Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Rebellioi Editor's note ? This is the first of a i two part series in The Gamecock r detailing student unrest and rebellion i at USC. The second part will continue Wednesday. c t s By HAL MILLARD j News editor It was totally unlike the '60s, but I USC students in the 1800s could 1 throw a mean little rebellion P themselves. s This week, The State has run a series of articles on South Carolina a protests in the '60s and '70s, most of f which center on USC. The most IS memorable event was the takeover of d Russell House and the administration building. I Students were tear-gassed, and s some were beaten by police. It wasn't t exactly Kent State, but tensions ran d high, and one professor, Thomas s Connelly, remembers several faculty c members fearing people would get t killed. n But in the days when USC was South Carolina College there was no F Vietnam War to protest, and students sure didn't care about civil ji rights. g Students then didn't need big b social issues to get their dander up. N Trifling matters such as bad food and a School vans the shuttle service all along because he feels there has been insufficient S planning. e "We have let our emotions take n the best of us," Franklin said. "We t< don't need to sit here and jump on ii the first proposal that comes along and throw money at it. tl "We need to back rational pro- tl posals," he said. 1 fUfc si E.U v* tt ISHbNMI : nI| < - * W| |T| History professor Constance Schulz exai USC histc state's sU By DAC CARVER Staff writer Imagine how inept a mechanic would tools, a lecturer without his notes, or a visual communication. This is a dilemma that many history te Carolina face, according to Constance history professor. She has decided to about it by compiling the state's first visual history. Entitled A History of South Carolina S Schulz's project is a catalog of 1,000 slid maps, paintings and postcards that conve from colonial times to the swearing in las Toal as a S.C. Supreme Court justice. ine collection, covering everytning rrc to extraordinary events, is designed to t which teachers can choose just the slides lustrate a certain topic. Each slide has a descriptive caption depict the significance of images which s figures, economic and agricultural transportation, geography and Afro-An culture. "People in South Carolina take the seriously," Schulz said. "I made a real ef areas of the state, because I wanted the c< resource everyone could use." Because the demand for such a resour the state, the State Department of Educa to buy 100 packages when the project is June. The package will then be available museums across the state. Schulz's search for material led her i county in the state. She has visited mus and historical societies to try to uncov< valuable images. "It's quite an adventure," she said. " visited with people all over the state. I story to tell, and the people at these societies are proud of their collections an they will now be a part of a collection tl statewide." Schulz singled out several areas, such its colonial war history, and Edgefield such political leaders as James Tillman ? Thurmond, R-S.C. One place that particularly intrigue Cheraw, along the Pee 0 *iver.In the is of ol< inpopular professors and adninistrators were enough to push rate students to full-scale revolt. In the brief and unsuccessful reign )f USC President Charles McKay, he school saw the biggest and most hocking revolt of the antebellum >eriod, according to USC historian Dan Hollis. In his two-volume listory of USC, Hollis wrote that in 856 a beleaguered and unpopular dcKay endured noisy incidents outide his house. Students began an ever-increasing issault of firecrackers. An understaf ea iacuuy unnappy witn McKay aid ittle to stop the students, and their liscontent grew. Hollis writes that Professor Robert lenry died, and classes were uspended for students to take part in he funeral. In the ensuing time, stulent restlessness grew and "only a park was needed to ignite a great onflagration." An old feud between he students and the town police, or narshals, provided that spark. The "guard house riot" of ebruary 17-18, 1856 was born. A drunk student, Edward Niles, a unior from Camden, passed the uard house with a few friends and ecame involved in fisticuffs with larshall Burdell. The fight ended, nd the culprits were dragged into the 1 i Continued from page 1 To come up with such proposals, l.G. is forming a task force composd of student organizations and lembers of the USC administration o consider the viability of an ongoig shuttle service to Five Points. Patrick Smith, special assistant to tie S.G. president, said decisions by tie task force will be guided primariy by financial and legal B 1 PH 1 mines a slide from her South Carolina iry profet ory in pu tury, Cheraw was th the river was too n? feel without his travel, Shulz said. teacher without After the boats w< running from the riv :achers in South to and from the to\ Schulz, a USC this incline trolly tra do something Shulz has had litt comprehensive and documents. Th final 1,000 slides fro Uide Collection, said. Shulz's enthusi es featuring old much either. :y images dating "Every new one I t spring of Jean state is so full of hi: wonderful," she sai< >m ordinary life "A limit on the sli >e a resource in tion useful to distrit they need to il- wanted to try and ke dable to anyone wan i that helps to Schulz said one how prominent the others. During th development, period, photograph lerican life and Harper's Weekly coi Schulz retrieved a :ir history very war years. The pict fort to cover all Chester County Co Election to be a group that exercised Confederacy, ce is so great in "This was an imp< tion has agreed ing that there is his completed next valuable," Schulz sa to schools and Shulz's state picto endeavor of this kii to nearly every Maryland history pr ieums, libraries lustrations she need ;r some of the similar collection tha When she came t I sat down and wanted to do the sar iveryone has a "It was my crash local historical she said. id honored that Shulz, a Lexingt< tat will be used teaching at Georget USC. She began her as Camden for Although laboring for producing be tedious at times, ! ind Sen. Strom highly beneficial to e "A picture is not j :d Schulz was can also learn from : late 18th cen- history using it as m; i were n guard house. But Niles' companions raced back to campus to give an exaggerated version of the skirmish. Students were reportedly incensed and battle cries of "College!" were enough to whip up a nasty crowd. Two students, John McClenaghan of Marion and John Taylor Rhett of Richland, on their own initiative, stormed the jail with clubs to pound Marshal Burdell. These "hot-heads," as Hollis describes them, were met with resistance and were beaten on the head and body, but only after they had beaten Burdell themselves. Students milled angrily outside as McKay pleaded futilely for the students to leave. The mayor rang the town bell to call the town militia. "The students then hurried back to the campus to arm themselves with guns from the cadet arsenal, which was housed in the college library." They were stopped only because Niles had been released. But the students spent an uneasy night sleeping on their weapons awaiting another excuse to unleash themselves. It could have stopped there, according to Hollis. But during the night the two students who had tried to pummel Burdell decided Burdell's in considerations. If legal hurdles can be overcome, Smith said, the next step would be to determine the cost of operating a shuttle for the entire school year. Based on the cost of leasing vans this weekend, he estimated an ongoing shuttle service could cost anywhere from $14,000 to $20,000 for 1988-89 alone. x..'; f Bt Mftjk TEDDY LEPP/The Gamecock historical collection. isor tells ctures ie last stop for steamboats, because irrow past the city for any further ere unloaded, an incline rail system er up the nearby bluff carried goods vn. Shulz said her picture showing importation system is fascinating, le trouble finding old photographs e biggest obstacle is choosing the ?m a collection of almost 5,000, she iasm over her project does not help look at is my favorite. The whole story it makes finding new pictures i. des was imposed to make the collec>ute and less costly to produce. We :ep the price down to make it afforting to use it." picture stood out to her more than ie Civil War and the Reconstruction lers from such publications as iverged on the South, picture from 1869 during the posture showed a meeting outside the urthouse of the Union League, a control in the wake of the fallen artant political meeting, and knowitory of it makes the picture very id. rial history project is not her first nd. As a frustrated University of ofessor who could not find the illed for her lessons, she began a it included 600 slides. :o USC in 1985, Shulz knew she ne thing in South Carolina, course in South Carolina history," an, Ky., native, spent one year own University before coming to project in 1986. over what pictures to include can Shulz said the end result will prove :ducation in the state, ust to provide illustration, but you it," she said. "And I can write y evidence." Funding Com problems of liability. If he is advised accordingly, he will veto the bill. The Sorority and Fraternity councils, which paid for last weekend's shuttle, plan to cover this weekend's costs if the bill is vetoed. Franklin met Thursday with a task force created to study the shuttle service and to look into the overall problem of campus crime and to consider safety measures that can be taken. Dean of Student Life Jerry Brewer leaner juries were not extensive enough and decided to finish the job and fully avenge Niles. "They spied him across the street and, hiding their clubs beneath cloaks, approached the marshal. When they were within a few steps of him they cast their cloaks aside and rushed upon him with clubs swinging." Officers from the guard house sounded the town bell, and the town guard and the students arrived ready to rumble. "The scene thus presented was such as Columbia never before saw, and which I hope, she never again will see, " wrote John Belton O'Neall to B. F. Perry. "Two hundred armed citizens, with guns loaded with ball cartridges, opposed to more than a hundred enraged young men, with rifles in their hands." Death was averted only when former President James Thomwell arrived from a lecture at the seminary, assuring an investigation for the students and saying if they were right he himself would lead them in the fight. "He then marched toward the campus shouting, 'College! College!' and was followed by the entire assembly of students." Thus ended the potentially deadly guard house rebellion. "There hasn't been time for opposition to arise because the Sorority Council has paid for it," he said. But he said the cost could be a political bombshell if the S.G. assumed the cost, an option Smith admitted may be impossible because S.G. funds are considered state funds. USC col By JEFF WILSON Staff writer USC is trying to preserve a part of America's history through the preservation of some original 20th Century Fox Movietone news film. Preservation is necessary because the film is composed of cellulose nitrate, a base that decomposes, said Glenn Smith, Media Services division director. Smith compared the film's deterioration to the physical condition of the human body. "Your body stays in good condition if you take care of it. If vou treat it correctly and eat correctly and exercise correctly, you stay in good condition, but you still get older," he said. "That's the same thing with nitrate film," Smith said. "As long as you keep it in good condition and monitor the temperature and humidity and clean it periodically, it stays in good condition." To preserve the collection, USC has stored it in ammunition bunkers at Fort Jackson, Smith said. The bunkers are set into a bank of dirt, have about four feet of soil on top and are equipped with air conditioners and humidifiers, so the temperature remains relatively constant. The films are inspected regularly; they are pulled from the rack and inspected; and their condition is noted, Smith said. The maintenance of the films is not expensive, but restoration ? transferring the images to another film base ? is expensive, Smith said. Several films that had to be restored were paid for with private funds, he said. The films have a history almost as unusual as the news scenes they depict. Years ago, prior to television, movie theater owners came up with an idea to get people to see their features, Smith said. They put together eight- to ten-minute news items that preceded the movie feature, he said. He said that was the only way people got to see news other than in the newspapers of the times. "Movietone was 20th Century Fox's collection," Smith said. "Each one of the major studios had a news |Y| II |ki Enjoy off SMS c _ _ ? iTillTH Call Fc IS! ^ DOI CHIC Ol EXCUSES DON' BLOOD 1 was present at the Senate meeting to answer questions concerning the liability of Student Government funding the shuttle. "I could think of a thousand reasons why Student Government should not get involved with this," Brewer said. "But personally, I couldn't live with knowing that the physical assault, rape, shooting or knifing of somebody could be prevented by this shuttle." Space Continued j did before." "I was extremely nervous and tense," said biology and geology spninr Qtallinoc "I moc Vi/-?n_ ing the same thing wouldn't happen again. It looks like everything's OK. But you never know. It can happen so quickly, like it did before." "It was fast ? we got everybody up OK. I was thinking what heroes they really are, our last American* heroes," said English junior Kris Banks. "There was a real tension. Very few people could just walk on by. I don't think anyone had a feeling of foreboding about it. There is a lot more hope now ? a lot more hope." iects histo reel (series). Movietone was the largest.'' The Movietone series covered the period from 1919 to 1963, he said. "The last news reel really produced was just before the (John F.) Kennedy assassination," he said. "When television began to hit the scene, the news reels began to disappear, and studios began to get out of the business." He said USC received the news reel through what he called a South Carolina "connection." Movietone came up with the idea of producing highlights of years and wanted to use the most famous narrator of ail the news reels as their narrator ? Lowell Thomas. So a series was produced called Lowell Thomas Remembers. From that, more than 130 halfhour programs were produced and shown on the Public Broadcasting Station, Smith said. The producer in charge of the series was from South Carolina and worked out of the S.C. Educational Television offices in Columbia. At that time, Fox wanted to get rid of the collection and was looking for a place to donate it, Smith said. USC took the company up on the offer and said it would provide a facility where the collection could be stored, preserved and cataloged by computer for future use. In return, Fox received a tax deduction for donating the films. "We don't have all of the Movietone (films) here," said Smith, who added that the total collection was so large that the company could not take the entire deduction at once. Instead, the company said it would give USC the films over a period of years. "3ut after the first donation was made, 20th Century Fox was sold," he said. "It has been sold three times since then." The comDanv has since nromised the dining experience Northern Italy just : St. Andrews Road GEMMA'S olumbia's Premier Durmet Restaurant >r Reservations 798-7125 WT KEN IT. I SAVE LIVES. XXS tinupH frnm nnoo 1 Sen. Marie Louise Ramsdale, who introduced the bill, said 98 students used the service last weekend. Ramsdale, also Sorority Council Service chairwoman, spearheaded last weekend's shuttle run. The shuttle protected a girl who said she was being chased down the street by three males in Five Points, she and other student senators said. Senators Tim Burke and Phillip Fragassi both opposed the bill, because they said the Senate was approaching the problem with inadequate information. But Sen. Harry Sharp said, "This is an opportunity for S.G. to finally do something. I rode the shuttle this weekend, and I saw that students were glad we were there." In other Senate business, Athletics Committee Chairwoman Berkeley Grier reported that no validations will be given for the Florida State game. from page 1 "I thought it was real cool because I think a lot of people on campus and around the country were watching to see if our space shuttle program had really gotten back into gear," said marketing junjpr Tim Watson. I think a lot of people were pretty pleased with the result, too." Finance senior Billy Addison felt much the same way. "I thought it was pretty spectacular. It's been a long time coming. I think it was the best launch yet." And business freshman Carla Covar said, "I thought it was a good experience to see it. I've never seen one take off before ? it kind of gave me chills." deal film to relinquish what remains of the collection but at a time when it is advantageous for them to give the collection, Smith said. The films haven't been used for academic purposes as much as Media Services would like to see, but the potential for educational use is enormous, Smith said. Some subjects that could be studied in more depth include history ^journalism, theater, fashion in the 1930s and 1940s, early transportation and humor. Smith said. * " John Lopiccolo, a broadcast professor, said the news reel collection is valuable, not only for the footage itself, but because the paperwork and cameramen's notes accompany the films. "The (USC) collection contains footage that was not seen in the news reels in the theaters," Lopiccolo said. He said he is able to recreate a news event as it actually looked and then show how it was put together and edited, comparing the methods that would be used today. Smith said about half of the collection is on video tape at the Thomas Cooper Library, but he said the films haven't been promoted as heavily as he would like. "There are really only two universities in the country that have a significant news reel collection ? that's USC and UCLA (the University of California, Los Angeles), so we are in an elite group just with what we own," he said. "If we get the rest of the film from 20th Century (Fox), we'll dwarf what UCLA has," he said. "If the rest of the Movietone collection comes to USC, without question we'll be one of the best film archives in the country. Maybe the best." ill Si? IMIFRJ J 8 Register to win one of two 3-foot subs with two 2-liter Cokes to be given away before Saturday's game Made-to-order 3-foot subs are regularly $24. Raffle to be held Friday, Sept. 30. Pickup subs Saturday between 9 and 11am. located in the Carolina Mall