Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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BY DAN TOWERY .Gamecock Staff Writer If faculty -members have any questions concerning the benefits they can reap by teaching at USC, then Miss Byrn Burch is the person to see. Burch is the head of the Fringe Benefit Advisement Department, a branch of the USC Personnel Department. The department is not a new expansion of the service which had already been set up, but is intended to expand upon the benefits and to inform new faculty of them. Jenkinsv A new USC seismological station near Jenkinsville "is one of the foremost such stations east of the Mississippi River," according to Dr. Donald J. Colquhoun, of the geology department. Operated by the university with cooperation from the U.S. Geologic Survey, the station is part of a network of seismic stations gathering data in the Southeast. South Carolina is an area of frequent seismic activity, with a Marine Corp Saturday, Nov. 10 was the 198th anniversary of the founding of the United States Marine Corps and was celebrated at the USC Navy Marine ROTC unit with the traditional ceremonial cutting of a birthday cake by Marine Maj. Edward M. Ringley, USC in structor. First pieces of cake went to the RE~AP Ho, 1000 Bagie FacultY 0y Fringe According to Burc, -"We are trying to set up a point of reference to let people know who to see if they have any problems." There has been only one major change to the beftefit plan and that came under the State Health In surance Plan of 1972. Until then, each state had a specific plan for their employes. Under the State lie Statioi few earthquakes being recorded by instruments each week and felt oy human beings four or five times a year, Colquhoun said. The station will amplify ground motion by 100,000 to 200,000 times which is "very excellent and very unusual in this part of the coun try," Colquhoun said. Located on Stella Hill in Fair field County, the station is in a ideal location, Colquhoun said, because it is on a hill of granite, far s Celebrates oldest and youngest Marine option students in the USC ROTC program, Gregory J. Eddy of Beaufort and Robert D. Mac Pherson of Virginia Beach, Va., respectively. The students in the Marine program also celebrated the birth day with a festive ball at the Hilton Town House Friday night, Nov. 9. S - . - a mom a Reaps' Benefit Health 'Plan, the employes are offered the chance to take it and the state pays a portion of the in surance. The Fringe Benefit Advisement Department .offers advice con cerning eight categories: - - Prudential iWfe Insurance Program - - Salary Contention Program ' Records from such "cultural noise" as construction, highway traffic and railroads. These noises are transformed into ground motion and will distort seismic readings taken near them. The station will record ear thquakes occuring throughout the world and locate them on a radius of a circle with Stella Hill as the center. When other state stations are established by the U.S. Geologic Survey, with help from USC's Geology Department, a reading from two of these stations will give the exact center of an earthquake. The station will record ear thquakes occuring throughout the world and locate them on a radius of a circle with Stella Hill as the center. When other state stations are established by the U.S. Geologic Survey, with. help from USC's Geology Department, a reading from two of these stations will give the exact center of ear thquake. am , em & - e MMM --- Tax Shelter Annuallities - -- Annual Leave - -- Sick Leave - Hospitalization - State Retirement - -- Death Benefits "So far the response has been about as usual," Burch said, "and it is going to take some time for the faculty members to get the news of the advisement program." The benefit program has been announced at the Faculty Senate and through pamphlets sent to the deans of colleges and schools, provosts and faculty members concerning the program. Quakes Colquhoun said the network of stations is part of a major effort to gather information about seismic activity in the Southeast. Little is known about the causes of such activity in this area, Cplquhoun said. However, he said much seismic activity occurs in the Appalachian area running nor theast to southwest, and a seismic belt appears to run at right angles from this area from Greenville through Columbia to Charleston. Furthermore, Colquhoun said, satellite photographs of the region reveal stream patterns which may indicate underlying earth struc ture. Colquhoun said the study of earthquakes and their causes is more than a theoretical interest. "Ideally, the practical goal would be to predict when an earthquake will occur, thereby protecting lives and property. But first we have to know where they are and what is causing them." Camping Endangers Local Environment Erosion is camping's most damaging effect on the natural environment, according to USC geography professor Dr. Usle S. Mitchell. He also said destruction of natural vegetation, dumping of tremendous amounts of trash and visual and noise pollution are other undesirable effects of camping. Several factors contribute to the problems of erosion Mitchell said. The removal of vegetation to build campsites and trails results in increased volume and speed of water runoff. Soil compaction brought about by a concentration of foot traffic in camping areas hinders the normal water cir culation pattern, removes top soil and destroys ground cover, he said. This interrelation with vegetation destruction can be especially critical in South Carolina during the Fall when forests are particularly vulnerable to fire Mitchell said. Removal of large canopy trees brings changes in smaller ground cover which normally accelerates the rate of erosion and destruction of other vegetation, he said. Campers often destroy vegetation- around a campsite for firewood, and trees are frequently damaged by careless drivers in the area, he added. The litter problem is acute in many camping areas. Mitchell said accumulation of non biogradable items-items which do not decompose such as beer cans and drink bottles, and trash provide breeding places for insects and rodents and may contaminate surface and ground water supplies. _I