The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 24, 2006, Page 4, Image 4
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
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BENNING, JESS DAVIS, *
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RIDDLE, GINA VASSELLI
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ELIZABETH PARHAM, KATIE
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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