NEWS 1 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015
VOL. 116, NO. 111 • SINCE 1908
to Chanticleers Baseball falters late inLoss 11 innings | Page 8
Confidence radiates from inside drag show ‘Birdcage’ Jessica Wood / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
The silent auction held at the gala raised money for Women’s Well-Being Initiative.
WGST program celebrates 40 years Anna Hirshfield @A_HIRSH
For members of the Gamecock community, it is quite the month to be a social advocate here in Columbia. Not only is March Women’s History Mont h , but it i s a l s o t he 4 0 t h anniversar y for the Women’s and Gender Studies program at USC. The prog ram hosted a gala i n celebr at ion of t he la nd m a rk anniversar y on Tuesday at Stone River. There was a silent auction at the end of the night to raise money for the Women’s Well-Being Initiative (WWBI). Established in 2001 by the WGST program, W W BI focuses on t he importance of the mental and physical health and overall general well-being of South Carolina’s women and girls. Har r iet Ha ncock , Mar jor ie H a m mock a nd Sa r a h L e veret te were all honored as Social Justice Luminaries for their dedication to t he WG S T p r og r a m a nd lo c a l organizat ions advocat ing for t he equality of all individuals in South Carolina. USC President Harris Pastides, the Women’s and Gender Studies faculty a nd com mu n it y memb er s c a me together to remember what it was that brought the program together those 40 years ago. An independent group of faculty members a nd g raduate st udent s first began campaigning in 1972 to President Tom Jones to establish courses that would focus specifically on women’s issues. Thanks to this group, community members and alumni began making contributions toward the WGST program — at the time WOST for Women in Western Culture — and allowed a cont i nuous g row t h of support f rom staf f and st udents, despite much initial hesitance. Pastides was a guest speaker at the Gala and spoke fondly of the effect that the WGST program has had on him since he has been at the university. “The Women’s and Gender Studies program helps to remind me of where my moral compass is,” he said. “You all have taught me about social issues that I was unaware of before.” Through his interactions with the program, Pastides has developed a better understanding of the spheres of social issues surrounding the program including the LGBTQ community. “I had someone ask me the other day what the ‘Q’ in LGBTQ stands for, and I proudly answered ‘Questioning.’ And this is the time in our students’ lives to be questioning everything,” he said. A lex is St ratton, educat ion and out r e ac h c o ord i n at or at S out h Carolina Equality — South Carolina’s statewide nonprof it organizat ion SEEWGSTPAGE3
Hannah Cleaveland / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Alyssa Edwards was the show’s main star, and she was proud to strut her stuff in front of this year’s excited audience.
Kasey Meredith @K_SEEE
Carolina Productions and BGLSA teamed up once again to perform an evening of drop-dead gorgeous talent for Birdcage, USC’s ow n drag show. This year USC hosted a special guest — Alyssa Edwards of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Rachel Scola, president of CP, recognizes the importance of the
event. She also encourages everyone to come out to Birdcage at least once in their college career. “It ’s a whole com mu n it y a nd atmosphere that I don’t think a lot of people know exist on the USC campus,” Scola said. “Ever y year I learn somet hing dif ferent and every year there’s something new to experience.” After introductions by CP and BGLSA, Edwards, the hostess of
the evening, got the party started w it h a m a s h - u p o f m a n y p o p numbers including “Fancy” by Iggy A zalea, “Glamorous” Fergie and “Partition” by Beyonce. Edwards strutted back and forth across the runway, her strawberry blonde curls bouncing in the red glow of the spotlights. Her blonde tresses could easily be featured in a SEEBIRDCAGEPAGE4
Reduce, Reuse, RecycleMania Lauren Shirley @SURELYLAUREN
They’re not going for the gold, they’re going for the green. USC has been part icipat ing in RecycleMania, a competition that pits USC against other universities across the nation in an intense recycling battle. The goal of this friendly competition is to encourage universities to recycle as much as possible starting Feb. 1 and running until March 28. “I think it is important for USC students because it teaches good habits
for life,” said Brigitte Shumpert, a civil engineering student and RecycleMania participant. The goals of the competition are to motivate students and staff to increase their recycling efforts and reduce waste, generate attention and support for campus recycling programs and encourage the university to measure its recycling activity to lead to improving the recycling programs over time. USC is compet ing against universities across the nation, as well as a few in Canada, but for Shumpert, USC’s biggest competition is “of
course Clemson!” Over the years, Shumpert believes they have become a stronger and more successful team and are closer than ever to reaching their goals for RecycleMania. This week is the fi nal push for the organization, and USC RecycleMania’s total goal for the year is 480,000 pounds. According to Shumpert, they’re already more than halfway there. She hopes they will reach their goal by the end of the week when the competition ends. SEERECYCLEPAGE3
Cancer survivor continues to battle through Relay for Life Rebecca Maurer @THEGAMECOCK
In less than a month, hundreds of students and community members will overtake Blatt Field to celebrate Relay for Life and the university’s 13th year supporting those who have battled with cancer. For one specific graduate student, Relay hits home. It’s a part of Amanda Thomas’ own battle that began many years ago. Thomas, a first-year master’s student of epidemiology, was diagnosed with leukemia at age 2. Two years later, her cancer was in remission. However, Thomas decided that her fight against cancer had just begun.
T homas g raduated f rom Hope College in Holland, Michigan, in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. “I came to South Carolina to continue my studies in public health for health research,” Thomas said. She found that she was particularly interested pediatric oncology. “My battle with cancer has directed me,” Thomas said. “I’ve learned a lot.” Courtesy of Amanda Thomas
Thomas attended and was a counselor at a camp for children with cancer. When Thomas was 5, she attended Special Days Camp in Montag ue, Michigan, which is a camp for cancer survivors and their family.
“Cancer affects the whole family, and there should be healing for all who are involved,” Thomas said. She continued as a camper for 12 years after that and has been a counselor for the past seven years. Although the camp is a way to relax and have fun, all the attendees have to deal with the sobering reality of cancer. “I lost my first camper at age 18,” Thomas said. “He had just graduated from high school and then he passed away. His name was M ichael. He had cancer in his lungs his freshman year of high school, but they removed the tumor. A year and a half later he relapsed and then tried clinical trials they thought would help but didn’t.” SEERELAYPAGE3