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office • conunuco room i SCAMP for her research, which included a paleoecological study of the Congaree National Park and her current research on radiometric data with Professor Torfi Temples. She chose Temples after OUR provided her with a list of profdssors in the field she was interested in who wanted to work with student researchers. “This experience opened my eyes into what areas I’m interested in,” McCroan said, and added that her research was what prompted her to consider graduate school. Though OUR does not provide funding to all of its student researchers, that is an eventual goal for the office, Jones said. Professor Tangali Sudarshan, who works with student researchers in electrical engineering, said he hopes students will receive funding from OUR in the future. He currently provides a small stipend to his student researchers out of his research grants. runaea or not, many students working with the office are enthusiastic about the opportunities they’ve had as a result of OUR’s presence on campus. “When I first started, I thought I was the only one who thought (my research) was a good idea and everyone else just thought it was utter crap, so just having people who are interested in what I’m doing and having opportunities to talk about it is a very big deal,” said Caitlin Coker, a fourth-year English and dance student, of her research on dance ethnography. “(OUR is) what basically makes me believe that (my research is) legitimate — that I can go to grad school. “It’s not that they work with me personally and talk to me and meet with me but they are a great facilitator. It’s all on the students to get motivated and get their idea and do it for themselves but the office is a great resource for them to » use. Fourth-year psychology student Alisha Epps is working on a project that uses gene transfer to study epilepsy via rats genetically inclined to have epilepsy. She has been doing research since August 2003, but said that “just knowing (OUR) is there” is helpful. As an Honors College student, Epps had access to the resources the Honors College provides to its students for research-based learning long before OUR opened its doors. “I didn’t realize the extent to which the Honors College promoted undergraduate research and the rest of the university didn’t,” Jones said of the factors that prompted her to get involved in starting OUR. “What I saw was that at the Honors College there was a significant effort made to help students find faculty members for undergraduate research. Along the way there were non-honors students who would stumble into my office. “There was clearly a need and ... it seemed important to me that an office would be created with the same resources for the large number of very talented students who just don’t happen to be in the HC. “(They are) entitled to the same opportunities the Honors College students are. I felt like we were ^missing out on a huge resource at the university.” With OUR available to assist undergraduates hoping to find research opportunities, a larger number of students might be able to secure research grants and prestigious fellowships, Sudarshan said. By doing research as an undergraduate, students may get the opportunity to present their research or have it published to an international audience, which can then only help them in terms of experience and add to their resume, he said. On Nov. 17, USC President Andrew Sorensen will make an announcement about OUR in front of a panel of student researchers, who will talk about their experiences in an “Inside the Actor’s Studio” format, OUR Director Julie Morris said. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu U.S. officer recommends court-martial % for soldier accused of killing superiors Diana Clias THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait — A U.S. military investigating officer on Tuesday recommended a court-martial for a National Guard soldier charged with killing two of his superiors in Iraq and raised the possibility of a death sentence. Col. Patrick Reinert said he found “reasonable cause” to believe that Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez of Troy, N.Y., used an anti-personnel mine and three grenades to kill a captain and a lieutenant in a “personal vendetta.” The deaths of Capt. Philip Esposito and Lt. Louis E. Allen in an explosion at a base in the central city of Tikrit on June 7 is believed to be first case of an American soldier in Iraq accused of killing his superiors. Reinert said he also found aggravating factors that could allow for capital punishment. Reinerts recommendation, which came at the end of a two-day hearing in this camp in Kuwait, will be submitted to Lt. Gen. John Vines, the commander of Multi-National Force-Iraq, who will decide whether there is a court-martial. Vines, who is based in Baghdad, reports to the overall commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey. The prosecutor, Capt. Adam Siple, had asked for a recommendation for a court-martial. Martinez’s defense counsel had argued there was no real evidence against their client. Capt. Esposito, 30, of Suffern, N.Y., and Lt. Allen, 34, of Milford, Pa., were killed by a blast in Esposito’s office in what was once one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces. Their deaths were initially thought to be a result of “indirect fire.” Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Fitzgerald, an expert on explosives, told the hearing that the blast was caused by a Claymore anti-personnel mine and possibly three grenades. Surgeon Col. Joan Sullivan told the tribunal that the men’s injuries were not consistent with wounds caused by a mortar or rocket. The Associated Press ■ Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez, of Troy, N.Y., at a base outside Baghdad, Iraq. A U.S. military investigating officer on Tuesday recommended a court-martial for Martinez, who is charged with killing two of his superiors in Iraq, and raised the possibility of capital punishment. During Monday’s session, one witness, Capt. Carl Prober, said Martinez told him twice that he hated Esposito. In the second instance, Martinez said he was going to “frag” Esposito, Prober testified. “Frag” is a Vietnam War term for soldiers killing their superiors. Prober did not say why Martinez said he hated Esposito. The widows of Esposito and Allen attended the hearings after the Army agreed to fly them to Camp Arifjan, about 40 miles south of the capital of Kuwait City, for the sessions. Martinez, 37, a supply specialist who joined the New York Army National Guard in December 1990, was deploye<^ to Iraq sometime after October 2004 with the 42nd Infantry. The Tikrit case is the second case during the Iraq war in which a U.S. soldier has been charged with killing his comrades. M 1 . .J I The mission of PSIC is to work to increase the credit hour limit from 16 to 18 hours per semester, work on establishing a grade ■ forgiveness program that would allow students who made a D or F to retake a maximum of three courses with the higher grade I applying to their GPA, and to offer a solution to the parking problem by exploring the benefit of eliminating freshman parking. If ■ you are interested in participating on this Commission, please stop by the SG Office for an application. M I Are you traveling this Holiday Season, and want to leam important I techniques to protect your car? Student Government and Parking Services I will be sponsoring a Know Your Car program to teach you everything you ■ need to know to be safe on the road. The event will be held Thursday, ■ November 17, 2005 at Bpm in the Pendleton Street Garage. Please visit I www.sg.sc.edu to register. This is open to both students and faculty. ■ The Minority Outreach and Retention Program was created as a university I initiative to increase the recruitment and retention of minority students at I USC. Our mission is to improve the lives of minority students by helping I them receive the resources needed for them to aspire, achieve, and I appreciate the benefits of attending an esteemed university. The Division of ■ Student Affairs is currently looking for students to assist in our university I efforts. Students can help coordinate and participate in both on and off I campus recruitment and retention initiatives. Applications are available in ■ the Student Government Office. Contact Erica McDaniel at M ericamichelle0122@hotmail.com for more information._ I Cocky is up for Mascot of the Year and he needs your help! To vote, | I go to www.capitalonebowl.com. Be sure to check out the standings I first and vote against all the mascots who are ahead of us! I ll