Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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^ ... WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16,2005 Election draws record turnout ■ Holt elected vice president; president, treasurer races to be decided by runoff election By TAYLOR SMITH STAFF WRITER More students voted in this year’s Student Government election than ever before at USC, but the races for president and treasurer have yet to be decided. SG will begin holding runoff elections for these offices Thursday. Ryan Holt took the vice-presidential race, but Yvonne Miller and Justin Williams will run in the presidential runoff race, while Jenna Cook and Tommy Preston will compete to become treasurer. Student Life Director Jerry Brewer was on hand for the ballot counting and the announcement Tuesday on the Russell House third floor. This year, 4,422 students voted, elections officials announced Tuesday. Brewer said turnout numbers point to the success of this year’s elections. “I think the numbers speak for themselves,” Brewer said. Student Government President Zachery Scott said typically, the voter turnout for the runoff election is significantly less, but the success of the ♦ Please see RUNOFF, page 6 - i JASON STEELMAN/THE GAMECOCK Justin Williams’ supporters cheered and hugged him when his name was called with Yvonne Miller’s as a candidate for the runoff. IN THEIR OPINION *Tve enjoyed the time I’ve spent with Yvonne over the past two years working together in Student Government. However, in looking at the position of student body president as a whole, I think that Justin Williams would be better suited to perform die duties of office.” — Zachery Scott i “... The senate of the Residence Hall Association of the University of South Carolina resolves that the body shall endorse Justin Williams for Student Government and student body president; and further resolves that the body shall endorse Tommy Preston for Student Government treasurer...” — RHA resolution —| - “Yvonne and Tommy are absolutely the on!)' candidates for the job. 1 don’t see where there should be any question, and I think they may as well go ahead and skip the run-off' and give those two the offices.” —College Republicans Anthropology department to aid tsunami relief efforts By chas McCarthy THE GAMECOCK The 500,000 survivors displaced from their homes in Sri Lanka following December’s tsunami are being forced to move inland for relief, and what they need most are tents for temporary shelter — and that’s exactly what they’re going to get. Ann Kingsolver, an associate professor in USC’s anthropology department, is organizing a “direct aid campaign” that will send tents, clothing and schooi supplies to Ramani Hettiarachchi, a friend of Kingsolvcr’s and historian* at the University of Peradeniya in central Sri Lanka. Hettiarachchi and her colleagues at the university will distribute the aid to those in need. International relief agencies estimate between 31,000 and 40,000 died in Sri Lanka, the majority of whom lived on the coast. Kingsolver said the extent of the damage is far greater than most people realize. “Everyone’s social network on the island must have been touched in some way. One million , people are homeless in a country of 18 million,” Kingsolver said. “So one out of 18 are without shelter. Just imagine walking around the USC campus, knowing that one out of 18 in the student body was homeless. Then, if you think about the deaths being over 10 times as many that occurred on Sept. 11, the scale of it is difficult to ♦ Please see DIRECT AID, page 4 Club manager says students foster racism By WES WOLFE THE GAMECOCK The general manager of a popular Five Points nightspot said racism exists in bars and clubs near campus but that it originates with students, not staff members. “I really, more than anything, find our local community, the college environment, the college community, responsible more than the bars,” said Bryan Vacchio, general manager of Rafter’s on Harden Street. ‘ I think the bars down here spend more time trying to react towards what they think or what they know people don’t want in the bars. So they believe, especially when they have a regular crowd that comes in on a weekly basis every weekend, they want to make sure that they’re going to get them back. And nine times out of 10, especially for the situations that I see, it’s they’re trying to keep, or having a limit — they want to try and keep the black population of the crowd down.” ♦ Please see FIVE POINTS, page 7 P ♦ Please see KENTUCKY. pagel4jM NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK The Red Cross Blood Mobile visits USC regularly. USC is South Carolina's leading blood donor. Student club encourages blood giving By SYDNEY SMITH THE GAMECOCK International disasters like the Asian tsunami have garnered national attention for aid efforts on an international scale, and USC students are responding. Tamera Beam, a second-year biology student, and Kristie Etson, a second-year marine science student, started the American Red Cross Club at USC in January. Beam, the club’s president, said USC needs the club’s presence on campus. Some of the organization’s goals include getting members certified in CPR and increasing knowledge of disaster relief. At Sunday’s meeting, a guest from the American Red Cross will discuss the many aspects of relief, such as feeding masses of people and providing housing. “We don’t just want your blood,” said Beam, a certified CPR instructor and Red Cross volunteer since high school. She said she hopes the club will help in CPR and disaster relief, as well as on-campus blood ,4 A blood shortage in South Carolina is causing hospitals to import blood from other states, said Red Cross donor recruiter Cheryl Austin. More than 3,000 USC donors contributed to the annual Carolina-Clemson blood drive last November. It only takes about 45 minutes to do everything involved with donating blood, including paperwork, a mini-physical and the actual donation, Red Cross staff members said. Every person has between 10 and 12 pints of blood, and donors give one pint. Within 24 hours, the body replenishes the blood and, within 56 days, the hemoglobin is replenished and donors can give again. The Red Cross Blood Mobile is outside the Russell House on Greene Streer about once a month, including Feb. 23 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it will be outside the Business School on Monday. The Columbia Red Cross Blood Center will hold blood drives every day in various Columbia locations through Feb. 26. Austin said USC is the biggest supplier of blood in South Carolina. “We just can’t sing the praises of USC enough,” Austin said. For more information about the American Red Cross, visit www.redcross.org. Comments on this story? E-mail _i gamecockneu's@gwm.sc.edv IN THIS ISSUE ♦ VIEWPOINTS Beam-Hur and the Coliseum Adam Beam shakes a gladiatorial fist at the home of USC’s journalism school. Page 10 ♦ THE MIX Textual healing The Mix explores the finer points of text messaging, and its impact on college students’ fast-paced lives. Page 11 INDEX Comics & Crossword..13 Classifieds.15 Horoscopes..13 Letters to the Editor..10 Online Poll..10 Police Report..2 k ■— www.dailymmecock.com