The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 13, 2003, Image 1
*
University of South Carolina MOMhAV IAMI IADV 1 9 9009 VoL96.No.46
www.dailygamecock.com IVIUINUMl, JMINUMlxT lO, ZUUO Since 1908
CLASSES CANCELED
1:__ ■■ _1
PHOTO BY ADAM BEAM/THE GAMECOCK
First-year electronic Journalism student Sandra Stone, left, and
McKensey Campbell, a student at Tri County Technical College,
read the “No Entry” signs at the Jones Center.
Water leak
•shuts down
Jones Center
BY ADAM BEAM
TIIKIiAMKCOCK
A water leak tainted with as
bestos in the Jones Physical
Science Center has forced the
building to be closed for the first
day of classes.
According to Russ McKinny,
university spokesman, the leak
started Saturday morning on the
eighth floor of the science build
ing, located on Main Street. It
eventually leaked down and flood
the first floor basement area be
'~fore it was discovered late
Saturday afternoon.
McKinny said the building
would not be open for classes or
labs on Monday.
“Hopefully, it will be open by
Tuesday, but we don’t know,” he
said.
McKinny said the reason the
clean up will take so long is that
some of the tiles in the ceilings of the
eight floors that were exposed to the
leak contained asbestos, which call
for a very thorough clean-up pro
cess. The university has to contract
with a licensed asbestos removal
firm for the cleaning job.
McKinny did not know whether
the missed classes would be
rescheduled.
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(JSC forced to cut
budget a 3rd time
Belt tightens
after millions of
tgiollars removed
BY ADAM BEAM
TIIKIIAMKCOCK
A 5-percent budget cut handed
down in December has left uni
versity administrators scrambling
for more funds, and solutions
might include raising tuition and
cutting back on the number of
classes offered.
On Dec. 10, the five-member
State Budget and Control Board
approved a 4.5-percent cut that af
fects all state agencies, as well as
another half-percent that would
be returned if the economy im
proved.
“I think \\e all understand that
the chances of that are essential
ly nil,” Provost Jerry Odom said.
“So every state agency looked
upon this as a 5-percent cut.”
The reduction translates to a
$7,858,000 cut for the university.
USC’s third cut during the past
three years, it brings the entire
budget shortfall for all USC cam
puses to about $33 million — $24.5
million of that taken from the
Columbia campus.
I — *
“I would say that students can
expect fewer classes, and that is a
direct result of this budget situa
tion,” Odom said. “I would cer
tainly think that there would be
consideration for a tuition in
crease for next fall.”
Rick Kelly, USC’s chief finan
cial officer, said that while a tu
ition increase would help the fi
nancial situation considerably,
the effect of fewer classes would
not be as great.
“I think, in the February
March time frame, we will know
what we will be doing,” he said.
According to Kelly, USC can’t
expect relief from the state any
time soon. Another cut is expected
before the semester ends, and the
General Assembly is already look
ing at a budget reduction between
5 percent and 10 percent for the
next fiscal year.
The university has budgeted
reserve funds in case of emer
gencies. To compensate for the
latest cut, the provost’s office
took 2.5 percent from the reserve
fund and asked all university de
partments to cut back 2.5 percent.
“We’re approaching it from a
lot of different angles, increasing
research activities, trying to
shake the bushes and generate
♦ BUDGET, SEE PAGE 6
Grant administrator
charged with theft
Anonymous tip
leads police to
missing $50,000
BY MICHAEL LAFORGIA
THE GAMECOCK
Prosecutors charged a worker
at USC’s Center for Colon Cancer
Research last Monday with steal
ing about $50,000 from the uni
versity.
Investigators said that Renee
Sturkie, 39, a Lexington resident
and grant administrator for the
newly created research center,
used several university credit
cards to purchase computer
equipment and sell it to Jackson’s
Gold N’ Pawn in Columbia.
Maj. Lawrence Pathel of the
USC Police Department led the
investigation.
Pathel said Sturkie was re
leased after a bond hearing on a
personal recognizance loan
hours after she turned herself in
to Richland County authorities
on Tuesday. Sturkie will be sub
ject to a fine if she doesn’t appear
in court.
“The judge decided that she
was not a risk to flee and not re
turn and not a risk to public safe
ty,” Pathel said.
Sturkie is charged with em
bezzlement of public funds
greater than $5,000 and may re
ceive up to 10 years in prison if
convicted.
USC spokesman Russ
McKinney said Sturkie “was ma
nipulating the university pro
cess” for her own gain.
Pathel said an anonymous
phone call in early November
first alerted authorities that uni
versity property was on sale at a
local pawnshop. From there, in
vestigators found a university la
bel on the computer equipment
that led them to the Department
of Biological Sciences.
Sturkie, who has worked for
USC since 1992, was placed on un
paid leave in November. She act
ed as an administrative assistant
to the Biological Sciences
Department before joining the
colon cancer research team in
♦ EMBEZZLEMENT, SEE PAGE 2
Dining, fitness projects
achieve mixed results
Dining Services
on schedule; no
opening date set
for fitness center
BY KEVIN FELLNER
THE GAMECOCK
A new year means new expan
sion for the university, and while
several projects are expected to
be complete by the end of the
month, completion of the Strom
Thurmond Fitness and Wellness
Center is still up in the air.
The most current addition to
the university’s projects is
Cooper’s Corner, a gourmet cof
fee and sandwich cafe inside
Thomas Cooper Library, which
opens today. While food will be
required to stay in the cafe, spe
cially designated cups — filled
with the customer’s choice bev
erage — will be allowed to be tak
en into the library area.
Mike Scheffres, Dining
Services’ general manager, said
his department made the decision
to build the coffee shop based on
requests for such a facility on sev
eral rounds of student surveys.
Dining Services is also ex
panding its operations inside the
Russell House. A new Italian fair,
Pandini’s, is scheduled to open
Jan. 27 on the Greene Street side
of first floor lobby. On the Grand
Marketplace side of the same lob
by, Zia’s Juices, a Freshen’s
smoothie location, Sub
Connection and Cinnabon are
also scheduled to open Jan. 27.
The Freshen’s location and
Cinnabon are moving from oth
er locations in the Russell House.
These new facilities were also
chosen based on student feed
back, Scheffres said. He added
that all the work is on schedule
to meet the planned opening date.
These expansions are only the
beginning of a three-year project
to update dining facilities in the
♦ CONSTRUCTION, SEE PAGE 5
PHOTOS BY ERIC SOONG/THE GAMECOCK
Top: The new dining areas In the Russell House are scheduled to open at the end of the
month. Left: Construction Is still being done on the new Strom Thurmond Fitness and
Wellness Center. Right: The climbing wall Is one of new opportunities that will be provided In
the new fitness center.
Index
Comics and Crossword _ 10
Classifieds 13
Horoscopes 10
Letters to the Editor_7
^ Online Poll 7
* Police Report 5
Weather
TODAY TOMORROW
fc f:
High 53 High 52
Low 31 Low 22
Inside
♦ NEWS Hundreds gather at
the State House steps to
protest abortion. Page 4
♦ VIEWPOINTS Brook Bristow
examines the most common
new year’s resolutions. Page 7
♦ THE MIX The recent “Lord of
the Rings" films revive interest
in the classic books. Page 10
♦ SPORTS The basketball
teams continue conference
play after each wins SEC
opener. Page 11
I " . ~1
Decoys to take aim at‘tapping’
BY KEVIN FELLNER
THE (IAMECOCK
In an effort to crack down on
underage drinking in Columbia,
the Lexington/Richland Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Council an
nounced Friday that it will be
implementing a new series of
“Shoulder Tap” operations.
The new tactics, which the
council’s Multi-Jurisdictional
Alcohol Enforcement Team will
oversee, are aimed at underage
citizens who obtain alcohol by
giving money to adults outside
of supermarkets and conve
nience stores to purchase it for
them.
The plan is for underage de
coys to try to convince store pa
trons to buy alcohol for them.
South Carolina law prohibits
the practice of “Shoulder
Tapping.”
The punishment for providing
alcohol to someone under the age
of 21 can be up to a $200 fine or
imprisonment for as many as 30
days.
People found guilty of the mis
demeanor can also have their
driver’s licenses suspended for
90 days on a first offense and six
months on a second or other sub
sequent offense.
While the program is being
introduced within the next
week, officers will only issue
warnings, instead of citations,
to the patrons who agree to pur
chase alcohol for the decoys,
who are instructed to tell their
ages.
cided to fund the effort about
six months ago at the price of
$240,000, since this is South
Carolina’s first alcohol en
forcement team. The
Governor’s Office added
$250,000 for work with schools,
businesses and other organiza
tions for a prevention effort to
span the entire Columbia com
munity.
The project’s co-sponsors in
clude the South Carolina
The federal government de- ♦ SHOULDER TAP, SEE PAGE 6
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