Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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na Community since 1908 ■ Student involvement important to candidates by Brandon Larrabee Associate News Editor One of the problems that often plagues Stu dent Government presidents is a lack of power that makes it difficult to enact their platforms. This year, candidates for SG president gener ally agree that increased involvement by the stu dent body would help. “I think that the administration cannot ignore %'hat we would like to have implemented here at USC if we’re a unified voice of students,” said Jotaka Eaddy, a liberal arts junior. Eaddy said she would use the president’s seat on the board of trustees to advocate student caus es. “I would be a strong voice for the students here at USC,” she said. Michael Scott, a liberal arts junior, said stu dents’ lack of involvement has hurt the SG’s abil ity to function. He cited last year’s elections, in which about 1,500 students voted, saying the ad ministration notices such inactivity. “I think a really big concern here is really get ting the students involved,” Scott said. He said that if he were elected, the opinion of the student body would be heard. “1 think with the voice of the students... be ing heard, it will have a lot more impact on the ad ministration’s decisions,” he said. Katie Taylor, a liberal arts sophomore, agreed that a lack of student involvement is part of the problem. “I think that the administration knows that stu dents are kind of disenchanted with student gov ernment,” Taylor said. Taylor also said that if elected, she would be assertive when dealing with the administration. “I would not be intimidated by administration,” Taylor said. “I would tell them what I thought.” Liberal arts junior Mark Hartney said the stu dents are a crucial part of the university. “We are the lifeblood of the university, and if they do not listen to us, we have the right to choose another school,” Hartney said. He said his experience with the administration would also help him. “I am very familiar with the administration,” Hartney said. “I worked very closely with them on a number of projects.” He also said USC’s bicentennial would bring media attention to the university, and that could be used to students’ advantage. “CNN and USA Today are going to hear about it” if the administration doesn’t respond to stu dents’ needs, Hartney said The candidates said they each have particular qualifications that separate them from their oppo nents. “What I can offer that my opponents cannot offer are three solid years of... dedication within Student Government alone,” Eaddy said. “It’s important that you have experience within Stu dent Government if you’re going to step up and be president of the organization or lead the student body.” Scott said his vision qualifies him for the of fice. “I just think I have an overall vision that they [the other candidates] don’t have,” Scott said. Hartney said his involvement in other organi zations would help him lead. 1 ve also seen several styles ot leadership through my organizations, and I think I can bring a unique and innovative leadership style to the po sition,” Hartney said. Taylor said she would focus on what the stu dent body wants. “I think I’m aware of what the student body wants,” Taylor said. “I’m not going to try to push my own agenda. I think people listen to me.” The candidates have all had experience in pre Presidents see page m _I Towers gas leak strands students by Charles Prashaw Senior Writer A possible gas leak forced Towers res idents to evacuate their rooms in the rain early Monday morning. The situation began when residents on the third and fifth floors of Douglas started complaining to their resident ad visers about the strong smell of gas in the building, according to Douglas resident hall director Eric Jewell. • Third-floor Douglas RA Joe Morgan came to Jewell’s door, and Jewell called the USC Police Department just before 3 a.m. Jewell said about 40 minutes elapsed from the time Morgan came to his door to the time residents could re turn to the building. Jewell said that when he called the USCPD, he was told that an officer was being sent and that Snowden residents had also called with complaints of smelling gas in the building. Later, residents in all four of the Tow ers buildings complained of the smell. The Columbia Fire Department was summoned, and two USCPD officers who Arrived separately told Jewell and the oth er Towers RHDs not to pull the fire alarm to avoid starting a panic. However, Jewell said he was instructed to tell the Douglas RAs to knock on all the residents’ doors and tell them to leave the building. Most residents were awakened and left the Toweis immediately, but Jewell said that many people slept through the inci dent and found out about it the next day. Some residents huddled under the overhang of the Circle K store across street for almost 30 minutes to escape the rain. The Fire Department took gas read ings from various areas around the Tow ers to try to find the source of the smell. Readings found oxygen levels to be 21 ^e^-nt, which is lower than normal. After about 20 minutes, firefighters told the RHDs that there wasn’t a dan gerous amount of gas in the building and residents could return to their rooms. After checking the most likely sources for the gas smell - the kitchen in the base ment of the Toweis and the heating and cooling systems - the firefighters left. “1 wasn’t happy with what happened because the firefighters gave us no answer to what might have caused this - they just Gas Leak see page a2 _; Hodges announces new flag proposal Amy Goulding Photo Editor Gov. Jim Hodges on Monday proposed moving the Confederate flag from the dome of the Statehouse. Another historically accurate flag would be raised at the Capitol grounds on a flag pole beside the monument to South Carolina Gen. Wade Hampton. PEERS targets eating disorders by Betsy Baugh Staff Writer An organization is sponsoring Body Image Awareness Week this week in an effort to educate students about life-threatening disorders and pro mote positive self-image among females in Co lumbia. Between 5 and 10 million females suffer from eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia and binge-eating disorder. Conservative estimates in dicate that 50,000 of these females will die as a result of these disorders. Through the awareness week, the Promoting, Educating and Encouraging Realistic Self-Image group plans to help educate students about these disorders and make females more satisfied with their bodies and weight. As part of these plans, white pieces of paper have been posted over the mirrors in the women’s bathrooms of Gambrell Hall, the Darla Moore School of Business and 10 other buildings on cam pus. The papers say “Love yourself, inside and out” to emphasize one of the goals of Body Im age Awareness Week: to make people realize that it’s what’s on the inside that counts. One of the week’s events will be held at 7 p.m. today, when internationally known media critic Jean Kilboume will speak in the Russell House Theater about the negative aspects of advertise ments in the media. Kilboume has published a number of books and articles and has twice received the Lecturer of the Year Award from the National Associa tion of Campus Activities. Kilboume’s discussion, “Deadly Persuasion: Advertising and Addiction,” is based on her new ly published book Deadly Persuasion, which dis cusses people’s everyday relationship and inter action with advertising. A book signing will follow the lecture'. PEERS will also sponsor a free yoga class at 7 p.m. Thursday in room 124 of the Blatt P.E. Cen ter. The lecture and yoga class follow a number of other events that PEERS has sponsored this week. On Monday, information tables were set up on Greene Street, including one that displayed a life-sized replica of Barbie. The 5-fool- lOdnch doll had measurements of 36-23-36 and was a size one or two. The average woman is a size 12 or 14. “Barbie represents the unrealistic view that the fashion industry imposes on women, causing them to feel self-conscious about themselves,” said Michelle Murphy, graduate assistant with Health and Wellness Programs. Other information tables displayed print ads that represented the unrealistic body images portrayed in the media. Among them was a Calvin Klein ad that used thin, frail women as models. On Tuesday, a table was set up outside the Grand Market Place to test individuals’ food and fitness knowledge. The test was given through a questionnaire, the Eating Attitude Test, that’s de signed to help people identify their unhealthy dieting habits. This test can also be used as a device to screen for eating disorders. For more information about PEERS, call Health Body Imaqe see page u Bush, McCain clash during debate at Seawell's Front-runners cover issues from negative ads to tax policy by Brandon Larrabee and Joel Sawyer Staff Writers In Iheir final showdown before Saturday’s cru cial South Carolina primary, George W. Bush, John McCain and Alan Keyes took part in a debate covering issues from negative campaigning to tax policy. The debate, at Seawell’s in Columbia, was mod erated by Larry King and conducted in a freewheeling format that gave candidates unlimited answer and response times. The format led to several sharp ex changes between Bush and McCain, who are seen as the frontrunners for the Republican nomina tion. One of those exchanges began after King asked Keyes about the frontrunners’ negative advertising. The GOP campaign in South Carolina has taken on an increasingly negative tone in recent days. "I haven’t given their campaign a thought," Keyes said. He said he had "too much to say of a positive nature" to concentrate on the exchanges between Bush and McCain. Bush took issue with one of McCain’s televi sion ads, which Bush said compared him to Bill Clin ton. "We can disagree on issues," Bush said. "Don’t equate my integrity and trustworthiness to that of Bill Clinton. That’s about as low as you can get in the Republican primary.” McCain responded by accusing Bush of going negative first. McCain said a "fringe veteran" at tacked him at a Bush event, and Bush didn’t repu diate the man. According to McCain, a Vietnam veteran and former POW, the man accused McCain of abandoning veterans. ”1 don’t know if you can understand this, Geoige, but that really hurts," McCain said. "You should be ashamed." Bush responded by saying he wasn’t responsi ble for what the man said. "That man wasn’t speaking for me," Bush said. "I’m proud of your record, just like you are." Bush then referred to statements by Whrren Rud man, McCain’s New Hampshire chairman. Bush said Rudman had attacked the Christian Coalition as bigots. McCain said he couldn’t be held responsible for Rudman’s comments. Bush then said that, after pledging to stop all nega tive advertisements, McCain had distributed pam phlets attacking Bush. McCain said the charge was untrue. "That is not by my campaign,” McCain said. He and spokesman Harold Opinsky clarified the _ remarks after the debate, saying McCain’s campaign had produced the pamphlets, but hadn’t distributed them in the last week. "That’s not put out by me," McCain said in a post-debate press conference. "We stopped last week." Opinsky also stood by McCain’s earlier remarks. "He said we didn’t hand that out, and we didn’t," Opinsky said. He said one of the pamphlets from last week might have been copied and distributed by another party. During the debate, McCain brought up al leged incidents of telephone calls to voters that Mc Cain said labeled him "a liar and a thief and a cheat." McCain didn’t directly implicate Bush in the Debate su page m ‘This [debate] is going out to 202 countries. Is this pointless squabble what we want them to see?' Alan Keyes Presidential candidate Weather Inside Datebook Online Poll Today * 70 49 Thursday 62 51 Encore rocks the casbah | Encore! Wednesday • Student Government elections • Student Senate, 5 p.m., RH Theater • University Ambas sadors, 8 p.m., Visitor Center •GAMMA, TBA Thursday • Student Government elections • NAACP, 6 p.m. •SALA, 7:30 p.m. • Entries close for bowl ing, team bowling Is USC tunneling too much money into the Master Plan? igS&SS ^'// Vote at www.gptecock.sc.edu. Results will be published Friday.