dailygamecock.com VOL. 111, NO. 17 l SINCE 1908
MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2018
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Ambulance called to Student Government Fall Awards NICOLE DEBARTOLO // THE GAMECOCK
MEGHAN CRUM @megcrum24 The Universit y of South Carolina’s Student Government Fall Awards at City Art ended early with an ambulance being called for an attendee on Thursday, a City Art employee said. T he e vent ended when a st udent vomited in t he bat hroom, according to the employee, who asked to remain anonymous. “There was a young man who locked himself in the front bathroom, and the door was broken down,” the employee said. “There was vom it all over t he bathroom and somebody had called an ambulance.” On ly st udent leaders received invitations to the event, but fourth-year political science student Jordan Wayburn attended as an invitee’s date. Wayburn, who penned a letter to the editor to The Daily Gamecock about his experience, said he and his date were
standing on the side of the room when a girl ran by telling them to move out of the way. “Then someone f rom St udent Government came by covered in vomit and was hauled out the door, basically incoherent. I was concerned,” Wayburn said. “We started to leave and I literally slipped on more vom it on t he f loor [where] someone else had thrown up, who was then also taken outside, and who I didn’t see, but my friend saw puking again.” Wayburn said his friends called for an ambulance, but one had already been called by the time they did. “The person that had been escorted out was on the ground largely incoherent, mumbling, barely able to answer. I don’t think he was able to answer any of the questions they were trying to ask him to make sure he was okay,” Wayburn said. “I left after telling them that he probably needed to go get an ambulance.” Prior to the event, Student Body Vice President Mills Hayes said there would be no alcohol at the event. Wayburn said he did not see any alcohol.
The Daily Gamecock has not been informed of the student’s condition. “I went to check on the guy that had been dragged out and he said he was fine and that they were working on it,” Wayburn said. “I haven’t heard anything. I’m assuming they’re fine or I would have heard worse.” The employee said the venue would no longer rent out its space for college student organizations. “It’s very scary and very unnecessary,” the employee said. “I told them if there was any problem at all just to clear the part y out. A nd when an ambulance is sitting outside, that’s too much.” The event was part ially f unded by money allocated to Student Government operations by the Department of Student Life and bound by a contract between the venue and USC. The signature on the contract was that of J. Cantey Heath Jr., secretary of the university and the Board of Trustees. H a y e s , w ho le d t he Fa l l Aw a rd s planning, declined to comment in regard to the ambulance.
Student Government overspends on Fall Awards event again
Student Senate discusses pizza, parody bill in session
MEGHAN CRUM @megcrum24
HANNAH DEAR @HannahCDear During t ime desig nated for int roducing, debating and passing new legislation, members of the Student Senate held two separate discussions concerning pineapple on pizza and the introduction of a parody bill. At the Nov. 28 session of the Student Senate, Kevin Boyd, chair of the Student Services Committee, introduced senate bill 58. This bill included items such as allowing the chairman of the Student Services Committee to declare war on media outlets, countries and other universities, and forcing all members of Student Government to laugh at the chairman’s jokes. “It is any senator’s right to put up any piece of legislation they see fit,” said Patrick Ellis, Speaker of the Student Senate. “However, I think it’s very important that we put up legislation that is serious [and] decorous.” Boyd said this bill is a parody bill addressing the dangers of flawed democracy and autocracy and that his statements in the bill directly reflect problems he sees in the world today. “I think satire is a very important form of criticism, and I stand fully behind that claim in all circumstances, whether it be a Twitter account, whether it be a piece of literature or whether it be a piece of legislation that’s not at all meant to be passed in the first place,” Boyd said. Senate bill 58 was tabled immediately after Boyd motioned to bring it to the floor for discussion. “I would say that we are an extremely professional body,” said Patrick Greene, vice chairman of the judiciary committee. “As you saw, 58 was written but we never ended up actually talking about it. It was tabled because of the professionalism aspect.” Boyd believed the Student Senate understood senate bill 58 to be a parody bill full of satirical commentary but that they tabled the bill indefinitely because they
did not want to discuss it. “Obviously it was meant to be a joke bill, however I do not think tabling a bill on the first reading calendar based on its content was ... why we have those parliamentary procedures,” Boyd said, “and I think doing so is a manipulation of parliamentary procedures.” A ny senator is allowed to bring any piece of legislation to the floor for discussion, according to parliamentary procedure. “We’ve got accountability and we’re looking at what our senators are doing and the type of legislation they’re putting up,” Ellis said. “I think it is important to kinda notice what happened to the bill. It, for parliamentary procedure, is immediately tabled indefinitely, before even discussed.” During open discussion at the end of Senate session, Greene mentioned an earlier conversation about whether pineapple should be allowed on pizza. “And I think often times we are, as a Student Senate, criticized for being so cold and not being personable enough, so I think that was an excellent opportunity for us to show our humanity,” Greene said. “We do keep that level of professionalism all the time as you can see with a lot of the bills and stuff that we’ve passed and the change that we’ve been able to inflict this year.”
Student Government overspent its budget for the Student Government Fall Awards on Nov. 29 by $97. Student Body Vice President Mills Hayes expects the extra cost to be covered by funds from the New Initiative Fund, which are funds set aside for new Student Government programs after the budget is finalized. “Technically, actually it is a new initiative because this is the first time we’ve made it an awards ceremony, so it is a new initiative,” Hayes said. In order for money to come out of the New Initiative Fund, a request has to be made to and approved by the Student Senate. St udent G over n ment encou ntered a sim ilar issue w it h it s “cof fee w it h the president” event. According to the organization’s fiscal records, executive officers requested $6.88 from the New Initiative Fund to pay for overage from the event. The document lists the reason for the overage as an incorrect original quote from Horseshoe Catering. The total cost of the Student Government Fall Awards was $3,568. Attendee donations covered some of it, but $2,350 of it came out of the organization’s operation fund, which is built with Student Activity fees. “It is easier to go over than under, because if we went under, we can’t keep those people’s money, like the donation stuff,” Hayes said.
SEE SENATE
SEE BUDGET
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