Newspaper Page Text
THE RED AND BLACK
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
Athens, Go. Vol. 91, No. 2 Friday, Sept. 23, 1980 News 543-1809 Advertising 543-1791
Bus safety plan implemented
Last year's accidents
prompt new bus rules
By WILLIAM SMITH
Hrd and mark Stall Wrltrr
In an effort to improve pedestrian safety on campus. University officials have
implemented new safety regulations and will conduct a pedestrian safety study
this fall, said University Police Chief Luther Smart
University buses now have metal safety bars that prevent students from
blocking the bus driver’s view by keeping them away from the driver.
Buses also now have signs posted inside informing passengers that a driver will
stop the bus if his vision is blocked
Safety officials installed the safety bars because of bus accidents last spring in
which there were no serious injuries
But the incident prompted then acting University Public Safety Director Asa
Boynton to issue a statement warning bus drivers that he would cite them if they
violated the Georgia traffic code by allowing passengers to obstruct their view
In response to Boynton's statement, Physical Plant and Public Safety officials
agreed to install metal safety bars to prevent future violations
Boynton, now Public Safety Director, said, “University officials seem to have
.idequately handled the problem of drivers having obscured vision on University
buses,"
Last year's accidents were attributed to drivers with obscured vision.
Public Safety officials discussed the possibility of forcing students to stand
behind a white line located at the front of all buses, but because University buses
are often crowded, they agreed such a rule would be unenforcable, Boynton said.
Yet despite the new bar, Boynton said he still would enforce any obscured vision
violation "to the letters of the law."
And changes have been made on the University bus routes with an indented curb
bus pull-off, he said.
The curb was constructed during the summer on Sanford Drive, adjacent to the
bookstore, to relieve the traffic congestion at Memorial Hall.
Also to alleviate safety problems, officials may re-route pedestrian traffic after
a traffic study is completed.
University Public Safety officials will request about $55,000 from the state
Highway Board in October, Boynton said
The funds will be used to conduct the pedestrian safety study and implement any
necessary changes, he added
The study will examine campus crosswalks and pedestrian and auto traffic
patterns.
During the study, students will be informed of the hazards of driving near
pedestrian traffic, Smart said.
Crosswalks may then be moved, and new traffic signs will be posted in ac
cordance with the study’s recommendations, Boynton said
University Public Safety. Traffic Engineering and city and county police will all
participate in the program, Smart said
Students happy with Tate Center
By GREG KKKKMAN
Hrd and Mark Niaff Wrtlrr
Construction continues at University Towers
Completion of condos
postponed once again
By LISA PRITCHETT
K*4 and Mark Slafl WrtWr
Student tenants of University
Towers have yet to make the new
condominiums their home sweet
home, because construction delays
again have postponed their moving
date
Problems with building inspections,
the latest of which was Thursday
afternoon, have kept the students
from moving into the condominiums
Tom Scott, vice president of con
struction for Benchmark Atlantic, the
company building the high rise
condominium, said, "We re going to
try to get this worked out with the
building authorities i Friday i."
He refused to comment further on
the reasons the building did not pass
Thursday's inspection
The tenants of floors two through
six were to move into their new
condominiums for the kickoff of the
school year after living at local hotels
and apartment complexes all at the
expense of Benchmark Atlantic, said
Arthur Schultz, president of Ben-
chmark-Atlantic
University Towers, located on
Broad Street in the old downtown
parking garage across from north
campus, contains 72 units which
range in price from Ml ,500 to $107,500
Construction on University Towers
began last November and a new
completion date is set for Oct 15
Earl Wiggins, sales executive with
Benchmark Atlantic, said earlier this
year approximately 80 percent of the
units were purchased by the parents
of University students
Tenants of the upper three floors
also are still waiting for their con
dominiums to he completed. Schultz
said, adding that they were living at
East Campus Ridge. University
Gardens and Regency Park Apart
ments until completion of the project
"It's been a mess,” he said "We've
spent $62,000 on rental and furniture
for all these other apartments But
our primary concern was what to do
with 200 kith.”
“About a month ago, we realized
that we were going to be behind, even
though the contractor didn't say so,
and we went out and leased these
apartments for three months
Schultz said
A student tenant of one of the upper
floors, who asked not to be identified
said he was not surprised he had to
wait until October to move in
"We were expecting this," he said
"We were told that they would put us
up so we don’t have any problems
with them.”
Construction on floors seven
through nine will continue even after
residents have occupied the lower
floors
Students may be a little lost and
confused in the new Dean William Tate
Student Center, but most say they like
the facility and have few serious
complaints
“I like it a lot It's a really nice place,
except the girl in the information center
didn’t know where the stairs are," said
Amy McDaniel, a senior journalism
student "I heard they would have the
homecoming dance in here That's
really great 1 always thought they
should have a facility big enough for
that '
‘It’s got about all I can
think of that it would
need to have in here’
—Andy Williams
Most students said they seemed quite
impressed with the size ol the Tate
Center and said they were looking for
ward to using the varied facilities
within it.
On Thursday, the opening day of the
new student center, students had
already discovered many areas, in
cluding the game room and the TV
lounge
Trey King, a sophomore transfer
student from Young Harris College,
said he was impressed with the Tate
Center and added it was much nicer
than student centers he had seen on
other college campuses
“It's really a nice place, much nicer
than others I've seen," he said "This
building is as big as three or four we
had "
Others agreed that the Tate Center is
a welcome addition to the campus
“Well, I just transferred here, but I
like it,” said Ahdy Williams, a junior
biology student "It’s better than
Student pool hustlers warm up for another year
anything I've seen before It's got about
all I can think of that it would need to
have In here."
Most students also said the 17-month
delay was worth enduring, although
many new students knew nothing of the
Tate Center's construction problems
"1 think it's great," Elaine Picquet, a
transfer student from East Tennessee
State, said. "But I did hear there were
some problems and you had to wait a
long time. Just think of all those old
people that didn’t get to see it.”
Becky Mullally, a sophomore
chemistry student, agreed that the
construction delays were worth the
wait
"I think it's worth it. I definitely like
it, except for the TV room. The TV
room was stuffy and dark I liked it
more in Memorial Hall," she said. "It
was more comfy and homey ."
Other students also said that
Memorial Hall was a place where they
felt comfortable But they added they
had no real qualms about moving the
student center to the Tate Center,
which they admitted was much better
suited to to the needs of students
"Memorial Hall has some kind of
flavor to it This is so modern," said
Leslie Fischer, a sophomore studying
genetics. “It's neat inside. It's like
being outside 1 can’t tell right now
about the whole thing because it's not
really finished, but I like it now."
Education cited as reason for drop in crime
M I
Atfrivau4 AmiiK ItargUrv
Source Annual Activity Report llttZI,
Atkcm Police Department
By ELIZABETH VAETH
Rrt and Block Stott Writer
The national trend of decreasing
crime is only slightly visible in Athens,
according to the statistics from the 1982
Annual Activity Report released by the
Athens Police Department
Nationally in 1982 the crime rate
decreased 4 percent, according to the
FBI's annual uniform crime report
released this month
But locally, homicide, rape and
aggravated assault declined from 1981
to 1982, although there was an increase
in robberies, arson and burglaries
Nationally, murder declined by 7
percent, robbery was down 6 percent
and rape dropped 5 percent.
Aggravated assault nationally in
creased by 1 percent
Although Athens' crime rate
decreased with the rest of the nation
it did not follow suit in specific areas
For example, burglary decreased on
a national level 6 percent, but in
Athens, it was up by 21 percent.
"You shouldn't necessarily expect
Athens to be a microcosm of national
statistics because different com
munities have different socio
demographic characteristics For
instance, burglary may be defined
differently in Iowa than in Georgia."
said James Massey, assistant professor
in sociology
CpI. Mel Hegwood, spokesman for
Athens Police Department, cited better
community / police relations and
educational programs as reasons for
the decreases in area crime
"I think one of the reasons is people
are becoming more aware and looking
out for each other,” Hegwood said.
"Education is the key goal, the key
word.”
Hegwood commended the neigh
borhood watch programs as an aid in
controlling criminal activities.
“It has to be a community in
volvement," Hegwood said.
The statistics gathered are based on
crimes reported to the police Specific
changes in local criminal activity from
1981 to 1982 include the following:
• There were two homicides *n
Athens in 1981; in 1982 there were five
homicides.
• There was a slight decrease in
forcible rape — from 16 in 1981 to 15 in
1982
• Robberies were up from 91 in 1981
to 110 in 1982
• Aggravated assault dropped from
193 in 1981 to 154 in 1982
• Burglary jumped from 789 in 1981
to 874 in 1982
• Driving under the influence
citations increased from 526 in 1981 to
673 in 1982
While the national crime rate drop of
4 percent was the largest decrease in
six years, Massey said the various
statistics can be misinterpreted
"It could be a real decrease, but I
would always look for methodological
flaws irv the official collecton of
statistics," he said
“The reluctance of people to report
crime would very easily force the enme
rate down, when in fact there is less
reporting, ” Massey added
For the crime rate to have any real
significance, it must decrease over a
longer period of time, he said.
Bell sponsors
conference
on education
By SUSAN LACCETTI
Kr«i and Hlark Mall Wrllrr
More than 800 educators and public
officials from around the Southeast will
Join U.S Education Secretary Terrel
Bell at the Fine Arts auditorium this
morning for a day-long conference on
the quality of public education.
The conference is one of 12 regional
meetings Bell is sponsoring throughout
the country to provide a forum for
discussion on recommendations made
earlier this year by the National
Commission on Excellence in
Education
The conference includes a panel
discussion by Georgia educators led by
School Superintendent Charles Mc
Donald and Vernon Crawford.
University System chancellor
Ron Newcomb, a former University
professor and now a member of Gov.
Joe Frank Harris' staff on education,
will be on hand. State Reps Hugh
Logan and Bob Argo, D-Athens, also
will attend
State and local school officials from
Florida, Alabama. South Carolina and
Mississippi have been invited to the
conference. University officials are
expecting political representatives
from each state, including a few
congressmen.
The National Commission on Ex
cellence in Education reported earlier
this year that education in the United
States is rapidly declining.
President Reagan remarked to a
University of South Carolina audience
Tuesday that "American schools are
failing to do the job they should
"We must offer an education system
to meet the challenges of change. The
sad fact is, that system doesn't exist
today," Reagan said.
Bell is sponsoring the regional con
ferences to gather information for a
national conference of educators that
will be scheduled later this year.
Bell is trying to “stimulate public
reaction," to the Commission's report,
said Le Zekiel, the U.S. Department of
Education’s news chief.
Input from local education leaders
will be compiled in a final report that
outlines plans for the future of
American education, Zekiel said.