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www. dailygamecock. com _MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2003' » SG looks to RAs k for tech support BY JESSICA FOSTER THE HAMMOCK Student Government president Katie Dreiling is collaborating with Computer Services in hopes of implementing a long-term plan that would allow students to help other students with their comput er problems. The plan would require Resident Advisers to get training from Computer Services that they can help their residents secure ” and protect their machines. RAs would become a reserve guard for Computer Services so that if a ma jor virus cripples the system again, they can help control the problem by fixing their residents’ computers rather than leaving it all to the understaffed Computer Services office. Viruses such as Blaster, SoBig and Nachi have already afflicted the computers of USC students this fall. About 1,500 students were hit with viruses during the first week of school alone, but the 180 person staff at Computer Services didn’t have sufficient manpower to look at all of those computers and fix them one by one. Many stu dents were left frustrated and without a functioning computer. But in many cases, these prob lems can be prevented if students would only install the proper crit ical security patches and virus software, said Computer Services Director Lorie Edwards in an e mail interview. For example, a patch for the Blaster worm had been available for three weeks before the worm hit USC on move-in weekend. Those who didn’t apply their crit ical updates were the ones at risk of being infected. It a virus strikes again, it could cripple students’ computers for days. Dreiling’s plan seeks to pre vent such situations by having RAs make sure students keep up with security updates. The train ing would take about one hour per semester and would teach RAs how to install critical Microsoft security updates and McAfee Virus Software as well as how to to clean off viruses from infected computers. “I think it’s an awesome idea,” said Sara Eaton, a first-year mu sic education student. “It would be a lot easier than having to wait and schedule an appointment with the Computer Services people.” The idea of letting students help each other with their computer problems was conceived when Dreiling took a tour of the Computer Services facilities a few weeks ago and talked with Edwards. Dreiling has to talk to University Housing before the plan can be put in motion. “It depends on what Housing thinks of this idea,” Dreiling said. “It depends on whether or not the RAs will be willing to go through with this training.” If the plan isn’t feasible, Dreiling said she will look into other options, such as creating an independent task force of comput er-sawy students to help with any problems. The implementation of this plan would not only prevent and efficiently remedy frustrating virus problems, but would also al low Computer Services to focus more on furthering USC’s com puting capabilities. “We have very limited re sources, both in terms of people ♦ COMPUTERS, SEE PAGE 3 ’ Vote might expand newspaper program BY IRA KLEIN THE HAMMOCK If a finance bill passes the Student Senate this week, Student Government President Katie Dreiling said the popular newspa per readership program would be moved, providing free newspapers . at such places as the Russell House, * the Business Administration Building and the Coliseum. A finance bill before the sen ate would give $45,000 to the pro gram, which provides free copies of The New York Times, USA Today and The State on a first come-first-served basis. The $45,000 would pay for 1,000 papers every weekday and would start as soon as the bill is approved and last until Spring 2005. Dreiling said SG is near an agree ment with the administration to help fund the program for the first year, but that nothing had been decided yet. For the past month, USC stu dents have been getting the pa pers for free by participating in a pilot program. For this pilot, surveys were conducted around campus asking students questions about their newspaper reading habits. Students were given a free candy bar as incentive to participate in the survey. Surveys were taken again at the end of the four-week period, in the same locations, to see if having ac cess to free newspapers improved their reading habits. The results of the survey have not yet been re leased. But, accord ing to USA Today repre sentative Sandy Willi ams, head of the Collegiate Readership Program at USA Today, at the more than 300 oth er campuses where the pilot has been tried, there has been great improvement in readership habits as a result of having access to free newspapers. All three papers will be avail able at each location, and if SG sees that pickups have been slow at certain newsstands, they have the power to move them. “College students who read pa pers are more likely to be educated about the world around them, and as a result are more likely to vote,” Dreiling said. “Instituting this readership program shows the state and local governments that we’re educating and informing ourselves and that young people are an important voting bloc. We’ve gotten a lot of positive feed back from students, faculty, even If the Student Senate approves a finance bill this week, it would fund the readership program for two years. photo by Morgan ford/the gamecock deans about this program. Dreiling said SG has enough Bates House is home to one of the readership program newsstands. ♦NEWSPAPERS, SEE PAGE 3 Index Comics and Crossword 6 Classifieds 8 Horoscopes 6 Letters to the Editor 4 f Online Poll 4 Police Report 2 Weather TODAY TUESDAY High 76 Low 53 In This Issue ♦ NEWS State, nation and world briefs. Page 2 ♦ VIEWPOINTS Rachal Hatton offers tough love to the College of Liberal Arts. Page 4 ♦ THE MIX Local band Silers Bald looks to make a splash nationally with its new album. Page 5 ♦ SPORTS Women’s soccer team makes it an eight-game winning streak with a defeat of Alabama. Page 7 ~~4 Chili Cook-off turns up heat BY GABRIELLE SINCLAIR THE OAMECOCK There’s nothing like seeing a grown man cry. Even if it is over a serving of Southern chili. “Good for clearing the sinus es,” said recent USC graduate Josh Haxton while trying to re cover from Fiery Orgasmic Death, one of the 60 types of chili served at the 17th-annual Chili Cook-off Saturday in Five Points. Each bowl or cup required a minimum donation of $1, but many people gave more. All pro . \ ceeds went to support the Babcock Center, a private, non profit organization serving men and women with lifelong disabil ities in Columbia. Sponsored by local club Group Therapy, Red Hook beer, The Free Times, Pepsi and Com mercial Maintenance, the event included vendors serving such chilis as sweet venison, seafood, pirate chili, Devil’s Sphincter and even filet mignon. The entertainment, brought by Roscoe Douberly, Solomon Steel and the Soul Mites, was free C and lasted all day. Rob Harper, whose team ran the Fiery Orgasmic Death booth, has been cooking for eight or nine years, using hot chili as their theme. “A lot of things are subjective, but heat is not,” Harper said. The team, which has won five out of the past six years and par ticipates in other chili cook-offs around the state, admits to going slightly overboard on the heat factor. ♦ CHILI, SEE PAGE 3 PHOTO BY FORREST CLONTS/ THE GAMECOCK Brian Day, left, and Jamie Donahue's “Flaming Moe’s Chili” won first place. * Testing gravity PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK State Fair attendees test their endurance on one of the many gravity-defying rides during Friday afternoon. Kucinich phones USC Presidential candidate calls to seek support at S.C. rally BY TRICIA RIDGWAY THE GAMECOCK Democratic presidential can didate Dennis Kucinich spoke to a group of about 20 supporters in Gambrell Hall via cell phone Friday about civil rights and his stance on various political issues. He was unable to show up in person at the event, which was sponsored by the Carolina Peace Resource Center, because of transportation problems. Kucinich came to South Carolina to visit the Progressive Network’s annual retreat in Beaufort. His speech was preceded by a presentation on civil rights in Colombia, South America, also sponsored by the center. Human rights in America and around the world, in addition to rights of workers and removing troops from Iraq, are among the issues Kucinich addresses in his campaign. He began by responding to the previous speaker, Luz Marina Becerra, who addressed Plan Colombia, which involved U.S. intervention in the Colombian government. Kucinich chal lenged Plan Colombia in Congress, saying it “provides a pad for repression instead of liberation.” Enforcing his promise to ar gue against U.S. aid in Colombia, Kucinich committed to Becerra “a continued effort to work for human rights, that we are to gether in this for you and for the people of Colombia and people all over the world.” Furthermore, on the issue of Iraq, Kucinich spoke against the war in Iraq, and voiced his support of the removal of troops. “We must live up to our moral obligation. I will continue to in sist that the United States plan a quick exodus of our military from Iraq and move forward and engage the world community as we try to create a transition for Iraq,” he said. His primary stance on inter national relations is for a strong world community beginning with actions in Iraq. He said the United States should turn over all oil revenues and the contract process to the United Nations, saying they should be handled in the interest of the Iraqi peo ple. He also supports repealing the Patriot Act, except for pro viding funds for Sept. 11 fami lies, saying it constitutes “un dermining of our constitutional principles.” In responding to questions from the audience, Kucinich ad dressed recent budget cuts, ♦KUCINICH, SEE PAGE 2