The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 04, 2002, Image 1
www.dailygamecock.com WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2002
Since 1908
Mail staffer charged in scam
m
USC Postal
Service loses
thousands in
embezzlement
BY ALEXIS STRATTON
TIIK (lAMKCOOK
A United States Postal
Service employee was arrested
last June on charges of embez
zling thousands of dollars from
the USC Post Office, according
to a USC police report filed Aug.
22.
According to police records,
a discrepancy in a money order
report revealed excessive de
lays in the actual issue date of
money orders assigned to work
er Betty Jean Hill, and the date
the money orders were posted
on the Federal Reserve edit
sheet.
Police say Hill admitted to
acts of misappropriation and
confessed she converted U.S.
postal money orders, totalling
$18,000 to her own use, knowing
they had been embezzled, stolen
and converted.
The alleged embezzlement,
which occurred over a period
of a year, ended with the arrest
of , Hill, 58, of 117 Glowworm
Road.
“There was an audit conduct
ed by the US Postal Service —
which is routine — where they
found some missing funds,” said
Russ McKinney, USC spokeman.
McKinney said that, after the
first audit, USC law enforce
ment combined forces with the
postal service to investigate the
discrepancies, and “a second au
dit... allowed them a little bet
ter information that ultimately
led to the arrest of the employ
ee.”
Postal inspector Frank
Charlonis played a vital part in
the investigation and the arrest
of Hill, but was unable to com
ment because the investigation
is ongoing.
McKinney said Hill was a
temporary employee. Hill and
the USC Post Office would'not
comment on the case.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockudesk@hotmail.com
Newsplex
* to teach
students,
public
BY WINNIE WINFORD
THE (iAMECOlIK
USC students who use the
Internet for information or who
watch news on television will
have an opportunity to see how
the different areas of media come
together.
Newsplex, a $2 million facility,
e will open Nov. 13 at South
Carolina’s ETV center. The facil
ity will benefit students, teachers,
journalism professionals and the
community, according to Charles
Bierbauer, dean of the College of
Mass Communications and
Information Studies.
“It is going to be a newsroom
of the future,” Bierbauer said. “It .
will be used by journalism pro
fessionals for training and re
search and also for teaching.”
The facility’s construction is
supported by Ifra, an internation
al media support company with
more than 2,200 members. Kerry
.T Mnrthrnn
“You can
9 think of it
(Newsplex)
as a Boeing
747. Its
purpose isn’t
to carry
passengers
from country
to country,
but to train
the pilots
and the crew
on how to
run things
better.”
* KERRY NORTHRUP
IFRA TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
technology
editor for Ifra,
said
Newsplex is
trying to find
solutions to
problems
newsrooms
around the
country are
facing.
“There are 1
a lot of ques
tions about
what’s re
quired in to
day’s news
room,” he
said. “That’s
why we’re
building an ac
tual working
prototype of a
multimedia
ncwai uuui.
Northrup said the issue
Newsplex is trying to deal with is
how best to get information to the
consumer.
“The problem we face today is
the public is already ahead of us,”
Northrup said. “They are using
different media depending on
what they need, where they are,
♦ NEWSPLEX, SEE PAGE 2
Jenkins finally gets his chance
• PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN/THE GAMECOCK
Senior quarterback Corey Jenkins rushed for 113 yards and threw a 44-yard touchdown pass during his first start, in the
season opener against New Mexico State. For more on USC’s victory, see page 10.
Grading
system
gets a
tryout
BY WENDY JEFFCOAT
' THE GAMECOCK
Clemson University has decid
ed to begin a two-year trial to in
clude plus or minus grades, spark
ing a debate over what scale uni
versities should use in grading
students.
The plus or minus grades would
not be computed into the students’
final grade point averages during
the trial, but instead would be
used for research purposes only,
according to Jerry Reel, senior
vice provost and dean of under
graduate studies at Clemson
University.
While the initiative was sup
ported by two-thirds of the facul
ty, two-thirds of Clemson students
who responded to a student poll
objected to the plan.
Some think the plan would hurt
borderline students, while others
think the plus-minus system
would allow for more accurate
grading and reward students for
extra efforts.
Such a system could affect
scholarships, such as South
Carolina’s LIFE scholarship,
which requires students to main
tain a 3.0 GPA or higher. Under
the trial, a grade of B would be 3.0
points, while a B+ would be worth
3.3, and a B- would be worth 2.7
points.
Students and faculty at USC are
split over the issue of its current
grading system, which includes
only pluses. While some think mi
nuses would help in accuracy of
grading, other students are con
tent with the current system.
Dorothy Disterheft, professor
of linguistics at USC, said B+ work
in her class differs greatly from B
work. Whereas some classes, such
♦ GRADES, SEE PAGE 2
Campus long-distance service hits lowest point in 10 years
Cell phones and
calling cards
are partly to
blame for drop
BY MICHELLE Nl DHALAIGH
TIIK (iAMKCOC.K
USC’s 9+ long-distance service
has lost 90 percent of its revenue
over the last 10 years, according
to William Hogue, USC chief in
formation officer.
“While USC is not losing mon
ey on the current telephone sys
tem because less students are us
ing it, overall revenue from the
phone system offering students
long distance and international
dialing from their dorm rooms
has been precipitously falling,”
Hogue said. “The revenue today
is about 10 percent of what it was
10 years ago.”
Hogue attributed the revenue
loss to “aggressive marketing
and pricing campaigns by long
distance companies.” Another
factor in this trend has been the
proliferation in recent years of
cell phones and the cheap plans
they can offer students.
As a state institution, USC is
contractually bound to use the
state-run telephone system. These
contracts allow little flexibility
and last up to two years, prevent
ing the university from changing
the price of the calls made on its
system.
USC is not alone in its profit
loss. California Santa Barbara has
lost $500,000 in the last two years.
The University of California at
Davis, Chico State University and
the University of Rhode Island
have had simillar problems.
Hogue said the university is
looking for other options.
Discussions will take place in
October with internal student af
fairs, business and finance divi
sions and the information tech
nologies sectors within the uni
versity to begin the process of
finding other companies who will
provide a better value for USC
students.
“I fully expect this to become a
major issue in the next academic
year,” Hogue said. “We are inter
ested in finding a preferred ven
dor who will provide a better val
ue service for our students. A
community of27,000 residents can
offer a lot of business to phone
companies.”
Students were not so enthusi
astic about USC’s 9+ system, es
pecially international students.
Third-year American studies stu
dent Yin Yeun Leung from
Birmingham, England, said in
ternational students are looking
for the best value.
“Calling cards are more eco
nomical as they have per-second
billing,” Leung said.
PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK
laime Wood, front, a first-year marine science student, and
Bernard Smalls, a first-year psychology and history student,
talk on their cell phones in front of the Russell House Tuesday.
For example, international
:alls to Ireland using USC’s sys
tem cost 18.7 cents per minute,
while using a Uni World card
:osts 10 cents per minute.
Catherine Blake, a third-year
American studies student from
England prefers, the calling card
over USC’s service. “On a daily
basis, I would prefer to pay $20 in
♦PHONE, SEE PAGE 2
PHOTO BY CANDI HAUGLUM/THE GAMECOCK
Fourth-year civil engineering student Krishna Demoura spends
the morning reading in her South Quad apartment. Krishna, a
Brazilian, is considered an American student because she has
been in the United States for six-and-a-half years.
Students delight
in their diversity
Global Community relocates to
South Quad for a new beginning
BY MEGHAN MCNAIR
THE (1AMEC0CK
Carolina’s Global
Community, relocated from the
Nada apartments to the first floor
of South Quad, showcases a
cross-cultural environment with
international students sharing
rooms with American students.
ft
There are 44 international
students living in South Quad:
22 American and 22 represent
ing 11 other countries—Japan,
Sweden, Thailand, the
Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland,
France, Spain, Germany, Brazil,
and England.
♦ GLOBAL, SEE PAGE 3
%
Index
Comics_ 9
Crossword 9
Classifieds 12
Horoscopes 9
Letters to the Editor 6
Online Poll 6
TOMORROW
High 91
Low 70
—
Inside
♦ THE MIX The summer’s new
soft drinks square off. Page 7
♦ THE MIX Bass guitar virtuoso
Victor Wooten will perform at
Senate Park. Page 7
♦ SPORTS Volleyball wins pair
of games over weekend at
Michigan State Tournament.
Page 10
♦ SPORTS Check out our Club
Corner to see what’s going on
at USC. Page 10