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SSSSSSSTWEDNESDAY, MARCH 26,2003' USS DAY 6 •U.S. troops fight off Iraqi attack Gamecock pride extends to Iraq Columbia resident Robert Dean Widener, a soldier In the 169th logistics squadron from McEntlre Air National Guard, displays his South Carolina and Gamecock pride from an American forces tent in Iraq. Widener Is a Gamecock Club member and avid fan. Despite sandstorms, US. forces inflict casualties near Baghdad; British battle for control of Basra BY DAVID ESPO THE ASSOCIATED PKESS American infantry troops fought off a desert attack by Iraqis on Tuesday, inflicting heavy casualties in a clash less than 100 miles from Baghdad. British forces battled for control of Basra, a city of 1.3 million slid ing toward chaos. Defense officials said be tween 150 and 500 Iraqis were killed in the battle near An Najaf, adding there were no im mediate reports of American ca sualties. Iraqis launched their attack on a day of howling sandstorms — weather bad enough to slow the U.S.-led drive toward the Iraqi capital. After the sandstorm lifted in Baghdad, coalition aircraft struck the Iraqi state-run tele vision channel, which U.S. mil itary officials wanted to hit in order to cut communications links between Saddam Hussein and his military and the Iraqi people. U.S. troops in control of a vast Iraqi air base sealed 36 bunkers, designated as possible hiding places for weapons of mass de struction. American officials also issued fresh cautions about the possi ble use of chemical weapons by Iraqi troops, although none has yet been used in the 6-day-old war — or even found by the in vading troops. As the pace of combat quick ened, American and British offi cials sought to prepare the public for something less than a quick campaign, and predicted difficult days to come. Still, President Bush forecast victory. The Iraqi regime will be ended ... and our world will be more secure and peaceful,” he said after receiving a war update at the Pentagon. Saddam saw it differently. State television carried what it described as a message from him to tribal and clan leaders, saying, “Consider this to be the com mand of faith and j ihad and fight them.” If confirmed, the initial reports of fighting near An Najaf would make it the biggest ground clash of the war, as well as the first en counter between advancing American infantry and the Iraqi units guarding the approach to Saddam’s seat of power. A senior military official said the U.S. troops had hunkere'd down against a sandstorm when Iraqis — either Republican Guard or paramilitary Iraqi troops traveling on foot — ♦ UPDATE, SEE PAGE 2 Outdoor debate attracts crowd BY MICHAEL LAFORGIA THE GAMECOCK Student Government candi dates took their campaigns out doors Tuesday when they par ticipated in an annual debate, which was held this year on Greene Street in front of the Russell House. Elections Commissioner Brooke Vickery said the debate was held outside in hopes of in creasing student participation inSG. “We had it outside hoping to get students as they’re going to and from class,” Vickery said. “We wanted it open so everyone could see what we’re doing and be able to participate.” Candidates for president, vice president and treasurer outlined their platforms, asked each other questions and answered ques tions from the crowd. About 38 people sat in attendance, some wearing candidates’ campaign T-shirts. All the candidates seem to agree on the main issues — bud get concerns, campus safety and parking problems—and all have come up with their own ways of dealing with them. Presidential candidates Tyler Odom and Justin Simmons both offered solutions to parking problems. Simmons said he envisioned a SG that di rectly represented students and that “we need to think outside the box on solving the budget is sue.” For her part, presidential candidate Katie Dreiling em phasized safety issues and re structuring SG organization. During the debate period be tween presidential candidates, Ginny Wright asked Odom why he did not vote for legislation that would reduce unnecessary SG spending. Odom said he wasn’t familiar enough with the purpose of the legislation to vote with certainty. Odom asked Dreiling about the subpoena she signed earlier this year and she said she al lowed it out of respect for her fel low senators’ and constituents’ concerns. Simmons asked Wright why she left before voting on a piece of legislation, and Wright said she got into an accident and had to attend an insurance meeting. Dreiling asked Odom what he ♦ DEBATE, SEE PAGE 6 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE Justin Simmops BY JULIA KNETZER THE GAMECOCK Justin Simmons envisions a student government that is accessible to the average stu dent, originating in and thriv ing from its involvement with student organizations. ‘‘I think there are ways to get the student senators closer to the students than the ways we have now,” he said. One of the problems the second-year political science student sees with SG is that the representation is not actu ally representative of the stu dents they have been elected to serve. As SG operates now, student senators are elected from each college at USC, with the num ber of senators varying ac cording to the size of the col lege, Simmons said. “Once senators get installed, they don’t communicate much with the people they repre sent,” he said. Simmons proposes to fix the communication problem by changing the representation system so it originates in stu dent organizations instead of USC’s colleges, he said. Doing ♦ SIMMONS, SEE PAGE 6 .President Personals Age: 20 Hometown: Columbus, Ga. Hobbies: Reading and frisbee golf Favorite restaurant: Olive Garden Favorite thing about USC: “I would say definitely the excitement Everybody seems very enthusiastic about the school and what’s going on.” Why did you choose to come to USC: “My dad played football here, and I was interested in going out of state. When I came here to visit, I was really impressed with the sense of school pride." VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES Patrick Norton and Zachery Scotty— BY ALLYSON BIRD THE GAMECOCK Though second-year politi cal-science students Zachery Scott and Patrick Norton are vying for the same position — Student Government vice pres ident — they agree that com munication within the univer sity must improve. Scott is serving his second year in the Student Senate, through which he has repre . sented the Association for African-American Students and the Women’s Student Association. Each senator is supposed to UUU^l C WV ganizations to support, yet he finds this obliga tion is often unmet. About oth ers’ plans to revamp SG, Scott said, “If you make new rules, it ♦ VP, SEE PAGE 6 Top: Zachery Scott. Above: Patrick Norton. Index Comics and Crossword_12 Classifieds^_ 15 Horoscopes_ 12 | Letters to the Editor 9 Online Poll__ 9 Police Report 8 Weather TODAY TOMORROW High 83 High 70 Low 50 Low 48 In This Issue ♦ NEWS A husband and wife work together to run Pritchard’s Island. Page 5 ♦ VIEWPOINTS The Gamecock’s editorial board endorses SG candidates. Page 9 ♦ THE MIX Curious about our comic strips? Read interviews about the poor souls whose livelihood is your laughter. Page 10 ♦ SPORTS The Gamecocks’ title hopes are dashed as they lose to Penn State. Page 13 -jfe University-owned island allows conservation, research BY ALEXIS STRATTON THE GAMECOCK As murky seawater laps against the sandy, house-lined shore of South Carolina’s Fripp Island, the undisturbed shores of ) the opposing Pritchard’s Island seem exotic and inviting. Looking at the remote island from across the Skull Creek inlet, it seems like something off “Survivor.” There is no sign of houses, construction or other man-made innovations, just a weathered, out-of-use dock pro jecting from the sand across the water. No roads or bridges stretch across the restless water to make the untamed island more accessi ble. In fact, the only way to reach Pritchard’s Island is by boat. While Pritchard’s Island is one unscathed by the hand of man, it is the hands of men that saved it from the ruins of development and expansion. Initially a wilderness used for fishermen’s camps and hunting parties, this 1600-acre island is now dedicated to conservation, education and research. The is land is owned and preserved by the University of South Carolina. The effort to preserve and uti lize the natural setting of Pritchard’s Island began in 1982 when USC-Beaufort biology pro fessor Dave McCollum began the Pritchard’s Island Loggerhead Sea Turtle Project. “McCollum would come over to Pritchard’s on his weekends or days off ... and just walk the beach,” said Bo VonHarten, is land manager. “What raised his eyebrows was all the loggerhead sea turtle nests that we were get ting in the summertime, and the raccoons and the high tide were destroying almost all the nests.” In 1982 McCollum asked then owner Phil Rhodes, a retired Atlanta businessman who VonHarten said paid between $1.2 ♦ PRITCHARD'S, SEE PAGE 5 vf