Raw Copy

A quickie. My newspaper made Wonkette.

2006-08-15T17:52:00.000-05:00

Nothing in the KGB's Training Had Prepared Colonel Volkov For the Mystery of American Names

IT person: Usually the email address is just the first initial, then the employee's last name.
Salesguy: Oh, okay...What's John Smith's last name again?

Columbia, South Carolina

via Overheard in the Office, Aug 15, 2006

-- I am supremely confident that this came from just feet away in IT training, since it happens on Tuesday.

-- Bigger question: Who the fuck in this office reads OitO?!

Re-Update

2006-07-18T10:22:00.000-05:00

RAW COPY TO EXPIRE IN 87 DAYS!

Don't get excited. That just means rawcopy.org will no longer be under my ownership. The normal address, rawcopy.blogspot.com, will still go on. It's actually better that way, because it lets me better track where my readers are coming from... if there are any still out there.

In the next month or two, I'll start to revive this little senior-thesis-gone-wrong to focus on the upcoming election and the fallout that will surely follow, killing all in its path. :)

Get ready!

early results

2006-06-13T18:42:00.000-05:00

At Richland co. Administration building, the failsafes are in:

Lovelace takes Sanford by a slim margin...

Campbell sweeps Bauer by a county mile...

Moore beats willis 15 to 1, my estimate.

This is just the county failsafe votes ONLY. Who knows how the rest of the race is going. Its only 740...
More to come.

Coming out of the shadows

2006-06-01T22:37:00.000-05:00

Ok, so school's out, I'm out of school, so what to do with this dusty old blog?

Let's focus now on the absurdities of S.C. politics.

Case in point: Electionmania.com

I can't think of a better reason for Republicans to lose seats all around in the general election (and the June 13 primary) than this tacky, awfully produced, ridiculous Flash animation depicting an elephant with an awful 80s/90s transitional rock theme beating up a RINO (Republican In Name Only).

The theme song really needs to be shot. Along with the redheaded kid pleading for the choice to suck tax dollars away from his public school classmates.

P.S. I can't believe someone didn't snatch up electionmania.com before some backwoods Carolina republican activist did! Wake up, Internet!

Cayce does it again

2006-05-12T12:31:00.000-05:00

Today's "Why Leaving South Carolina Seems Like a Good Idea" moment brought to you by Matt Drudge.

So I'm on the Drudge Report, minding my own business, when I see yet another one of that hysterical renegade's links to insignificant but otherwise inflammatory stories. Only this time, it's local.

Winston McCruen, of Brookland-Cayce High School, thinks blacks are inferior to whites, and that it's been proven over and over scientifically and that historical slavery was a 'rational' thing to do.

Someone hand this moron a bouncy ball and put him in a room with four hundred mouse traps, please? Such an idiotic teacher deserves an even more idiotic punishment.

The one good thing to come out of this is WLTX's really funny tagline for the story: Reading, Writing and Race. Good one.

Round up --------------
Reading, Writing and Race [WLTX]

LEED conference

2006-05-04T10:57:00.000-05:00

SG has invited leaders from all of USC's student organizations to go on the LEED conference, which is basically a leadership seminar held in the backwoods of South Carolina. Plans include dissecting "How Full is Your Bucket?," a positive energy management book. It even comes with little drop-shaped note cards. Note to self: Metaphor-saturated management and self-help books are the new kitsch.

They're due back today at about 4:30 p.m. Hopefully someone will give me some insight into what they did?

Notes from the underground

2006-05-02T04:05:00.000-05:00

A bird in the library told me that Student Government met with either a member of or the entire Faculty Senate recently, and they were still lukewarm about the grade forgiveness program that the old President Justin Williams tried to pass during his administration.

The problem seems to be that one faculty member said that should a student take a class, say Spanish 109, and fail, what would prevent them from going to Spanish 221 and getting that grade instead?

I don't know, the logic didn't sound right to me, either.

The more arguable reason for not outright endorsing the program was on principle, that being that students should put their best in it the first time. Tommy, Ryan & Co. have made it perfectly clear that the program would be for those who had exentuating circumstances that made their grades suffer. Not that that's abuseproof, but it's as close as they could outline.

Still, the operative said that SG expects the Senate will endorse the grade forgiveness program as early as the Fall '06 semester, which means the Class of '07 might be able to retake a few classes before graduating that May. I wish I had that option.

J. K. Galbraith dead at 97

2006-05-01T11:59:00.000-05:00

My favorite economist and philsopher died yesterday. Here are some great quotes by Mr. Galbraith:

"Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists."
"If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error."
"Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite."
"Humility is not always compatible with truth."

Here's to you, Mr. Galbraith. Heaven knows a place where you can go. Whoah whoah whoah.

New York Congressman Frats It Up

2006-04-28T09:53:00.000-05:00

Rep. John Sweeny, R-N.Y., drunkenly stumbled into an Alpha Delta Pi party presumably to, ahem, fraternize with young constituents. Too bad it the college isn't in his district. Ah, but the kids liked it, didn't they?

And the pictures are GREAT!

Someone answer me this: WHY CAN'T OUR DELEGATION HAVE THAT MUCH FUN!??!

Wouldn't O Psi Phi alum Jim Clyburn get total respect from O'Burg to Blythewood if he came up to the Russell House in Timberlands, shredded pants and striped stockings on Hip Hop Hump Days?

Pi Kappa Alpha is making a return to campus -- you can't tell me that brother Andrew Sorensen wouldn't do some backyard wrestling with the corpse of fellow brother Strom Thurmond to boost Innovista funds?

And am I too bold to ask the question, "Can John Spratt secure his seat in November with a well-placed keg stand with the Phi Sigs?"

Oh sigh.... phi. (I couldn't resist).

Listening to secret session still exonerated by law

2006-04-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

Just to drag out the Ryan Holt Balloon Incident, and to keep Quante, Laurin and other law students from falling out of their seats in anticipointment, myself and some Gamecockers (kudos appears below) did some research:

Suppose we take the bait and say that Gamecock reporter Jess Davis and I were eavesdropping on the Student Senate's secret session two weeks ago.

An S.C. Appellate Court case in 1986 established the precedent that while "Peeping Toms" can be charged with eavesdropping, reporters who attempt to overhear the public meeting cannot:

In a 1986 case, a South Carolina appeals court ruled that the Peeping Tom statute did not apply to newspaper reporters who overheard an executive session of the city council through a gap between two doors, because the reporters were on public property.

That case is here (italics mine):

Another South Carolina statute makes it a misdemeanor to eavesdrop or be a "Peeping Tom" on the premises of another. S.C. Code Ann. § 16-17-470. The term "Peeping Tom" includes using video or audio equipment to invade the privacy of others. However, the statute does not apply to bona fide news gathering activities. S.C. Code Ann. § 16-17-470(E)(5).
An intermediate appellate court held that the "Peeping Tom" statute was not applicable to newspaper reporters who attempted to overhear city council proceedings during a closed executive session because the reporters were on public property — not the premises of another — and did nothing "to enable them to overhear what was going on in the executive session other than to wait in the place provided as a waiting room for reporters and other members of the public." Neither the overhearing, nor the publication of anything overheard, violated the South Carolina statute. Herald Publishing Co. v. Barnwell, 351 S.E.2d 878 (S.C. App. 1986).

The site it's hosted on appears here, with applicable laws cited.

With that, it's notable to say the Sergeant at Arms did nothing else but to ask us to leave the room, which conforms to the court decision as putting us in the clear. To be picky, the statute above even says the statute doesn't apply to "bona fide newsgathering activities."

And so the question remains: what is a bona fide newsgathering activity? South Carolina, to my knowledge, has no definition of that.

A simple Google search reveals several D.C. federal district court cases about the definition of a "bona fide newsgatherer" as it applied to the White House and Congressional press passes, the definitions which I certainly qualify for. Here is the references in Schreibman v. Holmes et. al. (1997) (italics and bolds mine):


4. The bare statement by a journalist affirming that he or she
is a "bona fide journalist" and of a "bona fide newsgathering
activity," should be sufficient for those purposes.  Indeed, the
application form for press credentials of the Periodical Press
Galleries does not require more.

((See e.g., ... Liberty Lobby, Inc v. Rees_, 111 F.R.D. 19, 20-21
D DC 1986) (protection which the First Amendment extends to
newsgathering activities "is not limited to the writers of  
large established newspapers and media enterprises but is
equally applicable to the sole publisher of a newsletter or 
other writing or paper distributed to the public to inform, to
comment, or to criticize, albeit such publication may be
unpopular in the eyes of many of its potential readers");
_Haggerty v. Bloomington_, 11 Med. L. Rep., 1605, 1606 (Ind.
Ct. App. 1985) (bona fide members of the press determined by
previous issuance of press pass).

So there you have it. As a "bona fide journalist, I am exempt from the Peeping Tom rule. As a Gamecock journalist, Jess is exempt.

Kudos to Jess Davis for telling me of Jackie Alexander's (BIG Kudos) work on this.

Round Up ----------------

Radio & Television News Directors Association file
Reporters' Committee for the Freedom of the Press report
Text of Schreibman v. Holmes et. al.

Questions? Comments?

Stop the Madness!

2006-04-27T22:17:00.000-05:00

Somewhere in the middle of writing my thesis, my iPod and my search through hundreds of political blogs sort of... well, merged. And overtook my brain.

So now I present a few links to laugh at while exams tear us to ribbons:

Stop the Madness - The six hundredth music video to come out in the 80s that pleaded listeners to stop famine, disease, and other ails of society, like multi-pop singer collaborations. The twist? This one features Nancy Reagan. And Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Sen. Orrin Hatch was a Christian singer. Oops. Horrifying correction: Is.
Speaking of singing senators, did you know Congress has a barbershop quartet and a country rock band? Yeah, I don't care either.
Finally, the most established political satire show in the country, The Capitol Steps. I couldn't help but say to myself, "Man, I miss high school theater."

Anyone know of any other musical malarky wafting out of Washington (or Columbia)?

In the meantime, enjoy. Back to the paper.

I'm screaming like a girl on the Ed Sullivan Show

2006-04-26T21:10:00.000-05:00

CHRIS & KATHLEEN MATTHEWS
ARE SPEAKING AT MY COMMENCEMENT

Oh, the sheer joy and happiness. I have a well-worn copy of Hardball that I picked up as a freshman at a book sale next to the Humanities Classroom building, and it's been one of my favorite books. This man, as loud as Tim Russert is understated, is amazing.

And all you conservatives in the blogosphere, don't even gripe. You got your juke-joint partisan when I was a freshman, and now I get mine.

OH, HAPPY DAY!

Deprived of sleep

2006-04-26T14:41:00.000-05:00

The S.C. House is sending it's school choice bill to the Senate today...
To quote Rep. Jim Clyburn as he addressed the Congressional Advisory Board at the start of the month, Sanford's school choice proposal is "crap."

Meanwhile, Marion County says it's got the highest unemployment rate in the state, and Carolina Reporter operatives (and former classmates) April Bailey and Marty Wentzel got this story covered two weeks ago.

Okay, last post before I go back to work

2006-04-26T02:34:00.000-05:00

I'm late on this, but I have to hat tip to my blog Holy Mother, Wonkette (or the two guys who took over for her), the ultimate website for politics and sex.

Monday, they posted about our grooving state's lastest dumb law, soon to join ranks in the stockpile of "Did you know that in South Carolina..." conversation bookends. The latest crazy legislation? Banning sex toys. Brought to life by a Boiling Springs representative.

It brings back memories of my first visit to the State House floor as a highschooler. They were debating a law to raise the minor age from 18 to 21. Old habits die hard, I guess.

I hope Nancy's Nook is having a look into this.

*******P.S. This is the last post before I dive back into writing the pre-pre-defense paper for this blog. Feel free to comment like hell in the next few days, and go back and explore old posts and comment, too.

*******P.P.S If you would like to comment on how this blog has done over the past 3 months, 12 weeks and 64 posts, send me a couple paragraphs at rawcopytips@gmail.com. No one will see it but my thesis director and myself.

Round Up ----------------------
Don't They Have Anything Better to Do in South Carolina? [Wonkette]

More procrastinating dispatches

2006-04-26T01:48:00.000-05:00

Savetheinternet.com just opened its doors Monday; they want to keep on rockin' in the free net. Basically, telecommunications companies like AT&T, Verizon, etc. are lobbying Congress to destabilize some guiding Internet principle called 'net neutrality,' which basically stipulates that any and all websites will have an equal chance at loading the fastest, depending on bandwidth, how many people are trying to access it, etc. Telcom companies want to tax websites if they want "fast lanes" that will guarantee faster loading time.

Cue Robin Hood, Little John et. al.

Dispatch from Thesisland

2006-04-26T01:05:00.000-05:00

I'm in the Thomas Cooper Library, pounding out the remnants of thought that will be turned in tomorrow as the first draft of my thesis on this website... again, your comments (on this and all past entries) are greatly appreciated, as they are the feedback that will add 3 or 4 pages of material to the final draft due May 5th.

So... sources say the witchhunt for the insider Senator (hereby codenamed "Shallow Stomach"... come on, who in college would pass up a chance for a good barf joke?) continues. Because I'm procrastinating at such a late hour, I found a good post at Goverup.com about whistleblowers/tattlers and the journalists who publish their stuff. It's in context of the Mary McCarthy CIA firing over her leaks about secret prisons. A good read awaits your clicking here.

Back to Thesisland.

Mr. Kirkland, you're out of order

2006-04-25T18:38:00.000-05:00

There's talk of foul cries over how Gamecock reporter Jess Davis and I obtained information on the secret session of the Senate last week. One argument I've heard thrown around it was legal to throw out the public and press because the session dealth with "personnel issues." Well, when in doubt, let's check the books.

Here is SG Legislative Code 209.15, which outlines executive session excuses (italics are my own):

The Student Senate shall call an Executive Session only for purposes which are stated as legal under the SC Freedom of Information Act, which include:
A. Matters concerning personnel.
B. Contract negotiations.
C. Subjects of security.
D. Investigations of allegation involving criminal misconduct.

Now here's what the S.C. Freedom of Information Act has to say about executive sessions held for personnel "matters" (the relevant part):

(a) A public body may hold a meeting closed to the public for one or more of the following reasons:
(1) Discussion of employment, appointment, compensation, promotion, demotion, discipline, or release of an employee, a student, or a person regulated by a public body or the appointment of a person to a public body;

I can tell you that Tommy Preston said verbatim that the meeting was not "to chastise one person." The meeting certainly didn't discuss hiring, firing, paying, promoting or disciplining anyone. All the meeting was held for was to give a collective "shhhhhhhh" to the Senate.

Anyone else know of any kinks in this logic? (Don't tell George Mason Law)

The 2006 National "Puh-Lease" Award

2006-04-24T17:27:00.000-05:00

I make these up, but this deserves it.

The Falun Gong heckler who shouted at Chinese President Hu Jintao last week said today that the protest was unplanned.

PUH-LEASE.

Anyone who's ever been to Washington knows these Falun Gong people are EVERYWHERE like white on rice (pardon the expression). I can't tell you how many times I've been handed an Epoch Times or a random Falun Gong pamphlet. Oy! And they expect us to believe that they're not tracking China's every public move at every turn? Have you seen the Epoch Times?

I had to get that off my chest. Too many Falun Gong people in D.C. Sorry.

Quante takes hippies to task

2006-04-24T00:48:00.000-05:00

After a few weeks of reviewing past posts of "hot babes" and other malarky, color me unsurprised with Quante when he and Jenks trashed the holistic, lefty side of Earth Day, so cleverly incarnated this year as a "fingerpaint your grocery bag" activity. And I do mean the lefty side of Earth Day. It was like a bullseye on the side of a barn:

Yet, people seem to think if they can get some toddlers to fingerpaint a tree on recycled paper they are somehow making a difference. Well, I don't think so; kids can't lobby Congress people! Honestly, this childhood infestation of activism is running rampant.

Hey, I watched some kids lobby Congress. They did quite right by themselves on their first trip. And part of their presentation to all 8 S.C. congressional offices trumpeted West Quad's LEED certification, so I guess that's another one-up.

I do think, however, that is the Congressional Advisory Board showed up with painted paper bags instead of the de rigure USC memoir book, more politicos would pay attention.

Holt website linked to WUSC DJ, the Swedes Danes Dutch weigh in

2006-04-21T10:47:00.000-05:00

The image to the left is from a bird high up in a neighboring tree.

Turns out lookatmebeingserious.com is a registered domain name for the site wuscchallenge.com/lamb.html. Much like when you type in rawcopy.org you are redirected to rawcopy.blogspot.com, typing in lookatmebeingserious redirects to a page on the web site for the WUSC Challenge, the Saturday 8 - 10 p.m. slot hosted by music enthusiast DJ Billfred, who also keeps a blog. Interesting why he would choose to put this up.

Also, does anybody speak a Scandanavian language?

Update: The same bird mentioned above had this to say:

A professor of mine mentioned receiving the video on the WUSC listserv.

Update Update: I apologize to the nations of Sweden and Denmark for confusing Dutch with Danish and Swedish. It's been a long time since I've been in Europe.

Round Up -----------------

WUSC Challenge
Billfred Industries
Mafia

Today's Ryan Holt coverage

2006-04-21T10:27:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Awards Day, and I was told by a bird on the highest branches of the tree to avoid the VPs at all costs... apparently people are still fuming over the video, and this and other blogs' coverage of everything Raging Ryan.

Ryan Holt even tried to contact me after publishing the executive session post at midnight, Thursday morning. I was at Rust on Gervais celebrating the new Chief Justice, so the Key Lime martini took precedence.

And after some super-secret background information, I have this to say: Every one who pulled off that prank should be loud and proud about it. I'm graduating in 14 days, and I wish I had the gumption to have done something like this to former President Zach Scott. He would have loved it!

Finally, on the nature of the executive session, an anonymous poster to law student blog "Truth, Quante-fied" had this to say:

Someone should look into the SC Freedom of Information Act implications of SG going into executive session. S.C. Code Ann. 30-4-10 et seq. Seems like SG qualifies as a public body to me. Hope they were looking into a pesonnel matter rather than just bitching about the video in secret. -- Anon, @ Truth, Quantefied

I suggest everyone check out our FOIA laws on the books in South Carolina. Sunshine Week was a few weeks ago. Ironically, no one knew about it. :-)

Round Up ---------------------

Ryan Holt Update [Quante]
SC FOIA laws [SCpress.org]

An open letter to Georgia

2006-04-21T09:41:00.000-05:00

Georgia, can you move a little further away from me? Thank you.

A Gwinnett county (aka Atlanta) woman dredges up the embarassing past battles against the 'evils' of Harry Potter today, asking Atlanta school libraries to pull the books from shelves.

“I want to protect my kids, children and others from evil, not fill their minds with it.” -- Laura Mallory

Let's rewind back to 1999, when our beloved home town tried to get the book's obviously satanic leanings taken out of Richland and Lexington county schools:

"The books have a serious tone of death, hate, lack of respect and sheer evil," said Elizabeth Mounce of Columbia, who asked that state's Board of Education to remove the books from school libraries. Protesters who identified themselves as "concerned Christian parents" told the board the books promote violence and interest in the occult. -- Jim Galloway & Chris Burritt, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/13/1999

Round Up --------------------

Harry Potter Controversy [CBN]
Harry Potter - Charming stories or demonic plot? [RT.org]
Atlanta Journal-Constitution articles on 1999 controversy [Cesnur.org]

The beloved Apple disses bloggers

2006-04-21T08:51:00.000-05:00

At the core of my thesis is the question, "Can bloggers acheive the same kind of legitimacy as real journalists?"

Apple says no.

Of course, they have some business interests in that debate, namely the "trade secret" that now, you can plug one type of audio input into this box to make music on an Apple computer. Sounds like DEFCON 5 material to me, so you can't expect the world's most creative computer company to really take a holistic, liberal approach to free speech.

What's more surprising than the hippie computer's tough stance is the California judge (those are loaded words), who seems to be bashing the freedom of the press to no limit!

Unlike the whistleblower who discloses a health, safety or welfare hazard affecting all, or the government employee who reveals mismanagement or worse by our public officials, (the Macintosh news sites) are doing nothing more than feeding the public's insatiable desire for information. -- Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg, March 2005

Sigh. I want to take a hard-line "free press forever" stance, but I'm afraid my JOUR 303 Media Law professor would come and slam our 2,000-page textbook over my head. I'm sure there's a circuit court decision somewhere that could construe semi-trade secrets are secret, and that bloggers should go to jail faster than Judy Miller can say "book deal."

... and the band played on.

2006-04-20T16:16:00.000-05:00

The school's most famous catchphrase just got it's own .com .

The sad thing is someone shelled out $18 bucks just to stick it to Ryan. One. Last. Thousandth. Time.

Round up!===============

Look At Me Being Serious!

"Supposed-To-Be" Secret Senate Parties and The Board of Trustees Preview -- Midnight Edition

2006-04-19T22:47:00.000-05:00

The Senate called an executive session -- meaning no non-Senators in the room -- to talk about "internal affairs."
Though no one would publicly comment on it, the session meant to deal with, you guessed it, the Ragin' Ryan video that made it's way to CollegeHumor and now YouTube.
Tommy Preston said during the meeting that the Board of Trustees was aware of the video, and that 'they may bring it up, they may not. We have to be prepared for anything.'

Oh, yeah. The Board of Trustees is meeting tomorrow. From what Tommy told me after the Senate meeting, there doesn't seem to be anything controversial on the agenda and it looks to be a short meeting. He also thinks that the Board won't bring up the video. Why would they? It's a college prank.

Apparently, there have been, as with any pushover scandal, a bunch of indignant people who discovered their opposable thumbs anew and sent in some nasty letters complaining.

One e-mail Preston recounted said something to the effect of 'We once thought that Student Government never did anything. This just proves it.'

Puh-lease. I'll bet that e-mailer doesn't have a car in the Blossom Street Garage (19th paragraph), or gets reasonable textbook prices. The proof is in the video: "We were up there doing good work!"

We've been compared to Carolina Productions, and if you've ever been to their office ...

To which the crowd reportedly chuckled.

Right now, we're just waiting for a call from Jay Leno.

But in all seriousness, now all senators are supposed to make that session the "last of this conversation." All senators are to reply "no comment."

Well, the video isn't going away. This video seems to be a riot with the graduate crowd; one USC law kid and one MUSC medical student have made comments on it. Their links appear below.

Anyway, once again this is a bigger deal than it needs to be. But when you push the public out of a Senate session (in a public building, by the way), you only make a bigger deal. My advice? Take it as a joke.

Round Up -----------------------

Truth, Quantefied (Runner-up for Worst Headlines in the World)
The MUSC Tiger

Andrew Collins sworn in as Cheif Justice

2006-04-19T19:28:00.000-05:00

Moments after the last Senate session Wednesday (which I'll get to later), Andrew Collins, former Minority Affairs chair, became the first Chief Justice.

My favorite picture. :-)

Update: Collins celebrated later that night at Rust bar and restaurant. It was at this celebration that Ryan Holt tried to contact me minutes after the midnight Senate post.

The first published C.A.B. story

2006-04-12T19:45:00.000-05:00

Pleased to present the first published story on the Congressional Advisory Board trip.

Only at The Carolina Reporter

Don't forget to check here more often for exclusive blog-additives on the trip as well, especially what Rep. Jim Clyburn thought about Sanford's school choice program! *shock*

More blurry lines

2006-04-12T12:31:00.000-05:00

Taking a religion class in college is practically de rigeur at liberal arts universities. But now, some state public schools want to make taking an off-campus religious class count for some type of credit.

Now, I'm all for having a religion class in school, because that solves everything: Have a world religion class so people can be satisfied.

But as it turns out, outsourcing religious education during school time was legal back in 1952! Of course, 1952 is two years before Congress broke the Constitution and added "under God" to the pledge and four years before In God We Trust showed up on our lunch money.

This just creates more blurry lines than a drunken cokefest.

Round-Up
--------------------
Religious studies for school credit? [CLT.com]
Lemon v. Kurtzman [Oyez]
Fun facts about the United States Mint [US Mint]
Why we're not one nation Under God [Slate]

Inauguration is up!

2006-04-12T11:13:00.000-05:00

Let the joyous news be spread..

The Wicked Ol' Inauguration Coverage at last can be read.

... and the culture police marches in.

2006-04-12T09:52:00.000-05:00

Less than a day after posting about the hilarious hijinks that proves Student Government is actually human, some censor decided to remove the hilarious segment where Ryan loses all control and let's the f-bomb fly:

"And you come in here and f**ked up my office!"

And what's this about Ryan's future political ambitions?! Hell, at least he's not doing coke or dodging Iraq service by laying around the South Carolina Air National Guard. That'll really guarantee his political suicide... ah.

Shoot, in the state Senate, I've heard racist, sexist and homophobic remarks that really offend people. "Fuck" should be embraced, kids. I ain't paying $3 bucks for the Wal*Mart edit of Ragin' Ryan.

Prank makes Holt go "da-da"

2006-04-11T07:22:00.000-05:00

Why do college politics outstrip national politics on all counts?

One word: Balloons.
Well, a few more than that: Balloons and Ryan Holt making his staff feel like they were getting a lecture from Dad.

It's a prank so funny it makes the Vice-President drop the F bomb. It's WAY too early for me to even begin to comment on this one.

I love the immediate accountability issues that flood Ryan's mind the minute he opens his door to find an avalance of balloons. "This is a waste of student activity fees!" If I only heard this clip, I would guess he was walking into the RHA ball.

Favorite line:
Ryan: Who's going to pay for these balloons? Out of your own pocket?
Alex: Yes, we paid for them out of our own pocket!
Ryan: Where'd the air come from?
Alex: .... the air?!

P.S. Anyone notice how Tommy Preston just sort of disappears into the balloons and never resurfaces during the main clip?

Round Up ------------------
Raging Ryan [TTP]

Massive protest today at Finlay Park

2006-04-10T10:12:00.000-05:00

There's a massive immigration protest scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at Finlay Park, and it will wind all the way to the State House. Anyone going or getting pictures?

rawcopytips@gmail.com

Coble, Isaac-Devine win big; Board of Trustees stagnant as ever

2006-04-05T09:50:00.000-05:00

Back from the grave after flying home from Washignton yesterday.
Turns out there was a massive election yesterday! Mayor Coble wins by a landslide, and Tameika Isaac Devine (a USC Law grad) grabs her seat, too. She was the youngest councilman or woman ever in Columbia. Kudos.

Meanwhile, the Board of Trustees saw nine of its members re-elected, none of which saw any opposition -- does anyone else see that as a problem? Not having opposition breeds unaccountability, which isn't exactly what we need at the Board level, especially since the best we can get for Student Government is a non-voting seat on the board.

C.A.B. Wrap-Up Day 1

2006-04-03T20:18:00.000-05:00

The Congressional Advisory Board met with several Washington groups today. First on the list was the White House Office of Management and Budget, from which you already know I was excluded. Le sigh. Other meetings included lunching with Steve Beckham, USC's lobbyist before Congress, and legislative assistants for Sens. Graham and DeMint.

Both were very informative about the senators' actions on the issues the CAB worked on, but noticeably, no one talked about green building. The majority of talk was on student loans and textbooks, since the Higher Education Act Reauthorization process still continues, after $13 billion was taken out of student loan programs earlier this year.

The group then met with the National Governor's Association, on whom I couldn't help but smell the irony; while they called for 'transparency' for the student loan legislation, the woman who spoke to us told me that all her comments were to be off the record. Pity, she had some good ideas. Oh well, gag orders are gag orders.

The final stop was a student rights' lobby that brought up a TON of initiatives for the CAB to consider. Those lobbyists did practically all the talking; most of their projects involved better funding grants and federal loans to get students into college, and less about textbooks and the environment. They even suggested we try a student movement to improve the lives of our beloved janitors and food service workers, like the strike at U Miami successfully did just recently.

There's a good question: what would it take for a student activist group to successfully lobby for better working conditions for USC's blue-collar employees?

C.A.B. Day 1

2006-04-03T07:30:00.000-05:00

Here beginneth the first day of the Congressional Advisory Board story.

First up: I've been denied! I'm not attending the CAB's meeting with the White House Budget Office because I wasn't included on the list! BAH. That's gross. If they can let gay hookers in the press room, they can let a student journalist in the budget office of all places. Sheesh. If I were a random ass terrorist, would I really strike a wound in the spirit of America by detonating myself in the budget office??? I think that would actually make a lot of people very happy.

So, I'm taking the opportunity to do other work and prepare for the day.

Georgetown's Student Center is a very cool place. Very old Macs, though. No bells and whistles on Blogger like "bolding" or "italicizing." Rex and I have already had a fantastic chat.

The CAB goes to Washington

2006-04-02T19:55:00.000-05:00

WASHINGTON - Lots to report on, but no time. Will have a nice update later on tonight, I believe. Today was mostly sightseeing; we met NEWT GINGRICH on the street. Very odd timing.

I'll have full analysis of the report tomorrow, plus the meeting review for Monday.

Here's the schedule for the trip:

Monday, 4/3/06

10:00am - White House Office of Budget and Management
12:15pm - Lunch at B Smith?s (Union Station)
2:00pm - Senate Briefing (Also SC Washington Office)
3:30pm - National Governors? Association

Tuesday, 4/4/06

11:30am Congressman Barrett
12:30pm Flynn Cratty from Congressman Inglis? Office
1:00pm LUNCH
2:00pm Congressman Brown
2:30pm Joe Harris from Congressman Spratt?s Office (Appearance by
Spratt)
3:00pm Congressman Wilson
4:00 pm Congressman Clyburn

D.C. T-minus 24 hours

2006-03-31T11:26:00.000-05:00

We're but a day away from our special coverage of the Congressional Advisory Board's trip to D.C.

I've got the copy of the report... as soon as I find free webspace, It's up here, believe me.

Going through it, I'm finding some concerns...
Textbook Prices:

In Illinois, Governor Blagojevich has begun working with university officials from across the state to ensure that the universities are taking the proper steps to keep textbook costs from becoming a barrier to access of higher education...

In Connecticut, the legislature and the governor have worked across party lines to move forward wtih measures to curb the rising textbook costs... develop ways for the institutions of higher education... to slow the inreasing costs.

What are these measures, and why weren't they included in the report? Just above that paragraph, the report details California's guidelines asking publishers to not bundle books and CDs. Why haven't Connecticut and Illinois done that too? And if they haven't, why weren't they just mentioned instead explained in great detail?

The footnote links are pretty badass references, though. Read on:
College Textbooks [GAO]
Ripoff 101 [State PIRGS]

There's more coming this way today as I slowly move through the report. Any suggestions for questions I ask?

Invective on the RHA ball

2006-03-28T16:33:00.000-05:00

The RHA ball is in serious straits... some people are really fired up about it, The Gamecock has come out in need of "marketing lessons" for RHA. I'm inclined to agree.

One source close to the RHA Senate had a mouthfull to say:

I think that the ball is an utter waste of RHA's time and money. With
so little time before the date and fewer than one hundred tickets sold,
I don't know how this could possibly reflect well on our organization.
Not nearly enough time was spent in publicizing the event; something of
this magnitude takes months to promote, not six weeks. Plus, it's a
problem if we spend a third of our budget on something that had no hope
of succeeding in the first place, especially when the charities
receiving donations, both great causes, would each be getting less than
half of the total cost of the event. The ball will be a blemish on the
reputation of RHA...

He then went on to accuse one person involved with the ball of "playing politics" in order to make an attempt at a higher office in tomorrow's elections. Not just any attempt, mind you. A "half-baked" attempt.

Meanwhile, two charities get gypped. C'est la vie.

Round up ================
Editorial: Spring ball organizers need marketing lesson [Gck]
Despite doubts, RHA ball to go on [Gck]
RHA ball garners little interest [Gck]

Andy Card resigns

2006-03-28T08:10:00.000-05:00

I beat the AP on this one!!!

USC alum Andy Card will resign today as White House Chief of Staff and be replaced by Josh Bolton, the director of the OMB.

It pays to have Air America as your wake up alarm!

SGTV

2006-03-27T13:30:00.000-05:00

Student Government is going to announce three producers for SGTV today. It doesn't take a genius to understand the channel is in trouble and probably won't air this semester. Pity.

Here's a live shot of SGTV:

CAB algebra

2006-03-27T12:35:00.000-05:00

With one week left, top brass with the Congressional Advisory Board say members of the Campus Security committee will not be joining the other (12 - (# board members on that committee)) on the trip to D.C. Sunday. Apparently, their committee report, due last week, was a bit lacking:

They turned in a one-page report. I suspect they worked on it that morning.

That's ok... after watching CSPAN2 for an hour, I suspect all report committees do a competitive amount of work, too.

Morning "addition"

2006-03-27T10:59:00.000-05:00

It's update time... I promise the Inauguration Ball pictures are on their way!
But first, the news:

Bob Jones University sanitizes the music revolution by starting sacredaudio.com. The downside? Jesus & Timothy say no sharing. Which contradicts Hebrews, Matthew, Luke, and even Timothy himself! Looks like even the Saviour needs to testify before Congress on this complicated matter. [BJU]
The MB Sun News' Bob Bestler is stunned by our horrific female-to-male ratio in the State House. I can think of at least one person who's happy about that. [Sun]
Get your tattoos. [TheState]
Proof of a bad economy? A third of parents have no money saved for their kids' college tuition. Good thing they can help pay back loans at discounted rates!! ... Oh, wait. (Look near the bottom) [GVO] [Gck]
The Post & Courier sounds the "S.C. education sucks!" alarm for the little kids, too. [P&C]
The solution to education woes? Do what Sanford does and throw a $6,600-a-plate dinner to raise money for your kids' private school. [TheState]
Meanwhile, Carolina's lobby days approach, ANOTHER football player gets in trouble, and DZ wants to suck your blood... marrow. [GCK]

There's more to come today... insider sludge on the RHA ball, some rebounds from the graduate funding fight in the Senate, plus those pictures from that thing that nobody remembers. :-)

Biden looming, old article

2006-03-21T09:58:00.000-05:00

Biden comes today... anyone have any questions for him? I'm totally recording any questions I get from him.

Here's a fantastic article that breaks down Sanford's tuition cap proposal... and why it sucks.

Round up +++++++++++++++++++++++++

State higher tuition caps may be misplaced [StateHouseReport]

Joe Biden here tomorrow

2006-03-20T22:04:00.000-05:00

Joe Biden (D-Del.) will speak at USC tomorrow somewhere in Gambrell at 4 p.m. He'll talk about foreign policy.

Get out there and tackle him!

Biden Says U.S. Is Risking Civil War In Iraq [WYFF]

Today in pictures

2006-03-20T12:17:00.000-05:00

Two pictures:Thomas Barry, Jr. - the shooting suspect

Days SGTV has been on air: Zero

Shooting updates

2006-03-20T10:57:00.000-05:00

Reports early this morning from former Gamecock editor Adam Beam (now at The State as a crime reporter) that Barry Thomas, Jr., 23, was arrested last night in connection with the shooting.
Thomas confessed to the shooting apparently, and said he was the only shooter. That contradicts some speculations reported in the Gamecock that there were three others involved in the shooting.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports of a high-profile USC basketball player was at the "Greek Fest '06," and was involved with the fight that spurred the shootout. If there is any chatter out there, shout it here or email me at rawcopytips@gmail.com

Round-Up ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Police charge man in shooting spree [State]
After Saturday attack, search on for shooter [Gck]

Fraternity shooting

2006-03-18T21:52:00.000-05:00

I've gotten word of a shooting last night at a fraternity party. Someone was shot in the face, and a few others apparently were shot as well. I'll update this entry when a bureau posts something.

++++++++++++++++++++++

Update:

Five people shot at party [WIS]
Norcross man shot at party [AJC]

Board update

2006-03-16T16:20:00.000-05:00

PROGRESS!

That's the word from the Board of Trustees meeting today, as far as the grade forgiveness goes. Simple enough: Provost Mark Becker gave a report on the forgiveness program:

A student can retake "no more" than two classes; there was some confusion over it at first, but it seems from the meeting you can only use the forgiveness program twice.
The bad grades stay on the transcript..
The proposal SG drummed up has been given to the Faculty Senate.

So there's the gist of it. Tommy and Ryan said it should be smooth sailing from here. None on the board had any major objections or questions, which signals that SG succeeded in convincing the Board that it was the Faculty Senate's domain of influence, not theirs.

Oh, and for those of you who have the stomach to handle open-to-the-public board meetings (JetAlert helps), they have ASTOUNDING catered cookies.

FINALLY!

2006-03-16T13:00:00.000-05:00

The Board of Trustees meets very soon... I will be blogging about the Academic Affairs one, since President Tommy Preston I believe is going to be presenting something on the grade forgiveness program... should be interesting.

Some interesting updates:

One CAB committee did not turn in their report to the writing committee by Wendesday, even though they will be travelling to D.C. in less than two weeks.
A scandalous bill will go into the Student Senate sometime this month... that will keep any student activity fee money that comes out of undergrad pockets from going to graduate organizations. Somebody get me Jarvis Jones' number; I want his reaction on this blog! More on this later today....
A story will run in The Gamecock tomorrow on how no one is buying tickets for RHA's spring ball. One senator called it an "embarrassment." The ball is designed to be a Greek formal for all students. I guess it's just more popular to pay $1,500 a semester for keggers than $20 to dress up. Prégo!!!

And yes, tonight I'll have (day late, dollar short) review of the inauguration and the favulous reception at Sorensen's place. Plus Best & Worst Dressed!
Days SGTV has been active: Zero

Where have all the reports gone?

2006-03-14T12:49:00.000-05:00

Working on that update....
In the meantime, I must have slipped into a timewarp.... I'm told there aren't 12 members of the Congressional Advisory Board anymore. The usual excuse is probably time conflicts, but some are saying too much laziness?

One operative says:

Some people thought it was going to be a free trip to D.C., but it's not. It's a whole ton of work.

So apparently some division in the ranks about doing work to lobby for Congress. Not that normal lobbyists do much either.

The rough reports are due to the CAB's writing committee today for a final drafting of the report. Hopefully someone out there will send me a copy or two, hint hint.

rawcopytips@gmail.com

UPDATE!

2006-03-13T11:02:00.000-05:00

I had way too much over Spring Break... wow.

Expect a massive update today... Gen. Assembly updates, plus inauguration coverage & the new Senate leadership... what to expect from Wednesday's meeting, plus a preview of the CAB's trip to D.C. in t-minus three weeks!

Inauguration Coverage Extravaganza!

2006-03-02T05:30:00.000-05:00

SO FINALLY I have the inauguration coverage up and running.

The award for Best Darth Vader Language in an Inaugural Speech goes to Ryan Holt. With phrases like "new era," "never before" and "future of Student Government is now" peppered into an avalanche of heavy language, Ryan finally brings powerful into the soup of other Student Government adjectives... even if it involves stormtroopers and the blitz.

And now, the fashion! (Click photos for bigger resolution)

Best Dressed:
Sen. Kim Ballard, Journalism
Ballard's dress was a sensible black short gown with a conservative swath of green and white imprint covering the cleavage. Can you ask for more in a woman? She knew how to dress for the conservative take-over of SG (nudge nudge), but knows how to show off enough flair to stand out. The heels, oh the heels!

Worst Dressed:
Kyle Bohman, Carolina Productions
Oh Kyle. You had it all going wrong. The facial expressions, the untucked, untied colorful shirt, the jeans, the sneaking in to eat the free food. Almost certainly a PR student. :-)

Most Awesomely, Badassedly Dressed:
Austin Paterek, SGTV
Hey, from an objective standpoint, it's definately not what should be worn at an inaugural gala. But it certainly could be worn. Without diving too far into metaphysics, Austin's got the quintessential casual Southerner look down; sandals, shorts, jacket. That's why it's awesomely bad.

Most Outrageous Place to Stick your Namebadge:
Melody (no last name given)

Sorry, but it was too tempting to take a picture of this woman. Otherwise, her outfit is a good conservative social gathering outfit, but the placement of the nametag? Priceless. What line of sight is she hoping for when she shakes someone's hand?

Most Confusing Tie:
Sen. Scott Spivey, Finance
This tie had too much going on. I mean, criss-crosses? Where'd those come from? It's as convuluted as the graduate students' argument to give undergrad money to their argments.

Right here, right now, I also come out against button down collars. I admit I wore one to the gala too, but it wasn't my shirt, I swear.

Most Coordinated Terrorist Tie Cell:
President Tommy Preston, VP Ryan Holt, Treasurer Jennifer Guest

Preston admitted to me that he wanted to coordinate the use of the color blue in ties for him and Ryan and dress color for Guest. Maybe it was by accident that blue was in at the gala, maybe it wasn't. I suspect a terrorist tie sleeper cell myself. Way to go Mr. President in keeping your foot soldiers in lockstep. Is the white rose symbolic of a new world order?!

Hamid Karzai Award for Best Resistance of Fashion Police:
Former SG President Justin Williams, Director of Student Life Jerry Brewer
In reference to the previous award, notice how Justin skillfully employs black and yellow, a DIRECT slap in the face of the blue and white so oppressively dictated by the new junta installed that very afternoon. Also notice how J.B. rocks the white shirt and striped red tie, a bold, defiant statement of allegiance to Carolina, while the new administration waves the colors of the Citadel. Freedom! Forever!

Most Likely to be Boozing:
Ryan Holt
That's not orange juice. And it's certainly not what he and his grade school friends used when they left the group and toasted Ryan's victory in a Skull-and-Bonesy fashion. I suspect a mimosa with a twist of Everclear. Or I might just be thirsty.

Most Curious Example of the Always, Sometimes, Never Rule:
Sen. Jonathan Ross
Here, we have a standardly suited-up Ross, except he breaks the one rule of ties and coats: The tie is not a coat tongue. When wearing a blazer, always button the top button, sometimes buttong the second when standing, and never button the bottom. In the case of having a long tie, as evidenced, it's IMPERATIVE to button the second button, lest you get "tie tongue," wher it peeks out from under the last buttoned button. Class dismissed.

And there are your awards. I was basically going off whatever pictures I could snap, so if anyone has better ones, you know the addy: rawcopytips@gmail.com

Pictures from Guest's win...

2006-03-01T15:47:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, Feb. 28
5:10 p.m. - Senator Ross comes lanking by and plays some ball with Jennifer.

Hey, it was actually a bigger crowd than the first runoff. That's a shot of vodka in the SG election drinking game, for those of you keeping tabs.

5:30 p.m. - Then came the news.... Setzler loses by 12 votes.

And the Golden Globe for Best Sad Puppy goes to...

Seriously, heartbreaking.

Poor guy was seriously stunned. He totally forgot his guys were going to take him to ice cream.

He gave a quick handshake to Steve Smith, whom you may recall was squeaked out of the runoff by something like 6 percentage points. This election has been nothing but squeakers.

Still he sulked out the front of the Russell House, cell phone in hand....

5:35 p.m. - Meanwhile, Guest catches fire and jumps all over everybody!

So that was that. An incredibly close election, despite the bigger turnout. SG can't even get their elections done in a timely fashion! I kid.

Tonight is the Inauguration and the reception. You bet I'll be there, dressed to the nines, with the judgmental camera. You people better look good.

GUEST WINS BY 12!!!!

2006-02-28T21:19:00.000-05:00

If this were a baseball game, Harry Caray would be naked and frothing at the mouth.

Brad loses to Jennifer by 12 VOTES, less than 1% of the turnout! Holy crap!

The Golden Sad Puppy goes to Setzler, by far. He looked so disappointed. I'll have photos later.

Man, the photo for tomorrow's Gamecock is going to be sweet. All I have to say is... JAZZ HANDS!

Puppy dogs and election concerns

2006-02-28T11:43:00.000-05:00

Poor Brad Setzler...

First one scandal, now another semi-scandal, and now a half-semi-scandal.

As if innocently committing a misdemeanor weren't enough icing on the cake of this year's election, now The Gamecock can devote another half of its front page to Setzler's roller coaster campaign method (I smell a looooooong night ahead for me).

Here's the scandal du jour: In violation of Election Codes, a Blackboard listserv was used to send out an endorsement for Setzler, basically solicitation over the internet (Misdemeanor! Misdemeanor! Summon the constable!). The finer details of the incident are such:
The guy who sent it is not affiliated with Brad other than that they are classmates in a Spanish class. Setzler says he's spoken to him just a bit in class about the election. Whether or not he said 'use a listserv and break codes and enslave all of capstone to vote for me, ahahah!' is up for debate.

The email was sent without Guest or Setzler's knowledge, however.... Here's the text:

Date: Sun, 26 Feb 2006 20:47:35 -0500 (EST)
From: XXXXXX@mailbox.sc.edu
Reply-To: XXXXXX@mailbox.sc.edu
Subject: Please vote on Monday or Tuesday
To: XXXXXX@mailbox.sc.edu

I know that most of the emails I send out have official business with them, but this one doesn't.

As you may or may not be aware, the SG Treasurer election has been thrown out
on a technicality. The winner, Brad Setzler will have to face-off against his opponent, Jennifer Guest again on Monday and Tuesday. I encourage everyone vote on VIP by selecting the Personal tab and clicking on SG Elections.

You should vote as you please, but I can safely vouch for Brad Setzler, he is a classmate and a good friend. I can assure you that he is a trustworthy person who will dutifully serve us as SG Treasurer. He hopes to be able to make the funding process easier for student organizations, to expand parking areas around and off campus, as well as make the Carolina Card available in more places.
That's why I'm voting for Brad. If this is not enough info, you can always Facebook him.

No matter how you vote, though, please be sure that you do, the vote is the most important right that you have, plus, the more people who vote, the more solid the results will be, so that we won't have to do it for a FOURTH time!.

Thanks and have a great week
One more before Spring Break!),
Benjamin Bullock

(Please note that this letter is sent without the knowledge of either
candidate)

----- End forwarded message -----

This was sent over some listserv dealing with Capstone.. could be a Housing blackboard listserv, or a capstone scholars listserv... not too sure yet.

Meanwhile, Guest does some soliciating of her own in the Greek Village. No details just yet, but sources say she was campaignign hard in the village. She had that area of campus wrapped up the first two times, I'm sure... what makes this go 'round any different?

Brad is really sad puppy about this. I gave him a ring and all he could say was 'Not another one!!!!'

Little does he know, that rumor has it that someone else is coming forward saying someone from his campaign or just some random person was sighted soliciting votes in Whaley's Mill. No confirmation at all yet, but hey, he's 1 for 2 violation complaints... why not throw a charming third in there?

Good gassy molassy, this is one LONG election.

tip your editor

2006-02-27T22:57:00.000-05:00

Hey kids, here's the tell your friends part of the blog:

Anyone with information about election violations in this re-runoff election, e-mail me at rawcopytips@gmail.com

I'm hearing rumours about listerv violations and all sorts of stuff... but I've been in the dark over the weekend.

More Trustee fun

2006-02-24T10:29:00.000-05:00

Well now we know how he supplemented his salary in the 1970s.

Round Up! ----------------------

USC Board of Trustees Biographies [sc.edu]

TUITION WILL RISE 8 TO 10 PERCENT

2006-02-24T10:23:00.000-05:00

File under 'W' for 'woefully predictable.'

The Board of Trustees sat their unelected selves down Thursday and projected with Sorensen that tuition could rise 9 percent. Sorensen said that figure is speculative right now, but ex-Prez Justin Williams said just before he went to the board that it could rise anywhere from 8 to 10, so now we know.

Somehow, I'm thinking it's going to pay for a) Housing offices on Pendleton St., b) rust removal on Williams-Brice Stadium, c) some land near Cap City Stadium that "might" become a satellite parking lot (which would just clog up Assembly St. rather nicely), and the $50,000 that Spurrier will get should he get all those Coach of the Year awards.

*sigh* I'm going to celebrate this by likening as many Board members to Rankin/Bass Christmas characters as I can today. Send in your submissions!

Round Up =============

Board of Trustees mulls tuition raises, land grabs [Gamecock]
List of Board members [sc.edu]
Rankin/Bass website (just Google them... you'll find stuff)

Election part trois

2006-02-23T11:48:00.000-05:00

Ok. I got a few hours of sleep in me, so now I can flesh out this crazy re-re-election madness.

According to Guest, the Thursday before the runoff's conclusion, Guest opened her door at University Oaks to find a blonde girl (fingers point to this girl on the right, seen leaving the SG banquet yesterday), who handed her a flyer and said to vote for Brad. Apparently Brad was at the door across the hall and attempted to conceal his identity when he realized it was Guest, but it was too late. His other accomplice, described by Guest as Setzler campaign manager Alex Bryan (on the left, also seen at the SG banquet), was there too. Someone said "I told you this is a bad idea." Guest, ever focused on "what's legal," (see below) called her boyfriend to the door to get another witness. The trio then went upstairs to apparently keep knocking on doors.

Guest says she has evidence they went to buildings 1, 4 and 5 at University Oaks, and had circumstantial evidence they went to College Suites next door.

The clincher is this senior SG official who is rumoured to have joined them at some point. No leads so far, but that's what the rest of the day is for.

Poor, lovable Brad. He came straight to the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian & Straight Alliance meeting Wednesday night and played up his innocence, punctuating everything with "allegedly." He "allegedly" broke some violations, "allegedly" did something wrong... Seems that he's turned around on this with the statement he released to The Gamecock. He and Guest shared some awkward moments in the hallway outside, as I tried to get an interview with both of them (it's better than listening to Pat Patterson fumble for every witticism imaginably related to gay networking). Setzler asked for her phone number so they could have a conversation later last night. This morning, he said he felt 'like crap.' He looked really drained, too. If he's going for the sad, hurt puppy look, it's working.

Meanwhile, Guest is lapping this up. She's even outsourced some Swift Boating to her campaign staff by way of passive-aggressive facebook profiles:

This is courtesy the profile of a fellow ADPi of Guest.

Even though Guets says "all I want is a fair election." Rather, this ad sorta suggests she's just painting Setzler as a criminal. I mean, solicitation is a misdemeanor and all.
Beside the point... "What's legal?" The president-elect calls her CarolinaCard plan "the best idea" in the election race and she goes with "what's legal?"

Apparently, odd man out Steve Smith is "officially staying silent" on the runoff... though he has more than a few times voiced his support for Guest.

An article is expected in tomorrow's Gamecock. Other than that, I got nothing.

INSANITY

2006-02-23T01:08:00.000-05:00

All sorts of stuff is flying around about Setzler's "alleged" entry into University Oaks and College Suites to do some door-to-door campaigning-- this is Setzler's official statement for The Gamecock:

The Elections Commission has decided to hold another election because I campaigned in off-campus apartments during the past elections. My goal was to reach out to these off-campus residents, which are often left out of campus activities due to their geographic location, and let them know that they have a voice in Student Government. I asked them to vote for me, but there were two names on that ballot, and I in no way forced their hands. They had free choice, and it is very likely that many of the people I asked to vote decided to vote for the opposition. The opposition has misconstrued the situation to disqualify my initial victory, but I won fairly, and will work just as hard to fairly win this election.

One rumour, corroborated by two well-placed sources within the Senate and the elections campaign, maintains that a student government executive leader was with Setzler at one point in time. So far, two names have been confirmed by eyewitnesses as being there... The Gamecock is not going to report on this in the morning, but higher ups have confirmed this story will run front page Friday.

More on this in the morning, it's time for some Vermouth.

RE-ELECTION

2006-02-22T14:47:00.000-05:00

It's confirmed-- there's another runoff between Guest and Setzler.

Sources from last weekend said there was going to be a contention from Guest, after she pitched a very audible fit in the 3rd floor bathroom. Her campaign staff wouldn't let me near the door, but the word "arrested!" came up a few times.

No word from Preston or Holt about this just yet. Will get back to yas, soon! (Damn, I need to re-update this site)

Round-up -------------------
Student Government Elections Update (.pdf) - [SG]

Setzler snags treasurer position after runoff

2006-02-18T00:18:00.000-05:00

Holy Cow!

Didn't see this one coming! Setzler pulled off a stunning victory with a 98 vote lead on Guest in the runoff. What the hell!?

How does Gust go from having 1500 votes the first go around to 600? That's just nuts!

Well, there's our team for the year: Another male-dominated SG. How I long for the days of the Scott administration, when there were two women in power! I kid, I kid!

Round Up =================
Setzler snags treasurer position after runoff [Gamecock]

2006-02-15T10:52:00.000-05:00

Actual controversy, or Jarvis' death rattle of an attempt to stir some "attention" for his campaign?

+++++++++

Senate to vote today on allocation [Gamecock]

LANDSLIDE! (almost)

2006-02-14T23:12:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow's Gamecock headline: "Preston, Holt win big with golden ticket."
Will post the link on the headline when it arrives tomorrow.

Prez:

Preston - 69.99%
Jones - 20.07%
Raymond - 9.94%

Vice-Prez:

Holt - 61.52%
Shah - 31.33%
Goodman - 7.14%

Trez:

Guest - 46.26%
Setzler - 28.13%
Smith - 25.61%

It looks like "one more year!" is the "expression de la moment" with Tommy and Ryan getting big wins tonight. It's also the night of the Incredible Vanishing Candidates. Jarvis Jones wasn't even at the announcement tonight. Julian sort of disappeared right after the announcements; I didn't see him anywhere. Strange enough, his website was erased from the planet literally hours later. What gives?

Sonam was in tears, I think Ryan was too. People were screaming and carrying on.
Looks like Holt's fears that the VP race would be too close to call weren't correct...
Sonam thought it would be close too. After seeing the numbers, she gasped and said "Oh wow, I'm glad it wasn't close then."

I totally underestimated Guests' staying power. So did The Gamecock ed board when they endorsed Setzler. Regardless, Setzler will have a run for his money this week. My guess is Guest, who's an ADPi, got the majority of the Greek vote along with the Senate vote. Setzler probably had the freshman Honors vote wrapped up, but he needs to get ALL of Smith's votes to kinder a speck of hope against Guest's giant lead. Setzler had 600 less votes than Guest. That's huge!

Good news for Setzler is that, according to one source close to the campaign, Smith endorsed him. If that's true, then Smith's pretty loyal base might make an easy transition to Setzler's campaign... maybe. They're radically different candidates, but these elections are pretty malleable. It's not like national politics, where the wedge issues keep real malleability out of a voter's handbook.

++++ Round up ++++

Preston, Holt win big with golden ticket [Gamecock]

Ennui after just one day?

2006-02-14T09:54:00.000-05:00

Is the Preston/Holt campaign running out of steam after just 24 hours of voting? Will they be able to hold on to their sanity should they be re-elected?

Is is a slow news day?

I report. You decide.

It's on

2006-02-13T15:40:00.000-05:00

Pass the vermouth; it's election day!

Go out and vote, kids. It's the least you can do after last time...

Smith's clean, at least as far as we know...

2006-02-10T13:23:00.000-05:00

Steven Smith apparently is the victim here.

So a technical loophole allowed private housing violation concerns to be publicized. Happens all the time. I think The Gamecock did what it needed to do; publish what it felt was newsworthy.

I still don't buy Smith's story:

"We went to our friends' room, our friends who had asked for T-shirts and we set them down on the bed. We made sure not to do any hand-to-hand distribution, because that is a campaign violation," Smith said. "Furthermore, the door to Maxcy is unlocked during the day with people constantly walking in and out."

Maxcy requires a resident's CarolinaCard to be swiped before entering the building after dark. There are two other locked doors inside the lobby that require resident cards to gain access to the student halls. The inside doors are usually kept locked.
Ross and Smith said the desk assistant at Maxcy had knowledge of their entry into the building and had verbally approved them to enter the residence hall.

I lived in Maxcy. Those doors were NEVER open. The only time they were open were if someone obscured the door's entrance. The doors have pneumatic restrainers that keep them shut and locked.

According to the reports, there were a number of times Smith was allegedly in Maxcy without an escort. He told an RA he was signed in, when he actually was not. His idea of signing in was getting a nod from the desk assistant. Shady.

Anyhow, no matter how trivial the whole process seems, Smith's only defense for these accusations is his privacy was violated. Hey, loopholes happen.

Smith should come clean and work on strengthening his platform. And give his people their t-shirts at meetings. Period.

We'll have to see if push comes to shove here.

Mass Debate, Part Deux

2006-02-08T23:22:00.000-05:00

All SG Exec candidates made an appearance on Greene Street today. Most of the stump speeches were uniform copies from RHA's debate last night. The exception was Our Most Established Candidates, Tommy Preston and Ryan Holt, pulled out some guns against the opponents.

Holt tried to say his opponents weren't nearly as good on their word as he has been in 05-06:

You need to listen to what these candidates are saying, because they will say a lot and promise a whole lot of things, but nothing might happen.

Holt needs to remember how late his pet television station is. Currently showing on SGTV: rainbows and loud feedback.

Raymond pulled out some guns, too; he played up his outsider status and said he's running for President to help students, not to advance a political career. So he challenged Jarvis and Preston to disclose how much student money they've used to further their careers. Shocking!

Too bad Preston came back really sharp and sheer:

We only went to Washington once, and that was to lobby for students!

Yipe. We at Raw Copy suggest Raymond be a little more careful. Even the maverick candidates need some temperance.

Biggest surprise of the debate: Josh Goodman shows up for duty. I have pictures of it:

All in all, nothing new from the day before. Treasurer candidate Steven Smith tried to flesh out more of his textbook exchange website, but said it would go up "at some point in time," without details. I said it before and I'll say it again: smarter voters will know Amazon and half.com do it much better. Smith and Raymond need to really sell this program.

+++++++++++++Round Up

SG pushes launch of television channel [The Gamecock]

Mass Debaters

2006-02-08T11:03:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again.

The platforms are pretty consistent with what should be expected for next year: making the CarolinaCard business-friendly around Columbia, increasing security and do something with the parking imbroglio. The Gamecock article does a decent job outlining the platform.

Some platforms had some surprises though, like Raymond's rape education and free defense classes. With the right publicity, that could attract some voters who don't usually pay attention to the issues. Jones has some "loud" ideas, as he said last night, like more graduate student incorporation in SG. Is that possible? Maybe... grad students have enough to deal with, can SG make their spiel easy to swallow?

The textbook exchange thing, to be blunt, is woefully complicated. Smith and Raymond want to create websites and systems to lend out or sell used books. That's too complicated. The best advice I have to that is set up a student message board with an overseer and let the capitalism flow. Otherwise, half.com and Amazon do it just as efficiently.

The next debate is in 45 minutes. I'm stuck in class working on God knows how much, but I'll be there with pen and pad ready.

Round Up -------------

Preston/Holt '06 Website
Julian Raymond's Website
Sonam Shah for V.P.
Steve Smith's platform
Jarvis Jones for President [Facebook]
Steve Smith for Treasurer [Facebook]
Brad Setzler for Treasurer [Facebook]

A First Look

2005-08-22T11:30:00.000-05:00

Here is your first look at the new SG Senate chamber, photos provided by me.

The room is on the 3rd floor of the Russell House, just before the glass Student Media door.

Apparently, creating this whole thing was Holt's idea.

Holt has the room planned to the minutest detail, and apparently he's in charge of the project, as evidenced by this note on the front of the mammoth desk. -->

Word on the street is the wood for the desk comes from a repository for wood taken from the State House during renovations.

Instead of the very democratic-ish roundtable of seats in the Old Senate Chamber (read: our movie theatre), now the senators will sit in rowed desks. We can only imagine that the liberal arts will probably get the back two rows, and the International Business guys will get those plush seats up front. The cigar box and stock ticker will be installed next week, we were told.

Running of the Sisters

2005-08-21T21:36:00.000-05:00

Sunday was Sorority Bid Day 2005, or as the laypersons call it, Running of the Sisters. A cherished tradition where big, candy-colored balloons and joyous noise is de regeur.

But what about after all the cheering and hugging and smiling is over? What does Mother Horseshoe and her legions of squirrels behold when the screaming 18-year-olds march with their weeping mothers in tow down to the Greek Village?

Chaos.
Here are some pictures from today's big scene, circa 5 p.m. or so.

<-- Apparently this young lady couldn't wait to trade class schedules with the bush. Notice you don't see Environmental Science 101 on there anywhere.

This young lady got so excited, she must have taken out the bid envelope and dropped the included goodie bag in her frothing frenzy of fraternal sisterhood. She even left the keepsake card from her Big Sister. I'd insert a joke about paddles here, but this is a family blog...

Sonya Duhé

2005-08-16T16:47:00.000-05:00

Sonya Duhé was plucked from the Journalism School's faculty to be an Associate Research VP. We've lost a very good instructor who helped potty train freshmen journos in the ways of media.

Let's Begin

2005-08-15T23:34:00.000-05:00

Raw Copy is officially online.

This is a journal, written by a Carolina student in Columbia, South Carolina, about the politics in and around his university and state capital.

In the next two months, this journal will be expanded in style and depth to include links to USC- and Columbia-related news. Also featured will be a guest column, in which it will be attempted to coax newsmakers and newswriters to come forward and tell their own stories.

With the introduction over, it's now time to speak in first-person: I'm tired and need sleep. I'll post tomorrow.