dailygamecock.com MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2010
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Monday 89°
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VOL. 103, NO. 121 ● SINCE 1908
Indian dance festival heats up USC
Tuesday 91°
69°
Wednesday 69°
88°
Carolina Baseball T he G ame cocks took two of three games in this weekend’s series against Mississippi State University.
Kaushal Vadhar / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Teams from Johns Hopkins, Columbia University, USC and other schools in the southeast compete in the fourth annual Aag Ki Raat Indian dance festival.
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‘Night of Fire’ sees largest contestant turnout ever Derek Legette STAFF WRITER
Choose the right shades Whether you wear $100 designer sunglasses or the cheap ones from Homecoming Week, make sure they send the right message about you.
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Adults refuse to learn lessons Parents who named their child Crimson Tide exemplify the dangerous attitude of stage parents who Chelsey try to manipulate their Seidel children. Second-year
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print journalism student
The fourth annual dance competition, Aag Ki Raat — Night of Fire, was hosted by t he I nd ia n Cu lt u r a l E xcha nge at t he Koger Center Saturday evening.
“There had not been a competition in the lower Southeast until us,” said Mitesh Gandhi , a fourthyea r pol it ica l sc ience student. Gandhi, a public relations official for ICE, said the compet it ion is a t r ue cultural shellshock for those with non-Indian ethnicities. “It’s going to be the best show in the last 10 years,” said Shrugan Amin, a thirdyear biology student, and
also a public relations official. “There are more colleges that are representing tonight than ever before.” Teams came from as far as Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Columbia University in New York to compete with USC students, as well as students from the UGA, Duke and UNC. The teams competed in three different categories, performing Bhangra, a form of folk dance from Punjabi
Recognized activist talks environment Time magazine ‘hero’ Vandana Shiva says economies should be based on Earth Kristyn Winch
THE DAILY GAMECOCK
International environmental activist, scientist and author Vandana Shiva lectured about food security and climate change Friday afternoon in the Belk Auditorium of the School of Business. Shiva has been recognized by Time magazine as an environmental hero and was named “one of the five most powerful communicators from Asia” by Asia Week.
farmers of India, Garba, an Indian dance from the Gujarat region, and Fusion, a combination of everything. The w i n ners for each category received $600, and the overall winner received $1,200. Jay Patel, a t hird-year biolog y st udent and coordinator for t he A ag Ki Raat , said development has been on-going since November because there was much more to the event
than dance routines. ICE st a r ted t he show wit h t he Temple School Group Hindu Temple & Cultural Center singing the Indian national anthem and Soundcheck, USC’s male a cappella group, singing the American anthem. The executive board of ICE was introduced with the original video, “Beauty and The Geeks,” and all of Dance ● 2
The lecture, “Soil Not Oil: Food Security in Times of Climate Change,” was based on Shiva’s 2008 book of the same name and was focused on food insecurity, peak oil and climate change. “I have always been passionate about soil,” Shiva said as she started her lecture. “When we are aware of soil, we are aware of Earth and all she gives us. We can build living economies where the first purpose is to meet our needs.” Shiva said soil is a good metaphor for democracy because things that grow in soil grow from the bottom up. She said people have to use force to get oil because it is not a natural substance. Shiva touched on the subject of global warming, but she said she prefers to use terminology like “climate chaos” or “climate havoc” when discussing the topic. Shiva also told a story about farmers in India who have no food to eat. She said farmers go hungry because they’re forced to sell everything back to make money. The word “seed” in Hindi literally means “that which gives life that will rise again and again and again” Shiva said. “Plants are like children and need to be treated as such,” Shiva said. “We need a celebration of caring.” Shiva has written and contributed to nearly 20 books about environmental Soil ● 2
★ Columbia Votes 2010 ★
Mayoral candidates lay down their platform points
★
Columbia voters will have their say in Tuesday’s election
Mix
(803) 777-3914 (803) 777-7726 (803) 777-7182 (803) 576-6172
Tennis M e n’s te n n i s h a d a disappointing weekend, just losing to Kentuck y Friday and then suffering its second loss Sunday against Vanderbilt.
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Joseph Azar Hometown: Columbia, S.C. College: USC Three major platform points 1. Clean up our fi nancial mess and protect our finances AZAR 2. Create jobs by helping our own people — by recruiting businesses that create goods and services, which they send out of Columbia and bring in money, and creating internships for students in local business, and professors in local business research and consulting, to give both our businesses and students/academics an advantage in obtaining and creating jobs and wealth. 3. Term limits for office to allow fresh energy and ideas to percolate up What do you want Columbia to know about you? This is where I was born and chose to stay. I had the opportunity to go to Ivy League and highly regarded science and technology schools, but chose to stay in Columbia and attend USC as Columbia at the time was ahead of Charlotte and Atlanta, and it and USC were being touted as the hottest areas of business and academic activity in the South, if not the nation! — Compiled by Sara Hartley
Steve Benjamin
Sparkle Clark
Hometown: New York, N.Y. College/Major: BS in political science, USC (1991); USC School of Law, 1994
Hometown: Columbia, S.C. College/Major: USC , BA I nterdisciplinar y St udies; Li mestone Col lege, BS Computer Science
Three major platform points BENJAMIN 1. We have to g ive police officers and firefighters the tools they need to keep our neighborhoods and families safe. 2. We must adopt a common sense budget and pass serious transparency and ethics reforms. 3. We must partner with our neighbors in Irmo, Cayce, Blythewood, and West Columbia to develop a true regional economic development strategy. What do you want Columbia to know about you? I’m running for mayor to bring a new day to Columbia where the city has earned our trust, where downtown thrives with culture and commerce, where we make public safety a priority and create safer neighborhoods. I’m running because I have a vision of Columbia’s true potential and I firmly believe that we can become the most talented, educated, and entrepreneurial city in the Southeast if not America. — Compiled by Sara Hartley
Th ree Major Plat for m Points: 1. Q u a l i f y of L i f e: s a f e neighborhoods, clean air and clean water 2. Fiscally Sane City Budget: “Don’t spend what you don’t have” 3. A Vision for Columbia to be the “Green City” of the Southeast
CLARK
What would you like Columbia to know about you? Nature photographer. I love the swamp.
— Compiled by Derek Legette
Mayor ● 2