NEWS 1 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015
VOL. 116, NO. 123 • SINCE 1908
Showcases film, music and art | Page 4
Indie Grits Fest Festival
Graphic by Hannah Cleaveland / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Protest addresses police brutality Kevin Smarr @KEVINSMARR93
There were an unusual number of green shirts on campus Monday worn by students. These students were protesting the recent shooting of Walter Scott by a North Charleston police officer. The protest was silent and did not have a
central time or location on campus, but encouraged students to dress in attire that was similar to what Scott was wearing when he was shot in the back by officer Michael Slager. Scott was pulled over for a broken taillight on April 4 and ran from the scene with Slager pursuing on foot. Slager then fired his Taser but was
unable to stop Scott. The two got in a scuffle in an empty lot where Slager said Scott reached for his Taser. Slager then fired shots at Scott, saying he feared for his life. Video, shot by a bystander and later released, showed Scott running from Slager and being 15 to 20 feet away when Slager fired eight rounds at him.
Slager has since been fired from the North Charleston police force and charged with the murder of Scott. Members of the National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA), which organized the silent protest, were handing out name tags throughout campus that read “My name is Walter SEEPROTESTPAGE3
Display sparks domestic violence conversation
Courtesy of billpressshow.com
Press has won four Emmys and a Golden Mike Award.
Bill Press visits campus, talks politics Bi l l P re s s w i l l v i sit USC on Tue s d ay to address both the public and students by invitation from Professor Donald Fowler of the department of political science. P r e s s of f e r s “t hou g ht- p r o v ok i n g a nd humorous insights from the left side of the political aisle,” according to his website, insights he will share with USC when he addresses the topics of politics and the 2016 presidential race through two appearances — one for students and one for the public. His first appearance will be for Fowler’s “Politics and Mass Media” class at 11:40 a.m. in Gambrell Hall room 152. The address to Fowler’s class will be broadcast live on WUSC, the student-run radio station, Tuesday morning. He will speak again at 5 p.m. in Gambrell Hall room 250, this time addressing the general public. Press is known for his radio show the “Bill Press Show” and is a well-known newspaper columnist and six-time author. He was the chairman of the California Democratic Party from 1993 to 1996 and the former co-host of MSNBC’s “Buchanan and Press,” CNN’s “Crossfire” and “The Spin Room.” He has received four Emmys and a Golden M ike Award for his work.
— Lauren Shirley, News Editor
Hannah Cleaveland / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Students and campus organizations painted shirts during March and April that were displayed on Greene Street.
James Stewart @THEGAMECOCK
St udents wit nessed a blossoming of color on Greene St reet a nd arou nd ca mpus Monday, as the T-shirts painted for Sexual Assault and Violence I nter vent ion & Prevent ion’s Clothesline Project were fi nally put up for display. The Clothesline Project is one of the more visual events that SAVIP hosts for National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Its purpose is to raise awareness for the victims and survivors of sexual and relationship violence a nd to of fer t hem a f u n but t her apeut ic env i ron ment i n which to express themselves. “I think we got a really good turnout,” social work student a n d S AV I P i nt e r n K r i s t i n Tanner said. Tanner and her co-worker, Janece Gough, have s up er v i s e d t he C lot he s l i ne Project activities at USC since they began in March. This year, the shirt displays have stretched across campus
with displays up by the Thomas Cooper Library and the School of Public Health. “ We had a lot of st udent s stop by and participate over the weeks, and we also had a lot of people have painting parties, where sometimes like a residence hall would paint their shirts all together, so I think we ended up with a pretty good turnout,” Tanner said. On campus organizations got involved with the painting as well, according to Gough, who is a graduate assistant with SAVIP. “We gave a bunch of shirts to the USCPD and to the School of Public Health and a few other groups,” she said. The shirts on display covered a broad ra nge of topics t hat encompa s s Sex u a l A s sau lt Awareness Mont h. One shirt read, “It’s not your fault, we believe you.” A not her stated “NO is a complete sentence.” “I really like one of the shirts that was made in honor of [Raja] Fayad,” Tanner said. Fayad was
killed after being shot on campus by his ex-wife in February. The shoot i ng is t he most recent high-profi le act of relationship violence at USC this year. One st udent walk ing down Greene Street stopped and took a few seconds to analyze t he shirts before continuing on his way. “I really value t he honest y in some of the shirts,” Gough said. “The message might be more vulgar or uncomfortable, but I just fi nd it so powerful for somebody to tell me their story on one of these shirts and speak out and be able to tell me, ‘Hey, this is what happened to me.’” Spea k i ng out t h rough t he displayed shirts was the goal of T he Clot hesl i ne Projec t , according to both Gough and Tanner, but it has benefits for the survivors as well. “This is a type of art therapy where hopef u lly t he pa i nter can f ind some healing in the process,” Tanner said.