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_VOL. 94, No. 28Wednesday November 1, 2000__ %\t amccock I Serving the Carolina Community since 1Q08 www.gamecock.sc.edu UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH Carolina Columbia, s.c. Group warns of nuclear disaster in S.C. by John Huiett The Gamecock An anti-nuclear activists group is warn ing that a recent pipe leak at the V.C. Sum mer Nuclear Power Plant in Jcnkinsvillc, SC could eventually lead to an unprece dented United Slates nuclear disaster. A nuclear explosion at the plant axild directly effect Midlands, since the plant is about 25 miles north of Columbia in Fairfield County. Director Rebecca Rogers, of the Car olina Pcitcc Resource Center, a nearly 20 ycar-old group formed on the idea of end ing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, said yesterday the leak could cause dc struction on an unparalleled scale if not properly contained. “It could be worse than Chernobyl, because of the location of lltc crack in the weld,” Rogers said. Russia’s Chernobyl Power Plant suf fered a meltdown in 1986 when a reac tor overheated, causing two explosions that released radiation into the air for 10 days. According to lire Web site www.Qier nobyl.com, which is dedicated to the on going study of the meltdown’s lasting effects, the radiation released at Cher nobyl was 100 times greater than the nu clear bomb the U.S. dropped on Hiroshi ma ending World War II. Ten years after the disaster, babies were “still being bom with no amis, no eyes and only slumps for limbs,” the site contends. The site further estimates more than 15 million people have been physically affected by the meltdown, including 600,000 involved in die disaster’s cleanup, “many of which arc now sick or dead.” Rogers, whose husband is an electri cian at the Jcnkinsvillc plant, said work ers at the plant found powder residue around the leak and liquid accumulation, indicating the pipe had been leaking for some time. A report released by the Washington, DC-based Union of Concerned Scientists revealed the leak occurred from a crack in the hot leg section of the piping, causing nuclear-contaminated water to leak from lire pipe during a lime when the Summer plant was in operation. Rogers said information she has re ceived indicates that while, “tlterc arc two cracks, only one is serious,” and that plant employees have been working 12 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure the problem is contained. But according to nuclear safety engi neer David Lochbaum, who prcpitrcd the Concerned Scientists report, even if a dis aster is averted, llicrc is more titan enough cause for concern. “Luck, not skill, seemed to prevent the hot leg piping from cracking com pletely,” Lochbaum said. “This near-miss is very significant.” Lochbaum said the worst possible ac cident that could take place at a nuclear plant is “a laige-brcak loss of coolant ac cident,” a situation hinted at by the Sum mer leak. Lochbaum concluded that plant offi cials must determine if there arc any oth er cracks in the welds or piping at Sum mer, provide assurance that the one reported serious leak is the only leak and prove tlial officials arc inspecting the pipes on a regular basis before the Nuclear Reg ulatory Commission will allow Summer to reopen. South Carolina Electric & Gas spokesman Brian Duncan said the leak is being dealt with in an efficient and time ly manner. “Wfc’re taking it very seriously,” Dun can said. “We arc working very closely with the Nuclear Regulatory Committee, and they will oversee the testing. We arc now evaluating our repair options.” Duncan confirmed that a four-inch hairline fracture was discovered in the weld of in a reactor coolant system pipe Nuclear Death see page 2 USC block on Napster accidental, school says ■ Officials say they didn't mean to prohibit access by Charles Prashaw The Gamecock The pending lawsuit against Napster, a controversial online free Mp3 provider, hasn’t shut down its site, hut a mistake made by Computer Services has caused many USC students to no longer be able to connect to the Napster server. According to Computer Services of ficials, an update to the university’s “fire wall” last Thursday put a block between Napster and the university’s network, pro hibiting access to the online site in most of USC’s dorms. “We inadvertently blocked Napster access and we’re going to reverse that,” USC Chief Information Officer William Hogue said. university spokesman jusoii esnyuer said computer technicians have been woo ing on the problem since Thursday and some residence halls that lost the ability to connect to Napster should be able to log on the site by the end of the week. Some residence halls, including Pre ston and Capstone, had regained access to Napster by Tuesday evening. The software that ultimately blocked students from the server was installed for \ security and privacy reasons, Hogue said. There arc no other reports of the new software blocking access to any oilier Web sites nor were there any reports of the software blocking access to similar pro grams like Scour, which is like Napster, but over which users trade videos and pho tos as well as music. Hogue said lie hadn’t been told wlicthcr the block was intentionally built into the software or if it was an oversight. Snyder said USC’s policy towards Nap ster is that it is officially banned, but the university wasn’t going to block people from gelling on the site if they cluxisc to do so. The only place Snyder said students arc unable to gel on Napster is the vari ous computer labs across campus. In dorm rixinis, they aren’t officially supposed to be on Napster, bill the university isn’t blocking dorm access to the site. Napster seepages 2005 Faculty key to building a better USC Goals This is the fourth article in a series by The Gamecock examining the goals the USC board of trustees recently agreed to try to achieve by 2005. by Brandon Larrabee Thi: Gami:cock Once a university obtains quality students, llierc must be someone to teach them. As with the oilier goals the board of trustees set, the goals for faculty quali ty in 2005 arc high. They include hav ing five National Academy members and increasing external research funding to $175 million. National Academy members arc ex perts called upon by the federal gov ernment for advice concerning security issues in their respective field. They arc elected by their peers to wliat Vice President for Research William Harris compared to a hall of fame. The university has one: Yakir Aharonov, a physics professor. To gel four more will require in creasing the academic reputation and - as with many of the university’s other goals - funding, according to Chairman of the Board Mack Whittle. “We just need to make a conscious effort and get the funding we need to bring those faculty in,” Whittle said. He said some of the bigger names in educa tion had between five and 20 National Academy members. And bringing those faculty in will help the university reach its goal con cerning the funding of research. “If you improve one, then you’re probably going to improve the other,” Whittle said. Though llic university's goal involves increasing research intake by more lh;ui $50 million - USC set a slate record by raising $121 million in the past year - it will have to increase by $25 million to $75 million more if the university wants to make it into the Association of American Universities, something the ■board’s goals arc ultimately intended to accomplish, according to Whittle. He said the university would need to raise at least $200 million to $250 million annually to be invited to the AAU. Harris, who worked at the National Science Foundation for almost 20 years, agreed that the university’s goals for re search hinge on the quality of its facul ty “To be a great research university, you first and foremost have to be a great leaching university,” Harris said. And research, Harris said, was es sential to the board’s overall goal of get ting into the AAU. “You will not get into lljc AAU with out a highly successful research pro gram,” he said. Harris also said an increase in the amount and quality of research being done will make USC degrees valuable. He added that even if a sludcnl’s degree were one issued before the university became a AAU-lcvcl institution, it would be valuable because such students liclpcd build llic university. Harris specifically highlighted areas such as biotechnology and information technology as two areas the university had to do well in if it wanted to be an AAU-calibcr institution. “If you’re going to be a great uni versity in the 21st century, you’ve got to be good in those areas. You’ve got to be very good in those areas,” Harris said. Harris said the university’s goals re quired money in order to hire the kind of faculty needed, and specifically men tioned the fact that the state funds the university at about 70 percent of what the university says it needs. “It’s money,” Harris said. “You’ve got to have the money to invest in the talent base that is essential to make the university among the lop 50 in the coun try." H.irris said Florida and Georgia were two examples where the stale govern ments had made a decision to give more money to universities. He said those funds had helped institutions in those stales hire top-notch faculty. “South Carolina has not done that yet,” lie said. The goal the trustees set was reach able, Harris said, but not without the right level of funding.. “If we don’t get the right investment, we won’t be able to achieve it,” Harris said. The university desk etui he reached nl gamecockudesk@hotmail.com. Amy Goulding The Gamecock Professors Streible and Kissel team teach a theory and practice documentary class in McMaster College. The board of trustees wants to hire more outstanding faculty members. Columbia students now shopping for art supplies online i-—-1 .... . Phoenix Graphix, an art supplies store located on Assembly Street by Valerie Matchette Thi; Gamixock Students who have found textbook shopping online to be a more convenient and less expensive option than on-cam pus b(X)kslorcs can now purchase their art supplies online as well. SludcnlMarkcl.com, a Web site de signed for the convenience of the aver age college student, was first launched in 1995. It offers products in high demand for college students at competitive dis counts. According to a press release issued by llic company, it “has a fraction of the overncau costs associaieu wnn campus bookstores." While Stu6cntMarkct.com offers stu dents textbooks at lcss-lhan-rctail prices, it also offers advice on everything rele vant to the college-age crowd, from get ting a first credit aud to applying for school lOiUtS. It gives test lips for tlic GM AT, LSAT, GRE and SAT, along with exam dales and allows students to explore cellular-phone and long-distance calling plans. Students can also find music, clotlics and domi fur niture at discounted rates. Recently the site began to offer art supplies amiig wun us regular wares. “In the same way that online lexl Ixxik sites are an alternative to shopping at the campus bookstore, we now pro vide an cITcclivc alternative for art sup plies,” said Oren Milgram, director of stu dent services at Brown University, where the Web site originated. “StudcnlMarkcl.com is committed to providing the academic community with a competitive college shopping so lution,” Milgram said. One Columbia-arca art supply store llial serves USC students’ needs lias joined Art supplies seepages Weather Today 72 49 Thursday 81 ■ ‘<u-^222> 53 f c Inside Spotlight reviews the Blair Witch Project 2. Page 8 i Quote of the Day “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible” — Walt Disney Datebook Wednesday —- • AAAS Black Cultural November Wcc(, 1* Safely, Alcohol, and Vi olence Education Week Thursday 1“- • AAAS Black Cultural November Wcck 2* Safely, Alcohol, and Vi olence Education Week