The Daily Gamecock 4/9/15

Page 1

NEWS 1 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015

VOL. 116, NO. 120 • SINCE 1908

Technology enhances sound | Page 4

Electronic beats

Racial slur spurs open discussion

Photos by Ayi Eta / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

James Stewart

@THEGAMECOCK

On Wednesday evening in Russell House, students, facult y and staff p a r t ic ip at e d i n a n o p e n f o r u m discussion as part of UniteSC, in response to the photo showing a USC student next to a racial slur which was

posted on Twitter last week. The forum was split into an open discussion, followed by a reaction session and a solution brainstorm, during which many members of the Carolina community expressed their opinions and feelings in regards to the Twitter picture. “It’s 2015,” said one student. “Black

people are fed up.” Over the course of the forum, several reoccurring questions seemed to guide the discussion, with the biggest one concerning the USC administrations response to t he sit uat ion. Ma ny commended the school on its timely response to the posting of the photo, which occurred last Friday.

Others argued that the response was completely reactionary, and had recent racially-charged events not happened, like the Oklahoma fraternity scandal or the murder of Walter Scott by a North Charleston police officer, they think the university’s response SEEUNITEPAGE3

First-year Terreni had toxic levels of alcohol in system Lauren Shirley

@SURELYLAUREN

Toxic levels of alcohol contributed to firstyear business student Charles Terreni Jr.’s death, according to Richland County Coroner Gary Watts. Watts said 18-year-old Terreni had a blood alcohol level of 0.375 at the time of his death, more than triple the legal driving limit, which is .08. Watts said Terreni’s death was “tragic” and “totally preventable,” in a release Wednesday. Terreni lived on campus and was a member of the USC chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha. The chapter was put under administrative suspension by both Pi Kappa Alpha Internationals and the university after Terreni was found dead around 10:30 a.m. on March 18 at a Lee Street residence. Terreni was a Columbia resident and graduated from Cardinal Newman High School after attending Heathwood Hall Episcopal School. Further investigation is being handled by the Columbia Police Department. The Daily Gamecock has reached out to the university, Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life for comments.

Week of Islam awareness ends Thursday T he f i n a l e vent of t he Mu sl i m St udent Association’s week to raise awareness about Islamic culture at USC will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. The culmination of the week-long series is a lecture entitled “Science in Islam” delivered by Afroze Habib and will be held at 300 Main St., room B201. With events each day from April 6 through April 9, the gatherings aimed to “provide an opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations about Islam on campus,” according to a university release. The executive board of the Muslim Student Association wanted to use the week as a chance to “make themselves available to teach and help eliminate any misconceptions about the faith,” they said in the same university announcement. Monday’s event was entitled “The True Meaning of Jihad” with a lecture from Imam Abdullah Khan, Tuesday’s speaker was Mutahir Sabree where he spoke about “Jesus in Islam,” and Wednesday offered a student panel on Islam, encouraging an “open discussion about Islam and being a Muslim.” Each event was free of charge and provided dinner to the attendees while providing students a chance to engage and learn about Islam.

— Lauren Shirley, News Editor

Olivia Barthel / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

South Carolina sophomore first baseman Kaylea Snaer said South Carolina is “ready to bounce back.”

Gamecocks hope to seize chance Philip Fahy

@FAHYPHILIP

Coming off an impressive 3-0 victor y over USC Upstate on Wednesday, the South Carolina softball team will get back to conference play when it faces Arkansas at home this weekend. R a n ked 31st n at ion a l ly i n the NCA A’s RPI rankings, the Gamecocks are preparing for what they hope will be a comeback in the SEC. Sit t ing near t he bot tom of the SEC standings with a 2-10 record, South Carolina needs to turn things around in order to have a successful season in conference play. This weekend the Gamecocks may just get the opport unit y t hey desperately need. L i ke S out h Ca rol i n a , A rkansas f inds itself near the bot tom of t he conference standings, but the Razorbacks are the only team in the SEC without a win against another SEC team, having gone 0-12 in conference play up to this point. With that said, South Carolina is entering the series with the mindset that it can’t take any team or opponent for granted, regardless of their record.

“I know Arkansas hasn’t won any conference games yet, but I’m not gonna let them fool me with that, because they’ve certainly got a lineup of great athletes,” South Carolina head coach Beverly Smith said. The outcomes of the games this weekend may very well depend on a few key factors. Certainly home f ield advantage w ill be pivotal. South Carolina is 18-6 when at home, while Arkansas has a 3-8 record in away games. This seemingly distinct advantage doesn’t guarantee an easy win in itself and South Carolina is looking for consistent play for once, in a season that’s featured its fair share of highs and lows. “ We’ve h ad some up s a nd downs, but we’ve really learned,” South Carolina sophomore first baseman Kaylea Snaer said. According to Snaer and Smith, two areas the Gamecocks must excel in are defensive play and com mu n icat ion a nd if Sout h Carolina is to win this weekend, they will have to show these new strengths on the field. “It’s really about who’s gonna play best on game day,” Smith said. Statistically, the Gamecocks

seem to be in a good position to win at least two out of three games against A rk ansas, and possibly even sweep the series this weekend. That would give the Gamecocks the footing necessary to move up in the SEC standings. D e s p it e it s u p a n d d o w n season, Snaer believes Sout h Carolina is poised to play much better down the stretch. That, of course, begins with tak ing care of business at home against Arkansas. “We’re ready to bounce back, and they’re a great team to take it to,” Snaer said. Sout h Ca rol i na enters t he series against the Razorbacks having won six of its last nine games. Unfort unately for the Gamecocks, all six of those wins have come in non-conference games and South Carolina hasn’t defeated an SEC opponent since March 14 against Tennessee. Despite that. Smith, like her first baseman, still feels good about her team and their chances to have a successful remainder of the season. “I feel great about this squad,” said Smith. “I really have more options this year than I ever had.”


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.