Newspaper Page Text
THE RED AND BLACK
3.71
VOLUME K4. NUMBER 78
Georgia's only collegiate daily newspaper
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, ATHENS, GEORGIA 30602
rr
Inside
Two students
are killed.
See p.2. 1
1 1373
TUESDAY. FEBRUARY 21. 1878
FUEL OIL. GAS SUBSTITUTED
University out of coal
By MIKE WRIGHT
Though Georgia Power Co. has an
ample supply of coal, the effects of the
nationwide United Mine Workers Coal
strike is now being felt at the University.
“As of today (Monday) the University’s
coal reserve is zero," Vance Cecil*
assistant director of the Physical Plant
said.
Instead of using coal, the University
will rely almost totally on fuel oil which,
according to Cecil, is in plentiful supply
However, using fuel oil alone will cause
fuel costs to rise about $1000 a day.
William Jordan, director of Physical
Plant, said there will “not be any major
cost problems, it will probably cost about
$10,000 more "
There will be no power cutbacks,
though, because the University only uses
coal for steam generation and fuel oil can
be substituted without any problems.
Cecil said The steam that is generated is
only used for heating buildings and
water Natural gas will also be used
when it is available.
Jordan said the only reason the
University uses coal is because it is
cheaper than fuel oil. Natural gas is
cheaper than either coal or fuel oil. but
the gas company decides who is going to
get it During the winter months, natural
gas (the fuel the University uses most
often) is in peak demand and the daily
allocation varies too much to rely on it
totally
ON A TYPICAL day in January, the
University uses 75 tons of coal and 12.000
gallons of oil Without coal. 22.000 gallons
of fuel oil is needed for the same output.
The Physical Plant utilizes one coal
burner and two oil burners “The oil
burners are not in good shape, but are
not worth repairing." according to
Jordan.
The University pays 28.6 cents per
therm < 100.000 British Thermal Units) for
fuel oil. 18-19 cents per therm for coal
and 13.7 cents per therm for natural gas.
Total cost for January was $230,000
Jordan said it does not matter when the
coal miners go back to work, because
“by the time we get it (coal), spring will
be here, and we won’t need it.” Jordan
said they would be shutting down the coal
burner soon anyway, and the coal
shortage just prompted them to do it
today.
Georgia Power supplies all of the
University’s electricity. Jim Coen of
Georgia Power said they "are not
anticipating any problems ’’ The utility,
with 4.7 million tons of coal, has one of
the largest utility coal stockpiles in the
nation.
Coen said, as ot last Wednesday.
Georgia Power had a %-day supply and
was still receiving 30-35 percent of their
normal deliveries. At the present.
Georgia Power has not called for
conservation other than on a voluntary
basis.
A coal tractor rumbles around an empty yard
Photo bv LAURA GLOVER
This fellow is taking the situation in a relaxed and cavalier
fashion and that's natural, as giving blood is really no
traumatic event He is just one of many students aiding the
Red Cross during the University's annual blood drive, which is
sponsored by the Special Events Division of the University
Union. The drive is being held this week in the Memorial Hall
Ballroom, where the Red Cross will be receiving “guests”
each day from 11:30 a m. to 5 p m. They have set a goal of
2500 pints this year. Although all types of blood are needed,
there is a particularly urgent need for Type O Negative. So if
that’s your blood type, why don’t you step right up and do
someone in need a big favor
Ve vant your blood
Math exemption exams set
By SKIP HULETT
Assistant campus editor
The math department will give two
extra Math 100 exemption exams for any
students not currently enrolled in that
course, the department announced
Monday.
Any full-time student without previous
credit for the course is eligible to take
the exam at no charge, the announce
ment said There will be no charge for
either exam, given at 7:00 p m. on March
2 and April 5, respectively. Students
wishing to take the exam must sign up in
room 451 in Graduate Studies Research
Oyster by 5:00 p m on Feb 28 (for the
first exam) or April 3 (for the second
exam).
The purpose for the extra exams,
previously offered only during orien
tation. is to allow students time to
prepare better for the test and to allow
those who missed the summer exams to
take it. Dr James Cantrell, head of the
math department, said.
"We felt there weren’t as many
(students) at the University exempting
Math 100 as there should have been.
Cantrell said He added he personally felt
orientation was a bad time to administer
the test.
THERE ARE a lot of other things
going on then and often students haven't
prepared for it. or they don't care about
it or they miss it.” he said, adding, "so
we decided to schedule it beforehand so
they could have time to prepare for it.”
Cantrell said another major reason for
scheduling the additional exams is “the
large number of people now taking Math
100. or registering for it, who are being
closed out of the course because there
aren’t enough instructors to supply the
numbers who want to take it."
Dr Thomas R Brahana. a math
professor, said the opinion among the
math faculty was there are quite a few
students taking Math 100 who could have
exempted if the exemption exams were
given under better circumstances
Transfer students, for instance, go
through a one-day orientation session and
must sign up for the exemption exams on
a “catch-as-cateh-can" basis. Brahana
said.
Students who do not attend the
orientation session are generally una
ware of the exams also. Brahana said.
PLACEMENT of students in math
courses was a topic of prime concern
among the faculty when the additional
exams idea was brought up. Brahana
said “We would like for people to be
taking what should be the right course
for each individual Perhaps, the one
(exemption exam> we have had in the
past is not as fine an indicator of the
distinction (in student levels of profi
ciency) as we would like it to be." he
added
Brahana said the scheduling of the
extra exams for spring and winter
quarters is not proposed as a permanent
change, but merely as a test of the
faculty's reasoning for the large numbers
taking Math 100
Athens chief of police sued again
By TOM BARTON
City editor
Eleven Athens city police officers filed
a lawsuit Thursday in Clarke County
Superior Court, charging Athens Police
Chief Everett E Price with defamation
of character
The same officers had filed a suit last
Tuesday in federal district court in
Macon, claiming that Price and the
Athens Personnel Board had violated
several of their rights, regarding
promotions and individual testing.
In the latest suit, the officers are
asking that Price pay damages of
$100,000 to each plaintiff for injuries
caused by “the false, malicious, and
defamatory words" the chief reportedly
told The Daily News in an article that
appeared on Feb. 15.
In the article. Price was quoted as
saying that more suits may be filed
against him by "criminal elements in
town,’’ and added that "I’m not sure they
aren’t all tied together to some degree
PRICE'S STATEMENTS implied "that
each of the plaintiffs is tied together
with 'criminal elements in town.’ " the
suit said
Each plaintiff "has been and is greatly
injured in his goo<j name, reputation,
profession, trade, and career, and
brought into public scandal, infamy and
contempt." the suit adds, and that home
and family life "has been disrupted
causing great mental strain, pain and
suffering "
Price said Monday that he had been
advised by lawyers not to comment about
the defamation suit.
The plaintiffs were listed as John H
Crawford (Sgt.), Hill W Steed (Sgt ),
Carter L Warwick (Det.), Edward A
Guest (Off.), David H Norman Jr.
(Off ), James L Doster (Det ), Bobby
Shepherd (Det ), Quentin Still (Det ),
Tim Cartey (Sgt ). Hollis Kimsey (Sgt )
and George Garrison (Lt.).
IN THE FEDERAL SUIT, the officers
are asking that the court issue an
injunction to halt the testing procedures
used by the city police
The test is “non-valid." the suit says,
and is used by Price to further
"unreasonable discriminatory prac
tices ’’
But Price said last week that he
thought the current dispute was caused
by the latest evaluation of officers for
promotion, called the assessment lab
process "A couple of them were upset
about their standing ’
The lab assessment process, a form of
testing developed by the U S Civil
Service Commission, was instituted in
Athens by the city council in 1975.
According to Athens Personnel Director
Bob Leyda. candidates for sergeant and
lieutenant must take the assessment lab
and then appear before two separate
promotion committees
It would be "virtually impossible" for
one man to control the entire promotion
process, Leyda said.
Students favor optional health service fee
Many students want it, but administrators
say it would severely impair services
EDITOR'%NOTE: This is thr firsl ol *
two-part series on the University Health
Service. Principal reporters were Ed
Grisamore. Nelson d. Ross, Marcia
Griffith. Cal Callaway and Jackie Glass.
When Dr John R. Curtis took the helm
as director of health services in 1968,
morale was at an all-time low. The
facility was understaffed, underfunded
and students were generally unhappy
with the entire health organization.
“We had a flu epidemic that year and
the students were really raising hell over
the infirmary," Curtis said. "The
operation was somewhat old-fashioned
and physicians spent a good deal of their
time writing excuses "
Curtis maintained that the health
operation has become one of "the best in
the South” since that period of turmoil.
But 10 years and four health fee
increases later, a large percentage of the
student population at the University is
apipareinUystill dissatisfied
SINCE 1968, health fees for a student
enrolled at the University have jumped
from $6.50 to the present $28 cost per
quarter Any person taking six or more
credit houts is required to pay this fee
Despite a $1.2 million addition, which
opened in 1974, and a major recruiting
effort to employ qualified medial
personnel, approximately 65 percent of
the student body favors putting the $28
fee on an optional basis
This figure was obtained by polling 150
students by telephone in a “systematic
random sample." Students were con
tacted in the evening the week of Feb 2-9
and results were produced by use of a
scientific polling procedure The
University campus directory was used
for the survey
One of the criticisms of telephone
surveys is that the people contacted do
4 not necessarily reflect the characteristics
*of the population surveyed
The representation in this sample can
be assessed by allowing an eight percent
margin of error either way. Ninety-seven
of the 150 people contacted were in favor
of optional health fees of some kind, so
such a possible sampling error is
acceptable
AS AN auxilary service, health
services operates on 95 percent funding
through student fees The remaining five
percent is funded through the University.
The budget for 1976-77 when student
fees were $20 per quarter was $1,374
million Expenditures were approxi
mately $1.5 million for the year
"Our increases came to maintain our
programs." Curtis said “We had to dip
into our reserve fund because medical
costs have exceeded the inflation rate."
Curtis said he does not foresee any
further health fee increases for “several”
years. He said he prefers the way the
present system is structured but
indicated that the service “could still run
on an optional basis "
"The present system is the more
cost-effective way of doing it," Curtis
said "If we went to optional fees the
service would be smaller and rather
expensive per visit."
CURTIS. WHO is also president of the
American College Health Association,
said it would be difficult to gage and
predict student use if the system was
operated on the optional fee basis
“Physicians would not be comfortable
in their jobs." he said "We would also
have many staff members leaving
because they want job assurance ”
Warren N Loar. administrator of
health services, also went on record as
saying that optional fee operation was
feasible, but not desirable
"I couldn't maintain my entire staff,"
he said "We would have to cut back on*
services."
Another top administrator. Dean of
Student Affairs Dwight Douglas, also said
it would be possible for the health
services to operate on the optional fee
basis
See HEALTH SERVICES, p. 2
Photo by KIRK DUCKWORTH
Dr. John Curtis responds to questions
