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The Red & Black | Friday, April 29, 2005 | 3
University holds evening ceremony for deceased
By GRAYSON IRVIN
girvin@randb.com
The sound of the University
Chapel bell usually signifies a
fall football victory, but on a
spring Thursday night, the
bells meant a lot more.
The bells rang 27 times dur
ing a remembrance ceremony
— once for each of the
University faculty, staff and
students who passed away in
the last year.
Family and friends of the
deceased stood in the evening
shade outside of the Chapel
before the ceremony as a wind
quartet played softly in the
background.
University President
Michael Adams began the
ceremony with a brief reflec
tion on the University commu
nity.
Adams said although some
may see the University as a
large and complex place, it is a
close community.
“(The University) by neces
sity unites in its grief
and disappointment,” Adams
said.
Adams quoted a few lines
of John Donne’s “Meditation
XVII” to emphasize the sym
bolic importance of the bells:
“Therefore never send to know
for whom the bell tolls; it tolls
for thee.”
After a prayer from the
Rev. Jeff Thompson of
the Reformed University
Fellowship International, the
bells began to toll.
Every time a name was
read, the Chapel bell rang, and
a member of the Arch Society
lit a candle in remembrance of
the fallen.
The Arch Society members
stood in front of the Chapel,
holding their candles until all
27 were shining brightly.
Student Government
Association President Will
Childs, University Council
Executive Committee Chair
Nancy Felson and Staff
Council Chair Robert
Ratajczak read the names
f the fallen faculty and stu
dents.
After all the names were
read, Arch Society members
moved out into the crowd to
light the candles of the atten
dees.
The mourners held their
candles for a moment before
extinguishing them and com
forting each other.
Families and friends cried
and held each other after
the ceremony, sharing
both their grief and their
strength.
Adams’ opening comments
reflected the reality of the cer
emony as mothers and frater
nity brothers stood close
together crying.
Childs, who read the name
of his friend, Bradley Arms,
during the ceremony, said he
never thought he would have
to read Arms’ name off a list of
dead students.
Arms died last November
serving with the Marines in
Iraq. He and Childs were
brothers in the Sigma Phi
Epsilon fraternity.
Childs said the deaths of
young people such as Arms —
age 20 at the time of his death
— are often hard to under
stand.
Thirteen of the 27 people
remembered were students.
MELISSA GOLDEN | The Red & Black
▲ Attendees of the remembrance ceremony bowed
their heads during the opening prayer by the Rev.
Jeff Thompson.
GLBT students to hold their own graduation ceremony
By APRIL MOORE
For The Red & Black
Finding a community of
support is an important part of
the college experience for any
student, but for some upcom
ing graduates, it was especially
crucial.
Gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered students will
celebrate that community and
their personal achievements
Saturday at the University’s
first Lavender Graduation,
which will be held at 2 p.m. in
Memorial Hall Ballroom.
Gareth Griffin, a senior and
upcoming graduate from
Norcross, said the support
of Lambda Alliance, the
LAVENDER GRADUATION
What: Ceremony for GLBT
University graduates
When: Saturday at 2 p.m.
Where: Memorial Hall Ballroom
organization sponsoring the
Lavender Graduation, was
important to him throughout
college.
“Having the Lambda sup
port group really helped me
to feel comfortable with what
it meant to be gay,” Griffin
said.
Michael Shutt, the faculty
adviser for Lambda Alliance,
said the graduation will incor
porate traditional elements,
such as presentation of gradu
ates and the presence of facul
ty in academic regalia, but will
have some non-traditional ele
ments as well.
Shutt said the graduation
is important because “some
of our students don’t feel
connected to the University
and don’t want to participate
in the traditional graduation.”
Ryan Byrd, who is graduat
ing with degrees in
math and psychology, said
University faculty and staff
have been very accepting of his
lifestyle.
“I have never been made to
feel uncomfortable,” said Byrd,
who was born a female. “Eveiy
professor I’ve ever had has
been very supportive.”
Byrd, who will not
be participating in the
Lavender Graduation or
Commencement, said he
formed most of his social net
work outside of college.
Meeting people at
Boneshakers bar helped Byrd
find a niche, he said, as did
attending shows for Athens
Boys Choir, a spoken-word duo
who perform pieces dealing
with gender identity and issues
that concern the GLBT com
munity.
“Gender stuff wasn’t talked
about in the community before
they started performing,” he
said. “Their presence has
made things so much better
for anyone dealing with gender
issues.”
Griffin said he didn’t find
the climate in Athens to be
very supportive, however.
“To be gay on campus is to
be marginalized. The campus
climate is pretty bad,” Griffin
said. “I’m really careful about
what I do. It’s for my safety.”
Citing incidents of verbal
abuse and violence that some
of his friends have experi
enced, Griffin expressed a
need to change the atmos
phere in Athens.
“We just want mutual
respect,” Griffin said.
Shutt said Lambda Alliance
has had some victories for the
GLBT community in the past
few years, including forming an
office for the organization in
Memorial Hall and doing
research on the history of
GLBT organizations on
campus.
Shutt said Asa Green,
co-founder of the first gay
organization on campus, the
Committee on Gay Education,
formed in 1971, will be in atten
dance at Lavender
Graduation. Green will be hon
ored with a Founder’s Award
for his work here.
Shutt said he is optimistic
about the progress of GLBT
awareness and right in the
community.
“A lot of things have
changed,” he said.
Task Force tries to lessen impact of freshmen cars on campus
By PATRICK YAWN
pyawn@randb.com
In a meeting Thursday
afternoon, the University’s
Task Force on General
Education and Student
Learning discussed dissuad
ing freshmen from bringing
cars to campus.
Mark Wheeler, a University
professor and member of the
task force, suggested that a
recommendation be added to
the existing report regarding
the use of cars by incoming
freshmen.
He said he would like to see
a letter constructed and sent
to students along with their
acceptance packet.
Wheeler based his recom
mendation on three issues —
one of which is the possible
combination of vehicles with
students who choose to drink
alcohol during their first year
living away from home.
He also cited his belief that
cars can be a distraction from
both the academic and social
setting of the University, by
encouraging students to leave
the area.
“All of this is here,” Wheeler
said, “partake of it; learn as
much as you can about this
place and from this place.”
He said an increasing num
ber of cars on and around
campus tends to decrease the
quality of life for students.
Another aspect of the
report addressed by the task
force was its proposal to have
tenure-track, or full-time, fac
ulty teach more lower division
courses.
Jere Morehead, the
University’s vice provost for
Academic Affairs, emphasized
that the task force is not pro
posing the elimination of part-
time and graduate students
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teaching such courses.
“We think they’re compe
tent and doing a good job,”
Morehead said.
According to the report,
the aim of the recommenda
tion is to encourage under
graduates to connect with fac
ulty earlier in their academic
career.
The University anticipates
adding 50 tenure-track faculty
this year, Morehead said.
Rodney Mauricio, assistant
professor in genetics, brought
up the issue of students
coming to the University
with advanced placement
credit earned in high school
courses.
The task force’s concern
was the possibility of students
exempting college courses
based on the fact they took
high-school courses — which
may or may not be up to par —
in place of them.
In response, members pro
posed that the office of the
Vice President of Instruction
develop a plan and form a
committee to review
advanced placement courses
for rigor, beginning next
school year.
“If AP credits are (as)
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to worry about (students)
exempting (classes), because
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ident for Instruction in
Franklin College of Arts and
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