Newspaper Page Text
MONDAY
September 28,1998
Vol. 106, No. 25 | Athens. Georgia
Cloudy with isolated thunderstorms.
Low 65 | Tuesday's high 84
—
ONUNt wwwjBdandbtack.com
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
ESTABLISHED 1893, INDEPENDENT 1980
► A review of the new film on the
Tibetan Freedom Concert PAGE 2
▲ Senior forward Nikki Omelaz head* the ball over Stephanie Lyman, an
Arkanaaa defender, during Sunday'* victory over the Razorbacks. Story, Page 6
Police make
first student
arrest of year
By ANDREA JONES
and ERIN McCLAM
Thk Nil. a Black
University police made their first student arrest
of the school year, busting a freshman for smoking
marijuana atop the West Campus Parking Deck.
Marlon Cook, a freshman from Winston, was
arrested Thursday night, issued a citation for vio
lating Oeorgla drug laws and released at the
scene, police said
The arrest. Just after 11 p.m. Thursday, is the
first arrest of a student since classes began on
Aug. 24.
Over the summer, a high-ranking University
official reprimanded the University police for
being too heavy handed in dealing with students
Cook’s citation and the Sept. 6 arrest of a visi
tor to campus are the only arrests this school year
by University police. They made 80 last
September
University President Michael Adams said last
week the drop In arrests Is evidence his goal of a
more “student-friendly campus" Is taking hold.
Public Safety Director Asa Boynton told The
Red Si Black he didn't know whether the drop In
arrests Is a result of the reprimand.
He said his department will evaluate arrest
statistics at the end of the month before establish
ing a reason for the drop
Another student. Yoofl Dowell, was arrested
Aug 19 — the Wednesday before classes began —
for running a red light and not having insurance or
a license plate
Police arrested Cook on the top floor of the
West Campus deck, next to Russell and Creswell
halls, but friends said they had no idea the ''cigar"
he was smoking contained pot.
“We went downtown with everyone and went up
to the top of the parking deck," one witness said.
“We were all standing away from the group that
was smoking, and we thought the guys were smok
ing cigars '
Both Cook and University police were unavail
able for comment Sunday.
INSIDE TODAY | Variety: 2 | News: 3 | Opinions: 4 | Sports: 6 | Crossword: 5
Yrnic all keyed up
wer presentation
By WILL KISER
Thk Rio a Black
John Bell, lead singer and gul-
arist for Widespread Panic, had
(rouble getting the key to the famt-
car in high school. Now, he can
pnlock any door In Athens
Athens-Clarke Mayor Owen
5'Looney presented the entire
nd with keys to the city Friday
temoon
Three members of the band —
ncludtng Bell, who joked later that
• couldn’t even get the keys to his
fly's car as a teen-ager — were
i town before leaving for an eight-
eek fall tour.
O’Looney praised the band for
Itaytng grounded and contributing
i Athens, even with its worldwide
uccess.
“This Is what makes Athens spe-
|lal,” O'Looney said at the ceremo-
y, at the band's office on Foundry
Itreet. “The key Is people who
|ave made it and give back to the
ommunity"
Dave 8chools, bass player for
fldespread, said receiving the key
i the definitive accomplishment
for the band.
“This Is the ultimate fruition of
everything we have been trying to
do," Schools said.
The band also received the keys
to mark its record-breaking CD
release party last April.
The release party drew an esti
mated 100,000 people to the streets
of downtown Athens on April 18.
Schools, a resident of Athens
since 1983, said the music scene
has been basically the same over
the years.
“The faces change, but the
scene here Is definitely cyclical. It
goes up and down." Schools said.
“The good thing Is that it is not
Influenced by what goes on outside
of Athens, it is Insulated."
Schools has become an expert
on Athens music and stresses the
importance of not confining music
to a definition
Schools said he believes this Is
important in analyzing
Widespread's place in Athens
music.
"When we were starting, people
would say. 'You don't sound like
Athens music.' and I thought, do
A Members of Widespread Panic were given honorary keys to
the city by Mayor Gwen O’Looney, left, on Friday.
you want us to Just copy R.E.M.?"
Schools said. "I always say ‘when
you define something, you restrict
its ability to grow."'
Schools said Widespread
received a letter of thanks from
REM praising the ability of the
band to pull off an event like the
CD release concert.
"When you take local music acts
and you add In The B-52’s, R.E.M.
and Widespread Panic. It’s like a
diamond - multi-faceted," Schools
said.
HEADS UP!
Affirmative
action plays
role in race
for governor
By CAL POWELL
Thk Rid a Black
Worried about how much that trip to
iton Rouge to see Georgia play
lUislana State is going to cost you this
kend?
You're not alone.
An average road trip for the Oeorgla
itball team cost* $50,000. But the ath-
department operates on a yearly
itball travel budget of $335,000.
This week's trip to Baton Rouge will
the athletic department back about
1,000. the most expensive of Georgia's
road games this year. The bill for the
. t. 12 South Carolina game came out
around $30,000 because no air travel
required.
But any time the team travels, the
quickly add up.
According to Administrative
Charles Whlttemore, who is In
of making travel plans, an
entourage of about 140 people makes
the trip to away games.
That's TO football players, plus coach
es, cheerleaders, equipment people,
managers, trainers, athletic directors
and various other staff members.
And all those people have to eat.
They have to sleep. They have to get
around town alter arriving at the airport.
Pretty soon, it gets pretty expensive
For example, the itinerary (tor this week's
game begins with a Friday bus ride to
the Atlanta airport.
There, the team will take a Delta
Airlines flight to Baton Rouge, where a
waiting fleet of buses will chauffeur the
group to the Holiday Inn South.
"They do a real good Job of planning
things out,” senior safety Kirby Smart
said. "It all goes pretty smooth. Coach
(Jim) Donnan doesn't want us worrying
about anything. It's always the best
facilities possible, and everything always
runs smooth."
The team will spend only Friday night
at the hotel and will leave directly after
the game. In fact, only once in recent
years has the team sjrent two nights on
the road — last year’s Vanderbilt game
in Nashville, a 9:30 p.m. start.
“Our coaches felt like they wanted
the guys to go to bed and get a good
night's sleep and take our time coming
back Sunday." Whlttemore said. “We had
a big game coming up that week against
Kentucky."
Two trips on Georgia's road schedule
this year — South Carolina and Auburn
— are accessible by bus, and thus a good
deal cheaper than the longer trips. The
annual budget for bus travel Is $36,000.
On the other hand, travel to Baton
By ANDREW DeMILLO
The Red a Black
oad games
Rouge, Lexington and Jacksonville (for
the annual Florida game), requires air
line reservations.
Whlttemore said $140,000 is set aside
this year for air travel.
Whlttemore said most reservations
are made two years In advance, noting
he soon will make hotel and airline
reservations for Georgia’s 2000 schedule,
which includes a flight to Fayetteville,
Ark., to take on the Razorbacks.
And if Georgia Is invited to a
post-season bowl game, it costs
even more.
For example, it cost
the Athletic
Association $145,000 —
including everything
from parking to laundry
— in January to
accommodate the
Georgia entourage in
Tampa for a week dur
ing the Outback Bowl.
amount to big bucks for Bulldog brigade
GEORGIA FOOTBAl I
Up Nut: Sat. vs. No. 6 LSU, 7 p.m.
Whsrt: Tiger Stadium (79,940). Baton Rouge. La.
TORsdlo: ESPN, WNGC-FM (95.5)
As the Nov. 3 election for governor draws near, the
University may turn into a battleground over the use of race
in admissions
Recent polls have shown a neck-and-neck battle between
candidates Republican Guy Millner and Democrat Roy
Barnes. That may concern some University administrators
who have voiced opposition to Millner’s stance on affirma
tive action.
Millner has said he wants to eliminate any form of race-
based preferences.
"Every applicant should be looked at as a person," Millner
said in an August interview with The Red & Black “Frankly,
if we do our job in public education, there would be no need
for affirmative action."
At a Sept. 23 press conference.
University President Michael Adams said
he was worried about Millner's com
ments.
“I think it would be difficult for any
one to not see how affirmative action has
befitted our state," Adams said. “We
want to make sensible and rational
admissions decisions.”
African Americans made up about 6
percent of the University's student body
in fall 1997 Adams said a slight increase
is expected this year.
Adams, who has a Republican back
ground, said “this is one of those times
that I disagree with my Republican
friends.”
Other administrators also seemed
concerned about eliminating race from
admissions policies.
“What we want to do is have a diverse
! student body that represents the state,”
Vice President for Student Affairs
Dwight Douglas said. “We have to main
tain diversity in some way."
Millner has said he still would pro
mote diversity through “aggressive
recruitment of minority students," said BARNES
Robert Highsmith, a spokesman for
Millner’s campaign.
Highsmith said Millner has met with Adams and other
state college administrators and is "looking forward to for
mulating an agreeable policy" if he wins the election.
Political science professor Charles Bullock said many
political observers are watching the Georgia governor’s elec
tion to see what the impact will be on the state's affirmative
action policies.
"People want to see what will happen with (affirmative
action) in the state and throughout the south.” Bullock said.
“It's always a hot topic.”
Millner has nothing to lose by opposing affirmative action,
but Barnes may have to "walk some tightropes" to keep a
strong bi-racial base of voters, Bullock said.
In a Sept. 4 interview, Barnes defended the role race plays
In college admissions.
“When I was a law student at the University of Georgia
more than 30 years ago, there were only a handful of blacks,”
Barnes said. “I don't want to go back to a time like that."
If the University's admissions policies are changed,
administrators are eyeing alternatives to affirmative action.
The University is the only school In Oeorgla that uses race as
one of several factors in its admissions.
"We’re going to use affirmative action or the next best
thing," said University spokesman Tom Jackson "We’ll com
ply with the law. but we want to keep our minority enroll
ment up."
Admissions alternatives would try to enroll the same stu
dents by focusing on certain economic brackets or geo
graphic areas. Jackson said.
One of the concerns administrators have is that politi
cians may not fully understand the role race plays In admis
sions.
"The general public tends to knee Jerk on this Issue,"
Jackson said.
El
MILLNER