Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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_ _ Carolina News Jan. 22 • Simple Possession of Marijuana. Preston College. The responding officer was called to Preston College in reference to the smell of marijuana being smoked in one of the dorm rooms. Thinking there was a safety hazard, the Residence Hall Di rector and the Resident Adviser ad vised the officer that they were going g} to perform a health and safety check of the room. After several attempts to get the subjects to answer the door, the RHD opened the door. Upon entering, the smell of marijuana was strong. The officer asked the subject whether there was any marijuana in the room, and the sub ject admitted that there was. The subject then opened the center desk drawer, and the officer observed a bag containing a green, leafy substance be lieved to be marijuana. At that time, the officer asked what the subject used to smoke the marijuana and where the im plement was. The subject opened the top right desk drawer, and the officer observed another bag containing a green, leafy sub stance also believed to be marijuana, as well as a wooden pipe and three packages of 1.5-inch rolling papers. The officer asked for permission to search the rest of the room for illegal substances, and it was grant ed. The search yielded no other contraband. The subject was charged with simple pos session of marijuana. Jan. 23 • Simple Possession of Marijuana. Possession of beer by a minor. Snowden. Officers responded to a call to investigate with RHD a suspicious smell. When the subjects’ door was opened, a strong odor of marijuana smoke was detect ed. After further investigation into a desk drawer, a second subject produced two grams of a substance believed to be mar ijuana. The second subject also gave the location of a bong. During the search for further contraband, 12 cans of Bud Light and five bottles of Zima were found in the refrigerator. Both subjects were chaiged with simple possession of mar ijuana and minor in possession of beer. H»ORT^} » Compiled by Patrick Rathbun 9 Student confronts mannequin makers over racial stereotyping by Roberto Sanchez College Press Exchange Seattle—.Cosmetology is about as apo litical a field of study as you can find in a college — until you get to the man nequin heads at Shoreline Community College. That’s what students and administra tors in the Seattle-area cosmetology pro gram found out last week, after a student’s Pclaims of racial stereotyping with prac tice mannequin heads forced instructors to remove all name labels on them and demand that the supplier stop shipping any more until it fixes the problem. At issue is the practice kit cosmetol ogy students buy for $525 to be part of the program. The kit includes four female heads, three of which are of light skin with wavy or straight hair, and one of dark skin and fiizzy hair. Each mannequin has a sticker on the bottom with either a num ber or a name for the doll. Two of the light-colored heads have no name, the third is named “Viola,” and the dark-toned head is named “Kinky.” The mannequin heads were made by Pivot Point, a Chicago-based cosmetol ogy school and supplier of cosmetology tools and teaching aides. Stephanie Stecher, 19, a student in the program who is half African Ameri can and half white, first mentioned the problem to her instructors, pointing out that calling a dark-skinned head “Kinky” was offensive. “To spend $525 to find out they are stereotyping people... if I’d found out, I would have never purchased it,” Stech er said. “I would not even go into the class.” ' Stecher also is upset that students in the class won’t work with model heads of males, Asians or Latinos, that most of the models on posters in the 11-per son classroom are white, and that nobody on the teaching staff specializes in Asian or African-American hair styles. Debbie Fisher, a cosmetology program adviser at Shoreline, said the school has been using mannequin heads from Pivot Point for two years. She said their mod els are good, with realistic hair that re sponds well to styling and treatments. She said she had been aware of the different labels on the heads, but never thought much of their names. “I was surprised. I never really thought about it being or not [being] offensive,” she said. “I’m sorry offense was taken to it.” She said the term “kinky” has long been an industry standard for describing frizzy hair. “For many years, it was called kinky. Only in recent years has it changed to ‘extremely curly,”’ she said. Bob Sieh, chief financial officer at Pivot Point, said the model head isn’t named “Kinky” but “Eve,” and that kinky is simply a term to describe the type of hair on the doll. But he said the head does have the word “Kinky” in the same place where other dolls have their name tag, and that nowhere on the head, box or cat alog is the head called “Eve.” He said the company never meant to offend African Americans—he said many of its employees and students are mi norities — and that he woiffd be taking action to prevent any more “Eve” heads from leaving the factories. Ten-year-old argues for new state shrub by Eric Conner Associated Press SlMPSONVlLlE — What does the crape myrtle have in com mon with a glass of milk, a Boykin spaniel, a blue granite rock and a striped bass? Normally, they have little in common. But if 10-year-old Whitney Barnett has her way, the crape myrtle will get the recognition she thinks it deserves as South Carolina’s official state shrub. For more than a year, the Simpsonville Elementary fifth grader has pushed for the honor. Last week, she took her case to the state Senate’s Judiciary Committee and won its approval. The issue went to the Senate Tuesday. Milk was dubbed the state beverage in 1984; the Boykin Spaniel became top dog in 1985; the striped bass, 1972; blue granite — the state rock — 1969. Of course, there are others, the Shag, the Yellow Jessamine flower and the most obvious choice — the Palmetto tree. But why a crape myrtle? “I just saw it everywhere and thought, ‘Why not make it the state bush?”’ Barnett says. And is it really a shrub? Technically, it’s a shrub and a tree, depending on the size, according to Claude Smith, an agent with the Clemson Ex tension Service in Greenville. Most crape myrtles are of the tree variety, although many are dwarf shrubs, he said. And as for the spelling for the popular yard piece that blooms flowers in summertime, it’s “crape” instead of “crepe.” That was one subject of debate by the Judiciary Committee. “I think I see about as much of one spelling as I do the oth er,” Smith said. It wasn’t the only debate, says Sen. David Thomas, R-Foun tain Inn, a committee member who’s championing the bill. Thomas said one senator objected to the crape myrtle and talked of delaying its consideration because there are just too many official state designations. But Thomas said there seemed to be plenty of room for the praying mantis bug in 1988. The native, famter-friendly man tis, also called the Carolina Mantid, survived stiff competi tion with the bloodsucking mosquito to become the state in sect. “To some degree, it can become kind of silly, and we should probably close the door at some time,” Thomas said. “But it’s less silly than the state insect. I can’t avoid this one. She’s absolutely an adorable little girl. There is sort of a serious side to it, too. It is a popular shrub, and I think, as well known as it is in the state, it deserves to be the state shrub.” Even if Barnett’s campaign isn’t successful, she will ben efit from what the naming process provides, Thomas said. It’s a chance for youngsters to learn the legislative process — how a bill becomes a law or is defeated. Barnett is aware of that. So is her mother, Kathy, who’s very proud of her daughter’s initiative. “It wasn’t a school project or anything,” Kathy Barnett said. “She just decided that was something that she thought ought to be done on her own. Just the fact that it has been in troduced as a bill, whether it gets any further or not, I think is real impressive.” Thomas said he thinks there’s a decent chance of it pass ing. “I hope before blooming season, it will have a chance of passing,” he said. “But Whitney understands that she’s got to take what she can get, which is, perhaps, a bill in the hand is worth two in the shrub. ” Race no longer a factor in U. Mass admissions Staff Reports College Press Exchange Amherst, Mass. —The University of Massachusetts at Amherst has announced it will stop using race as a determining factor in its admissions process. School officials said they would con tinue to accept top student applicants based on their high-school grades and SAT scores. For students with lower grades and test scores — a pool that Amherst offi cials say teeters on the borderline of ac ceptance and rejection — the university has established a new 10-point system. Grades will count for up to 7.5 points. The remaining 2.5 points will be assigned according to a variety of factors: an ap plicant’s in-state residency, personal achievement and diversity. Diversity, which could include an applicant’s house hold income and race, is worth only point. School officials said they needed to implement new admissions standards to avoid lawsuits similar to those challeng ing affirmative action policies in Michi gan and Texas. The new policy gives less weight to the SAT than did an interim affirmative action policy put in place this year. “The research done at U. Mass and elsewhere clearly indicates that a student’s SAT score is a weaker indicator of suc cess at the university than the high-school GPA,” said David K. Scott, the universi ty’s president. The plan, announced last week, will begin with this fall’s first-year class. £ § o We know you wanted a little more time to socialize before you hit the books, but at VarsityBooks.com we're so darn fast you'll have your textbooks in one to three business days. But at least we're saving you up to 40% and offering you a Web site that's completely reliable and secure. Look at it this way, you've got at least one free night ahead of you. So what are you waiting for? It certainly isn't us. Savings off distributor s suggested price. Books delivered in no more than three business days. Some restrictions apply. See site tor details.