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www.dailygamecock.com _MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2002 * Since1908 .Budget cuts might mean fewer classes Spring courses might be in short supply, fill up faster BY KEVIN FELLNER TIIKIiAMKCOCK Second-year pharmacy student Eric Riffenburg logged on to VIP last week to register for Biology 9 244, a class that is required for his major, only to find that all avail able sections were full. “I think that if it’s a required class, they should open more than enough spots for people to fill,” ~ he said. It’s common for students not to get into a class they want to take as an elective from a college outside of their majors because the college’s students tend to fill it up quickly. But students such as Riffenburg don’t expect to have to fight to get a seat in a required course. Administrators suspect the spring’s course offerings might be thinner than usual and think budget cuts and a large freshman enrollment might be to blame. College deans won’t know ex actly how different enrollment in their colleges’ courses will be un til each department can study the final numbers after the semester’s drop/add date. While colleges vary in how they choose what classes and how many sections to offer, Don Greiner, associate provost and dean of undergraduate affairs, cit ed this fall’s freshman enrollment — the largest in school history— as a possible reason for fewer sec tions in introductory courses. These courses include freshman level biology, geology, English, Spanish and French. He said sev eral departments poured addi tional money into freshman courses this semester because of the growing enrollment. Deans and their staff members are closely watching their col leges’ operating budgets after the state sustained budget cuts total ing about 8.5 percent during the last 12 months, with another re duction expected to be handed to the university before the end of the year. “We are always concerned about budget cuts — always,” said Mary Ann Byrnes, assistant dean for the College of Liberal Arts, USC’s largest college. “But I think what we’ve had to do this past y.ear has to really focus on the essentials, and we’ll continue to do that.” Budget reductions have de layed searches for faculty mem bers to replace those who are re tiring, while forcing colleges to downsize overall operations. “You might not see as many upper-level courses as you would in previous years when we had ♦ CLASSES, SEE PAGE 3 Celebrations turn ugly after football games ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■Bum. .'■■■■■IHHiBBBHBH ■■■■■■■■i Clemson fans celebrate a 27-20 victory over USC on Saturday night in Death Valley. Fans rushed the field after the game and tore down a goal post. A sheriff’s officer and a fan were injured in the celebration and were carried off the field on stretchers. Clemson among several sites of injuries to fans (AP) — Fan celebrations got out of hand after several college football games Saturday, as several people were injured following victories and Wash ington players were pelted with debris. Most, but not all, of the rowdy behavior surrounded the usual goal-post-dismantling parties that followed big victories: ♦ In Clemson a 67-year-old sheriffs officer and a female fan were hurt when fans rushed the field and tore down a goal post fol lowing the Tigers’ 27-20 win over South Carolina. The victims were taken away by ambulance. Officer James Booth was in sta ble condition at a hospital; he was hurt when 30 fans piled on top of him. Details on the female fan’s condition weren’t available, but her injuries were not life-threat ening. ♦ In Raleigh, N.C., three peo ple were injured on the field when fans tore down goal posts following North Carolina State’s 17-7 victory over No. 14 Florida State. One person had a broken leg and two others had knee in juries. There were 21 arrests, but none was related to the on-field celebration. Pepper spray was used on fans to keep the goal posts standing as police remem bered a similar episode two years ago, when car windows were bro ♦ RIOTS, SEE PAGE 3 USC student will lead mock legislature BY KATHERINE HALLORAN TIIKIiAMKCOCK The South Carolina Student Legislature elected a USC student as governor of the organization for the second time in the past 17 years. Third-year history student Joey Oppermann was elected governor at the fall session of the statewide model legislature pro gram. Oppermann, the 12th USC student governor since Robert McNair in 1956, defeated two stu dents from the Citadel and Bob Jones University lur uie pusiuuu. Oppermann USC is one of 12 schools that participate in the organization, which includes such schools as Clemson and the College of Charleston. During the past ses sion, Oppermann’s platform in cluded expanding the number of schools involved with the student legislature. He said that out of the 31 colleges in the state, only 12 schools participate in SCSL. Oppennann said he would like to see the conference made stronger with the help of schools such as South Carolina State University and Benedict College. He said, however, he knows it will not happen overnight. “SCSL is the best organization that I have ever been involved with, but currently, only four public schools are involved,” Oppermann said. “With limited resources, we’ll have to work to slowly expand.” Fourth-year political science student Adam Shaw is now USC chairman of the SCSL. He is re ♦ SCSL, SEE PAGE 3 Uncovering history in S.G. masMmwtsm- * PHOTO BY ERIC SUTTON/THE GAMECOCK Vance McCollum, a volunteer at the Giant Cement Co., examines fossils found in Dorchester County. Hundreds of fossils have been taken to the State Museum for analysis. MCAT scores will no longer be withheld Results from each test attempt will now be released to medical schools BY WENDY JEFFCOAT THE GAMECOCK Medical-school applicants will no longer have the option of with holding MCAT scores from po tential schools beginning in 2003, according to a new regulation set in motion by the American Association of Medical Colleges. “This will try to reduce the number of people who take it ir responsibly,” said Albert Chen, executive direc tor of graduate programs for Kaplan Inc. “The ones who aren’t taking it serious ly are the ones it will affect.” r*.hpn caiH that up until this year, students had the option of not releasing scores if they felt they did not do well on the test. The date the student took the Medical College Admission Test, however, was still released; he said this would lead some ad mission committees to think the student did poorly on the exam. The AAMC wants “to start changing the mindset from indi vidual scores to test history,” Chen said. Students who took the test between 1991 and 2002 will still have the option of not releas ing their scores. Richard Hoppmann, associate dean for medical education at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, said the de partment encourages students to take the test twice, once in the spring of their junior years, then in the fall of their senior years. Now he said students may be more hesi tant about taking the exam during their junior years. “I think the biggest disadvantage for the students will be... with the release of all scores, some stu dents will be reluctant to take the test in April," he said. “They will need to be ready to take it in April.” Chen said the AAMC does not want students to take the MCAT to practice; there are other ways, such as online tests and study ♦MCAT, SEE PAGE 3 “The ones who aren’t taking it (the MCAT) seriously are the ones it will affect.” ALBERT CHEN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GRADUATE PROGRAMS FOR KAPLAN INC. Index Comics and Crossword ( Classifieds 5 Horoscopes ( Letters to the Editor t Online Poll t Police Report ; Weather TODAY TOMORROW #v, High 67 High 59 Low 40 Low 39 wmmmmmmmmmmdm Inside ♦ NEWS Catch a glimpse of the Strom Thurmond Fitness and ; Wellness Center. Page 2 ♦ VIEWPOINTS Jason Rapp shares what he’s learned ! during his years at Carolina. Page 4 ♦ THE MIX A look at the creative Nickelodeon cartoon “InvaderZim.” Page 5 ♦ SPORTS Jocelyn Penn and the women’s basketball team open their season with a pair of victories. Page 7