The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 19, 2003, Image 1
www. dailygamecock. com _WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2003_ Since 1908
Visitor Center to move onto Horseshoe
Sharing a building with McKissick
offers opportunity for collaboration
BY MARY PINCKNEY WATERS
THE GAMECOCK
The USC Visitor Center will
move onto the Horseshoe to share
a building with the McKissick
Museum this spring because its
current location, the Carolina
Plaza, will be undergoing renova
tions for the public-health school’s
new complex.
The relocation decision, which
raised some concerns about the
availability of space in the shared
building, was made by President
Andrew Sorensen, USC Spokes
man Russ McKinney said, and the
move is set for May.
The merger was first recom
mended to former USC President
John Palms on Jan. 11, 2002,
when a Strategic Directives and
Initiatives Committee report sug
gested closing the museum to cut
university costs. After the uni
versity questioned whether the
museum was worth its annual op
eration cost of $900,000,
McKissick was nominated from
thousands for the National
Award for Museum Service last
spring.
Then, in the fall, Arnold School
of Public Health Dean Harris
Pastides announced that, along
with receiving a $4.5 million grant,
the school would be moving into a
new complex, part of which would
include an almost entirely reno
vated Carolina Plaza with con
struction starting Oct. 23, forcing
the Visitor Center to find a new
home —and fast.
However, the McKissick build
ing must be modified to accommo
date the center’s functions,
McKinney said, such as making
the facility more accessible and
upgrading the existing elevator
and public toilet facilities. For the
project, the committee has re
quested the Board of Trustees’ ap
proval for a $250,000 budget to be
funded by the university,
McKinney said.
The museum occupies the
ground, first and second floors of
the McKissick building but will
move to the second and third
floors to make room on the first for
the Visitor Center.
The Office of Media Relations,
which occupies the third floor,
will be moved elsewhere, officials
said.
Museum Director Lynn
Robertson said that instead of
maintaining three changing exhi
bition spaces as it does now, the
museum will only be able to show
case two after the move.
Visitor Center Director Denise
Wellman said she does not antici
pate having to cut any of the cen
ter’s services as a result of less
space in the McKissick building.
She said the center might even
gain a few hundred square feet at
the new location.
“I don’t think there’s anything
magic about the amount of square
footage we have here” at the
Carolina Plaza, she said. “It was a
building we were offered, it was a
good location on a busy street, and
it worked.”
Wellman said the center is ea
ger to move to a spot more cen
trally located on campus, espe
cially considering the impression
it will have on visitors.
“We’re particularly excited
about being able to start the first
image that students have of the
university right on the historic
Horseshoe,” Wellman said.
“That was very much what
they wanted to do was find a place
for the Visitor Center that spoke
best of the university,” Robertson
said.
Both directors agreed that co
operative programs between the
Visitor Center and the museum
would be beneficial for visitors of
both facilities. Robertson said
each has about 45,000 visitors an
nually. She said she hopes that
through the shared building, both
can serve more people. She said
she sees “the ability to create a
central university information
center.”
“The strongest selling point for
the university is its ability to com
bine a vision for the future and
cutting-edge science and research
along with the fact that we are
such an old institution with such
an esteemed history,” Robertson
said.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockudesk@hotmail.com
PHOTO BY JASON STEELMAN/THE GAMECOCK
The Carolina Plaza, the Visitor Center’s current location, will
be renovated for the School of Public Health's new complex.
Gamecocks take flight
. • ■ ~ ~ w . j1 mi, , T INCO/ I nc UHIVICWV,r\
Forward Kerbrell Brown slams the ball home to score the first
points of the regular season for the USC men’s basketball
team. ♦ FOR THE FULL STORY, SEE PAGE 12
RA won’t move to impeach Hark
BY MICHAEL LAFORGIA
THE GAMECOCK
South Quad RA Hazel
Matthews said Tuesday she won’t
continue to pursue the impeach
ment of RHA President Adam
Hark because of his personal Web
site, which contains partially
naked pictures of Hark and his
friends.
Matthews spoke about Hark’s
Web site before the RHA Senate
during a meeting in the Russell
House.
She said she first sat down to
talk the matter over one-on-one
with Hark and that he seemed dis
missive during the conversation.
“I felt he was shoving me off,”
she said. “I felt he was mocking
me.”
But, after the RHA meeting
adjourned, Hark said he took the
talk with Matthews seriously,
and he conducted himself
appropriately.
“I know for a fact I didn’t do
anything to give her the impres
sion that I didn’t care,” he said.
In general, Matthews said,
RHA has suffered under Hark’s
administration, and she cited less
programming and some divisive
ness among South Quad residents
as evidence of his incompetence.
In addition, she said, the Web
site is readily available to any of
the number of students who have
access to Hark’s AOL Instant
Messenger screen name, which
advertises the site in his online
profile.
Matthews said seeing Hark’s
Web site might turn some
prospective students away from
Carolina.
As president of RHA, Matthews
said, Hark is bound by an obliga
tion to personal integrity.
“I do not believe he is practic
ing personal integrity,” Matthews
said.
After Matthews sat down, one
senator moved that Vice
President Zach Scott temporari
ly take Hark’s place as president
during the discussion, and Hark
was unable to respond to
Matthews’ statements before the
senate.
Even so, Matthews had little
support from fellow senators, and
several Senators rose to speak on
Hark’s behalf.
“We don’t respect the leader
ship of South Quad as much as we
respect the leader of RHA,” Sen.
Patrick Schunter said.
Sen. Matt Eisel echoed
♦ HARK, SEE PAGE 7
USC professors get teacher-training grant
BY JULIE LEDBETTER
THE GAMECOCK
USC education professors
Mitchell L. Yell and Erik
Drasgow have received a four
year grant worth about $800,000
to train teachers to work with stu
dents who have emotional dis
abilities or behavior disorders.
This grant, funded by the U.S.
Department of Education, in
cludes a master’s program offered
through the College of Education
for students who plan to special
ize in teaching young people with
emotional disabilities. The pro
gram will fall under special edu
cation in the Department of
Educational Psychology.
This program will be available
in two different master’s degrees.
Students who are not certified to
teach yet or whose undergradu
ate degree is in something other
than education can get a Master
of Arts in Teaching. A Master of
Arts in Education will be offered
for students who have an under
graduate degree in education and
have done student teaching.
The program will prepare pre
service teachers—teachers who
are almost ready to teach — to
meet new requirements by teach
ing them research-based tech
niques.
“These are very difficult chil
dren to work with, so it’s very im
portant to understand what we
call evidence-based practices in
working with these children,”
Yell said.
Almost two-thirds of the grant
money will go to stipends and tu
ition, which means the students
in this master’s program will re
ceive $800 in support each month
and have full tuition paid. The
students must also work with a
special-education faculty mem
ber for 10 hours a week.
This master’s program will be
in compliance with the
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act and the No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001. These
laws are to ensure that students
with disabilities are identified
and have their specific needs met.
“If teachers can reduce stu
dents’ problem behavior using
♦ GRANT, SEE PAGE 2
Index
Comics and Crossword 11
Classifieds 14
Horoscopes_ 11
Letters to the Editor 8
Online Poll _ • 8
Police Report 2
Weather
TODAY THURSDAY
&
High 70 High 69
Low 45 Low 44
In This Issue
♦ NEWS Remaining tickets to
the Clemson game will be
available on a first-come, first
served basis today. Page 4
♦ VIEWPOINTS Julie Cook
confesses to once being a Tiger
fan. Page 8
♦ THE MIX Columbia native
Natalie Picoe brings her acting
talent to the big screen. Page 9
♦ SPORTS The USC men’s
basketball team wins two,
advances to the Guardians
Classic Semifinals. Page 12
Java joints still thrive
Local Starbucks hasn’t thwarted
independent coffee shops’ business
BY JUSTIN CHAPPELL
THE GAMECOCK
Entering Five Points nearly
two months ago and bringing
with it staunch opinions both
dissenting and assenting, it
' Starbucks’
presence isn’t
hurting inde
pendent coffee
shops as much
as initial con
cerns suggest
ed.
In a widely
_'Ll 1-1_3
puuxxvucu
opening on Sept. 27, Starbucks
brought its second store to the
area to compete alongside three
other independent coffee shops.
Starbucks’ nearest competi
'
tor in Five Points, Adriana’s,
isn’t experiencing a dramatic
loss of business, owner Phil
Norris said.
“Mornings are a little bit
slower,” Norris said. “But after
noons have been busier.”
the shift in
business could
be related to
the start of
USC’s fall
semester.
“I’m not
sure if
Starbucks had
any ming uu uu
with it,” Norris said.
Norris also said Adriana’s
has not been impacted severely
♦ COFFEE, SEE PAGE 4
PHOTO BY FORREST CLONTS/THE GAMECOCK
Erin Coomer, a fifth-year public relations student, and Brittany
Perrotta, a third-year public relations student, enjoy a cup of
coffee at Starbucks.
k’r„