SPECIAL EDITION BASEBALL SEASON PREVIEW INSIDE dailygamecock.com
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
VOL. 109, NO. 12 ● SINCE 1908
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017
2017 Student Government Election Lordo, Goodreau, Merritt form executive board Mary Ramsey
@MCOLLEEN1996 @ @MC OLLEEN1996
Sitting Vice President Ross Si Lordo Lord d o was elected the 109th student stud st u ent body b dy president of the bo University Univ iversityy of South Carolina Tuesday. late T uesday. Lordo’s ue L rdo’s running Lo m at a t e , c u r re r e nt S e c re rett a r y of Veterans Affairs Dani Veete terans Aff fai airs Dan ni Goodreau, a nd Secretar y of A lu m n i Relations Rela Re l tion ons Merritt Merritt t Francis Franci cis were also allso victorious. viccto torious. A referendum to add a new executive position Student po o si s tion on to Stud uden e t G over ment, ove v r n me m nt, speaker of the Student Stud udentt Senate, S Se nate, al also s passed. p pa ssed.
About 4,300 students voted in the executive elections, just above 13 percent of the student population. Lordo, who defeated Ty Dillard and Stone Davis, won by a preliminary margin of 69.18 percent. “ We ’ r e e x c i t e d a b o u t t h e upcoming year and term,” Lordo said, “and to start work ing our platform.” Although Francis was unopposed, he expressed similar relief. “I’m still so happy for Ross and Dani and all the senators on our team that won as well,” he said. “The work starts now and the fun “T starts st t ar a ts now, too.” Goodreau G oodreau summarized her emot ions af ter defeat i ng Selesk Jay Sele Ja lesk y with 60 percent off t he vote vot o e a s leav i ng her “speechless.” “speec chl h ess.”” really our “It real l ly was o ur team,” she said. said d. Lordo expressed Lord rdo expresse sed that at his team eager work. is eag ager to to get to w o k. or mpor “It ’’ss i m p r t a nt to set t hat po st a nda rd a nd c u lt u re at t he beginning begi be g nn gi n ing off tthe he tterm e m to carry er car arry us through entire year,” said. thro ou ug gh the enti ire yea ar, r ” he sai id. Crafting the role and requirements new requirem meen nts t for thee n ew w speaker Student position of the Stude dent n Senate po nt osi s tion on will new executive team’s also be on the n ew executi ive tea a m’ ms
plate. The f irst elect ion for t he p position will be held next academic p yyear. “ It ’s one more p o sit ion t h at ccan really lobby for [st udents],” Goodreau said. G The f irst v ictor y for a t icket iin St udent Government added a historic f lair to the “Momentum” h tteam’s sweep. “I hope t hat t h is encou rages people to think about [running a p tticket] in the future,” Lordo said. The victors of St udent Senate eelections were also announced late Tuesday. With a record number of T sstudents running, most positions were filled. However, some writew in candidates were also successful. There will also be some run-off T elec t ion s for St udent Senate positions. p O ut goi ng Pre sident M ichael Parks was confident in the student P body’s choices, recommending rest, b prayer and an open mind for his p ssuccessor. “I was the 108th president, Ross will be the 109th,” he said. “There’s w never been anyone as qualif ied, n ccapable or ready to be the student body president than the man who b was just elected. w
Gamecock Gateway student advocates, pushes initiatives Emily Pierce / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Emily Pierce / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Civil Rights photographer reflects on experience Claire Albrecht / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Ngozi Chukweueke works to get Gamecock Gateway students more involved on campus.
Brandon Wong
@THEGAMECOCK
St udent G over n ment elections have seen several w e e k s of t he c a nd id at e s adver t isi ng t heir pla n ned i n it iat ives a nd goa ls, but not every student initiative begins wit h St udent Government. For Ngozi Chukwueke, a Gamecock Gateway and firstyear hospitality management student, her initiative began with a problem and a desire to fi x it. Living in Bates House, she gets on the shuttle at 7:15 a.m. every morning to get to her 8 a.m. classes at Midlands Technical College. However, the breakfast at Bates Diner used to not begin until 7:30 a.m., meaning that Gateway students like her would miss a hot breakfast on mornings that they had 8 a.m. classes. “ I f e e l l i k e i t ’s r e a l l y i mpor t a nt to help u s key in in the mornings and be able to learn properly,” said Chukwueke. “It kind of started through [Freshman Council], because
t hat’s how I k new who to talk to, but af ter t hat, it k ind of became a n i n d i v i d u a l p r o j e c t ,” Chukwueke said. St udent Body Vice President Ross Lordo put Chuk w ueke in touch wit h Sodexo, a nd af ter severa l meetings, Sodexo agreed to serve a hot breakfast starting at 6:30 a.m. for the Gateway students. Although she admitted that her initiative was somewhat unconventional, she felt that it was significant because “it was defi nitely something that affected fi rst-year students.” Chu k w ueke has also worked on other initiatives through Freshman Council, s u c h a s g u e s t t ic k e t s t o f o ot b a l l g a me s . She h ad planned to run for student senate this year but was told t hat she is i nel ig ible due to her status as a Gateway student. “I was upset about t hat, of course. There’s not really much you c a n do i n t hat situation, so I try not to dwell on it,” Chukwueke said.
She added t hat she is pla n n ing to stay involved with Student Government, although she doesn’t plan to run for senate again. Instead, Chukwueke said she hopes to f i nd a posit ion i n one of t he execut ive off ices of Student Government after the election. U lt i m at e l y, o n e o f Chukwueke’s main goals with her involvement on campus is to increase the visibility of Gamecock Gateway students at USC. “ I f e e l l i k e i t ’s n o t c ustoma r y for a G ateway student to get involved with Student Government or be this deeply engaged with the university,” Chukwueke said. She a lso h igh l ighted representation for Gateway students as one of her main achievements this year. “A lo t o f p e o p le d o n’t even know we have a bridge program. They don’t know t h at G a me c o c k G at e w ay exists. It’s just been really cool to get people to see our side of things,” Chukwueke said.
Emily Pierce
@THEGAMECOCK
Photog rapher, aut hor, h i s t o r i a n a nd i n v e nt o r Cecil Williams spoke in the Hollings Program Room of Thomas Cooper Library about his experiences in the Civil Rights Movement a nd h is cor respond i ng a r t We d n e s d a y. T h e presentation was something to behold, feat u r i ng a number of his photographs in PowerPoint format, with Williams tak ing t ime to describe each one. Director of Multicultural Student Affairs Shay Malone introduced associate history professor Bobby Donaldson, who spoke of W ill ia ms’ experience in Civil Rights. “‘Histor y must be rewritten when new truths are uncovered,’” Donaldson said, quoting Williams. After the introduction, Williams himself took to the podium and started his talk, explaining that while most photographers were getting an outside view of the strikes, demonstrations, marches and speeches, he was getting an inside look at these events. “A s we b u i ld a C i v i l
Rights Center here at USC, it important to have people like M r. W illiams. He’s a living legend in terms of Civil Rights; he lived it, he participated in it, and he’s still helping us tell the story,” Donaldson said. Donaldson was referring in part to Williams’ invention, which converts film photographs to digital images. It’s called the Film Toaster, though no actual toasting of f ilm is being done — Williams likened its appearance to that of a toaster, and the name stuck. This device is a milestone in preserving the past, as film has an expiration date. Photographers, historians and students enjoyed the event. “I see hundreds of events, but I’d like to see more of this nature,” said Zella Hilton, of the Ir vin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections of the Thomas Cooper Library. The theme of the Civil R ights showcase may be summed up by a quote by Cecil Williams himself: “Pictures can bring back these moments in time.”