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_vol. 94. no. 67 Friday march 23.2001 Serving the Carolina Community since 1Q08 WWW.DAILYGAMEC0CK.COM UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA COLUMBIA, S.C. ‘WE’RE NOT HERE TO START A WAR’: Anti-abortion group bring signs, controversy rrav/ira «h WMB d i m Mackenzie Clements/The Gamecock Pro-life demonstrators brought graphic signs to campus to portray what they said were the realities of abortion. Abortion display sparks protest ■ Graphic posters cause debate among students about way anti-abortion group conveyed its message on Davis Field by Mackenzie Clements The Gamecock Giant orange signs cautioned people approaching Davis Field in the past two days — “Warning: Genocide Photos Aliead.” ~ The warnings were hardly unwarranted. The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform displayed on Wednesday and Thursday its “Genocide Awareness ( Project” next to the Russell House, sparking student protests against the graphic images. The photographs, on 6-by-13 billboards, showed aborted fetuses and compared them with images of the Holocaust, the Jim Crow era and the Cambodian killing fields. CBR, which has taken the display to nearly 30 colleges across the nation, approached different student organizations in the fall about bringing the project to USC. Students for Life and Reformed University Fellowship signed on as sponsors, permitting campus space to be used for the display. According to CBR’s Soutlieast Region Director Fletcher Armstrong, the project aims to educate people about who the unborn child is and what abortion truly does to that child. “We’re not here to start a war. We’re liere to educate,” Armstrong said. “Tliere’s no way we can present the facts without using pictures.” Armstrong also said the group’s purpose is never to condemn people who might have had abortions. Volunteers with fliers and pamphlets were available to answer questions about the project. Each volunteer had signed an agreement to not pressure passers-by, to treat people with respect and to condemn abortion-related violence, among other things. “We had to show people the realities (of abortion),” said Katie Benton, a 17 year-old high school volunteer from Knoxville, Tenn. “This is not a tissue being removed.” Crystal Johnson, a first-year nursing student and a project volunteer, said CBR’s message can’t be sugar-coated. “1 think it’s shocking and repulsive, but it’s not made up; it’s not fiction,” Johnson said. Johnson’s aigument against pro-choice advocates is that “it’s also a woman’s choice to have sex.There may be someone out there who might want that baby.” Reformed University Fellowship sponsored the display because it agreed with the message CBR was delivering, though RUF’s mission goes beyond simply Display see rage 2 USC students Brandon Ray, Patrick Rybarezyk tnd Any Dangelawkz protest the display. Mackenzie Clementi/The Gamecock Higher Education Hodges’ plan would restore funding cuts by Brandon Larrabee The Gamecock Gov. Jim Hodges announced a plan Thursday that would restore virtually all the money he had proposed to cut from liigher education in his first budget outline, which could allow USC students to avoid a laige tuition increase. The plan would give universities about $126.3 million more than Hodges originally proposed. “We’ve put a plan on the table that fixes college budgets without raising taxes,” Hodges declared, flanked by university and college presidents. The plan would use a combination of new revenues and borrowed money from other agencies to allow higher education to avoid the 15 percent budget cuts Hodges originally proposed and the 10.5 percent cut dealt by the Legislature. University officials shid they were pleased with the announcements. “It appears that tlie governor has heard and accepted the message that the college and university leaders have made,” said USC spokesman Russ McKinney, who also credited student leaders for their efforts against the cuts. The plan still must be approved by the Legislature. “We’ve laid out a road map to fix higher education. Now, with the help of our colleges and universities, I will work every day to convince the Legislature to follow.” Hodees said. McKinney echoed that theme while praising the governor’s plan. “That’s great news,” lie said. “But, again, the ball’s really in the Senate’s court at tliis point.” McKinney said the university would “aggressively lobby the Senate to follow the governor’s lead.” He also said the plan would likely allow USC students to avoid a larger-than-normal tuition increase, which administrators had said would be necessary to help make up for the cuts. I Hunk the threat ol a real high or real huge tuition increase would be diminislied significantly” if tlie proposal goes through, McKinney said. Tlie plan restores $93.7 million in budget cuts while providing for $32.6 million more in spending, most of that going to college technology-related programs. Under the new plan, Hodges would borrow $60 million, take $35 million from the Barnwell County Budget see page 2 Hodges’ plan Gov. Jim Hodges has offered a plan to restore $93.7 million cut from college budgets while adding $32.6 million in technology spending. Hodges plan includes: ‘ ■ $60 million in bonds to cover maintenance, equipment and technology. ■ $35 million in excess funds from a trust fund for future cleanup needs at the Barnwell low-level nuclear was^e site. ■ $24 million from more federal matching funds at the Department of Health and Human Services. ■ $5.1 million from cuts at other agencies and the Legislature. The Senate would lose $560,352, and the House would lose $1 million. The attorney general would lose $440,000, and the adjutant general, $528,704. ■ $2.2 million from collecting on overdue student loans. Sourca: Associated Prass Pi Kappa Phi sponsors ‘No Boundaries Week’ * by Cristy Infinger The Gamecock Pi Kappa Plii launched “No Boundaries Week” Monday, an event devoted to its national philanthropy, Push America, which creates awareness about and helps people with disabilities. Events for the week included a scaffold sit and sorority change donations, and it will finish with an empathy training dinner at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Preston Dining Hall. “No Boundaries Week is a weeklong fund-raiser and awareness-raiser for people with disabilities to benefit Push America,” * USC’s Push America Chairman Gabriel Fluhrer said. One of the events of No Boundaries Week was a war between the sororities to see which one could collect the most change. The winner, Chi Omega, raised more than $150 in donations for the Philanthropy. Members of Pi Kappa Phi also spent the week collecting donations in buckets on campus, for a total of about $2,000. “[Push America] is a good opportunity to help out people with disabilities. I am going to try my best to help,” associate Pi Kappa Phi member Tyler Odom said. Members spent their time at a 53-hour scaffold sit, where brothers and associate members took turns silling on a scaffold constructed for the event at the Russell House patio. “The scaffold sit is basically an attention-getter so that people will try to find out what we are doing and what Push America is,” Pi Kappa Phi President Mark Hartney said. The executive director for Push America will be the speaker at Friday’s empathy training dinner. Participants will Fraternity see page 2 Student Government Newly elected SG officers inaugurated by Mark Hiner The Gamecock Unity and proaction were die primaiy goals addressed by the new Student Government officers at Wednesday’s inauguration. The ceremony, held in Rutledge Chapel, ushered in the 2001-2002 term for SG’s senate and executive officers. President Corey Ford’s speech focused on quickly resolving the conflicts that arose in February’s hotly contested campaign. “Whether it be the ending of friendsliips or die ambition to defeat one's opponent, the taint of mistrust has made its mark on our electoral process,” Ford said. Ford said the election closely mirrored the fierce animosity of national campaign strategies and the bitterness has had an effect on the student body’s trust in their elected officials. “The issue of an executive officer’s actual (responsibilities, discrepancies of platform stances, the choice of keeping it simple or making it complex, the endorsements of a student newspaper— all produced an atmosphere saturated with animosity towards one another and each other’s campaigns,” Ford said. “What confidence students had in Student Government certainly has been broken and has continued to erode since then,” he added. Ford briefly outlined his agenda, referencing the hallmark issues of his campaign, including creating a Campus Activist Network to give student organizations belter access to the administration. “Only by creating a network of organizations can we lobby before the administration and truly bring change on issues of the drop dale, academic forgiveness, increased funding for undergraduate organizations and protection from discrimination for all Carolina students,” he said. Unity was also a primary concern for newly elected Vice President Nithya Bala. Bala reminded the senators that they will be representing nearly 26,000 students. “Student is a broad term which is often incorrectly used to lump all of us into one large homogenous group,” she said, “when, in fact, the Carolina Community is composed of all different types of students.” Treasurer Hydrick Harden was also sworn in at the ceremony, which lasted about an hour. Harden said students must prepare themselves for the sacrifices proposed higher education budget cuts could cause. 77ie university desk can be reached at gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Travis Lynn/The Gamecock Treasurer Hydrick Harden gives his inauguration speech, remind ing students to prepare themselves for the sacrifices proposed higher education budget cuts could cause. Weather Coming Up Quote of the Day Online Poll Today 69 48 Saturday 66 44 A look at Delta Zeta ’s Turtle Tug Next Week “First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.” — Epictetus ) Who should be named head basketball coach? Kyle Almond (Sports Editor): 32% Quin Snyder (Missouri): 19% Jeff Lebo (Tennessee Tech): 10% Other 39% Look for next week’s question at www.dailygamecock.com