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VIEWPOINTS ___ TH#%AMECOCK 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 When talking to profs, sidestep stupid slang Those chummy replies to no-nonsense e-mails from your professors could be rubbing them the wrong way. A recent New York Times article explored the boundaries and etiquette of student-professor e-mails. Many professors find students are crossing the line from class-related discussion to inappropriate levels of informality. In the name of professionalism, courtesy and the English language, those professors are right on the money. T? * 1 11 -LJ-lIKUia dit U11C itvu Students need to bel?w handwritten Iettei;s; and most students would forget all notions never stamp and send _x . ■ i_- _ some of their colorful Of Striking up a onhne interjections to a Mr. Holland-ish respected prof. Student professor communication connection, should stay formal most of the time. When first e-mailing a professor, students need to forget all notions of striking up a magical, Mr. Holland ish connection — no matter how cool they’ve heard their professors are. It’s best to stick to class-related topics, see how they respond and follow their lead. Forgo AIM speak and try to form complete sentences when talking to professors. Capitalize, punctuate and spell properly. Call them Mr., Ms. or Dr. Students will sound a lot smarter, especially in an age when e-mail and Internet chatting have eradicated good penmanship. o:_____^ j_1_*.1_ kjigu up iui au v^maii attuum inai uuvoii i uavc inw phrase “bootylicious_69” in it. Most professors won’t care about account names if students sound halfway intelligent in the body of the e-mail, but a more professional name couldn’t hurt, and students will need one when they begin hunting for jobs anyway. If an informal correspondence begins, don’t get too comfortable. The next off-the-wall political jab or inappropriate joke could turn them off. There’s nothing wrong with connecting with a professor, but students must tread lightly before assuming how friendly they have become with their professors. IT’S YOUR RIGHT Voice your opinion on message boards at unvw.dailygamecock.com or send letters to the editor at gamecockopinions@gum.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 HAREN Design Director chas McCarthy Copy Desk Chief AARON KIOD 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 StaffWriters A.J. BEMBRY, TOM BENNING, JESS DAVIS, * TIM MCMANUS, MARJORIE RIDDLE, GINA VASSELLI Copy Editors CAROLINE DESANCTIS, 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: gamecockeditorQgurm.sc.edu News: gamecocknewsQgurm.sc.edu Viewpoints: gamecockopinionsQgwm. sc. edu The Mix: gamecockfraturesQgurm.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 Fax: 777-6482 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 Advertising APRYL ALEXANDER, KATIE CUPPIA, BREANNA EVANS, MARY RACHEL FREEMAN, DEIDRE MERRICK, McKENZIE WELSH 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. Donkey or elephant, officials deserve respect Despite political side, everyone should hold executives in esteem This past Friday, Vice President Dick Cheney made appearances in two South Carolina cities: Rock Hill and Charleston. Hours later, a shooting occurred in Columbia in which at least one man was shot in the face. Coincidence? I think not. I received a phone call last Wednesday asking me what my plans were for the next two days. Less than 48 hours later, I was standing in a room in Rock Hill listening to a speech from the vice president, along with 'about 100 people who had just paid $2,500 to have their picture taken with him. Now I’m no expert when it comes to money, but I think it would be smarter to pay a friend five bucks to Photoshop me into one and spend the rest on a lifetime supply of spare shoelaces. But that’s just me. I can’t lie; there was a legitimate reason for the cost. The event was a fundraiser for a man running for U.S. n Congress. That’s right - I volunteered a t a Republican UHHSE Party STOUDCnmiRC fa?rdraiscr c , You may becond-year J be able to tell from previous columns I’ve written that I’m not exactly what most people would consider to be a model Republican. That’s probably because (according to them) I’m a pink, liberal, amoral, bleeding-heart, baby killing, weak-on-defense, tax-and-spend Democrat — white, male, born and raised in the South. Pretty soon you’ll be able to see me at the Riverbanks Zoo; we’re a dvine breed. It was a total James Bond experience — I was undercover. The man on the inside. A sheep in wolf’s clothing. Probably the most depressing part of the event was learning the truth behind those stone faced men in black suits. There is nothing secret about the Secret Service — they all wear a shiny blue pin with a gold star on it that just screams, “I’m allowed to shoot you.” Seriously, where are Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones when you need them? Most awkward moment? The blank stare on someone’s face after confessing that I’m on the “other side.” My favorite moment? Finding out moments later that she’s the student body president at Bob Jones University. Oh, chuckle chuckle. Before being admitted, we had to pass a background check to make sure we aren’t enemy combatants or likely to cause trouble. Next time I go through that process, this column will probably show up on the screen in big red flashing letters. Knowing that, let me say this: JNo, i m not Cheneys biggest fan. But regardless of what we may think or say about them in private, there is a certain level of respect that we should all pay to sitting executives. I was glad to have had this opportunity and think the world would be a much better place if we stopped demonizing our political opponents. Even if they do shoot 70-year-old men in the face. Not everyone understands censorship, satire This columnist’s critic needs an illustration of own suppression Some people need to learn a lesson about censorship. A long time ago, I was a playwright who worked with a theatre group on campus. One play I did was a satirical dark comedy about reality television. It was about a man who found himself on a 2012 reality television show in which three strangers were brought together to have sex. One of the strangers was drugged and unconscious throughout most of the show. The person in question ignored all of my e-mails (I did the play without getting permission), but she didn’t ignore the theatre department’s rumor mill and came to I .r':.:.: na rehearsal about a week before we performed. After an incomplete JIUI rehearsal, I mmm w.as told ™y play would Fifth-year cc a i print offend people journalism (surprise!), student that most of my audience would be'college students (surprise, again!) and that it would especially offend guys who get girls drunk to take advantage of them (another surprise... but this time not sarcastic). I was told to make the character who condemned taking advantage of drugged and unconscious girls “preachy” and “cartoonish.” I didn’t like this suggestion. For one, satire is a way to judge something without being preachy. And it would satirize everything the “good guy” said, making the audience say, “What an idiot! He’s against rape, heh.” After seconds of consideration, I decided to ignore everything I was told by this person. And the play went great. But how can she learn her lesson? I am against censorship. But for her to see what it’s like to be censored at the last minute by an unapologetic person who has never seen the whole play would teach her a mighty fine lesson. Submission policy Letters tc 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. -—-:.■’. I Online Poll Would you ever consider going under the knife for cosmetic surgery? YES-CH/9 44% NO fglSIir'1'1~'r^TrfflMffHil"l11 ,1.m4* *IMl 56% ' Total votes: 113* America opens arms to dorky; sci-fi loving, unsexed breed Finally ‘Star Wars’ fans, video gamers get their place in mainstream There’s something I have to confess to everybody. I am a full-up paid member of The Committee for the □ Liberation and Integration of Terrifying Organisms and their Rehabilitation Into Society, a dorkdom BRAZIER collective from Fourth-year Britain with philosophy an unfortunate student acronym. Over the years, I have carefully synthesized British and American dorkiness into a sleek, streamlined, unsexed hybrid of brilliance. Spring break may have been a party time for most, but for me it was six hours on Wikipedia reading about comic books and 80 hours of a Japanese role-playing game. If somebody states an opinion about Superman, guess who is there to contradict them? DC Comics would be proud. Despite the uncool nature of dorkdom, it is becoming very cool. Vin Diesel plays “Dungeon and Dragons.” I appreciate a buff movie star with no taste trying to speak up for the disenfranchised multisided die minority. “Dungeons and Dragons” is not dorky. It is nerdy, and should be abolished. There are entire volumes of arbitrary dislike I could scribe for D&D (as it’s known by those dweebs) being entirely out of synch with demigods like Tolkien. They should grow up. Dorkdom is better than that. It’s the seven dueling techniques for Jedi (and subforms), Lisa Simpson’s quote about USC, the form of government the serfs used in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and how the name Sephiroth makes your blood boil in fury — I shall avenge you Aerith! Note spelling. Dorks know that. After the success of films on the dorkdom spectrum from “Napoleon Dynamite” to “Star Wars,” traditional dorkdom is daringly moving into the mainstream. Video games like “Worldwide Soccer A Manager” are used by professional sports teams to scout players. Kids in Thailand doing research on local teams are electronically informing teams with millions of dollars about I--^~*~**^. Talk about super dork chills running down my back in excitement. Even video games, the classic uncool, are overtaking movie watching. From darkened bedroom point and-click games to highly sophisticated slaughter fests £ against the “Flood and the Covenant,” most of America knows their Nintendo from their Petz. Perhaps it is high time to accept that we are all dorks in one way or another and sign onto the Dork Revolution. Even knowing specific fashion house designs and the leading quarterback for the Tennessee Titans in 1998 are dorky now. Hobbies that were dorky are mainstream. It’s high time for the United