The Daily Gamecock 8/31/10

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dailygamecock.com UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2010

VOL. 104, NO. 14 ● SINCE 1908

Haley pulls ahead, takes lead in polls

Tuesday 95°

69°

Wednesday

USC professor claims not all lost for Sheheen

70°

96°

Jonathan Battaglia

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

DiMarco adjusts to cast The fullback/tight end is getting used to p rote c ti o n fo r h i s fractured forearm

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Keri Goff / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Louis Sossamon and Madge Major, diehard Gamecock fans, display their spirit and reminisce over past football seasons. Both in their 80s, the two friends have supported Carolina for decades and look forward to this season.

Legends live in loyal fans THIS IS THE FIRST OF A THREE-PIECE SERIES PREVIEWING USC’S SEASON OPENER Seniors Sossamon, Major maintain enthusiasm after years of support New Found Glory The pop-punk band played a packed crowd at New Brookland Tavern last Saturday. The Mix runs down the evening’s highlights.

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Wanna Fanta? Overconfident freshmen should be cautious when trying to impress upperclassmen through dangerous partying. Michelle There are better ways Fantone to be cool Fourth-year than binge political science drinking. and sociology

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student

Josh Dawsey NEWS EDITOR

THE FRIENDSHIP Across the river in West Columbia, Louis Sossamon and Madge Major live four doors apart in a high-end apartment complex for retirees. Sossamon is 89. Major is 86. He calls her the queen of the building. She jokingly threatens to tell bad stories about him. The two share a beautiful friendship. Both lost their spouses in recent years and moved into one-bedroom apartments about two miles from downtown Columbia. Bot h have well-k now n children liv ing in t he M id la nds. Sossa mon’s daughter, K it Sm it h, is a Richland County Councilwoman, while Major’s daughter, Boo Major, is the national-title winning equestrian coach at USC. Their biggest tie is this: they are diehard, passionate, loyal Carolina fans with memorabilia tacked on the

More Emmy Coverage Mix Editor Jimmy Gilmore talks about why this year’s Emmy Awards are significant to television audiences in this week’s exclusive “That’s Entertainment!” multimedia feature.

Online @ www.dailygamecock.com

THE QUEEN Madge Major sits in her living room, adorned in a Gamecock scarf and earrings, flipping through books of Gamecock yesteryear. Suddenly, she finds a page hand-inserted into her book and breaks out in a perfectly-tuned version of USC’s alma mater, complete with different lyrics. “We hail you, Madge Major, and sing your high praise. Although you went to Converse, you mended your ways. And became a great Gamecock who yells many a cheer. And like the rest of us waits for next year!” The song was written by her close friend Brooksie Mayes earlier this year, and it’s a prized possession of Major’s. Over the past 86 years, she has collected many prized possessions, including dozens of pictures, books, newspaper clippings and magazines featuring Gamecock successes. She’s a legendary Carolina fan, at least according to the Gamecock Club. Her 49 years of service will be honored during a pre-game ceremony Sept. 18. “I was really shocked when I found out about it,” she said, clutching a letter from the Gamecock Club. “I FANS ● 2

Ticket shortage disappoints Significant amount of students left without season opener admittance due to demand

(803) 777-3914 (803) 777-7726 (803) 777-7182 (803) 576-6172

outside of their doors, pictures throughout their apartments and hundreds of stories to tell. Win or lose, Major and Sossamon will be Gamecocks ’til the grave.

Josh Dawsey and Sara Hartley NEWS EDITORS

A l mo st 1, 8 0 0 st udent s who requested t ickets for Thursday n ight ’s sea son opener ag a i n st Southern Mississippi didn’t receive them in this weekend’s lottery. O f t he 11,176 st udent s who requested tickets — the highest amount since 2008’s season opener against N.C. State — 9,400 were granted tickets, meaning almost 16 percent of students requesting tickets were turned down. Data shows that the majority of students who requested a ticket in 2008 and 2009 received one. In 2008, there was a total of 67,351 tickets requested over the course of

the seven home football games and 64,091 were distributed. In 2009, 61,162 tickets were requested while 66,076 were distributed. Patrick Donovan, director of student tickets for the University of South Carolina, attributed the inability to meet the full demand of student tickets for upcoming game in part to increased enrollment. The University saw its largest freshman class admitted this year at a total of 4,400, and all of the new students are now in the pool for tickets. “The large number of requests are a direct result of increased enrollment combined w it h t he excitement of a Thursday night ESPN season opener,” Donovan said. As in past years, student tickets are distributed in a lottery system based on class rank and attendance history. Seniority points are awarded at the

beginning of the year based on class standing by hours, and students can accumulate additional loyalty points by attending athletic events. Ten percent of a student’s total points can roll over from one year to the next. Those who are awarded tickets must claim them online before a certain time, after which the tickets go “on-demand” and are open to all students on a first-come, first-serve basis. For t his Thursday’s opening game, almost 8,200 tickets have been claimed already, Donovan said. Tickets that were not claimed by midnight Monday were put up for grabs for all students who did not initially receive a ticket.

Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@sc.edu

Gamecock spirit recognized by Herbie Awards In Monday’s announcement of the 10th annual Herbie Awards by ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, the Gamecock fans made the rankings. South Carolina’s student section was ranked No. 5 in the category t it le d “ St a y i n S c ho ol : To p Student Sections.” Penn State’s

student section was ranked No. 1, followed by Notre Dame, LSU and Wisconsin. A mong t he ot her categories of the Herbie Awards were Most Exciting Players, Best Running Backs and Players Who Don’t Get Enough Respect. South Carolina’s

Marcus Lattimore was ranked No. 3 of the Top True Freshmen and Stephon Gilmore was No. 4 of the Top Cornerbacks. “The Herbie Awards” air on ESPN Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Photo by Scott Folwer / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Nikki Haley is making g a i n s i n he r q u e s t t o become the next governor of South Carolina. T h e Republ ic a n s t a t e legislator now has 52 percent of t h e v o t e , Nikki according to Haley Picture from a Rasmussen Associated Press Report of likely voters. Democratic challenger V i ncent Sheheen ha s 36 percent of t he vote, ac c ord i n g t o t he p ol l conducted late last week. Three p erc e nt p r e f e r a not her candidate a n d 10 Vincent percent are Sheheen u nde c ide d . Picture from The lead is Associated Press up from last month, when Haley held a 49 percent to 35 percent lead over Sheheen. Despite Haley’s gains, Rober t Oldend ick , a political science professor at USC, says the lead is not insurmountable. “You don’t want to be dow n double d ig it s at a n y p o i nt d u r i n g t h e campaign,” said Oldendick, who is an expert in public opi n ion p ol l s . “ But i f Sheheen can go out and do more advertising, there’s a possibilit y it can get closer.” W i t h t h e N o v. 2 election only two months away, Sheheen will have to overcome t he na me recognition Haley gained in her primary race. After being endorsed by former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin this summer, Haley won the Republican primar y runoff with 65 percent of the vote. Democ r at s i n Sout h Carol i na h istor ica l ly have an uphill battle in statewide elections. “People in t his st ate a re much more likely to identif y w it h t he Republ ica n part y,” Oldendick said. “Democrats always face an uphill battle.” I n 20 0 6 , G ov. M a rk Sanford handily defeated Democrat Tommy Moore by 10 percentage points. Before Sanford, Democrat Jim Hodges was the last to serve as South Carolina’s governor. Olde nd ic k s a id t h at despite t he cu rrent pol it ic a l cl i m ate, it is possible for Democrats to succeed. “ Ji m R e x , t he St at e Education Superintendent, is a Democrat,” Oldendick said. “He proved that if you run a good campaign and concent rate on turnout, a Democrat can win state-wide in South Carolina.”

Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@sc.edu


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