The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 27, 2004, Page 5, Image 5
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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
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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
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Letters to the editor should be less
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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.
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