University of South Carolina Libraries
Trick or Treat CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 to frighten children. It gets sweeter. Fraternity Council President Jac Carrington, a fourth-year marketing and management stu dent, says the goal of “Trick or Treat with the Greeks” is to “reach out to the community, kids and faculty and brighten their day however we can.” Gentry McCreary, a graduate assistant in the Office of Greek Life, says the function was ini tially introduced to USC to “bring Greek communities to gether to do a large project for the outside community.” The Greek councils are invit ing members of the USC faculty t and staff to bring their gruesome offspring, or costumed children, to participate in the'event. “We would love to see the fac ulty and staff of USC bring their children to trick-or-treat. It is a way for us to say ‘thank you’ for all of the hard work that they do for us,” Carrington says. This is the second year the Greek councils are scaring the local Boys and Girls Club. Last year, it was held in McBryde res idence hall, creepy enough as that was. “Last year, we had people dressed as troll dolls, and they had their hair sprayed with col ors too,” Bratcher says. , . Carrington says, “We want the kids to dress scary.” Halloween, brought to America by Irish immigrants, originally existed as a farmer’s way to ward off spirits that emerged from their fields during changes in farming seasons. It is now a widely accepted “holiday” in the American culture. The event is from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday at USC’s Greek Village. The festivities include a fall carnival, face painting, haunted lounges and—of course — trick-or-treating. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com on jiie 3-f-one" /x . z?n4 .2>toell •(‘he ,2>hr*o©ta.2>/ fX3 Delicious Specialty Pizzas Fresh Baked Calzones Spring Water Dough Pretzels Monumental Hoagies Scrumptious Salads ' 24 high-quality "Shroom Taps" 3hrOO*| gK)c( Z-JXfa tZ>K6-Otff... °»ll -At*** »m«t »«rf ft* P.ujj>/ I007 (S^r/w'a *rf mrniff* Tor "("too) f?otn (A3.c. Politics CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 campaign; so, when her friend told her that there was an opening for a volunteer on Clark’s campaign, Flick signed up. Robinson got her position be cause she had worked for S.C. Sen. Joe Wilson. Interestingly, she be friended Sunny Phillips’ mother in-law, who works for the S.C. Senate as well, so when the State House announced it was termi nating all paid positions, Phillips’ mother-in-law was there to help with an opportunity to work un der her daughter-in-law. As for having to balance their time between their jobs and their schoolwork, neither Robinson nor Flick seems to have much trouble; political service is just one more activity on the list of many that both of them participate in. Aside from being president of the USC Young Democrats and volunteer ing for Wesley Clark’s campaign, Flick also is a member of the Psi Chi psychology honors society, at tends meetings for Students Allied for a Greener Earth and volunteers at the Democratic Headquarters. As for budgeting her time, Flick said, “you learn to-make time for the things you really love.” Robinson is also on the execu tive board for her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, is vice chairwoman for the S.C. Student Legislature and is a member of the Academic Responsibilities Committee, the Veterans Affairs Committee at USC and Alpha Lambda Delta, a nation al society of collegiate scholars. “A lot of the people who work with me are also very young, and they understand that we have oth er responsibilities outside of our jobs. If I tell them I have to take time off for school, they under stand, but I’ve never had to do that; usually, I’ll just stay up real ly late,” Robinson said. One of the perks of having jobs like the ones Robinson and Flick have is that you get to meet famous and influential people. In her time volunteering in politics, Robinson has gotten to know Gov. Mark Sanford and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer as well as several other S.C. con gressmen, all of whom she says she could call for help in finding a job. Flick said she has gotten to meet most of the Democratic pres idential nominees, including U.S. Sen. John Edwards and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, and she has also gotten to meet several local and state politicians, as well as Jim Clyburn, U.S. congressman for South Carolina’s District 6. Robinson wants to be a con gressional lobbyist someday, while Flick wants to he a political science professor and maybe eventually go into politics. However, both agree that no mat ter what you plan to do in the fu ture, volunteering time for poli tics can give you experience that is applicable in any field. “I’ve worked with many differ ent people with many different ideas, and it has helped to open my mind. I also feel like I greatly im proved my work ethic, while gain ing a sense of what it’s like to give of oneself and not expect anything in return,” Flick said. Robinson pointed out that her work in politics has helped a great deal to improve her people skills, particularly in the area of public speaking. “I would recommend volun teering in politics to anybody, no matter what their interests. You find yourself dealing with more than just politics as usual: I’ve used many of the things I learned in business and finance in th I job, and it has helped me to see how these things are integrated with the political process,” Robinson said. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudeskfqihotmail.com Economy CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 decades, so it’s pretty well estab lished,” he says. “I would say our forecasting program is the longest running statewide economic out look program.” The implications of a weak economy have been evident at USC. The university sustained an other reduction in funds in what President Andrew Sorensen com monly refers to as “draconian bud get cuts.” This is the first year in the modem era that USC has had more of its annual budget funded by tuition revenue than by state money. Schunk said a recent rise in consumer spending and an im proving housing market are good indications that economic growth might be on its way. Consumer confidence is especially important for the economy during the im pending holiday season, when re tailers and small businesses typi cally see crucial revenue surges. “I have been and remain pretty optimistic,” Schunk says about the coming year. He says students looking for jobs after graduation shouldn’t be daunted by high un employment figures, as they re flect the entire economy and not a particular student’s skills or pre paredness for work. “All the time in the state’s econ omy, there are jobs that are being created and jobs that are being lost, so there are always opportu nities out there,” he says. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com ^ Religion CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 dent organizations, the Muslim Student Association, has about 30 members weekly, said MSA presi dent Fozail Alvi, a fourth-year bi ology student. Alvi said members are “primarily of the Muslim faith,” and that the goal of MSA is to “meet other new Muslims and learn more about Muslim faith.” While the primary goal of col lege is to provide an education, what is it about the college atmo sphere that causes some students to think about religion? “Students are on a spiritual quest,” Wall said. But it isn’t only the quest that brings students to religion. “Students are not as shy with institutional church and or ganized religion as past genera tions,” he said. While exploring religion, some students reach a point where they feel as though there is something deeper in life. “Religion gives another level of meaning to existence,” Alvi said. James Alford, a graduate assis tant in the Religious Studies Department, agrees that college can serve as a catalyst for interest in religion. “College atmosphere promotes more free thinking,” Alford said. But students don’t end their - 'quest with thinking freely. “More importantly, college students come to conclusions regarding re ligion,” Alford said. The desire to become more in volved with religion can translate tumo"'s8,<¥£, : »*»«•*”■***$ PHOTO BY DAVID STAGG/THE GAMECOCK The cast of Sunday Night Alive has a prayer before its performance in the Russell House Theater. to academics, including taking re ligious studies courses. Whether seeking to under stand a particular religion aca demically or as a faith, USC has resources available m a wide range of areas. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com The 2003 Homecoming Commission Recognizes the Following Individuals and Organizations for Their Generous Support and Dedication to Homecomino 2003. MPBk I...I. HOMECOMING 2003 OCTOBER 20-25 www.sa.sc.edu/cp Congratulations to... Community Service Award: Baptist Collegiate Ministry RP: National Recognition Award: Pi Kappa Phi Spirit of Carolina Award: Chi Omega Homecoming King & Queen: Josh Black & Sarah Bayko Order of the Gamecock: Amanda Marshall & Lara Bratcher Third Place Overall: Alpha Delta Pi & Delta Tau Delta Second Place Overall: Chi Omega & Sigma Phi Epsilon Carolina First Homecoming Cup Winners: Delta Zeta & Pi Kappa Phi Garnet & Black Sponsors: Ben & Jerry’s Atlas Golf Cars & Battery Sales Afterhours Horseshoe Sponsors: Carolina Collegiate Federal Credit Union Carolinian Sponsors: Carolina First Love Chevrolet University of South Carolina Athletic Department Clear Channel Communications