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The University of South Carolina Monday, September 19, 2005 VoL 99, No. 18 • Since 1908 New Orleans evacuation money went to causeway bridge study Congress allotted '% $500,000 to develop emergency procedure Rita Beamish THE ASSOCIATED PRESS As far back as eight years ago, Congress ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a plan for evacuating New Orleans during a massive hurricane, but the money instead went to studying the causeway bridge that spans the city’s Lake Pontchartrain, 1 officials say. A The outcome provides one ™nore example of the government’s failure to prepare for a massive but foreseeable catastrophe, said the lawmaker who helped secure the money for FEMA to develop the evacuation plan. “They never used it for the intended purpose,” said former Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La. “The whole intent was to give them resources so they could plan an evacuation of New Orleans that anticipated that a very large number of people would never leave.” In Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath, attention has focused on the inability of local and federal officials to evacuate or prepare for the large number of poor people, many of them minorities, who had no access to transportation and remained behind. That possibility was one of the concerns that led Congress in 1997 to set aside $500,000 for FEMA to create “a comprehensive analysis and plan of all evacuation alternatives for the New Orleans metropolitan area.” Frustrated two years later that nothing materialized, Congress strengthened its directive. This time it ordered “an evacuation plan for a Category 3 or greater storm, a levee break, flood or other natural disaster for the New Orleans area.” The $500,000 that Congress appropriated for the evacuation plan went to a commission that studied future options for the 24-mile bridge over Lake Pontchartrain, FEMA spokesman Butch Kinerney said. The hefty report produced by the Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission “primarily was not about evacuation,” said Robert Lambert, the general manager for the bridge expressway. “In general it was an overview of all the things we need to do” for the causeway through 2016. Asked why the congressional mandate was never fulfilled, money • 3 « 1 W V4B1 '• ^ ■- kflL - • 7 TyUr RayforTWVj (iAMK(l(M)K ^ SG Treasurer Tommy Preston, left, USC President Andrew Sorensen and SG Vice President Ryan Holt talk to a USC student. We the students ... Constitution Day festivities include reading of document, speech StephenFastenau NEWS EDITOR Fifteen USC student leaders and administrators will meet on the Russell House patio today for a reading of the U.S. Constitution as part of USC’s ongoing recognition of Constitution Day. A convocation at Rutledge Chapel and reception featuring a speech from an assistant U.S. attorney will follow the reading. The events are part of a weekend long remembrance of Constitution Day, designated by a bill signed by President Bush in December 2004. In conjunction with Student Life, Student Government Vice President Ryan Holt and Treasurer Tommy Preston, both third-year political science students, walked around campus Friday in colonial-era garb passing out pocket Constitutions and buttons that read “We the people ... Constitution Day.” Holt said the activities came as a result of a mandate given by U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., that all universities that receive federal funding must recognize Constitution Day in some form. “We were mandated to do this,” Holt said. “A lot of other schools are doing different things.” Holt said Byrds mandate is not surprising, considering the senators reputation as a Constitutional scholar. “He’s the longest serving senator right now,” Holt said. “He’s very old. You’ll see him on C-SPAN with a pocket Constitution that he pulls out every now and then and references.” “(Preston) and I have been working with the Arts and Sciences school as well as the law school and Student Life in coming up with some way to observe this so that we can still get federal funding.” CODSTITUTIOn • a Markus Schreiber / The Associated Press German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, left, and his challenger Angela Merkel react after the parliamentary election in Berlin, on Sunday. Projections showed conservative challenger Merkel struggling to hold a lead in Germany’s close-fought election. Merkel elected amid uncertainty Conservative woman unseats Schroeder to claim chancellorship in German elections David fllcHugh THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BERLIN — Conservative challenger Angela Merkel’s party won the most votes in German elections Sunday but fell short of a clear mandate to govern, according to official results. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder staged a dramatic comeback and proclaimed that he should head the next government. The vote heralded the end of Schroeder’s seven-year tenure but left in doubt who will follow. The inconclusive results make it likely that Germany’s next government would be weakened because of the narrow vote margin and difficulties in forming a coalition. The vote centered on different visions of Germany’s role in the world and how to fix its sputtering economy. Schroeder touted the country’s role as a European leader and counterbalance to America, while Merkel pledged to reform the economy and strengthen relations with Washington. But, Merkel’s move to become Germany’s first female chancellor puts those finance reform plans in doubt. She must now find a majority in a coalition that would likely force her to water them down. The result was a major setback for Merkel, whose party was at 42 percent in polls the week before the election. She smiled but appeared uncomfortable as she argued that she had a mandate to be CLCCTIOn • 3 U.S. Department of Education to assist Texas TRIO programs $2 million to help students affected by Katrina Jessica Robertson THE <U. HOUSTON) DAILY HOUSTON HOUSTON — The U.S. Department of Education is doing its part to help students displaced from universities destroyed by Hurricane Katrina by allocating $2 million to Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth TRIO programs for low-income and disadvantaged students in Texas. TRIO refers to three programs, Upward Bound, Talent Search and Student Support Services, which assist eligible students in getting a college degree. The Challenger Program is a TRIO program at the University of Houston funded by the U.S. Department of Education that provides support services to low-income and first generation students. It will use its share of additional funding primarily to supplement existing services and to offer financial assistance to displaced students, said Frank Anderson, director of the Challenger Program. “The university isn’t going to get the whole $2 million, but since we probably have been hit harder than other institutions in the state, we’ll get a good bit to support the services we already have, like tutoring and advising,” he said. “We’ll also use some of it to offer grants to displaced students who are now at UH.” The program’s existing services include tutoring, RELIGF • 3 INSIDE Viewpoints Tim McManus says played-out war slogan ^fras no real meaning. 4 The Mix Nintendo’s Revolution The announcement of video-game controllers smaller than most TV remote controls has the gaming world talking. 5 X Sports High Tide Alabama steamrolls USC 37-14 Saturday before a capacity crowd. 10 Paul Sakuma / The Associated Pres Portable MP3 players, such as Apple's iPod series, have been proven to cause hearing loss. College students' MP3 players can cause hearing loss Audiologists advise portable listening moderation J.P. Wilson KANSAS STATE COLLEGIAN MANHATTAN, Kan. — The box of an MP3 player is covered with information from battery life to the amount of storage on the device. The information fails to state that the device may cause permanent hearing loss. “MP3 players’ users blasting loud music for long amounts of time can cause permanent hearing loss,” Cornell Cheung, a Manhattan audiologist, said. Batteries in MP3 players allow for longer use than previous portable music products and new technology has amplified the sound it can produce. Put these two factors together and MP3 players allow for longer listening at louder volumes, making exposure to dangerous levels more likely. But, companies producing MP3 players could be liable for the damage their product causes if they don’t alert consumers to the dangers in using the product. Although there has not been a case involving MP3 players and hearing loss, William Westerbeke, professor of law at the University of Kansas Law School, said all manufacturers have a legal duty to the consumer when their product could cause harm. “The manufacturer has a duty to provide a warning that is obvious to the user,” Westerbeke said. “The duty is to not hide it. The warning has to be seen and understood.” HERRMG • 2 www. dailygamecock. com