick Bergen 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 Student 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. CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Football is life-blood of USC DAVID STAGG GAMECOCKOPINIONS@GWM.SC.EDU Hating Clemson is only the beginning to being a Gamecock fan. There are a million things you need to know as a USC student, and there’s no way one person could clue you in to them without your head exploding after telling you that you can’t even wear orange anymore. But step back for a second, and please allow me to venture into your personal USC bubble and give you a few pointers on the most important thing to the majority of Columbians: football. We’ll call this your One-Step With Multiple Succeeding Notes to Becoming a USC Student Despite There Actually Being a Million Things You Need to Know to Act Normal Here That’s Right One Million Things Program. It’s going to be like weaning you onto hard food as a child, or potty training as a high schooler, and is now going to be more awesome by two-fold because of your love for metaphor. FOOTBALL —Football is essentially a 12 week Welcome Back party in and of itself. You come back to school, you go watch football, occasionally attend class, watch more football, complain about the status of the football team, and when it’s all over, play NCAA Football 2005 on Xbox until Halo 2 is released. —Before you even get to the football game, however, you must tailgate. Tailgating is the real reason we all love football because it’s a peaceful time where you get together with a few of your closest friends, sit down, relax and drink Diet Sprite. —More on tailgating: It begins as early as you can possibly imagine. You wake up, BAM! You’re tailgating. If the game’s at 7 p.m., expect to tailgate AT LEAST by noon. (If you just thought that was too early, you are a sinner, and you might want to consider redemption before it’s too late). The real fun part is when you have a game that starts at noon. ♦ STAGG, SEE PAGE A8 « Take advantage of services ANNA C. HUNTLEY GAMECOCKOPINIONS@GWM.SC.EDU * Disabilities shouldn’t lessen quality of learning at USC Last year, I transferred from a small Massachusetts liberal arts school, its intimacy fostering close bonds between students and their professors. I came to USC’s large university setting to t5ke advantage of the in-state tuition. But USC had a price of its own. Near the end of my first semester here, a professor e mailed me that, because of the delay in completing my research paper, I had tailed the course. Having once held a stellar academic record and the title of National Merit Finalist, I now faced a 0 being factored into my GP A. Unbeknownst to the professor, I possessed a legitimate excuse for the paper’s lateness. I struggle with both narcolepsy and panic disorder. While working on the research paper, I experienced a 1 particularly bad episode of narcolepsy, which triggered panic attacks, each prohibiting me from functioning — and from writing. At the liberal arts college, a simple e-mail to the professor about my condition not only would have elicited sympathy but also would have garnered me an extension. However, at USC, in a class of nearly 80 people taught by a professor who barely knew me, my three desperate e-mails to him explaining my paper’s tardiness had been disregarded. The personal attention I had experienced at my former college did not exist to the same degree within a university. In the end, I received a medical withdrawal from the course. And I learned of the Student Disability Services. The Student Disability Services caters not only to those with more obvious physical disabilities, such as blindness, but also to those disabilities that are not always so apparent, like attention deficit disorder and depression. When I enlisted with the office for the following semester, I was permitted extra time on tests in the occasion of a panic attack and up to two extra absences to compensate for the narcolepsy. More significantly, I could develop the more personal connection ♦ HUNTLEY, SEE PAGEA9 IN YOUR OPINION V* ■ ■ - ■ ■ ■ 1 .. ,1 A„-AT_A AT---I linvi U ;v,n^w.;v.n ranting siiuuiu meet needs of student body Senators Mike White and Chaz Lobo met with Derrick Huggins July 28 in an attempt to get a dedicated lot for engineering students as West Quad opens this fall. They failed to arrive at a solution for the parking problem. Huggins says engi neering students must become more competitive with the rest of campus for parking. As an example, Bates House and Bates West both have about 550 people living in them, and their parking lots have about 302 spaces available for each dorm. In response to the recent decision that the engi neering students must now become “more competitive” for parking just like “the rest of the campujs,” I feel obligat VV4 LU UMJ U*Ul U1V J/J. V ing incompetence of parking planning that plagues the campus is no excuse for ruin ing one of the few areas that is working properly. Instead of using other shortcomings to justify yet another failure, how about at least make an attempt at a solution? West Quad will have 450 people living in it this fall. There are only 400 parking spaces at the engineering buildings, and many are already taken by students who live in the Bates and Cliff area that don’t fit in their parking facilities. Surely, all of the engineering parking spaces will now be occupied by resi dent students, leaving com muting students like myself with no parking accommoda tions whatsoever. If the offi cials in charge of making these decisions seriously val ue the reputation of USC and wish to maintain the attra^ and returning students, this university must work together to make great strides toward solving this parking issue. Otherwise, students such as myself will eventually become so frustrated with the inconve nience that we will choose to take our talents elsewhere, and the students (who will eventu ally become contributing alumni — maybe that caught someone’s attention) will turn their backs to the university, just like some people are choosing to do on this issue. MICHAEL L. HOOD, E.l.T. FIRST-YEAR (iRADUATE STUDENT COUEUB OF ENIRNEERINO 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. Anonymous letters will not be published. Call the newsroom at 777-7726 for more ^ information. “Aloha” is the perfect greeting KEVIN SIMMONDS GAMECOCKOPINIONS@GWM.SC.EDU Aloha (ah-LO-hah) - interjection, from the Hawaiian meaning, “love;” used as a greeting or farewell. I haven’t forgotten you... you hard working, visionary and oh so-diverse graduate body. I’ve been waiting to tell all 7,000 of you, “ALOHA!” Many of you have paced in laboratories all summer waiting for the Slightest miracle in your petri dish; while some of you just arrived. A few of you are tweaking your theses and dissertations, trying to find funds to present that groundbreaking paper and to stack that CV voluptuously. USC grad students are coming and going. The Graduate Student Association knows this, and Ill/ 1C 11V1 V/ 1V1 J UU) 11V UlUlVl/1 where you are in the process. For most undergrads, the school year’s just beginning. The sweet stretch of summer is almost spent, and they’re revving to take classes, throw parties and stay up all night arguing about Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” or, even closer to home, why that other red-white-and blue flag slices through air just a block off campus. But for most of you, it’s different. You’ve been in class all summer or doing research (or both). You’ve been trying to save enough to make it through another year (or your first year). For you, August marks the beginning of new ups and downs. Certainly, parking becomes a greater challenge, but the Russell House goes POOF and the summer’s scant culinary offerings give way to bounteous fare. Yes, the undergrads are back and you are glad—without them, you’d starve. To make that whole POOF thing happen for you, regardless of the time of year, the GSA is doing more than ever before. Whether you’re only here for another semester or you’ve just arrived, the GSA’s here to help. Whether you’re single or have a family, whether you’re from West Columbia or Seoul, the GSA has services — or will create services — to help you. For starters, we’re playing host to Grad Movie Night Friday, Aug. 20, from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Russell House Ballroom. We’ll have free pizza, sodas and door r»y*i'7QC tn onnnnin'imr Firof Dates." If you’ve already sien it, that’s OK. Just come for the free food and mingle with some new and old grad students. A couple weeks later, we’re playing host to the GSA Q&A with USC President Andrew Sorensen at the Russell House Theater Wednesday, Sept. 8, at 12:15 p.m. Bring your questions, comments and rants. This is the time to ask, “Why are USC transcripts a whopping $8?” (substantially above the national average) or, “Why don’t graduate assistants have a bill of rights?” Aug. 20 is also the launch date for our new and radically improved Web site, http://www. gradschool.sc.edu/gsa/index.htm 1) where you’ll find up-to-the minute information and updates on health insurance; graduate assistantships and other funding opportunities; campus events and student profiles. You can go to the Web site now and subscribe to ourlistserv. We’re your GSA. We’re your advocates. And we want to be the first to say “ALOHA!” Simmonds is a second-year Ph.D. music student and president of th* GSA. *