Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Internet offers help - " -a to the homeless | KRISTIN RICHARDSON Staff Writer Michael Flessas of Columbia has found a unique way to help the homeless. Flessas is using cyberspace to answer questions and seek steady places in life for those without homes. Flessas, with the help of Stephen Hait, created a web site on the Internet called Resources for the Homeless that lists different resources available to homeless people in Columbia. The idea for the web site originally developed in Flessas' home town of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "The government began removing people from the welfare system which landed some of them in shelters. There were dozens of people waiting to get information," Flessas said. After watching all of this take place, Flessas made the decision to do something for the homeless that would enable them to find the help they need. Flessas said he felt a web site would be good because anyone can go to a public library and get access to the Internet. "Tf ia free and the nersnn can pet a lihrariae tn nmviHe heln if needed," he said. Flessas said he thought he could make the process of getting information easier for the homeless without making them search for books and pamphlets. "The information on the web site can be easily updated, and ^)itis better than trying to print a book about it," he said. Flessas received permission from Nettie Reties, the editor of his primary literary source Directory of Human Services, to put the information on the Internet. To put Resources for the Homeless to the test, Flessas helped a homeless man by taking him to a public library in Columbia and showing him the web page. "He was very excited to receive help and was able to find a shelter that would allow him to try and get back on his feet," Flessas said. The web site has a list of various resources available to the homeless such as access to bus schedules, job services and several health departments in Columbia. p k There-is even a listing about a hot dog stand in which the chef gives away a free hot dog per person to the homeless once a month. Flessas said he hopes students at USC will do better than he did, and try to develop the web page even more. "I want the students to see a need in the community. Do not look at the computer as a business tool, but as a helping tool," he said. Resources for the Homeless is available at the Thomas Cooper Library at the following web address: httpyAvww.mindspring.com/~scpointyscpronetyhomeless.html t Flessas said he encourages USC students to take a look at i il. 11 i. J J u r ij :i_i_ i.. tne weD site anu try to auu as muui uuurmation as possiuie to help the homeless. "More and more cities are having public service businesses connect with the Internet which is good, but homeless people do not know where their next place will be. These businesses need to pay attention to that and use the Internet to help them," he said. One cadet expelled, others reprimanded COLLEGE PRESS EXCHANGE ^ CHARLESTON, S.C.?One male cadet was dismissed from The Citadel Monday, nine others were punished and one was exonerated in the three-month-old hazing and harassment case at the school. A total of four cadets?three juniors and a sophomore? were accused of wrongdoing and are no longer students at the school. One was told to leave immediately. The other three didn't return following Christmas break after they were singled out by former cadets Jeanie Mentavlos of Charlotte, N.C., and Kim Messer of Clover, S.C. 0 The hearing officers also found enough cause to recommend ^ Monday that nine other cadets be punished. A tenth cadet received punishment last year in the case. Steps taken against t.bpm inrlndpd dismissal, demotion in rank, mandatory marching and confinement to campus. However, all 14 cadets still face the possibility of criminal charges. Federal and state law enforcement agencies brought in by the college to investigate hazing allegations haven't disclosed their findings. Spokesmen for both agencies won't talk publicly about the status of those investigations. Meanwhile, Justice Department attorneys will be on campus Tuesday conducting interviews in what apparently is an ongoing ^ probe of the administration and its handling of converting the ^college to a coeducational institution. Clifton Poole, the interim president, called disciplinary decisions handed down Monday "a dark chapter in our history." "There is nothing further we can do. We have been faithful to our charge. We have investigated the charges, and we have punished. "The institution plans to move on... to continue our effort to make successful this conversion of a smgle-gender military culture into a co-ed military culture," Poole said. The mood on campus is at best melancholy. Seniors, in particular, are weary of the distractions that ^ going co-ed and the hazing allegations have brought their school. - Robert Mullen of Columbia, S.C., said his classmates approached their final year with "an attitude that was outstanding as far as integrating females into the corps." Mullen said "things almost seemed to go too well, I guess." ! "Now, there's a feeling we can't do anything right," he said. Classmate Derrick Murdock of Greenville, S.C., said "a lot of us just want to get out of here. We've been under a spotlight for four years and we're tired of it." Punishment handed down by the administration is not announced formally until posted on bulletin boards. Many cadets still didn't know what Poole decided by late afternoon, * when they were exercising or playing intramural sports. Following federal law, The Citadel did not identify the cadets publicly. m t% i i . ! 1 1.1 LI' '1?i ii l"wo lemale caaets remain at tne puDiic military college, and according to accounts volunteered by the administration, "have thrived in The Citadel environment." Their respective roommates, Mentavlos and Messer, however, did not. In December, the two freshmen came forward accusing CADAETS page 4 [ | ^rTwi rn '"r ,- 'V animal fat Dial 1-801 irt t if* U. " ' ' !^V:':" ;,.^ :-" v: *? ... jryic : *? ... 11 It sodiui w* 20 % | ^ - w*ii(P'P?r* HHHH] 4 D-COLLECT and save 1 'For long-dista p -v"-: |?M!jIRM 1 ] ____ _ % * % 3% ti nitrite YiTji n/_ 4470 SAVINGS up to 44%: . : 'J 1 : 111 i 11 Ji Jl art r a 11 c S a w i n n c h a c a H nn a 1 - m ; n ii t p 4 T ? T nnpritnr-diilfid ifltlirstlte C111. - 1