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University of South Carolina FRinAV FFRRI IARV 1 A OflOQ - VoU 96, No. 59 www.dailygamecock.com rixIL/ttl, rLDlAUMlxl J-H-, 4uUO Sincel908 .USC reacts to state budget cuts BY KEVIN FELLNER THE GAMECOCK Tuesday’s state budget cut came as no surprise to USC administra tors, who are now looking ahead to possible repercussions. The State Budget and Control Board reduced this year’s budget by 3.7 percent, pushing USC’s total loss es for this fiscal year to about $41 million. USC Trustee and member of the Commission on Higher Education Miles Loadholt specu lated that the board would most likely consider a tuition increase for the fall semester. “Assuming these budget cuts continue, I don’t see any alternative to have tuition increase just to maintain the status quo,” Loadholt said. He also noted that the state Legislature provides only about one-third of the university’s fund ing anymore. “Every cut is a cutback,” he said. “And we’ve really got to at least maintain where we are now. We can’t regress.” Odom said a tuition increase wouldn’t make the university be come known for unaffordable edu cation just yet but that several in creases might. He said much of the added expenses are offset by the in creases in scholarships, such as the Life and S.C. Hope, that are fund ed from the South Carolina Education Lottery. Loadholt said another budget re “My worst fears were that we were going to have another cut this year, and now that’s been realized.” JERRY ODOM UNIVERSITY PROVOST duction is inevitable. “I suspect it would be at least a year before we know anything defi nite about when we could stop ex pecting these cuts,” he said. “At least a year, probably longer.” Provost Jerry Odom said he is following the financial situation closely. “My.worst fears were that we were going to have another cut this year,” he said. “And now that’s been realized. And now the whole con cern is: Are we going to have an other ope at the start of next year?” USC has now faced roughly 8.7 percent in reductions so far this fis cal year. “We will have to sit down, and the administration basically will try to come Up with the best thing we can, keeping in mind that a tuition increase is harmful to the students and their families,” Odom said. Odom also said the.budget sit uation would prevent the uni ♦ BUDGET, SEE PAGE 3 Carolina defeats Clemson in front of record crowd Eidson, Warren score 37 to lift USC over Tigers BY BRAD SENKIW THE GAMECOCK | The USC men’s basketball team defeated in-state rival Clemson on Wednesday night with a 76-59 win at the Carolina Center. The Gamecocks got the 17,072 scream ing fans going early with a 12-0 run in the first half. Clemson cut the lead to one in the second half, but Carolina went on a 15-1 run to bury the Tigers for good. The fans set a new record for at tendance, breaking the old record of 17,038, set against Florida on Jan 18. It was the largest crowd ever to see a men’s basketball game in the state. Chuck Eidson’s 20 points and Chris Warren’s 17 points con tributed to dominating the Tigers. USC head coach Dave Odom was * very pleased with his team’s per formance. “It was a great win for us,” Odom said. “I know it was a diffi cult loss for Clemson. We feel like we beat a good team, and that should give us confidence.” The students who attended the game enjoyed the energy and liked the play they saw on the court. “I’ve been to quite a few games this year and that was the loudest I’ve heard it,” said Chris Bird, a fourth-year sport and entertain ment management student. “The students behind the basket were louder than I’ve ever seen. Chuck Eidson had more confidence last night. You could see it; he was | on.” Jobe Ellis, a third-year ac counting student, agreed that there was a loud and crazy atmo sphere against the Tigers. “I thought it was a thrilling game to watch with a real sense of rivalry. It was nice to see the crowd involved in a thrashing of Clemson.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK Rolando Howell, left, slams home a dunk during the Gamecocks' 76-59 victory over Clemson. Carolina has now beaten the Tigers In three straight seasons. Event illustrates ‘power of porn’ PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK Gene McConnell shows pom’s prevalence In society. Speakers share experiences with adult industry BY WENDY JEFFCOAT the gamecock Students crowded into the Booker T. Washington auditori um to hear testimony on the pow erful effects and consequences of pornography Thursday evening. “We live in a pornographic cul ture. We use sex to sell every thing,” Gene McConnell, a former fji pastor and pornography addict, said to a group of about 300 peo ple who came to hear him and Kimberly Drake, a former strip per, give testimonies about how this addiction almost destroyed their lives. McConnell said his first expo sure to pornography came when he was 12 years old. From the mo ment he discovered his uncle’s “collection,” he said he was hooked. “I kept coming back to it again and again and again,” McConnell ♦ PORN,SEE PAGE 5 Sorensen talks about pros of research site President tells trustees new campus would raise revenue BY KEVIN FELLNER THE GAMECOCK USC President Andrew Sorensen and some of his associates provid ed insight Thursday into the feasi bility of building a research campus near the university. “You’ve got revenues going down and you’ve got costs going up,” Sorensen told the Board of Trustees about USC’s financial sit uation. “We can’t continue on that path without facing extinction or an enormous reduction in the scope of our activities.” That’s where the research cam pus comes into play. The proposed 5 million square-foot combination of biomedical and technological research facilities with office and retail space would financially stimulate both USC and the local economy by having local govern ments and private businesses cre ate partnerships with the univer sity. Sorensen proposed coordinat ing a 501C-3 corporation among Columbia, Richland County, Lexington County, the state Legislature, the private sector and USC that would lead a “continu ous effort to communicate effec tively the roles, goals, objectives and status reports with all the par ticipating parts.” USC, local business leaders and Columbia recently jointly spent $150,000 to hire private consultant Craig Davis, who helped in devel oping North Carolina State University’s Centennial Campus, to conduct a feasibility study of the proposed campus. “What you’re about ready to en ter into does not deal with geogra phy, does not deal with real estate, does not deal with the types of things you normally talk about fa cilities management or site plans,” Davis said. “What you’re really trying to do is change your ♦ MEETING, SEE PAGE 2 Heart month raises awareness of risks BY KEITA ALSTON THE GAMECOCK February is American Heart Month, and college students and parents should recognize the ways they can prevent cardiovas cular disease, USC professors say. Dr. C.O. Shuler, a pediatric car diologist at the USC School of Medicine, said it is unusual for col lege students to develop signs of heart problems, but stressed how making unhealthy choices can put you at risk for heart disease. “The habits that we practice now will usually stick with us in the future,” he said. “If you follow bad habits by not taking care of your heart, this puts you at a greater risk as you get older.” There are two types of heart dis eases, Shuler said. The first is con genital heart disease, which is something people are bom with. Being bom with only a single ven tricle in one’s heart would be an example of that kind of disease, he said. “This is much more prevalent in the college years,” Shuler said. “Now it’s growing because the surgeries that are being per formed are getting better.” The second type is acquired heart disease. These are not de fects from birth but problems ac quired in a person’s lifetime due to various factors. The most common types of ac quired heart disease are coronary artery disease, infective heart dis ♦ HEART, SEE PAGE 3 Index Comics and Crossword9 Classifieds 12 Horoscopes 9 Letters to the Editor_ 6 Online Poll 6 Police Report 3 Weather TODAY TOMORROW High 59 High 71 Low 51 Low 53 Inside ♦ NEWS Oxfam America offers students a way to fight poverty online. Page 2 ♦ VIEWPOINTS Allyson Bird faces Valentine's Day with a smile. Page 6 ♦ THE MIX Nickelodeon Theatre hosts the African American Rim Festival with “Karmen Gei.” Page 7 ♦ SPORTS Men’s basketball beats Clemson for the third straight season. Page 10