The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 22, 2000, Page 3, Image 3
Grant given for research center
Krysta Beth Heidmai
The Gamecock
A $1.9 million, four-year federal
^ grant will be used to establish a research
center that will examine the health needs
of rural African Americans.
The USC School of Public Health
- received the grant, effective Sept. 1, from
the Office of Rural Health Policy, Health
Resources and Services Administration.
The school will receive almost
$500,000 of the grant in the first year.
Dr. Michael Samuels, director and
researcher of the public health program,
believes the donation is a "tremendous
ly significant grant." It allows the USC
School of Public Health to work with
other organizations to see what dispari
ties affect rural blacks and address the
cultural competence of health care
providers.
I „ "The South Carolina Research Cen
ter looks forward to working with the
South Carolina State Office of Rural
Health to improve the delivery of health
services in rural South Carolina," Samuels
said.
In preparation, Samuels and Dr. Jan
ice C. Probst, the deputy project direc
tor, are gathering researchers and statis
ticians from the USC School of Medicine,
USC School of Public Health, the Med
ical University of South Carolina, the
University of Wfest Virginia, the S.C. Bud
get and Control Board and the Office
of Research and Statistics.
"This collaboration will enable us
to conduct the kinds of in-depth studies
1 that will give us an accurate picture of
health care for rural African-Americans,"
Samuels said
"For many years, health care pro
fessionals have wondered whether the
problems were caused by access to care,
lack of insurance or sociocultural fac
tors. This is an opportunity for us to ex
amine these questions.”
The research center will look at the
health problems and health care issues
of rural blacks in the South and nation
wide. The project will also review the
effectiveness of home visitation programs
for teen mothers, the use of medical ser
vices by rural children on Medicaid
and the impact National Health Service
Corps physicians have had on health care
for minorities and other disadvantaged
people in rural areas.
Forty percent of South Carolina’s
rural population is black, the highest pro
portion of blacks in rural areas in the
country.
The center’s areas of research will
include programs such as "Resource
Moms," which provides prenatal coun
seling and guidance for teens. Older
women will counsel the young mothers
to-be in matters of prenatal health, child
care and programs. According to USC
School of Public Health statistics, a liigh
er proportion of rural births is to black
mothers (27.1 percent) than to mral white
teen mothers (14 percent). Both num
bers exceed comparable rates in urban
populations.
Other projects will include the iden
tification of disparities between health
care services for African Americans and
similar services to others.
Rural African Americans over age
65 are less likely to be insured than whites.
President Bill Clinton has signed a
bill that expanded health insurance for
children in the United States. Researchers
would like to investigate whether this
bill has affected rural South Carolinian
children and expanded coverage of their
medical expenses.
Another study will concentrate on
the lower use of health care services that
lead to poorer health outcomes. One ail
ment afflicting blacks that continuous
ly remains undiagnosed is diabetes. The
research will look at the difference in
treatments given to blacks compared to
the therapies given to insured, urban res
idents.
"Tliis program will provide a unique
opportunity for South Carolina to ad
dress the health care needs of our rural
African-American citizens," said Samuels.
Other research institutions receiv
ing grants are Texas A&M University,
Project HOPE at the Walsh Center for
Rural Health Analysis, and the universi
ties of Washington, Nebraska and
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The university desk can be reached at
gamecockudesk@hotmaiLcom.
e! Jewish writer discusses defeating
Holocaust denier in libel lawsuit
by Andrew Festa
The Gamecock
“Pulled out of the line to be shot”
is how British writer David Irving de
scribed selecting a Jewish writer against
whom to file a libel suit.
That’s what that particular writer,
Deborah Lipstadt, told an audience of
more than 250 people about the adver
sity she has faced as a Jewish writer at
this year’s Solomon-Tenenbaum Lec
tureship in Jewish Studies Tuesday.
Lipstadt, Professor of Modem Jew
ish and Holocaust Studies at Emory Uni
versity, has written two books on Holo
*' caust controversy and anti-Semitism. In
1995, Irving sued her for statements
written in her 1993 book “Denying the
Holocaust: An Assault on Truth and
Memory,” in which she called him a
Holocaust denier and right-wing ex
tremist.
When the trial ended April 11 of
this year, Lipstadt was vindicated, and
her accusations proved to be true as the
judge called Irving a “falsifier of histo
ry” and “an active Holocaust denier,”
she said.
Lipstadt went through the five-year,
$3 million trial in London to confirm
what she wrote was true because “if I
had ignored it, he would have won,
the court would have ruled that I indeed
had libeled him, that he indeed was not
a Holocaust denier, and that therefore
his version of the Holocaust was a
correct version.”
Lipstadt wanted to fight for both
history and the future, she said.
“I’ve become the witness for their
(survivors’ and descendants’) witness
ing, someone who will stand up in their
eyes for them, to protect the truth,
Lipstadt said.
During the trial, Irving “twisted his
tory” through the files he presented to
the court, Lipstadt said. Many of these
were completely irrelevant, had inac
curate citations, or altered figures and
quotations, she said.
Lipstadt painted a vivid picture of
Irving, whom she called a racist, sexist,
and a “Hitler wannabe,” by telling the
audience that Irving once said, “AIDS
is God’s just, final solution for Africa.”
When confronted about comments
of being “humiliated” by having black
members on Britain’s cricket team, Irv
ing responded, “Well, you are trying to
paint me as a racist. I am not a racist,
I just believe God made the species dif
ferent,” according to Lipstadt.
She said Irving has been banned from
entering Germany because he creates
uprisings of Neo-Nazi groups. He also
spends time with politician David Duke
and has edited Duke’s book, “My Awak
ening,” Lipstadt said.
Lipstadt told the audience that Irv
ing’s appeal is in the works, but Lipstadt
and Penguin Publishing are planning to
counter sue to cover the costs of the ini
tial trial. The goal is to bankrupt Irv
ing so he will not be able to attack oth
ers as he did Lipstadt, she said.
When asked if she would have writ
ten her book the same way if she
knew she would be sued, Lipstadt said
she wouldn’t.
“If I had known everything I
know now, I probably would have writ
ten far worse about David Irving,” she
said.
In response to being “pulled out
of the line to be shot” by Irving, she
said, “of course, I shot back and aimed
better.”
The university desk can be reached at
gamecockudesk@hotmail.com.
Vandalism
from page 1
for the university,” Mayfield said.
SG Chaplain Brooke Vickery, who
also helped in the painting, said she
was also disappointed.
“It’s very disrespectful, but some
body’s got to fix it,” she said. Though
most of the damage had been repaired
by Thursday afternoon, Vickery said
she would repair the remaining dam
age Friday.
The incident occurred around 1:45
a.m. Thursday, according to a USC po
lice report obtained by The Game
cock. USCPD officer Robert Hoffman
reported that “he heard the sounds of
someone spray-painting the tunnel.”
After the officers saw the suspect,
30-year-old Brian MacDermant of
1819 1/2 Blossom St., fleeing on his
bicycle, they chased MacDermant un
til they apprehended him behind
700 Henderson St., the report said.
The bicycle, a bicycle lock and one
can of dye w&re taken from MacDer
mant by officers, according to the re
port.
■ The vandalism included part of a
sentence, but all that remained Thurs
day afternoon was a pink splotch on
the hand of a cartoon portrayal of
“Cocky,” USC’s mascot.
Vandals struck for the first time
in late April, about.a week after SG
originally painted the tunnel.
Both times, the vandals used flu
orescent pink paint to paint on or near
Cocky.
The first time, “WE JUST DON’T
LIKE RETARDED POLITICIANS’-’
and “FIRE RAVENEL” were painted
across the tunnel wall. That vandal
ism referred to state Sen. Arthur
Ravenel, R-Charleston, who called th§
National Association for the Ad
vancement of Colored People the “Na
tional Association for the Advancer
ment of Retarded People” during a
pro-flag rally earlier this year.
The university desk can be reached at
gamecockudesk@hotmail.com.
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\ \ If you are ready for a REAL Tailgate Party, then come on by! I H^.
t£e tfilrJ Gre«?.t GAM^cocp^
I TaiWte fart# °f 2000 \7 \
I September 23 (USC vs. MISSISSIPPI ST.) 10:00 am -12:00 pm | ,
I featuring the band, "11 FOOT 7" \ I j
I // Seawell's parking lot -1125 Rosewood Drive
// across the street from "the ROCKET'at the State Fairgrounds. I
Jj/ The best part is that it is all FREE: Music, Lots of Great Food, Drinks and Door Prizes. ^11 /
/Souvenirs for the first 250 USC students in attendance.
Jj General parking is available at Seawell's for $5 per vehicle. V\/ / /
II FREE Bus Shuttle to the Tailgate Party and back to campus after the Game! / j
II 9:30 & 10:30 am: Pick ups at the Russell House, Columbia Hall & Bates House /\C/
I // Actual time or event may change due to funding or programmatic decisions. For additional information, please call 777-7130 /
/! Department of Student life Division of Student & Alumni Services \ \