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The Red & Black
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia Community
INSIDE
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1990 » ATHENS, GEORGIA « VOLUME 97, ISSUE 59
Parents push for campus safety legislation
THE PUBLIC SAFETY DIVISION HOUSING SECURITY
CHECKLIST
Shown aro portions of a checklist provided by the Unlvorslty Pollco to assist sludonls
In moklng a socurlty-consclous housing choice. The Item scores ore considered by
Individual cctegoiy, with five being the highest available score, and with zoro Doing
tho lowest.
CATEGORY ITEM VALUE
Door Locks
DD
□ O'
Deadbolt w/greater than 1" bolt
Deadbolt w/1" bolt
Deadbolt w/lcss than 1' bolt
Cylindrical lock
Door Chain
5
4
3
2
0
Window
Socurity
mm
non
1000
Key locks on wood or metal
Pinning windows or painted shut
Latch locks and protective glazing
Latch locks with catch
Latch locks
5
4
3
2
1
Lighting
Uniform lighting in parking area and
well lighted walkway to building 5
Well lighted walkway to building (only) 4
Floodlighting and Spotlighting of
some walkways 3
Non-uniform lighting 2
Cosmetic lighting w/little illumination O
Security
Continuous security checks 5
Random security checks 4
Designated security patrols 3
Stationary security guards 2
No security guards 0
Dm. OKMtte/Th, P«l and Black souroa: Unlwrally of Oeoitta Pollco
Push for rated housing
The parents of a University student who was stabbed in her Athens
apartment by an intruder in 1988 are pushing for a national housing
rating program for college campuses.
The program, proposed by Jim and Liza Getzinger, will rate student
housing, primarily off-campus, on the basis of housing safety and the
crime statistics of its area.
Jim Getzinger said he wants his housing-rating program to be run na
tion-wide by community-based groups such as local chambers of com
merce, mens’ clubs, womens’ clubs, the police and public safety
organizations.
“By having all of those organizations active, we hope to tone down the
partiality that would result with only the university involved," he said.
The housing rating system would evaluate housing by its location in
the community, the crime rate of the area and the residence’s design such
a9 sliding glass doors on the first floor, wall gates and on-site security,
Getzinger said.
University Police Lt. Lisa Boone said the University has a safety-
rating system for ofT-campus housing that is available upon request.
—Laura Ro©
By LAURA ROE
Staff Writer
The parents of two students vic
timized by campus crime have
gotten legislation passed in three
states to increase awareness of
campus crime and to provide the
safety measures needed for college
students.
In 1986, Howard and Connie Cl-
er/s 19-year-old daughter Jeannie
was murdered while she was
sleeping in her dorm room at Le-
High University in Pennsylvania.
In memory of their daughter, the
Clerys have proposed to state legis
latures the Clery Bill, which re
quires schools to collect accurate
crime statistics and release them
upon request.
Jim and Liza Getzinger are the
parents of University student
Dana Getzinger who was stabbed
January 17, 1988 while sleeping in
her Athens apartment. Dana re
covered from the attack and now
assists her parents in trying to pre
vent similar incidents.
The Getzingers took great in
terest in the Clerys’ efforts and in
1988 created Safe Campuses Now.
The main purpose of the organiza
tion, which consists of the couple
and a few volunteers, is to increase
awareness about violent crime on
college campuses and the appro
priate safety measures schools can
take.
Liza Getzinger said the group
receives many letters from all over
the country about campus crime.
The group answers the mail and
sends information to any who are
concerned about the issue.
Safe Campuses Now was first
started to help pass the Clery Bill
in Florida, and now is involved
with speaking at local schools and
sending information about violent
crime at universities.
The Getzingers have worked
hard to promote the Clery Bill,
which has passed in Florida, Penn
sylvania and West Virginia. The
bill has been introduced in New
Jersey and Delaware and is pen
ding in Massachusetts, California
and Texas, Getzinger said.
Getzinger is waiting for proper
sponsorship for the bill to intro
duce it in Georgia, North Carolina
and South Carolina.
The Pennsylvania bill is
stronger than the one passed in
Florida, Getzinger said. In Penn
sylvania, the law requires univer
sities to give their students annual
crime statistics about their school.
The Pennsylvania law also has a
penalty of $10,000 for false or inac
curate records submitted by the
school.
The Florida law requires all
schools to show their crime statis
tics upon request, but there’s no
penalty for false documentations.
“All it is is politics,” Getzinger
said. “Why should Pennsylvania
students be safer than Georgia or
Florida students?”
Dana Getzinger said it should be
mandatory for schools to report
their crime statistics and to be held
accountable for reports which
aren’t accurate. Students should be
aware of the crime prevalent on
college campuses, she said.
“I would not wont everyone else
to have to learn the hard way,” she
said.
While asleep in her bed the
morning after her sorority’s winter
form.nl two years ago, Getzinger
was awakened by a masked in
truder who tried to suffocate her
with a pillow. In reaction to her
struggles, the intruder stabbed
her, puncturing her aorta.
Although she had many friends
Please See GETZINGER Page 3
Committee
discusses
Univ. council
By WALTER COLT
Staff Writer
The Executive Committee of the
University Council held a special
meeting Wednesday to discuss pos
sible reforms for the council — the
University’s main policy-making
body.
Peter Shedd, Executive Com
mittee chairman, said in an inter
view before the meeting that he
thought the committee would look
into changing the council’s statutes
and by-laws.
The committee, however, de
cided to form subcommittees to ex
amine the council.
• One subcommittee will look
into the structure and purpose of
each council committee.
• Another subcommittee will ex
amine the election of council mem
bers, including the possibility of
extending member’s terms.
• A third will investigate the
possibility of the council having its
own secretarial and staff support
— most of its paperwork now
comes out of the registrar’s office.
• The final subcommittee will
discuss problems not addressed by
the other three, such as the distinc
tion between the administration’s
and the council’s duties.
Executive committee members
will volunteer to be on one or more
of each subcommittee.
Paul Kurtz, a law school pro
fessor and previous committee
chairman, said at the meeting that
the committee needs subcommit
tees for the reforms because they
are more efficient than one large
group.
He said the subcommittees
would simply come up with sugges
tions and supply them to the Exec
utive Committee. The committee
would then discuss the suggestions
before furthering a resolution to
the full council.
The committee’s discussion of re
forms was the first since its retreat
last year. At that time, it discussed
possible improvements to the
council, including longer terms for
both council and individual council
committee members.
Currently, standing members of
committees only serve two-year
terms. At least half of each com
mittee leaves at the end of every
year, and rew members must be
oriented. Shedd said the duties of
the subcommittee on committees
will include looking into extending
those terms.
The subcommittee on election of
members will look into the addition
of staff personnel such as secre
taries and custodians, Shedd said.
The council is currently made up
of administrators, faculty, library
faculty, research and service units
and students. Staff personnel
aren't represented.
The committee will finalize the
details of the subcommittee studies
at its Feb. 13 meeting.
Up the middle
Center Neville Austin finds the way blocked by Gators as he powers
up for two. The Bulldogs stuffed Florida 70-65 Tuesday night.
President unable to attend
SA defeats proposal to add
19 school, college senators
By DARA F. MclEOD
Staff Writer
The Student Association voted 15 to 1 Tuesday
against SA President Mark Schisler’s proposal to add
19 members to the senate as representatives of the 13
schools and colleges.
The proposal would have been SA’s first step in
gaining the power to appoint student representatives
to University Council.
Schisler, who was unable to attend the meeting due
to a minor car accident, said he would have been able
to explain the details of the proDosal if he had been
present. He will re-introduce tne proposal at next
Tuesday’s meeting.
The University Council is a legislative body made
up of faculty and student representatives elected from
their school or college. The SA is a representative
body in which senators are elected from their class.
‘The University Council and the SA have always
had an ambiguous relationship,” Schisler said.
The council bylaws state that if and when a student
government is organized, it may take over all or part
of the council’s student elections, Schisler said.
Rob Nelson, a student representative to the council,
said at the meeting that the framers of the council by
laws had some sort of involvement with a student gov
ernment in mind.
The council hasn’t officially addressed the issue,
but he thinks most members would have no problem
with SA senators serving on it.
Schisler said the SA currently can’t appoint rep
resentatives to the University Council because SA
doesn’t elect representatives through colleges and de
partments and therefore isn’t truly representative of
the student body.
He said student representatives are outnumbered
by faculty in the council and that student input there
is ineffective.
'The student voice is already diluted to a great ex
tent. The important thing is to try to unify the student
voice as much as possible," he said.
Senior Sen. Molly Mednikow said she doesn’t think
SA appointed council members would make either
group any stronger.
‘1 think there are more productive, efficient ways to
improve our relationship with the University Council.
This will make SA much less productive and it will
show itself to be the political power play that it really
is,” she said.
If the proposal passes at Tuesday’s meeting, it will
be incorporated into an amended SA Constitution,
which students will vote on during spring elections.
The SA would have a year to campaign at the Uni
versity’s colleges and departments to convince them to
let it appoint council representatives, Schisler said.
Peter Shedd, University Council’s Executive Com
mittee chairman, will attend Tuesday’s meeting to
discuss the proposal. Shedd was unavailable for com
ment on the proposal Wednesday.
In other business, the SA:
• Voted to keep as written Article 5 of the SA Con
stitution, which deals with freshman elections. How
ever, the elections will be held on or before Oct. 30
rather than Oct. 15. The SA was considering replacing
freshman senators with a freshman advisory board
that would not be able to vote.
• Voted unanimously to change the organization’s
name to the Student Government Association. Sopho
more Sen Laura Petrides said that most other stu
dent governments go by SGA rather than SA. She said
the new name would be less ambiguous.
Hull-Snelling House is center of historic conflict
Christian College is owner;
Holiday Inn potential buyer
By STEPHANIE A. LEAR
Contributing Writer
After a public hearing at Tuesday’s
Athens City Council meeting, the fates of a
neighborhood and its most notable struc
ture, the Hull-Snelling House, are still un
known.
The Athens Historic Preservation Com
mission has proposed that the district, bor
dered by Holiday Inn and University
graduate parking, be designated a historic
district.
However, Christian College of Georgia,
which owns seven of eight buildings in the
district, including the Hull-Snelling House,
vehemently opposes the designation.
David Chesnut, attorney for Christian
College, said at Tuesday’s hearing that Hol
iday Inn has agreed not to buy Hull-Snel
ling House if someone would ofter $400,000
to preserve the house.
Athens attorney John Barrow told the
council that $400,000 is far greater than the
market value of the house under current
zoning.
Chesnut also said the college would be
willing to contribute toward moving the
house, which is said to have the oldest bay
windows in Athens.
The house currently is under contract for
sale to Holiday Inn, which has petitioned
unsuccessfully to rezone the property for a
parking lot.
The city’s Public Works Committee will
discuss the historic district proposal Feb.
20. City Council has the final vote on the
matter. The council meets the first Tuesday
of every month.
Designation of a historic district would
set guidelines on property use concerning
structural alterations, meyor landscape
changes, building maintenance and struc
ture demolition.
Christian College of Georgia,
which owns seven buildings
in the district, vehemently
opposes the designation.
University history professor Carl Vip-
permnn said at Tuesday’s meeting that
Athens has “a responsibility to preserve
something that is genuine and unique.”
Jack Limehouse, 71, said, “The neighbor
hood 1 knew as a barefoot boy is gone. You
all will never know that neighborhood.”
Limehouse, who was raised in the neigh-
Hull-Snelling House: A subject of controversy between Christian College
and the Athens Historic Preservation Commission
borhood and still lives there, said it’s too
late to save the area and that “there’s
nothing historic there.”
“It’s our property,” Ray Austin, chairman
of Trustees for Christian College, said, “and
the property is to be used for our purposes."
He said the college’s goal is to provide the
best possible Christian education and that
would be stymied by a historic district des
ignation. For the college, he said, “the prop
erty is a means to an end.”
Another building in the neighborhood,
the Ray-Nicholson House, was a University
dining hall in the 1820s.