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www.dailygamecock.com _MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27,2004_ Since 1908 Pharmacy merger gains early approval By KEVIN FELLNER THE GAMECOCK A Board of Trustees committee voted to give preliminary approval Friday to create the South Carolina College of Pharmacy, a merger of USC’s and MUSC’s pharmacy schools that has been the source of controversy and excitement for about a year. Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Herbert Adams had speculated that the board might reject the merger because of accreditation issues and if the power between universities was unbalanced. But Friday’s proposal would allow both universities to maintain its own accreditation until the statewide initiative is fully implemented. “We have tried as trustees to hear all sides of this issue,” Adams said. “A lot of misunderstandings have come about .... I want to make clear to you that I wholeheartedly support this proposal.” USC pharmacy student John Pugh, who in April helped lead a protest of 300 students and faculty members at the State House against any merger, was also satisfiecftwith the decision. “The original timetable for a merger just seemed a bit too fast,” said Pugh, who has met with USC President Andrew Sorensen and Vice President for Research Harris Pastides several times since April. Pugh said he thought the dual accreditation clause was the most important part of the proposal. “There are many things in this proposal that we valued,” Pugh said. “The university administration recognized that and has done an excellent job in working to address our concerns.” Sorensen and others made clear Friday that no student or faculty member would be forced to relocate to Charleston under the new proposal. “First of all, that was never the plan,” said Pastides, referring to the relocation of students. “And we’ve now rejected that idea entirely.” Pharmacy School dean Farid Sadik said he is glad the administration has committed to keeping the presence of pharmacy education and graduate training at USC. “Allowing students to choose which campus to have their pharmacy education is vital,” he said. An April merger recommendation report had stated uncertainty among faculty members and students over whether the USC College of Pharmacy would be relocated to the Charleston campus at the Medical University of South Carolina. Many pharmacy students and faculty members originally questioned the administration’s motives for the merger and wanted to know if students would be forced to relocate to Charleston for graduate training, or if the school might be slowly phased out altogether in favor of a primary Charleston campus. The merger recommendation report said the plan of a dual campus system would be implemented “for the time being,” causing uncertainty about long-term plans. ♦ Please see MERGER, page 3 -pViarm t , , T. , Farid Sadik, USC pharmacy dean, says Students protest at 1 naXIIlrtCy LSC, andMLSC USC has the resources for merger. Trustees meeting Merger ' 'iarnilC' ^can c . USC, pharmacy' students Board of Trustees votes Sorensen endorses merger pr,„C!i, a, the Sate House approve the menrer i imeiine 200— Summer Dec 2 2004 April 7 April 15 April 2l Sept 24 GRAPHIC BY JASON STEELMAN/THE GAMECOCK TROPICAL STORM JEANNE tk JE Bsat - sBa SBBBk. *. _ME? BBHKftafcj’l.aBf L,-.-:r. .*:.I.. iUEEQfcSBn ' FILE PHOTOS/THE GAMECOCK Students brave recent rainy weather white walking on campus. WLTX meteorologist Todd Santos says Tropical Storm Jeanne could drop as much as 5 inches of rain on Columbia today. He recommends students wear raincoats instead of using umbrellas because of the wind. Bic pen mightier than bike U-locks By LaDONNA BEEKER THE GAMECOCK One of the most highly recommended bicycle locks for high crime areas can be unlocked without a key in five seconds. A Seattle man released a video demonstration of how easily a Kryptonite Evolution 2000 U-lock can be opened. He removed the bottom pan of a BIC pen, placed it inside the lock, twisted the pen and opened the “unbeatable” U-lock. Bicyclists and security officials, including USC campus security director Ernie Ellis, have recommended the U lock for its reliability. Ellis said he had never encountered any problems with the U-lock he purchased for his son’s bicycle. “The size of the Bic pen is just perfect for the lock.” DEREK EVERLING CYCLE CENTER MANAGER “I am very surprised because it has been a very trusted device,” Ellis said. He said he didn’t know exactly how the Bic pen was being used to open the lock or if any locks had been picked on campus. Cycle Center manager Derek Everling said it took him about five minutes to open one of the Kryptonite U-locks sold in his store. Everling said once the pen is taken apart, it was not hard to get it into the lock. “The size of the Bic pen is just perfect for the lock,” Everling said. The Kryptonite Evolution 2000 bicycle and motorcycle locks were made to have the same type of keyed lock as another Evolution 2000 or New York series lock. Everling said he wondered about “what other things on the planet can you do with a Bic pen,” and how many other devices use the tubular cylinder lock. Kryptonite has offered free product exchanges to all owners of tubular cylinder locks bought from its company, giving owners the chance to trade out for more tamper-resistant versions. The exchanges are expected to begin in October when updated products become available. ♦ Please see U-LOCK, page 3 Students in for wet walk By JUSTIN CHAPURA THE GAMECOCK About the only thing Columbia residents can expect when Tropical Storm Jeanne hits Columbia today is ankle-deep water — which means USC students will have a wet day of walking to classes. WLTX meteorologist Todd Santos said Jeanne would dump up to 5 inches of water in parts of the Midlands today and should be out of South Carolina by Tuesday morning. Jeanne was downgraded to a tropical storm after it made landfall in central Florida Saturday night. Santos warned students planning to walk to class today that putting on an extra shirt wouldn’t be enough to stay dry. “This is tropical rain, which means it will be coming down much heavier than normal rain,” Santos said. “Don’t expect to stay dry in a sweatshirt. A raincoat is more appropriate than an umbrella, because of the wind.” Despite the heavy winds that come with tropical storms, students have been braving them by buying umbrellas en masse. Cheslie Fowler, a systems manager at the SC Bookstore, said the stores has nearly sold out of umbrellas. “We are down to about two dozen umbrellas out of a stock of around one to two hundred. We have been selling them much faster than we expected.” Fowler said the bookstore expected to stay open through the storms. Second-year journalism student Katie Beck said trying to stay dry during a tropical storm is futile. “I have to go to the Coliseum for my classes, and it’s so far away from everything else that you can’t help but get wet,” she said. Beck said the shuttles offer little help on rainy days. “Even though we have GPS systems now, the shuttles are still ineffective. Now they can just tell me how late I will be,” Beck said. Third-year theatre student Patrick Williams said he doesn’t expect too much trouble from the storm. “I just wear my rain jacket and bear it. I’m not worried about it affecting me too much, other than branches falling from the trees in my yard,” Williams said. Santos still urged students to be wary of tornado activity that might be spawned from the storm. “Stay in tune to weather updates as far as watches and warnings for tornadoes,” Santos said. “With Frances, we had one of the largest tornado outbreaks in the state.” Tornado watches have been issued for several counties in eastern Georgia right up to the South Carolina border. Five storms have affected South Carolina this season, with Tropical Storm Gaston and Hurricane Charley making landfall in the state. Remnants of storms Bonnie, Frances and Ivan came through the state, bringing heavy rain, strong winds and a record number of tornadoes. Continents on this story? E-mail ga7necockne1vs@gwy1.sc. edu NOAA.ORG A satellite image of Tropical Storm Jeanne moving toward South Carolina. Jeanne should be out of the area by Tuesday. Florida reeling from fourth storm in 6 weeks By DEBORAH HASTINGS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HUTCHINSON ISLAND, Fla. — Jeanne, Florida’s fourth hurricane in six weeks, piled on destruction in already ravaged areas Sunday, slicing across the state with howling wind that rocketed debris from earlier storms and torrents of rain that turned streets into rivers. At least six people died in the storm, which was a cruel rerun for __ 1 many still trying to recover from earlier hurricanes. Jeanne came ashore in the same area hit three weeks ago by Hurricane Frances and was headed for the Panhandle, where 7JJ,000 homes and businesses remained without power because of Hurricane Ivan 10 days earlier. The storm peeled the roofs off buildings, toppled light poles, destroyed a deserted community center in Jensen Beach and flooded some bridges from the mainland to the _ » Atlantic coast’s barrier islands. More than 1.1 million homes and businesses were without power. “The last three weeks have been horrific,” said Joe Stawara, owner of a Vero Beach mobile home park where about half the 232 trailers were damaged. “And just when we start to turn the corner, this happens.” Until this weekend, no state had suffered a four-hurricane pounding in ♦ Please see JEANNE, page 3 tj IN THIS ISSUE ♦ NEWS "Earthquakes could mean explosions Scientists worry Mt. Saint Helens’ tremors could forecast disaster. Page 3 ♦ VIEWPOINTS Haitians in need of help Mark McLawhorn discusses the plight of Haitians in the wake of Hurricane Jeanne. Page 4 - ♦ THE MIX Bare your soul ^to strangers Blogs have gone from tech junkie territory to mainstream media tool. Lindsay Flowers investigates the evolution of online journals. Page 6 w ♦ SPORTS USC breaks Trojan’s luck The Gamecock sports staff presents an in depth look at Carolina's victory over the Troy Trojans. Page 12 WEATHER ♦ TODAY | ♦ TUES. Hjgh 76 High 83 Low 70 Low 64 FOR EXTENDED FORECAST, SEE PAGE 2. INDEX Comics and Crossword.8 Classifieds.11 Horoscopes.8 Letters to the Editor.5 Online Poll.5 Police Report.2 < <