About The Red and Black (Athens, Ga.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 9, 1992)
i ■ Eddie Murphy comes back with new film - 3 The Red & Black An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community INSIDE Rugby team moving up in the ranks of intra mural field sports. 6 Weather: Please enter your PIN number for a report on the conditions in your area. THURSDAY, JULY 9, 1992 » ATHENS, GEORGIA » VOLUME 99, ISSUE 157 Abortion ads may backfire, say faculty researchers By AMY LYN MAULDIN News Editor Graphic anti-abortion campaign commer- cials that show aborted fetuses could back fire on 9th District GOP Congressional can didate Daniel Becker, say two University researchers. Becker first aired his campaign messages Friday and Sunday during the Atlanta Braves game, and has scheduled the com mercials to run 400 more times between now and the July 21 primary election. Spencer Tinkham and Ruth Ann Weaver-Lariscy, faculty members in the advertising and public relations department of the University, have researched political advertising strategies since the 1980s. "Anytime you take on something contro versial like this," Lariscy said, “you run the risk of something backfiring." The problem with such controversial com mercials occurs when the media takes over the story, Tinkham said, and the message sent to the voter gets out of control of the candidate. Lariscy said that, by including such graphic content in these commercials and by running them so frequently, Becker is gain ing a lot of free media attention. “And thfe more media attention a cam paign gets, the more negative the campaign usually turns out,” she said. Tinkham said much of his and Lariscy’s research centers around the effects of word-of mouth advertising. “If word-of-mouth advertising is nega tive, that can hurt a candidate more than positive word-of-mouth can help it,” he said. In general, he said, it doesn’t matter whether there is the same amount of good and bad publicity about the commercials, because he said there is research which sup ports the idea that negative publicity is much more powerful than positive. Tinkham said, on the plus side, the com mercials do reflect the positions and beliefs of the candidates, but added that they may only affect people who are already persuad ed, or people who already share the anti-abortion beliefs of Becker. Lariscy agreed, saying, “The likelihood of him convincing someone to take his stance on an issue as divisive as this is extremely small." However, she said she doesn’t think that the commercials are meant to change peo ple’s opinions. “It’s possible Becker thinks there are a tremendous amount of people out there who feel the same way he does,” she said. “And maybe he’s just try to stir these people to action." Bonnie Binkley, director of the University’s Campus National Organization for Women, said she thinks Becker is only representing a small part of the issue, and predicted that his campaign will be unsuc cessful. “The time he’s chosen to advertise includes family time," she said. “I know the Turner Broadcasting System has already gotten a negative response.” Representatives from Georgia Right to Life, Operation Rescue and Eagle Forum could not be reached for comment Tuesday or Wednesday. Tinkham said, “What’s new about this message is the way it is communicated, rather than the content.” He said that issues concerning abortion are not new, but that displaying an opinion in such graphic detail is. Binkley said Becker is trying to use sen sationalism to grab people’s attention, and said his methods resemble scare tactics. “I can’t see him getting into office using tactics like this," she said. Both Tinkham and Lariscy said some times political candidate’s commercials become so controversial that their messages ore disassociated from their names. Lariscy said, “We don’t know how strong ly people associate candidate’s names with ads. We’re sure people will talk about this for a long time, but we don’t know if they’ll remember who sponsored it.” Tinkham said, although he can cite sev eral cases where political opponents stirred negative publicity about each other, he can not recall any precedents for a case such os this one. He said the only other advertisement he can remember being as possibly controver sial as these anti-abortion ads was a politi cal advertisement run by Lyndon Johnson in 1964. This ad depicted a grnphic display of a small child annihilated by a nuclear bomb. “People still talk about this as an archetypical controversial political adver tisement," he said. However, this advertisement also involved an attack on Barry Goldwater, Johnson’s opponent. These anti-abortion commercials don’t attack another candidate, said Tinkham, and that’s where the ads are unprecedented. Recovered cameras link three men to Stone case Whittling may be all-American, but this Uncle Sam was chainsawed. By GARY PEEPLES Staff Writer Athens-Clarke County police are investigating the connection of three men to Jennifer Stone’s death after they were arrested for selling two cameras that were taken from her apartment at the time of her death. The three sold the cameras on the street and are being charged with theft by receiving/disposing, which Athens- Clarke County Police Chief Ronald Chandler described as trying to get rid of something that was stolen. Arrested were Ernest Brown Jr., 29, of 139 N. Newton St., Apt. C, Athens; Donald R. Wilson, 32, no address; and Larry Darnell Brown, 34, no address. Brown was arrested July 1, Wilson on July 2 and Brown on July 7. Chandler said DNA and hair sam ples, along with fingerprints from these men, will be sent to the state crime lab in Atlanta to be compared with samples taken from the crime scene. Police found the cameras while con ducting drug searches in two nearby apartments. One was found by in Athens by local police, the other was discovered by Oglethorpe County police during a similar search. Police would not reveal exact addresses. Oglethorpe County officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon. The residents of the discovery sites are not being viewed as suspects since it is believed they purchased the cameras, but did not take them Bureau Chief David Camp of the Athens-Clarke County police department said. The buy ers’ identities were not revealed. He said the cameras will be sent to the state crime lab. The recovery of Stone’s cameras has given Athens-Clarke County police a more positive outlook concerning the case. “The finding of the cameras is a major break in the case," said Bureau Chief David Camp of the Athens-Clarke County police department. “The cameras were removed from Stone’s residence, and it’s a direct link to her residence," Chandler said. “We feel very positive about this information, and we see it possibly leading to an end.” Jennifer Stone Both Chandler and Camp refused to say if there was anything else missing from Stone’s apartment that might lead police to a suspect, so as not to hinder the investigation. Regents approves budget for health center relocation By LORI WIECHMAN Staff Writer The University System Board of Regents unanimously approved Wednesday a $6 million budget for the relocation of the Gilbert Health Center. Last June the board approved a $2 million budget for the renovation of the building. Since then, the University found that the project would require more work, due to the lack of adequate parking and a 44 percent enrollment growth at the University since the last addition to the cen ter 19 years ago. The new location will be on River Road, near the planned Student Physical Activities Center. Officials at the Health Center were not available for comment. In other action, the Board turned down a request from University housing administrator Jerry Studdard to waive a Regents’ policy regard ing University employees who run for political office. This policy states two things: •An employee seeking a federal or state office must first require a leave of absence without pay beginning prior to qualification as a candidate in the primary. •If elected to state or federal office, the employee must resign prior to assuming office. Studdard, who has worked for the University for 27 years, is a democratic candidate in the 91st district for a seat in the state House of Representatives. He has already taken leave without pay, but asked for the waiver because no other candidates from either party are going to run against him. In this case, Studdard’s candidacy and his work would not conflict from July 22, the time of the primary, to when he would possibly assume office. Studdard said he was told that work and cam paigning would conflict. “We have to be consistent with the policy," said Regent Barry Phillips, adding that although Studdard does not have any competition, he is still considered a candidate. The Board also approved a Masters degree in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development, a program which plans to provide students with the skills necessary to make deci sions regarding biological, social and economical problems. New museum director to focus on scholarship BY MELODY WILLIS Staff Writer The future of the Georgia Museum of Art now lies in the hands of new direc tor Bill Eiland. Since becoming interim director last year, Eiland has helped the museum increase its yearly attendance to more than 50,000 people. The lecture and edu cation programs have more than dou bled in attendance, from 2,400 to 5,700. “We have made great strides in attracting more people, from all seg ments of the community," Eiland said. “The figures are remarkable considering we have no parking." Eiland said one of his goals is to improve the museum’s education pro grams. Because the museum is the state’s historical gallery, it serves as a forum for visual arts research, he said. Currently, the museum publishes exhibition catalogs and its own bulletin and develops traveling exhibits for pre sentation. “We will be continuing our successful projects of the past, strengthening them, and making them appealing to scholars and laymen alike,” Eiland said. This commitment to scholarship will continue fall quarter with Italian Renaissance and Baroque exhibitions featured at the museum. At least 10 workshops led by national experts on art history will coincide with the exhibit. “The theme of this exhibit is unique because it hasn’t been dealt with in such depth before," he said. “We’ll be using the exhibit as an educational spring board." Vice President for Academic Affairs William Prokasy appointed Eiland as director because he wanted someone who could help the evolution of the museum. “(Eiland) will be playing an impor tant role in dealing with alumni and other citizens around the state who are interested in art,” said Prokasy. The current museum exhibits focus on Native American ornamental art, Japanese scrolls and books, and pho tographs from American cities named after Christopher Columbus. Eiland said lack of space is the major hindrance to displaying more exhibits. “We don’t restrict what we show,” he said. “The Georgia Museum of Art is only restricted by what can be brought in and out of the doors.” Local artist Joni Mabe said Eiland should do a “good job" as the new direc tor but she’s looking for something more. “I hope the museum will show more regional art,” she said. Despite regular criticism that it doesn’t pay enough attention to local artists, the museum attempts to include local art into group shows. With many demands on exhibition space, the muse um supports local art by coordinating these shows with Lyndon House and Tate Center Gallery. “We try to show as diverse and varied a schedule as possible," Eiland said. This lack of exhibition space, as well as lack of storage space for the more than 6,000 pieces in the museum’s col lection, will be corrected with the con struction of a new museum. Groundbreaking for the new building is scheduled for 1994. As part of the Visual Arts complex to be located near the Parking Services building, the new museum will spread over 70,000 square feet. The current museum occupies 13,000 square feet. Until the new building is ready, the museum staff will continue to revise and develop its programs for the community. The fall schedule will extend hours until 9 p.m. on Thursdays for the Italian exhibit. New times for the education pro grams will also be implemented. “We will try to do them at lunchtime so people can walk to the museum," Eiland said. Eiland joined the museum as director of public relations and publications in 1989. He has doctoral and master’s degrees in European history from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree in biology, political science, French and history from Birmingham Southern College. He has published two books and severul journal articles. Environmental health students ask for department status By ALLEN BOWIE Staff Writer A rapid increase in enroll ment in the environmental health sciences major has caused widespread concern among many students in the program. Now representing the largest population of students in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, student enrollment in the degree program increased from 24 in 1989 to 162 by spring quarter this year. In a letter sent to University President Charles Knapp, over half of the stu dents enrolled in the under graduate program said envi ronmental health sciences needed to become a separate department. Currently, it is one of three subunits under the direction of the Food Science and Technology Department. “This field is wide open for our program to shine and make the university a premier insti tute of environmental science," said David Thompson, vice- president of the Environmental Health Sciences Club. “But this won’t happen while the program is still under the direction of Food Sciences.” Students said in the letter that the food science adminis tration and faculty are not trained in environmental health science and cannot properly direct such a program since the two fields are com pletely different. The students added that the two fields don’t share common academic or professional roots and goals. “Today’s environmental health studies are turning more towards the chemical and biological aspects of science rather than the aspects dealt with in food science courses," said Thompson, a junior in environmental health sciences. Harold Barnhart, an associ ate professor of environmental health sciences, said he doesn’t see the University creating a new department any time soon because of the lack of funds to hire a large faculty for the pro gram. “We’re looking ahead to hir ing a few more faculty person nel to expand the program," Barnhart said. “But realisti cally I don’t see the positions being filled until the beginning of next year." Chris Smit, director of Academic Programs, said the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences will hire two faculty members soon, one to fill a replacement posi tion and one to fill a new posi tion. A lack of funds has scaled back the number of faculty members in the program from three to two professors for 170 students. Funds allocated to the Food Science and Technology Department are divided between its three sub unit programs, which include Biochemistry, Food Science and Environmental Health Science. “It’s been a dynamic pro gram that’s gone through a rapid increase in enrollment," Student Enrollment in Environmental Health Sciences Source; Academic Programs Office. Term said Joseph Jen, division Head of Food Science and Technology. “It’s just that the increase has caught us in a real bind." University administrators and students in the program are now waiting for the results ■ % £ <z g 5 & 5 MIM Bed «no Stack of an accrediting team’s evalu ation of the environmental pro gram. The program is reeval uated every s.x years to achieve accredited status from the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Council.
