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November 3, 2004 .mSV0TE20041i3 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Page 5 S.C. colleges handle Election Day differently By MICHAEL LaFORGIA THE GAMECOCK USC students had Tuesday off so they could vote in the general election, a tradition that officials say encourages students to participate in the democratic process. Clemson University students were on fall break Monday and Tuesday, while students at the College of Charleston attended classes. Student Affairs Director Dennis Pruitt said USC gives students the day off to encourage voting. “The university has always thought that part of the role of higher education is to assist students in understanding that they have a civic obligation in this country,” Pruitt said. “For years, we have tried to construct a holiday schedule or a class break schedule that supported students’ opportunities to participate in voting.” Pruitt said the decision to give the day off stemmed from the make-up of the student body. “Eighty percent of our students are South Carolinians, and in a day’s time, a student can go to any part of the state, drive up and drive back and vote in their home district, their home locale, which is what many students want to do,” he said. “Yes, there are ways to do an absentee ballot, and yes, there are ways to vote in advance absentee, but a lot of students like to go home, like to vote, and we want to encourage them to participate in the process.” Pruitt added that USC officials aren’t worried students will abuse the free day, citing the state’s suspension of alcohol and lottery ticket sales while the polls were open. “It’s not as if we think students are leaving to go to the bars or going to gamble,” he said. “This is an opportunity that the university used to ensure that people participate in the democratic process.” Clemson Registrar Stan Smith said Clemson intentionally schedules fall break in November on general election years. “The fall break in even numbered years particularly is set to allow students to be off on Election Day,” he said. “On odd-numbered years, we time them about mid-October so that it kind of comes close to the middle of the semester.” Pamela Anastassiou, registrar at the College of Charleston, could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon. But Tristan Vogler, a first “It’s not as if we think students are leaving to go to the bars...” DENNIS PRUITT STUDENT AFFAIRS DIRECTOR year physics student at the College of Charleston, said classes didn’t keep him from voting Tuesday. “Everybody that I’ve spoken to has voted, he said. “The College of Charleston didn’t give us a day off, but other than that, they did everything possible to get people to vote. They had RAs come to our rooms and ask if we were planning to vote or get absentee ballots.” But other students called the regular class schedule a “total pain in the ass.” “Several people complained to me that they didn’t have time to vote,” said Melissa Glasscock, a second-year English student at the College of Charleston. “It’s really irritating not to have time to go and do our civic duty and all that stuff. I still feel almost like going to school is disenfranchising me.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc. edu S.C. approves amendment ridding state of minibottles By JEFFREY COLLINS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS At the Pub in Columbia’s Five Points bar district, most of the patrons happily toasted the minibotde farewell. The tiny bottles, all lined up behind the bar, could go away soon after voters on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment allowing lawmakers to decide how drinks are served. That means the Legislature likely will pass a law next year to add larger free pour bottles while keeping minibottles as an option. With 93 percent of precincts reporting, unofficial results early Wednesday morning showed 59 percent of voters approved the amendment. The 1.7-ounce botdes of liquor usually seen only on airliners had become a South Carolina peculiarity. For more than a decade, the state was the only one in the nation to prohibit drinks from being poured from bigger bottles. Ben Reagan voted for the minibottle amendment because he wants his Jim Beam and Coke to be cheaper. “And if you know the bartender, you might order a single but end up getting a double or a triple,” Reagan said. Supporters of the amendment not only cited cost but safety, too. The average free-pour drink has about an ounce of alcohol compared with the 1.7 ounce serving from a minibottle. The amendment had the support of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Gov. Mark Sanford and the South Carolina Hospitality Association, whose membership includes most bars and restaurants in the state. Across the bar, Cody Harlin isn’t looking forward to the demise of the minibottle. He voted no because he liked that he always knew what he was getting with the tiny bottles and thinks drinks around the state are going to taste funny for a while. “There not a lot of bartenders in Columbia who know how to free pour,” he said. “All they know is how to open the bottle and pour.” Free pour liquor supporters got a fierce fight from the people who stood to lose the most: minibottle distributors and their hastily assembled Palmetto Hospitality Association. The vote was closer than a lot of people expected because minibottle supporters poured a lot of money into radio and television ads that seized on the Legislature not passing rules on how the free pouring of liquor would start. Television commercials featured the simple tag line “No plan, no way.” That prompted Judith Mersereau, a 60-year-old teacher from Newberry, to vote against the amendment. “1 voted against the General Assembly having a say where they will decide how much liquor a restaurant will serve,” she said. But in the end, the argument for cheaper drinks and safer roads won. “It’s just too costly for people to go out and have a cocktail at dinner,” said Rodney Quick, a 57-year-old Mount Pleasant electrician who voted for the amendment. “In other states, when friends gather for a cocktail in the afternoon, you can go out and buy a round of drinks. If you buy a round of drinks with the minibotde, it will break you.” South Carolina Hospitality Association President Tom Sponseller celebrated the end of his 14-year quest quiedy. “We’re really glad we got it right for our customers,” he said. The group will push to get the new liquor law passed when lawmakers return in January so free-pour drinks can begin in July, said Sponseller, who doesn’t expea a lot of resistance from the minibotde foes. “They went for broke on their ad campaign,” he said. “If you are dealing with the General Assembly, you don’t want to question their integrity.” A spokeswoman for the Palmetto Hospitality Association didn’t return a phone message Tuesday night. Comments on this story ? E-?nail gamecocknews@giV7n.se. edu ■ DEMINT Continued from page 1 Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum. Tenenbaum conceded at about 10:45, with Associated Press polls showing DeMint ahead by about 10 percent with 1,639 of2,063 precincts reporting. DeMint told the audience at the Republican victory party that he was surprised by the margin of victory he achieved. “To say that I’m pleasantly surprised would be an understatement — if you add 23 percent to her total, you get my total,” he said following Tenenbaum’s concession. “It’s amazing what a regular, low voltage guy can do with the help of friends and family.” He called the South Carolina Republican Party the “best-organized state party we’ve ever had.” “I’ve never been more humble than I am right now.” DeMint’s win was an important one for a Republican party fighting to retain its 51 -seat majority. “This is going to be an exciting night for the Republican party of South Carolina,” U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson said in anticipation, calling the occasion of DeMint’s election a “historic” one. Republicans also captured seats in Georgia and North Carolina. Johnny Isakson succeeded retiring Democratic Sen. Zell Miller in Georgia, and Republican Representative Richard Burr won the seat left open by Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham was also present for the victory. He called 2004 the “height of Republican power in modern times.” “Let’s thank God for being so good to us,” he said. The race between DeMint and Tenenbaum had never been closer than in the final weeks before the election. Democratic organizations had fiinneled millions of dollars into the Tenenbaum campaign in its final weeks in an attempt to wrest control of the seat as DeMint implicated himself in a pair of controversial gaffes directed toward gays and unwed mothers. Those remarks alienated many more moderate voters, but they were insufficient to swing the election to Tenenbaum. In the end, voters focused more heavily on the monetary than social or foreign policy issues. Roughly a quarter of exit poll respondents to The Associated Press said taxes were their most important issue, and those voters went 2-1 for DeMint. Aside from its immediate importance in the determination of a Senate majority, the* seat has the potential to become a party bastion — South Carolina has a long history of re electing incumbent senators. Hollings and Republican Strom Thurmond had been the state’s senators for more than three decades before Thurmond retired in 2002. Thurmond, who died last year, was replaced by Graham. Hollings spoke optimistically at the Democratic “victory” party at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center on Tuesday night. “I have never seen a more rejuvenated Democratic Party than what we have right now,” he said to a crowd of Democratic supporters. “From the bottom of our hearts, we really are indebted to you.” Tenenbaum addressed the crowd minutes after her concession to DeMint. “Though things did not work out the way we had hoped for there is one bit of a silver lining,” she said. “When I wake up tomorrow morning, I don’t have to put on a red dress.” Despite her loss, Tenenbaum said she would continue to work for the people of the state. “I have great hopes for the future of South Carolina,” she said. “Together we as a state, as one people, and one purpose can accomplish just about anything.” Student Republicans at USC were pleased with the victory. Third-year political science student Jarrett Edwards said he was rooting for DeMint. “I just want to see a Republican victory tonight,” he said, adding that he had always been interested in politics. “One of my first memories is on TV watching George Bush the elder win in -88, and cheering,” he said. Comments on this story? E-mail ga7necocknews@gwm.sc.edu ■ DORM Continued from page 4 living off campus said they voted for the senator. Broken down by major, Bush was popular among 68 percent of polled business students, 66 percent of nursing students and 56 percent of psychology students. Seventy-two percent of polled journalism students voted for Kerry, as did 80 percent of foreign studies students, 80 percent of the natural sciences students, 52 percent of studio an students, 66 percent of education students, 60 percent of pharmacy students and 75 percent of political science students. Numbers were equal for each candidate among polled criminal justice, hotel management and hospitality students and music students. Motivations for voting differed sharply among students. First-year philosophy student Jamie Coslett voted for Bush “because it is extremely important that the composition of the Supreme Court stays moderate or conservative.” Some students said they expea another contested decision filled with drawn-out periods of recounts. “What happens tonight will not matter because of the amount of recounts that will happen,” second year political science student Devon Bain said. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc. edu ■ BUSH Continued from page 1 Bush delivering the commencement speech last spring. Opinions differed widely among USC students on Election Day, with the war in Iraq and the economy taking the forefront of important issues. Abi Denny, a third-year sociology student, said she chose Kerry for his opposition to the Iraq invasion. “I think it’s about time we need to bring our troops home,” she said. Nicole Ketcham, a first-year French student, said Bush was better qualified to lead the United States in a time of war. “I think he has a strong personality, and he will pull the country through the war with Iraq and on terrorism. I think with him, you know where he stands and you just can’t be completely sure with Kerry,” she said. Brittany Jones, a second-year advertising student, said Kerry was the better choice for the nation’s economy. “With Kerry, we have a better chance of getting out of debt,” she said. Laura Pokluda, a first-year athletic training student, said she voted for Bush because the 58-year-old incumbent was an upright man. “I think that there needs to be a moral stability in the presidency,” she said. “I think Bush has that moral stability and Kerry doesn’t.” While Richland County voters used old equipment to avoid problems, voters in Lexington, Kershaw, Aiken, Florence, Greenwood, Anderson, Calhoun, Cherokee, Abbeville, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg, Union and York counties used new touch-screen voting machines. The AP reported voters at. two of 137 precincts in Greenville County had to use paper ballots after workers had problems setting up touch-screen machines. S.C. voters also faced problems in Georgetown County and in Mauldin, where some voters had to vote on paper. If he wins, Bush would narrowly avoid becoming the first commander in chief voted out of office during wartime. The Associated Press and Gamecock staff members Jennifer Logan and Steven Van Haren contributed to this report. TED S. WARREN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Andrew Laidlaw, of AuthenticGOP.com, shows off the “W - Back2Back" t-shirts predicting an election-night victory. BECOME AN egg donor; 843-856-1035 Egg Donation Program WE NEED YOUR HELP! We need young, healthy women between 21 - 31 years of age. Donors will be compensated $2500 for their time. Cancun, Acapulco, Jamaica & more! XTRAVELGUIS 1-800-592-CUTS (2887) _S* the world your way Call or book online! Religious Directory \burgiide to places ofWip in Columbia Ebenezer Lutheran on the comer of Richland and Sumter WiCCQ he Ceft behind? Simply put, no. God made sure of this 2,000 years ago with the gift of Jesus. Here’s the bonus: Believing in God makes a big difference not only in the next life but in this one as well. ■ Come and see. We offer traditional and contemporary 11:00am services. 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