The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, June 16, 1982, Image 1
o o! \ b 11 C a r o J i n i a n a L i b r a r y
Horseahoe
USC on verge of acquiring 'Pit'
By Don Weatherbee
USC is on the verge of regaining "the Pit," a parking lot
the university lost in June 1979, according to USC President
James B. Holderman.
The four-year legal battle over possession of "the Pit," a
1.13-acre lot at the corner of Pickens and Blossom streets, is
close to ending after quiet negotiations between USC officials
and the head of the owning family, according to spokesmen
for both parties.
"To the best of my knowledge, an agreement has been
struck between the two parties, and within a matter of
several weeks, hopefully the property can be transferred,
barring unforeseen circumstances,at a purchase price to be
announced at the time," President Holderman said at a
meeting of student media representatives.
"I've practically turned it over to the university," said
David H. Rembert, spokesman for the Rembert family,
which owns the lot. "I think it's all settled."
"We worked out a sort of a compromise; I'm going to give
them some and sell them some," he said.
bummer school
first session enr
Bv Susan Muir were enrolle<* test sum?
mer's first session.
Summer school
enrollment for Session I is T.L. Gunter, USC
5,260, 755 students less than registrar, attributes the
I ?
Tuition
150
140
j 130
120
$ per 110
credit hour, 100 ^
90 -
Summer 80
session I 70 #
60
50
40
20
77 '78 79 '8(
Enrollment
6,200
6,100
enrollment ?'!55
5,900
n
summer 5,bud
session 5
5,600
5,500 /
5,400
5,300 j
5,200 j ? /
5,100 i /
5,000 4
'77 '78 79 '00
"The Pit" parking lot was originally part of a 17-acre grant
made to Columbia in 1911 by the Rembert family, given on
the condition that the land be used as a park and returned to
family if used otherwise.
According to Rembert attorneys, the agreement was
broken when students began unauthorized naririno r?n
^ . am?? V?I HIVland
to avoid the university's congested lots. In June 1979,
alleging USC made "unlawful and unauthorized" use of the
land by allowing students to park there, the Remberts made
use of the condition allowing them to reassume ownership of
the land.
That same month the university offered the family $85,000
for the 200-space lot, but the Remberts refused,saying the
land was worth $600,000. Attorneys for the family defended
this appraisal, citing that in 1974 USC acquired Booker T.
Washington High School, on land next door to"the Pit," for
$5.50 a square foot. The price tag the university put on "the
Pit" broke down to only $1.70 a square foot, they said.
A ftor ovVioiicH?><? ? :?1 *'
?v.. V.AMUUOU v c: uiigaiiuu, mciuaing condemnation
procedures conducted by USC this past year against the
tuition rises;
ollment falls
enrollment drop to such for summer students, fewer
things as a smaller fall course offerings and more
enrollment in 1981, an in- demanding entry
crease in the summer school requirements than in the
fees, the lack of financial aid past.
IGunter says since fall
enrollment HrnnnpH in iq?i
rr ... '""i)
I it's logical that summer
school enrollment would
drop too.
Out-of-state Summer tuition rates are
$60 per credit hour for in@
state students and $120 per
credit hour for out-of-state
students.
Having to pay 1982 sumin-state
mer school fees without
financial aid may have
**.? discouraged some students.
^ ^ Finnnpinl airJ mie
_ ^ ? ..M I1V1V41 U1U VTttO UU I
* available for summer school
this year because USC's
financial aid budget was
depleted during the spring
1982 semester. The budget
' '81 '82 sustained a $700,(KM) cut,
which left no money for
summer school. Last
summer the department
gave about $300,000 to 500 to
600 summer students, John
Bannister of the financial aid
uupai iiiiem siuu.
. ** USC budget cuts also
resulted in fewer course
offerings, Gunter said. Some
colleges, such as the College
of Business Administration,
\ have restricted enrollment.
\ During this summer's first
\ session, <>87 students are
v living on campus and paying
$140 for their rooms. Women
reside in Patterson Hall, and
men live in Snowden and
Moore dormitories. Session
II dorm fees are $135. The
1 '01 '82 prices are the same as (hose
-nmry T, rr -mt- r-, r --r-?l<H' t hC 1981 St'SSiO?lS.
family's land, the two sides were still deadlocked.
Rembert himself then offered his compromise to USC
officials. "I got tired of all these lawyers holding it up,"
Rembert said. "I made an offer and they accepted and that
suits the hell out of me " Rembert declined to say what price
he and the university finally agreed upon but did say "it
wasn't exorbitant."
Rembert said he contacted the university personally
because he was worried about the women livinp in ^nnth
Tower and Patterson Hall (formerly South Building) dorms
across the street from "the Pit" parking lot. "I heard they
had to park down at the Coliseum and walk back at night
alone."
Although the transfer of the land is not official, plans have
been made to improve the lot as a parking facility, according
David Rinker, systems vice president for facilities plan
ning.
Rinker said $75,000 was available to grade the land, add
l! A- il * " * *
guts 10 me area ana install tire stops. The basic parking
facility should be ready by fall, he said.
UWir
IP
9
Juggling act Photo by Capers Hammond
Jim Lord, a transfer student frnm Pnnn St?t*?
. ?.... w<M>U I'IMVCI Al ly
majoring in computer science, displays his juggling talents
on the Horseshoe.
inside
The USC campus suffered relatively minor damage
after this past Thursday's storm that struck Columbia.
Page two.
"Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" is both a universal and
a human success Page seven.
"II. T The Extra-Terrestrial" is a vitally human film.
Page eight.
The USC basketball team saw (wo Great Walls during
tucir trip fo China. Page ten.