Newspaper Page Text
4 • The Red and Black • Thursday, September 20, 1990
OPINIONS
■ QUOTABLE
"Everything Is full. Unless you are dropping, there is no hope."
— a sign posted on the Religion department’s office door in
Peabody Hall.
The Red & Black
Established 1893—Incorporated 1980
An independent student neut paper not affiliated with the University of Georgia
Robert Todd/Editor-in-Chief
Jennifer Rampey/Managing Editor
David Johnston/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
Get serious
For years student activists have complained about
the gerrymandering of the University community by
the Athens city government.
Year after year these activists vowed to conduct
massive student registration drives and elect city
counselors who would be sensitive to student needs.
These efforts never succeeded.
The charter of Athens/Clarke County’s new unified
government provides the University community with
its best chance ever to make sure it has representation
in local government.
Students are no longer being intentionally divided
into several voting districts. Most students will vote in
District 4.
There are 11 districts provided for in the charter.
The charter also calls for the election of a powerful
CEO and a District 9 commissioner who will represent
districts 1 through 4.
The drafters of the charter should be commended
for giving students a fair chance.
The University community has an excellent
opportunity not only to control its own district, butelso
to wield substantial influence in the CEO and District 9
races.
The Student Government Association, the Black
Affairs Council, the IFC, the College Republicans,
Young Democrats and even the SEA need to work
together. The task is a formidable one. The University
community must be informed of the candidates and
their views, it must be registered and rallied to the
polls on election day.
The October 10 deadline for voter registration is
rapidly approaching.
Find out what district you’re in, solicit information
from the candidates and make sure you vote for
someone who’ll represent your interests.
Announced candidates for the District 4 race are
Thomas Stubbs, a student, John Barrow, a local
attorney, Michael Dioguardi, a package store manager
and Jim De La Perriere, a realtor. Candidates can
qualify October 1-5.
This election will test once again whether or not
students are serious about wanting local
representation. Let’s not come up short again.
Save some bucks
The University has a rare opportunity to address
two problems with one relatively simple solution. By
cutting back the number of campus buses, the
University can save money from its already reduced
budget and save gas in the midst of the Middle-East
Crisis.
The University operates 24 buses from 7 a.m. until
2:30 p.m. and 18 buses from 2:30 until 7 p.m. At an
average cost of about $120 per bus, the University
could save about $1,100 a day by reducing service to 18
buses in the morning and 15 in the afternoon.
The weather is still nice and in the winter some of
the buses could be returned to service. But for now, the
fuel and dollar savings bear consideration.
The Russell Hall route is just a mix of the East-
West and the North-South routes. In a pinch, we could
do without some of those buses.
In addition to the monetary savings, a temporary
bus cut back would help the University do its part
during the international oil crisis. Those behemouths
guzzle gas like alumni drink bourbon on football
Saturdays.
Yes, the cut back would be an inconvenience for
students and faculty, but better a few less buses than a
shortage of needed equipment. Certainly, the
University community can ban together and do its part.
Besides we could all use the excercise.
STAFF
NEWS: 543-1809
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The Rad and Black i* published Tuesday thrown
Friday fail though spnng quarters end each Thursday
dunng summer quarter, with the aiception* of
hoiidey* and esem period*, by The Rad and Black
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Georgia. 123 N Jackson St.. Athens. Ga. 30601
Third class postage paid at Mhons. Ga. Subscription
rate: 130 per year
Relocation is wrong solution for old Fire Hall
Recent efforts to preserve history, while still
making way for progress, are leading to some
dubious decisions about what to do when his
toric buildings lie in the way of progress.
Some, like the Clarke County Board of Com
missioners, even want to relocate entire 88-
year-old buildings.
In Savannah, archeologists working to re
store a historic cemetery are running into a dis
turbing problem. It seems that the cemetery,
Savannah’s first, was incorrectly restored by
well-meaning workers in the 1920s.
They thought some headstones just didn’t
look right, so they erected others in their place,
and moved the “ugly* markers and statuary to
other locations in Savannah. A headstone does
not mean the same thing when it is not over the
grave for which it is intended.
It is the difference between “this is where
James Olgethorpe is buried,” and “This is the
headstone off James Olgethorpe’s grave.”
The commission said it will move the historic
Fire Hall on Thomas Street, a visual stalwart
with its brick, two-story construction complete
with a castle-like tower to one side.
The Fire Hall, currently home to the Athens
Area Chamber of Commerce, is standing in the
way of progress. Not merely a highway or
parking lot for downtown shopping, but the
former fire house stands in the way of Athens’
proposed Civic Center, scheduled to be com
pleted by 1992.
The building must be moved, County Com
missioner Jewel John said, because there is no
way to work the building into Civic Center
plans, which have yet to lead to any construc
tion on the site.
Finding an alternative to the destruction of a
building built in 1902 is a noble stance.
All too often, in the name of progress, historic
homes, structures and even graves are dis
placed by things modem, profitable and presti
gious. It is a given as we approach the 21st
century that in order to build up, one inevitably
must tear down.
If the building were moved it would effecti
vely be altering history to fit our purpose. Such
moves do make for romantic tales — “The slave
quarters valiantly was moved from downtown
in an effort to save it from freeway construc
tion” — but once something is uprooted from its
environment, it loses appeal.
Viewing the Liberty Bell is just not the same
when it is touring the country on a train as it is
when one is in Philadelphia, seeing the artifact
where it all started. Viewing the Fire Hall
would not be the same in another location. It
would be hard to picture the scrub-bearded,
half-asleep firemen scrambling from sleep to
respond to a 3 a.m. fire.
But Libby Morris, the executive vice-presi
dent of the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation
said recently the county is committed to moving
the Fire Hall at a cost of $175,000, and they are
not even sure the move would be successful.
The old brick building is brittle and could
crumble before, during or after the move.
And, the $175,000 is “likely not enough” to
complete the move, which does not have a desti
nation yet, Morris said.
There are some things to which we must say
good bye. A sum of almost $200,000 is too much
to waste moving a building which may go to
waste anyway. Much could be done with the
cash, which does not flow easily in a small city
such as Athens.
Certainly the money could be invested on
more important things, such as a little street
repair here and there, or the fire department
could place a downpayment on a replacement
for one of their many near-vintage vehicles.
_Most of Athens’ public housing communities
could use nails in some places, fresh coats of
paint or simple landscaping. An employee for a
local paint contractor, when asked how mEiny
public housing homes could be repainted for
$175,000, said it would be enough to “keep us
busy for quite a while.”
There are better projects to spend $175,000
on. If the building must go, it must go. Give it
the wrecking ball. The fire hall’s memory will
rest better than a brittle, crumbling displaced
heap of bricks.
Chris Clonts is an inside copy editor for The Red
and Black.
Campus survival guide for UGA newcomers
Welcome to the University of Georgia. The
administration says that there are more of us
here this year than any other year in Univer
sity history. We’re glad to have you.
Since there are so many new folks in Athens,
I decided to make a hap-hazzard guide to sur
vival at the University. Here are some rules.
1. Figure out The Bus. If you are in the
middle of the bus and you see people prying
themselves into the front door, simply turn
around and see if anyone is behind you. There
will probably be plenty of space for you to step
back all the way to the back of the bus and
allow other fellow Bulldogs to get on. You will
get where you are going regardless of where
you sit or stand.
Also, if you are trying to get on the bus, wait
until everyone is off before attempting to pile
in. If you do this (surprise!) there will be more
room for you to get on and the whole process
will go a lot smoother.
Finally, there is no plagues on the city buses.
They will take you basically the same routes as
each of the UGA bus lines. And if you are not
sure about where they are going - ask the
driver. He or she will be more than happy to as
sist you. Oh, and those city buses are free.
2. Always Sleep. For some reason, naps are
about as essential to the survival of a college
student as food, air, and water. College stu
dents are in class fewer hours than in any other
art of their lives, but yet we are more ex-
austed.
My advice is to sleep whenever neccessary.
Sleep at home, outside, and even in class if
needed. If you sleep in class and the professor
happens to catch you asleep, tell him that you
were resting your eves because the glare from
his bald head was blinding you. He will then
leave you alone.
3. Don’t ever run. No matter what happens,
no matter if you are late for your final exam and
if you show up late your professor threatens to
kill your first bom, never, ever run. You really
don’t know how silly you look when you run
after a bus. You’ll never catch it because the
bus driver is going to watch you in their rear
view mirror, laughing as you sweat and pant.
And just ns you draw close to your destination,
he speeds off and leaves yod in a dingy pile of
exhaust. Then, as you stand dejected, you turn
around and everyone is looking like you are
some kind of freak. Never run, but especially
never run after a bus.
4. Never ask questions near the end of
class. You know the guy. The person who sits
quietly for the entire class with nary a thought
in his mind. Then that one person with the
watch makes the first move - he closes his book
loudly, sending a signal to the rest of the class
that there is five minutes left in the class and
thus time to leave. And then, just when the pro
fessor is winding down, the first bozo kicks in
with a stream of useless questions. “What do
we need to rend? When will we have our next
class? What are your office hours? I didn’t un
derstand the Inst hour of your lecture. Could
you please repeat it?” Just don’t do this.
5. Sit down at the football games. Why in
the hell do students stand up for the entire foot
ball game? Think about it. Do you find intense
pleasure in standing on a concrete or aluminum
slab for three or more hours in the blazing
Georgia sun, surrounded by thousands of
drunk people falling all over you while getting
popped on the head with plastic cups each time
the Bulldogs score a touchdown (how seldom
that has been this season).
I love the Bulldogs, but give me a break. By
the third and fourth quarter, your legs ache and
your feet hurt, but if someone asks you how you
feel, you’ll blurt out, “Great, I never felt better
and I can’t understand why those folks want to
sit down.” Nobody stands at basketball games
and they last about half as long. Please explain.
6. Hate Auburn. Enough said.
Gene Williams is a senior marketing major and
the South’s top dog.
FWHC not so professional
■ FORUM
□ The Red and Black welcomes letters to the editor and prints thorn In the Forum
column as space permits. All letters are subject to editing lor length, style and li
belous material. Letters should be typed, doublespaced and must include the name,
address and daytime telephone number of the writer. Please include student classill
cation, major, and other appropnate identification. Names can be omitted with a valid
reason upon request. Letters can be sent by U.S. mail or brought in person to The Red
and Black's offices at 123 N. Jackon St., Athens. Ga.
Following the demise of the
Athens Feminist Women’s Health
Center, The Red and Black di
rected much attention toward the
professionalism of this organiza
tion.
The editors of the paper even
call this group “the best at what it
did,” and said that “it’s a shame
we’ve lost a valuable community
resource..."
However, after this same organi
zation personally mailed me a
bloody coat hanger (their address
was attached to it), 1 can hardly re
gard them as professional or re
spectable.
While the Athens FWHC did
provide some valuable services for
the University community, it also
aided in the termination of inno
cent life.
No service to the University out
weighs the severity of the abortion
referrals that this organization
made.
Brad Rountree
junior, business
Driver etiquette
Hey all you Athens drivers — get
a clue. Don’t you know that its il
legal to pass a bus that is stopped?
Yesterday, I was almost killed
(again) by a totally imeompetent,
inconsiderate and ignorant driver
while attempting to cross in front
of the bus I was leaving.
Had 1 not jumped back behind
the bus when 1 saw this stupid
person, I would be history now.
If you don’t feel like you can stop
your vehicle (this means motorcy
cles as well) for a measly two min
utes, maybe you should take a
different route. Or you could
simply think of it this wav — go
ahead and hit me. I could really
use the money.
Cynthia R. Herrin
sophomore, irin. inal justice