The Daily Gamecock 8/24/10

dailygamecock.com UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010

VOL. 104, NO. 4

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SINCE 1908

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Wednesday 89°

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Keri Goff / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Saunders suspended Tight end Weslye Saunders has been suspended indefinitely for violating team rules.

President Harris Pastides and his wife, Patricia Moore-Pastides, enjoy the opening of the newly improved McCutchen House kitchen in early August.

McCutchen House renovations complete Restaurant equipment gives students top-notch amenities, experience

See page 9

Josh Dawsey NEWS EDITOR

5 Artists You’re Missing The Mix highlights a few acts your iPod needs, and you probably haven’t heard of, including The Sunshine Underground, Todd Wright and Leigh Nash.

See page 6

Pattented Wisdom Bear baying, legal only in South Carolina, is deliberate animal cruelty and should be Sydney outlawed immediPatterson ately.

First-year

See page 5

print journalism student

Just three months ago, the kitchen inside the McCutchen House was cramped, full of antiquated gas stoves and lacking necessary storage space.

Not anymore.

A t wo-month, $370,000 renovation this summer left the facility gleaming with state-ofthe-art kitchen equipment, a walk-in industrial cooler and enough space to fit two times the students the kitchen formerly held.

The project was funded with federal stimulus dollars and money from the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management.

During a ceremony on the Horseshoe in early August, university officials trumpeted the kitchen as an improvement for the restaurant’s customers as well as the students who operate it.

“We’re now training and teaching in a truly

commercial k itchen,” McCutchen House Director Neal Smoak said. “It’s been a dream of ours since 2003, but it’s finally in place.”

The project started early this summer and was completed by July. It enables the college to double its students to 20 inside the kitchen, offer more cooking classes to the general public and hire more staff.

Most importantly, it allows st udents to experience life in a kitchen similar to a top-level restaurant.

“It opens the doors up to different foods and different cuisines,” said Executive Chef Jules Pernell . “We were very limited before this renovation, and now we can give our students more of a global culinary perspective.”

Before, it was hard to teach certain cooking techniques, like sautéing, pan-searing and stirfrying, Pernell said. The menu of the restaurant will expand with the new kitchen, he said.

The kitchen serves two purposes on campus.

Students in the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management are responsible for its operations. They prepare, cook, serve and clean

for thousands of guests each month. USC officials said the opportunities inside the kitchen prepare students for careers in restaurant management upon graduation“The students are required to experience every part of working in a real-world laboratory,” USC President Harris Pastides said.

“People look at this college and they see fun and games and good food, and it’s easy to miss the importance. But I’m fully committed to the valuable work this college does for our state.”

It also serves as a popular restaurant for university guests, alumni and leaders around the city for a fresh, buffet lunch. It hosts hundreds of private events every year as well.

“I bring guests of the University here every week, and they often tell me their favorite part of the visit is the lunch at the McCutchen House,” Pastides said. “Not only do they enjoy a delicious meal, they get to interact with students and network.”

Comments on this story?

E-mail gamecocknews@sc.edu

Provost’s Office clarifies miscommunication Writing Center stays open despite initial e-mail notification Josh Dawsey NEWS EDITOR

E-mails were sent, the news was posted online and various faculty and staff members were told the Writing Center, a long-standing model of academic support at USC, wouldn’t reopen its doors for the 2010 school year.

The problem: budget cuts.

“We regret to announce that

due to the recent cuts in funding for higher education, the Writing Center at the University of South Carolina has closed, effective immediately,” the letter said.

T he le t t e r w a s s i g ne d b y Writing Center Director Christy Friend and English department chair William Rivers. It listed the center’s various accomplishments over t he past t h ree decades, including its service to tens of thousands of students.

The date was Aug. 10.

But less than 24 hours later, the decision was reversed by the Provost’s Office. The confusion

(803) 777-3914 (803) 777-7726 (803) 777-7182 (803) 576-6172

was attributed to an embarrassing miscommunication, said Helen Doer pinghaus, associate v ice president and Dean of Students.

She attributed the communication error to heav y work loads and st ress during t he r ush period before classes begin. “ T he dec ision h ad n’t reached the Provost’s Office,” Doerpinghaus said. “W hen we realized they were concerned they couldn’t keep it open, we stepped in and said we’d keep it open. It just had to stay open.”

Doer pi nghau s a nd Provost Michael Amiridis learned about

t he closure of t he nat ionallyrenowned center just as many ot hers did — t hrough a mass e-mail and postings to hundreds of people.

The communication shouldn’t have been sent, Doerpinghaus said. She promised the Provost’s Office would find all necessary funds to keep the center open.

Doerpinghaus said decisions are made by an individual college only when the decisions only affect students in the respective college.

T he Provo st ’s O f f ice m a ke s WRITING ● 2

Jennifer Allison & Joseph Colbert Though the infamous Carolina heat makes it seem otherwise, all other evidence points to a startling truth: the cherished summer vacation has ended. Classes are rolling with full force, and while you might not be ready to start hitting the books, it’s never too soon to reminisce over memories made during the past three months. From South Carolina to South Africa, many Gamecocks truly made the most of their summer breaks. Check out some of their stories in this three-part series, “Your Summer.”

Biology students work hands-on with reptiles Sara Hartley

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Post Practice Interviews Steve Spurrier discusses th e We s l ye S a u n d e r s situation and more and special teams coordinator Shane Beamer talks about the kickoff team.

Online @ www.dailygamecock.com Courtesy of Jennifer Allison and Joseph Colbert

Colbert (top) and Allison pose with reptiles they tracked and studied over the summer.

Wild alligators and rattlesnakes may strike fear into the average South Carolina resident, but not for USC students Jennifer Allison and Joseph Colbert.

In fact, the biolog y students spent their summers tracking and studying these reptiles in Bluffton, S.C., as part of a research internship coordi nated by t he Science Tech nolog y Engineering Math program (STEM) at the University of South Carolina.

“The goal is to look at their movement patterns in places that are to be developed,” said Colbert, a fourth-year transfer student. “We want to find a happy medium between humans and wildlife.”

With interests in conservation biology, Allison

and Colbert also contributed to salamander research in St. Matthews, S.C. Allison’s favorite experience of the summer was being able to participate in a rattlesnake surgery.

“As far as being able to be that close ... and actually open [the snake’s] mouth and see the fangs was so cool,” said Allison, a fourth-year transfer student.

The Irmo, S.C., native was in charge of the snake’s breathing while it was under anesthesia to have a radio telemeter, or tracking device, replaced. Her job was to squeeze a balloon to pump oxygen into the snake, watching its body inflate and deflate during the process.

“If I screwed up, the snake would die,” she said. “I had to make sure not to squeeze too much air in ... It was a fine balance.”

Allison said this surgery is just one example of the variety of field experiences she and Colbert got this summer. While Allison focused mainly on observing patterns of alligators, Colbert SUMMER ● 2

The Daily Gamecock ● TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010

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Ron Harris / The Associated Press

Michael Conroy / The Associated Press

Kevin Frayer / The Associated Press

Humane S ocie t y fight s South Carolina bear baying

Black nursing aide denied rights to assist white patient

Pakistani president defends government handling of flood

A declawed, defanged bear is chained to a stake as hunting dogs bark and snap, trying to force the bear to stand on its hind legs. The training exercise called bear baying is intended to make the bears easier to shoot in the wild, and it’s only allowed in South Carolina.

Armed with new undercover video of four such events, the Humane Society of the United States is pressuring state officials to explicitly outlaw the practice, which the organization says is effectively banned in every other state. Animal rights advocates say it’s cruel to the nearly defenseless bears and harms them psychologically.

Hunters say the exercise popular in the state’s hilly northwestern corner helps them train their dogs on what to do when they come across a bear during a hunt.

But John Goodwin, the Humane Society’s chief animal fighting expert, calls it “bear baiting” — a centuries-old bloodsport that is more for spectators’ entertainment than instruction for dogs on what to do when they encounter wild bears.

“This isn’t about training dogs. This is a competition,” Goodwin said a news conference in Columbia on Monday in conjunction with the public release of the videos. “If this is their idea of training a dog for hunting, then they’re sending that dog on a suicide mission.”

State law on the issue is murky. Statutes banning animal fighting have a specific exemption for dog training. And while South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster says animal cruelty laws prohibit bear baying, he hasn’t prosecuted any cases.

On Monday, a spokesman for McMaster’s office said prosecutors were reviewing the videos.

The videos, which were filmed with hidden cameras by activists posing as spectators, show an adult black bear standing on all fours, its back to a 4-foot high wooden fence, tethered to the ground by several feet of chain. Crowds of a few dozen line the dirt pen around it.

The bear rises onto its hind legs as three hounds sprint toward it, which is precisely the point: Hunters have a better chance of killing a bear swiftly with a shot to its exposed underbelly.

The unleashed dogs bark, show their teeth and swat at the bear, which lunges to the end of the chain, then backs up against the fence.

Moments later, handlers pull off the dogs. A new team of dogs — most of them Plott hounds weighing about 50 pounds — soon takes on the roughly 150-pound bear.

Dozens more will follow.

“We really view this as a throwback to the days of the Roman Colosseum, when people filled an arena as spectators to watch animals pitted against each other,” said Michael Markarian, the Humane Society’s chief operating officer.

INDIANAPOLIS — Certified nursing assistant Brenda Chaney was on duty in an Indiana nursing home one day when she discovered a patient lying on the floor, unable to stand.

But Chaney couldn’t help the woman up. She had to search for a white aide because the woman had left instructions that she did not want any black caregivers.

And the nursing home insisted it was legally bound to honor the request.

The episode, which led to a recent federal court ruling that Chaney’s civil rights had been violated, has brought to light a little known consequence of the patients’ rights movement that swept the nation’s health care system over the last two decades.

Elderly patients, who won more legal control over their quality of life in nursing homes, sometimes want to dictate the race of those who care for them. And some nursing homes enforce those preferences in their staff policies.

“When people write laws, they don’t think about these types of things very much,” said Dennis Frick, an attorney with Indiana Legal Services’ Senior Law Project.

At nursing homes, tension over patient rights and race “comes up occasionally in virtually every state in the United States,” said Steve Maag, director of assisted living and continuing care at the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

Maag said he has gotten several questions a year from nursing home officials about reassigning workers to suit residents’ racial preferences. Another case in Indiana last year resulted in a damage settlement for a caregiver. A state agency in Montana has also handled a formal bias complaint.

Now, Indiana state health officials expect to notify all nursing homes of the court ruling, and Frick said it could be cited as precedent throughout the nation.

In 1987, Congress enacted the Nursing Home Reform Law to address evidence of widespread abuse of nursing home patients. The states followed suit with “a strong set of regulations that would guarantee that residents were free from abuse and had quality of care, and really had quality of life,” said Robyn Grant, a national senior care advocate who was involved in drafting Indiana’s rules in 1990.

But the emphasis on patient rights led some nursing homes to think they outweighed everything else. “ We were t aught t hat resident s’ r ight s were paramount,” said Janet McSharar, who specializes in long-term care issues and represented the nursing home where Chaney worked in Plainfield, an Indianapolis suburb of 23,000.

SHADAD KOT, Pakistan— Pakistan’s president defended the government’s much-criticized response to the country’s record-breaking flood crisis as emergency workers worked frantically Monday to shore up a system of levees protecting two southern cities.

The floods, which began nearly a month ago with hammering rains in the country’s northwest, have affected more than 17 million people, a U.N. official said, warning the crisis was outstripping relief efforts. About 1,500 people have died in the floods, most in fi rst few days, though the crisis continues to grow.

President Asif Ali Zardari said anger at the government in the coming months is inevitable given the scale of the disaster, comparing it to the anti-government sentiment generated by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the United States.

“There will be discontent, there is no way any nation, even a superpower ... can bring the same level of satisfaction that will be close to the expectations of the people,” Zardari said in an interview with a small group of foreign reporters in the capital, Islamabad. “Surely we will try and meet them as much as we can.”

Still, he defended his handling of the crisis and said the government “had functioned to its fullest capacity.”

The widespread misery of the floods has triggered speculation of social unrest, food riots or even a challenge to the government’s rule before its term ends in 2013.

The floods have so far destroyed or damaged 1.2 million homes and affected 17.2 million people, U.N. spokesman Maurizio Giuliano said.

“The floods are outrunning our relief efforts. We move faster and faster, but the finish line keeps moving further ahead,” Giuliano said.

In Shadad Kot, in the southern province of Sindh, authorities are increasingly worried that even the 10 miles (18 kilometers) of new levees soldiers have built to protect the city, and Qambar city further to the south, may not hold back the massive floods.

Workers were piling stones and sandbags to plug leaks in the levees, trying to stay ahead of any damage to the defenses.

“It is the last-ditch effort to save the city,” said Brig Khawar Baig. “We are trying to block the water here. If it crosses over, we fear it will go further south and inundate more towns.”

Ninety percent of Shadad Kot’s 350,000 residents have already fled the city. Many have also left Qambar and other nearby towns.

On the eastern side of the city, levees were under pressure from 9-foot (2.7-meter) -high floodwaters, said Yaseen Shar, the top administrative official.

WRITING ● Continued from 1

as a national model of a prog r a m done wel l by university administrators, j u s t h ad t o s t a y, Doerpinghaus said Aug. 12.

Fr iend ad m it ted t he decision to close the center was quickly reversed.

“A t t he t i me of ou r conversation, the Writing Center had been closed,” she w rote in an e-mail two days after the initial announcement. “However, yesterday evening I found out t h at t he Provo st ’s O f f ice had a n nou nced that it would not be closed after all. I have been asked to w it hd raw t he let ter announcing its closure.”

budget decisions that affect students campus-wide.

“There’s always an effort to examine decisions to make sure they hurt the fewe st people possible and don’t harm missioncritical functions of the university,” Doerpinghaus said. “Even in budget cuts, we’ve stressed that quality must remain as high as ever.”

In this case, the English department didn’t think t hey cou ld keep t he center op en. W h i le it remained popular w it h struggling students and professors lauded it as crucial to success, it wasn’t econom ica l ly possible, they said.

Comments on this story?

But t he center, seen E-mail gamecocknews@sc.edu

SUMMER ● Continued from 1 Colbert t ransferred to USC f rom M id la nds w o r k e d m a i n l y w i t h Te c h n ic a l C ol le g e i n rattlesnakes.

Fall 2008 and joined the “It’s a good opportunity STEM program. to see their behavior before “The purpose of t he [an area] is developed,” STEM program is to keep Colbert said. students in the science A llison has also been field,” said Allison, who is d e v e l o p i n g a h u m a n now vice president of the d i mensions projec t i n STEM club.

Beg i n n i ng w it h a wh ich su r vey s w il l be distributed to residents in S T E M 101 c l a s s , t he prog ra m is f u nded by Bluffton.

“The goal of the survey t he Nat io n a l S c ie nc e is to understand which Fou ndat ion and of fers conservation strategies will scholarships, internship be successful and accepted opportunities, courses and by the residents, as well guidance for students who as their risk perception of have transferred from a the animals that we are S.C. technical college or a studying and how we can USC regional campus.

“They were ver y educate them to have a lower risk perception of interested in placing each the animals,” Allison said. student in an internship,” B o t h A l l i s o n a n d Allison said. “I told them

my interests were animals — e s p e c i a l l y rept i le s and amphibians — and conservation.”

T he prog r a m coord i nators helped Allison get involved with a re sea rch i nter n sh ip l a s t s u m mer work i n g in t he lab of Timot hy Mousseau , associate vice president for Research and Graduate Education and a professor of biological sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. Having continued the internship t hroughout t he school year, Allison was able to earn more responsibilities and opport unit ies t his summer.

“Dr. Jay me Waldron a nd Dr. Sha ne Welch are the post-docs in the l ab t h at h a v e g u id e d

me t hroughout t he internship,” Allison said.

“They’re really focused on giving the students a knowledge base but at the same time making sure they’re comfortable.”

Set to g raduate i n December, Allison plans to continue working on her projects during the semester and is interested in possibly cont inuing a l l i g at o r r e s e a r c h i n graduate school. “ We h a v e s m a l l alligators, and I would like to track them throughout my life,” she said. “I would like to be 50 and have an alligator that’s 30 that I’ve been tracking since it was a hatchling.”

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The Daily Gamecock ● TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010

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Two-party system stifles all progress

EDITORIAL BOARD KARA APEL Editor-in-Chief

ELLEN MEDER

KRISTYN SANITO

Managing Editor

Copy Desk Chief

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JONATHAN BATTAGLIA

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Assistant News Editor

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MEGAN HILBERT

Both sides need to work together

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Assistant Sports Editor

Webmaster

Writing Center offers PATTENTED WISDOM redundant tutoring Bear baying is animal cruelty

In a bold attempt to cut its own expendable program, the English department decided to close the Writing Center. Fearing a coup, the Provost’s Office wrestled the budget knife back, defending its exclusive right to dole out the pain.

Actually, the Provost never got the English department’s memo that it planed to shut the center down. Dean of Students Helen Doerpinghaus attributed the mistake “Does the Writing to an “embarrassing m iscom mu n icat ion” Center offer any c a u s e d b y “ h e a v y workloads and stress instruction that ACE during the rush period centers do not?” before classes begin.”

Can we use that excuse to shirk our school assignments?

The English department, which has already faced severe cuts including money for paper, said it attempted to close the Writing Center because it had to fund it alone. The English faculty could have called the Provost’s Office to inform them of the cut, had the Provost not cut funding for most of the telephones in the Humanities Office Building.

Now that the Provost has stepped in to save the Writing Center, we wonder why it is deemed so important. Does the Writing Center offer any instruction that the Academic Centers for Excellence or the Student Success Center do not? Perhaps we should streamline our free tutoring programs so that the English department can save some money.

Dog hunting for bears is only allowed ‘Training’ method more akin to spectator for six days in October in three counties blood sport, should be promptly outlawed A notable controversy in the news today is the practice of bear baying: a supposed training exercises during which packs of dogs surround, bark and snap at a bear that is chained to a stake and attempt to force it to stand on its hind legs, making it easier for hunters to shoot.

South Carolina is the only state where bear baying is allowed.

State law on this practice is prett y ambig uous, though. The ban on animal f ig ht i n g h a s a s p e c i f ic exemption for dog training, Sydney but State Attorney General Patterson Henry McMaster says that First-year the state’s animal cruelty print journalism law s m a ke b ea r bay i ng student illegal.

I n 20 05, t he S out h C a r o l i n a D e p a r t m e nt o f Nat u r a l Resources started taking steps to slowly end bear baying when it mandated that current ow ners of capt ive bears get permits for the animals, and stopped issuing permits after thereafter, hoping to that ensure no new bears were adopted.

The theor y was that after the bears ow ned under ex ist ing permits died, there would be no more bear baying in South Carolina. However, if they feel the practice should be ended, why allow it to go on any longer, much less the 25 to 30 years it would take for this generation of captive bears to die?

in South Carolina: Oconee, Pickens and Greenville. Hunters say the six days are not long enough to prepare their dogs for the hunt and the “training” is necessary to protect the dogs’ lives. So maybe this training could be O.K. if done correctly, but it isn’t. Defenders of the practice say that the bears are in a cage while dogs on three-foot leashes bark at them, and that there isn’t contact that could harm either animal; however, videos secretly recorded by Humane Society activists at these events clearly show the dogs being released and the animals repeatedly swatting at each other. One dog was even injured after being slapped by a bear with its back to a fence.

The exemption in the animal cruelty law states the condition that there be no repeated contact between the animals.

The Humane Society videos show that this rule isn’t being followed, so why are these people allowed to continue this barbaric sport? This cruelty isn’t just happening in supposed training sessions.

Every year there are huge competitions, held in Spartanburg and York most notably, where hunters compete to see whose team of dogs can bay a bear the fastest.

Hopefully the Humane Society can convince lawmakers to bring our state up to par with others on this issue. If not, they plan to talk directly to wildlife managers, ask them to revoke permits for captive bears and immediately end the cruelty being inflicted on these animals.

DREAM Act addresses immigration sensibly Proposal gives assimilated illegals venue to become lawful citizens Illegal immigrants. Now that’s a hot button issue. Views on this topic range from the very liberal — “Make them all citizens!” — to uberconservative —“Kick them all out!” However, there are a number of intermediate policies that very often get overlooked that can put us on the right track toward solving this problem.

One of these is the DR EA M Act. The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act is a piece of proposed legislation t hat wou ld allow im m ig ra nt s who were brought into the United States under the age of 16, have a high school degree and have lived in the United States for five years to enter a six-year path to permanent residency. By the end of this period, immigrants must have satisfied one of three requirements: fi nish at least two years of military service, complete a two-year degree program or be at least two years into a four-year college degree program.

Unless convicted of a crime, at the end of the six-year period the immigrant will be granted permanent residency, allowing him or her to eventually become a U.S. citizen.

This act is benef icial because it helps those who are illegal by no fault of their own. Children cannot be held accountable for the actions of t hei r pa rent s, a nd it is not t hei r f au lt i f t hei r pa rent s brought them into the United States illegally. Many of t he immigrants who would qualify Michelle for this program have spent most Fantone of their lives in the U.S., speak Fourth-year fluent English, have little or no political science memory of their birthplace and and sociology consider A merica t heir only student home.

Secondly, this act helps accomplish the main goal of immigration: it brings in productive members of society. These students and service members will gain degrees, get jobs, pay taxes and fight for our country. They will have the

About The Daily Gamecock

IT’S YOUR RIGHT The goal of The Daily Gamecock’s Viewpoints page is to stimulate discussion in the Unive r sit y of South Ca rolina community. All published authors are expected to provide logical arguments to back their views.

The Daily Gamecock encourage s readers to voice opinions and offers three methods of expression: letters to the editor, guest columns and feedback on dailygamecock.com.

Letters and guest columns should be submitted via e-mail to gamecockeditor@ sc.edu. Letters must be 200 to 300 words in length and include the author’s name,

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resources to buy houses and raise families.

The illegal immigration debate will not be solved by extreme measures. Universal citizenship is impossible politically. Kicking all illegal immigrants out is impractical; the U.S. does not have the resources to search for and deport all illegal immigrants. The debate will only be solved by a series of moderate stepby-step initiatives that help target and separate those productive potential citizens we want to retain from the criminals and drug runners we need to deport.

We are all college students, and some of us are also current or former members of the military. We all know the benefits of having a degree and being skilled at a task. We all plan on being productive citizens who simply want successful lives and happy families. These illegal immigrant students are just like us, and some of them may be part of our Carolina family. These are the types of people we should welcome with open arms, not blindly deport because they have been titled “illegal.”

W henever I am in a political discussion with a friend, professor or colleag ue, I am asked about my pol it ical leanings. This is a pretty irritating question for me as I prefer not to be branded with either conservative or liberal labels. I’ve allied myself with both sides of the political spectrum, and bot h sides have t heir own problems.

The American government is dominated b y t wo p a r t ie s w it h contradictory agendas.

Conser vat ive s wa nt the government to be more i nvolved i n t he moral fabric of society but not in gun control or taxes. Liberals want the government to step off of personal liberties, yet they campaign for more involvement in the welfare solution. I’m not saying I have solutions to these problems, only t hat we should take a more practical approach to politics.

Pol it ic a l parties cause so m u c h tension in A merica t h at t r u e Steven progress Kramer r a r e l y First-year business student occurs.

M o s t Americans have their own ideologies a nd a re u nw i l l i ng to work with other groups for the sake of progress.

However, if those on the lef t and right worked toget her, t he y cou ld bring about compromise.

I believe all people are willing to do their part for their countr y, but political parties place stereotypes and brands on those very people.

People say t hat Democrats, Republicans a nd Liber t a r ia n s a re d i f f e r e nt n a m e s f o r t he same t hing: ly ing politicians. The way I see it, they are different names for A merica ns who love their country and want progress but have dissimilar methods.

Pol it ic a l pa r t ie s create stubborn people unwilling to change their ideas. If we as Americans view one another only as A mericans, and not a s Democ r at s or Republ ic a n s , we c a n get st uf f done in t his c ou nt r y. L e t ’s m a k e change a tangible concept and not some empt y promise we make in order to make ourselves feel better.

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Offices located on the third floor of the Russell House Editor: gamecockeditor@sc.edu News: gamecocknews@sc.edu Viewpoints: gamecockopinions@sc.edu The Mix: gamecockfeatures@sc.edu Sports: gamecocksportspage@sc.edu Online: www.dailygamecock.com Newsroom: 777-7726 Sports: 777-7182 Editor’s Office: 777-3914 Fax: 777-6482 The Daily Gamecock is the editorially independent student newspaper of the University of South Carolina. It is published daily during the fall and spring semesters and nine times during the summer with the exception of university holidays and exam periods. Opinions expressed in The Daily Gamecock are those of the editors or author and not those of the University of South Carolina.

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“Great men are rarely isolated mountain peaks; they are the summits of ranges.”

— Thomas W. Higginson TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010

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Todd Wright, Leigh Nash among top solo acts to add to your iPod Chloe Gould

THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Leeds-based indie rock band The Su nsh ine Un d e r g r o u n d i s o n e of Br it a i n’s best-kept sec ret s. T he qu a r tet , who is best k nown for t hei r ecle c t ic m i x of marketable indie f unk and offbeat punk sound, has released two albums, “R a ise t he A la r m” i n 20 0 6 a nd “ Nob o d y ’s Com ing to Save You” in Februar y. A lthough t he y ’ve pl a y e d m a ny alternative music festivals in the U.K., they have yet to cross the pond in a big way. Their tracks “Put You In Your Place” and “Borders,” both off their first release, showcase the rockers’ best, ex uding energy while preserving t hat u ndiscovered, underground vibe.

For li s te ne rs of: The Pigeon Detectives, We are Scientists, Maximo Park

Singer and song writer To d d W r i g h t h a s conquered t he mu sic world . Fo r m e rl y t he front man of Virginiabased rock band Getaway Ca r, he’s now t u r ned into a touring guitarist and expert songwriter.

Wa s h i n g t o n , D. C . nat ive Wr ight is now living the life of a solo s o n g s t er, w it h h i s latest project y ield i ng ref re sh i ngly upbeat hits. W it h his “40x40” project, Wright resolved to produce a f ree t rack each week , releasing 40 new songs by his 40th birthday. This past July, he successfully completed his quest with “Let Me Down Easy,” released in April, proving to be a favorite of the 40. Listen to Wright at orangepopsongs.com, or his MySpace, myspace. com/orangepopsongs.

For listeners of: Stephen Kellogg, Matt Nathanson, Matt Wertz

Solo singer, songwriter and producer Matthew Perryman Jones is on the rise, with his American pop-rock tracks making g uest appeara nces on pr i met i me favor ite s across the networks. His hit “Save You” off his 2008 release “Swallow t he S e a” h a s b e e n f e at u re d o n “ P r i v at e Practice” and “Kyle XY,” w it h a ha ndf u l of h is other tracks finding spots on MTV’s “The Hills” and “One Tree H ill.”

With “Feels Like Letting Go” and “Refuge,” off “Swallow the Sea” and “Throwing Punches In the Dark” respectively, capturing the tried and true sure-hit mix, Jones is on the verge of breaking out from the background.

Recently touring with I ng rid M ichaelson, and collaborating with m u s i c a l - c o u nt e r p a r t Katie Herzig, Jones is working his way up the mainstream ladder.

For li s te ne rs of: Tre nt Dabbs, Katie Herzig, Mat Kearney

Pop artist Leigh Nash, who was also the lead for former Nashville-based rock-pop band Sixpence None the Richer, kicked off her solo career in 2006 wit h her debut release “Blue on Blue.” Featuring ly rically light, vocally brilliant pop tracks, the 12-track album empowers Nash as a female vocalist, wh i le keepi ng t h i ng s soft and more feminine.

A lbu m-best “Ocean S i z e L o v e” p e r f e c t l y represents the born-tobe pop star, offering an alternative to the lacking female art ists who top today’s charts. Falling somewhere between the lovable Lily A llen and the more soulful side of the industry, she poses a nice balance. While also writing and performing w it h rock col lec t ive Movement Na shv i l le , Nash has the potential to fi nd herself hitting it big in the industry.

For listeners of: Charlotte So metimes, Lily Alle n , Hayley Williams

Dave Barnes mixes up t he ex pected musical st yle, adding elements of rock, acoustic, blues and R&B to his songs.

Having written music for i ndust r y-g reat s Matt Wertz and Marc Broussard, and finding support from the greats like John Mayer, Barnes has already had a taste of the limelight. However, even after four studio releases, t he talented Mississippi act has yet to find a major following.

“Nothing Fancy,” off his 2002 EP “Three, Then Four,” slows things down for an acoustic love song, while “God Gave Me You,” from April’s “What We Wa nt , W hat We Get,” kicks things back up with a full-band burst of something more on the rock side. Personal favorite “Crazyboutya” brings together the best of all worlds to produce a feel-good winner.

For listeners of: Ben Rector, E r i c H u t chi n s o n , J o n McLaughlin Comments on this story?

E-mail gamecockfeatures@ sc.edu

Courtesy of MySpace.com

Death of the Video Store Netflix, Redbox innovate movie-renting industry, eliminate Blockbuster Jimmy Gilmore THE MIX EDITOR

This summer saw the fi nal nails go into the coffi ns of video rental establishments. Across the country, Blockbusters, Hollywood Videos and their cousins closed so quickly you’d think they’d caught the plague.

Yes, the death of the video store is upon us, but its dying breath shouldn’t be viewed as a completely terrible thing, as alternative DVD rental services have opened up whole new possibilities for seeing movies.

Granted, there’s a natural sense of corny nostalgia that crops up every time one of these stores shuts its doors. Many of us have great memories of gazing up and down aisles, picking up video boxes, trying to figure out what to rent and gathering a pile to take home for the weekend. To think that a decade from now k ids will see this way of renting and seeing movies as archaic is frankly a little weird.

Now, screens and lines of text have replaced our “drama” and “sci-fi” aisles. Instead of holding the box, we must be content to stare at its two-dimensional image. It’s no secret that Netfl ix has now more or less monopolized how people rent and watch movies at home.

A nd why shouldn’t it? With reliable, next-day delivery on thousands of titles, a library that features almost any movie that’s ever been put on DVD and a growing list of fi lms available to stream instantly in high quality through a Web browser, Netf lix’s ability to give subscribers virtually anything they want has redefi ned video renting. And with monthly subscription fees, late fees are out the window. As their string of advertisements tells us, it “takes the drama out of renting.”

Unlike the cold, indifferent staff at video rental stores that doesn’t seem to care at all if the disc you pick up is scratched to oblivion, the Netfl ix customer service team at least gives the impression of empathy, updating pages daily and quickly sending replacement discs if something should turn up damaged.

But Netf lix is also an impersonal service, where one simply makes a list, waits for a disc, watches it and mails it back. The idea of “going out to rent something” isn’t applicable, and the 24-hour wait period makes it hard to be spontaneous about seeing something that isn’t on “Watch Instantly.”

Here’s where Redbox comes in. While Blockbuster may have been able to fend off Netfl ix for a while by letting people have an option when they suddenly realize t hey have not hing to do on Fridays, t he conveniently located and exponentially increasing Redbox services made all that a moot point.

Often situated in grocery stores or other highlytrafficked locales, Redbox houses mostly new-release

titles that can be rented for a dollar a night. Yeah, it’s a pretty sweet deal as long as you can remember to NETFLIX ● 7

The Daily Gamecock ● TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010

PAGE 7

Katy Perry’s sophomore effort more of the same ‘Teenage Dream’ maintains pop star’s sound without expanding in new direction Jimmy Gilmore THE MIX EDITOR

“Teenage Dream” Katy Perry Label: Capitol Records ★ ★ ★ out of ✩✩✩✩✩ In 2008, Katy Perry exploded onto the Top 40 world of pop princesses and glittery synthesizers with her first full studio release, “One of the Boys.” The pounding, irresistible lyrics of “I Kissed a Girl” made her a pop idol willing to talk about sexuality in provocative ways dissimilar from the Britneys and Christinas who came before her.

With May’s “California Gurls,” the first single off “Teenage Dream,” Perry pushed more towards bubble gum pop — with an accompanying video so drenched in inventive colors and art direction it can only be read as a comment on its own excess.

It’s no secret she’s in a field that’s suddenly become super-saturated — the titanic ascendancy of Lady GaGa and Ke$ha are just two in the most recent line of female goddesses dying to create party anthems about men, drinks and their own brand of female empowerment.

Her sophomore effort, “Teenage Dream,” clearly puts Perry within her genre without singularly distinguishing

her. Her cadenced verse and simple choruses seem to borrow a hand from Ke$ha, while she retains the sultry fire that lit up “One of the Boys” on at least a few of the songs.

While lacking the tightly wound production of Lady GaGa, Perry uses “Teenage Dream” as a way to try and carve her place as a jewel of the Top 40 radio waves and, surprisingly, a singer who actually wants to put some emotion beneath those lyrics and beats.

The title track is the best merger of these divergent themes, a riff on adolescent love built on a smooth combo of guitar and electronic beats that complements the way her voice ducks in and out of electronic aid.

The album is best in its first half, when Perry gives over to the kind of shtick that made her a certifiable hit (and also despised by plenty who see her as the epitome of what’s wrong with music). Songs like “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” are loaded with superficial party lyrics and equally superficial music. It even has a random sax break.

But to call “Teenage Dream” a wholly competent piece of evolution would be a dramatic stretch. The problem with Katy Perry 2.0 is that there’s nothing audacious, nothing to set her apart. The farthest departure she conjures comes in album-closing “Not Like the Movies,” a piano-driven piece that’s simply the thematic antithesis of the titular single.

“I Kissed a Girl” was like a mini-shockwave in that it provoked people to think about its underlying sexual politics, and whether her faux-bisexuality was something worth lauding or just a silly gimmick.

“Teenage Dream” lacks a similar verve, with only the aforementioned “Last Friday Night” or perhaps the wailing chorus on “E.T.” having any kind of playfulness.

Matt Sayles / AP Exchange

Katy Perry’s follow-up to 2008’s “One of the Boys” includes singles “California Gurls” and “Teenage Dream.”

Songs like “Firework” and “Peacock” feel direly repetitive in their plea for the listener to dance to them, while “Who Am I Living For?” and “Pearl” try to be serious and simply feel out of place.

Had Perry turned more toward collaboration, like the great little gem of Snoop Dogg’s verse on “California Gurls,” or tried to critique her sound in a more original way, the whole thing wouldn’t feel so Lady GaGa-Lite.

“Teenage Dream” will satisfy Katy Perry fans looking for a jolt of sugar-loaded musical Pop-Tarts in spades. It succeeds at re-emulating what made her popular without distinguishing her from the crowd. She’s simply starting to sound more and more like everyone else.

Comments on this story?

E-mail gamecockfeatures@sc.edu

Courtesy of AP Exchange

NETFLIX ● Continued from 6 return it right away.

Is the death of the video store a bad thing? Should we lament the shift toward Internet delivery services and mechanical disc dispensers? Absolutely not.

There’s a scene in Kevin Smith’s fi rst fi lm, “Clerks,” where video store attendant Randal ventures out to a “real” video store and, in awe of the selection, falls to his knees. One has to imagine what kind of reaction he’d have to Netfl ix, to be able to browse a seemingly infinite amount of titles and receive them without leaving the house.

It would be something between fascination and disgust, and it’s this mix of emotions that probably hits the home of even the most devoted Netf lix user — the quick realization that one more method of interacting with the film as an object has been displaced to a digital service.

Netfl ix and Redbox are the next evolutionary step.

In an age of convenience and technology, the services t hat can ut ilize t he most technolog y to provide customers with what they want.

If what they want is movies and television shows, and lots of them, it’s impossible to deny Netf lix’s staying power.

Blockbuster may be dead, but in its death comes new, exciting ways for us to watch movies. We may feel a pit of depression, but that’s until we remember we can watch the fi rst fi ve seasons of “Lost” in our browsers. That’s Entertainment.

Comments on this story?

E-mail gamecockfeatures@sc.edu

Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda / MCT Campus

With the rise of mail-order and instantly streaming movies online, major video stores are going out of business.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010

PAGE 8

Spurned ● By Jarad Greene / The Daily Gamecock

Calendar of Events

PhD ● By Jorge Cham

What: Fall 2010 Poster Sale When: 7 a.m.

Where: Russell House Lobby

What: IHSA Club Equestrian Team Meeting When: 6:30 p.m.

Where: RH, Room 205

What: Outdoor Recreation Information Table When: 11 a.m.

Where: Greene Street

What: ESA Chapter Meeting When: 7 p.m.

Where: RH, Room 303

What: First Night Carolina Follow-Up Meeting When: 2 p.m.

Where: RH, Room 348 What: Carolina Service Council Meeting When: 6 p.m.

Where: RH, Room 304

Want to see your comic here?

e-mail the mix

sagcketc@mailbox.sc.edu HOROSCOPES A R IES

Ever yone around you gets pulled together into a unit. Permit no distractions if you want to complete the task early.

TAU RUS

You’r e tempted to spread yourself too thin. Conserve energy and keep the big picture in mind to get anything done.

GEMINI Mentally

you’re completely ready for a new angle. Emotionally, you need to wait until later in the day to figure out the best direction.

C A NCER Get together with an associate to consider the big picture.

Remaining mired in details stops the action.

LEO You and a partner

identify key opportunities that carry you forward in business or pleasure.

VIRGO In order to break free from the norm, every team member has to pull together early today.

A round noon, ever yone can go their own direction.

LIBR A Early in the day, you’re confused about the best direction to take.

Later you see why it was unclear.

SCORPIO Resist independent action until you have consulted with others. Someone throws a monkey wrench in the works if you’re not careful.

SAGITTARIUS

Someone

in

your

hou sehold pre sent s a problem you must take care of. Applying cash to the situation helps greatly.

C A P R IC OR N

You wa nt cont rol now.

Demanding it gets you nowhere. The more cheer f u l ly you ex press independence, the more likely you are to get your way.

AQUA RIUS

You’re almost finished with an independent project t hat t ick les your fancy.

Soon ot hers w ill inject their opinions.

PISCES Eliminate all possible distractions, as you use what may be your last opportunity to complete your work.

08/24/10

Solution from 08/23/10

What: Garnet and Black Magazine Interest Meeting When: 8 p.m.

Where: RH, Room 304

ACOUSTIC CAFE 9:30 p.m., Free Russell House Bookstore Cafe

The Scene TODAY

TOMORROW

ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC NIGHT W/ BRIGHTFORD 8 p.m., Free over 21 / $3 under 21 New Brookland Tavern, 122 State St.

THE J.O.B. (THE JIM O’FERRELL BAND), HEAD SPACE, MIKE SANDERS 8 p.m., $5 over 21 / $7 under 21 New Brookland Tavern, 122 State St.

ROBERT MILLS HOUSE LANTERN TOUR 8 p.m., $10 Robert Mills House and Gardens, 1616 Blanding St.

JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT W/ NIKKI LEE 6 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show, $15 The White Mule, 1530 Main St.

PIRATES, PRIVATEERS & BUCCANEERS 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., $12 South Carolina State Museum, 301 Gervais St.

FA RMERS M A RK E T AT RIV ERBA NK S BOTANICAL GARDEN 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., Free R iverba n k s Z oo a nd G arden, 50 0 Wildlife Parkway

Crossword

1234567890-=

What: Homecoming Commission When: 7 p.m.

Where: RH, Room 203

Edited by Wayne Robert Williams

08/24/10

Brought to you by: August ALL Mondays - TRYL THE (The Reason You’re Listening) 27 - The Get Wets 28 - Sexy Lingere Party TIME: Sundays - Open Mic Tuesdays - Trivia 711 Harden Street Thursdays - F*ck Work!

House of ill repute (803) 255-2996

Across 1 Stage routines 5 Full of spunk 10 Shenanigan pullers 14 Multilayer farm site?

15 Twaddle 16 “Ta ta!”

17 It’s entered and processed 18 Needle bearers 19 Pachacuti, for one 20 Opportunity to examine some headwear?

23 Grub 24 Recycled T-shirt?

25 Carol beginning 28 Proactiv target 30 One of a cup’s 48: Abbr.

33 Call-in broadcasting for chefs?

35 Pampas weapon 36 “Seinfeld” actress Julia __-Dreyfus 37 Posed 38 Idol whose fans are known as Claymates 39 Gray area?: Abbr.

40 Northerners who dress with Scottish flair?

42 Condiment for pommes frites 43 Livens (up) 44 Delicate 45 Mendicant title 46 God attended by Valkyries 47 Hats that are soft and angular?

55 Plant used for first aid 56 More than 70% of Earth’s surface 57 Stretched just short of the breaking point 58 Tidings 59 Sudden movement 60 Gumbo ingredient 61 “Gee willikers!”

62 Keep an __ the ground 63 McJob performer Down 1 Versatile, electronically 2 Historic Newcastle resource 3 Miss Gulch’s bête noire, somewhat literally 4 Garb for Apollo 5 Religious guardian 6 Astrological ovine 7 __ Fein 8 Blueprint item, briefly 9 “Just give me an answer

already!”

Solution for 08/23/10 10 Hockey infraction 11 After-dinner item 12 Step 13 Look down on the clouds, perhaps 21 Can’t take 22 Seven sheikdoms fed.

25 Rand’s shrugger 26 Shortbread cookie surname 27 Peer 51 Fruit with a “check the 28 Apple or ale neck” ripeness test lead-in 52 Steal 29 Pierre, e.g.

53 Slovenia capital 30 Perfunctory 54 Ollie’s sidekick 31 Wintry woe 32 Flower name derived from the French for “thought” 34 PDQ cousin 35 Halter, perhaps 38 “Henry & June” role 40 Lady Hillingdon is a cultivar of one 41 Enlarge, as a house 43 Ante- equivalent 45 Meat 46 Victor Vasarely’s genre 47 Explosion 48 It’s found in tubs 49 Awes 50 Tetra- times two

PAGE 9

Shaw just might start under center True freshman playing no longer unbelievable

Kara Roache / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Senior tight end Weslye Saunders was suspended on Monday by South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier for an unspecified violation of team rules.

Saunders faces suspension Senior tight end absent due to violation of team rules Chris Bilko

THE DAILY GAMECOCK

After a rather tumultuous offseason, t ight end We slye Sau nder s ha s been indef initely suspended from the South Carolina football team for a violation of team rules. However, coach Steve Spurrier said t he suspension has not hing to do with Saunders’ role in an ongoing NCAA investigation.

“Weslye has been suspended due for a violation of team rules,” Spurrier said. “His status will be determined at a later date.

How else can I say about that?”

Q

Saunders is one of the lead subjects in an NCAA investigation on agent activity that started in July and has reportedly been quest ioned on a ir fare a nd hotel accommodations regarding a trip to Miami, Fla. during March.

Addit ionally, he was one of mult iple players that Spurrier requested move out of the local Whitney Hotel last week after questions arose about the player’s rent payments.

Saunders was also suspended for teamrelated reasons for about a week in January.

Without Saunders, the tight ends would more than likely form a rotation between Justice Cunningham, Patrick DiMarco and Mike Triglia. Cunningham has been much improved in the offseason, winning the

Steve Sisk Outstanding Blocker Award in the spring.

“The mindset is that wherever we play, the best is going to play,” Cunningham said. “I spoke to Weslye this morning, just saying hi. I saw him earlier today.”

He was slated to have a big role in the offense in 2010 and caught four passes for 63 yards and a 10-yard touchdown in USC’s last scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday.

Last season, the tight end from Durham, N.C., caught 32 passes for 353 yards and three touchdowns, all of which came in the fi nal three games of the season.

Comments on this story?

E-mail gamecocksportspage@sc.edu

A WITH

SPENCER LANNING Lanning, a senior kicker and punter from Rock Hill, was one of 30 players named to the preseason watch list for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation’s best placekicker.

TDG: What’s your favorite place to eat upstairs at the Russell House?

SL: Probably Taco Bell. I don’t eat at Taco bell very often, but every time I go up there it is always staring me in the face. I enjoy some Nachos BellGrande, but I also like those beef and potato burritos. I don’t eat there very often because I’m sure its terrible for me.

TDG: Do you have any good nicknames that we can print?

SL: They call me kicker or punter. Not any nicknames you can print. We have a ton for specialists in general. They have a nickname for literally everybody on the team. As far as me, I really don’t have anything.

I have L anning, eve r ybody calls me by my last name, or Spe nce, o r something like that. Joey Scribner-Howard’s is Sputnik, just because we couldn’t remember his name the first time we met him so we just called him Sputnik. We have a couple skinny guys so we call them “Sticks.” We got a guy name Eric Davis that looks like somebody named Doug so we call him Doug. Coach Spurrier and coach Beamer call him Doug, too, so it’s funny. His name’s not Doug at all.

TDG: What was the team trip to coach Spurrier’s house like?

SL: It was fun. He is a very

m o d e s t g u y. A s a c o a c h , you are sort of scared to go there because it is sort of awe inspiring, but then you walk in there and he is the nicest guy in the world. Joking about his team at Duke, shooting pool with us, just awesome fun. We did an egg toss with the team and the special teams was just terrible at it. It was fun, like I said he is just a dad and a great guy off the field.

TDG: Any Pregame rituals?

SL: I do a ton of them. I’m not superstitious, but I have some things I like to do. I write my grandmother’s name on my are, who passed away about a year ago. I write Philippians 4:13 on my arm, my girlfriend’s name literally every game if you look at my wrist I’ll have something there, something special, someone to pray for.

I listen to a lot of Breaking Benjamin before the game.

That usually gets me amped up. I’m not too sure what it means to be amped up as a kicker, but it can’t hurt. I try to always drink blue Gatorade before the game. I don’t know what it is, but it’s one of those thing I try to do.

Comments on this story?

E-mail gamesportspage@sc.edu

Kara Roache / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Spencer Lanning was one of USC’s top offensive performers last season.

Would Steve Spurrier actually start Connor Shaw?

The question gets louder with each passing day, as the true freshman keeps on outperforming incumbent quarterback Stephen Garcia in preseason practices.

“Statistically, he’s been the best quarterback on the team in every scrimmage,” Spurrier said last week.

I p u t t he S h a w t a l k into the “motivation” pile early on. Spurrier wanted to push Garcia, a n d S h a w, a humble James and talented Kratch freshman Third-year who wouldn’t English student be carried away w it h publ ic p r a i s e , w a s t he perfect source for said push.

W hen t he crit icisms of Garcia began to let up, it appeared that Spurrier was going about building his field general back up.

Yet, it’s 10 days from the season opener, and here we are. In hindsight, this should’ve been seen from a mile away. Spurrier is notorious when it comes to h is qua r terback s. I f there was a course on the history of college football, there would be a chapter devoted to Spurrier and his quarterback s in t he textbook.

I t w a s n’t e x p e c t e d , though, because the idea seemed so unlikely. But now it’s time to look at whether USC c a n succeed w it h Shaw starting. History says it could.

Is it ideal to start a true freshman at quarterback?

No. It’s not ideal to start a true freshman at anything.

But it ’s f o ol i s h t o s a y that starting Shaw would torpedo any hopes Carolina has for a good season.

There is some precedence for freshmen to quarterback w in n ing teams. Chad Hen ne t h rew for 2,743 yards and 25 touchdowns i n 20 0 4 for M ich ig a n.

Matt Stafford struggled for Georgia in 2006, but put it all together in a Chickfil-A Bowl win for a spot in the final AP Top 25 poll.

Heck, Mitch Mustain went 8-0 for Arkansas as a true freshman in 2006 , before being benched.

Those teams had veteran talent to support a young quarterback, but so does USC. With the addition of Marcus Lattimore to an experience unit, the rushing attack will be better. The receiv i ng cor p s is big, strong, fast and tall. The defense will be strong as usual. Plus, USC plays its first three games at home, so Shaw could get his feet wet before going out on the road in the SEC. So, to answer t he quest ion, yes, Spu r r ier would start Shaw, if he’s the best guy. And if he is, t hen USC’s hope is not necessarily lost.

It’s still hard to believe t hat anyone ot her t han Garcia will start the opener.

How e v e r, t h at ’s a b i g difference from impossible, wh ich is what t he idea seemed just weeks ago. But hey, weirder things have happened.

Ask Tommy Beecher.

The Daily Gamecock ● TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010

PAGE 10

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