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THE RED AND BLACK
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
Athens. Go. Vol. 90 No. 104 Thursday, Moy 12, 1950 News 543-1809 Advertising 543-1791
Regents move to speed desegregation
B> BRIAN BRASWELL
and JACK THREADG1LL
. nd Mark Stall Wrtlan
COLUMBUS — The University System Board of
Regents moved to meet its desegregation goals
Wednesday by proposing stepped up recruiting
efforts for black students and faculty.
The board also proposed tuition waivers and full
scholarships for any student, black or white, to at
tend a college where his race was in the minority
The regents unanimously approved an amended
version of their 1978 plan to desegregate the
system's 33 colleges and universities
U S. District Judge John Pratt issued a court
order in March that the regents show progress
toward desegregation or risk losing $60 million in
federal funding
The amended version approved here Wed
nesday will now be sent to Gov Joe Frank Harris
and included in the governor's response Monday
to the regional Office of Civil Rights The report
will then go to Pratt
"A number of things can happen now," said
University System Chancellor Vernon Crawford
"We'll run it by Governor Harris for his approval.
There are a number of things in there that will cost
money, so we will need the governor's support.
“I can't conceive of funds being cut off, though,"
he said. “That would mean something like $60
million, and it would hurt the two large institutions
primarily. I just can't see it happening"
The amended version of the plan includes efforts
to increase overall black enrollment, to promote
desegregation of students and faculty within the
system and to increase funding (or improvements
to traditionally black institutions
Among the other proposals in the plan are:
• the establishment of minority-recruitment of
ficers on all campuses:
• the establishment of a minority-advising pro
gram at all institutions;
• recruitment missions to midwestern and nor
theastern universities in search of black doctoral
graduates to fill faculty and administrative posts;
• the establishment of an administrative in
ternship program to create an "in-house pool" of
trained minority administrators: and
• special appropriations of $3 million a year for
the next five years to upgrade facilities at tradi
tionally black institutions
In addition to the regents' plan, two other groups
made presentations to the board.
The Rev Joseph Lowery, representing the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s
Commission on Higher Education, said the
regents should place less emphasis on stan
dardized tests that may discriminate against
minorities.
Lowery said high school grades and recom
mendations were more accurate predictors of
academic performance than standardized tests
“We are not talking about lowering standards,"
Lowery said "There has been no attempt to
validate the SAT or the regents test. The regents
test is vetoing 12 years' of work in one fell swoop
Until these studies are complete, the test should
not be a factor in awarding a degree from any
institution in the system."
The SCLC commission also recommended the
system establish an Afro-American studies
program, hire more black faculty members at
predominantly white institutions and hire more
blacks for regents' staff positions.
Regent Sidney Smith of Gainesville said con
flicts could develop between tightening ad
missions standards for academic improvement
and loosening admissions standards to admit
more black students.
Please See REGENTS, Page 3
'They'd hire
mote blacks
if it meant
their jobs ’
By JACK THREADGILL
Hedand Black Staff Writer
STEP proves
big boon to
traffic safety
By GREG FREEMAN
Knl ami Mark stall WrHn
University police say a federal grant
has enabled them to cut campus traffic
accidents hy 71 percent since I960
University Police Chief Luther Smart
said police reported only 88 on-campus
accidents in 1982, down from 304 in 1980,
the year before a $66,000 grant let police
create a special traffic-safety pro
gram Police reported 113 accidents in
1961
The grant, which channels federal
money through the Georgia Office of
Highway Safety, helped develop a
Selective Traffic Enforcement Pro
gram. which Smart said was the main
reason for the reduction in accidents
since 1960 The grant allowed Universi
ty police to hire three officers, a new
patrol car and minor equipment used to
promote traffic safety
Smart called the STEP program,
which ended March 22 when the money
ran out, a complete success
"As a result of the program. $588,000
was saved in the prevention of ac
cidents, injuries, repair work, etc for
the $66 1100 that was spent," Smart said
"We figure we saved $8 90 for every
dollar of federal money"
Smart added that, although the pro
gram had ended, his department would
continue to work on increasing traffic
safety He said he did not expect the
number of traffic accidents to rise to
the point it was before the program
began because his officers had learned
a great deal from the program
The officers hired for the STEP pro
gram are still with the department.
Smart said, but have been reassigned to
other duties and their salaries absorbed
into the departmental budget
"We no longer have the funding,
either in the department budget or
through grants, to have a STEP pro
gram, per «*," Smart said. "Funds just
ran out."
Smart said that, although the police
department couldn't apply for another
STEP grant, his department commonly
applied for grants in areas where the
University had particular problems He
said the department was currently con
sidering seeking a grant to Improve
pedestrian safety on campus
"We continually do our own research
and write up proposals for grants," he
said "We encourage our officers to
come up with innovative ideas."
Feet don't fail me now
Thut old Milt shoe doesn't always win dance contests. And
Bed and Black photographer Molly Head's dad believes
knowing the two-step isn’t the only way to illustrate fancy
footwork. Bead's father posed for this award-winning shot on
display in the Memorial llall gallery earlier this week. Bead
won second place this year in the journalism school’* Jamie
Connell Memorial Contest. Connell, a renowned
photographer, was a University journalism graduate. Other
contest photos from aspiring photographers also graced the
halls of the gallery.
A&S senators to meet with Davis
By JIM MASSAHA
HH iM Mark Senior Hr porter
Two representatives of the Arts and Sciences
Faculty Senate will meet with University Affirmative
Action Officer Len Davis today to discuss a proposed
bylaws change that Davis says could discriminate
against women
English Professor James Colvert, chairman of the
committee that drafted the proposal, and psychology
Professor Roger Thomas, a committee member, will
meet with Davis this afternoon
Davis said Tuesday he anticipated a low-key
meeting where information would be exchanged with
the professors
"They (the senate! want to better understand my
position I don’t see this as a confrontational
meeting,” he said
The proposed change in Arts and Sciences bylaws
would allow only tenure-track faculty to participate
in evaluations of department heads, which occur
every three years
Current bylaws allow all faculty — including
temporary professors and visiting lecturers — to
participate in the evaluations, which are non-binding
but are considered by the dean when deciding
whether or not to keep a department head
The proposal was originally drafted and approved
by the senate to prevent temporary, transient
academics from having what it considered an un
deserved influence on evaluations.
But Davis sent a letter to Arts and Sciences Dean
Jack Payne last month saying the proposal could be
considered discriminatory — and possibly illegal —
because a disproportionate number of non-tenured
teachers in some departments were women
The senate decided at its April meeting to delay
further action on the proposal until representatives
had a chance to talk with Davis.
"I think we have to play this by ear, and see what
we learn," Thomas said, adding that he didn't have a
list of specific questions he wanted to ask Davis.
Thomas said he might ask for information on
exactly how the bylaws change would discriminate
against women.
"I want to know how real this is, and how
hypothetical this is,” he said Tuesday.
Grant helps
UGA police
cut accidents
COLUMBUS - A University law pro
fessor says University system
presidents and administrators could
easily hire more black faculty
members — if their jobs depended on it.
Larry Blount, general counsel for the
Georgia Black Coalition on Higher
Education, said in an interview here
Wednesday commitment toward Af- :
firmative Action goals should be one of
the criteria used for evaluating the per
formances of system presidents and ad
ministrators.
"They should have to meet the goals
or have to look for jobs themselves,"
Blout said.
Blount spoke earlier to the Board of
Regents on behalf of the coalition,
criticizing the system’s lack of progress
on desegregating its campuses and
faculties.
He said the system could immediate
ly increase black faculty from the cur
rent 2 and 3 percent at the system’s
universities and senior colleges and 8
percent at its junior colleges to 15 per
cent systemwide And the regents
should aim for a long-range goal of 28
percent, or the approximate percen
tage blacks make up of the state's
population, he said.
Blount said the system's goals for hir
ing minority faculty members were in
adequate
“The interim goals arc very, very
modest; they're almost ridiculous,"
Blount said. “It would be quite easy to
hire 15 percent in most academic units
You would not have to fire white people
to hire black people."
Blount said he disagreed with Univer
sity administrators who have blamed
their difficulties in meeting Affirmative
Action goals on a lack of qualified black
faculty applicants
In 1975, the University projected that,
by the end of fiscal 1981, there would be
76 black faculty members l.ast year,
when the University had 26 black facul
ty members, the Affirmative Action of
fice revised the goals to 60 minority
members by mid-1984
Blount said the University failed to
recruit black faculty aggressively
enough nationwide and hadn't shown a
commitment to hiring black faculty
members who were at the University on
temporary assignment for full-time
positions
He said increasing the system's
percentage of black students would be
much easier if more blacks were on the
institutions' faculties
Blount said the dropout rate for black
law students was 50 percent in 1976, the
year he became the University’s first
black law faculty member No black
law students dropped out the following
year
"If you have an effective desegrega
tion of the faculty, the rest (student
desegregation and lowering dropout
rates for black students I will occur in
the normal course of events," he said.
Theater of Sound sound though creator is leaving
Theater of Sound members eye their scripts, anxiously awaiting their next lines
By BETH LILLY
HH and HU« h Staff W riter
It doesn't look like much Several
students stand in front of microphones,
watching a man twist dials, reels and
meters as the countdown begins
Five, four, three, two, one they’re
on
And the play comes alive
The actors in WUOG’s Theater of
Sound have only their voices and a few
sound effects to convey fear, hope,
excitement, joy and sorrow to listeners
in Radioland
Theater of Sound adviser Mike
Marcotte said the actors' deter
mination and dedication were
responsible for the success of the radio
drama.
"Before. I had to prod students to get
things done," he said "Now they have
to provide the initiative, energy and
organization And, surprisingly, it's
working.”
In the past, students wrote scripts for
the show and Marcotte cast, directed
and engineered the taping But.
because Marcotte is finishing his
graduate studies this quarter, he acts
only as an adviser and students are
responsible for all aspects of produc
tion.
"Not many people have the deter
mination, will and time to keep actively
involved with the show," Marcotte said
"There are just so many obstacles You
have to have the equipment, time,
reliable people, access to facilities and
be willing to risk failure "
Marcotte said it was worth the risk,
and said he was pleased with what
Theater of Sound had accomplished
So far this quarter. Theater of Sound
has presented Bill Sweatman’s "If
People Could Talk,” the story of a radio
talk show gone haywire
Doug login's "The Succubus," a
drama about a freshman’s fight against
his fantasy, will air Sunday
Productions are scheduled for three
remaining time slots this quarter,
Marcotte said. He said that, because so
many scripts were available,
production would continue into the
summer
WUOG now has a library of about 40
episodes, which can be used as reruns
while new productions are being
completed, he added
Sweatman said listener response to
his script had been positive.
University student Harry Goldwasser
said of Sweatman's script: "I couldn't
believe a radio show could be that
funny I hope they do many more like
it."
Said University student Debbie
Perreaux: “It's good to hear something
on the radio besides the basics, like
music or news."
The major problem Theatre of Sound
faces, Marcotte said, is the sound
quality of the shows The equipment
borrowed from the University jour
nalism school has deteriorated and the
programs suffer technically Marcotte
said he hoped the equipment would be
updated or replaced soon
Another improvement Marcotte said
he hoped to see was a change in the
program's air-time. He said WUOG
was considering changing the time slot
from Sunday at 7:30 p m to a weekday
at 11:30 p m to increase listenerehip.