Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VIEWPOINTS AMECOCK ' EDITORIAL BOARD j Editor STEVEN VAN HAREN News Editor JACKIE ALEXANDER Assistant News Editor JOSHUA RABON The Mix Editor ALEXIS ARNONE i Design Director chas McCarthy Sports Editor STEPHEN FASTENAU Viewpoints Editor BRINDY McNAIR ' Assistant Viewpoints Editor AARON BRAZIER IN OUR OPINION Gay parents or not, let the children play The White House will be under attack this Monday by forces more insidious and devious than most of us can imagine. Children. The excitement of the annual Easter egg chase has already hit home for many of America’s youngest, and the White House’s traditionally pristine lawns will face a threat containing chocolate hands, a lack of bladder control and hundreds of tiny shoes churning up turf. But instead of focusing on the imminent danger, a group called Keligion and Democracy is more upset by plans from gay families to push .their politics at the event. The celebration of Easter and the fun of. egg-chasing will supposedly be offset by gay families flaunting i-t. pmcplvpc wi roinKnw ribbons, although even the most ardent right-winger knows how to spot a gay family. Undoubtedly this move is highly political in nature by the gay families and “Family Pride,” the group that represents them. By exposing conservatives to a slice of family life beyond that of the norm, they hope to persuade in action what they cannot do with words. The Easter egg chase has had a history of unity, including Mamie Eisenhower who opened the White House gates to black families. Not many things can bring people together like two sets of parents sharing mutual stories about their children eating insects or scraping their knees. It is certainly one of the nicer methods of sharing a slice of American life with people from different backgrounds. But more importantly, it will be fun for kids. Those insidious and devious tykes will have a good time chasing eggs and causing a riot in one of our nation’s most hallowed landmarks. Every kid should have a chance to share in something this unique and traditional, and thinking they should not based on their parentage is just mean. Every kid should have a chance to share in something this unique and traditional. IT’S VOUR RIGHT Voice your opinion on message boards at umnv.dailygamecock.com or send letters to the editor at gamecockopinions@gwm.sc.edu ij 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 KIDD News Editor JACKIE ALEXANDER Assistant News Editor JOSHUA RABON Viewpoints Editor BRINDY McNAIR Assistant Viewpoints Editor AARON BRAZIER The Mix Editor ALEXIS ARNONE Assistant Mix Editor KRISTEN TRUESDALE Sports Editor STEPHEN FASTENAU /ujMHin* cjyuru 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, 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@gunn.sc.edu News: gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu Viewpoints: gamecockopinions@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 Fax: 777-6482 utrector SCOn LINDENBERG Faculty Adviser ERIK COLLINS 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 Creative Services MIKE CONWAY, JOSEPH DANNELLY, LAURA JOYCE GOUGH, MARGARET LAW, MEGHAN WHITMAN I TIL UAMLlilAift 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/TH E GAMECOCK. The Department of Student Media is the newspaper’s parent organization. THE GAMECOCK is supported i in part by student-activity fees. One free copy per reader. Additional copies may be purchasedfor $I each from the Department of Student Media. Tips ON SPOTTING STEROID USERS -you’ll be ablets -he squeezes the baseball.^ A Courtesy KRT Campus Help stop genital manipulation of sidewalks Obscene chalk marks make USC look bad for students, visitors I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll say it again: I love campus in the springtime. I walk a little slower to class and enjoy the sunshine, the blooming flowers everywhere, the nice smells of the trees, the sight of people playing on the Horseshoe, the words for human genitalia written on the sidewalk? This hideous interruption of my walks to class began when I saw “RS” written everywhere in chalk. Everywhere I turned, there they were. It looked so trashy. Someone took our beautiful campus and drew all over it. I had to stop for a second and remember that I was not somewhere in the Bronx, but in beautiful South Carolina. Last time I checked, this campus was not a canvas for graffiti. Now, the sidewalk chalk words have gotten even more interesting. You’ve seen them, these random inappropriate words on the ground. My message to you inappropriate chalk writers: Grow up! We are in college, we are supposed to be mature, UflLCnC responsible rimr adults. You ® chose to Ihtra-year , . . . , come to this print journal ism student School, SO have some respect for it. The writing not only makes the school look bad, but the people who attend it, as well. Prospective students from every direction are flocking here and taking tours. That sidewalk chalk might just be the deciding factor as to where their $10,000 goes. I can picture my mother now if we were on a tour and saw it. She would let out one of her motherly gasps and encourage me to look elsewhere. And our campus is not only for students. There are always members of the larger community on campus. I always see people taking walks or running through. I often see couples strolling with their children. It makes me cringe to think about what these people must say about USC students because of this “sidewalk art.” I understand that sidewalk chalk has become a form of advertisement, but this has gone too far. These random words provide no advertisement; they just provide some immature students a little bit of satisfaction. Even the advertisement can go too far. The “RS” scrawlings were too much; it became annoying and made the campus look really bad. If you ask me, the culprit of these acts should be forced to scrub down each and every chalk mark. It disgusts me every time I see it. I wonder what President Sorensen thinks about his students when he sees this around campus. Do you think it makes him proud to be the president of this school? USC is an amazing school with a lot of prestige. By littering the school with chalk words, we are putting ourselves on the same level as Clemson, and that’s just unacceptable. IN YOUR OPINION BGLSA fights hate one person at a time I would like to take this opportunity to polish the theories put forth by the aggravated editorial “Stereotypes hurt cause during awareness week” from April 11. Let us establish that we do not live in a euphoric, mystic garden where everyone is sensitive. Differences in culture, class, gender, race and of course sexual orientation are perpetual. It must be equally recognized that not everyone openly accepts these differences but are merely indifferent. Safe Zone and BGLSA are taking strides to redirect those feelings into a more positive credence. BGLSA is a smaller organization with aspirations for better resources and funding. If we had amazing financial abilities, we would indeed give away free pancakes and waffles as an option for Homophobia Awareness Week, but in the meantime, we get by with a little help from our friends. Therefore, the G.L.B.T community chooses to pair with several organizations on campus to hand out stickers, wear cool T-shirts, and sponsor original, intricately planned carnivals during Homophobia Awareness Week. That is only the tip of the iceberg of activism we exhibit year around. What means more than people who repudiate us? The answer is simple. The people who we can reach on a social, face to-face level at these functions are more important than the ones who repudiate us. People take the stickers and have the chance to know much more about us as humans rather than just knowing our lifestyle. Anytime you allow yourself the courage to be vulnerable every day or widen your scope on humanity, then that truly is fabulous. LAUREN WIGGINS Public relations chairwoman, BGLSA Nobody covers USC better. Nobody. TIlS&AMEGOGK Senioritis kids show symptoms of becoming terminally lazy In final weeks at USC, unwarranted willies do not a disease make All year long, I’ve heard people bitching about £ senioritis. “Like, dude, it’s so ™ hard to concentrate on work uecause i ve got senioritis. I just don’t think I’m gonna get this paper done. Maybe I can get some kind of extension. You know, if you had senioritis, you’d totally get it. My BRiflOV Mm Fourth-year print journalism student brain is like, totally full, man. It hurts with so much stuff. How can I write that paper with this head?” This, my friends, is complete crap. These people aren’t having problems studying and getting work done because they’re seniors and are more focused on graduating. Senioritis is not actually a disease. Diseases are generally contracted and can leave your social life empty and devoid as people ignore you and your hearty collection of purple and red rashes. If senioritis were actually a disease, I would have been diagnosed my second year here. I’ve been thinking about graduating and trying to figure out what I’m going to do with my life for about three years now. And I’m pretty sure having a disease that long would be mentally debilitating in some kind of way. As far as I know, I’m just as mentally debilitated as I was when I got here. Of course, I’m now in the situation of not actually knowing whether I am or not, which makes me wonder where the alcohol is. People claiming “senioritis” is the root of all their woes are full of something, and it’s not candy. These people are just lazy and like to place blame anywhere but where it rightfully belongs — on themselves. It’s pure laziness, not their impending graduation, that puts them in a bum-like funk. I think it might also be mild stupidity, another non-disease. Think about it. Really think about it. Does it make any sense to give up when you can actually see the finish line? What would we all say if Lance Armstrong were a few feet from the finish line of the Tour de France and said, “Eh, screw this guys, I have winneritis and just don’t think I can make it to the finish line.” We’d call him a pansy, or another five-letter p word. If you’ve made it far enough to see the end, why jeopardize that by becoming a lazy hobo? Late-season collapses are for the football team. I m not suggesting that you go out there and kill yourself to make it to the finish line. Forcing yourself to make it will leave you exhausted, mentally drained and slightly retarded with a social life like you have purple and red rashes. I’m not even asking that you come in first. I’m just urging you to finish. The only thing sadfler than losing the race is not finishing at all.