Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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STEPPIN’ OUT Participants learn how to step at “Steppin’ with South Campus” on Wednesday night. The event was sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha and several residence halls as part of Carolinian Creed Week, photo by josh SKIDMORE FBI detains USC student Man has same last name as FBI suspect BY GREG HAMBRICK THE GAMECOCK A recent USC student who was trying to leave the country has been held by the FBI for having the same last name as one of the suspected hijackers of the terror ist attacks. Wafaa Alghamdi’s brother was de tained in Atlanta by the FBI for having the same last name as suspected hijacker Saeed Alghami. The sibling^ were trying to return homejo Saudi Arabi. The two, who were participating in the graduate program’s English for Interna tionals, were trying to leave the country after four white men harassed Wafaa Al ghamdi in front of McKissick Museum. The men assaulted her verbally and tried to remove her hijab, an Islamic head cov ering, according to police reports. “It made me very sad,” said Sheima Salam, vice president of the Muslim Stu dents Association, according to The State. “She told me she had waited four years to get this scholarship. Now, it’s fallen through the cracks.” The Saudi Arabian government has offered citizens in the United States a •plane ticket home. An embassy spokesman in Washington told The State newspaper that students in the United States on government scholarships would also receive stipends for three months if they return home. About 12 of the 83 students from Ara bic countries have gone home, USC spokesman Russ McKinney said, but he thinks it is a good possibility that more will be leaving. Immigration officials are taking a clos er look at international students after it was found that one .of the suspected hi jackers, Hani Hanjour, used a student visa to enter the U.S., but never arrived at his school. The New York Times reports that some of the other hijacking suspects had M visas, allowing them to enroll in techni cal courses. Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Califor ♦ FBI, SEE PAGE 3 USC professors’ pay still low 2001-2001 salaries remain below national average BY KEVIN FELLNER THK RAMECOCK ' Faculty salaries is always an important issue for the USC ad ministration because payment must be reevaluated every year. This year is no different, and the readjusted salaries for the 2001 2002 school year are more contro versial than ever before. Ralph White, engineering dean, and Joel Smith, business school dean, maintained their positions from last year as the two highest paid personnel at USC, respec tively. President John Palms is the third-highest-paid employee and Provost Odom is fifth. According to a nationwide sur vey taken by the Chronicle of Higher Education in 2000, the av erage salary for a professor at USC is below the national average for all doctoral institutions. The 2000 average for USC professor salaries was $82,900, while the national av erage for all universities offering doctoral degrees was $87,022 and the national average for only pub lie universities offering doctoral degrees was $82,535. Several factors determine fac ulty salaries: First, the state gen eral assembly ratifies an annual state appropriations bill, which in cludes funding for all public insti tutions of higher education. The bill allocates a certain amount of money for faculty salaries. Next, the provost’s office pub lishes guidelines on how the indi vidual salaries are to be deter mined. Each department chair then makes recommendations for pay raises based on a faculty member’s merit and experience. The provost determines the deans’ salaries. Vice President of Human Re sources Jane Jameson said, “Pres ident Palms has great credibility with members of the general as sembly. We’re very proud of the professors we’ve been able to at tract.” ♦ SAURY, SEE PAGE 3 RESEARCH BY KEVIN FELLNER; GRAPHIC BY BRANDON LARRABEE College-age women at risk for assault Most victims of sexual attacks never report incident to police BY CAROLINE WINTER THE GAMECOCK Two rapes and three forcible sex offenses were reported on campus in the year 2000, ac cording to the USC Law En forcement and Safety Depart ment. But according to nation al statistics, approximately one in four college women suffer some sort of sexual assault or attempted assault during their years at college. According to a report by the Office of Sexual Health and Vio lence Prevention, colleges with 10,000 female students average more than 350 rapes or attempt ed rapes per academic year. A rape occurs in the United States every two minutes. Shannon Hunnicutt, program director for the Office of Sexual Health and Violence Prevention, said there are many complex These hands ik DON’T HIIRT|U[/ DOMESTIC VIOLENCE \3| AWARENESS W-J reasons why there were only two rapes reported this past year. Hunnicutt said there are many myths and misunder stand ings concern ing sexual as sault. Since rape has traditionally been perceived as a physically vi olent act, many women do not rec ognize that what happened was in fact rape. USC university policy says there are three types of sexual assault: offensive touching, non consensual and forced sexual as sault. USC defines sexual con sent as: ♦ Both individuals are phys ically capable to act. ♦ Both are clear about their intent to engage in sexual activi ties and their desire to do so is willing. ♦ Silence might not in and of itself constitute consent. ♦ RAPE, SEE PAGE 2 Muslim speaker describes a peaceful faith BY CHARLES TOMLINSON THE CAMECOCK The Muslim Student Association spon sored “The True, Peaceful Faces of Islam” Wednesday night. The Creed Week event featured speaker Imam Omar Shaheed, and took place in the Russell House. MSA president Ali Syed gave the wel come at the event. Syed said the purpose of the event was to “reach out to those who have misconceptions of Islam and Mus lims” following the World Trade Center ter rorist attacks on Sept. 11. He described Islam as a religion of “peace, mercy, and forgiveness.” Syed introduced Shaheed, giving details of his background and his current involve ment in religious organizations. Shaheed accepted the religion of Islam in 1970. Prior to his conversion, he was reared in what he referred to as a “strong Christ ian family.” Since 1980, he has held the title of Imam at the Masjid Asalam mosque in Columbia. As Imam, his duties are to serve as the mosque’s religious and prayer leader. Recently, Shaheed has been speaking at churches, synagogues, and universities and making appearances on radio shows in Co lumbia. Shaheed explained the basic aspects and beliefs of Islam. He explained that the only Muslim god is Allah, who Muslims believe created all people. He said that Allah is the same deity wor shiped in Christian and Jewish religions; that is, the god of Abraham mentioned in the Jewish and Christian bibles. He said this creates a strong tie between several different faiths of the world. Shaheed emphasized the bonds between the different religions, ex plaining that in a time of tragedy, they should be "complementing each other, not fighting each other.” “I’ve found that what we have in com mon keeps us united,” said Shaheed. Shaheed is a member of three interfaith denominations: Partners in Dialogue, Chris tian Action Council, and Jewish Catholic Muslim Dialogue. He described the modem world as “one big living room,” because technology has brought the entire world together. In an age where news reaches across the globe at incredible speed, people from different cultures, reli ♦ MSA, SEE PAGE 3 As part of Carolinian Creed Week, Imam Omar Shaheed spoke at the Russell House about Islam, photo by josh skidmore USC’S PAST Oct. 13,1873 Walter Raleigh Jones, personal secretary of S.C. Governor Daniel Chamberlain, became the first African-American student to enroll in the USC School of Law. HBHPBii WEATHER 4 Tomorrow T-storms, 79/48 INSIDE TODAY’S ISSUE I This GINT class is brought to you by... Gamecock political cartoonist Rene Moffatt has solution to budget cut crisis. ♦ PAGE 4 < Gamecocks to take on Wildcats No. 13 USC faces Kentucky on Saturday. ♦ PAGE 8 ONLINE POLL Budget Cuts How concerned are you about possible budget cuts? VERY CONCERNED 73% NOT TOO WORRIED 17% WHAT BUDGET CUTS? 10%