The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 21, 2006, Page 5, Image 5
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VIEWPOINTS
TH#%AMECOCK
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor \
STEVEN VAN HAREN
News Editor \
JACKIE ALEXANDER
Assistant News Editor
JOSHUA RABON
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
3 Rivers must compete
The 3- Rivers Music Festival is about to deliver
another smorgasbord of rock, bluegrass, jazz, funk
and blues to the Capital City, but a less-than-college
friendly lineup has some of us running for our iPods.
God bless ’em — the annual festival is one of
Columbia’s coolest events, bringing families, food and
•fun together under one PG-rated roof. The nonprofit
Shindig’s stated goal is to connect the “diverse people
of the region though music and culture” — a noble,
necessary cause in the sometimes narrow-minded
South. Rappers rub shoulders with country crooners.
Gospel and grunge share
Mr. KODOtO” IS
only good when
heard through
sunstroke
and Bud Light.
Lilt U11JL.
But the festival’s
organizers might have
overlooked a segment of
the population that enjoys
spending time — and
money — listening to live
music: college students.
Living legends such as
Aretha Franklin and George Clinton are always across
the-board draws, and hometown heroes Sunsnone Still
^feand the Heist and the Accomplice will bring loads of
^^local clientele.
But the Queen of Soul and Dr. Funkenstein himself
might not be enough to lure some kids from their dorm
rooms, especially when USC students are studying
for exams. The college crowd could be dangerously
anemic in coming years if neo-metal garbage such as
Irapt is supposed to bring us across the river. Trust
us — high school kids in Jncos don’t have as much
money to blow as we do.
The White Stripes. Incubus. OutKast (again). Even
one of these acts would significantly boost attendance
and bring more people to see other bands such as
Styx — who, without afro-ed original frontman
Dennis DeYoung, need all the life support they can
get. “Mr. Roboto” is only good when heard through a
combination of heatstroke and Bud Light.
Moving 3 Rivers to March to avoid the exam crunch
^^and beefing up the bill with college-age acts would
bring more students and kick the festival into high
gear.
IT’S YOUR RIGHT
Voice your opinion on message
boards at www.dailygamecock.con
or send letters to the editor at
gamecockopinionsQgwm.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
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STEVEN VAN HAREN
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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
^ttfEPHEN FASTENAU
^Wssistant Sports Editor
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Courtesy KRTjCampus
Holt's tantrum showed concern for students
Even during angry fits,
vice president cared
about others’ money
We received a lot of
letters to the editor that
were, sadly, not put in
print.
Apparently, some guy
called Ryan Holt was
caught on camera having
what can be best described
as a “hissy fit.”
Now, he’s not the first
nor will he be the last to
get stressed out enough to
yell at people.
But the letters from you,
our good readers, ranged
from outright anger to
brilliant humor. If we had
printed a story on him,
they would undoubtedly
have run.
I can’t say whether
Holt’s sojourn to D.C. to
hobnob with politicians
was successful. I can’t say
whether he convinced
them as one of the voices
of students in America, or
whether he was there for
the photo ops.
What I can say is that
he is the democratically
elected representative of
the student body at USC,
and despite having a bit of
a stroppy moment, he did
not do anything wrong.
Even in a temper
tantrum
moment, the
man actually
gave a damn
about SG
money.
AAROn, '-ome on>
BRAZIER that . 15
n . impressive.
bourth-year _r_
philosophy He made
student sure that the
joke wasn’t
costing you or I anything.
In a bad temper, probably
thinking things were going
to be worse than they are,
he immediately asked if
the money was, for all
intents and purposes,
“dirty”.
Kudos to the man.
t?____„r •„
i_/*v,n uiv. vjucjuvm wi an,
as ridiculous as it sounds,
comes at a price. The SG
offices have a machine for
helium pumping that costs
money. Holt covered all
his bases, not for him but
for all students. Eighty
bucks may not seem like
much, but to a small
student organization that
could be a social or a great
introductory meeting.
Not only that, he
probably flew back from
D.C. that day to a bunch
of homework and he
probably had to go to
the Student Government
offices to pick something
up. Maybe he wanted
to talk to his fellow SG
officials. He probably
smelled really bad, an
issue of pity or disgust
depending on your stance
of immediate showering.
Either way, only SG
people, especially Holt,
can really give a defense of
his behavior — if a defense
is actually necessary.
They blew balloons up
in his office as a prank.
It wasn’t really funny or
witty. I expect more from
the forward thinking
democratically elected
representatives. Where’s
the D.C. mystery? Dead
hookers, illegitimate
children, racist novels,
uiiuii u uiiu gvii yiuuiiuvimg
are staples of corrupt
politicking.
And Holt did something
in response that would
chill most politicians to
the bone. He was honest,
and he cared about us,
even to the point of
anger.
Let it drop, people. I
expect Holt laughed at
it in retrospect just like
we all did when we saw
the video. Enjoy it in
the moment as a silly bit
of banter, but don’t let it
color your view of a guy
who always helped out
people beyond the call of
duty.
Life seems lighter with hysterical laughing
Serious subjects send
stark message with
sidesplittng stand-up
This will be my last
column of the school year,
and if I don’t pass copy
editing — “Journalism
666” — it will probably be
the last column of my life.
If I were to leave the
world of jokes about
politics and college life
with one message it would
be make jokes.
The world is a scary
place with the Middle
East hating us and Iran
beoming “nuclear.”
/T*1. . _ _ ..A_
l Udl o UW l c.aaun v 1 i-iy
you shouldn’t laugh every
now and then.
Next time you see the
president speak, picture
him in a comedy club,
telling the story of how
he pissed off Iran and
they developed nuclear
technology. At the end of
this bit, he would shrug
and end with the punch
line: “Guess I shouldn’t
have called them the axis
of evil!”
Then, the president
would talk about how his
Chief of
Staff Karl
i Rove was
involved in
I distributing
fliers and
11(11 making
incmms anonymous
Fifth-year Phone calls
print suggesting
journalism Bush’s chief
student opponent,
Sen. John
McCain, went crazy from
his years as a prisoner of
war and that his wife was
a drug addict.
Then he would ask the
audience who voted for
him; then he would point
to one of his supporters
111
aim as*, wiiy.
The audience member
would say “strong moral
values.” Bush would
laugh, slap his knee, the
drummer would hit a buh
dum-crash, and the crown
would go wild.
While anyone who
voted for Bush because of
his moral values deserves
to be laughed at, not
everyone in the audience
would laugh.
One of these people
would be my an old
suitemate’s girlfriend.
After watching the first
episode of “Chapelle’s
Show,” most of us couldn’t
shut up about the hilarious
skit about a blind black
man who grew up to be a
white supremacist.
She, however, thought
that something about an
issue as serious as racism
shouldn’t be laughed at.
We can’t just silence,
shut down or kill the worst
elements, whether they are
white supremacists or our
president.
Humor is a much
more powerful weapon
than simply speaking out
ifriinct- cnmpnnp
o
If you were a racist,
would you be more
offended by a TV show
mocking beliefs that you
hold dear to your heart
or a speech talking about
how bad you are?
The world is a scary
place, full of people with
backwards, self-centered
beliefs who may want to
kill you, oppress you or
smear the name of a war
hero for political gain. But
these people are freakin’
hilarious.
Bunnies, gifts
eclipse purpose
behind yearly
celebrations
Mother’s, Father’s days
don’t need to remind
children to love parents
For many people, Easter
is a time of celebration and
joy. For me, it was a day of
mourning.
1 he taster
Bunny has
passed away.
That, or he
decided to be
a complete
jerk this year
and felt — for
the first time
in my life — I
didn’t deserve
a basket full of
treats.
CHASE
STOUDEnmiRE
Second-year
history
student
1 m pissed off at the
bunny community. From
this "day on, I’m rooting for
Elmer Fudd. Bugs Bunny
can kiss my non-bushy
tailed buttocks. Be vewwy,
vewwy quiet — I’m hunting
holiday mascots.
In less than 100 words I
reduced one of the holiest
Christian holidays into an
annual commercialized
candy-grab. Same thing
happens to Christmas every
year.
In fact, I can’t think of
a single holiday where we
really celebrate what we’re
supposedly celebrating.
Some front is always put up
to make things more “fun.”
Halloween? St. Patrick’s
Day? Valentine’s Day? The
real meanings behind these
holidays are- completely
detached from the way we
celebrate them. Sad times.
But that’s not the point of
all this.
Mother’s Day, Father’s
Day, Grandparent’s Day,
etc. are great and all. But to
me, it just seems a little less
genuine when it happens
because you’re “supposed
to.”
Like Valentine’s Day
— really, more than half of
the guys who buy flowers or
candy are doing it simply
because they know they’ll get
iii trouble if they don’t. So if
we want to be sincere, if we
really love and appreciate
these people, we should
do these things because we
want to, not because of what
. 1 _ „ J_
uiv- v,aiv.nuai jay j.
I’m about to finish my
second year at Carolina, and
pretty much everything I’ve
done up until this point has
been because two incredible
people have bent over
backwards to give me every
opportunity in the world —
including a full scholarship
to college. I’m talking about
you, mom and dad.
They’re more than just
a full-time support staff or
laundry service; they’re the
people who have taught me
left from right and right
from wrong. They deserve
credit for all of my successes ;
and none of my failures.
They’re better to me than ;
I could ever deserve, and
they do it not because they
have to, but because they
want to. So today — not
because it’s mother’s day
or father’s day but simply
because it’s true — I’m
saying thanks. I don’t need
any candy or bunnies or
costumes to know that
they’re worth celebrating.
One final note — this is
my last column of the year,
and it’s been great. Barring
loss of life or limb, I hope
you’ll crack open the paper
in the fall and brace yourself
for another semester of the
legendary Funtastic Fridays