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_J www.dailygamecock.com _FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5,2004_ Since 1908 IN THIS ISSUE ♦ NEWS Pegged! Students enjoy a rainy day of dodgeball as part of an event put on by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Page 3 ♦ VIEWPOINTS Swaisgood fires back Democratic columnist criticizes President Bush and his adviser Karl Rove after Sen. Kerry’s defeat on Election Day. Page 4 ♦THE MIX Evolution for your eyes Maria Charles paints a portrait of artists in transition. Page 5 ♦ SPORTS Pig suey phooey The Gamecock Sports staff breaks down USC’s second attempt at bowl eligibility this Saturday against Arkansas. Page 8 WEATHER ♦TODAY | ♦SATURDAY L High 64 High 66 Low 39 Low 42 FOR EXTENDED FORECAST, SEE PAGE 2. INDEX Comics and Crossword.7 Classifieds.10 Horoscopes.7 Letters to the Editor.4 Online Poll..y... 4 Police Report.2 USC erets limited flu shot supply ■ Health center offers intranasal, injectable forms of vaccination By Z’ANNE COVELL THE GAMECOCK The Thomson Student Health Center this week received a limited supply of both the intranasal and injectable influenza vaccine despite the country’s current shortage. Bill Hill, director of the Thomson Student Health Center, said the vaccine would be exclusively available to students on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, the vaccine will be available to university faculty and staff as well as student spouses. Hill said anyone between the ages of 5 and 49 can receive FluMist, the intranasal * vaccine, if they are in good health. He said this vaccine does not require an injection but is more expensive than the injectable vaccine and more difficult to administer. The FluMist vaccine will cost $30, and 75 doses are available. Hill said only people who meet the Centers for Disease Control criteria for the injectable vaccine could receive it because the health center has been advised to restrict the administration of this vaccine to people with high-risk conditions. The criteria for receiving the vaccine can be found on the health center’s Web site. “We know we have some students on campus that are high risk, and we want to make sure this vaccine is available to them,” Hill said. “We don’t know who all these students are, but we are looking for students to make a wise decision if they need the vaccine.” The injectable vaccine will cost $5 for students who paid their University Fall Health Fee and $10 for students who have not paid the fee. Hill said the vaccines would be served on a first-come, first-served basis. “We really encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity, and we definitely encourage an^ student with ♦ Please see VACCINE, page 3 GAMECOCK FOOTBALL _^—- i-^MH—I JASON STEELMAN/THE GAMECOCK USC head coach Lou Holtz has gone 5-7 for the past two seasons. This season could be a repeat if USC loses out. Gamecock faithful losing faith ■ Some students are beginning to question Holtzs leadership By JASON REYNOLDS THE GAMECOCK As USC readies for Arkansas on Saturday, some students and fans are regarding the remaining games against the Razorbacks, Florida and Clemson as head coach Lou Holtz's last chances to redeem himself. After consecutive 5-7 seasons, the Gamecocks’ loss to Tennessee last Saturday has revived discontent among students as they begin to question the coach’s leadership capabilities. USC has lost five of its last six football games to Clemson. Some students, unsatisfied with what might turn into another mediocre season, are beginning to blame Holtz for what they consider an out-of-date coaching style and play it-safe strategy. “He is too stuck in his old ways to progress into new things which may lead to a victory,” first-year pharmacy student julianne Baloga said. “They don’t seem to make the plays that a champion can.” First-year business student Nick Halks was disappointed in the way he said Holtz seemed to be wasting USC’s running game. “I just don’t know if conservative play-calling is what this team needs,” he said. “I just think he’s maybe too old to be effective in college games.” Halks referred to the team’s poor second-half performances as an indication of a coaching failure. “Every game we’ve lost, we let the other team come back after the half. I think you have to look to the coach,” he said. Baloga said she didn’t think USC had the depth to be a successful program. “A lot of people I know agree that we are a first half team and don’t have the means * necessary to bring us to the SEC Championship,” she said, adding that Holtz needed to focus harder on the basics of fumble and interception prevention. First-year biology student Brandon Keys said he wasn’t satisfied with Holtz’s record. “I believe Holtz has taken us as far as he can ♦ Please see HOLTZ, page 3 Fighter jet strafes New Jersey school By WAYNE PARRY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LITTLE EGG HARBOR, N.J. — A National Guard F-16 fighter jet on a nighttime training mission strafed an elementary school with 25 rounds of ammunition, authorities said Thursday. No one was injured. The military is investigating the incident that damaged Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School shortly after 11 p.m. Police were called when a custodian who was the only person in the school at the time heard what sounded like someone running across the roof. V Police Chief Mark Siino said officers noticed punctures in the roof. Ceiling tiles had fallen into classrooms, and there were scratch marks in the asphalt outside. The pilot of the single-seat jet was supposed to fire at a target on the ground three and hall miles away from school, said Col. Brian Webster, commander of the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard. He does not know what happened that led to the school getting shot. The plane was 7,000 feet in the air when the shots were fired. The gun, an M61-A1 Vulcan cannon, is located in the plane’s left wing. It fires 2-inch-long bullets that are made of lead and do not explode, Webster said. “Th?fNational Guard takes this situation very seriously,” said Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt, a spokeswoman for the state Department ol Military and Veterans Affairs. “The safety of our people and the surrounding communities are our foremost concern.” Schools in New Jersey were closed Thursday because of a teacher’s convention. Webster would not identify the pilot or detail possible disciplinary measures. Mike Dupuis, president of the township’s Board of Education, said school workers are mindful that the firing range is nearby. “Being so close to the range, that’s always in the back of our minds. It is very scary. I have children in that school and relatives that work there,” he said. The range k,as been used by the military since the end of World War II, long before this area of south Jersey was developed. Police arrest 2 in football ticket scam By TAYLOR SMITH STAFF WRITER Despite the Gamecocks’ loss Saturday, authorities were able to record a win when they apprehended a Duluth, Ga., man in the latest athletic ticket scam at USC. Curtis Anthony Jackson, 35, was arrested on four counts of scalping and one charge of forgery, according to a USC police department incident report. The arrest, the second in two months related to USC ticket scalping, is making it more difficult for future offenders to succeed where their predecessors have failed. “We are patrolling, so we think we are in a good position to eliminate the problem,” USC Athletic Director Mike McGee said. The problem usually arises when no one is getting tickets in the distribution line, but everyone is selling them at the game, as with the Georgia and Tennessee games this season, according to Julius Grant, assistant athletic director in charge of ticket operations. “People are becoming more aware of it,” Grant said. “We don’t encourage people to purchase tickets out there because they don’t know what they are buying.” In trying to prevent future counterfeiting operations, Grant said the ticket office is working closely with USCPD and the Columbia Police Department, as well as undercover officers. “There are a lot of things we can do on our end to look into this and keep them from doing it again,” Grant said. Jackson was apprehended with a total of 48 forged ticket^, according to the incident report. Despite the recent incident, Grant said ticket operations has yet to discover any forged tickets where students are looking to profit from their sale. “We haven’t really seen anything like that because usually students have ample time,” Grant said. “We usually have tickets out there three days.” In an effort to make the distribution process simpler, Grant said that ticket operations is looking into a way students can print off their tickets online. “We are always keeping with things that will keep our students protected,” Grant said. “We are reviewing exactly what technologies are out there and want to make it as easy as possible.” Grant said most of the schools that allow students to print online tickets have had trouble in getting students to pick up tickets. ♦ Please see TICKETS, page 3 in ^j WINDSOR COWART/THE GAMECOCK First-year biology student Morgan Mercer checks her mail Thursday in the Russell House. Student Senate passed a resolution asking for higher security in the mail room and better efficiency. SU asks USL for mail reform By JACOB DAVIS STAFF WRITER A resolution asking USC to either improve its post office system or suspend the $20 post office box fee on-campus students are required to pay each semester, passed nearly unanimously in the Student Government Senate on Wednesday night. Sens. Patrick Walsh and Ben Havird authored the resolution. Many USC students maintain mail boxes off campus, they said, in order to receive important mail in a timely fashion. “I have a mailbox off campus because the USC service can be unreliable. I think the $20 fee really brings the issue to the forefront,” Havird said. ♦ Please see RESOLUTION, page 3