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This Week in USC History Feb. 18, 1991 — Captain Dale Thomas Cormier, 30, became South Carolina’s first Gulf War casualty when his F-16 crashed in Saudi Arabia. . r tv ■ Students choose to build houses for impoverished as alternative to spring break T O & YOUTH PROGRAMS Special to The Gamecock College students participating in Habitat for Humanity project. by Amanda Silva The Gamecock USC students are trying to recruit volunteers to spend their spring break making a positive impact on society by helping those in need. This spring break, thousands of college students are taking a different approach to their vacations by volunteering for Habitat for Humanity International’s Collegiate Challenge: Spring Break 2001. “We are trying to make people aware of our organization and of our goal for next fall. We need all the help we can get to make this thing a reality,” said Kristin Crookes, a second-year student in the School of Nursing. A record 9,000 students from more than 400 colleges and universities are traveling to more than 175 sites across the U.S. to build decent housing for needy families, according to Heather Dees, a member of Habitat for Humanity International’s Communications Divison. “Basically, we are trying to rally the student body to help us build a student sponsored house,” Crookes said. “We are trying to capture the community spirit of the Bicentennial.” According to Crookes, it costs $50,000 to build a house. USC students are planning to build a house during homecoming. “We are working out the details of where the build will take place, but our goal is to build it on campus and move it to the lot af terwards. Every year, Clemson does a similar thing, and we can’t be beaten by them,” Crookes said. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry aimed at eliminating poverty housing. Since its foundation by Millard Fuller and his wife Linda, Habitat for Humanity has built and sold more than 100,000 homes to partner families with no-profit, zero interest mortgages. “I learned that poverty does not discriminate,” said Krista Formo from Concordia College about her Collegiate Challenge experience. “Working with Habitat throughout college has given me the motivation and desire to dedicate a section of my life — for the rest of my life — to volunteerism.” Though most volunteer opportunities take place during the height of the spring break season, Collegiate Challenge is a year-round program featuring volunteer activities from late February to mid-April. The spotlight desk can be reached at gamecockspotligtTt@hotinail.com Habitat FAQs ■ How can I volunteer at Columbia’s Habitat? Phone 252-3570 or visit 209 S. Sumter St. ■ How much does it cost to build a Habitat house? Anywhere from $800 in underdeveloped nations to $46,600 in the United States. ■ Where does Habitat operate worldwide? There are more than 1,900 active affiliates in 64 countries and all 50 states. ■ How are Habitat families selected? They apply to local Habitat affiliates. Homeowners are chosen based on need and ability to eventually repay the no-interest home loan. . Special to The Gamecock Eugene Levy as Keyes, Chris Rock as Lance Baron and Chazz Palminteri as King (left to right) star in Paramount Pictures’ comedy Down to Earth. Rock’s comedy unable to save Down to Earth by brook Bristow The Gamecock ~ | R E V I E W MOVIE: Down to Earth STARRING: Chris Rock, Eugene Levy, Chazz Palminteri GRADE: ☆☆ out of ☆☆☆☆ There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that Chris Rock will survive his first attempt at being a leading actor. The bad news is that the audience might not. Down to Earth is a remake of Heaven Can Wait, a late-1970s Warren Beatty hit about a football player who dies prematurely because of a heavenly mistake. Heaven Can Wait is also a remake of 1941 s Here Conies Mr. Jordan which dealt with a boxer being taken too soon. This time the story plays to modern-day audiences by playing the race card with Chris Rock, who plays Lance Barton, a struggling stand-up comic who is taken to heaven before his time by an angel (Eugene Levy). To make everything square, Mr. King (Chazz Palminteri), the “manager” of Heaven, decides to let Lance go back to Earth. Because of a lack of suitable bodies, his soul is temporarily housed in the body of an old, rich businessman named Charles Wellington. Wellington is the victim of a deadly scheme by his young wife and his press secretary, who are having an affair. Lance takes the body as a “loaner,” but decides to stick it out while he tries to use his newfound financial success to help him woo a community radical (Regina King) and perfect his comedy routine. To get her, Lance changes Wellington’s ways, and everyone notices a difference when this old white man is getting down to “Rough Riders” by DMX and watching BET. The idea of a wise-guy young black man being trapped in the body of a 50-year-old white man with loads of money seems like it would be fun. And it is, to a point. The problem with this movie is that the redundancy of the joke is too much to handle. The screenplay isn’t worth much, either. Co-directors Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz (American Pie) don’t seem to have put much into this one. Rock continues to improve his acting skills. He is a great comic who excels at reaction, but he isn’t ready to be the leading man just yet. The movie is pretty much paint-by-numbers and isn’t as funny as we would expect. The only funny parts of this movie are when Chris is alone onstage, doing what he does best. Perhaps we should be watching Rock’s comedy film and not a movie. The only downer about the stand-up routine is that it is toned down to meet the PG-13 rating. It’s somewhat enjoyable, but wait to rent it. The spotlight desk can be reached at gamecockspotlight@hotniail.coni i Heart disease, AIDS, cancer pose threats to African-Americans by Keita Alston The Gamecock As a part of Black History Month, African-Americans must be aware of certain issues that affect their health. Heart Disease In South Carolina, heart disease is the leading cause of death among black men and women. The number is higher among black females, 29.3 percent, than males, 25 percent. Marc Himes, a coordinator for the Thomson Student Health and Wellness Center, deals with minority health issues, said one of the reasons these numbers are so high is because of unhealthy diets. African-Americans tend to eat foods high in sodium and the fried foods like fried chicken,” Himes said. Another reason for bad diets is cultural influences. Himes said many African-Americans eat “soul food,” such as collard greens and cabbage. “It’s not that we eat these foods, wliich are healthy. However, it’s what we add in them that makes it unhealthy, like the fatback, pig’s feet and oxtail,” Himes said. Danielle Russell, a graduate student at the Health Center, said blacks weren’t allowed to enjoy the better things in life during slavery and were given scraps of what the master ate. She also said blacks in the pre-Civil War period were able to work off whatever foods they ate. Yet in today’s industrial and technological society, it’s become more difficult to burn off the calories. “[Slaves] had to balance what they The Thomson Health and Wellness Center ■ Most services are free. ■ Services include check-ups for blood pressure and body fat. ■ From 12-5 p.m. Tuesdays, a dietitian is available to speak one on-one with students. ■ A cholesterol screening is provided for $12. Information is kept confidential. ate with how much exercise they got,” Russell said. “This generation is all about working inside the office and not doing th^ physical labor. People are not getting their physical exercise.” This can also lead to possible hypertension and high cholesterol. Russell said there could be a correlation between high cholesterol and high blood pressure because blacks tend to eat animal-product based foods and more foods that have fats and oils. “It’s very important that they get their cholesterol checked,” Russell said. “If they can lower their cholesterol, then they can prevent a lot of other health risk factors.” According to Himes, not enough African-Americans are using the facility. The Wellness Center provides cholesterol screening, which cost $12. The results consist of the total cholesterol level, HDL (high density lipoproteins) and LDL (low density lipoproteins). HDLs contain only small amounts of cholesterol, which is referred to as “good” cholesterol. They help take cholesterol away from artery walls. Health Issues seepages TOP TEN Week of Feb. 16 □ Gotohelts — Rock 'N' Roll America SPropagandhi — Today's Empires, Tomorrow’s Tricky — Mission Accomplished Old 97’s — Turn the Power On BLow — Things We Lost in the Fire Frank Black and the Catholics — Dog in the Sand El Dropkick Murphys Sing Loud, Sing Proud B* Luna Live Kleenex Girl Wonder Why I Write Such- Good 1 Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus In The News ■ Warner Brothers opens Potter site LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mug gles, take note: Harry Potter has made it to cyberspace. Warner Bros, unveiled an Internet site Friday featuring exclusive photos and news from the upcoming movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Details of the fantasy-adventure, from Home Alone director Chris Columbus, have remained under tight security during filming in the United Kingdom. The Web site includes quizzes, games, production updates, trailers and movie clips as they become available, according to Warner Bros. The site links to various fan-man aged Harry Potter Web pages, accord ing to Kevin Tsujihara, executive vice president of \V&mer’s new media divi sion. “We want harrypotter.com to reach and bring together fans of all ages around the globe,” he said. The film, based on the first of au thor J. K. Rowling’s best-selling chil dren’s novels, stars 11-year-old Daniel Radcliffe as the child wizard and Richard Harris as his mentor, Professor Dumbledore. In the story, Harry discovers he is among a select group of wizards when he is invited to a world kept secret from non-magical people, known deri sively as “muggles.” The movie is set for release in No vember. ■ Kevin Bacon hosts rock series on A&E LOS ANGELES (AP) — To make it in rock ‘n’ roll, you need a hit. To make it on Biography, you need a sto ry. Musician, actor and rock fan Kevin Bacon will be the guest host of the Hit Makers series Feb. 19-23 on A&E’s Biography, paying tribute to Rick Springfield, Patti LaBelle, Ted Nugent, David Crosby and Jimi Hen drix. , “I grew up going to concerts. My best friend’s father was a rock pro moter, so you name ’em and I’ve probably seen ’em live,” Bacon said. “I’m pretty sure I’ve only been to one show where the performer (Nu gent) came out riding on a buffalo.”