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Ill
THE RED AND BLACK
VOLl'ME SI. NUMBER 55
Georgia's only collegiate daily newspaper
I MVKKSITY OF GEORGIA. \TIIK\s. GKOKGI \ :um:ic
J«V I 1 m
Inside
New R&B
staff meeting.
See p.3.
TUESDAY. JANUARY 17. 1»7S
Many safety violations in campus buildings
By SKIP lit LETT
Assistant campus editor
The Athens Fire Department will not
allow any of its firemen to enter
Graduate Studies Building or the
Biological Sciences Building unless
numerous safety violations in these
buildings are corrected. The Red and
Black learned Friday
Athens Fire Chief T.H. Eberhart said,
“Under no circumstances will I allow my
people to go into either of these buildings
which could place their lives in
unnecessary danger. We will do our best
to control, from outside, any situation
that may arise but that is all unless the
situation improves.”
A joint inspection conducted by Athens
fire marshalls and the University Public
Safety Division listed 60 instances in
the Graduate Studies Building which
constituted either violations of the
Georgia State Fire Law or hazards which
were not specific violations of the law
The vast majority of these hazards
occured on the seventh floor, which
houses laboratories for the biochemistry
department.
The report of the inspection cited 36
such safety hazards on the third, fourth
and eighth floors of the Biological
Sciences Building
Director of Public Safety Edward T.
Kassinger said. “This is not an old
problem. It has been brought to the
attention of the Administration and
faculty concerned often in the past, but it
(the safety problem) has just gotten
SMOKING
IN THIS AREA
UNIVERSITY Of GEORGIA POllCY PROHIBITS SMOKING
IN THIS AREA
Photo by DONNA MINCEY
An altered sign in Graduate Studies
Photo by DONNA MINCEY
Flammable chemicals are stored improperly
worse and worse and nothing has been
done to solve it.”
I)R. IIARRY D. PECK, chairman of
the biochemistry department and acting
chairman of the biological sciences
division, said there is a “genuine
problem” in the safety situation,
something he attributed to a lack of
space for the biochemistry department
One of the chief problems mentioned in
the safety inspection is the lack of proper
hallway space The seventh floor of the
Graduate Studies Building is a maze of
halls cluttered with gas cylinders, trash,
chemical storage refrigerators and
centrifuges, among other things.
Hallways, according to the Georgia
State Fire (.’ode. are specifically designed
for use as means of exit or evacuation in
case of emergency, and should be cleared
for these purposes The halls on the
seventh floor of the Graduate Studies
Building do not meet these standards.
Michael Smith, deputy fire marshall
assigned to Public Safety, said
The Public Safety Division has posted
notices which state the correct standards
for public hallways on the seventh floor,
in plain view of all who can squeeze past
the clutter to read them.
ANOTHER VIOLATION which is
flagrantly apparent involves the storage
of flammable liquids in the biochemistry
laboratories Smith said Georgia fire law
specifies the number of flammables
which may be a'ored in a lab outside o
special explosive-proof cabinets Labora
tones in both buildings. Smith'said. have
consistently violated these specifications
To start with. Smith said, it is
permissable to ship flammables in
five-gallon metal containers, but not to
store such liquids in an open area without
first transferring them to one-gallon
safety containers. Laboratories in both
buildings were cited for violations of this
rule.
In one instance.The Red and Black saw
where at least three five-gallon contain
ers were stored within ten feet of a pile of
rags in a laboratory in the Graduate
Studies Building
Smith said regulations concerning the
storage of flammables in five gallon
containers could be circumvented by
storing the liquids in safety cabinets or
explosion-proof storage bins which could
contain any sort of fire which might take
place
Outside storage bins on the first floor
level of the Graduate Studies Building
are available for this type of use. Smith
said, but are seldom used due to the
inconvenience of transferring the flam
mables to the laboratory
PECK ACKNOWLEDGED the exist
ence of the storage bins, but said, "if the
liquids in question are needed in the labs
on a day-to-day basis, as is generally the
case, transferring them is inconvenient ”
Another point considered in the
inspection report was the storage of
improperly secured gas cylinders inside
and outside the laboratories
Public Safety Director Kassinger said,
"In case of fire, all of those gas cylinders
become potential Cruise missiles 1 can
easily understand Chief Eberhart’s
concern about sending his men into a
building where something like this could
occur.”
Deputy Fire Marshall Smith said it is
not uncommon for these gas cylinders to
develop leaks and have to be removed
See SAFETY, p.2
Suspect charged
in child’s death
By TOM BARTON
City editor
A Colbert man has been charged with the murder of a 9-year-old Athens girl who
was hit by a stray bullet as she was leaving an Athens restaurant Sunday afternoon
Susan Ray. daughter of Jack and Catherine Ray, 110 Williams Drive, was dead on
arrival at Athens General Hospital
Tommy Strickland. 30. of Colbert, was reportedly inside Hardee's Restaurant. 496
North Ave .when a domestic squabble erupted involving his former wife and two
her brothers, who were entering the restaurant.
A spokesman for the Athens police said an argument began and Strickland went out
to his car and grabbed a 22-caliber revolver. He allegedly then started shooting, and
one of the bullets struck the girl, who was leaving the restaurant with her parents.
One of Ms Strickland’s brothers. Brady Gilley, also produced a gun from his car
and fired one shot, which hit Strickland in the shoulder, the spokesman said
Ms Strickland sustained wounds in the shoulder, back and stomach and was listed
m fair condition at Athens General Hospital.
Strickland has been charged with murder and is being held in the Clarke County
Jail without bond No charges have been filed against Gilley.
Athens police also reported Monday an alleged simple battery, criminal battery and
terroristic threats and acts charged by a University student against a locai service
station operator.
David Butler, 389 S Pope St., told police Monday of an incident at Hilltop Texaco.
697 Baxter St., involving the station's owner. John Treadway.
A police spokesman said Butler drove his car into the station, and an altercation
soon started between Butler and Treadway. Treadway allegedly choked and struck
Butler and began kicking Butler’s auto, denting the side
In other police news, a 17-year-old Athens man was arrested Thursday by
j] University police in connection with the attempted abduction of a female student on
Jan 8
^ Terry Lee Groves, of a Downtowner Inn address, was arrested by officers at his
residence and charged with kidnapping He was released Monday from the Clarke
County Jail after posting a $2000 bond
The arrest stems from an incident reported by police earlier in the quarter A
student was walking down the sidewalk between Boggs and Legion Field after parking
, her car in a nearby lot.
Police reported she was approached by a man who grabbed her from behind. He
s placed a hand over the woman's mouth and held a knife in his other hand.
The abductor fled, however, when two students walked out of the Boggs parking lot.
* After a description of the man was released to the press Monday, three students
came to the police station later in the week and reported being approached by a man
with similar features, a police spokesman said.
After gathering other information, detectives managed to arrive at a tentative
.identification of Groves as the alleged abductor and made the arrest
Photo by KEVIN MAGGIORE
Local tractorcade
This farmer, bundled against the cold, is one of about 600 people who gathered in
Athens last Saturday to demand 100 percent parity for their products Local
tractorcades have occurea in various parts oi tne country since me tarm strike began
Dec 14 While farmers demand 100 percent parity, the Carter administration says it
would be economically unfeasible For more on last week's tractorcade. see p 6
Institutionalized
black gains seen
By MATT PRICHARD
Campus editor
Many of the civil rights gains made by Martin Luther King Jr have been
institutionalized, said David Scott, a member of the Georgia House of
Representatives, in an address Friday to about 125 people gathered for the Committ**e
for Black Programs’ "Rededication of a King" ceremonies in Memorial Hall
The program was held in honor of the 49th anniversary of King's birth on Jan. 15.
Scott urged the crowd to use "sophisticated pressure" to "get our white friends to
understand what the relevance of being black and trying to survive really means.”
"TELL THEM and be nice you get more done smile." Scott said
Attacks on the Georgia legislature, which he called "historic in its lack of respect
for the black and poor in this state." and an inspired recounting of events that
occured during the civil rights movement drew comment from Scott
"The National Rifle Association (NRA) controls your legislature," Scott said in
reference to the vote of the legislature to take a pro-NRA stand on gun control
"And 77 percent of everyone killed by guns here is black. It is a misdemeanor to sell
a pistol to a child, and you know what color the child is.
"NO BLACKS are licensed to make, sell or distribute guns here We don't make
them, but we die from them." Scott said
"Do you realize that four times as many blacks as whites are out of work’’ That
black Georgians die 10 years earlier than white Georgians'* That 70 percent on death
row are black young men’’ That 47 percent of young black men in the inner city are
jobless'*”
"Two out of every five black male infants in the inner city will not reach the age of
25. Think about it.
"The issues are deadly There are now less black men than 10 years ago The issues
of Martin Luther King Jr involve the very survival of our black people." Scott said
SCOTT CALLED for creative housing programs, jobs, gun control and black history
programs in schools, but emphasized the recognition of Martin Luther King Jr’s
birthdav as a start.
It has been recognized in 12 other states, but the state where he was born keeps on
denying it. He was symbol ol hope that inspired the people of every race, creed and
color," he said
Speaking of the way to accomplish objectives. Scott said. "Politics is the only game
in town—we use it or lose it Now 23 counties m Georgia that are predominantly black
are represented by white people that consistently vote against your interests Let no
one tell you a white person can present your interests better than a black person
can.”
However, he also called for a state wide, bi-racial. bi partisan coalition to get things
done "There are plenty of good white people in the state of Georgia." he said
‘Death Race 2000’ killing ’em in Memorial
By ED GR1SAMORE
Feature editor
.It has been a long and trying afternoon
You step out of that last class with a
Strong penchant to imbibe the nearest
bor
You just flunked a big accounting test
and your ankles are sore from kicking
you. self
You need an outlet to break your
frustration so you decide to truck over to
tha Memorial gameroom and run down a
few “gremlins "
As you clutch the loose change in your
pocket. you are suddenly confronted with
“Death Race 2000 ”
vYOl ARE soon behind the steering
Meel The accelerator is on the floor and
4o*ens of little demons" are meeting
Iheir fate on the video screen.
iTere are crashes, screams and
tombstones everywhere You scream
with pleasure and bang into the wall as
tht two gremlins skirt across the screen
Mb an erratic case of "happy feet "
The game ends You have temporarily
eunted >our frustration and 17 gremlins
lay dead as a tribute to a sadistic
technological whiz
You leave satisfied but maybe, just
maybe, you’ll bring your date and play
doubles Friday night
The mainstay of the gameroom. one
"Death Race 2000" has caused more
controversy than a Board of Regents
meeting
"SOME PEOPLE think it’s morbid. *
Earl Cashon, building operations mana
ger at Memorial Hall. said. ’They go into
the gameroom talking about how terrible
it is yet they play it anyway "
The electronic machine was purchased
for placement in the gameroom in fall
1976 by Athens dentist Dr Charles M
Walker
"I like the game, but I don t get some
vicarious thrill out of running down
pedestrians." Walker said "People who
see it as more than just a game are
attaching motives that don t truly exist "
Walker insisted the machine was not
purchased as a money maker, but
Cashon said in the past it has made more
money than the other amusement
machines combined
“STUDENTS PLAY because it’s
fascinating challenging and relieves
frustration." Cashon explained "Every
one is inherently violent and it is our
nature to try to suppress it
"Death Race’ is perhaps one outlet
that exists In relievo this violence in a
safe way."
But Student Government Minister to
Consumer Affairs Gregg Jocoy doesn't
think so
Jocoy requested last quarter the senate
sponsor a proposal to have the machine
taken out of the gameroom But no
senator came forth to sponsor the
resolution
"WE WERE appalled by the fact that
the machine portrayed the killing of
human beings as a game." Jocoy said.
"We felt that it should be removed from
University property "
One student, who watched as her
companion drove madly over the tiny
figures, called the game "sadistic " One
avid customer viewed the game as a
"kind of exorcism ”
"I'm not a regular customer hut 1
sometimes play it after a bad day of
classes.” senior Mike Jones said "It's a
pretty good way of relieving frustration ”
Marshall Dayan shook his head "I
don't think it should be here." he said
"The screaming really gets to me I can't
stay in the room when those graves start
popping up It's disgusting ”
‘Everyone is inherently violent
and it is our nature
to try and suppress it.’
Photo by LAURA GLOVER
Two students compete at Death Race 2000