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_ — - ■ INSIDE VIEWPOINTS You got what it takes to learn? Paige Haggard discusses three kinds of students. PAGE 6 THE MIX The week in music straight from a DJ WUSC staffer rates his top three picks. PAGE 7 SPORTS i---1 Gamecocks take care of business The USC baseball team earns a bid to the Super Regionals. PAGE 9 INDEX Comics and Crossword 9 Classifieds 12 Horoscopes 9 Online Poll 6 Quote of the Day 7 USC Police Report 5 PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK President Ronald Reagan visited USC Sept. 20,1983. Thousands grieve Reagan’s passing Former president’s death sparks fond memories of his life, legacy BY JEREMIAH MARQUEZ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SIMI VALLEY, CALIF. - Waiting good-naturedly for as much as half a day in traffic jams and a parking lot, tens of thousands of people filed past Ronald Reagan’s flag draped casket in an outpouring that forced organizers to extend the viewing period Tuesday by four hours. An estimated 52,000 mourners had passed by the coffin in the 24 hours after the viewing began at noon Monday at Reagan’s presi dential library. The nation’s 40th president died Saturday at age 93. “He gave us eight years of serv ice,” said Keith Godliman, 50, of Santa Clarita. “It doesn’t hurt for us to wait eight hours for him. He deserves us to wait eight hours for him.” The flow of mourners was in ♦ REAGAN, SEE PAGE 2 Provost finalist touts teaching experience BY ELLEN TWEEDY THE GAMECOCK Mark Becker, dean of the school of public health at the University of Minnesota, was selected by USC officials as one of four finalists to become the new executive vice president and provost. At Minnesota, Becker also serves as assistant vice president for Public Health, Preparedness and Emergency Response, as well as a professor of biostatistics. He is a Magna Cum Laude grad uate of Towson University, where he received a degree in mathemat ics in 1980. He went on to graduate from Pennsylvania State University, earning a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1985. Becker was an assistant profes sor of statistics at the University of Florida, a visiting fellow in the field of statistics at Cornell University and a senior fellow in the biostatistics department at the University of Washington. He was also a visiting professor at Limburgs University Centrum in 1994. He worked at the University of Michigan from 1989 to 2000, where he started as an assistant profes sor in biostatistics and left as a dean. Becker has written and co-writ ♦ PROVOST, SEE PAGE 2 Campus fitness centers set for improvements BY MICHAEL LAFORGIA THE GAMECOCK Campus Recreation officials have plans for the Strom Thurmond and Blatt centers that will further improve the facilities. The Strom Thurmond Fitness and Wellness Center was recog nized Monday in an issue of Athletic Business, a publication that named the center a state-of the-art facility, citing its abun dance of natural lighting as well as the walkways, which protect stu dents. In addition, the Strom re ceived its first award when it was recognized as an Outstanding Sports Facility by the National Intramural Recreation and Sports Association at an April 2004 con ference. Plans for the Strom include the construction of two multipurpose playing fields and six new tennis courts between the center and the Greek houses, said Herbert Camp, director of Campus Recreation. Four firms are competing for that contract. Camp said the new fields ♦ WELLNESS CENTER, SEE PAGE 4 THE GAMECOCK USC student Kelly Vogel works out at the Strom.