dailygamecock.com UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017
VOL. 109, NO. 43 ● SINCE 1908
New deans settle in at USC, bring new ideas and visions to colleges Mary Ramsey
@MCOLLEEN1996
University of Missouri alumni Tom Reichert and Sarah Gehlert are experts in different fields and come from different backgrounds. However, they have two things in common in addition to their alma mater: Both are in their first year as deans at the University of South Carolina, and both are looking to expand their colleges’ spheres of influence. For Reichert, the College of Information and Communications is relat ively familiar territor y. He st ud ied jou r n a l i sm a s a n undergraduate and is a leading expert in advertising, one of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications’ seven majors. “It’s a prog ram w it h a long tradition ... and I’ve been aware of colleagues and scholars who teach here and have always been impressed with them,” he said. But st ill, t he College of Information and Communications is more t ha n ju st t he School of Journalism and Mass Communications. It also includes t he storied School of Librar y Science. Reichert hopes to learn the
Mary Ramsey / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Still settling into his office, Dean Tom Reichert has high hopes for USC. nuances of both schools while also increasing their cooperation. “You’ve got kind of the best of the old and the new together,” he said, “which I think kind of captures the best of the College [of Information and Communication] in a great way.” The merging of the the t wo
schools was just one of the major project s completed u nder t he leadership of Reichert’s predecessor, Charles Bierbauer. The famous journalist-turned-celebrated-dean also led the School of Journalism and Mass Communications into its SEEDEANSPAGE2
STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY
Annual presidential address takes planning, time, teamwork
Valencia Abraham / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
University President Harris Pastides delivered his 10th State of the University address on Tuesday.
Larissa johnson @LALARISSAJ
Ev e r y y e a r, m i l l io n s of Americans watch the president deliver the State of the Union in early January or late February. The speeches historically last for well over an hour, and have reached nearly 10,000 words. Tuesday afternoon, the State of the University address was a smaller affair, hosting a packed Russel l House Ba l l room a nd about 10 t housand people on Facebook Live. Producing the two speeches, though, involves many of the same struggles – how to distill a year into an hour, how to address the concerns of a large group, how to inspire progress in the year to come. And while the U.S. president has an entire legion at his disposal to produce the sweeping address, university President Harris Pastides does most of the work himself. “I started working on this in the spring,” Pastides said. “I had help, but largely I did it.” Pastides said he spent between 50 and 70 hours preparing the speech, with the help of others to
make sure it was accurate and on theme. A speech is as much about the delivery as the words themselves, and giving a speech an hour long requires practice. Pastides has a lot of experience – this was his 10th State of the University – but a last-minute schedule change from Monday moved the speech, usually delivered in the morning, to the afternoon on Tuesday. He spoke for about 45 minutes, delivering a speech 5,617 words long. He recog n ized over 50 people by name, from students to facult y to businessmen, and used over 40 numerical figures. He occasionally went off script, usually just a word or t wo, or m a y b e t o r e p e at s o me t h i n g important. Pastides was undoubtedly the star, but the whole event entails a lot more than him. “The total team of folks that is involved in the whole production is prett y extensive,” universit y spokesman Wes Hickman said. “I wouldn’t even be able to begin to guess a number.” Representatives of the Carolina Band opened the event. Dozens of
photographers, videographers and more lined the walls, representing several university divisions and various local news organizations. R u s s e l l Ho u s e s t a f f g u id e d attendants into the room. The entire 45 minutes of the s p e e c h , USC ’s s o c i a l me d i a strategist, CJ Lake, was glued to her laptop screen, sending out t weets and engaging with the event’s hashtag, #UofSCsotu. “ T he s e e v e nt s a r e a l w a y s high stress for me,” Lake said. Lake runs the official university Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. During Hurricane Irma, she was work ing on the Twitter graphics with important takeaways from the speech. A pa r t ner sh ip w it h Un iver sit y Tech nolog y Ser v ices allowed Pastides to stream on Facebook in HD. The product ion ended wit h choral master’s student Augusto G i l lead i ng t he a l m a m ater. Together, the entire ballroom, from those who just attended the event to those who’d been working on it for mont hs, raised t heir cupped hands together and sang, “Forever to thee.”
Lisa Falta / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Digital student IDs are now available via an app.
Digital IDs promise convenience Mary Ramsey
@MCOLLEEN1996
USC students can officially use a digital version of their CarolinaCard around campus. The system is provided through a partnership with the GET Mobile app, according to Jack Gabel, Student Government’s secretary of student services. “The only fees are for the university’s setup and licensing of the GET app,” he said, “however, it is completely free for students to use.” Gabel praised the benefits of the system for students. “Students now have the convenience and security of having a Carolina Card on their phone,” he said. Although Student Government and its partners are still working “to increase the functionality of the digital system,” Gabel said the program is already available to students. They must download the GET Mobile app, select the University of South Carolina as their school and create an account using their VIP ID. Students can make purchases and check their meal plan and Carolina Cash balances in the app. They can also review their purchase history, add funds and see nearby locations that accept Carolina Cash. Students such as second-year biochemistry student Alexandra Tamura and second-year biology and Spanish student Madhura Pande see the initiative as a solution to one of the quintessential problems of campus life, forgetting your student ID. “I’d be really interested in [a digital student ID], especially because sometimes you forget your CarolinaCard and then you’re locked out of your building,” Tamura said. Pande agreed, saying, “I think students who often forget their CarolinaCards will have a much easier time having it on their phone already, because most of us already have our phones on us all of the time.” Student Body President Ross Lordo, who campaigned on introducing a digital student ID, praised the system. “Digital Carolina Cards will add convenience and ease to the life of Universit y of South Carolina students,” he said. “I am proud of Student Government’s efforts, along with the work of the Carolina Card Office and Carolina Food Company, in this regard and look forward to witnessing the next era of our digital identification capabilities.”
SG senate approves elections code bill USC students will take to the polls later than usual from now on thanks to a bill passed Wednesday by the student senate. One amendment was added to the bill, removing a proposed change to the structure of runoff elections. Runoff elections will remain two days rather than be reduced to one day. The bill was passed unanimously. — Compiled by Mary Ramsey