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University of South Carolina FRI HAY OPTORFR 1 O OfiflR Vol.97,No.30 www.dailygamecock.com • i\ I Ur\ I, UulUDLlA -LvJ, Z.\JVJvJ . , Since 1908 Howell gets 30 days for assault USC basketball player can pay fine, get counseling to suspend sentence BY BRAD SENKIW THE GAMECOCK USC basketball forward Rolando Howell pleaded no con test Thursday to criminal domes tic violence charges stemming from an Aug. 9 arrest. Magistrate Golie Agustus hand ed down a 30-day sentence that will be suspended if Howell pays a $50 fine and completes a 26-day abuse counseling program that will take place during the 2003-2004 basketball season. According to Howell’s attor ney, I.S. Leevy Johnson, the crim inal domestic violence charge will go down on Howell’s record as a misdemeanor and will be ex punged from his criminal record after three years if Howell isn’t involved in any other legal matters. Howell was charged by Richland County for assaulting Mary Jones, his girlfriend at the time, at an apartment the two shared with their 2-year-old son. This is Howell’s second run-in with the law since he has been at USC. He was ordered to complete a pretrial intervention program in 2000 after involvement in a mon ey-order scam. Since Howell fin ished the program and that inci dent is no longer on his record, Johnson said it played no part in the magistrate’s decision in this case. Johnson also said it was a coin cidence that Agustus, who played basketball for USC in the 1970s, was chosen as the magistrate and that it was the normal sentencing for the charge. Johnson said Howell has been apologetic about the situation and is ready to take on the responsi bility of correcting his mistake and paying the consequences. “I’ve been doing this for 35 years, and I’m convinced that he is genuinely remorseful about the fact he made a mistake,” Johnson said. In a statement released after the legal situation was resolved, Howell apologized to Jones, his parents, Athletics Director Mike McGee, USC head coach Dave Odom, his fellow team mates and the fans. “I will use this as a learning expe- HoweM rience and work as hard as I possibly can to be a good citizen and a stu dent athlete that brings honor to the University of South Carolina,” Howell said. Odom said he was glad the situ ation was resolved and that he is ready to move on with his basket ball team. “While I am very disappointed that Rolando was involved in this incident, I am encouraged by the way he has taken responsibility for his actions,” Odom said. “The athletics department will review the situation and make a determi nation about Rolando’s status as itpertains to the Gamecock bas ketball team.” USC hasn’t released a state ment or taken any official action against Howell. Johnson said he expects the university to treat this incident in a way similar to what it did in 2000, when Howell was suspended for seven games. “The next step is that the uni versity will take some kind of ac tion,” he said. “It’s just logical that Dr. McGee will suspend him for some games because he sus pended him last time for some games.” Howell, a senior, averaged 10 points and 6.3 rebounds a game last year and is expected to help carry the load for this year’s team. The Gamecocks kick off prac tice Oct. 17 at Midnight Madness and will open the season against Gardner Webb in the Guardians Classic a month later. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Taking the bite out of the Wildcats Students say merger isn’t ideal match BY ADAM BEAM THE GAMECOCK It might not be the Carolina Clemson matchup, but students in the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Science and Mathematics have a rivalry all their own. Since 1973 the students have been separated into their own colleges and have endured sev eral attempts to bring them back together. But on Oct. 1, USC President Andrew Sorensen announced that he will go before the Board of Trustees on Oct. 17 — a week from today— and ask that the colleges come together again in what many think will not be a holy matrimony. Danny Nguyen, a second year biology student, was sit ting in the Coker Life Sciences Building on Thursday after noon, studying for a develop mental biology test. He said he spends about three hours a day studying. “Liberal arts students are more laid-back and slack, while math and science students are more anal,” he said. “I know lib- . eral arts students have to study, but when I see them, they are just having fun — something that I’d like to do.” Nguyen is taking 18 hours this semester. Katie Wright, a second year exercise science student, is taking 19 hours. While Wright is in the Arnold School of Public Health, she says science students don’t see eye-to-eye with liberal arts students. “Math and science students think that English students are really lazy because they only have to take like 12 hours a semester,” she said. “I’m taking 19, and they are all pretty much ♦ MERGER, SEE PAGE 2 Business school ranks among Forbes’ top 50 BY JULIE LEDBETTER THE liAMECOCK According to Forbes maga zine, USC’s Moore School of Business graduate programs are a good investment, based on stu dents’ salary increases after graduation. In the Oct. 13th issue of Forbes, the magazine ranks the Moore School of Business No. 44 among the top 50 business schools in the United States in a report titled “B schools: The Best Payback.” In compiling its findings, Forbes sent 18,000 questionnaires around the world to full-time Masters of Business graduates of the class of 1998. The class has seen a great re turn on its degree investment. According to the report, “The av erage 1998 grad almost tripled his or her pre-M.B.A. salary five years out of school, to $106,000.” The Forbes survey is different than most because it bases the rankings on pre-M.B.A. salaries; ♦ FORBES, SEE PAGE 2 -_j» --- . _ ■ i;i PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK Dr. Frank Berger, director of the Center for Colon Cancer Research and a biology professor, works in his office. 1 Colon cancer research center marks first-year anniversary BY JOCELYN MEYER THE GAMECOCK Since USC’s Center for Colon Cancer Research was established lqst year with an $11 million grant, director Frank Berger said his staff has made several inter esting findings about chemother apy and nutrition and how they relate to colorectal cancer. The research center receives a little more than $2 million a year to operate and plans to buy more equipment with the help of a $470,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health. Spce USC received this grant, Berger said the university has gained a good reputation. People, want to come here to study and conduct research because the equipment and funding are avail able in Columbia, he said. In fact, the research center just hired four new faculty members. “In the 18 years that I have been here, this is the greatest quality of applicants to apply for jobs at USC,” Berger said. The research center collabo rates with the College of Science and Mathematics, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Medicine, Palmetto Health, the Veterans Administration and the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. The plan is to carry out re search on specific molecular, bio chemical, genetic and lifestyle factors that impact colorectal cancer and its therapy. This will be done by four junior faculty members who are mentored by senior faculty members. “I was extremely impressed with the cooperation that exists between the various research en tities here in Columbia,” said Phillip Buckhaults, a new faculty member at the research center. “There is a commitment by the university to grow science on a very large scale; therefore, the ♦ CANCER, SEE PAGE 2 USC students square off with peace protesters BY ALEXIS STRATTON THE GAMECOCK Hawks and doves clashed Wednesday afternoon as five USC students brought out a cowbell and pro-Operation Iraqi Freedom signs in front of the State House to counter a peace vigil sponsored by an international peace network. The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, or FDD, sponsored its first State House rally to support U.S. soldiers, while the Women in Black brought out 20 supporters for their weekly peace vigil. Although the members of each protesting group tried to remain separated, this did not prevent comments from passing between them as each supported its cause. At about 5:50 p.m. police ar rived as cars driving down Main Street still honked at each group’s “Honk for Peace” or “Honk for U.S.-led Iraqi Freedom” signs. The police advised Jeremy Wolfe, the FDD representative for USC, about obtaining a permit and me diated as a few more comments were exchanged between the ♦ RALLY, SEE PAGE 2 PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER MITCHELL/THE GAMECOCK Police question USC student protesters as they rally in front of the Capitol in support of U.S, soldiers and the fight against terroris n. Index Comics and Crossword 5 Classifieds 8 Horoscopes_5 1 Letters to the Editor 3 Online Poll 3 Police Report 2 Weather TODAY SATURDAY High 74 High 74 Low 61 Low 57 In This Issue ♦ON THE WEB Check out state, nation and world briefs. www.dailygamecock.com ♦ VIEWPOINTS J.D. Shipman points out the lessons to be learned from the California recall election. Page 3 ♦ THE MIX Get in gear and go explore some of South Carolina’s more eclectic attractions. Page 4 ♦ SPORTS The USC football team defeats Kentucky 27-21. Page 7 w _