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www.dailygamecock.com _WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2004 ^ Since 1908 Scott wins presidency 9Miller, McLawhorn set to compete in run off vice presidential election BY NATALIE GROUT the <jam wax :k USC elected a new Student Government president and trea surer Tuesday night, but the vice presidential race is just heating up. Zachery Scott won 57 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a third consecutive run off for president. He defeated Justin Williams, who pulled 30 percent of the vote, and Adam Schaffer, who took 13 per cent. Cameron Burnette won trea surer in the closest race of the elec ^ tion, defeating Kenyatta Fraizer ^by 123 votes. Yvonne • Miller and Mark McLawhorn will face each other in a run off election for vice presi dent Thursday and Friday at www.vip.sc.edu. Miller, with 1,237 votes, failed to gain a majority. McLawhorn received 843 votes to force a run off. “I feel good. I’m not really surprised at the outcome. I thought that it might turn out this way,” Miller said. “I’m ready to ao wnaiever it takes for the next two days. I’ll stand out on Greene Street until April if I have to.” McLawhorn said he was opti mistic going into the run off com petition. Vice presidential candidate Brian Wayne came in third, end ing his SG executive bid. “It sucks, but whatever hap pens, happens. I don’t really know how the votes turned out,” he said. Supporters erupted in cneers wnen ocj Elections Commissioner Rachel Keisler announced Scott’s victory on the third floor of the Russell House. With 1,611 votes, Scott sur passed Justin Williams’ 844 votes and Adam Schaffer’s 353 votes. Scott shared his success with his n supporters. “I feel great. I’m totally amazed with my campaign staff. They’ve worked so hard and have been so dedicated,” Scott said. “It’s not my win — it’s a team win.” SG President Katie Dreiling said she was pleased with Scott’s triumph. “I have confidence in him,” she said, and joked, “I also know where he lives.” Williams said he will shift his focus from campaigning to the classroom. “It is what it is,” he said. “We campaigned, we tried to spread a ♦ ELECTION, SEE PAGE 9 PHOTO BY KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK Zachery Scott celebrates his campaign success in the SG presidential election Tuesday with supporters. Bush against any gay •unions BY DEB RIECHMANN THE ASSOCIATED CHESS WASHINGTON — Jumping into a volatile election-year debate on same-sex weddings, President Bush on Tuesday backed a con stitutional amendment banning gay marriage — a move he said was needed to stop judges from changing the definition of the “most enduring human institu tion.” “After more than two centuries of American jurisprudence and millennia of human experience, a fcfew judges and local authorities "are presuming to change the most fundamental institution of civi lization,” the president said in urg ing Congress to approve such an amendment. “Their action has cre ated confusion on an issue that re quires clarity.” Marriage cannot be severed from its “cultural, religious and natural” roots, Bush said. Bush, who has cast himself as a “compassionate conservative,” left the door open for civil unions as an alternative to same-sex marriages. ♦ AMENDMENT, SEE PAGE 6 ‘The Passion of the Christ’ draws fans, furor before national release BY JESSICA FOSTER THE GAMECOCK Walk into any Catholic church and, in most cas es, you will see a cross with a man nailed to it — a serene yet sorrowful reminder of ultimate sacrifice and love. Today, a different image of this man will be introduced, but it won’t be found in a church. This bloodied, brutally realistic depiction will be found on the screens of movie theaters na tionwide. “The Passion of the Christ," an R-rated film interpretation of the final 12 hours of Jesus’ life on Earth, makes its debut in the United States today in the mid dle of fervent praise and adamant opposition. Assembled from the four Biblical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the movie has been called anti-Semitic by some Jewish leaders, who say that producer and director Mel Gibson included scenes that place blame on the Jews rather than the Romans for the crucifixion. Others hail Gibson’s work as a great evangelical tool that could spur a great religious movement. Rabbi Daniel Lapin, president of the religious orga nization Toward Tradition, op poses Jewish organizations that have squandered both time and money futilely protesting “Passion” and wrote in an col umn his prediction that “the faith of millions of Christians will become more fervent as ‘Passion’ uplifts and inspires them. ‘Passion’ will propel vast numbers of unreligious Americans to embrace Christianity. The movie will one day be seen as a harbinger of America’s third great religious reawakening." USC film professor Susan Courtney said she thinks movies can have a “tremendous cultural impact," but she said a religious ♦ PASSION, SEE PAGE 5 Kerry in lead after 2 primary victories BY DAVID ESPO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Democratic front-runner John Kerry took the lead in early re sults from the Utah primary and Idaho caucuses Tuesday and looked for more good fortune in the Hawaii contest, the last before a climactic 10-state round next week. Kerry outpaced North Carolina Sen. John Edwards 2-to-l in the first returns from strongly Republican Utah and built an even stronger margin as the first polls reported from Idaho. The night’s three races were lit tle more than blips on the politi cal calendar. The candidates are putting their energies on the com ing Super Tuesday prizes and Kerry is already looking beyond the nomination fight and tangling with President Bush. The fourth-term Massachusetts senator fired back at Bush earlier in the day, depicting him as a “walking contradiction” who has presided over job losses, a deficit increase and frayed internation al alliances despite promises to the contrary. Bush had opened up on him a day before in his most partisan ♦ PRIMARY, SEE PAGE 6 Billboards show signs of modern change BY JUSTIN CHAPPELL TIIKHAMKCOCK The film “Minority Report” por trays a futuristic advertising cul ture where electronic signs use eye scans to identify a person and tailor an individual product rec ommendation based on previous purchases the customer has made. The Holly wood flick is not far from reality. In December 2002, Alaris Media Network Inc. began developing a billboard technology m oacramento that allowed ad vertisers to in tercept car radio frequencies and categorize high way drivers by radio station, changing bill board messages to meet the pre dominanx rauio uemograptiic. This technological innovation in me oniDoara industry is a su perficial devel opment in an on going billboard battle. David Ogilvy, author of “Ogilvy on Advertising” and regarded by many as me ngurative author ot advertising, wrote, “If you give up billboards, you can still use news papers and magazines and radio and television. That ought to be enough." Ogilvy’s justification was that billboards on highways ob struct what cannot be owned — scenery. Ogilvy wrote those words in 1983, but even today, similar sen timents exist. “It is the only form of media that you really cannot turn off," said Vance Kornegay, an associ- ' ate professor of advertising at USC < and chairman of the advertising and public relations sequence. 1 Kornegay is part of Citizens for Scenic South - Carolina ; (ScenicSC.org), a nonprofit group ; that promotes “conservation and s beautification” of the state. The ( group, which Kornegay said has < about 10 core members, success- 1 fully lobbied Richland County to cap the number of new billboards. Phere are currently 471 in the :ounty. But those fighting in favor of >illboards are just as passionate. • “The majority of the outdoor idvertising industry is branding md campaigning — a mass mes sage," Hal Stevenson, CEO of Irace Outdoor Management in Columbia, said. “Some call bill iards the last mass medium." ► BILLBOARDS, SEE PAGE 5 ♦ TURNED UPTURNOUT More students turn out to vote in this year’s SG elections. FOR MORE SEE PAGE 9 ♦ SOUTH FOR THE WINTER The Thomas Cooper Library features a collection of a prominent Boston writer’s work. FOR MORE SEE PAGE 3 ♦ LEADING VISION Gov. Sanford explains what is needed for S.C. to progress in HI Hi NH*i higher ed. FOR MORE SEE PAGE 11 ♦ SUGGESTIVE PICTURES Why Harvard must be careful publishing an erotic student magazine. FOR MORE SEE PAGE 11 ♦ NEW KID IN TOWN Up and-coming singer-songwriter Adam Hood brings honest tunes to Columbia. FOR MORE SEE PAGE 12 A ♦AN “INTOLERABLE BURDEN” Film details the struggles of a Mississippi family during desegregation. FOR MORE SEE PAGE 12 ♦ REVENGE Men’s basketball attempts to beat Florida after losing earlier this season. FOR MORE SEE PAGE 15 ♦ IN THE AIR The Gamecock unveils its Spring Sports Special. Index Comics and Crossword _14 j Classifieds ___ 18 Horoscopes 14 Letters to the Editor_ 11 Online Poll_ 11 PoliceReport 2 Entertainment News 2 USC Calendar 2 Weather TODAY High 48 Low 31 Windy, showers at night THURSDAY I High 44 Low 32 | Wintry mix to , rain Visit us ■, online at www.dailygamecock.com The Gamecock is printed on recycled paper. «•