USC puts on MASS page 4
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018
VOL. 110, NO. 14 ● SINCE 1908
First ever speaker of the senate elected
Kaylen Tomlin / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Larissa Johnson @LALARISSAJ
Kaylen Tomlin / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Wright, a third-year public health student, will be inaugurated April 3 to lead the student body for one year.
President-elect Taylor Wright connects health, leadership Larissa Johnson @LALARISSAJ
Taylor Wright officially knew that he wanted to be doctor when he saw two surgeons jump out of their seats on a plane to save a passenger having a heart attack. “I remember leaving the plane, it was an emergency landing, and his family was so thankful,” he said. “They literally just saved this guy’s life; just thinking about the impact that they had on the rest of his kids and his wife’s life.” Wright will be the second public hea lt h pre-med st udent body president in a row, following in the steps of current Student Body President Ross Lordo. That’s not a coincidence, according to Wright. “I think there’s a lot of parallels between public health and what I’m doing here,” he said. “It’s all about helping people. It’s about diagnosing issues and fi nding out solutions and getting treatments or fi xing things.” Wright was exposed to medicine at an early age, often playing in t he doctor’s lou nge wh ile h is mother was at work as a hospital
administ rator. Wit h his sister working as a pharmacist and close family friends also in the medical field, Wright grew up passionate about health. He first discovered his second p a s sion i n h igh s c ho ol when the vice principal of his school — Nor t hwood Ac ademy nea r C h a rle s t o n — u r g e d h i m t o run for president of his junior class. W hile t he class was just 40 students, Wright realized for the fi rst time the power of public office. “ It l it er a l l y k i nd of me a nt nothing, but just the principle of it,” he said. “People actually believed in me.” His mom carries the same faith in her son. While Wright told her not to come to Columbia for the result announcement because he anticipated a run-off, he called her after the crowds dispersed. “She was screaming, I think she started crying,” he said. “She was like, ‘I knew I should have come.’” H is whole fam ily w ill come t o h i s i n au g u r at ion A pr i l 4, t hough. A ll of his family lives in Charleston, but Wright has remained close to t hem wh ile
away at USC. “They have gone through so much,” he said. “My mom and dad came from so little and they worked so hard to provide how. Now, I have to work hard to make sure everything is worth it.” Wright is in a class on race r e l a t i o n s i n t h e 19 6 0 s a n d empat h izes w it h t he message t hat A f r ic a n-A mer ic a n s have to work harder for success. He remembered a conversation he had with Chief Diversity Officer John Dozier: “’So many people worked so hard for you not to be here,’” Wright recollected Dozier saying. “This opportunity is something that so many people in the South and in t his nat ion didn’t want anybody like me to have.” Wright will be meeting with campus leaders like Lordo and Vice President of Student Life Anna Edwards in the upcoming days to discuss how he’ll take advantage of the opportunity in front of him. And maybe at some point, he’ll get some sleep after weeks of three to four hours a night. The lack of sleep is worth it, he said. “It’s life.”
Patrick Ellis can talk about anything: music, the K nicks, philosophy, South Carolina history, scuba diving — and Student Government. “I think that everything you do you can learn from and you gain some facet of knowledge,” he said. He describes himself as “curious” and said he’d want to talk to every single student if he could. While Ellis was shy and uninterested in high school, he credits the Palmetto Boys State program with getting him to become more outspoken. With advice from former Student Body President Chase Mizzell, Ellis spoke in front of a crowd of more than 1,000 people. “From then on ... I really broke out of my shell,” he said. “I kind of got the confidence from the people I was around in my city and then the amazing advisors I had while I was there.” G r ow i n g up i n H a mpt on , S out h Carolina, meant that Ellis went to school in the ‘Corridor of Shame,’ an area along I-95 with historically bad schools. As part of the Abbeville County School District v. the State of South Carolina case, Ellis got involved wit h a st udent adv isor y committee that met with state legislators. “Being in the room where the decisions are made, being able to speak receptively to legislators, motivated me to pursue change at the local level and state level,” he said. At his school, Wade Hampton High School, extreme teacher turnover and a lack of vocational programs were two of his main concerns.After his senior year, though, Wade Hampton was able to add the vocational program he felt it lacked. “When you are known as the corridor of shame, it k ind of permeates ever y aspect of the culture,” Ellis said. “I think it’s generally just, people don’t think they can get out.” SEEELLISPAGE2
Student Government voter turnout breaks record T. Michael Boddie and Larissa Johnson @THEGAMECOCK
USC’s Leadership and Service Center was packed Wed nesday night with Student Government candidates, their supporters and st udent media ant icipat ing t he election results. But they accounted for a small portion of a much larger group. 8,459. That is t he reported nu mber of voters who made their voices heard in the Spring 2018 Student G over n ment elec t ion. A t 27.3 percent of the eligible student body, it’s a new record. Both the student body treasurer and vice presidential races will be going to a run-off next Tuesday and Wednesday, w it h t reasurer ca nd idates W ilf redo A nderson a nd Emer son Odag is a nd v ice
p r e s id e nt i a l c a nd id at e s M a d i Carzon and Mills Hayes making it to the second round. To be elected and avoid a run-off, candidates must earn more than 50 percent, not just get the most votes. With three candidates for treasurer and four for vice president position, t re a s u r er c a nd id at e W i l f r e do A nder son got t he close st to a majority with 49.55 percent. Vice presidential candidate Mills Hayes earned 35.8 percent of the st udent vote, and her opponent Madi Carzon earned 28.6 percent, sending the two to a run-off. Second-year polit ical science student Patrick Ellis won the fi rst ever race for speaker of the senate, raking in 54.7 percent of the vote. Third-year public health student Taylor Wright was elected Student Body President. Wright earned 4,307 votes, just over 53 percent.
Abigail Braun / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Students gather in anticipation of Student Government election results on Feb. 28.