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| Opinions Editor
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Opinions
Red&Black
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ESTABLISHED IMS. INDEPENDENT I 9 8 •
Opinion Meter
•"p- ■*■ Adding insult to injury
~ CM* Mission ImpossiM*? The Bulldogs
head to Oxford, Miss., to play Ole Miss
Saturday. We’re picked to lose. Yeah, well, so
was Auburn last week.
Orang* crush. Our boys stunk up Sanford
Stadium Saturday. But rest your weary heart
in the fact that Tennessee folded to Arkansas
last weekend.
Q
Chalk full o’ nuts. The University has
decided to ban chalk writing on campus
walls and sidewalks. Apparently it costs too
much to clean the stuff up, so they’re going
to start charging $150 to any group that does
3t-
It’s a good point, but with the horse at
Tate Center Plaza Wednesday and the
Humane Society animals there Thursday, stepping
on chalk isn’t what we’re worried about.
Ctuatsrpluck. Some weirdos left a live tor-
-tured chicken in a bag outside a room in
Russell Hall.
We’ve heard about guys being desperate to
get chicks in the sack, but c’mon, guys.
You’re just sick.
„ Hay, man. You’ve got something on your
nos* ... SOA has a plan to offer transcripts of
your on-campus extracurricular activities as
well as your grades.
We’re absolutely shocked that SOA came
up with a plan this useless and out of touch
with the average student’s life.
.. Puff, puff, gtv*. The Great American
Smokeout was held Thursday, reminding all
of us out of shape, pack-a-day losers that we
cough, stink and are killing ourselves.
, Wanna kick us off campus? Chock “yes' or
‘no.’ The Greek community is concerned that
‘the new master plan will take away their
houses, and rightfully so. The University has
jerked them around about it long enough.
But we can’t figure out why frat guys are
opposed to finding a new place to live —
those places aren’t exactly luxurious. Does
the word ‘Lysol’ mean nothing to you people?
Bit* off more than you can chew? A feder
al judge granted class-action status to to the
reverse discrimination lawsuit against the
University. That means anyone with a past
or present complaint can join in, and the
University is up against one hell of a case.
Da Roots, da Roots, da Roots are on fir*
... The Roots played Thursday night at the
Classic Center, thanks to the Committee for
Black Cultural Programs in the University
Union.
. That’s so cool, we now forgive the Union
• for that whole “Amazing Randi” thing.
Jiminy cricket. The University is keepin’ it
real for the Brits by making cricket a club
..sport on campus.
We’re happy for the cricket Rlayers and all,
but let’s not go too far with this cultural
-exchange. British people are funny.
• Wet, wild and waiting for you. Check out
;the inflatable water slide at the Ramsey
JCenter Sunday. It’s the easiest thing to go
Mown on since — wait, you people are nasty.
Q
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Our Staff
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Why UGA should keep using the SAT
T here’s been a lot of talk lately
about using SAT scores to
admit University students.
Both Oov. Roy Barnes and
affirmative action supporters say
we give too much weight to the
SAT.
We don’t.
Their argument goes some
thing like this:
The SAT doesn’t measure
intelligence. It favors white peo
ple and the wealthy. Colleges put
too much emphasis on the test,
which means fewer minorities are
accepted.
Bames even wants Georgia to
make up Its own tests that stu
dents can use in Ueu of the SAT.
The tests would cover specific
subjects, and high schoolers
would take a round of them after
each grade to reduce the pres
sure of taking one big test.
The testing pilot will cost $1
million of private funds and
could be accepted by 17 schools,
including Georgia State, by 2001.
The University hasn’t signed
on to the plan yet, and it
shouldn’t.
The SAT doesn’t deserve such
a bad rap. And the Idea for
Georgia to make up its own
alternative is misguided — silly,
even.
First, it’s no secret that a test
can’t determine how smart any
one is. And colleges don’t Inter
pret the scores that way. The
University weighs GPA twice as
KRISTIN WYATT
much as the SAT or ACT In
admissions.
So why all the complaining
about weighing the tests too
much?
They don’t measure Intelli
gence. But like It or not, the
tests roughly assess math and
verbal reasoning. If colleges
didn’t think SAT scores were
some predictor of how well a stu
dent does in college, they
wouldn’t use them. Period.
Second, the claim that the
SAT discriminates against
minorities Is weak. Race bias In
standardized testing has been
recognized for 20 years or more,
and they’ve tweaked the tests ad
nauseam to make sure they’re
fair.
Does the SAT favor the
wealthy? Probably. Children
raised by educated parents are
more likely to succeed In school.
They’ll probably do well on the
SAT, get into a good college and
succeed like their parents.
But the SAT, If anything, Is a
fairer measure of intelligence
than high school education. A B
student from Grady High School
In Atlanta would have a hard
time competing for a spot In col
lege with a B student horn
Woodward Academy.
The SAT Is a more level play
ing field.
OK, so there always will be
bright, capable students who
choke on the SAT. And students
from uneducated parents and
weak high schools may not test
as well as rich kids from Cobb
County.
That’s why colleges take into
account high school grades, work
and club experience and whether
the applicants' parents went to
college.
In that context, the SAT Is a
fair factor for colleges to consid
er. It gives them an idea of a stu
dent’s reasoning ability, which
they can’t tell from high school
grades alone.
Georgia shouldn’t spend the
money to make up an alternative
to the SAT. It sounds like a quick
fix meant to placate those who
say the SAT is unfair.
Let’s spend it helping
Georgia's children excel on the
SAT so they'll have the tools to
get into college — and succeed
once they’re there.
— Kristen Wyatt is editor in
chief for The Red & Black.
Mailbox
E-mail, letters and faxes from our readers
Don’t let hedges fall to opponents’ fans
I have a question for
University Police Chief Chuck
Horton. If one of your officers
had seen the person doing
donuts on our football field
before the LSU game, would they
have done anything about it?
The only reason I ask Is
because you seem to have no
problem watching opposing
schools’ fans and players
destroying our hedges for the
second year in a row.
It’d be nice to see some of the
security officers at the game
grow a backbone and restrain
people from ruining our famed
hedges Instead of watching play
ers go through them like they’re
looking for a gold tooth that fell
out.
Please explain why you do
nothing when the hedges are
tom to shreds and make a big
deal out of the field being dam
aged. Both of these are impor
tant, well-maintained parts of
the Sanford stadium and deserve
to be protected.
Sexual harassment is
no laughing matter
I opened The Red 6s Black
Wednesday to the most disturb
ing column I’ve read in a long
time. It was a light-hearted,
upbeat column on sexual harass
ment and stalking.
It bothers me that we are on
the verge of the 21st century, and
this type of mentality not only
exists, but It Is so pervasive that .
It finds Its way into a student-
run college newspaper.
Among the most upsetting
Ideas that John NtJhawan
espouses Is that men would not
mind being sexually harassed. In
fhet, they might even enjoy it.
This Is an Insult to all men
who have experienced sexual vic
timization of any sort. I don't
believe In the wanton sexuality of
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men, rather that they are people
who like to have their boundaries
respected as well as anyone else.
Throughout his column,
Nijhawan repeats that he
“respects" this or “understands"
that In regards to sexual harass
ment and stalking, when, In fact,
he shows no evidence at all of
having any comprehension or
respect for this very serious
topic.
For example, he “under
stands’’ that It’s wrong tor an
employer to ask for sexual favors
In exchange tor advancement,
“but some of America’s best have
slept their way to where they
are."
The most Insulting and Igno
rant reference he made waa to
the menstrual ui women.
Women are mean once a month,
and that’s when they Ole sexual
harassment claims
I’d laugh If I didn’t think he
really believed this. Men produce
semen all month long, so I guess
that’s why they’re always such
cretins.
Sexual harassment and stalk
ing are very serious, frightening
crimes that are sometimes total
to their victims Even a “big guy
friend" lint capable of changing
that tor a woman.
VOIONICA DUBOIS
Art Matary
Georgia fans hardly on
the 'bandwagon’
I’d like to respond to our dis
gruntled football players' com
ments about the “bandwagon"
fans (The Red & Black.
Wednesday).
The fans at this University are
not fair-weather fans. We love
this University and Its football
team so much that we’ve built
you the finest facilities In the
country. This year we’ve sold out
every game at one of the largest
football stadiums around, and we
sold out all but one last year.
We were voted the third-best
tailgaters In the country and first
In the South last year. We’re
some of the best traveling fans
around. Now can we truly be
called fair-weather or bandwagon
fans when we haven’t won a
national championship In 16
years or an SEC title In 18 years?
Robert Amaud complained
that “when one thing goes
wrong, (they don’t support us).“
We entered the season with
high hopes of a season that
would see us compete for a con
ference championship. Instead,
we have an offense that hasn’t
gained any consistency whatso
ever.
We have a defense that can’t
tackle or cover anything. We have
special teams that — other than
the kickers — are absolutely hor
rible.
Last weekend, all that frustra
tion came to a head. After hear
ing all week the encouraging talk
by the players about being ready
to play, we were whipped by a
horrible team.
The tens booed. Are you sur
prised? Can you blame us?
Whtch the game from a die-hard
ton's point of view and see If you
aren’t disgusted.
Well continue to support you
at Ole Miss and Georgia Tech,
and whatever bowl game we’re In
— regardless of the outcome.
We’ll still be there next year and
many more years after you’ve
graduated. But tor the rest of
this season, give us something to
cheer about.
MATT DAUGHERTY
LOUIS ROUES
▲
Crosswalks
don’t make up
for courtesy
I n regard to the University’s
new lighted crosswalk on
Lumpkin Street, I would
Just like to say one thing.
What a terrible waste of
money.
You see, It’s not about
lights and $18,000 crosswalks
— it’s about people not giving
a damn.
The issue has never been
about drivers not seeing peo
ple In the crosswalk. It’s
about drivers not having any
concern for their fellow man.
People see the crosswalks,
but they Just don’t care
enough to stop.
While the strobe lights do
alert drivers to the possibility
that someone Is crossing the
road, it does nothing to
encourage them to stop.
That's because people think
being on time for a class or
appointment Is more impor
tant than another person’s
life.
The only benefit to the
new crosswalks is that they
really stand out at night.
That way, drivers know when
to step on the gas pedal and
swerve around the freshmen
just trying to make It back
from chemistry lab alive.
Every day I drive past the
Lumpkin Street crosswalks
on my way to class, and a
poor soul always gets pinned
in the middle of the road
because some freak blazes
right through without even
slowing down.
It really concerns me that
this high-tech gadget is going
to cause more injuries or per
haps even a death, consider
ing how fast people drive on
Lumpkin already.
But it’s not just about
crosswalks on campus. Just
take a walk around town on
any given day, and you'll be
thankful you have a car. That
is, if you have a car. If you
don’t, then you already know
what I'm talking about.
My all-time favorite Is try
ing to cross Broad Street at
the intersection with Jackson
Street. Drivers love to play
“beat the pedestrian" at this
crosswalk. People taking a
left turn like to race Into the
intersection to make their
turn before any bothersome
pedestrians get In the way.
Delivery trucks, student
drivers and faculty all like to
play this game. That's right,
we can tell what that hanging
permit in your window means
— and you know who you are.
I’m sure working for the
University can be stressful,
and everyone gets a little dis
gruntled at times, but one of
these days someone Is going
to get killed by a driver
speeding across campus try
ing to beat the 5 p.m. traffic.
So instead of building the
bionic crosswalk, let's all take
some time and slow down.
Everyone on this campus
has to walk at some point
during the day and knows
how bad It sucks to almost
get run over.
So why do we all turn Into
Richard Petty every time we
get behind the wheel?
If you’re having trouble
recognizing how crappy
Athens drivers are, you may
want to think back to our
pedestrian safety week.
Students and faculty were
out on the streets working
their butts off as crossing
guards, and people tried to
drive right over them.
According to some of the
volunteers, drivers of
University vehicles weren’t
even stopping, and some even
sped up when the students
entered the crosswalk.
Now there’s a lawsuit wait
ing to happen.
Unfortunately that might
be what it takes to change
things around here.
Until we have a total acci
dent and some student’s tom-
lly sues and wins, people are
going to continue to disobey
crosswalk laws.
So please don’t build any
more runway lights on cross
walks. We may need that
money to settle a lawsuit.
— Louis Rolfes is
associate news editor
for The Red A Black.