Newspaper Page Text
FRIDAY
April 14, 2006
Vol. 113, No. 140 | Athens, Georgia
Sunny.
High SI | Low 63 \ Saturday S3
ONLINE: www.redandblack.com
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
ESTABLISHED 1893, INDEPENDENT 1980
FORE A CAUSE
>• Golfer has the heart
to give back to hospital.
SPORTS, PAGE 7
Univ. tackles
Greek policy
Also proposes
alcolwl course
By LAUREN MORGAN
lmorgan@randb.com
The University may soon
have more authority over
Greek life and alcohol use.
In an Executive
Committee meeting
Thursday, the University
Council’s Student Affairs
Committee presented sepa
rate proposals to limit new
member education for Greek
pledges to eight weeks and to
institute a mandatory online
alcohol education program.
Student Government
Association President Jamie
Peper questioned the com
mittee’s motives in proposing
a University-mandated
pledge period.
“The reaction I have got
ten is ‘why is the University
stepping into something like
this?” Peper said.
Although many fraternities
and sororities already have
eight week pledgeship pro
grams, Peper cited three
organizations — Beta Theta
Pi, FIJI and Chi Omega —
that have semester-long-
pledge periods in order to see
their new members’ first
semester grades.
The eight week pledging
period would affect all
Greeks, including National
Panhellenic Council and
Multicultural Greek Council
PROPOSALS
>- Mandatory online alcohol educa
tion for all incoming freshmen
> Mandatory eight-week new
member education for all Greek
pledges
All proposals must be approved by
the full University Council.
members.
“Why did the University
decide to do this?” Peper
asked the committee.
Peter Shedd, a student
affairs committee member,
said his committee was
charged by the Task Force on
General Education and
Student Learning to make a
recommendation for Greek
Life.
In the recommendation
from the task force, the com
mittee was asked to “examine
student organizations,
including the Greek system,
to see if their procedures and
programs are consistent with
enhancing the University’s
intellectual climate.”
Shedd said he did not
know if anyone on the com
mittee had talked to the
organizations’ national head
quarters, which design all
new member education pro
grams.
“We’re hoping to gain a
very positive, effective rela
tionship with fraternities and
sororities,” Shedd said.
Besides the new member
>- See ALCOHOL, Page 5
Council will wait
for Adams’ action
By DESHAUN HARRIS
dharris@randb.com
The University Council’s
Executive Committee decid
ed Thursday to wait for
President Michael Adams’
decision on sexual orienta
tion anti-discrimination poli
cies before taking further
action on them.
“We have conducted two
formal meetings between the
faculty and the president,
and I have spoken with him
informally on the issue sever
al times,” said Nancy Felson,
the committee’s chair.
President Adams will present
Felson with his written deci
sion April 21.
The council passed an
amendment to the
University’s Non-
Discrimination and Anti-
Harassment Policy in April
2004 to include “sexual orien
tation” as a protected catego
ry. A year later it passed a
policy granting “soft benefits”
to domestic partnerships,
which would primarily
include issuing University ID
cards to partners of employ
ees, Felson said.
Although the council
passed the first of these poli
cies almost two years ago, the
University has not put either
into effect.
Policies passed by the
University Council are
deemed approved if they are
OTHERS’ POLICIES
Other public institutions that have
sexual orientation non-discrimina
tion policies:
>- University of California
>- University of Michigan
> University of Wisconsin
> Georgia Tech
>- University of Illinois
>- Ohio State University
Source: Transgenderlaw.org
not vetoed by the president
within four weeks of the
approval, as outlined in
Article XV of the current
University statutes.
Confusion over the interpre
tation of the article may have
contributed to the delayed
enactment.
If he vetoes the policies,
the Executive Committee
said it would be “receptive to
being charged” by the
University Council to appeal
the decision to the regents.
“There’s really no reason
not to do this, and I think it’s
important to show that
we uphold the statutes,”
said Janet Frick, chair of the
council’s Faculty Benefits
Committee.
Frick said she believed
President Adams did not feel
► See ORIENTATION, Page 5
>- At Easter, Americans spend
almost $1.9 billion on Easter
candy - Americans spend $2 bil
lion for Halloween.
>- Americans buy more than 700
million marshmallow Peeps at
Easter, making them the most
popular non-chocolate candy.
>- In 1953, it took 27 hours to
create one marshmallow Peep.
Peep vs. Peep
Love them or hate them,
Peeps have inspired a huge
following on the Internet.
There are more than 200
unofficial Peeps Web sites in
existence, and a Google
search returns myriad Peeps
trials and tests, stories and
cartoons.
One of the most unusual
sites introduces a ritual
called “Peep jousting,” found
at www.punkasspunk.com/
peeps
The site’s creator pits
Today, it takes six minutes.
> As many as 4.2 million marsh
mallow Peeps, bunnies and other
shapes can be made each day.
>■ Yellow Peeps are the most
popular, followed by pink, laven
der, blue and white.
—Information from
www. infoplease. com/
spot/eastercandy1 .html
purple Peeps against their
pink counterparts in a Peep
championship of sorts. He
numbers each Peep and even
creates a Peep jousting
bracket.
Toothpicks are inserted in
two Peeps, and the pair
► See PEEPS, Page 5
TO PEEP OR NOT TO PEEP?
>- Vote in the poll at
www.redandblack.com
Peep Show
Candy critters steer students
into delicious debates
By ASHLEY BEEBE
abeebe@randb.com
A marshmallow doesn’t
usually inspire passion.
But cover it in sugar and
shape it like a baby animal,
and suddenly there’s a line
drawn in the fluffy, plastic
Easter grass.
Ask anyone — these tiny
chicks, known as Peeps,
instigate passion more polar
izing than the Coke or Diet
Coke debate.
On one side of the great
Peep divide is Haley
McBrayer, a senior from
Roswell.
“I don’t know why they’re
still around,” she said.
“They’re just nasty.”
Representing the pro-
Peep side is Claudia Mejerle,
a junior from Alpharetta.
“I was actually arguing
with a friend the other day
because I love them, and he
didn’t,” she said. “They’re
colorful, and I like marsh
mallows.”
The texture of the
miniature morsels may be
what parts people over
Peeps.
“They have a unique tex
ture,” said Robert Shewfelt,
a professor and the under
graduate coordinator for the
Department of Food Science
and Technology.
“It’s the gelatin that
makes the chewy, gummy
texture,” Shewfelt said.
“Texture is very important in
the acceptability of food.”
A LITTLE PEEP TOLD ME
HOW TO PERFORM YOUR OWN
PEEP DUEL
PHOTOS BY EMILY ANNE CRAWFORD The Red & Black
1 . To prepare for the
. joust, insert arma
ments firmly into
marshmallow Peeps. Hold Peeps
gently to avoid damaging the wee
warriors before they enter combat.
. Place combatants
. in close proximity
upon the jousting
arena. Be sure opponents are within
stabbing range before entering the
heat of battle (5 seconds).
. Heat Peeps until
. one sustains a bat
tle wound. In this
case, the pink Peep’s touch is
enough to win. However, bitter feuds
can be settled by an explosive death.
Student facing charges back in classes
By CAROLINE ERVIN
cervin@randb.com
An injunction issued
Wednesday will allow a stu
dent accused of extortion
and sexual exploitation of
children to return to classes.
Athens Clarke County
Superior Court Judge Steve
Jones issued the injunction
in answer to Andrew Ross
Levitz’s attorney’s 10-page
request for injunctive relief,
also filed Wednesday.
The injunction lifts the
interim suspension of Levitz,
who also has been charged
with second-degree
forgery and elec
tronically furnish
ing obscene materi
al to minors.
The University
invoked the interim
suspension policy
after receiving
reports of the
charges that indi
cated Levitz violat
ed two conduct
regulations.
Levitz, a 20-year-
LEVITZ
barred from campus and any
University activities.
“An interim suspen
sion serves to remove
those people ... who
should not be present
while their case is
decided,” said
University spokesman
Tom Jackson.
Jackson explained
that although most
students continue on
campus during such
times, the University
thought it best to
old pre-pharmacy major, was remove Levitz.
In March, Forsyth County
police received a complaint
from a minor female that
Levitz, posing as a 19-year-
old female, contacted her on
MySpace.com and, after get
ting photos of the girl,
threatened her in an attempt
to extort sex.
Levitz met the girl years
before the incident, said his
attorney Page Pate, when
both were high school stu
dents under the age of 18.
Levitz plans to plead not
guilty, Pate said.
— Contributing: Staff Reports
EMILY ANNE CRAWFORD The Red & Black
DRAMA
IN MOTION
Beth Bronner, a
senior from
Louisville, Ky., and
Meghan Moonan, a
senior from
Alpharetta, perform
contact improvisation
in a class on the sub
ject. The class was
used to train actors
for Polaroid Stories, a
play that showed ear
lier this semester.
Sex offender suspended for year
By BRIAN HUGHES
bhughes@randb.com
A University student con
victed of statutory rape must
serve a one-year suspension
beginning May 10, the Office
of Judicial Programs ruled
Thursday.
Bryan Scott Palmer, who
pleaded guilty to statutory
rape and was serving an
interim suspension for failing
to disclose the information on
his admissions application,
was told he could finish his
classes for this semester.
After the conclusion of the
suspension, Palmer will be
allowed to reapply to the
University.
Palmer was visibly drained
following the conclusion of
the proceedings.
“I’m obviously upset about
the outcome,” he said. “But I
understand where they’re
coming from.”
Palmer said he would re
apply to the University fol
lowing the tenure of his sus
pension.
During the hearing
Thursday, Palmer said he did
not mean to mislead anyone
at the University and claimed
he answered the application
questions to the best of his
knowledge.
Palmer failed to check
“yes” on a question asking
whether he had ever been
convicted of a crime other
> See PALMER, Page 3
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