Newspaper Page Text
THE RED AND BLAC
Athens, Ga., Vol. 92, No. 107
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
Wednesday, May 15, 1985
News 543 1809 Advertising 543-1791
Senate budget proposal
could limit in-state status
Carroll Slot man / The Red and Black
Some of the participating writers: a Who’s Who of modern Southern literati
Writers exploring Southern influences
By JIM MOODY
Rrd and Mart Mali H ritar
Seventeen of the South's most popular and eminent
writers will explore their region’s influence and per
spectives today through Saturday at the Roots in Georgia
Literary Symposium in the Tate Center
"We've never had this many writers in one place." said
Stanley Lindberg, editor of the Georgia Review , which is
sponsoring the symposium "This is an event that I think
is unprecedented in the state "
The symposium will feature writers and poets such as
James Dickey, author of "Deliverance,” Erskine Cald
well, author of "Tobacco Road" and "God's Little Acre"
and Harry Crews, whose autobiography "A Childhood"
was named one of the best books of 1978 by The New York
Times Book Review.
Each of the writers will comment on the role of Georgia
in his writing and will read a selection from one of his
works
The authors will meet with students often during the
symposium. Lindberg said Copies of the authors' works
will be on sale and authors will be available to autograph
them
Writer Raymond Andrews, a Madison native living and
writing in Athens, said Southern literature is gaining
mainstream acceptance
"Southern literature is getting more recognition now
than in the past,” Andrews said "It used to he that people
in the North viewed Southern life as a cross between 'Gone
With The Wind' and Tobacco Road
Andrews will read from his newest nobel, the un
published “Ninety-Nine Years and a Dark Day " Andrews
won the James Baldwin Prize, given to promising black
authors, for his first novel,' AppalacheeRed," in 1978
Marion Montgomery, a University English professor,
will read from his novel "Fugitive,” which is set in
Georgia
Montgomery said the symposium is concerned with the
influence of place and history on writers The effect of the
past on the present is "certainly conspicuous" in the
South, he said
"Southern literature is very conscious of its roots,'
Lindberg said "To know where you are now you have to
know where you've been. Some writers try to be very
avant-garde, but if they don't know what's already been
done, It's like re-inventing the wheel ."
The symposium will feature two panel discussions
moderated by Montgomery and University English
professor James Kilgo
The first panel will deal with confronting the influence
of a great writer and going on from there, Lindberg said.
The discussion begins with the only existing film in
terview with the late Flannery O’Connor
Philip Lee Williams, editor of the Athens Observer and
a University graduate, will participate in the first panel
discussion and will read from his novel "Heart of a
Distant Forest ”
Williams said he’s impressed with the "tremendous
vitality" Southern writers exhibit today
“There are some fairly steep precedents, with O'Connor
and Faulkner, of course, but there are plenty of fine
writers with a lot of diversity.”
The second panel will deal with Southern stereotypes in
literature and how to learn from them and eventually
overcome them
Kilgo said, "In my 18 years at the University I’ve never
seen any gathering like this. I don't know of any cir
cumstance that has called together so many writers of
this stature.
"Any southern state would have to yield to Mississippi,
with Faulkner and Eudora Welty,” he said “But
quality, Georgia stands up quite well We’ve had
O'Connor, we've got James Dickey and a host of others
who are good, solid writers."
Lindberg said The Georgia Review will film and tape
the symposium for posterity.
The symposium is funded by a *10,000 grant from the
Georgia Endowment for the Humanities and a matching
*5.000 grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities There is no preregistration and all events are
free of charge
By SUZANNE WOOD
Rwl and Mark Sritlor Rrportrr
Students declaring independence in order to improve
their financial aid standing could encounter greater ob
stacles to attaining that status if a U S. Senate budget
proposal passes the U.S. House of Representatives,
University and Senate officials said Tuesday
Duncan Helmrich, public affairs officer for the U.S.
Department of Education, said the proposal, passed last
week as part of the Senate’s budget package, would require
students to prove they have been independent of their
parents for two years prior to receiving aid
Under current government regulations, a student must
be independent for only one year, said Ray Tripp,
University director of student financial aid.
“More and more people have been claiming independent
status, Tripp said. “Now, people think the system needs
another look "
Tripp said students who apply for financial aid must
answer six questions concerning their financial relation
ship with their parents. He said the office asks whether the
student lived for more than 42 days at home, received more
than *750 from his parents or was claimed as a tax exemp
tion during the last fiscal year and the upcoming fiscal
year.
“If a student answers yes to any of these questions, f.e is a
dependent student," he said, "If he answers no to all of the
questions, but is under 25, his parents must sign a form con
firming the student's statement.”
Tripp said while the government doesn't deny aid to
students it classifies as dependent, the students must
provide information about their parents' finances, in
formation which will be used to determine aid.
Helmrich said the proposed change would strengthen the
requirements for aid, but would eliminate the age limit.
Tripp said he had no figures on how many students at the
University are classified as independent, but Helmrich said
nationally independent students account for 32 percent of
guaranteed student loan recipients and about 45 percent of
Pell Grant recipients.
Jann Finn, legislative assistant to Sen. Sam Nunn. D-Ga.,
said House passage of the proposal doesn't guarantee the
government will use it as a way to cut financial aid spen
ding. She said the independent-status proposal is one of
many measures passed as ways to cut the student financial
aid budget.
Congressional committees will decide this summer which
of the measures to use, Finn said.
Tom McDonald, Board of Regents vice chancellor for
Ray Tripp
student services, said the problem of independent status is
not new
"This has been a major concern of ours,” he said. “We
can never seem to get everybody together on it."
"He said that because independent students must pay for
their education themselves, and often raise a family at the
same time, they often require more aid than dependent
students
“The question becomes, as funds are reduced, do you
help more people or few people?" McDonald said "On the
other hand, we shouldn't put ourselves in the position of
cutting off independent students "
Construction noise prompts action
The Red and Black
IFC extends structured rush period to concentrate efforts
By TAM1 DENNIS
Krd and Black Sealer Repartee
At its bi-weekly meeting Tuesday
night, the University's Interfraternity
Council passed an amendment to the
dry rush program for fall quarter that
will extend the structured fraternity
rush period
The IFC structured the rush period
from two to three days, with the
structured period lasting from 9 a m.
until2p m each day
The structured period of rush
previously was scheduled for only two
days with the rush periods lasting a
longer period on those two days
“I think by extending it one extra day
and making the time period shorter
each day, we'U have a more con
centrated effort by the fraternities and
more attention from the rushees." Hix
Myrick, vice president for public
relations, said Tuesday
The IFC dry rush program involves a
period of structured rush during which
the rushees will be bused to the In
dividual houses This period is followed
by an unstructured period of rush The
entire rush will be dry
The IFC passed the dry rush program
April 17 in response to increasing
liabilities involved with the serving of
alcohol to minors The drinking age is
scheduled to rise from 19 to 20 Sept 30
IFC Executive Vice President
Stephen Smith said the extended
structured rush period is necessary in
order to have the kind of rush they are
y* ip
the IFC
•d problem of
an amendment to the
% Announced a rush
planning for the fall
“It's a big step, but I think it’s going
to work," Smith said
There was a serious problem with the
initial rush proposal in that the
program didn't provide the rushees
tune to eat lunch, said J D. Miller, rush
committee chairman
"We, as the IFC, cannot afford to pay
the money to feed ail the rushees,"
Miller said
Miller said the amendment moved
the structured period up a day rather
than adding an additional day at the
end of the previous days because that
would put a rush day on a Saturday
“It gives rushees a more objective
picture of the houses," Miller said.
The IFC members also adopted a
policy statement at the meeting in
which it called the “recent animal
abuse incidents by some of its members
as extremely distasteful and uncalled
for.”
Recent incidents included a case of
alleged chicken abuse at the Phi Delta
fraternity house on Feb 23 and a case
thrown out of court concerning a
cruelty to animal charge involving a
pig at Sigma Chi Derby Week April 2
Basically, what the policy statement
does is say that the IFC doesn't condone
such behavior in any way, said IFC
President Sam Holmes
The IFC also discussed the com
munity service project the IFC is
sponsoring May 22 for Athens
residential areas
“We are going to make ourselves
available for any odd jobs they may
want done," said Stuart Smith, IFC
administrative vice president.
Smith said all donations would be
going to the Salvation Army and that
the community service project would
improve the IFC’s relations with the
community
IFC members briefly discussed
complaints to the IFC from parents
when their high school age sons
received invitations to fraternity
parties.
"Most parents don’t enjoy reading
their son has been invited down to a
killer party to drink death punch,”
Holmes said
By MICHAEL KOENIG
Ki4 and Black Senior Reporter
After receiving several residents'
complaints about construction noise at
the Myers Hall parking deck,
University officials have asked the
state to force the deck’s builders to
start construction later In the day
Dave Lunde, director of campus
planning, said Tuesday he has written
to the Finance and Investment Com
mission, the state's bonding authority,
to ask Terry Development Co. to begin
work later
Lunde said he had a verbal
agreement with the company that work
wouldn’t start until 8 a m , but that the
developers often begin earlier
"They just like to get started earlier,
to work from 7 to 3 instead of 8 to 4,"
Lunde said "They still work eight
hours a day."
James Tardy, director of parking
services, said workers routinely start
construction about 7:15 a m. to 7:30
a m. However, Tardy said the workers
often have started later because of
adverse weather in the past tew weeks
Ginger Hughes, of the Myers Hall
Council, said the noise doesn't affect
her because she lives on the side of the
hall away from the construction, but
she said she's heard several com
plaints
"Every morning when I go to
breakfast, they’re out there," Hughes
said. "If I lived on that side of the hall,
I'd be really mad."
A student who lives on the Myers
wing facing the construction said the
noise has been a nagging problem.
Jeff Harper, a resident of Myers
Hall's south wing, says there is no one
incident which bothers him the most,
but the noise is "more of a constant
thing "
“It's all those construction machines,
motors rolling, earth being scraped,"
Harper said.
Harper said the construction work
sometimes makes it difficult for him to
concentrate on studying.
“They get started pretty early in the
morning, around daybreak." he said.
"If I have the window open, and I don’t
have a towel over it to muffle the sound,
it wakes me up
"It seems like they hardly ever let
up," he said "Sometimes I think I'm
getting used to it. I'd just as soon not get
used to it.”
Hughes said the council sent a letter
of complaint to Dan Hallenbeck,
director of University Housing
Hallenbeck said Tuesday he had
received several requests to curtail the
noise, but he said he referred the
matter to Lunde
Lunde said the deck is about half
complete and should be ready to open in
March 1988 He said any changes in
construction starting time shouldn't
affect the deck’s opening date.
He said other companies are doing
minor work on the deck, such as
McKinney Construction Co, which is
drilling the deck's supports.