The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 20, 2004, Image 1
►
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University of South Carolina FRIHAV FFRRI IARV Ofi 0C\C\A Vol.97.No.67
www.dailygamecock.com irVIL/Ml, rLDiVUniA I ZU, ZUut Since 1908
, Council seeks to link SG presidents
BY ASHLEE RICKARD
TilK UAMBCOCK
Student government presidents
from USC satellite campuses all
over the state are meeting to dis
cuss student issues and encourage
direct involvement with the ad
ministration.
SG President Katie Dreiling ini
tiated the Presidential Council,
which is a group of representa
tives from all seven satellite
schools, after President Andrew
Sorensen challenged her to get stu
dent government presidents from
all of the campuses to work di
rectly with the administration.
According to Dreiling, the goals
of the Presidential Council are to
“form a strong alliance with USC
satellite campuses and use that al
liance to work with the adminis
tration” and to strive for support of
higher education around the state.
Most importantly, she said, the
council will give students a
stronger voice.
Traditionally, the Columbia
campus SG president has been the
only student representative al
lowed to attend the university’s
Student-Trustee Liaison
Committee meetings. Dreiling
said she thought all students
should be able to voice their con
cerns to the administration.
“I wanted to make sure other
people were involved,” she said.
Now, when the Board of
Trustees liaison meetings occur,
student government presidents
from all of USC’s campuses will
have already discussed issues that
need to be addressed, she said.
“We can now talk as a stronger
body.”
Dreiling said she hopes the
council will improve each campus
overtime.
The new council met for the first
time on Feb. 6. Representatives
were present from each satellite
school except Lancaster.
Dreiling said the meeting was
very positive and focused on im
proving student involvement. A
USC lobbyist spoke at the meeting.
Upcoming student events were
also discussed at the meeting so
that the presidents can communi
cate to the students what is hap
pening at other campuses.
The council will continue to
discuss major issues, including
budget cuts, at each meeting
throughout the year.
Dreiling said the council will let
the Legislature know students don’t
want higher education funding cut.
USC-Aiken student government
president Jason Holt agrees that
the council is a great way to solve
problems.
“After the first meeting, I left
with valuable information and tac
tics that I took back to Aiken to
help resolve certain issues. I could
see this council being a catalyst
for ideas to be generated,” he said.
Even though her term as presi
dent is drawing to a close, Dreiling
■ is confident the Presidential
Council will continue.
Legislation has recently been
passed to the USC student senate
that will ensure the council’s con
tinuation throughout the years. If
the amendment is approved, SG
presidents will be responsible for
planning and organizing the meet
' ings as well as fostering a part
nership between campuses.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu
► Lawsuit
supports
same-sex
marriage
BY LISA LEFF
THE ASSOCIATED I'HE.SK
SAN FRANCISCO — After sanc
tioning more than 2,800 gay mar
riages in the past week, the city
said Thursday it is suing the state
of California, challenging its ban
on same-sex marriages on consti
* tutional grounds.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera
planned to file the suit in the af
ternoon, said his spokesman, Matt
Dorsey.
Two judges already are consid
ering challenges from conserva
tive groups seeking to halt the
marriage spree that began last
Thursday. The city’s lawsuit asks
that those cases be consolidated
into one.
A lawyer for a group trying to
halt the gay marriages described
the city’s move as a delaying tac
tic.
“This is as much a maneuver to
keep this in court and keep the is
sue alive as it is anything else,”
said Benjamin Bull, an attorney
™ with the Alliance Defense Fund.
Democratic Mayor Gavin
Newsom has said he was obliged
to issue marriage licenses to
same-sex couples to avoid violat
ing the equal protection clause of
♦ MARRIAGE, SEE PAGE 3
Great Debate
PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK
Katie Drolling gives the State
of the School Address to
students on the Russell House
Patio on Wednesday before
the SG candidate debate.
A Cultural Experience
i i ivy iv u ' jnuun jiLLLmnn/ i ni_
From left, Florence Soroses and Olga Mama Yari, public health graduate students, serve food at the International Food
Festival In front of Russell House on Thursday.
Campaigning on the Web
SG candidates stump
online in attempt
to reach more students
BY GABRIELLE SINCLAIR
tiie(.'amkc(k:k
Student Government candidates are
moving away from the traditional
strategies of canvassing hallways
with posters and are taking their
campaigns to the Web.
Almost all of the executive candidates have
Web sites, which feature platforms, pictures,
contact imormation ana
personal goals.
Kenyatta Frazier's cam
paign manager Stephen
Smith said the traditional
campaigns of flyers and de
bating have their limits in
that it's difficult to reach ev
_i_1_i
cij aiuuuin.
“The Web site facilitates every student the
opportunity to let them know what Kenyatta's
about,” said the fourth-year sports and enter
tainment management student.
Web sites allow potential voters to read
through candidates' ideas and make educated
decisions, Smith said.
A campaign Web site costs about $20 to set
up and then $10 a month to maintain, said
third-year physics student Brett Nolan, who
designed two sites, one for treasurer candi
date Cameron Burnette and one for vice pres
idential candidate Yvonne Miller. Most can
didates, however, won't need to maintain sites
after the intitial month.
Nolan said navigability is crucial for a suc
cessful online campaign.
“If the average person can’t get through it,
then it's pointless,” he said. He also stressed
avoiding clutter because “if the site is too
flashy people will get lost.”
Nolan used the same basic set-up for the two
sites, with the color scheme (Burnette's is gold
and blue, Miller's is purple) and content set
ting them apart.
Vice presidential candidate Mark
McLawhom asked family friend Yoma Edwin,
of Tren Media in Columbia, to design his Web
site for about $50. He said he chose to create a
site because “it’s impossible to speak with all
of the student organizations on campus in two
weeks.”
“I think that people who aren’t involved in
student organizations and commuter students,
it’s the best way to reach them,” he said.
^residential candidate
Zachery Scott said he paid
$15 to secure the domain
name.
“You have to visit 300 or
ganizations in two weeks,
and you can’t go through
your entire platform in de
Id 11, OUUll SdlU.
To be effective, Scott said the Web site has to
be concise and as to the point as possible.
Ryan Holt, a first-year political science
student, who has started a campaign Web site
for his senatorial run, said the benefits of be
ing online come with more questions.
Namely, the problem of getting people to vis
it the site. “This is a first campaign for me
and the first taste for elections,” he said.
Holt, whose Web site is at www.ryan
holt.org, is one of the few senate candidates
with a Web site.
The Web site is a good learning experience,
Holt said, even if he isn’t running for a major
office. “I thought better to overshoot than miss
the mark,” he said.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu
iFavontes Tools Wmi
Candidates use the Web to
connect with students at
use.
President:
ZACHERY SCOTT:
www.scottforpresident.com
JUSTIN WILLIAMS:
willi588@mailbox.sc.edu
ADAM SCHAFFER:
adam-schaffer@sc.edu
Vice President:
MARK MCLAWHORN:
www.Makeyourmark2004
.com
YVONNE MILLER:
www.votediva.com
BRIAN WAYNE:
www.brianwayne.com
Treasurer:
CAMERON BURNETTE:
www.cameronbumette.com
KENYATTA FRAZIER:
www.lnKenyattaWeTrust.com
GRAPHIC BY SHAWN ROURK/
THE GAMECOCK
Student
groups
hold SG
debate
" BY JACOB DAVIS
THE GAMECOCK
Savvy and the USC NAACP
played host to a debate for Student
Government candidates running
in next week’s election Thursday
in the Russell House.
Candidates for president, vice
president and treasurer all
spoke.
The candidates shared their
platforms and addressed key is
sues. Presidential candidate
. Justin Williams received applause
with his support of Gov. Sanford’s
plan to cap college tuitions.
Presidential candidate Zachery
Scott’s SG experience impressed
others. Mark McLawhom earned
the most vocal reaction of the
night with his proposal to work
for an extension of the drop/add
date.
Bryan Wayne proposed creating
a trophy for the Clemson/ Carolina
game. Yvonne Miller’s plan to get
student organizations joined under
an umbrella system in the form of
her SOLVE (Student Organization
Leaders who Value Excellence)
Network also drew postive reac
tions.
Treasurer candidate Kenyatta
Frasier said he was motivated to
run after witnessing the prob
lems organizations were having
filing funding proposals, and he
pledged to do his best to allevi
ate that problem. The other trea
surer candidate, Cameron
Burnette, was unable to attend,
but his campaign manager, Paul
Gerrard, spoke of Burnette’s
plans for the budget.
Tiffany Stewart, an officer with
Savvy, said she was “excited to see
so many qualified candidates in
the field,” and she was “sure that
whoever was elected would have
the skills to do a great job.”
Tamika Sumpter, president of
the USC National Association for
the Advancement of Colored
People, said she “was excited to
learn about the candidates’ excel
lent plans,” but she was looking
forward to seeing the plans im
plemented.
The “Savvy Sister of the
Week,” Tanisha Gonzalez, said,
“Savvy and the NAACP felt very
good that the candidates were
able to take the time to come and
♦ NAACP, SEE PAGE 3
♦ PIRATING PROBLEMS The
FBI has a plan to discourage
piracy. FOR MORE SEE PAGE
3
♦ HAITIAN CONFLICT Haiti’s
president vows to defend his
country. FOR MORE SEE
PAGE 3
♦ BURNING QUESTIONS
David Stagg solves the
world’s great debates. FOR
MORE SEE PAGE 4
♦ DRIED UP S.C. Legislature
fails to seal the deal on
tattooing bill. FOR MORE SEE
PAGE 4
♦ GONE TO CAROLINA Top
selling concert tours make
their way to Columbia. FOR
MORE SEE PAGE 5
♦ HOLD THE PHONE Cell
phone users must practice
good manners, too. FOR
MORE SEE PAGE 5
♦ BAD FIRST DATES'
Sandler, Barrymore film
doesn’t deserve a second
chance. FOR MORE SEE
PAGE 6
♦ PIGS IN A BLANKET Men's
basketball to face Arkansas.
FOR MORE SEE PAGE 8
♦ BEAUTIFUL LOSERS
Women’s basketball loses
10th SEC game. FOR MORE
SEE PAGE 8
Index
Comics and Crossword 7
Classifieds 10
Horoscopes 7
Letters to the Editor 4
Online Poll 4
Police Report2
Entertainment News 2
USC Calendar 2
Weather
TODAY SATURDAY
71 High 68
Low 50 low 34
Sunny and warm, AM showers,
showers late winds 13 mph
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