The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 15, 2003, Image 1
www.dailygamecock.com _WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2003_ Since 1908
NCAA inquiry isn’t
formal, officials say
Investigator is
expected to visit
campus again
BY WENDY JEFFCOAT
THE (iAMECOCK
USC officials said the athletics
program is not under a formal
NCAA investigation but ac
t knowledged that an NCAA rep
resentative has been on campus
to ask questions.
NCAA investigator JeffHiggins
came to the university the third
week of December and stayed for a
few days, questioning several uni
versity officials. Higgins would not
comment about his visit.
USC Athletics Director Mike
McGee said there is usually a let
ter of preliminary inquiry that sig
nals an investigation but that USC
has not received such a letter.
“We have cooperated fully,”
McGee said. “Frankly, we want
to know the same information
that they do.”
McGee said the NCAA has
looked at how the athletics pro
gram handles academic matters,
extra athlete benefits that violate
NCAA rules, benefits from boost
ers and friends of USC, and high
school eligibility. McGee said
that the NCAA has also looked
into the athletics department’s
treatment of “Derek Watson, in
particular.”
McGee said that although the
university has not talked to all the
people the NCAA has, USC has
not found anything that rises to
the level of a serious investiga
tion.
“We are not running the in
quiry,” he said. “They are.”
McGee said he thinks the
NCAA investigators will return
to USC. “I don’t think they have
completed all of their questions,”
he said.
♦ NCAA, SEE PAGE 2
Housing adds channels
to campus television
BY KEITA ALSTON
TIIRIIAMKCOCK
Students living on campus
will see 25 channels added to
their cable lineup this semester,
as University Housing responds
to student surveys asking for
more choices.
Housing has signed a one-year
renewable contract with Dish
Network to provide cable services
to students living on campus.
Housing Director Gene Luna
said, “I think students are going
to like it, and I think even faculty
are going to be able to use some
of this.”
The addition brings the total
number of channels offered by
the university to 49. Highlights
of the Dish Network include Fox
News, C-SPAN2, Trinity
Broadcasting Network, NASA,
SCI-FI, A&E, the History
» . Channel, ESPNEWS, MTV2 and
10 public interest channels.
The public interest channels
represent offerings by other uni
versity television studios and spe
cial interest/education program
ming such as multicultural, glob
al and health issues, as well as
foreign language instruction.
Housing began negotiating
program contracts last fall, Luna
said. One partner in the contract
is USC’s Distance Education and
Instructional Services. Luna said
they performed all of the equip
ment changes and testing, along
with technical support, to make
the new cable lineup possible.
The equipment was shipped
and installed over the holiday
kbreak. Luna said the satellites
around the Law Center bring in
the television programs, which
are fed into the system that goes
to the residence hall.
Although Luna said the stu
dents in the survey wanted to see
more entertainment-oriented
channels, there are also a vari
ety of educational networks as
well. For example, channels 48
and 56 are research-oriented
channels sponsored by the
University of Washington and
the University of California
“We think we’re responding to
student’s desires for entertain
ment ... but we also wanted to
recognize our role in the educa
tion of our students and provid
ing educational support systems
for our faculty and students to
use together,” Luna said.
Even with state budget cuts,
Housing was able to negotiate
contracts and add the programs
while reducing the actual pro
gramming costs, he said.
Luna said there were several
options as to where student ca
ble could go in the future. The
first would let students access
pay-per-view programming.
“Students would subscribe to
it on their own, and then they
would have to pay extra for it,” he
said.
He said the results of
Housing’s first survey showed
that students didn’t think it
would be fair for everyone’s rent
♦ CABLE, SEE PAGE 2
PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK
Justine Buller, a first-year student, surfs through the new channels in her Bates House room.
Jones Center still closed
EIMIM STAKE DEPORTS
A water leak that forced the
Jones Physical Science Center to
close for the first two days of classes
will keep the building closed for the
rest of the week, USC spokesman
Russ McKinney said yesterday. He
said the university plans for classes
to resume Tuesday.
Arrangements will be made
later in the semester to make up
the missed classes, USC’s Web site
says.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockudesk@hotmail.com
Index
Comics and Crossword 5
Classifieds 9
Horoscopes 5
Letters to the Editor 3
Online Poll _ _ __3
Police Report 2
Weather
High 52 High 51
Low 23 Low 33
6 *
Inside
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www.dailygamecock.com.
♦VIEWPOINTS Tyler Jones
sets his political sights on the
2004 presidential race. Page 3
♦ THE MIX Break bread with
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You won’t find any corn syrup
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♦ SPORTS The Gamecocks will
face Auburn tonight as they try
to improve their home record.
Page 7
9
mmmsmmmmummm
Students gear up
for day of service
BY JESSICA CLANTON
THE GAMECOCK
With the success of last
year’s Martin Luther King Jr.
Day of Service, organizers de
cided this year to expand the
event to several days.
One new thing new this
year is educational events for
the week before the actual day
of service, including the
“Conversations” Round Table
discussion, which is co-spon
sored by the Office of
Community Service and the
USC chapter of the National
Association for the
Advancement of Colored
People.
“This event will give stu
dents the opportunity to re
flect on why we are honoring
Martin Luther King Jr. and
think about why volunteering
is so important on this day,”
said Sondra Weiss, the coor
dinator of the Office of
Community Service
Programs.
The “Conversations”
Round Table discussion will
be held Thursday at 6 p.m. in
the ODK/Mortar Room in the
Russell House and will in
clude discussions on race re
lations and nonviolence.
Other events will be held to
commemorate the day such as
a breakfast Friday morning in
the Russell House and a
Gospel Fest on Friday night
featuring the gospel group
Canton Spirituals of
Mississippi.
On Monday USC students
will join in the activities, and
an estimated 500 organiza
tions will do community ser
vice throughout the Columbia
area.
“The Freshmen Council, in
♦ MLK, SEE PAGE 2
if.
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PHOTO BY PETER GIOELLO/THE GAMECOCK
Students now have more ways to shop around for books.
New choices
make buying
books easier
BY ALEXIS STRATTON
THE GAMECOCK
USC students are still paying
high prices for textbooks, but a va
riety of bookstores and online sell
ers have made the spending a little
easier.
“It’s part of college,” said first
year criminal justice student
James Horm as he searched for
textbooks at the Russell House
Bookstore.
Horm prefers the Russell House
Bookstore because he thinks "it’s
the most reliable” and “it’s clos
est.”
That does not mean he appreci
ates the cost. Last semester,’’All
six of (my books) were like 400 dol
lars,” Horm said. “A state school
should be cheaper.”
Bookstores claim it is the pub
lishers, not.the retailers, that are
to blame for high prices.
“Textbook prices are pretty
set,” said Addam’s Bookstore
manager Michael Oliver. “The
publishers set the price; every
thing revolves around that
price.”
Oliver explained that used
books are where the bookstores
come into competition.
“If we find that another store is
cheaper, we try to match that,”
Oliver said. “One of the biggest
things is just trying to get used
books. The more used books can
get the greater savings for stu
dents.”
Price is not the only difference
through which campus bookstores
try to set themselves apart.
Although Oliver said all three
bookstores on and around campus
are run by larger companies
(Russell House by Barnes and
Noble; South Carolina Bookstore
by Nebraska; Addam’s by Follett),
it is through small-store business
practices that these stores try to
make their marks.
“We try to offer all the services
and convenience,” Oliver said.
“We try to have a friendly staff
and make the experience a posi
tive experience because nobody
likes to spend a lot of money on
textbooks.”
Russell House Bookstore
Textbook Manager, Chris
Jackson III, said he also under
stood the students’ desires to con
serve money.
“Most prefer to have used
books,” Jackson said. “I would rec
ommend students their first two
years with the general books to get
used books if possible.”
The Russell House Bookstore
also gives back to students in the
form of a scholarship fund,
Jackson said.
♦ TEXTBOOKS, SEE PAGE 2
Getting More Books ForVbur Money
Book Title/Author RH SC AD AM HA
Biology, 6th edition w/CD/Campbell
New , 1 117.00 117.00 117.00 n/a
Used 87.0Q ) 87.75 87.75 90.25 88.25
imT
Intermediate Accounting. 3rd ed, w/2CDs/Hartman
Newl w 17.00 114.00 105.50 106.95 n/a
Used 87.25 86.50 79.25 64.05 56.70
Discovering the American Past, 5th ed, Vol. 1/Wheeler
NeTf ' 39.00 37.90 38.00 39.00 n/a
Usetfcs 29.25 28.45 28.50 32.50 21.50
Cheaps, 2nd ed., w/CD/Valman \ JBlgfr
New W 81.00 44.30 81.00 81.00 a/P
Used W " 60.75 58.00 60.75 / 47.75 35.65
% m
Abnormal Psychology and Modem Ufe/Carson ,
New 102.00 106.00 106.00 106.00 n/a
Used 76.50 79.5^ 79.50 67.75 67.75
Norton Anthology of American Literature Shorter, 5th Editlon/Baym
New 57.35 56.65 57.50 63:.fCW
Used 43.05 42.45 43.25 46.94f’P 6.79
Calculus, 8th ed./Varberg
New 90.70 100.00 96.00 .00 f n/a
Used 68.05 70.50 85.00 75 33.25
Figures above -eorosent samWSDrtces from the folfowiia stores/?
RH - Russell House Bookstore ^ i 4
SC - South Carokffa Bookstore ^^R|p
AD - Addam's Bookstore iLu
AM - www.amazon.com
HA - www.half.com
All prices are listed without lax included. The new Amaion.com pnces do not include shipping andfu * books
include a free shipping and handling offer when totals are over $25. Half com offers pnces with sf%ppn^ andixthdlmg included, an
estimated fee of $3.25 for USPS Media Mail. The Used Amaron.com books were pnced with an esira«*fl3.25 shipping and handling
Although the price is represented in nearly every category, this does not ensure the stock of the item. Often when looking for used books,
students encounter shortages at the bookstores. This is not isolated to one store, but can be common at all. When searching for books,
students should also be aware ot availability and no! amity »nc*. GRApH|C BY SARAH MCLAUUN/THE GAMECOCK
4* I