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TUESDAY
November 17,1998
Vol. 106, No. 61 | Athens. Georgia
Mostly sunny with a few clouds.
\Htyh 71 | Low 51 | Wednesday 69
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Red&Black
/!« independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
ESTABLISHED 1893, INDEPENDENT 1980
‘CHAMPION
► Champ Bailey is named SEC
defensive player of the week. PAGE 2
Library lounge
to go 24-hours
Officials accept recommendation by
SGA to extend hours of student lounge
Tbs R*» a feats HMHUMIIM Tu tiMlkAi
I A A room In the PI Beta PM sorority house Just after the fir*, left, and undergoing renovations, right.
Fire doesn’t spoil hopes
Sorority members plan to move back into house soon
By KATE DOOOLAt
Tni Rid s Burl
Their house burned down, but
they've kept their spirits up
Members of PI Beta Phi sorority are
adjusting to the loss of their house,
damaged In a fire earlier this year, but
they're planning to move back after the
holidays
'I don't think any of us realized how
important the house was until It wasn't
there any more." said Jennifer Oardner,
a senior from Marietta
In the first weeks alter the Ore. the
sorority held meetings at Compadres
restaurant. Memorial Hall and the
Kappa Delta sorority house Now they
have a more regular schedule, meeting
at a conference room In Stegeman
Coliseum, said PI Beta Phi president
Lauren Mengel
"It kind of seems almost normal,"
Mengel said "We're finally In a routine.
The Coliseum has been a surrogate
house for us on Sundays"
While their house Is being repaired,
sorority members have been living at
Safety to
be focus
of forum
By ANDREA JONES
Trs Rid a Buck
Ever felt unsafe walking or riding a
bike around Athens?
Today 's your chance to gripe.
Each year more than a handful of
University students are Injured — some
even killed — crossing the streets on
and around campus.
And the University
Public Safety
Division wants to do
something about It.
It's sponsoring a
forum on pedestrian
Bkfety In Room H3 at
file Tate Student
Center at 3 p.m.
today
The panel will con
sist Public Safety
Director Asa
Boynton. Athens-
Clarke Police Chief Jack Lumpkin and
A-C traffic engineer David Clarke.
"We want questions from the audl-
Mice and suggestions to make campus
Mfer." Boynton said. “People will have
Input and bring up complaints."
Boynton said careless pedestrian
habits can lead to the kinds of problems
Students might have around campus.
"People are stepping off the curb and
not using crosswalks." he said.
“Bicyclists are riding at high speed, not
following rules and rldlnc on the oppo
site side of the road."
The most recent accident Involving a
student occurred Oct. 20.
Curtis Bogue. a sophomore from
Commerce, was struck by a car while
crossing Lumpkin Street at a crosswalk
near downtown. Witnesses said he
crossed In front of a stopped Athens
Transit bus. Both of Bogue's legs were
broken in the incident.
According to a University press
release, the A-C Department of
Transportation plans to Install longitu
dinal crosswalks on Broad 8treet to
make the crossing area more visible to
motorists
“We've talked to the A-C police
department to correct these problems
and are working with each other,"
Boynton said.
BOYNTON
University Commons Mengel said they
were "Very lucky" that the apartment
complex had 13 empty four-bedroom
apartments they could use
House construction has a long way to
go. though, before It will be ready in
January Fire destroyed the Interior
walls and ceilings, and smoke damage
was serious In the upstairs. Mengel said
"It's still kind of bare on the Inside
because they haven't put the walls back
up," said Jennifer Lowery, president of
the chapter's house corporation. "It’s
Just a massive cinder block."
Mengel said the sorority still isn’t
sure of the total repair cost alter the
Aug. 22 fire, which spread from candles
to sheets hung for a sorority rush func
tion.
Recent progress has been made In
painting the upstairs, hanging sheet-
rock and repairing electrical work. The
sorority also Is replacing the heating
and air system and Insulation
“Last time I was there, they were get
ting ready to hang the sheet-rock,” said
Claudia Shamp, director of Greek Life.
"They've come a long way They're
doing pretty well.”
8ororlty members are looking for
ward to moving Into their house after
the holidays, said Colleen Sweeney, a
senior from Roswell.
"You don’t see everybody as much as
when you live together every day, but I
think everyone’s adjusted pretty well,”
Sweeney said.
Living in apartments has been a
learning experience for a lot of the girls,
said Heather Quinn, a Junior from
Atlanta.
“After living In my own apartment for
two months. I’ve decided I’d rather live
in the house,” Quinn said. “It’s made me
appreciate having everyone around,
being (near) campus, having the cooks
cook for me. It's more convenient —
more fUn.”
Although members have lost senti
mental objects, they’re excited that In
the course of the renovations, they
might be able to build an addition — a
new chapter room, Mengel said.
"We’re sad about all the things we've
lost," she said, “but we're excited about
having a new start."
By RUSS HENDERSON
Thi Rid i Blici
As final exams approach, late-night
crammers will be able to pore over
physics In the main library as they drink
Cokes from the vending machines of the
student lounge — and they have the
Student Government
Association to thank for it.
Responding to a request
from SGA in the spring of last
year, the library will open its
student lounge 24-hours in the
weeks leading up to finals.
From Nov. 29 to Dec. 10, the
library will be open day and
night Sundays through
Thursdays.
“As I understand It, there
isn’t any place on campus for
people to get together and
study late at night," said Jean
Cleveland, library spokeswom
an. “The suggestion to expand the
hours of the lounge was made by SGA
last spring, and we agreed to have this
two-week trial period."
The days before finals seemed to be
the best to test whether the library
should permanently expand the
lounge's hours. Cleveland said.
"Of course this will be done at con
siderable cost,” Cleveland said. "We will
have to have security people on hand.
We'll have to see If it's worth it.”
SGA Vice President Steve Pitts said
he was pleased with the library's effort.
“This Is fantastic," Pitts said “This Is
PITTS
something SGA has talked about for a
long time, and now it's something stu
dents can take advantage of."
Most big colleges have 24-hour
libraries, Pitts said, and the University
should be no exception
“I talk to people all the time, and
they say things like, 'You know at
Emory, the libraries are open all
night.”' Pitts said “That's when
a lot of research gets done. If we
want to be on the level of
schools like that, we need to do
this permanently "
University Librarian BUI
Potter, who ultimately wlU
decide whether the lounge will
go 24-hours, said the idea has
been tried before, and It faUed.
“We did this In the spring of
1996, during midterms." Potter
said. “SGA had asked us to do It
then, too. We did it, and we
didn't get enough use by stu
dents to Justly doing It full-time ”
This time may be different, he said.
“The argument I’ve heard is that stu
dents are more studious, now,” Potter
said. "We'U see We will do a count and
consider it. I don’t know how much use
we’re going to get at 4 in the morning,
though."
Pitts said SGA will conduct its own
count of students who use the study
lounge at night.
"We’U be there counting heads, talk
ing to students,” he said. “I don’t know
how they did it in 1996. but 1 feel like
we’U get more feedback this time."
RUNNING DOWN A DREAM
A Kelly Greene, a senior from Columbus
middle distance runner on the track team, runs during cross country practice at Lake Herrick
Taa Red a Black
Plan provides peek into the future
By LOUIS ROLFES
Thi Rid i Black
Despite the unveiling of the
University’s master plan last week, it
stlU has a long way to go.
Before any changes to campus take
place, the plan must be presented to
the Board of Regents. But money for
the "pedestrian-friendly" Improve
ments won't be considered during the
presentation.
Board spokesman John MUlsaps
said the master plan wlU be presented
In February to the Regents as an Infor
mational Item. The regents won’t vote
to approve the plan; Instead, they wlU
use It as a long-term blueprint for
future construction. MUlsaps said.
When the University requests
money for a new buUdlng. the regents
wUl determine how the construction
fits Into the master plan, MUlsaps said.
“Anytime the University has a pro
ject up fbr approval, the regents wlU
ask, ‘Is this part of the master plan?’"
MUlsaps said.
At a series of pubUc presentations
held last week, students were given an
opportunity to view sUdes and make
comments about the master plan.
The University wUl use the com
ments and suggestions to make final
changes to the master plan before sub
mitting It to the Regents.
WlUle Adam Gross of a Baltimore
consulting Dim has done much of the
work, some University students also
contributed to the friture appearance
of the University.
Students In professor Leonardo
Alvarez's landscape architecture
courses compUed detailed designs for
sections of campus in need of some
Improvement. Seven students In his
urban planning course spent the sum
mer producing drawings on how D.W.
Brooks Drive could be made more
pedestrian friendly, Alvarez said.
“We handled it like a professional
office," he said. “We tried to figure out
how we might do D.W. Brooks in con
junction with Ideas presented In the
master plan.”
The plan suggested that a pedestri
an maU be constructed in place of the
roadway and the students expanded
upon the Idea, Alvarez said.
The plan originally suggested grass
be used for the mall, but the students
found a way to Incorporate the dura
bility of concrete with the environmen
tal benefits of grass.
By using “eco-stone" paving materi
als, the mall area could be accessible to
emergency and maintenance vehicles,
but still allow rainwater to'be absorbed
Into the ground, Alvarez said. He said
the project was challenging because
the South Campus buildings had many
different architectural styles.
“We had to deal with a lot of diversi
ty,” Alvarez said. “The students used
landscaping as a way to unify the
area”
Instead of tearing down buildings
and constructing new ones, the stu
dents were able to create a more -uni
form appearance through trees, plants,
paving and lighting, he said.
Patrick Waylor, a senior from
Marietta said he enjoyed working on
the project because it Incorporated
many of the existing trees.
“Our philosophy was to create more
of a North Campus feel," Waylor said. “I
think It came together really well."
FBI PHOTOS I Tri Rip a Bln a
A Above, D.W. Brooks Drive on South
Campus as H looks today. Below, an
artist’s rendering of the same part of
campus after Improvements.
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