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AMECOCK nu^^apb.--- WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2005 ———-* W'”8 Students discover summer freedom By KELLY CAVANAUGH FOR THE GAMECOCK This may be the first time USC students Cecil Buddin and Melissa Norton have been away from home for the summer, but “freedom” is what they both say is the best thing about it. Last summer, Buddin, a fourth-year public relations student, lived at home in Summerville and worked for the local school district and for his Dads pest control company. “I didn’t hate them,” he said, but “they weren’t the greatest jobs.” This summer Buddin is working at Jakes in Five Points and taking classes to “catch up with switching majors,” he said. “I enjoy it — class wise not so much, but working is not so bad.” Buddin said the best part about living away from home is “not having to hear your parents all the time ... I just have the freedom to do whatever I want, it’s pretty much like school. It’s the same as the school year, but over the summer,” he said. Melissa Norton, a third-year elementary education student, lives on her own and supports ♦ SUMMER, page 3 PALMETTO BOYS STATE IAURA-JOYCE GOUGHH'HE GAMECOCK Participants of this year’s Palmetto Boys State file off the Blatt P.E. field after an awards ceremony Monday night. LAURA-JOYCE GOUGH/THE GAMECOCK Law school adapts after unsafe lead levels By TAYLOR SMITH STAFF WRITER Hot water is the beginning of the USC Law Centers problems, as the school comes off a week of providing bottled water after unsafe lead levels were discovered in its drinking fountains. Faculty ordered the fountains tested in December when students complained of the taste of some units’ water. After two rounds of testing, two-dozen fountains were shut down, and faculty asked that new filters be installed on 26 additional fountains. Although law students have enjoyed the bottled water, the solution may cost the school up to a $1,000 a month. Tom Syfert, director of the USC Environmental Health and Safety Program, told The Associated Press that USC is not new to unusual lead levels with several older buildings on campus that include equally aged plumbing. He said water is imported to 10 buildings around campus because of their age and potential risk to faculty, staff and students. In adults, overexposure to lead poison can cause brain, kidney and red blood cell damage with more far-reaching effects in children and pregnant women. Increased awareness of lead in drinking water created a generation of “lead-free” plumbing in homes built after 1984, but the Environmental Protection Agency warns that even such plumbing can contain as much as 8 percent lead. Some students wonder if they are at risk. Adam Bedenbaugh, a fourth year experimental psychology student, said he feels reasonably safe drinking campus water, but is ♦ WATER, page 3 IN THIS ISSUE — INDEX Comics & Crossword....8 Classifieds..12 Horoscopes..8 Online Poll..5 Police Report..3 ♦ THE MIX Backpack Rapper USC student raps and studies his way to music industry success. Page 6 ♦ SPORTS USC comes up short Gamecocks can’t finish upset bid for sixth straight Super Regional appearance. Full recap of Atlanta regional inside Sports. Page 9