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DRAG • COflTinUCD FRORII makeup turned out horribly.” It took Patterson more than two years to learn how to apply his own makeup and tries to do something new every sholv. “That’s the whole part of drag-trying something new,” said LeFeris, reigning Miss . South Carolina Gay Pride. “The Birdcage” has gotten bigger every year Patterson has participated. Year after year, students are turned away because of capacity limits. Patterson said the biggest mistake young entertainers make is painting too light. “Paint dark; the people in the back paid to see the show too,” Patterson said. Although drag is a lot of fun, not everything goes as planned. “My worst experience was when I was performing in Washington D.C., and I got to the Jjar with a cassette tape and the bar didn’t have a cassette player,” Patterson said. “I didn’t have anyone backstage to do my makeup. I went onstage with no eyelashes, no eyeliner and no mascara. I had to improvise my music and makeup.” Patterson said the biggest misconception people have of drag queens is that they’re not entertainers. “They think we all walk around in drag all day long, that we live our lives in women’s clothing,” Patterson said. “Only two entertainers wear women’s clothing off the stage.” Patterson’s outfits are donated or picked up from Kmart. He usually takes castoffs from other queens, earning the nickname “the yard sale with legs.” Other drag queens buy custom made clothes and from Nancy’s Nook. “This week of a year is a drag queens best friend,” Patterson said. “You can get fishnets, fantasy eyelashes all on-sale.” After five layers of pantyhose, LeFeris slips on a tight, black cat suit, a rhinestone “Paris” belt and a long black wig. O’Furniture looks a little less refined in her boots, denim skirt and brown blouse, all from the Jaclyn Smith collection. After making last adjustments to her wig and packing up her corset purse, O’Furniture is ready for the show. Patti and Paris can be seen on the weekends at P.T.’s Cabaret at 10:30 p.m. Cover charge can be up to $10. BRCDK • COnTinUED PROITII between 2000 and 2003- This represented “the greatest percentage reduction of any correctional system in the country” and resulted in the closure of two facilities. Aside from the larger issues, Ozmint said problems began when officers flubbed a 7:13 a.m. prisoner count. “These inmates had some help from some other inmates,” he said. “They had made some fake heads out of toilet paper” to fool officers, he said. “We’ve said all along that that count shouldn’t have cleared.” Ozmint told The (Columbia) State that mistakes during the first count “really cost us. We made a mistake.” Ozmint said after a 9:00 a.m. count came up short, officials began a roll call. Ozmint said Nov. 1 was also a prisoner release date, meaning additional vehicles were on the premises and between 40 and 50 prisoners were being readied for release near the gates. Those circumstances, he said, helped to further delay the final prisoner count. “The delay was missing the count,” he said. “Beyond that, it’s just running a 1,600-bed prison.” Ozmint said he would not “discuss the procedures that we’ve put in place to correct” the compaction issue but said that the department has “corrected it at every institution.” Ozmint also said that long-term plans, which “involve vendors coming in instead of once a week to pick up those dumpsters, twice a week,” are also in place. After the meeting, State Law Enforcement Division chief Robert Stewart said he was surprised at how much Ozmint described to cabinet members because “we’ve got an investigation going on.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc. edu GREEK • COnUflUED PR0H11 Greek community. Williams said when school administrators read the message board they were “outraged.” “This was the selfish and cowardly acts of a few individuals, and it in no way reflects the ideals and feeling of the Greek community,” Fraternity Council President Ray Comer said. “Personally, I'm very proud of the successes of the Greek community and our acceptance of one another.” “I just wanted the awareness* to be there that people at USC are potentially racist,” said Williams, a fourth-year public relations student and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, of why he brought the Web site to officials’ attention. “There were some serious things (posters on fratty.net) were tnreatemng. After University Technological Services and Brewer asked the Web site to adhere to their standards of participation, which exclude individuals who engage in racist or hateful comments from participating in their Web site, the "inappropriate remarks” were removed, Pruitt said. He said the university considered blocking the Web site but “did not feel that prudent at this time.” Williams said that while the messages, which included a suggestion to “throw a cotton picking party” when the Omega Psi Phi fraternity moved into the Greek Village, were from individual people, he questioned if other members of the Greek community felt the same way. Comer, a fourth-year biology ■ him—■^—■11 ... student, emphasized that the messages were isolated incidents and do not represent the feelings of most Greeks. “Were part of a Greek community here, and that’s what I want people to understand,” Comer said. “This is not just an attack on a certain group. It’s an attack on all of us.” Comer pointed out negative comments on the message board about white fraternities in addition to those about the black fraternity Omega Psi Phi. He said the issue was a matter of individuals vs. Greek organizations, not white vs. black. Pruitt said the situation is “embarrassing to the individuals and, because they are students, it’s embarrassing to the university as well. (Students) shouldn’t say or put things on these Web sites that they wouldn’t say in public." Pruitt said that beyond fratty.net, popular Web sites facebook.com and myspace.com have the potential to cause trouble for students who think what they publish there will never be seen. “A lot of students who get on these Web sites think they are private and anonymous. They’re not, and ... the university has to come to grips with these virtual communities and what students say and how they act,” Pruitt said. < While Pruitt acknowledged that students have a right to freedom of speech, he said some comments could be considered as “racially discriminatory, harassing, intimidating or creating a hostile environment.” He said university officials are “reviewing the entire situation from a disciplinary perspective to determine that if there is such hostility being expressed,” and that the school will “take any action that’s appropriate,” which 4 could include community ( service or education. The Fraternity Council is also seeking to hold individuals accountable for their postings, Comer said, noting that every fraternity and sorority has been asked to investigate who was involved in the situation. “The words of a few won’t misrepresent all (Greeks). We are a very positive community. We are taking an active role in making sure there’s progress — not just about race but anything against Greeks,” Comer said. Pruitt pointed out that some fraternity members have already taken action, and one individual already posted a lengthy apology on the message board. “One of the things that was a little refreshing was how many. fraternities (posted on fratty.net) that (the comments in question) didn’t represent Greeks or South Carolinians,” Pruitt said. In an effort to curtail future controversial postings, Pruitt said USC contacted the Web site and asked them to enforce their existing rules about content of , the message board. The terms of , service state that the “user’s Web site may not contain content promoting the use of illegal drugs, alcohol, ... , profanity, hate, ..., racism or promote any illegal activity.” Allegations of illegal activity made against white fraternities on the message board “may have already been investigated or are currently being investigated,” Pruitt said. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockneu>s@gwm. sc. edu -. Holy Bible Study Evening Communion &Program Prayer TH#lteAMECOCK Nobody covers USC better. Nobody. ^ V ■ . • -■ ■■ ■ - -• ___,,, m ", * " •' W| I Are you traveling this Holiday Season and want to learn important techniques to protect I your car? Student Government and Parking Services will be sponsoring a "Know Your I Car" seminar to teach you everything you need to know to be safe on the road. The I event will be held Thursday, November 17,2005 at 3pm in the Pendleton Street Garage. L Please visit www.sg.sc.edu to register. This is open to both students and faculty. 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