The Daily Gamecock 10/1/13

dailygamecock.com UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

VOL. 113, NO. 28 • SINCE 1908

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2013

Obamacare impact on USC still uncertain Costs will grow, but officials unsure of how much Thad Moore

TMOORE@DAILYGAMECOCK.COM

Leah Grubb / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Zafer Gurdal (second from right) was honored Monday as the new chairman and technical director of the McNair Center.

Smalls donates $1 million to center Businesswoman’s gift benefits McNair aerospace scholarship Amanda Coyne

ACOYNE@DAILYGAMECOCK.COM

M a r v a S m a l l s i s not i n t he aerospace engineering business, but South Carolina is.

T h a t ’s w h y S m a l l s , a U S C alumna and executive at Viacom and Nickelodeon, donated $1 million to

the McNair Center for Aerospace Innovation and Research.

The donation — the third sevenfigure sum given to the center by a South Carolina businesswoman — will be earmarked for scholarships for aerospace engineering students from the Pee Dee region, which contains Smalls’ native Florence as well as Lake City, the hometown of the center’s namesake.

Ronald McNair, the first AfricanAmerican civilian astronaut and a

Leah Grubb / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

A crowd gathered at Rutledge Chapel for Zafer Gurdal’s investiture ceremony.

USC alumnus, was killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

The McNair Center was founded in 2011 with a $5 million gift from Lake City businesswoman Darla Moore.

Another $5 million was donated by Charleston businesswoman A nita Zucker in October 2012. They, along with Smalls, were honored at Monday’s investiture ceremony of Zafer Gurdal, the McNair Center’s chairman and technical director.

Three of the center’s five programs are up and running with a small group of students enrolled, including at least 10 undergraduate students pursuing a minor in aerospace engineering.

With Smalls’ $1 million gift, that enrollment is expected to grow.

The scholarships Smalls’ donations will furnish for undergraduate and graduate students reflect a changing t ide i n Sout h Ca rol i na’s major industries, she said.

“With Boeing in the Lowcountry, Honda in Florence ... while it’s a field that’s not my natural affinity, it was an opportunity to merge an under-served population and marry it with a university with education and employment opportunities,” Smalls said.

A s South Carolina’s aerospace manufact uring and engineering SMALLS • 2

More graduate after taking U101 Kennedy: Class’s goal to help ease students’ transition to university

A key component of the Affordable Care Act rolls out today, but the law won’t start to affect USC directly for more than a year.

Health insurance exchanges open today, meaning Americans can apply for coverage on state or federal “marketplaces” designed to compare prices and options. Americans will be required to have health insurance starting Jan. 1, but USC says the date it’s worried about is further out.

Starting Jan. 1, 2015, large employers like USC will be required to offer full-time employees insurance, which Chief Financial Officer Ed Walton said in an email is “especially worrisome because it requires estimates, and all the estimates are high.”

How high is uncertain, but this much is clear: The law, better known as Obamacare, will prove costly for USC. The costs will likely grow by 10 percent or more, according to Walton. But for now, estimates of Obamacare’s impact are guesses, said Chris Byrd, vice president for human resources. USC doesn’t expect to have a firm estimate for a few months.

The university said in its annual budget that the law would cost more than $24 million over three years. But after the budget was approved in June, the requirement on employers was delayed one year.

“There will be a cost to us as a university, but in terms of the exact dollar amount, we don’t know,” Byrd said.

The exact price tag depends on what policies the state decides to offer and how many more employees USC has to provide insurance for, Byrd said. Currently, 6,900 employees throughout the university system are eligible for coverage, costing $34 million last year, according to Byrd.

The university has already started asking the state legislature to ease the burden of rising health care costs.

At his state of the university address last month, USC President Harris Pastides asked legislators to help pay for health insurance, state-mandated raises and growing energy costs.

Byrd said he thinks it’s “reasonable” to ask legislators to cover part of the law’s implementation, which has been unpopular in state politics since it was passed in 2010.

“It’s on everybody’s radar that there is going to be a cost,” Byrd said.

DG

What students say about U101

Students enrolled in U101

“This class is so personal. ... Bigger classes kind of dehumanize you in a way, and whenever you come into a class that’s so personal, you kind of start to feel like a part of something. You start to feel like an individual again instead of part of a unit.”

— Iva Reed, first-year biology and psychology student

of 5,034 total first-year students

Sarah Ellis

SELLIS@DAILYGAMECOCK.COM

“Can I ask you a sensitive question? How’d it go yesterday?”

University 101 instructor Dan Friedman asks his students this question as the last few of them trickle into the classroom.

“Eh, I don’t want to talk about it,” one replies, followed by echoes from others.

All 16 of them took the same psychology test the previous day. Friedman tells them they can talk about strategies for how to take that kind of exam so they can all do better next time.

That’s one of the benefits of this U101 class, which is one of about a dozen sections organized around a common course, like these students’ psychology class. The students in this class are also all residents in Columbia Hall.

More than 3,800 students are enrolled in 212 sections of the course, representing more than three-quarters of the first-year student population.

Friedman’s students say the organization, size and teaching style of the class have helped them bond with one another and feel comfortable participating in class.

“I like it. I’m pretty comfortable in this class,” said Iva Reed, a first-year biology and psychology student

23% 1,154 students not enrolled

77% 3,880 first-year students enrolled

5-year graduation rate Said they would attend USC again

Students who took U101

Students who didn’t

71.1%

64.9%

91.8%

85.5%

“My favorite part is it’s a lot less (stressful). I like this class because it’s not as pressured. I mean, it’s work, but it’s not (like other classes.) ... I feel like this class has helped out a lot getting used to the university.”

— Katie Edwards, f i r s t-ye a r b u s i n e s s management student

INSIDE

U101 • 2

5

MIX

SPORTS

VIEWPOINTS

The eagerly anticipated finale cooks up one of the best series endings ever and provides closure for fans.

The South Carolina men’s basketball team officially began practice Monday.

Editorial Board: Regardless of politics, the university needs certainty with “Obamacare.”

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WEATHER Tuesday

Wednesday

High 85° Low 59°

High 88° Low 62°

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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

City Hall gets $1.1 million renovation

SG Council releases opinion on dismissed Snead case

5 flu cases already reported in Midlands

City Council and other city officials return to a newly refurbished City Hall today, after the Main Street building received a $1.1 million face-lift, The State reported.

Renovations to the 140-plus-year-old building began in the summer of 2012. The work was originally budgeted to cost $500,000 in taxpayer money, but that price had ballooned to $1,113,411 as of late last week, according to The State.

The majority of the cost — nearly $800,000 — went to upgrading City Council’s chambers on the third floor of the building. Renovations to the chambers include repaired, replastered and repainted architectural features, as well as a skylight and a new chandelier in the middle of the room.

Council has held its biweekly meetings in north Columbia and its committee meetings in a city parking garage conference room since summer 2012, according to The State. It will meet in its upgraded chambers tonight.

— Sarah Ellis, Assistant News Editor

Constitutional Council released its full opinion in the organizational challenge against Student Government Monday afternoon. The Council dismissed the case after a Sept. 22 hearing, concluding both the petitioner, South Carolina eSports Club President Josh Snead, and SG wanted the same thing.

Snead filed a brief in early September after he and other eSports Club members felt that SG would not carry out section 700 of its constitutional codes. That section, known as “the 700 codes,” establishes a lower legislative house of student organization representatives called the house of delegates.

The opinion, written by Associate Justice Emory Roberts, further explained the council’s decision to dismiss the case.

“The fact that the 700 codes would be carried out and a house of delegates established, regardless of the outcome of the organizational challenge, decidedly destroyed any adversary controversy between the parties,” Roberts wrote.

St udent Body President Chase M izzell maintained throughout the proceedings that he had, in fact, planned on carrying out the codes.

If, however, SG does not enact the codes within 30 days as promised, Snead is free to file another challenge.

— Amanda Coyne, News Editor

Well, it’s about that time — flu season is here, with five cases having been reported in the Midlands in the past few weeks, according to The State.

The 2012-2013 season was one of the worst in recent memory, The State reported, with 1,720 flu-related hospitalizations and 46 flu-related deaths in the state.

Vaccination is the best way to prevent the spread of the flu, Dr. Linda Bell of the state Department of Health and Environmental Cont rol told The State. She recommends ever yone older t han six mont hs of age be vaccinated.

A new flu vaccine is released every August.

South Carolina’s flu season typically peaks in February, according to Bell.

“But you should get vaccinated as soon as possible to give your body time to strengthen its natural resistance to the virus before you are exposed,” Bell told The State.

— Sarah Ellis, Assistant News Editor

SMALLS • Continued from 1 industry grows rapidly, the McNair Center will train students to enter that industry and stay in the state.

Boeing’s North Charleston plant first opened in November 2011 and is set to expand. It will add 2,000 new jobs and $1 billion in investments to the Lowcountry by 2020.

“We have ever y intent ion of producing innovat ive t hinkers capable of taking over top leadership positions at Boeing,” said Tony A mbler, dean of the College of Engineering and Computing.

W hile many of the obstacles Smalls faced as a black high school student in the 1970s may be gone, she said economic barriers to higher education still persist, especially in the largely agricultural Pee Dee. “We’re clearly creating more pathways for students to go to school.

But because of u nemploy ment a nd u nder e mplo y me nt t h at ’s disproportionate in people of color, you still have those first generations of students going to college with

parents who may not have all the resources to support that,” Smalls said.

The university will also reach out to support science programs in the Pee Dee, preparing the potential scholarship winners for careers in science, technology, mathematics and engineering.

“We will work with K-12 schools in the Pee Dee to create career paths for all South Carolinians,” university President Harris Pastides said.

At Gurdal’s investiture Monday night, Pastides praised Smalls, along with Moore, Zucker and Cheryl McNair, Ronald McNair’s widow, as “a veritable Mount Rushmore of female community leaders,” and cited Smalls and Ronald McNair as inspirations for Pee Dee youth.

“Marva wants to see a Pee Dee and a South Carolina where thousands of boys and girls can be just like Ron McNair,” Pastides said. “I would add I want them to be just like Marva Smalls.”

DG

U101 • Cont. from 1 in Friedman’s class. “I can participate in it without feeling awkward.”

A ll the students participate on this day in class, which includes an around-the-room sharing session called “I’ve got news for ya ... ” For about 10 minutes, Friedman leads the students in this discussion about what’s going on in their lives.

One st udent sha re s her excitement over being selected for t he Da nce Marat hon Mora le Tea m; a not her laments the difficulties of procrastinating on work for a self-paced class (“This could be a good learning ex per ience,” Fr ied ma n says); another shares her frightening encounter with a cockroach in her dorm room.

Friedman, who is also

Leah Grubb / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

The 16 students in Dan Friedman’s U101 are all residents of Columbia Hall and students in the same psychology class. the overall director of U101 Programs, conducts his class with an energy that engages the students. His objectives for the class are the same as every other U101 section: to help students develop successful academic habits, to help them connect with university resources and traditions and to teach them overall values of citizenship, diversity and wellness.

Each U101 class is unique, said Tricia Kennedy, the

program coordinator for peer leadership for U101 Programs. But they all have a common goal for students: “helping them find their place,” Kennedy said.

“It’s that connection to Carolina that helps them transition smoothly” into college life, she said. “It’s really become part of the institutional culture at this point.”

DG

TOMORROW O C T. 2 - TO W N S H I P AU D I TO R I U M

NEED MORE INFO? LATE NIGHT WITH KD October 3rd Stop on by for some delicious late night snacks on Thursday night from 10PM-2AM. There will be homemade treats and pizza!

DODGEBALL TOURNAMENT October 9th We will be having a campus-wide dodgeball tournament at the Blatt PE Center on Wednesday October 9th at 5:30PM. $100 per team, maximum of 10 players.

Contact Ginger Lee to submit a team: leeginger92@yahoo.com All proceeds will go benefit Prevent Child Abuse America and the Children’s Trust of South Carolina.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

SYDNEY PATTERSON

MAXWELL BAUMAN

BRIAN ALMOND

ALEX BUSCEMI

Editor-in-Chief

Copy Desk Chief

Photo Editor

Asst. Mix Editor

ANNIE PARHAM

RICHARD LIPKIN

KYLE HECK

Asst. Design Director

Copy Editor

Sports Editor

THAD MOORE Managing Editor

4

University needs certainty with ‘Obamacare’ ISSUE The Affordable Care Act has become a political football.

OUR STANCE Regardless of politics, the university needs certainty.

Since it was signed into law more than three years ago, the Affordable Care Act has been a favorite political football in Congress.

The House of Representatives has voted to repeal it more than 40 times. This week, Republican lawmakers posed an offer: Delay its implementat ion a year to avoid a government shutdown.

Democrats in the Senate turned it down.

Regardless of your politics — whet her you support “Obamacare” or abhor it — that isn’t good. Uncertainty is bad for the university. And it’s bad for us as students and citizens.

H e r e ’s w h y : W h e n l a w s become political footballs, we don’t know what we’re required to do or when we’re required to do it.

That means t hat when A mericans start shopping for health insurance on state and federal exchanges today, they won’t necessarily be certain that they’ll need coverage by next year.

Will they? Probably. But has Congress given t hem reason to doubt? Absolutely. And that doesn’t help anyone.

T he s a me g o e s f or USC .

Delay ing t he so-called

“We depend on laws to be consistent and reliable. Dangling them as political bartering chips while the government faces a shutdown is dangerous, and it strikes us as irresponsible, regardless of political leaning.”

employer ma ndate, wh ich requires employers with 50 or more “f u ll-t ime equ ivalent” employees insurance coverage, saved the university from higher costs this year.

But it also t h rew cost est imates i nto f lu x, ma k i ng how t he u niversit y reacts to the inevitable cost increases an open question. This week’s fight won’t affect USC’s planning, but adding a degree of uncertainty to a process mired in questions doesn’t help.

We d e p e n d o n l a w s t o b e c on s i s t e nt a nd r el i able .

Da ngl i ng t hem a s p ol it ic a l ba r ter i ng ch ips wh i le t he government faces a shutdown is dangerous, and it strikes us as irresponsible, regardless of political leaning.

Like “Obamacare” or hate it, you have a right to know what t he government will require of you come January, and the institutions you depend on (like USC) do, too. Throwing it into question isn’t sustainable — not for the university, and not for us.

Television cause of unhealthy lifestyles Students should choose friends, exercise over TV According to Nielsen, t he average A merican spends 34 hours a week planted in front of the television. This shouldn’t be too surprising given t hat nowaday s , tele v i sion seem s to of fer ever y t hing. Realit y, drama, sports, documentar y, sci–fi, the list goes on and on.

These shows are entertaining for many, but the various side effects of consumption can be unhealthy.

For one, television restricts a person’s f lexibility to schedule a nd pla n event s. I n stead of picking up groceries or reading a book on a Thursday night, ma ny people feel compelled to watch the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy. While many see this as a happy trade–off, over time this commitment can interfere with other things in life. Knowing that you are going to watch a certain show at the same time ever y week makes you less spontaneous.

Tele v i s ion a l s o promot e s unhealthy eating. In addition to the countless food commercials you are bombarded with every time you turn on the TV, the act of watching television promotes snacking. Many people cannot imagine watching their favorite program without a bag of chips or cold drink. Although snack foods are generally not the most nutritious, they somehow seem to make the perfect partner to watching T V. Cutt ing dow n on the amount of TV watched can give you more time to cook

tasty, nourishing meals.

M issed social interact ions a re a not her consequence of excessive telev ision v iew ing.

People often develop one-way relationships with the characters that they follow on their favorite programs. This leads to neglect for actual relationships. While it may be exciting to see your favorite ac t or or ac t re s s don the screen in your living room, it is not a substitute for getting out.

Sleep habits g e ner a l l y s u f f er Chad from time in front Brown Second-year of the screen. Ask insurance and a group of students risk management why they put their student head down in class and they’re likely to tell you t hey were up late doing homework or watching their favorite show. W hether t he y ad m it it or not , m a ny people have trouble calling it a night and turning off the TV. It is easy to tell yourself that you’ll watch one more episode before bed, only to fi nd yourself having watched four by the time you hit the power button because of the passive nature of watching TV. This is bad for discipline and self–control, and leads to the fi nal problem: lack of exercise.

Television is one of the most sedentar y activities available today. Thanks to remotes, it requ ires no movement, save for the occasional trip to the pantry for snacks. Sitting down to watch T V stops electrical act iv it y i n t he muscles, a nd

slows dow n brain f u nct ions.

Researchers at the University of Vermont conducted a six-week study and found that subjects who watched a limited amount of T V burned 120 calories a day more on average than their counterparts with unlimited TV did. This is despite the fact that neither group performed any exercise. The limited TV group c omplet e d b a s ic hou s ehold chores, or other, more energy intensive activities instead of watching television.

While the test groups weren’t assigned exercise, many people who cut back on TV are able to fi nd more time to hit the gym.

Even replacing a half hour of TV a day for a brisk walk can reduce you r blood pressu re, cholesterol a nd cha nce of developing heart disease. Next time you feel the urge to grab the remote, consider the health effects. Your body might just thank you later.

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE? Do you want your opinion voiced in The Daily Gamecock? Contact viewpoints@ dailygamecock.com for more information.

Threat of shutdown shows parties’ reluctance to agree Republicans, Democrats must put differences over health care aside Now that we have reached the end of our f iscal year, our nation faces the threat of government shutdown, which can adversely affect a significant portion of our nation.

Threats for shutdown have emerged in the past; however, this would mark the fi rst time in 17 years that Congress would actually follow through with it.

The reason for a potential shutdown is due to the delay in passing the spending bill for government. The issue is not the spending bill itself, but that Republicans and Democrats cannot seem to reach an agreement on whether to include “Obamacare” in the bill.

O r i g i n a l l y, “ O b a m a c a r e ” had been included in t he bill and, therefore, Republicans in Congress did not want to pass a bill supporting the system. Rather, Republ ic a n s s eek to i nc lude anti-“Obamacare” amendments Kathryn in order to delay it for a year.

Duggan President Barack Obama said Fourth-year he is willing to compromise by journalism taking “Obamacare” out of the student bill entirely and discussing it at a later time so that the spending bill can be passed at this time.

The reason we seem to be at somewhat of a standstill is that Republicans do not want to further delay the discussion of “Obamacare” in the fear that it will never happen. The ability to hold their approval of the spending bil l prov ides i ncent ive to get t hei r ow n ant i-“Obamacare” amendments approved imminently. As we approached the decision, there appeared to be more accusations of blame than resolutions being made.

Regardless of opinion on “Obamacare,” a compromise should be found in order to pass the government spending bill, because the government shutdown is something that would negatively affect Republicans and Democrats alike. Many people are blaming Republicans, suggesting they are holding the Democrats hostage in this decision; however, both sides have their objectives and trying to decide who is responsible should not be the priority at this time. A government shutdown would close museums, parks and any other free admission establishments. This would send home 783,000 “nonessential” government employees with no work and no pay.

Prolonging a government shutdown because the two political parties stand firm in their regard towards “Obamacare” means t hat hundreds of thousands of civilians will be out of work. The refusal of Republicans to approve the spending bill will only be followed by a Democratic refusal to sign the Republican anti-“Obamacare” bill. This standstill leaves no end in sight for a government shutdown, which would end in signif icant economic damage. The fact that we even managed to get this close to a government shutdown shows how opposed to negot iat ion t he polit ical parties have been. The answer should not be hiding behind a spending bill that we all know to be necessary in order to promote or eliminate a separate political system.

CONTACT INFORMATION

IT’S YOUR RIGHT The goal of The Daily Gamecock’s Viewpoints page is to stimulate discussion in the University of South Carolina communit y. A ll published authors are expected to provide logical arguments to back their views.

The Daily Gamecock encourages readers to voice opinions and offers three methods of expression: letters to t he editor, g uest colu m ns and feedback on dailygamecock.com.

Letters and guest columns should be submitted via email to editor@ dailygamecock.com. Letters must be 200 to 300 words in length and

include the author’s name, year in school and area of study.

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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

5

Courtesy of AMC

Brian Cranston stars as Walter White, a chemistry teacher who turns to cooking meth to pay for his cancer treatments.

AMC’s hit series ends with phenomenal finale Aaron Jenkins

MIX@DAILYGAMECOCK.COM

V i nce Gill iga n, you beaut if u l, beautiful man.

In what was one of the greatest series fi nales ever to air on television, the creator of “Breaking Bad” brought the show to a bitter end Sunday, one t hat was deeply sat isf y ing on all fronts. “ Fel i n a ,” t he f i n a l epi so de of “Breaking Bad,” is that rare fi nale that gives its audience a sense of closure, while simultaneously expanding upon and capping off the show’s thematic statements.

In it, Walter White returns home to Albuquerque, N.M., as a ghost of a man, going location to location, tying up loose ends and making his peace with the world. There’s a beautiful sense of dread that looms over the ent ire episode, as Walter’s deat h becomes more and more inevitable.

Walter seems to have fi nally come to terms with all the awful things he’s done and the lives he’s ruined and is now determined to use what little time he has left on Earth trying to

make things right (or at least as much right as is currently possible).

W hat’s so impressive about this fi nal episode isn’t just that it places a magnificent bow atop a 62-episode drama that has captivated audiences for 6 years, but that it manages to cap everything off in such a way that it all really did seem planned out from the beginning.

Of course, it wasn’t at all (Vince Gilligan has said as much), but the org a n ic n at u re w it h wh ic h plot threads from as far back as seasons one and two come together to fi nish t he stor y makes it feel complete, consistent and brilliant.

“Felina” depicts a man that is equal parts Walter and Heisenberg.

He fi nds a way to ensure that the money he so desperately wanted his family to have will get to them one day, and he does it while gett ing some small measure of revenge on h is for mer colleag ues, Gretchen a nd E l l iot . He a l s o g et s to s ay a sad goodbye to Sk yler and gives her a means of freeing herself from prosecution after he’s gone.

A nd, most heartbreak ing of all, Skyler fi nally gets to hear Walt admit that every terrible thing he’s done wasn’t about the family after all, but about himself.

“I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was really ... I was alive,” he admits with simple words, coming to a fi nal sense of self-awareness he has sorely lacked for so, so long.

Heisenberg, too, got to put an end the awful mess that he’d made, in a spectacular display of tea poisoning and M60 gunfire. By the episode’s end, he’s killed everyone left in the meth business that he started, save for Jesse, who fi nally gets his freedom.

Not only does Walter free Jesse from the Aryan Brotherhood, which had enslaved him, but he symbolically frees him from the toxic influence of Heisenberg.

Jesse, the poor, poor k id whose only proud achievement in life was a box he crafted in his high school shop class, now gets a chance to start over. As he drives off into the night, laughing hysterically and screaming cathartically, one can only hope that he can one day fi nds some semblance of happiness.

In the episode’s f inal moments, Walter tours the meth lab, as a proud artist examining his works one fi nal time before his infi nite sleep.

As he dies, Badfi nger’s “Baby Blue” plays, a nd t he camera rises h igh above Walter’s body in a beautiful demonstrat ion of sy mmetr y. The

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the “Breaking Bad” series finale.

Read at your own risk. audience may recall a similar shot at t he end of t he episode “Crawl Space,” as the camera rose high above a Walter boxed in on all sides.

I f t h at wa s t he moment when Heisenberg was truly born in Walter, then this mirrored shot emphasizes his passing.

Even if, in the end, Walter’s legacy ended up as a colossal wreck, Vince Gilligan and everyone involved in the production of “Breaking Bad” have left behind a tremendous achievement of a show, one which will be watched, analyzed and revered for years to come.

As far as goodbyes go, “Breaking Bad’s” could not have been more perfect.

DG

Race flick doesn’t ‘Rush’ good plot Rousing drama succeeds on and off track Jonathan Winchell

MIX@DAILYGAMECOCK.COM

“Rush” NOW IN THEATERS

Director: Ron Howard Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl, Olivia Wilde Rating: R for sexual content, nudity, some disturbing images, and brief drug use “Rush” is a sports drama, set in the 1970s, about the contentious relationship between Formula One racers James Hunt (Chris Hemswort h, “Thor” ) and Nik i Lauda (Daniel Brühl, “Inglourious Basterds” ).

Hunt lives his life to the fullest by partying and bedding as many women as possible. He becomes a racer because he believes that one should enjoy life and take risks. Otherwise, what is the point? Lauda is an anti-social perfectionist whose only goal is to win. He meticulously tinkers with his car in order to obtain the greatest speed and performance from it. Hunt only shows up and drives fast. Early in the fi lm, Hunt marries Suzy (Olivia Wilde, “TRON: Legacy” ) on a whim, and Lauda somehow manages to seduce a woman named Marlene (Alexandra Maria Lara, “Downfall”) whom he meets at a party, and they end up getting married.

T he ma i n foc u s of t he f i l m is t he 1976 races. Racing conditions back then were ludicrously dangerous. At a race in Germany, the track is wet from rain and the risk factor is greatly increased. Lauda insists that the race be canceled, but Hunt, trying

to obtain as many points as possible, says this is merely a tactic for Lauda to have a greater chance of winning the championship. He votes to keep the race on, and a majority side with him, so the race must go on. Lauda has a horrible crash that severely burns his face and body. Hunt, who was far behind Lauda in points, is able to raise his score while Lauda is absent from the races. Lauda watches the races that he should be winning on television in the hospital while he is going through painful medical procedures.

His drive (no pun intended) is so strong that he puts on his helmet over his scarred head and competes in the final race, a race which either Hunt or Lauda could win.

Oscar-winning director Ron Howard (“Apollo 13,” “A Beautif ul Mind” ) and O sc a r-nom i nated sc reenw r iter Peter Morgan (“The Queen,” “The Last King of Scotland”) reunite after the fantastic “Frost/ Nixon” and, with this fi lm, take a subject t hat many people care not hing about, Formula One Racing, and make a gripping, visually vibrant film with an intelligent script and great performances. Hemsworth g ive s a n i nc red ibly cha r ismat ic lead performance that not only fully captures his smoldering, long-haired hunkiness but also his devil-may-care attitude. Brühl plays Lauda, a decidedly less handsome character, with the obsession and disconnection that the character calls for.

Like “Moneyball,” “Rush” is a sports film that is more concerned with the characters and how and why they do their job and how they relate to one another. The butting of heads between Hunt and Lauda is what makes it more than just a racing picture.

Don’t worry, the racing scenes are riproaring and intense, even for audiences who would never watch a race. However, the confl ict on the track means so much more because the filmmakers have spent time building the conflict between the characters off the track.

DG

Courtesy of lakemurraycontra.com

A pair learns how to dance Contra at the Lake Murray Contra Hall.

Students go Contra dancing Pastime often called ‘squaredancing on steroids’ Catherine Garner

MIX@DAILYGAMECOCK.COM

La ke Mu r ray Cont ra Hall may be out of the way for st udent s w it hout cars, but this hidden gem of the Midlands is well worth the gas money. Lake Murray Contra is a Cont r a da nc i ng club in Leesville, only about 40 minutes down the road from campus.

Cont ra is a commu nit yst yle dance that originated wit h 17t h-cent ur y English peasants. During t he f ol lo w i n g c e nt u r ie s , t he style spread to the Americas, where it grew in popularity and gradually mutated into a high-octane style occasionally described as “square dancing on steroids.” The dance itself is quick and easy to pick up.

All Contra dances are merely combinations of the same basic steps, with a little bit of improv thrown in to shake things up.

Just like in square dancing, the

steps for each individual dance are announced by a caller. The key to Contra is the concept of community; during a set, dancers are expected to dance not only with their chosen partners, but also with their many neighbors.

“I like the social feel of it,” said Tess Dawkins, a thirdyear German and psychology s t u d e nt w h o v i s it s L a k e Mu r ray Cont ra reg u la rly. “ You’re ne ver a l lowed to partner with the same person more than once.”

“It’s a great activity to do,” added Ruthanne Wenger, a third-year English st udent who also frequents the dance f loor. “ You’re con nec ted, but you can have personal expression as well. I like the historical aspect of it. It makes me feel like I’m [in] a Jane Austen novel or something.”

Contra dancing is already a fairly popular pastime here i n Colu mbia; each mont h brings many country dances to ballrooms or dance halls here in the city. Lake Murray Contra in particular possesses CONTRA • 6

CONTRA • Continued from 5 a unique charm and at mosphere unheard of in the Columbia halls.

Lake Murray Contra was started i n 20 09 by Su sa n For t a nd her family, after Fort’s daughters began attending Contra dances in River Falls. According to Fort, she fell in love with the Contra dancing experience after accompanying her daughters to a dance, and soon began taking calling lessons.

“I thought, ‘Wow, we could do that here.’ So we did,” Fort said. “Since our contras are ‘private,’ we didn’t have much advertisement except word of mouth. Our crowd has grown from 12 to 20 dancers to 40 to 60 dancers each month.”

The Lake Murray Contra Hall was built on Ford’s family’s land.

In keeping with the rustic f lavor of Contra, dancing takes place in a big wooden barn full of rocking chairs, mismatched couches and odd assortments of “hangie thingies” swinging from the rafters. There’s always a bonfire out back, a stock of fresh fruit and free ice cream to satiate the dancers. There are door prizes ever y night, f resh K rispy Kreme doughnuts, homegrown grits

and eggs laid just that morning by Fort’s hens. There are live bands and callers at every dance, and the private nature of the group ensures there’s always plenty of room on the dance floor.

“I love the atmosphere,” Wenger said. “Everyone is like family, even people you’ve never met.”

Lake Murray Contra is located at 640 Devil’s Backbone Road in Leesville. It holds dances on the first Saturday of the month, every month.

Short lessons in basic Contra step are offered at 7 p.m., and the proper dancing begins at 7:30 p.m. Dances are $7 per person to pay for the band and caller.

“We only have a few rules,” Fort explained. “We don’t turn dancers away as long as they have a donation, so we can pay the musicians and callers. We don’t allow drugs or drinking on the premises. We try to be very encouraging and friendly to new dancers. It is sometimes very intimidating to get out on the floor when you’ve never danced before — we tr y to make ever yone feel welcome.”

DG

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

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7

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PHD • JORGE CHAM

THE SCENE TODAY

TODAY

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HOROSCOPES

Aries

Leo

Sagittarius

For t he ne x t t wo days, f u lf ill prom ises you’ve m ade. C hore s need attention.

New information threatens complacency.

Com mu n icate w it h teammates. Caring for others is your motivation.

Minimize risks. Catch your dreams in writing.

M o n e y ’s r o l l i n g i n over the next few days.

Costs are higher than e x p e c t e d , to o. Avoid reck le s s spend i ng.

Make sure others know their assignments. Feel t he mag net ism. You r greatest asset is your own determination.

Beg i n a new projec t .

Take time out for love.

Include a female in your pla n s. You’l l h ave to report on your activities.

Assume responsibilit y.

E xcept iona l pat ience could be required.

Taurus

You’ll soon have time to pause and relax. Invest in success. Take a new angle.

Keep a dream alive with simple actions. Avoid a controversy. It’s a good time to ask for money ... be creative with your budget.

Virgo

Give loved ones more at tent ion. They wa nt your time, not money. An invitation says to dress up. Let another person take over, and defer to aut horit y. Share you r dreams ... the audience is receptive.

Libra

Capricorn

Aquarius

Allow yourself to dream, but don’t bu y t reat s , yet. Accept the support that’s offered. Stay close to home as much as you can the next few days.

Passions get aroused.

Make a delicious promise.

G et you rself mov ing!

Make sure you have the facts. Get serious about your strategy, but don’t get st uck. You’re ver y persuasive. You’ll think of something. It’s easier to fi nish projects today and tomorrow.

It’s easier to fi nd family time. You’re extra brilliant today. A solution to an old problem is becoming obvious. Costs are high.

Arguments about money inhibit love. Keep a secret.

Recount your blessings.

Wo r k q u i c k l y b u t carefully. Obligations get in your way. Being polite is a virtue. Talk over plans with family. Try not to provoke jealousy. Don’t waste your money. Friends offer comfort and advice.

Have fait h. Negot iate your way through minor adjustments. Temporary confusion could befuddle.

Get family to help. Let another take the lead.

I nvest i n you r f ut u re without gambling.

Cancer

Scorpio

Pisces

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10/01/13

1 2 3 4

For solutions to today’s puzzle, go to dailygamecock.com

on Facebook

and Twitter!

Fo

CAMPUS REC

w Us! llo

@UofSC_CampusRec

L

or download our app!

Join

7 p.m., $7 New Brookland Tavern, 122 State St.

Let yourself be drawn outside your safety zone.

The possibility for hurt feelings is high now. Don’t get stuck. Write down long-range goals today.

Goodness comes your way. Act quickly to gain your objective. Balance is essential.

It’s time to get started.

There’s a temporary clash between love and money.

Re v ie w you r c u r rent budget . Note a l l t he considerations. Passion grows now that the stress is reduced. Travel boosts your self-esteem. Follow your fascination.

Gemini

BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Us! ike

University of South Carolina Campus Recreation

10/01/13

ACROSS 1 Windy City paper, familiarly 5 Baroque musical family 10 “__, can you see ...”

14 Like molasses 15 “Snowy” bird 16 Nevada gambling city 17 Visit the local watering hole 20 Honda Accord, e.g.

21 In concert 22 San Diego attraction 23 “I can’t remember it, Miss Ilsa. I’m a little rusty on it” speaker 25 Give a barbiturate to 27 Breaks, as in a wall 30 Lambs’ moms 32 Arctic dwellers of Scandinavia 35 Shortened, as a dict.

36 Yaks 37 Lovers’ lane pace 38 “Let’s try a different approach” 41 Ship with rich cargo 42 Feature of many Viking helmets 43 Immigrant’s subj.

44 Longtime senator Thurmond 45 “What __ got here is a failure to communicate”: “Cool Hand Luke” 46 Private’s group 47 Draw out 49 Smidgen 51 Hef’s party garb 53 Mother-of-pearl 55 Smidgen 59 “Pay attention” 62 From the U.S. 63 Implied 64 Rain hard 65 Neat as a pin 66 Signed 67 It may follow You online DOWN

1 Distribute the dressing on 2 Mechanical learning 3 Polo rival 4 Detour 5 Affleck of “The Town” 6 Belgium-based imaging company 7 What one does after observing reminders that start 17-, 38- and 59-Across 8 Parade honorees 9 Witness’s place 10 Bruin great Bobby 11 Successfully stage a coup 12 __ Domini 13 Beatle bride 18 Words with pickle or jam 19 Traded, as goods 24 Substantial 26 Hold hands?

27 Dance balls, e.g.

28 Call off the launch 29 Got somewhere 31 Teens conflict: Abbr.

33 Proto- finish

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or download our app!

34 With cunning 36 Tea-flavoring flower 37 Rip to pieces 39 Smoke with menthol 40 “Mazel __!”

45 Certain goddess worshiper 46 Sudden 48 “Pleeease?”

50 Justice Dept. raiders 51 Land map 52 Guitarist Hendrix 54 Spooky-sounding

lake 56 Baseball family name 57 Night spot 58 Brontë’s Jane 60 Take a stab at 61 JFK update

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

8

Practice underway for men’s basketball Williams, Ellington only seniors on team Kyle Heck

KHECK@DAILYGAMECOCK.COM

Before South Carolina’s first official team practice of the 2013-14 season Monday, coach Frank Martin was asked about his concern about the overall youth of his team this season.

“Take a look at what I looked like the day I got hired and see what I look like now,” Martin said. “The hair’s a little whiter and there’s a bigger spot on the top of my head.”

Guards Brenton Williams and Bruce Ellington will be the only two seniors on the roster this season. However, Ellington is busy playing wide receiver on the football team and won’t return to the team until the season is well underway.

Martin said the surplus of freshman and sophomores, which make up 12 of the 16 players on the roster, will not hold the Gamecocks back this year.

“New guys are part of the business,” Martin said. “The part that makes the business easier to do year to year is the returning guys, and we have a core g roup of g uys t hat played major minutes last year.

They comprehend me and I comprehend them, and there is direction for those first-year guys.”

T he s e c o nd-ye a r c o ac h said that was an improvement from the start of last season, when both Martin and the players were still figuring each other out. Now, sophomores such as Michael Carrera and

Mindaugas Kacinas can tell the incoming freshman what to expect.

During this first week of the official season, Martin is keeping the goals simple.

“Pass it to the guys on your team, maybe make a layup; we missed so many of them last year,” Martin said. “But we’re really just get t ing g uys to continue to understand what we’re doing. A huge part is terminology. Those young guys have to grasp terminology.”

T he f r e s h m a n m a y g e t a wa ke-up ca l l t h is week , as Martin pointed out that practices aren’t as laid-back a s s u m mer work out s a nd preseason workouts.

The Gamecocks are trying to improve on last year’s 14-18 overall record and 4-14 SEC record. Former coach Darrin Horn’s last team went 10-21 and 2-14 in the SEC in 2011.

Martin doesn’t see the less than .500 record from last year as a failure, but rather as the start of a new era.

“You might view last season as a struggle; I viewed it as us laying a foundation,” Martin said. “Some people might say, ‘Well, your team wasn’t any good,’ and I’m going to tell you that I thought we were OK. Now, if you want to judge me and my team based on the record, that’s fine. But we laid a foundation for what we’re about.

It’s not about disregarding last year; it’s about embracing last year and continuing to build.”

Martin also pointed out that the Gamecocks were dead last in the league when he arrived and said, “We weren’t going f rom last to f irst in t h ree months.”

Now with a season under his belt, Martin is being patient and looking forward to the growth that he expects out of his team this upcoming season.

“Nobody expects to win more

than me — nobody,” Martin said. “I don’t put expectations o n r e c o r d s ; I d o n’t p u t expectations on anything that’s materialistic. My expectations are for this program to compete

for a SEC championship. When that happens, I don’t know. But that’s my expectation every day.”

DG

Olivia Barthel / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Frank Martin, who is entering his second year as head coach of South Carolina’s basketball team, said his hair has thinned and grown whiter since he was hired because of the youth on the basketball team.

Women’s soccer wins again over weekend South Carolina defeats Auburn Friday, Arkansas Sunday to move to 3-1 in SEC Connor Hazelton

SPORTS@DAILYGAMECOCK.COM

Olivia Barthel / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

The South Carolina men’s soccer team is hoping to build off last week’s victory over Charlotte.

Gamecocks face Presbyterian Berson pleased with team despite lack of victories so far in season Connor Hazelton

SPORTS@DAILYGAMECOCK.COM

The South Carolina men’s soccer team will try and improve the team’s record by going up against Presbyterian tonight at home at 7 p.m.

After starting off the year winning three of their first four games, the Gamecocks slipped up, losing three of their next five games, with two ties, before snagging a victory against Charlotte last Friday, putting their record at 3-4-2.

Despite the team’s recent struggles, head coach Mark Berson has been very pleased with the effort his team has shown during the winless spell.

“The main thing is focusing on each game and looking at each match and see what we need to improve on for the next one, and results will take care of themselves,” Berson said. “We had a few really tough matches that didn’t go our way, but that hasn’t affected the guys in terms of focus. I was very proud of our big conference win on the road in Charlotte on Friday. That wouldn’t have happened if the guys weren’t focused.”

Senior midfielder/defender J.P. Rafferty said he was particularly frustrated in the games he felt the Gamecocks could have won.

“The toughest part was (especially during the last two) we felt like we should have won because we outplayed them and had chances, but never finished them off,” Rafferty said.

Rafferty also said that the team has been

working on “fi nishing” in preparation for the upcoming game against Presbyterian.

“We’ve been doing a lot of finishing, getting the ball from wide spaces into the box and finishing our chances,” Rafferty said. “It’s really important for us to score more goals as the season progresses and just cleaning up a few things.”

A lthough Presby terian (2-5-0) might not be one of the stronger teams on the Gamecocks’ schedule, Berson said he knows that his team can’t look past them.

“Year in and year out, our guys have been staying focused on the next opponent, looking at our previous performance and improving from the last match. By being better than we were at Charlotte, that has to do with us getting better,” Berson said.

As for their game tonight, Berson said capitalizing on opportunities will be a big factor in getting a victory.

“The biggest factor is execution — relating everything back to the game, studying the game and going out and executing,” Berson said. “The results from last week’s game were two very good teams playing themselves to a standstill, and we made the big plays t hat we’re going to need to do against Presbyterian.”

Rafferty said he hopes to use the win over Charlotte and the game against Presbyterian to prepare for conference play.

“It was the first win of hopefully a long win streak, we felt we deserved to get a win,” Rafferty said. “We’re going into Presbyterian w it h a lot of conf idence. It’s ou r last nonconference game and it’s important for us to get a win to give us momentum going into our upcoming conference schedule.”

DG

South Carolina continued its success this season by defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks on Sunday by a score of 1-0.

The latest win moves the Gamecocks’ record to 10-1-1 overall and 3-1 in SEC play. The win also gives junior goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo her 14th career shutout.

After a slow 18 minutes to start off the game, sophomore midfielder Raina Johnson scored the team’s only goal on a wellplaced cross from sophomore defender Caroline Gray.

The goal gave Johnson her team-leading eighth point of the season, and she has been very pleased by the improvement of her play from last season to this season.

“I think the biggest change I have made from last year to this year is being more tacitly aggressive when I get the ball,” Johnson said. “It’s better to be proactive and anticipate where the ball is going to go so I can be more aggressive going towards the goal.”

Although the Gamecocks came out on the winning end, they missed a lot of opportunities, which Johnson feels the team can work to improve on.

“I feel like we should have beat them by a little more than we did, but that’s why this week at practice we’re going to work on fi nishing and attacking more and just putting things together in the fi nal third, and just fi nish from there,” Johnson said.

Despite the struggles with scoring a few more goals, head coach Shelley Smith was still satisfied with how her team played on Sunday.

“We knew we needed to play our game and not get caught up in our opponent’s game,” Smith said. “We needed to keep the ball in order to create chances for ourselves. I thought we did really well Friday night (against Auburn) at being more offensive than we had been in the past few games. We were hoping to do that today, but it was a difficult game — Sundays always are — but I thought we handled the Sunday game well.”

After losing their fi rst conference game of the year against Georgia, the Gamecocks have since responded with back-toback SEC wins against Auburn Friday and Arkansas Sunday.

The Gamecocks’ next game is Wednesday against a tough Florida opponent, and Johnson said staying focused will be a key factor in the game in Gainesville, Fla. “I think we have to keep doing what we’ve been doing during practice by staying focused and keeping our minds right, so we know that we can beat them and take it to them,” Johnson said.

Smith said she also feels focus is a big key to Wednesday’s game.

“We’ll focus one game at a time,” Smith said. “We know Florida is always a good team, especially at home, and we know what we’re up against. Obviously, we have a good team, and we have to go in and play.”

DG