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University of South Carolina TT'T) TTA A \r C T7 TD'T'T? A /TT3 T7 D 'i A C\C\A Vo/. 98, No. 20 tvtvw.dailygamecock.com rivLU/AI, lJUvJl 1 HvlVlJDlLiX J , ZUU'T Since 1908 HURRICANE FRANCES Students unafraid, plan coastal visits By MICHAEL LAFORGIA and JON TURNER THE GAMECOCK As Florida braces for Hurricane Frances, the Category 4 giant isn’t fazing USC students who plan to visit the Lowcountry this weekend. Thursday saw Florida in the throes of the biggest mandatory evacuation in state history, but Jeff Buncher, a second-year business student from Charleston, went home Thursday evening for his mother’s birthday. He said the storm doesn’t worry him. “I was watching the Weather Channel, and it showed it was going through Florida and then through Georgia,” he said. “No one else seems really concerned about it.” Delane Neuroth, a third-year pre pharmacy student from Charleston, said she’s going home over the weekend, too. “I’ve got to save my dog,” she said. “I’ve got to get the last of my stuff and try to convince my parents to leave if it gets really bad.” Neuroth said she’s not worried about traveling during the storm and that she must run her Charleston errands this weekend. ' “Next weekend’s football, and I don’t plan on going home once football starts,” she said. For his part, Ben Sokol, a second-year nursing student from Charleston, said he would have gone home over Labor Day weekend anyway, but the hurricane will make it more ♦ Please see FRANCES, page 3 '1_- v '_.. at-_ ALAN DIAZ/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An unidentified person jogs in front of a hotel as Hurricane Frances approaches the coast of Florida. REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION tU Kc.llNKt/1 Ht AbbUCIA I tU rKtbiS President Bush and first lady Laura Bush wave to delegates in Madison Square Garden after his speech accepting his party’s nomination, during the final night of the Republican National Convention. Graduate class turns tables on professors By ALEXIS STRATTON THE GAMECOCK Administrators and faculty in USC’s Graduate School know that teaching is a tough job. That’s why they have introduced GRAD 800X, a new, experimental course for graduate students to learn about the art of classroom instruction. The course meets once a week for just longer than two hours and is scheduled to discuss such topics as learning styles, planning lessons, strategies for teaching in laboratories, groups and classroom settings. Ten students are currently enrolled in the course, but Christine Ebert, interim dean for The Graduate School, hopes to see ♦ Please see GRAD 800, page 3 Bush tells nation, ‘We will prevail’ By DAVID ESPO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — President Bush picked apart John Kerry’s record on the Iraq war and tax cuts Thursday night and summoned the nation toward victory over terrorism and economic security at home. “Nothing will hold us back,” he said in a Republican National Convention acceptance speech that launched his fall re election campaign. “We are staying on the offensive _ striking terrorists abroad _ so we do not have to face them here at home,” Bush said in a prime-time address not far from Ground Zero of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. “And we will prevail.” “Four more years, four more years,” the delegates chanted as Bush strode _ alone _ onto a podium in the middle of a heavily fortified convention hall. His introduction was a video that stirred memories of Sept. 11 _ and credited him with “the heart of a president.” “I believe this nation wants steady, consistent, principled leadership, and that is why, with your help, we will win this election,” he said. First lady Laura Bush joined her husband on stage as he finished his speech, followed by Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife and extended families. On cue, thousands of red, white and blue balloons floated down from the ceiling, mixing with confetti and colored streamers in a made-for-television spectacle. Bush’s speech marked the beginning of a two-month campaign sprint to Election Day, and Kerry clearly couldn’t wait. In a ferocious counterattack after a week of GOP convention-week criticism, he called the wartime commander in chief and Vice y&m President Dick Cheney unfit to lead the nation. “I’m not going to have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who have refused to serve when they could have and by those who have misled the nation into Iraq,” he said in remarks prepared for a midnight campaign appearance in Ohio. Kerry won five military medals in the Vietnam War; Bush was stateside in the National Guard and Cheney’s five draft era deferments kept him out of the service. The Bush-Cheney campaign readied a new general election advertising campaign to build on ♦ Please see BUSH, page 3 RHA Senate first meeting Tuesday By JACOB DAVIS THE GAMECOCK USC’s Residence Hall Association is trying to improve its Web site and might bring back events like the Hands For Hunger Texas Hold 'em Poker Tournament as the organization starts a new year. RHA will begin meeting on Tuesdays in tfce Callcott Building at 7 p.m. Each of the 19 residence halls on campus are supposed to send three representatives to the Senate, which meets every week. Senators discuss and debate residence hall issues, as well as allocate activity funds. RHA kicked off its year with Welcome Week, which featured their parking project, Aloha Carolina and the reception at the President’s New Student Convocation. Members also build a float for homecoming week and sponsor events during Creed Week, in addition to their Dining with Friends in April AIDS Awareness dinner and Casino Night. RHA plans to send a delegation of students to at least three conferences this year. The RHA state conference will be held at Furman University, the regional conference at the University of Louisville and the national conference at Syracuse University. Fourth-year political science student Emanuel Thomason is the National Communication Coordinator for RHA, and he will attend all the conferences as a USC representative. “There are two sides to every conference,” he said. “One part is focused on things like leadership programs and training, while the other side is the business aspect.” ♦ Please see RHA, page 3 Network security gets mixed reactions By JUSTIN CHAPURA THE GAMECOCK Despite student complaints about slow performance and frequent disconnections, Computer Services officials say it is winning the battle against viruses with a program called Smart Enforcer. Smart Enforcer was introduced this fall as a required download for students with computers on campus. In order to access to the Internet, a user’s computer must first log on to the campus network using Smart Enforcer. The program checks for active, up-to-date operating system patches and anti virus software before allowing the computer to connect to the Internet. If Smart Enforcer does not find the required software, it directs the user to a Web site for a free McAfee anti-virus program or to the Microsoft updates Web site. Ronni Wilkinson, information security officer for Computer Services, said Smart Enforcer is USC’s response to last year’s battle with network viruses and worms. “I knew that whatever technology won the bid, we would be on the leading edge.” RITA ANDERSON COMPUTER SERVICES PROGRAM MANAGER “Last fall, the network was attacked by the Blaster and Nachi worms over move-in weekend, and the infections lasted throughout the year. A lot of students didn’t understand how to patch their machines, so in general they kept getting infected over and over,” Wilkinson said. Students have not only been quick to download the program, but quick to blame it for sudden disconnections that are commonplace across campus. “Sometimes I will be logged out at random, and when I’m researching for a paper or an exam, it’s an extreme annoyance,” third year English and theatre student Tracy Herzog said. He summed up most students’ attitudes toward Smart Enforcer with a shrug. “I haven’t heard my hall mates say good things about Smart Enforcer, but I haven’t heard them complaining about viruses either,” Herzog said. Computer Services program manager Rita Anderson, who headed the effort to address this setback, said Computer Services formed a cross-campus team last November to attend to network problems, the biggest of which was viruses. “We looked at quite a few companies when we started searching for the software for us. I knew that whatever technology won the bid, we would be on the leading edge,” she said. Other universities using Smart Enforcer include St. Edward’s University, the University of Miami in Ohio and Eastern Kentucky University. umy stuaents using windows are required to download the new program. Wilkinson said the team wanted to impact as many students as possible, so Windows was the target by default. Although users with Macs, Linux and even Xboxes have not been a problem, Wilkinson said Smart Enforcer can be configured for other systems if they become targets for viruses. Students have not only been quick to download the program, but quick to blame it for sudden disconnections that are commonplace across campus. “Sometimes I will be logged out at random, and when I’m researching for a paper or an exam, it’s an extreme annoyance,” third year English and theatre student Tracy Herzog said. She added that she sees the need for a program like Smart Enforcer on campus. ♦ Please see ENFORCER, page 3 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS Jude ^es fine NY half a million Judges free protestors, who were imprisoned for days, at the Republican National Convention. For each of about 500 protesetors detained, the city was fined $1,000. Page 3 ♦ VIEWPOINTS Convention Republicans not genuine Viewpoints editor Wes Wolfe says the Republicans presented •at the convention are not ihe Republicans of real life. Page 5 ♦ THE MIX Looking for a job? You’ve got to look good first Kevin Fellner spells out how to dress fc^ success. Page 5 ♦ SPORTS special teams fill in holes Daniel Kerr grades USC’s and Vandy’s kicking and receiving teams. Page 8 WEATHER ♦ TODAY ♦THURS. High 84 High 87 Low 70 Low 71 FOR EXTENDED FORECAST, SEE PAGE 2. INDEX Comics and Crossword.7 Classifieds.10 Horoscopes.7 Letters to the Editor.4 Online Poll..4 Police Report...2