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The University of South Carolina Friday, February 17, 2006 Vol. 99, No. 64 • Since 1908 Sanctions levied against AAAS for financial problems Organization must forfeit leftover funds at the end of this year Jess Davis STAFF WRITER The Senate Finance Committee passed a sanction against the Association of African-American Students on Wednesday that will force the organization to overhaul their finances. Under the sanction, AAAS must close all outside accounts and will never be able to open a new account outside of Student Government. It must forfeit any leftover funds at the end of this year. The organization will be denied any budget transfers until the end of the fall 2006 semester, and it must publicly acknowledge its error in finances this year. The sanction comes as a direct reaction to the $2,000 loan the Senate Finance Committee forgave the organization, said Chase Stoudenmire, the committee chairman and a second-year history student. On Feb. 1, the committee forgave a $2,000 loan to AAAS by a close vote so that the group could pay the winners of its November step show. “At the time, we felt that to not forgive the loan would be detrimental to relationships between AAAS and some other organizations, but we also felt they should be held accountable,” said committee member and third-year student Scott Spivey, speaking on behalf of the finance committee.”We are holding them accountable for their mistakes.” Denying the group budget transfer privileges will stop AAAS from straying from their current budget, Stoudenmire said. “They can only spend how they’ve planned.” The organization’s outside accounts were closed during its attempt to clear up the financial problems from the step show, AAAS President Jamie Downs, a third-year advertising student, said. “We did what we were told,” he said. Downs said he doesn’t anticipate the sanction negatively affecting AAAS next year. He said that the current executive board spent a lot of time ensuring that, their budget was accurate for next year, and hrrs • 2 Front-side flier ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ Peter Dejong / The Associated Press Gold medalist Seth Wescott of the USA speeds downhill in the 1/8 finals of the Snowboard Cross competition at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Bardonecchia, Italy on Thursday. Radoslav Zidek of Slovakia took the silver medal, Paul-Henri Delerue of France bronze. TAK! NS TUR! N TO Wescott wins a wild one in Snowboard Cross, brings home gold medal for America Cddie Pells THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BARDONECCHIA, Italy — Suspended in midair, Seth Wescott’s biggest worry was making sure he didn’t land on top of his opponent and crush him. Not exactly a typical Olympic moment. Then again, Snowboard Cross isn’t a typical Olympic sport. The American racer missed Slovakia’s Radoslav Zidek on that tight landing Thursday, then passed him for the win in the Olympic debut of the wild sport of snowboardcross. For that, Wescott earned a gold medal. Everyone else got warm compresses and aspirin. “To have a great race like that in the finals, I think it just makes the sport look good,” Wescott said. There was bumping, thrashing, wipeouts and worse during the 90 minutes of NASCAR on Ice, a series of four-man races down the mountain with everyone vying for space on the tight, high-banked, 1,000-yard course. The women take their turn Friday, with America’s biggest snowboardcross star and lone entrant, Lindsey Jacobellis, among the favorites. In the men’s final race, Wescott’s winning move stood out for its pure finesse — a sly slip past Zidek with time running out. Paul-Henri Delerue of France won bronze. “I was screaming the entire time,” said U.S. coach Peter Foley, who called it the best day of snowboardcross he’s ever seen. Wescott would surely agree. The 29-year-old capped a decade long quest to become an Olympic medalist, one that took him through I was looking down on him and I wasn’t sure exactly where the trajectory was going to put me. SETH WESCOTT American gold medalist, Snowboard Cross the halfpipe and across the rough-and tumble courses of snowboardcross, his sport’s more violent — and maybe more exciting — cousin. “I think for a lot of people who just see snowboarding in the halfpipe, they might not see all the intricacies of it,” Wescott said. “But with this, they love the racing aspect and for all of us, it’s one of the things that makes it so exciting to do. I think that translates to the viewing public, too.” On a made-for-TV day in Bardonecchia, Wescott won by being able to stay out of any messes during his four trips down the slope. In the final, he took the lead from Zidek first by avoiding him on a jump, then picking up speed on the high line of the course and zipping below him after a hard right turn. He led the rest of the way, and beat Zidek to the finish line by about half a board. “I almost landed on Rado,” Wescott said. “I had a bunch of speed coming into that 'hip jump.’ I was a little worried in the air that that might be the end of the race right there. I was looking down on him and I wasn’t sure exactly where the trajectory was going to put me.” Wescott added this to his win at last year’s World Championships, one that set him up as one of the riders to beat in the Turin Games. His career began with mediocre results in the halfpipe, then a switch to racing. He learned in 2003 that snowboardcross — also known as boardercross — would become an Olympic sport. “After that, it was less a question of whether I would make the team and more a matter of what I would accomplish,” he said. Westcott’s medal was the fifth of these Olympics for the Americans in snowboarding, which figures to take another step forward in popularity. Dance Marathon’s 24-hour shindig begins tonight Proceeds to go to local childrens hospital flicole Coluiell THE UAMEC'OCK For a full 24 hours this weekend, Greeks, non Greeks and members of the greater USC community will dance for a common cause — to help the sick children of Columbia’s Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital. The eighth annual Dance Marathon will begin registration at 5:30 p.m. today at the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center, with the actual marathon starting at 7 p.m. and running through 7 p.m. Saturday. “It’s a blast,” said Julie Jones, a fourth-year advertising student and participation coordinator for the Dance Marathon organization. The marathon features 13 different theme hours run by Dance Marathon morale volunteers. There’s an “Animal House” theme, featuring togas and pie-eating contests; Mouseketeers who run a Disney-themed hour; and even “Pirates of the Carolina,” who will make use of the Strom’s aquatic facilities. There are live musical performances planned as well. Rock band Kilcoy is scheduled to play at 3 a.m. Saturday, Flyby at 1:30 p.m. and McFly at 4 p.m. The performances are open to the public and are $5. Jones said the live bands help keep marathoners on their feet during the grueling event. “Participants get a whole new burst of energy after the performances,” she said. Dancers also get to learn a 15-minute line dance that splices together 27 popular songs for a backbeat. “We teach only one or two songs at a time to make it easier to remember,” Jones said. Participants are also constantly reminded of the cause toward which they pledged their time and energy. Each dancer is given ounce • 2 i Student Senate passes ballot bills, judicial code Jess Dauis STAFF WRITER The Senate passed several resolutions Wednesday that will go into effect once signed by USC President Andrew Sorensen and Student Government President Justin Williams. Minutes will now be kept at all committee meetings. Sen. Tyler Ray, a second year mechanical engineering student, introduced the bill last week. “There needs to be an accurate record,” he said. “It’s not hard to keep minutes.” The bill, SBL(06) 003, passed 25-0. Another bill cleared up an election technicality. Names on the ballot were randomized this year, but this bill will allow uncontested races to stay in alphabetical order on the ballot. It passed 23-0. A third bill also passed. It amends the judicial codes to allow the constitutional changes that passed in Monday and Tuesday’s election to go into effect. The changes provide for a student judicial council to be created to answer any questions the Senate has about codes or the constitution. The council will be made up of students, who will receive training in knowing the codes and constitution some • 3 Viewpoints Aaron Brazier babbles and uses British words we don’t understand; Chase Stoudenmire wishes homosexuals everywhere a happy belated V-€)ay. The Mix Um.Hello? Don’t answer the phone. “When a Stranger Calls” brings the babysitter killer back to | tflb big screen. Sports Bubble boys USC and Kentucky square off Saturday in a game with NCAA Tournament J implications. Index Comics & Crossword..6 Classifieds.8 Horoscopes.6 Opinion.4 Police Report..2 >y