The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 26, 2005, Image 1
Texans return home as Rita falls short of fears
Helicopters scour Louisiana floodwaters, but epic evacuation saved countless lives
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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
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