The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 29, 2001, Image 1
_Vol. 94, No. 47 Monday January 29, 2001_
Serving the Ca rolina Community since 1Q08
WWW.DAILYGAMECOCK.COM UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA * COLUMBIA, S.C.
USC celebrates MLK Day
with rally, volunteering
by Maggie Stewart
The Gamecock
A rally on Jan. 27 concluded USC’s
iwo-wcck long scries of events cele
brating the life of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.
The theme of this year’s celebra
tion was “Rcnicnibcr-Celebratc-Acl.”
The event consisted of a rally on
Greene Street and a march to Martin
Luther King Park behind Five Points.
Upon arriving at the park, nearly
500 volunteers from USC, City Year
and Columbia were divided into 23
groups and bused to community service
work sites across Columbia, including
Epworlh Children’s Home, the Ar
borctorum and Pets Inc.
Tiffany Elser, a volunteer who
served as a site leader, said, “1 wanted
to ... help get everyone involved and
to help give back to the community.”
Before service began, however,
about 150 students and volunteers
gathered at the Russell House at 8 a.m.,
where speeches were given by
Student Government President Jotaka
Eaddy and representatives from USC’s
Bicentennial Committee, Dance
Marathon, Basic Theater and the Office
of Community Service Programs.
Isaac Williams, district aide to Rep.
James Clyburn, D-S.C., was the fea
tured speaker.
In addition, Anilra Davis, a third
year College of Science and Mathe
matics student and the coordinator of
I
‘The purpose of the day is to honor Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. and to celebrate him for being
such an admirable man in our society/
Anrtra Davis
Day of Service Coordinator
die Day of Service, spoke about her feel
ings toward the celebration.
“The purpose of the day is to hon
or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to
celebrate him for being such an ad
mirable man in our society,” Davis said.
She also explained why the
celebration was held nearly two
weeks after Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“This year, instead of having the day
of service on the recognized holiday
(Jan. 15), we decided to have it on the
27th so that students would not just be
moving back into the residence halls,
and so they would also have tinte to hear
ahout the event,” Davis said.
Eaddy look the stage to welcome
Kmo SEE PAGE 2
Councilman
' allegedly asks
employees to
waive his bills
by Charles Prashaw
Thk Gamkcock
A Columbia City councilman will
be formally investigated for having
others waive his bills, according to
information released Friday at City Hall.
Councilman E. W. Cromarlic, who
represents the downtown area and the
city’s northeast neighborhoods, has been
accused of having city staffers waive his
personal business fees and other city bills
( he owed.
City officials didn’t release any
details in the matter Friday but simply
said the councilman was under
investigation.
Assistant City Manager Charles
Williams was named in the release for
allegedly waiving business license fees,
as well as garbage and water bills, for
Cromarlic.
The bills, which came from his
private residence on Haskell Avenue and
a private business, were left unpaid for
several months, according to city records.
The bills were zeroed out with no
given explanation.
Williams told The Free Times that
Cromartic’s dealings with the city were
always “on the level.”
However, the city’s formal
' investigation stems from a scries of
articles The Free Times did on the
councilman’s numerous unpaid city bills.
In a public statement, Cromartic said
his struggles with his taxes and
other finances have been well-docu
mented, but he has always paid before
being taken to court or losing property.
“Everyone who is in business has
money problems,” Cromartic said.
“Sometimes I was late, and when I was,
I paid the penalties.”
Cromartic, who has been on Co
lumbia City Council since 1983, was one
of the first black members elected to
City Council,
t
The Associated Press contributed to this
report.
The city desk can be reached at
gamecockcitydesk@hotmail.com
Student Incubator Center
The student incubator center, which will provide financing and office space for 10 new student
businesses, will be located at 1233 Washington St Student Government President Jotaka
Eaddy announced the S.C. Research Institute’s $150,000 grant which will finance the center,
last week. Interest meetings will be held today at 6 pm in Russell House 304 and Wednesday
at 6 pm In Russell House 315.
Professor: divorce, sexual abuse linked
■ USC's Robin Wilson publishes article
in Cornell Law Review, advocates
solutions involving justice system
by Cristy Infinger
The Gamecock
Daughters of divorced parents face
an increased risk of sexual abuse, according
to an article by USC law professor Robin
Wilson that has been published in the
Cornell Law Review.
Wilson teaches domestic relations,
health care law, insurance and bioethics
in tlic Scliool of Law. Her ninth legal pub
lication, “Children at Risk: The Sexual
Exploitation of Female Children After
Divorce,” explains ways tlic justice sytem
can make parents aware of the increased
risk their daughters might face as a result
of divorce.
wnat me social science studies
suggest is that once two parents divorce
that have daughters, then those girls are
exposed to an increased risk of sexual
abuse by someone, not necessarily a
parent,” Wilson said.
The article, published this month, is
getting worldwide attention. Wilson
presented her article this summer at the
Tenth World Conference of the
International Society for Family Law in
Brisbane, Australia.
Wilson proposes that female children
arc more likely to become sexually abused
after a divorce than males. One reason
for this phenomenon, Wilson says, is
increased traffic in the child’s life
between two houses and two sets of
families.
Another reason Wilson gives is an
initial decrease in supervision
immediately following the divorce.
Parents aren’t as organized with their
children and their lime as is possible in
a two-parent home, Wilson said.
“We have one very convenient
opportunity to address this public health
problem, and that is simply to tell two
divorcing parents that the risk to their
daughters may escalate after their
divorce,” she said.
That solution might seem simplistic,
but many parents don’t think about their
daughters’ increased risk of sexual abuse,
Wilson said. The article proposes that live
justice system tell parents about the
increased risk. After learning about the
risk, parents might want to take their
daughters to risk management classes or
talk to them about the possibility so tlicy
will be able to handle an abusive
‘We have one very convenient opportunity to
address this public health problem, and that is
simply to tell two divorcing parents that the
risk to their daughters may escalate after their
divorce.*
Robin Wilson
(JSC law professor
situation.
“We may even want to use this to
weigh the scale during a custody
proceeding. If one parent refuses to
acknowledge this problem, then maybe
we should prefer the other parent,”
Wilson said.
Wilson sees several uses for this
information. One is that if the justice
sysleni acknowledges this important
issue, parents can complete their divorce
without the added stress that comes from
putting their daughters in a vulnerable
position, Wilson said.
The univeisily desk can be reachedal
gamecockudesk@hotmaiLcom
Weather
i umr
58
50
Tuesday
62
47
Coming Up Quote of the Day Online Poll
IJt'aiKing services
investigates
illegal use of
handicapped
tags.
Wednesday
“He who hesitates is a
damned fool.”
— Mae West
4
1
‘We don’t have a
history of that’
■ Administrators, student leaders
worry about impact of budget cuts
on students, faculty, USC programs
*
by Brandon Larrabee
Thf. Gamecock
Gov. Jim Hodges’ proposed 15
percent budget cuts could deeply affect
programs that benefit USC students and
cause enrollment numbers to drop,
according to USC administrators and
student leaders.
Fewer students coming to
USC, the cutting of beneficial
programs and more difficulty in
attracting quality faculty are some,
of the voiced concerns — if
the cuts go through the
General Assembly.
One worry is that
increased tuition could
cause students to
leave USC or not
to consider it as an
option.
Terry Davis,
director of
undergrad
uate admis
sions, said she
thinks most stu
dents expect tu
ition to rise every
year. But slie said
there was noth
ing to compare to
standard if the budget cuts pass.
Student Government President
Jotaka Eaddy said some students
wouldn’t be able to pay for higher
education if the tuition increases go
through.
“Tuition is high as it is,” she said.
“Students can’t afford tuition
hikes as it is.”
USC President John Palms
echoed that sentiment Wednes
day after a meeting with faculty •
about the budget cuts.
“Students... do not need a 30
percent increase in tuition right
now,” Palms said.
Some administra
tors oppose a dras
tic increase in tu
ition.
“My personal opin
ion is that we
can’t afford to
put a 15
percent, or
whatever the
budget cut is, on
the backs of stu
dents,” chairman
of the board of
trustees Mack
Whittle said af
Inr I hr» kn'nntnn .
the 32 percent in
crease the university has said it would
need to compensate for the state bud
get cuts.
“We don’t have a history of that,”
she said.
However, Davis said she believed
the size of the proposed increase would
aficct enrollment levels at USC.
“Because that’s such a significant
increase, it would have to have some
kind of negative impact on enrollment,”
slic said.
By state law, tuition increases are
kept in line with the Higher Educa
tion Price Index, limiting the amount
tuition can rise. However, some college
presidents and legislators have talked
about relieving colleges from the HEPI
nial kickoff. “We’ve done that... and
tliat’s just not the answer.”
SG Vice President Corey Ford
said he believed the cuts could keep
lower-income students from even
considering South Carolina institutions.
“A lot of lower-income potential
students will be turned off (by the
higher prices),” Ford said.
“I think that diversity could be a
problem,” Eaddy also said.
But Palms has said tuition
increases wouldn’t be enough to fight
the problem. Tlie university could also
have to cut programs and the number
of students that could enter the
Budget Cuts seepages
Will you be able to afford
a raise iri tuition?
Vole al www.dailyganiccock.com.
Results will be published Friday.
i