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4 | Wednesday, November 8, 2006 | The Red & Black
David Pittman | Editor in Chief
editor@randb.com
Lyndsay Hoban | Managing Editor
me@randb.com
Lauren Morgan | Opinions Editor
opinions@ramlb.com
Majority opinions of The Red & Black’s editorial hoard
Student Elections
Students get involved in politics with
out separating donkeys and elephants
Every year, The Red & Black and many other
students complain about our Student
Government Association.
But once a year, students are given a chance
to change SGA for the better and run for office.
The students who think they can do a better
job than the current SGA president and vice
president should step up to the plate.
The next round of elections are in January,
and petitions soon will be available.
No government is perfect, including the
University’s student-run government. But that
doesn’t mean people shouldn’t care.
SGA can be effective and be the voice of
University students to the administration. It
just takes the right people for the job.
The upcoming elections are a good time for
people who think they can do the job to step
forward and offer themselves up for the oppor
tunity.
The creator of the SGA-bashing Web site,
ugasga.com, said on his site he’s received com
plaints about SGA from “quite a few students”
since his identity was announced by this paper
last week. Rather than just complain about the
current SGA, people like Chris Lindsey who
have a problem with it should run for office and
rectify those problems.
Candidate seminars are at 8 p.m. Tuesday
and Thursday of next week in Journalism 401.
Class can be fun
Professors who make class fun with
different activities instead of notes
On Thursday, students from the Creative
Activities for Teachers class will race cardboard
boats across the Ramsey Center pool.
Every semester, MIST 2090 students make
parachutes out of newspaper and toss eggs off
the bridge on Sanford Drive into the Tate park
ing lot. And the introduction to military science
class rappels down the five stories of the jour
nalism building every year.
These classes venture outside the normal,
mundane structure of note-taking and outlin
ing text books to teach students how to think
creatively through team building exercises.
Why can’t we have more classes like this at
the University? Academic rigor doesn’t neces
sarily have to be confined to Power points and
lecturers.
According to the National Survey of Student
Engagement conducted in 2005, when com
pared to other major research institutions,
University freshmen and seniors reported they
aren’t spending much time studying and work
ing on reading and writing assignments.
Instead of making students sit and take
notes, professors should encourage students to
get involved in classrooms and resign the hum
drum activities to homework.
Grade school shouldn’t be the last time stu
dents had fun inside the classroom.
Students can’t distract themselves in class
rooms with the daily sudoku or crossword if
they are responsible for building a boat that
will carry a classmate across a swimming pool.
If you’re interested in checking out the card
board boat race, stop by the Ramsey Center on
Thursday during the class period from 12:30 to
1:45 p.m.
NEWS: 433-3002
News Editor: Brian McDearmon
Associate News Editor: Audrey Goodson
Sports Editor: Jamie Cwalinski
Variety Editor: Shanna Ward
First & Goal Editor: Peter Steinbauer
Out & About Editor: Matthew Grayson
Photography Editor: Andy McFee
Chief Photographer: Scott Childs
Chief Copy Editor: Jessica McClean
Design Editor: Andrea Askew
Online Editor: Thomas Houston
Recruitment Editor: Lindsey Peacock
Graphic Artist: Randy Glance
Editorial Assistant: Katherine Tippins
Editorial Adviser: Ed Morales
News Staff Writers: Nita Cousins, Brian Hughes, Joe
Mason, Sara Pauff, Kelly Proctor, Aubrey Smith
Sports Staff Writers: Matthew Borenstein, Alex Byington,
Tyler Estep, Megan Harrison, Phillip Kisubika, Sam Steinberg
Variety Staff Writers: Sejal Bhima, Krista Derbecker,
Michelle Floyd, Miles Moffit, Emily Samuels, Kelly Skinner,
PT Umphress, Rachel Webster
Photographers: Heather Finley, Danielle Hutlas, Caroline
Kilgore, Tom O’Connor, Colin Smith
Design Desk: Lauren Albrecht, Rachel Boyd, Marie Busch,
Nick Ciarochi, Katy De Luca, Nate Evick, Rachel Forbes,
Charlie Gasner, Lauren Leschper, Melanie McNeely, Tara
Nelson, Diane Park, Rebecca Rudolph
Stringers: Rusty Bailey, Ashley Beebe, Phillip Blume, Ann
Cantrell, Lawrence Conneff, Carolyn Crist, Marshall Duncan,
Robinns Exume, Amy Farley, Laura Galbraith, Alexis
Garrabo, Katie Golden, Christina Graff, Charles Griffin,
Christopher Homer, Elizabeth Humma, Danielle Hutlas,
Megan Kojima, Whitney Kessler, Sarah King, Elyse Koenig,
Lauren Leighton, Jessica Levine, Abbi Libers, Adam Upper,
Jessica Luton, Shaina Mangino.Pearman Parker, Abby Peck,
Joel Penn, Allie Petit, Scott Reid, Mandy Rodgers, Sonia
Sharan, Alexandra Walker, Josh Weiss, Alec Wooden
Copy Desk: Brooks Becker, Alicia Choi, Colin Dunlop, Tiago
Moura, Shannon Otto, Elisabeth Parrish, Chelsea Piper, Amy
Winnett
ADVERTISING: 433-3001
Student Advertising Manager: Natalie Lawrence
Account Executives: Anne Marie Aycock, Jacob Berton,
Tyler English, Irena Chernova, Laura-Leigh Gillis,
Char-Lynn Griego, Rachel Hickson, Meredith McKinney,
Lindsay Nichols, Amanda Ryan
Advertising Assistant: Jennifer Mendel
Student Classified Manager: Liz Cunningham, Candace
Miller
Advertising Director: Rick Chapman
Web Developer: Nikita Smeshko
Production Staff: Natalie Boyd, Julie Leung, Brett Turner,
Rebekah Twiss
Production Manager: Sam Pittard
Office Manager: Mary Straub
Assistant Office Manager: Mary Cranford
Receptionist: Kimberly Drew
Publisher: Harry Montevideo
The Red & Black is published Monday through Friday fall and
spring semesters and each Thursday summer semester, except
holidays and exam periods, by The Red & Black Publishing
Company Inc., a non-profit campus newspaper not affiliated with
the University of Georgia. Postal address: 540 Baxter St. Athens
GA, 30605. Fax 433-3033. Subscription rate: $195 per year.
Opinions expressed in The Red & Black other than unsigned editorials are the opinions of the writers of signed columns and not nec
essarily those of The Red and Black Publishing Company Inc. All rights reserved. Reprints by permission of the editors.
Editorial board members include David Pittman, Lyndsay Hoban and Lauren Morgan.
Phone (706) 433-3002 | Fax (706) 433-3033
opinions@randb.com | www.redandblack.com
540 Baxter St., Athens, Ga., 30605
Letters should include name, year in school, hometown, phone
number, major or job title or other appropriate identification.
Letters should be no more than 150 words. All letters are
subject to editing for length, style and libelous material.
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
ESTABLISHED 1 893, INDEPENDENT 1980
I think things are
starting to get real
out of hand with this
underage drinking crap.
Yeah, maybe if the war in Iraq
keeps going the way of Vietnam,
they'll lower the drinking age
to 18 like they did back then.
t * t»
pt umphress / pumphress@randb.com
Leaders should set high standards
S ex, drugs and lies. I
expect to see these
themes in news stories
about a politician or a
celebrity. In fact, I grimly
welcome such stories.
But not in religious sto
ries. I would welcome a swift
punch to a kidney rather
than see a prominent reli
gious figure toppled by
scandal.
But that’s precisely what
happened over the weekend
to Rev. Ted Haggard, the
now former president of the
National Association of
Evangelicals representing
45,000 churches and head of
a Colorado megachurch with
a congregation of 14,000.
Haggard also was politi
cally active — talking weekly
with President Bush and
speaking against homosexu
ality and gay marriage.
A former male prostitute
says he had a three-year
sexual relationship with
Haggard and was revealing
this because of Haggard’s
hypocrisy.
At first Haggard denied
knowing the man, then on
Sunday apologized to his
congregation for “sexual
immorality.”
“I am a deceiver and a
liar,” Haggard said.
When I first read about
Haggard I noticed I was not
surprised, and this made me
uneasy.
Such a story did not sur
prise me, I thought, because
I expect such behavior from
religious leaders.
It can be argued, espe
cially in a religious context,
that we should expect
hypocrisy from all people.
There’s the common
belief that we are all sinners,
we all sin. I don’t buy that
argument.
Why? Because religious
Dale Hackler
“I am not a religious
man. But I have many
friends and relatives
who are, and I know
the respect they have
for their religious
leaders and how hurt
they would be if those
leaders somehow
betrayed them.”
leaders are different. They
offer spiritual guidance, and
their followers often live life
based on their advice.
If any group of people in
our society should remain
pure, honest and devoid of
hypocrisy it should be reli
gious leaders.
As Rev. Haggard shows,
this is not the case.
He is hardly alone in his
class, and his misdeeds
actually leave him looking
like a saint compared to the
crimes of some other reli
gious leaders.
Remember when some
Catholic priests were
accused of sexual abuse,
mostly involving young
boys?
Later we heard of cover-
ups by high officials in the
Catholic Church, men who
protected pedophiles to
keep their crimes from the
public’s eye.
Then there are televange
lists, a wicked group of con
men and women.
They draw money — or
rather suck blood — from
the poorest elements in
society. Their ranks have
been plagued with scandals
involving money laundering,
sex and drugs.
I also am personally
aware of sordid tales that
have never received press
coverage, and probably
never will.
They come from small
communities and small
churches, places where peo
ple keep things quiet and
the authorities away.
The Haggard scandal is
merely the latest in a trend
of shameful acts committed
by religious leaders.
Now, I am not a religious
man. But I have many
friends and relatives who
are, and I know the respect
they have for their religious
leaders and how hurt they
would be if those leaders
somehow betrayed them.
I also see institutions of
power decaying all around
us.
Scandals abound in big
business, government is
awash in a sea of greed and
a lust for power, some mem
bers of Congress are either
in jail or on their way and
now one of the most revered
evangelicals in the country
is discovered as a hypocrite
and a liar.
It’s a shame, and it
forces the question: Where
will it end?
— Dale Hackler is a
junior from Lawrenceville
majoring in German and
magazines
Christmas come early loses magic
T he thrill of the chase
— for me, finally get
ting something that’s
elusive and hard to find is
always rewarding and makes
the victory that much
sweeter.
For me, this is true not
only in the dating world, but
also in discovering the per
fect pair of jeans, or in the
case of seasonal candy, find
ing candy pumpkins. They
are my favorite candy, or at
least they used to be.
Besides the fact that they
are almost pure sugar, they
also were hard to find. More
elusive than candy corn,
when I finally found them on
the shelves, I would snatch
up a bag and savor the deli
ciousness, then have to wait
a whole year before enjoying
them again. This year how
ever, they appeared on the
shelves in August. That’s
right. August.
Naturally I was thrilled;
however, by the time actual
Halloween rolled around, I
was over them.
The unfinished bag of my
previously favorite candy sat
ignored. It was too easy this
year, and I lost interest.
This problem isn’t just an
isolated one within Brach’s
candy company, though.
It’s a holiday pandemic.
Stores and companies,
eager to earn the most on
these consumer-driven holi
days, have started getting in
holiday candy and decora
tions months before the
actual holiday.
Even before kids had
donned their Halloween cos
tumes, potentially pur
chased in August, Christmas
Jo Lee
“So I’m begging
companies to stop the
holiday overload! Pull
back on the reindeer
reins!”
decorations filled the aisles
of stores like Kroger.
Forgive me if I’m wrong,
but I find it very difficult to
dream of a white Christmas
when I’m still wearing
shorts and flip-flops.
Now that November is
barely here, Christmas is in
full swing.
This weekend, “The
Santa Clause 3” was
released in theatres. I drove
by Zaxby’s and saw garland
hung on the outside and I
heard “Jingle Bells” on the
radio.
Now, I’m not being a
Scrooge here.
I love Christmas. I love
tinsel and Christmas songs
and driving around looking
at lights on people’s houses.
But there is such a thing
as overkill. I mean, how
many times can you handle
hearing “Jingle Bell Rock”
on the radio before wanting
to pull a George Bailey from
“It’s a Wonderful Life”?
Once upon a time,
Christmas came but once a
year. Right around
Thanksgiving, after the
turkey had been carved and
we celebrated the American
tradition of the Pilgrims and
Indians sitting down to a
meal, it was time to think
about Christmas.
It was the event kids
waited all year for, and the
anticipation made it that
much more special.
But this year it seems,
Christmas is already here.
Stores, and soon, I pre
dict the airwaves, are satu
rated with Christmas and
winter holiday items and
songs.
Because of this,
Christmas and all holiday
seasons in general, have lost
some of their magic.
So I’m begging compa
nies to stop the holiday
overload! Pull back on the
reindeer reins!
At least let us enjoy
Labor Day before barraging
us with ghoulish decorations
and recover from our trypto
phan-induced comas before
breaking out the stockings.
Bring back the anticipa
tion that once made holi
days so exciting.
Make us anxiously await
the arrival of Nativity scenes
and Christmas trees.
And please, don’t let my
love of Christmas fall prey to
the same sad fate as the
candy pumpkins.
I’m not sure I could take
that twice in one year.
— Jo Lee is a senior from
Thomasville majoring
in magazines
E-mail, letters and faxes
from our readers
No excuse
for students
not voting
I And it ridiculous how
many students say they
aren’t voting because they
are uninformed. I would
almost rather you said you
forgot to get an absentee
ballot or can’t drive home.
We get three national
newspapers now, and we
have access to hundreds
of new computers in our
libraries and the SLC.
People in poverty
stricken neighborhoods
devoid of TVs, decent
schools and computers
might be able to get away
with claiming that they
don’t have enough infor
mation to make a well-
informed choice, but no
one who attends this
school can do the same.
Stop playing the victim,
take some initiative and
make what your ancestors
struggled for worth it.
LAUREN DIXON
Senior, Helen
Chemistry
Cover winning
teams in the R&B
As much as I love foot
ball, I am pretty sure that
all hopes of a 2006 SEC
championship have been
flushed down the toilet,
along with any chance of
getting a decent bowl
game. After reading other
people’s opinions in The
R&B, I see that I am not
alone. Heck, a couple of
weeks ago the “Our Take”
column suggested that we
should look to other suc
cessful sports programs
(such as swimming, gym
nastics, and golf) and see
how well they do, rather
than dwelling on a disap
pointing football season.
Yet still, I open up my
R&B and I see that the
losing football team gets a
picture and an article on
the front page, as well as
an entire page dedicated
to the loss and how it
much it sucked, whereas
the swim team that actu
ally won something
received less than a third
of a page in the back.
If you’re trying to prove
to the school that we
should look to other
sports for “inspiration,”
try giving them a little
more support. Georgia’s
women’s swim team has
won four recent NCAA
championships (1999,
2000, 2001, and 2005) com
pared to one in 1980. And
unlike the football team,
both men’s and women’s
swim teams are ranked in
the top 10 in the nation. If
you want to give Georgia
athletics some good press,
I would start with the
teams that actually win.
KELLY McGEE
Freshman, Lawrenceville
Pre-Nursing
Georgia football
needs new motto
When it comes to
Georgia football this year
a lot of things have hap
pened that we wish we
could have changed. Fans
complain about players’
failures on field. Others
complain about coaching
decisions and training off
the field. Me, well I have
no idea what needs to
happen to get this team
back on track, but I would
like to see one thing
changed. This whole “I am
Georgia” stuff. I really
wish we could change it to
“WE are Georgia.”
Because while I am
ALWAYS going to be the
best fan that I can be, it's
not going to be my single
voice that causes a false
start. It’s going to be our
voice. It’s not one player’s
reception (or lack thereof)
that wins or loses a game.
It’s the team that gets it
done. Please someone get
this across so we can be
reminded that this is a
team effort by the fans
and the players. Plus I
think “I am Georgia”
makes you sound like an
idiot.
MATTHEW NELSON
Senior, Canton
Landscape and grounds
management