Newspaper Page Text
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■Troubled SA attracts few for senate race — 3
The Red & Black
INSIDE
A review of “Cry Baby”
starring former porn star
Tracy Lords. “Cry Baby”
premieres on Friday.
6
Weather: Today, mostly cloudy,
high near 60, tonight, 60 percent
chance of rain, low mid 40s.
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia Community
THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 1990 • ATHENS, GEORGIA • VOLUME 97, ISSUE 84
Friday, cloudy, 60 percent chance
of thundershowers, high near 60.
Poll shows
support for
smoking ban
By DARA McLEOD
Staff Writer
Students want smoking
banned in the main library study
lounge, according to results of a
Student Association poll released
Tuesday.
Of the 395 students who voted,
275 said smoking should be
banned in the lounge and 120
said it shouldn’t be banned.
After hearing the results of the
poll, SA approved a proposal
Tuesday to recommend to the li
brary administration that
smoking be banned in the lounge.
SA conducted the poll because
several students had requested
that senators look into the issue,
junior Sen. Todd King said. It’s
the number one complaint about
the main library placed in the
suggestion box in the lounge, he
said.
However, the proposal also
suggests that the administration
examine possibilities of accom
modating smokers and non-
smokers.
Although some senators op
posed the proposal, King said the
student consensus was clear and
the SA should vote accordingly.
The poll was conducted by SA
senators in the main library
lounge at the end of winter
quarter.
The lounge is the only place in
the library where students can go
have snacks and a drink, King
said. The smoke that collects in
the small and poorly ventilated
room is a health risk.
However, sophomore Sen.
Laura Bourg, one of two senators
who opposed the proposal, said a
complete ban would be unfair to
smokers.
Some students included com
ments on their ballots. Sugges
tions included providing smoking
and non-smoking lounge areas.
Other students commented,
that non-smokers have access to
the entire library and there are
few other places to smoke.
Bonnie Clemens, assistant di
rector for public services at the
main library, said she hasn’t re
ceived SA’s recommendation and
couldn’t comment on it. She said
the recommendation would be
one of the primary factors on
which library administrators will
base their decision. However,
they also will consider the poten
tial impact on lounge users.
The library would like to ac
commodate smokers and non-
smokers, she said. But the li
brary is already running out of
space and no additional lounge
space is available.
Clemens said the main
problem in the lounge is air circu
lation.
In other business Tuesday, the
SA approved a motion by junior
Sen. Ian Henyon to officially sup
port Students for Environmental
Awareness and its efforts in the
campus-wide environmental
audit and Earth Day.
SA ticket
By MARLA EDWARDS
Staff Writer
Student Association presidential
and vice presidential candidates
Pat Dolan and Kelly Corley agree
that if elected, they will reform or
abolish the organization.
This year’s SA has been an inef
ficient organization that hasn’t
tried to harness the energy of stu
dents, Dolan, a junior political sci
ence major, said.
“Our main goal would be to re
store faith in the SA. If that can’t
be done by the structure of the SA,
then it needs to be abolished,” he
said.
Senators on SA are crippled by a
lack of leadership, a lack of unity
and poor procedure, Dolan said.
If students feel the SA hasn’t
made progress by about the tenth
month of their term, January or
February 1991, Dolan said he and
Corley would campaign to hold a
referendum on the SA’s continued
existence instead of spring elec
tions.
The constitution provides for
such a referendum the following
academic term in 1992.
Corley, a junior public relations
major, said this term’s SA imple
mented good programs such as the
escort van service and the new des
ignated driver program, but these
Faculty insurance rates to increase
HEALTH CARE RATE HIKES IN THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA
(These rates are split between employer and employee: seventy-five
percent is paid by the former, and twenty-five percent by the latter)
$400^
$300*
$200
$100
JULY 1,1990
By WALTER COLT
Staff Writer
University faculty and staff may
receive an unpleasant surprise
when they get their paychecks next
academic year.
University employees can expect
to see a 25 percent increase in
health insurance fees, but an in
crease of only 4 percent in salaries.
Some employees may not even re
ceive the full salary increase.
The University System Board of
Regents is expected to follow the
recommendation of the Committee
on Finance and Business to in
crease health insurance rates and
employee salaries at its April 11
meeting.
University Personnel Director
Carlton James scud the University
is on an insurance plan separate
from the University System’s but
the rates will be the same.
Employee-only rates for the Uni
versity will go from $30.25 to
$37.80 a month. Employee-with-
dependents rates will increase
from $73.70 to $92.10. A retiree
with Medicare will see rates in
creased from $12 to $15 and a re
tiree with Medicare who has
dependents with Medicare will see
rates go from $24 to $30.
These 25 percent increases will
be matched by a 25 percent rate in
crease in what the state pays for
employee benefits. Under the sys
tem’s and the University’s health
insurance plans, the state pays 75
percent of the coverage and the em
ployee pays the remaining 25 per
cent.
The 1990 Georgia Legislature
passed a 32-plus percent increase
in what the system could con
tribute to the cost of employee ben
efits. The extra 7 percent of money
the state has set aside for Univer
sity employees’ health plans will go
into a reserve fund.
Roger Moeshart, the regents’
acting director of fiscal affairs, said
the extra 7 percent is necessary to
refund the reserves which were
being depleted.
Claims in recent years were ex
ceeding premiums, causing the de
pletion of the reserve fund,
Moeshart said.
Most University employees can
expect the 4 percent salary in
creases. Of the 4 percent, 1.5 per
cent is designated for an across-
the-board or cost-of-living increase,
and the remaining 2.5 percent is
for merit, entry level adjustment or
step increase.
However, according to the com
mittee’s recommendation to the re
gents, University President
Charles Knapp may withhold the
1.5 percent across-the-board in
crease if:
• The initial employment date
for the individual employee oc
curred during the twelve-month
period prior to July 1, 1990.
• An employee is scheduled to
terminate service during fiscal
year 1991.
• An employee is considered
fully compensated for his or her po
sition, responsibilities and value to
the system.
James said the last condition
would apply only to classified staff
who have reached the top of the
pay scale. Most employees will
probably receive the full raise be
cause of low salaries and the need
to retain employees.
He's
Fleming has
shot at the
big leagues
By ERIC GARBER
Sports Writer
Tell Georgia pitcher Dave
Fleming that he has a legitimate
shot at pitching in the mqjor
leagues and you’ll receive a modest
chuckle that implies “sounds good,
but I’ll believe it when I see it.”
The thing is, the junior left
hander from Mahopac, N.Y., is con
sidered by many to be a first-round
draft pick in this spring’s Major
League Baseball draft.
"We predicted at the beginning
of the year that Fleming would be
the top draft pick out of the SEC
this spring," said Jim Callis, assis
tant editor of Baseball America,
who graduated from Georgia and
was on hand during Fleming’s
freshman year. “We had him down
as the 22nd best pitcher in the
country after consulting with
major league scouts. He’s a left
hander with control and that really
helps. I feel that if he doesn’t go in
the first round, he will definitely go
in the second or third.”
So far this season, Fleming is 5-2
and has compiled a 3.06 ERA. In
addition, the all-SEC pitcher leads
the Diamond Dogs with 60 strike
outs in 61.7 innings of work. Over
the break, Fleming pitched com
plete games against SEC rivals
Kentucky and Auburn and played
a relief role in Georgia’s 9-8 edging
of Clemson.
“I think I’ve been pitching pretty
well out there,” Fleming said
“However, if there is one thing I
could improve, it is the speed of my
pitches. I don’t feel that I throw
hard enough in certain situations.”
Perhaps he doesn’t need to. In
in control!
Dave Fleming: The good natured Diamond Dogs pitcher
taking abuse from his teammates during practice
Georgia’s 14-2 win over Auburn
this past week, Fleming consis
tently fell behind batters only to re
spond with well-placed breaking
balls.
“Every time he (Fleming) fell be
hind our hitters, the guy kept
coming back with great breaking
Please See FLEMING. Page 10
Council kills proposed
alcohol tax increase
By J.D. SQUILLANTE
Staff Writer
Athens City Council spared
local barflies from higher mixed
drink prices with the defeat of a
proposed 3 percent tax increase
on spirits sold in the city. After
lengthy discussion and appeals
from local businessmen, the pro
posal failed in a 6-4 vote.
Two people voiced opposition
to the mixed drink tax during the
public hearing portion of Tues
day’s meeting.
Joel Hood, speaking for the
Athens Business Council, said
the group opposed the tax be
cause a small portion of the busi
ness community would be singled
out for higher tax responsibilities
which would result in excess pa
perwork for bar and restaurant
owners.
Jerry Farmer, operator of the
J&J Center on Commerce Road,
was opposed to the tax because
he said it would not be enforce
able. He said allowing alcohol to
be served until 2 a.m. instead of
the current last call at 1 a.m.
could bring in extra revenue to
the city.
Some council members argued
that the possible revenue gener
ated for the city by the tax is nec
essary to provide citv services.
Council member Kathy Hoard
said the tax would bring $50,000
to $75,000 a year to the city. She
said the proposal had a built-in
buffer to handle the extra book
keeping costs businesses would
encounter with additional paper
work resulting from additional
taxes.
Hoard said the increase would
make a $2.50 drink cost $2.58.
“Nobody would actually charge
an odd amount like that for a
drink so it would automatically
be boosted to $2.60 or $2.65 and
cost would be covered," she said
Council member Calvin
Bridges said the city needs the
revenue and if the 3 percent tax
wasn’t collected, city services
that have already been subjected
to increases would have to be
taxed even more heavily to cover
the city budget.
“If we don’t do something, the
price of water will be higher than
the price of whiskey,” he said.
Council member Carolyn Rey
nolds said if city government
could justify increasing bus fares,
a hike the council approved ear
lier in the meeting, local bar pa
trons also should have to pay for
increasing city costs.
“An adult will have to pay an
other 15 cents in bus fare, so I
don’t think it’s too much for
somebody to pay another 7.5
cents for a drink in a bar," she
said.
Council member Mac Coile
said restaurateurs and bar
owners have already shouldered
enough expense through heavy li
censing fees.
This group has paid its
share,” he said.
O’Malley’s Esprit
wins parking suit
vows reform or abolishment
projects weren’t enough to justify
University appropriation of funds.
As executive officers, Dolan said
they want to create a more positive
atmosphere for Btudents in the SA
and to crack down on senators’
meeting attendance.
The SA constitution states sen
ators are subject to expulsion after
two unexcused absences.
Corley said they’d boost the SA’s
accessibility to students through
increased contact with the media.
They would invite representa
tives from campus organizations
such as the Black Affairs Council,
Georgia Hillel and the Residence
Hall Association to have weekly
input on SA, either at meetings or
as committee members, she said.
Dolan said he and Corley also
want to step up communication be
tween SA senators and the presi
dent, vice president and committee
chairs.
“We’d maybe streamline it so
that an iBsue couldn’t be brought
up in a meeting without it being
brought to the executive committee
first, he said.
Corley said thiB would keep the
SA better informed because com
mittee chairs could inform sen
ators on the committees of
upcoming issues.
Prqjects the pair want to tackle
include an expansion of the Uni-
Pat Doran and Kelly Corley: Would put SA on deadline
varsity’s computer labs, an in
crease in security measures
around campus and the institution
of a system of registering for
classes by phone.
Dolan said the SA would be more
effective if it increased lobbying of
the administration instead of "put
ting something in committee and
letting it float around the SA.”
Dolan’s experience includes
serving as president of Phi Kappa
Theta this year, serving in the
Army National Guard for three
years and in Army ROTC at the
University.
Corley is a member of Concert
Choir and was a volunteer coun
selor for troubled teens in Gwin
nett County. She once worked as
an advertising representative for
The Red and Black.
By LANCE HELMS
Staff Writer
The third time wasn’t the charm
for a University student who un
successfully sued the owners of
O’Malley’s Esprit last quarter for
parking woes.
Eric McPherson, a senior inter
national business major, said he
has already sued two Atlanta-area
businesses in small claims court
and won.
The first case involved an em
ployer whom he sued for with
holding commissions from him,
and the second involved a dry-
cleaning company that he sued for
losing some of his clothes.
But the third suit ended his win
ning streak.
McPherson sued the owners of
O’Malley’s for $135 plus $40 in
court costs.
Because of overcrowding, the
club decided to divide its parking
lot into two sections — one for
those working out, and one for
members not using the club. Stu
dents who finished working out
were asked to move to the second
lot, but McPherson said it was al
ways full.
He wanted O’Malleys to pay him
the cost of a parking permit else
where.
McPherson said he couldn’t af
ford to pay the cost of having a
lawyer present his complaint to the
judge. He consulted with Jeff
Berman, his attorney in Atlanta,
before he went to court last March
to sue the owners of the club.
Losing was a learning
experience for
McPherson
- Ernest DePascale
O’Malley’s attorney
O’Malley’s owner Ken Fulghum
said the case was difficult because
it was hard to identify a legitimate
complaint McPherson might have
had against O’Malley’s.
“He wanted to park and go to
class," Fulghum said.
O’Malley’s filed a countersuit
one month after the suit was
served, asking for $2,000 in dam
ages.
Fulghum said the countersuit
claimed McPherson's complaint
was “frivolous,” and he cited the
“publicity (McPherson) sought for
himself" when he called the local
media about his suit against the
club.
“Anyone who listened to him
could tell he was such a hard
head," Fulghum said.
The judge dismissed the case by
finding in favor of O’Malley’s, but
ruled that no money was to be
awarded.
Ernest DePascale, attorney for
OMalley’s, said Fulghum had no
desire to pursue the countersuit for
$2,000 because he felt as though
losing the case was a “learning ex
perience" for McPherson.