The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 19, 2005, Page 2, Image 2
CAROLINA © BRIEF
USC study examines
excess sleeping habits
Shawn Youngstedt, a
researcher at USC's Arnold
School of Public Health, is
leading a study examining the
sleeping habits of "long
sleepers," or those who get
more than eight hours of sleep
per night.
"We are interested in this
because many epidemiological
studies show that people who
sleep more than eight hours
have higher mortality rates than
those who get six or seven
hours," he said. "We know a lot
about the risks of inadequate
sleep, but there has been little
focus on long sleep. One reason
for this is that it is difficult for
people to believe that too much
sleep can cau$e problems. But
the data show that it does."
Youngstedt is reporting the
preliminary findings of his
research of long sleepers at the
World Federation of Sleep
Research & Sleep Medicine
Societies on Sept. 22 in New
Delhi, India.
Twenty-seven people ages 50
to 70 have participated in the
study so far.
USC researchers found that
study participants averaged
nine hours of sleep before the
study began. During the study,
most participants averaged
about 7.5 hours of sleep. Mood
and sleepiness levels were
normal, and no significant
differences between the two
groups in sleepiness, mood,
quality-of-life issues or glucose
tolerance were detected.
In follow-up assessments
with participants, researchers
found that some of the people
in the study had continued to
restrict their sleep.
Researchers will continue
their study until July 2006 and
will examine 50 people.
THIS WEEK O USC
TUESDAY
Andrea Price-Baxley
doctoral voice recital: 7:30 p.m.
School of Music 206
THURSDAY
USC Symphony Orchestra
with Mark O'Connor: 7:30
p.m. Koger Center
Statistics colloquium —
Shingo Goto, "The Application
of Time Series Analysis in
Finance": 2 p.m. LeConte 210A
FRIDAY
Kenneth Drake piano recital
— "Early Music": 7:30 p.m.
School of Music 206
Theatre South Carolina
presents Arthur Miller's "A
View from the Bridge": 8 p.m.
Tuesday through Saturday; 3
p.m. Sunday Drayton Hall
Fall 2005 Seminar Series —
Bruce C. Gibb, "Concave
Chemistry": 3:30 p.m. Jones
Physical Science Center 006
Study Abroad Fair: 10 a.m.
Russell House 2nd-floor lobby
HCRRII1G • COIlTinUED FROm I <
(
Neither Apple’s iPod nor
Sony’s Hi-MD Walkman puts a !
warning label on the exterior of '
the box, although Sony’s box <
contains instructions on how to t
open the box to avoid danger. If :
either of these products contain <
a warning inside, some t
consumers said they are not ;
made aware of the danger
before purchasing the player. '
“The bad thing about :
hearing loss is that doesn’t j
happen the next morning. It I
happens 10 to 20 years later,” ]
Cheung said. “We see 40- and
50-year-olds that have hearing i
lqss that we see much earlier !
Weather Forecast
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Tyler Ray for TIIK GAMECOCK
Student Government Vice President Ryan Holt, left, and Treasurer Tommy Preston hand out copies of
the U.S. Constitution for Constitution Day Saturday on Greene Street in front of the Russell House.
State
Education chief race
could get crowded
The race to replace
Education Superintendent
Inez Tenenbaum could get a
good deal more crowded
during the next few months.
Tenenbaum, a Democrat,
surprised many last month
when she announced she
would not seek a third term.
At the time, Republicans
had two candidates hoping to
face her, but one dropped out,
leaving Karen Floyd, a
Spartanburg businesswoman
as the race’s only declared
contender.
That may not be the case for
much longer. Frank Holleman,
Tenenbaum’s Senate campaign
manager, says he continues to
ponder a bid. Bob Staton, the
chairman of the state
Education Oversight
Committee, and Jim Ray,
superintendent of Spartanburg
3 schools since 1993, are doing
the same.
For Ray to run, he says
district and school leaders
must "step forward publicly
with a strong commitment to
electing a professional
educator; decide that I am the
person for the job; and pledge
their time and financial
support to my candidacy."
Nation
At least 2 die after
Chicago train derails
CHICAGO — A commuter
train derailed Saturday on
Chicago's South Side, killing
at least two people and
injuring more than 80, some of
them critically.
The double-decker Metra
train was traveling from Joliet
to Chicago when the
locomotive and its five cars
jumped the tracks about 5
miles south of downtown,
authorities said.
Both victims were women, a
22-year-old who died on the
train and a 30-year-old
pronounced dead later at a
hospital, said Judy Pardonnet,
a spokeswoman for Metra, the
commuter rail system that
services the Chicago area.
It wasn't immediately clear
what caused the cars to derail.
In all, 185 passengers and
four crew members were on
the train when it derailed in a
neighborhood of homes and
businesses. The tracks are on a
raised embankment next to a
street, but none of the cars fell.
Firefighters had to raise ladders
to the track to reach the scene.
Two years ago, there was
another accident on the same
line within a block of
Saturday's derailment.
World
Afghan officals praise
elections as success
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN —
Millions of Afghans defied a
Taliban boycott call and
militant attacks to vote for a
new parliament Sunday, taking
the last formal step in starting a
democracy aimed at ending
decades of rule by the gun.
Officials hailed the polls as a
major success, although initial
estimates suggested voter
turnout was lower than hoped
for because of security fears
and frustrations over the
inclusion of several warlords
on the ballot. Results were not
expected for more than a week.
Many people looked to a big
vote to marginalize renegade
loyalists of the ousted Taliban
regime by demonstrating
public support for an elected
government built up under the
protection of 20,000 soldiers in
the American-led coalition and
11,000 NATO peacekeepers.
Fifteen people, including a
French commando in the U.S.
led coalition, were killed in a
spate of violence during the
day. But there was no
spectacular attack as
threatened by Taliban
militants, Their insurgency the
past six months caused more
than 1,200 deaths.
han the normal aging process
»f 60 or 70 (years old).”
Many products in the United
itates are required to have
varnings on the box to alert
onsumers before purchasing
he product. Warnings such as
urgeon general’s warnings on
igarettes or a warning on how
o open the MP3 player’s box
re two basic examples.
“I didn’t see a warning that
vas bold and in your face, like a
urgeon general’s warning,” said
Adrienne Carraway, junior in
>roadcast journalism and
>olitical science.
Carraway said she is aware
hat listening to MP3 players
or lqng amounts of time can
result in hearing loss.
“I read about hearing loss at
concerts in some magazine and
I figured it was the same with
MP3 players,” she said, “but I
run five to six miles a day and
listening to music helps, so I
keep my music fairly loud.”
France passed laws requiring
MP3 companies to limit the
volume on the devices to 100
decibels. But limiting the
volume will not necessarily
protect consumers from
hearing loss, Cheung said.
When determining whether a
person is at risk for hearing loss,
the level of noise is considered,
but also the length of exposure.
Hearing loss from MP3
players is intensified when the
players are used to drown out
other noises. For instance, the
noise of a lawn mower is 80-85
decibels, which could be safely
sustained for several hours. If
an MP3 player is used to
provide music while mowing,
the player must be turned to
more than 100 decibels just to
be heard over the mower.
Within five to 10 minutes at
those levels, permanent
hearing loss will occur,
Cheung said.
Relying on medicine to fix
damaged hearing from noise
related damage is not an
option, Cheung said.
Permanent means permanent.
POLICE REPORT
THURSDAY,
SEPT.15
Assisting another agency,
10:22 a.m.
Columbia Metropolitan
Convention Center, corner of
Lincoln and College streets
Reporting officer L. Welch
approached a 27-year-old
man to question him about an
earlier incident. The man gave
Welch his ID, and after a
check it was discovered he was
wanted by Columbia police
for simple assault. The man
was detained until a CPD
officer could arrive to serve
the warrant.
Assistance rendered;
accidental damage,
10:55 p.m.
South Quad residence hall,
500 Sumter St.
Reporting officer S. Wilcox
responded to a call and found
a 19-year-old man losing
consciousness with large
lacerations on his legs. A
second man told Wilcox that
the men were tilting a vending
machine after their candy had
gotten stuck. The machine fell
onto one of the men, injuring
his legs and damaging a wall.
The men were intoxicated at
the time. First Responders,
EMS and Columbia Fire
Department responded to the
scene and treated the injured
man. Student disciplines were
issued.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 16
Assistance rendered,
2:45 a.m.
McBryde residence hall,
611 Marion St.
Reporting officer M. G.
Wheeler found a 20-year-old
man intoxicated and
unresponsive. EMS
responded and transported
the man to Palmetto Baptist
ER. I
Reports are taken from the USC Police Department.
Financial issues hinder
Christian organization
The Associated Press
The once-influential
Christian Coalition has
struggled to raise money and
pay its bills, but the group’s
executive director says it will
survive.
Once a voice for traditional
family values, the group has
moved its headquarters to
Charleston where national
executive director Roberta
Combs spends most of her
time. The group had as many
as 25 paid full-time staffers at
its headquarters in Washington
in its heyday in 1994 but now
has 10 full-time staff there.
“The coalition as we knew
it doesn’t exist,” says Lois
Eargle, former chairwoman of
the Horry County Christian
Coalition.
Earlier this summer, Pitney
Bowes sued the coalition and
said the group owed $13,649
in unpaid postage. The issue
was settled out of court, says
Pitney Bowes attorney Robert
Bernstein of Charleston,
While the group agreed to
make monthly payments to
erase the debt, the issue is a
sign of ongoing struggles.
Combs wouldn’t say the
coalition is in trouble but
acknowledged money has been
hard to raise since the group’s
founder, religious broadcaster
Pat Robertson, stepped down
as coalition president in
February 2002 and turned
control over to Combs.
“It hurt fund-raising,” she
said. “There’s never enough
money.”
The 16-year-old
organization has been in
decline since 199? when
Reed, one of its most effective
leaders, left to form a political
consulting firm in Atlanta.
“He was a great media
figure, able to convey his
particular message,” says
Corwin Smidt, professor of
political science at Calvin
College, a Christian liberal arts
school in Michigan. “But he
was also a very bright young
man and was able to articulate
and make arguments effectively
on behalf of the coalition.”
During Reed’s tenure, the
coalition began distributing
millions of voter guides
containing candidates’ records
issues such as abortion and
gay rights.
In 1994 alone, the group
mailed 30 million postcards
opposing President Clinton’s
sweeping health care proposal
and made more than 20,000
phone calls to urge support
for a balanced budget
amendment. Those issues
helped Republicans win
control of Congress that year.
The group has faced other
lawsuits. Black staffers filed a
$39 million racial
discrimination suit against the
coalition, claiming they were |
forced to use a separate
entrance at its headquarters.
The suit was settled with an
out-of-court payment of some
$300,000 to the employees.
The coalition is looking for a
media spokesman — someone
of Reed’s caliber to put the
organization back on the map.
“We have not had a media
spokesman for a good while
now,” says Drew McKissick, a
Columbia-based political
consultant and coalition
activists. “You’ve got to show