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VIEWPOINTS_ AMECOCK EDITORIAL BOARD * * Editor STEVEN VAN HAREN News Editor \ JUSTIN CHAPURA Assistant News Editor ; JACKIE ALEXANDER 4 The Mix Editor \ ALEXIS ARNONE Design Director chas McCarthy Sports Editor, STEPHEN FASTENAU Viewpoints Editor BRINDY McNAIR Assistant Viewpoints Editor AARON BRAZIER IN OUR OPINION Make your voice heard by voting in elections What a way to spend a Saturday. Members of The Gamecock editorial board interviewed Student Government executive council candidates for 10 hours this past weekend. After 30 minutes with each of the nine candidates, we spent another hour fighting, throwing things and yelling expletives as we debated who we felt were the best people for the job. Today’s Viewpoints is the result: our endorsements for SG president, vice president and treasurer. Every year, the editorial board has the unique opportunity to talk with the people behind the campaign posters and ask some tough questions. In many ways, we are the eight ___11 • r_j_i - lyUOL VYV-U llllUllllUU on campus when it comes to SG elections, especially when those candidates come out of their shells in front of us and become articulate, passionate people who would all do a good job. But Tommy Preston, Sonam Shah and Brad orp thp rlacsir nnwpr trio that could do the most important thing of all: improve students’ lives on campus. Preston’s powerbroker past will balance well with* Shah’s ambitious eye for the future; Setzler, a freshman, has the drive to become a major player in the business of getting things done. We’ve done our part — now it’s your turn. Through the endorsement process, we have become well-informed, but every student can be just as aware of every candidate’s platform without being sequestered in a conference room. Make your vote count, because SG isn’t the shadowy, ineffective organization many people think it is. With proposals to end the 16-hour credit limit and instate a grade forgiveness program almost in effect, SG has a direct hand in students’ academic and university lives. Vote today and Tuesday on VIP, but don’t take our word for it — and don’t forget that senators are also eagerly awaiting your opinion. Read our online profiles of all the candidates, check out their Web sites or Facebook profiles, and may the best candidate win. Make your vote count because SG isn’t the shadowy, ineffective organization many think it is. IT’S VOUR RIGHT Voice your opinion on message boards at www.daifygamecock.com or send letters to the editor at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu CORRECTIONS In Thursday’s News, Jennifer Davidson was misidentified as Jill Hansen in a picture cutline. The Gamecock regrets this error. If you see an error in today’s paper, we want to know about it. E-mail us at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu ABOUT THE GAMECOCK tumor STEVEN VAN HAREN Design Director chas McCarthy Copy Desk Chief AARON KIDD News Editor JUSTIN CHAPURA Assistant News Editor JACKIE ALEXANDER Viewpoints Editor BRINDY McNAIR Assistant Viewpoints Editor AARON BRAZIER The Mix Editor ALEXIS ARNONE Assistant Mix Editor KRISTEN TRUESDALE Sports Editor STEPHEN FASTENAU Assistant Sports Editor ALEX RILEY Photo Editor NICK ESARES Assistant Photo Editor KATY BLALOCK Public Relations Director ROSE GREENE Page Designers MIKE CONWAY, KATE FENWICK, MEGAN SINCLAIR Staff Writers A.J. BEMBRY, TOM BENNING, JESS DAVIS, TIM MCMANUS, MARJORIE RIDDLE, GINA VASSELLI Copy Editors PATRICK MASTERSON, BETHANY NICHOLS, ELIZABETH PARHAM, KATIE THOMPSON, JAMISON TINSLEY, KRYSTAL WEBBER, LIZ WHITE CONTACT INFORMATION Offices located on the thirdfloor of the Russell House Editor's office hours are from 2-3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays Editor: gamecockeditor@gum.sc.edu News: gamecocknews@gum.sc.edu Viewpoints: gamecockoprnions@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 Classifieds Manager SHERRY F. HOLMES Production Manager C. NEIL scon * 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 purchased for $I each from the Department of Student Media. HIS MENDS ALIENATED, HIS WIPE WAVING LEFT HIM, m AND HIS REPUTATION IN SHAMBLES, IT TOON GETTING 3| A LECTURE ON RESPONSIBLE DRINKING BOM THE q TOWN DRUNK POR SAM TO ADMIT HE HAD A PROBTEM. |. Courtesy KRT Campus Preston brings experience, resources to table Hopeful would finish credit-hour, academic forgiveness programs With the greatest of confidence, The Gamecock endorses Tommy Preston for Student Government president. Preston, a third-year political science student, has the practical realism and ambitious scope needed to do exactly what the president should: improve students’ lives. Small steps and a big vision are the name of the game for Preston, whose agenda addresses equal parts immediate concerns, foreseeable roadblocks and a continuation of student friendly projects begun this term. As SG treasurer, Preston helped get the ball rolling on a number of student-centered initiatives, including a grade forgiveness program and elimination of the 16 hour credit limit. We need the same affable person to continue dialogue with USC officials to help see those initiatives through to completion. Being president is more than interacting with other SG members — it’s building rapport with the officials who are ultimately □ responsible for making many SG proposals reality. Preston has Tommy fostered pRCSTOn connections Our choice that can for president continue to serve students. Most students agree that it is nearly impossible to finish a four-year degree on time by taking 15 or 16 hours a semester. Changing the credit-hour limit to 18 hours would cut back on students seemingly getting ■ penalized for wanting to take more classes. Preston’s dialogue with USC President Andrew Sorensen has almost made this proposal a reality, and he should finish the job. Ditto for the grade forgiveness program, which would allow students to retake a class in which they had received a D or F and leave the highest grade on their transcript. Many universities have adopted similar programs, and USC needs to get on board. Preston’s goals for revamping USC academics are logical, low-key and deliverable. His push to create a joint committee of faculty and student senate members would provide a college-specific forum where students could discuss courses and curriculums. SGTV could be the next form of student media at USC, and Preston has been instrumental in bringing the station to the brink of the airwaves. Some students might not enjoy watching live SG meetings, but Preston sees the channel as a student run avenue of expression, as well. University talk shows and student-made movies could be in your living room very soon. Preston’s agenda is a hefty manifesto that attempts to address a broad spectrum of campus problems. While setting so many goals might spread resources, time and attention too thin, we’re confident Preston will put 100 percent of his efforts toward every goal. Invention certainly is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, and Tommy Preston is a proven workhorse. We are confident he will work tirelessly to finish what he’s started and implement ideas that will help make life at USC better. Shah balances charisma, ambitious attitude Candidate would bring SG closer to groups, make plans concrete After interviewing each candidate, The Gamecock endorses Sonam Shah, a fourth-year biology student for Student Government vice president. Shah brings fresh ideas to the table and has realistic, attainable goals for the student body. She aims to tackle issues that can be resolved more timely than in the past. Her agenda for the upcoming term is to get things done rather than to start a number of large projects that will take years to complete. She demonstrates an extraordinary balance between ideas and the resolve to manifest those ideas into something concrete. Shah has experience in SG, having served in the Student Senate for two years. She has knowledge of the parliamentary procedure and of the legislation process. Shah also possesses a characteristic vital to the SOM office of vice SHRH president: Our choice charisma. for vice She makes president a point tO make herself accessible to students and plans to extend this practice to student senators. Shah would like to see each senator responsible for at least five different student organizations every month. She would see that senators were made available to address any needs that these organizations had. This would be the first step in bringing SG to the students. Shah said she would like for SG to no longer be thought of as “an elite group or club.” The vice president should be a support system for the president but should also reach out to students and provide a bridge between SG and the student body. Shah’s accessibility and approachability make her the best candidate to fulfill this duty. These qualities would be beneficial in maintaining the rapport SG has already built with university administration as well, and without the consent of the administration even the best-laid plans will never be seen through. We need Shah’s get it-done attitude to see through current projects and policy changes such as the elimination of the 16-hour credit limit and the grade forgiveness program. Her plan to bring SG to the students is a step to getting students more involved in their government and to making them more aware of issues being addressed. SG cannot serve the students unless the representatives know what the students’ needs are. We are confident Shah is the perfect candidate to bridge the gap between SG and the student body. Online Poll: r ' Are you going to vote in this year s Student Government election? V W : Setzler s plans demonstrate ability, heart, youthful vigor Freshman aims to give money back to student groups, fix parking lots After much debate, we have decided to endorse Brad Setzler for the position of Student Government □treasurer for a variety of reasons. As a freshman philosophy student, it UKHU could be SETZLER argued that Our choice he neither has for treasurer the knowledge nor experience to succeed. We disagree. Setzler sat confidently and coolly, displayed an obvious passion tor the university and gave strong arguments. Setzler also has experience in a body of politics. He was a treasurer for the Beta Club, for example, and from such seeds a good politician grows. Setzler has even met politicians for the state of S.C. in his short career. From the SCSSA, we as a student body have been lucky to inherit many passionate SG politicians. Setzler’s knowledge of politics rubs off on his plans. A treasurer in the SG is not just an accountant; the treasurer is part of the Executive Branch involving the president and vice president. In The Gamecock’s opinion, that knowledge is vital. Setzler would be responsible for potentially balancing extensive plans of his fellow executives, and when we interviewed him it was obvious he had that ability. On the other hand, he intends to use the position as treasurer for his own plans. The plan for setting up satellite parking lots is practical and plausible. Setzler appears to not want to sit back and let things happen. He identifies the problems around him and makes plans to resolve them. It seems obvious his head is in the right place, a fiscal commitment that seems wise; He goes to neither extreme, of extravagant plans beyond his power or to closing the book on all. He wants to resolve fundamental problems that affect us all. Setzler also cares about the budget of student organizations. The money the SG gets should, in Setzler’s opinion, go into the pockets of these organizations. Setzler also gave a practical resolution for organizations that require extra monetary aid. He made the obvious statement that any student group that needs financial aid cannot be expected to resolve the issue within a year. Only with an understanding and committed treasurer working with these groups can a monetary solution be found. It is this level of practicality mixed with compassion that makes Setzler such an appealing choice for treasurer. The student body might benefit from having an ambitious, motivated SG politician for three years. ^