Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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_vol. 93, no. 72 Wednesda march 15,2000_ '■-’ - - - - ‘ Serv WWW.CAM6C0CK-SC.EDU ' UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA COLUMBIA, $.C. Carolina to honor 200-year existence by Betsy Baugh Staff Writer W££l .» .. m mmir USC will celebrate two centuries of high er learning and community activity with the Bicentennial Celebration in 2001. The year 1801 marks the birlhdate not only of USC, but also of higher education in the state. USC was the first school to be fi nanced entirely by state funds and to have a board of trustees composed entirely of cit izens elected by the General Assembly. The celebration will begin on the Hoise shoe on Jan. 10 with a public ceremony, to be followed by many events, including special performances, commemorative ex hibits, publications and education outreach projects. “We have a lot to be proud of here by serving the state for 200 years,” said Sally McKay, executive director of the Bicen tennial Celebration. “We want our commu nity to be involved because this is an an niversary of the state celebrating higher education.” Nine different committees have been set up to oiganize bicentennial programs. The committees deal with academic events, alum ni events, athletics events, educational out reach, government, history and remembrance, publications and promotions, public events, and student events. The celebration’s main focus will be to further USC’s relationship with communi ties in South Carolina. USC is organizing a group of Bicentennial Partners from across the state to help coordinate celebrations in their respective areas. These partners are composed mostly of alumni and will help pass along informa tion and get people involved in communi ty activities. The Bicentennial Oflice is also looking for old keepsakes from USC like any memorabilia representing student life, es pecially letters from parents, grandparents and friends. Any donated letters could be used in a book, to come out next year. Professors Catherine Reynolds and Carolyn Matalene are compiling the book, “Student Voices,” which will be composed mostly of old stu dent letters to tell the history of student life. Two other books will also be coming out for the Bicentennial. “The University at 200,” a coffee-table book by Robert Clark, is sched uled for release in January and features color pictures and a history of USC. “University of South Carolina History (1940-1990),” by Dr. Harry Lesesne, asso ciate director and bicentennial historian, will ^Jpne out in tire fall of 2001. This hard-cov £f book will include historical pictures of USC. In addition, a Horseshoe tour through time will be made for DVD or CD-ROM to show student life through the years, in cluding what old dorm rooms were like. Al so, a video documentary will be made to rep resent USC’s purpose throughout history. For more information on the Bicen tennial Celebration or being a Bicentennial Partner, call 777-1801 or visit www.sc.eduA>i centennial. ~| Students sign up Tab Henderson The Gamecock Honors students sign up for housing for next year. Sign up was from 7:30 am. to 11:45 am. Tuesday In the Capstone Campus Room. Sign ups for Preston and McBryde Quadrangle will be today, and sorority sign up will be Thursday. Sign up for regular housing will occur online via USC’s VIP Web site from March 22 to 31. Mill neighborhoods divided on road plan by Brandon Larrabee Associate News Editor Residents of the Olympia, Whaley and Granby mill villages rejected a plan Monday night'to build a new bound ary road that would have rerouted truck traffic from the neaiby Tarmac quarry in a tense and occasionally heated meeting sponsored by the Richland County Council. The council held the meeting to discuss the proposed road and hold a “test for consensus,” basically a straw poll of the residents who attended. While none of the five options on the ballot garnered a majority, 85 of the 191 residents voted for the final op tion: “I outright oppose the road.” Thirty-seven voted for the second most popular option: “I fully support the proposed road.” The vote, while not official, shows there isn’t a con sensus among area residents, according to County Coun cil Chairman Kit Smith. She said the push for a new road was probably over because of the results. “I think it’s over unless the community decides to pre sent another alternative to us,” Smith said. Councilwoman Bernice Scott, who represents the area, said she thought the road project was dead. “As for me and my house, it’s a dead deal,” she said. The compromise voted on Monday was an attempt to reconcile plans by Diversified Development, which orig inally proposed the new road, and the community’s road committee, which submitted an alternative to the Coun cil. Supporters of the road said Diversified Develop ment, the company that originally proposed the new truck road, would put $40 million into stores, apartment build ings for the elderly and other buildings if the road were built, as well as renovating the mills. They said it would move traffic from the trucks to a road around the neigh borhood from the current route, which brings trucks through the neighborhood. They also said revenue from the construction of the road could fund a revitalization of the area. “Vote for the future of Olympia and not our past,” said Vi Bazzoni, a member of the neighborhood’s road com mittee. Larry Gates, also a member of the committee, uiged residents to act. “Now is the time to do something,” he said. “We’re already in a state of decline,” Gates said. “It’s going to get worse.” Those opposing the road complained that the quarry might not be around for a long enough time to justify its construction. They also said Tarmac should use the river road, labeling the cost of the road as loo high, even with the benefits. And while the new road would have a sound barrier, detractors said they were concerned about the smoke and dust that might be spread by the trucks. Opponents said Tarmac should use its own “river road” for its trucks. • “Go to the river road, and if it means not developing the mills, then OK,” resident Corena Branham stud. * Betty Hilliard, who led the road committee, had harsh words for Tarmac. “You’re running out of room,” she said. “You’re run ning into our community, and we don’t want you in our community.” Hilliard also complained about what she said was a lack of cooperation from the Council. “Wfe [the committee] feel like we have gotten nowhere” in negotiations, Hilliard said. “The solution ... is either the river road, or no road,” she said. Tarmac has resisted using the river road for its ship ping. Opponents of the new road said the Council could use imminent domain to seize the road. However, Scott and Smith said that option would land the Council in court and could take years to resolve. That would mean the Council could no longer enter an agreement with Tarmac, since the company is about to be bought by Anglo American, a South African company Mill SEE PACE A3 Faces in the crowd M For the next seven weeks, The Gamecock will explore how USC compares with other state-supported schools in the immediate region. This week, we look at student life. by Brad W alters Managing Editor At a glance, it might seem difficult to try to differ entiate USC from other flagship state-supported universities in our region. Tens of thousands of stu dents roam the vast expanses of these campuses weekly with one common goal - to eventually get a degree and a good job. But a look at students outside the classroom can painl an interesting picture of a few of the subtle dif ferences between these schools. DIVERSITY Maintaining diversity among students is ore of the ma jor goals of most university administrators, no matter where the school. Of the six schools studied - Clemson, Flori da, Georgia, Tennessee, UMC and USC - the student body at USC was the most diverse, according to 1998 statis tics provided by each school. More than one-fourth of all USC students are minorities, and more than 19 percent Comparing Carolina seep«e« Fiu Photo Hundreds of freshmen gathered at Wllliams-Brice Stadium during Welcome Week In August for “First Night” festivities. “Comparing Carolina" is a seven-part series *N„mher« ha«»d that analyzes how USC measures up with on ,998 statistics other state-supported schools in the region. _I_ V11 477 undpmrarii tataa i ♦ u» iuci yi ouuqics f rresnman rawnuon »«w. “ i «> I __ 1 ; f^r rn i-r Ifi n f>y t-l jj-l. CQ/ flfKfif CntllAWfU 1 u»¥pi»iiy • w7o uidviv, v fQ vviic. ininumy i ; rrwnman niiwiuuii >«uf* 11 /o I B*ao White*: The Gamecock Six win early housing placement by Kelly Haggerty Assistant News Editor Six students got their first choice of housing under a Department of Housing lottery program last month. Housing concluded its “Winning Wednesdays” sweepstakes at the Feb. 23 home basketball game against Louisiana State University. During half time, six of the 25 competing students won the opportunity to live in the res idence hall of their choice, with their preferred roommates, despite any usu al requirements for living there. The 25 students lined up on the side of the basketball court, and at the sound of a whistle, each student ran to stand on one of the posterboard sized signs lying on the floor. Each sign had a letter, word or symbol on the side visible to contestants and the name of a prize on the opposite side. Stu dents received their choice of hous ing, cash cards valued between $50 and $250 dollars, in-line skates, signed bas ketballs and footballs or other gifts, de pending on which sign they chose. Biology/chemistry freshman Ken Boyd, computer science junior Jeff Mobley, nursing freshman Nakita Canty, political science junior Norm Jones, journalism freshman Brandy Foster and medical technology sopho more Anitra Davis won their choice of housing. The men chose to live in Rutledge, and the women chose to live in either South Quad or East Quad. HoUSINQ SEE PAGE A3 Weather Inside Datebook Online Poll Today 71 54 Thursday 75 56 Encore! rates the power of elves Encore! Wednesday • Student senate, 5 p.m., RH Theater • University Ambas sadors, 8 p.m., Visitor Center Thursday • NAACP, 6 p.m. • SALA, 7:30 p.m. • Professional Society of International Studies, Cool Beans, 8 p.m. As holidays end, should USC make its residence halls accessible earlier? Vote at www.ganjecock.sc.edu. Results will be punished Friday.