Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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The University of South Carolina Friday, Dec 2, 2005 VoL 99, No. 47 • Since 1908 Injured USC graduate returns home for holidays f Marine sustained injuries to right side of body during war in Iraq Jess Davis STAFF WRITER The holidays will be bittersweet this year for a USC graduate injured while serving in the war in Iraq. Marine 2nd Lt. Michael Geiger l suffered'extensive injuries to the right ' side of his body after the Humvee he was riding in struck a land mine Nov. 7. After several operations at hospitals in Iraq and Germany, Geiger returned to Camp Pendleton, a U.S. Marine Corps base in California. There he was reunited with his fiancee, who works as a nurse at Camp Pendleton, and was able to spend Thanksgiving with his family. “It’s nice to be home and not deployed, but my whole platoon is over there,” Geiger said. Geiger served as platoon leader for a heavy weapons platoon in the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. “It’s hard to be here ) and not be able to help them, although I wouldn’t be much of a help to them with a broken foot.” Not only did the impact from the land mine explosion break several bones in his right foot, it shattered his toes, broke his fibula, splintered a bone in his thumb and thrust shrapnel into Geiger’s face, which he modesdy brushes off as “just a superficial thing.” Geiger counts himself lucky despite his injuries, citing the heavy armor on the Humvee with preventing him from losing a limb or his life. Two other soldiers were in the vehicle with him — one suffered a concussion and the other had no ► IRAQ • 3 Special to THE (SAMKGOCK This picture, originally published in USA Today on Wednesday, Nov. 9, shows 2nd Lt. Michael Geiger at an army combat hospital in Balad, Iraq. Geiger, a USC graduate, was later transferred to Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany. Carolina & Iraq: A look back at Gamecocks serving their country " Maj. Rick Wise Commissioned officer in U.S. Army for 23 years and USC graduate I__ "1 I_? a : j Josslyn Aberle U.S. Army public affairs officer and second-year graduate student in mass communications Campion Usry Marine, division invaded Iraq in March 2003; third year finance student Charles McDonald Marine will return to Iraq for second tour; second-year chemistry student J Through database, officials recover stolen bike Gina Uasselli STAFF WRITER A bike stolen from campus was recovered in Washington, D.C. recently. The bike was had been registered with USC’s Vehicle Management and Parking Services. All registered bike serial numbers are entered into a national database checked by local police departments and pawnshop owners around the country. r The database enables them to find where the bike came from and return it. “The city of Columbia also recovered about 50 bikes, two of which were registered and returned to USC folks,” said Kirsten Coleman, a second-year environmental studies student and Student Government senator from the College of Social Work, after attending a meeting about bike registration with USC Parking Services. “USC parking/vehicle-management folks think that many of those recovered bikes could belong to students, but since they weren’t registered, those bikes could not be returned.” Bike registration is free to USC students, faculty and staff, and can be done online at Parking Services’ Web site or by going to their Pendleton Street Garage office.Parking Services requires all bikes on campus be registered. “Registering helps to discourage theft and will assist in recovery if the bike is stolen,” says Parking Services’ Web site, www.sc.edu/vmps/park.html. Bikes are registered once make, model and serial number are on file. Owners are then issued a non-expiring permit. Parking Services also places decals on bikes to discourage theft. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc. edu Jessica Ann Nielsen /THE GAMECOCK A bike stolen from campus was recently recovered in Washington, D.C. Parking Services require students to register their bikes to help prevent theft. INSIDE Viewpoints ^ Aaron Brazier decries holiday commercialism; Chase StOUdenmire remembers his youth. 7 The Mix Lights, camera, action Student filmmakers premiere “Harper’s Chip ” on Saturday. 8 Sports Good job The staff delivers a hefty helping of postseason football awards. 11 I Under scrutiny, surgeons perform first partial face transplant John Leicester and fllarilynn dlarchione THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PARIS — An ethics debate broke out over the worlds first partial face transplant Thursday with one surgeon challenging the decision to operate, while others suggested a bit of jealousy might be at play. At the same time, several doctors raised concerns about the psychological health of the French woman who received a transplanted nose, lips and chin on Sunday. She had been brutally mauled by a dog in May, and her identity remains unknown. Dr. Laurent Lantieri, an adviser to the French medical ethics panel, said the surgeons who operated violated the panel’s advice because they failed to try reconstructive surgery first. He said a transplant donor was immediately sought without trying to repair the womans face with more conventional surgery. Lantieri, who had seen a picture of the woman, said, “She had a complete amputation of both lips. The tip of the nose was amputated.” Her new donated facial parts came from a ^brain-dead woman whose family gave consent. The panel had previously objected to full face transplants but said partial ones could be considered under strict circumstances, which included first trying normal surgery. “The ethics committee said this kind of transplant should never be considered as an emergency procedure,” Lantieri said. However, surgeon Denys Pellerin, of the National Consultative Ethics Committee advised by Lantieri said, “as long as the transplant is not total, it i TRRilSPLflnT • 5 S.C. INMATE WANTS TO BE ‘LANDMARK’ 1.000TH EXECUTION Jacob Jordan THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A South Carolina inmate scheduled to be put to death Friday evening for killing a store clerk on New Year’s Day 1994 told his attorney that if his execution is inevitable, he’d rather be the 1,000th person killed since capital punishment resumed in 1977. Shawn Humphries is currendy scheduled to be executed about 16 hours after North Carolina inmate Kenneth Lee Boyd, who wanted no part of that infamous distinction. Boyd was set to become No. 1,000 at 2 a.m. Friday. Humphries “said he would rather be 1,000 because if he has to die, No. 1,000 will be remembered, No. 1,001 won’t,” said his attorney Teresa Norris, of the Capital Center for Litigation. “In his view, No. 1,000 is sort of a landmark.” Boyd said he’d “hate to be remembered as that” landmark. “I don’t like the idea of being picked as a number,” he told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Boyd killed his wife and father-in-law in 1998. Norris said as people learn about the death penalty and become opposed to executions, Humphries wanted his case to be remembered i inmoTE • 3