Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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"Che (Samecock General Assembly S.C. legislators debate term definitions in lottery bill by Brandon Larrabee The Gamecock "■ Senators debated about the lottery for two-and-a-half hours Wednesday without even getting past the part of the bill defining lottery terms. “I don’t want to get bogged down in language,” said Sen. Scott Richardson, R-Beaufort. But by then, it was already too late. The subcommittee on the lottery debated an array of amendments about the definitions of terms related to the bill. One of the most contentious was a change to the definition of “education.” The committee finally passed language allowing „ Voters from page 1 students didn’t vote this year and haven’t voted in past SG elections. “Some students don’t want to vote, forget to, vote, don’t like any of the candidates, and some just don’t care,” she said. Eaddy said many students don’t feel obligated to vote because they will be graduating soon. President-elect Corey Ford also blamed the low voter turnout on the rain, but he said he thinks individual students aren’t getting involved in the voting process. Instead, most voters are from student and Greek organizations. Ford said he thinks it will be the task of SG to get more students to vote. “The only way to get a higher turnout is for Student Government to do something - [to]... break the status quo,” he said. “Students need to see Student Government working for them ... so they don’t feel alienated.” Ford said he plans to address this issue Lottery from page 1 Sen. Tommy Moore, D-Aiken, co chairman of the lottery legislation subcommittee, said, “The governor is the chief executive and should and must have all lines of accountability and responsibility when something goes wrong. The governor’s the man in charge.” Sen. Andre Bauer, R-Lexington, said ! that instead of going to the governor, the power over the lottery commission should be spread between nine people. Under Bauer’s proposed plan, the governor, the speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tern would each appoint three members to the commission, according to an article in the The State. He said the average citizen wouldn’t have a chance to be on the commission if Gov. Hodges appoints all the members. “He would choose political favorites and friends,” Bauer said. If Bauer’s proposal were passed, he said he would hope to see a variety of citizens on the commission. “I would think you would want people Censure from page 1 “There is a legal right for The Gamecock to publish endorsements,” Stauffer said. “That’s how real newspapers do it.... They were completely within their rights.” She also spoke against the portion of the resolution condemning the paper’s professionalism. “If Student Government was called * on half the stuff that we’ re unprofessional ® about, we could fill a book,” Stauffer said. Stauffer also said she didn ’t think The Gamecock did anything wrong in its election coverage except give the election more coverage than it warranted. “This is not Russia,” Stauffer said. “Tliis is not a Communist country. We have freedom of the press.” Stauffer also said, if SG attempted to take away The Gamecock s right to publish endorsements, it might as well get rid of the newspaper altogether. That comment drew scattered applause from some senators. In his closing aigumcnts, Nettles said he agreed with Stauffer. “I think Senator Suiuffcr made a good point about where those Gamecocks should be,” he said. “In the trash can, that is.” In other business, senate passed a the funds to be used for something other than the specific causes Gov. Jim Hodges had outlined in his lottery proposal. Supporters of the move said the funds could be needed for other causes in the future and said they believed people had voted for education funding in general when they voted for the lottery, not just higher education, the focus of Hodges’ plan. Richardson, a co-sponsor of the amendment, said the legislature needed the opportunity to adjust to needs as they come along. “We don’t know what the future’s going to be like,” Richardson said. “If you think the needs of South Carolina might during his presidency, though next year’s elections will be near the end of his term. Eaddy said it will have to be a combined effort between SG and candidates to better publicize the election and make it more appealing. This year’s low voter turnout appears to be an issue on everybody’s agenda. “The Elections Commission plans to address the issue of low voter turnout after the current election is complete and will make recommendations for future elections,” Elections Commissioner Angie Alpert said. \bting was thought to have been made easier and more accessible when it went online this past year. Students were allowed to vote in the general election between 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21, and 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22. Prior elections were only held one day and were conducted with handwritten ballots in polls located in various buildings throughout die campus. The current system allows results to be announced sooner — about two hours after the polls close. The university desk can be reached at gamecockudesk@hotmail.com knowledgeable about the lottery — someone front another state with a lottery who has moved to South Carolina, a business person and people of different socioeconomic levels,” he said. The committee’s primary responsibilities would be to set a budget, advertise, decide on the games and handle audits, Musser said. The proposal still has a long way to go. According to an article in Thursday’s State, Senate subcommittee members met for five hours Wednesday to discuss plans for how the lottery will operate. “VVfe’re still in subcommittee,” Bauer said. “This (his commission proposal) is not anything that’s gonna happen in the next couple of days.” Moore said after the initial bill is passed, it would take about 90 days for the commission appointments to start taking place. When a decision is made about who will appoint commission members, citizens will be allowed to request a position on the commission. “Tiffs will probably be the most sought after board in the state of South Carolina,” Bauer said. The city desk can be reached at gamecockdtydesk@hotmail.com resolution supporting Carolina Productions in the organization’s effort to get more student activity fees. CP’s proposal would raise those fees by $7.89, increasing the amount CP got to $13 per student. That resolution passed by a 25-4 vote. “This is important not just for our campus, but for the larger community, as well,” Harden said. Sen. Doug Wilson opposed the amendment, saying CP didn’t spend the money they had well enough. “The programs that they put on, a lot of students are not interested in,” he said. “The money that they ’ re getting—what are they spending it on?” But Sen. Brook Bristow, who has served on CP, said the increase would take care of that problem. “By increasing student activity fees, obviously they’re getting more money, and with more money, they’re going to get better programs,” Bristow said. An amendment to the finance codes, also sponsored by Harden, moved the date for the carry-over process from September to April. Harden said it would allow the Senate Finance Committee to better monitor student organizations and perhaps reclaim enough money to pay off a $60,000 deficit in the student organizations account. The amendment passed unanimously. The university desk c;ut he reached at gamecockudesk@hotmail.com change, then you follow our concept.” Sen. Andre Bauer, R-Newberry, said his constituents thought they were voting for a lottery to support more than just higher education. “I would hope that we spend a substantial amount of this money on things other than college scholarships and higher education,” Bauer said Supporters of the proposal also said the bill would require a two-thirds majority to change the components of the bill. That wouldn’t grant the legislature enough flexibility to address future changes. “I just think that is entirely too restrictive,” Richardson said. Some Democrats agreed there were RUSSELL HOUSE ALCOHOL JZ^DRUG PROGRAMS needs outside of higher education. Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, highlighted the need in his district for more education funds. “We need 91 teachers just in one school district,” Ford said. But Sen. Luke Rankin, D-Horry, reminded Ford of his own campaign, when Ford had his own ideas about where lottery money should go. ‘“You get a “C,” tuition free’?” Rankin said, mimicking Ford’s proposal during the lottery campaign, which would give free tuition to all students who made a C average or above in high school. But Sen. Bradley Hutto, D Orangeburg, disagreed. “What you’re doing, it seems to me, is opening up a loophole,” Hutto said. One draft of the amendment would have allowed the money to be used to fund the Education Accountability Act, but some committee members opposed that, saying the General Assembly had to fund it anyway. “We’re allowing raiding of the lottery for programs... that we as the General Assembly are already obligated to do,” Hutto said. Rankin said he thought the committee was “muddying the waters.”' “I’m concerned with how we define things,” he said. “We’ve got a poor track record on that.” Hodges’ spokesman Morton Brilliant criticized the committee vote, saying it , ignored the will of the voters. “The people of South Carolina went » to the polls believing they were voting for college scholarships,” Brilliant said. “When . the people in South Carolina endorse an" idea, the politicians need to follow it.” The committee debated other possible changes, but made only one, changing the rfhme of the head of the lottery to “president.” Other changes were deferred until later because senators think they fell ", under more substantive parts of the bill. The city deskcan be reached at gamecockcitydesk@hotmaiLcom University of South Carolina SAFE SPRING BREAK WEEK 1001 * caught fr) a PINCH! ^ FR/DAV, MARCtf 2 Late Night Carolina 10 pm to 2 am - Russell House (Second Floor) Spring Break is almost here, so it is time to PARTY! Billiards, Cards, Entertainment and the "Rocky Horror Picture Show!" Breakfast will be served at 1 am. EVERYTHING IS FREE! sponsored by Alcohol & Drug Programs, Carolina Productions and the Russell House University Union. MOMAV, MRCtf 5 Spring Fling Carnival 10 am to 3 pm - Greene Street (in front of the Russell House) Food, Fun, Games, Resource Tables and Spring Break Survival Kits -- EVERYTHING IS FREE! sponsored ty Alcohol & Drug Programs and Carolina Productions wm/Esm, men 7 . ’ Spring Sreak Stock Up 10 am to 2 pm - Russell House (First Floor Lobby, outside the GMP) FREE Spring Break goodies. Contests and Door Prizes. • S GAMMA Meeting Topic: The Costs of PUI 4 pm - Russell House Room 315 . '«* 4 • Learn How a DUI conviction ■; can cost you more than money. TUESDAY, VARCH b Spring Break Stock Up 10 am to 2 pm - Russell House (First Floor Lobby, outside the GMP) FREE Spring Break goodies, Contests and Door Prizes. i Happy Hour at the Blatt 4 to 7 pm - Blatt PE Center Lobby Refreshments & Spring Break goodies for all! hosted by Campus Recreation SUNtAY, MARC// ¥ U5C Gamecocks vs. the Clemson Tigers Men's Baseball Game 1:30 pm - Sarge Frye Field Come cheer on the Gamecock Baseball team to victory against in-state rival, Clemson! Spring Break goodies and loads of fun for all USC students. Movie: "0 Brother, Where Art Thou?" 6 pm - Russell House Theater sponsored by Carolina Productions THURSDAY, MARCH 8 Movie: "0 Brother, Where Art Thou?" 3 pm - Russell House Theater « sponsored by Carolina Productions Actual times, dates or events may change due to funding or programmatic decisions. For additional information, please contact the Office of Student & Parent Programs at 777-7130. Alcohol & Drug Programs • Russell House University Union • Department of Student Life • Division of Student & Alumni Services HAVE A HAPPY & SAFE SPRING BREAK! _-- -*«® BRAND CONDOMS Nestle