The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 12, 2001, Page 3, Image 3
Interfaith Celebration includes
representatives from 8 religions
BY JACOB RABON
THE GAMECOCK
The Interfaith Celebration,
originally scheduled for Sept. 11,
took place Thursday on the
Russell House Patio. Its goal was
to foster better understanding of
different faiths.
Representatives of a variety of re
ligions presented their faiths in dif
ferent ways, but all tried to give oth
ers a clearing understanding of them.
Presentations ranged from a
traditional dance by Hindu first
year doctoral student Radhika
Engineer to the story of a Jewish
shepherd’s prayer told by second
year students Sarah Ross and
Rachel Rosansky.
The organizers hoped attendees
would leave feeling closer to peo
ple of other faiths.
We want to help bring about
peace through understanding,”
said Rachel Rosanski, who orga
nized the Jewish segment of the
event.
The event lasted a little more
than an hour and featured repre
sentatives and presentations from
eight faiths: Christian, Muslim,
Jewish, Unitarian, Baha’i, Native
American, Hindu and Buddhist.
The presenters included a mixture
of faculty, staff, students and people
not affiliated with the university.
Touch of Faith, a USC student
chorale, opened the event.
Religion professor Tom Wall, or
ganizer of the event, said its dri
ving force was a “need to come to
gether and persevere through
faith.” According to student Anne
Thomson, speaking about the
Sept. 11 attacks, said, “These
things were important before but
are even more important now.”
Staff member Psyche Ready said
she thinks more of these types of
events should occur. “It is very
important that we encourage an
open dialogue between faiths,”
she said.
Some students said they came
away from the event with a better
understanding of other faiths.
T.oby Housey, a fourth-year fi
nance major and member of
Touch of Faith, said, “I have a
clearer understanding now; I rely
less on stereotypes that are often
incorrect.”
The organizers encouraged fur
ther cooperation between faiths.
Carl Evans, religious studies de
partment chairman, said we need
more interaction among faiths.
“Sometimes we lose sight of the
fact that religions are practiced by
people, and the only way to have
a better understanding of them is
to interact with people of other
faiths,” he said.
USC President John Palms and
Student Government Vice
President Nithya Bala also spoke
at the Interfaith Celebration,
which concluded with the
International Prayer for Peace.
An interfaith committee has al
ready been established because of
this event and will remain a fix
ture at USC. The committee’s first
meeting will be on Nov. 29 at 5 p.m.
in the SEC room of the Russell
House. The council will try to
bring about better understanding
of faith in general and greater co
operation among religions.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockudesk@hotmail.com.
A Muslim believer, right, referred to as brother, has
memorized the text of the holy Quran, photo by michelle dosson
STATE
BRIEFS
Thurmond calls for
immigrant tracking
COLUMBIA-U S. Sen.
Strom Thurmond says tracking
devices should be created to
keep tabs on immigrants and
help protect the United States
from terrorism.
“We should develop a
single, comprehensive
database of all noncitizens,”
wrote Thurmond in a column
published in The State on
Saturday. “It should be
updated as aliens enter and
leave, and integrated with law
enforcement. Also, foreign
nationals should be
prescreened prior to their
arrival in our country.”
The Republican senator
says forgery of immigration
related documents, such as
visas and Social Security
cards, is a serious problem
and that identification cards
with an immigrant’s photo,
hngerprints and other unique
physical characteristics
should be created.
He also says annual
registration is needed to
determine whether temporary
aliens are here for reasons
they were authorized for, such
as attend school.
He says most foreigners
who come to America are
“well-meaning, hard-working
people who make valuable
contributions to our nation.”
IT HAPPENED
NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
SCHOOL UNDER
INVESTIGATION: Clarendon
School District 1 is facing a
financial crisis that has forced
it to fire 12 employees and
prompted an investigation by
the State Law Enforcement
Division. The county
government asked SLED to
investigate why $712,150 in
state money, designated for
school construction,
apparently was spent on day
to-day operations in last
year’s budget.
NATION
BRIEFS
Bishops will likely
elect black leader
WASHINGTON - The
United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops is likely to
elect its first black president
during a four-day meeting
that begins Monday.
Diversity also will be the
focus, and the group will
renew the church’s fight
against abortion, while
proposing a day of prayer fof*
peace as the war in
Afghanistan continues.
Bishop Joseph Fiorenza of
Texas is finishing his three
year term as head of the group,
which serves as the church’s
national voice on social,
political and religious issues.
Bishop Wilton Gregory of
Belleville, 111., the
organization’s vice
president, is expected to
succeed him. Conference vice
presidents are traditionally
elected president.
The vote is scheduled for
Tuesday.
The Roman Catholic
Church in the United States
is 78 percent white, according
to the Center for Applied
Research in the Apostolate at
Georgetown University, and
black Catholics have long
sought recognition from
church leaders.
Estimates of the number of
- black Catholics range from 2
million to 3.5 million, out of
63.7 million nationwide.
They welcome the upcoming
election of Gregory as a sign
their voices will be heard.
IT HAPPENED
NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
PUTIN TO VISIT AMERICA:
When Russian President
Vladimir Putin makes his
first visit to the White House
on Tuesday, President Bush
hopes he can overcome
Russian objections to his
missile defense plans with
promises of new cuts in the
U.S. nuclear arsenal.
WORLD
BRIEFS
Leader’s capture
provokes rioting
JAKARTA, INDONESIA
Riots erupted Sunday after
an independence movement
leader was kidnapped and
killed in Irian Jaya, one of
several Indonesian provinces
wracked by violence amid a
traumatic transition to
democracy after decades of
dictatorship.
Villagers found the body of
Theys Eluay, 64, in his
wrecked car in a ravine 18
miles east of the provincial
capital, Jayapura.
Police said he appeared to
have been strangled and that
his assailants had tried to
* *
make the killing look
accidental by pushing the car
off a remote stretch of road.
There were no clear suspects,
and his driver was missing,
they said.
Eluay s widow, Yaneke,
blamed the Indonesian
military, which is often
accused of human rights
atrocities. Police said Eluay
, was killed as he returned
home after dining with local
Indonesian army
commanders Saturday night.
Senior military officers
refused to comment.
Hundreds of independence
supporters set fire to a hotel, a
market and a bank near
Eluay’s home inSentani, close
to Jayapura’s airport. Others
‘ blocked roads with burning
tires and threw rocks at police,
who responded with warning
shots. There were no reports of
injuries.
IT HAPPENED
NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
ACTION IN ISRAEL: Omar
Abu Zayed. 25, a member of
- the militant group Islamic
Jihad, was killed Sunday
when the bomb he was
making exploded in the West
Bank town of Bethlehem,
Palestinian security officials
and witnesses said.
POLICE REPORT
Each numbered symbol on the map represents a single crime that
corresponds with the numbered descriptions in the list below it.
DAY CRIMES f □_Violent crimes ■ NIGHT CRIMES
(6 a.m.-6 p.m.) Q Nonviolent crimes # J (6p.m.-6a.m.)
□ © CRIMES AT UNKNOWN HOURS
Friday, Nov. 2
(T LARCENY OF BOW, 511
MAIN ST. The victim said
someone took a brown and
white violin bow from the
band hall. J.D. Patterson.
® LARCENY OF LICENSE
PLATE, 902 SUMTER ST. The
victim said someone took the
license plate from his 1997
white Nissan Sentra.
Estimated value: $10. Reporting
officer: J.D. Patterson.
Tuesday, Nov. 6
® AUTO BREAK-IN, 1200
CATAWBA ST. The victim said
someone broke out the rear
driver’s-side window of his 1995
silver Nissan Pathfinder. A
“Reinforced Concrete
Engineering” textbook and a
green London Fog jacket was
missing. Total estimated value:
$130. Reporting officer: J.A.
Henry.
® ILLEGAL USE OF TELEPHONE,
1520 DEVINE ST. The victim said
she received three harassing
phone calls from an unknown
caller. The victim was given a
log to keep track of the calls.
Reporting officer: J.A. Henry.
Q USE OF ALTERED
CURRENCY, 1400 GREENE ST.
The complainant said someone
used a $1 bill that was made to
look like a $10 bill. The bill
placed into an evidence locker.
Reporting officer: J.A. Clarke,
o GRAND LARCENY OF
LAPTOP, 500 SUMTER ST. The
complainant said someone
took the following items from
her room: a Toshiba Satellite
laptop, the internet connection to
the laptop, a Sony CD Walkman, a
sapphire and diamond necklace,
a gold bracelet, three gold
necklaces, $30, a Discover card, a
Visa Verizon card, a Social
Security card and a driver’s
license. Total estimated value:
$2,640. Reporting officer: J.B.
Coaxum.
o LARCENY, 500 SUMTER ST.
The victim said the following
items were taken from her South
Quad residence: a blue Jansport
book bag, a silver Guess watch, a
TI-86 calculator, a silver James
Avery ring, a Dayplanner, $20, a
tin with $10 in change, an
anthropology textbook, a
statistics book and a physics
book. Total estimated value:
$480. Reporting officer: J.B.
Coaxum.
Wednesday, Nov, 7
© AUTO BREAK-IN, 1600
SENATE ST. The victim said
someone broke out the
passenger-side rear window of
his 2000 white Honda Civic. A CD
case containing 35 audio CDs
was missing. Total estimated
value: $525. Reporting officer:
J.R. Merrill.
Thursday, Nov. 8
® LOST PROPERTY, 1400
SUMTER ST. The victim said he
lost a Samsung cell phone.
Reporting officers: D. Hare and
J.D. Rosier.
Habitat
Clemson has built
house for 8 years
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2
Clemson isn’t any better than
USC, and they should be able
to do the same.”
“Planning is already un
derway for next year’s house,
we are trying to make this an
annual event,” she said.
Habitat for Humanity is a
Christian service organization
whose goal is to eliminate
poverty housing by helping
provide simple, decent, afford
able housing. USC’s student
chapter started in 1998. Before
this event, the chapter provid
ed volunteers to help build the
Central Carolina chapter’s
houses. Kristen Crookes, pres
ident of the USC chapter, said,
“It’s good to be finally building
our own house.”
More than $50,00 has been
donated in only seven months
through the fundraising ef
forts of Columbia Rotary Clubs
and USC’s chapter of Habitat
for Humanity. Seven student
organizations and 200 students
have pledged their support to
the event. According to Tally,
“the only thing that will throw
us off-schedule now is bad
weather.”
After construction crews
delivered materials and pre
pared the foundation, student
volunteers started building the
house. Under the supervision
of trained supervisors, they
will construct the floors and
walls, raise the roof trusses,
nails shingles and install sid
ing and electrical wiring. The
finished house will be moved
to its permanent location on
Nov. 16, and the plumbing and
other finishing work will then
be done by professionals. The
goal is to have the house dedi
cated by Christmas.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockudesk'ahotmail.com.
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