Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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- - _ Vol. 93, No. 11 September 1, 1999_ Serving t ina Community since 1Q08 ■ ww.gamecock.sc.edu UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA - Columbia, S.C. Tailgating Six fraternities leaving Tally-Ho this year by Meredith Davis Staff Writer Six fraternities that were booked this time last year at Rosewood Drive’s Tally-Ho have left to rent private lots for the 1999 football season. Alpha Tau Omega, Delta Tau Delta, Kappa Alpha, Kappa Sigma, Lambda Chi Alpha and Sigma Chi have secured other locations for the upcoming football sea son. Sigma Nu and Sigma Alpha Epsilon left Tally-Ho prior to last year. The location of Tally-Ho still exists and will be host ing fraternities, but the decrease in Greek renters has been dramatic. This is because of Tally-Ho’s limited space, past thefts, and increase in law enforcement. Sigma Nu senior Tripp Hopper said, “With our own private lot, we don’t worry about vandalism, fights, or stealing. We know everyone at our tent, and that pre vents problems. In order to go back to Tally-Ho, they [the Seawells, owners of the lot] would really have to impress us.” The USC Greek community has long held its tail gating at Tally-Ho, dating as far back as 1971. Stu dents, both Greek and non-Greek, have known it as the hot spot for Greek unity on game days. The number of renters has fallen drastically in re cent years, and the reputation of the once popular all encompassing social area, according to some students, is falling. Gary Seawell, 11-year manager of Tally-Ho park ing and lifelong worker for his family’s catering busi ness, SeawelTs, is confident that both the numbers and the reputation of SeawelTs property show that Tally Ho will remain strong, despite recent developments with the area. In 1998, when Tronco’s catering replaced Seawell’s inside the State Fairgrounds area, SeawelTs catering moved its facility to Rosewood Drive, where Tally-Ho and its bar, established in 1971, were located. Roughly one-third of the original Tally Ho is left for students to tailgate at home football game days. As of Tuesday night, three USC fraternities con firmed they will be at the Tally-Ho parking lot this foot ball season. Chi Psi, Delta Upsilon, and Tau Kappa Epsilon will stay in the Tally-Ho lot. Beta Theta Pi and Pi Kappa Al pha did not comment on their tailgating location. Phi Delta Theta will hold a meeting Wednesday night with the Seawells about Tally-Ho. “We [Phi Delta Theta] will probably do it [tailgate at Tally-Ho], Gary [Seawell] has provided a clean and safe drinking environment for us,” Phi Delta Theta pres ident Rob Fealy said. Sigma Phi Epsilon’s spot is still pending. Sigma Phi Epsilon president Jon Hunsicker said the enjoyment of a Tally-Ho lot depends on who the sur rounding renters are and how many fraternities have de cided to remain at Tally-Ho. He said, “We’re going to find out what the deal is with the other guys [fraternities], to see if it would be worth it to stay. We are exploring other options, look ing for alternatives to Tally-Ho.” Tally-Ho SEE PAGE 2 Sean Rayford Photo Editor The view from the Tally-Ho shows Seawell’s new influence on the popu lar tailgating location. 'Sense' crucial to campus safety by Katie Moser Staff Writer The words "South Carolina" are no part of USC for some officials in the De partment of Law Enforcement and Safety. It’s not about acronyms; it’s about safety. "We here at the department like to say that USC stands for 'Use Sense and Caution,’" said Calvin Gallman, the de partment’s victim witness coordinator. In light of the statistics, it’s not a bad thing to stand for. According to the American Violence Association, 15 percent of all college women are sexually abused or otherwise assaulted. Twenty percent of those as saults were committed by unknown per sons, and 42 percent of victims tell no one, including the authorities. Campus crime is a problem across the .—a i tp/"'1__ 11UWUI1, UI1U 1IU C/Avvpuvi 1. USC’s crime trends include larceny and sexual assault. Theft is prevalent during the day, when people leave car doors and dorm rooms unlocked; the sexual and physical assaults usually occur once the sun goes down. To further deter on-campus crime, the safety department has hired students to stand in as security guards. Called cam pus patrol officers, their job is to pro tect their campus and their peers. The university pays the CPOs, who undergo extensive summer training in ar eas like physical preparation, legal training and firearm awareness, to mon itor campus grounds from 4 p.m. to mid night. Many officers were hired to pro vide security, escort services to those who don’t want to travel alone on campus, and assistance in Project ID, a free engraving program used to help salvage personal property if it’s stolen. They also help ed ucate students through Housing, campus television and newspapers. Despite these precautions, not all stu dents say they feel safe. When asked if she felt safe on campus after dark, African &AFETY see page 5 - Construction continues on USC’s newest residence hall Sean Rayford photo editor Workers prepare to raise the walls on the newest addition to USC’s housing which, is scheduled to open in fall 2000. The East Quadrangle will feature apartment~style living for upperclassmen. Drinking on Campus Golden Spur's bar days won't return soon by Shannon Rooke Staff Writer While universities like Wike Forest and Duke have on-campus bars that continue to function, USC shut down its only on-campus bar eight years ago, and some students are wondering why. The Golden Spur, on the second floor of the Russell House, served alcohol for more than 10 years. Today, the former bar is used as a meeting place for campus oiganizations and as an extra dining area. Director of Student Life Jerry Brewer said there wasn’t enough interest to keep the bar open. "The Golden Spur was shut down because of the lack of clientele to keep it open," Brewer said. "So, financially, it was unstable." He said he didn’t think that an on-campus bar would fare much better today than it did in the past. "I’m not quite sure who it would serve,” he said. "There are not many students living on cam pus that are over 21, and I don’t think that they would want to come back to go to a bar on the weekends. Our students don’t need any help Bar SEE PAGE 4 Library plans to increase security in the upcoming months by Patrick Rathbun Staff Writer The Thomas Cooper Library will make an effort to further define and equalize security at its exits in the com ing months, according to Chad Shelton, circulation department administrative assistant. Shelton said the library will hold a staff security meeting Thursday to make sure “everyone’s on the same page and everything’s done on a consistent basis.” “Inconsistency leads to problems,” he said. Most library employees working at the exit doors are staff members, but some work-study students also man the security desk. Staff members and stu dents have several jobs at the desk, in eluding checking for books that are tam pered with in order to evade the alarm, counting the number of patrons utiliz ing the library and, in some cases, check ing for theft, Shelton said. “In the nature of a library, security is a problem,” Shelton said. “\\fe’ve been beating our brains in the circulation de partment, trying to figure out other con venient ways for people to exit, but we haven’t come up with anything.” Patrons exiting the building must give newly checked-out books to em ployees at the exit door because the li brary’s security system doesn’t have de sensitizing capability. Instead, the system operates on radio frequency with met al strips placed in each book, Shelton said. Any book from the library, checked out or not, will trigger the alarm. The inspection not only prevents library book theft, but it also prevents people from stealing others’ personal belongings, according to Shelton. Business sophomore Tiffany Davis doesn’t think security is necessary. “It pisses me off that I have to drop my book bag,” she said. “They don’t even look thoroughly. It’s not neces sary.” Computer information systems ju nior Jared Davis agreed that the in spection is not thorough, and he ques tioned the legitimacy of such jobs. “Bookbags have three compart ments, and they check one,” Davis said. “If I wanted to, I could put it [a book] in another compartment. It’s good to have work-study jobs, but not stupid Library seepages Kevin Langston The Gamecock Graduate student Robert Ung works at the exit of the library. Students working this desk check bookbags for stolen or tampered books. Inside Datebook Online Poll 10DAY > 90 60 Thursday , 86 65 I Men’s ' soccer to face The j Citadel. - Page 16 Today •Psi Chi, 8 p.m., Welsh Conference Room, Barnwell •GAMMA, 4 p.m., RH 303 f •Student Senate, 5 p.m., RH Theater •University Ambassadors, 8 p.m., Visitor Center Thursday •Entries close for flag football intramurals. •NAACP, 6 p.m., •SALA, 7:30 p.m., •“Last Tempation of Christ,” RH The ater, 9 p.m. With a discussion to follow. irV|21 How will the Gamecocks 1! L/y ll do this season? 5 r Oo to www.gamecock.sc.edu to '**"■ vote in this week’s poll.