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4 | Wednesday, January 10, 2001 1 The Red & Black
Kyle Wingfield | Editor in Chief
editor@randb.com
Chris Hassiotis | Managing Editor
me@randb.com
Brian Basinger | Opinions Editor
opinions@randb.com
Our Take
Majority opinions of The Red & Black’s editorial board
Mutually beneficial
Carter's decisison to turn pro offers a
positive outcome to all involved.
As the saying goes, you gotta know when to hold
’em and know when to fold ’em.
As far as his Bulldog career goes, quarterback
Quincy Carter has chosen the latter, and wisely so.
Carter arrived in Athens in 1998 with enormous
expectations — and for two years, he, for the most
part, lived up to them.
But that success set him up for a big junior sea
son, Heisman expectations and more. When
injuries beset him this year, both he and former
head football coach Jim Donnan bore the brunt of
the Bulldog Nation’s barking.
It’s best for both Carter and the team that he
now is moving on to the professional arena.
Even after a disappointing season, scouts still
think Carter has the capabilities to succeed as a
pro. Another season at Georgia wouldn’t prove any
thing; most likely, it would have served only to
focus fan’s scrutiny even more sharply.
And the team can move on without the questions
that would have surrounded Carter. Cory Phillips
demonstrated that the Dogs could win without No.
17, and now someone will get the chance to estab
lish himself as the official starter.
It’s a fresh start for both Carter and new head
football coach Mark Richt’s team, and that might
just be what both needed.
Time better spent?
Student turnout at several events
celebrating desegregation sparse.
Even though student turnout was quite high at
the evening program celebrating the 40th anniver
sary of the University’s desegregation, attendance
was somewhat sparse at the day’s other activities.
Clearly, many students were unable to come to
the events due to their class schedules and jobs, yet
there is no excuse for so many students missing an
incredible opportunity to learn from those who
witnessed and made history here at Georgia.
Politicians, reporters, alumni and guests filled the
Chapel to capacity for a roundtable discussion of
the desegregation. But students’ faces were scarce
amongst the crowd.
The events surrounding the desegregation cele
bration were not held simply to allow those who
lived through it in 1961 a chance to relive them.
The time spent by students at Georgia is a pre
cious commodity, limited in quantity. The quality,
however, can be immeasurable.
Any day of the week can be used to sit around and
watch television. Any hour of the day can be used to
catch up on e-mails and phone calls.
But when the pages of history are being written
mere yards from where the University’s classes are
taught, it’s sad to think only a few dozen students
will make the walk down the sidewalk to take part.
When Charlayne Hunter-Gault walks onto North
Campus, she walks the grounds where she ’faced
adversity and hatred from people she did not even
know simply because she was the first black woman
to register as a student at the University.
When students look back on their time at Georgia
will their minds be filled with recollections of video
games, naps and hours in front of televisions?
Or will they come back to their Alma Mater and
see the seeds of their own greatness?
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EdUonai board members indude Bnan Basinger, Chris Hassiotis. Mack Williams and Kyle Wingfield
NEWS: 543-1809
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Reaching Us
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RedtS Black
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
ESTABLISHED 1893. INDEPENDENT 1980
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Introducing a new forum for faith
I have waited two and a half
years for a consistent place
among these columns to reach
out to fellow students.
Since I was a freshman I have
wanted 15-20 inches each week
to spread a little good news, and
now that I have it, I am expected
to fill it with something intelli
gent — a daunting task.
But I have a vision for how I
want this space filled: discussing
faith-specific issues and general
social issues from a Christian
perspective.
I want to write about a good
god who longs to relate with peo
ple. I could use your help.
Have you questions about the
Christian faith and way of life?
Ask them. I will do the research
and offer campus religious lead
ers a chance to answer.
Do you know of a religious
event on campus that would get
little or no attention from the
press?
I want to hear about it.
All submittals used in the col
umn will remain anonymous.
Matters of faith are always a
sensitive topic. I find this espe
cially true in the university
setting.
Every student you come
across has an opinion about reli
gion, usually different and always
having something to do with
those guys who preach down at
the Tate Center plaza. They
always attract a crowd.
It is no wonder that religion is
a hot issue — it is a guide to liv
ing life. Sometimes it steps on
our toes. And since college is
about learning how to live life, I
think religion deserves more
attention.
With that said, I hope to make
it clear that the tradition I write
about is more of a relationship
than a religion.
Religion is nothing more than
a set of rules and tasks.
So often Christians get caught
up in the religion of Christianity
and forget about the hearts of
Charles Shepard
people. That’s when people get
hurt.
I see Christianity as being very
simple, really. It is the story of
the holy God who created people
for a relationship with himself
out of love. He gave them guide
lines for living so they could live
in harmony with him and life
would be its fullest.
But since God is so holy that
sin cannot exist in his presence,
when the first person took a step
out of bounds, the people were
separated from him.
But hope was not lost.
God came to earth in the form
of a man (the Son) to live among
the people and clear up any mis
understandings between them.
God then made special
arrangements to reconcile his
people to him.
God the Son was crucified,
and on the cross he took the sin
of all people upon himself, died
and received the consequence of
sin by being separated from God
the Father.
But the story doesn’t end
there.
The power of God broke the
chains of death — the Son resur
rected. This resurrection con
quered separation from the
Father for all people.
Receiving this gift is easy. We
are saved by grace through faith
in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). All
that is necessary is to confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord and
believe in the heart that the
Father raised him from the dead
(Romans 10:9).
The tough part is realizing
that, as the Christian faith teach
es, this is the only way to salva
tion (John 14:7). God is friendly,
but he also means business.
Obviously, there will be ideas
read in this space that cause dis
agreement. However, there will
never be any personal condem
nation. I am a firm believer in
free will and thus I make an
effort to respect all opinions and
lifestyles.
The issues I write about, the
perspectives I take and the mes
sages I share are a result of a ,
genuine concern for my fellow
human beings — my sisters and
brothers whom I pass on the
street and sit next to in class
everyday.
I write about Jesus because I
believe he is the giver of true,
eternal life and that love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, good
ness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control can be found through
knowing him personally, not just
knowing about him.
What’s more, as these charac
teristics are developed in us, they
will bless the lives of others.
The heart of my message:
Jesus loves you no matter if you
are African or Asian, Muslim or
Christian, man or woman, gay or
straight, a kind person or a jerk.
I hope this column will bring
about constructive discussion,
whether in the Mailbox, in class
es or on the street comer.
And, as a result, I hope for
understanding and thus positive
change to come about on this
campus.
So don’t be shy. If you have
questions, concerns, issues,
events, whatever, jump on a com
puter, get to a telephone or stop
by the office.
I can be reached at all the
addresses and phone numbers in
the “Reaching Us” box in the
lower left comer of the page.
— Charles Shepard is a sports
writer for the Red & Black. His
column appears Wednesday.
E-mail, letters and faxes from our readers
‘Good ole boys’ system may go too far
I was arrested last year.
I had been drinking and got
into an argument with a street
preacher.
I decided to play a trick on
him and stole a butter cookie tin
and a black nylon cape he was
holding.
Obviously, it was a dumb
prank.
The police caught me, I was
arrested for misdemeanor theft
by taking, and spent the night in
jail.
As part of the pre-trial diver
sion program I received a $50
fine, 100 hours of community ser
vice, a year of probation, and was
forced to write a letter of apology
in addition to the $185 I paid for
bail.
This was nearly the same sen
tence imposed on those who par
ticipated in the death of Ben
Grantham.
How does the Greek system
which extends to judges in top
positions get away with never
wholly condemning one of their
brothers?
The district attorney s opinion
that "They are going to have to
live with it for the rest of their
lives and that's more than any
sentence we can give them,"
doesn't apply to the majority of
those who commit manslaughter.
Why does it apply to these fra
ternity brothers?
What surprises me most is
Grantham's parents satisfaction
with the plea agreements.
It doesn't make sense for them
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to find justice in the sentence
imposed upon four men who
showed a complete disregard of
the consequences to the safety of
their son.
This isn't the only injustice
that takes place in the South in
regards to the good ole boys net
work.
College athletics is rich white
guys making a lot of money off
young black men who won’t
graduate.
The University would like to
gloss over this new form of slav
ery by celebrating the anniver
sary of its desegregation.
However, the graduation rates
for those who play Division One
football and basketball, which
are primarily comprised of black
athletes, are 50 percent and 40
percent respectively.
Segregation is the policy and
practice of imposing social sepa
ration of races.
When you have a group of pri
marily black athletes who don't
graduate even though they
receive special treatment in
regards to their studies, I can't
see how segregation has been
abolished.
Unfortunately, the decision
made in Grantham's death isn’t a
shocking act of injustice.
It's just another example of
the descendants of the grand ole
South scratching each others’
backs.
LAEL WAGENECK
University employee
Santa Barbara, Calif.
Some advice for Carter
and his future career
So, Quincy Carter is going to
the NFL, huh?
I have a few suggestions and
comments for him on his new job:
Don't worry. Backup quarter
back for the Browns still pays
really well!
Overheard at Rookie
Workouts: 'Yeah, he reminds of
Steve McNair only not as good."
Terrell Davis sucked in college
too!
Look where he is now! Injured
and playing backup to Mike
Anderson.
Oh, yeah. Nevermind.
Despite your alleged similari
ties, I wouldn't suggest spending
a lot of R&R with Michael Irvin.
Just a thought.
JASON WEBBER
Junior, Political Science and
History
Los Angeles, Calif.
Hunter Towns
▲
Threat to a
dream from
bully pulpit
I n the fall of 1999, the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution held a
vote throughout the South
to find out whom Southerners
felt was the most influential
Southerner of the 20th
century.
I voted for Strom
Thurmond — after all, he
practically lived through the
century.
However, the person with
the overwhelming majority of
the votes was Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.
I wrote a column about
King's selection that fall and
in this column I proclaimed
pride in my fellow .
Southerners and in the South
as a region.
I spoke of how we have
evolved as a society and as a
people.
Just a generation ago many
white Southerners held spite
and disregard toward King.
Today everyone recognizes
that Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. sparked a revolution for
freedom and equality, a revo
lution that was necessary for
our country to fulfill its
promise as the land of the
free.
We celebrate part of King's
legacy here at the University
of Georgia this week, as we
honor the 40th anniversary of
desegregation.
Now let me begin by stat
ing for those who will want to
write in, that I am not speak
ing for the black community
but only as a citizen who
takes it all in and makes
observations.
With the gains of the civil
rights movements coming
through social change as late
as the 70s and 80s, what is the
status of this movement start
ed decades ago by men like
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?
I say that for the most
part it is dead.
The (self-anointed) con
temporary leaders of the
movement such as the Revs.
Jesse Jackson and AI
Sharpton are pawns to the
highest bidder and have no
more dignity and honor than
the fools who follow them.
The simple fact that they
are politicians but pose as
men of God should be offen
sive to anyone who believes in
God.
With police departments
across the country admitting
to racial profiling and affirma
tive action programs finally
being thrown out by the
courts, one would think that a
civil rights leader could find
more to do than contest an
election and make a mockery
of a cause once as noble as
any in American history.
An MSNBC panelist said it
best, when he called it "Shaka
Zulu politics," black politi
cians attempting to make a
moral dilemma such as the
dilemmas of the 1960s for self
ish and political reasons.
They admit that there was
no conspiracy by "The Man" to
keep blacks from voting on
election day, as there was
record turnout in black
communities.
They say that they are
protesting now because
President-elect Bush has not
done anything yet about poor
polling procedures, etc.
Pardon me if I am wrong, it
happens every once and a
while, but Bush hasn't taken
office yet.
People like Jackson and
Sharpton have cried wolf so
many times mainstream
America ain't listening any
more, and I wonder if black
America is either?
It is not acceptable in
America to bully your way by
threatening protests and riots
to keep yourself with a job
and civil unrest alive.
Is that what “keep the
dream alive” means today?
There will never be racial
harmony, true equality or any
other of Kings dreams for our
country as long as we allow
fools like Jackson and
Sharpton to claim they carry
the mantle of freedom!
— Hunter Towns is a senior
agricultural communications.
His column appears on
Wednesdays.