Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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‘Jthe (Bamecock SACS to determine USC reaccreditation by Mary Hartney The Gamecock A team from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools visited the campus this week to determine whether USC will be reaccredited. The team of 20 people has met with students, faculty and staff at the Columbia campus and has also traveled to the seven regional campuses this week, said Mel Miller, director of research, grants and planning. USC must reaffirm its accreditation every 10 years. It was allowed to do an “alternative reaccreditation” this year, which allows USC to focus on one aspect in its self-study. USC’s alternative focus is on information technology. The school also has to adhere to hundreds of “must statements” set by SACS. Miller said about 15 of the team members were on campus to see that USC meets the accreditation requirements for SACS. The other five were consultants to the IT alternative study. “It’s been a very exciting week in very positive ways,” Miller said. One of the week’s events was a student panel Tuesday. The SACS committee met with students in the Russell House to discuss technology at USC. John Howell, a second-year Honors College student, attended the panel. Howell said it was made up of students from graduate programs and several different colleges. He said the committee was interested in what the students had to say. “They were very receptive to students and had stressed the importance of students from the very beginning (of the study),” Howell said. Howell said it was interesting that USC was allowed an alternative study. “The alternative would be to audit every department, where [the SACS team] would basically take the main filing cabinet and compile a report,” Howell said. Student feedback was mostly positive toward technology, Howell said. The students mentioned, however, that they would like to see more technology applied in classrooms. Erin Burfield, a second-year student in the College of Liberal Arts, said she told SACS she wished all classes would have “some type of research project where students have to use the Internet.” SACS reviewers met with President John Palms on Thursday morning in an exit interview. The team will compile a report in the coming weeks on their visit to USC and their suggestions for improvement and reaccreditation. The university desk can be reached at gamecockudesk@hotmail.com EdVenture from page 1 “The children of South Carolina have raised the standards for learning,” Home said. “They want the best exhibits and amenities we can offer, and EdVenture wants to deliver.” EdVenture executives also unveiled the exhibit’s new logo, which, according to a press release! symbolizes “imagination, discovery and understanding,” and “means business, yet, still, is kid-friendly.” Tracy Crocker, an art teacher at Nursery Road Elementary School, was proud that her school was one of the 20 whose students contributed to the art project by designing and painting a 4-by 8 banner. “They had a ball doing it,” Crocker said. Aleda Anderson, assistant principal at Nursery Road, was also glad her school had been involved. “Wfe’re just proud to be part of a sound education,” Anderson said. The city desk can be reached at gamecockcitydesk@hotmail.com Palms from page 1 Palms had told the board of trustees in a March 28 letter that he would make his decision by May 1. Some trustees have been pressuring Palms to'decide by their April 12 meeting. While that meeting was , scheduled for other university business, the U.S. Senate race will likely be a dominant discussion topic. “This is not an easy decision to make,” Palms said at the faculty senate meeting. He was somewhat surprised by the amount of media coverage his possible run had received. “There’s no leaking in South Carolina,” Palms said. “There’s only a fire hose.” Trustees said Thursday Palms should make his decision soon. “I hope that he will make a decision as quickly as possible,” trustee William Hubbard said. “An early decision is in the best interests of the university.” Trustee Arthur Bahnmuller agreed. “As far as I’m concerned, the sooner, the better,” Bahnmuller said. Bahnmuller said Palms’ statement “kind of bothers me.” “But I don’t want to put a time frame on it,” Bahnmuller added. Neither he nor Hubbard would say whether they believed Palms should announce by the April 12 meeting. Other possible contenders for the Democratic nomination include former U.S. Ambassador to Britain Phil Lader, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, Greenville businessman Hayne Hipp and state Sen. Tom Moore, of Clearwater. U.S. Rep. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has so far seen no opposition. He has the blessing of the party and is expected to coast through the primary. Thurmond’s seat is a priority for both parties because of the evenly divided Senate. The university desk can be reached at gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Dean from page 1 York City with her husband. Smith said one of his goals would be to improve conditions for the university’s graduate assistants. USC officials admit the university’s stipends aren’t competitive, but they have said that more money from the state is needed to give assistants a promise. “But, of course, higher education in general is suffering from a lack of funding from the state,” Smith said. Under a budget approved by the S.C. House in February, USC would lose nearly 12 percent of its state funding. Smith said he would also like to improve funding to try to provide health care for graduate assistants. Smith said the graduate school needs to encourage students to try for funds from outside sources, such as fellowships, grants and other non-state money. That could allow more of USC’s resources to go toward more assistantships or making existing ones more competitive, he said. Smith said funding issues were one of many possible changes. “There’s a possibility we might try to streamline, if at all possible, the admissions process,” Smith said. Other things Smith said he would like to do as dean include working closely with the vice president for research to try to coordinate more interdisciplinary research and provide better training and workshops for graduates. USC administrators said Smith was qualified to lead the school. “Gordon Smith is a proven leader who understands the academic and the administrative sides of the university,” USC Provost Jerry Odom said. “He is admired by students for his concern for them and for his knowledge of his teaching subject, and he is respected by colleagues for his administrative abilities and problem-solving skills.” The university desk can be reached at gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Genome from page 1 of monkeys who had received the therapy. The case was settled out of court. Gelsinger spoke Tuesday at a forum on research ethics sponsored by USC’s School of Law and USC’s Office of Research Compliance. “This thing should have never even gotten off the drawing board,” Gelsinger said. “These guys went out of their way not to tell me everything.... I thought you were supposed to trust doctors.” The risks the subjects faced far outweighed any benefits they might have received, he said. Originally, the study was to be conducted on infants with OTC, but famed bioethicist Arthur Caplan recommended that relatively healthy patients like Jesse Gelsinger be used. “It was the bioethical decisions made at the beginning of the study that killed Jesse,” said Gelsinger’s attorney, Alan Millstein, who also spoke at the forum. Millstein echoed Gelsinger’s concerns about bioethics, saying there’s a conflict of interest in every clinical trial, and that the problems they have faced weren’t unique to Pennsylvania’s study. The promise of financial gain and the prestige of medical advancement compromise the integrity of all such studies, he said. Dr. James Wilson of the Institute for Human Gene Therapy, a principle investigator in the study, would have profited by retaining ownership of the study’s findings. Investigators also noted that Genevo Co., owned by Wilson, also stood to gain tremendous profits should the study be successful. “I didn’t realize that their conflict of interest was so great that they were blind,” Gelsinger said. “They took their eyes off of what was important.” The university desk can be reached at gamecockudesk@hotmaiLcom University Tuesday, April 3 ■ Assistance rendered, Pickens and Greene streets. Student Laura Hsu said a Federal Express truck hit her on her right side while she was waiting to cross the street. EMS and the Columbia Police Department were notified. Hsu refused to be transported to the hospital, but did go to Thomson Student Health Center to be checked. Reporting Officer: D. Friels. ■ Assisting another agency, Blossom and Sumter streets. Student Megan Dantzler said she was walking down the street when she heard what sounded like a BB gun. Dantzler then felt something hit her leg. She wasn’t sure whether the shot came from the Towers area, but she said the sound came from that direction. Dantzler received a bruise on her leg. Columbia police responded and took an incident report. Dantzler refused medical assistance. Reporting officer: R. Shirer. ■ Assistance rendered, Sumter Street (600 block). Rodney Bookert said someone shot the right-side passenger window of his vehicle as he was driving with what appears to have been a BB gun. Columbia police were notified and responded. Reporting officer: W. Bond. Wednesday, April 4 ■ Illegal use of telephone, Douglas. Student Kevin Tucker said someone called his room and threatened his life. The resident coordinator was notified of the situation. Reporting officer: G. Whitlock. Columbia Wednesday, April 4 ■ Incorrigible child, 1730 Windover St. Tina Sumter told police her teenage son was disobedient and disrespectful to all authority. The child was suspended from school and didn’t come home until 11 p.m. Reporting officer: T. Catalds. ■ Threatening a public official, 511 Washington St. Reporting officer D. Hunt was at city court while a man he had arrested was on trial. As the man was being led out of the courtroom, the man turned to Hunt and said, “I’m going to get you. I’m going to kick your ass.” ■ Failure to stop for blue lights, drunkenness, driving too fast for conditions, disorderly conduct, 1911 Academy St. Reporting officer D. Hunt observed William Rush, 25, driving at a high rate of speed. When the officer tried to pull the man over, he ignored the blue lights and sped up. After a couple of blocks, the man stopped near a residential area and jumped out of the car. Hunt chased Rush on foot for a block and then tackled him. 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