Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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RESEARCH OFFICE FORGES » AHEAD Undergraduate program layingfoundation for ambitious projects Jess Davis STAFF WRITER The Office of Undergraduate Research continues to provide support for students and the faculty they work with as the fledgling office works to r d its place at USC. Open in some capacity since fall 2004, when the office consisted of only a part-time worker, it is now staffed full-time and will possibly expand to a larger staff, Leslie Jones said. Jones chaired an ad hoc committee that created a proposal for the office, starting about two years The office’s main responsibility is to match undergraduates who want to do research with faculty members looking for researchers. Another key aspect of the office is to provide workshops to show students how to present the research they have done. By working Awith undergraduates in research, the office hopes those students will create a better thesis ot even consider graduate school, Jones said. “I think it’s a great program,” said Rosanna McCroan, a fifth-year geology student who got involved with OUR through the South Carolina Association for Minority Participation. McCroan receives funding through office • 4 Court nominee braces for Senate hearings Dennis Cook / The Associated Press Judge Samuel Alito arrives for a meeting with Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., on Capitol Hill Tuesday to discuss Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court. President Bush nominated Alito to the Supreme Court on Monday as a substitute for White House counsel Harriet Miers, who withdrew last week after conservatives refused to support her. Republicans enthusiastic about Alito; Democrats contemplating filibuster Jesse J. Holland THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito is “dearly within the mainstream” and shouldn’t be filibustered, declared a Republican who helped fashion a plan limiting parliamentary roadblocks for judicial nominees. Sen. Mike DeWine, who met with President Bush’s latest, high court choice Tuesday, warned Democrats he would side .with GOP leaders to eliminate the judicial filibuster if the minority party uses it against the New Jersey judge. “It’s hard for me to envision that anyone would think about filibustering this nominee,” said DeWine, an Ohio Republican who sided with 13 other Republicans and Democrats earlier this year to end a Senate stalemate over judicial filibusters. Some Democrats were contemplating just such a move as the 55-year-old Alito began courting senators on the second day of his Supreme Court candidacy. Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota refused to rule out supporting a filibuster. “I would leave all those options on the table,” he said. Johnson said he hasn’t made up his RLITO • V Students to speak about trip in panel discussion Volunteers spent fall break aiding Gulfcoast victims Sydney Smith FOR THE GAMECOCK Students who traveled to Biloxi, Miss., during fall break to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina will discuss their experience today at the Katrina Relief Trip Town Hall meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the Russell House Theater. The meeting, scheduled to last an hour, will consist of the six-student panel’s discussion, a slide show of pictures and video from the trip, and a question-and-answer session. The Office of Student Involvement and Leadership organized the trip to ^Mississippi, which ran from Oct. 12 ^through Oct. 16, after realizing a need to help victims in a more direct way. Katie Herschede, a graduate assistant in the student involvement office, said sign-up for the trip was on a first-come, first-served basis and within about an hour, the 106 student slots on the trip were filled. “The meeting is an opportunity for everyone who went on the trip to come together now that they’ve had time to think about and reflect on the trip,” Herschede said. Daniel Kim, vice president of Carolina Service Council, will be on the panel to share his experiences. Kim, a fourth-year accounting student, said he expects most of the questions to focus on what the experience and conditions were like and what surprised the group the most. “I want people to realize the actual severity of what happened there,” Kim said. “The stories (the victims) told me pnnci«6 Nick Bara/THE GAMECOCK Students board buses as they prepare to spend their fall break helping those affected by Hurricane Katrina. INSIDE Viewpoints Steven Van Haren suggests a little deviation in lectures for professors; Stacy Gregg remembers Rosa Parks. 10 The Mix Edgy professor Ryan Gattis, associate professor at a Colorado university, writes a novel about school violence. 11 Sports Moving on USC football coach Steve Spurrier wants his team to forget its win in Knoxville this week. 14 Dinner to honor international students, faculty Albany Gault FOR THE GAMECOCK International students and faculty will be honored Thursday at International Student Awards Night in the Russell House Ballroom. Vivian Castro, international director of the Division of Student Affairs and a second-year student in the masters program of social work, helped organize the awards dinner with the help of the student organization Empower and Student Government Besides honoring faculty who go out of their way to help others in need, Castro said students will be recognized as well. “We are honoring international students who are doing extracurricular activities at USC,” Castro said. The ceremony will include several speakers, including SG President Justin Williams, a fourth-year public relations student; Ann Kingsolver, dean of USC’s Latin American Studies Program; and Empower President Teranni Randolph, a fourth-year criminology and criminal justice student. Among the 40 students and faculty being honored are Veronica Castro, a master’s of social work candidate, and Thorben Primke of Germany, president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a fourth-year computer engineering student. Castro works with minorities in equal opportunities programs. Primke is also vice president of ■ membership in Tau Beta Pi, a national engineering honor society. “It’s pretty hard when you are outside your country and there are language barriers,” Castro said. Empower, along with the help of SG, started “Friendly Faculty” this semester, which honors faculty members who help international students adjust to American culture. Among faculty members being honored are administrative specialist Carol Gentry; Pat Bank, coordinator for Student Affairs; and associate professors Alejandro Bernal of Chile and Jorge Camacho of Cuba. By honoring these individuals for their work, Empower and SG look for other faculty members to get involved with the program-friendly faculty. AWARD • 6 Ron Edmonds / The Associated Press President Bush speaks Tuesday at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. He said he wanted to stockpile enough vaccine to protect 20 million Americans against the current strain of bird flu. Bush outlines $7.1 billion bird flu plan Lauran fleergaard THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — President Bush oudined a $7.1 billion strategy Tuesday to prepare for a possible worldwide super-flu outbreak, aiming to overhaul the vaccine industry so eventually every American could be inoculated within six months of a pandemics beginning. Such a huge change would take years to implement — Bush’s goal is 2010 — and his plan drew immediate fire from critics who said it wouldn’t provide enough protection in the meantime. States, too, got an unpleasant surprise, ordered to purchase millions of doses of an anti flu drug with their own money. FLU • 8 *. i