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ONLINE POLL Should medical and law school^ students have reserved footbaIIV tickets? Go to www.dailygamecock.com to vote. Results posted on Friday. th#b amecock 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 Benedict policy is harmful to students A Benedict College policy requires professors to make 60 percent of their students’ grades based on class partici pation. The requirement drops to 50 percent for sopho mores and is eliminated for juniors and seniors. Benedict College officials say it gives disadvantaged students a chance to succeed. According to the Associated Press, “effort is defined by individual faculty members and can include measures such as attendance and completion of assignments.” We believe this policy is flawed from the Benedict’s policy start because it'allows profes tO heavily weight sors to determine the defini class participation tion of “effort.” There is no leaves the door standard to hold students to, open for so as a result it introduces the favoritism, possibility of favoritism in the classroom. It gives too much power to the professors, who can decide how much effort a student has exerted. Already, two. professors have been fired from Benedict because they refused to enforce the policy. Benedict’s policy in effect gives students a free ride through their first two years of college. When employers know about this it might make a graduate from Benedict take second place to a graduate from another school with normal academic standards, in which a student’s perfor mance is weighted more than his or her attendance. If Benedict College expects to provide its students with a quality education, it needs to do away with this ridicu lous policy. This doesn’t prepare students for anything except getting up on time. In the “real world,” success isn’t measured on how many times you show up to work, but the quality of work that you do. Benedict, obviously, doesn’t believe that. 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 News, an article on the RHA should have read that the’ RHA programming committee has already funded Groovin’ Carolina and proposed the idea of having a casino night. 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 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, Jennifer Logan, Chas McCarthy, Jessica Ann Nielsen COPY EDITORS Jennifer Freeman, Steven Van Haren, Anna Huntley, Daniel Regensheit, Jason Reynolds, Jennifer Sitowski, Joey Wallace ONLINE EDITOR « Brian Cope PUBLIC AFFAIRS Jane Fielden, Katie Miles TO PLACE AN AD The Gamecock Advertising: 777-3888 1400GreeneSt. Classified: 777-1184 Columbia, S.C. 29208 Fax: 777-6482 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 Lindenberg 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 -:-1 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. |~pe(?gfg-AU ON OJGAfoHS £NP5~ W I'A SOKtzy, ^ 7 eurTne OM 7*i(5 PAfnicuL-A/e UJ^A^fs/ HADN'T ysr / CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Turns out, clinic isn’t that bad ■ A trip to the health center was the last thing I wanted to do Although I am a senior and manage to get sick about once per week, there is one thing I have never been willing to do. I had the flu, couldn’t stand up long enough to take a shower and failed (gasp) to show up for Dr. Greiner’s class for a week. He gave me an extension on my paper, but he didn’t understand why I didn’t have a doctor’s note. As if I would go to the Thomson Student Health Center. Unlike the Thomas Cooper Library, with its insidious mold and even more insidiously boring books, the health center was not an evil that I considered necessary. Through the flu, food poisoning from the GMP’s mystery meat night, Thomas Cooperitis — a combination of claustrophobia and mold inhalation — and various other college maladies, I remained steadfast in my decision not to enter the hallowed hall of birth control medication and mononucleosis wards, which sits sinisterly behind the Russell House. Once, I even made an appointment to have my sinus infection looked at, but I decided to tough it out without antibiotics. It was worth it, if only to avoid explaining to them that, sexually active or no, I honestly wasn’t pregnant (though 1 still . • can’t explain GRAHAM my cravings CULBERTSON for Plck)es and ice cream, but FOURTH-YEAR that’s a ENGLISH STUDENT separate' column, if not an epic poem). You will, gentle reader, imagine my surprise when earlier this week I finally abandoned my hope and entered into the health center, which contrasted with my wildest fears. Once the staffers stopped being surprised that there was a senior who had never graced their medical halls, they treated me courteously and efficiently. My nurse, their second line of defense, was friendly, asked me few uncomfortable questions, never attempted to test me for pregnancy or mono, and told me that fried chicken and beer were both OK in moderation. She also implied that I was going to die of a heart attack, it was just my choice of when. And hey, I appreciate the honesty. After the friendly nurse, whose name I didn’t catch, ushered me back into the waiting room, she told me to wait for Dr. McKenzie. She said I would like him, and I did. What she didn’t mention was that, unbeknownst to me (and probably her), Dr. C.M. “Mike” McKenzie went to USC with my father back in the dark ages. Not only does Dr. Mike get the annual Culbertson Christmas newsletter, he also treated me way back in the day, circa 1989, for asthma complications, which stemmed from breathing in too much Columbia air. Needless to say, my doctor’s appointment was so good that most of the talk was about Carolina football, with ’70s "era USC/Campus Crusade a close second and diagnosis/prognosis (I’m going to live) a distant third. So thank you, Thomson Student Health Center, even if you did lose the record of my appointment. Thank you for being free. Thank you for not giving me the pill or checking my estrogen levels. Thank you for not testing me for mono. Thank you, nameless nurse, for reassuring me that my massive coronary is coming but not too soon. And most of all, a big thanks to Dr. McKenzie, who is currently attempting the Herculean task of enjoying “Due Preparations for the Plague” (prognosis: he’s not going to make it). I think Thomson might just be more fun than Thomas Cooper, and I know that there are fewer pathogens floating around its halls. IN YOUR OPINION Students ignored regarding parking Here we go again, building at USC (“USC rejects joint-use baseball field,” Sept. 10). Is it not enough that we built the Strom Thurmond Center and the Colonial Center, spending millions 6f dollars and taking away hundreds of possible parking spaces when facilities were already in existence and would have been state-of-the-art with a little work? Now must we build another baseball stadium that will eliminate even more parking? Perhaps if tuition had not doubled over the past five years, and we did not have to fight one another for the gravel lot parking and a 20-minute walk to class, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Alas, we do. We do, however, have this wonderful ji(J,UUU NextBus system that is not any help. By the time you find a parking spot with your $40 parking sticker, you have to wait 10 minutes for a bus, and you still walk into class late with your professor absolutely thrilled that yet again you have interrupted their lecture time. I love USC and wear my garnet and black proudly. When I graduate, I will be more than happy to say, “Yes, I am a Gamecock,” until the day I die. But, when I get that phone call in May (and I know that all other graduates will too) to make a donation to the university, I will have to ask that caller a question. If I make this donation, will it go to Dr. Sorensen and his brilliant wasting of money for insignificant things, or will it go to the students and their basic needs of parking and tuition? So I ask all of my fellow Gamecocks one question: When was the last time you saw Dr. Sorensen parking in the gravel lot at the Colonial Center and riding the bus — or even better, at Bates West and walking to work? Oh, that’s right, you haven’t. He parks in his reserved spot in front of his office and thinks up more ways to raise our tuition and cut our parking spaces. For a school that wants to gear itself toward research, maybe our administration should do some research into student needs instead of bank account growth. JESSICA TILLINGHAST Fifth-year marine science student Rebel flag important to Southern heritage Terence Washington (“Rebel flag has no place at Carolina,” Monday) is off base when he condemns not only the university but the entire state of South Carolina for the displaying of the Confederate flag at Friday’s segment of College GameDay. I am proud of the individual who chose to honor not only those who died for their state, but also died in defense of USC. It is a fact that'during the War Between the States the entire university was closed because of the enlistment of every student at USC. Not only does the battle flag represent the banner under which many South Carolinians died, but the banner under which many USC students died as well. Is Washington so incensed at the sight of that flag as to suggest that we prohibit the flag from public display? Shall we begin to amend or censor history, simply because many of the historical issues that are still prevalent today are controversial? Contrary to Washington’s assertion that the family of the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond somehow objected to Essie Mae Washington Williams’ name being added to his monument at the State House, the Thurmond family publicly acknowledged Williams’ right to be included. This proved that race relations, especially among the First Families of South Carolina, have improved. It is a shame that a man who has done more for South Carolinians, both black and white, than anyone before him was so vilified. The Confederate flag is a benevolent symbol to a large portion of South Carolinians and a large portion of USC students. Therefore, I see no problem in freely allowing those students to display a symbol that is historically relevant not only to themselves, but to the university as well. JARRETT CALDER Second-year political science and philosophy student i—---—i—ms—s—m—sas—" mmmm THE GAMECOCK NEEDS EDITORIAL CARTOONISTS IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, PLEASE E-MAIL GAM ECOCKOPIN IONS ©GWM.SC.EDU 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 letteik to gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu. Letters will be edited. Anonymous letters will not be published. Call the newsroom at 777 7726 for more information. Campus diversity enhances all of us i ■ You can respect the opinions of others while maintaining your beliefs On Monday, I had the privilege of participating in a forum sponsored by the Brothers of Nubian Descent. The topic was, of course, a controversial one: same-sex □ marriage. Approximately 50 people showed up, but considering the substantiality of the issue, I think there should have been many RYAN more. HOLT i was joined on the panel by a POL.mCALEAR local a:ttorney> SCIENCE the president of STUDENT the Young Democrats, a gay activist ana professor at USC, the secretary of a local gay and lesbian association and a professor from Columbia International University’s seminary. I represented the College Republicans. The group of six was remarkably diverse. The panelists ranged in age from 19 to 50-something. Both black and white were present. Heterosexual and homosexual. Republican and Democrat. Conservative and liberal. On occasion, one or two of us had similar views and at other times we were on our own. My point? Despite our differences, ^P we got along quite well. We argued civilly and afterward moved on to other discussion or continued sharing facts on important issues. I say this all to champion the spirit of diversity I have come to appreciate since coming to USC. I was raised in an environment where most people had the same worldview I did, and it wasn’t until coming to USC that I encountered people of all kinds of affiliations on a regular basis. Do I always agree with these newfound colleagues? Of course not. There are times I don’t even respect their viewpoints. But at the end of the day, I always respect their right to say their opinion and relish the fact that I live in a country where I can choose to agree or disagree. oumc pcupic icci uiai uit appreciation of diversity comes at the cost of one’s own identity. I disagree. I am far more open-minded today than I have ever been, but ironically my identity has only strengthened. Where before 1 lived in an environment where my views were supported with agreement, now I must constantly reassure the justification for these opinions. In an environment where diversity of opinion prevails, you’ve got to back your views up in order to withstand the presentation of new ideas. This simply strengthens your worldview while bringing you into contact with someone else’s. My challenge to you is this: Savor the diversity of our campus. Instead of bristling when someone disagrees with you, discuss the disagreement. Instead ^ of calling someone bigoted or intolerant, find out why their view is as important to them as yours is to you. Instead of spending time only with those who think like you, find the person who contrasts with you the most and engage them in conversations of the day. Perhaps my reasoning is selfish. I want to debate people who have strong beliefs on the issues of society. I want these beliefs to be reinforced by the realization that not everyone’s going to agree with you, that you’re not going to get a free ride in the marketplace of ideas. And so I hope that you, whether this is your first year at USC or your last, will grasp the diversity of campus and enjoy it to its fullest. _ ONLINE POLL Have you registered to vote? 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