Newspaper Page Text
THE RED AND BLACK
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia commurity
Athens, Ga. Vol. 92, No. 24 Thursday, November 1, 1984 News 543-1809 Advertising 543-1791
Gov. Harris won’t
publicly endorse
chancellor hopeful
By JOHN ALDEN
Rrd and Mark Srnior Reporter
Governor Joe Frank Harris said
Wednesday he will not publicly endorse
either University President Fred
Davison or University System Vice
Chancellor Dean Propst for University
System Chancellor
•Whomever the regents select will be
the governor's candidate,' Harris said
in his weekly press conference in
Atlanta Barbara Morgan, the
governor’s press secretary, said the
governor is not trying to determine the
choice of a successor to Chancellor
Vernon Crawford, but will leave the
choice to the full Board of Regents
“Publicly, he is not trying to guide a
choice for chancellor." Morgan said
On Tuesday the Atlanta Constitution
reported that Gov Harris told Regent
Edgar Rhodes that he favored the
selection of Propst, but that he would
work with either candidate selected
In his news conference today. Harris
said the conversation was held in
private, and he would not comment on
it.
"I'm not going to comment on a
private conversation I might have had
with members of the Board of
Regents. " Harris said
However, he said he felt he would not
be living up to his responsibility as the
chief executive of the state if he held no
opinions on the matter, which he said
holds importance for the future of the
state's education system
"I think 1 would be less than the kind
of governor that I’m going to be if I did
not have input when it was requested of
me." Harris said
Harris has said in the past two weeks
that he intended to stay out of the
process publicly, to keep from
politicizing it or influencing the
selection
‘Whomever the
regents select will be
the governor's can
didate. ’
— Joe Frank Harris
Morgan said, despite that concern,
that the governor felt it was ap
propriate for him to have opinions on
the result of a process that will affect a
major area of his administration
Barry Wood, the University's vice
president for development and
University relations, said Wednesday
that President Davison could not
comment on the governor's statement,
and reaffirmed that he is still a can
didate for the position
"He hasn't withdrawn his name,''
Wood said
O Brother
"Hey. hey we're the Monk-rev and peo-
pie say we monk-ey around, but we’re
loo busy chanting to put anybody down.
We bang around in churches, say a
prayer or two. ..” Michael Nesmith or
Davey Jones he’s not. Actually, student
Mark Lasley broke his vow of silence
Wednesday to tell a Red and Black
photographer that he “just wanted to he
different for Halloween." Mark trudged
across North Campus, seemingly
oblivious to the fashion risk he was tak
ing. Nocturnal triek-or-trealers took
greater risks on campus and in Athens.
A few Ronald Reagan lookalikes were
spotted at the Reed Community Hallo
ween party.
Speeding, DUI laws
toughened by program
aimed at 19 counties
By JOHN WILLIAMS
Red and Hlark Senior Reporter
The federal government today began
its “Fastlane Blues" program, a
$422,000 grant project aimed at rein
forcing DUI and speeding laws in 19
Georgia counties, including Clarke
County.
CpI. S.E. Swatsenbarg, of Georgia
State Patrol Post No. 32 in Athens, said
the program provides for extra
surveillance on Thursdays and Fridays
after the troopers' regular working
hours. Service is on a volunteer basis by
state troopers who want to stay on extra
hours, Swatsenbarg said.
“To make the program more appeal
ing to them, they can choose between
working a four- or eight-hour shift at
regular hourly wages," he said
The troopers' sole function will be to
patrol an assigned route looking for
drivers under the influence of alcohol
and speeders.
"They will not be investigating
anything else, such as accidents, which
they will call into the trooper office,"
Swatsenbarg said.
As a result of the additional funding,
each trooper will be equipped with an
Alco-Sensor, a portable alcohol detec
tion device Swatsenbarg said these
sensors will save time when a DUI ar
rest is made.
The scanners make it possible to give
an accurate blood alcohol content and
determine whether or not the driver
legally can be removed from the road.
The Alco-Sensor still is not recogniz
ed by the courts as a valid test for a DUI
conviction.
"Troopers will use it as a screening
device," Swatsenbarg said. Instead of
using their own opinion or the driver's
actions as clues to whether or not the
driver is drunk, the trooper will be able
to get a reliable reading from the Alco-
Sensor, he said.
According to Swatsenbarg. a DUI is a
civil proceeding in which a person is
bound to the Implied Consent Law, a
law which requires that a person con
sent to a breath test or lose his license.
"A lot of people have this idea that
they cannot be charged if they do not
submit to the test," he said “This is not
true, and you will, in fact, lose your
license even if you are found innocent at
the proceeding.”
‘A lot of people have
this idea they can’t be
charged if they don’t
submit to the test. ’
— S.E. Swatsenbarg
Bill Wilson, the state Public Safety
Department’s information director,
said the 19 counties were chosen on the
basis of their total number of accidents
and percentage of alcohol-related ac
cidents Wilson said the presence of the
University influenced Clarke County s
designation as one of the 19 counties
targeted for aid.
The prime areas for surveillance in
Clarke County are US 78, US 29 and
state road 15, Wilson said Most of the
patrolling will be done in the county out
side the city limits, where most of the
violations occur, he said
The program starts today and will
run until the end of March, Wilson said,
adding that if the grant is successful, he
hopes it will be extended beyond the six
month period
Students deny drinking ‘problems’
Local groups combat abuse
with therapy, prevention
By KIM SIMON
IIMl jn*f Mark Huff » rllrr
Although about 18 percent of
University undergraduates are
"problem drinkers." only 7 percent
classify themselves as such. Universi
ty off iciaIs say
Gerald Spence, adviser to the
University's Alcohol Awareness Com
mittee, says a 1981 survey the com
mittee conducted on campus found
that 86 percent of undergraduate
students drink, and 24 percent of them
drink three or four times each week
Almost 15 percent of the frequent
drinkers said they consumed five or
more beers per sitting, and 48 percent
of those people drink that amount in
three or four hours
Almost seven percent of the
students surveyed identified
themselves as problem drinkers,
which totals about 960
undergraduates, he said
Robert Shapiro of the University
Health Services Mental Health Clinic
says this last figure is probably low
because most problem drinkers are
not aware they have a problem
"Drinking is such a promoted part
of life on campus that people may
have to drink too much more than the
people around them to have a pro
blem," he says
"The people who have the drinking
problems are usually the last to come
around and ask for help More often it
is a concerned boyfriend or girlfriend
that comes by
Ray Silva, unit director of 'the
psychiatric and substances depart
ment at the Athens General Substance
Abuse Treatment Program, says the
lifestyle of many campus Greek
organizations encourages drinking to
excess
"It would be helpful if someone
would educate the sororities and
fraternities on drinking,'' he says.
Silva classifies alcohol abuse as a
chemical addiction disease
"Part of the disease-is denial," he
says "Most of the people gradually
lose their control of drinking, so they
are able to slowly build up their
defenses and rationalize their
behavior "
Denial is only one of the warning
signs of a drinking problem Others
listed by the Department of Health,
Education and Welfare are drinking
in the morning, drinking alone, fre-
n ! blackouts gulping drinks, often
ung to the state of intoxication,
increased tolerance of alcohol and us
ing alcohol as a way of "coping with
life."
Shapiro says that although 16 to 18
percent of undergraduate college
students are problem drinkers, which
he defines as "people who drink six to
eight drinks more than two times per
week," he only sees a small propor-
tlbn of them in the clinic.
Silva says many people won't seek
help because they are embarrassed or
ashamed of their drinking Others are
afraid to stop drinking because it is
the only life they know
BACCHUS is a campus organiza
tions which says that prevention is the
best treatment for alcohol abuse
Laura Frantz, co-president of BAC
CHUS, says "We try to anticipate and
prevent these problems by going out
to fraternities and sororities and
speaking on ways to control drink
ing " BACCHUS also distributes pam
phlets on responsible drinking,
alcoholism and drunken driving.
Students with drinking problems
seeking help on campus may contact
either the Counseling and Testing
Center or the University Health Ser
vices Mental Health Clinic
ShApiro says students with severe
drinking problems may be referred to
other organizations in the county,
such as ADAPT — Alcohol and Drug
Abuse Prevention Treatment pro
gram — an outpatient treatment pro
gram which offers educational and
outpatient counseling; SAP, or the
Substance Abuse Treatment Pro
gram. and Alcoholics Anonymous
The Athens General Substance
Abuse Treatment Program offers a
four-to-six-week program which re
quires the patient to live in the
hospital
Silva says although each patient has
an individual treatment plan, the
basic idea is to treat the problem in a
way that will enable the patient to live
'a life free from mood-altenng drugs
Silva says no alcohol whatsoever is
allowed during the treatment period,
the patient is forced to stop drinking
at once rather than gradually During
the course of the program, the patient
attends group and individual therapy.
Alcholics Anonymous meetings and
educational sessions to learn more
about alcohol and its effects.
Silva says the therapy helps the pa
tient to understand why he drinks, and
teaches him dependence on people
rather than alcohol
"Basically what we do is to take
away all the excuses that people give
for drinking." he says "We also train
people what to do when they get the
urge to drink
"We teach them to use people
Awareness study said H6 percent of undergraduates drink
rather than alcohol to control the
urges If they try to gutsy it out
themselves, most of them can’t make
it. Through the years, the urges will
get farther and farther apart," he
says.
Silva says more than half of his pa
tients stay "straight" after leaving
the center He points out that these
people probably will never be able to
drink again without having trouble
keeping control. "Once a person goes
over the line and becomes an
alcoholic, he will never be able to
drink the same way again," he says
He attributes this to a rise in the
chemical level in the brain, which re
mains high once the person dries out
Silva says studies suggest
alcoholism is hereditary, and people
who have a parent or multiple
relatives with drinking problems have
a higher than-average risk of develop
ing drinking problems of their own
Donald Goodwin, a psychiatrist in
St Louis, Mo, conducted a study in
which twins who had been adopted by
different parents were compared for
'alcohol-related problems On the
whole, researchers found a similar
rate of alcoholism which helped
support a theory that some children
are bom with a chemical imbalance
that is genetic, and causes them to
metabolize alcohol differently than
most people
Silva said that when this high-risk
sort of person is put into a university
setting, he will be more susceptible to
alcohol addiction than most of his
peers
“I think that people need to look at
what they’re doing and realize
are putting themselves and other peo
ple at a risk," Silva says.
Shapiro says, "There’s an old ad
that says you have U> let an alcoholic
hit bottom before he will do anything,
but that isn’t true anymore.’’
Davison asks schools
to improve standards
By TOMMY TOMLINSON
Rrd and Hlark Senior Reporter
Calling for raised standards in
primary and secondary education,
University President Fred Davison
praised the University but asked for
further work in the elementary and
high schools in his annual State of the
University address Wednesday.
Davison, who spoke to a crowd of
about 100 at the Law School auditorium,
called the situation in primary and
secondary schools “an educational
crisis,” adding that improving
elementary and high schools will be the
key to the University's success
“If we can Improve the educational
experience in grades K through 12, the
University will be better able to meet
its own goals." Davison said
Davison cited computer-aided in
struction and the University's
Developmental Studies Program as
ways the University is working with
lower-level schools
Davison said the University is un
dertaking these programs because of
studies showing higher dropout rates
and decreasing Scholastic Aptitude
Test scores in Georgia
"We are a nation that has a great
ability to underchallenge our young
people," Davison said.
He said the University has resources
such as counselors and computer time
that other state colleges cannot match,
thus making the University well-suited
to meet the needs of high school
students
Davison also touted the University’s
current status, calling his address "the
most optimistic in the 17 years I’ve
been here."
He especially lauded the biological
sciences program, which he said
produced 16 58 in outside income for
every state dollar invested
Davison reiterated earlier requests
for a new biological sciences building
on campus
"The University is losing $4 to $6
million dollars annually because we
have no place to house the people and
do the work," he said.
Davison said increased bioscience
technology is essential to the quality of
life in the future
He pointed out that there is a dearth
of necessary bioscience research,
adding that “the most compelling
reason ifor adding the building) is that
our future is at stake "
Davison also alluded to the
University’s supercomputer facilities
as being some of the most powerful in
the country
The University's 206 supercomputer,
along with a Cyberplus computer to be
added next year, will give the
University "the largest computing
capacity of any other computer site in
Fred Davison
America.”
He also commended the University’s
Bicentennial success, saying that
“we've done well beyond our wildest
dreams "
‘We are a nation that
has a great ability to
underchallenge our
young people.'
— Fred Davison
"The evidence of tangible support is
everywhere," Davison said. "I think we
are the envy of every other institution
of higher education in America."
He said the University’s com
petitiveness has made it one of the
nation's finest
"One of the reasons I’m so optimistic
is that I think we can whip our com
petition," he said.
Charles James, associate dean for
the College of Arts and Sciences, said
he thought the speech reflected well on
the University's progress.
"I think we've done an excellent job
here, and his address brought that out,”
James said. "I thought he pertained to
the University’s successes pretty well.
"President Davison has done an
excellent job as president of this
university, and he showed off his
deserved success in his speech. ”