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The Red & Black
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TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 1993 » ATHENS, GEORGIA • VOLUME 100, ISSUE 88
Students go on record
against tax on drinks
SGA petition drive
By RUSS BYNUM
Staff Writer
While Athens-Clarke County CEO Gwen
O'Looney says a proposed 3 percent tax on
hard liquor drinks will not affect students,
625 of them disagree.
Those students signed a petition Monday
opposing the tax proposed by the Athens-
Clarke County Commission, 3aying it
unfairly targets University students.
The Student Government Association
sponsored the petition drive, which contin
ues today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., after hear
ing that the commission was scheduled to
vote on the proposal during its meeting
tonight.
However, the commission decided last
week to postpone voting on the liquor tax
until April 6. It will hold a work session and
hear public comment on the issue March 16.
SGA passed a bill Feb. 23 accusing the
commission of viewing students as “easy
targets for new taxes since, historically,
they do not vote in local elections.” SGA also
resolved to hold a petition drive Monday
and today at the Tate Center Plaza, the
gets 625 names
North Psychology-Journalism Auditorium,
the Main Library and the Boyd Graduate
Studies Building.
Some students at Tate Plaza said
Monday they agree with SGA’s campaign
against the liquor tax.
“It seems like whenever the Athens-
Clarke County Commission needs to gain
more money they hit the students up for it,”
said Raul Trujillo, a senior from Atlanta
who signed the petition. “(The liquor tax)
will directly affect the students more than
the community.”
But O’Looney said the tax will not affect
many students, because they do not buy
much hard liquor.
“This is an older person’s tax,” O’Looney
told SGA representatives and a few stu
dents at the Tate Center Monday. “It
doesn’t affect students. Student habits are
not focused at all on mixed drinks, but
rather beer and wine.
“This petition shows no understanding of
what this would do. Study after study
shows that this will not affect the student
community, and that’s been the commis
sion’s opposition to it when it was brought
up in the past.”
But SGA President John Bradberry said
the commission is in no position to decide
how much the tax will affect students with
out their input.
“She’s going to say that because she sees
that there’s so much opposition from the
student citizens of Athens-Clarke County,”
Bradberry said. “But part of the reason we
had such a good response to the petition
drive is because students do feel it will
affect them.”
Still, some students declined to sign the
petition Monday, saying they believe the
liquor tax will have no impact on them.
“Most students don’t drink liquor when
they go out to bars,” said Chris Walker, a
senior from Virginia. “They drink beer.
Many students can’t afford hard liquor and
the bars can’t afford that anyway.”
Scott Rosenblum, owner of the Sugar
Bowl, said he agreed that the student mar
ket is not favorable to hard liquor and
mixed drinks.
“Liquor sales are not the biggest part of
sales for bars in this town,” Rosenblum
said. “I’d say 15 to 20 percent (of alcohol
sold) is hard liquor. I don’t like taxes more
than anyone else, but it affects bars where
the middle-aged folks hang out, not the col
lege bars.”
Commission tries again
to limit nude dancing
Robyn Hitchcock remains as
obscure and powerful as ever in
his latest release. See page 3.
& Crimewatch
Keep hold of that strap! Four book
bag thefts have been reported.
© Fore!
The Georgia men’s golf team won
its first tournament in nearly two
years.
By DAVID TWIDDY
Staff Writer
Establishments that feature nude
dancing in Athens may find themselves
zoned out of business if the Athens-Clarke
County Commission passes a new set of
restrictions on them tonight.
The proposed ordinance, based some
what on old city alcohol licensing restric
tions, would ban nude performances with
in 500 yards of the campuses of schools or
colleges, churches, hospitals, public parks,
public or school libraries or the boundaries
of any single-family residential zones.
The only current nude-dancing facility,
the Toppers nightclub on Jackson Street,
is about 150 yards from the University's
Arch.
The ordinance also limits the dancing
to a “clearly defined” area at least two feet
higher than the floor and separated from
the audience by at least three feet.
Additionally, “commingling” or touching
would not be allowed, banning so-called
“table dances.”
Neither the co-owner of Toppers,
Sandra Gardner, nor her lawyer, Jeff
Rothman, would comment on the proposed
ordinance.
Rothman said he would gather more
information about the ordinance at the
meeting tonight.
The ordinance is being considered
under suspension of normal rules, which
means the commission has the option of
voting on the issue tonight even though
this is the first time the proposal has been
introduced.
Commissioners voted to ban nude
dancing in Athens last year, but the
enforcement of the ordinance has been
upheld because the state Supreme Court
struck down a similar restriction in
Carrollton.
Tom Chasteen, 9th district commis
sioner, said the proposed ordinance will
attack nude dancing as a zoning issue.
“This is going to clarify the definition of
nudity and treat it like any other busi
ness,” Chasteen said. “Certain businesses
can only operate in certain areas."
John Barrow, 4th district commission
er, said the new ordinance is more consti
tutionally sound than its predecessor.
“This is a less comprehensive, but more
bulletproof way to deal with the problem,”
Barrow said. “Some people, of course,
don’t see it as a problem. It takes all kinds
to make a community.”
Brown dismissed
By JOHN TURCO
Sports Editor
Sophomore Dathon Brown, a key
contributor off the bench for Georgia’s
basketball team, was dismissed
Monday for violating team policy.
Head coach Hugh Durham didn’t
specify why Brown was dismissed, but
said he will remain in school.
“He was dismissed because of viola
tion of team policy,” said Durham in a
phone interview Monday night. “I’m
just going to leave it at that.”
Brown, a 6-foot-5, 220 pound for
ward from Atlanta, added depth to the
Bulldogs’ bench throughout the ’92-’93
season. He played in 22 of the Dogs’ 24
games, averaging 3.8 points and 2.8
rebounds per game. He was ranked sec
ond in free throw shooting on the team
with a .778 percentage.
Brown played his best game of the
year against Vanderbilt in the
Coliseum on Feb. 24, scoring 12 points
and grabbing nine rebounds in 21 min
utes off the bench. He also hit a three-
pointer to send the game into overtime.
Brown’s status could possibly be re
evaluated at the end of the year.
“Durham dismissed him and any
changes in that, will be up to Durham.”
said Norm Reilly, the Georgia basket
ball sports information director.
Neither Brown nor his parents could
be reached for comment on Monday.
Inspector 12?
Tamara Jordan demonstrates most people’s concept of fabric
testing. In reality, fabric testing is an industry dealing with
heath and environmental issues. See story, page 2.
Wait for reduced credit hours may be ‘long, drawn out’
By MELANIE THOMAS
Staff Writer
Students may have a long wait before
they hear any more about graduating with
only 182 credit hours, as different
University units follow their own agendas
to consider the potential hour change.
The University Council approved the
recommendation to reduce the minimum
required credit hours for undergraduate
degrees from 190 credit hours plus two
hours in physical education to 180 hours,
with two hours in PE, in January.
William Prokasy, vice president for
Academic Affairs, said the recommenda
tion was made to permit students to grad
uate from the University within four
years.
Prokasy said individual schools and
colleges are addressing the hours reduc
tion, and he said there is no deadline for
departments to decide what they will do.
The departments must submit their
reduction proposals to the University
Council for approval. However, some
departments may opt not to reduce their
hours.
The Faculty Senate of the School of
Arts and Sciences recently created an ad
hoc committee with representatives from
the school’s five divisions to address the
potential reduction.
Linda Piper, the presiding officer for
the faculty senate, said she thinks chang
ing the hours requirement could be a
“long, drawn-out procedure.” Piper said
they may resort to cutting about five to 10
hours from the core curriculum.
“We cannot cut from the major,” she
said. “Some schools demand more hours
than others. We’re going to have to solicit
department heads to see what they do
require for requirements. Electives are a
target point, also.”
Ralph Verrastro, director of the School
of Music, said the school has also created
a committee to look at the situation.
Verrastro said the committee has not
come to a decision yet, but he expects it to
reduce the hours.
“Music majors have a very demanding
schedule,” he said. “Their curriculum is
already very crowded, and a'lot of it is
sequential, but I think the committee has
found a way to comply with the hours
reduction.”
Sylvia Hutchinson, associate dean for
Academic Affairs in the College of
Education, said she has not heard of any
decisions within the college to reduce the
hours requirement.
“I know various departments are con
sidering it, but there’s no college-wide
decision,” she said. “For some programs it
would be very difficult to reduce the
hours.”
Dwight Coulter, associate dean for
Academic Affairs in the College of
Veterinary Medicine, said he doesn’t
expect the hours change to affect any pre-
vet students either. Coulter said any stu
dent receiving a bachelor’s degree in pre-
veterinary medicine would still probably
be required to have 192 graduation hours.
Crush that butt? Smoking has come under attack in
many public places, including University buildings. But
that policy has run into complications in its application
to open-air complexes like Sanford Stadium.
Issue keeps officials from breathing easily
Stadium smoking ban up in the air
By SEAN LOOK
Staff Writer
The stereotypical cigar-smoking
sports fan is disappearing from view
as stadiums from Atlanta to
Oakland join the list of public places
banning smoking.
The University asks that people
not smoke in Sanford Stadium, but
doesn’t have an outright ban on
lighting up - yet.
“We had made proposals to allow
smoking in some areas, but then
realized we had problems with
smoking in the stadium," said
Georgia Assistant Athletic Director
Liz Murphey.
Georgia’s Sanford Stadium and
the Coliseum both allow smoking
around concession areas. Officials
said they would like eventually to
ban smoking altogether, forcing
fans who smoke completely out of
the sports complex. But such a ban
would force stadium workers to give
smokers passes out of the complex,
a difficult arrangement, according
to Murphey.
“We’ve had people smoke out on
the concourse because we didn’t
give pass-outs,” said Murphey.
“Those are too hectic for the securi
ty guards.”
Officials considering a stricter
policy are grappling with the diffi
culties of enforcement.
“What is the implementation of
an enforcement plan with 85,000
people?” asked Georgia athletics
spokesman Claude Felton.
Smoking advocates say it’s
ridiculous to have such policies in
open-air facilities.
“The outdoors are subject to
fresh air and wind. The smoke out
doors is rapidly dissipated,” said
Bill Wordham, spokesman for the
Tobacco Institute.
“On the face of that, it is unrea
sonable. It’s discriminatory against
smokers,” he said.
The University of Iowa was one
of the first universities to complete
ly ban smoking in its recreational
buildings. Iowa Athletic Director
George Wine attributes the enforce
ment to fan complaints about smok
ers and the fact that all of the build
ings on campus prohibit smoking.
“It’s been done at other stadi
ums, and we feel it’s something that
should be done. There’s been reac
tion from the fans resulting from
complaints,” Wine said.
“Our athletic department decid
ed to just ban smoking altogether in
our stadiums,” he said.
Security on the Iowa campus will
be tightened and the number of ush
ers at games will increase to see
that people comply with this law.
Auburn University became the
latest institution to ban smoking in
the seating areas of its athletic facil
ities last week joining several other
colleges that have taken the step.
Georgia Tech has banned smoking
from its football stadium, as well.
Officials at Atlanta-Fulton
County Stadium, home of the
Atlanta Braves, say they have no
plans to change the current policy,
which allows smoking in all but two
family sections.
“We have had many requests,”
said stadium manager T. Herman
Graves. “I am not saying it won’t
happen, but it won’t happen in the
1993 season."
-The Associated Press
contributed to this report.