NEWS 1
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
VOL. 117, NO. 05 • SINCE 1908
Defense
Strengths and weaknesses | Page 10
Miss SC wants to initiate a ‘new era of progress’ Carolyn Culbertson @QUERALYNC
Avadh Rana / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Over the past three weeks, rallies for and against the flag flying have sprung up at the Statehouse.
SC Senate says ‘Aye’ to flag removal as Roof is indicted James Stewart @MYPALHARVEY
On Tuesday, a chapter in Sout h Carolina history began winding down when Dylann Roof was formally indicted on 13 charges related to the Charleston church shooting at the same time that the South Carolina Senate entered the fi nal throes of voting over the removal of the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds. The Senate body voted 36-3 to approve the measure on a third and f inal reading, which reaffi rmed a previous successful vote on Monday. Now that the Senate has voted, the removal bill is moving to be voted on in the House. The details of the bill outline the removal of the flag from the Confederate Monument on the Statehouse lawn to the Confederate Relic Room museum. During the bill’s time in the Senate, three amendments were proposed — to allow a public vote on a non-binding resolution, to f ly the First National Flag of the Confederacy (better known as the “Stars and Bars”) rather than the Confederate battle flag at the monument and to fly the battle flag on Confederate Memorial Day. All three amendments were defeated. Clear of the Senate, the bill is being p a s s e d t o t he S out h Carolina House of Representatives where it is also expected to pass based on polling done by the Post and Courier. T h e o p t i o n for lawmakers to i nt roduce add it ion a l ammendments is st ill available, and if utilized, the bill would be sent back to the Senate for another vote. However, if the bill is approved by the House, it would then be sent to Governor Nikki Haley, who has voiced her overwhelming support for the bill, in the wake of the Charleston church shooting. It seemed only fitting then, that on the same morning Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson announced t hat Roof has been indicted and charged with nine counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and one count of possessing a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. On June 17, authorities say that Roof, a 21-yearold Lexington, South Carolina native, entered the Mother Emmanuel Church, a historic AfricanA merican congregation, and sat in on a Bible study taking place. After about an hour, Roof opened fi re on the churchgoers. Roof was arrested the following day in North Carolina a nd was ex t radited back to Sout h Carolina to face punishment there. Survivor reports indicated that Roof had been using racist language, and authorities have been classifying the shooting as a hate crime. Following the shooting, pictures of Roof on social media along with an online manifesto b e l ie v e d t o b e w r it t e n b y R o of s u r f a c e d
‘The Senate body voted 36-3 in approval of the measure on a third and final vote’
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With her crowning on June 27 as M iss Sout h Carolina, Daja Dial pledged to lead the state into a new era of progress starting with support of the Confederate f lag’s remova l from Statehouse grounds, and in turn received approval from viewers and fellow competitors alike. Throughout the Miss South Carolina pageant, Dial dazzled audience members and judges in each event but reached a new level of support when she answered her question during the inter view portion of the pagea nt . Bei ng t he la st to answer out of the five fi nalists, Dia l d id n’t a l low pre s s u re or ner ves to phase her, even when interviewed on a major point of contention in the state currently — the status of the Confederate flag. “Sout h Carol i na is a new South Carolina. We have made so much progress and we are so diverse and it’s time to take it down,” Dial said to eruptive a p p l au s e . “A s M i s s S o u t h Ca rol i na, I cou ld lead t h is state into a new era of progress and I think this f lag is ver y representative of that.” Viewers celebrated Miss SC from Twitter With this, Dial received a great amount of support from watchers. Several pageant fans took to Twitter to share their excitement over her answer. An account which appeals to young southern women called “The Rules” t weeted “DAJA MIGHT HAVE WON WITH T H AT A NS W E R Y ’A L L . I H AV E CH I LLS ON M Y ARMS AND TEARS IN MY EYES.” Five minutes later, the same user added in a second tweet, “I want Daja to represent
Facebook / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Daja Dial was clear on her stance regarding the removal of the flag. my South Carolina.” After Dial’s answer, another user, @g reyson _ lake, w rote “ I f D aj a D i a l d o e s n’t w i n #MissSC2015 this is rigged.” Miss USC happy with new Miss SC M iss USC Leslie K n ight, who a lso competed for t he M iss SC t it le a nd has been competing in pageants since she was three months old, was ecstatic to see Dial take the crown. “Not only is she beautif ul both inside and out, she has worked incredibly hard to make this dream happen,” K night said. A s a fel low compet itor f o r M i s s S C , K n i g ht a l s o got a n inside look at Dial’s
performance during pageant week. “Daja was very consistent in competition and definitely has the ability to light up any room she wa l k s i n … [she] was a lway s so k i nd to a l l contestants and I of ten saw her giving pep talks to both teen and M iss contestants,” K night said, who described her ow n f irst impression of the newly crowned Miss SC as such a moment—with Dial comforting her to loosen up her nerves before the 2013 Miss SC pageant. Dia l, Clemson g rad, st il l wows USC students Despite bei ng a g raduate of Clemson, Dial managed to SEEDAJAPAGE3
F-16 and Cessna collide, kills 2 near Charleston James Stewart @MYPALHARVEY
An Air Force F-16 fighter jet collided mid-air with another plane at around 11:01 a.m. on Tuesday. FA A spokesman Jim Peters released a statement say ing that the jet had collided with a Cessna C150, about ten miles away from Charleston. The collision occurred near Lewisfield Plantation, where much of the debris came to rest following the incident. Sh aw A i r For c e B a s e confirmed that the F-16 was from their base, and pictures on social media confi rmed that t he jet was part of t he 55t h Fighter Squadron, attached to the USAF’s 20th Fighter Wing, which is stationed at Shaw AFB. “ O u r t ho u g ht s a r e w it h t h e f r ie n d s a n d f a m i l y of a nyone aboa rd t he c iv i l ia n aircraft,” a release from the Air Force Base said. “A team of investigators from the National Transportation Safet y Board will convene to determine the cause of the crash.” A hel icopter d ropp ed a n EMT at the scene of the crash, where at least one person was
in need of medical assistance, according to NBC news. Officials also told NBC that the F-16 pilot managed to eject safely, but the status of whoever was i n t he Cessna rema i ns undetermined. “From what I u nderst a nd from a witness, the militar y
plane struck the other, small aircraft broadside,” Berkeley
Count y coroner and chief of the volunteer rescue squad Bill Sa l isbu r y sa id at a press conference. “The pilot of the militar y airplane ejected safely and is en route to the hospital now,” Berkeley Cou nt y P ubl ic Information Officer Michael Mule said to reporters. One witness told reporters he saw the collision occur and that it looked like a “ball of fi re in the air.” T he w re c k ag e of t he jet landed in a rice f ield in t he vicinity of the plantation, and f i ref ighter s rep or ted tox ic fumes being emitted from the burning plane. According to WCSC Charleston, emergency workers reported finding the fuselage of t he Cessna in t he water, and have an emergency diver already investigating while the U.S. Coast Guard also remain on scene.