OpinionItTs time tosink or swimDo you have what it takes to becalled a Pirate?JONATHAN GARDNEROPINION WRITERLike land on the horizon while at sea, a billboardon Highway 264 tells travelers they are getting closeto the campus of East Carolina University. The bill-board, depicting ECUTs football team, tells driversthey are.entering oThe heart of Pirate Nation.� Butwho can truly call themselves Pirates? Do the stu-dents at ECU have their sea legs, or do most fail tomeet the expectations? The codes of piracy at ECUare many and highly disputed.The first article: Support your fellow Pirates. Theathletes we have at ECU spend long hours practicing §for games and put 100 percent effort into their sport.It would be unfair to expect anything less of theirfans. Go out to the games, no matter what the sportand show your Pirate pride. Every time a Pirate hitsthe field/court/ice/etc., their fans should supportthem, win or lose. Do what you have to do to showsupport. Blast oPurple Haze,� wave the Jolly Roger,do whatever it takes to show the opposing team thatthey have entered the Pirate Nation. On the samenote, this is the ECU campus, and it should be repre-sented as such. When students walk around campusin Carolina hoodies or Duke T-shirts, it shows a signof disrespect to our athletic teams. On the high seas,itTs what would be called omutiny.�Secondly, You canTt call yourself a Pirate untilyou've seen what a real pirate 1s. As such, all Piratesshould have seen the first two Pirates of the Caribbeanmovies and should be planning to see the third. Thesharp wit of Jack Sparrow and the quick thinking ofWilliam Turner should be set in stone in the mindsof the students at ECU. The soundtrack should be onevery iPod, the dialogue constantly running throughthe heads of every student. The more lines you canquote from the movies, the more of a Pirate you are.With the amount of partying at ECU, thereTs nodoubt that at least one. person has asked, oWhy isthe rum always gone?� :The third article follows suit with the previoustwo. Not only that, it comes straight from an actual.pirate code: He that shall be guilty of Drunkenness intime of Engagement shall suffer what Punishment theCaptain and Majority of the Company shall think fit.This article is all but self-explanatory, if otime ofEngagement� stands for sporting events. If youneed to drink, feel free, but do it after the game.oWin or lose, we booze� usually only applies whenwe actually know if we have won or lost. We donTtneed another e-mail telling the students how poorlythey acted at a game.ItTs PresidentBush, thanksHow we could all be a little moretolerantMARGOT ROGERSONOPINION WRITEREveryday I hear more and more people say, oIsupport the troops, not the war.� There is no doubtthat the support for the war in Iraq is shifting. Daily,there is an increase in coverage regarding the slowprogress in Iraq. After President BushTs State of theUnion address, more negative feelings prevailed.Senators are openly showing their lack of supportfor war plans.I do not pretend to know everything that goeson in Congress or around the president on a dailybasis, but it is my contention that we should not.When I hear most people speak about the war orother matters of politics I.cannot help but wonder,oHow much do we actually know or understandabout what is going on?� Sure, the mass media isa multi-billion dollar institution trying their bestto give the American people all the facts, but howmuch of that news is tainted? How much should wereally know?I use my voting privileges to ensure that some-one who is fully aware of the situation can makeimportant decisions for me. The country electedPresident Bush twice to represent the majority viewof the population. It was hard to predict then whatthe future was going to hold. How many of us, backon March 30, 2003 would really have changed oursupport for the invasion of Iraq? The country stoodbehind that decision and some would argue that thepopulation even enforced it. Now that progress seemsdismal, we all of a sudden pull out our support anddemand that we get our troops home. The troopsvolunteer their services for a cause they believe in,but the American people do not.I believe that we really do not know as muchabout the situation as we think we do or that weought to. Maybe it is our time, even if we disagreewith the things going on overseas, to support thiscountry and our president. I am also concerned aboutthe lack of respect shown for the president. Onereporter was quoted as saying, oMr. Bush,� insteadof the rightful, oPresident Bush.� Have we really lostthat much respect for the most powerful position inthis nation?I, by no means, want to belittle. the value offreedom of speech or other opportunities we are soprivileged to have in the United States. I value thosefreedoms everyday. But I would prefer to use themto support. the country I believe in. We pretend likeit is as easy as telling the troops to turn around andmarch out, which is a quite ludicrous idea. So to thosewho so desperately disbelieve in our president andthe progress in Iraq, it is not that I do not empathizewith you. But I ask, wouldn't support and determi-nation for solutions, instead of harsh criticism andcondemnation, really be more effective in producingchange? A country at odds will produce nothing.{ Everyone's an author here }TUESDAY JANUARY 30, 2007RANT OF THE DAY| have an extensive collection of nametags and hairnets.pace A3Need advice? Want answers? Just ask Jane.Dear FaneMy roommates are guys and I like to cook andserve them dinner. When I go out, I always seem toget guysT phone numbers. | think ITm straight but Iam questioning myself. My friends joke with me aboutdoing gay things. Are these signs that I may be gay oram I just letting these things get to me? Help me Jane!Signed,Confused and QuestioningDear Confused,I canTt be the one to tell you what your orienta-tion is any more than I can tell you how you takeyour coffee in the morning. I think if your friendsare picking up on something and making jokes aboutit, you may need to reevaluate things. When is thelast time you had a girlfriend? How did that feel?Why do you suppose guys give you their numbers_when you go out? I guess the easiest thing to do isspeak to a counselor if you have trouble coping withyour confusion. For more exact advice, you couldspeak to a campus organization called B-GLAD,short for Bisexuals, Gays, Lesbians and Allies forDiversity. Each Wednesday, the general meetingsare held in Mendenhall Student Center, Great Room3, at 8 p.m. Their Web site is at ecu.edu/org/bglad.There, you can find people who understand whatyou feel you may be going through, and if you justgo and sit in on a meeting, you can do so totallyanonymously"I know because ITve done it. Seehow you feel. Speak to its members afterward, ifyou like. Either way, this is an issue you'll haveto solve for yourself. I wish you the best of luck.Sincerely,JaneThe East Carolinian does not endorse statements made in Pirate Rants. Questions regardingRants can be directed to Rachel King, Opinion Page Editor, at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com. Log onto theeastcarolinian.com to submit a Rant of your own.Oh, TEC. What happened to us? Wehad such a wonderful relationship.| would give you witty Pirate Rantsand you would publish them,unconditionally. Was | too needy? Did| have unrealistic expectations aboutour future? What happened?Is anyone else bothered by how difficultit is to eat well on campus?Roller Derby is amazing. Who knewwe had our own team in Greenville?| saw them last weekend at Dr. UnkTs.They're hot.Thank you to the boy who gave up hisseat on the bus for me. | wish therewere more like you.Why hasn't the anorexic look gone outof style yet? Please, eat something.You look sick.I'll eat those pancakes with mustardand mayo. Better yet, pizza and maplesyrup.If |see one more girl wearing shorts in40 degree weather, I'll pull em down.Watch me.To the girl that wrote about the cuteguy that works behind the counter atthe Rec... Please describe him; we allthink itTs one of us.| really enjoy our conversations afterclass... | hope you know ITm talkingabout you. é| love rice. Do you love rice? | canmake a mean bowl of rice. Just bringsome beans.Media Board appointed a GM who didnot have the drive to seek and apply forthe position herself. She also knockeddown her authority so media boardand the administration had more say.Sounds like an administration takeover to me... :\like TEC and anyone who doesnTt cando one of two things: Don't read it! Just_ leave it there for people who actuallyread. Ask someone to give you a swiftkick in the nuts/ovaries, because thatTswhat ITm gonna start doing to anyonewho | hear complain about TEC andyou might want to get used to it.In high school, the players on myfootball team took turns smacking mewith a towel.Where are all the redheaded girls |keep hearing about in the Rants...cause | love me acute redhead.The ladies that work at Todd Dininghall rock, you brighten my day anddefinitely need a raise. Keep up thekick a** work.Does anyone else find themselveshumming the Mario theme songon their way to class? ITm justwaiting for a huge mushroom tojump out from behind a building...and you know what ITm gonna do?Jump on him, and collect thepoints... which | will then trade forpirate bucks.To all the girls wanting a sexy,hard-working, big money computerscientist, stop by Austin 208.Girl, you have a big butt, and I like it.The OC ends in February! That is notsad at all. The sad thing is what otherstupid drama or oreality television�shows they will replace it with.| think my place in this world is to besingle forever, so the girls have a niceguy to run to whenever their boyfriendsare jerks.All the dads ITve ever met have likedme. Now | just have to find a girl thatactually does...It sucks that all the Rants areanonymous; sometimes |Td really liketo know if my friends are talking aboutme behind my back...What was with the basketball headlinethat wondered if an oall-black� crowdcould will the Pirates to an upset?Was that a typo, because |Tm prettysure | was there and there was equalrepresentation.Thank you to the guy who whistled at metoday, | needed a confidence booster.To the person who keyed my car, itdoesnTt prove anything if | donTt knowwho you are or why you did it... butthanks for taking the time to thinkabout me. 'Is it weird that | think the Geicocaveman is really sexy?I'm scared to see who is waiting onmatch.com. :'m a Pirate Rant away fromFacebooking your ex-girlfriend.To the duck-hunting Southern boy:When you get back, I'll be waiting witha batch of cookies!Anyone up for a game of hide-and-seek on campus? How bout in thelibrary?Why are the Exercise 1000 instructorsso hot?| spend thousands of dollars to attendECU and they still canTt afford to fix thetoaster at Subway.ITm obsessed with Sims also. But thatTsbecause | canTt marry Heath Ledgerin real life.The United States is not the UnitedNations... so why are we trying to fixthe worldTs problems? Is it really ourresponsibility to fix everything in everynation in every continent?| get paranoid in a certain class ofmine. | feel like everyone is staring ormaybe laughing at me.| wish maintenance would come anduy He dryers on the fifth floor in Whiteall!He broke up with you for a reason andit was at the beginning of the summer.So stop texting him and saying that youmiss him. He has a new girlfriend nowand obviously doesnTt care about youanymore. Move on!DonTt sing to your music when youhave headphones on. You're horribleand so is your taste in music.Can the history professors please getittogether and learn how to end a classon time! Students have lives outside ofyour classes. Let us go!Eric ClaptonTs guitar skills make meincredibly jealous and happy at thesame time. He rocks!| think the reason all my roommate'sRants get published and mine don't isbecause sheTs good at talking.Attention all ladies: Reduce yourstandards for going out with guys! If:you search for the perfect man, youwon't find him. Give a random guy ahug today and apologize!To the girl in my class who has the nanopet or whatever it is that is close to it.You've got to be kidding me! You arein college my dear, not middle school.| seriously pity you if that is all you cando with your time!ITm so in love!Who else would rather be on the beach: -drinking a Corona right now?Guess what"I'm against gay marriage.Stereotype me if you will, but | say itproudly. esTo the guy with the gold Pradasunglasses, | think you are really hot. ItTsnice toseesomeguysactually havestyle.To the girl | almost had a collisionwith on Tuesday off of Library Street,ITm so sorry! | was eyeing a parkingspace and not paying attention.You may think Southerners are weakfor complaining about cold weather,but | find it absolutely hilarious whenNortherners whine about our hotweather!lf the radio started playingunderground hip-hop all the time,wouldn't it become that overplayedcrap you are already tired of?lf over 1,000 people live at myapartment complex, why is there onlyone tanning bed?To the kid who thinks he is emo, canyou define emo for me?| donTt much care for you, sir.So there is this weird boy in mycommunication class, and one day,when | was looking at my Facebookpictures from a party, | saw him in thebackground, staring at me. Ahh!Even though | say | donTt love you yet,| secretly am falling more and more.Here is your chanceto be included in thecentennial yearbookVISIT: www.ouryear.comENTER: ECU code 453to reserve a day & timeAll pictures will be taken |in the Wright AuditoriumVisit us atWWW.BUCCANEER.ECU.EDUto purchase acentennial yearbookTODAY!Email Buccaneer@ecu.eduwith any questions.The race ison for thepresidency |Observations of a political nature-YAZID FINNCONTRIBUTING WRITERIt has now become safe to say that the 2008presidential elections will be a popular subjectof conversation until the day we cast our ballots.Without an incumbent up to contend with, newplayers have started taking the field in what somebelieve will unfold into the most costly presidentialelection to date.But it is not just one political side that is perk-ing interest these days, as both the Democrats andthe Republicans are producing candidates that areraising eyebrows"as well as questions.In the left corner we have two candidates thathave stepped front and center on the cover of everynewspaper across the nation, but only one of themis bringing anything new to the table.Isit Hillary Clinton? Sadly, the honor offirst femalepresidential candidate goes to Margaret ChaseSmith in 1964. However, Hillary does have a lotgoing for her that Smith did not, such as beingmarried to the man who is capable of raising themost oSoft Money� our Federal Government hasever seen from an elected official (and you thoughtRepublicans had all the money), but the real ques-tion it all comes down to-"is our country, theUnited States of America, ready to be run by afemale president?I am afraid not. With all our leaps and bounds inpromoting everything imaginable for females in allaspects of life, I do not think sheTll be elected.This leads us to our other candidate. Whilesome might not know it, Barack Obama is notthe first African American to make a run for thepresidential seat"only the first with a realisticshot at winning. :The interesting quality, however, lies in Obama'sheritage, as his father hails from a predominantly "Muslim family. Normally, you'd expect a detail likethis to slip by.Then again, it is the race for the presidency we aretalking about, aracein which any detail, no matter howminuscule, will be noticed and propitiated by some-body. In arace so:completive, a candidateTs past his-tory towards drug tse, possible racist comments oreven domestic abuse can lose their bid for office.With this in mind, do not expect Hillary to bethe only one pulling skeletons out of dusty closets,regardless of whose they are and how relevantthey may be.As for the right corner we have yet anotherplayer who is entering the game with a hurdle to ©Jump. While you would think in this day and age ournation would not have a religious test when runningfor office, this possible Republican candidate willdefinitely have to pass one.As Mitt Romney is off busily form-ing exploratory committees for apossible attempt at the presidency, the mediais forming opinions of his Mormon religiousbackground.You'd think nearly 50 years after John F. Ken-nedy won the vote and became AmericaTs firstCatholic president, religion would fall to the back-ground and allow for actual policy and platformto speak for candidates, instead of which versionof God they pray to.This is obviously not the case, most easilyseen after the 2006 Congress turnover and Keith.EllisonTs bid (and win) for a seat in the HouseIt is a given that other notable faces will jointhe fray, from John Edwards on the left who seesbeing vice president as too small of a feat, and JohnMcCain on the right, a returning contender of the2000 and 2004 races.Others will be stepping forward in the comingmonths, but will they leave lasting impressionsin our minds as effortlessly as some have alreadydone? 3. Teachers have always told students that it is agood thing to stick out in a crowd, unless of coursewe are talking about a presidential election. Onlytime will tell.Sarah BellEditor in ChiefJenelle ConnerNews EditorRonnie WoodwardAsst. Sports EditorGreg KatskiSports EditorSarah CampbellPulse EditorElise PhillipsAsst. Pulse EditorZach SirkinPhoto EditorSarah Hackney "Head Copy EditorRachael LotterMultimedia Web EditorRachel KingOpinion Editor.Newsroom 252.328.9238Fax 252.328.9143Advertising 252.328.9245Serving ECU since 1925, the East Carolinian prints9,000 copies every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdayduring the regular academic year and 5,000 on Wednes-days during the summer. oOur View� is the opinion of -the editorial board and is written by editorial boardmembers. The East Carolinian welcomes letters to theeditor which are limited to'250 words (which may beedited for decency or brevity). We reserve the right toedit or reject letters and all letters must be signed andinclude a telephone number. Letters may be sent viae-mail to editor@theeastcarolinian.com or to the EastCarolinian, SelfHelp Building, Greenville, N.C. 27858-4353. Call 252-328-9238 for more information. 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