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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2,2005 lMW*^ Summers dismissed from team By JONATHAN HILLYARD SPORTS EDITOR ^ USC head coach Steve Spurrier dismissed former Parade All American running back Demetris Summers from the team on Tuesday, saying that Summers violated an unspecified athletics department policy. “There are certain policies and rules that our student-athletes must follow, and, unfortunately, Demetris chose to violate those,” Spurrier said. That’s where we are with this, and we’ll move on from here.” The news might seem like d^ja vu for Carolina fans. In January of 2002, then-coach Lou Holtz dismiss^ star running back Derek Watson because of charges stemming from alleged drug use. k Watson, who would have been ^ entering his senior season, rushed for 2,078 yards in his three years at use. Associate Athletics Director Kerry Tharp refused o comment on why Summers was dismissed. Summers, a Lexington native would have been entering his third season in Columbia in 2005. The b-foot-1 "inch, 205-pound back was the Gamecocks’ leading rusher in each of his first two seasons, totaling 683 yards in his freshman season and 487 yards as a sophomore. Summers also led the team’s running backs in yards per carry with 5.5 yards per touch. In his first season at USC, Summers was named to the AI1-SEC freshman team, but as a sophomore nagging injuries left the back without a 100-yard rushing game. Summers chose USC before Clemson and Florida after being South Carolina’s all-time leading preps rusher at Lexington High School. Spurrier, who/ is beginning his fourth month as USC’s coach, has already had to deal with two disciplinary incidents. Tuesday morning, offensive lineman Woodly Telfort and former tight end Brian Brownlee had their preliminary hearings after being charged with grand larceny for their involvements in the theft of $18,000 worth of equipment from Williams-Brice Stadium. Quarterbacks Dondrial Pinkins and Syvelle Newton, linebacker Rodriques Wilson and defensive lineman Freddy Saint Preaux are set to have hearings this month for petit larceny. Summers leaves a vacancy at a running back position regarded as a strong point for USC. With senior Gonzie Gray graduating, rising junior Cory Boyd will likely slip into the top spot in the depth chart. Boyd was the team’s second leading rusher, gaining 262 yards in 2004. Also vying for playing time at running back will be rising senior Daccus Turman and freshman Albert Ashcraft, who was redshirted this season. Turman rushed for 185 yards on 3.4 yards per carry this season. The Gamecocks also signed Columbia High School’s Mike Davis, rated by Rivals.com as South Carolina’s best running back prospect. Spurrier mentioned in his signing day press conference that Davis would be able to compete with Summers for the starting job. Tharp said on Tuesday that Summers will retain his scholarship through the semester and that he hopes the running back will finish his education. The announcement comes just more than two weeks before USC’s spring practice kicks off on March 21. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknevis@gwm.sc.edu Syrian Reform Party leader talks politics with students By SYDNEY SMITH j THE GAMECOCK Farid Ghadry, president of the Re orm Party of Syria, spoke M- av night in the Nursing j B11'1 ln8 t0 approximately 25 I students about life in Syria and | surrounding countries, the need for democracy and the changes s he 'ee's should occur there. A native Syrian, Ghadry and other Syrians started the Reform Party after the Sept. 11 terrorist | attac against the U.S. Following Mondays removal of the pro 1 Syrian government in Lebanon, | G^a rys Calk Was timely. Just before speaking at USC, Ghadry, j a wcll-known speaker, | I commented on the protests in SvnaorCNN International. GhadrX spoke against the current Syrian government, criticizing it for its role in regional politics. He said the state’s vulnerability was causing it to overcompensate. “If Syria had a vibrant democracy, it wouldn’t be in Iraq and Lebanon. Our weakness is driving us to terrorize,” Ghadry said. He said he believes that, while Syrians understand democracy, they are afraid to enact a democratic government, because the governmental reformists and potential leaders most dangerous to the regime are in prison. Ghadry said his goal in speaking at USC was to educate students about terrorism and the need for change in Syria. He said he hopes that audience members will spread what they heard by mi—m»i imi hi mini mill word of mouth. Students Defending Democracy fellow Jeremiah Bush said he agreed that a grassroots approach in promoting democracy could be best. “Activism stems from education and awareness and knowledge,” said Bush, a fourth year international studies student. However, not all of the | audience members agreed with what Ghadry said about Syria. Third-year management student Salah Hibri attended because of his interest in the region and in the current events of the area. Hibri, part-Lebanese and part-Syrian, has visited the area often. He said that, while he found ♦ Please see GHADRY, page 6 Alpine slopes offer unique experience By MEGAN MOXIE THE gamecock GRENOBLE, France — Vtftile Pans is the mQSt c0mrn°n city for vacationing and studying abroad in France! Austin Bersinger didn’t want Paris. “When thinking about studying abroad, Grenoble really stood out because it is in the proximity of the French and Italian ps, said Bersinger, a second-year history and economics student. “Being the site of the 1968 Winter Olympics, the Grenoble area has some of the best skiing in the world. Bersinger only waited two days after his arrival in Grenoble before making his first trip to the French Alps Ski stations like Chamonix on M°unt Blanc dot the surrounding mountains. Buses rUn daily to 13 ski resorts, and Bersinger has already visited IN THIS ISSUE four of them - Sept Laux, Les Deux Alpes 3600, La ‘Alpes Da’ Huez and Chamrousse. Bersinger’s favorite resort so far is Chamrousse, the site of the 1968 Winter Olympics and a hotspot for skiers and snowboarders alike. Snowboarders flock to the terrain park, while the Alpine track allows skiers to feel like Olympic stars. Though he has lived in Grenoble for only five weeks, Bersinger has managed to go snowboarding about 20 times. Skiing in Europe is considerably cheaper than in the Unites States. Bersinger normally snowboards with people he has met through his program and on the slopes. In a few weeks, his friends from home will be coming to visit and ski at the Three Valleys, the biggest mountain complex in the world. ♦ Please see ABROAD, page 5 NCAA rules jeopardize scholarships By STEPHEN FASTENAU ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR New data released by the NCAA on Monday shows that if enforcement of stricter academic guidelines began today, the USC men’s basketball team would stand to lose two scholarships. The organization sent its Academic Progress Rate data to every Division I school on Feb. 15, but it was not made public until Monday. The data served to warn institutions of penalties that may occur in future years if they don’t score at least 925 on their APRs. Seven USC teams received scores that fell below the minimum, but six of those teams have an upper confidence boundary of 925 or above. The upper confidence boundary is an adjusted rate based on the small size of the sample. In addition to men’s basketball, baseball, football, soccer, men’s tennis, and men’s indoor and ♦ Please see NCAA, page 6 Coach Steve Spurrier dismissed former Parade All-American running back Demetris Summers, shown above, from the football team on Tuesday. In 2004, Summers led USC rushers with 487 yards. - , .■■■■■■' ■ ■ 111 ‘ i ■■ I - ■■■■ ■■ —■ Professors trust creed to insure integrity By MARK SIECKMAN THE GAMECOCK As the “Road to the Code” campaign kicks into gear, some USC professors are calling the .Carolinian Creed an adequate deterrent of prospective cheaters. The “Road to the Code” campaign hopes for USC to adopt a traditional academic honor code on top of the Creed. But economics professor James Bradley said he already trusts his students. “I don’t think I’ve ever used the words ‘don’t cheat’ in class,” he said. “We’re part of the Carolina community and a vital part of that is academic honesty and dealing with truth the best way you can.” Bradley lectures to classes of about 250 without the aid of teaching assistants, but he is not discouraged by the size of his classes during testing, when the probability of student cheating is greatest. “With a class that large, I can’t ♦ Please see CHEATING, page 6 DEAN DIALOGUE NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK Joel Smith, dean of the Moore School of Buisness, peruses paperwork in his office at the college. Smith taking care of business at USC By TAYLOR SMITH STAFF WRITER Having received some of the largest donations of any business school in the nation, USC’s Darla Moore School of Business is in unique position: It can take risks. With its international business graduate school ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 throughout the last 15 years, and a No. 1 undergraduate international business program for the last eight, Dean Joel Smith believes the risk taken is paying off. Smith said the money is being used wisely, especially in the area of graduate studies, which has improved since Smith took office in 2001. “We have been able to ♦ Please see BUSINESS, page 5 ♦ THE MIX Johnson releases third album Laid-back Hawaiian crooner strikes gold with his latest effort, “In Between Dreams.” Page 9 ♦ SPORTS Gamecocks to face Terriers Carolina baseball enters tonight’s contest undefeated at 9-0. Page 9 ! INDEX Comics & Crossword..11 Classifieds...14 Horoscopes.11 Letters to the Editor..8 Online Poll..8 Police Report..2 'f www. aatlygamecock. com ■—»