The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 26, 2003, Image 1
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SS^ffSSSS" FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26,2003 _
.New children’s center opens
PHOTO BY KEITH MCGRAW/THE GAMECOCK
Provost Jerry Odom, far left, looks on as children use safety scissors to cut the ceremonial ribbon
at Thursday's opening of the USC/Gateway Academy Childhood Development and Research Center.
Before Jerry Odom steps down as provost in August,
he witnesses completion of project he helped begin
BY MICHAEL LAFORGIA
THE GAMECOCK >
The sight broke Jerry Odom’s
heart.
On the Horseshoe in front of
the provost’s office that Odom
had just moved into, he watched
the 4-year-olds march. They car
ried brightly colored placards
and chanted “save our school” in
tinny voices.
“Their little signs were as big
as they were,” Odom said.
“That’s when I decided, ‘OK, I’m
going to help save their school.’”
Just weeks before, university
officials had announced that the
USC Children’s Center on
Blossom Street would be demol
ished to make way for a new res
idence hall. In the meantime, the
children’s center was to be
moved into mobile homes until a
permanent solution could be
found, officials said.
That was 1997.
On Thursday, a cloudless
morning more than six years lat
er, Odom stood quietly on a podi
um in a parking lot. Behind him
were the bright white columns
and coral-colored walls of a new
ly finished building. To his right
were several important South
Carolina educators, among them
USC President Andrew Sorensen
and South Carolina Education
Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum.
To his left was a group of gig
gling four-year-olds sitting on a
multi-colored nylon sheet.
Shifting his attention from the
children to the crowd before him,
Odom welcomed everyone to the
new USC/Gateway Academy
Child Development and Research
Center.
“There were times that I had
my doubts whether this was go
ing to happen or not, but it did,”
he said.
The new children’s center, a
$4.1 million joint effort by USC,
Gateway Academy, South
Carolina Educational Television
and the South Carolina
Department of Health and
Human Services, has been open
since Sept. 17. The 28,000-square
foot, two-story facility can ac
commodate 200 children ages six
weeks to 12 years. The center’s
staff members have been com
municating with interested par
ents for months, and 125 children
are enrolled. The center is di- .
rected by Robin Snipes, a 28-year
veteran of early-childhood edu
cation.
When Sorensen took his turn
on the podium, he praised Odom,
who announced Sept. 3 that he
will be stepping down as univer
sity provost.
“Jerry played a pivotal role in
this entire enterprise,” Sorensen
said.
When David Jacobs, president
of Gateway Academy and Child
Development Centers, rose to
spefik, he brought attention to
Odom’s dedication.
. “His unwavering support has
been critical in making this
♦ CENTER, SEE PAGE 2
USC graduate’s
’book gives tips
for life success
BY JESSICA FOSTER
thkoamSCock
A USC graduate’s motivational
book, released in August, explores
strategies and tips for becoming a
successful person in both profes
sional and personal life.
David Shabazz, who graduated
in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in
^journalism, authored “Discover
PYour Gold Mind” with the belief
that everyone has the ability and
the need to become successful, re
gardless of any obstacles that may
manifest themselves along the
way.
The book includes a definition
of success and how everyone can
achieve it, the value and power of
the mind, success stories from
those who overcame adversity,
quotes and advice from well
known personalities, the impor
tance of goal-setting, and the char
acteristics of a champion.
Shabazz said the strategies he
outlines in his book could be used
by people of any age, race, and so
>cial or economic status, provided
they are willing to stop and exam
ine their lives.
“The book is designed to show
a no-nonsense approach to be
coming successful,” Shabazz said.
“The concepts I talk about in there
are designed for anyone.”
' The book portrays the concepts
through individual case studies.
Shabazz did research on a variety
of individuals, from professional
wrestlers to politicians, in order
to show that if a person really
wants to be successful, there is no
hardship or barrier that can serve
as an excuse for not doing so.
Bill Clinton, Tom Densy, Lance
Armstrong, Abraham Lincoln,
and Maya Angelou are just a few
of the people Shabazz wrote about
to illustrate the point.
“It was just phenomenal to find
out that all of these people, re
gardless of their position in life,
were able to overcome their ob
stacles and become successful,”
Shabazz said.
Shabazz identifies happiness
with oneself as the most important
characteristic of success.
According to a news release, USA
Today reports that 63 percent of
the country’s top earners say suc
cess comes from being happy with
yourself.
“I think success is a state of
mind; it is not about any particu
lar profession,” Shabazz said. “It’s
about you doing what you want to
do and being happy with your
self.”
Shabazz acknowledged that the
book is an extension of his moti
vational speaking, enabling him
to examine the path to success in
more detail than he otherwise
would and giving his audience
something they can take with
them.
“The book is an outgrowth of
my speeches,” Shabazz said. “I
gave a lot of speeches around the
country and just thought it would
be a good idea to put that in book
form.”
Before going to USC, Shabazz
♦SHABAZZ, SEE PAGE 2
Course allows experts to teach writing
BY ALEXIS STRATTON
THE GAMECOCK
With today’s proliferation of
book clubs, discussion groups
and Barnes-and-Noble junkies,
it’s not surprising that the course
“Caught in the Creative Act” has
caught on at USC.
In the course, advertised by
the English department, writers
talk about their writing. It’s a
course for book-lovers, writers
and intellectuals alike, and many
hope it will keep growing.
SURFYOURSELF
For more information on the course visit
www.cla.sc.edu/clca
Andy Graves, owner of The
Happy Bookseller in Columbia,
says it will, “as long as they can
find an auditorium big enough to
hold it.”
Thirty-two seats in the English
class are reserved for USC stu
dents of any major; the other 300
plus attendees who come to lec
tures two evenings a week are
members of the community.
The class, formed by Janette
Turner Hospital in spring 2001,
invites renowned authors to
speak about their works and the
writing process to students and
community members, who read
their novels, poetry and other
writings before each seminar.
Included on the invitation list
this semester are Derek Walcott,
winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize for
Literature, and Thomas L.
Friedman, two-time Pulitzer
Prize winner and New York
Times columnist.
Offered each fall since its start,
the course has gained so much
popularity that to fit everyone, its
♦ CLASS, SEE PAGE 2
Garden to be dedicated to cancer survivors
BY ALEXIS BASS
THE GAMECOCK
The Cultural Council is set to
dedicate the Cancer Survivors
Garden in Maxcy Gregg Park
this Sunday at 1 p.m., making it
the first of its kind in South
Carolina and the 19th in the na
tion.
In a prominent location on
Blossom Street right before Five
Points, the garden has the po
tential to become another jewel
for state tourism.
The garden serves as the be
ginning of long-range plans for
beautification in Maxcy Gregg
Park. The garden will feature
fountains, sculptures, arbor
swings, a wishing well, a
labyrinth, a children’s playing
area and increased lighting.
Susan Benech, Cultural
Council interim executive di
rector, said Maxcy Gregg Park
was chosen because it meets
grant requirements that the
park be located on a busy street.
Its location on a main thorough
fare will allow many to see the
garden and stop by during and
after its completion.
Richard Block, a co-founder
of H & R Block and cancer sur
vivor, is funding the project.
Block’s idea for this garden
came after his cancer diagnosis
25 years ago, at which time he
was told he had only 90 days to
live.
To many, nature itself is a
healer, and the Cancer
Survivors Garden represents na
ture’s therapeutic benefits.
With projects such as the gar
den, communities across
America are recognizing that
there is hope in the fight against
cancer.
Anita Crosby, senior public
relations specialist for the
Columbia Parks and Recreation
department, said that this gar
den would become a great at
traction for locals and visitors
alike. She said many people
across the country know about
Finlay Park, and that the Cancer
Survivors Garden will make
Maxcy Gregg Park just as recog
nizable.
♦ GARDEN, SEE PAGE 2
PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK
The Cancer Survivors Garden will be dedicated Sunday at 1 p.m.
and will be the first of its kind in South Carolina.
McKissick displays WWI propaganda posters
BY CAITLIN COKER
THE GAMECOCK
In 1917, the popular slogans
weren’t from Coca-Cola or Nike,
but from the U.S. government.
Full-color posters carrying
such World War I propaganda as,
“Everyone should do his bit,”
“Must children die and mothers
plead in vain? Buy more liberty
bonds,” and “Remember
Belgium” were distributed in
many antagonistic countries; the
U.S. government used them to
raise funds and physical support
v
as well as, generally, for mass
communication.
The posters are a rare find
nowadays, and 36 of them are on
display at USC’s McKissick
Museum, on the Horseshoe.
“It was well before television,
and radio was just being devel
oped in its infancy — posters
and newspapers were the main
forces of mass communication,”
said Jason Shaiman, curator of
traveling and temporary exhi
bitions at the McKissick
Museum.
The striking color of the
lithographs is the first superficial
aspect that catches the eye. But
these posters are more than pret
ty pictures; they roused nation
alistic sentiments to encourage
citizens to support their country
in the war.
“War posters were art with a
purpose. They helped counter the
shortages of enlistees, war mate
rials and cash in the central
banks,” said Jay Williams, an ex
hibit curator, in the exhibit book
let.
The patriotism supported by
these posters was widespread
%
within the student body of USC,
and the ennobling aspect of war
was often dramatized.
The students “filled campus
publications with articles, art
work, and poetry' espousing duty,
honor and service to God and
country,” according to informa
tion available at the World War I
symposium in Thomas Cooper
Library.
During World War I, USC had
a smaller curriculum. Its main
professional schools were
♦ POSTERS, SEE PAGE 3
Index
Comics and Crossword 7
Classifieds 10
Horoscopes 7
M Letters to the Editor 4
Online Poll 4
Police Report 2
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In this issue
♦ NEWS Second federal judge
strikes down “do-not-call” list.
Page 3
♦ VIEWPOINTS Julie Cook
offers advice to the bottom
three Democratic candidates.
Page 4
♦ THE MIX BookCrossing.com
connects literature lovers with
its read-it-and-leave-it
program. Page 5
♦ SPORTS The USC football
team will travel to Tennessee to
take on the No. 8 Vols. Page 8
5