UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
38 students save Resident Mentor’s job Floor 16 of Capstone creates petition, helps Thomas keep his position
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014
VOL. 116, NO. 57 • SINCE 1908
Cusaac dies of heart attack Psychology chair said instructor “will be sorely missed” Natalie Pita
@NATALIEPITA
Natalie Pita
@NATALIEPITA
Floor 16 of the Capstone Residence Hall is known as the “howdy-do” f loor. According to resident Lauren Crank, this floor is “different” from the rest of Capstone. Crank, a first-year public relations student, said that this group of 38 students is known as the “goofballs” of the residence hall, and that they’re extremely close. One of the most important memories the members of floor 16 have was the day their resident mentor, Jason Thomas, took them to the Horseshoe at midnight before classes started. He encouraged them to talk about their personal lives, which they did for three hours. “[Jason] told us that if we wanted to make our own connections, we had to do it ourselves. He gave us the tools to grow,” Crank said. “We all cried together, these strangers. And then we were able to hug it out, and we were all so much closer.” From that night on, the hall had a reputation throughout Capstone as being particularly tight-knit. They began to call Thomas “dad.” “He’s always here for us. He brought us together, which is why we love him so much,” Crank said. “He’s literally one of us.” According to Crank, Thomas would sit in residents’ rooms and fall asleep on their couches. She fondly remembers Thomas buying them different types of food, everything from Cook-Out to Insomnia Cookies to Moe’s. Almost every week, they held the “howdy-do” ceremony, where awards were given to residents for doing the silliest or craziest things that week. The title of “gem of the week,” given to the resident who has performed the sweetest action that week, was also up for grabs. A lthough Thomas became good friends with his residents, he was busy with his other activities. Thomas said that he “struggled with a lot of stuff on the administrative side” of being a resident mentor. He was late to staff meetings and duty assignments, and he sometimes missed other deadlines set by the resident life coordinator of Capstone. Thomas said that “the little things” eventually piled up. His boss took administrative action each time, until he was told that he would no longer serve as a resident mentor. “My floor and I [are] very connected. We’re sort of a family. So when we heard that Jason was leaving us we were all very upset and speechless, really,” Crank said, reflecting on the Thursday night she and her hall mates discovered their resident mentor was leaving. “I couldn’t envision myself with a better RM if I tried.” After sharing the news with his residents, Thomas decided that he would appeal his boss’ decision. “The only reason I decided to appeal was because the floor asked me to and was so upset about it,” Thomas said. “They were kind of dead set, and I saw how affected they were and I saw how worried they were.” With only a few days before Thomas’s appeals meeting on Monday, the floor banded together and took action. They created a “Save Jason Thomas!” petition on Change.org, which received 681 signatures in a period of three days.
K e nd r a- Oglet ree Cu s a ac , a p s yc holog y instructor at USC, died Monday night after she suffered a heart attack Friday. “I’ll miss everything about her. She had an incredible smile and total positive energy,” said Douglas Wedell, department of psychology chair. “I couldn’t remember seeing her unhappy. She would brighten people up.” Cu saac t aught fou r cou r se s i n t he USC psychology department each semester, and each class averaged about 100 students. According to Wedell, many of her students specifically chose her as a teacher and even took two or three classes with her. She also worked as a sports psychologist with the USC Department of Athletics and has maintained her own private practice since 1998. “I feel like there must have been three of her,” Wedell said. Cusaac received her Ph.D. in clinical-community psycholog y f rom USC before becom ing an instructor. Since she started teaching at the university in 2005, she has won multiple awards, including the Outstanding Teacher Award for the non-tenured track in 2012.
Courtesy of USC Psychology Department
Cusaac taught four courses in the USC psychology department and worked as a sports psychologist. “Kend ra was rea l ly a br ight l ight i n t he depar t ment ... She went t he ex t ra m ile for everyone,” Wedell said. “She will be sorely missed.” CUSAAC • 3
City Council allows dorms in Five Points Tuesday’s legislation changes open options for student housing Lauren Shirley
@SURELYLAUREN
Mayor Steve Benjamin and the City Council addressed the City of Columbia at the Zoning Public Hearing Tuesday at 7 p.m. regarding an amendment to allow C-3 commercial zoning districts to permit the building of private student housing. According to the City of Columbia’s summary of zoning districts, C-3 General Commercial districts operate primarily for functional retail, office and service establishments. The amendment seeks to permit the use of private dormitories and reduce the spacing requirements in the C-3 zoning districts, such as Columbia’s Five Points. This amendment would be the next step in permitting Peak Campus Development in their efforts to break ground for a new student housing development on the northwest corner of Gervais and Harden streets, across from the Cook-Out in Five Points. The public hearing sparked a debate amongst concerned citizens and the developer, as well as Benjamin and his council. Kit Smith, a community organizer in the greater Shandon neighborhood where this amendment will render C-3 districts open to private dormitories,
RESIDENTS • 3
expressed her concern with bringing so many new students into these commercial areas. “We have larger concerns across the cit y,” Smith said. “We need to decide how we’re going to accommodate t hese st udents and be ver y intentional and thoughtful in how we plan. We’re just very concerned about the impact that this zoning would propose.” Ron Burns, t he president of t he Shandon neighborhood council, voiced concerns in the increased flow of traffic that these new dormitories would bring to the neighborhood. “What I’m concerned about specifically is the increased traffic generated by individuals living in close quarters,” she said. “This will increase traffic in the Shandon neighborhood and Rosewood.” In an attempt to placate the public’s opposition to the amendment, Jeff Githens, the Peak Campus Developer for the project, spoke about his attempt to find the best way to handle situational zoning. “The C-3 zoning amendment is t he most effective way to accomplish this,” Githens said. “I think this adds value to your community and ties into your infrastructure. Everybody seems to benefit here.” Benjamin addressed the public after the concerns of the citizens were brought to light. “There are some very legit concerns on both sides of this,” Benjamin said. “All our constituents here know the council has been very engaged in ZONING • 3
Food pantry celebrates anniversary Student government initiative turns one in November Brandon Waltz
@BRANDONDWALTZ
November marks one year since t he beg in n ing of t he G amecock Pantr y for students. Now located in McBryde Quadrangle A, the idea started in the minds of students. W hen C ha se M izz el l bec a me st udent body president in spring 2013, he worked w it h Ca rol i n a Dining Services’ Marketing Manager Cy nt h ia Steel to ma ke t he food pantry a reality. When it started in Nov. 2013, Claire Kimpton was the director, Rachel Smith helped with operations and other students helped
with marketing and volunteering in the pantry. “The goal we started planning for in spring of 2013 was to be a place where students in need could get help meeting their basic needs of food,” said Smit h, t he current director. “The goal was gearing it towards students and doing all that we could to make sure that those basic needs were met.” The goal of Gamecock Pantry has not changed since then. Sm it h say s one of t he biggest obstacles is getting the word out about it, and then getting students to avoid the stigma attached to seeking help. A ny st udent w it h a valid CarolinaCard can select up to ten PANTRY • 3
Leah Grubb/ THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Students who make use of the Gamecock Pantry are allowed to select 10 items each week from the pantry, which is open three days during each week.