dailygamecock.com UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
INSIDE
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2010
VOL. 103, NO. 138 ● SINCE 1908
e t a r e m i r C n i s e t a l esca
Regional Preview
Gamecock baseball prevailed in the Columbia Regional over the weekend and now set to face Coastal Carolina in the Super Regionals. Full breakdown inside.
Bobby Sutton / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
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IIncreased ncreassedd police presence, proposed 2 a.m. closing time aim to curb violence Brittany Scott
THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Thriller trilogy proves perfect summer read Leig Larsson’s Millennium series lives up to all the hype and awards with fresh characters and intricate yet plausible plots.
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Five Points, best known for its bars and restaurants, has seen an increase in the amount of law enforcement due to crimes that have occurred in the past month. Businesses in Five Points and the City of Columbia Police Department expected activity in Five Points to simmer down as t he major it y of col lege students left Columbia for the
summer; summ su mmer mm er; ho er h howe however, owe weve ver, ccri ver crime rime rrates ri ates at es have increased in the area. Captain Derrick Thornton with the Cit y of Columbia Police Department has noticed a change in the crowd. “The dynamics are changing and younger people, like high school students, are coming to Five Poi nt s . Howe ver, crime does tend to spike when students are out of school for the summer,” Thornton said. Law enforcement in Five Points has become stricter, with an increase in patrol officers after a shooting on May 23 that resulted in an individual sustaining non-life threatening injuries and damages to several businesses and vehicles. “ We a r e no t t r y i n g t o
over ov erlo er load lo ad dp olic ol l ic icee in n tthe he aare he reaa to re overload police area where students wouldn’t want to hang out, but we do have much more officers down here for the rest of the summer,” Thornton said. Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s Gang Task Force Unit is also in Five Points. Now that a Gang Unit has entered the area some believe the crime is strictly gang related. “There is some ga ng act iv it y, but nothing more prevalent than any other place in Columbia,” Thornton said. Like many students, thirdyear exercise science student Dom i n ique Taylor enjoy s meeting up with friends for a night of fun. “I really enjoy this place,”
Tayl Ta ylor yl orr ssaid. aiid. d . ““II co ome aall l l yyea ll ea r ear ea Taylor come year round, but with the recent shooting and random things going on, like bars being more strict on dress codes, I might take a break from it for a while.” With the increase in crime, members of both Columbia Cit y Council and Richland County Council are drafting new ordinances that would requ ire all est abl ish ment s hold i ng l iquor l icenses, including those that light up Five Points at night, to close t heir doors at 2 a.m. The initiative began at the urging of Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, though the solution to the recent violence may cause businesses to lose customers and profit.
S o utt h Carolina So C a ro Caro Ca rolli l i na n a blue b lu l u e law lue law la Sout already requires bars to close at 2 a.m. on Saturday nights, while other South Carolina cities, like Charleston and Florence, already have a daily 2 a.m. closing time for bars. We s e l y L i v i n g s t o n , a bouncer at The Pour House in Five Points, said that shutting dow n b a r s at 2 a . m . w i l l certainly result in loss of profit. “We w ill def initely lose money due to the 2 a.m. closing, but our crowd should stay the same,” Livingston said. “The problem is Saturday nights now when everyone is forced out of the bars into the street.” Comments on this story? E-mail sagcknew@mailbox.sc.edu
Protestors call for oil intervention Rally at Statehouse serves as call to action for gubernatorial candidates Election results The votes are in. Check out the results from South Carolina’s primary elections.
DiCaprio dons Gamecock gear Hollywood star Leonardo D i C a p r i o w a s s p o t te d wearing a Universit y of South Carolina hat at the second game of the NBA finals in Los Angeles.
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BASEBALL SCHEDULE Game One: Saturday, June 12 Time: Noon TV: ESPN U Game Two: Sunday, June 13 Time: 1 p.m. TV: ESPN Game Three: (tie-breaker): Monday, June 14 Time: 1 or 7 p.m. TV: ESPN 2
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Samantha Edwards
THE DAILY GAMECOCK
More than 20 protestors donning green construction hats gat hered at t he Statehouse last Thursday to call on elected officials to reject offshore drilling and pursue clean energy for South Carolina. The rally on the steps of the Capitol, held in response to the ongoing BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and the lack of a comprehensive response seen from state and federal leaders, was one of several events held in Columbia, Greenville and Rock Hill last week. Third-year international studies and Chinese student Laura Smentek organized Thursday’s rally. “The catastrophe that is still unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico must never happen in South Carolina,” Smentek said in her opening remarks. She continued by d isc ussi ng t he recent hearings held by t he M i nera ls M a nagement Service regarding oil and natural gas exploration off of South Carolina’s coast and the confusion amongst gubernatorial candidates on whether or not to support offshore drilling. “Several of them support of f shore d r i l l i ng u nder the misleading rhetoric of Sout h Carolina’s ‘energ y independence.’” Smentek said. “None of them have talked about or seem to know what the risks and costs are. A nd none have of fered a comprehensive clean energy plan for our state.” A n online pet it ion l o c at e d at ht t p : // w w w. t h e p e t i t i o n s i t e . c o m / 7/ stop-offshore-drilling-in-sc targeted at South Carolina’s g ubernatorial candidates
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Keri Goff / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Student Body President Ebbie Yazdani speaks at a local rally. demanding that candidates reject offshore drilling and d e v e lo p c o m p r e he n s i v e clean energy plans had 313 signat ures as of Tuesday night. U S C ’s S t u d e n t B o d y President Ebbie Yazdani was one of three speakers at the event. After taking a moment to reflect on the tragic events in the Gulf Coast, Yazdani, a fourthyear history and economics st udent , foc u sed on t he facts that make sustainable energy a major issue in the gubernatorial campaigns. “We are here today not to dwell on t his tragedy, but t o joi n t og e t her i n determining solutions. To do that we must understand t he fact s,” Yazdan i said. “A m e r i c a c o n s u m e s 25 percent of the world’s oil, yet we have only 3 percent of the world’s reserves. The numbers just don’t work out. Drilling for oil won’t lead to energy independence, or reduce prices at the pump. We should be developing South Carolina’s clean safe energy sources.” Yazdani quickly turned his focus to the University’s role in leading South Carolina to a “culture of sustainability.” T he Un i ver s it y ’s biomass facil it y a nd t he n e w H o n o r s R e s id e n c e Hall bot h exemplif y t he strides USC is making to reduce its dependency on
n o n r e n e w a b l e e n e r g y. Ya z d a n i c o m p a r e d t h e controversy over a proposed G reen Fee t h at d iv ided students during the Spring 2 010 s e m e s t e r t o t h e national debate on America’s future energy, insisting that progress is of the upmost importance and that to make progress it is necessary to maintain civil debates void of personal attacks. “ We a r e a t a v e r y i mpor t a nt ju nc t u re a nd we can move forward as a st ate a nd as a nat ion by pursuing alternative cleaner energy while ensuring that t he economy t ra nsit ions smoot hly,” Yazdani said. “If we do so now, we will start a path toward energy independence, toward sustainable energy, toward a respect for our environment and the welfare of future Sout h Ca rol i n ia ns a nd A mericans. The choice is ours.” Joseph James, the founder of A g ri-Tech Producers, LLC, followed Yazdani’s address and emphasized the importance of “clean and safe energy.” “ We a r e s t a r v i n g f or l e a d e r s h ip i n b r i n g i n g ou r state into t he g reen e c o n o m y,” J a m e s s a i d . “So, we are asking that the gubernatorial candidates, and hopefully the governor to be, will have and develop Oil ● 3
History exhibit honors Township’s anniversary Auditorium celebrates 80 years of history Kristyn Winch NEWS EDITOR
The To w n s h i p Auditorium, one of Columbia’s most recognized landmarks, celebrates its 80th anniversary this month with an exhibit at the McKissick Museum. The exhibit, which opened May 29 and runs through July 31, is curated and was designed by undergraduate history students of professor A ll ison Marsh: W ill iam Buchanan, Meghan Shippey, Laura Y barra and JoA nn Zeise. These students compiled images, objects, and audio a nd v ideo record i ngs to create the exhibit. According to Ybarra, now an alumna, the exhibit started as an assignment. “Everyone in the class had to come up with separate ideas for museum exhibits.” Ybarra said. The class voted on ideas and formed teams to create proposals on the w in ning topics. “The Township exhibit was JoAnn’s idea. I liked it so much that I withdrew my idea from the running,” Ybarra said. Y ba r r a s a id her tea m worked for over t wo mont hs on t he proposal, getting “motion sick from the microfilm.” Their hard work paid off, though. The
McK issick museum liked the proposal so much that they asked the team to create an act ual ex hibit for t he museum. Ybarra and her team did not receive payment for their exhibit, but since all students involved are museum studies majors or minors, it was a chance to gain work experience. The Township Auditorium opened i n 1930 a nd has prov ided cit izens of Columbia with a venue for entertainment and a forum for activism and political action. Performers at the auditorium include Elvis Presley, Pink Floyd and Tyler Perry. Martin Luther King Jr. and Paul Robeson have given speeches at the venue. The venue has also hosted events such as choral concerts and graduations . “We hope that visitors come away from t his exhibition with an appreciation for the places in our communit y where people have come together for generat ions to share ex per iences,” sa id Ly n n Robert son, McK issick executive director, in a recent press release. The Township auditorium will reopen after a $12 million renovation Thursday, June 10 with a concert by singer Tony Bennett at 8 p.m.. Comments on this story? E-mail sagck new@mailbox. sc.edu