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___Vol. 93, No. 43 Fn November 19, 1999_ Serv e Carolina Community since 1008 «... www.gamecock.sc.edu UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH Carolina Columbia, S.C. Racism forum breeds thought by Meredeth Davis Staff Writer The idea dial racism occurs at USC ^every day brought about heavy con templation Wednesday night at a Race Unity Forum. The event was sponsored by USC’s Baha’i Club, an organization dedicated to the Baha’i faith. Baha’i is a religion centered on the equality and harmony of all humans. The forum took place at 8 p.m. in tlie Belk auditorium of the Darla Moore School of Business. It was the first time the Baha’i Club has put on such an event. Tire fonim at tracted a large and ethnically diverse crowd that discussed different asjfects of racism on campus. ^ “I remember in the Grand Mar ketplace, one could almost divide up the tables according to race,” USC Honors College graduate Slialiin Vafai said. “Is tU.it r.t:i1 Five panelists sat up front, direct ly under a banner that read “One Plan et, One People.” USC Student Body President Malik Husser, W1S-TV news anchor Susan Aude Fisher, USC pro fessor and civil rights pioneer Cleve land Sellers and Palmetto Project Race Relations Program Coordinator Angela Ewing-Boyd joined Vafai on the panel. The Baha’i Club didn’t intend for arguments, but instead for people to • “express lliemselves honestly and open ly, to search for truth from everyone’s perspective ... to avoid belittling or blaming... and maintain confidentiali ty and dignity in an open conversation,” said Abdui'-Karim Ewing-Boyd, a mem ber of the Baha’i group and the mas ter of ceremonies for the evening. The event, although somewhat tu multuous at times, allowed for students, professors and administrators to offer suggestions for forming a colorblind so ciety. “We’re not going to change any thing until we change the tradition of hale, art sophomore Cohn Leipelt said. “I ask my friends why they hate black people and they say, ‘Because my mom told me to.’ Nothing’s going to change until you tell your kids, ‘You’re just like this kid [a person of a different cul ture].”’ Aude Fisher agreed with this com ment. “I have a 16-year-old daughter. I wish she would have been more ex posed to many different races as she grew up as a family, seen a greater di versity of people that spent time with her family,” she said. A 48-year-old white woman in the UUWU UUUU up <UIU raised her voice, saying that racism is getting worse to day than it was in the past. “I see it getting worse. In the six ties and the sev enties, there was more hope than there is today. What white people have accomplished today is to get blacks against blacks, hven then, they would sing gospel together in the cotton fields. It’s the welfare mentality of making them [African Americans] tliink that tliey are not worth anything,” she said. Sellers sees a different problem at hand. “There is a possibility of losing an entire generation of African-American males,” Sellers said. “There are one mil lion African-American men in prison, and the educational system forces many of the African-American males out.” Aude Fisher agreed, citing a book that said teachers often unknowingly expect less from minority students, which becomes evident to those stu dents. “By llie lime tliey [African Amer icans] are 16 and 17, tliey are angry and they drop out,” she said. Ewing-Boyd said she sees educa tion in race relations as the answer to racism, which she calls a “spiritual dis ease.” “The key is to question everything,” Forum see page 3 ‘I see it getting worse. In the sixties and the seventies, there was more hope than there is today.' Woman in attendance, Race Unity Forum Fans cheer on their team Sean Rayford photo editor USC cheerleader Shannon Yaulllo energizes the fans Saturday during the football team’s game against the Florida Gators at Wllliams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks will face the Clemson Tigers at 12:40 p.m. Saturday to close out the 1999 football season. Final practice draws largest crowd of football season by Shannon Rooke Senior Writer More than 300 fans flocked to Williams-Brice Stadium on Thursday for the football team’s last practice, complete with a handmade banner that said: “We will stay through the fourth quar ter.” Despite USC’s 0-10 record, this was the hugest group of fans to come to a Thursday practice all season. Carolina’s season ends Saturday with a game against instate rival Clemson University. Mike Gunnels, a USC graduate, started the Thursday support system after the East Carolina game. The number of fans attending the Thursday practices has grown over the years from about live to more than 300. “We just wanted to give something extra to the team,” Gun nels said. “The attitude of these guys is amazing, considering the diversity of the positions they have had to go through. “The first couple of practices, their heads were down, but overall, their morale is great.” After the fans gathered in the parking lot to barbecue, drink and try to get themselves on one of the many TV cameras, they slowly migrated to the tunnel the players were coming from. Most fans cheered; however, a few ventured forward and shook hands or asked for an autograph. The attitude was cheer ful and one that desired victory Some fans believe that despite USC’s winless record, the Gamecoeks still have a chance to beat Clemson. “For a Carolina fan, this is definitely the biggest game of the year,’1 said Jacki Walker of Columbia. “This year, we have a chance to knock them out of a bowl game, and there would be nothing better than that for them and for the fans.” The players, tired after an intense last practice, still slopped and smiled for cameras and signed T-shirts that were handed to the crowd. “We couldn’t be happier with the tremendous support we’ve gotten from these fans,” kicker Courtney Leavitt saiJ. “It just means too much to the guys because they’re still here after all that’s happened this season.” Going into their last game of the season, most of the players are optimistic about their chances. “We have a great chance because we finally showed some of fense last week,” defensive back Sheldon Brown said. “The fans Practice seepages USC/Clemson Game Day Time: 12:40 p.m., Wiiliams-Brice Stadium Television: W1S-TV (Channel 11 on campus) Student tickets; none available HBliilBiB I -'A" Hi Miss America honors S.C. veterans |t| Cour tesy or Miss America, com ' ‘Americans made a promise that we would not leave our wounded behind, and we have done just that.' Heather Renee French, Miss America by Charles Prashaw Staff Writer With a female chaperone and two SLED officers accompanying her, Miss America 2000 Heather Renee French en tered the 37lh annual Alston Wilkes So ciety’s award luncheon at Seawell’s in Columbia. Tlie formal luncheon, held Thursday, honored law enforcement and veter ans’ groups from around the state. Honors given out at the $20-a-plate function were the 1999 S.C. State Troop er, Correctional Officer, veterans Vol unteer and Law Enforcement Officer of the Year awards. French was the keynote speaker at the event, which brought out more than 300 people. French, 28, from Maysville, Ky., is the daughter of a disabled Vietnam vet eran. She listed this as one of the reasons she has taken up the platform “The Forgotten Heroes: Honoring Our Nation’s Homeless Veterans.” At the event, French spoke at length about the problem in the United Suites of homeless veterans. “Americans made a promise that we would not leave our wounded behind, and we have done just that,” French said. “People don’t know the hidden popula tion of forgotten heroes.” Some estimates have put the figure of homeless veterans as high as 250,000 nationwide. During the event, special recognition was also given to the Alston Wilkes Vet erans Home in Columbia, the only home less shelter in the state exclusively for veterans. The home has served as a model for other veterans’ homes around the coun try. The idea for the Alston Wilkes Vet erans Home, which opened in Novem ber 1996, came from four veterans, Wal ly Miles, John Hanson, John Johnson and Ray Owens. With a $276,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and a sponsorship from the Alston Wilkes Society, a national society whose goal is the elimination of homelessness in the United States, the men opened the two story brick home for veterans. French said she believes that through partnerships between the government and community-based programs, the prob lem of homelessness can be solved. As Miss America, French travels more than 20,000 miles a month on a na tionwide speaking tour. It’s common for the reigning Miss America to proclaim a platfomi and take a stand on it. French has also done political fund raisers for the governor of Kentucky. However, this has drawn controversy among some members of the Miss Amer ica Organization. Tlie group, which oversees the crown ing each year, wants Miss America to be nonpartisan. A clause in French’s Miss America contract says she is in no way to show fa vor to any one political party. I Great American Smokeout Travis Lynn The Gamecock Matt Plunkett exercises his right to smoke during The Great American Smokeout, a day when smokers are urged to quit Weather Inside Datebook Online Poll . • • 'Mvsy//s../syA .. s/ss>. &PBI*&KlPSI>M&&»S^M9tt&&&m888ffi&S&9gW&&8S88&8Rw8SR8&WK&if8lw&&8i&KM!%f&9Wi&$H8&8f8l9&fSiS&fi8$88ff&ffisSm&8lS8SIS99&m w Ss SS ftSSSm ■> .<• KW «w .-. ■• •- •■ I -.w ,•■&>•■■ , , . Saturday i 74 y 49 Sunday Gamecock and Tiger football rivalry. S Page 11 Saturday • Football vs. Clcmson, 12:40 p.m., Williains Brice Stadium • Great Gamecock Party • Round Table Gaming Society, noon to 11:45 p.m.,RH Sunday •Alumni Association, 4 p.m., Alumni House • News meeting, The Gamecock, 4 p.m., RH 333 • Photo meeting, The Gamecock, 5 p.m., RH 333 • Garnet Circle, 8:30 p.m. Will the football team defeat the Clemson Tigers? ^ Go to www.gamecock.sc.edu to vote in this week’s poll.