Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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This Week in USC History Nov. 10, 1986 - About 245 of Columbia Hall’s resi dents received notice of the university’s decision to move them off of the top five floors of the residence hall because of the need of an asbestos removal. |P p 2000 ; Christian Music Is it a genre? ■ Justin McRoberts disputes genre label 'Christian rock' by Zeina Makky The Gamecock Justin McRoberts could easily pass for an average college stu dent, except he has recently released his second album, “Father.” The industry, fond of making up categories and sticking dif ferent artists in the same group, decided to identify him as a Chris tian rock musician, a label that annoys him. “Christian music is not a genre. Rock ‘n’ roll is a genre. Folk is a genre. I’m not so convinced there is such a thing as Christ ian music,” he said. McRoberts classifies himself as “pretty much rock ‘n’ roll.” However, McRoberts does claim he has felt God’s presence in his life. “As a Christian, I believe that God is involved in every thing, in every relationship I’ve had, even in this present mo ment,” he said. This does have an influence in his music, even though he rejects the Christian music label. “I try to write songs about my life and my relationships from the perspective that there’s God’s hands in my life,” he said. Surprisingly, McRoberts wasn’t raised a Christian. “I didn’t ‘meet’ God until I was 18, and I became a Christian through the Ministry of Young Life,” he said. In fact, McRoberts claims he was “very Anti-Christian back in high school. I thought these people were morons.” Though he converted, he still has “a lot of criticism and is sues with the Church. We [the Church] entertain ourselves like crazy, make our churches look really great and bring in fantas tic musicians while the community around us continues to suf fer. That’s not Christ. Christ was a poor man,” he said. McRoberts started out like any child who enjoys music more than anything. “I just picked up a guitar and farted around, and ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ turned into what I do now.” Yet something inspired him to go further. “I had always been a music fan,” McRoberts said. “I found a lot of inspiration in the songs I listened to and decided to write a song instead of just try to find something I could resonate with. “The most powerful songs are those that get into people’s McRoberts see wge 6 Special to The Gamecock I___I Meunda DiMauro Special to The Gamecock ■ Nicole Nordeman shares spirituality through music by Zeina Makky The Gamecock As a Christian singer, Nicole Nordeman recently released her latest LP, “This Mystery,” and opened for Caedmon’s Call on Nov. 8 at the Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia. She started her career by taking piano lessons in first grade. “Music was a second language in our home,” she said. “I listened to all kinds of stuff, and still do. I knew all the hymns that we sang in church, the sacred music. “But my Mom, who is a fabulous pianist, was really great about exposing my brother and me to George Gershwin, Ella Fitzgerald, country music and opera. We were exposed to a broad range of music.” Nordeman realized she wanted to become a singer when she was in college. When she began writing songs, she moved from Colorado Springs to L. A., where she entered a songwriting con test. “I didn’t have any hopes of being discovered. I thought it was a good chance to meet some other Christians in L.A. and other musicians. It ended up opening a lot of doors for me in terms of meeting the right people at record labels, management, etc.,” she said. Nordeman has now been in the industry for eight months and has grown considerably. “This experience has been very educational. I went into this not knowing the difference between a sound engineer and a cater er. I was naive and innocent, which was kind of a good thing as I didn’t have any grand expectations or illusions that were dis appointing,” she said. Nordeman categorizes her music as “piano-driven pop, edgy pop. It’s hot bubble gum pop like Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera, but I hope it’s more along the style of Sarah McLachlan.” The difference is her lyrics deal with faith and God. “I don’t know if have an agenda, I don’t sit down and write ' a song thinking ‘I want people to hear this message.’ I don’t write Nordeman see pages Into the Streets’ provides day of community service by Kelly Hamilton The Gamecock Into the Streets, a student-run com munity service organization, will bring students, faculty and staff together to morrow for a day of service projects at various sites in the Columbia area. According to Tim Miller, coor dinator of Community Service Pro jects, students Janet Regal and Linsey Matthews planned the event as part of the Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Miller said several of the projects serve that cause, but there are also var ious other causes. “There are 11 different sites, and students will have the chance to learn about the volunteer opportunities out there,” Miller said. “My hope is to find that they like doing these activities and then maybe go back individually to volunteer.” According to Miller, the project has been funded by Student Govern ment and the Honors College and has received financial support from Dick Smith Nissan and Carolina First Bank. Regal and Matthews are honor stu dents who oiganized the event as part of their senior thesis. “It’s been a lot of work getting this whole thing together, but we’re both happy that we decided to do it,” said Regal. “It was rewarding and at the same time more fun than writing a term paper for my thesis,” Regal said. “The experience has shown us a lot about how to run a business and the logistics of setting something like this up. It’s about deadlines, working with people. This has been very edu cational for us,” Regal said. According to Regal, they’ve been working on the project since the be ginning of August. “Not a day has gone by since then that we have not worked on this. We are working with 10 organizations, in cluding the Department of Juvenile Justice, Epworth’s Children’s Home, Ronald McDonald House, Harvest Hope Food Bank, St. Lauren’s Place, the Keep America Beautiful Program and a local elementary school,” Regal said. “First we contacted the agencies to find out what kind of help they need ed. Then we called different campus groups to find volunteers,” Regal said. Regal is pleased that so many students will be participating this year. “Right now we have almost 3,000 volunteers from the American Mar keting Association, the Judicial Board, 360 Campus Ministries, Mortar Board, the Alumni Scholars Association, Gold en Key Honor Society, SAE, sopho more scholars, Omega Phi Alpha, SACS, Phi Kappa Alpha, Club Man agement and two University 101 Class es.” Regal said the projects vary by site, according to what each agency needs. “Many of them wanted cleaning done. At the elementary school, we’ll be working on a nature trail and a but terfly garden. The food bank needs help with Christmas time. At the De partment of Juvenile Justice, they wanted us to help some of the girls there to make placements for the el derly,” Regal said. Registration will begin at 9:30 a.m. on the Russell House patio. Volunteers will be transported by bus to the dif ferent sites, where they will work for about four hours before returning to USC for a thank-you reception at 3 p.m. There are a limited number of sjpaces left. Applications are available in the Office of Community Service. The spotlight desk can be reached at gamecockspotlight@hotmaiLcom. ‘There are 11 different sites, and students will have the chance to learn about the volunteer opportunities out there. My hope is to find that they like doing these ac tivities and then maybe go back individually to volunteer,’ Tim Miller Coordinator of Community Service Projects Students prepare tiger for annual ‘Tiger Burn’ BY WlLLLlAM Snyder The Gamecock Sure there are athletic events, student organizations, student gov ernment opportunities and plenty other ways to get involved on cam pus, but how often is USC given the chance to unite and light stuff on fire? One thing’s for »ure—it’s not often enough. USC and Carolina Productions recognize this lack of communal firestarting, and, give students a chance to indulge in their more primitive desires once a year. Yes, it’s that time of year again. The annual ‘Tiger Bum” will once again allow students to come to gether and enjoy the orgiastic excitement of a blazing inferno. Nothing’s more gratifying than watching one of nature’s most dan gerous elements consume a 15 foot sculpture, unless, of course, you’re Phillip Amerson or Jo Smith. For these two dedicated Game cocks, the true embodiment of school pride isn’t found on a big, crowded lot, with fireworks, cheer leaders and a large, controlled blaze. No, for these two devoted fans, supporting their school comes in the form of commitment and self less devotion. When production began last Wednesday, they sat on a vacant section of the farmers’ market armed with little more than 84 feet of uncut board, 50 pounds of news paper, 300 feet of chicken wire, and a dream. “The actual burn is exciting, but building [the tiger] gives us a chance to work together for a uni versity program,” Smith said. With the ambitious goal of building one of the first standing tigers in many years, the hard working students definitely have their job cut out for them. “We could have built one lay ing down,” Smith remarked, “but that would have been the easy way.” Sure, a standing tiger is more difficult and takes more time, but the extra effort doesn’t dis courage these spirited students. Smith and the others look for TlQER see page 6 William Synder The Gamecock For the first time in many years, the “Tiger Bum” will feature a standing tiger. So far, only the sculpture’s legs are complete. ‘Indie’ film discreetly delivers to traditional moviegoers by Tug Baker The Gamecock Yes, the title does sound like the latest N’ Sync single. How ever, in a year filled with “Brave heart” remakes and stale plots, writer/director Ken Loneigan’s “You Can Count on Me” has emerged as one of the best films of the year. Already co-winner of-the Best Film and winner of the Best Screen play Award at the Sundance Film Fes tival, this touching and thought-pro voking film may receive more awards before the year is over. ■ “You Can Count on Me” opens with a car crash in which Sammy and Terry Prescott’s parents are killed, and then cuts to Sammy and Terry as adults. iammy (.Laura Linaey, t ruman Show”) is living in her parents’ house and struggling with the hardships of being a single mother. Terry (Mark Ruffalo, “Ride with the Devil”) is a drifter coming home to “borrow” money to help pay for his girlfriend’s abortion. The two have kept in touch, but from the beginning it’s obvious that problems are going to occur because of Terry’s disregard for responsibili ty and possible bad influence on his nephew. Sounds pretty typical, right? Not so. One of the main focuses of the movie is Terry’s relationship with Sam my’s son, Rudy (Rory Culkin). Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Os mont have nothing comprable to the bond Terry and Rudy share. Another interesting twist in the movie is Sammy’s love life. After her on-again, off-again boyfriend propos es to her, she has an affair with her married, uptight boss Brian, played by Matthew Broderick (“Elec tion”). Her own immoral romance makes her question if she really has the right to scold Terry about the mistakes in his life. Whjle this is Ken Lonergan’s first time directing, he does an ex ceptional job, succeeding in letting his terrific script simply unfold on the screen. He manages to tell a complete sto ry without spelling it out for the au dience. rur example, me uiie is nevci ae tually said, only hinted at. Lonergan even appears in the movie as the touchy-feely priest who is an under stated laugh-riot. The rest of the cast does a fabu lous job. Linney and Ruffalo give the performances of their careers. The entire cast comes across as completely real. They never cease to surprise. In a world where “indie” film has become a bad word among tradition al moviegoers, “You Can Count on Me” delivers to a wide audience. ; The laughs drawn from the crowd4 aren’t forced but are the natural hu mor people find in everyday life. While seemingly an overused plot, the movie asks much more than what j meets the eye. “You Can Count on Me” opens in limited release today and national ly on Nov. 17. The sneak preview was sponsored by Carolina Productions. For infor mation on upcoming sneaks, call 777 7031. The spotlight desk can be reached at gamecockspotlight@hotnian.com.