The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 02, 2005, Page 4, Image 4
office • conunuco room i
SCAMP for her research, which
included a paleoecological study of
the Congaree National Park and
her current research on radiometric
data with Professor Torfi Temples.
She chose Temples after OUR
provided her with a list of
profdssors in the field she was
interested in who wanted to work
with student researchers.
“This experience opened my eyes
into what areas I’m interested in,”
McCroan said, and added that her
research was what prompted her to
consider graduate school.
Though OUR does not provide
funding to all of its student
researchers, that is an eventual goal
for the office, Jones said. Professor
Tangali Sudarshan, who works with
student researchers in electrical
engineering, said he hopes students
will receive funding from OUR in
the future. He currently provides a
small stipend to his student
researchers out of his research
grants.
runaea or not, many students
working with the office are
enthusiastic about the
opportunities they’ve had as a result
of OUR’s presence on campus.
“When I first started, I thought I
was the only one who thought (my
research) was a good idea and
everyone else just thought it was
utter crap, so just having people
who are interested in what I’m
doing and having opportunities to
talk about it is a very big deal,” said
Caitlin Coker, a fourth-year
English and dance student, of her
research on dance ethnography.
“(OUR is) what basically makes me
believe that (my research is)
legitimate — that I can go to grad
school.
“It’s not that they work with me
personally and talk to me and meet
with me but they are a great
facilitator. It’s all on the students to
get motivated and get their idea
and do it for themselves but the
office is a great resource for them to
»
use.
Fourth-year psychology student
Alisha Epps is working on a project
that uses gene transfer to study
epilepsy via rats genetically inclined
to have epilepsy. She has been
doing research since August 2003,
but said that “just knowing (OUR)
is there” is helpful. As an Honors
College student, Epps had access to
the resources the Honors College
provides to its students for
research-based learning long before
OUR opened its doors.
“I didn’t realize the extent to
which the Honors College
promoted undergraduate research
and the rest of the university
didn’t,” Jones said of the factors
that prompted her to get involved
in starting OUR. “What I saw was
that at the Honors College there
was a significant effort made to
help students find faculty members
for undergraduate research. Along
the way there were non-honors
students who would stumble into
my office.
“There was clearly a need and ...
it seemed important to me that an
office would be created with the
same resources for the large
number of very talented students
who just don’t happen to be in the
HC.
“(They are) entitled to the same
opportunities the Honors College
students are. I felt like we were
^missing out on a huge resource at
the university.”
With OUR available to assist
undergraduates hoping to find
research opportunities, a larger
number of students might be able to
secure research grants and prestigious
fellowships, Sudarshan said. By
doing research as an undergraduate,
students may get the opportunity to
present their research or have it
published to an international
audience, which can then only help
them in terms of experience and add
to their resume, he said.
On Nov. 17, USC President
Andrew Sorensen will make an
announcement about OUR in
front of a panel of student
researchers, who will talk about
their experiences in an “Inside the
Actor’s Studio” format, OUR
Director Julie Morris said.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu
U.S. officer recommends court-martial %
for soldier accused of killing superiors
Diana Clias
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait — A U.S.
military investigating officer on Tuesday
recommended a court-martial for a
National Guard soldier charged with
killing two of his superiors in Iraq and
raised the possibility of a death sentence.
Col. Patrick Reinert said he found
“reasonable cause” to believe that Staff
Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez of Troy, N.Y.,
used an anti-personnel mine and three
grenades to kill a captain and a
lieutenant in a “personal vendetta.”
The deaths of Capt. Philip Esposito
and Lt. Louis E. Allen in an explosion at
a base in the central city of Tikrit on
June 7 is believed to be first case of an
American soldier in Iraq accused of
killing his superiors.
Reinert said he also found aggravating
factors that could allow for capital
punishment.
Reinerts recommendation, which
came at the end of a two-day hearing in
this camp in Kuwait, will be submitted
to Lt. Gen. John Vines, the commander
of Multi-National Force-Iraq, who will
decide whether there is a court-martial.
Vines, who is based in Baghdad, reports
to the overall commander in Iraq, Gen.
George Casey.
The prosecutor, Capt. Adam Siple,
had asked for a recommendation for a
court-martial. Martinez’s defense
counsel had argued there was no real
evidence against their client.
Capt. Esposito, 30, of Suffern, N.Y.,
and Lt. Allen, 34, of Milford, Pa., were
killed by a blast in Esposito’s office in
what was once one of Saddam Hussein’s
palaces. Their deaths were initially
thought to be a result of “indirect fire.”
Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Fitzgerald,
an expert on explosives, told the hearing
that the blast was caused by a Claymore
anti-personnel mine and possibly three
grenades. Surgeon Col. Joan Sullivan
told the tribunal that the men’s injuries
were not consistent with wounds caused
by a mortar or rocket.
The Associated Press ■
Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez, of Troy, N.Y., at a base outside Baghdad, Iraq. A U.S.
military investigating officer on Tuesday recommended a court-martial for Martinez,
who is charged with killing two of his superiors in Iraq, and raised the possibility of
capital punishment.
During Monday’s session, one
witness, Capt. Carl Prober, said
Martinez told him twice that he hated
Esposito. In the second instance,
Martinez said he was going to “frag”
Esposito, Prober testified. “Frag” is a
Vietnam War term for soldiers killing
their superiors.
Prober did not say why Martinez said
he hated Esposito.
The widows of Esposito and Allen
attended the hearings after the Army
agreed to fly them to Camp Arifjan,
about 40 miles south of the capital of
Kuwait City, for the sessions.
Martinez, 37, a supply specialist who
joined the New York Army National
Guard in December 1990, was deploye<^
to Iraq sometime after October 2004
with the 42nd Infantry.
The Tikrit case is the second case
during the Iraq war in which a U.S.
soldier has been charged with killing his
comrades.
M 1 . .J
I The mission of PSIC is to work to increase the credit hour limit from 16 to 18 hours per semester, work on establishing a grade ■
forgiveness program that would allow students who made a D or F to retake a maximum of three courses with the higher grade I
applying to their GPA, and to offer a solution to the parking problem by exploring the benefit of eliminating freshman parking. If ■
you are interested in participating on this Commission, please stop by the SG Office for an application. M
I Are you traveling this Holiday Season, and want to leam important
I techniques to protect your car? Student Government and Parking Services
I will be sponsoring a Know Your Car program to teach you everything you
■ need to know to be safe on the road. The event will be held Thursday,
■ November 17, 2005 at Bpm in the Pendleton Street Garage. Please visit
I www.sg.sc.edu to register. This is open to both students and faculty.
■ The Minority Outreach and Retention Program was created as a university
I initiative to increase the recruitment and retention of minority students at
I USC. Our mission is to improve the lives of minority students by helping
I them receive the resources needed for them to aspire, achieve, and
I appreciate the benefits of attending an esteemed university. The Division of
■ Student Affairs is currently looking for students to assist in our university
I efforts. Students can help coordinate and participate in both on and off
I campus recruitment and retention initiatives. Applications are available in
■ the Student Government Office. Contact Erica McDaniel at
M ericamichelle0122@hotmail.com for more information._
I Cocky is up for Mascot of the Year and he needs your help! To vote, |
I go to www.capitalonebowl.com. Be sure to check out the standings
I first and vote against all the mascots who are ahead of us!
I ll