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• » ONLINE POLL Who do you think will win p _ the Super Bowl? Let us know at rage V www.dailygamecock.com. Wednesday, February 2, 2005 Results posted Friday. , AMECOCK EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR Michael LaForgia NEWS EDITOR Jon Turner VIEWPOINTS EDITOR Wes Wolfe THE MIX EDITOR Jennifer Freeman ASST. VIEWPOINTS EDITOR Patrick Augustine SPORTS EDITOR Jonathan Hillyard DESIGN DIRECTOR Chas McCarthy COPY DESK CHIEF Steven Van Haren IN OUR OPINION Wireless Web helps campus While network problems are a frequent concern for on-campus students, Computer Services continues to do an excellent job of expanding USC’s already-formidable IT resources by unveiling an expanding campus-wide wireless network “bubble” this month. Dovetailing comfortably with the university administration’s over arching goal of improving USC’s national reputation by building a research campus and consolidation of the arts and sciences, Computer Services has used resources wisely to stay at the forefront of technological advancements for campus data access. Instead of waiting unui me scnooi racea a Wireless Internet crisis of capacity with more stu is essential in the dents than ever using the campus modern academic nltwo,k ^ incteaSi„g w landscape. fottmdwid*,uscisaie*ie, access-wise among its peer institutions. The lack of significant prob lems upon students’ return to campus after winter break proves Computer Services’ success. This all translates into better, more reliable access nearly anywhere on campus. The wireless cloud will not replace physical connections in residence halls, but will be a boon for those studying outside who need Internet access for research or recreation. Some on-campus areas, like the Horseshoe and the Thomas Cooper Library, are already wireless, but the first phase of expansion will cover the areas bounded by Pendleton, Pickens, Sumter and Rosewood — a signifi cant portion of USC and downtown Columbia. Eventually, Phase II will include the areas from Capstone to the Horseshoe, and from th< Horseshoe to the Colonial Center and Greek Village. Students who already have access to the existing wireless network will still need to attend wireless training classes along with those who have never previously used the system. Details about the hardware requirements for using the network, along with sign-ups for the mandatory training classes, can be found on Computer Services’ Web site. Although high-speed Internet access is not a- right, it is no doubt essentia] in the modern academic landscape, and the wireless networl is yet another intangible improvement in the lives of all students on the Columbia campus. 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 If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us a gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK EDITOR Michael LaForgia DESIGN DIRECTOR Chas McCarthy ^ COPY DESK CHIEF Steven Van Haren NEWS EDITOR Jon Turner ASST. NEWS EDITOR Kelly Cavanaugh VIEWPOINTS EDITOR Wes Wolfe THE MIX EDITOR Jennifer Freeman ASST. THE MIX EDITOR Carrie Givens SPORTS EDITOR Jonathan Hillyard ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Stephen Fastenau SENIOR WRITER Kevin Fellner PHOTO EDITOR Jason Steelman SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR Katie Kirkland PAGE DESIGNERS Jillian Garis, Staci Jordan, Jessica Ann L Nielsen COPY EDITORS Jessica Foster, Brindy McNair, Daniel Regenscheit, Jason Reynolds, Katie Thompson, Shana Till ONLINE EDITOR Ryan Simmons PUBLIC AFFAIRS Jane Fielden, Katie Miles TO PLACE AN AD The Gamecock Advertising: 777-3888 1400 Greene St. Classified: 777-1184 Columbia, S.C. 29208 Fax: 777-6482 » 4 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 ADVERTISING STAFF Robert Carli, Breanna Evans, Ryan Gorman, Caroline Love, Katie Stephens, McKenzie Welsh 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 anu mui mube oi me University of South Carolina. The Board of AW Student Publications | and Communications is I 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 $1 each from the Department of Student Media. I SCtevVSTS SPCf gKTRATgRRe?TRlAuS WILL WISH ZAKTH W ITW//\5Jv$T ^ r A wo V ' u/Akt^p td K^ow (p j - W£ A6£££P WTH y VytHP 5Cf£MT<5r5//_ 1 ri=^i— \l^f _ /I / I CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Sarcasm aside, Vm a terrific guy ■ Misguided Chow haters lack respect, senses of humor The long expected day has finally arrived. Week after week 1 rant and rave about something or other with characteristic satirical mockery. This line of writing leads to one inevitable denouement — I have run out of things to make fun of. So as I struggle to find something to fill my 600 word-plus weekly quota, I’ve resorted to turning my sights to one target I have avoided since the conception of my writing. Yes, this week’s column is making fun of the infamous Curtis Chow. Just kidding. I’m freaking awesome. In feet, I remind myself of this fact each morning when I wake up, give myself a hug, and tell myself that I like me and that’s all that matters. I then groggily make my way to the shower, where I bathe myself with environmentally unfriendly chemicals. I groom myself, preparing for my daily appearance on the “Curtis Show," where everything is about me and how ridiculously awesome I am. I’ll make my way to Bed Bath & Beyond, where I systematically rip the “Do not remove under penalty of the law” tags off the pillows — all in time to catch my daily 9 a.m. appointment to punt my roommate’s cat, smoking and swearing while I do so. ■ After my morning routine, I’m ready to begin my day, which typically involves picking on children and pillaging Third World villages. I always make it Qjjpyjg a point to laugh OHOW sardonically as I leave them in FOURTH-YEAR devastation. ECONOMICS oil STUDENT Ihroughout all my encounters, I use my uncanny ability to single out insecurities to store up ammunition for my weekly column. After all, the display of grace is for ballerinas and small girls. After a few hours of loafing about, I go to bed, satisfied with my day’s work. I’ve found much of my inflammatory writing stems from my unhealthily large head. It was brought to my attention a while ago that in addition to my fan club, someone took the liberty of establishing an anti-Curtis Chow club on thefacebook.com. At first I was amused, even somewhat proud that I could elicit such a reaction. I joined and was promptly kicked out. As I thought about it more, I became upset that I was singled out as an individual (my columns never targeted anyone by name). But as I thought of it still more, I just became introspective. How much of my written and verbal expression simply expresses disapproval of people, rather than an endorsement of positive social change? I’m reminded of a passage from one of my favorite books, “Blue Like Jazz” by Donald Miller. He recounts an anecdote of when he attended a protest, waving a sign and advocating political change. If only we could change our buying habits, or elect socially conscious representatives. But as he followed this line of inquiry, he arrived at the conclusion that the problem doesn’t lie in the system — the problem is the same it’s always been. “I am the problem." * My large head has convinced me that everything else is a problem — we need to fix everything else, or at least ridicule it to make it less mainstream and cool. Admittedly, there is a degree of personal responsibility amiss in this line of thinking. Sadly, I see the same pattern amid our campus. From politics to religion, everyone (myself included) is so adamandy expressing their disapproval of everyone else’s views that we have forsaken a-vital element of humanity — human dignity. This isn’t to say that we cannot maintain our own views and stand steadfastly to convictions of truth, but rather to say that there is a desperate need for insightful discourse between political, religious and cultural barriers rather than merely bashing the “opposition” within our own respective cliques. IN YOUR OPINION i Blacks, whites must accept one another ^ One day I was riding the shuttle to Y class, and just like it always is, there was standing room only. Next to me, a black girl, who was sitting down, said to a black guy, who was also sitting down, “You should let that girl sit in your seat," to which he replied, “If she was a black girl." I have been insulted many times in my life, but never has an insult degraded me like that one reply did. I am sick and tired of the reverse racism that is so rampant on this campus. It isn’t epough that the black student population has its own major (USC would never allow a white history major). They segregate themselves with their own cliques, parties, clubs, student organizations, dance steps, fraternities and sororities. They also segregate themselves with mindsets like that one black guy has. I think I speak for the general white student population when I say we’re tired of it. Color does not matter — it only matters to you, but you make it evident to us with this segregation and rub your “differences” in our faces. The black population always espouses equality, that they want the racial line to go away — to “belong” to society. Well, if you want the line to go away then learn to integrate yourselves and stop the self-separation. If you want the line to go away, then stop harboring ignorant mindsets. If you want the line to go away, then let go of whatever grudge you have against people who aren’t like you. You are missing out on so much and on so many great people by closing yourselves off and sticking “to your own kind." We are not just black, white, red, yellow, green or blue. We belong to one race, and only one (no matter how naive it sounds), and that’s the human race. STEFANIE BOPP Fourth-year biology student Vaginas have joined left-wing conspiracy I was appalled but unfortunately not surprised to read in The Gamecock that the university and its Student Government representatives are hosting a “Vagina Day” ("V-Day carnival to benefit women’s shelter," Monday). Even more bizarre is that the leaders of this event are under the ludicrous assumption that displaying the female sex organ in a shocking and disrespectful manner will somehow advance the women’s-rights movement. While I agree that it is absolutely necessary to highlight the very real problem of domestic violence, I am steadfastly opposed to the way USC is choosing to do so. Instead of actually benefiting victims of domestic abuse, the organizers of this event are trivializing an important issue. The event raises real questions about public decency and the legitimate use -of students’ money. Can the taxpayer-funded university administration and the activity fee funded Student Government actually force students to accept such a display? There is no doubt that this event’s liberal supporters will wrap themselves in free-speech arguments. The truth is that they are free to discuss sensitive issues, but they are not free to spit in the face of decency and morality all the while coercing the student body into compliance with their left-wing ideologies. 1 dppidUU IdUUlg IlUJllCy IU1 CllclIlUCS that desperately need it. However, for the many students who are appalled that their student fees are being used for such purposes and for the taxpayer whose hard-earned dollar is given to the university, this is an outrage. I propose instead an alternate fond-raiser, one that raises money for the same charities but isn’t burdened by the extreme minority’s outlandish ideas. PRESTON GRISHAM Fourth-year public relations student 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. WINNERS AND SINNERS BUSH ADMINISTRATION Requests that the death benefit for U.S. soldiers be raised to $100,000. IRAQ Millions of Iraqis participate in first democratic elections in decades. DON FOWLER South Carolina native and USC professor is among the top candidates competing to be the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee. JAMES DOBSON Conservative minister launches anti gay crusade against SpongeBob SquarePants. JOHNNIE SMITH Greenville bishop sentenced to a three years probation for having sex with a 12-year old girl more than 30 years ago. KING GYANENDRA Nepalese king sacks elected government, cuts off phone and Internet lines to other countries and declares martial law. V ' - \ Ice storm sends S. C. into state of terror ■ A little winter weather has a habit of causing Carolinians to go nuts Americans are praying for overcast skies today as Punxsutawney Phil emerges from Gobbler's Knoll and determines our Spring Break plans. But it seems I South Carolina is always rooting for the groundhog. After all, we’ve got nothing to lose. Six more weeks of cold is 42 potential days off given this ADAM state’s paralyzing BEAM fear of winter weather. FOURTH-YEAR , , , PRINT Just °°* at JOURNALISM this weekend’s STUDENT . , joke ol an ice storm for an example. Retailers were on red alert Friday night as scared South Carolinians packed the grocery aisles for milk, bread and buy-one-get-one free DVDs. By Saturday the panic was on. When I left for work Saturday night, it was 40 degrees and raining. But that was more than enough to close restaurants early and cancel USC’s Saturday classes and Sunday’s church services. I’ve seen a lot of South Carolina winters, and they’re all the same — bitter cold in the mornings and evenings and 55 to 60 degrees during the day. I remember snow falling on my birthday in the second grade. It snowed for 10 minutes, and school was canceled. I lived across the street, so I walked home. The snow had melted by the time I got there. Then there was the time in middle school when forecasters predicted record lows. No chance of precipitation, but school, along with everything else, was canceled anyway, because it was cold. My dad was a pastor for almost 20 years, and he never canceled church services, even when it really was dangerous. His thinking was if Jesus Christ could carry a cross, naked, up a hill, we could at least drive to church in a snow flurry. dui asiuc irum me, my uau was aionc in his thinking. Every church in the area would cancel services at the drop of a flake, and this weekend was no different. “But," you might say, “South Carolina just doesn’t have as many resources as northern states." While northern states have bigger budgets for snowstorms, South Carolina has plenty of resources for clearing the roads. The State newspaper reported Saturday “public works trucks have been serviced and loaded with sand and salt." The newspaper also quoted a Columbia official who said workers were on call all night, and all they had to do was “show up and jump in the trucks." Let’s get real here. We’re not worried about blizzards snowing us in for weeks at a time without bread and/or milk. All we really want is a day off. And if the majority in this state wants something, they can usually get it. South Carolina politicians would face enormous pressure if they didn’t close all state offices at the first hint of snow. I’ve worked at the State House for the past three years, and when meteorologists say snow is coming, the legislators — and the staff that serves them — stay home. As a state institution, USC is in the same situation. Two years ago there was a threat of an ice storm. USC canceled classes at 4 p.m. on a Wednesday. The ice storm never came. I was supposed to take a final exam that Saturday but because of the cancellation had to drive back to school from my house a week later to take it. All because of a winter-weather paranoia. I love my state, but sometimes it drives me crazy — which is a lot further than most South Carolinians drove this weekend. I’ve had about all I can stand of feigned concerns for safety. Even if Phil doesn’t see his shadow, South Carolina will probably figure out some way to extend winter.