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Texans return home as Rita falls short of fears Helicopters scour Louisiana floodwaters, but epic evacuation saved countless lives l 1 Ml*/* m. St M, . • ... m m Julia Siluerman TIIK ASSOCIATED PRESS ^ PERRY, La. — For the storm shattered Gulf Coast, the images were all too familiar: Tiny fishing villages in splinters. Refrigerators and coffins bobbing in floodwaters. Helicopters and rescue boats making house-to house searches of residents stranded on the rooftops. But as the misery wrought by Hurricane Rita came into clearer view — particularly in the hard-to-reach marsh towns along the Texas Louisiana line — the lasting signs that emerged a day after the storms 120 mph landfall were of an epic evacuation that saved countless lives, and of destruction that fell short of the Katrina-sized fears. “As bad as it could have been, we came out of this in pretty good shape,” Texas Gov. Rick Perry said after taking a helicopter tour Sunday. Even with nearly 1 million in the region without electricity, some coastal towns flooded to the rooftops and the prospect of nearly 3 million evacuated residents pouring back onto the highways for home, the news was overwhelmingly positive. Petrochemical plants that supply a quarter of the nations gasoline suffered only a glancing blow, with just one major plant facing weeks of repairs. The reflooding in New Orleans from levee breaks was isolated mostly to areas already destroyed and deserted, and could be pumped out in as little as a week. And contrary to dire forecasts, Rita and its heavy rains moved quickly north as a tropical depression instead of parking over the South for days and dumping a predicted 25 inches of torrential rains. Most significantly, deaths were minimal — with only two deaths reported so far — largely because rur • 2 Carlos Antonio Rio / The Houston Chronicle Hurricane weary evacuees return Sunday to Galveston. Buses dropped off residents close to their homes. ♦Professor Distinguished educator connects with students, helps victims of disaster Kelly Cavanaugh FOR THE GAMECOCK Building an orphanage as part of a tsunami relief effort in Asia, helping construct a village in Nicaragua in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch and teaching English in an orphanage in the Dominican Republic are only a few of the projects USC Professor Emeritus Hal French has given his time to. French, who became a professor in USC’s Department of Religious Studies in 1972, said he serves on USC volunteer service committees to help students get involved. He said community service “lets students feel that they have responsibilities and •there’s things that they can do. “We’re all privileged people, and it gives something back to the ones for whom, maybe hunger is the only item on the menu,” French said. French spends most spring breaks working on service projects or teaching in foreign countries. The Dominican Republic orphanage project took place during one spring break, as did a Habitat for Humanity project in Columbus, Ga. For spring break 2006, French will travel to England to teach a workshop about Mahatma Gandhi. He also won a grant this year from the S.C. Honors College to teach a Maymester course in Greece. A decade ago, as part of the ^^Semester at Sea program, French uoiunTecR • 2 INSIDE Viewpoints Andrew Bentz anticipates the opening of the “happiest place” on campus - Innovista; Valene Sims chews on the idea of the degrada tion of students’ eating habits once they arrive on campus. 4 ^ The Mix iPod adaptations A look at the various possible uses and accessories for Apple’s iPod and other portable MP3 players. 5 Sports Troy falls again Gamecocks out-gun Troy State 45 20 Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium to snap 2-game skid. 10 Jessica Egan /THE I JAM EMM IK Laura-Joyce Gough /THE CAM EMMIE Students line up for dinner in the Grand Market Place. Officials say students don’t take advantage of healthy dining options. Healthy Appetites? Students skeptical of health options; low-fat foods account for 1 percent of sales Sydney Smith FOR THE GAMECOCK Low-fat food sales at USC are nearly non-existent, and depending on who you ask as to why that is, you get two different answers from two different sources — students who think there aren’t enough healthy choices on campus, or administrators who say students simply don’t take advantage of such options. With the exception of grilled chicken, which comprises around 4 percent of dining sales, low-fat options do not even make up 1 percent of sales. Mike Scheffres, general manager of Sodexho, USC’s on-campus dining provider, said many students are concerned about the lack of variety and availability of healthy food on campus but are not making an attempt to purchase what options are available. USC Dining Services includes a variety of food outlets. With fast-food restaurants such as Taco Bell, Chick fil-A and Burger King; grill choices in Grand Market Place, Pattersons Patio, Capstones Gibbes Court and Bates House; specific food restaurants such as Pandini’s, Mein Bowl, Zia Juice and Sub Connection; and more; students can usually find something to eat on one of USC’s many meal plans. But a concern some USC students share is the dreaded “freshman 15,” or the potential to gain weight at any point in their college years. Because college is the first time many students are on their own and responsible for their meal decisions, it is common for them to slip into unhealthy eating habits. Scheffres said that even though fast food options such as Pizza Hut and Taco Bell are available on meal plan, USC Dining works hard to ensure healthy options on campus. He said if students realize exactly what they add on to their food selection and are aware of what they are selecting, the healthy options will be more obvious, even in the fast-food areas, most of which have been added in the past few years because of popularity in other universities’ dining and good response from USC’s Student Government and student body. “In each area, there’s something that’s a bit healthier,” Scheffres said. Going through the restaurants in Grand Market Place, Gibbes Court, Bates Carolina Diner and the Patio, students can find salads, vegetarian options, deli sandwiches and grilled food such as chicken. At Einstein Bagels, bagels are a healthier option, until add-ons are factored in. Burger King offers a vegetarian burger, a fish sandwich and the chicken whopper. Scheffres listed the grilled chicken sandwich at Chick-fil-A, tuna and chicken subs from Sub Connection, chicken over beef at Taco Bell and lower- or non-fat Zia smoothies such as the Zia Trim as healthier options available throughout the Russell House. Nutrition information is not posted at restaurants in the Russell House. Scheffres said in the next few weeks, a program placing identification cards with nutritional information alongside food options in cafeterias will be completed. Nutritional information Dimne • 3 ACLUsays race motivated SLED’s evacuee background checks The Associated Press CHARLESTON — The leader of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says assumptions that led to South Carolina’s criminal background checks of Hurricane Katrina evacuees are racially motivated. “The assumption that when you go out to rescue a bunch of poor, black people, that they are going to be criminals, is racist,” said Kevin Gray, president of the South Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. “The only plan they ever seem to have for poor people is a J_‘_* jail plan.” “We want to uphold everyone’s constitutional rights,” State Law Enforcement Division Chief Robert Stewart said. “But if someone is coming into a home with a family, they would probably want to know if that person is on the sex offender registry or is a violent criminal.” SLED estimates blacks accounted for 80 percent of the evacuees screened, Stewart says his agency had no part in choosing who federal officials loaded on planes bound for South Carolina. “Our only intent was the safety of the survivors and the citizens of this state.” SLED screened 547 evacuees and www. dailygamecock. com found 301 with criminal records for minor and major offenses, including burglaries, assaults and rape, SLED Inspector Richard Hunton said. “Most of it was old and minor offenses, larceny and drug charges from the ‘70s and ‘80s,” Stewart said. Screenings turned up two men with warrants outstanding for burglaries in other states. But they were released because Oregon and Washington state didn’t want to extradite them, Stewart said. The screening involved only those evacuated by federal authorities to Columbia and Greenville. That’s only a fraction of the estimated 6,000 Gulf 4 t Coast residents now staying in South Carolina. “What we don’t know about are (evacuees) who have come into the state on their own or had some church or civic group bring them in,” Stewart said. The screenings were “done for everyone’s protection,” Hunton said. “It was done both to allow the evacuees to know they may have someone dangerous in their midst as well as for the benefit of the community assisting them,” Hunton said. SLED used whatever identification or information the evacuees could RCLU • 3 <— <4