Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VIEWPOINTS AMECOCK EDITORIAL BOARD editor MICHAEL LaFORGIA News Editor STEPHEN FASTENAU Asst. News Editor JUSTIN CHAPURA The Mix Editor ALEXIS ARNONE Sports bditor JONATHAN HILLYARD Viewpoints Editor BRINDY McNAIR Copy Desk Chief STEVEN VAN HAREN Design Director chas McCarthy IN OUR OPINION Before going green, USC must stop mold USC Housing has shown a real commitment to protecting the environment by taking pains to win Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for West Quad, and that’s great. - But what about controlling unhealthy environments inside residence halls, for a change? Housing, as a rule, usually does a fantastic job of serving stu dents. But in a handful of notable instances, problems keep cropping up with mold in dorms and other campus buildings. Mold problems have long plagued South Tower and the Thomas Cooper Library. In 2002, technical problems with the Bull Street residence hall spawned so much mold growth in the building’s ventilation system that some students got sick. That November, USC’s Residence Hall Association passed a resolu Mold problems have tion demandingthat Housing long plagued dorms, address m°H problems on cam much-used pus. Housing did, and the prob buildings around lem went away. At least for a lit Carolina campus tie while. But with new reports circulating of mold in campus buildings — and particularly in residence halls — it’s clear the problem needs more attention. With all the money the universi ty is pumping into environmentally healthy programs, surely some could go toward knocking out mold in older campus buildings. - Environmentally friendly living space is wonderful: We hope Housing will build more dorms like West Quad, which serves as a source of pride for our school. But residents’ health should be USC’s No. 1 priority. While Housing is designing these new res idence halls to be mold-resistant, they should take greater steps 1 to eliminate mold in older dorms — and eliminate it for good. One of the projects Carolina has on tap is building a “green” baseball field. Before the school goes to these lengths to guaran tee the environment’s well-being, it should ensure residents are breathing easily in buildings such as the library and, most importantly, residence halls such as South Tower and Bates. IT’S VOUR RIGHT Exercise your right to voice your Create message boards at www. dailygamecock. com or send letters to the editor to gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu CORRECTIONS If you see an error in todays paper, we want to know. E-mail us at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK Editor , MICHAEL LaFORGIA Design Director chas McCarthy Copy Desk Chief STEVEN VAN HAREN News Editor STEPHEN FASTENAU Asst. News Editor JUSTIN CHAPURA Viewpoints Editor BRINDY McNAIR The Mix Editor ALEXIS ARNONE Sports Editor JONATHAN HILLYARO Asst. Sports Editor ALEX RILEY Photo Editor NICK ESARES Sports Photo Editor KATIE KIRKLAND Page Designers MIKE CONWAY, JESSICA ANN NIELSEN, MEGAN SINCLAIR Graphic Designer LAURA-JOYCE GOUGH Copy Editors CHELSEA HADAWAY, KRISTY LAUBE, MELISSA MAULDIN, KATIE THOMPSON, LIZ WHITE Online Editor RYAN SIMMONS Creative Services JOSEPH OANNELLY, LAURA-JOYCE GOUGH, MARGARET LAW, MEGHAN WHITMAN TO PLACE AN AD The Gamecock 1400 Greene St. Columbia. S.C. 29208 Advertising: 777-3888 Classified: 777-1184 Fax: 777-6482 CONTACT INFORMATION Offices on third floor of the Russell House. The Editor’s office hours are Monday and Wednesday from 1-3 p.m. f Editor: gamecockeditorQgwm.se. edu News: gamecockruwsQgwm.sc.edu Viewpoints: gamecockopinionsQgwm.sc.edu The Mix: gamecockfeaturesQgwm.sc.edu Sports: gamecocksportsQgwm.se. edu Public Affairs: gamecockPRQyahoo.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 Advertising Staff BREANNA EVANS, RYAN GORMAN, KATIE CUPPIA, APRYL ALEXANDER, MARY RACHEL FREEMAN, MCKENZIE WELSH, OEIDRE MERRICK 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 0/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. s Cartoon courtesy ofKRT Campus Bush supporters unfairly judge Kanye West Rapper’s on-air remark about disaster response receives mixed reviews Last fall, I wrote an editorial about how I believe freedom of speech is not an un-American institution, but is rather the foundation on the free society we enjoy. I stand by my assertions that since the inauguration of our current president, his supporfers have gone crazy making sure they keep his name in the good graces of the American people. It seems to me that his supporters literally attack any person who makes an open criticism about him or his polices, actions and behavior. The irony of it is that these same people organized a witch hunt to slay the name of former President Bill Clinton. I often ponder the logic in the discrepancy, but I am left without answers. Furthermore, if Clinton was such a terrible president, worthy of impeachment, then why does President Bush continue to solicit his assistance whenever this country is found to be in a crisis situation? Hurricane Katrina has brought about a new victim to the madness. During a nationally televised fundraiser, Kanye West proclaimed, □ “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” Almost instantly, supporters of GREGG president bombarded Fourfyea:. broadcast interdisciplinary . student outlets Wlth not only pro^ Bush messages but also anti West messages. Kanye has been made to look like a communist. My perception of the conversation was they believed that because West is a young black rapper, he is too ignorant to know anything about the world around him. No one took into consideration that the media didn’t do a very good job providing the American public an equitable assessment of conditions in New Orleans. We were bombarded with images of African-Americans being treated like animals and abandoned in a sports venue with no electricity, inadequate ventilation and plumbing, and no food or water. To add insult to injury, our president seemed to ignore their plight.I empathized with West because I understood what he meant. Like him, I had to force myself to stop watching the footage because it was too painful. Would there have been a faster response if the images we saw were of mostly upper-middle class white people? So, why should political experts even take the time to consider Kanye West’s statements in their arena? Perhaps it’s because as a self made millionaire he is obviously a smart man. Perhaps they should because his multi platinum record sales prove he is an influential figure (what other hip hop artist could get a Grammy with a song about Jesus?) Perhaps it is because he too is an eligible voter, citizen of the U.S. and taxpayer who deserves the right to free speech just like every Bush supporter who bombards the media with seemingly crazy statements. Finally, why are we spending so much time and energy discrediting the merits of Kanye West because he chooses to exercise his right to free speech when victims of Katrina still need assistance, babies still go to bed hungry at night, a drug problem still exists in this country, the elderly still live without adequate healthcare, public schools are still going to ruin and so many more causes still could use positive energy? I wonder. Sweet devotion? Not so fast, demon waifs SG’s move to continue pre-session prayers needed some tweaking And on the fifth day, God agreed to install more vats of ketchup in the Russell House. Student Government recently debated, and ultimately defeated, a resolution that would ban a usually Christian devotion before each senate session. Working at the newspaper, I usually catch wind of when Some population of the student body gets ticked off. We’ll get a bunch of letters to the editor, some coherent, others seemingly written by train-yard hobos. Normally, we’d get letters from two groups: the black-rim glasses-wearing, PETA-loving, baby-killing hippies, and the science-hating, Bible-thumping, gun-toting extremists. Where are you, loyal readers? Wherever you are, whatever you think about this devotion resolution, you’re both right, and you’re both wrong, and you’re both too @#$%ing sensitive. Defeating the resolution — that is, keeping the predominantly Christiaij devotion — does not exist on the level of right and wrong. The resolution needed modification, tweaking, a bit of chummy guidance. We live in an age when people have no problems n bigger than when someone says “Jesus” at a meeting. Why, it’s illegal to be offended in America. If urrharer someti?ing sucks, its an Fourth-year outrage and a mechanical , engineering trave^, and student there 11 be hell to pay, and payment will be made by shrieking like a petulant child who’s lost his rubber nipple. However. How-fricking-ever. We also live in an age, like many before this one, when prayer is everywhere. In many cases, it’s cool. In other cases, it’s completely bogus. Why, let’s pray before classes start. Let’s pray before eating a Philly cheese steak. Let’s pray before getting absolutely sh-tfaced. Let’s pray after finishing a successful prayer. Yay! Your faith has to be stronger than that. The sesame seed in that bagel could kill you, yes, but your faith will guide you. You don’t need to sing a hymn before going to Einstein Bros., for Christ’s sake. My first idea, and the idea of some senators, for the devotion was to bring in a more representative cross section of religious figures. Get a rabbi. Get a snake-handler. Go nuts. Drink poison. But then I realized SG can vote for itself, and if they voted to keep the devotion, fine. You don’t see Buddhist and Jewish senators running out of the senate chambers, hands to ears. I’m sick and tired of hearing about how people don’t want to hear even a whisper of “Jesus” in public. “Jesus.” Egads! Guard my smutty soul! Get over it, you wussy, whiny morons. You are incontinent and bored and can’t turn your ears off. I’m not attacking anyone in SG; I’m trying to grab at the bigger picture here. There’s political correctness and there’s borderline hypersensitivity and then there’s this, people these days whining about prayer. SG, an organization that can vote for itself, made a call. I know, this is the start of a theocracy. But this isn’t anything to bitch about. When a government sponsored religion comes swinging into play, that’s when you bitch. With baseball bats. But I think a better idea would be a moment of silence. Think about anything you want, including that hot girl you’d like to preach to ALL NIGHT LONG. I really don’t give a rip what the senate does. If they voted for Jesus, good for them, and may God help those who have to sit through such hideous torture. www.dailwamecock.com _ Extreme fans elevate sports from hobby to obsession If red flags are there, you might be morphing into an ESPN addict Habit plays an important part in each of our lives. We all have our share of habits, good and bad, that collectively tend to mold our unique personalities. A habit out of control is called an addiction. Someone with Graduate an addiction student in might neglect mhy work and school responsibilities even though they want to succeed in their job or education. The sad reality is that many USC students, particularly men, share a common addiction that fits the above criteria. If you can answer yes to the following questions, you might suffer from this condition. Is your day just not right until you’ve read the Daily Quickie? Are you a member of multiple fantasy football leagues? Do you get depressed when someone besides Kornheiser and Wilbon are on PTI? Have you ever used your cell phone to check scores while in class, on a date or at church? Do you listen to Mike and Mike in the morning? If you find yourself answering yes to any of these questions, you might just be a sports addict. Your average sports addict wakes up in the morning and checks the scores of any games he missed the night before on SportsCenter. As ne drives to school, ne listens to sports talk-radio hosts break down the NL wild-card race. Between classes he reads box scores on the Internet, wondering if he should start Trent Green over Byron Leftwich this weekend. As he drives home, he listens to different sports talk-radio hosts break down the NL wild-card race. At home he watches SportsCenter to hear the implications of Rodney Harrisons injury for the Patriots. Of course, the evening will involve watching one or more football, baseball or basketball games, depending on the time of the year. Speaking of times of the year, a special warning about October is necessary. No other month offers the sports addict as many options: college football, the NFL, MLB playoffs and even NBA preseason games. 1 hink 1 m blowing this whole thing out of proportion? According to ESPN.com, the site receives 945 million visits per month on average. Their figures show that 89 percent of all visitors come to the Web site daily, with visits averaging eight minutes. Unsurprisingly, most of these visitors — 82 percent — were males. Sadly, sports addiction is a very real phenomenon. If you or someone you love suffers from a sports addiction, you should consider getting professional help. Also, some people have reportedly overcome their problem by being a Cleveland Browns fan or watching NASCAR. Submission Policy Letters to the editor should be less than 300 words end 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. __^==lI