Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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University of South Carolina PR I HAY IA Ml I ARY 1 0 900/1 VoL97.No.53 www.dailygamecoch.com IIXI\Jr\)} JMIN Unix I 1U, Z.VJUH- . .Since 1908 .New fee system poses problems Student’s bad experience raises questions about tuition procedure BY IRA KLEIN THE liAMEClX'.K About two weeks into the semester last fall, third-year busi ness student Jason Drach decid ed he wanted to switch majors •from accounting to marketing. What he didn't count on was that ~ this change would cost him $693. Drach says his academic ad viser in the Darla Moore School of Business endorsed the change, but in order to fulfill his new re quirements, Drach had to take a specific marketing class. He said he asked his adviser if it was OK to substitute Marketing 350 for Accounting 401 and its lab. The adviser approved. On Oct. 1, Drach logged onto VIP and added the marketing class to his schedule. For about 10 minutes on VIP, Drach's sched - ule consisted of 7 classes for 19 credits until he dropped the two accounting class. However, Drach didn't realize USC's add/drop date had already past, which con stitutes the last opportunity to withdraw from a class without having to pay for it. Drach was charged for the classes he _ dropped along Drac with the market ing class he substituted and had to pay for 19 credits. Under the old class registra tion system, full-time students could take an unlimited number of classes for a flat semester fee. But this fall, USC implemented a new system that charges stu dents extra money for each cred it hour they take over 16. The re sult was Drach's father receiving a bill from the university saying his son owed $693. Drach said he was upset be cause his adviser didn't tell him any fee would be added for sub stituting a class. “They should at least tell you they're adding the charge when you add a class, like have a little alert on VIP that pops up and says, 'this transaction will add $693,'” he said. He said the university did not do an adequate job of informing the student body when the new fee system was instituted. Drach wrote a letter to the Registrar's office explaining that he thought as long as he re mained under the 16-hour limit, he would not be charged any ex tra fees. Since he was not in formed otherwise by VIP or by the Registrar's office, Drach said ♦ DRACH, SEE PAGE 3 * The dog days of January '__ ' • PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK Paula Randier, a fourth-year geology student, plays with Molly on the Horseshoe on Thursday during some of this week's unseasonably warm weather. Beezer’s cleans un act after surmise inspection r HU I U BY MURCaAN hORD/THh UAMbUUUK Jenifer Heriovich, a third-year psychology student, picks up her order at Beezer's. BY MICHAEL LA.FORGIA THE GAMECOCK A popular local restaurant re cently received a poor sanitation rating after an unscheduled in spection by the Richland County Department of Health and Environmental Control on Jan. 12. Beezer’s Gourmet Sandwich Shop scored a 71, a C rating, after the Richland County DHEC con ducted a routine inspection of the restaurant’s facilities. However, when health depart ment inspectors returned for a fol low-up on Jan. 14, all problems had been fixed and the restaurant scored a 98. A restaurant’s score must fall between 70 to 77 points for it to re ceive a C. Restaurants scoring 88 to 100 points receive an A and those scor ing78 to 87 points receive a B. DHEC staffers use a 42-item checklist to inspect a facility. Non critical violations, such as having dirty floors throughout the r ’stau ■ rant or improper storage of clean equipment and utensils, result in one or two point deductions. Beezer's night manager Josh Petit said the poor rating was the result of several small problems, such as burnt out light bulbs. But according to DHEC District Food Supervisor Wendy Reed, it would take more than faulty light bulbs to get a C. If they score 71 . they’re going to have some critical violations,! Reed said. The S.C. DHEC Web site defines critical violations as the violation of items on the inspection report sheet “that relate directly to pre venting food contamination, illness or environmental health hazard.” Critical violations include storage of food at improper temperatures, employees who don't wash their hands and improper storage of poi sonous and toxic chemicals. Businesses are penalized four or five points per critical violation. If a restaurant scores less than 70, it's inspected twice more on fol I low-up visits by different inspec tors. If facilities still don't meet DHEC's standards, the Health Department writes a letter to rec ommend that business's permit be revoked. Todd Stephens, environmental health manager for DHEC's state office, said restaurants don't often earn C’s. Most of our facilities maintain that A rating,” Stephens said. “We’re not out to post C’s. We will post the grade that facility has earned.” He added that posting a C in a restaurant's window usual ly brings the business into com pliance immediately. “Most of the time, management will jump. They don’t want to see it posted,” he said. According to Beezer's employ ee Adam Cullum, the restaurant's management called employees to the restaurant to clean up after the routine inspection took place. Cullum said Beezer's had noth ing to hide and that there were no glaring problems with the facilities. ■ “I guess it was just a whole bunch of little things that piled up,” Cullum said. Columbia restaurants are sup posed to average two routine in spections per year. However, be cause state budget cuts have left the district's DHEG Food Protection division understaffed, some local businesses haven’t been inspected since 2002. Sammi’s Deli's last unscheduled inspection was on Oct. 9, 2002, when it received a 95. Stuffy’s re ceived a 91 after an unscheduled inspection on Nov. 18,2002. Reed said Columbia restaurant owners can expect more routine unannounced inspections when four staff vacancies are filled. The Richland County DHEC Food Protection division is re sponsible for conducting inspec tions on restaurants, grocery stores and schools, among other facilities. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu MLK Day activities capture spirit of "community service BY ALEXIS STRATTON THE UAMECOCk This weekend the country will celebrate the 75th birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., and dur ing this state-recognized holiday, USC students and staff will not be taking it easy, instead imple menting programs to commemo rate, teach and serve. Following the national theme, “Remember - Celebrate - Act: A Day On, Not a Day Off,” included among the weekend's activities are a commemorative breakfast with speaker Patricia Sullivan, USC associate professor of histo ry and African American Studies, a lecture at the USC School of Law, a day-of-service project transporting students to sites around the city and a celebratory Gospel Fest. The 7:30 a.m. breakfast on Friday, Jan. 16 will kick off the weekend's events, featuring Sullivan as the keynote speaker. Sullivan has written about and ex tensively researched 20th-centu ♦ SERVICE, SEE PAGE 3 PHOTO BY KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK use students Nate Skipper, far left, Whitney Campbell and AIM Quimby cross the railroad tracks on Greene Street. Winthrop student’s death raises issues of railroad safety BY MARY PINCKNEY WATERS THE HAMECOCK Students walking to and from Five Points walk on the pathway all the time. It’s paved, with a handrail, two trashcans and streetlights. It leads from Laurens Street across the train tracks to Harden Street. But now there is a new sight at this familiar crossing: a white cross that reads, “We love you Travis Cole Cook 1980-2003.” After a 23-year-old Winthrop University student was trapped and killed while crawling under a stopped train, safety officials hope the tragedy will discourage others from illegal crossings. Travis Cook, from Fort Mill, died Dec. 6 after a train ran over his leg near the intersection of College and Laurens streets. Cook, who attended USC for two years, was returning from a nightclub with his friends and girlfriend, Lynn Trigg, when he tried to crawl under a stopped train. The train started moving, trapping Cook underneath. Though crawling under a train ♦ TRAIN, SEE PAGE 3 ♦ EXHIBIT The Thomas Cooper Library pays tribute to Lewis and Clark with exhibit. FOR MORE SEE PAGE 3 ♦ONLINE MUSIC Microsoft redesigns its software for users to buy music online. FOR MORE SEE PAGE 3 ♦ TRIPLE WORD SCORE David Staggsays “Scrabble” not just for nerds anymore. -yr FOR MORE SEE PAGE 4 ♦STOPTHE PRESSES Steven Van Haren says that "news" is a relative term. FOR MORE SEE PAGE 4 ♦ WORKING IT OFF Students resolve to get fit for spring. FOR MORE SEE PAGE 5 ♦ UP TO THE CHALLENGE “Cold Mountain” proves worthy of Oscar buzz. FOR MORE SEE PAGE 5 ♦ ON FIRE Men’s basketball shocks Auburn on the road and prepares for home game with Tennessee on Saturday. FOR MORE SEE PAGE 7 ♦ LOSING STREAK Women’s basketball loses fifth straight game, this time to Tennessee 86-58. FOR MORE SEE PAGE 7 IMMMM Index Comics and Crossword_ 6 Classifieds 9 Horoscopes 6 Letters to the Editor_ 4 Online Poll_ 4 Police Report2 Entertainment News2 USC Calender 2 Weather TODAY High 51 Low 29 mostly sunny, winds 4 mph High 57 Low 44 partly cloudy, showers at night online at: www.dailygamecock.com The Gamecock IS printed on recycled paper.