The Daily Gamecock 2/12/18

Gators chomp Gamecocks page 8

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

VOL. 110, NO. 09 ● SINCE 1908

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2018

SG committee sets timeline for new union Mary Ramsey @MCOLLEEN1996

The initial work of Student Government’s Student Union Steering Committee was presented to USC’s board of trustees on Friday, garnering the support of University President Harris Pastides and trustees alike.

Student Body President Ross Lordo presented the board with a timeline that would kick-start updated plans for renovating the Carolina Coliseum into a new student union.

Under Lordo’s plan, a recent $10 student fee increase would continue to fund a concept study on the renovations. SG’s Steering Committee would present those conclusions to the board by the end of the calendar year and schematic designs would be but together by 2020 or 2021.

SEEUNIONPAGE3

Rick Ackerman / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Senior A’ja Wilson led all scorers, contributing 22 points to the Gamecocks 64-57 win over Florida.

Gamecocks earn 20th win of season Sunday against Gators Nick Papadimas @NGPAPS

Nathan Leach / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

In a game with a neck-to-neck second half, the No.7 South Carolina women’s basketball team held off the Florida Gators long enough to get the 64-57 w in in f ront of a booming crowd at Colonial Life Arena on Sunday afternoon.

With the U.S. National Team in attendance as well as some

Team here so they can see. And I talked to them a little bit about that after this game ... Our players get so dejected when they miss a shot, or when they turn the ball over. If you ever see that happen with [Team USA], they turn the page quickly cause they know the game is so fast, you can get it back.”

Following two big losses to

notable stars in the W NBA, such as Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury, head coach Dawn Staley was able to instill tact ics t hat she saw in t he national team’s abilities into her players to help them continually succeed.

“We were a little tired against Alabama, but I thought we were pretty good today,“ Staley said.

“We got rejuvenated. I think it helped to have the US National

SEESPORTSPAGEB1

The Carolina Coliseum building was built in 1968.

The blotter comes from police reports released by the USC Division of Law Enforcement and Safety and doesn’t include crimes reported by city or county law enforcement.

INSIDE Ethan Lam / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Crime on Campus - Feb. 4-Feb. 9

Larceny/ Theft

Drug/ Narcotic Possession

DUI

Fraud/ Fake ID

2

14

8

1

Alcohol/ Weapons Drunkenness Violation 1 3

Barnwell

Vandalism/ Trespassing 1

Woodrow College Preston

Capstone House

Greene Street

Women’s Quad Not Shown/Off Map

Russell House Bull

Sumwalt

Sumter Street

Library

Bull St. Parking

McBryde

Patterson

Strom Wellness and Fitness Center

South Tower

Darla Moore School of Business

Blossom Street Blossom Street

South Quad

East Quad

Wheat Street

Green Quad Bates West

Bates House

650 Lincoln Discover y Parking Garage

x2

Pickens

point is having himself a bad day. But it gets worse.

Once the officer read the suspect his Miranda rights, the suspect said that there was a gun and marijuana in a “pink bag” in the car. Upon searching the vehicle the officer found an open, purple Disney princess backpack in the back seat. According to the report the bag contained a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun, 20 rounds of ammunition and 80.7 grams of marijuana.

Where this suspect for a drugs and narcotics possession charge obtained a Disney princess backpack, USCPD may not care to know. But which Disney princess was on that bag — Sofia — the officer on the scene somehow knew and included in his report.

The handgun was legally obtained.

The suspect said he purchased it at a gun show and used it “to protect his family.”

USCPD did not identify the person the suspect attempted to call in their report, but if there was ever a time to phone home, this was not it.

With no further incident, though, the suspect was arrested and the keys to his vehicle were left with his mother.

Jones

Feb. 8, 9:17 a.m.

Over 80 grams of marijuana were recovered along with a loaded semiautomatic handgun ... from a purple Disney princess backpack.

An officer smelled what he suspected could be burning marijuana coming from a vehicle on the 1100 block of Lincoln Street on Thursday morning.

The officer also reported hearing music coming from the vehicle. Maybe it was Disney music, but USCPD did not specify.

The off icer saw one of t he car’s windows rolled half-way down and the driver’s seat occupied. He asked the person in the driver’s seat about the smell, and the person said he had smoked marijuana. After the suspect consented to a search of his vehicle, he tried to make a phone call. When the officer instructed him to hang up the phone, the suspect fled on foot.

“After passing a few parked vehicles, [the suspect] attempted to cut in between a vehicle on his left, misjudged the height of the curb, struck his shin on the raised curb and fell forward onto the ground,” USCPD reports. The suspect at this

Coker

@THEHUMANBODDIE

Main Main Street

T. Michael Boddie

Source: USC Division of Law Enforcement and Safety daily crime log

Design by Logan Zahner

NEWS

A&C

SPORTS

Q&A on university response to oncampus crises Page 2

Mardi Gras came to Columbia over the weekend

Senior Lindsey Spann’s career over as a Gamecock

Page 4 Tori Richman / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Page 8 Shreyas Saboo / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

2

Monday, February 12, 2018

About The Daily Gamecock About The Daily Gamecock

Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief KAMILA MELKO BEN CRAWFORD KAMILA MELKO Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Editor Managing Editors DEBBIE CLARK KAMILA MELKO MADELEINE VATH MADELEINE VATH EMILY READY Managing Editors Managing Editor Design Directors RANADirectors SOBEIH MARY Design RAMSEY, LOGAN MADELEINE VATHZAHNER RACHAEL MCGAHEE RACHAEL MCGAHEE OnlineDirector Editor Design Design Directors LOGAN ZAHNER LOGAN GREYZAHNER KLEIN MAGGIE NEAL RACHAEL MCGAHEE Special Sections Director Special Sections Director Design Director Copy Desk Chief LOGAN ZAHNER JESSICA BLAHUT JESSICA BLAHUT RACHAEL MCGAHEE ERIN METCALF Special Sections Director Copy Desk Chief CopySections Desk Chief Special Director Social Media Editor JESSICA BLAHUT CAROLYN CAROLYN CULBERTSON KELLYCULBERTSON VILLWOCK GILLIAN MUNOZ Copy Desk Chief Social Media Editor Social Media Editor Copy Desk Chiefs Photo Editors CAROLYN CULBERTSON GABBI FRASCO GABBI FRASCO DREW MUELLER VICTORIA RICHMAN, SARA YANG Social Media Editor Photo Editors Photo Editors MADELEINE VATH News FRASCO Editors GABBI CODY SCOGGINS CODY SCOGGINS Social Media Editor T. 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“You might say that this African nation is fantasy. But to have the opportunity to pull from real ideas, real places and real African concepts, and put it inside of this idea of Wakanda – that’s a great opportunity to develop a sense of what that identity is, especially when you’re disconnected from it.”

— Chadwick Boseman, star of Black Panther and a South Carolina native, in his interview for the cover of Time magazine

Rally planned to protest coastal oil drilling Busloads of coastal South Carolinians belonging to environmental groups are showing up on the State House steps Tuesday to protest President Donald Trump’s proposal to allow drilling for oil off the East Coast, reports The State.

The Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management plans to hold a public forum Tuesday night on the drilling proposal at the Columbia DoubleTree Hilton. It’s the only federal forum planned in South Carolina on the issue.

— Compiled by Larissa Johnson, news editor

University response to crises Hannah Dear @THEGAMECOCK

Racially-charged posters on Martin Luther K ing Jr. Day. A suicide in a campus building. Discriminatory social media posts. When situations happen on c a mpu s t hat requ i re a re sp on se f rom t he u n iver sit y administration, students’ reactions range from appreciative to highly critical.

To explore universit y policy on campus crises, The Daily Gamecock sat down with USC’s Chief Officer of Communication Wes Hickman.

He discussed the management of recent crises and the specific role of the administration in contrast to that of other university officials. The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Q: What does the university do when a situation, like this (i.e the racially charged posters and suicide in Gambrell) arises?

A: There’s a lot of different kinds of

crises. All the senior administrators go through crisis training. Our USC police department ... is the number one convening group around crisis management. They implement a system called the Incident Command System. It’s a federally recognized s y stem c h a i n of com m a nd t h at dictates how you’re going to operate in an emergency situation.

That system works in two phases.

There’s what’s called the executive policy group and that’s all the senior administrators at the university. Then there’s an emergency management team, and those are the associate vice presidents, directors and people like that who work at that level. So we all train and do workshops in that type of thing all the time so that we’re always up on the latest in incident command systems, crisis management, crisis communication and all that sort of stuff. You take the lessons you learn from that and apply them in individual situations because every situation is different.

As an institution we have to make sure we have the facts right. One of the things that I tell people is when you’re going into an incident response, as a professional your responsibility is to take a breath, understand the situation and start to understand the facts at hand. You see police departments do this a lot when they’re conducting an investigation. The other thing is that a situation like with the flyers is a great opportunity for an institution to fall back to your values ... We know that our values are based on the principles espoused in the Carolinian Creed — civilit y and respect for all. The flyer situation clearly runs against the values of our institution.

What you want to do is make sure you’re communicating those values t h roughout t hat i nst it ut ion a nd throughout that incident. The best t ime to bu ild t r ust a mong you r aud ience s a nd you r com mu n it y members is not during a crisis. It’s every other day of the year. If we are doing our best to live the Carolinian

Creed as an institution, as individuals ... that’s the best way to combat those types of things.

Q: What separates the roles of the administration and student life coordinators in times of crisis?

A: Our job is really to look at the strategy and the response to a s c e n a r io . T h e p e o p le w h o a r e responsible for carrying that out are really there to make sure that those things get done in a very professional way. For example, the vice president of student affairs is probably not going to be, well certainly not going to be, on the front lines as a counselor, but we’re going to rely on our trained professional staff to do that. We have taken great care then to hire the professional staff that we need in each area ... to make sure we can respond to things like that. If you take the death by suicide in Gambrell and the death by suicide of the student who lived in Capstone, those are two SEECRISESPAGE3

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Monday, February 12, 2018

CRISESPAGE2

Ethan Lam / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

University President Harris Pastides spoke with students at a Feb. 6 public forum on diversity.

UNIONPAGE1 The board and Pastides approved that timeline.

“I wa nt to leave no doubt, Ross, to you that we are supportive,” Pastides said. “I personally am supportive of this.”

In addition to Lordo’s presentat ion, Past ides noted that the Coliseum is “too big” to just be a student union and said the building would continue t o c o nt a i n a c a d e m ic space. W hen asked if recent renovations to the basketball practice areas of the Coliseum would be undone, Pastides said that would not be a concern for many years.

In his presentation, Lordo arg ued t hat the Russell House lags beh i nd t he st udent u n ions of ot her, comparable schools. He made a persona l plea to the board, citing his experience as a university ambassador.

“As a tour guide, I’m constantly bringing our pro s p e c t i ve s t udent s t h rough t he Russell H o u s e . . . We d o n’t necessarily just sell the building, you sell t he ex per ience,” he sa id.

“But we have so many students that are going through Russell House and then they’re going to the North or going to Georgia or Florida and

examples especially of where we have to mobilize a pretty ex tensive cou nseling ef fort and inform students of what’s going on. In those situations in particular ... those are very delicate situations ... the coroner generally doesn’t release the cause of death, and there are a lot of reasons behind that psychologically, sociologically ... you don’t want to create what’s called a contagion factor among students. So there’s a responsibility of the university t o t a l k ab out it i n a v e r y professional and respectful kind of way, there’s a responsibility of the media to talk about it in a very professional and respectful way, and at the same time we have to meet the needs of our students.

Q: There was some backlash against the administrat ion (follow ing the first #NotOnOurCampus event). Can you speak to that?

A: Part of the challenge with

3

the event the day after was that it was planned for a day the president was not in town. There again you have to balance the need for convening everybody to have a conversat ion wit h the availability of people who can be t here. W hat I t hink is of ten m is sed is t he f ac t that the universit y, with the president’s blessing, put out a statement immediately in response. The president and our board chairman put out a joint statement the very next day when we had a little bit more information and some more facts ... the idea that it’s being swept under the rug is not true. It’s actually being dealt with. There was a significant i nve s t ig at io n b y US C PD ... somet i me s when you’re conducting an investigation it hampers the investigation to put informat ion into t he publ ic a ren a . You h ave t o balance between keeping your public informed and doing the t hings t hat are best for t he investigation.

going into their unions and it’s magnificent.”

USC has not added square footage to Russell H o u s e s i n c e 19 76 , accord i ng to L ordo’s presentation. The next lo n g e s t r u n w it h o u t expansion in t he SEC is at the Universit y of Arkansas, which hasn’t added space to its student union since 2000.

Tr ustees also heard an update on the University’s Master Plan, put together in 2010, at the February meeting.

Among other ideas, the c onc ept of e x p a nde d student union space was also addressed in t hat presentation.

@thegamecock

Carolina Alert is the Emergency Preparedness resource on campus for students.

• Sign up to receive emergency notifications • Learn how to stay safe on campus • Review emergency procedures

Students, sign up to receive text messages and emails at carolinaalert.sc.edu.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (#CarolinaAlert). www.sc.edu/carolinaalert

Download the Rave Guardian App!

Monday, February 12, 2018

4

Mardi French Quarter meets Soda City at local Mardi Gras festival Emily Chavez @EMCHAVEZ

Cit y Roots transformed into a sea of green, purple and gold, with feather boas and spark ling masquerade mask s ever y where. The Mardi Gras Columbia parade fol low i ng a 5K r ace h ad led cost umed participants of all ages —and their dogs — through Rosewood to an all-day celebration despite gloomy weather on Saturday.

Festivalgoers got a taste o f B o u r b o n S t r e e t w it h t rad it iona l M a rd i Gra s dishes, such as crab cakes and dirty rice, with other vendors of fering more t radit ional food. The Abita Brew ing Company, a Louisiana-based brewery, provided drinks for the festival.

E ach yea r, t he fe st iva l attracts both veterans and newcomers. Dav id Hu nt ,

who has been attending the festival for years, said the wide variety of music is one of his favorite parts of the day. With Cajun grass groups and rock and roll bands, the fou r st age s of mu sic had something for every taste. A major highlight was a local brass group.

“The Soda City Brass Band brings a whole new element and jazz to the festivities,” said Hunt. “The bands are so much fun.”

De spit e t he le s s -t h a nidea l we at her, t he h ighspi r ited c rowd wa s not quick ly deterred. The sing ing, dancing and drinking continued through intermittent rain showers.

Fi r s t-t i me p a r t ic ip a nt Hannah W hitton, a fourth-year environmental science student at USC, was surprised by the high energy level.

“People were dancing in t he r a i n,” sa id W h it ton.

“That’s the thing … it rained and nobody left.”

A not her f i r st-t i me attendee, Traci Teagle, was i mpre s s ed b y e ver yone’s enthusiasm. Her one regret of the day was not wearing more purple and green.

“Ever yone really outdid what I thought they would do,” said Teagle. “People were handing me beads as soon as I got here … morale is high.”

A lt hough t he fe st iva l

Illustration by Maggie Neal

concluded on Sat urday at dusk, the communit y will cont i nue to ex per ience the positive impact of the festival. This year’s festival benefited “Heroes in Blue,” a nonprof it org a n iz at ion t hat promotes posit ive relationships between local pol ice a nd com mu n it y members a nd prov ides support for families of fallen officers.

M a r d i G r a s C olu m b i a was hosted by The K rewe d e C olu m b i Ya Ya , w ho organized the festival. The K re we a l so hold s e vent s throughout the year to keep the Mardi Gras spirit alive.

Mardi Gras Columbia will return again next year with d if ferent music a nd food vendors, but the same New Orleans enthusiasm.

Tori Richman / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Despite the poor weather, Columbia residents gather to make local Mardi Gras festivities a success, and raise money for a local nonprofit throughout the celebration.

All things Valentine’s Day see page 5 We asked our Instagram followers how they felt about Valentine’s Day: NOT A FAN 57%

LOVE IT 43%

Monday, February 12, 2018

5

What I talk about when I talking about...

DATING Emily Barber

@EMRBARBER

Swiping left or right is the modern equivalent of a folded-up sheet of notebook paper with the message, “Do you l ike me? Check yes or no.” You know a little bit about a person and what they look like, and somehow in t hat moment you’re supposed to decide if the person is worthy of your attention and time.

But t his isn’t an indict ment of internet dating, in all its many forms.

Novelist John Green met his first serious girlfriend over the internet in the 1990s, right at the start of the online-dating phenomenon. Hunter Hill, a comedian from Los Angeles, met his fiancée on Tinder. My father a nd stepmot her met online. My older brother met his girlfriend, who lives in Indonesia, on OkCupid, and they’ve been together for nearly two years.

Internet dating, like many nonromantic online communities, is a wonderf ul thing that allows us to con nect w it h people t hat we wouldn’t have met otherwise. When I studied abroad, I went on a Tinder date with a guy from New Zealand

who did theater sound tech and had hung out with the cast of “Wicked.”

It was a lovely afternoon.

My issue is not with people meeting via digital means, but instead with the effect I think it’s having on our attitude towards dating as a whole. Ca s u a l dating is a thing of the past, or at least it’s rapidly becom ing t hat way. “Dat i ng ” no longer means spend i ng t ime w it h s ome one i n a w a y t h at gives you space to decide if you want t hings to be more serious. “ D a t i n g ” c o n n o t e s commit ment and exclusivity.

We no longer have a concept for getting to know someone in a casual, yet romantic light.

Social media and technology are largely responsible for t he shift, because it’s so easy for ever yone

you’re connected with to know what you’re doing. It’s really easy for you — or your friends — to know what the person you went on a date with last week is doing. With cameras ever y where, a nd cou nt less eyes watch i ng all those cameras, keeping you r dating life personal is dif f icult.

Sha r i ng you r fun experiences — dates, nights out, nights in — is tempting, and I d o n’t t h i n k it ’s w r o n g t o share your life if you want to.

But say you’re casually seeing two people, and one of t hem sees a Snapchat or I nst ag ram stor y of t he g reat sushi you got with the other one, and suddenly you’re in an awkward situation.

I’m basing this next claim on many episodes of “Friends” and “Gilmore

“It’s really easy for you — or your friends — to know what the person you went on a date with last week is doing.”

Girls,” but in the past, it wouldn’t have been unusual or unacceptable to be going out with multiple people until you had decided with another person, in a considered and mature conversation, that you were exclusive.

These days, that talk comes up much more quickly than it used to, not only because of the publicity of our lives, but also because of constant connectivity. It’s dangerously easy for us to be in touch with each other at any given moment, which leads to over-analysis and hurt feelings if someone isn’t communicating as much as you think they should.

Here’s the deal: It’s okay if you don’t know in the first 15 seconds or 15 days or even 15 weeks whether or not someone is right for you. It’s possible to spend time with more than one person in a romantic way and have leg it imate feelings for both or all of them. Dating should be fun and shareable, which means t hat any amount of commitment or responsibility to another person should come from a conversation.

O u r bigge st re sponsibi l it y i n relationships, casual or serious, is to be honest and kind. You can’t rush those things.

Do’s and Don’ts Valentine’s Day

THIS WEEK IN ARTS & CULTURE Caroline Stringfellow @SILLY_STRING

For all the students at USC who are looking to spice up their Wednesday, here is a list of 2018 Valentine’s Day do’s and don’ts.

The Nickelodeon “Phantom Thread” showing Feb. 2 - Feb 15 “Bless Their Little Hear ts”

Don’ts

showing Feb. 12 “On the Beach at Night Alone”

Spend another night Netflix and chilling.

showing Feb. 13

Do’s Check out “Fifty Shades Freed.”

Whether you plan to spend the holiday with friends or a date, this fi lm is the epitome of Valentine’s Day romance and has just hit theaters. “Fifty Shades Freed” is a drama-filled film that has already been scrutinized by many critics.

“Call Me By Your Name” showing Feb. 16 “Films for One to Eight Projectors” showing Feb. 17

Spend the day breaking hearts.

Trustus Theatre

Break a sweat.

Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center is having a special “Bring the Boys to the Barre” class this Wednesday from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. This barre class is unique because anyone with a Group X pass can bring whomever they choose, even if that person does not have a pass.

“LOVE IS LOVE IS LOVE” showing Feb. 16 - Feb. 18

Russell House Theater

Get bent out of shape over planning the perfect date.

Let loose at yoga.

Another activity to get your heart beating faster is an Acro Yoga class, also at Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center. From 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 14, the class has been modified to include many different partner exercises.

Neglect man’s best friend.

Let your dog off leash.

Puppy lovers, feel free to bring your dogs out to Davis Fields for Carolina Production’s Dogs on Davis from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Your pup deserves to be celebrated as much as any other loved one on this day.

Be afraid of a little competition.

Round up a group of friends and bring them to Tio’s Mexican Cafe for Wednesday night trivia at 10 p.m.

This Mexican café is a solid choice for any occasion, and the lucky winner gets prizes and drink specials.

Forget where you came from.

Throw it back with your favorite childhood singer.

M a ny 90 s k ids remember c r u sh i ng on Ju st i n Timberlake. He dropped his latest album, “Man of the Woods” on Feb. 2. If you haven’t had the chance to listen to it, grab some friends and get *NSYNC with each other.

St re s s b e c au se you’re to o bu s y on Wednesday.

Celebrate a little early.

Because one night of celebrating your special someone isn’t enough, The Food Academy is having a couple’s cooking class Tuesday, Feb. 13 from 6 to 9 p.m. A three-course meal will be prepared by the two of you with a bonus glass of champagne to keep the buzz going.

“Goodbye Christopher Robin” showing Feb. 16 - Feb. 17 “Marshall” showing Feb. 16 - Feb. 18

New Brookland Tavern USC band Tripping on Bricks with Sam Macpherson, Brooks Herring, H3RO, Patx and Mark Carson, performing Feb. 15

TDG @thegamecock

Monday, February 12, 2018

6

We need another space race Elon Musk did the incredible and tossed a car up into space.

Some people view it as silly, but I love the stunt. The talk going on right now about space and the future of space exploration has definitely been reinvigorated by this move, and I could not be Rodney happier. Following the trip of Davis First-year history Falcon Heavy, the rocket that student carried the car up to space, Musk came out and said, “We want a new space race. Space races are exciting.”

I absolutely agree with him: A new space race would be amazing for the American people.

Space races astound the scientific world with innovation and technological advancement.

The last space race took the United States from being bound to Earth to landing on the moon, to sending the Voyager past the edge of the galaxy and beyond. The space race brought breakthroughs in technologies such as robotics, satellite TV, MRI and CAT scans and more. Additionally, the last space race encouraged exploration in math and science among students who would grow to be today’s leaders in those fields. A new space race could bring us many similar great things.

For t hese reasons, I suppor t Musk ’s statement that we need a new space race.

A competitive race built on industry and love for innovation would be the ideal new race — one which could happen sooner than you think. The previous space race was on taxpayers’ dime, something that many people slowly grew to hate. However, this space race would be built off of private companies funding themselves to achieve the incredible.

Musk’s SpaceX has many competitors, like Blue Origin, which will help this sense of competition thrive.

The goal of this race would be to expand access to space and to open the horizon up like a door for any man to walk through.

This would be a fantast ic next step for humanity’s climb into the future. Making the fi nal frontier into a homestead would be an achievement beyond imagination.

Additionally, the notion of a new space race just appeals to me. Great minds working toget her to create somet h i ng br ill ia nt provides a bit of romance and awe that I yearn to see. But the main reason I crave seeing this development is because of what we could achieve technologically from this competitive environment. Technology is already growing exponentially: the first home computer came out in 1975, about 40 years after the very first basic programmable computer was made. Just 20 years later the first smartphone comes out. Of course, the very fi rst smartphone is nothing compared to the latest iPhone X. Technology evolves quickly, and a new space race will add fuel to that fire. Great things could be created by SpaceX, Blue Origin or any other company invested in space. And besides, watching rockets go up into space and drop off cars is just amazing to see.

Rand Paul was right; GOP hypocritical on debt In the age of Trump, the Republican party and those associated with it are completely unrecognizable. John McCain has become a l ibera l hero, t he bu mbling George Joseph W. B u s h i s b e i n g Will presented as a source Third-year of sage wisdom and, economics student most significantly, the objectivist Paul Ryan is pushing bills that will end up drastically increasing the size of the national debt.

No one prior to the inauguration of Trump would have predicted any of this. It’s as if the party has completely redefined itself around Donald Trump, jettisoning oncesacred principles such as limited government and fiscal austerity.

T he se cha nge s i n t he pa r t y ’s philosophy reveal a deep-seated hypocrisy that lies at the heart of American politics, where supposed principles are second to partisan politics and political power. Rand Paul’s brief overnight government shutdown early Friday morning does more than enough to expose the enormous rift between the GOP and their previous principles.

Whereas Paul would have been lauded as a hero by the Obama-era Republicans, from Thursday night into Friday morning he was nothing

more than a nuisance. His speech, railing against runaway government spending and ballooning national debts, was familiar fare. Rand Paul ranting about government spending is not exactly breaking news. The key difference this time is the target of his speech.

A s Pau l poi nted out , t he Republican party of the Obama e r a b u i lt it s e nt i r e i d e nt it y around opposing large increases in government spending. Under Trump, the GOP is passing bills that increase government sending to levels comparable to the amount spent by Obama during the depths of the Great Recession. This is a complete 180 on principle for the Republican party, which has become hardly recognizable over the past year. Gone is pseudo-libertarianism a nd def ic it h aw k i s h ne s s , t he elements that defined the GOP for some during the era of the Tea Party.

The Republican party has revealed its true face as a party interested primarily in crude power.

The actions of the GOP in the era of Trump have shown us that it was not for principled reasons that the party went to such great lengths to oppose Obama’s increases in government spending. It seems that is not government spending that enrages the GOP, but rather Democratic spending. This is just as true of the party’s base as it is

of the leaders. As Obama has left office, the deficit has quickly faded in importance for Republican voters, according to polls.

This is the reality of politics, that what matters is not some abstract guiding principle, but rather the accruing of power. Most liberals are no better themselves, often turning a blind eye to horrendous actions that are carried out by leaders they like. Had the Trump administration instigated the Pakistan drone strike program or agreed to bankroll the Saudi war in Yemen, liberals would be frothing at the mouth, yet all too many were conspicuously silent when Obama was doing these things during his presidency.

The actual technical issue being addressed by Paul Thursday night is of little concern. There’s no reason to think that the proposed bill will destroy the economy or significantly affect the average American. His speech still deser ves praise for re ve a l i ng bl at a nt Republ ic a n double standards. The so-called “Libertarian moment” of 2014, spearheaded by Paul, is dead.

For at least as long as Trump is president, the GOP will not hesitate to do the ver y things that they condemned Obama for doing. Unless a politician has proven otherwise, as Paul did Thursday, it is best to take any supposed “principles” or ideals with a grain of salt.

Conservatives also guilty of political correctness If you’ve followed the news at all the past 18 months, you’ve probably s e e n c over ag e of t he chaos at Universit y of California Berkeley. Once a bastion of free speech, UC Berkeley has become Jared a house divided over the Bailey issue of censorship. The Second-year English and school has been at the political science center of cont rovers y student nu merous t i mes for c h a l le n g i n g — of t e n times in the form of violent protests — notable political commentators like Ben Shapiro and far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. This has caused the school to become a lightning rod for right-wing criticism.

To many conservative commentators, Berkeley has become synonymous with the left’s growing “political correctness,” an indicator that Democrats want to suppress speech that they deem offensive.

The problem with this analysis, however, is not just that it lazily extrapolates from one example to make a sweeping claim about an entire party, but that it implies that this is a partisan issue at all. While conservatives may enjoy lambasting easy targets like Berkeley, they are prone to completely ignore the political correctness growing in their own backyard.

Political correctness is a buzzword

right now that evokes strong feelings in those who hear it. For some, it probably brings to mind the polarizing debates over safe spaces and trigger warnings. For others, it might conjure a more potent image of fascism: citizens marching in lockstep, 2+2=5, etc. In reality, political correctness is a lot more subtle and is generally reflected in a series of small acts instead of a large and obvious one. Though we may be tired of talking about him, President Trump is actually a good example of this pattern of subtle political correctness evident in the Republican party.

It is no secret that President Trump has a less than favorable view of political correctness; he’s gone as far as to call it the “big problem” with America. It then should also come as no surprise that Trump hopped on the bandwagon with conservative critics to skewer UC Berkley, tweeting “If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS?” But Trump is no staunch defender of free speech. He recently commented on the growing number of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, referring to any player who chose to kneel as a “son of a bitch” who should be fired; he went on to say that players should not be “allowed” to disrespect the American flag. This a sentiment

that President Trump even spitballed a policy solution for. On Nov. 29, 2016, President-elect Trump tweeted “Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag - if they do, there must be consequences - perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!”

This is t he sort of inst it ut ional political correctness that President Trump and other conservatives have railed so hard against, but it seems that their judgment on this issue is limited to opposing parties. The man who called out those who criticized his free, nofilter expression during his campaign is the same man who calls NFL players sons of bitches for kneeling and calls Democrats treasonous for choosing not to applaud at his State of The Union; it’s glaring hypocrisy that needs to be

called out.

People should criticize schools when they do ridiculous things, but it is important to take a moment and remove the blinders. Free speech is not inherent in one party or another. It is something that has to be fought for continually, even when it means calling out someone you agree with. And it’s important to uproot the attitude of censorship not just in our opponents or even in our own party, but within ourselves also. So if you find yourself believing that political correctness is something quarantined to the left but simultaneously believing that it is your duty to demand that Colin Kaepernick stand for the national anthem, you might need to do some personal reflection on what you really believe about free speech.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR REQUIREMENTS Letters to the editor must not e x c e e d 3 0 0 w o rd s . S t u d e n t s must include their full name, major and year. Faculty and staff must include their full name, position and department. Community members must include their full name and a p p l i c a b l e j o b t i t l e . Ve r i f i a b l e statements of fact must include at least one source; if we cannot verify a statement of fact, your letter will

not be published until the writer implements necessary changes or provides reputable sources for any facts in question. Letters are edited for clarity, style and grammar.

Email submissions to opinion@dailygamecock.com or mail them to The Daily Gamecock 1400 Greene Street Columbia, SC 29225

Monday, February 12, 2018

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HOROSCOPES

Aries

Forge a head for professional gain. Your pr iz e ha s long -ter m benef it s. The st a kes are high, and you have what you need.

C on sider pit f a l l s i n advance.

Taurus

Tr avel s ou nd s n ic e , but wait for traffic to clear. Can you attend a meeting or conference virtually? Studies have your focus. Learn from an expert.

Gemini

A nt ic ipate f i n a nc ia l changes, and put backup plans in place.

New ex penses may r e q u i r e a d a p t at io n .

Discipline and consideration now pay off later.

Cancer

A romantic partnership blo s s o m s n at u r a l l y.

Ever y t h i ng seems possible. Brainstorm to narrow the options and choose your course of ac t ion. Toget her, you’re a powerful team.

PHD • JORGE CHAM

Leo

ProďŹ t from meticulous service. Take advantage of a luck y break.

Ba la nce work w it h p le a s u r e , s e d e nt a r y pursuits with physical act ion. Grow you r heart stronger.

Virgo

Relax, and take advantage of the fine cond it ion s for love.

Enjoy family and f r iends. Play ga mes, music and sports together. Pay someone special attention.

Libra

Consider long-ter m plans before beginning a ho me r e no v at io n .

Disc u ss idea s w it h family. Study color and style schemes and test before committing.

Scorpio

An answer you’ve been seek i ng is h id i ng i n pla i n sight. Pract ice your creative arts and d iscover u nex pec ted beaut y. Write, paint, craft, pluck or strum.

Sagittarius

Yo u r m o r a l e g e t s a boost as your wa l let g row s f at t er.

Disciplined efforts pay off. Pay bills and reduce debt. Create your own lucrative opportunity.

Capricorn

Make a personal change. Practice optimism and self-care.

P ut aside judg ment s and complaints for a while, especially those directed at yourself.

Aquarius

St r e t c h a nd r e s t i n peaceful privacy. Sit or walk somewhere with a lovely view, soothing mu s ic or f r ag r a nc e.

Nurt ure your healt h and well-being.

Pisces

Crowdsource a solut ion bet ween y o u r c o m m u n i t y.

Organize and provide infrastructural support.

You c a n ac compl i sh g reat t h i ngs w it h a tea m of t a lented friends.

2/12/18

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Monday, February 12, 2018

8

Gamecocks ‘stagnant’, lose fifth-straight game Ethan Lomas @ETHANLOMAS15

The South Carolina men’s basketball team was looking to bounce back from a four game skid Saturday against Florida, but Mike White and the Gators had other plans.

The Gamecocks beat the Gators in Gainesville earlier this year, so it’s safe to say the Gators wanted revenge. This was clear comparing the energy from both teams on Saturday. From the tip-off, it was obvious Florida wanted this game; the Gators came out and played with more passion than the Gamecocks.

Frank Booker, who led the team off the bench with 17 points, noticed the lack of energy from the Gamecocks and blamed it on their current losing streak.

“Right now we are playing kind of stagnant. We’re not playing like the team that we know we are,” he said. “I don’t want to say that we’re not passionate because everyday we’re at practice, we’re running, we’re sprinting, we’re doing things, we’re with each other. I just don’t see the same look in everybody’s eyes ... because of the losing.”

The first half was not a pretty one for the Gamecocks. Florida held South Carolina to only 20 points, the team’s lowest total in a half this year. Booker accounted for 11 of those 20 first half points.

The Gamecocks also had all sorts of trouble with the physicality of Florida.

South Carolina was never able to establish a presence in the paint. Florida dominated

the inside on both ends, blocking six of South Carolina’s first half shots while also out rebounding the Gamecocks by 12.

As if this wasn’t enough, head coach Frank Martin earned himself a technical.

It sparked a little momentum for the Gamecocks and the crowd, but not enough to get South Carolina back into the game.

The second half was much of the same for Martin and company. Martin was fired up at half time as he came out of the tunnel for the second half with no blazer on and his tie loosened.

The Gamecocks, once again, could not find any offensive rhythm. Florida continuously disrupted the offensive flow that South Carolina was trying to establish. Each time down on the offensive end, the Gamecocks would try to run their offensive set and would get displaced and have to try and create something new.

Once the Gators stretched the lead to 20 points, they never looked back. Nothing the Gamecocks did could stop the players on either end of the f loor, making it complete domination by Florida.

“This wasn’t an X and O problem here today. We got beat to everything. We got beat to loose balls, we got out disciplined,” Martin said. “We had no fight, we tried, we showed up to play, but then Florida said we’re not losing to you guys again ... We looked for the back door and snuck out of the fight.”

The Gamecocks will look to regroup and end this five-game streak this week on the road against No. 15 Tennessee.

Sara Yang/ THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Ice ‘Cocks go cold late versus Ole Miss Mike Woodel @GETHISDOGONETOO

Shreyas Saboo / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Graduate transfer Lindsey Spann ends her career early due to a recurring ankle injury.

Spann’s season cut short due to knee injury Danny Waller @DMWALLER23

Senior g uard Lindsey Spa n n’s c a reer at USC w ill end a mont h early.

Just before the women’s basketball game Sunday, t he team announced Spann would be out for the reminder of the 20172018 season due to k nee injuries. A grad transfer from Penn State, Spann provided veteran knowledge and leadership, and t he Gamecocks will surely miss her three-point shooting.

It didn’t take long for Spann’s absence to become ap p a r e nt . I n S u nd a y ’s g a m e a g a i n s t F lo r id a , t he Gamecock s’ lack of sharpshooters put the team in trouble. Without Spann on the floor, South Carolina was searching for an answer ot her t han A’ja Wilson.

Luckily for the Gamecocks,

Ty Harris caught fire and stepped up and went 4-6 from the f loor, including hitting three timely threes in the fourth quarter.

Harris proved that the Gamecocks would be able to rely on her in the future to provide a shooting threat from the outside, but at the end of the game, Spann’s absence still affected the team.

Spann has been battling i nju r ie s a l l sea son a nd just ret u r ned to act ion earlier this week, only for her season to be cut short due to her recurring knee p r oble m s . He a d c o a c h Dawn Staley acknowledged the loss of one of her key players, expressing t hat Spann’s absence from the court is not an ideal way for her to end the season and collegiate career. “ S h e’s a g r e a t k i d ,”

SPORTSPAGE1 getting the win against Alabama, this win against Florida was needed for the Gamecocks.

“Right now, I think it’s a great thing,” Staley said on her team reaching 20 wins.

“I didn’t even realize that ... I’m looking for how we’re playing. If we’re playing well, the wins are going to accumulate ... I think we’re a 20-win program, especially with having someone like A’ja on the team.”

A’ja Wilson once again did what she needed to do and led the team with 22 points, including making a jumper at the buzzer to tie the game at 30 going into the half. As the Gamecocks have seen, Wilson

Staley said. “She’s a great locker room kid ... I think the basketball gods got it wrong.”

While Spann’s injury will hurt the Gamecocks on the court, they will still have her presence in the locker room, so the team will be able to draw on her leadership and motivation. It remains to be seen, however, which players will step up in her place.

Don i y a h C l i ne y a nd Harris are both capable of providing the offense Staley is looking for, but having two guards won’t be enough from a depth standpoint for the rest of the season. Staley will have to rely on freshman Bianca Jackson to come in and play a much larger role for the Gamecocks in the latter part of the season. It will be up to these three to make the absence of Spann a bit easier moving forward.

can’t win these games on her own. Since the team is now shorthanded, others must step up. Doniyah Cliney and Tyasha Harris did that on Sunday, as Cliney finished with 12 points and Harris finished with 18.

“We’re a team in which we have to lean on A’ja, but then when she gets exhausted, the next person that has experience is Doniyah and she’s really not used to being in that position,” Staley said. “Everybody just has to do their job, and when everybody can do their job, we will be a really good basketball team.”

The Gamecocks will head to Athens, GA on Thursday to face the No. 18 ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on the SEC Network.

The hockey gods st if fed South Carolina one last time in Sat u rday ’s consolat ion g a me at the Southeastern Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament in Antioch, Tennessee.

With South Carolina’s roster reduced to 15 skaters in the game’s latter half, the Gamecocks battled back to put themselves in a fine position to take the game and a fifth place finish. In the end, however, a constant stream of penalties — some more quest ionable t han others — and the stellar play of Ole Miss goaltender Joseph Warnecke befell the Gamecocks.

South Carolina took seven minor penalties in the first period alone, and the Rebels wasted no time making them pay. Just under eight minutes in, with Ole Miss leading 1-0 and Jake Tengi serving his third minor of the period, Braden Storner tipped home Gray Erwin’s blast from just inside the blue line to give his team a quick two-goal lead.

Brian Soh r cut t he Rebels’ lead in half 1:27 before the first intermission with his second goal of the tournament, sending Cory Hawkinson’s rebound underneath Warnecke to make it 2-1.

No scoring followed in t he second, but injuries once again plagued the already short Gamecock bench. In addition to the absence of leading goalscorer Sean Davis, Tengi left the game with a possible concussion, a result of him crashing into the glass after an Ole Miss player dodged his attempted body check.

Ian Schneider followed Tengi to the locker room eight minutes later after sustaining a leg injury in a scrum in front of the South

Carolina net. According to head coach Allan Sirois, both players are unlikely to play in the Gamecocks’ final regular season game this Friday.

Left with only 15 skaters, South Carolina faced the final period down one. Desperate to catch up to the Rebels, Sirois pulled goaltender Jared Ward on a 5-on-3 power play seven minutes into the third.

The gamble soon paid off as Ian Powderly one-timed a pass past Warnecke from the right circle to get the Gamecocks back within one with 12:01 to play.

Just over t wo minutes later, Alex Siegfried batted home a pass from behind the goal line for his sixth goal of the season to knot the game at 3-3. As with Friday’s game against Kentucky, though, penalties ultimately did the Gamecocks in.

Still tied with two minutes and change remaining, officials sent Nick Nardslico off the ice for cross checking. The Gamecocks killed the Rebels’ man advantage, but with 28.5 seconds remaining, Sohr took his fifth penalty of the night for hooking to put Ole Miss on the power play for the remainder of regulation. As Sohr skated to the box, Ole Miss called timeout to prepare for one last offensive push.

Just off the faceoff, with 7.5 seconds until overtime, Storner beat Ward through traffic with a long wrist shot from the rightside boards to put the Rebels ahead for good, 4-3. With 2.9 seconds left, Sirois pulled Ward a second time after Erwin took yet another minor penalty for Ole Miss, but the Gamecocks couldn’t get a shot off before the final horn. Warnecke finished with 43 saves to Ward’s 34.

South Carolina closes the regular season with the senior night game against Clemson on Friday night in Irmo.

Tori Richman / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

The Ice ‘Cocks’ season will end with a home game against Clemson.