As of Oct. 13, the student senate has $152,014.22 left to allocate to student organizations.
dailygamecock.com MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2019
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
‘HOW ‘BOUT THEM GAMECOCKS’ See Page 9
SINCE 1908
VOL. 113, NO. 9
Board of trustees under review GENNA CONTINO Editor-in-Chief What is accreditation? Accreditation is a status given to universities and colleges by an accrediting agency that shows a school has reached a high level of standards. When schools are accredited, their quality of education is trusted by employers and students. It also lets USC apply for federal funds. Who accredited USC? Sout hern A ssociat ion of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) accredited the University of South Carolina in 2011. “The Universit y of South Carolina Communit y views the SACSCOC requirements and standards not as isolated mandates from an accrediting agency, but more as best practices developed over the years by institutional representatives from our region. Our goal is to embrace these best practices and use them to guide our policies and plans,” the university website reads. SACSCOC is t he regional accredit ing body in A labama, Florida, Georgia, Kent uck y, Louisiana, M i s s i s s ippi , Nor t h C a rol i n a , S out h C a rol i n a , Ten nessee, Texas, V i rg i n ia a nd Lat i n A mer ica, according to its website. What’s happening at USC? According to The State, SACSCOC does not allow “external” forces to interfere with USC’s board of trustees. This summer, Gov. Henry McMaster inf luenced the board to vote on current university President Bob Caslen. Due to state law, McMaster is an ex officio chairman of the board. If McMaster used government power to influence the search rather than his position as a board member, it would be “external” influence. Last week, SACSCOC decided to conduct a formal review into the mid-July selection of Caslen. SACSCOC President Belle Wheelan sent a letter to Caslen and board chairman John von Lehe to inform them of the commission’s review of possible “undue influence” in the selection process. “The SACSCOC Board of Trustees will review possible non-compliance issues with our Standards at their December board meeting,” Wheelan said in an email to The Daily Gamecock.
SHREYAS SABOO // THE GAMECOCK
South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp hugs sophomore defensive back Jacyee Horn after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs 20-17 with a field goal in double overtime at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 12.
SEE ACCREDITATION PAGE 2
Potential student Student makes stand for orgs struggle to Jewish holiday absences get approval JOSEPH LEONARD Senior News Writer B e c om i n g a s t ude nt organization on campus requires organizations to have 10 members prior to acceptance, a constitution, a structure and more leading some students to struggle to get their organizations approved. The most common reason for rejection of new student organizations is the constitution and the specific clauses required to qualify, according to the Leadership and Ser vice Center. These standard requirements include the non-discrimination policy,
the hazing policy or officer requirements. “These are really f o u n d a t i o n a l t o y ’a l l being successful and for you all to be successful on our campus,” said Ryan Patterson, assistant director of t he Leader sh ip a nd Service Center. Third-year v isual communications student Qhira Bonds said one of the biggest problems for her organization is thoroughly reading t hrough t he requirements and making sure they pay attention to the specific requirements. SEE STUDENT ORGS PAGE 3
MADYN COAKLEY News Writer
Reilly Biller said she decided to go to USC because of the Carolinian Creed, which asks students to respect the dignity and rights of others while discouraging bigotry and striving to learn from differences in people, ideas and opinions. T h e d i v e r s it y o f c a m p u s l i f e w a s a key motivator in the third-year broadcast journalism student’s decision to attend USC as she intended on continuing her Jewish faith TYLER NYE // THE GAMECOCK and the observance of its holidays. One such Third-year broadcast journalism student Reilly Biller speaks holiday is the celebration of Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement, during which Jews fast, out about a professor’s attendance policy that did not excuse Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday. abstain from work and spend time with family. This year, Yom Kippur falls on Oct. 8 and excused despite it being a legitimate reason 9. Biller said she gave a few weeks’ notice to for class excusal listed within the university’s professor Patricia Davis, saying she wouldn’t be Undergraduate Academic Regulations bulletin. in class one of these days in order to be with her family as they broke fast. SEE ABSENCES Biller said she was great ly taken aback PAGE 3 when Davis told her the absence would not be
Students say commuting affects involvement HALEY CAPPS News Writer Some students who commute from off-campus residences said they do not have the same opportunities to participate in campus life as those who are just a short walk from campus events. Monica Williams, a third-year public relations student, lives at Riverside Apartments, which is about a sevenminute drive from campus. Williams finds it especially hard to keep up her oncampus involvement while still relying on shuttles for transportation between her apartment and the USC campus. “When I have to rely on a shuttle, it makes it hard because I’m on the shuttle’s time, so it’s like I’m only going to be on
Jade Watford
Monica Williams
campus for the allotted time that my shuttle is basically going to allow me to be on campus,” Williams said. According to Williams, the shuttle makes stops at certain pick-up locations every half hour.
Jade Watford, a first-year experimental psycholog y student, lives about 10 minutes away from campus with her family and said she also thinks it can be an inconvenience to commute back for on-campus events.
Natalie Monzavifar
ALL PHOTOS: HALEY CAPPS // THE GAMECOCK
SEE COMMUTERS PAGE 4