Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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“Hie ©amtcock YEAR in REVIEW ' The Gamecock looks back at the people and events that made news in the final year of the millennium at Carolina USC INVESTIGATES MISUSE OF FUNDS August 24 Students came back from summer break to discover SLED had been called in to investigate the actions of five employees from the Institute for Public Affairs, a little-known USC think tank. The employees allegedly used public money for personal purposes. Fifth Circuit Solicitor Barney Giese later asked the state grand jury to investigate. While USC officials de clined to release the names of the employ ees, The Gamecock revealed that Sarah Grayson, who works in the institute’s Office of Research, was one of the employees under investigation. No charges have yet been filed in the case. use ENDS SEC LOSING STREAK BY BEATING GEORGIA September 11 Gamecock fans were not sup posed to tear down the goal posts Sept. 10 — not so much because the university’s rules disal lowed it, but because that was the day the Georgia Bulldogs, ranked among the Top 10 teams in the nation, were coming to Columbia. The ’Dawgs were intent on flattening the enthusiasm USC fans felt after their team had blanked New Mexico State University 31-0, ending a 21-game losing streak that had plagued the Gamecocks since they beat Ball State Sept. 5,1998. It was not to be. In a stunning 21-10 victory over Georgia, Lou Holtz’s team sent a message that the Gamecocks would be a force in SEC football in 2000. USC went 7-4 in the regular sea son, eventually playing Florida for the SEC East championship in their final division game, which they lost. After trouncing the favored Ohio State Buckeyes at the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., the Gamecocks ended up ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press football poll, capping a season in which fans had much more to celebrate than finally winning a game. USC INCREASES GOAL September 25 University President John Palms announced Sept. 22 that USC had once again passed its goal for the bicentennial campaign and planned to raise the bar even higher. Palms announced USC would now try to raise $500 million. The original goal for the campaign had been to raise $200 million by De cember 2001. That number was later raised to $250 million and then $300 million as the university passed previous goals well ahead of schedule. While university officials expressed confidence that they could raise the money by the original deadline, they also said the cam paign could be extended by at least two years. Vice President for Development Charles Phlegar, who over saw the campaign, left USC in November for a similar position at Johns Hopkins University. SCHOOL OF MEDICINE FACES LAWSUITS I November 29 JA s the semester wound down, USC’s School of Medicine found itself under ^"mfire over seven lawsuits filed by the fam ilies of four body donors, who claimed the uni versity promised their family members a decent burial before dumping cremated remains in mass graves at prison cemeteries and pau per's fields. University officials declined com ment on the allegations because of the ongo | ing litigation. In response to the accusations of I the families, S.C. Sen. Andre Bauer, a USC 1 graduate, announced he would sponsor a bill in !the General Assembly dealing with the dispos al of body donors. The lawsuits seek an un specified amount in damages. j/BSU/ggEgm_> ■ —— . eaddy handily wins sg presidency February 25 In a race marked by scandal, Jotaka Eaddy cruised to a win in a run-off SG pres idential election held February 23-24. Eaddy, who fell just 80 votes short of win ning outright the original four-candidate race for president, more than doubled Katie Taylor’s vote total in the final round. Taylor was almost disqualified when the Elections Commission gave her two infractions after discovering a mass e-mail sent to engineering students by Taylor’s boyfriend, Russell Quattlebaum. Taylor s campaign denied any (orior knowledge of the e-mail. TWISTS, TURNS IN JOURNALISM DEAN SEARCH December 6 In a dizzying series of events that left the search for a new dean for the Col lege of Journalism and Mass Commu nications in a state of flux, two of the fi- ' nalists named by the university in September dropped out of the search before one of them agreed to reconsider his decision. University of Nebraska Journalism Dean William Norton was the first candidate to remove his name from the running, withdrawing from the race in early November. Ronald Loewen, busi nessman and former president of WIS TV, followed in December; meanwhile, Norton said he would return to USC in an attempt to find out whether some of his concerns had been addressed. The other candidate in the race, Edward Pease, was the head of the department of communications at Utah State Univer sity. Interim Dean Ron Farrar is expected to retire when a new dean is announced. -*W- ™. ■» |» Monday mm IDitimBmuocir ***"**"**** «»»»«♦»«>«, ^' ■■ SSL ! _CAM',A1CN 2000 ™* pinai. DAYS Grornor nW visits GMP 1 to tout plan "izisr gro Presidential candidates Spite ggg court undecided voters =g==S= iA»«»*niw«.i.™«,t KSf^ 2 *** W S-C. use experts sey expected again tins year Va : Uttl(«l»4ta 'IhMMK '"" •hh*j-5=.p-s t i Nation AP: Wacky election , tops news in 2000 The Associated Press chose the following stories as the Top Ten of the year. □ The presidential election: George W. Bush emerged the winner in an overtime election that took unprecedented legal and DOlitical twists. □ Tug-of-war over Elian Gonzalez: After months of political and legal 4 wrangling, armed federal agents seized the 6-year old boy from his Miami relatives, and he was ultimately returned to his father in Cuba. □ USS Cole attack: Seventeen U.S. sailors died Oct. 12 when explosives transported in a small boat ripped open the hull of the 505-foot destroyer in Yemen. UOil prices: Crude oil prices soared as OPEC curtailed production, leading to a worldwide outcry over higher fuel ^ costs and prompting the United States to dip into its strategic reserves. □ Firestone's troubles: The tire maker recalled more than 6 million tires after complaints of tread separations, blowouts and other problems that led to accidents. The federal government has linked 148 deaths and hundreds Dof injuries to the tires. Microsoft breakup: A federal judge ordered Microsoft Corp. to split up in an antitrust case that, if g upheld, could result in the * largest government ordered restructuring since AT&T’s breakup in 1984. □ Genetic code mapped: New medical frontiers opened when scientists announced that they had virtually deciphered the human genetic code. □ The Year 2000: The new year arrived mostly glitch-free, with millennium celebrations drowning out . doomsday predictions of Y2K computer problems. □ Milosevic toppled: Following a disputed election, the 13-year rule of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic ended abruptly when thousands of people stormed parliament and forced him to hand power to rival Vojislav Kostunica. Tobacco verdict: A jury ordered the tobacco industry to pay a record $145 billion in punitive damages to sick Florida smokers; tobacco lawyers warned that the verdict, if upheld, could bankrupt | them.