NEWS 1
dailygamecock.com UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
VOL. 106, NO. 24 ● SINCE 1908
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14 14, 2015
Forever to
STEVE
Will Helms @WHELMS21
The mood in t he press room was drea m l ike. Even just minutes before former head football coach Steve Spurrier took the stand to announce his resignation, it felt as if the former Heisman trophy winner was playing some sort of elaborate joke on t he media. SEESTEVEPAGE8
Courtesy of UofSC Flood Relief
Volunteers will continue to help Columbia recover and rebuild.
Courtesy of MCT Campus
Flood relief effort VISTORS PACK THE ZOO enters next stage Mary Ramsey and Emily Mewborne @THEGAMECOCK
A s f lo o d w at er s i n a nd around Columbia continue to recede, both the campus and the city have begun the process of recovery. With the state preparing to enter day 13 of state emergency operations, the South Carolina Emergency Response Team has lowered their operational status from OPCON 1 to OPCON 3. OPCON 3 is the third lowest of the five possible operation levels, according to The State. On-ca mpus classes have resumed after a full week of
Courtesy of MCT Campus
Riverbanks Zoo and Garden had record attendance in the aftermath of the historic flooding in the area.
Patrick Ingraham @PATTYMILLS11
Riverbanks Zoo and Garden offered complimentary admission to Richland and Lexington county residents in light of the historic flooding in the area when they reopened on Wednesday, Oct. 7, after being closed for two days. On Sunday, Oct. 12, zoo of f icials an nou nced t hat a tot a l of 29,345 g ue st s took adva nt age of t he opportunity to visit the zoo
from Oct. 7 to Oct. 9. According to a press release from Sunday, 22,712 of t hose g uest s received free admission, and Friday’s attendance of 13,752 was the largest crowd at the zoo since it opened in 1974. Riverbanks Zoo President and CEO Satch Krantz was impressed by the number of people who visited. “I have not seen anything of this magnitude in my 40plus years at Riverbanks,” Krantz said. “Our thoughts are w it h all who are
suffering. It was our hope t h at reop en i ng t he z o o would give our guests some sense of normalcy and put smiles on their faces.” Even though the zoo is located close to the Saluda River, it received minimal da mage a nd all of t he animals were kept safe. The Riverbanks Zoo and G arden w ill ex tend f ree admission to residents of the two counties again with the return of Free Fridays in January and February.
cancellations and the majority of dining locations, most of which were forced to close during t he storm, have reopened. Additionally, this weekend’s Homecoming football game against Vanderbilt University will be held at Williams-Brice Stadium as planned. “Our campus suffered no significant damage and we did not flood. There were leaks and a handful of classrooms that required cleanup—but that’s to be expected in buildings hundreds of years old. Our Horseshoe, Innovista, Athletics Village and even Williams Brice SEERELIEFPAGE3
Students organize ‘Smash’ tournament Nathaniel Simmons-Thorne @THEGAMECOCK
Super Smash Bros. pandemonium is sweeping the Columbia area like never before. On Oct. 17, Columbia will host the inaugural play off in the Heart of the South tournament series, a tourney geared towards competitive gameplay of t he mega popular Super Smash Bros.
Melee and Wii U titles. With gameplay slated to be held at t he C olu mbia Convent ion Met ropolitan Center, t he tou r ne y w i l l gather the regional Smash Bros. gam ing circ u it, which proclaims a sizable com mu n it y on t he lo c a l c a mpu s , f or a n u lt i m at e SEESMASHPAGE2
ON THE
GRiZ GRID Morgan Smith @MORETHANMORGAN
Courtesy of GRiZ
GRiZ talked about jazzercise, being a hard worker and listening to his own music.
A s a contempor a r y f u n k d isc jockey, 25-year-old GRiZ has spent his music career working hard to “give up the good for the great.” Born as Grant Kwiecinski, GRiZ has traveled all over the world to deliver his aut hent ic blend of f ut urist ic
electronic f used with traditional funk and soul music. GRiZ will be performing for local fans at Music Farm Columbia on Oct. 16 at 9 p.m. SEEGRIZPAGE4