Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Afghanistan Massive Taliban defections reported CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Taliban have largely abandoned Kandahar. The U.S. official said the Taliban were in disarray in sev eral areas in the south. Field commanders were fleeing and some were switching sides, the official said. There were signs the Taliban were abandoning cities, possibly to fight a guerrilla war from the mountains. After a series of lightning vic tories by the alliance across northern Afghanistan since Friday, the United States had urged the alliance not to enter Kabul until a multiethnic gov eminent could be formed. But Monday night, with al liance forces on the city’s edge, Taliban columns began pulling out and retreating south. By sun rise, they were gone. Abdullah said the alliance had no choice but to send in a force to maintain security because “irre sponsible” elements in the city were disturbing the peace. I I I I 6084 Gamers Ferry Road Next to Target (803) 776-8900 COLUMBIA 6120 St. Andrews Rd. (803) 750-5900 High-minority counties face unemployment, undereducation BY MIKE STUTZ THE GAMECOCK Representatives from social service groups and universities are proposing the formation of a regional commission to help em power minority citizens in the southern ‘Black Belt’ states. The Black Belt is comprised of the 171 counties in the southeast with at least a 40 percent black population and is characterized by education, employment and disease problems. The counties run through Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas. The group, brought together by University of Georgia Vice President Arthur Dunning, has had several meetings, including one in early October at Tuskegee University in Alabama and an other in Atlanta two weeks ago. The meeting in Atlanta con sisted of about 30 representatives from around the southern region. Representing South Carolina were William Robinson of the Medical University of South Carolina and Randall Jackson of the S.C. Coalition of Black Church Leaders. The idea for a regional com mission to address poverty, poor health and educational conditions is not new. It can be seen in the Appalachian Regional Commiss ion, which was created in the 1960s to address the very poor, very rural and very mountainous area that stretches from southern New York to northern Mississ ippi. Robinson, director of a dia betes program at the Medical University of South Carolina, said that he wants this new re gional organization to be differ ent than the Appalachian Commission. Robinson said the group is try ing to stress that two things are different in the Black Belt region — the leadership of the group is reflective of the population and it’s a grassroots driven project. “These organizations with proven track records are going to be the ones that are shaping it,” Robinson said. “Also, the recipi ents of the services will be best to tell you about what needs to be done.” Robinson was chosen to repre sent the state because of his expe rience in the creation of grass roots organizations such as the S.C. African Americans HIV/AIDS council, S.C. African American Tobacco Control Network and Diabetes Today Advisory Committee. Money has already started rolling in. First, Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga., gave $250,000 for the groups use and that was matched by an additional $250,000 from an anony mous Georgia businessman. Though grateful for the money, Robinson was worried about its being used effectively. His main concerns are that the use of the money will be too restrictive or limited on to financing studies of the region. “We study stuff to death,” Robinson said. “We don’t need to spend half a million dol lars studying these problems. We already know it, that’s what brought us all together.” “There’s an old African saying, ‘each one teach one.’Take what you learned and pass it to the next person so it empowers the whole community.” WILLIAM ROBINSON REPRESENTATIVE FROM MUSC The initiative will not look like the civil rights movement, Robinson said. “This is a different kind of animal. There are a lot of economic development groups from some of the states, there are cooperatives, there are other uni versities at the table. It really is an empowerment effort versus a civil rights effort.” There will be a larger stake holders meeting in late January where the group plans to include Clemson, some of the traditional ly black colleges in South Carolina, the Department of Health and Environmental Control and local grassroots or ganizations. “What each of us has to do is come back and develop these teams within our states to develop a plan.” Robinson is hopeful of the per sonal level of this initiative. “There’s an old African saying, ‘each one teach one,”’ Robinson said. “Take what you learned and pass it to the next person so it empowers the whole commu nity.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockcitydeskftvhotmail.com. Treadwell Higher education will be discussed CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Treadwell’s main duties at the Kellogg Foundation include pro gram design, oversight and ad ministration of strategic initia tives to improve access to health coverage and services. She also manages Community Voices, an investment community access to health services. The Bicentennial Committee asked Treadwell to speak not be cause of her historical involvement with the progress of education, but because of her knowledge of issues related to higher education and her interest in the commemoration of USC’s Bicentennial, said Sally McKay, USC Bicentennial execu tive director. “Treadwell is a member of our commission, and she’s been very involved since the beginning,” McKay said. After the opening ceremonies and convocation, two panels will discuss challenges of the future in higher education. The President’s Panel and the Business and Public Affairs Panel will take place in Harper College’s Euphradian Hall. University Day was originally scheduled for Sept. 11, but was post poned because of the terrorist at tacks. The Bicentennial Committee had chosen Sept. 11 because of its historical significance. On that day in 1963, Henrie Monteith and two other African-American students enrolled at USC. “Sept. 11,1963, opened the fu ture for the University of South Carolina,” Compton said. “On Nov. 15, during our bicen tennial year, leaders from educa tion, government, business and our communities will meet to re flect on this significant anniver sary and to explore the future of higher education in South Carolina,” Compton said. University Day is open to stu dents and the public. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk(a,Jiotmail.com. ---- You pick up a lot of important survival tools in ROTC. Starting with a tuition check. First things first. Pay the bills, get through college, then get on with the rest of your life. Fortunately, joining Air Force ROTC can help you do all this and more. You could earn up to 100 percent of your tuition, fees and book costs — plus up to $400 of additional spending money every month. Not to mention gaining skills you’ll use your entire career — like leadership, team-building and physical fitness. To find out how, visit AFROTC.COM or call 1-800-522-0033, ext. 2091. U.S. AIR FORCE RO'TC i University Day events schedule 1 P.M. HORSESHOE CONVOCATION Remarks ♦John M. Palms, president, use ♦ The Honorable Matthew J. Perry, U.S. District Court of South Carolina Address ♦ Henrie Monteith Treadwell, program director, W.K. Kellogg Foundation 2 P.M. PRESIDENTS PANEL, EUPHRADIAN HALL IN HARPER COLLEGE Remarks ♦ Rayburn Barton, executive director, S.C. Commission on Higher Education Panel ♦ Moderated by James Hudgins, executive director, S.C. State Board of Technical and Comprehensive Education 3 P.M. BUSINESS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS PANEL, EUPHRADIAN HALL IN HARPER COLLEGE Remarks ♦ Joel A. Smith III, dean, Moore School of Business Panel ♦ Moderated by Terry Peterson, senior fellow for Education Policies and Partnerships, USC and College of Charleston