The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 24, 2006, Image 1

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Ml III II xAMECOCK ^ The University of South Carolina Monday, April 24, 2006 Vol. 99, No. 91 • Since 1908 VIP offers students ability to buy books I Internet link sends buyers to University Bookstore’s online ordering system Jess Davis STAFF WRITER Students can now order textbooks immediately after registering for classes, thanks to a new addition to VIP. ^ The “Bookstore” tab under the ™ Academics portion of the Web site allows students to see the books they will need for the next semester with one click, by taking them to the University Bookstore’s online ordering system. Student Government President Tommy Preston said the initiative is not aimed at creating a monopoly for the University Bookstore. Getting textbook lists online allows students “go out and plan ahead,” said Preston, a third year political science student. He said students could look online or at other stores for books now that they have the information available right away. mi t l f * i lie prugiam ucpciius on racuiiy to turn in textbook request forms. Only 46 percent of professors have turned in textbook requests to the University Bookstore for the fall, Preston said. He and bookstore manager Andy Shaffer spoke to the Faculty Senate to talk about how to make textbooks more affordable for students, and the first priority was getting faculty to turn in book lists earlier, Preston said. Other methods Preston named were making sure faculty wanted unbundled versions of books as well as bundled versions and not using new editions as often. The new system is the result of a long-time SG initiative to lower textbook prices. Textbook price has been an issue for the executive officers since Preston and Vice President Ryan Holt took office in 2005, with Preston then serving as Treasurer. “We realized that certain textbook prices are a national BOOKS • 4 Nick hares / THE GAMECOCK USC officials say the Towers should be demolished some time this summer, making way for a new Honors College residence hall that will house about 700 first-year students and upperclassmen. Tower tumble Students should return next semester to campus without ‘Honeycombs' Joshua Rabon ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR When students return from summer vacation they can expect the Towers to either be shut down or not in existence. The towers — Douglas, Snowden, Moore and LaBorde — are in their last semester of service, said Joe Fortune, assistant director for undergraduate assignments with University Housing. Fortune said he is unaware of a specific date for demolition to begin. “We are still anticipating that they will not be open in the fall,” he said. Briggs Ahearn, a first-year biology student who lives in Douglas, said while the quality of the Towers is not so good, he would rather live there than other freshman dorms. “I like it for its location, but the quality is somewhat lacking,” Ahearn said. “I would still live in the Towers if I picked all over again.” Fortune said the site occupied by the Towers would house a new Honors College residence hall. “I think it is slated for approximately 700 students,” he said. Fortune said the new dorm would hold first-year students and upperclassmen. The Towers hold about 900 students. “The migration of those TOUJCRS • >1 TUESDAY TOURNEY TO OFFER PLENTY OF ‘TEE TIME’ Proceeds to go to scholarship fund Oreui Broohs THE GAMECOCK The Tee-It-Up Golf Tournament is being held at Northwoods Golf Club in northeast Columbia on Tuesday. USC’s department of sport and entertainment management is organizing the “fun study break before exams begin” as a way to help fellow students, said Trey Patty, a third-year sport and entertainment management student and one of three directors of the tournament. Once a bi-annual tournament, it has not been held since fall 2003 because of lack of interest, Patty said. Entry costs $45 for USC students, $55 for non-students and includes entry into the tournament, breakfast, lunch and a bucket of golf balls. Also, for those less-skilled golfers, mulligans or “re-dos,” are available for $5 each or three for $10. All proceeds from the event go to a scholarship fund within the department. About 10 teams of four will compete in this year’s tournament, Patty said. “We’re expecting good weather, and it should be fun,” she said. Aside from bragging rights, first prize will be $50 for each member of the winning team. Second prize is a $20 gift certificate to Golf Headquarters for each team member, and third prize is a case of golf balls for each team member. Also being awarded will be prizes for longest drive and “closest to the pin.” Those prizes are still being determined. The format will be 18 holes, shotgun start with captain’s choice. The latter means that the team’s captain selects the spot from which the team will play the next shot. Registration and breakfast begin at 9 a.m. with the shotgun start at 10 a.m. The awards ceremony is tentatively scheduled for 3 p.m. Also available at registration TOURnev • q State House campout to show support for Ugandan children Katie Boucher THE GAMECOCK Imagine having to walk up to 5 miles every night just to keep from being abducted. According to Invisiblechildren.com, tens of thousands of children from northern Uganda make this commute every night to the center of town. If they stay in their village, they are susceptible to being kidnapped and brainwashed by the Lord’s Resistance Army or the Rebel Army. There have been an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 children abducted to fight as soldiers. Three filmmakers journeyed to Uganda and discovered this story while making a documentary about their travels. USC students and others will be sleeping on the steps of the State House on Saturday to raise awareness of the issue. People in 130 cities in the United States and seven other countries are gathering as well. The Invisible Children Web site says there are an estimated 28,817 people committed to this Global Night Commute, and the numbers are rising. Through this demonstration, people are asking the government to help stop the war in northern Uganda. Rachel Renfrow, a student at Columbia International University and Columbia’s Global Night Commute planner, said she has traveled to Uganda twice. She spent last summer there tutoring children in an orphanage. “I was shocked that such a horrible war was going on, and I’d never heard about it before I went,” Renfrow said. “I tried to tell people about it when I came home, but it’s really something you have to see and hear about firsthand.” One of the filmmakers said “the rebels come around 2 a.m. on a dark rainy night with torches ablaze and AK-47’s strapped to their backs to take ... 30 children at one time. They burn huts, loot villages and, within an hour’s time, a commander of the Rebels will force the 29 kidnapped to watch him as he orders another 12-year-old soldier to brutally cut open one of the kidnapped children.” One of the filmmakers made a statement in a journal on the Invisible Children Web site about two 12-year-old boys who were abducted and forced to watch their own brother be killed. Afterwards, they had to make the sign of the cross on their foreheads with their brother’s blood. The boys escaped from the Rebel army and returned to their village only to find that their mother and father had been killed by the army. The filmmakers helped the two boys out of the city. Renfrow said that when she learned of the documentary, she knew she had to join in the fight. “When I heard about uennon • 4 Viewpoints Aaron Brazier andtiz White go toe to toe over the value (or lack thereof) of‘Sex and the Gfy’TecIa MarkOSky tells us sweet little lies. The Mix Heavy traffic For one class, three students make a documentary about the perils of human trafficking. Sports Total recap The Gamecock Sports staff looks back on the best moments at USC for 2005-2006. Index Comics & Crossword.... 10 Classifieds..13 Horoscopes.10 Opinion.7 Police Report..2 •