The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 17, 2000, Image 1
Vol. 93, No. 86 Mon April 17, 2000__
0
e Carolina Community since 1 QOS
Sexual Health Programs receives $300K grant
by Amanda Silva
Staff Writkr
USC’s Department of Sexual Health Programs has received
a grant of nearly $300,000 from the U.S. Department of Jus
tice.
According to Tricia Phaup, director of Sexual Health Pro
| grams and Sexual Assault Services, the grant money will go
toward assembling a task force specializing in responding to cas
es of relationship violence.
Also, with llie grant, what was known as Sexual Assault Ser
vices will become the Office for Sexual Health and Violence
Prevention.
Statistics on relationship violence show that in the United
States, a woman is battered by her boyfriend, husband or live
in partner every 15 seconds.
Of relationship violence cases reported, 30 percent include
the use of a weapon, according to Sexual Assault Services.
A task force was begun in 1998 to study the need for a re
lationship-violence program.
the program to be used by the students for immediate emer
gency contact with the police.
In addition to the new housing facility, the grant will pro
vide for the hiring of a new USC police investigator specifical
ly trained to handle criminal violence, Phaup said.
She said that last week marked the start of interviews for
another counselor in the sexual health offices.
Another key aspect of the grant and the efforts being made
by the Department of Sexual Health Services is increased pre
ventative education.
The grant provides for three new positions with Sexual
Health Programs, and the new advocates will become part of
the program next year.
Advocates are on call 24 hours a day to respond to rela
tionship cases and emeigency calls.
Phaup said the advocates serve to provide students with op
tions and plans for maintaining their individual lives as they make
the transition from a bad relationship.
For example, they might help a student develop a strategy
to change their schedule for additional protection, Phaup said.
Additional services provided by the advocates will include
notifying faculty and staff of a student’s situation, or possibly re
ferring them to professional counseling.
Other women’s groups, like the community-based women’s
shelter Sistercare-Inc., are contributing to the promotion of the
program and the help available on campus.
Educational materials will be used in University 101 class
es to teach the dangers of relationship violence and the com
ponents of a healthy relationship.
Phaup said emotional abuse, a key component to relation
ship violence, will also be addressed by the relationship violence
program.
The new program will be fully publicized in the fall and is
expected to yield an increase in the number of students who
seek help for relationship violence.
" This year, 13 cases of abuse have been reported to Sexual
Assault Services. The estimate for next year is at least 40 stu
dents, Phaup said.
— 1 ^ ^ jm
Experts say
(summer
urograms
benefit
students
Staff Reports
Tiie. Gamecock
Sending children lo summer camps
might be more lh;m giving them a place
lo go while their parents work, accord
ing lo some USC experts.
Summer camps provide intellectual
and creati ve enrichment, said Jan Phillips,
assistant director of USC’s Ollice of Fel
| lowships and Summer Programs.
“Athletic camps have been available
for many years for students. But summer
camps and programs that have an acade
mic or creative component are becom
ing more sought after,” Phillips said.
Parents are more savvy to the im
portance of college education, Phillips
said, and summer camps provide a learn
ing environment that complements the
classroom environment.
“Parents are looking for more sum
mer science and math opportunities,” she
said. “More than anything, they want
good, broad-based academic programs
that will enhance their children’s educa
tion.”
This summer USC will host several
* dozen camps and programs that help stu
dents develop skills in areas such as dra
ma, journalism, computers, engineering
and music.
Programs at universities and colleges
are becoming more popular because par
ents understand the importance ol a col
lege education, Phillips said.
‘‘They [parents] want their children
to be on a college campus so that they
can be exposed to the opportunities
that are available at college level and to
see what campus life is like,” she said.
Some programs are intended for el
ementary school students, and others are
for students preparing for college.
James Sliver, director of the Adven
. tyes in Creativity camp at USC, said
* nwiy colleges offer summer programs,
and parents should first consider what
their cliild wants to gain in the program.
“Is it knowledge, or social or com
puter skills? A glimpse of a particular
campus? Try to match a program with
their priorities,” Stiver said.
Stiver, who is also the associate dean
of the South Carolina Honors College,
said if parents want their children to at
tend a program that is academically en
riching, they should examine the criteria
Camps see page 2
i Capstone residents experience inconvenience caused by gas line break
Capstone suffers
gas line rupture
by Kelly Haggerty
Assistant Nbws Editor
A gas leak outside Capstone House
restricted students to their rooms for
about one hour Friday.
At 11:33 a.m„ Main Lining Service,
Inc. struck the gas line at Barnwell
and College streets. The contractor from
Elnta, N.Y., hit the line with a backhoe
while working on a water line for the
city.
No one was hurt, and the leak was
under control at 12:25 p.m., according
to Columbia Assistant Fire Chief Bradley
Anderson.
However, Capstone residents were
asked not to leave the building until the
leak was stabilized. Students could leave
from the left side door if absolutely nec
essary. Psychology sophomore Carlyn
Aldrich said residents were instructed
to walk behind Columbia Hall to Pendle
ton Street.
Residents in several houses on Col
lege Street had to evacuate, as well.
“Because of the gas leak, we
didn’t want to have anyone nearby in
case it was to ignite,” Anderson said.
USC police officers also blocked
traffic on the 1700 block of College and
the 900 block of Barnwell.
South Carolina Electric & Gas
Co. came and pinched off the 2-inch
plastic line to stop the leak.
"It’s not uncommon to have [a gas
leak]. We might have one a week
throughout the city and county,” An
derson said.
Some students said they were an
noyed with the inconvenience the gas
leak caused.
Aldrich had just gotten back from
class when the incident occured.
“I just beat the fire trucks there.
When I got up to my room, all I could
see were firetrucks and a huge hole in
the ground,” she said.
Aldrich said she thought she would
have to leave during the incident, but
SCE&G contained the leak before she
had to. She said she wouldn’t have been
happy if she had to go out of her way
when leaving.
“I thought it was pretty crappy be
cause people couldn’t leave and can
were blocked in. I kind of expect it, be
Gas Leak SEE PAGE 2
Amy Goulding Photo Editor
A worker for SCE&G repairs a gas line that was cut near
Capstone House Friday afternoon.
Class looks for believers of the "Lizard Man"
by Phil Watson
Staff Writer
An Honors College sociology class is looking for
people who claim to have seen the infamous Lee
County Lizard Man.
The “Sociology of the Paranormal” class (SCCC
331G) is looking to talk with people who say they
saw the Lizard Man as a part of their investigation in
to paranormal claims.
According to town folklore, the rural South Car
olina town of Bishopville was terrorized by an 8-foot,
half-lizard, half-man creature with green scales and
red eyes during the summer of 1988.
The Lizard Man was first reported by 17-year
old Christopher Davis, who told police a giant mon
ster tried to kill him at 2 am. in the Scape Ore Swamp.
Davis claimed the creature chased his car at speeds
of more than 35 miles per hour.
Since that June, many Lee County residents have
said they believe in the existence of this giant swamp
creature. The Lizard Man became South Carolina’s
version of Bigfoot.
Honors College senior Julie Jensen said she thinks
the project is an interesting angle to take with para
normal claims.
“We thought that the Lizard Man would be a neat
thing to look at,” Jensen said. “We’re trying to find
people who say they saw it and decide for ourselves
whether they really think they saw it.”
The Lizard Man is a good subject for the study
because it’s a local legend, Honors College senior
Kevin Couch said.
“I think there was a consensus that we wanted to
do something regarding fringe archeology, like Big
foot or the Abominable Snowman,” Couch said. “But
the Lizard Man is a lot more interesting since it’s
something that’s close.”
The students have put advertisements in various
newspapers throughout South Carolina that ask peo
ple who claim to have seen the Lizard Man to con
tact them.
The class has also set up a Web site for people
who claim to have seen the Lizard Man. The site is
very general and doesn’t give much information about
the Lizard Man because the class doesn’t want to
influence what people think they saw, Jensen said.
Sociology professor Shane Thye is one of pro
fessors overseeing the students’ work. He said the
study of the paranormal is a great way for students to
learn about research.
“The study of the paranormal is a great way for
students to learn about the scientific method and
the research process. That’s really the whole point of
the class,” he said.
“It’s a nice venue for students to learn about
statistical principles and scientific principles and how
to evaluate claims in a really fun kind of way.”
South Carolina Honors College Dean Peter Seder
beig is providing funding for the students to do this
research, Thye said.
This is the first time the class has been offered
at USC. It is only open to honors college students.
Sociology professor Patrick Nolan, who is also
teaching the class, said he would like to see it con
Lizard Man see page 2
‘I think there was a consensus that we wanted to do something
regarding fringe archeology, like Bigfoot or the Abominable
Snowman.’
Kevin Couch
Honors College senior
41 percent or
LIFE scholars
can't keep
scholarships
The Associated Press
Nearly half of the students who earn state
sponsored LIFE scholarships lose them be
cause their grades fall in college.
An analysis by The Suite newspaper found
that 41 percent of those who received
LIFE scholarships in 1998, including 83 per
cent of LIFE recipients at technical colleges,
lost them because they didn ’l maintain a 3.0
GR\.
Although the numbers seem high, Mar
vin Carmichael, Clemson University’s fi
nancial aid director, said they’re not a sur
prise.
“Statistically, we knew that there would
be a large portion of students... who would
not be able to retain it,” Carmichael said. The
average student GPA at Clemson is 2.6.
Students needed a 3.0 Gift in high school
and a score of at least 1,000 on the SAT to
receive a LIFE scholarship. This fall, the SAT
requirement rises to 1,050.
The state’s technical colleges had the
lowest LIFE scholar retention rate, with on
ly 124 of 751 students — fewer than one in
six — keeping their scholarships.
Lawrence Ray, spokesman for the State
Board of Technical and Comprehensive
Education, said those numbers are deceiving.
Ray said almost two-thirds of those who lost
LIFE scholarships stayed in school anyway,
showing that the scholarships are achieving
their goal of drawing students into college.
As far as the students staying in school
... our students are going, but our typical tech
nical college student is someone who has to
work and goes to school when they’re work
ing,” he said. In fall 1999,44 percent of tech
nical college students went part time.
The Medical University of South Car
olina had the best retention rate among LIFE
scholars, with just 1 percent losing their schol
arships. About one-third of South Carolina
private school students lost LIFE scholar
ships, compared with 35 percent at USC, 55
percent at Clemson and 50 percent at the
College of Charleston.
Those numbers reflect what Georgia has
seen with its HOPE scholarship, a similar
program paid for through lottery proceeds.
Barry Fullerton, vice chancellor for student
services for the University System of Geor
gia, said the HOPE scholarship retention rates
— about 50 percent — were a disappoint
ment.
“I don’t think there initially was any ex
pectation [on retention],” Fullerton said. “We
were a little surprised early on.... The re
tention figures were a little discouraging.”
The State’s analysis also found that the
Life SEE PAGE 3
Weather Inside Datlfook Online Poll
Toeay
78
59
Tuesday
77
.56
t
EtCetera
explores
art in
Columbia
Page 7
Monday
• The Gamecock, 4 p.m,,
RH 333
• Fraternity Council, 4
p.m., RH 322/326
• Sorority Council, 5
p.m., RH 322/326
•CP, 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday
ASS/"! ' AAAS, 6 p.m., RH The
aler
^ CJ • S.C. Sludenl Legisla
Wj1 Wf lure, 9 p.m.
. V;:- '■■■ i • FOCUS, 8:15 p.m..
Women’s Club
• Spring Board, 5:30 p.m.
\
Should the NAACP
continue its boycott
if the flag is moved from
the State House dome?
Vote at www.gamecock.sc.edu.
Results will be published Friday. ^
In May, the Relationship Violence Committee submitted
an application outlining the services to be provided to a division
of Student and Alumni Services, which called for the develop
ment of a policy and program addressing relationship vio
lence.
Phaup said a portion of the grant is to provide temporary
off-campus housing for violence victims who are students and
are trying to escape hazardous relationships.
This housing will be at an unidentified site to protect those
who seek shelter there and will in essence be a women’s shel
ter specifically for USC students, Phaup said.
Students who go to the shelter must agree to terms set by
Sexual Health Programs to protect the privacy of the individu
als who seek help there.
Phaup said some graduate students in USC’s sexual health
offices are trying to get donations from businesses in order to
furnish and stock each room at the shelter with living essentials.
That way, someone won’t have to go back and forth from
their dorm room to move belongings, Phaup said.
Phaup also said she hopes that Alltel will donate phones to