Newspaper Page Text
THE RED AND BLACK
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
Athens, Go. Vol. 90 No. 108
I —
Wednesday, May 18, 1980
News 543-1809 Advertising 543-1791
Frat chiefs to rethink
rush-policy changes
'Egad! It's a marsupial 9
M«ll> Read/The Red and HUck
two wcoll old POHUKI was crossing the street with it* with Juliannr Hutto. * graduate a««l*tant in art. When the
brother* and tiaten on the mama-possum. piggyback ex- po**um i* fully grown and detraumatiied by a Psychology
pre*» when the brood wa> struck by a car The rest of the clan lot cla». Hutto will return It to the wilds near Sandy Creek.
wa» killed, but this baby miraculously surviyed and met up far away from any roads, streets, hike paths or interstates.
By HANS CHRISTIAN VADSETH
Red and Black Senior Reporter
University fraternity presidents today will reconsider
regulations changing the Greek system's rush practice after
hearing harsh reactions to the regulations.
Some fraternity members criticized the new regulations,
which limit the number of parties during fall quarter rush
said Interfraternity Council President Bill Thorne
The regulations were approved during the IFC presidents'
meeting May 4 by a 12 to 11 vote, but they may be reversed in
today's meeting. Thorne said
"There has been an outcry in the system," he said "Many
members don't want a change "
The regulations, proposed by the IFC rush committee, con
tain several changes from the present rush practice Thorne
said the most drastic change was a three-day "geographic
rush."
All fraternities are divided into three geographic areas,
and each area is allowed to have parties only one weekday
during the first week of rush
The regulations also require four days of "dry rush" dur
mg the three rush weeks, when alcohol will be banned from
parties To help smaller fraternities with low budgets, the
regulations require no paid entertainment be allowed
weekdays during the first two weeks, Thorne said
Darryl Dewberry. Lambda Chi Alpha president, said many
fraternities, including his own, were against the regulations
because they saw no advantages in a change.
"Our house is against the proposal simply because it won’t
benefit the Greek system," he said.
If the regulations go unchanged. Dewberry said some
fraternities might break the rules and continue doing things
as they have done in the past
"A lot of people say they'll do what they have to do to get an
effective rush," Dewberry said.
Robert Montgomery, a Sigma Pi member, said his frater
nity was in favor of the regulations. Being one of the smaller
fraternities, Sigma Pi would benefit from the change, he
said.
"Since the competition will be less, it will help us saving a
lot of money on the parties we hold,” he said "It will also
help us localize activities during rush.''
University Police Chief Luther Smart said police welcom
ed the change in rush practice.
“Several parties in one day represent a considerable pro
blem It would help to scatter the parties out,” he said.
Thorne said he wouldn't voice his own opinion in the case,
but would support the decision made at the meeting.
"I think the proposal will fail, but if it passes, I II support it
totally," he said.
Protests not slowing nuke plant construction
By BKAIH'. WOODAKI)
RH and RUrk Mentor Refarter
Despite organized protests by local and state
anti-nuclear groups, Georgia Power Company
plans to continue construction on nuclear Plant
Vogtle near Waynesboro
Concerned citizens gathered Friday in Athens
' to unveil an organized plan for protesting the
construction of the nuclear plant along the
Savannah River
Tom Clement, co-coordinator of Athenian*
for Clean Energy, said the Stop Vogtle Cam
paign was against the economic justification
and unresolved safety questions of nuclear
power plants
"We challenge Georgia Power Company to
prove that this plant is economical and that it
will not in any way be harmful to the environ
ment and people's health, " he said
However, Kathy Harber, Georgia Power's In
formation Services Supervisor, said Tuesday
these protests would in no way alter plans for
continued construction of the plant
The projected start-up date for Plant Vogtle
have been moved forward to 1987
"We feel committed to meet the future energy
needs of the state." Harber said
Harher said that if construction on the plant
were halted financial problems would follow
"Millions and millions of dollars would have
to be recovered through the rate base because of
the obligation with partner* and the money
already spent,” she said
Tim Johnson, executive director of the Cam
paign (or a Prosperous Georgia, said citizens
were concerned because they would have to
bear the economic and environmental burden of
a plant he claimed was not even needed
Johnson said Georgia Power already had the
ability to generate more power than needed at
peak demand
"Ironically, Georgia Power has 40 percent
more generating capacity than we need," he
said
Johnson said that, when Plant Vogtle came on
line, that excess generating capacity might in
crease to 80 or 100 percent
Clements said more money should be invested
in research for alternative energy, rather than
nuclear power
"Instead of investing that $10,000 per kilowatt
of nuclear power,” Clements said, "we believe
that monev should he put first into conservation
and, secondly, to explore alternative energy ."
Tommy Colvin, coordinator of the Citizen's
Advisory Council on Energy, said power com
panies had to plan years In advance when
estimating future energy demands
"The power company can't take chances on
the possiblity that it might have more capacity
than needed," he said "It's my thinking that
this capacity will be needed "
Colvin said a great deal of conservation had
already been done
"That is something we had a great potential
for and have already realized," he said.
As for using coal as an alternative energy
source, Colvin said a coal plant was less expen
sive to build, but more expensive to operate that
a nuclear one
Johnson said solar water heaters could be
placed on every home in Georgia for $2 billion,
which would provide more energy than a
nuclear plant at a fraction of the cost and also
provide more jobs for the unskilled worker. A
nuclear plant would provide highly technical
jobs only for the educated and skilled worker, he
said.
Harber said the plant now employed 9,000 peo
ple in the Augusta / Savannah area and would
provide hundreds of permanent jobs
Clements and Johnson said Plant Vogtle
would cost $8 to $to billion, which was more than
three times the amount Invested in all of the
other plants in Georgia.
However. Harber said the expected cost of
Plant Vogtle was $6 6 billion
‘Stop Vogtle Campaign's’ logo
Date rape: It does happen
By I.ORRI PRESTON
io4 Rtock < ussuitotting R rttor
Girl accepts date with guy Guy
wines and dines girl Guy "wants to"
Girl doesn't Guy rapes girl
Although this situation is alarming
to most University students, it is
usually not considered a common
problem in the University social
community But. according to some
local rape counselors, "date rape"
may be a hidden problem on campus
that goes on with little notice but
leaves frustrated, silent victims
National researchers and local
officials agree that in over half of the
500.000 reported rapes each year in
the United States, the victim knows
the rapist And. according to the FBI,
only two out of every 10 rapes are
reported
"I think date rape is a hidden
problem on campus." said Judy
Lewis of the Northeast Georgia
Mental Health Rape Prevention
Program "Both the campus and
society have to create an atmosphere
where victims can report their
assaults and know they won't be a
victim again "
The main problem with rape in
cidents involving acquaintances is
that most victims don't really feel
they have been actually raped, just
cruelly taken advantage of. according
to Lewis But, the emotional and
physical consequences are the same
A former University student, who
requested anonymity, related her
experience of being “date raped."
“I had two beers, then the next
thing I remember 1 was in the guy's
bed with my clothes undone." she
said "He had drugged me and raped
me I didn't feel guilty or anything. I
was just furious with him "
Another University student tells of
her close encounter with rape: "Our
dates were supposed to take us to a
party," she said "Instead, they tned
to take advantage of us against our
wills We were lucky We talked our
way out of the situation ''
Lewis and volunteers at the Athens
Rape Crisis Line say they commonly
encounter women with similar
stones Lewis said at least one woman
comes forward after group counseling
seminars and admits to having been
forced to have sex with someone she
knew
One woman counseled by the ARCL
explained her experience with a
sexually aggressive date
"The guy was showing me a poster
of his sailboat in his bedroom when he
slammed the door shut and threw me
down on the bed He sat on top of me
so I could hardly breathe and tore my
clothes off I was so shocked and
scared I didn't yell to my friend who
was watching TV in the next room I
w ish to hell I'd done that now . . ."
One reason such rapes occur is that
most women simply don't expect a
friend or date to commit such a crime
and, consequently, they fail to take
appropriate protective measures
Society usually pictures rapists as
masked strangers springing from
bushes at night — not the fellow next
door or a boyfriend
"It's probably hard to look at him as
a criminal." said Joe Walters, head of
the Athens Crime Prevention Unit
When forced to have sex with an
acquaintance, many women don’t
realize they have been raped But, the
criminal code of Georgia section 16-6
1. states: "A person commits the
offense of rape when he has carnal
knowledge of a female forcibly and
against her will ...”
But, as Lewis said, "If you say no
and someone forces you, you need to
take action. A woman may ask for
sex, but not rape "
Although few stranger-in-the-
bushes rapists are ever convicted,
even fewer rapists who know their
victims ever go to prison, according to
police
Only one rape case has been
reported to University police in the
last three years, said University
police Officer Carl Travillian Also, of
the 41 rapes reported to Athens police
in 1981, only four went to court and
two led to convictions
Even when rapes are reported, it is
very difficult to get convictions
without evidence taken from the
victims immediately following the
assault Otherwise, it is the victim's
word against the rapist's.
“The laws are set up for the
woman," said a Rape Crisis Line
Volunteer who refused to be iden
tified "It's as if the state is being
raped and the woman is on trial."
At rape seminars, Lewis said, she
I ton Ralwn R«1 and Hlack
frequently argues with male high
school students who insist that women
secretly wanted to be raped Lewis
said this argument was based on myth
and that society should realize it as
such
To prevent potential rapists from
getting the idea that a woman is
asking for rape, Lewis said a woman
must give one clear message —
“No!”
"When a girl is telling a guy no,'
her body language should say ‘no,’
too,” Lewis said
But, a 1980 article in Mademoiselle
magazine stated "nice guys" — even
on dates — often don't take no for an
answer
"There is no way to predict what
rape counselors say they hear so
often: He was so nice But once we
were alone together, it was just like
Jekyll and Hyde." the article stated
To combat the "hidden problem" of
date rape, most counselors say the
most important thing is getting
women to take precautions against
the unexpected, even when their dates
seem like nice, respectable men
MO. Phelps looks
back at 24 years
in Admissions
By TOMMY SIMS
HH and Rlark Mentor Reporter
Since M O. Phelps became Univer
sity assistant director of Admissions in
1959, and later director of Admissions in
1968, he not only has brought about
change, but has watched as the
University has changed around him
Phelps, who announced last week his
plans to retire from the University in
June 1984, saw the first two black
students enroll in the University as the
result of a court order
And Phelps is partly responsible for
the increased enrollment of students
here, which has grown from 6,000 to
24,000 since 1959
Phelps will turn over the Admissions
job to Claire Swann, who is now
associate director June I Swann will be
acting director until a permanent
replacement is found near the end of
the year
But Phelps plans to remain at the
University as executive director of
Admissions until his June 1984
retirement date
Phelps will help Swann with the
overall responsibilities of the Ad
missions office, which handles the
recruitment, review and acceptance of
undergraduate students to the
University.
One of Phelps's biggest ac
complishments, he said, was starting
the summer-orientation program for
incoming freshmen
“I'm proud of that," he said
Prior to the orientation program,
freshmen were "herded around like
cattle" each fall from one meeting
room to the next
Although Phelps may say, "I don't
guess I've really done much else," his
accomplishments are evident
"We have increased the standards of
admissions," Pheips said, "and
maintained selective admissions
policies throughout the last 15 years "
The biggest problem the University
will face in the immediate future will be
the drop in the number of high school
graduates. Phelps said.
"In order to maintain its current
enrollment,” he said, "the University
will either have to work harder to get a
larger number of applicants from the
group that is currently going to college,
encourage more people to attend
college, or enroll a larger percentage of
applicants who do apply.”
The first two hlack students enrolled
at the University in 1961 And since that
time Phelps has helped recruit many
blacks, including the 1,246 now on
campus
And, because of the decrease in the
birth rate nationwide in past years
Phelps said, the greatest percentage of
incoming students in the future would
be among black and international
students
The biggest challenge his successor
will have, other than solving the
decreasing enrollment problem, will be
"to continue to improve the academic
image of the University — a task which
we've worked on deligently for the last
25 years," he said
Although Swann will only hold the
position of acting director for a few
months, she said she was excited about
the challenge
One goal is to "keep attracting and
enrolling the very best freshmen
group," she said.
Phelps said his tentative plans after
retiring from the University might
include becoming an education and
traveling consultant He said he was
considering working with the
University Alumni Society.
But it is unlikely that Phelps - who
was on the 1943 Georgia football team
that took the Bulldogs to their first bowl
game ever — will forget the University
after retirement
"The University is probably one of
the best kept secrets in America,"
Phelps said proudly. "And many of us
at Georgia would probably just as soon
keep it that way."