University of South Carolina Libraries
The University of South Carolina Monday, November21, 2005 VoL 99, No. 44 • Since 1908 Students take part in protest of U.S. military school in Ga. Army denies allegations that former School of the Americas trains Hispanic soldiers to torture Justin Chapura ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Rather than worry about the Carolina-Clemson rivalry over the weekend, three S.C. Honors College students traveled to southern Georgia to protest a controversial center that some claim trains Latin American soldiers in torture. USC students Drew I Cutright, Mica Jenkins and Mary Lohman set out Saturday to attend an annual rally at Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga. The rally called for closing the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known at the School of the Americas, a Spanish language department that trains and educates Latin American military personnel in “democratic values, respect for human rights, and knowledge and understanding of United States customs and traditions,” according to the Institutes Web site. > Yet the rally’s organizer, the School of the Americas Watch, allege that much more goes on inside the school’s walls. The rally coincides with the anniversary of the murder of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter at the University of Central America in El Salvador. A UN Commission in 1993 cited 27 Latin American soldiers as responsible for the murders, 19 of which were graduates of the Institute. SOA Watch alleges that many human rights violations and murders were conducted by SOA graduates in their Latin American home countries and that the school trains personnel in torture. The Army denies that it trains soldiers in anything that violates human rights standards. It was in this context that Jenkins, Lohman and Cutright drove down and camped out with college students and activists from across the PROTEST • l Special to THE GAMECOCK Protesters marched from the former School of the America’s entrance following a symbolic funeral procession Sunday. Special to THE GAMECOCK Second-year chemistry student Charles McDonald poses during his first tour in the Middle East. The Marine expects to return to Iraq sometime in the next few months. Back to Iraq i USC student readies for second tour in Middle East Jess Davis STAFF WRITER A USC student will return to Iraq sometime in the next few months, this time facing a completely different situation than when he first fought overseas. . Charles McDonald, a second-year chemistry student, has been in the U.S. Marine Forces Reserve for about the past year, taking time off to go to school after spending nine months in Kuwait and Iraq. There, he saw the initial U.S. intervention in Iraq, which caused the fall of Saddam Husseins regime. When he returns in December or January, he will see the continuing efforts of U.S. forces to calm insurgents and try to create stability for a newly democratic Iraq. McDonald joined the Marines in May 2003, after completing his first year of college at USC Sumter. He joined because he felt compelled to serve, he said, and his experiences in Iraq have only solidified that compulsion. “It’s not about me anymore,” M I McDonald said. “I’m trying to help other people. I live my life to serve others.” Since leaving Iraq, McDonald has had several encounters with people who he says make the horrors of fighting a war worthwhile. One woman he met in Ireland said simply, “Thank you for all that you’ve done for us.” “That touched me,” McDonald said. Another moment that became fixed in his mind happened one day soon after he returned to civilian life, as he shopped for Christmas presents at a mall. He was talking to “Santa Claus” about his recent experiences, and Santa told a child standing nearby that he was standing next to a war veteran. The child’s mother overheard him and explained further. “You know the bad people that destroyed the towers? He’s the one who went over there and fought for us,” the mother said. McDonald said the small boy turned to him and said “thank you.” “That’s what touched me the most out of all my experiences in my whole life,” McDonald said. And it’s moments like those that have prompted him to return to a soldier’s life, as well as feeling a sense of obligation to his fellow soldiers. McDonald said that though he has many loved ones, because he doesn’t have a wife or children, he has fewer responsibilities to worry about than other soldiers in the reserves. The return to college life has also been a difficult transition for McDonald, who says he is still in “an active-duty mindset” and doesn’t think it will be hard to readjust to life as a Marine. He said he “gets paranoid easily” and doesn’t like crowded areas, effects stemming from the many bombings of the areas of Iraq where he fought. McDonald, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, GAMMA and IHcDOilALD • 2 ■ Drawing on experience, Ariail notches accolades Local editorial cartoonist talks about industry, early days at The Gamecock Jason dlyers FOR THE GAMECOCK When Robert Ariail was at USC in the 1980s, he started drawing cartoons for The Gamecock while he tried to figure out how to get out of going to classes. Now as cartoonist for The State for the past 21 years, Ariaii's favorite cartOon that he remembers from his days at The Gamecock is the one he won a national award for. “It had something to do with inflation with President Carter on a runaway roller coaster,” Ariail said. While at The Gamecock, Ariail won several awards for his cartoons, including the Mark of Excellence given by the Society of Professional Journalists. After winning these awards, Ariail knew he had found a career. Now, when he looks back on his cartoons from The Gamecock, Ariail can’t believe how much his style has changed. “My cartoons were crudely rendered back then, and going back and looking at them kind of makes me cringe,” Ariail said. But the experience gained at The Gamecock is invaluable, he said. “Working for The Gamecock was very similar to working here, except we only published three times a week and I was juggling school work to boot.” Ariail said. After graduation, Ariail chose to stay in Columbia and apply at The State. “While I was in school, I freelanced for The (Columbia) Record doing editorial cartoons but also staff artwork and that sort of thing,” Ariail said. “So I already had my foot halfway in the door because of that. I guess the timing was right, and (The State) decided to take a chance and hired me. I was hired to be the first full time cartoonist, and I’ve been here ever since.” Ariail has been successful in his 21 years at The State. He has won awards for his artwork, including The National Headliner Award in 1990, the National Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Award in 1992 and Green Eye Shade Awards in 1991, 1997, 2001 and 2004, the Overseas Press Club’s Thomas Nast award in 1997 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1995 and 2000. Although showered with awards, Ariail still has expel ienced censorship — or what he calls “editing” — as well as negative reactions to his work. “The very first cartoon I ever did was in high school, and it was canned by our principal because it was about him and he didn’t like it,” Ariail said. “So I learned early on that negative cartoons about your publisher are not a good idea.” At The State, however, his experience and a good working relationship with his editors has virtually eliminated any threat of censorship. Years ago when I hrst started 1 would go home thinking I would have a cartoon in the paper the next day, and they’d yank it before it went to press,” Ariail said. “They didn’t want to argue with me about it. Now with Brad Warthen as editor, he understands the role of the cartoonist. Brad wants to let me do my thing and I know there are certain limits but I’ve been doing it long enough that I know where the line is, and the line is always moving and you don’t want to cross it.” One cartoon in particular started a limited worldwide e-mail and phone campaign against him. “I did a cartoon in early August 2001 when one of the female pages at the State House was being encouraged to show RRimi • 2 INSIDE Viewpoints Brandt Boidy shares his disappoint ment with recent race relations on campus; Paige Martineau expresses her frustration with the advisement process. 4 The Mix Gaming come full circle Wireless is the theme with the release of Microsoft’s next-generation console, Xbox 360, due out Tuesday. 5 Sports Holy Toledo USC’s men’s basketball team moved to 2-0 after defeating Toledo at the Colonial Center on Sunday. < 10 November pain Juan Bias!THE GAMECOCK Freshman running back Mike Davis walks off the field after USC's 13-9 loss to Clemson on Saturday. A _ _ 0