Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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„_VIEWPOINTS _ ^ AMECOCK EDITORIAL BOARD Editor f MICHAEL LaFORGIA News Editor STEPHEN FASTENAU Asst. News Editor JUSTIN CHAPURA The Mix Editor ALEXIS ARNONE Sports Editor JONATHAN HILLYARO Viewpoints Editor BRINDY McNAIR Copy Desk Chief * ' STEVEN VAN HAREN Design Director chas McCarthy IN OUR OPINION U.S. shouldfollow South Korea's lead For people suffering from paralysis or debilitating diseases, hope, at least for now, exists in South Korea, but not in the United States. The World Stem Cell Hub, the Seoul-based organization ded icated to curing diseases using state-of-the-art cloning technolo gy, opened Oct. 19 and began taking applications last week. The organization’s director, Hwang Woo-suk, caused a stir in the scientific community with his recent work on cloning human embryos. Research at the hub is focusing on.using a patient’s skin cells to grow damaged tissue that can’t otherwise be regener ated. Success would mean that crippled people might walk again. Opponents say researchers are creating human life for the sole purpose of exploiting it for science. No doubt, this is murky territory in terms of ethics. But why compassion ror a newly rused The government bundle of cells ollIweighs owes it to the people , , .... , , „ to keep exploring 'by„for a ch,ld who cant wllk the possibilities of bafflesus stem-cell research. °r perhaps ,c 15 that God hates these people, and they deserve the fate they’ve been dealt. But what if that embryo, the lodestone for so much ire and contention, grows up and becomes paralyzed? In South Korea, thousands of hope-starved patients have already volunteered their skin cells to participate in research efforts. At one point, the group’s Web site was forced offline because so many people visited it. The demand is evident. It’s regrettable that similar efforts can’t be conducted here in the U.S. The government owes it to the people to, at the very least, keep exploring the possibilities of stem-cell research. Any policy in the U.S. that stands in the way of medical progress is benighted and harmful. The federal government should serve the citizens it represents, not pander to special interest groups. Perhaps the most vocal opponents of stem-cell research would change their tunes if they find themselves suddenly beset with Parkinson’s disease, or if some other crippling and untreatable illness grips their husbands, wives or children. 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 castor MICHAEL LaFORGIA Design Director chas McCarthy Copy Desk Chief STEVEN VAN HAREN News Editor STEPHEN FASTENAU Asst News Editor JUSTIN CHAPURA Viesopoirsts Editor BRINDY McNAIR The Mix Editor ALEXIS ARNONE Sports Editor JONATHAN HILLYARD Asst. Sports Editor ALEX RILEY Photo Editor NICK ESARES Sports Photo Editor KATIE KIRKLAND Pore Designers MIKE CONWAY, JESSICA ANN NIELSEN, MEGAN SINCLAIR Graphic Designer LAURA-JOYCE GOUGH Copy Editors CHELSEA HAOAWAY, KRISTY LAUBE, 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 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. 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 SCOn LINDENBERG Faculty Adviser ERIK COLLINS Creative Director SUSAN KING Business Manager CAROLYN GRIFFIN Advertising Manager SARAH SCARBOROUGH Classified Manager SHERRY F. HOLMES Production Manager NEIL SCOTT Advertising Staff BREANNA EVANS, RYAN GORMAN, KATIE CUPPIA, APRYL ALEXANDER, MARY RACHEL FREEMAN, MCKENZIE WELSH, DEIDRE 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 newspaper’s 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. u.5. ro 3TocKf>iLe VAcci^e To e&PTZcr Zo mi^uon A6AIM5T V\£S? ?UJ 777, r cUH c Law enforcement now holds hands, ties shoes New seatbelt law lets police officers chastise motorists with tickets Well South Carolinians, enjoy your last month as adults. That’s right, because as of Dec. 9 South Carolina will be taking steps toward making the state a full fledged nursery school. Yes, a month from now our great state will be taking it upon itself to look out for your safety. Poor, dumb South Carolinians, maybe all those Northerners are right. We stupid hicks must be protected from ourselves. Come Dec. 9, South Carolina police officers will be allowed (and expected) to start pulling and ticketing motorists who fail to wear their seatbelts. These handy reminders (“You’re dumb!”) also come with a nice $25-a-pop citation just to make sure the message sticks. I guess the state figured they would run out of dunce hats to shame us with, or maybe there just aren’t enough corners in the state to make us stand in. This law is a beautiful example of how, in most cases, a bad law (in this case because it is virtually unenforceable) is worse than no law at all. First off, the new law states that no officer can stop a. motorist without a “clear, unobstructed view” which shows the passenger not wearing his seatbelt. Here’s my question: In New Jersey, they proved state troopers couldn’t even tell what race a person was JACOB from thf DAOIS P°S1TS °n c shoulders or Third-year h;h are print b i journalism You honestly student saying they can tell if I’m wearing my seatbelt? The state has a nifty Web site (www.buckleupsc.com) that explains all the ins and outs of the law’s changes. You can already be ticketed if an officer pulls you over for a violation and finds you not wearing your seatbelt. The Web site explains how National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials predict an “increase of observed belt use by 11 percentage points,” which will of course translate into many fewer dead income tax payers, er, citizens. A lot of people have problems with this law on 'a variety of grounds. The Web site notes, and dismisses, a number of common responses to seatbelt laws. Afraid of being trapped in your burning or sinking car? Too bad. The site solemnly assures you that people are four times more likely to die after being ejected in a crash than to die from one of those situations. Well, there’s a cheery thought. Nothing like contemplating the gruesomeness of your own death to make you see the wisdom in allowing “nanny-state-ism. ” How about this: Let’s say we forget this whole change. I’ll keep paying my taxes and driving responsibly, and you can pull and ticket me for the other roughly 2.4 million traffic laws on the books. I promise you all the city bureaucrats will still get paid plenty, OK? Oh, you have your heart set on change? How about this, let’s just reduce every speed limit to 10 mph. I personally guarantee a 100 percent drop in traffic fatalities. Obviously the problem is a • matter of degree. Do we need reasonable speed limits and sensible traffic laws? Of course we do. But do we need driving laws that have no impact on our driving and whose existence will be solely a distraction to law enforcement officials? I say no. These changes, and the law it is changing, are perfect .examples of the state overstepping its bounds, right into your pocket. As a person who has hydroplaned off a road while doing 50 mph, I can appreciate the use of a seatbelt as a lifesaver. But as a taxpayer and resident of South Carolina, I cannot, in good conscience, support a law that far outstrips the state’s right to regulate my conduct. Luckily, we still do have some rights left. If you get ticketed for this garbage, demand your jury trial. President has become butt ofevery joke Commander-in-chief no longer well-respected position in U.S. ranks Yo’ mama jokes - we all remember them from middle school. But now that we’ve grown up, gone to college and pretend to be better informed, we expect a little more from a joke than saying just how fat, stupid or ugly “yo’ mama” is. And so we - or at least I - moved on to yo’ president jokes. One joke, “Yo’ president so stupid, in 2003 he said the war in Iraq was over. But now, two years later, it still ain’t ended!” never fails to impress. One thing to remember about this joke though is that when telling it, you must remember to change the number of years that the war has gone on. For example, when the war still hasn’t ended in 2010, you should say "... but now, seven years later, it still ain’t ended!” The president himself is not the only person targeted with “Yo’ president jokes.” They can also target people his cronies appointed into public office, as well as the cronies themselves. “Yo’ president’s campaign manager from the year 2000, Joe Allbaugh, is so stupid that he used his connections to get / \ his friend, the phenomenally unqualified commissioner of the Arabian Horse Jill) Association, mcmnnus Mike Brown, to . be the director of FEMA - the journalism agency that s student supposed to deal with natural disasters.” Former presidents are not exempt from the jokes either, for example: “Yo’ former president’s so stupid that he tried to debate the meaning of the word ‘is’ on national television, while he was under congressional investigation.” There are many more jokes regarding this former president, (Clinton, for all you geniuses) but they typically contain too many lewd acts for publication in The Gamecock’s op-ed section, which says a lot. And further still, it’s not only living people who are targeted by these jokes. Another joke, “Yo’ dead president’s so stupid, he said ketchup was a vegetable just so public school funding wouldn’t cost as much. He’s also so stupid that he sold weapons to Iran when we were at war with - Iran! And now, just because he’s dead, everybody thinks he’s a great American,” has been going around since for quite some time now. Some humor buffs may be somewhat let down by the yo’ president jokes. They may crave the simpler, social significance-lacking charm of yo’ mama jokes. For them, there is the classic about William Taft, “yo’ president so fat, when he sits around the White House, he sits around the White House!” Other variations on the yo’ president joke include the one where “yo’ president’s daddy” is so bulimic that he vomited all over the president of Japan, the one where “yo’ Defense Department is so uncivilized that it encouraged and covered up systematic humiliation and torture in Iraq and Afghanistan,” and the one where “yo’ favorite Gamecock columnist is so immature that he wrote a column full of variations on yo’ mama jokes.” 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. www. dailygamecock. com What ever happened to Screech, A. C. Slater? ‘Full House,’ ‘Saved by the Bell’ replaced with rigged ‘reality’ shows You secretly watch Boy Meets World reruns. Go on, admit it. You shouldn’t be ashamed; Boy Meets World is one of the greatest TV . .. snows or our W«K dme. SldlS Lately, I’ve Third-year been wondering what has happened to those quality TV shows-the great shows we grew up with, that our children will never know. I don’t think I’d be the person I am today without Saved By the Bell, Family Matters, Full House and Home Improvement. These shows offered an escape from real life. They made life seem easy and they made people happy. Even now those shows bring me back to my childhood. The cheesy humor in them makes my day. T • 1 • f li was jusi piaui, guuu quality TV. And what do we have now? Reality TV, which keeps getting more and more outrageous. Every set up on reality TV is rigged, so you can’t even call it reality anymore. These aren’t shows that I want my future children watching as they are growing up. I can’t even think of a single show that is on TV right now that I would be happy letting kids watch. TV is in need of a serious re-vamp. This isn’t to say there aren’t great shows on television Desperate Housewives for example-there just aren’t heartwarming, happy-go lucky shows like there used to be. TV shows need to be made wholesome again. At least some of them should change— there will always be a need for unwholesome TV drama. Does anyone else remember TGIF on ABC Friday nights? Or all of the old Nickelodeon shows? I know some people must because there are groups on Facebook dedicated to “Old School Nickelodeon.” If they brought back the shows like Clarissa Explains It All, I’m not ashamed to say I would watch them. Those shows denned our generation. i Unfortunately, Nickelodeon now airs a show starring Britney Spears’ little sister. The quality of our nation is lowering along with the quality of these TV shows, because of the huge impact that TV has on society. I worry about future generations and the trash they will find when they turn on their television sets. How will it affect the people they will become? I don’t really know how to fix this problem. My suggestion would be to wipe out most of the shows on now and replace them with shows from the past. But, I don’t think the networks would go for that. Nick-At-Nite is beginning to get the right idea. They play old episodes of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Full Huusc. But if you want to get that warm fuzzy feeling from old TV shows, you can go buy the DVD and fall in love with Cory and Topanga all over again.