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SCSU board OKs accepting bingo-derived donations

Despite some misgivings, the South Carolina State University Board of Trustees has agreed to accept up to $2 million a year from the Catawba Indian Nation.

The donation is conditional on the tribe developing a bingo operation in Santee that is federally regulated as a Class 2 gaming facility under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

"This is not an endorsement of the (bingo hall) itself. ... We support a partnership that will bring us $2 million a year," board Chairman Maurice Washington said before Thursday's vote.

A spokesman for the Catawbas said the money would be provided to assist SCSU in implementing research and academic study of tourism throughout the state, with a focus on tourism initiatives in the Orangeburg region.

Washington said the donations would be "discretionary" rather than "stipulated," allowing university officials to spend the money any way they saw fit.

But common sense dictates that the university would show "sensitivity" to the donors' wishes for how the money should be spent, Washington said.

Trustee Marsha Scott Smith asked about news reports earlier in the week saying a variety of state and federal officials, including Gov. Mark Sanford and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have deep concerns about the Catawbas' request for IGRA status.

In reply, Washington said Graham had written a letter expressing his support for the Catawbas' request and referencing the governor's support as well.

Washington said government officials and tribal officials are working on resolving some issues related to the Catawbas' request.

The two main issues seem to be federal vs. state control over the gaming operation and the best way to prevent the Catawbas from expanding into full-fledged casino operations in Santee.

Trustee John Williams made the motion to approve the strategic economic and academic partnership with the Catawba Indian Nation. It was approved on a voice vote, with several "ayes" and no "nays."

During public comment time later in the 4.5-hour meeting, Darrell Wilkins of North accused the trustees of accepting "blood money" from people who are "basically blackmailing our government."

"I am opposed to gambling purely from a moral standpoint," said Wilkins, who is pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Orangeburg.

"Bingo sounds harmless" but the Catawbas plan to offer "700 video poker-like machines in that" gaming facility on the outskirts of Santee, Wilkins said.

Any organization that is willing to give SCSU up to $20 million over the next 10 years is "planning on making a lot of money," Wilkins said.

They are "going to fleece the poor. It is a tax on poor people. It's blood money," Wilkins said, adding that people will gamble away the money they could use for higher education.

Wilkins noted that the South Carolina Education Lottery has not made more state money available for higher education, as its promoters had promised.

"Since we've had the Education Lottery, we've had the largest cuts in educational expenditures," he said.

Wilkins asked the SCSU trustees to reconsider accepting the money and "set a higher standard."

The board declined, but trustee Arnold Collins spoke of his conflicting emotions.

"My heart is pricked" by Wilkins' plea, Collins said, but "my school is suffering because we can't get revenue."

Collins said he has never expected the state Legislature to provide S.C. State with the same level of support as Clemson or the University of South Carolina, but is it too much to ask for "a reasonable portion of fairness"?

The state Education Lottery is "bankrupting" historically African-American institutions, Collins said. People of color "spend the most on lottery tickets," he said, but "the money goes to other schools."

"I'd challenge the state, give us $2 million more and I'd say let's reconsider" accepting the bingo revenues, Collins said.

While "two wrongs do not make a right," the university has to get money wherever it can, Collins said, and the Catawbas are "an organization helping us in time of budget cuts."

This is not the first time the university has entered into a financially lucrative partnership with a potentially controversial entity.

For instance, anti-nuclear activists would not be pleased with SCSU's nuclear engineering program or its longtime affiliation with Westinghouse Savannah River Site and the U.S. Department of Energy.

And a group like Parents Advocating School Accountability, which encourages schools to ban soft drink sales and promote healthy foods and beverages, would decry SCSU's lucrative "pouring rights" agreement with Coca-Cola.

The Orangeburg County Council, the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce and the Santee Town Council are among the groups that have endorsed the Catawbas' initiative, citing anticipated economic benefits.

In another bingo-related development, the Catawba Indian Nation reached a settlement with the South Carolina Department of Revenue on Wednesday.

An agency audit found the Catawbas owed $6,345 in taxes, penalty and interest for 2000 and 2001. While disagreeing with the audit findings, the tribe agreed to settle the dispute to end legal action, said Jay Bender, attorney for the Catawba Indian Nation.

The tribe also agreed to pay $3,000 in fines for bookkeeping violations.

"It's clear that some of the technical regulatory requirements for record-keeping and segregation of funds into particular accounts was not satisfied," Bender said. "The tribe will take steps to make sure that doesn't happen again."

T&D Staff Writer Lee Hendren can be reached by e-mail at lhendren@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5552.