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This Day In USC History October 20, 1976 - President Gerald Ford comes to Columbia while on a campiagn trip. c by Ann Marie Miani Assistant EtCetera Editor Today, the final day of Homecoming Week, consists of two ma jor events: the Homecoming Parade and Cockfest. fhe Parade All great American holidays are celebrated with a parade: St. Patrick’s Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and also USC Home coming. The Homecoming Parade, to be held this afternoon, should help put students in a festive mood for Cockfest later tonight. Not only is the parade a prelude for tonight’s pep rally, it’s also important to the homecoming competition because organizations build floats that are judged in the parade. The points they acquire go toward their final score. “Student organizations and faculty departments are doing floats,” said Homecoming Commissioner Tracy Bonds. “Some of the student organizations are the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, AAAS, Car olina Alive, Honors Council, and many greek organizations.” Organizations are making their floats as unique as possible - they’re doing everything from rolling sound stages to making floats bat resemble ships. The float built by Delta Gamma and Pi Kappa Phi has an Austin Dr»\i/arc fhotnP “We have really gotten into the competitiveness of Homecom ing,” said Pi Kappa Phi member Mark Hartney. “We have been try ing hard to earn points all week.” Special guests invited to the parade include Columbia Mayor Bob Coble, S.C. First Lady Rachel Hodges, Heisman Trophy winner Geoige Rogers, the Gamecock football team and coach Lou Holtz. These guests will be seated on the Sumter Street side of the Horse shoe, where judging will take place. Robert McNair is this year’s Grand Marshal, and the parade will start with a military demonstra tion. The parade starts at 2:30 p.m. on Park Street behind the Koger Center and will continue along Pendleton Street to Sumter Street past the Horseshoe. The route then goes by Russell House on Greene Street, down through Five Points, then back up Blossom Street to ward the Koger Center. File Photo Cockfest Cockfest, the last event before Saturday’s game against Vander bilt, is a showcase of Carolina spirit. Student organizations partici pating including Carolina Alive, A AAS and the ROTC Color Guard. Also, many greek organizations will perform skits pertaining to home coming and making fun of the Vanderbilt Commodores. The grand prize for the winner of the competition is $200 and a plaque. *: A few changes were made in this year’s Cockfest, mainly because of the upcoming millennium, according to Cockfest Chairwoman Jamie Devey. This year, Cockfest will be held at Williams-Brice Sta dium instead of at the Carolina Coliseum. “It’s a football pep rally, not a basketball pep rally,” Devey said. “Since it’s 1999 and it’s the last homecoming of the millennium, [Cockfest] needs to go back to where it belongs.” Cockfest is returning to a pep rally format, with an emphasis on student organizations. In past years, outside entertainers have been brought in, but this year Devey^wants to focus on student groups. “I’m trying to go back to focus on student life here and sticking with the organizations because there are not many chances for an or ganization to showcase what they do,” Devey said. The Homecoming Committee decided not to bring in paid en tertainers this year so they could save money for things like decora tions and a fireworks show. Bonds wants to incorporate not only USC students, but also mem bers of the community to come together and celebrate. “[Cockfest is] a showcase of what Carolina has to offer in gen eral,” Bonds said. “It’s not just about what the students do, but it incorporates Columbia and surrounding cities who are all Gamecock fans. We invited alumni, Governor Hodges, Mayor Coble, and fac ulty.” One of the questions that crossed the minds of Devey, Bonds and the rest of the Cockfest Committee was, “What if we have another losing season?” “[A losing season] was one of the things that we thought about. Do we want to take it back to the stadium and put this kind of mon ey into it if we’re not going to have another good season?” said Bonds. “Without events like [Cockfest], you don’t have any fan spirit.” Neither Bonds nor Devey are worried that the Gamecocks 0-7 season will affect attendance. They still expect 2,000-3,000 people to attend. Tickets for Cockfest are available in the Carolina Produc tions office until 5 p.m. today. Advance tickets are $4 and tickets at the door are $5; children under four are free. The show starts at 7 p.m. tonight. Statue in community garden causes debate by Tim Klass Associated Press SEATTLE — Pregnant, naked, hair in dreadlocks and sporting a sparkling nose stud, The Picardo Venus has spawned a fierce public art debate in the city’s oldest and largest community garden. In the three months since it appeared beside a new children’s play area, the 2 1/4-foot bronze fig ure has been covered repeatedly with garbage bags and a removal campaign has split a once-tranquil gardening group. Some fear vandalism could be next. The statue squats on oversized haunches, hands crossed over an enormous belly, eyes closed in a beatific expression. Nestled in her dreadlocks are fish, seashells, a dragonfly, a tree frog and symbols representing the sun and moon. The podium bears ancient symbols of feminine power and fer tility. “It strikes me as ugly. It reminds me more of a frog,” said Doug Ward, a garden block leader. “To me, art is supposed to evoke all these good feel ings, and it’s certainly not Venus de Milo or Winged Victory of Samothrace.” Stephanie Butow, a gardener, said the statue should be removed to a safe place pending a sur vey of all 281 gardeners. “No woman looks like that. If it was going to be a naked, pregnant woman, I wouldn’t care — I mean, I’m a mother, it doesn’t bother me —just make her look normal,” Butow said. “But those huge breasts — why do we need that?” “She’s glorifying fertility a little too much for kids, isn’t she?” said Gloria Seboig, another gar dener. “I mean, we don’t want a bunch of pregnant kids.” The Picardo p-patch was established in 1973 on the last 2 1/2 acres of what once was a 20-acre Italian family truck farm about three miles north of the University of Washington (the p in p-patch honors the family). It is where the city’s commu nity gardening program originated. The program was cited as a national model at the American Com munity Gardening Association convention here in 1987. Venus was purchased with $6,300 from a $10,000 city grant that also provided an 8-inch high decorated retaining wall, wooden picnic table, sandbox, swing set and cedar lawn swing for the patch. Proposals, drawings and models were submit ted and discussed, artist Steve Anderson’s design was selected, and the model was approved at the Picardo annual gardeners’ meeting last April. Soon after the installation and dedication on Aug. 8, though, some of the gardeners were grous ing. Someone began anonymously covering Venus with garbage sacks several times a week. A campaign to remove the figure was mount ed by Jack Leversee, a block leader and retired fam ily practice doctor who claimed there had been in adequate notice of the project, selection process and design choice. Anderson, 31, said the design for his first pub lic commission originated with a fist-sized carv-' ing he made seven years ago as a tribute to his moth er. Venus was the Roman goddess of love and beauty. “When I was making her, I grabbed every one of my female friends and every woman walk ing by my shop and asked what they thought of it,” Anderson said. “I got such a positive response, I don’t really know what the fuss is about.” About two dozen gardeners met beside the small statue Saturday to discuss the issue with Rich Mac donald, head of the city p-patch program, and oth er officials amid the aromas of late-ripening ‘When I was making her, I grabbed every one of my female friends and every women walking by my shop and asked what they thought of it.’ Steve Anderson sculptor of The Picardo Venus tomatoes, pumpkins, beets and raspberries. After an hour of debate, they formed a task force to survey all 281 p-patch renters and try to decide the statue’s fate before the annual garden ers’ meeting in April. Like most opponents, Ward said he was content to leave it in place while the task force tackles the issue. No one wahted to see it vandalized. , “I personally don’t like it, but I think it would be a shame if somebody came down and de stroyed it,” Ward said. Campus Notes VA Hospital needs volunteers The Office of Community Service Pro grams is conducting a "One Shot" with Dorn VA Hospital from 1:45 to 4:45 p.m. Sunday. Volunteers are needed to assist the veterans to a concert on hospital grounds. Transportation will be provid ed. A sign-up sheet is posted outside the Community Service Programs Office.. For more information, call John Bowk pr at 777-5780 Phi Beta Sigma to hold clothing drive Thi Beta Sigma will begin a can and cloth ing drive Monday. Boxes will be placed in each residence hall. Any food or cloth- , ing will be appreciated. For more infor mationj call Rancer Smith at 544-1193. ICE to sell roses The Indian Cultural Exchange will be selling friendship roses from 10 a.m. to 3 jp.m. Monday on Greene Street. Roses will be sold for $1 each. Auditions for one-act plays to be held Auditions for the MFA-Candidate Di rector’s Showcase production of sever al one-act plays will be held from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the second- and third-floor lobbies of Longstreet Theatre. Performances will be Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. For more information, call Tim Don ahue at 777-9353 or e-mail him at don ahue@sc.edu. Dance Marathon to hold interest meeting Dancer recruitment meetings for students interested in participating in Dance Marathon 2000 will be held at 8 p.m. on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27 in RH Ballroom A. For more information, call 777-6770. Spnng Service internships available Applications are being accepted for the Dobson Volunteer Service Program. Stu dents interested in working with a community agency during the spring and making an impact on others’ lives can contact the Office of Community Ser vice Programs at 777-6688. Applications are available at the Russell House In formation Center, Student Government office and the Campus Activities Cen ter. Applications are due by Oct. 27. AMA holds meeting The American Marketing Association will hold a meeting at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 on the 8th floor of the Darla Moore School of Business. Resume writing, in terviewing and job placement will be dis cussed. For more information, call Gwen Davison at 794-8102 or Beatriz Serrano 2544539. Drop-In Center needs peer health educators The Open Door Drop-In Center is re cruiting new peer health educators. Stu dents will staff the Drop-In Center and help other students with nutrition, fit ness, stress, blood pressure and body fat percentages. Stop by Health and Well ness Programs for an application. Appli cations are due Oct. 29. Briefs for Campus Notes can be submit ted to RH333. Please include a contact name and phone number. , ALPHA TAU OMEGA Jpha Phi Chapter at the University of South Carolina The Alpha Phi Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega would like to thank you for helping make the first ever Carolina Campus Cleanup truly successful! Over 650 people signed in. Over 500 bags of trash were picked up. Over 300 bales of pine straw were laid down. < Over 40 organizations were involved. If you would like to be involved in planning a campus cleanup in the spring please contact Taylor Jones or Chris Dorsel at 771-6647. We’re Always Hiring Great Attitudes! U Come by & m Visit the Location n Nearest You: • 4600 Devine Street • 2504 Augusta Road • Columbiana Centre TRX OUR PARTX PMArwTUU Platters for Tailgate Parties or Any Occasion Visit us at www.Ruby-Tuesday.com