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ONLINE POLL Should USC build a new p q baseball stadium? Go to rage :> www.dailygamecock.com to Friday, August 27, 2004 vote.Results posted on Friday. T] AMEGOGK EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR Adam Beam ■ DESIGN DIRECTOR David Stagg NEWS EDITOR Michael LaForgia THE MIX EDITOR Meg Moore COPY DESK CHIEF Gabrielle Sinclair VIEWPOINTS EDITOR Wes Wolfe SENIOR WRITER Kevin Fellner IN OUR OPINION Uniform change casts dark vision On July 31, USC head football coach Lou Holtz announced the team would wear black jerseys for home games and black helmets with the traditional “C” outlined in white with a Gamecock in the center. According to The Associated Press, Holtz made the changes because players •asked him if they could go back to the black jerseys. This is a bad omen for the season. First of all, the color scheme resembles the uniform A return to black uniforms for the football team is a bad omen for the season. sometimes worn by the players during Holtz’s first season at USC — the season that we went 0-11, giving the Gamecocks the longest losing streak out of any team in the country. Secondly, the jerseys are black, and the last time USC had a “black-out” to try and intimidate the other team it ended in disaster. It was Nov. 10, 2001. USC was playing Florida at home, with a chance to win the SEC East regular season title. — ESPN’s popular college pre-game show College ^^Gameday was on campus, bringing national exposure to the team and the university. USC fans showed up for the game in all black, and USC went up 7-0 early when Derek Watson (another bad omen) ran for a touchdown from the one-yard line on the first play from scrimmage after USC recovered a Florida fumble on a punt return. Florida then proceeded to score 54 points en route to a 54-17 thrashing. Another reason the black jerseys are a bad idea is that Electronic Arts’ college football game, NCAA Football 2005, has already come out, meaning USC gamers will be playing the virtual season in the wrong uniforms, which is really frustrating for the people who shell out $50 each year for the new version. We hope the season goes well ^for the Gamecocks, but from the looks of it, things just look black. IT’S YOUR RIGHT Exercise your right to voice your opinion Create message boards at www.dailygamecock.com or send letters to the editor to gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu GAMECOCK CORRECTIONS In Wednesday’s The Mix, the ‘From the Music’ column should have been credited to Jordan Redmond. If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK EDITOR Adam Beam DESIGN DIRECTOR David Stagg COPY DESK CHIEF Gabrielle Sinclair NEWS EDITOR Michael LaForgia ASST. NEWS EDITOR Jon Turner VIEWPOINTS EDITOR Wes Wolfe THE MIX EDITOR Meg Moore SPORTS EDITOR Jonathan Hillyard ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Daniel Kerr SENIOR WRITER Kevin Fellner PHOTO EDITOR Jason Steelman SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR Katie Kirkland *PAGE DESIGNERS Erin Cline, Chas McArthy, * Heather Johnson, Staci Jordan, Chris Williams COPY EDITORS Jennifer Freeman, Anna Huntley, Jennifer Sitowski, Steven Van Haren, Joey Wallace ONLINE EDITOR Brian Cope PUBLIC AFFAIRS Katie Miles, Jane Fielden CONTACT INFORMATION Offices on third floor of the Russell House. The Editor in Chief’s office hours are Monday and Wednesday from 3-5 p.m. Editor in Chief: gamecockeditor@gwm.sc.edu News: gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu Viewpoints: gamecockopimons@gwm.sc.edu The Mix: gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu Sports-, gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu Public Affairs: gamecockPR@yahoo.com Online: www.dailygamecock.com Newsroom: 777-7726; Sports: 777-7182 Editor’s Office: 777-3914 STUDENT MEDIA DIRECTOR Scott Linden berg FACULTY ADVISER Erik Collins CREATIVE DIRECTOR Susan King BUSINESS MANAGER Carolyn Griffin ADVERTISING MANAGER Sarah Scarborough CLASSIFIED MANAGER Sherry F. Holmes PRODUCTION MANAGER Patrick Bergen CREATIVE SERVICES Burke Lauderdale, Chelsea Felder, Laura Gough, Joseph Dannelly, Kristen Williams ADVERTISING STAFF Robert Carli, Ryan Gorman, Caroline Love, Jesica Johnson, Katie Stephens 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 ♦he 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 Mpdia. TO PLACE AN AD The Gamecock Advertising: 777-3888 1400GreeneSt. Classified: 777-1184 ( Columbia. S.C. 29208 Fa^. 777-6482 czi :i CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS R. Kelly is nothing short of genius ■ The R&B singer’s troubles have only enhanced his music R. Kelly’s latest CD, “Happy People/U Saved Me,” arrived in stores on Tuesday. This is about a month too late if you ask me. Although I haven’t been a fan since his introduction with then background band Public Announcement, 1 have been anxiously waiting its arrival since I first heard his latest song, “U Saved Me,” on internet radio. R. Kelly is a musical genius. It seems like everything that he touches turns multi-platinum. His songs span multiple genres. His vocal ability is truly amazing, and he has penned some of the most touching lyrics. Kelly writes and produces songs for veteran music icons such as Michael Jackson and Celine Dion, and the songs are actually no less than what you would expect from the artist. The work he does with newcomers (think Aaliyah, Fat Joe and Chingy) transforms them into instant celebrities. Even in the midst of serious personal and legal troubles, he manages to accrue phenomenal record sales. R. Kelly’s latest bout with the law began a few years ago when the Chicago Sun-Times reported that it had access to a videotape that allegedly showed Kelly involved in some improper | conduct with a minor. An (investigation by the Chicago police soon followed and eventually an Illinois grand jury charged the singer with more than • 20 STACY GREGG i THIRD-YEAR INTER DISCIPLINARY STUDIES STUDENT child pornography. Since that time, similar charges were filed in Miami. Undaunted by prosecutors’ claims that they had solid cases, Kelly’s attorney, Edward Gensen, maintained that he would get those charges dismissed. So far, Gensen has proved himself true to his word. In Miami, all of the charges have been dropped. In Chicago, they have been dwindling away little by little. R. Kelly’s legal troubles seemed to make him an even stronger musician and performer. Since the onslaught of his legal woes, Kelly has cranked out project after project. His labor has produced one chart-topping hit after another. Songs like “I Wish” revealed the singer to be someone completely different than the image painted by the media. In an interview with Billboard’s Soren Baker he said, “1 wish people could just know me as a person. If [only] people knew Robert and weren’t concentrating on what they see on the video, my alter ego with a cigar in his mouth, a drink in his hand and women around him — that’s placement. It’s no different than when you go to a Broadway show and you see all the glitter and glamour, all the costumes. That is not those people when they come off the stage.” Kelly may have a point. In the past few years, his image has been changing little by little. His music — once dominated by highly suggestive lyrics about bumping and grinding and riding Jeeps — now seems to be evolving into party and feel-good songs. Sure, there have been some instances in which he reverts back to his old ways, but for the most part Kelly seems to be cleaning up his act with songs like the remix to “Stop In The Name of Love” and “Happy People.” I hate to admit it, but I have been hooked on this man since the day a friend loaned me his Chocolate Factory CD. Since the release of the gospel-like “U Saved Me” began receiving airtime, I have known that 1 am going to have to break down and spend my hard earned money on his music. But it’s OK. I have accepted it, and I will be in Manifest this weekend. Perhaps next week, there will be more to the story. IN YOUR OPINION Bush has been bad for foreign policy Corey Garriott’s column (“Kerry doesn’t compare to Bush,” Aug. 19) could actually save America’s reputation on the world stage. As an international student, 1 have an insight on how the world views America. So-called anti-Americanism — revulsion of political and commercial cultural imperialism — is unprecedented among America’s allies and supposed enemies. Garriott’s opinion is deeply worrying if he believes that foreign policy through George W. Bush has been anything other than a disaster. Afghanistan is a mess. A close friend of mine recently returned from a year’s charity work in Kabul because of the growing threat to foreigners with the upcoming “democratic” election. Contrary to Garriott’s description, she explained that men often react to women voting by preventing them leaving the house. Cars taking them to register have even been bombed. Garriott may celebrate the killing or capture of al Qaeda’s members, but this has created more martyrs. Guantanamo Bay, where some are detained, brings shame on American values. Bush’s crusade in Iraq is the most damaging, unwelcome interference in the Middle East of our time. A crisis of this magnitude should be enough to discredit any political leader responsible, let alone one with Bush’s record of botched foreign policy. Who could have conceived four years ago that Bush would now preside over such a climate of fear and have proved so dangerous to the lives and deaths of Americans? Given the grievous domestic dislocations magnified or created by the current administration in addition, it is inconceivable that Bush remain in the White House. Vote Kerry. Please. KIM PATRICK Second-year history exchange student University of Warwick, UK Swift boat veterans without credibility Through deductive reasoning alone, it’s easy to determine that these swift boat folks campaigning against Sen. John Kerry are nothing more than partisan hacks. Thinking outside of the box, imagine that we’re in a war zone somewhere. Our minds are dominated by the trust in your fellow soldiers and their trust in you. At each turn, there are enemies hiding in the foliage, attempting to rob us from our parents and children. Despite the mental anguish, we do our duty, and by the grace of God, we make it back home alive and in one piece. Some 30 years later, a couple of veterans claim, in an offhanded way, that their minds weren’t pre-occupied with the constant threat of death. Apparently the enemy wasn’t a distraction. Instead, because of psychic telekinesis, a couple of guys had their attention fixated upon some obscure guy on a boat 30 to 50 yards away. Because of a psychic phenomena, they somehow or another knew that they, and this mysterious guy, would not only make it back home alive, bub this gentleman would one day run for political office. So they kept their attention fixated upon the “mystery man” as moviegoers would do at a movie. It’s time for the right wing to stop playing dirty pool and get back to discussing the issues that Americans really care about. JAMES WALKER Third-year math student THE GAMECOCK NEEDS EDITORIAL CARTOONISTS IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, PLEASE E-MAIL GAMECOCKOPIN IONS ©GWM.SC.EDU A jiyJt) 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. Make an impact while you still can m We have a real chance now to live up to past generations Since the beginning of time we, as young adults, have been called on. We are once again being called, to not only be the future, but to also be the present. We look back at a time when political division and hatred was not what drove people to the polls. We look back and realize, although we have many differences from group to group, we are CRAIG SWAISGOOD FOURTH-YEAR POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENT an in mis together. Ideology is a great thing but remains worthless if you don’t do anything about it. Generations have fought and died for this country we all so deeply cherish. We have faced adversity and have always overcome. We stood up in the 60s and made changes that have had a lasting effect on the American people and the rest of world. We denied an evil tyrant the ability to wipe out a whole population of people and continue to “cleanse” the world of religious groups. Our brothers and sisters have fought for all the rights we enjoy both home and abroad, and some are still, to this day, fighting. Yet too many of us remain in a passive role that must be reversed. What would happen if all the generations that came before us took as little interest as we have shown recently in the United States of America? Where, as a country, would we be? That is the point I am trying to make, as clear as possible. We, as citizens of the greatest country in the world, need to take more pride and interest in the people of this great country. “Out of many, one,” is the national motto for our country, yet the people of this country too often forget. We forget this saying so often that we consider a good election having 55 percent of the American people come out and vote. We must return to the days where we, regardless of where we come from, all take a great deal of pride in being an American. We must make the decision that it is time to get involved. The American dream is out there and .waiting, but it will not come to us. We must strive for it and aim to - . __ _ -I- _ 11_ ^1 ^ ui viwmt. ant cuancii^c j mat aiv placed in front of us. That is what I am trying to say. No matter what party.you affiliate with, what group you belong to or what ideology you live by, it is time to reclaim this country. The organizational fair on Wednesday brought approximately 100 groups and thousands of students. This fair showed great promise. This is a sign that we are on our way to becoming what all previous generations have been. We are becoming a generation that can make the American people proud. Nearly 300 people signed up for the Young Democrats listserv and I noticed that the College Republicans had a great deal of support as well. The most encouraging thing was that although the groups were only a few tables away, they were civil. They both understood the importance of getting involved and realized that nothing in America that divides us is nearly as strong as the things that unite us. ONLINE POLL How do you feel about the price increases at tJSC? I don’t have a 75% money tree I don't care 13% I understand 12% FROM WWW.DAILYGAMECOCK.COM