Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Hodges urges lottery plan soon • Governor wants money to go to new programs BY JESSICA FOY THE GAMECOCK I Gov. Jim Hodges has one thing he wants to emphasize to empha size about a lottery spending plan — timing. Hodges met last week with sev eral newspaper editors from state colleges and universities and said if the legislature does not pass a lottery spending plan by the end of March, students will not know how much money they will receive next school year until it’s too late. “I have grown very concerned about the timing, ” Hodges said. “My concern is that students will be left trying to make financial arrangements unsure of the schol arships they have.” If a lottery spending plan is passed by the end of March, finan cial aid packages that go out in April will include lottery money for those eligible. But Hodges is worried that the General Assembly may wait until June to make the plan. / • “Unless the General Assembly passes lottery legislation by the end of next month, students may not know how much financial aid will be available to them next year,” he said. He said the more legislators wait, “the more I worry about mis chief taking place.” “It’s not like there’s a lot going on up there,” he said of the General Assembly. Hodges said the lottery proceeds will provide a “wide range of ben efits to a wide range of students.” The legislation to allocate lot tery proceeds to education passed the House of Representatives on May 8,2001. - Since the lottery began on Jan. 7 it has raised about $74 million. Of that money, $23 million will go to education. Hodges emphasized that the lot tery money will give to academic scholarship programs as well as need-based funding. “We’d all ben efit,” he said. “I make no apologies about the lottery program [being] designed to help students,” he said. He plans to increase the LIFE and Palmetto scholarships and create a Hope scholarship that will give scholarships to all students with a B average. He will also de vote $61 million for free tuition to technical and two-year colleges. In addition, he has allotted $40 million for a program to create a research fund at the state’s re search universities like USC and Clemson. He said that spending should bring in jobs around the state and better faculty, who would in turn attract more students. He bases the research portion of the plan on systems like North Carolina’s Research Triangle, comprised of North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. He said the money would not to go bring in a “Hungarian lit erature professor,” for example, but that it would focus more on something like Clemson’s pro posal for an automotive engi neering center. Hodges said his spending plan is based on the understanding that the money from the lottery will be used to supplement, not to sup plant, current education funds. The legislature had feared that the lot tery money would be used to sup ply existing education funds, so the legislation specifically says the money will only supplement them. The provision was included in the legislation to make sure the mon ey was used only for “new, helpful things for the education system.” Hodges said he didn’t want to use lottery money ‘to do things we’re already supposed to be do ing.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Lottery Spending Plan ♦ $61 million for free tuition for technical and two-year colleges ♦ $45 million to increase LIFE scholarships ♦ $4.1 million for HOPE scholarships ♦ $4 million to increase Palmetto Scholars program ♦ $12 million for needs-based grants ♦ $4 million for tuition grants ♦ $5 million for teach training ♦ $40 million for a program to create a research fund at our state’s universities ^ Hopefuls give ideas Dreiling, El Ibiary duel for VP position BY GINNY THORNTON THE GAMECOCK Katie Dreiling didn’t want to come to USC, but now she can’t imagine being anywhere else. “I’m the baby, so my parents * wanted me to stay close,” Dreiling said. “I even had my transfer pa pers ready. But after my first year, I realized I love it here.” As a vice presidential candi date, Dreiling lists money, park ing and safety as her main issue concerns. “Parking, that’s the biggest issue,” Dreiling said. Dreiling recounted the time her car was towed her freshman year. “I accidentally parked in the wrong space. I had no idea where my car was or where to find it,” she said. This incident prompted Dreiling to suggest to Parking Services Director Derrick Huggins that USC should post signs in the garages with towing company numbers and informa tion. Dreiling said Huggins agreed and that the project is underway. Dreiling has adopted a project that current Vice President Nithya Bala started: starting a self-defense class for students. “[Nithya] want ed some'bne who could continue the project after she’s gone.” Dreiling said her lack of experi ence in the Senate won’t affect her ability to preside over Senate meet ings, the vice president’s only duty. She cited her experience in mock trial as good preparation. Dreiling said she isn’t sure whether she would like to run for SG president in the future, but that she plans to remain active at USC “as long as I can feel that I’m making a difference somewhere.” Shereef El-Ibiary said he decided to run for vice president when he realized how many changes USC will befacing in the next year. “A new president, SDI recom mendations, the new wellness center, Greek housing, the basketball stadi um-.■ all of these are going to bring up concerns and I’d like to make the best decisions possible on behalf of the stu dent body,” said El-Ibiary. El-Ibiary has served as a sena tor in the past. Currently, he is the coordinator for Second Serving, a Student Government service pro gram through which students de liver leftover food from campus dining facilities to the Oliver Gospel Mission. “Basically, I call people and schedule them to take food,” he said. El-Ibiary said academic for giveness is an issue he is particu larly concerned about. An acade mic forgiveness policy would al low USC students to repeat one or two classes they with no penalty for the first grade. “If a student does poorly in a course, they can take that course over again and that first time is erased,” El-Ibiary said. El-Ibiary said his vision for Senate is to encourage senators to take an active role and hold them accountable for what they do. “I really, sincerely feel I can make a difference,” El-Ibiary said. “I feel like I can make some changes, and I have strong deci sion-making abilities.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Hodges will move to guard college budgets from cuts Bill will likely meet opposition from legislators BY JIM DAVENPORT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COLUMBIA, S.C. - The gov ernor plans to push a bill that would shield public school and college budgets from midyear budget cuts, an aide told House Democrats on Tuesday. But that effort, supported by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, would likely face the same problem it did last year—opposition from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence. Gov. Jim Hodges has not fin ished drafting the bill, House Minority Leader Doug Jennings, D-Bennettsville, said. Hodges, Harrell and Leatherman are three of the five members of the State Budget and Control Board that would decide whether the state needs to cut spending to ensure the budget is balanced at the end of the year. State law requires across-the board cuts - unless the Legislature grants exceptions. Harrell and Leatherman said they haven’t been asked to consider cuts again this budget year after a 4 percent across-the-board cut in October. That cut trimmed $204 million in state spending. When the board made budget cuts last May, Harrell pushed a plan to spare education budgets. Leatherman opposed similar ef forts in the Senate. “I wanted to do that last year, I still want to do it,” Harrell said. “The holdup last year was the Senate rules allowed one senator to stop it. We knew we couldn’t get anywhere with it.” Leatherman said nothing has changed for him. “You can’t do that.... You can’t say you’re going to shield this sec tion of government or that section of government,” Leatherman said. While lawmakers want to hold education harmless, the reality i^A half the state budget is spent on^ public and higher education and that would create devastating cuts elsewhere, Leatherman said. Sparing those parts of govern ment from the cuts made in November, for example, would slash other state agency budgets by 10 percent, he said. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudeskCci.hotmail.com ■ Strength upon strength. Skill upon skill. Ideas on proven expertise and sophisticated technology. At University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina, the care we deliver is measured by more than the unique abilities of our people. It's a measure of the power of collaboration: of thousands of {naiviouais wno come togetner »n eacn of our facilities every day. and of the facilities that come together to form a network of rare scale and vision. It's a measure of personalized attention, j remarkable results and exhilarating possibility. 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If you are unable to attend our Open House, please contact University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina, Attn: Employment Office, PO Box 6028, Greenville, NC 27835; Phone: (800) 342-5155; FAX: (252) 816-8225; or E-mail: kbortz@pcmh. com The possibilities are as diverse and fascinating as our own people: an Equal Opportunity Employer. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA @ Regal Cinemas Cinema 7 Columbia, Richland Mall, 3400 Forest 7:00 PM Wednesday, February 20, 2002 FREE ADMISSION while passes last* * Passes available at Regal Cinemas Cinema 7 Columbia, I Richland Mall 3000, 3400 Forest Drive, beginning Wednesday prior. I a Passes required. Sealing is limited and not guaranteed. Please arrive early. III Presented in association with Regal Cinemas Cinema 7 Columbia.