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www.dailygamecock.com _FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2003 Since 1908 Patel leaves meeting; tensions rise in Senate by MICHAEL LAFORGIA the gamecock Facing a subpoena hearing from the Student Senate on Wednesday, Student Government President Ankit Patel walked out of the meeting—but senators voted to move the hearing to next week. Political tension was manifest at the Senate meeting that featured deception charges leveled at Patel. Earlier this week, College of Liberal ^Arts Sens. Adam Hark and J.D. 'Shipman served Patel a subpoena ask ing him to answer questions about his conduct before the Board of Trustees this past summer. Hark and Shipman said Patel violated SG code 103.05, which prohibits SG members from appearing before the Board of Trustees without first consulting the Student Senate. Minutes from the June 27 Board of Trustees meeting record Patel asking trustees to raise the student activity fee to $66. Patel tried to address the subpoena issue while he was delivering his exec utive report, but was forced to leave the stage after Hark’s motion to end the re port passed. ♦ PATEL, SEE PAGE 2 “I did not lie at any time. I offered myself to answer any questions that they might have had, and when I did, they asked me to step down.” ANKIT PATEL STUDENT GOVERNMENT PRESIDENT “I’m absolutely shocked that he left today. What he did was run away from the conflict, and he ran away from the conflict because he didn’t have answers.” i.D. SHIPMAN LIBERAL-ARTS SENATOR Baby, it’s cold outside PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK Students on the Horseshoe rejoice at the sight of 2 inches of snow yesterday. Many gathered across campus to bombard each other with snowballs, make snowmen, go sledding down the Bull Street hill with homemade sleds, and Just enjoy a day of no classes. Springing onto the market How a dryer hose and a golf ball became famous BY ALLYSON BIRD THE GAMECOCK Three years ago, none of his friends would have believed Michael Hicks of Spartanburg if he had said Accuthrow would be a nationwide hit. But now, three years later, Hicks’ toy invention appears in 115 specialty stores across the country and will be hitting 24 Wal-Marts over the next few weeks. Hicks estimates that between 25,000 and 30,000 products have been sold over the past three years. Hicks invented the toy, consisting of a colored tube and a rubber ball shot out of one end and caught in the other, after getting fired as an electronics tech nician. He was helping a friend change a dryer hose from a washing machine when he came up with the idea. “I said, ‘I’m going to bend it in the shape of a ‘U’ and put a golf ball in it.’ The rest is history,” Hicks said. He ended up playing with his invention for hours. “Everyone said I’d lost my mind,” he said. From Feb. 16 through 19, Hicks is taking his invention to the International Toy Fair — in New York, where he hopes the big-name toy producers will take notice. bui now ne worns exclusively ior Accutnrow, op erating his business from his home. Whereas he used to put in 12-hour days, five or six days a week as a technician, Hicks said that he now works 12 to 20 hours per day, seven days a week between account ing, generating publicity and handling paperwork. He also maintains www.accuthrow.com, a site com plete with a demonstration and world record titles — the number one spot is held by Hicks’ teenage son. He and his son Josh used Fort Lauderdale beach es as the test market for the toy by demonstrating it on the beach and selling it for $14.99. Today, Accuthrow sells for $12.99. Sales off the shelf began back in Spartanburg with Imagination Station toy store. After a local news station covered the toy, the store ordered 50, but Hicks insisted it order 250. People lined up, waiting for the store to open, so they could get their hands on the new toy. “Within 15 minutes, they were sold out. 252 sold in two days,” Hicks said. Mark Slogin, owner of Imagination Station, ad mitted that he was a bit skeptical at first. But once ♦ ACCUTHROW, SEE PAGE 3 Students manage Horseshoe restaurant BY MICHAEL LAFORGIA IP^THE GAMECOCK Students in Jules Pernell’s restaurant-food-production class are swapping pencils and books for kitchen knives and trays to produce an upscale buffet four days a week at McCutchen House on the Horseshoe. Pemell, who acts as executive chef, said he was excited about the operation. Obviously, it’s a large task, but it’s an opportunity for our students to be at the forefront of what’s happening at the Horseshoe,” Pernell said. “It gives me a great deal of pride to be associated with it.” USC President Andrew Sorensen, who first proposed turning McCutchen House into a learning center, said he was pleased with its progress. “I’m delighted how it’s all turned out,” he said. “What I es pecially like in this era of fiscal stringency is that this pays its own bills.” The student-run buffet comes after the Faculty Club, which was located in McCutchen House, was forced to close because of USC’s financial problems. “The former Faculty Club was a private club, dues only,” said food-service director John Antun as he darted around the kitchen wearing a bow tie and apron. “They couldn’t make a go of it fi nancially.” McCutchen House first opened its doors for business Tuesday and served 56 customers that day. “I’m delighted how it's all turned out. What I especially like in this era of fiscal stringency is that this pays its own bills.” ANDREW SORENSEN use PRFSIDFNT “It was hectic, but it went okay,” Antun said. Ninety-six people came to lunch Wednesday. “We’re hoping to see a trend,” Antun said. “I think we will, too, because everyone was really hap py.” Antun said the kitchen facili ties at McCutchen House had fall en into disrepair before his team arrived. “We started cleaning up and fixing up Nov. 15, and the whole ♦ MCCUTCHEN, SEE PAGE 3 Index Comics and Crossword 7 Classifieds_ 10 Horoscopes_ 7 Letters to the Editor 4 m, On ine Poll_ 4 Police Report 2 Weather TODAY TOMORROW Inside ♦ VIEWPOINTS David Stagg shares how he spent his snow day. Page 4 ♦ VIEWPOINTS Ben Edwards warns the new administration not to get hung up on old issues. Page 4 ♦ THE MIX Learn the fine art of ethnic cooking and eat at the GMP no longer. Page 5 ♦ SPORTS The women’s basketball team loses to Tennessee 97-78. Page 8 Real-life addiction ‘Lowbrow’programs seem to have irresistible lure BY ALEXIS STRATTON THE GAMECOCK First-year student Stephanie Pappas said she is ashamed to watch the ever-popular reality TV shows that have come to dominate prime-time television. But, like millions of other Americans who tune in week af ter week, she still does. As producers and networks have discovered, reality televi sion shows continue to maintain their worldwide popularity de spite the growing number of out landish situations and numer ous sequels. Pappas, an international-stud ies student, said she watches “The Bachelorette” and “Joe Millionaire” despite her person al feelings toward such shows. “Things like ‘Fear Factor’, where they’re like eating bugs and other disgusting things — it’s just beyond common decen cy,” Pappas said. “I know it’s kind of sleazy and terrible, but I still watch it.” Since the creation of the real ity television concept, produc ers have been seeking bigger, better and more shocking story lines. The latest of this wave in cludes “Man vs. Beast,” “The Bachelorette,” and “Joe ♦ REALITY TV, SEE PAGE 2 i ii nr.... Sanford urges big changes for state COLUMBIA (AP) - In a Wednesday-night speech over shadowed by the state’s budget crisis, Gov. Mark Sanford promised little in the way of new programs while telling the Legislature he wants support to restructure state government. Sanford also laid out his terms for supporting a cigarette tax in crease to cover shortfalls in state Medicaid funding: lower income tax es. “I wish I was as- Sanford suming leadership of a state whose budget was sound, but everybody in this chamber knows that it is not,” he continued. “Our budget is a mess,” and there is a “disconnect between the promises of govern ment and our ability to pay for those promises.” The state’s budget might fall as ♦SANFORD, SEE PAGE3 __4