INSIDE: Comic book companies L^y» 1 r| QTT February 1,2002 ♦ Vol. 95, No. 55
give tribute to Sept. 11 heroes J- J. lvlCl V University ofSouth Carolina ♦ www.dailygamecock.com
Odom’s Gamecocks upset Bulldogs 80-67
PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN
Men’s basketball coach Dave Odom celebrates during Wednesday night’s upset win over No. 16
Georgia. Get all of the game details and hear Odom’s plea for greater student support in
SPORTS, PAGE 7.
Nuclear plants on alert
for possible terrorism
BY H. JOSEF HEBERT
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - Acting on a tip
from an al-Qaida operative, the
government alerted nuclear power
plants last week that terrorists
may be planning an attack on a
power reactor using a hijacked
commercial airliner.
The alert, a copy of which was
obtained Thursday by The
Associated Press, said “the attack
was already fanned” and three
people “already on the ground”
were trying to recruit non-Arabs
to take part.
Government officials empha
sized that the FBI has not been
able to determine whether the
threat is legitimate or a ruse. As a
precaution, however, operators of
all 103 power reactors in 31 states
were alerted.
The alert stemmed from infor
mation obtained during question
ing of an “al-Qaida senior opera
tive,” in mid-January, prompting
the FBI to issue a warning to its
field offices, said one government
source, who spoke on condition of
not being identified further.
On Jan. 23, the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission followed
up with an advisory to all of its
plant licensees entitled “Update
on threat environment — com
mercial aircraft.”
The advisory said the al-Qaida
operative had told the FBI “there
would be a second airline attack”
in the United States and “the plan
is to fly a commercial aircraft into
a nuclear power plant chosen by
the team on the ground.”
The advisory continued: “The
attack was already planned and
three individuals were on the
ground... recruiting non-Arabs to
take part in the attack.”
“The plan included diverting
the mission to any tall building if a
military aircraft intercepts the
plane,” said the advisory.
Security at nuclear power
plants was increased immediate
ly after the New York and
Washington attacks, although fed
eral and industry officials have ac
knowledged that an attack using
a commercial airliner as a missile
♦ALERT, SEE PAGE 2
SG gives SDI report mixed review
BY BRANDON LARRABEE
TIIK (IAMKCOCK
In one of its longest meetings
this session, Student Senate
weighed in on the Strategic
Directions and Initiatives report
Wednesday, criticizing the ad
ministration's ideas on funding
colleges and its plans to incorpo
rate the College of Criminal
Justice into the College of Liberal
Arts.
The senate also agreed to con
sider two amendments at their
next meeting.
Through a series of 20 non
binding resolutions, few of which
drew any debate, the senate
praised some ideas of the SDI
Committee while questioning oth
ers. The SDI report was released
in January.
Without no debate, the senate
passed a resolution criticizing
the cornerstone of the report -
the university's proposed con
version to Value Centered
Management. Under VCM, col
leges would get a certain amount
of funding based on enrollment
and how much research the col
lege is involved in.
The resolution on the VCM
funding method "emphasizes [the
senate's] belief that VCM will de
tract from the ideals of the
University of South Carolina." It
also "calls upon the heads of the
various departments to realize
that Value Centered Management
has the potential to emphasize
'quantity over quality' and to be
come a detriment to the unity of
the various colleges within the
university."
The senate also criticized the
committee's suggestion that the
College of Criminal Justice be in
♦ SG, SEE PAGE 3
«
Old pipes make
campus steam
BY ADAM BEAM
THE GAMECOCK
When Jessica Frierson got up
Monday morning to go to class, she
expected to leave her Preston College
residence hall and encounter a few
cars on her way to class, not a 5-foot
hole in Greene Street.
“Nobody ever lets us know
about anything,” she said. “All of
a sudden, you just see them work
ing on the street.”
The problem arose when a 30
year-old condensate pipe running
under Greene Street started to
leak, causing water to bubble un
der the sidewalk.
“It wasn’t a problem yet, but it
would have started a little sink
hole there,” project manager
Delisa Scruggs said.
The condensate pipe, stretch
ing more than four miles across
campus, uses steam to heat cam
pus facilities. Once the steam is
used, it condenses back into wa
ter and is pumped back to the
East Energy plant at Henderson
and Greene streets to begin the
process again.
Cullum Constructors, who
work with USC on an indefinite
delivery contract, cut through the
asphalt and concrete and found
three leaks in the pipe. The pro
ject should be completed some
time today when workers replace
the damaged sections, fill in the
trench and pave the area.
Scruggs said the USC Police
Department was “very coopera
tive and very helpful” in closing
Greene Street for the week.
Traffic congestion was an un
fortunate side effect, however.
Frierson said, “It was kind of an
noy ing because a lot of people use
the front entrance (of Preston) to
turn around and there was al
most a lot of wrecks that night.”
Charles Stevenson, energy ser
vices assistant director, said the
leaks were created by corrosion
between a mixture of condensate
and air inside the pipe. “We have a
lot of old piping on campus and,
eventually, it is going to fail,” he
said.
Stevenson called the repair
only a temporary fix and said the
entire line, stretching 200 feet
from the Russell House to be
tween Preston and Woodrow
College, needs replacing. The pro
ject is scheduled to be completed
over the summer.
“Well, unless it is an emergency,
we will wait until summer,”
Stevenson said. “We like to do it
during the summer or on a hot day,
when the heat is not needed.”
This isn’t the first time the uni
versity has dealt with piping
problems. Early last semester,
the same procedure was per
formed beside Thomas Cooper
Library. Also, the procedure will
need to be done again on the Bull
Street side of the Russell House
and between McBryde and the
Bull Street Garage. Combined, it
will cost about $200,000.
“There’s various problems
around campus,” Stevenson said.
“Some are condensate leaks;
some come out of covers that may
have a steam leak in a pipe or a
valve fitting. Also, if water gets
into the pit, then it fills up the pit
and hits the steam pipe, and it
will produce steam coming out of
the manhole cover.”
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockudesk&Jiotmail.com
PHOTO BY AARON HARK
Workers stand outside the Russell House Thursday afternoon.
The construction project has taken the majority of the week.
SOUPER BOWL
PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN
Student athletes solicit donations from fans before the Carolina men’s basketball game
against Georgia on Wednesday.
USG fights hunger
Athletics and
volunteering
mix in Souper
Bowl of Caring
BY CRISTY INFINGER
THE GAMECOCK
Three campus organizations
joined Wednesday night for the
fourth annual USC Souper Bowl
of Caring to raise money for the
hungry.
The Carolina Chaplains
Association, Team Gamecocks and
the USC Athletics Department col
lected donations in buckets, pots
and pans before Wednesday
night’s men’s basketball game to
benefit local charities in Columbia.
Rev. John Cook of the
Presbyterian Campus Ministry
did not think the slow economy
had an impact on this year’s do
nations.
“We raised over $1,000, within
$100 to $200 of what we did last
year. It really fluctuates from
year to year,” Cook said.
Cook said that 22 students and
staff members participated in
this year’s event. Ten USC orga
nizations in all helped out in
some way.
The money raised will be used
to donate food to Columbia orga
nizations in need. The
Cooperative Ministries, Harvest
Hope Food Bank and Epworth
Children’s Home will benefit
from this fundraiser.
For the participants from
Team Gamecocks, a volunteer
group consisting of student-ath
letes, this is only one of the many
activities they have this year.
Student-athletes from the base
ball, track and field, swimming,
volleyball and women’s soccer
teams helped collect donations
from the Carolina Coliseum en
trances.
Track and field athlete
“This is an opportunity
to give back to the
community that
supports our sports. A
lot of children look up
to us as athletes, and
that is why I volunteer.”
MECHELLE LEWIS
TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE
Mechelle Lewis was happy to
help out, and she also partici
pates in many of Team
Gamecocks’ other projects, such
as acting as a “big sister” for a
foster child. She thinks that the
Souper Bowl is an excellent way
to say “thank you” to the com
munity for supporting their ath
letic events and students.
“This is an opportunity to give
back to the community that sup
ports our sports,” Lewis said. “A
♦ SOUPER BOWL, SEE PAGE 3
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TODAY’S WEATHER: Partly cloudy. Winds W 20 to 25 mph. High79, Low 41. TOMORROW’S WEATHER: Plenty of sun. High 57, Low 33.