FRIDAY, AUGUST 13,2004
SG plans for a new school year
BY ALLYSON BIRD
THE GAMECOCK
When campus emptied out in
May, Student Government officers
stayed behind and planned for the
new school year.
“As long as the university is
open, we have to be here,” said SG
President Zach Scott.
One of SG’s fall projects is a get
out-the-vote campaign in prepa
ration for the presidential elec
tion in November. “You can’t
have too many voter drives going
on,” Scott said. The SG initiative
would go hand-in-hand with those
already planned by student orga
nizations like College
Republicans, Young Democrats
and the NAACP.
SG officers are also aiming to
expand the newspaper readership
program that provides students
with free copies of USA Today and
The New York Times at stands
around campus. Scott said SG
hopes to increase the number of
stands and to get college deans to
subsidize the service, if they want
the stands placed at their respec
tive schools.
In addition, members of SG
plan to continue their push for a
voting seat on USC’s Board of
Trustees. “It’s going to take a lot
of work,” Scott said. “It’s got to be
passed by the state Legislature.”
However, SG is already helping
with key university decisions. For
example, Scott was on the com
mittee that chose USC’s new
provost, Mark Becker.
This year will mark the first
time USC will band together with
all two-year, four-year and tech
nical schools in South Carolina
at the S.C. State Student
Association conference to be held
in October at USC. “There are al
ready 43 other state associations
in the country, but not many of
them are in the Southeast,” Scott
said. “We’re trying to break new
ground.”
Scott was named interim di
rector of the association, which
will lobby legislation in the inter
est of higher education, primari
ly targeting funding.
“We’re trying to break
new ground.”
ZACH SCOTT
STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT
USC will also be the site of the
State Safety Conference, a pro
gram planned by the Commission
on Higher Education for the
spring. The conference will cover
specific facets of campus safety
from Greek Village risks to cyber
safety.
Scott said SG has also made
good on the promise for better
parking that comes with the elec
tions every spring. The new lot on
Bull Street greeting students this
fall provides 987 additional spaces.
“Student Government is doing
something to improve parking,”
he said.
Scott said this year’s SG features
“an active cabinet and an active
Senate” that will find out student
interests and take action on them.
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PHOTO BY MELISSA WALLACE/THE GAMECOCK
SG President Zach Scott looks over upcoming issues for the school year.
I wanna rock ‘n’ roll all night
. PHOTO BY MELISSA WALLACE/THE GAMECOCK
Lights for Nero lead vocalist and saxophone player Joey Young
performing August 4th at New Brookland Tavern. Wednesday
was the band’s CD Release Party for their album “... And Little
Lambs Eat Nations ...”
Index
Comics and Crossword_ B7
Classifieds JJ7
HoroscopesB7
Letters to the EditorA7
Online Poll_ A7
Police Report A6
Weather
TODAY TOMORROW
High *91 High 92
Low 70 Low 71
L-!—fc
Inside
♦ FOOTBALL FRENZY Pointers
on how to acclimate yourself to
USC football. Page A7
♦ THE CURE Still going strong
after twenty-five years. Page
B1
♦ THE BIG PICTURE Check out
concerts coming to the area
this fall. Page B5
♦ GO FOR THE GOLD Twenty
two athletes with USC
connections are set to compete
in the Summer Olympics. Page
di
Parking services implements
GPS satellite tracking system
FROM STAFF REPORTS
USC Parking Services will
unveil a satellite tracking sys
tem for shuttle buses this fall,
and its proponents are billing
the system as the biggest im
provement to campus conve
nience in years.
The technology, called
NextBus, uses Global Position
System satellites on campus shut
tles to transmit accurate arrival
information to computers, cell
phones and Personal Digital
Assistants. The tracking infor
mation, which will update itself
every 90 seconds or 200 meters,
will also be displayed on signs at
bus stops.
Parking services officials
have said the tracking system
I
will eliminate the
uncertainty of
students waiting
for shuttles de
layed by traffic or
trains.
Supporters ex
pect the NextBus
technology to do
for the shuttle sys
tem what VIP did
for class registra
tion in the 1990s.
“With the NextBus
system, the information
of arrival times are
displayed based on
where the bus actually
is on route.”
DERRICK HUGGINS
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF VEHICLE MANAGEMENT
AND PARKING SERVICES
trains that
held up buses
and heavily
utilized
pedestrian
crossways,”
said Derrick
Huggins,
deputy direc
tor of Vehicle
Management
and Parking
Services, in a
“Since the Carolina Shuttle
System routes are condensed
and have headway time of 20
minutes or more, it was almost
impossible to have a schedule of
stops based on the times that
were posted due to factors such
as traffic lights in the core area
of campus, *traffic congestion,
news release. “With the NextBus
system, the information of ar
rival times are displayed based
on where the bus actually is on
route.”
When the tracking technolo
gy is installed, USC’s shuttle sys
tem will be one of a few across
the country using NextBus.
Other satellite-tracked transit
systems include that of Loyola
College in Maryland and the
New York Water Taxi in New
York City.
The idea for the tracking tech
nology originated in Student
Government last year after SG of
ficers discovered a large sum of
surplus money held over from
past administrations. According
to then-President Katie Dreiling,
the tracking system was intend
ed as a practical way to alleviate
parking problems on campus. SG
contributed $30,000 toward the
new system, while parking ser
vices paid the rest of the more
than $100,000 project.
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Residence hall set to open on schedule
Weather delays no longer an issue
for West Quad’s future residents
BY JAMES WITHERSPOON
THE GAMECOCK
Five hundred and two upper
classmen assigned to the new
West Quad residence hall will be
able to move in on the scheduled
date of Aug. 14.
According to officials, rumors
that foul weather has forced
Contract Construction Company
behind schedule are unfounded.
“They (Contract
Construction) have stuck with
their first plan and it has worked
out. Students will be able to
move in on time,” said Susan
Blackwell, West Quad project su
pervisor.
Blackwell added that heavy
rain and high temperatures had
officials questioning if every
thing would be completed on
time.
“But they have really worked
hard and got it done,” Blackwell
said. There will still be land
scaping to finish after the stu
dents move in and minor paint
ing to be done in building a ot
the complex.
West Quad, located on the cor
ner of Sumter and Wheat streets,
is possibly the last of a series of
new dorm construction projects
aimed toward upperclassmen.
“After this, we will be looking
into providing attractive hous
ing for entering classmen,” said
Housing Director Gene Luna.
The growth of class size and a de
sire to keep upperclassmen on
campus were all factors for offi
cials when considering building
new dorms in the late 1990s.
Luna explained the goal was to
keep upperclassmen on campus
to help influence and guide low
erclassmen.
Now that West Quad will be
finished, Luna said housing is
proud and excited to see what
the new building will offer. The
early planning and develop
ment of the buildings were the
result of collaborations between
♦ WEST QUAD, SEE PAGE 3
■nHHHHI
PHOTO B> MELISSA WALLACE/THE GAMECOCK
Landscaping for West Quad will be completed after move In.