The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 13, 2000, Image 1
M—— • Columbia, S.C.
Kevin Langston The Gamecock
, Jim Miles speaks In the lottery debate.
Lottery debaters
discuss addiction
by Brandon Larrabee
The Gamecock
Clashing over education funding,
support for scholarship increases and
the size of government, South Carolina
Secretary of State Jim Miles debated
with former chief of staff Kevin Ged
dings over the lottery Thursday night.
During tire debate, which took place
in the Russell House Theater, the two
sides disagreed without getting overly
contentious or negative.
Miles, one of the few Republicans
left in statewide office, said the lottery
would create a group of addicts in South
Carolina. He said proposing a state
run lottery would be akin to Miles mak
ing a proposal to encourage South
Carolinians to smoke and increase
revenues.
"How would you respond to that?"
he asked. "Would you think I'd lost my
mind?"
Miles said gambling was the fastest
growing addiction in America.
But Geddings said many of the ad
diction problems come from sources
like Internet gambling. He said that some
one could lose ”$1,000 in five minutes"
on the Internet - something that would
be harder with $1 lottery tickets.
"You know how long it’s going to
take to scratch off a thousand of these
things?" Geddings asked.
Geddings said die lottery would pro
vide extra money for public education
in South Carolina. He said the propos
al would allow for more scholarships
and technology in classrooms, includ
ing helping thousands of students who
can't afford college to attend.
"Wfe would help 13,000 of those kids
go to college without student loans,"
Geddings said.
But Miles said Gov. Jim Hodges was
hypocritical for asking for lottery mon
ey to raise scholarship funds while not
signing a bill to double the size of LIFE
scholarships from $2,000 to $4,000.
"He felt like it would hurt his po
litical cause in relation to the lottery,"
Miles said.
After the debate, Geddings said
Hodges supported the bill.
"The governor supports increasing
the LIFE scholarships," Geddings said.
"The governor has not vetoed that pro
vision."
While Geddings often referred to
Georgia in his arguments, Miles said the
South Carolina ballot initiative con
cerning the lottery mirrored the lan
guage used by Florida in their lottery
vote. He said that, while all the money
from the lottery goes to education in
Florida, money previously devoted to
schools went elsewhere.
"They moved the equivalent amount
out of the education budget and spent
Lottery seepages
Walk raises money
to cure diabetes
by Betsy Baugh
The Gamecock
The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
is sponsoring the “Walk to Cure Dia
betes” Sunday at the Sesquicentennial
State Park in an effort to raise money to
battle the disease.
Last year the 5K walk raised
$540,000 for diabetes research and ed
ucation.
Director of Juvenile Diabetes Foun
dation Gail Ginsbert said the organiza
tion’s motivation is to be rid of the dis
ease for good.
“Our mission is to find a cure for di
abetes and its complications through the
support of research,” Ginsbert said. “We
are the largest organization that funds di
abetes research other than the govern
ment.”
Diabetes is the leading cause of kid
ney failure, blindness and non-traumat
ic amputations, with more than 16 mil
lion people in the United States battling
the disease.
Every three minutes someone dies
from diabetes.
There are two types of diabetes, ac
cording to the JDF fact sheet.
Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed
in childhood and is caused by the de
struction of insulin-producing cells, or
islets, in the body. Type 1 diabetics must
take insulin to live.
Type 2 diabetics can produce insulin,
but their bodies don’t use it effectively.
This type is usually diagnosed in adult
hood.
Ginsbert said the latest research has
found a way to implant healthy islet cells
in the diabetic’s body. However, this ex
pensive procedure isn’t always effective
because the body sometimes rejects the
cells. Also, there’s a small supply of them.
“The procedure has been done eight
to 10 times, and those experimented on
are now diabetic free,” Ginsbert said.
"They plan to do 50 more procedures
by the end of the year.”
Renee Gibson, pubic information co
ordinator at the Institute for Families and
Society, has had diabetes for 25 years.
She said continued research has greatly
helped her live a more normal life.
“When I was diagnosed with diabetes
the doctor gave me what I now call the
Diabetes SEE PAGE 2
Election 2000
^———■—din^ur^jAMEcocK
Some USC students could benefit from either of the two proposed plans to fund higher education. Bush and Gore
both have plans to aid people wanting to attend college.
Bush, Gore propose
college funding plans
by Alicia Ballard
The Gamecock
As the presidential candidates grapple for the
votes of college students, both are striving to find
ways to improve federal aid for college tuition.
Republican candidate Geoige W. Bush propos
es funneling $7 billion in expanding access to col
lege for lower-income students, while Democratic
candidate A1 Gore is making up to $10,000 in col
lege tuition tax deductible.
Bush’s plan adds money to the already existing
government programs, according to information re
leased by the Republican National Committee’s Vic
tory 2000 Coalition. It would fully fund the Pell pro
gram for first-year students by increasing the maximum
grant amount to $5,100 from its current level of
$3,300. All other students would continue to be
eligible for the minimum levels. The cost of the pro
gram would be $5 billion over five years.
Bush is also offering enhanced Pell grants to stu
dents who pass advanced-placement or college-lev
el math and science courses, giving those students
an additional $1,000 dollars for tuition. The cost of
this proposal would be $1 billion over five years.
He has earmarked $ 1.5 billion over five years to
cover state costs to establish a merit scholarship pro
gram. States would be allowed to design their own
scholarship program, as long as they meet baseline
course requirements.
States that have already established such a pro
gram would still be eligible for federal funding, if
they continue and expand their scholarships.
The Bush proposal would expand education sav
ings accounts, allowing families or individuals with
incomes up to $150,000 a year to contribute up to
$5,000 annually per child into education savings ac
counts. That amount is up from the current $500
limit.
Parents would be permitted to withdraw funds
without being taxed on any gain or interest earned.
Victory 2000 communications director Jim Dyke
said the focus of Bush’s plan is to make college ac
cessible to everyone.
“Governor Bush’s plan focuses on people who
need help, and those are people who we should help,”
Dyke said. “But, the primary goal is to make college
available to all people. Bush hopes to accomplish
that by increasing the Pell Grant.”
Bush would use part of the money from the pro
jected 10-year surplus to fund the $7 billion plan,
Dyke said.
“Over the next 10 years, there is a $20 trillion
projected surplus,” Dyke said “Governor Bush plans
to use a part of that to fund his plan. It is also a ques
tion of priority. There is money in the current ad
ministration now to do these things. Governor Bush
plans to make education his top priority.”
Dyke also cites Bush’s record in Texas as proof
of his commitment to education.
“He clearly has shown his dedication to educa
tion through his record in Texas,” Dyke said. “His
plan helps all Americans through relief funds and
Pell grants. He realizes the importance of education
for all Americans.”
The targets of Gore’s educational proposal are
the middle class and prospective teachers, accord
ing information released by Gore’s campaign. Gore’s
plan would provide families with a tax deduction or
a 28 percent tax credit, up to $ 10,000 for tuition and
fees. The credit will apply to all post-secondary
education, including college, graduate school or skills
training.
In order to attract college students to the teach
ing profession, the Gore plan would provide inten
sive support and financial incentives to prospec
tive teachers. Financial incentives include up to
$10,000 in college aid and expanded loan foigive
ness.
The plan would benefit about 860,000 college
students who,commit to teach in high-need
schools or subject-shortage areas.
Gore’s plan would also create a national college
tuition savings plan that would link existing state col
lege savings and pre-paid tuition plans. These ac
counts would allow families to save for college tax
and inflation free.
Dyke said the major fault in Gore’s plan is it ex
cludes some people.
“Gore’s plan is limited,” Dyke said. “It doesn’t
include all Americans. Everyone should have access
to a higher education.”
Gore representatives were unable to be reached
for comment.
The city/state desk can be reached at
gamecockcftydesk@hotmall.com.
Festival celebrates GINT department
by Christine Lawhon
The Gamecock
Jazz music wafted down to the piz
za-munching students mingling around
the "GINTfest 2000" political displays at
the festival on Greene Street Wednesday.
Dr. Robert Angel from the Govern
mental and International Studies de
partment said the reason for the festival
was to celebrate the GINT department’s
role in educational politics and as a thank
you to their students.
The chairman of the GINT depart
ment Harvey Starr spoke about his con
cern over how students may view poli
tics.
Starr said politics are more than an
election eveiy four years; he believes in
the importance of a political education.
"Government is us, and the key to
government is education. The more ed
ucated a student is, the more they will
participate, care and become involved,"
Starr said.
The organizations of Professional Stu
dents of International Studies, College
Democrats, College Republicans, the
Green Party and more set up booths to
introduce themselves to students.
President of PS1S Gillian Mabrey said
her group was for getting students inter
ested in international relations and to help
them find internships and jobs.
"Wfe want students to know that there
is a future in this major," Mabrey said.
The College Democrats and Repub
licans were also there. They were look
ing for student support for the oncoming
presidential election.
The Green Party performed a drama
tization of what they believe Bush and
Gore are doing to liberty and how they
are only puppets of big name corpora
tions.
For the demonstration, two students
GINTFEST SEE PAGE 2
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Students dramatize presldental candidates at GINT test 2000
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Today
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Saturday
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Carolina
prepares to
take on the
Hogs.
Page 9
“I never forget a face, but in
your case, I’ll be glad to
make an exception.”
— Groucho Marx
3
Friday
• Fall Break begins
• AAAS annual Step-c
Carolina Coliseum,
p.m.
k
Saturday
• Football vs. Arkansas 1
(T P-m.
g • Great Gamecock Tail
gate Party
• Hispanic Heritage month
ends