Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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University of South Carolina FRIDAY OfTORFR A 9DD9 - Vol.97,No.20 www.dailygamecock.com ' •'' Ur\ I, I WL)Lf\ *+, Since 1908 _ A STEP FORWARD President Andrew Sorensen accepts a National Institutes of Health grant at the Carolina Plaza on Wednesday. $11 million goes to USC research Grant will be used to study colorectal cancer ^ BY ALEXIS STRATTON THE GAMECOCK USC received the largest federal grant in its history Wednesday in what universi ty officials are calling a step toward making it one of the nation’s leading research uni versities. The National Institutes of Health will grant $11 million over a five-year period for re search into the causes, pre vention and treatment of col orectal cancer, which is found in the colon and rec tum. Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer ® in South Carolina and one of the three most common can cers in the United States. “Today’s award demon strates that the University of South Carolina is becom ing a leading research uni versity,” said Harris Pastides, USC’s interim vice president for research and dean of the Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health. “Most importantly, it’s through research like this that we will find better ways to care for those who are affected by cancer and improve the quality of life for South Carolinians and, indeed, all Americans.” At a news conference Wednesday morning, USC President Andrew Sorensen called the grant “a truly mo mentous occasion” and said several other multimillion dollar grants will be an nounced over the next couple of weeks. “This grant is lasting for ♦ GRANT, SEE PAGE 2 A Look at the Projects Deanna Smith, project principal Investigator, assistant professor College of Science and Mathematics Project: Examine the molecules involved in causing a normal cell to become cancerous. Charles Matthews, project principal investigator, research assistant professor, Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health Project;. Learn what biological mechanisms protect the body from colon cancer when a person is physically active. Stephanie Muga, project principal investigator, research assistant, professor School of Medicine, South Carolina Cancer Center Project: Improve effectiveness of chemotherapy treatment by changing a person’s diet. Michael Wyatt, project principal investigator, assistant professor, College of Pharmacy Project: Understand how mechanisms that repair DNA affect the survival of cancerous and normal cells in response to chemotherapy. • USC’s Past Research Awards _■ $5.4 million [““““B Department I ■ of Electrical I ■ Engineering $6.1 million ■ (1998) Psychology H_< | Department ■‘”’“"1 i reduction via B I promotion of H $7.5 million youth ■ Psychology development ■ Department (1996)■ to develop ■ an effective | parenting , I program I (2002) $9 million Department _ of Electrical “"“I Engineering I for silicon $9.3 million materials University and device Research development Initiative (2000) Program for Combat Readiness (2000) Facts About Colorectal Cancer in South Carolina ♦ FACT: Colorectal cancer - which is cancer of the colon and rectum - is the fourth most common cancer in South Carolina. It ranks behind prostate, lung and breast cancers. ♦ FACT: Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in South Carolina. It accounted for 10 percent of all cancer deaths between 1994 and 1998 (the most recent years for which data are available). ♦ FACT: In 2002, the American Cancer Society estimates there will be 1,960 new cases of colorectal cancer - 1,035 in males and 925 in females. ♦ FACT; The total number of colorectal cancer cases is 5,632. ♦ FACT: Colorectal cancer accounts for 12 percent of all cancer cases. ♦ FACT: A person’s individual risk for developing colorectal cancer in the United States is nearly 6 percent. Ninety percent of all cases occur after age 50. ♦ FACT: Risk factors for colorectal cancer include family history, physical inactivity, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, eating red meat and smoking. Source: The American Cancer Society New position would help raise funds by KEVIN FELLNER the gamecock Before USC President Andrew ^-2 Sorensen can lead USC in its next capital campaign, he must first find a vice president for ad vancement to organize USC’s fund-raising efforts and external relations. The new advancement division will consolidate alumni affairs, public relations, government re lations and development into one office. The consolidations are meant to make promoting the university and to help USC keep in touch with potential donors. In the past, USC had a vice president for de velopment who had jurisdiction only over devel opment initia tives. Dennis use DEVELOPMENT Part 3 of a 3-part series USC president \ \ Andrew Sorensen shares his goals for ! | USC's development, j Pruitt is serving as interim vice president for advancement until the new administrator is chosen. Sorensen said it is important that the new vice president is chosen soon. “I’m ready to roll,” he said. “We need to develop a new capi tal campaign to raise more mon ey for the university, for en dowment, for scholarships, for faculty salaries. We need to get going very quickly.” Sorensen said choosing the vice president will be important to him because he will spend more time with that person than with any of his other vice presidents. “The chemistry between me and that person has to really be terrific,” he said. But Sorensen will most likely get to choose his new vice presi dent from only three finalists. A search committee, headed by Moore School of Business Dean Joel Smith, is looking for poten tial finalists to introduce to ♦ DEVELOPMENT, SEE PAGE 2 Student injured by pipe leak Steam burns Spurs and Struts dancer BY BLAKE CLANCY THE GAMECOCK A steam leak that had been re ported to University Maintenance led to the burning of a Spurs and Struts competitor Monday night. The student, who required medi cal attention, had to pull out of the competition. Kellum Mahan, a third-year sport entertainment management student, was set to compete in the couples portion of the Spurs and Struts dance competition Monday night when he fell into a hole on Davis Field that had developed from a steam leak and filled with hot water. The shock of the heat led Mahan to think he had been elec trocuted. Fire crews who were al ready in the area to monitor the fireworks show earlier in the evening responded immediately. They discovered that Mahan had suffered hot water and steam bums to his right leg and foot. He was taken by to Palmetto Richland hospital. Mahan, who did not want to be interviewed, was released the same night and said he is feeling fine, though he is on medication. According to USC Fire Marshall Dave Castine, the leak on Davis Field had been reported on more than one occasion, but facility maintenance crews had not yet responded. He said that, though the university is in the process of replacing the steam pipes, it’s no surprise something like this happened. “The pipe had deteriorated with age, and steam was coming out of the ground prior to this accident,” Castine said. Maintenance crews barricad ed the area of the leak in Davis Field that night and began re pairing the problem the following Tuesday morning. The steam leak originated in an underground pipe in the intricate pipe system that transports steam from the campus energy facility to the entire campus. The leak result ed from a rusty pipe responsible for taking steam back to the energy fa cility. The accident has some students asking questions about their own safety on campus. Ashley Bowers, a first-year print journalism stu dent, said she didn't know there was a problem. "1 had no idea that steam was a problem,” she said. "But itdefi nitely makes you watch where you're going.” Bowers said she was disap pointed that the accident could have been avoided.“I think it's kind of disappointing that this problem wasn't fixed if it was al ready known about,” she said. Director of Risk Management Shealy McCoy said steam leaks are not as common as some would expect. “It’s not something I get a lot of calls on,” said McCoy, who is also interim director of environ mental health and safety. McCoy advises anyone who sees a steam leak to tell Facility Services. If the problem is not tak en care of. Risk Management can also be contacted. “It takes everybody’s eyes and ears,” McCoy said. “It’s a 200-acre campus, so it’s difficult to be ev erywhere at once. It takes every one to be a risk manger.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk(aihotmail.com And the winner is... PHOTO BY CANDI HAUGLUM/THE GAMECOCK Evelyn Ackermann, a fourth-year anthropology student, was crowned Homecoming Queen on Wednesday night by Kacy Goebel, last year’s queen. FOR FULL STORY, SEE PAGE 2. Index Comics and Crossword 7 Classifieds 10 Horoscopes 7 Letters to the Editor 4 Online Poll 4 Police Report 3 Weather n High 87 Low 68 TOMORROW High 87 Low 64 Inside ♦ VIEWPOINTS Rob Seal joins the debate on foreign policy. Page 4 ♦ THE MIX “Ugly Art," a play by a Rock Hill native, comes to Columbia tonight. Page 5 ♦THE MIX USC professor Kwame Dawes will discuss writing about art tonight at the Columbia Museum of Art. Page 5 ♦ SPORTS Men's soccer looks to end six-year winless streak vs. Clemson. Page 8