The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, December 03, 2004, Page 5, Image 5
Page 5
Friday, December 3, 2004
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
ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Jon Turner
IN OUR OPINION
Semester ends;
we 7/ be back
It’s been a semester of washing machine urine and elevator
feces, but we still count it a success. Semesters have a tendency
to seem a lot longer than they are, and this one is no exception.
August and its sweltering weather surrounding the start of
another football season has been swallowed by the coolness of
fall and the pace of basketball. In between has been a whirl
wind of peeping Toms, football speculation and a presidential
election.
We know 1 he (jamecock can t compete with 1 he New York
Times as far as national news coverage, and we don’t try to. We
We hope you feel
more connected to
your school
through our
reporting.
don’t try to cover the State House
and the Richland County
Council. We don’t try to be
something we’re not. But we do
try to cover USC as best as a
group of 25 full-time students can. So mixed in with the drama
of the USC baseball stadium and the enormity of the presiden
tial election are the stories about two students winning Rotary
scholarships, the theft of the Maxcy Monument ball and a story
offering tips for walking to class in the rain during hurricane
season.
We hope that you feel more connected to the school through
our reporting. We hope that you have a general understanding
of how Student Government and the Residence Hall
Association operate and why they are an important part of the
university. We hope you were entertained by Chuck and the
gang with Heads and Tails, a comic drawn by student Jonathan
Hughes. We. hope we’ve created a dialogue of issues important
to you through columns and letters printed on the Viewpoints
page. But most of all, we hope you’ve had an enriching
semester of growth, as a student and as a person.
The Gamecock will take a break for Christmas, but will
return on Jan. 10. We look forward to serving you for another
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
On Monday’s Page 2, the cutline for the picture of the day should have
identified the Office of Community Services.
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
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
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Public Affairs: gamecockPR@yahoo.com
Online: www.dailygamecock.com
Newsroom: 777-7726; Sports: 777-7182
Editor’s Office: 777-3914
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,
Staci Jordan
COPY EDITORS
Jennifer Freeman,
Anna Huntley, Daniel
Regenscheit, Jason
Reynolds, Jennifer
Sitkowski, Shana Till,
Steven Van Haren, Joey
Wallace
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E.B. Davis
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Jane Fielden, Katie Miles
l
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DIRECTOR
Scott Lindenberg
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Erik Collins
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Susan King
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Carolyn Griffin
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Sarah Scarborough
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---1
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The Gamecock Advertising: 777-3888
1400 Greene St. Classified: 777-1184
Columbia, S.C. 29208 Fax: 777-6482
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CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS
Take a stand against a tired policy
■ Administration hasn’t
learned from its earlier
mistakes in Iraq war
I know the election is over, and
everyone is sick of hearing about
politics, but quite frankly, the result
has only motivated me to continue
complaining about what is going on in
this country. After Nov. 3, while I am
sure that a number of people in this
country — a few of whom are on this
campus — joined me in trying to find
a cheap flight to Canada, I have since
decided that running away is neither
practical nor productive, but
revolution is.
It seems to me that the problem with
the current and continuing
administration and with the country in
general is that there is a problem with
education — a fundamental lack of
understanding what is actually going on
here and around the globe. Consider
this, if you look at individual states’
average IQ, the 10 states with the
highest IQ went blue in this election —
that is these “smart” states went
Democratic; in this case, I will go as far
as to say these states went against Bush.
Now to the brunt of my complaint
for today — the holiday season is here,
and a number of soldiers are serving
their second tour in Iraq; let me repeat
— their second. And I will reiterate that
more people have died after the declared
end of this war than during combat. For
those of you who think that this war is
part of a worthy cause and worth all of
the lives that are
being sacrificed
over there, I
would like to
suggest that you
give up your
winter break so
that one of our
soldiers can
ANNA come home and
pQ^ spend time with
- her family.
THIRD-YEAR Thomas
PUBLIC c • j
RELATIONS Friedman s
STUDENT column,
reprinted Nov.
30 in The State,
directs confusion as to where exactly the
plan and security for the end of this war
are. The answer? Nowhere. It seems that
Bush and Carl Rove ran a masterful
scheme trying to convince the American
public that we are safer and more secure
because he was re-elected, and already
he is failing (again) on his promises. The
New York Times reported last week
that despite the 3 million-vote margin
of victory, people have increased
concerns about whether Bush can make
good on his campaign promises.
Friedman says, “Iraq is now about who
has the smarts, the focus, the gumption,
the strategy ... .” Who has the smarts?
My issue with the war is not whether
the Iraqi people are better off without a
psychotic dictator ruling the country —
anyone with sense can see and hear that
the people oflraq, especially women and
children, are better off. Hey, look. Kids
can play soccer now. My issue is the
basis for this war. This is a war on terror,
one that will never be won with guns
and bombs. Having lived in Israel and
experienced constant fear of terrorist
attacks, I feel assured that our country is
being taken in the wrong direction to
win this war.
Terrorism is an ideology, a way of
thinking. It is something that is taught
to children as a way to give them a
reason for why they have the lives they
do, and this reason is that Western
ideology and capitalism is at fault. How
can these children fight against the
unfair allocation of wealth and
resources? Terrorism. To
fundamentalists, terrorism is an effective
way to, at the very least, fight the reason
behind the suffering of their people.
Terrorism does not consist of a
calculated battle plan, it does not follow
the rules of combat, and at its basis it is
education. If Americans want to fight a
war on terror then it has to start with
dispelling the truth in the ideology
behind terrorist attacks.
Fundamentalists preach that it is our
fault for their suffering. Well, consider
this feet: Americans are 5 percent of the
global population, yet we consume 25
percent of the resources. If we are going
to consume at that proportion, then we
have a responsibility to equalize the
consumption of resources in some way.
In an increasingly globalized world,
now is not the time for Americans to
preach the holier-than-thou act, abroad
or at home. It is time for us to educate
ourselves on the facts behind the issues
and to help educate others.
IN YOUR OPINION
Christians can voice
their opinions, too
Thank you, Curtis Chow, for
revealing what I believe to be on the
minds of the majority of
conservative Christians (“Clarifying
my faith in terms of politics,”
Wednesday). Conservative
Christians have taken much heat for
voting based on their personal
convictions in the recent election.
The fact is, each individual
decides which issues are important
to her,' and based on their stance
regarding these issues, votes
accordingly. This is true whether
you are Christian or non-Christian,
pro-choice or pro-life.
My personal belief is that life
begins at conception and that
marriage should be defined as only
between a man and woman. These
are my personal convictions; these
are the issues that are important to
me, and 1 voted accordingly.
Someone more liberal than I am may
believe that same-sex marriages are
OK and that life does not begin until
one is born. I’m sure that person’s
vote reflected her beliefs. Are non
Christians or liberals allowed to vote
based on what they believe to be
important, and I, a conservative
Christian, am not? That sounds a
little intolerant to me.
HOLLY ADELMAN
Third-year biology student
USC, Clemson
deserved bowl bids
I, for one, am not terribly
disappointed that USC will not be
attending a bowl game this year.
However, my position has nothing
to do with the fight (see also: melee,
donnybrook, fracas, brouhaha) that
took place at the end of game with
Clemson Nov. 20.
In my opinion, the unwritten
rule that almost guarantees a team a
bowl game if they win at least six
, y
games during the course of the
season is ridiculous. Considering
the fact that Carolina barely
squeaked by with a sixth win, along
with their mediocre play on both
sides of the ball for the majority of
the season, both translated to an
unfavorable bowl trip.
However, contrary to my
opinion, there are two reasons why I
believe that Clemson (as if I really
cared) and Carolina should both be
allowed to attend bowl games.
First of all, the current policy
does entitle them to it once they
have secured a sixth win. The
players have operated under that
assumption for the entire year, and
to pull the rug out from under them
at this point is unfair.
Second, this lip service being
doled out by the administrations of
both schools with respect to the bowl
issue is nothing more than damage
control. The impression is that both
are taking the “high road” and that
their actions are a means of
indicating to those involved that
such behavior will not go
unpunished.
Anyone who Believes this is
setting herself up for one day being
sold ocean-front property in
Wyoming. Their positions are
instead the direct result of their
concern over what the perception of
their respective universities are in the
media. “Isn’t that their job?” you
might ask. Absolutely, as long as they
deal with such issues fairly and
above-board.
Screwing a player out of a bowl
trip that has been promised to him so
that the athletics director-, and
university president can hide behind
the facade of righteousness is
inexcusable. They are instead coming
across as sanctimonious blowhards. Is
there anyone who believes that
Carolina would not be attending a
bowl game if their record was 11 -0
and there was the possibility of them
traveling to Pasadena, Miami, or
Tempe for a big payday in January
instead of to Nashville or Shreveport in
December; trips which would most
likely cost the university money?
Nothing short of a human sacrifice at
midfield during halftime would have
caused them^to decline a bowl trip
under those circumstances.
Is there anyone who believes that
Carolina would not be attending a bowl
if the fight had occurred in week one,
three, six, etc., of the season instead of
the last game, one short day after the
media blitz about the brawl that took
place at the Pacers-Pistons NBA game?
What would have happened then would
have been individual suspensions for
subsequent games for the worst
offenders, which is exactly what should
have happened here instead. r
It is without a doubt unfortunate
that coach Lou Holtz’s tenure at South
Carolina had to end on such a dour
note. As I’m sure most of you are, I
thank him for all the good things he
brought to the university and wish him
the best of luck in the future. With the
Spurrier era on the horizon, we of the
feathered following again cross our
fingers and hope for good things in the
future. Hopefully, his arrival so close to
the Christmas season will give dual
meaning to the word “savior.”
JOE BRILEY
Class ofy78
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.
: Christmas
compassion
comes from
your wallet
m It’s time to celebrate
the birth of Santa Claus
and commercial ism
The only good thinj $ about the
Christmas season is TNT’s 2 !4 hours of “A
Christmas Story”: 12 consecutive
showings of a delicious movi e rolled into a
swee t little bail
like one of
gram ima’s pecan
clust< zrs.
I say this
becai use Christmas
has lost its way.
The holiday
seaso n has always
been a time of
(uni ortunately)
givin g and
(pr eferably)
recei ving Santa’s
jolly debris.
Thai :’s how our
for efathers
celeb rated it, and
that s how i 11 always celebrs ite it. When 1
talk to my mom on the ph one now and
then, I keep her up-to-date on what she
must buy me if she knows w hat’s good for
her. She knows if I don’t see a pony and a
drum set under the trc e Christmas
morning, I’ll stop loving hi er, and that’s
fine by me. £
But a disturbing trend has begun to
take shape, one in which 1 :he twinkling
spirit of commercialism is I >eing crushed
by love and happiness anc 1 other such
1 novelties.
Tom Hanks’ creepy conductor
character from “The Po lar Express”
warned me of this in a drea m. “Steven,”
he said, “Christmas is the time of year
when we recognize the bii th of Santa
Claus, who later died for y our sins. To
celebrate this day properly, you need to
spend, spend, spend. But be ware of false
idols and warm, fuzzy feeli ngs in your
heart.”
Let’s face it: Winter sucks., It’s a season
of dead stuff and bah-humbu ggery. Poofy
jackets are plentiful. Reindleer meat is
inexplicably scarce. The Coca-Cola
cartoon polar bears haun t my every
waking moment. Sunless days and
freezing nights depress the li ving hell out
of me, so when I huddle together in a
cozy room with my family to get
merchandise, all’s right wit h the World.
I already took a stab at “Holiday spirit”
last year. My roommates an < J I strung red
Christmas lights in our Bares West crib.
They unexpectedly gave o ur apartment
the charming glow of a whorehouse, so
we gave them a chance. The lights’
holiday goodness flat-lined around exam
week, and I was back to square one.
Holiday spirit got me nothing, except a
few knocks on the door from horny Bates
Westers. OK, it got me something.
When will it stop? Thcrre’s a guy at
Wal-Mart who stands right at the
entrance and wags a be* II to collect
money for some cult-like “Army.” It’s a
clever ploy, actually. Little kids (and 21
year-old little kids) get all confused and
think it’s the sound of Sa nta’s sleigh. I
almost didn’t stop myself from putting
in some pocket change. Heavens to
Betsy. But his aura of decency and aim
for a greater good didn’t s;top my quest
to lengthen my wish list.
Sometimes we old-school romantics
luck out. I hiked past the Russell House
one day this week and found myself
accosted by several holiday fund-raising
cronies. I didn’t have a dlime on me —
thank Santa — but I’m suire they didn’t
believe me when I told them that. I had a
sick urge to jump off my bike and shove
my empty wallet into their faces and
scream, “See? No money! Boo ya!” Either
way, I beat the system and this disturbing
trend. Take that, Homeless Kids with
Cancer and No Shoes Fun d.
When we face Santa <on our Day of
Judgment, he’ll ask us if ’^e’ve been bad
or good. Hey, we’re not all saints, and
sometimes we mess up. I’ve quite
shamefully donated some money here and
there in previous holiday seasons. But I’m
not worried. We’re all busy, and how
much can pocket change help? Couldn’t
be much at all.
STEVEN
VAN
HAREN
THIRD-YEAR
MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING
STUDENT
ONLINE PO LL
Did USC make the right
decision to not to go to a bowl
game?
Yes 77% |
No 23%
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