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January 14, 2000 WWW.GAMECOCK.SC.EDU UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA COLUMBIA, S.C. Votes for SG elections to be tallied online by Patrick Rathbun Assistaitt News Editor Students will be able to vote online at USC’s VIP Web page in the next Student Government election. The process went into planning after this past year’s SG elections, and students can access the online “ballot” by logging in to USC’s VIP page, said Emilie LeMaster, marketing-finance senior and SG elections commissioner. LeMaster said she thought the advancement was needed. “I think that it’s necessary for us to continue to make technological advances at USC,” she said. “It can’t hurt to move in a technological direction.” According to LeMaster, the online process will also be an easier one compared with the previous process, in which students had to go to the school of their major or, in some cases, to the Russell House to tally their votes. A newspaper article about Clemson’s online vot ing process “triggered a response” in USC’s SG, LeMaster said. Other SG members revised the organiza tion’s election codes and rearranged the wording to reflect online voting, LeMaster said. The SG senate then approved the codes and process, she said. SG’s graduate assistants, Dorothy Livesay and Angela Dusenbury, then worked with other SG members to establish the online process. LeMaster said she hoped for a high voter turnout, but that “it’s hard to say what the number will be.” Nearly 1,200 students voted Nov. 2 in SG’s mock election, and LeMaster said SG hopes to sur pass that number. “We’re hoping [the real] online vote will triple [the mock election],” she said. People have a tendency to be more interest ed in elections when their friends or issues are in volved, according to LeMaster, and she said SG will attempt to advertise in order to achieve in creased student involvement. Business' sophomore Chris Montplaisir agreed that mov ing the voting procedure online would enhance results. “[I think turnout would in crease] since online voting is a lot more conve nient,” he said. “You can do it on your own free time, and you don’t have to go to where your major is actually located.” uuauicoo ucoimuui ivuu uujic cuovi miu out uiv.iug.iu the online Voting idea would help decrease stu dents’ apathy. “Yes, [voter turnout would increase] because Elections see page A2 ‘I think that it's necessary for us to continue to make technological advances at USC. It can’t hurt to move in a technological direction.’ ♦ * Emilie LeMaster SG Elections Commissioner n : f i_n : _i__ _ • _i _i_ _ .1_1 . Palms to reveal USC's new logo for bicentennial The Gamecock * Staf? Reports USC President John Palms will unveil the logo for the bi centennial celebration at 2 p.m. iaiuraay. The event will be held at the USC Visi tor’s Cen ter in the Carolina Plaza at the rMUVio corner 01 Assembly and Pendleton streets. Palms will discuss the sig nificance of the celebration to South Carolina. He will also discuss how the % stale’s citizens can get involved in the celebration, which is de signed to reconnect the uni versity with the people of South Carolina. The university’s 200th birth day celebration will get under way with a public event on the Horseshoe on Jan. 10, 2001. The festivities will come to a close Dec. 19, 2001, exactly 200 years after South Carolina College was chartered. On Dec. 19, 1801, South Carolina College was chartered as one of the nation’s first pub licly supported institutions of higher education. The first students entered South Carolina College on Jan. 10,1805, beginning the history of publicly funded higher edu cation in South Carolina. The bicentennial celebration will begin 200 years after the first students enrolled at South Carolina College. During the year-long cele bration of the bicentennial, the university will sponsor a num ber of events that will be held in all parts of the state and at sev eral sites across the nation. Programs will include in ternational conferences, sym posia, special public events and many other activities. t English dominates online While only 5 percent of the world’s population speaks English as their first language, English speakers make up 57 percent of the world’s inter net users. A look at some other inhabitants of the online community, by language: English 57 percent Japanese 8.3 percent Spanish 6.5 percent German 5.9 percent Chinese 4.2 percent I French 4.2 percent Italian 2.4 percent Dutch 2.1 percent Korean 1.8 percent Portuguese 1.7 percent Source: www.euromktg.oonVglobatata/ 5.4 percent 2.1 percent 5.6 percent 1.6 percent 14.9 percent 1.2 percent 0.9 percent 0.3 percent 1.2 percent 2.9 percent Brad Walters The Gamecock The Caroliniana Library is the home for many antique books Some books In the Carolinians were damaged In past years by moisture accumulation caused by the air condition ing unit The unit has only been In the historic library, located on the Horseshoe, since 1970. Elizabeth West, who works at the library said no damage has been caused to the Irreplaceable books In recent years. Gamecock fans offered online ticket trading BY AMANDA SILVA Staff Writer The Athletics Ticket Office announced the arrival of the new, official USC Ticket Ex change system last Friday. For the first time ever, tickets for USC basketball games will be available for exchange via the Internet. Many people are anticipating the pur chasing convenience this new online service promises. E-TicketBoard, found on the official USC Athletics Web site, offers Gamecock fans the opportunity to exchange tickets for home bas ketball games. “It is a good idea to put this [medium for exchanging tickets] on the Internet, be cause sometimes students are swamped with homework, and they don’t have a chance to pick up tickets,” said Lisa Cherry, sociology sophomore. “The Internet makes it more conve nient for these students,” Cherry said. This new system will give individuals the chance to sell previously purchased tickets in case they can’t attend a game. “We understand that circumstances arise and individuals cannot attend all the grimes,” said Chris Massasso, USC associate athletics director for ticket operations. “We’re hoping this Internet service takes the tickets out of the desk drawer and places them in the hands of people who can be at the game to cheer on the Gamecocks.” USC is the first university in the nation to implement the E-TicketBoard system in an attempt to provide fans with a free Inter net service for ticket exchange. "This is an easy vehicle for season ticket holders to sell tickets and alleviate the prob lem of empty seats at games with fans willing to buy those seats,” Massasso said. The system is based on orders to buy or sell, according to quantity, price and seat lo cation. Once an individual places an order, it is then displayed on the ticket board for the games that person has selected. Users are then able to place a buy or sell order and are later notified by automatic e mail of any ticket matches. Steve Feiguson of Simpsonville, S.C., said he thinks the new system is a “good idea.” “[E-TicketBoard] beats the newspaper hands down,” he said. The E-TicketBoard has been well received by individuals who have already used it. “1 think that this is a much better way to get tickets instead of standing around in the street outside the stadium, not knowing if you Tickets see page A2 ‘It is a good idea to put this [medium for exchanging tickets] on the Internet, because sometimes students are swamped with homework, and they don’t have a chance to pick up tickets.' Lisa Cherry sociology sophomore Database to protect against plagiarism by Kelly Haggerty Assistant News Editor In the past, professors have had to wonder if students copied their term pa pers from another source, but now they need not worry. Three relatively new Web sites offer to help professors catch students who pla giarize. Integriguard.com, plagiarism.oig and plagiarism.com claim to be able to rec ognize if a student has turned in an uno riginal paper or even changed a handful of words from an already written paper. Business junior Michelle Francis said she doesn’t think such Web sites will be effective. “I think there are always ways around it. It’s very easy to plagiarize, but 1 think it would increase the possibility of some one not plagiarizing,” Francis said. USC English instructor Chris Nesmith said he is aware of such Web sites, but he has never used one personally. “I am on a national listserv, and par ticipants on the Web site said they had tried it on suspected papers, and it worked,” Nesmith said. n ipu£uuiuuj uueui i iiappeu iiuk.ii, Nesmith said, “but it’s good to know there is a resource out there for instructors.” Integriguard.com determines if a poem, essay, term paper or thesis is uno riginal by comparing passages of the stu dent’s work with their database of 26,500 commonly downloaded writings. Profes sors pay a flat fee of $4.95 per month for the service. Once a professor registers with the site, he receives an identification number. His students are also required to register with the student site paperbin.com, but their registration is free. After the professor assigns a paper, his students must submit it to integriguard.com, making sure to include their names and their professor’s identification number. The site checks the work for plagiarism and notifies the professor of the analysis. When a professor checks a paper with oth ers in the database, it is then added to the database. she thinks professors should go ahead and use the services if they want to do so. “1 have no problem with that. 1 try my best to find out if I’m plagiarizing, be cause I don’t want to get in any trou ble,” Wtrth said. Plagiarism.com operates differently from integriguard.com. It uses the Glatt Plagiarism Screening Program, which claims to have never falsely accused a stu PlAQIARISM SEE PAGE A2 Weather Inside Datebook Online Poll Results Today 49 38 Saturday 64 28 Gamecocks fall in OT to Syracuse Page B1 Friday • Poster sale. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., RH Ballroom C • Last day to change schedule without a “W” Saturday • Poster sale, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., RH Ballroom C • Round Table Gaming Society, noon to 11:45 p.m., RH Will men’s basketball make it to a postseason tournament? Yes-74% No-26% Look for next week’s question in Monday's Gamecock.