Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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_Vol. 93, No, 36 ^^dnesda November 3, 1999 _ %.. . . ..."..1. ~...*.... www.gamecock.sc.edu UNIVERSITY of South Carolina . Columbia, s.c. SG member proposes striking impeachment Cabinet official asks Judicial Council to strike entire section of SG Constitution by Brandon Larrabee Staff Writer * In a move that could shake up the impeach ment process concerning Student Government trea surer Elizabeth Fordham, a Cabinet official is asking the Judicial Council to strike the entire sec tion of the Student Government Constitution con cerning impeachment. SG Director of Marketing Norm Jones sent a “Proposal to Declare [the] Unconstitutionality of Student Government Codes” to the Judicial Coun cil on Monday. According to the proposal, the sec tion of the SG Constitution involving impeach ment violates both the United States and South Carolina state constitutions. However, members of the court of impeach ment said they plan to continue with the hearing concerning the charges against Fordham. “My main concern is the fact that this process that is written in the codes is totally unconstitu tional,” Jones said. He said the process does not follow state or national precedents. According to the proposal, the state and na tional constitutions still apply because both have clauses that establish them as the final authority over their respective jurisdictions. The state constitution also has authority be cause USC is a state-run institution, according to the proposal. “[A]ll governing bodies of the United States (both state and federal) vest the power of im peachment in a separate entity aside from the body which holds the sole duty of trying an individual for removal from office,” the proposal says. It also says the SG’s process, in which mem bers of the senate judiciary committee form the court of impeachment, and then has the full sen ate vote on the articles, violates those prece dents. The proposal also says the ability of judiciary committee members to vote in both the court of impeachment and the senate trial violates the South Carolina Constitution. Jones said he hopes the codes are struck from the constitution. “That’s totally my purpose, is to see that this gets fixed in the codes now,” he said. Jones said he wasn’t motivated directly by Ford ham’s impeachment. He said he doesn’t know Ford ham personally, though he has worked with her inSG. “This is not meant in any way to be pointed at an individual or anything,” Jones said. If the provisions are struck, it would leave no process for dealing with the articles of impeach ment brought against Fordham. Jones refused to specifically comment on whether the chaiges against Fordham were war ranted, but he did say he saw no indication that she wasn’t doing her job. “I haven’t seen any signs or anything that she’s not doing her job, but that’s not for me to judge,” Jones said. However, Jones said he believed that if Ford ham dkfviolate her constitutional duty and oath of Impeachment SEE PAGE 2 ‘My main concern is the fact that this process that is written in the codes is total ly unconstitutional' Norm Jones, SG Director of Marketing Final •day to sign up BBBS by Amanda Silva Staff Writer Today is the last day for students to volunteer for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Columbia’s fourth annual Mid night Extravaganza. The free event, sponsored by the Dy nasty Mortgage Group, will be held from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. Friday in the Blatt P.E. Center. Barron Damon of BBBS said volun teers are needed mainly to interact with the children by setting up volleyball and basketball teams and serving food. There will also be a section for read ing and possibly tutoring. Damon said the Midnight Extrava ganza’s goal is to recruit possible mentors for children who are on a waiting list and to give volunteers “an opportunity to see the children and want to become a mentor.” Volunteers who are interested in be coming mentors can sign up on the sheets posted at the entrance of the P.E. Center. Extravaganza events will include a surprise motivational speaker, a drama * team and a basketball team. Damon said the BBBS is expecting a BBBS SEE PAGE 2 | Carolina drops the ball in its loss to Penn State Sean Raypord photo editor Freshman USC midfielder Jordan Quinn, right, battles against a Penn State defender at the NIKE/Town Invitational in North Charleston over the weekend. USC lost both of its games in the tournament See Page 14 for the full story. Creed Week events continue by Philip Burt Senior Writer Student organizations are celebrating Carolinian Creed Week to make students more aware of the values of the creed. Scott Lewis, the director of Judicial Affairs, said the main goal of Creed Week is to raise awareness about how people should live. He said the main issues include “personal and academic integrity,” learn ing to “respect the rights and property of others” and “discouraging bigotry, while striving to leam from differences in peo ple, ideas and opinions.” Creed Week has existed for a few years. This is the second year it has been sponsored by the Office of Student Judi cial Programs. Some special events have been held to spread awareness of the creed. The Carolina Student Judicial Coun cil stood in front of the Russell House on Monday and passed out garnet and black ribbons to students. Another event, sponsored by the Res idence Hall Association, is the comment board, on the second floor of the Russell House outside the theater, where students can comment on articles of the creed. Many students have already put comments on the board. One person quoted Mr. T: “1 pity the fool who don’t practice academic in tegrity!” Another student said it was hard to believe society was reaching the year 2000 with so much hatred. Finance freshman Devang Desai said the articles and values of the creed on the comment board make him more aware of the Creed. “It makes me want to respect the creed more and want to exemplify what it stands for,” Desai said. Awareness of the creed comes out Creed see page 2 meet senators wHMwwi ....,rr. Noon - State of the address on Greene k Street, with SG exec officers Malik Husser, Brandon Anderson and Elizabeth Fordham 5 p.m. - Student senate will convene for its weekly meeting at the Russell House Theater. Senate encour ages the public to attend. A reception will follow on the RH patio. - .'A _ __i—.——___ Ex-convict speaks about alcohol by Patrick Rathbun Senior Writer A resource fair and a presentation by an ex-convict are part of the activities scheduled for the Safety, Alco hol and Violence Education Week. Rick Gant, the director of Alcohol and Drug Pro grams, said SAVE week, which began Monday, has a spe cific purpose. ‘‘[SAVE week] is part of a national campaign to get people to think about the relationship between alcohol abuse and the potential for violence,” Gant said. “There is a direct correlation,” he said. A SAVE Wfeek resource fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today on the Russell House patio. A speaker will give a presentation Thursday in the Nursing Building Auditorium, room 231, about the dan gers of drinking and driving. The speaker, Mark Sterner, is an ex-convict who lost friends in an alcohol-related car crash during spring break in Sanibel Island, Fla., in 1994. The group hadn’t chosen a sober driver, so Sterner, the least drunk of the men with a blood-alcohol level of .17, drove. Sterner was convicted of three felony charges, spend ing three years in jail. Sterner said he thinks about his friends now and won ders whether they would be married or have kids. “I'll wonder 'what if?' for the rest of my life,” he said. Sterner has spoken with more than 300,000 students since 1995. He has also had offers to appear on “The Oprah Win frey Show,” “The Montel Williams Show,” “Geraldo,” “20/20” and “48 Hours,” according to the office of Al cohol and Drug Programs. For his presentation. Sterner stands in front of the group wearing his orange prison uniform and shows a video that he and his friends made of the accident night, as well as photos of the car after the crash. After the presentation, Sterner speaks to the students and asks them to consider their actions and the possi ble conse quences of those actions so they won’t make the same mis takes he did. “If any thing is going to affect whether stu dents drink and drive, that was it,” said one college student who heard Stemer's program. For more information, call Gant in the office of Al cohol and Drug Programs at 777-6688. “ [SAVE week] is part of a national campaign to get people to think about the relationship between alcohol abuse and the potential for violence," Rick Gant Director of Alcohol and Drug Programs Weather Inside Datebook Online Poll Today 59 42 Thursday 59 35 Women’s soccer pre pares for SEC tournament Page 13 Today • Psi Chi, 8 p.m., Welsh Conference Room. • Mind Body Spirit Fes tival, 1 to 3 p.m., Greene Street • Student Senate, 5 p.m. •GAMMA, 4 p.m. Thursday • College Bowl Tourna ment, RH. • NAACP, 6 p.m. •SALA, 7:30 p.m. • “Shaft,” 9 p.m., RH Theater. 3 Have you cheated in any of your classes this semester? Go to www.gamecock.sc.edu to vote in this week’s poll.