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■ Peabody Award winners announced — 6
The Red & Black
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia Community
INSIDE
Kichard Butler and the
rest of the Psychedelic
Furs will be playing
Athens next week.
7
Weather: Today, rain. Tonight,
rain. High in low 70s. low upper
50s Saturday, rain, mld-60s. Oh
well, it couldn't last. Don't forget
to wear green tomorrow.
FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 1990 • ATHENS, GEORGIA • VOLUME 97, ISSUE
Alumna killed in auto accident
By MARLA EDWARDS
Staff Writer
Karen Leigh Newton, 24, a past presi
dent of Delta Delta Delta sorority and a
self-employed interior designer, died in
an automobile accident in Bogart
Tuesday night.
Funeral services will be held today at
11 am. at Young Harris Memorial
United Methodist Church.
A 1988 University graduate with a
bachelor’s degree in fine arts in interior
design, Newton was also a past vice
president of Tri Delt and served as the
sorority's scholarship adviser from Jan
uary 1989 to January 1990.
Newton was a lifelong resident of
Athens as well as a member of Young
Harris Memorial United Methodist
Church and a 1984 graduate of Clarke
Central High School.
Family and friends remember
Newton as a genuine and compassionate
person.
“She had that innate nature of having
a dry shoulder and letting people use it,"
Glenn Newton, Karen’s father, said
Sorority members described her as a
sincere person who was devoted to ev
erything she did. One friend said
Newton was one of the most caring and
conscientious people she knew.
Newton was to be married in May.
Survivors include her parents, Glenn
and Juanita Newton; two sisters, Patsy
Bryan of St. Simons Island and Teresa
Carter of Athens; and her fiancee, Jef
frey Watkins of Cartersville.
Those who wish to do so may send do
nations to the Karen Newton Memorial
Fund, PO Box 6255, Athens, Ga.
30606, or deliver them to the First
American Bank and Trust Co at 300
College Ave. Tri Delta sorority members
will be honorary pallbearers.
Donations to the Karen Newton Me
morial Fund will go for a memorial
sei vice at Young Harris Memorial Meth
odist Church and to the Potter’s House
Christian Rehabilitation Center where
Mi Newton is a volunteer.
Without a hitch
Hitchhiker Tripper John makes a flute on North Campus. John has hitchhiked across the country, going
from Seattle through Michigan and Rorlda and ending up in Athens.
Troop cuts affecting ROTC
By NORBERTA JORDAN
Contributing Writer
Troop cuts proposed by President George Bush in
January will increase competition for Air Force ROTC
scholarships and commission slots, according to the
University Air Force ROTC commander.
Maj. Keith Graham said the cuts will have little ef
fect on students graduating in 1990 and 1991 who
have already signed contracts with the Air Force. But
sophomores in the Air Force ROTC who plan to grad
uate in 1992 can expect more competition for schol
arships and commission slots, he said.
“From what I’ve seen of the cadets submitting for a
slot this year, they are indeed more competitive,"
Graham said. ‘They have higher grade point averages
and higher Air Force Officer Qualifying Test scores.”
According to Darrick Paul, a senior hotel and res
taurant management major and a cadet in Army
ROTC, troop cuts have affected what kind of commis
sion the Army is offering its ROTC cadets.
Paul said people who wanted to make the Army
their career may not be able to because they can’t get
an active duty commission.
Bush proposed to cut active duty troops by 38,000
personnel and reserve troops by 3,000 personnel.
About 2,500 people nationwide graduate from Air
Force ROTC programs each year Graham said this
number will probably drop to 2,000 by 1992.
Because of the troop cuts, this is the first time se
niors in the ROTC program have been offered a “walk
option" — a chance to cancel their contract with the
Air Force, he said. People without scholarships won’t
owe the government anything but scholarship holders
will have to pay back their scholarships as a school
loan.
Graham said none of the cadets at the University
have chosen this option.
Patricia Dunn, a junior speech communication
major in Air Force ROTC, said that with the cutbacks,
the Air Force will not need as many people, so it will
be tougher to get commission slots.
‘This year there is a smaller corps,” Dunn said, “but
I don’t think it has anything to do with the cutbacks.
“But everything that’s going on might dissuade
people from joining ROTC,” she said.
Dunn has a pilot slot reserved for her after gradua
tion. She said the personnel cuts aren’t a problem for
people who qualify as pilots because the Air Force al
ways needs them.
Todd Whisenant, a graduate student in counseling,
also has a pilot slot reserved for him after graduation.
‘The cuts haven't affected me yet,” Whisenant said.
"They will affect me in the fact that there will be more
competition."
Gary Skidmore, 3rd Region Army ROTC Cadet
Command public affairs officer, said as the need for
officers on active duty lessens, cadets will be given the
opportunity to go into a reserve component — either
the Army Reserve or the National Guard.
Amanda Segers, a senior English education major
in Army ROTC, said more people are receiving re
serve commissions whether tney want them or not.
“It’s the way they give the commissions out,” she
said. ‘There will probably be more reserve commis
sions than regular Army commissions.“
A signed contract with the Army or Air Force is an
agreement between the student/cadet and the govern
ment. As part of the contract, the student receives
$100 a month from the government and promises to
serve in the military for a certain amount of time,
usually four years.
Additional training after entering the military may
require a longer commitment.
Dean Ansel resigns
Pharmacy dean becomes professor
By MICHAEL W. McLEOD
Staff Writer
Pharmacy School Dean Howard
C. Ansel announced Thursday he
will resign as dean and assume a
professorial position at the Univer
sity.
Having been dean since 1977,
Ansel said he felt he had achieved
the agenda he set when he began.
He said his 13 years as dean have
been a good experience.
“After a certain amount of time
you feel fulfilled. Thirteen years is
a long time to be an academic ad
ministrator,” Ansel said.
Although hiB resignation will
take effect July 1, he said he will
remain acting dean until the
search for a replacement, which
will begin this summer, is com
plete. He may reamain acting dean
for up to 18 months, he said.
James Cooper, pharmacy prac
tice department head, has known
Ansel for a quarter of a century,
ever since Ansel was his under
graduate adviser at the University.
He said the decision shocked him.
'1 really have mixed feelings
about it. At 57 years old, he still
has got a lot of dynamic service to
the state. He’s a young 57," he said.
However, Cooper said he under
stood his decision, as did Randall
Tackett, pharmacology and toxico
logy department head.
“1 understand sitting there and
Having been dean since
1977, Ansel said he
felt he had achieved
the agenda he set
when he began.
finding out you’ve gone a certain
way and that it’s time for some
younger blood,” Tackett said.
Both agree, along with other
pharmacy department heads, that
Ansel leaves the department im
proved and in order for a smooth
transition.
Spring fling turns into nightmare
By DARA McLEOD
Staff Writer
Danny Umstead and six other
students’ plans to spend spring
break in the Bahamas turned
into a nightmare when their
travel service told them the hotel
they were supposed to stay in
wouldn’t be ready — apparently,
it wasn't quite built yet.
Umstead, a senior geugiaphy
inujor, said he and his friends re
sponded about three months ago
to a flier that was circulated at
the University by Vacation Plan
ners, a Texas based travel
service.
A campus representative for
the company signed them up for a
trip to the Bahamas for $279
each. Umstead said le and his
friends each paid the $60 deposit.
Then the nightmare began A
few weeks later the comoany
called and told them the notel
that was pictured on the com
pany’s brocnure wouldn’t be built
in time for spring break.
Umstead said. The company said
they could stay at a more expen- 1
sive hotel, or they could go to
Cancun, Mexico for $299
Vacation Planners eventually
agreed to offer them alternative
accomodations in the Bahamas
for the same price, but later the
company called again.
Tnis time, Umstead said they
were told their chartei flight
from Atlanta was canceled. They
were given the choice of driving
to Miami and tuking a flight from
there tor $259, or driving to Cin
cinnati and taking a charter
flight from there for $289.
But they weren’t interested in
doing either — they just wanted
their money back
Joel Bulger, who was going on
the trip with Umstead, said Va
cation Planners told them several
times during the last five weeks
that it would return their $420
before spring break. But so far
they haven’t received it.
Bulger said he contacted the
company Monday and threatened
to take legal action if he didn l
get the money immediately
Dave Knstofarson vice piesi
dent of marketing and a part-
owner of Vacation Planners, said
his company arranges chartei
flights through American Travel
Service. That company canceled
the chartei flight from Atlanta
because there were too few
people scheduled on it, he said
Vacation Planner’s policy is to
refund deposits if a trip is
canceled, he said Refunds can
take some tune because this is a
busy time of year, he said. Knsto
ft*i son said other tripe arranged
by his company weren’t canceled
Dan Parsons, president of the
Houston, Texas, Better Business
Bureau, said Vacation Planners
applied for membership to the
Better Business Bureau Iasi
year, but the company was nevei
granted membership.
There are currently two formal
complaints being processed
against Vacation Planners, Par
sons said. Those complaints were
filed March 8 and March 12, and
the company has not yet re
sponded to either.
The buieau also received eev
eral verbal complaint* from die
satisfied customers. Howevei,
Parsons said some people have
taken trips through the company,
so it has definitely delivered
some of what it promised
Parsons said the director of
Vacation Planners, Mike Ve
negas, was formerly employed by
Student Travel Connection, a
company about which the Better
Business Bureau received nu
merous complaints during the
two years it was a member of the
buieau Venegas was mentioned
specifically in some of those com
plaint* he said
Faison* *aid consumers
should always ask lot* of nosy
questions before handing over
money. Consumers nave the
right to ask for references about
the company from customers.
Student* who encounter prob
lem* with companies should file a
complaint with the buieau imme
diately to increase the likelihood
of resolution, he said.
Ginger Mixon, the manager of
De Revere Travel Service in
Athene, said she thinks the I
travel industry should be li
censed.
Students planning a spring
break trip should ask to see pic- t
tures and brochures of the hotel
they'll be staying in, Mixon said.
They should make sure the name
and address of the tTavel service
or agency is printed on any fliers
they respond to.
Dale Corey, a campus rep
resentative with Classic Travel
Service, which also circulates
flier* on campus, suggested stu
dents make reservations on
scheduled rather than charter
flights because charter flights
aren’t guai anteed and are oflen
canceled with little oi no notice.
Although the spring break
nightmare isn’t over yet, Bulger,
Umstead and their friends are
hoping to salvage their vacation
with a visit to Hilton Head, S.C.
Fraternity regains its chapter status
after being made colony 2 years ago
By MICHAEL W. McLEOD
Staff Writer
Last Saturday a fraternity celebrated its
75th anniversary in a different way — it re
gained ita chapter status after having been de
moted to a colony for two years.
During winter quarter 1988 Lambda Chi Al
pha’s national office demoted its University
chapter to colony status for discipline problems
that included violation of the dry rush regula
tions, failure to attend national fraternity lead
ership schools and failure to adhere to the
associate member program of the organization.
Lambda Chi President Cole Thomason said,
“It was basically 20 years of indifference to the
national office and some of our actions on
campus. They’d come in and say ‘this is how it’s
going to be, and we’d fall back into our old
habits. Then they finally lowered the boom.”
The violation of dry rush regulation was the
straw that broke the camel’s back, he said.
As a colony, the fraternity lost its Interfra-
temity Council voting privileges and committee
seats. But the biggest changes came when the
Lambda Chi national office sent a representa
tive to reorganize the fraternity to colony
status, Thomason said.
Tyler Smith, president during the 1988-89
school year, said, ‘He came in here and laid the
law. He assured us it wasn't going to be one of
those situations where we could rids out the
storm and pull the wool over the national's
eyes.”
For two years the fraternity’s actions were
closely monitored by the national office and a
special alumni advisory board the new colony
was required to form, Smith said.
The fraternity had to meet 12 requirements
to regain chapter status. For instance, 80 per
cent of the members had to become involved in
extracurricular activities and the colony’s
grade point average had to be higher than tne
University’s all men’s average for two consec
utive quarters, he said.
Lambda Chi appointed a chairman to match
up members with organizations related to their
majors, Smith said.
Two years later the changes have made a
world of difference, according to Smith, Thom
ason and the national Lambda Chi office.
Thomason said, “We’re trying to get more in
volved with the IFC. I think the fraternity is
mors involved now instead of just partying all
the time.
"I think it's mostly an attitude that changed.
Toward the middle it was tough. Two years is a
long time, but now we are seeing some of the
benefits of it. Everything has been raised to a
better level,” he said.
Regained charter: Former president
Tyler Smith (I) and Cole Thomason
Changes at Lambda Chi
reflecting University trend
By MICHAEL W. McLEOD
Staff Writer
The changes Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity underwent to regain its
chapter status reflect a growing trend, according to leaders within the
University’s Greek system
Fraternities have shifted from a strong social emphasis to one that
balances the social element with achievement and involvement at the
University, according to Greek leaders.
“As Lambda Chi goes, so goes the Uiuveraity," said Ron Binder, ad
viser to fraternities.
A hands-on approach to fraternities by the University administration
has increased academic standards and community involvement, he said
A number of years ago, the University examined its Greek system and
decided to look to its future, he said. Part of the hands-on approach was
the creation of a Greek Life office four years ago.
The office compiles statistics measuring seven different areas of fra
ternity and sorority achievement including academic progress, commu
nity involvement and campus leadership, he said These statistics are a
positive influence on the Greek organizations and have steadily increased
over the past four years, Binder said.
Interfratemity Council President Cale Conley said he has noticed a
change for the better in the attitudes of fraternity members during the
three years he’s been involved in the Greek system.
‘By being more involved you have that feeling of self-fulfillment," he
said.
Ths restrictions placed on open keg parties have decreased accident
rates and protected tne fraternities from liabilty, he said Conley said the
money fraternities save by not buying kegs is used to sponsor more band
parties, which are probably more fun in the end.