Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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■ RESULTS Continued from page 1 going to start doing right now is start talking to the students, saying I m your student body president, what can I do for you?’” He said he was looking especially hard for responsible representatives for Greek life, minority student affairs and student organizations. “I’m looking for highly qualified people that are willing to work hard.” Williams said. “You know, you don’t just want a bunch of people, you want highly qualified people doing the right thing.” Preston said his first challenge would be to turn his platform’s central plank into a reality. “The first thing I’m going to do is get legislation passed to create student comptrollers,” he said. “I’m also planning a day at the State House where we can do some lobbying.” Preston said he was looking forward to the year working with President-elect Williams and Vice President-elect Holt. “I’m looking forward to the year,” he said. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockneivs@gwm.se. edu ■ HRSM Continued from page 1 Communications and Information Studies, an issue which Moody said hurts the school’s aspirations. “Space-wise, we are about maxed-out,” she said. “And the space we do have is not conducive to the college s research.” Moody said the HRSM college needed its own building to build an identity. Consequently, the HRSM school has launched a “huge” public relations campaign and is seriously researching where and how a new college could be built. “We certainly have people within the university to help with that,” Moody said. “But we are working hard to build a new building.” Regardless of limited space, Moody said the college is continuing with a business-as-usual attitude that includes major research opportunities and funding to help support them. “We have a Sloan Foundation grant that supplies $400,000 every year that is used for travel and tourism,” Moody said. “The other schools that have this are Harvard and Georgia Tech, so it is a very prestigious grant.” Moody said such grants help to raise the prestige of the school and value of its degrees to graduates. With increased research opportunities, the college’s attendance numbers have risen to 1,500 from 1,200 five years ago. “All the majors are very popular and the job market is great, so job placement is great,” Moody said. “Once a student gets here, the majority of them want to stay.” She added that the school is pushing hard for even more improvement in research. “There are people now who research everything from ecotourism to pro-wrestling to NASCAR,” Moody said. Research opportunities are at the forefront of producing quality students, she said, but the college’s McCutchen House, which averages more than a 100 patrons a day is also a unique function of the college. “It is a showcase for the university as well as for the college,” Moody said. The college’s second annual Garnet Jacket Classic golf tournament will be April 27-28, including a gala the night before, a new HRSM project called an “Evening with the Stars.” “It was very successful last year, and we actually award a jacket to the winning team,” Moody said of the event scheduled for Columbia Country Club. Moody said the college’s goal is to have hired a larger research faculty, have accepted more than 2,000 students and reside in a new building by 2010. “We need a signature building and that is what we are trying to build,” Moody said. “It will become our identity.” Comments on this story? E-mail gatnecocknews@gumt.se. edu ■ LACKING Continued from page 1 scoring schools averaged failing grades. Professor Randolph Martin, USC department chairman of economics, said he wasn’t surprised by the results of the survey. “The levels of economic education are varied in high school,” he said. “Usually I start my classes with the assumption that students don’t know much about economics.” Third-year exercise science student Rachel Reeves said her South Carolina high-school experience had been somewhat lacking. “My last semester in high school, 1 had government and economics in one class” Reeves said. “There wasn’t even a whole semester devoted to economics.” Martin said that, while he does come across students with a grasp on economic principles, most students come to USC with only a basic understanding. “They know some about money but not much about its role in the economy,” he said. Martin said including economics in acaderrfic standards might be a good idea. “I would guess that if there was a standardized set of materials, that would be a good start,” he said. “And for people who don’t go on to college, that’s all they are going to get. It’s important.” The Survey of Economic Literacy is part of a new statewide campaign addressing economic literacy in South Carolina. Launched by SCCEE, the new Economic Literacy Campaign seeks to encourage businesses and education leaders to help prepare South Carolina students for life beyond high school. The campaign plans to hold regional summits on economic literacy and distribute books in conjunction with in-service training days for some schools below the poverty line. The campaign also includes a program called Hootie & The Blowfish Take Stock in South Carolina, aiming to help students in grades 4-12 understand more about investment. Students are given an imaginary $100,000 to invest in any of 75 companies and told to compete for the best portfolio by the end of a 10-week competition period. In addition to the Economic Literacy Campaign, the State Department of Education has recently included economics in new academic standards to push for better ecbnomic understanding in K-12 students. In a news release from the attorney general’s office, SCCEE presidents Helen Meyers said she thought standards would have a positive effect on the state. “I believe that in the years to come we’ll see a ‘trickle up’ effect from the state social studies standards,” Meyers said. “The critical issue now is whether the teachers feel confident and prepared to teach the subject matter.” Cotnments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu TH AMECOCK Online five days a week. Cowabunga. www.dailygamecock.com WEDNESDAY EVENINGS DURING LENT at 8:00 p.m. (incense wiU be used) Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Sumter Street at Gervais (across from the State House) For more information, call 771-7300, or visit www.trinitysc.org ■ Wednesday, Feb. 23 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. Pledge card signing, Russell House 1st Floor Handwriting Analysis, Russell House Lobby “Sex and the College Student," Gambrell Auditorium Pledge card signing, Russell House 1st Floor 5-points & Vista Coaster Campaign _ Friday, Feb. 25 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pledge card signing, Russell House 1st Floor Saturday, Feb. 26 All Day Movies on WRHA Channel 8 Sunday, Feb. 27 All Day Movies on WRHA Channel 8