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The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with a Delhi high court’s interim order permitting the St Stephen’s college to conduct interview for the 50% minority quota seats and said that any order passed at this stage will be “too late” and result in “uncertainty” among students.

The high court order passed on July 21 was challenged before the top court in two separate petitions filed by the Delhi University and the university grants commission (UGC). Dismissing the two petitions, a bench of justices AS Bopanna and PS Narasimha said, “Taking note that the order passed is an interim order and the high court has made admission subject to the final outcome of the writ petition, we see no reason to interfere at this stage.”

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This is the second year that the high court permitted the college to fill up the 50% Christian quota seats by giving 15% weightage to interviews. The college had approached the high court challenging a December 30 notification issued by the DU directing all admissions under the minority quota to be filled up solely on the basis of the common university entrance test (CUET) scores. The top court order told the high court, “Considering there should be certainty in the matter, we request the high court to decide (the petition) as expeditiously as possible.”

The Delhi University represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Court that the last date for close of admissions is August 31 and the college should not be permitted to proceed forward with the interviews. Defending the December 30 notification, Mehta said, “Last year, the college was allowed to give 15% weightage to interview. This year, we insisted they can select only meritorious students based on CUET scores against the minority seats. Due to the HC order, meritorious candidates are being left out.”

The college represented by senior advocate A Mariarputham and advocate Romy Chacko said that the admission process for this academic year is over. The senior counsel stated that the admission was not “unilateral” as the University was supplied the final list of students admitted under Christian quota. The list was approved and the University sent email to students for paying fees.

The bench told Mehta, “It will be unfair to students to interfere at this stage. There will be uncertainty among student community.” Pointing out the fact that the University has endorsed the admissions, the bench said, “You have written to the students to pay fees and the letter does not say the admission will be subject to the order (of high court). You are a little late to approach us.”

Mehta told the Court that the University was bound to process the admissions or else there will be contempt of the HC order. The Court said, “The HC order is of July 21 and one month has passed. You should have approached us before. The 15% weightage is an issue you will have to argue before the high court.”

The bench wished to know during the hearing if any meritorious students had approached the Court complaining against the interview process. Senior advocate Arun Bhardwaj appearing for a Christian candidate said that a petition is in the process of being filed as the petitioner atttended the interview but did not get admission. The solicitor general told the Court that it is only a matter of opening a small window for such candidates.

“Stephens is a prime college where admission cut offs end at 98-99 %. If a window is provided, the admission process can be over within a day,” Mehta said.

The bench maintained its stand and said, “At this stage there will be more confusion if we interfere as some students would have already been interviewed. It could happen next year. As per the interim order, let admissions go on.

On Friday, when the matter came up for hearing in the top court, Mehta claimed that the seats filled up through interview have virtually become “payment seats” to which the college had objected.

The college had approached the HC challenging a December 8 order passed by the DU executive council to the effect that even in respect of 50% minority quota seats, admission should solely be on the basis of CUET scores and no interview or addition of 15% marks for interview will be permitted. This led to the December 30 notification.

The HC in its July 21 order said, “A prima facie case has been made out that the petitioner will suffer an irreparable loss if interim relief is not granted at this juncture. The balance of convenience also lies in favour of the petitioner.”

The college claimed that over the years, it has been making admissions to undergraduate courses by earmarking 15% weightage for personal interaction or interview. Last year, with the introduction of CUET, the college had to admit students to its general category seats solely on CUET scores as the top court had in October 2022 refused to stay the HC order.

Last year too, when the controversy over CUET being applicable to minority quota seats arose, the HC had on September 9, 2022 permitted St Stephen’s to conduct interview for Christian students. Relying on this order, the HC extended the benefit to the college for this year too.

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – (Thursday, September 15, 2022) – At its meeting on Monday, September 12, 2022, Berkeley County Council approved a $500,000 EPA Brownfields Assessment grant to help fund a large-scale revitalization initiative to greatly improve quality of life opportunities in the St. Stephen/Russellville area. Watch the full Council meeting HERE.

This grant, part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Community Wide Assessment Grant Program, will help fund environmental assessments on properties located within a certain designated Census Tract in the St. Stephen area. With the help of community and residential input, the Town of St. Stephen—together with the EPA and Berkeley County Economic Development—will conduct up to 15 site inventories of brownfield sites, in the St. Stephen area, that could be redeveloped to provide more job opportunities and other quality of life resources for the community.

The grant has already identified two such sites: the former St. Stephen High School, which closed in 1996, and the area’s former Lumber Mill, which operated as a steam-powered lumber mill from the 1930s to mid-1960s and closed around 1970. Another goal of this large-scale initiative will be to develop a complete revitalization plan unique to St. Stephen.

Public meetings and community engagement will be critical throughout this process. More information on public meetings will be forthcoming.

“County Council is committed to improving access to resources and employment opportunities for people throughout Berkeley County. This grant will not only help fund these initiatives, but also ensure the St. Stephen community is involved in the process. Berkeley County’s success is directly related to the success of its citizens; inviting the public to the table on critical decision-making efforts like this one are what makes us #OneBerkeley.” -Johnny Cribb, Berkeley County Supervisor

“The town of St. Stephen is grateful that the EPA selected us to receive one of the 2022 Brownfields Program Grants for $500,000. We were the only municipality in Berkeley County to receive this. In countless other communities around the United States, the EPA’s Brownfield Program has had a proven track record of leveraging private sector investment, creating jobs, and protecting the environment. St. Stephen will use this Brownfields Grant to spur our town with redevelopment and cleanup projects and bring sustained economic growth. We are thankful for the support of the Berkeley County Economic Development Office and their ability to work with myself, Town Council, and the Town’s administration to write the grant proposal. We are ready to collaborate with the various committees that will be comprised of St. Stephen residents and business owners to help us continue to grow and revitalize our town. It has been well worth the wait. This is the first of many blessings in store for our great town.” -John Rivers, St. Stephen Mayor

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-Prepared by the Berkeley County Public Information Office-

ST. STEPHEN, S.C. (WCSC) - Berkeley County says a new grant aims to possibly start redeveloping parts of St. Stephen, a rural town about 15 miles north of Moncks Corner.

Berkeley County Council voted to accept a $500,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday.

“It could be something like asbestos or lead-based paint, something in the soil,” Economic Development Director Kristen Lanier said. “Something that might be a risk for redevelopment, so this grant is going to allow us to do an assessment to identify any potential risks for redevelopment.”

The grant targets two primary sites, the old St. Stephen High School, which closed in 1996, and an 85-acre area that used to be a lumber mill just off Highway 52, which closed around 1970. Up to 15 sites around the area could be looked at for revitalization as part of the grant.

“All I want is for something good to happen in St. Stephen, you know, because it seems like everything that comes to St. Stephen stays for a little while, and then, it’s gone,” St. Stephen resident Ann Judge said.

St. Stephen Mayor John Rivers said the grant will allow the town to start redeveloping and bring economic growth to the area. The county said the town could turn the old high school into a community center while the old lumber mill would be repurposed for some type of industrial use.

“The goal there, again with community input, would be that we start putting together a plan of revitalization for both those sites and others,” Lanier said.

Lanier also said they want to see if there is anything in these sites that might prevent that development.

However, some said they do not want to repurpose the old high school and keep it the way it is.

“My children came to school here too, so and I can remember all of my old high school teachers. I love it,” St. Stephen resident Julie Jenkins said.

The county said the money will be available starting Oct. 1 and will go on for the next four years. They also said the grant is the first step in a long-term process.

“This is that motion,” Lanier said. “This is that start of something, so we’re excited to see some movement in that area and to see what we can do and how we can leverage this.”

County officials said after those four years, they will have a plan developed for the sites.

The county will hold public meetings as part of the grant, but they have not announced when the meetings will be held.

Below is the full statement from St. Stephen Mayor John Rivers:

The town of St. Stephen is grateful that the EPA selected us to receive one of the 2022 Brownfield Program Grants for $500,000. We were the only municipality in Berkeley County to receive this. In countless other communities around the United States the EPA’s Brownfield program has had a proven track record of leveraging private sector investment, creating jobs and protecting the environment. St. Stephen will use this Brownfield Grant to spur our town with redevelopment and cleanup projects and bring sustained economic growth. We are thankful for the support of the Berkeley County Economic Development Office and their ability to work with myself, town council, and the town’s administration to write the grant proposal. We are ready to collaborate with the various committees that will be comprised of St. Stephen residents and business owners to help us continue to grow and revitalize our town. Receiving this prestigious award is a fantastic achievement for the Town of St. Stephen and I give credit to all involved in the initiative. We have been waiting for the results of the EPA Brownfield Grant Application for quite some time. “It has been well worth the wait.” This is the first of many blessings in store for our great town.

For more information about the Brownfields Assessment Grant, click here.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

ST. STEPHEN, S.C. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, recently hosted the 8th annual Wounded Warriors and Veterans fishing day at the Cooper River Rediversion Dam in St. Stephen.

Canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and held with limited participation with safety measures in 2021, the event returned this year in full force. Sixty individuals participated in this year’s event, which was open to all veterans, even those with disabilities and needing mobility assistance.

“Despite being rescheduled at the last minute due to weather, this year’s event was a great success,” said Jesse Helton, a natural resources program specialist at Charleston District who helps plan the yearly event. “We are looking forward to next year’s event and hope to continue to increase the turn out. Giving our wounded warriors, veterans and active-duty military a chance to have a great day fishing and visiting with each other is what this event is all about.”

The event would not be possible without the assistance of the DNR, who allows the fishing to occur in a protected wildlife area once a year.

“As always, I would like to express our appreciation to the DNR,” said Helton. “Without their support planning the event and working with the participants on the day of the event, we would not be able to make it happen.”

The event was also a chance for DNR to collect age data and health information on some of the fish that were caught. This data will provide important information about the American shad population that will be used to inform fisheries management decisions for the species.

Unlike other districts in USACE, Charleston District does not operate any official recreation sites. However, the property in St. Stephen has been used unofficially for years as a recreation site in South Carolina and has hosted many events.

The Corps proposed the CRRP in the early 1970’s to reduce sedimentation and dredging costs in Charleston Harbor. Construction began in 1978 and was completed in March 1985. This project saves taxpayers $36 million per year in dredging costs in Charleston Harbor, while benefitting shipping, industrial development, hydropower, and fish and wildlife.

Since the dam blocked fish from being able to swim upriver to spawning grounds, a fish lift was built to move the fish to the other side of the dam. Up to 750,000 fish pass through the fish lift per year. The fish lift is operated by SCDNR during the spawning season, which is usually from February 1 through May 15, depending on flows and water temperature.

The annual fishing day is not the only event hosted by USACE and DNR. In the fall, the agencies host an annual dove hunt, which occurs just down the street from the dam and is also held exclusively for veterans.

The Delhi University (DU) on Friday told the Supreme Court that the seats for which the St Stephen’s College holds interviews are “virtually becoming payment seats”, attracting sharp rebuttal from the prestigious minority institution that said the contention was wrong and the university should not make such statements.

The court was hearing DU’s appeal against an order passed by the Delhi high court on July 21, permitting the college to give 15% weightage for filling seats under the Christian students quota for the academic year 2023-24. The court directed the college to consider the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores only while admitting students on the unreserved seats.

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Solicitor general Tushar Mehta appeared for the university and said, “I hope the college is not holding any interview. This 15% for interview is virtually becoming payment seats. This court knows about this practice.”

Mehta said that while there is no objection to the college reserving 50% seats for minorities, the seats should be filled up entirely on basis of merit decided by CUET scores. “Interview brings subjectivity. Even if I have more than 90% marks, someone with less marks gets admission,” he added.

Senior advocate A Mariarputham, appearing for the college, along with advocate Romy Chacko, objected to Mehta’s statement. “This is false. Such wrong statements need not be made. He is an officer of the court. He may argue on merits but not make such statements,” he said.

The solicitor general countered: “This is not a statement but my argument on merits.”

The college argued that in any case admissions for this year have ended on August 16, and interviews were conducted.

“This petition is infructuous as admissions closed on August 16, and classes for the new academic session have begun,” the senior counsel said.

The UGC, too, filed an appeal against the high court order and requested the court to take up both the appeals on Monday.

The bench of justices AS Bopanna and PS Narasimha agreed to the request and asked the two sides not to get “worked up” and reserve arguments for Monday.

The college approached the Delhi high court, challenging a December 8 order passed by the DU executive council that even for 50% minority quota seats, admissions should solely be done on the basis of CUET scores. The council said and no interview will be permitted. Following the council’s order, DU issued a notification on December 30. The college challenged both the order and the notification, saying they were unconstitutional.

In its interim order on July 21, the high court allowed the college to have 15% marks reserved for interview for minority candidates while general candidates had to be admitted on the basis of CUET scores.

The college claimed that over the years, it has been making admissions to undergraduate courses by earmarking 15% weightage for personal interaction or interview. Last year, with the introduction of CUET, the college had to admit students to its general category seats solely on CUET scores as the top court had in October 2022 refused to stay the HC order.

The college’s appeal which is still pending on this issue in the top court relied on the rights of minorities available under the Constitution to run and administer institutions.

Last year, too, when the controversy over CUET being applicable to minority quota seats arose, the high court on September 9, 2022 permitted St Stephen’s to proceed with its interview for Christian candidates.