About The Red and Black (Athens, Ga.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 1990)
! i i ■ Brian Cleveland: Special teams wizard — 10 The Red & Black An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia Community INSIDE The Fur Traders, along with other folk art, will be on display at Georgia Museum of Fine Art. 7 Weather: It's almost over folks, but you'll be chilling while you study. Today, sunny and cool, 50s, tonight, clear, low 30s, Sat., sunny and warmer, 60s. * WEEKEND EDITION * FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1990 « ATHENS, GEORGIA • VOLUME 98, ISSUE 40 Andy McIntyre, freshman, challenges Brother Jed Bro. Jed keeping act clean Wife stays by his side By LYNN BARFIELD Staff Writer He was preaching that a woman’s place was beside her husband. She should be subser vient and live only for him. And she played the role well. Cindy Smock, the 32-year-old wife of Brother Jed, said Thursday she believes that her husband is “doing his duty to God” when he preaches about sexual promiscuity, devil worshipping and the fate of young people today. “He’s trying to tell them that if they don’t repent, they’re going to hell,” she said. The Smocks travel to colleges across the country to spend what Smock said they feel is the right word of God. "We’re just here to warn the wicked of their wrongdoings,” Smock said. When asked about their past, Sister Cindy, as she is called by the students that are her audi ence, is very vague and slightly defensive. She said she spent her life in Albany and Jed grew up in a small town in Indiana. They met several years ago and now hove 3 children. As her husband shouted to a female student that she will have to be faithful and loyal to what ever man she married because "that is a woman’s place,” Cindy continued about their religious affiliations. The Smocks work within an or ganization called Campus Min istry USA, Smock said. It is the same organization that hails the infamous Brother Jim who makes yearly visits to the Uni versity to preach in the same manner as Jed. "He worked with my husband in training,” she said, and re ferred to them as being mentors. Training refers to the moment a preacher is put before a crowd and told to speak on whatever comes to mind, she said. Please See WIFE, Page 3 By LANCE HELMS Staff Writer Like a bard straight out of Hom eric Greece, Brother Jed can talk for hours without a script, but his song and dance isn’t the poetic saga of giants like Achilles, Pa- troklos and Penelopeia — it’s a travelling sideshow whose players are often students. “My feeling is that it’s a theater and everyone participates,” Stu dent Activities Director William Porter said Thursday. “Most of the students, quite frankly, seem to er\joy it.” For the duration of any sidewalk savior’s stay, crowds of students surround the preacher to alterna tely heckle him or absorb his don’t- or-die warnings for later consump tion in a round of red-faced shouting, spitting and sometimes plain disbelief. "What they do is they provoke students until they’re angry and they want to do something to him,” said Ann Lacey, Valdosta State College’s Student Activities pro gram director. Porter said that in the five years he’s directed Student Activities, reachers like Jed and his mentor im — whose tour also includes the University — haven’t caused prob lems here. “We’ve certainly had questions raised by students as to whether he should be allowed, and the answer is yes — he has First Amendment rights,” he said. “But we’re not aware of any type of assault hap pening on campus or aware of it happening anywhere else, for that matter, with anyone like that.” Several publications cover legal issues that affect universities and colleges nationwide, and Porter said he’s never seen a story in any of them about preachers causing legal headaches for other schools. “I’ve read those pretty faithfully for 15 years now, and I have never seen anything involving Brother Jed or anyone like him,” he said. "But between our office and the University police, we try to mon itor it a little. We wouldn’t want any kind of iryury happening to any student or Brother Jed, for that matter.” Julia Thornton, University of New Orleans general counsel and director of governmental affairs, said that in her one-and-a-half years at UNO, no spitfire pre acher’s caused a campus distur bance. But she remembers Jed from her days at Denison Univer sity in Granville, Ohio, eight years ago. “He’d been there for a long time,” she said. ‘This guy has an incredible bladder — he can just talk and talk all day.” New Orleans city attorney Er nest Green said that as far as he can remember, no one answering to Jed’s description has caused trouble for the city. Debra Sherman, a VSC Student Activities graduate assistant, said Jed’s counterpart Jim has rubbed them the wrong way before. ‘The last time Brother Jim was here, he got kind of rowdy,” she said. “He wns creating a distur bance and they had to ask him to leave.” Lacey said Jim’s fiery testimony disrupted the school a few years ago and they haven’t seen him since then. Durham’s Dogs on top Expert ranks By RANDY WALKER Sports Editor Just how good is the 1990-91 Georgia men’s basketball team? According t.o Jeff Sagarin of Bloomington, Ind., they’re No. 1 in the country. Sagarin, whose collegiate basketball poll appears every Wednesday in USA Today, uses a unique mathematical formula to rate the teams. "It depends on who you play, where you play and what the score was,” Sagarin said Thursday. Sagarin’s numerical rating of a team’s strength is based on opponent strength and results against these opponents. This prin ciple exists to prevent teams from building up ratings by crushing teams of lesser caliber. Georgia’s resounding 90-45 victory over Richmond on the Spiders’ home court on Nov. 24 was a major factor in the Bulldogs’ top- ranking, Sagarin said. He also said that Georgia’s 124-65 rout of Western Kentucky Wednesday will keep the Bulldogs (ranked No. 17 by The Associated Press) in the top spot through next week. A hypothetical margin of victory is also fig ured by comparing the two teams’ ratings and adding 4.5 points to the home team’s rating. In Wednesday’s rankings, the Bulldogs had a rating of 101.98. Western Kentucky had a rating of 68.40, good for 190th place. There fore, according to Sagarin's formula, Georgia was to win the game by 38 points (Georgia’s 101.98 rating plus 4.5 for ploying at home minus Western Kentucky’s rating of 68.4). Georgia’s next rating will increase because their margin of victory (59) was 21 points higher than what wns computed in the for mula. “They'll be ranked No. 1 if they keep run ning up the scores,” Sagarin said. “They’ll be up there if every game is won by some outra geous score.” Georgia’s Dec. 19 game with Georgia Tech in the Omni should prove whether the Dogs are worthy of the top-billing. If the game were played now, according to Sagarin’s formula, Please See STATS, Page 10 Mystery behind harassing phone calls unravels Judiciary charges student Negative politics gets mixed review By SANDRA STEPHENS Staff Writer When one University student answers the phone, she’s not sure if it’s a friend or a hate message. The harassing phone calls Degan in mid-September. The junior po litical science major, who re quested anonymity, returned to her residence hall room on Sept. 16 to hear, “We’re white supremac ists. We have your s-t. We’re going to burn it. We’re coming to get you,” on her answering machine. Four days earlier, she had put some African-American pamph lets, brochures and a book under the door of a second-floor room in Hill Hall at 10:30 a m. — she thought it was a friend’s room. But her friend called and said he didn’t have the materials. She had put them under the wrong door. When the she went back to ask about the materials, the occupants told her they didn’t know anything about them. Other residents on the same side of the hall said they hadn’t seen them. She requested that anyone who found the materials contact her. “I left a sign on the hall with my name and phone number," she said. “I figured (the materials were) gone." After receiving more harassing calls, the student reported the inci dent and gave the answering ma chine tape to the University Police Department, who questioned Hill residents. The police contacted her hall’s resident assistant, graduate resident and the residence life coordinator. They reported the in cident to the Student Judiciary. University police Capt. Mitch Jones said Thursday that Ronald Roberts was arrested and later found guilty on Oct. 3 for placing obscene and harassing phone calls to her. Roberts, a Hill resident at the time of the incident, couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday. The Judicinry also tried and found not guilty another student, David Griffin. Griffin lived on the same hall, but not with Roberts’. The harassed student said the police told her that one of her books and the sign she had posted were found in Griffin’s room. They also said the calls were placed from Griffin’s room. Roger Lee, Student Affairs coun selor for the Office of Judicial Pro grams, said the sanctions for harassing phone calls can range from an oral reprimand to expul sion, depending on the nature of the incident. Neither Lee nor Arthur Leed, Student Affairs legal advisor, would release information on Rob erts’ sentence. Judicial Programs Director Bill Bracewell couldn’t be reached for comment. The harassed student said that during the period of time between the first phone call and the hearing, she walked around in fear for her life. “I’m pretty sure they knew who I was. It could’ve been the person sitting next to me in class.” She’s telling her story because speaking up is a way to combat racism, she said. “If you push it under the carpet, it only gets worse.” She talked to the leaders of Af rican-American campus organiza tions, including the Black Affairs Coucil and the National Associa tion for the Advancement of Col ored People, about the incident. “I wanted them to be aware of the situation and get their sup port," she said. People speak of the new South as if racism is dead, but it isn’t, she said. “It’s the same old southern tradi tions and ideals,” she said. ‘There needs to be reform. I’m trying to initiate change as far as confiden tiality and the sensitivity and the effectiveness in the (University) hi erarchy.” Lee said students who receive harassing phone calls should keep a log of the calls. Tapes from an swering machines can be turned in to the police as evidence, he said, and students should nlso report the calls to the proper officials. ‘The documentation will be your evidence,” he said. By DAN POOL Staff Writer As the mud settles from E.H. Culpepper’s losing campaign for chief elected officer, local political experts have mixed theories on the effects of Culpepper’s negative tac tics. Theories revolve around voter reaction to a brochure that was mailed by a Culpepper supporter last weekend attacking his oppo nent, CEO-elect Gwen O’Looney, ns a career social worker incapable of making decisions. Brian Mirsky, a University polit ical science professor and O’Looney cnmpnign worker, said Thursday the brochure was the most nasty and best-organized piece of a local cnmpnign work he had ever seen. Mirsky said comparing gains made by O’Looney and Culpepper during the time between the pri mary and the runoff shows an in credible increase in Culpepper support, which is related to the brochure. Culpepper gained 28 percent more votes while O’Looney only gnined 9 percent despite an en dorsement from third-place fin isher George Bullock, who had more than 20 percent of the pri mary vote. ‘The brochures fixded a lot of people,” Mirsky said. According to University political science professor Keith Billingsley, however, these negative attacks hurt Culpepper more than O’Looney. ‘They may not have convinced Culpepper supporters to change their minds and vote for O’Looney, but they convinced O’Looney su- porters to get out and vote." He said the turnout wns high in the runoff, considering it wns the third election of the month and the high turnout was largely because of O’Looney supporters who were enraged by the negative nttacks. O’Looney said after the results were tallied that her opponent’s mudslinging helped her. “I hope this will tench everyone that negative campaigning doesn’t work in this community,” she snid.^ Culpepper said after the vote wns announced that he still sup ported the use of the bnx’hure, but it wns hard to say how it affected his campaign. Billingsley said an earlier adver tisement in the Athens Banner- Herald where four past mayors en dorsed Culpepper may have nlso backfired and given Culpepper the g(x>d-old boy, backroom politician look. ‘This race was a buttle between old guard Athens establishment and younger newer residents of Clarke County,” he said. Mirsky said the advertisement had little affect on the committed voters and may have helped O’Looney with certain crowds, but many of the undecided voters were swayed by the mayor’s endorse ment. Billingsley said anti-establish ment feelings of groups like preser vationists, who were strongly opposed to Culpepper, formed n dil igent corps oi campaign workers who made phone calls, put up signs and knocked on doors before the campaign asking for support for O’Looney. Lewis Shropshire, who is the only person claiming responsibility for the controversial brochure, is the manager of the Holiday Inn. He wns widely criticized last spring when the Holiday Inn purchased land across the street and tore down the historic Hull-Snelling Please See CAMPAIGN. Page 3 Bulldog video conning Christmas By AL DIXON Staff Writer Bulldog fans eager for all the memorabilia they can get their pnw9 on are in for a treat this Christmas. Carefree Days, Ltd., a corpora tion to be composed of five Athens businessmen and a local musi cian, is completing work on a 30- minute music/sports video tribute to Athens and the Bull dogs. Benjy Morris, head of the cor poration and lead singer in the musical portions of the video, said it will be composed of eight songs performed by his band, footage of Herschel Walker and the Redcoat Marching Band, an interview with Larry Munson and a tour of Athens led by Leonard Postero (of Leonard’s Losers). “We want to provide some thing for the people to remember this University and the city of Athens by,” Morris said of the eight-song video, which will in clude versions of "Wipeout,” “Glory to Georgia,” "Sweet Georgia Brown” and the Univer sity’s alma mater. The video should be out by Christmas or the beginning of next year, and will sell for $29.95, Moms said. It will be available through mail order, at the University Bookstore and probably from The Dawg House and Golden Pantry stores, he said. Morris said most portions of the video have already been filmed, and this Sunday the cho reographed dance portions will be filmed downtown on College Square. ^ The corporation was formed to produce the video, and may pro duce additional videos depending on the success of this one, ne said. Morris wouldn’t disclose the names of the Athens busi nessmen who came up with the $50,000 needed to fund the pro ject, which was begun more than two years ago. He said he plans to send a four- minute segment of the video con taining his band’s version of The Surfaris’ “Wipeout" and footage of Herschel Walker to MTV and local television stations, although he doesn’t expect it to be aired. Christmas with the Knapp family By ELIZABETH GRADDY Associate News Editor When University President Charles Knapp and his family were at Tulane University — where he was the vice president for business — celebrating Christmas was the intimate affair most people experience. ‘Things changed a little when we moved in this house," Lynne Knapp, the president’s wife, said, refer ring to the 133-year-old house on Prince Avenue. “It is kind of public. Right now we’re worried about five par ties." The Knapps’ first Christmas in Athens required ad justment, especially for Mrs. Knapp, who had to oversee decorating the house. ‘The tree was the biggest that year because we were experimenting,” she Baid. ‘It’s become a little more of a system now " Help with the system comes from the University and house staff. For instance, the Sch<x>l of Forest Re sources supplies the tree. James Greene, an associate professor of forestry research, delivered it Monday, and the staff decorated it with baby’s breath, white lights and gold balls. As with the baby’s breath, most of the decorations are natural, Mrs. Knapp said. Susan Daniels, a horti culturist at Physical riant, gathers flowers and pine cones throughout the year to use at Christmas. All of the materials come from campus and the house grounds. “We really have used the campus grounds and campus people," she said. Edward Lambert, an associate art professor, puts the dried plants together into wreaths, garlands and ornaments with help from the house staff. Mrs. Knapp has added her touch, however — hand made needlepoint stockings on the mantle. ‘The say ‘Mommy,’ ‘Daddy’ and ‘Amanda,’ " she said. Although the holiday season has, in some ways, be come a University event for the Knapps, they have kept it personal with their own religious traditions, according to Knapp. “Normally we go to church on Christmas eve in the evening or at midnight," he said. Mrs. Knapp said they keep in mind that it is the birth of Jesus that they are celebrating. “We are celebrating a birthday at Christmas time," she said. “We always have a birthday cake. It’s Jesus’s cake."
