Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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— ‘izzz&zazrWEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15,2004_ V°l Since 1908 IN THIS ISSUE %• NEWS Horseshoe renovations Early morning construction keeps residents awake. Page 3 I I—i I I — 1^—*-v-1 I .— ♦ VIEWPOINTS DeMint would increase taxes Craig Swaisgood argues that the U.S. Senate candidate would make beer and books more expensive. Page 5 ♦ THE MIX Add spice to your cinema Latin American Film Festival is headed for the K,:-‘-'odeon Theatre. ♦ THE MIX l ‘Heads I and Tails’ Chuck and A the gang weigh in on Am how important drummers are I to the band, Page 8 * ^ SPORTS Carolina Clemson II The women’s soccer team battles the Tigers at home in the Graveyard tonight at 7 p.m. USC looks to go up 2-0 in the 2004 series. Page 9 WEATHER ♦ TODAY | ♦ THURS. Ill High 84 High 81 Low 78 Low 71 for extended forecast. SEE PAGE 2. INDEX Comics and Crossword.8 Classifieds.11 Horoscopes.8 Letters to the Editor.5 Online Poll.5 Police Report.2 Athlete charged with peeping ■ USC swimmer admits to spying in women’s showers By MICHAEL LaFORGIA THE GAMECOCK Police have charged a former member of USC’s swimming and diving team with spying on women as they showered in the Strom Thurmond Wellness & Fitness Center and the Blatt P.E. Center. According to the arrest warrant, an unidentified victim picked Mateusz Marek Kacprzak, a first year geophysics student from Bacewicz, Poland, out of a photograph line-up last week. Kacprzak, who was attending USC on a swimming scholarship, then admitted to the crimes. USC Sports Information Director Kerry Tharp said swimming and diving team coaches dismissed Kacprzak from the team Tuesday after he was arrested at about 2:30 p.m. Kacprzak could not be reached for comment Tuesday night. He has been charged with peeping, a misdemeanor, and he posted bond at a hearing before a Richland County magistrate Tuesday afternoon. State law requires people convicted of peeping, voyeurism or aggravated voyeurism to register with the S.C. Law Enforcement Division’s sex offender registry every year for the rest of their lives. USC police responded to four reports of a peeping Tom in the women’s locker rooms at the Strom and the Blatt during a three-week period in late August and early September, USC spokesman Russ McKinney said. “There were about a dozen victims that complained,” McKinney said. “One of the victims has pressed the charge.” While the incidents have prompted questions about the safety of Campus Recreation KACPRZAK buildings, Student Life Director Jerry Brewer said students have nothing to worry about. “The Wellness Center is probably the most secure building on campus,” Brewer said. He added that the office of Student Life has invested in security measures at the Blatt that some students might not know about. “I don’t think there’s a security problem,” Brewer said. “Is the University of South Carolina safe? Yes, it’s very safe. I think this validates that.” Surveillance cameras and Blatt employees first led investigators to Kacprzak early last week. McKinney said the delay in arresting the student came while USC police contacted victims and consulted the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s office about the crimes. Juliette Muellner, program director of Relationship Violence Services with USC’s Office for Sexual Health and Violence Prevention, spoke to women in classes meeting in the Blatt Tuesday and encouraged them _ to come forward if they’ve been victimized. “Society-wise, I think we’re kind of taught not to recognize the seriousness of incidents like this,” she said. She added that, statistically, peeping Toms are more likely to commit other sexual crimes. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknrd's@gwm.sc. edit 1C o o o LlJ 2 < o UJ X £ o o < f— cn 9 > < o > GO o X CL < EC. use SECURITY —a^an .-i-■-i—amammmmmmmmm i JASON STEELMAN/THE GAMECOCK Third-year English student Andrew Smith discovered his bike was stolen Monday after locking it behind Rutledge Chapel Friday. Inset: The broken lock that held Smith’s bicycle to the bike rack. Simple measures can prevent campus crime ■ Students should keep valuables out of cars, officials say By LaDONNA BEEKER THE GAMECOCK An increasing number of USC students are falling victim to what Ernie Ellis, USC Police director, calls the biggest crime issue on campus. According to police reports, there have been about 45 larcenies since the middle of August, including petty and grand larceny, as well as burglary and auto-breaking with larceny. Third-year English student Andrew Smith kept his $600 bicycle locked with a coded cable, but that didn’t save it from being stolen. “I was annoyed that it had been taken because I knew I could not get where 1 needed to be on time,” Smith said. “It was no surprise because bike theft is easy to do.” Ellis said students need to make sure their bikes are chained to a rack with the recommended U-bolt locks, which are more secure and harder to break apart/ as opposed to smaller chains that take only seconds to break. “I just bought a U lock because I think it is a good lock,” psychology exchange student Kerstin Hammann said. “My old bike was stolen at my other school because I did not lock it.” Ellis said students could sometimes out-think potential criminals by keeping their valuables stowed away overnight. Third-year engineering student Steven Dzikowski, said someone smashed his driver’s side window but didn’t take anything. “My CD player looked like it was tampered with, but it is hard to get out,” he said. “I leave absolutely nothing in my car now.” Ellis said people know if a CD player is hard to remove they usually won’t mess with it. “But if they see CDs in a car, they can take those instead,” Ellis said. “This can be $10 more than they had before they broke the window.” Ellis said some people don’t seem to believe cars can get broken into during daylight without being heard, but it causes less noise than people might think. “I put my stuff out of the way and park in well-lit^areas, so I can see if someone is approaching me,” said first-year liberal arts student Mark O’Driscoll, who has never had his car broken into. Ellis urged students to report any suspicious activity, but he said a certain number of crimes were inevitable. “In a larger metropolitan area, these kinds of crimes can happen,” Ellis said. “We need to remove opportunities.” The most common items stolen from students are laptops, bicycles, CDs and CD players. Ellis said students need to remove the opportunity for theft by not leaving things visible in their cars. “Use well-lighted pathways and walk in groups because nobody wants to make you afraid, but thinking like this will allow for a safer outlook that you can take with you where ever you go after Carolina,” Ellis said. Ellis suggested hiding possessions and recording serial numbers of any valuable electronics. As sophisticated as modern technology is, Ellis said, “we can have thousands of dollars worth in a small space out of site and secure.” Comments on this story? E-mail£ gamecockneu's@gwm.sc.edu f RHA eliminates executive votes By JACOB DAVIS THE GAMECOCK The RHA Senate approved a bill Tuesday night that eliminates executive officers’ votes and changes the requirements for quorum. The bill, which was heatedly debated at last week’s meeting, passed by an unofficial tally of 34 to 11, with 12 abstaining. Previously, the Senate would try to meet a quorum by using its roster, which included three senators from each residence hall. But not every residence hall sent three senators, but those vacant seats still counted for the quorum. The new bill only checks elected senators, with a quorum being half of the senators plus one. “I think this was essential for holding the senate accountable to the residents,” said Robert Veronee, head of the programming committee. “I am really proud of this group. This could be the best Senate we’ve ♦ Please see RHA, page 3 False alarm at Coker ■ Odor thought to be flammable organic solvent By JON TURNER THE GAMECOCK About 48 emergency response personnel were dispatched Monday night when firefighters failed to identify a suspicious smell emanating from the basement of the Coker Life Sciences Center. Firefighters said they were afraid the smell might be an organic solvent, many of which are explosive. Anatomy professor Jamey Watson was working in a first floor classroom when she noticed something going on outside. “We saw the lights and heard the sirens while I waS teaching on the first floor and I looked out the window and saw all of these (emergency response vehicles) and so 1 stepped out to find out what was going on,” she said. Watson stepped out the door and immediately encountered a USC police officer. “I said, ‘Do I need to evacuate my people?’ and he said ‘yes,’” she said. Blair Blackwell, a second-year nursing student, said she had left all her belongings in the classroom where they had been working. “We left all our keys and everything,” she said. “And our class has been canceled, so we’ve just been hanging out here for about two hours.” It took a while before emergency response personnel were able to trigger the alarm and verify that everyone had been evacuated from the building. “I pulled everybody out before the alarm even went off. When everybody else started coming out of the building, my people had prime seats,” Watson said. Blackwell also noticed that the alarm didn’t go off immediately. “It didn’t go off on the first floor,” she said. When the class was forced to leave the building, students took shelter in the courtyard of Longstreet Theatre. Other onlookers gathered at the top of the steps in front of the building. The class had been interrupted in the middle of a lesson, and the students were stuck outside for almost two hours. Watkins was amused by her students’ reactions to the evacuation. “I’m telling you guys you’re in the wrong business,” she told the class. “You need to be in drama or theater.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockneius@gwm.se. edu JASON STEELMAN/THE GAMECOCK Emergency vehicles respond to a call at the Coker Life Sciences Building after faculty members detected a smell thought to be an explosive organic sdwent.