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TTTY^rDA V onlinepoll^ Page 6 I P i V V VI / \ I LI “''Saty^SckxomS Monday, October 25, IB -A f f B V>/ _ l_ 1 _B_ —/ vote. Results posted Friday. THEfeAMECOCK 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 ASST. NEWS EDITOR Jon Turner IN OUR OPINION Senate candidates leave out students The race for Fritz Hollings’ U.S. Senate seat has garnered mil lions of dollars of outside investment, hundreds of hours of nega tive TV ads and high profile debates, including a nationally tele vised on NBC’s popular news show “Meet the Press.” The race holds national significance because it is one of eight contested races that will determine which party has a majority in the Senate. Republicans hold 51 of the 100 seats. But in a race of such importance to South Carolina and the nation, neither candidate seems too interested in its college stu Jim DeMintand Inez Tenenbaum aren’t doing enough to encourage college students to vote on Nov. 2. dents. As the flagship university of the state, USC has hosted vis its by President George W. Bush, Sen. John Kerry and Sen. John Edwards, who announced his presidential candidacy on Greene Street. But Democratic candidate Inez Tenenbaum hasn’t visited here this election season, and a spokesman from her campaign said there are no plans for a visit before the election next week. Under USC solicitation rules, a political candidate can come to campus if a student group invites them. The Young Democrats have invited Tenenbaum to speak, according to Katie Day, president of USC’s Young Democrats chapter. Republican nominee Jim DeMint isn t much better. While he has visited the Russell House, it was for a news conference with U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey. Many students attended the conference, but DeMint only made a short statement and didn’t take any questions. Organizations such as Rock the Vote and the “Vote or Die” campaign by Sean “P. Diddy” Combs have flooded the 18-to-24 demographic with pro-voting propaganda. But if two Senate can didates will not take the time to seriously campaign at the largest university in their jurisdiction, it sends a message to students that their vote doesn’t mean as much. College students need to vote, and the candidates for U.S. Senate aren’t helping the cause. 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, an article about Bella Hristova should have stated she was born in Bulgaria. 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. i---—-------1 ABOUT THE GAMECOCK EDITOR Adam Beam DESIGN DIRECTOR David Stagg COPY DESK CHIEF Gabrieile 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, Staci Jordan, Jennifer Logan, Chas McCarthy, Jessica Ann Nielsen COPY EDITORS Jennifer Freeman, Anna Huntley, Daniel Regensheit, Jason Reynolds, Jennifer Sitkowski. Shana Till, Steven Van Haren, Joey Wallace ONLINE EDITOR E.B. Davis PUBLIC AFFAIRS Jane Fielden, Katie Miles CONTACT INFORMATION Offices on third floor of the Russell House. The Editor’s office hours are Monday and Wednesday from 3-5 p.m. Editor: gamecockeditor@gwm.sc.edu News: gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu Viewpoints: gamecockopinions@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 Garen Cansler CREATIVE SERVICES Burke Lauderdale, Chelsea Felder, Laura Gough, Joseph Dannelly, Kristen Williams ADVERTISING STAFF Robert Carli, Breanna Evans, 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 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 reacfer. Additional copies may be purchased for $1 each from the Department of Student Media. TO PLACE AN AD The Gamecock Advertising: 777-3888 1400 Greene St. Classified: 777-1184 Columbia, S.C. 29208 Fax: 777-6482 __-; fSUSH CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Be an independent voter on Nov. 2 ■ Blindly loyal partisan politicians shortchange greatly needed policies Coming from the chairman of the S.C. Democratic Party, you might be surprised to see those words: “Be an independent voter.” I’ve been a Democrat all of my life, and I’m proud of the men and women who count themselves as Democrats and who work passionately for the ideals and candidates we believe in. I recognize, as our forefathers did in shaping our government, that a multi-party system that encourages debate — a little healthy competition, if you will — helps us to push each other toward excellence. So I believe that political parties do play an important role in our electoral process. But I also know that first, before we are Democrats or Republicans or Independents, we are Americans. Improving the “end result” is what we as a nation are all about: A better tomorrow for our children. A responsible approach to the issues affecting us today. Pride in our history and hope for the future. Amid the rancor of partisanship, I think we all agree on that. But on Election Day, I also believe it’s our responsibility as Americans to evaluate each candidate for who they are and what they stand for, regardless of their political patty. Voting is a precious right and responsibility, and if anyone tells you to vote for someone merely because they’re a Republican or a Democrat, shame on them. For anyone to assume that they can get away with counting you among their supporters — without doing the hard work to earn that support — well, I think that’s disrespectful to you as a voter and to our American system of government. They’re looking for a short cut, and here’s what I’d advise you: don’t give it to them. Make them earn your vote as an individual candidate, not as a member of any party. Now, don’t get me wrong— I’d be remiss if I didn’t encourage you to take a JOE ERWIN CHAIRMAN, S.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY closer look at the Democratic candidates this season. Many smart and committed men and women have stepped forward to run as Democrats this season, and if you haven’t considered them yet, I hope you will. I suspect you will find that ideologically, many of their views and philosophies very close to yours. And while they are, as individuals, different from one another, as Democrats they all proudly support the words from our U.S. Constitution that “all men are created equal.” I sincerely hope that is a philosophy that you will embrace as well. The choices you have on Nov. 2 include many capable and worthwhile candidates — including a lot of Democrats. I’ve always said, though, that part of my job is making sure that we do recruit and support candidates who deserve your vote. But the same goes for- the Republicans you’ll consider this Nov. 2. They also need to stand on their own two feet. The most glaring example of this is in our U.S. Senate race between 4th District Congressman Jim DeMint and S.C. Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum. Congressman DeMint has spent a great deal of time and energy not merely aligning himself with the Republican Party, but totally giving himself up to it. He thinks the voters of South Carolina won’t think past that “R” by his name and that he won’t have to work to earn their vote. As I’ve said, I think that’s a disservice to you, and frankly, even to Mr. DeMint. In the U.S. House, Congressman DeMint voted with the Republican leadership 99 percent of the time. If we wanted to send someone up to Washington to simply follow the leader, I suspect we could find someone to do it for free, rather than paying the full salary of a U.S. congressman. As we all know, some of those votes have cost South Carolina jobs and have hurt working families. South Carolina has lost 70,000 jobs to overseas manufacturing in the last four years. If the true judge of leadership is being able to stand up for the people who elected you, even when it means you disagree with your peers, Mr. DeMint has foiled us. In contrast, Inez Tenenbaum has demonstrated in her two terms as state superintendent of education a unique capacity for working with Republicans and Democrats alike, in the best interest of South Carolina. That includes governors of two different parties, and a Republican-controlled General Assembly. She understands that as a leader, her work touches all South Carolina students and families, and that first graders this year aren’t thinking about who’s a Democrat and who’s a Republican. They just want reassurance that someone is looking out for them. This is exactly the type of bipartisan leadership that we can expea from Inez Tenenbaum as a U.S. senator. You probably know by now that young voters are under-represented in the American eleaorate. Voters between the ages of 18-24 turn out in percentages consistently lower than any other age group. You, this year, have the ability to change that. You also have the responsibility. Regardless of who you support, please vote and challenge your friends to do the same. Our future depends on it. Get Viewpoints five days a week at www.dailygamecock.com ££f?py ?(Zo/sA\se5 NOT To PA<S6 TAX6^ <?P AhVB°OY /VtAKiNO C^55 THAN j 2-a?/ ^__ ^\JOW x7oM'r PofiGrev \jjH6rt Vbv/A5K fOf2 A &AtSeTO(?AV,T&+ 7tie/A It'S GOT To $e u^oed $ioo,ooo!y CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS President leading U.S. on right track * ■ John Kerry would raise taxes and squander this administration’s victories There’s a lot at stake in this election. This presidential election presents the clearest choice we’ve seen in 20 years — since Ronald Reagan ran for re-election against Walter Mondale in 1984. And today, like then, American’s standard of living is on the rise. In the past KATON DAWSON CHAIRMAN, S.C. REPUBLICAN PARTY year, disposable personal income is higher now ™ than in 2000, when President Bush took office. More Americans own a home today than at any point in our history. Household wealth is at its highest level in American history, American investments are now worth more, the stock market is up 18 percent, putting more than $2 trillion back into education savings accounts, retirement accounts and 401(k)s and almost 2 million new jobs have been created in the last year, an average of 237,000 jobs per month in 2004. we are experiencing the fastest pace of payroll job growth in four years and the new jobs we are seeing are better A jobs. Seventy percent of the jobs that ” are being created are at a higher wage than the jobs they’re replacing. While we are seeing positive results, we have much more to do. We need to build on the president’s policy successes by enacting his six-point plan for job creation. His plan will cut red tape, stop the lawsuit lottery, make tax relief permanent, help small businesses provide health care, expand trade and pass a national energy plan. John Kerry has a different plan: one that calls for higher taxes, more regulation and more litigation that would kill jobs and derail our recovery. In the United State Senate, John Kerry voted 98 times for tax increases totaling more than $2.3 trillion. Sen. Kerry likes to talk about a “middle class squeeze" on the stump but he voted against President Bush’s ^ historic middle class tax relief in 2001 and 2003 and then failed to show up a few weeks back when we the Senate voted again on these important tax cuts. America can’t afford John Kerry s higher taxes at a time when we are trying to create jobs and grow our economy. The American people look to their president for leadership. We want the president to provide economic stewardship, we want a commander in chief who will make the difficult decisions, and do it with resolve. Let s face it, Sept. 11 changed the world. Sept. 11 was the impetus for a new approach to America’s national security, and the global fight against terror. We can no longer ignore the nexus between terrorist groups and the nations that support and harbor them. Because of President Bush’s leadership America is safer today, millions of people in Afghanistan and Iraq are free and as of yesterday, Iraq is now a sovereign state, moving towards becoming a representative democracy in the heart of the Middle East. John Kerry sees things differently John Kerry doesn’t believe we are engaged in a war on terror. In an interview with the New York Times, John Kerry balked at calling the war on terror an actual war, saying he was uncomfortable using that term. Unfortunately, Osama bin Laden is very comfortable using that term, having five times declared war on the United States. The bottom line is this: Whether it’s taxes, jobs or national security, America can’t afford John Kerry in the White House. LEGE QUOTE BOARD THEJPirr NEWS UNldBpiTY OF PITTSBURGH Bn season is here in full force, and political signs are everywhere, dot ns, resting in car windshields, and occasionally acting as impromptu curtains in tflffewindows. A0*! w'th these signs comes ensuing vandalism. A campaign of sign steaSm|ffhd defacing has stricken several battleground states, leading some residents to take “Spy vs. Spy”-like defensive measures, including itching powder, againsr^vandals. THE ORACLE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA A prison guard implicated in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal was sentenced to eight years in prison Thursday. A witness claimed he had been ordered to do the ac tions he was accused of by intelligence officials with ties to the CIA. It appears the mil itary is not taking any such allegations seriously. There are more and more accusations that similar mistreatments are occurring in Guantanamo Bay and possibly other secret locations. Such likely human rights violations are simply unacceptable. . * ! COURTESY OF U-WIRE