2020 Archive

desktop with laptop and notepad describing

7 things to know in the fight against 'fake news'

December 03, 2020, Rebekah Friedman

If you’ve ever come across a story or image or video online and thought to yourself, “There’s no way this is real,” there’s a good chance you were right. Fake news is a growing threat, and advances in technology are making it harder to spot. Two researchers in the College of Information and Communications discuss what it is, how it works and what can be done to address it.

A photo grid with headshots of the 9 students featured in a gallery highlighting stories of student resilience throughout the pandemic.

'Campus Conversations' reveal student resilience

November 27, 2020, Caleigh McDaniel

Students have have faced many challenges due to COVID-19, and their stories of resilience have become prominent topics in our weekly "Campus Conversations." Check out these students who have adapted to and overcome obstacles brought on by the pandemic.

A collage of headshots of 4 Gamecock Guides: Antonia Adams, Nathan Strong, Lindy Linbaugh and Bradley Barker

Students serve as Gamecock Guides through social media content creations

October 01, 2020, Caleigh McDaniel

Gamecock Guides are newly hired student employees that will soon become familiar faces on UofSC social media channels. The guides are working to create content that will amplify university messages, build virtual relationships that engage fellow students and serve as representatives of UofSC.

UofSC alumna Leeza Gibbons reads a story on video for Cocky's Reading Express

Bird watching: UofSC literacy efforts go virtual during COVID-19

August 26, 2020, Rebekah Friedman

COVID-19 has meant putting a hold on in-person programming, but Cocky’s Reading Express hasn’t stopped – it’s gone online. Since April, its Virtual Storytime YouTube playlist has featured a line-up of guest readers, including former mascots, Miss Gamecock 2020, and even famed talk show host and University of South Carolina alumna Leeza Gibbons.

book covers including the graphic novel Maus

Graphic novels help teens learn about racism, social justice and climate change

June 12, 2020, Karen Gavigan

Because the combination of text and images in graphic novels can communicate issues and emotions that words alone often cannot, more educators and parents are finding them to be effective tools for tackling tough issues with kids. In early March, information science professor Karen Gavin shared a collection of books for The Conversation, including some that can educate children about racism and other forms of bigotry.

Paige Fallon

The study abroad experience that, ultimately, helped save a life

May 28, 2020, Chris Horn

This past spring semester, Paige Fallon began a study abroad experience in Europe, then got sick with COVID-19 and ended up in quarantine back home in Ohio. But the rising senior made the most of her experience after recovering from the virus that has killed some 350,000 worldwide — she helped save a life.

librarian with students at Wren High School

Passion for their profession lands SC librarians on Movers & Shakers list

May 26, 2020, Carol J.G. Ward

Having an impact on their students and communities, being more inclusive for underserved populations and encouraging a lifelong love of reading and learning are passions shared by three alumnae of the University of South Carolina’s School of Information Science who have been recognized as 2020 Movers & Shakers by Library Journal.

Public relations major Sarah Massengale

Public relations graduate paves a path toward accessibility

May 18, 2020, Rebekah Friedman

Ask anyone who knows Sarah Massengale to describe her in a word and they might say she’s brazen. Or fearless. Or even stubborn. What they won’t tell you — at least not at first — is that she’s blind. The public relations major is applying her communications knowledge and personal experience by helping the university with its widescale effort to address its digital accessibility.

archival image of student protests in May 1970

50 years of May

April 27, 2020, Craig Brandhorst

A half century ago, against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and seismic shifts in American culture, the campus of the University of South Carolina became a battleground — between students and the administration, between a young generation and the establishment, between radically different worldviews. But the dramatic events of that spring, which came to be known as The Months of May, weren’t strictly destructive. The lessons of that era also changed lives and changed the university itself.

UofSC faculty experts on coronavirus

March 17, 2020, Carol J.G. Ward

The University of South Carolina’s Office of Communications and Public Affairs has compiled a list of faculty experts who can discuss topics relevant to the coronavirus pandemic.

AI Institute

Intelligence, all over campus

March 05, 2020, Megan Sexton

While artificial intelligence research and programs are growing around the country, the University of South Carolina’s AI Institute is among the first in the Southeast to include diverse colleges and departments.