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The University of South Carolina Col. 98, No. 91 • Since 1908 --- WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2005 - Students greet Pope Benedict XVI • USC Catholics hope new pontiff continues in I $same vein as John Paul By SYDNEY SMITH STAFF WRITER German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, was elected pope Tuesday, succeeding the late Pope John Paul II, and USC students say they’re taking heart in the new leadership. But some said the newly elected pontiff would have a tough time living up to John Paul’s precedent. Second-year biology student Lauren Saleeby, press chairwoman for USC s Catholic Newman Club, said the German’s election surprised her, but that she was happy with the cardinals’ choice. “I feel confident in their decision because they came to it so quickly,” she ^said. M C!_ _ C_• I v t hji-jw ^j/amou aiuuv.ii' - - Toppin said Ratzinger will face high expectations, having worked to popularize the Catholic Church. “I think he is going to have to do a lot of work to carry on John Paul IPs legacy and popularity,” she said, adding that .Catholics weren’t the only ones with eyes on Benedict. Toppin said they would be watching to see how well Benedict carried on the “JP2 legacy.” Catherine Walker, a first-year arts and sciences student and Newman Club member, said the selection process had been exciting. “I hope that Pope Benedict will continue holding up the Holy traditions of our Catholic church,” she said, “but more importantly pray for God to work through ^him so that his actions will also be truly ^inspired by God.” L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Tuesday. Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, who chose the name of Pope Benedict XVI, is the 265th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. First-year music student David Childers said he expects Benedict to “want to shed a more positive light on the church because of all the recent controversy it has faced,” alluding to the American sex scandals. Ratzinger was elected after only two days of voting. Considered to be late Pope John Paul II’s “right-hand man” and similar in conservative views, Ratzinger was picked as a forerunner in speculations about John Paul’s successor. Second-year English student Becca ♦ POPE, page 5 [ Maui nnnp mi PAnfrAnf German Cardinal Joseph Ratztnger. 78, was elected pope Tuesday. The 265th ,1CfT rUrC ,II1WI vUlIHUm pontiff took the name Benedict XVI and called himself' a s.mple. humble worVer' frmHom icci IOC VtfWe Paul *' elected to challenge communism In eastern Europe in IllUUdll I90UU9 1978, Benedict faces new issues, including the need lor dialogue with Islam. it 1& 9 et* ,V & BIOMEDICAL SECULARISM MORAL SEX ABUSE WOMEN’S INTERFAITH RELIGIOUS JOHN ETHICS Number of TEACHINGS SCANDAL ROLE RELATIONS COMPETITION PAUL’S Technological pnests and Despite Anger over Advocates John Paul Evangelical SHADOW developments nuns as well church * sexual for women improved Protestant It will be m medicine, 8$ church stand against abuses hurt continue ties with churches tough to soch 88 attendance abortion and the church pushing for a Protestants, are gaming emerge from stem C8S has dropped birth control, particularly greater role. Jews and adherents in the shadow reseafch in Europe many in the United arguing pnest Muslims, Latin America: erf much loved are forcing and North Catholics States, which shortage will but relations Muslim John Paul <*wrch Americas go their ts the Vatican's eventually remain preachers are in pursuing to define own way biggest single force the strained with making inroads the new new policies source of change the Russian in Africa papacy donations Orthodox TIM DOMINICK/THE STATE President Bush shakes hands with Rep. Joe Brown D-Richland County as he makes his way to speak before the S.C. Legislature. BUSH VISITS COLUMBIA, BILLS SOCIAL SECURITY By TAYLOR SMITH STAFF WRITER President Bush spent half an hour talking to S.C. legislators at the State House on Monday, stopping to discuss his Social Security plan. During a 60-city, cross-country tour Bush has been gathering supporters for his •controversial solution to the federal retirement pension crisis, about which USC students seem as split as the general electorate. Breck Heidlberg, a third-year political science student and USC College Republicans chairman, said he and 30 members of his organization joined the crowds at the State House two blocks away. “It is usually pretty tough to get people to come out on a random school day,” Heidlberg said. But we got out there and there was great support. Heidlberg said the president’s trip had been beneficial in clearing confusion that might exist from within the party. “It is not like he has overwhelming support for his plan within the state,” Heidlberg said. “It is younger people and students like us that will be affected by -this, so it is good to be aware.” Heidlberg said he is disappointed by partisan Social Security politics, an issue he said should be anything but. “I like the personal accounts because it gives the power to the person,” Heidlberg said. “Sadly, our generation may not get it anyway.” Heidlberg said there is no one true proposal from the president’s plan, but rather several initiatives to save Social J Security. Clay Hendrix, a second-year history student and public affairs officer USC’s i Young Democrats, said he disagrees with j the Republican plan, but said neither he nor his party has seriously proposed a j solution for the failing system. “I don’t think that the private accounts will help the country. (Republicans) say the plan will help, but they won’t get to the details until farther down the road,” j Hendrix said. “Democrats aren’t providing a better plan because they aren’t advertising it in full detail.” Hendrix said he thinks there is significant opposition to Bush’s plan, but that a lack of alternatives silences opposition. According to Associated Press reports, about 60 people marched to the State ♦ BUSH, page 8 NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK Amnesty International USA Director William Schultz spoke at the Russell House on Tuesday night. Schultz said the U.S. should avoid offending other nations. Amnesty’s Schultz talks human rights By JON TURNER NEWS EDITOR In a lecture intended to promote his new book, “Tainted Legacy: 9/11 and The Ruin of Human Rights,” Amnesty International USA Director William Schultz on Tuesday outlined a moderate approach to human rights issues at odds with some conservative critics. » Schultz spoke in anecdotes and parables during his Russell House Theater lecture, one of which he borrowed from French diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand. “You can do anything with a bayonet,” he said, “except sit on it.” Schultz said “there is nothing inherently wrong with military force.” He called the United States a beacon for the world, though, and warned that civil rights violations might result in collateral damage more severe than the terrorist attacks U.S. officials mean them to prevent. “We in the human rights department have been abysmally slow to offer a solution,” he said. But he called angering the Muslim community “a sure-fire way to make the world more dangerous.” Schultz suggested that the U.S., having won the war, must win the peace, namely by outreach. “It will be won by reaching out to millions and millions of Muslims around the world who are undecided,” he said. Schultz focused on the concept of undecided strangers, residents of the global community unsure which Iraqi cause to believe. Many would love to side with the United States, he said, but well documented human-rights abuses are making that a difficult decision. Schultz said the average Arab makes less than $2 American per day. He explained terrorism as “the absence of nonviolent ways to voice their anger and frustration.” Consequently, he argued, the United States must lead by example. Instead, “the United States has shredded the Geneva Conventions.” In the end, Schultz returned to his bayonet analogy of the war. “Terrorism is the antithesis of human rights, and we may be forced to adjust,” he said. “But due process goes to the most ♦ RIGHTS, page 8 USC looks to continue hiring noted professors • Tenure-track faculty hope to fill fresh vacancies By KEVIN FELLNER SENIOR WRITER t*___C..11:__I to have reached the top of her career' in higher education. She was a Fellow at the W.E.B. DuBois Institute at Harvard University and a lecturer in Harvard University’s African and African-American Studies Department, and she worked alongside some of the world’s premier researchers in African-American studies. But in fall 2003 she chose to come to USC to become an associate professor in history and African-American studies instead. “USC is a richer source for research than a place like Harvard, which isn’t as strong for the South and its history,” she said. Scholars have various reasons for making USC a top choice of potential employers. In recent years, the History Department has succeeded in courting dozens of professors with national reputations away from universities like Emory, Vanderbilt and Yale. Whatever the professors’ reasons for coming, the university wants to replicate the History Department’s trend in every field. With the task of hiring about 100 new tenure-track faculty members annually for the next five years, the university faces the challenge of competing with other emerging research universities to offer top salaries and other incentives. At least half of those hired will replace faculty members expected to retire in that same time. Provost Mark Becker attributes a rising interest in some USC departments to the university’s focused distribution of research money and endowed ♦ FACULTY, page 8 ■ ~ - .' ■ I I ■ ! HOUSE TO HEAR COCKFIGHTING LEGISLATION By TAYLOR SMITH STAFF WRITER A bill in the S.C. Legislature to increase penalties for cockfighting might discourage the underground sport, but the gamecock remains a visible presence around campus. Last Wednesday, a bill sponsored by S.C. House of Representatives Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, passed a house judiciary subcommittee making cockfighting a felony and creating tougher penalties for those convicted. The current penalty for cockfighting in South Carolina is a $100 fine or 30-day imprisonment, but the proposed legislation will increase the punishment to a $5,000 fine and five-year imprisonment, and a possible property seizure. “The attorney general is advocating that this will be a strong enforcement tool to have,” Wilkins said. “They sometimes go back at it, but if you confiscate their property, it is a major dent in operations.” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a national animal rights lobbying organization, is also watching the debate in the Legislature. ^nolrpcwnman T/»nnifi°r O’Cntirinr cockfighting laws need to be strengthened across the nation but that South Carolina is making progress. In the past, PETA has attacked the use of the gamecock as USC’s mascot. She said there are several “cruel” ways to describe team spirit and wishes USC would change the mascot that “trivializes the horrors of a rooster bred to fight.” “I think it is more of a throwback to a less enlightened time because I love the South, but stereotypes only hurt things like this,” O’Connor said. “It is not fair to the people or the University of South Carolina.” O’Connor said PETA would not boycott or petition USC over the issue, but wishes a dialogue would be opened for consideration of a new mascot. “Who would say ‘I support cockfighting?’ No one does, but no one thinks about the issue either,” O’Connor said. “South Carolina is so deeply entrenched in its traditions. And (tolerance ♦ COCKFIGHTING, page 8 ; IN I nl5 ISSUE INDEX Comics dr Crossword..12 Classifieds../5 Horoscopes.12 Letters to the Editor....9 Online Poll..9 Police Report..2 - ♦THE MIX Box office boom The summer movie season looks promising with “Star Wars: Episode III —Revenge of the Sith," and comedies such as “Bewitched” and “The Dukes of Hazzard.” Page 10 ♦ SPORTS The Rivalry, pt. 4 The USC baseball team plays host to in-state foe Clemson tonight at Sarge Frye Field. The game will conclude this season's four-game series with the Tigers. Page 13 ..www. dailygamecock. com d .