"Che (Bamccock
USC think tank carries on
after recent indictments
■ IOPA programs
continue in face of
recent controversy
by Christoph Schulz
The Gamecock
After the indictment of three of its
former and current employees about two
weeks ago, it’s business as usual at USC’s
Institute of Public Affairs.
In the indictment, the institute’s former
executive director and two subordinates
were charged with one count of official
misconduct for embezzlement. The eight
centers of the institute are continuing
work as the investigation is conducted.
That business, according to Michael
Witkoski, associate director of the USC
think tank, includes two main functions.
“One (function) is to do public policy
research on topics that affect South
Carolina, and this can be anything from
health care and local government (to)
environmental policy,” Witkoski said.
“The second thing is public service — to
take that research and do some practical
stuff with it.”
Witkoski said the institute draws its
funds from the university and from grants
and contracts with state agencies and
the federal government.
Each of the institute’s eight centers
works independently on its projects,
Witkoski said, but the centers collaborate
on research projects whenever possible.
One of the institute’s eight centers is the
Center for Citizenship.
The institute offers three ways for
students to get involved, Witkoski said.
Undergraduate students can participate in
the Washington Semester Program or the
South Carolina Semester Program, which
are both offered by the Center for
Citizenship. Both programs offer students
the possibility to learn more about how
government works.
The institute also helps graduate
students gain experience that helps them
get into fields such as health care and
governmental research, Witkoski said.
According to Fred Sheheen, director
of the Center of Citizenship, the
Washington Semester Program has up to
15 students each semester, and the South
Carolina Semester Program includes
12-20 students each spring. In order to
qualify, students must either be in an honors
program or have at least a 3.0 GPA.
Students must also submit several letters
of recommendation.
“Our goal is to give students a real
life experience, coupled with a good
academic experience,” Sheheen said. “We
are taking students and educating them to
be good public administrators [and] good
governmental people.”
Witkoski also said the opportunities
give students valuable experience.
“They get a chance to see how good
they can do in that area,” Witkoski said.
“It gives them the experience to land a
job once they get through with their
education.”
According to the institute’s winter
2001 newsletter, four USC students are
among the 10 students who have been
selected for this spring’s Washington
Semester Program. The participants will
work directly in the offices of the S.C.
congressional delegation and in the federal
government.
Though the impact of the institute on
USC might not be visible, it is large,
according to Witkoski.
“It is one of the ways the university
fulfills its public service function,” he said.
The university desk can be reached at
gamecockudesk@hotmail.com
Vice President
from page 1
“We know who did it,” White said.
F “I’m telling you, it was a Nithya Bala
supporter.”
Hunter and Bourne both expressed
their support for White earlier this week.
The endorsements don’t seem to bother
Bala.
“I feel like I have worked hard at this
campaign. When it all comes down to it,
Adam and Brian are only two other voters,”
Bala said.
She thinks Bourne and Hunter’s
endorsementof White won’t change the
minds of her voters.
White said the endorsements are
already benefiting his campaign in other
ways besides votes.
“I feel really good about their
endorsements. A lot of [Hunter’s and
Bourne’s] people are coming over to
our campaign and want to help in any way
that they can,” White said.
The candidates’ platforms haven’t
changed much from this past week. Bala
said she’s researched some of her ideas to
see whether they are feasible, and she said
she’s gotten positive feedback from the
administration and from officials.
White said his campaign is sticking
with what it has said all along. His
campaign’s goals aren’t too big to be
unreachable, he said.
“I think that I have the personality
and the charisma to lead the senate and to
get them to do their jobs for the students,”
White said.
The university desk can be reached at
gamecockudesk@hotmait.com
Report: Racial, ethnic preferences
nlav role in admissions nationwide
r-•/
■ Administrators say
report's findings aren't
applicable at Carolina
by Charles Prashaw
The Gamecock
USC administrators say the findings
of a controversial report released by the
Center for Equal Opportunity that claims
racial and ethnic preferences play a large
role in undergraduate admissions don’t
apply here.
The study claims that in some states,
the disparities of minority and majority
applications is so large that there is “a
bidding war for African-American
applicants across state lines.”
USC Enrollment Management
Director Char Davis said no such special
consideration is given when considering
minority students for acceptance to the
university.
“We pick our students, based on
objective criteria,” she said. “We only
look at a student’s grades in high school
and standardized test scores.”
Davis said because South Carolina is
a diverse state and the number of qualified
applications from various races are
high at USC, the university wouldn’t
consider changing its policy of not looking
at race during admissions.
At USC, 72.3 percent of students are
white, 18.3 percent are black, 0.3 percent
are Asian, 1.4 percent are Hispanic and
4.1 percent are international students.
The center surveyed admissions data
from 47 colleges and universities.
Colleges and universities in the
Midwest were cited as being the worst
at looking solely at students’ race to
determine whether they should be
admitted.
At the University of Wisconsin
Madison, officials have been criticized
for using photo editing programs to add
black students to photos for its admission
guide.
Blacks and Hispanics, according to
the study, are far more likely to be
admitted than whites or Asians at a “large
variety of schools.”
The report also said the more
selective a school is about admissions,
the greater the likelihood it will instill
racial and ethnic preferences in the
admissions process.
The university desk can be reached at
gamecockuc!esk@hotmail.com
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