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Carolina News Spring Valley student scores perfect on ACT by Kelly Haggerty Senior Writer A South Carolinian has earned a perfect score on the American College Testing Assessment, Spring Valley High School junior Ryan Wells scored a 36 composite score on the test he took for the first time in October. ‘To the best that I have been able to determine, this is a first for any student in South Carolina,” said Jim Overton, SVHS guidance counselor. Overton encouraged Wfells to take the test because of his strong interest in science and mathematics. “He’s maybe the most capable student I’ve ever worked with. I think it’s great for him,” Overton said. Unlike the Scholastic Assessment Test, which has a verbal and a math section, the ACT has English, reading, math and science reasoning sections. The math for the SAT requires students to know geometry and Algebra II, whereas the ACT tests stu dents on knowledge learned in Algebra III. Both tests take about the same amount of time to complete. A perfect score on the SAT is 1600. When Wells took the SAT as a sophomore, he scored 1500. Wells earned a 36 on each section of the ACT test except math, in which he scored a 35. His perfect score was derived from an average of the section scores. “I thought I did well. I didn’t think I did as well as I did, though,” Wells said. “I was just blessed with the abilities. All I did was use them. “Actually, the day before I took the test, I looked at a practice one. Answering questions in groups of five, I was getting one out of five right. After half an hour, I got frustrated and quit,” he said. According to ACT Inc. ’s most recent data available (from the class of 1999), only 85 students nationwide earned a perfect score. Out of more than 1 million students who took the test, Wells is the only one from South Carolina to earn a perfect score. However, neither Wells nor Overton thinks it will go to Wells’ head. “It’s a nice honor for him, one he will take in stride. It’s no big deal for him, though,” Overton said. Although the ACT doesn’t have a scholarship pro gram comparable to the SAT’s National Merit Scholars program, Overton said Wells’ maximum score on the ACT will still bring him attention and recognition from many colleges. Wells said that because he’s a junior, he doesn’t know where he’ll go to college or what his major will be, but he did say he’d like to study some kind of engi neering. “I don’t know for sure yet. If I de cide to stay close to home, then I’ll go to ueoigia lecn. n noi, tnen n win prooaoiy oeivui, wens said. In addition to liis schoolwork, Wells keeps busy play ing defense for his school’s soccer team in the spring and for his Classic Soccer team in the fall. He’s also a member of the National Honor Society, National Span ish Honor Society, Beta Club and the Discovery math science magnet program. | ‘I thought I did well. I didn’t think I did as well as I did, though.’ Ryan Wells Spring Valley High School junior Senate from page 1 are, he will sign it quickly.” Gearman said online voting would in crease voter turnout, allow votes to be counted more quickly and save the uni versity more than $5,000 in printing and staffing costs. He said the system wouldn’t require any extra costs. “The system that it’s on, the VIP sys tem, is already in place,” he said. Elections Commissioner Emily LeMaster said other schools have had pos itive experiences with online voting. The bill passed during the last meet ing of the student senate this semester. “They have been veiy prevalent on a campus that needs them,” Student Body President Malik Husser said of Student Government. Powers and Responsibilities Chair woman Jotaka Eaddy agreed. online voting, Night Out, Safety %lk and Husser’s executive order declaring Nov. 17 as USC World Hunger Awareness Day. He also mentioned Adopt-a-Sidewalk, which would allow student oiganizations to “adopt” a section of the campus to keep clean. “They will have to monitor and clean up that area,” Husser said. Melissa Fletcher, co-chairwoman of the Senate Student Services Committee, said the program, which hasn’t gotten fi nal approval yet, would break the campus into 36 areas, with two oiganizations re sponsible for cleaning an area eveiy month. “I think it will be a success,” Fletch er said. SG officers also said they were proud of Meet Your Student Government Day, which included the first “State of the Uni versity” address by SG executive officers. “We had a phenomenal Meet Your Student Government Day,” Husser said. Eaddy, whose committee spearhead ed the event, agreed. “I think we really students weren’t aware of what Student Government was doing,” she said. However, SG’s Safe Ride remained on hold. Fletcher said SG is focusing on an on-campus version of the program, which would bus students back from Five Points. “We’re still working on the campus one,” Fletcher said. “That’s going to be continued into next semester. “It’s sort of back into the planning stages, but we’re still working on it,” she said. The new program also doesn’t make it look as if USC is supporting drinking, a concern some students had raised about the Five Points system, Fletcher said. “No body can look at it and say that we’re pro moting anything but safety,” she said. Husser said he didn’t think the attempt to impeach Student Body Treasurer Eliza beth Fordham had affected SG’s activities this semester. “I think SG handled that situation well,” he said. Library from page 1 east. Clemson’s library is normally open until 1 a.m. during weekdays and 3 a.m. during the week of finals. The College of Charleston’s main library normally stays open until midnight and 1 a.m. during ex ams. The University of Georgia’s main li brary stays open until midnight and until 2 a.m. during finals during the week. Coastal Carolina’s library stays open un til 11 p.m. during the semester’s week days and midnight during exams. East Car olina University’s library is open until 2 a.m. year-round on the weekdays. Sever al universities including the University of Virginia, the University of North Caroli na at Chapel Hill and Duke University, provide students with 24-hour access dur ing exams. Smoothie King makes new home in Blatt by Desmond Jenkins Staff Writer USC students can now look forward to something besides water to quench then thirst after a long, hard workout or an NBA-style, full-court basketball game. After six months of negotiations with USC, Smoothie King is up and operational in the Blatt P.E. Center lobby. According to owner Ryan Beck, the chain is the largest juice-bar franchise in America. “This is our third location in the Columbia area, and we’re excited to be a part of the Carolina community,” Beck said. “We offer high-protein, low-carb smoothies made with all-natural fruit and ingredients that will give you an energy boost.” Some students are glad Smoothie King is at USC. Nursing freshman Elaine Sumter likes the new addition to campus. “Smoothie King is much better than Freshens Yogurt (in the Carolina Mall). I’m glad we have another franchise to choose front,” Sumter said. Other students, like retailing sopho more Jay Clark, want to be able to use their meal plans to buy Smoothies. “After every workout, I purchase a Smoothie. But if I could use my meal plan, I would purchase them several times a day,” Clark said. Beck said that only cash, credit cards and checks are accepted, but that could change soon. “As of the moment, we have not yet reached an agreement with Marriott Food Services so that students can use their meal plans and cash cards, but I see it happen ing in the not-so-distant future,” Beck said. Beck also said that in addition to smoothies, Smoothie King sells vita mins and supplements at a 15 percent dis count. “I’m glad that Smoothie King is a part of USC, and I hope all students take ad vantage of our services,” Beck said. Correction In the Dec. 1 issue, we incorrectly reported that the Russell House Bookstore’s 66 percent book buyback policy would pay $33 on a book bought for the used price of $37.50 if the book’s new price was $50. The correct buyback price would be $25, an 11 percent increase over a 50 percent buyback of a used book costing $37.50. The usual buyback price of a new book picked up for the next semester is 50 percent of the original purchase price. Additionally, the buyback price of a used book is up to 66 percent, and will only be given until the store reaches its supply limit. We regret any inconve nience this might have caused. g i wmr . i- 'wm. i i ^^atgher Int. #1 & 378 in Lexington Mon-Fri. 8-7pm • Sat. 8:30-6pm (803) 359-4114