dailygamecock.com THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
College Democrats host superintendent
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Jim Rex labels S.C. image, education as platform issues
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VOL. 103, NO. 53 ● SINCE 1908
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Sarah Peterman STAFF WRITER
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Student Government flier promotes diversity forum through use of controversial symbols.
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Second-year political science student
The f lier’s background is a f ull-page Confederate flag, and a swastika and a symbol often representing transgendered people find their places in the top two corners. T he word s embl a z oned ac ro s s t he front offer a challenging question: “Are Gamecocks Prejudiced?” About 250 of the f liers will go up around campus i n t he nex t few days to promote a diversity forum spon sored by St udent Government next Thursday at 6 p.m. in Russell House, CRUM Room 302. The forum, part of a larger Diversif y Yourself initiative in SG, hopes to provide a robu st d i s c u s sion of d iver sit y a nd discrimination on campus, said Sen. Kizer Crum, chairwoman of the Committee on Multicultural Affairs. “In order to bring the majority of the population there, it had to be a flier that would make people think about the issue,” said Crum, a second-year biology student. “We want to excite people to come and voice their opinions.” The forum will bring different minority leaders on campus together for a roundtable discussion. Audience members will be asked for questions and solutions to problems, and Crum said she expects the event to be respectful. It’s not the first diversity forum sponsored by SG. The organization has sponsored other forums to promote diversit y, said former committee chairman and current Student Body Treasurer Ebbie Yazdani. Yazdani said in the past, the forums
attracted a lot of graduate students and f ac u lt y. A nd wh i le t ho se g roup s a re important, organizers say they think the fl ier will attract more students from other groups. “I’m confident the attendance this year will be better than last year,” Yazdani, a third-year history and economics student, said. But the question asked by some in SG is whether or not a poster with a swastika and Confederate flag is the right way to boost attendance. Student Body President Meredith Ross, a fourth-year political science student, said the intent of the poster was to “inspire thought and potent ial debate in a const r uct ive forum.” Ross also said she wasn’t given the authority to approve the fl ier before it was published and circulated, and she didn’t know if she would have approved the flier. Ross said she’s working on changing the policy so posters will have to be approved before being published. “It certainly is of fensive,” Sen. Ben Bullock, a fi rst-year graduate student said. “But it catches people’s eyes. If we can get more people involved by catching their eyes, I think that’s a good thing.” Sen. Mark James said he wouldn’t have used the symbols to promote the event. “It’s going to start more debate on what the Confederate flag stands for and whether it should be f lown,” said James, a thirdyear political science student. “I’ve seen a lot of people fly a Confederate flag that aren’t racist, but I don’t know anyone with a swastika tattoo that isn’t racist.” James said he plans to attend the forum, but he “hopes that it isn’t people pointing fingers at white guys.” Krum said it won’t be. “We want the white conservative male to attend,” Krum said. Comments on this story? E-mail sagcknew@mailbox.sc.edu
On Wednesday evening, g uber natorial ca ndidate Ji m Rex spoke to t he College Democrats about the upcoming Democratic primary and his platform. About 20 st udents gathered to hear what Rex had to say. “ T h e s e e v e nt s a l l o w people to get to know who is running for public office,” said Heather Singleton, a fourth-year political science student. “People can make informed decisions based on facts instead of propaganda.” Rex is focusing his campaign on changing the public educat ion system in South Carolina. He is currently the Superintendent for Education and is the only statewide elected Democrat. “I’ve seen firsthand the power of education and how it can be a great equalizer,” Rex said. “It gives everyone the opportunity to live out the American dream.” Rex grew up with little money a nd worked in const r uc t ion a nd i n a factory before deciding to go to college. He then was a n E ngl ish teacher a nd football coach. Rex went on to be the Vice President for University Advancement at USC, the Dean of Education at Winthrop University and Coastal Carolina University a nd t he President of Columbia College. Rex promotes a choicedriven innovative school system. This model includes schools with single-gender cla ssroom s, Monte ssor i programs, magnet schools and public charter schools. Despite many setbacks in the public education system, Rex said we are “a state on the move.” South Carolina has been ranked No. 1 in high school graduation rate and SAT improvement. Rex connected education rates with the workforce in the state. “You cannot have a 21st century public school system in a state stuck in the 19th or 20th century,” Rex said.
“The economic battlefield of the future is going to be won by the nation who does the best job of educating their human capital.” Rex also notes t he importance of protecting South Carolina’s natural env ironment. He is concerned with coal plants and air and river quality in the state. R e x a l s o s a i d t h at a professionally developed marketing plan is needed to act as damage control for many of South Carolina’s recent blunders, such as Sanford’s trip to Argentina and Joe Wilson’s outburst. The candidate also notes that running as a Democrat in a Southern, Republican state is not an easy task, but maintaining diversity in the state government is more important than ever. “I have passed a number of unanimous votes in the House a nd t he Senate,” Rex sa id. “My elec t ion will require the votes of independents and moderate Republicans as well.” Rex knows that, if elected, he will have to satisfy not only those who voted for him, but others as well. “ I b el ie ve t h at w he n a person is elected to a public office they have a responsibility to the people who voted for them, those who didn’t and those who didn’t vote at all,” Rex said. Merrill Walker, a thirdyear political science and women’s studies student and upcoming president for the College Democrats, said, “We hope through these events that people become more aware of what the issues are and what the candidates’ platforms are.” Walker hopes that Rex’s visit will help build interest in the election process. “A lot of people don’t understand the importance of local and state elections, but we’re trying to get more people involved in local politics,” Walker said. The statewide primaries w i l l be held i n Ju ne, determining the Republican and Democrat candidates for the election in November. Comments on this story? E-mail sagcknew@mailbox. sc.edu
Campus-wide hunger drive strives for world record Mix
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By bringing a few cans to Greene Street today, you could be a part of breaking a Guinness World Record. USC is seeking to break the record for the largest food drive for a non-charitable organization within a 24-hour period with its Beat Hunger campaign. “We knew that many organizations around campus held food drives,” said Cynthia Steele, marketing manager for Carolina Dining. “We wanted to focus on what the University community can do together.” The idea for the campaign came after hearing about Harvest Hope’s great need for food donations. According to Denise Holland, CEO of Harvest Hope, there has been a 100 percent increase in the demand for food over the last year. Carolina Dining holds a food drive every fall and spring, but after hearing about the great need, they decided to join forces with other organizations on campus. “We started forming a spur-of-the-moment campaign,” Steele said. Ch i Psi f rater n it y, t he rest of t he Greek communit y, R H A, Student Government and Carolina Productions all helped with the campaign.
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Several campus groups combine efforts in hunger drive, hoping to collect 600,000 cans to beat record. “It made sense to consolidate this into one united effort,” said Kate Shelton, director of conference and event services with the Continuing Education depart ment. “We wanted to u nite dif ferent departments and student groups.” As the group began to brainstorm different ways to create a large campaign, Nov. 12 was selected because of the date for the Guinness record. The committee also noted that this was near the Florida game and decided to host a “Beat Hunger! Beat Florida” pep rally. Between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. today, students can
drop off their cans to help “stuff the bus” in front of Russell House. From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. there will be a carnival with games and prizes to encourage students to donate to Harvest Hope. With five cans or $5, students will receive tickets to play games such as ring toss, wheel of fortune and golf putt. Then students will be entered for prizes, which will include a special T-shirt for the Florida game. Campaigns in residence halls and in the Greek Village have been taking place all week. All of the cans collected at locations around campus will be collected today and brought to the bus. The idea to “stuff a bus” came from a collaboration with vehicle management and parking services. With large food drives, there is always the challenge of getting the donated food to the food bank. By placing all of the food on the bus, this solves the transportation problem. The current Guinness record is 388,381 pounds of food. The Universit y will need to collect approximately 600,000 cans to beat this record. “We want the University as a whole to give back to the community where we live,” Steele said. “Our hope is that many more South Carolina families will have the comfort of knowing where their next meal is coming from.” For more information, visit http://www.saeu. sc.edu/cec/beathunger/. Comments on this story? E-mail sagcknew@mailbox.sc.edu