Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY
August 17, 2006
Vol. 114, No. 2 | Athens, Georgia
Partly cloudy.
High 90 | Low 70 | Friday 91
ONLINE: www.redandblack.com
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
ESTABLISHED 1893, INDEPENDENT 1980
HERE’S TO ATHENS
>• Vicariously enjoy the
best of the downtown
night life. PAGE IB
A This light-skinned black
man had seven years’ experi
ence in marketing and a
bachelor’s degree in the
made-up resume University
researcher Matthew Harrison
gave him. Participants rated
him 5.35 out of 7 — 7 being
an excellent hire.
SPECIAL | The Red & Black
A This dark-skinned black
man, who had 10 years’
experience in marketing and
an MBA, got a 4.5 out of 7.
As part of the study, 240
University students judged
resumes with photos of
applicants with altered skin
tones.
Study reveals
hiring habits
By KELLY PROCTOR
kproctor@randb.com
Kelora Myles said her
light-colored black skin is a
plus when she’s applying for
jobs.
She was hired her senior
year of high school as a host
ess at a five-star restaurant,
beating out another girl who
had darker skin, she said.
“They were looking for
someone tall with light skin,”
said the junior from Augusta,
who stands 5 feet and 10
inches and whose complex
ion is lighter than most other
black peoples’.
Research by Matthew
Harrison, a University psy
chology doctoral student,
shows skin preference may
extend further, even to hiring
at the company management
level.
Light-skinned black job
seekers are preferred over
their darker-skinned counter
parts, Harrison said.
Furthermore, dark-skinned
black men can be passed over
even if they have better cre
dentials.
Harrison presented his
research Tuesday at the
annual meeting of the
Academy of Management in
Atlanta. The study is the first
to examine color preferences
among black people in the
work force.
A light-skinned man with
a bachelor’s degree was pre
ferred over a dark-skinned
man with a Master’s degree
in business, Harrison said
Wednesday in a telephone
interview.
For the study, 240
University students were
asked to look at resumes
with photos of made-up
black job applicants. The pic
tures were artificially doc
tored to make light and dark
► See SKIN TONE, Page 3A
SPECIAL | The Red & Black
A Senior midfielder Randi-Lynn Bruso dribbles down the
field. The women’s soccer team finished the 2005 season
with a 12-6-2 record.
Women’s soccer team
to play in scrimmage
By TYLER ESTEP
testep@randb.com
The Georgia women’s soc
cer team enters the season
with the highest preseason
ranking in their 11-year
history.
The Lady Bulldogs will
quickly test how accurate
that ranking is when they
start their season on
Saturday, hosting Clemson in
a exhibition.
The scrimmage will likely
foreshadow how the rest of
the season will bode, said sec
ond-year head coach Patrick
Baker.
“We know the level of com
petition is going to be fantas
tic, and if we’re fully healthy
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Exhibition game vs. Clemson
When: Saturday, 7 p.m., Turner
Soccer Complex off South
Milledge Avenue
we’re going to get a real good
picture of the upcoming
year,” Baker said.
“We’ve got to get a lot of
our younger players game
minutes and experience and I
think that will be one of
the benefits of this scrim
mage.”
The Bulldogs earned a No.
18 national ranking in
SoccerBuzz Magazine’s
>- See SOCCER, Page 8A
Univ. on facility shortlist
By BRIAN HUGHES
bhughes@randb.com
Although he expected
most of the competition to
already be eliminated, one
University official said he felt
Georgians were doing
all they could to land a
national biodefense facility
in Athens.
University Vice President
of Research David Lee said
he reacted with “guarded
enthusiasm” when he
learned last week two
University sites had been
included among the 18 still
in the running to land the
National Bio- and Agro-
Defense Facility.
The potential 500,000-
square foot building would
serve as a research center
within the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security to
fight agro- and bioterrorism
pandemics.
One of the proposed sites
is located on College Station
Road next to the Richard B.
Russell Agricultural Center,
and the backup site is on
South Milledge Avenue.
Lee said he had expected
the list of possible sites to be
narrowed down from the
original 29 sites to around
five.
In response to the larger-
than-expected list, Lee said
University officials met with
state Department of
Economic Development rep
resentatives to plan how to
present their case to the
DHS.
Bert Brantley, spokesman
for the state DED, said
Georgia has an asset no special i the red * black
A A diagram of the future expansion of the National Bio-
>• See CENTER, Page 9A and Agro-Defense Facility.
COLIN SMITH | The Red & Black
A Chi Omega sisters celebrate the arrival of their new members Wednesday in front of their Milledge Avenue house.
Sororities bid for
the perfect pledges
By SARA PAUFF
spauff@randb.com
After a week of meet and
greets, Greek house tours
and 12-hour days in heels, it
all comes down to a little
white slip of paper.
Girls hoping to receive a
bid card from their favorite
of the University’s 18 sorori
ties covered the floor of
Georgia Hall in the Tate
Center Wednesday evening
as members of the
Panhellenic Council con
gratulated them on com
pleting recruitment.
Vice President of
Recruitment for Panhellenic
Council Shay Seymour said
940 women pledged this
year, an increase of about
120 from last year.
“It was exciting to see
numbers go up,” the senior
from Appling said.
Erin Gray, a freshman
from Marietta, said joining a
sorority was a good way to
make friends at the
University.
“It’s just something I’ve
always looked forward to,”
Gray said. “It’s a good way
to get plugged in here.”
Gray’s first choice was
Phi Mu because she said
she felt really comfortable
at the house. “They were
original and unique,” she
said.
After gathering in
Georgia Hall, potential
members met with their
pledge classes to receive
their bids, eyes shut tight in
anticipation. Those little
white bid cards are the end
result of a carefully struc
tured week of meetings with
each of the sororities.
“It was quite stressful.
We got up at 5 every day,”
said Ginnie Carr, a freshman
from Marietta.
“I had no idea what to
expect,” freshman Mallory
Verner said of Rush Week.
Verner said she liked meet
ing all the sororities and
that coming a week before
classes helped her get to
know the campus better.
“I wanted to be more
involved on campus.
Coming from out of state, I
came here not knowing any
one,” said Verner, who is
from Charleston, S.C.
Verner bid Alpha Chi
Omega and Alpha Omicron
Pi, saying she felt a “certain
connection” when she
walked into the houses. “I
thought all the girls were
really upbeat,” she said. “I
just really fit in there.”
Others said “going
Greek” was something they
had always planned on.
“It was something I
always wanted to do. My
mom did it,” Carr said.
Freshmen Laura Potter
and Lacy Mims both got
bids from Delta Gamma.
Mims said the two have
been friends back home in
Monroe and just happened
to end up in the same soror
ity.
“It felt like the most at
home,” Potter said.
COLIN SMITH | The Red & Black
A After a week of recruitment, new members nervously
wait in Georgia Hall to receive their bid cards. Around
1,000 students packed into the Tate Center to receive the
card that tells them what sorority has offered them a bid.
COLIN SMITH | The Red & Black
▲ Members of Delta Gamma sorority celebrate while wait
ing for new members to arrive at the house on Milledge
Avenue. Almost all of the sororities participate in a Bid
Day tradition of decorating lawns to honor new members.
INSIDE TODAY | News: 2A | Opinions: 4A | Variety: IB | Sports: 6A
Crossword: 6A I Sudoku: 7A
