The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 19, 2001, Image 1
PETA vows pressure
RLTOTO COURTESY GARNET S BLACK
Palms responds
to letter; PET A
not happy with
USC’s stance
BY ADAM BEAM
THE (JAHECOCK
USC President John
Palms says the game
9B cock is here to stay, but
People for the Ethical
W Treatment of Animals
* promised continued pres
sure, including public
protest, on the university to
drop the nickname.
“We always start off on writ
ing letters and opening a dialogue
like we are asking Dr. Palms to
do,” said Jay Kelly, PETA cam
paign coordinator. “We don’t
have any concrete plans right
now, but in the future, I wouldn’t
rule out any public protest.”
Kelly said PETA will contin
ue to pressure the administra
tion by posting an “action alert
to alert all of our members in
South Carolina and encourage
animal protection advocates all
over the country to contact the
university and voice their con
cern over the mascot name.”
Kristie Phelps, PETA campaign
coordinator who first contacted
the university about dropping the
mascot name, said in a statement,
“people expect more from a uni
versity. They expect a reasoned re
sponse over time... not some dis
missive thoughtless ‘we’ve always
done it that way’ reply.”
The current Cocky mascot
says PETA is just “looking for
someone to bother.”
“I just don’t see Cocky as
someone who’s going to kill
something,” said the student who
wears the Cocky costume. The
school mascot’s identity usually
is not revealed.
In his letter of response, Palms
stressed the history of the
gamecock and tried to distance the
♦ PETA, SEE PAGE 3
HOMECOMING 2001
Residence Hall Association president Brad Dawgert, left, and Raiessa de’Weln take a break from float
building Wednesday night. The floats will be part of the Homecoming Parade at 3 p.m. today, photo by annie lee
All-inclusive Homecoming
Committee tries
to get more non
Greeks involved
BY GINNY THORNTON
THE (IAMEC0CK
Though use Homecoming
activities are open to all stu
dent organizations, Greek or
ganizations have traditionally
been the main ones involved.
Third-year student Emily Ol
son says she thinks of Greek or
ganizations when she thinks of
Homecoming. “Especially the
Homecoming king and queen,”
she said. “I think of them as be
ing in a fraternity and sorority.”
But according to Meena
Dhokai, assistant sponsorship
chair for Homecoming, the
committee has tried to free the
activities from their Greek-ori
ented image.
“I don’t think I’ve seen any bias toward Greeks.
The committee has handled things well.”
ELISABETH MAGURA
HOMECOMING LIAISON FOR THE CAROLINA CLASSICS
“It was one of our goals to get
more non-Greek organizations
involved,” Dhokai said. “Of
course, we wish we could have
had more.”
Twenty-one Greek organiza
tions registered to participate
in Homecoming activities this
year, while eight organizations
involved are non-Greek.
Dhokai said the Homecoming
committee went to extra lengths
♦ HOMECOMING, SEE PAGE 2
U.S. attacks hit Afghan capital
Civilians might
have been killed
in air strikes
BY KATHY GANNON AND
AMIR SHAH
ASSOCIATED press
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN -U S
jets attacked targets in the hean
of Afghanistan’s capital on Thurs
day. Residents said at least fivt
civilians — including four mem
hers of one family — were killec
when bombs crashed into resi
dential areas in Kabul.
With the air campaign in its
12th day came the first report tha
the bombing had killed a promi
nent figure in Osama bin Laden’s
al-Qaida network. A London-based
Islamic group said an Egyptian
who was a veteran al-Qaida fighter
died in a U.S. strike on Sunday.
In Washington, defense sources
said U.S. special forces were now
in place aboard the USS Kitty
Hawk in the Indian Ocean —
ready for any search-and-destroy
missions ordered against bin
Laden and his Taliban allies.
Two houses were destroyed in
Kabul’s Quilazaman Khan neigh
borhood, located near a Taliban
tank unit. Neighbors said the four
family members were killed when
a bomb hit the area. Rescuers
were digging through the rubble
looking for a fifth family member.
A 16-year-old girl was also killed
in a nearby housing complex.
The number of casualties
couldn’t be immediately con
firmed. The United States said it’s
only targeting Taliban and al-Qai
da installations and has expressed
regret for any unintended casual
ties.
The London-based Islamic Ob
servation Center said an Egyptian
known by the nom de guerre Abu
Baseer al-Masri was killed by a U.S.
strike near the northeastern city of
Jalalabad. Al-Masri, a member of
the Egyptian radical group al
Gamaa al-Islamiya, had been in
Afghanistan for 10 years with al
Qaida and was close to bin Laden’s
top lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahri,
♦ AFGHANISTAN, SEE PAGE 2
USC prepares for possible threats
University adds
police presence,
event security
BY GREG WHITT
THE GAMECOCK
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist at
tacks, students have been living
in unprecedented fear. In consid
eration of these fears, the univer
sity has made efforts to increase
security, some less obvious than
others, to ensure the safety of its
students, faculty and staff.
According to USC spokesman
Russ McKinney, one change is
the heightened awareness of
USC’s law enforcement. He said
the university “has not done any
thing of great significance that is
not already evident to the stu
dents on campus.”
But not all of the changes, how
ever, are being revealed to the
public. McKinney said there are
more police in some campus ar
eas, but wouldn’t name them for
security reasons. Some students,
however, have noticed changes.
Graduate student Katie Lorentz
said she’s seen “a lot more patrol
cars around. I feel very safe.”
The most obvious changes af
fecting USC students are new secu
rity procedures at sporting events,
especially football games. Security
has been checking the bags of every
one entering Williams-Brice Stadi
um. McKinney said the new proce
dures will continue, “so, if you want
“The university has
done enough to ensure
our safety.”
WILLIAM COPELAND
USC POSTAL WORKER
to get to your seat on time and not
miss kickoff, don’t bring any bags
because they will be searched.”
Another campus concern is
the threat of anthrax in mailed
packages and letters. Materials
laced with the bacterium bacil
lus anthracis have been mailed
to locations in Washington, D.C.,
New York, Nevada, Florida and
Kenya. Anthrax can be trans
♦ SECURITY, SEE PAGE 2
USG’S PAST
Oct. 24,1981
The Gamecock football team
defeated third-ranked North
Carolina 31-13 in Chapel Hill.
m
Today Tomorrow
Sunny, Sunny,
75/49 79/49
INSIDE TODAY’S ISSUE
Hootie and the
Blowfish are home
The band will play Saturday
at the Fairgrounds. ♦ PAGE 5
wmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I< Gamecocks to
take on Vanderbilt
USC looks to rebound after first
loss of the season. ♦ PAGE 8
ONLINE POLL
Mascot change
Do you think USC should
change its mascot?
YES 2%
NO 94%
WHO CARES 4%
WKKtHKMHtKKUKMRKMKRM
Capitol Hill staffers wait In line to be tested for anthrax
exposure In the Hart Senate Office Building, Wednesday
morning, Oct. 17. photo by chuck kennedy/krt campus'
2 new anthrax
cases reported
BY JESSE J. HOLLAND *
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - Two new cas
es of the skin form of anthrax were
reported Thursday, one involving
an assistant to CBS anchorman
Dan Rather and the other a postal
worker in New Jersey. That
brought to six the total number of
confirmed cases of infection.
In addition, up to three more
suspected cases were being inves
tigated, according to Dr. Julie Ger
berding of the Atlanta-based Cen
ters for Disease Control and Pre
vention.
The additional cases “are in
large part linked to Florida and
New York situations,” she said.
“We do have other individuals
who are reporting skin lesions or
exposure circumstances that are
under active investigation.” Ger
berding said in a telephone con
ference with reporters. “We are
working around the clock to con
firm or rule out” anthrax infection.
The new cases were reported as
the FBI and the Postal Service of
fered a $1 million reward for infor
mation leading to the arrest and
conviction of perpetrators of an
thrax attacks, the House of Repre
sentatives remained dark and six
congressional office buildings were
closed for further germ tests. The
Senate remained in business.
Overseas, a letter containing a
suspicious substance was found at
the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. Em
ployees who handled it were being
given appropriate tests, said
Philip Reeker, the deputy State De
partment spokesman.
Seeking to calm an anxious na
tion, Homeland Defense Director
Tom Ridge said that despite the
new case, “thousands and thou
sands and thousands” of people
hacTbeen tested for anthrax expo
sure - and had come up negative.
“We are more vigilant today
and continue to get more vigilant
every day as we assess different
risks that might present them
selves in this country,” Ridge said
in his first news conference since
taking the job last week.
“I think our antennae are up for
all conceivable risks, and you ought
to be reassured of that,” he added.
On Capitol Hill, the number of
those who tested positive to exposure
stood at 31, with no cases of infection
reported, Kenneth Moritsugu,
deputy surgeon general, told an af
ternoon news conference.
All appear to have been exposed
to an anthrax-laden letter ad
dressed to Senate Majority Leader
Tom Daschle, D-S.D., that was
opened Monday, Moritsugu said.
Moritsueu said that a sweeD
throughout the sprawling Capitol
complex will continue over the
next several days to check for an
thrax spores.
“At this time there is no evi
dence of contamination in the ven
tilation system,” Moritsugu added.
Moritsugu added that analysis
of 600 of the 1,400 nasal swab tests
performed Tuesday had revealed
no additional positive results in
preliminary tests. “We continue
to see good news,” he told re
porters at a briefing.
Both the CBS employee and the
New Jersey postal worker con
tracted the skin form of anthrax,
officials said.
The postal worker may have
handled letters to NBC and to
Daschle, acting New Jersey Gov.
Donald DiFrancesco said in Tren
ton. Test results for a second
postal employee who may have
♦ ANTHRAX, SEE PAGE 2