About The Red and Black (Athens, Ga.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 1990)
INSIDE Jared Bailey talks about the Athens music scene and how it has changed. 14 Weather; Stay Inside and drink hot toddies while studying for your exams. Just think — it's almost over! MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1990 • ATHENS, GEORGIA 41 FINALS EDITION The Red & Black An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia Community Is It Christmas yet? Ayn McLaurin contemplates Christmas season while at Tate Student Center. The junior political science major 'pines’ over the tree's beauty. Univ. police have crime stats By DAN POOL Staff Writer The University of Georgia Po lice Department is doing every thing possible to make campus crime statistics available — all campus crime statistics. Police Chief Chuck Horton said Wednesday he was tired of people accusing the University of failing to report crimes. “We’re not trying to hide any thing; we're not being told to hide anything; we wouldn’t hide anything if we were told to hide anything," he said. “Certain people seem to think that there are these horrendous crimes that we’re hiding,” but ev erything that happens is open to thepublic and media, he said. The statistics were already handed out to incoming students at orientation meetings and had already been reported and made available to anyone who wanted them when recent federal laws were passed requiring these things. The department has begun mailing these statistics to local media to go one step bevond re quirements, Sgt. Richard Good son of the police depart ment said. The Clery bill will require all colleges and universitiies who receive federal aid to compile statistics beginning in Sep tember 1991 and to publish these reports beginning in Sep- Campiis Crime Stats 13.0% 32.6% tember of 1992. Goodson said, “In order to better serve our community and to obey the spirit as well as the intent of recent legislation, this information is being made avail able (through mailing) for easier access." Horton said,“Monthly crime statistics have always been available for anyone to see at the station, but most people don’t care to see these statistics.” The statistics for this year, which include October, show 580 total complaints which are di vided by the type of crime. University police have re sponded to 114 complaints of criminal trespass as the most common complaint. The depart ment has made only three ar rests, but more important, according to Horton, is keeping “undesirables" off campus. ■ Bodily Injury Q Sex Offenses □ Burglary [3 Vehicle Theft 0 Larceny EJ Property Damage ED DUI ttaptoa M«Mkl/Th( tod and Black Other crimes that are promi nent on the list include burglar ised cars, 44 complaints; driving under the influence, 52 com plaints; and underage drinking, 64 complaints. The University didn’t have any kidnappings, homocides or armed robbery, but did have sev eral violent crimes. There were 16 reports of simple battery, one rape and one attempted rape. University police Capt. Mitch Jones said it was too early in the year to draw anv conclusions from the statistics because of the cyclical nature of many crimes. Jones is also quick to point out that the police department isn’t trying to fool anyone into thinking that this is a total count of crimes that affect students in Athens. Athens won’t escape cuts from recession By AL DIXON Staff Writer Athens can’t expect to escape the bite of tne nation’s slumping economy, thanks in part to the budget cuts the Uni versity has made, said an econ omist at the University’s College of Business Adminis tration. Jeff Humphries, director of economic forecasting at the business school, said Wednesday that he believes the country is now in a recession, and Athens won’t be able to avoid it Humphries cited the 24-point drop in the Consumer Confi dence Index and the 0.6 percent drop (after adjusting for infla tion) in Georgian’s personal in comes as indicators of the recession. He also said that in September the state experi enced a loss of 1,800 jobs, bringing the state’s unemploy ment rate to 6.6 percent. The Consumer Confidence Index is a national survey to measure the consumers’ confi dence in the economy. October’s 24-point drop was the largest in the history of the survey, Hum phries said. “Just because of the large number of government jobs in the city, Athens is not recession proof,” he said. “In past recessions, Athens has exhibited some resiliency. But it’s economy still saw some effects of the recessions,” he said. Humphries said he expects the Athen’s economy to be hurt even more than usual during the economic troubles he ex pects to come because the cuts in the University’s budget will f irevent it from being the stabi- izing force it usually is on the economy. The University won’t prop up the economy like it usually does during hard times," he said, “But it won’t drag the economy down, either. The University’s budget cut is not the only factor working against Athens’ economy, but it is one of the largest,” Hum phries said. He said one of the most direct impacts of the lagging Univer sity budget is the freeze on new hiring and the jobs that are being led unfilled. Between the months of Au gust and September, when the budget cut first began taking effect, the Athens unemploy ment rate increased from 4.8 to 5.7 percent, he said. The state also experienced a 0.9 percent increase in unemployment over the same period. In addition to the hiring freezes, the University’s lack of funds will affect the Athens economy in many other ways, Humphries said. The cuts in the travel expenses of Univer sity employees, the freeze on buying new equipment and of fice supplies, and the decrease in construction and convention activities will all hurt local businesses. “I think the nation is defi nitely in a recession," He said. “It began in October and should continue through the first and probably the second quarter of next year.” “Most economists have ac cepted that we are in or soon will be in a recession,” Hum phries said. Thev are now ar guing over how deep it will be and how long it will last." Joe Burnett, director of the Athens Downtown Devel opment Authority, also has seen the negative impact of the University’s budget cut on the Athens economy. Athens has a service-cen tered economy, based on retail stores and other consumer serv ices, as opposed to a manufac turing-based economy, Burnett said. “So normally this city is not affected immediately by a slumping national economy. “But because of the decrease in the amount of money the University is putting into the economy, some businesses are already beginning to be af fected," he said. The fact that the University is not hiring is beginning to have a ripple effect on the whole economy," Burnett said. Lewis Shropshire, general manager of the Holiday Inn lo cated at the comer of Broad and Hull, said his business is begin ning to feel the effect of the tightening of government spending. “It’s hard to attribute our de cline in business directly to the University," he said. “But we have noticed a flattening out of all government travel. “Judging from future book ings, we expect the decline to continue, but only until about the second quarter of next year,” Shropsire said.
