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=__ VIEWPOINTS C AME COCK EDITORIAL BOARD * Editor STEVEN VAN HAREN News Editor JUSTIN CHAPURA Assistant News Editor JACKIE ALEXANDER 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 Get out of the shower, belt it outfor 'Idol’ Calling all undiscovered talent and/or oblivious cat stranglers. “USC Idol,” a campus version of the popular TV talent show, sounds like music to our ears — a few fun nights that could stifle the stage fright out of some closet divas. The first of three auditions begins at 8 tonight in the Russell House Ballroom and is open to the public. Carolina Productions’ incarnation of the “Idol” empire looks like it will be far more entertaining than the national version that pulled Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard out of the karaoke circuit. Our very own roommates, classmates, intramural partners and 1 As will be center stage, soaring to dizzying crescendos or crashing like a lead balloon. Bring lighters. And earmuffe. Students should encourage shy friends to attend — or even participate. Everyone’s heard their roommates belting out songs in the hall shower, and they might need a gentle nudge to get on stage and perform. Case and point: Columbia’s own Hootie and the Blowfish formed after one of the band members heard Darius Rucker singing in a hall bathroom in the Towers. We can only hope the turnout will be equal parts Whitney Houston and William Hung. “Idol” is only entertaining because we get to see both sides of the vocal spectrum. “Idol” glory, even on such a small scale, could convince the shyest of crooners to perform at local bars, which could lead to bigger, better things. Some students could discover a passion they never knew they had. Don’t wait for a Hootie-esaue moment to fall in your lap. Log on to CP’s Web site and sign up for an audition. Go give USC your best Elton John or Aretha Franklin because you never know who will be listening. We can only hope the turnout will be equal parts Whitney Houston and William Hung. IT’S VOUR RIGHT Voice your opinion on message boards at www.dailygamecock.com or send letters to the editor at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc. edu CORRECTIONS 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 Editor STEVEN VAN KAREN Design Director chas McCarthy Copy Desk Chief AARON KIOD News Editor JUSTIN CHAPURA Assistant News Editor JACKIE ALEXANDER Viewpoints Editor BRINOY McNAIR Assistant Viewpoints Editor AARON BRAZIER The Mix Editor ALEXIS ARNONE Assistant Mix Editor KRISTEN TRUESOALE 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 StaffWriters AJ. BEMBRY, TOM BENNING, JESS DAVIS, TIM McMANUS, MARJORIE RIDOLE, GINA VASSELLI Copy Editors CAROLINE DESANCTIS, BETHANY NICHOLS, ELIZABETH PARHAM, KATIE THOMPSON, JAMISON TINSLEY, KRYSTAL WEB16ER, LIZ WHITE CONTACT INFORMATION Offices located on the third floor of the Russell Home Editor's office hours are from 2-3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays Editor: gamecockeditorQgwm.sc.edu News: gamecocknewsQgwm.sc.edu Viewpoints: gamecockopinionsQgwm. sc. edu The Mix: gamecockfeaturesQgwm.sc.edu Sports: gamecocksportsQgwm.sc.edu Public Affairs: gamecockPRQyahoo.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 $1 each from the Department of Student Media. f.k u. or-s-^a «_• A ‘fi h'liL.ff VuiVii jt r*k-- -**jv**_' sm nfwPi# Courtesy KRT Campus Dorit buy self-help books — help yourself Loved ones, non-dates mend romantic woes better than bestsellers Last week while I was job hunting, I stopped into a bookstore to apply for a job. After briefly scanning the shelves, I noticed a large display table dedicated to Valentine’s Day related books. At first I thought it would be those cheesy romance novels or even frilly decorated journals. Nope. It was a table full of romance-filled self-help books. My cynical self immediately rolled my eyes. I recalled that “Sex and the City” episode that taught us all that self help romance books are pointless. It’s like someone trying to tell you how to surf in a book. Now I understand it’s not that easy to just take a lead and put yourself “out there.” It’s as scary as watching “Jaws” before you go to the beach. Eventually you will feel like a foundering ship in a sea of sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads. And it gets □harder to leave the reef. But a book won’t get you anywhere. And the best WHITE to &et Second. wherever year print you want t0 journalism be romance student wise is a non-date with a close friend. Last Friday night I went on a non-date with an old fling. He opened my door and paid for my dinner. As far as dates go, it was perfect — minus the goodnight kiss at the end of the night. With Valentine’s Day, the sappiest, most pointless holiday all year, a few days later, you might find it strange that I went out with someone other than my boyfriend. You obviously haven’t been on a non-date. If you haven’t I offer you my own self-help advice. Go ask that special friend that you don’t particularly have feelings for out for a Friday night non-date next Valentine’s Day. No presents or sappy love poems required. Last Saturday, once again I spent the night celebrating not with my boyfriend, but with my girlfriends. We stayed up until the wee hours of the morning watching the best chick movie, “To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar.” We ate Valentine’s cookies and drank cosmos. The point is that Valentine’s Day isn’t just a day or week for celebrating being in love with that special Mr. or Mrs. Right. As cheesy and sappy as the holiday is, it is more about sharing love with all the people you love. I don’t just have one Valentine but more like 10: my guy friends that I can go out to dinner with and not worry about “feelings,” my girlfriends that I can tell anything to, my mom and my boyfriend, of course. Don’t waste your money on self-help books. The answer to all of your love woes is within your circle of friends, not some writer telling you how to stay balanced from the pages of a bestseller. Surf’s up. Labeling hate crimes hampers social healing Defining criminal acts based on victim keeps divisions between us Quick! Two scenarios: Number one: A young white male walks into a redneck bar. With hatchet and gun in hand, he attacks three men and opens fire. Number two: A young white male walks into a gay bar. With hatchet and gun in hand, he attacks three men and opens fire. What’s the difference? A hate crime. A couple of weeks ago Jacob D. Robida, 18, walked into a New Bedford, Mass., gay bar with a hatchet and a gun, shot up the bar and beat three men. He committed what we know in the modern media world as a hate crime. What happened in Massachusetts was ugly. And most definitely not a run-of-the-mill bar brawl gone awry. Robida was a pup. How do you get so mean so fast? But now media is calling Robida a neo-Nazi, a hate-filled teenager, and ■a deranged youth. Truckloads of lawmakers are hollerin’ about hate TECLfl “s l*HW Bar'ney public relations Fr*nk- haS student called on Washington to rise up and amend federal legislation on hate crimes in response to this attack to include gays. But the term hate crime is piffle! It has a feeble definition and is analogous to an equally redundant phrase “ATM machine.” In a nutshell, hate crime legislation makes the identity of the victim an aggravating factor or even a separate crime. Sorry to play envoy of the obvious, but all violent crimes include malice! All violent crimes are hate crimes! And all crimes must be treated the same! This Robida kid might have had serious social aggressions, but now they fall by the wayside. In the legal process a crime is a crime is a crime. Is the crime more egregious because of the selection of the victims? No. How can you put a higher price on the victimization of one person over another person simply based on their group status? I refuse to draw a distinction in victim-hood based on group-ism. If harsher punishments for violent crimes are desired, then why not include everyone and make the consequences more severe across the board? It baffles me why a group that seeks equal protection under the law now seeks special protection. Beating someone with a baseball bat is a crime. The race, color, orientation or creed of the person you pulverize with that bat does not matter. Equal protection means equal protection. Hate crime legislation only drives wedges between us. It creates an artificial distinction between groups and effectively sets us back decades. Is it a bigger deal that this event began in a gay bar rather than a redneck bar? It should not make a lick of difference. Winners & Sinners Lindsey Killdow still plans to compete in Olympic skiing after crashing at 50 mpg last Wednesday. Vice President Dick Cheney shot and wounded fellow hunter Harry Whittington Saturday > Cheney should % study his early U.S. history; gain hindsight Vice presidential angst continues from political past, parallels today “Hey! Cheney shot a guy,” my roommate said to me the other night. Seconds later, ^ he told me it was a “hunting ^P accident.” v' The last time a vice president shot a man was in Weehawken, N.J., on July 11(11 1 1, 1 804, mcmnnus when Aaron Fifth-year Burr won print a duel with journalism Secretary of student the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. Unlike Cheney’s victim, Hamilton died the next day. Not only was Burr’s shot fatal, but Burr also chose a much better target. Burr shot Alexander Hamilton after a several year-long smear campaign by several journalists and politicians that destroyed Burr’s political career and reputation. Some accounts of this campaign even involve accusations of Burr having sexual relations with his daughter. Shooting the Secretary of the Treasury didn’t do much to help his reputation, though. While it is debatable whether Hamilton was the best man to shoot, (Thomas Jefferson was arguably worse to Burr) Hamilton said some pretty nasty things about Burr and should definitely have made Burr’s “Top 10 People to Shoot” list. But whom does Cheney shoot? Texas lawyer Harry M. Whittington. Granted, everyone’s wanted to shoot a lawyer at some point in their life, but there must be hundreds of people that should have made Cheney’s “Top 10 People to Shoot” list before Whittington. For example, Cheney’s former chief of staff, Scooter Libby, should be a shoe-in for the top spot. i ncic is evidence iu suggest Libby testified to a grand jury that his “superiors” gave him the order to leak the name of a CIA operative for political reasons. If that doesn’t shout “Shoot me, Dick Cheney!” I don’t know what does. But some might say Cheney and Burr shot people more than 200 years apart from each other, and they may deny that Cheney can learn anything from Burr. But aside from being trigger-happy politicians, they have quite a bit in common. Burr was charged with conspiracy to commit treason under the accusation that he was involved in a plot to create a new nation in what is now Texas, Mexico and the western United States. As releasing the name of CIA operative is also treason, and as Cheney may have conspired to release ^ that name, Cheney may end up in the same boat as Burr. 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 ^t 777-7726 for more information.