Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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February 14, 2000 I WWW.GAMECOCK.SC.EDU UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA COLUMBIA,'S.C. Presidential candidates outline platforms • First installment of a two-part series outlining SG presidential candidates by Brandon Larrabee £ Associate News Editor Previous experience and student in volvement are among the reasons four candidates say they are running for Stu dent Government president in the 2000 elections. Liberal arts junior and student Sen. Jotaka Eaddy said her experience made her qualified for the office. “I’ve been in Student Government since pretty much the moment I walked on this campus,” Eaddy said. Candidate Mike Scott, also a liberal arts junior, said he wants to get students more involved in SG. “I’d like U) change [SG] back to a more student-oriented government,” Scott said. Liberal arts sophomore Katie Taylor also said she wanted students to be more involved in SG. “I’ve been really involved on the cam pus and I’ve seen how Student Govern ment has become kind of closed-door to everyone else on this campus,” Taylor I said. “I just want to make this campus bet ter and I think the way to do this is to in clude everyone on campus.” Liberal arts junior Mark Hartney said his experience in meeting other students has prepared him for the office. “I want to be president because I feel in my experience here I’ve met a large number of students from all areas of stu dent life and I think I can echo their concerns to the administration,” Hartney said. Safety was one of the major issues dis cussed by the candidates. Eaddy, whose “Systems for Safety” proposals are part of her “Contract for Carolina,” said she would work to extend shuttlecock hours by working with Park ing Services. “A large number of students are in class between five and eight,” Eaddy said. She proposed extending the shuttle cock hours to 8 p.m. while extending the time between rides to 30 minutes. Eaddy also wants to place surveillance cameras in dorms, lobby the Columbia police department to increase patrols, and ask the university to increase funding for USCPD. “We’re fighting a problem with USC police officers that are leaving be cause of the low wages that they have,” Eaddy said. Hartney proposed increasing the num her of cameras and guards at JUSC park ing garages. “There needs to be cameras at every single garage and there need to be guards at every single garage,” he said. Taylor said she would create a Safety Task Force that would hold town hall meet ings on either a biweekly or a monthly ba sis. The task force, made up of students, USCPD officials, and administrators, would meet on a weekly basis to discusss legal and technical barriers. “The task force would hear what stu dents have to say” and then discuss the ideas, Taylor said. Candidates also discussed the feasabil ity of Safe Ride. Attempts to enact the program, which would bring students back to campus from Five Points, have run into legal and logistical problems, and a plan to introduce a scaled-down version of tlie program that would shuttle students around campus has made little progress. “1 would definitely endorse Safe Ride,” Hartney said. He said the lex:us of proposals shouldn't be limited to Five Points, though. “Five Points is not an area where 100 percent of the students go,” Harney said. He also proposed a sign-up list for the system, and said the university might back the program after a test. Platform see page a2 Professor lectures ♦ on divine design by Charles Prashaw Senior Writer A lecture on the beginnings of the universe was held last Thurday in the Swearingen Engineering Building. The guest speaker at the Interact and Chris tian Faucully Forum-sponsored event was Dr. Hugh Ross. Ross has a Pli.D in astronomy and has studied at Gdlech and the University of Toronto. He is considered an expert in quasi-sleliar objects. ^ As well as being a prominent radio astronomer, Ross is also a preacher. Ross is currently on a lecture tour through the Southeast. The theme of the lecture was if there was an intelligent design behind the uni verse. Ross argued that because of the many patterns behind the universe such as the various constants in gravation and the gen eral theory of relativity, there must be some kind of higher being behind the uni verse who set it up. Ross said, “A universe Ural is designed must have a God behind it.” Ross also brought up several long standing arguments against his ideas that 49 there must be a God. One such aigumenl, formed by not ed astronomer Ctrl Sagan, asks: If there is a God, why did he create so many use less stars surrounding us? Ross’ view is that if there weren’t so many useless stars around us, then nu clear burning and stellar evolution wouldn’t happen. Other arguments against the exis tence of God say it is pure chance that the universe happened at all, but Ross dis agrees, saying those who held such views were committing a gambler’s fallacy. Ross compared the earth to a coin and said that if life evolved on earth by mere dunce, that was like having a tril lion coins and only getting one heads in ® alWf them. USC astronomy professor Dr. John Safko, who said he couldn't attend the lecture but had heard Ross’s views be forehand said, “His anthropomorphic views don’t prove any thing but merely suggest certain conclusions. There is certain scientific evidence he used that could be doubted.” Ross also touched on other sciences like biology, physics and anthropology to help support his theory. He claimed it couldn’t be proved that the earliest hu mans evolved in Africa and said there Lecture see page a2 j Alpha Chi Omega raises money with second annual fund-raiser nwiwnw"*^—wrainf .itv™. *"ri——-n'n 11 ttt—w— —————————————■ BMBMattB .1 ■ ■■■■■■— SmSisaamsSBSetit « ■■ MB— » a— M— —I ■ Mill I rinmiii Patrick Harris The Gamecock Alpha Chi Omega members and contestants watch the second annual “Singled Out” fund-raiser Friday. The money from the fund-rals er. AXO members had a weeklong event to raise awareness of domestic violence. Man found dead in garage by Kelly Haggerty Assistant News Editor The body of a Columbia man was found around 8 a.m. Saturday in the low er-level stairwell of the Senate Street Garage. James Hardwicke, 27, died of as phyxiation, according to Richland Coun ty Chief Deputy Coroner Cathy Rawls. “It’s being investigated as a suicide right now,” Rawls said. Hardwicke wasn’t a USC student. According to The Stile he was found hang ing. USC Director of Law Enforcement and Safely Ernie Ellis said he believes a student found Hardwicke. Other information relating to the death couldn’t be released. “Wfe’re continuing°ur investigation,” Ellis said. Committee approves land contract for Master Plan by Patrick Rathbun Assistant News Editor A contract for land bought for the Greek Housing and Strom Thurmond Fit ness and Wellness Center was approved by the board of trustees’ Building and Grounds Committee on Thursday. The USC Development Founda tion made a land acquisition of about 1.3 million square feet of property in a six year period. The properties are now owned or under contract to be conveyed to USC by the USCDF. The purchase in cludes 34 parcels of land near Blossom, Gadsden, Lincoln, Wheal, Assembly and Wayne streets. The land was acquired at a cost of $9.85 million, but is valued at $18.36 million. USC President John Palms said llte acquisition represents a “tremendous bargain for the university.” The total budget of the projects is $48 million, with the Strom Thurmond Fitness and Wellness Center accounting for $36 million of the total. Other bud get costs include infrastructure, land scaping, parking improvements and street improvements, according to a commit tee memorandum. Palms said the Strom Thumiond Cen ter will be “one of the most magnificent wellness centers in the country.” The funding for the project comes from several sources, including more tlian $32 million from institutional bonds, near ly $5 million from housing funds, more than $4.3 million in bell camp funds, $3 million from capital improvement bonds, more than $2.1 million in insti tutional capital project funds and $1.5 million from the Carolina Plaza rent ac count. Director of Student Life Jerry Brew er said ground is expected to be broken in August 2000, and Greek organizations will be moving into their houses in fall of 2001. The Greek Village will eventually house both fraternities and sororities. There will be 15 plots of land available to the Greek community. The organi zations must submit plans of action to be approved for housing in the Greek Vil lage. A lottery will decide which other organizations will move into the village. The earlier oiganizalions submit their plans, the better chance they have of be ing housed in the village. Brewer said. The organizations’ alumni must set up housing corporations because the oiganizalions themselves are non-profit, Tau Kappa Epsilon president and politi cal science junior James Munsey said. Brewer said the next step is to get in contact with the oiganizalions’ alum ni so further plans can be made. “We’ll be communicating with alumni housing corporations and be pursuing their commitment and their leases,” he said. The next step in the process would be to get the final architecture plans done, Brewer said. He estimated that up to $ 1 million will be spent on each house by the Greek organizations. The McBryde Quad will be an op tion for those oiganizalions now off campus. Several Greek organizations are now preparing for the upcoming project. Fra ternities including Sigma Phi Epsilon, Delta Tau Delta, Alpha Tau Omega, Kap pa Alpha and Tau Kappa Epsilon are now in the fund-raising stages of the pro ject, according to each organization’s presi dent. Five Greek organizations have sub mitted plans to Student Life to be ap proved, Brewer said. These organizations include the fraternities Kappa Alpha, Sig ma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi, Alpha Tau Omega and the sorority Zeta Tau Alpha Only four of the 13 total sororities on campus aren’t hound by a contract with the National Panhellenic Council, Kappa Delta president and journalism ju nior Ashley Monts said. The four sororities not bound by the contract are Zeta Tau Alpha, Zeta Phi*Beta, Sigma Greek Village SEE PAGE A2 -H I I $ Weather Inside Datebook Online Poll Today i 67 9 51 Tuesday \ 70 * 52 k EtCetera | examines j a gift of ■ love Page A6 Monday • The Gamecock, 4 p.m., RH 333 • Fratcmily Council, 4 p.m., RH 322/326 • Sorority Council, 5 p.m., RH 322/326 • CP, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday • AAAS, 6 p.m., RH Thcaler • S.C. Student Legisla ture, 9 p.m. • Spring Board, 5:30 p.m. • RHA, 7 p.m., RH 307 •FOCUS, 8:15 p.m., Women’s Club Is USC tunneling too much money into the Master Plan? ■’ J0y' Vote at www.ganiecock.sc.edu. S Results will be published F riday.