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Fill Photo /THE GAMECOCK The Clemson Tiger goes up in flames during last year’s Tiger Burn. This year's festivities kick off at 5 p.m. today on the Blatt P.E. Field. On eve of battle, fans to gather for Tiger Burn ^ Dierks Bentley headlines pre-game celebration Gma Uasselli FOR THE GAMECOCK Tiger Burn 2005 kicks off on the Blatt P.E. Field at 5 p.m. today, the final event before the game against rival Clemson on Saturday. Gates will open at 4 p.m., the burn will begin at 5:30 p.m. and a concert will start at 6 p.m. ^ The event was originally to W be held in the Vista near the Colonial Center, but other events and parking conflicts led to the location change. “We decided that the Blatt was big enough to hold a prep rally stage, a concert stage and a 25-foot burning tiger and was also with in walking distance for students,” said Amanda Alpert, CP traditional events commissioner and a third-year broadcast journalism student. The 25-foot tall tiger that will be burned as part of the festivities was built by I engineering students. A special message from coach Steve Spurrier and a short video will play as the tiger burns. The rally will have a performance from the Homecoming Cockfest winners Alpha Delta Pi and Delta Tau Delta, as well as a performance of “Gamecocks Don’t Stop,” which Alpert said was “a real crowd pleaser at Homecoming.” The winner of the Carolina Clemson Blood Drive will be announced as part of the festivities. A concert featuring country singer Dierks Bentley and Cross Canadian Ragweed will follow the rally. Carolina Productions asked in April 2005 Bentley to play and were pleased when he grew in popularity during the summer and won a Country TI6CR BURI1 • 3 February vote could decide readership program’s future Justin Chapura ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Nearly a year’s worth of The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The State comes with a price tag of $2. Or at least it will, should USC students vote in February to increase their student activity ^ fees by that amount to P accommodate the popular newspaper readership program. The Student Senate unanimously passed a referendum on the USA Today Readership Program on Wednesday, which will go on the student body election ballot in three months. The three-year-old program has shifted the source of its $52,000 operating costs each year of its existence. Deans of various universities and colleges contributed to the funding in the first year. This year, USC chief financial officer Rick Kellys department financed the program with a one-time account from the university’s general fund. Student Government Treasurer Tommy Preston, a third-year political science student, said the expense must now find a permanent notch in SG’s budget. Preston said SG President Justin Williams, who was absent from Wednesday’s session, has to go before the Board of Trustees with the proposal to raise READERSHIP • 5 Four USC students charged with scalping football tickets University police to continue crackdown during rivalry game at 'Williams-Brice Stadium Stephen Fastenau NEWS EDITOR Four USC students have been charged by the USC Police Department with scalping student tickets for Saturday’s USC-Clemson game, university spokesman Russ McKinney said Thursday. The students’ identities were unknown at press time. “We realize that there is a lot of excitement surrounding the game,” McKinney said. “But there is a state law that prohibits selling tickets for $1 or more over face value.” McKinney said he was aware that other tickets were being sold on eBay for more than face value, but that arrests for scalping could only be made by local law enforcement in the area of the seller. Student Life Director Jerry Brewer said Thursday he had gotten numerous complaints about students selling their tickets, either through the university’s e-mail listserv or elsewhere. “It is illegal to sell tickets for more than you paid for them and obviously, students didn’t pay anything for their tickets,” Brewer said. USCPD, along with Richland County police and the State Law Enforcement Division, will be on hand for Saturday’s game, looking for potential scalpers as is the case for every game where tickets are in high demand, McKinney said. *• McKinney said more arrests might be made before the end of the week. “If you want to sell your ticket, you need to sell it for the price that’s on that ticket,’ he said. SLED made several arrests TICHCTS • 5 I9r V--. WSmm x ■■ . Katie Kirkland/THE GAMECOCK Clemson fans cheer during last year’s rivalry game against USC at Death Valley. Some USC students cheer for the Tigers. True Colors USC student one of few rooting for Tigers on Saturday Jachie Alexander FOR THE GAMECOCK As many other USC students dress in garnet and black, wear their finest Carolina gear and trash talk the Tigers in preparation for Saturdays rivalry matchup, third-year mechanical engineering student Eddie Gibney will be putting on orange and purple and adjusting his favorite Clemson baseball cap. Gibney is one of the few Tiger fans who attend USC. However, he isn’t the only one. Many students root for their home team Clemson or have to come to USC for their major or graduate school. Gibney chose USC over Clemson because of its close proximity to his home ( in Orangeburg. “I enjoy the environment of the big city here as opposed to the closed-in rural area of Clemson,” Gibney said. “USC is just closer to home (than Clemson).” Clemson colors are a rarity on the USC campus and are usually met with loud boos. On occasion, Gibney will wear his Clemson hat to class. “I wear the hat to class but no one really says anything,” Gibney said. Other students will “comment but they’re not bad sports about it,” Gibney said. His friends sometimes tease him about his Clemson loyalty. “They ask ‘Why don’t you go to Clemson?’ and ‘Why do you cheer for a sorry team?”’ Gibney said. “I usually don’t worry about it and don’t give a response.” However, Gibney does have some USC school spirit. He attends home games and cheers on the Gamecocks. Gibney and his girlfriend, a fellow Tigers fan, will be at the USC-Clemson football game this weekend in full Clemson gear. Gibney said he might “get some weird looks” but isn’t worrying about it ruining his time. “Most of the Carolina fans are nice but some of them take it to the extreme and call us names,” Gibney said. So who does Gibney want to win this weekend? Clemson, of course. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc. edu Research office announces undergrad scholarships ^ Jess Oauis STAFF WRITER USC rolled out the red carpet — literally — Thursday to announce the Magellan Scholars program, part of the Office of Undergraduate Research, at the Lab Theatre in the Booker T. Washington Auditorium. USC President Andrew Sorensen spoke to an audience that included area high school principals, state Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum and USC students about how developing a strong program for undergraduate research might help propel USC from being viewed nationally as a “good, possibly very good” university to a “great” one. The Magellan Scholars program is part of the recently developed OUR and is being lauded as a strong asset to the university because of the opportunities it will provide for undergraduates looking to do research. The program will offer up to $3,000 in grants for about 100 sttraents. Undergraduate researchers work under the mentoring of a faculty member in a variety of fields. “Scholarship occurs in absolutely every field,” Sorensen said, noting that while research has a reputation of being all science, the areas of fine arts and humanities do research as well. He also emphasized the importance of research in education. “When I went to school ... education happened only in the classroom. We realize now that’s terribly antiquated and quaint. Learning occurs in a huge number of places and settings,” said Harris Pastides, vice president for research and health services. Pastides facilitated a discussion by three current undergraduate students involved with OUR, in which they discussed how they got involved with research and how their experience has affected them. “I was surprised to see that there’s a place for me (to do RESEARCH^* INSIDE Viewpoints Jacob Davis discusses how much more civilized USC is than Clemson; Chase Stoudenmire makes fun of Clemson, too — sort of 6 The Mix Tunes for Tiger Burn CMA ‘Horizon Award’ winner Dierks Bentley headlines Tiger Bum. * 7 Sports Friday Football Blitz