The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 13, 2004, Page A7, Image 7
THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, August 13, 2004 A /
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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. *