USC may change freshman orientation
In the wake of the arrests of several high-profile freshman athletes, South Carolina athletics director Eric Hyman told a university committee Tuesday he wants to change the orientation program for new athletes.
Speaking to the university athletics advisory committee, Hyman said the recent arrests of quarterback Stephen Garcia and baseball players Lonnie Chisenhall and Nick Fuller forced him to re-think the way the athletics department tries to help its athletes make the transition from high school to college.
“We do have an orientation program,” Hyman said. “But I’m going to change the orientation program because somehow, some way, we missed that connection.”
While declining to offer specific details, Hyman said he is going to try a “different approach” to the program, during which athletes watch a skit, listen to speakers from the compliance office and academic departments, and sign a student-athlete responsibility statement.
“In my mind, I already know what I’m going to do to try to maybe get the message across,” Hyman said. “Even if I do what I do, we still may not be successful.”
On an unrelated topic, Hyman said USC has most of the funding in place for the $11.5 million academic enrichment center, the first phase of Hyman’s facilities plan. Hyman said he hopes construction will begin on the academic building next summer, with completion tentatively set for the fall of 2009.
See more at www.myrtlebeachonline.com
