Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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1,100 go hungry to fight poverty BY MEGHAN MCNAIR THE GAMECOCK Many USC students went hun gry Wednesday. About 1,100 students gave up their lunches in support of Oxfam Carolina, according to Eric Amer, Oxfam Carolina president and a second-year international business student. Oxfam Carolina is a chapter of Oxfam America, a national organization working in 30 countries worldwide to help end poverty. The day of fast “allows students and all who participate to feel a little emptiness like millions of people do everywhere,” said Tom Wall, United Methodist campus minister and Oxfam Carolina ad visor. “Few people here can truly say they experience hunger, A lot of people here could not deal with out having dinner for an evening, let alone miss a snack.” Students could sign up at cam pus dining facilities and donate their lunches, or $2 on their cash card, to benefit the organization. The week’s slogan was, “Fast so that others may eat.” First-year public relations ma jor Ashley Bolton said: “I signed up at the GMP sometime last week. I thought it was for a very good “A clear indication of how well it went was the chicken-finger line at the GMP was a lot shorter than usual.” ERIC ARNER OXFAM CAROLINA PRESIDENT cause and that I could afford to give up one meal if I think about all of the people out there who don’t even eat one meal a day. It makes you thankful for what you have.” Students could sign up through organizations or in University 101 classes. Sodexho-Marriot, who provides USC meal services, took the money saved off of the missed meals and donated it to Oxfam. “People don’t seem to under stand the amount of hunger going on in our country — even right here in Columbia. Everyone needs to help out,” Arner said. “I think the turnout was great this year. We received a lot of sup port from individuals who were willing to give up something for someone else,” Amer said. “A clear indication of how well it went was the chicken-finger line at the GMP was a lot shorter than usual,” he said. Second-year student Sarah Ross is coordinator for the Hunger and Homelessness Committee, which is part of the Community Service Leadership Team. Ross said her committee helped with the day of fast “because the orga nization deals with hunger and benefiting those less fortunate. The cause is very good, and the more organizations that try to fight hunger, the better.” The real goal of Oxfam is long term development. The money earned goes to sponsor different projects for those who lack the money, education and material substances to support themselves. First-year broadcast journal ism major Kirsten Boettcher said: “I gave up my meal because I thought it might give me a little bit of insight into how people who do not have the resources to eat might feel. People who didn’t give up their meals told me that the lines were a lot less crowded than usual, so hopefully a lot of people helped with the cause.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com. We have 4 positions open with ou promotional team. We are looking for positive, self-motivated, energetic individuals who have a desire to make $500 per week. We offer hire-on bonus and training pay. We Offer: • Sign on bonus • Health Ins. Benefits • 401K • Holiday and Vacation Pay • Tuition Reimbursement • Contests for cash & prizes • Paid Training c@®mm®n e)fSXSI@e I &ri gtuill# ACCEPTING NEW ARTISTS for Open Studio Project 4 20 somethings Call for Details 748-7403 STATE BRIEFS Carolina wildfires feed on drought CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Wildfires burning through the forests and fields of the Carolinas are leaving some of the worst damage in a decade. October exploded in flames in South Carolina, where the Forestry Commission battled fires that burned 2,994 acres, six times the average of the past decade. Another 2,400 more acres have burned this month. Not included in the November number is a fire that has burned 1,911 acres in Horry County, S.C., near Myrtle Beach, since Nov. 7. That fire is still not fully under control. South Carolina has ordered a statewide burning ban. Cold fronts from the north and northwest brought low humidity and brisk winds last month, pulling moisture from grass and leaves. The dry weather makes it more likely that large fuels, such as logs that fires usually pass over, will catch fire. That kind of fire is also harder to put out, said Fire Commission spokesman Ken Cabe. IT HAPPENED NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED ‘HUMAN BLOCKHEAD’ DIES: Magician Melvin Burkhart, known in the heyday of carnivals as “The Human Blockhead” for his ability to hammer a spike into his head through a cavity behind his nostril, died Thursday at age 94. FROM THE FIELD TO THE OFFICE:Wofford College athletics director David Wood has been named the school’s senior vice president and will start his new job Dec. 1. CROSSING 0VER:The State Ports Authority will give $20 million toward a new Cooper River bridge within a year and another $25 million over the next 25 years for port-related infrastructure projects. NATION BRIEFS Congress to rush airport security bill WASHINGTON - Airport screeners would become federal employees, air marshals would be increased and cockpit doors would be fortified under an aviation security bill Congress plans to rush to passage to help rebuild Americans’ confidence in flying. After weeks of impasse, House and Senate leaders said Thursday they planned to vote on the legislation Friday, sending it to President Bush for his signature in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest flying times of the year. “Safety comes first,” Bush said, announcing in a statement that he would sign the measure. He had balked at making airport screeners federal employees. The goal, said Senate Republican leader Trent Lott, who helped craft the compromise, is to give Americans "peace of mind when they get on airplanes across the country, especially as we approach Thanksgiving.” The votes will come a little more than two months after the hijacker attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. IT HAPPENED NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED SEARS TOWER SECURITY: Employees and visitors at the Sears Tower will be screened with metal detectors and have their bags X-rayed as part of increased security at the nation’s tallest building. NEW YORK SHAKEN: The collapse of the World Trade Center towers caused ground shaking similar to a pair of small earthquakes. The collapse of the South Tower generated shaking of a magnitude of 2.1. When the North Tower fell the shaking reached a magnitude of 2.3. I 7 WORLD BRIEFS Taliban gunfire kills European journalists KHWAJA BAHUADDIN, AFGHANISTAN — Two French radio reporters and a German magazine journalist were killed when they came under Taliban fire while traveling with northern alliance forces, their employers and colleagues said Monday. The journalists were identified as Johanne Sutton of Radio France Internationale, Pierre Billaud of RTL Radio and Volker Handloik, a free-lance reporter for Stern newsmagazine in Berlin. The three were believed to be the first foreign journalists killed in Afghanistan since American airstrikes in support of the northern alliance began on Oct. 7. Levon Sevunts, a Canadian journalist with the Montreal Gazette who said he had been traveling with Sutton and Billaud, said they had been invited to accompany northern alliance troops who were inspecting Taliban trenches reportedly captured by the alliance near Taloqan. The journalists were traveling on an armored personnel carrier when the Taliban opened fire with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. The blast threw some of the journalists off the vehicle, reporters said. IT HAPPENED NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED OIL WAR MIGHT IGNITE: The specter of an oil price war loomed nearer Thursday when OPEC’s most powerful member said the cartel would let crude prices fall, if necessary, as a way of pressuring producers outside the group — especially Russia— into cooperating with its plan to cut output. NOTHING TO WRITE CLONE ABOUT: A judge ruled Thursday that Britain has no laws governing human cloning, despite Parliament’s attempt this year to regulate research under an existing law. ■vTT 1 THEY HAVEN'T QUITE FIGURED IT ALL OUT, BUT THEY'RE GETTING A LITTLE WARMER. ^OPENSWEDNESD^OVEMBEnnnHEAfRESEVERYWHER^n ■ i . i 1 50 Wings $19.99 100 Wings $37.99 Vista • 256-8844 Available all game Saturdays thru Nov. 17th Friday, November 30 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Town Theatre, 1012 Sumter St., Columbia, SC Seeking: Singers, Dancers, Actors, Mimes, Puppeteers, Costumed Characters, Technicians and Specialty Acts. * Company paid holidays and vacation time * Medical, dental, vision and prescriptions * Additional opportunities * Master classes and workshops Video Taped Auditions Are gladly accepted! If you are unable to make it in person, send us your best on video. Be sure to include a recent headshot and resume. Sorry, we don't return tapes! -Busch,, Gardens TAMPA BAY. 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