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. _ ONLINE POLL j 1 ft ft / I ft / \ \ I F I 1 L 1 Do you believe that racism exists ai _ _ I ft-^ ft/ft/ I—" I I % I Five Points bars and clubs? Let uj Fage 5 ft ft ' 1 ft/ ft/ I If 111 knowatwww.dailygamecock.com Friday, February 11,2005 I I -A f f 1 I Results posted Friday / THlfeAMECOCK EDITORIAL BOARD B 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 SG elections matter, so sign on and vote Students vote for Student Government officers and senators on Monday and Tuesday on VIP, and with the ease of voting and numerous sources of information about the 16 candidates running, there is no excuse not to vote. However, in last spring’s SG election, only about 18.5 per cent of enrolled students did so — 2,804 votes were cast out of 15,184 eligible students. Sadly, SG called this a victory, SG is one of the few outlets for a serious discussion of USC’s problems. since it received about 400 more votes than the year before, claiming this meant SG was increasingly relevant to stu dents who live and attend class on Columbia’s campus. SG controls a sizable amount or money rrom student activity rees tnat every run-time stu dent pays each semester. Therefore, SG has a significant impact on all student organizations. Also, while some may write SG off as a debating society for self-important collegians, the organization is one of few forums for serious discussion of problems that face USC stu dents on a daily basis. While it’s foolish for candidates to make promises they can not keep, SG officers can increase participation by underlining the influence it has in daily aspects of student life. Part of SG’s challenge lies in the public-relations problem the organi zation has despite efforts to connect with students through advertisements. Few students actually know what SG does other than pay for USA Today newspapers. The SG Web site is a good way for students to stay current with what the organization is doing, but the truth is that few students actually visit it on a regular basis. SG should investigate creating an e-mail list serve to let stu dents know on a weekly basis the legislation that is up for consideration, via USC’s e-mail system. Along with not forgetting to call your mom and significant other Monday for Valentine’s Day, read The Gamecock’s 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 at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu. I ~ I 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 Nielsen, Megan Sinclair COPY EDITORS Jessica Foster, Brindy McNair, Daniel Regenscheit, Jason Reynolds, Katie Thompson, Shana Till ONLINE EDITOR Ryan Simmons 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 1-3 p.m. Editor: 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 ^ 1 U DENT MEDIA DIRECTOR Scott Linden berg 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 tne 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 $1 each from the Department of Student Media. TO PLACE AN AD The Gamecock Advertising: 777-3888 1400 Greene St. Classified: 777-1184 1$ Columbia, S.C. 29$8 Fax-. 777-6482 £ y WHAT DO You THiNK? iSTriis Too ^ LOUD? X C3fy never Seem To Teu... CARTOON COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS ‘Exactly what are we? ’ Ask Cupid ■ Monday’s the perfect time to figure out what your “relationship” is Look at the date on the top of this newspaper. Now count how many more days you have until — that day. And you know what I’m talking about. So now that you’ve got that feeling you get when you realize you’re about to take a midterm that you spent more time drinking about to forget than studying for to pass, it’s time to admit that you’re going to have to deal with this. Feb. 14. If you’re that girl who puts up that away message every night that says “Sleeping next to my baby,” with the wink-face at the end of it — just quit reading this. And if you’re that guy who says he can’t come out drinking tonight because he told his girlfriend he’d see “The Vagina Monologues” with her, well, you can quit reading too. Now that I have half the cheerleading team reading something else and have the undivided attention of the College Republicans, here’s some Valentine’s advice for those unlucky college students who fall into that gray area between relationships and “relationships.” Well, there go the College Republicans — that phrase “gray area” always seems to confuse them and really spin their bow ties. But here it goes. A friend of mine asked me the other day what he should do about this girl he’s been seeing for the past month. The thing is, when he sees her it’s only when two things are happening. First, it’s at night. Second, they’re drunk. But it’s been COREY s°ing on for a HUTCHINS :hile now and he s not sure FIFTH-YEAR what he’s STUDENT supposed to do when that day comes around next week. Buy her flowers? Take her out to lunch? Or maybe just send her a card saying thanks for the past month of casual no-strings-attached informal bunk-bed rocking after a night of keg stands and flip cup. I didn’t know what to tell him, and even after watching a marathon of the “Sex and The City” box set, we still couldn’t figure it out. I have another friend who has a similar problem. He’s got this girl he works with who sleeps with every other waiter at the restaurant, and he knows it. He doesn’t get to sleep with her, but she spends the night with him on her “nights off,” so to speak, and complains about all the guys that do. And she usually cries. And he usually lets her stay and thinks maybe life would be easier if he could just be like one of those guys. So what should he do Feb. 14? Ask her to spend the night watching “Love Actually”? Tell her if she can’t choose a guy that day they could always go out for coffee and he can bite his tongue like he always does? Or maybe he should buy her a pregnancy test wrapped up in pink cheesecloth and purple conversation hearts. The thing is, Valentine’s Day in the real world is probably a lot easier than it ever will be in college. It’s a day made for married people. No gray areas — just chocolates and teddy bears. It’s to make up for all the late nights at the office and excuses about headaches all year. It’s supposed to be something that makes this part of the winter just a little warmer. In college, though, it’s different. We use it as a day to let people really show what they’ve been secretly trying to say with every drunk dial at 4 a.m. and every cryptic AIM profile we think might be directed toward us. It’s the day that’s secredy going to make us realize just what’s actually going on with the guys and girls we’re “seeing,” or “talking to” or “just friends with — really — no, seriously just friends with.” So take these next few days to plan it out. Think it through. And make sure when Valentine’s Day does come and go, that “friend with benefits” you had Feb. 13 isn’t just a regular “friend” Tuesday. But don’t listen to me. I’ve got it made. The girl I’m dating this year is from Germany and thinks V-day is just another capitalist holiday. It could be that this time I’m just getting my “love” confused with “luck.” IN YOUR OPINION FCA’s evolution talk leaves out key facts On Feb. 3, I attended a lecture sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes on creationism and evolution. The speaker presented “scientific evidence” against evolution and generally condemned it as anti-Christian, racist and scientifically unsound. Although we were told there would be a question-and-answer session at the end of the talk, it was later cancelled. I am writing this letter for anyone who attended the FCA lecture and wants to hear the other side of the story. First let me state that although I am an evolutionary biologist by profession, I do not hate Christians and I am not a racist. Most people who understand evolution are not Christian-haters, and many are actually Christians themselves. A large number of Christian denominations, including Catholic, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopal and Methodist groups and even some evangelicals, not only accept evolution but embrace it as further evidence of God’s work. Statements from many of these organizations are on the Web at www.ncseweb.org/article.asp?catego ry=2. The fact that we evolved from earlier organisms in no way weakens God’s or people’s innate goodness. Second, to my knowledge, all the scientific criticisms of evolution the speaker presented were unfounded. I don’t have the space to detail the speaker’s misstatements, but I would suggest two Web sites (www.natcenscied.org and www.talkorigins.org/origins/faqs qa.html) that debunk many of his arguments. There is strong scientific evidence supporting evolution from a range of biological disciplines. We can observe evolution in response to natural selection in the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and pesticide resistance in insects. In embryology, we often see embryos develop and then lose structures that are functional in other groups with which they share ancestry. For example, adult whales lack external hind limbs, but these limbs are observed in developing whale embryos. Clearly this is evidence that whales evolved from a four-legged ancestor. Moreover, paleontologists have found well preserved transitional fossils that link whales to their four-legged ancestors. These and many other examples explain why evolution is widely accepted among scientists. Again, it is not my intent to convert any one away from any particular religious belief, but to share information that was not available the night of the FCA lecture. Universities are places of learning and should be open to the free exchange of ideas. Take a look at the evidence for evolution and draw your own conclusions. SARAH GILMAN Postdoctoral researcher in the College of Arts and Sciences This fine newspaper merits more respect This is going to be a rare letter to The Gamecock for sure. I’m actually going to praise the newspaper. To laud it. To give a round of applause to the staff of 30 working on a limited budget to churn out a 15-page paper complete with color photos and a wide coverage of topics that students can pick up at countless locations for free. Perfection? Hardly. There are errors, but the staff asks to be corrected and prints all the corrections. I pick up The Gamecock three times a week religiously and read it cover-to cover. There are some good writers on the staff who are able to express themselves well through editorials. The much-fnaligned columnist Curtis Chow is my favorite, with the girl stymied columnist Chase Stoudenmire a close second. Ryan Dallas does a great job in the movie review section,- writing lucid and informative reviews in about a quarter of a page of newsprint. I actually wrote for The Gamecock last year (about two articles on the softball team when the regular guy was out), and I can tell you, it’s not that easy. I had to attend softball games, take notes and then write a 500-word article on what I had seen. Sounds kind of like homework, doesn’t it? When was the last time any of the complainers actually saw our softball team play? The softball players are great, I might add. They made me a fan. At times The Gamecock can be well-written, clever and informative. Other times it can be a little boring and have an error or two. However, in spite of this occasional blandness or misprint, it in no way deserves the flak it has been getting recently. The opinion letters have not only been attacking the articles, but it seems the writers as well. Just know that there are those of us who enjoy The Gamecock and actually look forward to reading it every other day of the week. STEPHEN COLLINS Second-year English 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. I’d rather get whacked than arrive a little late ■ Being time-obsessed sucks when my friends are consistently tardy “You’d be late for your own (bleepin’) funeral,” — Joe Pesci, before hollowing Samuel L. Jackson’s skull in “GoodFellas.” Pesci saw fit to dispatch Jackson after one too many punctuality issues in a heist. Jackson was always late. While I haven’t been STEVEN commissioned to VAN kill anyone in at HAREN least six months, I share Pesci’s THIRD-YEAR passion for one MECHANICAL P IOr °"e ENGINEERING thing. STUDENT I have to be on time. No, I have to be early. I have to be insanely, horribly, disastrously early. It’s actually pretty embarrassing. To bike from right outside Five Points to 300 Main St. for an 8 a.m. class, I leave at 7 a.m. If I’m feeling cavalier, I’ll push it to 7:05 and giggle like a fiend. It takes me an hour to drive 70 miles when I go home. I allot that same hour to bike less than two miles. I know it’s ridiculous, i.e. worthy of brutal ridicule, but I can’t shut it off, man. Cocaine is a rosier, if not less lonely, addiction than my Nazi nnrw-riiilitir Trains. Car accidents. Car pileups. Train-car pileups. Soul Train pileups. I imagine all the possible slowdowns I could encounter and begin to sweat. No, I’m not joking. I think of this stuff. If I set a time with someone, I.stick to it. I’m there. But some of my iardy friends come strutting up to meet me exactly 12 minutes late with a dirt eating grin and a pimpish walk. They’re on top of the world. “Why so glum, home skillet?” they ask. Apparently they escaped the Soul Train disaster. My eyes move to the perfectly functioning watches on their hands. I twitch. Maybe today’s Fossils and Casios aren’t big enough. I imagine my friends walking around with grandfather clocks surgically grafted to their backs. Oh, sweet mother that’s nice. Deeper in my belly, a fiery impulse tells me to throttle them with my bare hands. This is the worst kind of betrayal. You sick bastards. I look at these people and realize yes, some actually would be late to their own funerals. They would draw up some kind of post-mortem clause instructing the casket to be wheeled in 10 minutes late — just to be fashionable. And, in twain, I would be the first person to ever walk out in the middle of the Lord’s Prayer. “‘Cause I’m stupid like that.” Right on, Pesci. Jeez, I get mad. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not bashing the student body — I’m just bashing my family and closest lifelong friends. Now there’s a column with gusto! Hey, these are the people I have to aeai witn. All people have one quirk that makes them a fool, and this one’s definitely inherited. Growing up, my family and I went to movies way ahead of their scheduled starting times. Twenty rotations of that pre-movie slide show really got us pumped. There’s nothing quite like tacking on a 45-minute car commercial to the start of “Waterworld,” especially when you’ve been guzzling soda the last hour. My bladder is now a province of Columbia. All this in the name of punctuality. It’s madness. Now I’m always early and my friends are always late. I’ve never even met my roommate, and we’ve known each other since sixth grade. I like to think my head’s in the right place, but others don’t agree. “Am I a clown? Do I amuse you?” I n\rr r\TT? T»r^T t V-^X ^ Jl_/JlX ^ M-.J JL V/Xii J Did you watch the State of the Union speech? Yes 35% No 65% __ FROM WVYV.DAII-YGAMECOCK.OOM