Newspaper Page Text
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WEDNESDAY
January 12, 2000
Vol. 107, No. 78 | Athens, Georgia
Partly cloudy.
High 63 | Low 37 j Thursday 70
ONLINE: www.redandblack.com
Red&Black
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
ESTABLISHED 1893, INDEPENDENT 1980
GOLDEN GIRL
>• Former
track standout
Debbie
Ferguson adds
yet another
award to her
already stellar
career.
~ m PAGE 7
Litigant’s application possible
Johnson, who claimed discrimination, may still transfer to University
By CHANDLER BROWN
The Red a Black
Jennifer Johnson isn’t ruling
out becoming a Bulldog.
Six months after suing the
University to gain admission —
and after an appeal of her
initial application was rejected
— Johnson’s father says his
daughter may consider re-apply
ing.
"She’s a mature young lady,’’
Jeff Johnson said from the fami
ly’s Jonesboro home Tuesday.
“I’m sure she’U do the right
thing.”
He wouldn’t say whether
Jennifer had definite plans to
apply — or when.
“What she wants to do is keep
her options open,” he said.
Jennifer Johnson entered the
state-wide
media glare
last spring
when she sued
the University,
saying she had
been denied
admission
because she
was female.
“She was
clearly denied
admission
because of her
sex and race,”
her attorney, Lee Parks, said in
August of last year.
The University offered
Johnson admission on Aug. 12,
just 11 days before classes
began.
That was too late, Jeff
Johnson says.
“We got the letter on the day
she was leaving for school
(Mercer University in Macon),’’
Johnson said. “We tried not to
think about it too much then.
That was such a special time, we
didn’t want to ruin it.”
Jeff Johnson said his daugh
ter, who was homecoming queen
and class president at Jonesboro
High School, was "loving”
Mercer. He said she’s joined a
sorority and made plenty of
friends.
“This is a special time for her,
but she really wanted to go to
Georgia,” he said. “She wanted
that more than anything.”
The University said it denied
Johnson admission for academic
reasons, Jeff Johnson said,
despite her having a 3.7 GPA.
The law suit contends she would
have gotten in if the University
hadn’t evaluated her with a sys
tem that gives extra considera
tion for males.
The school dropped this
clause in the admissions policy
in November, but still uses race
as a determining factor in a few
borderline cases.
Should Johnson decide to
come to Athens, she would be a
transfer student, meaning she
wouldn’t be held to the same
standards as a high school appli
cant.
Jennifer was unavailable for
comment Tuesday, but her
father said she was wary of talk
ing to reporters without first
seeking Parks' approval. He was
in Washington Tuesday and
couldn’t be reached for com
ment.
JOHNSON
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Critical
contest
for Dogs
tonight
Walking and Reading Between the Lines
HEATHER ALLEN Th, R,u , - , ,
A Amanda Mann, a junior from Chattanooga, Tenn., exercises on the Stairmaster at
the Ramsey Student Center. The center typically sees an increase in activity at the
beginning of each semester.
AIDS
Misconceptions regarding the spread of HIV are
leading to an increased number of cases in Africa
MEN’S BASKETBALL
vs. Arkansas, 7:30 p.m.
Stegeman Coliseum
By DARREN EPPS
The Red a Black
Five years ago they compet
ed against each other for the
national championship.
But tonight at Stegeman
Coliseum, Arkansas head
coach Nolan Richardson and
Georgia’s Jim Harrick are just
looking for respect in the SEC.
Since Harrick’s UCLA
Bruins beat the Razorbacks
89-78 back in 1995, the two
coaches have taken different
routes to tonight s 7:30 tipoff.
Harrick left UCLA one year
after winning the national title
amid controversy, then
coached at Rhode Island
before becoming a Bulldog.
Richardson, however, has
remained a fixture at
Arkansas, winning at least 18
games each season after the
national championship loss to
Harrick.
However, the two coaches
find themselves in very similar
situations this season.
Richardson's squad touts just
one senior, marking the first
time he has endured the grow
ing pains of a rebuilding year.
Harrick has Inherited one of
the youngest teams in the
nation.
“The talent level is a lot dif
ferent on both sides than when
we last played each other,"
Harrick said. “But Nolan is still
a tremendous coach.”
As usual, the Razorbacks
(9-6 overall, 1-1 SEC) will come
out firing three-pointers and
pressing Georgia (7-7, 0-2) on
defense. Arkansas' famed “40
minutes of hell” has resulted in
over nine three pointers made
per game. Defensively, the
Razorbacks are forcing its
opponents into 23.2 turnovers
a game.
But despite the problems
Georgia has turning the ball
over, Harrick said he isn’t too
worried about the potential
problems the Bulldogs may
face against a pressing
defense.
“It really hasn’t been the
press that has caused all of the
turnovers,” Harrick said.
“Auburn’s press didn’t force
many at all. Our problem has
been poor decision making
passing the ball.”
By PAUL FULTON Jr.
The Red a Black
Poor communication is one of
the main reasons for the rapid
spread of the HIV virus in Africa,
according to a new study co
authored by a University profes
sor and published in the
International Quarterly of
Health Education.
Kenzle Cameron, a speech
communications assistant pro
fessor, said the study focused on
the Trans-Africa Highway, a
country road travelling across
Africa.
“HIV and AIDS have been
spread across the highway
because of the way the disease is
spread,” Cameron said. “There’s
a lot of sexual activity.”
The researchers tried to
determine why “fear” messages
have had no effect in helping to
slow the spread of the virus
across the continent.
Pear messages aim to scare
those who practice risky sexual
behavior into safer habits.
Cameron said her study
determined fear approaches in
educating the public caused two
types of responses in people.
The first dealt with how
Africans viewed the threat of the
HIV — whether or not Individu
als believed they were suscepti
ble to the virus. Cameron also
studied how they perceived its
severity.
For them to understand the
seriousness of the virus, “people
need to have a high level of sus
ceptibility and severity in order
to process the messages you
give them,” Cameron said.
The second aspect of the
study looked at individual
beliefs. .
“This part makes the person
wonder if they are capable of
doing what people are telling
them to do (to protect them
selves),” she said.
It also studied whether sub
jects believed that preventive
measures, such as condom
usage, would really decrease
their risks of contracting HIV.
For the messages to be accept
ed, Cameron said, people have
to experience a high level of
threat — but their faith in safe-
sex habits must be even higher.
Cameron traveled to Kenya
in 1995 with colleagues from
Michigan State University,
which she was attending at the
time of the study.
The researchers, along with
Solomon Nzyuko of the African
Medical Research Foundation in
Nairobi, performed in-depth
interviews with 64 individuals —
including commercial sex work
ers, truck drivers and young
men living and working along
the Trans-Africa Highway — to
learn their beliefs on HIV.
Cameron said the groups dis
cussed different types of illness
es, but "in each of the groups,
HIV and AIDS came up.”
“Many knew how it was
spread, such as through inter
course, but there's still some
misperception as well,” she said.
"Some even believed the lubri
cants of condoms or mosquitoes
carry the disease."
Earlier this week. Vice
President A1 Gore announced a
$100 million war against HIV,
promising to allot some of that
money to educational endeavors
in Africa about the virus.
He classified the virus as an
epidemic and said it threatens
peace in Africa.
— Contributing: Associated
Press
HEATHER ALLEN | Till Riu . Bum
A The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house located on
Prince Avenue fell victim to a winter break-in.
Fraternity
hit by string
of break-ins
By CHANDLER BROWN
The Red a Black
Police are investigating a
string of robberies at the Sigma
Alpha Epsilon fraternity house.
Nearly $7,000 worth of clothes,
electronics and appliances were
stolen during winter break at
the two-stoiy, antebellum-style
home downtown.
Although four fraternity mem
bers have filed complaints, police
aren’t sure whether the items
were stolen during one break-in
or several. One theory police are
investigating is that the perpe
trators broke into the house and
discovered it was abandoned for
the holidays and returned several
more times, said Athens-Clarke
Police Det. David Painer.
“This happens every
Christmas or long holiday,”
Painer said.
The break-ins occurred
between Dec 17 and Jan. 2,
police said. Fraternity members
said their doors had been kicked
in and exterior windows had
been broken, according to police
reports.
Because the victims didn't
return to school until this week,
police have had a tough time
interviewing them, Painer said
Detectives planned to meet
with the victims late Tuesday
and today to begin working on
the case, he said. He said “the
odds are pretty good” the cases
are connected.
Among the items taken were
$2,500 worth of clothes, a $200
sleeping bag, a $600 stereo,
videos, tapes, CDs, a computer
and a refrigerator.
Fraternity president Cliff On-
said security at the house on 247
Pulaski St., is a problem because
it’s not well-lit, nor is it surround-
ed by other homes.
“This has always been an
issue," On said. “But this is the
worst I’ve seen it.”
Orr said the fraternity was
looking at ways — including
adding more exterior lights — to
prevent this from happening
again.
“This is pretty frustrating,”
said Orr. a senior from
Gainesville. “We have better
things to do with our money — in
terms of the community and phi
lanthropy — than to have to pay
to replace our stuff."
Police said they had no leads
and the fraternity said it didn’t
know of anyone who would do
such a thing.
“We have no clue," Orr said.
Two of a Kind
A Guards Kelly, left, and Coco Miller have received the
first dual nomination for the AAU’s Janies E. Sullivan
National Athlete of the Year Award. Story, Page 8
INSIDE TODAY | News: 2 | Opinions: 4 | Variety: 6 | Sports: 7 | Crossword: 5
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