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2B I Thursday, December 7, 2006 | The Red & Black Finals Edition NEWS Faculty complains about gender pay inequality By KELLY PROCTOR kproctor@randb.com More than 100 faculty members signed a letter of complaint against a report that congratulated the University on beating the national average for female faculty pay. The letter said the University shouldn’t rejoice because University women still are paid less than men. The faculty members — both men and women — sent a letter to Columns, a University newspaper for fac ulty and staff from the Office of Public Affairs, after it praised the University’s pay equality for male and female faculty members. The Nov. 13 article report ed on a study by the American Association of University Professors that found women at all doctoral universities nationally earn 78.1 percent of what men on average earn for all faculty ranks. But University faculty fare “significantly better,” making 85.2 percent of what their male counterparts bring in, Columns reported. Chris Cuomo, director of the Institute for Women’s Studies, signed the letter and called herself a “conduit” for its compilation. “I think we need to set the record straight that the situa tion is not good to boast about, and it needs a lot more attention,” Cuomo said. The Columns article also quoted University President Michael Adams as saying, “I’m pleased to see that UGA fares well compared to our peers. It’s an area that deserves and will receive our continued attention.” But the professors’ letter said they were angry there is a pay gap at all, and asked President Adams to clarify his remark. “A university president must demonstrate that he understands that gender equality is crucial,” the letter states. University spokesman Tom Jackson supplied a copy of the letter Adams sent to each of the professors that assured them he thought ensuring gender equity is “the right thing to do.” “It is clear from the letter that my comment to Columns has caused a misun derstanding of my stance, an unfortunate outcome given my own conviction on this important issue,” Adams said. Cuomo said she hopes Adams and the professors would continue to work together positively to make sure all faculty salaries are equal. Professors would like to see further study and real strategies for equaling faculty pay, Cuomo said. DRAMA: Protest caused traffic issue >- From Page IB Lumpkin, to raise awareness of the problem. Peach Pittenger, a tempo rary assistant professor, encouraged her students to attend the demonstration at about noon on Wednesday at the corner of Lumpkin. Pittenger dressed up as a crossing guard and held a flag with the word “stop” to wave at cars while pedestri ans were still crossing the street. “Since we are the drama department, we had to play up the drama aspect,” Pittenger said. The demonstration drew about 40 students and facul ty members. The protesters crossed the street every time the light changed and waved two large banners explaining their actions. Prior to the demonstra tion, Saltz arranged for a video camera to capture any close encounters or acci dents, expecting people not to notice. Passersby did take notice. During the hour-long protest several people in cars honked their horns or yelled, “Get out of the road,” from their cars. Traffic started to back up on Baldwin Street. At one point Timmy Baker, assistant manager of operations for Campus Transit, showed up with a walkie-talkie to observe the traffic holdup. Two police officers from Athens-Clarke County also attended to make sure the demonstration did not cause any trouble. Although the intersection has a history of accidents, ACC Police said they do not keep records of pedestrian accidents. An April 28, 2004, a story that appeared in The Red & Black stated that the University has been working on the issue for some time. Sarah Richmond, Farley Richmond’s wife, said the lights at those intersections AJ PASSMAN | The Red & Black i Cheryldee Huddleston, a drama professor, partici pates in a demonstration on Baldwin Street. don’t turn green until after the crosswalk light has turned red. LAWSUIT: Discrimination rule not always kept >- From Page IB which all student organiza tions must do,” Jackson said. The lawsuit alleges that there are approximately 14 religious student organiza tions at the University, all which require their leaders, and members to “adhere to certain religious beliefs.” The suit also claims that the University has not consis tently applied its nondiscrim ination requirement to other student organizations, such H Heal Sports: Pratt, Network, Win. Register TODAY to win a FREE XBOX 360 / www.sportsace.com Everything for the Dawg (Especially Big Cash for your Textbooks!) We pay Top Dollar for your textbooks and have Great Dawg Gifts for Christmas LOTS OF FREE PARKING • FAST SERVICE TEXTBOOKS • SHIRTS • CAPS JACKETS • SWEATS • POSTERS • MORE! BAXTER STREET BOOKSTORE 360 BAXTER ST. (ACROSS FROM THE DORMS) 549-3081 as the Baha’i Association or the Crossway Fellowship College Ministry. Jackson said Vice President for Student Affairs Rodney Bennett offered to make it mandatory that only BYX members, not officers, sign the policy, but the com promise wasn’t acceptable to the group. For now, the Office of Legal Affairs is reviewing the case with the state Attorney General, who is the University’s official represen tative in court cases. The lawsuit names University President Michael Adams, Vice President for Student Affairs Rodney Bennett and Director of Student Activities and Organizations Ed Mirecki, among others, as defendants. Timothy Tracey, litigation counsel for Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law & Religious Freedom, said BYX wants the University to do three things: >- Recognize their organiza tion >- Give them the benefits of any registered student organ ization >- Allow religious organiza tions to select officers and members of their choosing. Tracey said the College Republicans and Young Democrats require their members share their political beliefs. “If those clubs are allowed to do that, then we should be allowed to,” Tracey said. outrageous daily special get the next for just .50 c ! 318 E. Washington St. Across from the Courthouse/Next to New Hilton