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www.dailygamecock.com WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4,2002 _ St. Patrick’s Day festivals conflict “We definitely did not know that they were planning to have their festival on March 15. We did not set out to compete head to head.” CATHLEEN CLEARY CHAIRWOMAN OF THE ST. PATRICK'S CHARITY CELEBRATION COMMITTEE Stadium event split from Five Points festival BY MICHAEL LAFORGIA THE (iAMECOCK Although two St. Patrick’s Day festivals are planned for March 15, the official 21st annual celebra tion, usually held in Five Points, will be in Capital City Stadium, said Cathleen Cleary, chairwom an of the St. Patrick’s Charity Celebration Committee. That the two festivals are slat ed to occur on the same day came as a surprise to the Celebration Committee. “We definitely did not know that they were planning to have their festival on March 15,” Cleary said. “We did not set out to com pete head to head.” Cleary said the relocation comes after a disagreement be tween the Celebration Committee and the Five Points Association, which recently sought more con trol over the event than the com mittee was willing to relinquish. “We’re a legal corporation that made a decision to move. We have the history; we have the legal stance; we have the logos; all of that is part of the corporation,” Cleary said. “We’re hoping that we can move our festival without too much outside pressure.” The Five Points Association could not be reached for com ment. According to the Celebration Committee, the Five Points Association has always received a share of the festival’s revenue for use in city projects. “There’s definitely money to be made,” Cleary said, and the bulk of the festival’s proceeds is annu ally distributed among several lo cal charities. But when the association re cently tried to get more power to decide how much money it would receive, the Celebration Committee split with its former partner, despite criticism from the Five Points Association and local businesses. The City Council has ♦ FESTIVALS, SEE PAGE 4 New York * works for missing students Mayor gives out guide to help investigations BY ALLYSON BIRD Til K liAMKCOCK Between Oct. 31 and Nov. 9, two college students and a 21 year-old from Minnesota and an other college student from *0 Wisconsin were reported miss ing. As a result, on Nov. 20, New York Gov. George E. Pataki an nounced that “Missing College Student Cases: An Investigative Guide” will be distributed to all public and private colleges and universities in New York. According to a news release from the governor’s office, the “Investigative Guide” provides “model guidelines for colleges and universities throughout the state to facilitate a swift and ef ficient investigation of violent crimes and reports of missing persons, as well as reassure stu dents’ families that appropriate ^ investigative actions are being taken.” The guide outlines proce dures for compiling informa tion; evaluating the situations of the particular students; pro viding information to the police, the community and the media; working with the families of the missing people; and coordinat ing efforts. This action is not Pataki’s first; he signed into law the Campus Safety Act in 1999 after Suzanne Lyall disappeared from the State University of New York at Albany the previous year. Because of this act, colleges and universities are required to have a plan for prompt investigation ^ of missing students and violent * crimes. “The Investigative Guide” was created in collaboration with Lyall’s parents and the Center for Hope, an organization that helps families with missing loved ones. The goal of the publication is to prepare institutions before a cri sis arises. Whether the guide will expe dite investigations and save lives depends on individual institu tions and their level of activity in addressing such crimes. USC had eight cases of aggra vated assault in 1998 — six fewer than at the State University of New York at Albany, where Lyall attended school, and five more than Columbia University, in New York City. The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services’ % Web site says: “If the statistics appear to be higher than other institutions’, they may indicate that there is more crime on your campus. Or conversely, they may indicate that your school is very aggressive in the reporting and investigation of criminal ac tivity.” Nonetheless, USC spokesman Russ McKinney does not recall ♦ MISSING, SEE PAGE 4 (\ Locals meet to support AIDS Day PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK Third-year biology student Tina Deblyn helps piece together part of the quilt made In honor of World AIDS Day. Annual event is meant to foster unity, awareness BY ALEXIS STRATTON THE GAMECOCK USC students and faculty gathered with Columbia residents Monday night at the State House steps to cel ebrate life and unite in support of World AIDS Day. They congregated for the pro gram “Live and Let Live: Fight Stigma and Discrimination,” a can dlelight event featuring a variety of speakers and performers, including Columbia Mayor Bob Coble, faith representatives from various churches and denominations, and _ AIDS victims. “This day is for you and to all of those you have loved and those you remember,” said Andrenette Hudley, co-chairwoman of the Midlands HIV Prevention Collab oration. “We must never forget the contributions of those who have gone before us. They are the heroes of the war.” Donald Wood, co-chairman of the Midlands group, also spoke. “The HIV virus and the AIDS epi demic does not discriminate. It does not care whether you are black, white, Hispanic or whatever. It doesn’t care whether you are gay, ♦ WORLD AIDS DAY, SEE PAGE S Showing off her kicks and chops A USC student competes in Spain at her first World Karate Championships appearance BY KIMBERLY HUNT THE (XAMECOCK A USC student took her first trip to Spain by competing in the 16th World Karate Championships Nov. 21 to 24 in Madrid. Third-year mechanical engi neering student Elizabeth Irish was one of three women on the United States’ fighting team. Irish and her team made it through rounds one and two with a pass and a victory over Tunisia. In round three, Japan defeated the three-woman fighting team. “It was my first World Championships,” Irish said. “I got a lot of experience out of it.” In the team fighting category, a hit to the head is worth three points, a blow to the body worth two and a punch worth one point. Individuals from each team go up to fight one on one, and the first competitor to earn eight points wins. The U.S. team spent about 12 hours a day at the tournament, competing and rooting on team mates. The team competed against 60 to 70 other countries. Whenever a competitor was in the lead against a fighter from Spain, the crowd of 8,000 people booed the competitor. “In Spain, the crowd boos by whistling,” Irish said. “It was a packed house, and the sound was deafening.” The teammates’ cheering must have helped, though. The U.S. team walked away with two gold medals in individuals. One of them went to the first woman to ever win a gold at the World Karate Championships. “It was my first World Championships. I got a lot of experience out of it.” ELIZABETH IRISH THIRD-YEAR MECHANICAL-ENGINEERING STUDENT “The U.S. had not won gold for 22 years,” Irish said. “We were wondering if they would be able to find our national anthem for the flag ceremony because they hadn’t used it in so long.” Overall, France placed first in the medal count and the United States fifth. This year’s U.S. team had 11 members, two of them, in cluding Irish, from Columbia. The night after competition ends, all the countries are invit ed to eat dinner together. “The pressure is off because it’s after competition,” Irish said. “It was lots of fun. I ran into peo ple I already knew from Canada and met others from different countries.” Irish, who earned her black belt six years ago, was nervous at the try-outs to make the U.S. team that traveled to Spain. “I’ve been out for two years with a broken vertebra, and the trials was my first competition since,” Irish said. In the beginning of September, the national team assembled in Lake Placid, N.Y., to train to gether for a week. They practiced six hours a day at full speed. Irish also trained in Pittsburgh and Seattle right before the plane ride to Madrid. “We’re really proud of her,” Irish’s coach Ridgely Abele said. “She’s worked so hard going from Lake Placid to Seattle training.” One week before competition, Irish said she “lightened up” her workout by doing only weights, karate and aerobics for two hours twice a day. Irish missed five weeks of ♦KARATE, SEE PAGE 4 Serving their final terms Sens. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), left, and Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) wait in the U.S. Capitol before a vote. Their careers In the Senate are winding down; this past term was the last for both the senators. Thurmond will turn 100 years old tomorrow. PHOTO BY CHUCK KENNEDY/KRT CAMPUS Index Comics and Crossword 10 Classifieds_ 13 Horoscopes 10 Letters to the Editor7 Online Poll_ 7 Police Report 4 Weather TODAY TOMORROW High 33. High 50 Low 30 Low 32 r Inside ♦ VIEWPOINTS Jason Rapp takes on the people suing McDonald’s. Page 4 ♦ THE MIX Look inside to see what’s up Dave Attell’s sleeve as he begins a new season. Page 8 ♦ SPORTS Sports editor Kyle Almond showcases his Top 10 Pimp Daddies. Page 10 ♦ SPORTS The volleyball team will play American in a NCAA Tournament first-round match. Page 10 ---_I »