Students Seek Political Opportunities as Primaries Approach
By: Brian Davis
Students representing different political persuasions have started to use the January primaries to pursue unique political opportunities – one-candidate organizations, work with presidential campaigns, and creating websites that organize every candidate’s positions.
“It’s kind of wild, you never thought you’d be able to just go up and shake hands with all them – like Brownback I’ve met, Romney. I’m just a farm boy,” said Glen Wieger, a graduate engineering student and an employee of Rudy Giuliani’s South Carolina campaign.
Wieger also helped begin the Gamecocks for Rudy – a one-candidate student organization – just over a week ago. He explained that the group is to support Giuliani’s issues, provide students with campaign opportunities, and to have fun.
Meanwhile, students at Harvard University started their own path – a website to help people decide which of these organizations to join.
“Our site is there to help people decide which candidate is best for them, and then we hope that people will get engaged in the election and support that candidate,” said Will Ruben, Founder and CEO of VoteGopher.com.
Ruben thought of the idea last school year, recruited some friends, and built the site over the summer. The site went public just over two weeks ago. Since then, Ruben’s already received a write-up from The New York Times. (https://web.mail.sc.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/19/vote-gopher-student-web-site/

Ruben said one-candidate organizations are the place to support a candidate, but not to decide on one.
“Even if it weren’t slanted, it would be narrowly focused,” said Smith, of one-candidate organizations’ commentaries on the elections.
One-candidate organizations may also benefit because the CD and CR are often prohibited from supporting a particular candidate. USC has a policy that prohibits the College Democrats and College Republicans from endorsing any one candidate, according to CR Vice Chairman Cody Garrison.
“Everybody has a candidate they like. The president likes somebody. I like somebody. [But] We can’t officially as a group,” Garrison said.
College Democrats President Annie Boiter-Jolley said the group will not support a particular candidate in the primaries, but will support the nominated candidate.
The campus chapters may also be advised to not support a candidate because the national organization is classified as a “527 organization,” according to Charlie Smith, College Republicans National Committee Chairman. These organizations are tax-exempt and can collect as much money as possible from individuals or corporations, but cannot coordinate events with a campaign, Smith said. Smith asks his 1800 campus chapters to remain neutral in election times as a result.
Some say because of this restriction, students join CR or CD to embrace party issues, but also join one-candidate organizations to promote their specific attributes.
“When they’re in our organization they’re expressing they’re a general supporter of republican, conservative principles,” said Smith, who finished, “It [a one-candidate organization] allows them to go specifically support a specific candidate because of the forward-looking ideas that they have, or because that they think that their personality or policy is attractive.”
Despite the freedoms of some groups and restrictions on others, students say that all the groups are useful and should get along.
“I don’t think it shouldn’t be separation [between groups],” said Wieger, of campaigning alongside Hillary Clinton campaigners at a recent collard greens festival. “I think it should be go out there, make your points, and then be able to have a beer with the other person at the end of the day.”

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Different Perks for On-Campus and Off-Campus Shuttle Services

By: Brian Davis

Carolina Shuttle transports an average of 5,000 people around campus each day – but it does not take everyone. Copper Beech Townhomes Communities, LLC has an off-campus “touché`” to the campus system – making fewer stops on campus, but carting its residents to Five Points on the weekends.

USC’s system operates 10 buses that hold 30 – 40 students and drive students around campus from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m, then resume for the Evening shuttle from 6 p.m. to 12:30 a.m, according to Nelson Newbill, Operations Manager of Carolina Shuttle and Special Events.

The on-campus system offers six different daytime routes that span most of campus - including the Greek Village, Pendleton Street Parking Garage, near the edge of Five Points, Bates House and the John E. Swearingen Engineering Center.

“It’s good for everybody,” said Newbill, who later continued, “It saves them time in trying to find a parking space on campus.”

Meter parking spots are rarely available on campus during midday. USC checks its meters from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and checks 15-minute meters – signified by red paint – from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day. Nelson says students will make it to class on time if they use a USC parking facility and expect to wait up to 10 to 15 minutes for a shuttle.

Copper Beech decided to offer a shuttle when it first purchased the property. The shuttle leaves Copper Beech at the top of each hour and drops students at the Swearingen Center, the Horseshoe, and the Williams-Brice nursing building from 7 a.m. to around 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

IN THE WEE HOURS

The Copper Beech shuttle accrued campus buzz and coverage from The Daily Gamecock when students discovered it would offer late-night service to Five Points – the first housing community to do so.

“It’s a perfect opportunity, you know, because a lot of people of course, don’t want to drink and drive,” said Shantel Riddle, Property Manager at Copper Beech, who continued about drunk driving, “Some people think ‘Oh no, I’m fine to do it,’ You know, and it [the shuttle] kind of stops them from even thinking about that.”

The bus runs from 10:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. and it leaves the community every 45 minutes - or when the bus fills up. The stop is outside Sharky’s on Harden Street in Five Points.

Five Points shuttles also help students to avoid parking issues.

“Not only is it difficult to park [in Five Points], but you end up parking too far away from where the safe areas are,” Linaberry said.

USC’s shuttle runs at night from 6 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. The night shuttle covers most of campus – from the Coliseum to Capstone House. Newbill said the night operation is to ensure safety on campus.

“[We] Try to eliminate the walking as much as possible – at night,” said Newbill, who focused on safety as the Evening shuttle’s main purpose.

While the shuttle covers most of campus at night, it does not go further than Capstone toward Five Points.

“Five Points is a wild little place to hang out in, you don’t want to kind of, bring students back on campus rowdy and all that,” said Newbill, who said he has seen the Copper Beech shuttle but does not know much about it.

Has the university discussed sending the shuttle to Five Points at night?

“We discussed it - but see that’s a lot of drinking, you have police on bus, that’s really not a good issue for us,” said Newbill, who also said he has not considered running the shuttle past 12:30 a.m.

Linaberry explained some similar discussions with more detail

BUSINESS SUPPORT AND THE FUTURE

USC Student Government President Nicholas Payne has discussed a campus shuttle to Five Points with Linaberry, USC officials, Budweiser and the City of Columbia, according to Linaberry. He also said he is unsure how much progress Payne made, but that he would offer “financial or logistical” support to this service as well.

Reporter’s deadline prevented further investigation into Payne’s plan and a potential alteration of the story.

It has always been Linaberry’s policy to pay for rides homes in his years at Five Points bars.

“I bet I have not paid out more than $1,000 in those 14 years for cab rides – and that’s pretty pathetic,” said Linaberry, who also offered to pay Copper Beech some residual funding for its shuttle, which brings eight to 15 students to his bar each stop.

“You know, it’s gonna’ cost money, it’s gonna’ take some effort, but in the long run, there are way more pros to the thing than cons,” Linaberry said. “Safety is probably the No. 1 pro and you just can’t really put a dollar amount on that.”

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