Newspaper Page Text
FRIDAY
January 11, 2002
Vol. 109, No. 82 | Athens, Georgia
Scattered showers.
High 62 | Low 36 | Saturday 57
ONLINE: www.redandblack.coni
yl/z independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
ESTABLISHED 1893, INDEPENDENT 1980
COMPETING FOR
THE CROWN
> What is the Miss
UGA Pageant? Find out
inside. PAGE 5
Strip clubs dispute alcohol ordinance
By JESSICA REECE
jreece@randb.com
Jill Dlaross is not only a girl
friend and mother, but also an
exotic dancer whose livelihood
may be affected by a recently
enforced Athens-Clarke County
ordinance.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Dlaross,
better known by her stage name
“Morgan.” “I’ve worked in a lot of
places, and (Topper’s) is the
strictest and most professional
place I’ve worked.”
Several years ago, A-C commis
sioners adopted an ordinance that
banned alcohol and live adult
entertainment in the same estab
lishment, said Linda Ford, A-C
commissioner. Yet the ordinance
was not enforced because its
model, a Marietta ordinance, was
tied up in state courts.
A-C commissioners recently
adopted another ordinance that
would affect adult entertainment
establishments. The new ordi
nance states that showbars only
can open in “industrially zoned
areas,” Ford said. But Topper’s
and Chelsea’s do not have to move
because the establishments were
at their present locations before
the ordinances were adopted, she
said.
Topper’s and Chelsea’s recently
received citations under the ordi
nance, Ford said.
“The commission stands
behind their ordinances,” she said.
“If they wanted to have live adult
entertainment and, say, a juice
bar, they could.”
Kenny Manago, an employee at
Topper’s, said he didn’t under
stand the county’s interest in
entertainment venues in Athens.
u
“With all else that is wrong
with this country, you’d
think they’d focus their
energy on something else. ”
KENNY MANAGO
Topper’s Employee
“With all else that is wrong with
this county, you’d think they’d
focus their energy on something
else,” Manago said.
“We’re going to survive regard
less of what happens,” he said.
“But we can’t play by the rules if
they keep changing them.”
Management at Chelsea’s
declined to comment on the issue.
Topper’s, which has been open
for over 10 years, has never had a
major problem, Dlaross said.
The showbar, which also has a
two-drink minimum policy, would
be “obviously” affected by any
ordinances banning drinking on
the premises, she said.
“There’s nothing wrong with
what we’re doing,” Dlaross said.
“Dancing is about fun and having
a good time, not sex.”
Manago said Topper’s is suffer
ing from negative publicity from
retailers like Heery’s.
“(Heery’s) is causing more com
motion than there needs to be,”
he said. “Athens hasn’t been clas
sic in a long time.”
Joey Earnhardt, a senior from
South Carolina, said he agrees
that the ordinance seems
unusual.
“I honestly just don’t want to
watch a naked girl dance without
a drink,” he said.
Approximately 25 to 30 percent
of the Topper’s clientele is
University students.
During football season, many
alumni also visit the showbar,
Dlaross said.
“Most of the men come in here
because they’re having relation
ship problems,” she said. “The
girls try to help them out and give
them good advice.”
Topper’s also has a large female
clientele, Dlaross said.
“Girls, straight girls, come in all
the time with their friends and
their boyfriends,” she said. “We
pay more attention to the girl
friends too. We want them to be
comfortable in here.”
However, in accordance with
Topper’s policy, any females that
wish to enter the showbar must
be accompanied by a male
escort.
SGA leaders review their term
Ezekiel and Carnegie prepare to leave their offices
By GREG BLUESTEIN
gbluestei@randb.com
As the tenure of cur
rent Student Government
Association President Tund£
Ezekiel and Vice President
Daniel Carnegie nears its end,
the pair said they have few
regrets.
“We got a lot of great things
accomplished,” said Ezekiel, a
junior from Cordele. “But I
always think we could do more.”
Carnegie, a senior from
Douglasville, echoed Ezekiel’s
opinion.
“I regret not having as much
time to dedicate to SGA as I
wanted,” he said. “I wish I could
do it again. I’m just getting in
the swing of things.”
Ezekiel and Carnegie plan to
stay involved in campus politics
to train their successors.
u
“We got a lot of great
things accomplished. But
I always think we could
do more. ”
TUNDE EZEKIEL
SGA President
When his term ends after the
mid-February elections, Ezekiel
said he “will definitely be sad,”
but he still wants to make an
impact on campus.
The date of the elections is
yet to be decided, but a new
presidential pair will be
announced March 1.
MONIRA AL-HAROUN I The Red a Buck
▲ SGA President Tund6 Ezekiel and Vice President Daniel
Carnegie ponder the future during a portrait in front of the
Holmes-Hunter building Thursday afternoon.
While at SGA’s helm, Ezekiel I
and Carnegie helped ensure Fall
Break would remain during j
Georgia-Florida weekend and j
established two $1,000 scholar- i
ships, among other accomplish- j
ments.
This semester, SGA is work
ing to require University profes
sors to post their syllabi online j
and improve campus safety
through the addition of more j
lighting and callboxes.
SGA Senator John Harris, a j
sophomore from Marietta, said
this semester he wants SGA to
have more of a presence in stu
dent life.
“I wish SGA would become j
more of a dominant force on
campus,” said Harris, who is
running for re-election. “I hope j
to know next year that everyone
on campus was impacted by j
SGA in one way or another.”
Student support has been i
one of the student govern- j
ment’s chief problems during I
their term, Carnegie said.
“I regret not having greater !
lines of communication with j
students,” he said. “I feel the ;
student body thinks SGA has
no power. That’s why they have I
to support the student govern- I
ment — we’ve got as much
power as the students give us.” j
Carnegie said the biggest
challenge for prospective candi- I
dates would be to work as true j
student advocates.
“Don’t campaign under a
specific platform,” he said. “You
need to be someone dedicated
to the agenda of the student.”
Looking back on his position, j
Ezekiel said the SGA president
is a unique and confusing role.
“It’s a paradox,” he said, i
“You have to balance when you
need to be a leader and when
you need to follow.”
He said future presidential j
candidates should stress unity.
“You have to get everyone on
the same page,” he said. “No
matter how demanding the
position gets you must remem
ber that you’re privileged and j
your number one goal is to j
serve the students.”
STEPHEN JONES | The Red * Buck
A Gymdog sophomore Kinsey Rowe will join the Gymdogs in com
peting against UCLA this weekend. Story, Page 8
Strike a Pose
Coach Harrick has big plans for Dogs in basketball
By BENJAMIN EGGER
begger@randb.com
Following a 16-15 season that
included a trip to the NCAA
Tournament, most experts pre
dicted a down year for the Dogs,
putting them at or near the bot
tom of the SEC in preseason pre
dictions.
“The inside was a question
mark, among other things,” said
coach Jim Harrick.
After losing the team’s top
three interior players, as well as
guard D.A. Layne, the entire team
could have been considered a
question mark. All the returning
players needed to improve their
games, and many wondered
whether last year’s practice super-
stars Jarvis and Jonas Hayes
could get the job done when the
n
ff
lights came on.
“Last year
helped a lot,
winning road
games,” Harrick
said. “Getting
the confidence
(in themselves)
and actually
accomplishing
something has
really made a
difference this
year.”
So has Harrick. After winning
more than 68 percent of his games
at Pepperdine, UCLA and Rhode
Island, to go along with 14 NCAA
tournament appearances, he
finally may have solidified himself
as one of the game’s top coaches
with this year’s squad.
“I always thought Georgia was
HARRICK
a sleeping giant,” he said. “And
that if you put up a fence around
the state, you could build quite a
program.” All the starters, and
most of the team, are from
Georgia.
a
“My plan upon coming to
Georgia is to win a national
championship ... I think the
real key is to make the
NCAA tournament a few
years from now. ”
JIM HARRICK
Georgia Men’s Basketball Coach
“My plan upon coming to
Georgia is to win a national cham
pionship,” Harrick said.
Yet even after one of the
biggest wins in the program’s his
tory — beating Kentucky for the
first time in 16 tries (eight versus
former coach Tubby Smith) and
for only the second time in Rupp
Arena — Harrick is staying
reserved on future expectations.
“I felt in due time, we’d catch
up to (Kentucky and
Georgetown),” he said Thursday.
“But, it’s just one game. I think
the real key (to joining the major
programs) is to make the NCAA
tournament a few years in a row.”
After several years of lackluster
attendance, fans are finally start
ing to come around. Over 9,500
fans were at the Jan. 5 game
against Vanderbilt, and
Saturday’s game against
Tennessee promises to be packed.
MORE INSIDE
> Preview of the men’s basketball game
against Tennessee , coming up this
Saturday. Page 8
“We had about 20 or 30 people
come out to meet us at the airport
(after the Kentucky game),” said
Harrick. “And I’d like to thank
them.”
But the key to matching the
intensity of other notorious col
lege arenas, such as Bud Walton
Arena for Arkansas, the O’Connell
Center for Florida, and Duke’s
Cameron Indoor Stadium, is the
students.
“We really need our students for
our Tennessee and (next
Wednesday’s) Alabama games,”
Harrick added.
V
INSIDE TODAY | News: 2 | Opinions: 4 | Variety: 5
Sports: 7
Crossword: 5