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Quote of the Day ‘Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia.’ - Charles Schulz The cost of being sun-kissed Experts say there’s no such thing as a healthy tan. by Mackenzie Clements Staff Writer Last year, an unlikely song be came a hit. “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sun screen)” originated as a newspaper column, but ended up being set to a beat by Baz Luhrmann. The song be gan with a simple statement: “Ladies and gentlemen of the class of ‘99 - Wear sunscreen.... The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proven by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.” Mary Smich came up with the idea for her column when, around graduation time, she saw a woman sunbathing by Lake Michigan. “1 hope she’s wearing sunscreen,” Smich thought, “because I didn’t at that age.” Smich might have said the same thing after passing the sun bathers on USC's Horseshoe. Al though spring break might be over for most college students, summer is approaching, and sunbathing at the beach, the pool or even in front of the business building is tempting for many students. Tanning salons are another op tion for men and women seeking sun kissed skin, despite the fact that no sun is involved. Rather, tanning beds emit high doses of U\A waves. Salon owners contend that there are benefits to using tanning, beds in stead of sunbathing. “It’s faster, and you get a deeper, darker tan,” said Melissa Mangum, owner of SunTan Salon. “Also, you don’t get hot sweating.” Relaxation, according to Mangum, is another benefit of tan ning beds. Music, fans and neon light ing make each private tanning ses sion a calming experience at her salon. Privacy is assured. Mangum sets the tanning time at the front desk, and the customer gets comfortable in the tanning bed before hitting a convenient switch to start the tan ning session. Customers can tan in whatever stage of dress, or un dress, they choose. The benefits of that “are unsuitable for print,” Mangum said. All beds are sanitized before each customer. The salon provides cus tomers with protective eye goggles, which are required to prevent UV damage to the eyes. Mangum asserts that tanning beds have no more associated risks than tanning in natural sunlight. Too much sun can lead to premature aging of the skin, sunburn, and an increased risk of skin cancers. In addition, many medications, like birth control pills, can increase sensitivity to the sun. Despite the risks associated with UV radiation, hundreds of people still flock to the tanning salons. “It’s been a wild week,” said Mangum. “We’ve had 200 to 220 people a day.” Before tanning, salons require customers to sign that they under stand the risks and to detail any med ications they are taking. Cus tomers must initial the agreement every time they tan. According to the Mayo Clinic, “A tan actually is the body’s attempt to protect itself from the sun’s dam aging rays.There is no such thing as a ‘healthy tan.’” On the clinic’s Web site, further information is given about prevent ing skin cancer and sun damage. Overall, the Mayo Clinic advises avoiding excessive exposure and al ways wearing a moderate sunscreen to prevent sun damage.. Therefore, “Everyone’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” has a genuine point. The best way to fight sun dam age is through prevention. Frequent sunburn and sun expo sure can lead to premature agirig, freck ling, discoloration and enlarged blood vessels; ladies and gentlemen of the class of ‘00, wear sunscreen. Preacher evangelizes outside Russell House Travis Lvnn Photo Editor Students gathered Thursday on Greene Street to listen to a preacher, who brought an easel to draw and help convey his message. Small group in Columbia performs chamber music by Chrissy Taylor Staff Writer The Carolina Chamber Players have been performing in Columbia for four years. They are a small group of musicians, not very well-known, that consists of a pianist, string players, woodwind players and a hdrn player. Not all 19 players perform at every show. A recent show featured The Miro String Quartet. Anthony Marotta, a clarinet player, helped found the Chamber Players in May 1996 and had a select number of performers by that September. He said he was “thrilled and proud that the group took off so fast.” They were lucky to be sponsored by Columbia corporations such as Colonial Life and BellSouth, as well as by contri butions from individuals. They also re ceive grants from the S.C. Arts Com mission and the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties. The group’s first performance was in the S.C. State Museum’s auditorium, which pianist Winifred Goodwin refers to as the Chamber Players’home. Goodwin is an other of the founding members, which is why she has not moved on. The group has had “many individuals to continue on to other orchestras, espe cially strings,” Marotta said. Some have stayed in Columbia to join the orchestra, while others have moved on to the or chestras in Charleston or Greenville. According to Holli Emore, chairwoman of the board of directors, “There has been a revival of chamber music lately, and that’s why we are trying to get the word out and bring in more audience members.” Emore also said there has been a “de tachment from a live orchestra perfor mance, and the Miro Quartet has been prominent in a resurgent interest.” The board of directors’ primary responsibili ties includes governing profits, promot ing the Players and integrating them more with Columbia. They hope to gain the interest of younger people and would like to see more in the audience. Emore admits, “It takes a few times for some, but others fall in love with it [chamber music] the first time they see the group.” lor information on performances, call 376-0071. Drug allegations put celebrity under scrutiny Bad publicity surrounds Whitney Houston as party approaches t' tr The Associated Press New York — Does Houston - Whitney Hous ton - have a problem? There was that allegation of marijuana pos session in January, a much-discussed absence at last month’s Oscars, and a disjointed mag azine interview. On Monday night, the superstar singer is scheduled to perform at Arista Records’ 25th anniversary party. Given the tumult in her per sonal life in recent months, her appearance will be heavily scrutinized. “WHERE WAS WHITNEY?” asked the New York Post after the diva’s performance at the Academy Awards was canceled amid a report that she was “totally out of it” during a rehearsal with Burt Bacharach. ^ The same question applied after Houston failed to appear at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dinner three weeks earlier. Houston was scheduled to help induct Clive Davis, the mu sic impresario who signed her to Arista in the early ’80s. “Whitney is in good spirits and looking for ward to Monday’s event,” says her publicist, Nancy Seltzer, who had earlier blamed a sore throat for the Oscar incident and “voice prob lems” for the Hall of Fame flameout. The bad news continues. The upcoming People magazine features a cover story about “Whitney’s Troubled Times.” Citing anonymous sources, it suggests a drug prob lem - an allegation Houston has denied in the past. “If a performer gets a reputation for being unreliable or canceling at the last minute, that’s a problem,” says Richard Johnson, a veteran Houston watcher at the Post. “It seems that’s been happening with Whitney Houston.” Houston’s husband of seven years, singer Bobby Brown, has his own litany of woes: a 1995 Betty Ford Clinic visit for alcohol abuse, a 1997 report that he punched Houston in a Honolulu parking lot, and a 1998 five-day jail term for drunken driving. The bad publicity is a relatively new ex perience for the gospel singer’s daughter, the all-American girl whose 1991 version of “The Star Spangled Banner” improbably turned Fran cis Scott Key into a best-selling songwriter. The recent rash of incidents began in January, when airport security officers in Hawaii said they found a half-ounce of marijuana in Houston’s bag. Rather than wait for police to arrive, the 36-year-old Houston boarded her flight and left the islands. Adding to Whitney’s woes was a cover sto ry in the May issue of Jane magazine. The piece described an “extremely unfocused” Houston showing up four hours late for a photo shoot. Once there, the singer responsible for 11 No. 1 singles had “trouble keeping her eyes open” and intermittently played an imaginary piano, according to the story. Whitney’s explanation: She had just ar rived from a visit to the dentist to repair a cracked tooth. During an interview for Jane, Houston tossed around four-letter words, compared meeting the president to hanging out with a junkie (“They’re just men, you dig?”), and denied having a “lesbo” affair with her ex ecutive assistant. Seltzer, spinning as fast as she could, said the article was not “a fair portrait of Whit ney Houston as I know her.” Wrong, says Daily News gossip guru Mitchell Fink. “Look at her behavior over the last few years,” Fink says. “If you did a timeline over the last few years, you’d see that this par ticular pattern of behavior is not at all shock • _ »♦ ing. The problems and tabloid rumblings have had little effect on her recording career. Hous ton’s 1998 album “My Love is Your Love” was a platinum seller and spawned several hit singles: the title track, “Heartbreak Ho tel,” “When You Believe,” “It’s Not Right But It’s OK.” In May, she will release a greatest-hits al bum that is expected to top the charts. Campus Notes Humanity spring project today Habitat for Humanity will continue to work on the house in Arthurtown at 1:45 p.m. today. Participants will meet at the Tree of Knowledge. For more information, call Ginny Whtson at 544-2576. Anchor Splash to benefit the blind The Epsilon Chi Chapter of Delta Gamma will be host to its annual An chor Splash Swimming Meet from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Blatt PE. Center. The meet will feature both traditional and unique swimming events. A $2 donation at the door will benefit the blind and sight con vention. For more information, cqll Tiffany Shaw at 544-0477. Showcase to focus , on psych research Psychology undeigraduate student research will be highlighted at the Research Showcase this afternoon in the lobby of Barnwell. CP recruits more commissioners Carolina Productions is accepting ap plications for Carolina Productions’ Ideas and Issues Commission, which helped bring presidental candidates John McCain and Alan Keyes, along with the Last Lecture and Personal Sucess series, to USC. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. today in the CP office, RH 235. World War II video will be shown . Hillel, B’nai B’rith and other organi zations will sponsor a video on die exploits of the Jewish brigade in the. British Army, fighting in Italy and after World Whr II. The showing, which will be open to the public, will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the auditorium in Gambrell Hall. Trustus will present award-winning play Trustus Theatre and Ted and Joan Halkyard will present “Wit” from April 21 through May 6. “Wit” won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for drama. For more information, call 254-9732. Earth Day program to last one week The School of the Environment and Students Allied for a Greener Earth ^ will sponsor this year’s Earth Day ^ celebration at USC. The focus will be April 19, but there is a week-long program honoring the 30th anniver:: sary of this worldwide event. SAGE. is still looking for people or student. organizations who are interested in participating. For more information, call the SAGE headquarters at 799- - 2408. Meeting to focus on homecoming Homecoming 2000 will hold a meet ing to distribute homecoming appli cations to student oiganizadons. Any oiganizadon wishing to participate in Homecoming 2000 must send a rep resentive to this meeting to pick up the official application. If you have questions or want more information, call Carolina Productions at 777 7130. Film society to show ‘Midnight Cowboy* The Creative Music and Film Soci ety will present its first film of the year, “Midnight Cowboy,” on DVD at 6 p.m. Sunday in Gambrell 153. The movie is free. Public lecture on philosphy to be held Manfred Frank will speak about the for mative years of German romanticism in “Infinite Approximation: Philosophi cal Origins of Early German RomantU cism.” The lectures will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday in the Preston College Sem inar Room and from 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Gambrell 428. For more information, call Alfred Nordmann at 777-3739, or e-mail him at ANordmann@sc.edu. ■ CORRECTIONS The Gamecock strives to report the facts correctly and responsibly. If you come across any inaccuracies in our reportage, please let us know. Letters for Ask etCetera can be submitted to RH 333 or e mailed to gckfeatures@ya hoo.com