Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Serving the Carolina Community since 1908 vol. 94, No. 84 University of South Carolina www.dailygamecock.com ‘Moulin Rouge’: An MTV-era musical see Page 6 Online Poll Hew SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH PARKING AT use? 70/ Very satisfied; I I ■ never have trouble finding a convenient parking place Satisfied; I can usually find a space nearby, and if I can’t, I don’t mind walking "‘"I Neutral; it’s an mmmmI urban campus, so parking isn’t supposed to be perfect Dissatisfied; I shouldn’t have to walk several blocks to get where I need to be CVery dissatisfied; the Horseshoe should oe turned into a parking lot 400/ Who cares? I don’t 10/0 need to park at USC Next Week’s Poll V\frHAT SHOULD THE LEGAL U.S. DRJNKNG AGE BE? Cast your vote at www.dailygamecock.com. Results will appear Wednesday. Palms to retire in 2002 After months of speculation, USC president decides against Senate run “(Next year) will be an auspicious time to seek a leader committed to the next decade of the University’s life...” USC President John Palms USC President John Palms will retire in 2002. TOP: Palms at this year’s commencement exercises. RIGHT: Palms talks with Director of Public Affairs Russ McKinney. Mugshot special to The Gamecock Photos by Aaron Hark/ The Gamecock by Brandon Larrabee ■ The Gamecock While saying he had no plans to run for U.S. Senate in 2002, USC President John Palms also said it was time for him to tell trustees when he would step aside. Palms announced May 14 that he would end his decade-long tenure as president of the university in June 2002, more than 11 years after he took over a university wracked by the scandalous downfall of his predecessor James Holderman. Palms had been considering for more than a month whether to enter the race for the seat of U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C. Thurmond has said he won’t seek re-election in 2002. Palms said he had opted out of what would have been his first bid for political office. In a letter to the board of trustees, Palms wrote that the next academic year “will be an auspicious time to seek a leader committed to the next decade of the University’s life, and for this reason I have decided to step down from the presidency effective June 1, 2002. A departure hext June will ensure the University sufficient time to search thoughtfully and carefully for its next president,” he wrote. Also on May 14. the board appointed recent chairman William Hubbard, who has himself been mentioned as a possible successor to Palms, to lead the search for the president’s replacement. The board passed at their April 12 meeting a resolution laying out the groundwork for how the search would be conducted. According to Palms, he made his decision May 1, as he told the board he would do in a March 28 memo. The next two weeks gave him time to consider how to announce it, he said. Palms see rage 2 Missing paintings cause stir at library by Greg Hambrick The Gamecock Three paintings, housed recently at the Thomas Cooper Library, have been stolen en route to New York. But what’s getting more attention is an article in The State newspaper that’s led many people to believe the paintings were stolen while in the university’s care. The article, printed in The State last week, said the paintings were on display in the spring of 1999 and housed at the university until they were collected for shipping this January. But the story also implies that the paintings were found missing from the library as they were being prepared to be shipped. In fact, all 75 pieces in the collection left Columbia — it wasn’t until the plane landed in New York that the paintings were lost. When doing inventory of the cases, one was found to be forcibly opened, with one piece of the collection damaged inside, and another case, housing the three missing paintings, was gone altogether. “I will hear, for month’s to come, from people who assume something happened here,” said Patrick Scott, a special collections librarian at the Thomas Cooper Library. Scott noted he had already received several nervous inquires, including one from a school administrator “just making sure” the paintings hadn’t been lost at USC. “I will hear, for months to come, from people who assume something happened here." Patrick Scott Special collections librarian Though the FBI has been in contact with the school, the main investigation for the three paintings, valued at almost $17,000, is being conducted in New York where the shipping company is located. The collection was by famed American writer and painter John Dos Passos. They were on loan from Dos Passos’ daughter, Lucy Coggin. The news desk can be reached at gamecockudesk® hotmail.com TIPS to be eliminated by Sara Holloway The Gamecock USC has decided to retire the Telephone Information Processing System, better known as TIPS. To students, this means total dependence on computers for activities such as checking grades and registering for classes through the Visual Information Processing (VIP) Web site. University registrar Barbara Blaney said, “[The university] studied it to death, and it’s the right thing to do when you consider TIPS SEE PAGE 2 Today’s Weather This Week: Isolated T-storms on Wednesday, sunny this weekend Inside This Issue