Welcome back, USC students
Classes at the University of South Carolina may start Aug. 20, but there’s plenty to learn before that.
New dorms. New places to eat. New places to go out.
And plenty more.
So to help you get oriented, we’ve put together a sampling of new things to look for on and off-campus.
Let’s get started.
ON CAMPUS
Academic buildings debut
USC opened a trio of new and renovated buildings this year.
The School of Journalism and Mass Communications moved from the basement of the Carolina Coliseum to the former Health Sciences building near the Horseshoe. The $25 million project features a broadcast studio and control room to produce a daily news show.
Hamilton College has reopened as home for the College of Social Work after a $15 million renovation of the 74-year-old building at Pendleton and Pickens streets. The work included building a full second floor over what was a gymnasium.
USC opened a $26.4 million alumni center near the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in the Vista. The My Carolina Alumni Association hopes to attract upperclassmen with career and life-skill activities.
Confederate flag removal aids athletics
The Confederate flag’s removal from the front of the State House in July allows the Gamecocks to bid for NCAA basketball tournaments.
The S.C. General Assembly voted to take down the Civil War icon in the wake of the June shooting deaths of a pastor and eight of his parishioners at a historic African-American church in Charleston. USC leaders joined calls for the flag’s removal.
The NCAA lifted its ban on South Carolina colleges, including USC, from hosting NCAA athletic tournaments planned in advance. It should be noted that the Gamecocks and other S.C. schools could host events based on the teams’ season performances, such as baseball regionals and opening rounds of the women’s basketball tournament.
Williams-Brice adds plaza, statue
The walk around Williams-Brice Stadium will be more pleasant.
USC has turned the asphalt parking lot around the football stadium into a Horseshoe design-inspired brick plaza with trees and grassy patches.
No more weaving around parked cars to get to the stadium gates. The plaza’s design mimics the Horseshoe and the Gamecock Park tailgating area across Bluff Road from the stadium.
The plaza will include a statue to George Rogers, the Gamecocks’ only Heisman Trophy winner.
The plaza is named for school benefactor Tami Springs Brooks, widow of the chairman of the Hooters restaurant chain.
Horseshoe gets a makeover
The Horseshoe, the chief landmark of the USC campus, underwent a summer makeover.
The school added new shade- and foot traffic-friendly sod, four oak trees and a brick walkway.
The school also repaired brick walls bordering the Horseshoe and cleaned the President’s House and Maxcy Monument, which was designed by the architect of the Washington Monument.
Renovations continue to the residence halls in the Horsehoe’s Rutledge College, the campus’ oldest building.
New dorm with a twist opens
A new dorm will open on campus, 650 Lincoln, though it’s run in partnership with a private developer, Holder Properties of Atlanta.
The dorm, the first of two going behind the Carolina Coliseum and Moore School of Business on Lincoln Street, will have 581 beds.
More than 250 Gamecock athletes will live in the new dorm, which has rooms offered for rent like other private apartment complexes surrounding the campus.
The dorm will have four eateries open to the public – including the Community Table, which will be open 24 hours and feature a large table made from a Horseshoe oak tree. The other eateries include a smoothie shop, coffee stand and Southwestern grill.
OFF CAMPUS
Private student housing
In addition to 650Lincoln, three new private housing complexes geared toward students are opening on Pulaski Street and in Olympia.
▪ Greene Crossing, 708 Pulaski St., is a project with 727 beds, leased monthly by the bed. It is owned by Edwards Development of Columbus, Ohio. Its floor plans, from studio to four bedrooms, range from $685-$995 per bed per month.
▪ Pulaski Square, 900 Pulaski St., is a market rate apartment complex open to everyone but geared to students. Developed by Woda Construction of Columbus, Ohio, the apartments are leased not by bed, but by unit. Floor plans are three bedrooms only. Monthly leases are $1,980 or $2,175 per unit.
▪ 612 Whaley, is also a market rate apartment complex that is open to everyone but convenient for students. It is at 612 Whaley St. in Olympia, in front of the Olympia and Granby Mills. Developed by PMC Property Group of Philadelphia, it has 181 beds in one- and two-bedroom apartments that rent for $995 or $1,700 per unit per month.
Mopeds, anyone?
Columbia has a new way to get around.
A private company, Scootaway, is renting mopeds for $2.99 a half-hour by Smartphone app at 30 commuter-friendly locations around the city.
As with a bike exchange, a scooter may be picked up at one location and returned to a different location. The company has plans for rapid expansion: 50 mopeds are expected to swell to a fleet of 150.
There are locations in the Vista, Main Street, Five Points and around the USC campus.
Lessons are offered each Sunday from 1-6 p.m. at the Fieldhouse, 936 Stadium Drive, from The Loose Cockaboose. The company is co-owned by Mike Campbell, former candidate for lieutenant governor and son of the late Gov. Carroll Campbell.
Park by smart phone
The Smartphone app PassportParking was introduced two weeks ago by the city of Columbia. It allows you to feed parking meters without actually feeding a meter.
It’s simple: You download the PassportParking app and create an account and PIN. You register your car’s license plate number – or, multiple plates – and credit or debit card information.
Then, when you park at almost any of the city’s more than 4,300 parking meters, open the app and enter what’s called the “zone number,” which is found on each meter. Then use the app to add the desired amount of time to your meter, up to the maximum time allowed for that space – 30 minutes, two hours or five hours.
You can program the settings on your app to have it send you a reminder when the time on your meter is about to expire. A caveat: You’ll pay a convenience fee.
New businesses
A variety of businesses have opened over the past few months near USC and in surrounding areas, including Five Points, Main Street and the Vista. Here, a smalling sampling:
Hair styling: Rock Paper Scissors Salon & Spa, 625 Harden St.
Juice bar: Southern Squeezed, 1135 Lady St.
Restaurants: Chinese Cuisine and Thai, 2431 Main St.; Coconuts Tropical Cafe, 1710 Main St.; Panera Bread, 933 Gervais St.
Grocery store: Sav-A-Lot, 2016 Harden St.
Hotel: Hyatt Place, 819 Gervais St.
Fitness: Masala on Main yoga studio, 1604 Main St.
Be entertained
Jump right back into the Columbia groove with live music. There are any number of events and places to enjoy it. Here, three ideas:
Arts and Draughts, Friday: The quarterly celebration at the Columbia Musuem of Art offers more than just art and beer. Four live bands will play: Say Brother, The Mustache Brothers, Bologna Eyes and Jade Janay Blocker.
FOLKFabulous, Aug. 22: This free (woo!) festival at the McKissick Museum on USC’s Horseshoe celebrates traditional music and instruments, with performances by “Blues Doctor” Drink Small, Mill Billy Blues with Freddie Vanderford, Minister Jarell Smalls, Palmetto Blue, El-Shaddai Ambassador’s Chair and Grupo Frenesi Digital.
Music Farm: OK, it’s not quite new. But the Vista venue has brought tons of energy to the capital city’s music scene. A packed line-up over the next few weeks includes Corey Smith (Aug. 26), Freeway Music Festival (Aug. 29) and Moon Taxi (Sept. 26).
Contributing writers: Roddie Burris, Sarah Ellis, Erin Shaw, Jeff Wilkinson
This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 6:44 PM with the headline "Welcome back, USC students."