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UNIVERSIDAD DE CAROLINA DEL SUR
THIRSTY THURSDAY, APRIL 1
VOL. 103, NO. 119 ● SINCE 1908
Hasta la vista, ‘Sandstorm’ Demand for usage fees leads to loss of popular fight song; students vote on replacement Viv Savage
KEYBOARDIST
It bec a me t he sou ndt rack to Sout h Carolina athletics: growing in popularity at football games, blaring non-stop as USC took down the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats in men’s basketball, even helping to serenade star recruit Marcus Lattimore into garnet and black. And now, it’s all over. Barring a last-second agreement, USC athletics will be forced to cease the playing of “Sandstorm” immediately. “We really have no choice,” USC president Harris Pastides said. “Our rights to the song have been revoked.” The issue began early last month, when Hans Groogel, the agent for Finnish artist DJ Darude, who released “Sandstorm” on his 1999 CD of the same name, sent a letter to Pastides on behalf of Darude and record label Neo requesting $8 million dollars annually for the usage of the song at sporting events. “The bottom line is that the University of South Carolina is making a ridiculous amount of money in ticket sales and general publicit y off of the song,” Groogel told The Daily Gamecock yesterday in a phone interview from his office in Los Angeles. “And for all of it, Darude is getting nothing.” After receiving the letter, the University, unwilling to meet the demands, tried to negotiate a rights fee, but bartering has been
at a stalemate. Both sides will not comment on specifics, but the gap between agreement is rumored to be multi-millions in difference. “If they don’t agree to what we see as a fair compensation, then it’s very simple,” Groogel said. “The song won’t be played anymore.” News of the situation hit campus hard last night, with Twitter and Facebook statuses full of angry sentiments about the loss of the song, and many students expressing their discontent. “This absolutely sucks,” said Bob Roberts, a third-year pre-law student. “‘Sandstorm’ is the single greatest composition in the history of mankind, and for us to not be able to play it anymore, it just blows.” Katie Smith, a fi rst-year biology student, said she almost cried when she heard the news. “Dancing to ‘Sandstorm’ was one of the best things about going to games,” Smith said. “Now it’s gone.” As a result of the loss of the song, the athletic department is expected to announce a campus-wide vote for a new song to be played at sporting events in place of “Sandstorm.” A source inside the department said that the choices presented to students and faculty via Blackboard voting on VIP will be the Sugar Hill Gang’s “Apache,” Eric Prydz’s “Call on Me” and Earth, Wind and Fire’s “Let’s Groove Tonight.” When asked about the three rumored choices, many students expressed displeasure. “That’s a joke,” ninth-year sociolog y student Travis McFrater said. “We might as well start coming out to a damn Enya song if those are our choices.” Pastides is requesting that students and fans bear with the transition.
Chris, a.k.a. Honey, Keohane / THE GAILY DAMECOCK
Fans rock out to “Sandstorm,” Carolina’s unofficial fight song, during the Ole Miss game. “Obv iously, it’s going to be a tough thing for us to not be able to play the song anymore,” Pastides said. “But that being said, we need to realize that ‘Sandstorm’ is not what fuels our crowds. What fuels our crowds is the passion and love for the
Gamecocks that our University and Carolina community holds.”
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RUSSELL HOUSE WELCOMES BAR Second-floor renovation includes drinking spot, concert venue on campus Paris Hilton THAT’S HOT
Russell House Director Rebecca Apel has revealed plans for the second floor lobby construction space, which until now has remained a mystery to students. “We plan to reopen the Golden Spur, which has been closed since 1984,” she said. The Golden Spur, currently a billiard room, was once a restaurant and bar, but was closed down by the University after the federal mandate for states to raise their drinking age to 21. “We have been listening to what students say they want to see put there and decided that reopening the Golden Spur would be an opportunity to control student drinking and keep them out of bars downtown,” Apel said. “We plan to renovate the entire second floor lobby area to include a performance space, more lounge areas and a small restaurant.” The announcement has been met with criticism from the Board of Trustees, which view the re-opening of the Spur as a terrible mistake. “Underage students will have an increased access to alcohol if their friends can buy it for them right on campus,” said Walter Scott, a board member. “Having an open bar in the student union is only asking for trouble.” A lthough there are significant safet y and legal concerns surrounding this new decision, Apel has assured board members that preparations are being made to ensure student safety. “We will station police officers at the bar at all times to check IDs and ensure that students are not taking advantage of the new bar,” Apel said. Matt Albert, a first-year international business student, was ecstatic when he heard the news. “I hope they take meal plans,” he said. Apel said the re-opening of the Golden Spur is expected to lower the number of students who go downtown on weekends and in doing so will hopefully prevent students from being robbed late at night in Five Points. Although the plans are being announced now, the Golden Spur is not expected to be ready to open until next spring.
Keri, a.k.a. Herro, Goff / THE GAILY DAMECOCK
Five Points to start scanning IDs New system will crack down on underage drinking, forging of state-issued identification Ron Burgundy
CHANNEL 4 NEWS
Jeremy, a.k.a. Fave, Aaron / THE GAILY DAMECOCK
The Golden Spur bar will return to Russell. T he USC A mba s sador prog r a m is also displeased with the decision, and an anonymous member stated, “W hat will parents think when they find out that we serve alcohol at our Student Union? We are going to lose a lot of prospective students and earn a bad reputation among South Carolina universities.” Max Lasser, a fi rst-year political science student, agreed with the plans. “This is smartest decision that University executives have made since I’ve been here,” Lasser said. “This will really help ease stressed students who have been studying at the library all day and just want to go have a beer without walking very far.” Richard Jacocks, a fourth-year chemistry student , was upset that it took so long to re-open the Spur. “I wish this would have been open earlier,” Jacocks said. “It’s too bad that seniors won’t get to enjoy the convenient location of the bar.” The Golden Spur will feature student-run performance spaces for upcoming musical artists and enthusiasts. The new bar will also be student-only, so no student will be permitted access without their CarolinaCard. “Making this bar student-only will keep everyone safer, and will prevent predators from entering the premises,” Apel said.
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Effective Monday, April 5, The Bar and Pub Coalition of Five Points announced that all bar bouncers will be using card scanning machines to avoid the use of false identification from University of South Carolina students. The change is expected to dramatically affect the atmosphere and demographic of drinkers in Five Points. “Five Points is sick of underage students crowding bars on weekends,” said Captain Jack Morgan, president of the Bar and Pub Coalition. “Not only can bars get in huge amounts of trouble for not catching underage drinkers, but students are awful at tipping. Our employees can barely make rent from working all night without being rewarded.” Card scanning machines can not only recognize the issue date of an ID, but recognize IDs that have been illegally fabricated and bought from students who are underage. Primarily, liquor stores utilize card scanners at checkout, but it seemed like a no-brainer for the Bar and Pub Coalition to help fund the purchase of these machines for each and every bar downtown. “It was an expensive investment,” said Bailey Miller, owner of the bar Wasted Wednesdays. “However, the BPCFP helped supplement our purchase, and we did so well with our profits from St. Patrick’s Day sales that we had enough room in our budget to splurge.” Students are in an uproar about the changes. “The University of South Carolina and the City of Columbia are sucking all of the fun out of college life,” said Jack Daniels, a third-year economics student. “We don’t have house parties here at USC, so going to bars is the only thing we have. In my opinion, it will make the University suffer when kids decide to go to school somewhere else.” Nevertheless, the BPCFP knows that USC students are determined to find a way to cheat the system. There are IDs that can be illegally purchased that scan, but they will come with a steep price. “Many people I know are tempted to buy an ID that scans, even though they cost almost $150,” said second-year biology student Evan Williams. “Five Points needs to realize that we are going to go downtown, no matter what price.” Even some faculty members think this new change is unnecessary. Stella Artois, a professor from the department of languages, literatures and cultures, believes that having fun is crucial to having a successful college experience. “I am not condoning underage drinking, but an openness about responsible drinking is more effective than leading students to dodge around ridiculous rules,” she said. Many students are planning on having big bar crawls to get their liquor fi x before new scanning rules come into effect, like fourth-year English student Jose Cuervo. “This change is just a bump in the road,” Cuervo said. “Eventually students will be flocking to Five Points and hanging out at their favorite bars once again.” Comments on this story? E-mail youloveus@mailbox.sc.edu