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EDITORIAL BOARD
EDITOR ASST. VIEWPOINTS EDITOR
Michael LaForgia Patrick Augustine
NEWS EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR
Jon Turner Jonathan Hillyard
VIEWPOINTS EDITOR DESIGN DIRECTOR
Wes Wolfe Chas McCarthy
THE MIX EDITOR COPY DESK CHIEF
Jennifer Freeman Steven Van Haren
IN OUR OPINION
Iraq election violence
did not stop democracy
The Bush administration's gamble to replace Saddam
Hussein's dictatorial regime with a stable democracy got a boost
yesterday when Iraqis turned out in large numbers all over the
country for that nation's first free election in more than 20
years.
Despite 36 deaths in attacks on
polling places, the fear of election-day
violence did not dissuade high
turnout nationwide, which is good
news as Iraq moves toward the devel
opment of a constitution. While the
actual results of the polling will not be known for at least a
week and a half, the worry that Sunni Muslims would boycott
the elections were allayed when extra ballots had to be rushed to
villages in the 'Sunni Triangle.' The Sunnis' failure to vote
would have cast doubts on the vote's legitimacy and would have
complicated the efforts to write a constitution that protected the
needs of the Shiite majority and the rights of both Kurds and
Sunnis, but if Iraq's ethnic minorities feel that they had their
say in the process, it will lend legitimacy to the building of a
functional and free multiethnic society in the Middle East.
Indications are that the turnout might even rival that in the
United States during the recent presidential election, a sobering
revelation for Americans that get a day off work to vote and still
manage' to avoid their civic duty while not having to worry
about their life while doing so. The focus within Arab regional
media on the successes of the voting process instead of the con
tinuing violence is also a telling sign that many people in the
region are clamoring for a similar opportunity that their govern
ments continue to deny them.
Opponents of the war in Iraq can find comfort in that even
though our reasons for invading the nation were tenuous at the
time, free elections are the first step to undermining the reasons
everyday Iraqis have for supporting the anti-American insurgen
cy, and to ending our military involvement in the region.
The fear of
election-day
violence did not
dissuade high
voter turnout
nationwide.
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CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS
Uncertainty lines road to perfection
■ Sometimes the wrong
choices made today put
you on the right path
I had a conversation at dinner
recently that went like this:
Me: I have no idea what I’m doing
with my life.
Friends: Ha. Join the club.
So what? Maybe I’m a friend to
exceptionally aimless wanderers. Or,
maybe that brief interlude speaks to a
more universal uncertainty among
people our age. Personally, I was that
taboo U-word, “undeclared," until the
end of my sophomore year, and since
then I’ve added and changed and
dropped majors so much, my academic
career looks like the final season of
“90210” — a lot has evolved since the
beginning, but it doesn’t look quite as
right as it did. So it’s no surprise that I’m
a victim of the JJncertainty Principle.
My roommate, on the other hand, has
been a pre-med biology student since we
were freshmen. I know that someday she
will be a fabulous doctor. People like
that — the ones who know exactly
where they’re going — intimidate me.
Well, they used to. That is, until my
roommate confessed that she too has
questions and doubts.
The same thing goes for my best
friend. She’s been dating and madly in
love with the same guy for years. And it’s
not the kind of puppy love you get sick
of being around. It’s the kind of perfect
fit that reminds you what you’re holding
out for. But, to my immense relief, even
the most enviable
romance isn’t
immune to
uncertainties, and
I’m still called
upon when those
questions come
up, however
infrequently, to
ASHLEY ”*
KOLAYA „ «„ P,„„
obvious that this
THIRD-YEAR
INTERNATIONAL Uncertainty
STUDIES Principle is by no
STUDENT ic
means reserved tor
the truly confused
in the worlds of dating and academics.
It’s more like an epidemic, plaguing
every decision we make. Am I wearing
the right outfit for this occasion, or am I
going to wish I’d worn those other
shoes? Do I really want to be a physical
therapist, or am I going to realize 20
years down the road that my real passion
is marine science, and I never should
have dropped that lab?
I’m a terrible romantic and an
extreme idealist, so I don’t see anything
wrong with wanting the Perfect Fit. The
perfect-fitting jeans, the perfect-fitting
job, the perfect-fitting relationship. But,
I also think that everything happens for
a reason. Maybe it’s naive, but isn’t life
more fulfilling if the things in it mean
something? Statistically speaking, if
there’s only one perfect-fitting life (as the
definition would seem to imply), we’ll
all have to sift through lots of less-than
perfect choices before we get to the right
ones. Knowing how to find the reason or
purpose behind the things in your life
turns regrets and wrong choices into
lessons about yourself and advice for the
future.
Then there’s ever-present change
factor. Even if we’re lucky enough to
find that perfect pair of jeans early on,
who’s to say a new interest in jogging or
the infamous “college ass” setting in
won’t change that? -
Maybe, then, we should learn to be a
bit more shortsighted. If nothing else,
our wrong choices can play a valuable
role in the process of elimination that
will, hopefully, lead to the right ones.
So, if you’re lucky enough to be
someone like my roommate or my best
friend, someone who has the Perfect Fit
in sight, then hold fist. To people like
me, you’re extremely fortunate. If, on
the other hand, you fall into the not-so
lucky category, so what? Embrace the
Uncertainty Principle. Don’t be afraid
to say, “I don’t know." I have no idea
where my perfect relationship is. I have
no idea what my perfect-fitting career is.
I did get a new pair of jeans from the
Gap that isn’t quite perfect, but they
make my college ass look pretty damn
good. As for the other choices I’ve made
so fir, they might not have been the
Perfect Fit, but they’ve made me, at
best, genuinely happy, at worst, wiser
than I was before I made them, and
always optimistic — optimistic that
some day, eventually, I will find the
perfect-fitting life; or, maybe it’ll find
me — in the meantime, at least my ass
looks good.
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 feature, the Web site www.dancingtheart.com was
misidentified.
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
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IN YOUR OPINION
Five Points racism
not limited to blacks
I thought it was just me ("Five
Points puts out racist welcome mat,"
Wednesday). It seems that these bars
are racist, but in fact they
discriminate against whites also. I
remember getting kicked out of
Group Therapy for having on
Adidas pants and a Michael Jordan
jersey while hearing Mobb Deep
playing in the background.
That is equivalent to being kicked
out of a country bar for wearing a
cowboy hat and a belt buckle. It
might just be me, but these “dress
codes” are just another form of
discrimination against having any
type of diversity.
I can’t be the only one that loves
to see everyone in khakis and pink
shirts and pay $5 for a Bud Light,
can I?
Certain Five Points bars should
adopt Maurice’s BBQ’s rebel flag to
let me know not to support such
blatantly racist establishments.
Jungle Jim’s is one of the few non
racist establishments in the area, and
go figure — the owner isn’t white.
P.S. Don’t even mention to these
people that the South lost the Civil
War, because it seems they think the
war is still going on.
JEFF BOYCE
Fourth-year chemical
engineering student
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be published. Call the newsroom at 777
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CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS
COLLEGE QUOTE BOARD
THE TIGER
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
During the first approval process, no one claimed that Plan B jras unsafe.
Opponents of the pill have called for it to be kept off the counters because they claim
it will encourage risky sexual activity, especially among young women and teenage
girls. A San Francisco study reported by CNN.com suggests otherwise, but still,
opponents speak out against the pill. Unfortunately, the FDA seems to be giving in
to this pressure by conservative groups and politicians instead of considering the
scientific facts about Plan B.
INDIANA DAILY STUDENT
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
Inexperienced teenage drivers are allowed to change the radio, talk to passengers
and style their hair, but once a cell phone is added to the mix, their capacity for
multi-tasking ends, say Virginia legislators. The Virginia Senate Transportation
Committee recently approved a bill that would prohibit drivers under 18 years of
age from talking on cell phones at the wheel. Apparently, the committee deems
only those 18 and older as capable of operating a motor vehicle while discussing
who’s going to pick up Billy from soccer practice on a mobile phone.
s„ ' U-W1RE
ensnare
mankind
■ Lesser members of
our flock survive the
natural selection plan
Look around you. Does everyone
around you look, well, maybe not so
bright? There’s a reason.
I know, I know, you think it’s
because you’re in
a business class at
USC. And yes,
that’s part of the
problem. But
there is a much
larger issue at
hand as well, one
that goes far
beyond South
GRAHAM Carol.na s
CULBERTSON ^“mofhigh“
or education.
FOURTH-YEAR I’m sure
ENGLISH you’ve heard of
Charles Darwin,
either as a
scientist or a devil worshiper,
depending on how you were raised. In a
nutshell, Darwin’s theory of evolution
said that individuals in a species that
weren’t fit to live would die out, and the
genetic material from the stronger,
better members of that species would
move forward. Back in the day, this idea
applied to all species, but nowadays,
there are a few key exceptions for whom
evolution has come to a halt: various
endangered and protected species,
College Republicans, cheerleaders and
mankind in general.
That’s right, the 20th century has
seen the end of human evolution. Take
a look around the classroom again. See
that overweight, balding guy wheezing
away in the corner, reading a Japanese
comic book? Do you think he would
have survived for a second during the
Cretaceous period? Not a chance. Some
Cro-Magnon man would have eaten
him for breakfast.
l Jldiiro iu dii ui uui iccimuiugicdi
gadgets, gidgets and flying nuns, we
don’t need to outfight Cro-Magnon
men. But we routinely need to outthink
the Russkies, household pets and
Clemson students. The only problem is
we're primed to get dumber.
Think about it. Those of you with
average or above-average intelligence
plan to get married (if you can talk a girl
away from the football team), get a
good-paying job, have 1.4 children and
therefore decrease the surplus
population. That guy over there in the
Cocks camo hat, hitting on the
cheerleader? Yeah, they’re going to have
17 kids together and live off the welfare
your taxes provide. And believe me, the
babies in their future ain’t exactly going
to grow up to be a bunch of little
Norman Einsteins. Half of them are
going to be named Cooter, but they’re
all going to get into Clemson. Who’s
going to compete with them?
By now I think you’re beginning to
understand the extent of our problem.
There are a few solutions, including
forcing cheerleaders to marry
engineering nerds, slipping birth
control into the water supplies of all the
red states or simply imposing a birth
limit that is directly proportional to IQ
scores. (Oh let’s see, hmm, score of 95,
sorry sir, no kids for you. You can either
choose the complimentary hamster or
enter the “Adopt One of Stephen
Hawking’s 9 Million Test Tube Babies
Contest". Yes sir, I think “Cooter” is a
wonderful name for a hamster.)
Of course, all those ideas are
nothing but wishful thinking.
The government would never
intervene; in fact, a stupid U.S.
population is probably the best possible
situation for the powers that be. The
only possible solution is for us to
increase the number of smart babies
out there, and fast. Ladies of the
Honors College, I’m afraid we all have
to take one for the team sooner or later.
I’ll see you guys tonight at Maxcy
College say, 6 o’clock? Oh, and if you
have a cheerleader friend, you might as
well bring her — sometimes they’re
smarter than they look.