dailygamecock.com THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
SENATE QUESTIONS COMMENT POLICY
Thursday 79°
61°
Friday 78°
Resolution to stop anonymous feedback on Web site fails
66°
Saturday 76°
VOL. 103, NO. 40 ● SINCE 1908
47°
Josh Dawsey
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Keri Goff / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Bryan Curran, Outspokin’ owner, fixes second-year student Jeffrey Earl’s bike Wednesday during the Sustainability Fair. Numerous green organizations participated in the day’s events.
Volleyball returns home Carolina looks to get back to their winning ways in an SEC tilt against Ole Miss.
Sustainability takes center stage at USC Fair showcases environmental groups in campus, community
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Sarah Peterman STAFF WRITER
The Mix Tape Starbuck’s deliciously autumn Pumpkin Spice L a t te j o i n s s o m e C D releases from The Flaming Lips and another from Atlas Sound on the list of things we’re obsessing about this week.
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The Sustainability Fair gave students a chance to learn more about environmental org a n i z at ion s on c a mpu s a nd i n t he community Wednesday afternoon. The fair was held in honor of the campuswide Sustainability Day, the focus of the week’s green events. Accord i ng to Jason Cra ig, assist a nt d i rec tor of t he L ea r n i ng C enter for Sustainable Futures, the fair started three years ago t hrough t he Residence Hall Association. “We are trying to bring folks together from all over campus who are doing things in terms of sustainability and get others involved,” Craig said. “We also want to network between groups.” A wide range of groups was represented at
the fair and each had a slightly different view on why it was important to be sustainable. Ryan Nevius with Conservation Voters approaches env i ron ment a l ism f rom a legislative standpoint. She was encouraging students to sign letters to Sen. Lindsey Graham for his bipartisan approach to climate change bills. “If you reach someone in college,” Nevius said, “It can affect them later in life. You never know who the future leaders will be. I also love the energy and idealism found here and getting to share that with students.” The Green Quad and SAGE were both present. These two groups are the most identifi able for campus sustainability and were focusing on letting people know what they personally could do to get involved. Refresh Compost Services came to let students know how easy and simple it was to have a compost bin, even if they live on campus. Outdoor Recreation, a less traditional FAIR ● 3
Spurs and Struts
Pari tells all Gates at WilliamsBrice should be open throughout game for late arrivals Pari if student section isn’t Fakhrzadeh Third-year full. business student
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Chad Simmons / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Float Building Video Organizations from around campus are hard at work building their f loats for F r i d a y ’s h o m e c o m i n g parade down Greene Street.
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Greene Street was crowded and music could be heard from miles away last night as the student body gathered to show their spirit at the annual Spurs and Struts homecoming dance competition. Campus organizations including many sororities and fraternities teamed up to compete. The teams chose their own music, choreographed the numbers and organized their own practices. Each group had to audition to be included in the showcase last night, and some groups did not make the final cut. The dance styles ranged from ballet to hip hop to step. Many groups tried to incorporate the homecoming theme “Anchors Away” in their costumes and song choices. Songs included “The Tide is High,” the “Spongebob Squarepants” theme song, music from “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “On a Boat.” “This was my first year watching the competition and I loved it,” first-year business student Lauren Bordeaux said. “I wanted to be up there.” The winner of this year’s competition was the Kappa Kappa Gamma and Delta Tau Delta team. Together, the group started practicing two times a week about a month before the competition; however, their practice schedule got more rigorous closer to the day of the event. “We practiced for six hours on Sunday,” said second-year media arts student Lyndsay Ogden, who helped choreograph the winning dance. The team performed to “Nothing Like a Dame” from the Broadway musical “South Pacific,” “Jai Ho,” “Candy Man,” “Show Me the Money” and “Bounce.” — Compiled by Kristyn Winch
A proposal that would have encouraged The Daily G a mecock to force a l l online users to post their names on story comments was qu ick ly shot dow n by USC’s Student Senate Wednesday night. The resolution wouldn’t have any power over T he Da i l y G a me co c k , but it would have been a significant statement from St udent Government to t he campus’s only daily newspaper. The Senate didn’t take a rol l c a l l vote on t he re solut ion , but Sen ate President A lex Stroman qu ic k l y a n nou nced it s defeat after hearing almost t he ent i re Senate vote against the legislation. Bot h s upp or ter s a nd opponents of the resolution agree that comments on t he Web site a re of ten i n f la m m ator y. But t he con st it ut iona l r ight to a nony mous speech was cited as the reason most opposed the resolution. “I have been the blunt of many at tack s on t he ne w s p ap er ’s Web s it e , but I disagree w it h t he r e s ol u t io n ,” s a id S e n . Matt Ungar, a third-year public relations student. “Every public figure in this University who has done something controversial has gotten t he negat ive comments.” Ung a r sa id he d id n’t think Student Government should be worrying about t he com ment for u m of The Da ily G amecock ’s We b s it e . S e n . K e v i n Bu rke, a second-yea r business student, pointed to The Washington Post, ESPN.com a nd ot her national media outlets that allow anony m it y in his opposition. Sen. Andrew Cederdahl, the resolution’s sponsor, said the idea came about last week at a Diversit y Dialog ue sponsored by USC. During conversations, Cederdahl said he and other students agreed the level of dialogue here at USC needs improvement. “T hey ’re pret t y at rociou s a nd honest ly an embarrassment to the University,” Cederdahl said. “A lot of prominent people read The Daily Gamecock, and it’s a reflection on our University.” Last week , a n ar t icle posted on The Daily Gamecock’s Web site about a s p e e c h b y renow ne d biologist Richard Dawkins brought over 10,000 hits and 123 comments as of
press time. Almost all of the comments were posted eit her a nony mou sly or under pseudonyms. Cederdahl invited The Rev. Frank Anderson, who partially led the dialogue, to the Senate to speak in favor of t he resolut ion. Anderson said that while he understands constitutional law, USC could make a positive statement toward higher dialogue with the passing of the resolution. “I understand that the industry standard allows a n o n y m o u s s p e e c h ,” A nderson said. “But we have an opport u nit y to stand up to the rest of the culture against anonymous speech that denigrates and destroys.” Current ly, The Daily G a mecock requ i res a l l online users to register and provide their names and an e-mail address before commenting. But there’s no safeguard that validates whet her t he na me a nd address are authentic. A m a nd a D a v i s , T he Daily Gamecock’s editorin-ch ief, said she’s had multiple conversations with campus officials about the Web site’s comment boards. College Publisher 5.0, the system that supports the ne w s p ap er ’s Web s it e , currently doesn’t provide the newspaper capabilities to check whether names and e-mail addresses are authentic, she said. There’s been discussions about d isba nd i ng t he comment boards altogether, Dav is said, but she and other editors feel they’re important. “ We f e e l l i k e t h a t our comment boards are substantial and that it’s important that we have the student voice on the Web site,” said Davis, a fourthy e a r E n g l i s h s t u d e nt . “It’s not fair for us to tell students what we think and not let them tell us what they think.” Erik Collins, The Daily Gamecock’s adviser and a professor of media law at USC, said there’s been a nationwide f ight on the Internet and anonymous speech. Under most circumstances, Web sites aren’t liable for anonymous comments, he said, but the users responsible for the comments can be held accountable. Regardless of the legality of such comments, there are credibility issues they bring, Collins said. “As a newspaper, you may want to take a serious look at what you allow when it comes to anony mous speech,” Collins said. “It reflects on your newspaper what people read on the comment boards.” Comments on this story? E-mail sagcknew@mailbox. sc.edu
Hannah Carroll/ THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Sen. Andrew Cederdahl watches as the debate continues over The Daily Gamecock’s online comments policy.