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 Editor JONATHAN HILLYARD Viewpoints Editor BRINDY McNAIR Copy Desk Chief STEVEN VAN HAREN Design Director chas McCarthy IN OUR OPINION Jailed Miller didn't aid First Amendment Jight After The New York Times rehashed reporter Judith Miller’s role in the Valerie Plame scandal in Sunday’s edition, it’s becom ing increasingly clear that Miller is anything but a champion for the first amendment. Miller’s detractors have long expressed cynicism over her deci sion to go to jail rather than reveal the identity of the confiden tial source she cited in articles that revealed the identity of an undercover CIA agent. Miller’s critics have pointed out that she served as more of a cheerleader for the Bush administration’s crusade for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq than a hard-nosed news reporter, and it’s true that the Times eventually had to apologize for some of her reports, in which she put too much stock in White House claims. The New York Times also reported Sunday that some of Miller’s colleagues at the paper have refused to work with her in the past, and the story quoted The Times’ Executive Editor Bill Keller as saying, “I wish it had been a reporter who came with less public baggage.” ( While general solidarity among journalists attended the news that Miller — and Time magazine’s Matthew Cooper — might go to jail for refusing to reveal confidential sources, the rate at which that support tapered off amid questions about her true motives proved telling. But regardless of how history will ultimately judge Miller and The New York Times, the outcome we fear most is a concern that others have already raised: That this high-profile case might lead to more rollbacks of first amendment rights in courtrooms nationwide. After all, special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald sent Miller to jail, sat back and got exacdy what he was after — the identity of her confidential source. We hope these results don’t embolden other prosecutors to use Fitzgeralds tactics in other, more legitimate cases. The New York Times’ Judith Miller proves anything but first amendment martyr. IT’S VOUR 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 CORRECTIONS If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know. E-mail us at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu. ABOUT THE GAMECOCK r? J ■ I I MICHAEL Lzr3R3IA Design Director chas McCarthy Copy Desk Chief STEVEN VAN HAREN News Editor STEPHEN FASTENAU Asst. News Editor JUSTIN CHAPURA Viewpoints Editor BRINOY MCNAIR The Mix Editor ALEXIS ARNONE Sports Editor JONATHAN HILLYARD 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, JAMISON TINSLEY LIZ WHITE Online Editor RYAN SIMMONS Creative Services JOSEPH DANNELLY, LAURA-JOYCE GOUGH, MARGARET LAW, MEGHAN WHITMAN TO PLACE AN AD The Gamecock Advertising: 777-3888 1400 Greene St. Classified: 777-1184 Columbia. S.C. 29208 Fax: 777-6482 CONTACT INFORMATION Offices on thirdfloor of the Russell House. The Editors office hours are Monday and Wednesday from 1-3 p.m. Editor: gamecockeditorGPgwm, sc. edu News: gamecocknews9gwm. sc. edu Viewpoints: gamecockopinions9gwm.sc. edu The Mix: gamecockfeatures9gwm.sc.edu Sports: gamecocksports9gwm.sc. edu Public Affairs: gamecockPR9yahoo.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 o/THE GAMECOCK. The Department of Student Media is the newspapers parent organization. THE GAMECOCK is supported in part by student-activity fees. One free copy per reader. Additional copies may be purchasedfor $1 each from the Department of Student Media. Cartoon courtesy of KRT Campus Thumbs up for ratified Iraqi constitution Despite failed attempts, new government gains support from majority I knew something momentous was about to happen in Iraq. It’s always a good rule of thumb that if network news isn’t reporting anything from Iraq of Afghanistan, great progress is being made. As I watched jubilant Iraqis dancing in the streets, purple thumbs held high to signify they were proud of their vote on their new constitution, my mind could not help but drift to a Richard Pryor movie, and the missed public relations opportunity it signified. In the film, Pryor, the notoriously profane comic, is fired from his job as a transit engineer. He rages at his boss, demanding to know how he could be fired after years of faithful service. wncn iic uoiic, iic punctuates his tirade by shoving his raised index finger in his startled boss’ face.- The film immediately cuts to Pryor, back at home, being consoled by his wife. Head in his hands, he sobs to his wife, “all those ye&rs, and they just fire me — and then I gave him the wrong finger!” It seems like maybe someone in the state department could have had a little more ingenuity in coming up with what finger was going to be printed. After all, what is the vote on the Iraqi constitution if not the proverbial “finger” to all the forces of evil and terrorism that have done JACOB their ,best ,t0 OOUIS stop thls day from coming? Third-year Th tried t0 electronic \ journalism stoP t^ie ^.S. student liberation of Iraq in the first place. When that failed, they tried to stop the interim government from being set up. Again they failed. They failed when Iraqis turned out in huge numbers to elect their first representative assembly. That same assembly has now drafted an Iraqi constitution, which will almost assuredly pass. As of Sunday, reports came out of a more than 60 percent turnout nationwide, with more than 70 percent in some traditionally repressed Shiite areas. The Sunni Muslims everyone feared would try to torpedo the election (forgive the pun) by staying away from the polls, turned out in strong numbers as well, displaying their willingness to participate in the new Iraq. While many Sunni voters are expected to vote “no” on the constitution, their votes signify their willingness to work within the governmental structure, as opposed to trying to blow up that governmental structure. The Kurds in the north also turned out strong in support of the new constitution. Reports of violence were virtually non-existent, as were problems with the voting itself. The Kurdish north, which represents almost a third of the country, but is never reported on since it runs flawlessly, could have passed for most U.S. precincts on voting day. This is a historic time, not only for Iraqis, who are taking their first fledgling steps as a democracy, but also for Americans, as we help them move forward in the democratic process. In only a few short years, Iraq has been changed from a Stone Age terrorist police state into one that could shortly join Israel as the middle east’s only other democracy. It is truly an exciting time to be alive. It is true that attempts to clean up the Middle East have come before. Since WWII, the area has been notorious as the hotbed for terrorism and subversive radical Islam. Treaty after treaty has been signed. , Numerous negotiations, peace conferences and UN resolutions have been tried. But never before has true democratic reform been given a chance. Now, with a new constitution being voted on in Iraq, we are seeing history being made right before our eyes. IN YOUR OPINION Biased media outlets hurt real journalists As a student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, I am being trained to become a good reporter with some good credentials, reporting the news based on facts, not political party affiliation. As I flip through the newly revamped Gamecock Cable, 1 see the liberals at CNN and the conservatives at Fox News, talking about the happenings of the day. Getting upset at this visual tirade, I got up from my chair and went to the newspaper stands, hoping to catch a breather from politics, only to get my hopes crushed. I see the conservative Wall Street Journal and the liberal New York Times. Geez, this future journalist just cannot get a break. When I thought my day could not get any worse, it did. I went to Political Science 370 (an introduction to public administration). Because this is an upper-le^el course, there are not many students in that class from the journalism school. On this particular day, . we started the class by mentioning how the media affects the process of public administration, meaning which stories will air on the news tonight or which stories will run in the newspaper the next day. My professor chose to start class off with this topic because of the Armstrong Williams situation. Williams, a South Carolina native, was paid $240,000 to make comments about President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind act of 2001 on his radio show. To make a long story short, Williams’ scam was discovered, his column has been pulled from newspapers including The State and his syndicated radio show has been pulled off the air. One comment made by my fellow classmate placed everything into perspective — this has been going on, but this is the first time somebody has been caught. I am sitting there, thinking to myself, “Is it too late to change my major?” Yes, it is true that I am a political science minor, but when will this party favoritism crap stop , * among the networks? In this sea of political reporting, many networks choose to take a side, which goes against what was taught in journalism schools around the country — to provide the public with fair and balanced news. If getting in front of a camera or going to the scene of the latest conflicts means I should forget about the proper way of delivering news, then I should find a new major. Being a journalist means telling somebody the news and letting the people formulate an opinion about it. I want to tell these one-sided media outlets to save their feelings until Election Day. Now that is something worth talking about. KIMBERLY HALLUMS Third-year electronic journalism 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. Student IDs: Your ticket to becoming more reliable College kids can learn more responsibility, stop whining about fee Last week I lost my CarolinaCard, and you know what that means. I couldn’t get -— into my dorm or eat, and because I put off self-paced astronomy to the last minute, - I couldn’t even fiilcc an mcmnnus tes, Third-year After two days of electronic starving, foiling murnalism , ° , student “d near‘y crying, I decided to pay the $25 fine for my irresponsibility. USC is sitting on a goldmine. It I ve learned one thing from The Gamecocks op-ed page — which I haven’t — it would be that students complain. And one of their favorite topics for complaint is how pricey tuition is. But clearly, USC must get funding from somewhere to hire legendary football coaches who produce mediocre seasons. Raising tuition, frankly, gives students the right to complain. But fines charge students for their irresponsibility, giving them no right to complain. If USC were to double the fines for losing a CarolinaCard, it would give the university nearly twice as much revenue on CarolinaCard replacement alone. But the CarolinaCard Fining Department, who I’m nearly on a first-name basis with, must look beyond simple replacement fees. Should someone try to pay with American currency in the Thomas Cooner Librarv. fine them $50. Should someone try to get food by giving the guy at Chik-fil-A their social security number, fine them $50 and don’t let them eat — USC should not reward irresponsibility with food. If a student were to try to take an astronomy test with their Social Security number, fine them $50. If not at the last minute, still charge them $50, but let them take the test. While USC should exploit students’ irresponsibility, the university should reward the early-bird brand of responsibility. If it is at the last minute, however, USC should refuse them the test and double the fine. Should a student try to get into his dorm without their CarolinaCard, give them a choice: Pay the $50 fine, or be homeless for the night. With the irresponsibility of the student population, USC is indeed sitting on a complaint free goldmine, but some might point out one potential flaw in the university’s most obvious choice of action: with all these fines, students might learn a little responsibility, and thus destroy a good bit of the university’s funding. In 2001, if a student lost their CarolinaCard — or “ID card” as they were called in those days — they were fined a mere $5, but during fall 2002, the fines were increased 500 percent. USC should simply increase the fines by 500 percent once more — bringing it to $125, for those of you without calculators. In conclusion, I would like to say, with my track record, I hope to God USC doesn’t take this column seriously. T