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4B | Thursday, December 7, 2006 | The Red & Black David Pittman | Editor in Chief Lyndsay Hoban | Managing Editor Lauren Morgan | Opinions Editor edi to r@rand b. com .... rne@rarulb.com opinions@randb.com pinion Meter —■ A wrap-up of the semester's ups and downs Gameday — Alcohol = Not Happening With the creation of family friendly zones this football season, the adminis tration learned one important sports lesson: if you build it, no one will come. We give props for the effort, but the drinking culture might be too far ingrained in the Bulldog faithful — in which case, we suggest banning alcohol on ... ha ha ha ha ... wow, we couldn’t even finish that. Gimme an ‘A’ for Amnesty Suppose you and your friend are both drinking underage and you suddenly realize your pal’s had a few — or maybe 12 — too many and needs serious med ical attention. Do you call the authori ties for help and risk an MIP and the 16 tons of state and University punish ment that comes with it, or do you, drunk as you may be yourself, try to take care of the situation yourself and risk your friend’s life? If only the University had an amnesty policy that would forgive your misdeed for the sake of the ultimate good deed — potentially saving a life. Weighing the options, it’s obvious that if the administration truly cares about students’ safety, they’ll relax their zero-tolerance policy to err on the side of caution and potential sal vation. No green for Tate II Keeping Athens beautiful is a big cam paign with Athens-Clarke County, but apparently the University isn’t as in tune with the “Colors of the Wind.” Getting Tate II LEED certified appar ently is not a top priority for the Adams administration. We guess the officials of the University are trying a new recruit ing tool: endless summer. Chi Phi forever, phools! Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me again, and Mama Shamp will cover for you. This fall, two words have dominat ed our front pages: Chi and Phi — and we’ve received no shortage of criticism for it. Jim Carrey’s character in “Liar, Liar” inspired our suggestion for mem bers to stay out of the spotlight: STOP BREAKING THE LAW -expletive deleted-! SGA — to be or not to be? With the vote to abolish SGA (for good) coming up, the organization has its back up against the firing squad wall and the blindfold halfway tied. Often seen as a self-serving, self-perpetuating group of powerless, bureaucratic resumes padders, this is SGA’s chance to prove it can be of some actual good to the student body, OR it’s our chance to band together as a student body and say, “We’ve had enough.” The Red & Black hopes current and former SGA members will speak up on this debate and prove that student government can serve more than themselves. O Quote of the semester: “I actually wanted a job working at Dairy Queen, but my mom wouldn’t let me. All my friends had a job at Dairy Queen and I was like “Mom, I want a job at Dairy Queen.” And she said no, so I ran track instead.” — Tra Battle, Bulldog Safety n.L i»p r btan 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, 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, Chelsea Cook, 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, Kimberleigh Stan, Alexandra Walker, Josh Weiss, Trevor Williams, Alec Wooden, Emily Yocco 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: Gary Bardizbanian, Natalie Boyd, Julie Leung, Leslie Mintz, Brett Turner, Rebekah Twiss Production Night Supervisor: Christopher Lee 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) 483-3002 | 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. Paul Rehm’s 12 days of Christmas S ing along, kids! It’s the holidays and this is the last paper of the non calendar year, so let’s have a Christmas sing-along to honor the past year, shall we? On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a running back with VD. Wait, you mean we can’t print that? Let’s try this again... On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a column here ‘bout once a week. On the 2nd day of Christmas Ben Mayer gave to me, 2 thousand votes and an SGA presidency. On the 3rd day of Christmas Mike Adams gave to me, 3 very good reasons, 2 transfer to a school, some where in the ACC. On the 4th day of Christmas UK & Vandy gave to me, 4 freaking losses, 3 points from Bailey means, 2 extra wins and a New Year’s Day bowl marquee. On the 5th day of Christmas Chi Phi gave to me ... FIVE STU-PID PLEDGES! 4 more arrests, 3 months in prison and 2 assault charges, are my pre dictions for the next Chi Phi spree. On the 6th day of Christmas, hey where’s our fraternity? 6 lawsuits later it’s ... FIVE MI-LES AW-AY! 4 the love of God, 3 months of work, 2 get it right, we attend a greedy uni-versity. On the 7th day of Paul Rehm ▲ Christmas Dennis Felton gave to me, 7 improved play ers, 6 wins already, FIVE RETURNED STARTERS, 4 Brophy’s sake let’s get 3 upset wins, that’s 2 shots at Florida and a ticket to the NIT. On the 8th day of Christmas Dance Mar'thon gave to me, 8 whining let ters, 7 clarifications, 6 prob ably didn’t work... FIVE FACEBOOK FRIENDINGS! 4 more crazy e-mails, 3 fun rebuttals, 2 of which got published and a psychotic parent who apparently can’t read. On the 9th day of Christmas this paper gave to me, 9 boring, pointless, generic end-of-the year columns in which the writer talks about how much they learned in the past year and how much they love UGA and how much they’re going to miss everybody as they go on to the “real” world and how much ... Crap, where was I? Oh yeah... On the 10th day of Christmas this job gave to me, 10 bad suggestions for 9 of my next columns as I 8 my tongue and told 7 that their clubs are 6 feet under, how bout... FIVE ACROSS THE EYES, 4-give me friends cause in 3 minutes I’ll be too drunk 2 consider your suggestions for columns on debate-team, crew and rugby. On the 11th day of Christmas Mark Richt gave to me, 11 wide receivers with, 10 slippery fingers, 9 second chances, 8 more than deserved, 7 is Matt Stafford, 6 points would be nice ... FIVE DROPS PER GAME! 4 different QB’s, 3 of whom saw PT, 2 threw too deep, boy do I miss DJ Shockley. On the 12th day of Christmas the University gave to me, 12 more months of columns, 11 thousand dis gruntled fans, 10 angry row ers, 9 expletives deleted, 8 dancing morons, 7 three- pointers, 6 misplaced frats ... FIVE FUTURE POLITI CIANS, 4 crummy losses, 3 thousand angry teachers, 2 clueless “leaders” and a semester of debauchery. Ahh, that was fun. Now kids, how about we head on over to Atlanta and share the joy of Christmas with the Techies? Does anyone know the words to “I Saw Reggie Kissing Santa Claus?” — Paul Rehm is a columnist for The Red & Black. He will perform this at parties for a small fee. Senators E-mail, letters and faxes from our readers say SGA serves its students In response to Josh Weiss’s column, “Student Government is Ineffective,” we wish to analyze the effec tiveness of this organization from an insider’s perspec tive. Both of us have been involved in SGA since our freshman year and have seen administrations come and go, and we can honestly say that this organization has evolved over the past few years. SGA has accomplished many tasks in the name of the student body. Without the efforts of the people within this organization, we would be facing fall semes ters without a Fall break, we would be without a tool to plan our class schedules (The Key) and we would not have a voice in University Council or access to the var ious administrators on cam pus. We agree that all 33,000 students could individually meet with President Adams or Provost Mace; however, SGA allows for an organized voice. A government is only as effective as its con stituents. In fact, Mr. Weiss came to us earlier in the administra tion asking to pass a resolu tion in Senate allowing for non-senators to debate any legislation on the floor as well as propose legislation or amendments to the legis lation. We continue to encourage all students to come and give us constructive criti cism. We can vouch for everyone and say we are open to concerns or new ideas that will help us improve SGA for the future students of this university. ABBY OAKLEY and NISHA GUPTA Franklin Senators Freedom does not mean acceptance Ah, how I miss the Tate preachers. How wonderfully paradoxical to be made to feel better in my own quiet little way by someone cater wauling at me about how awful I am. Mandy Morgan and Alyssa Anderson have the right idea about good Christian PR. techniques. However, Mandy was off the mark on one key point — there’s nothing, (pardon my caterwauling), NOTHING in the First Amendment espousing religious toler ance. The document of limited powers merely and specifi cally says to Congress and Congress alone, “Judge not” and “Render unto Caesar ...” Moreover, Thomas Jefferson wrote around the E-MAILING US Questions, comments, complaints? Here’s where to point and click: Letters I opinions@randb.com News Tips I news@randb.com same time that this country would not flourish on the strengths of religious dic- tums or wishy-washy tolera tion of every ideal. He foresaw that we would prosper through the stal wart pursuit of the truth in all things, entering every idea into the marketplace of discussion and weeding out the flimsy, suspect and sim ply wrong. Enduring and endearing as they are, amendments and scripture are simply two notes in a dissonant medley. Truth is to be found in minds, hearts and actions. Whatever and wherever you find it, go forth and live it. TODD ZEIGLER Alumni, Louisville, Ky. Journalism Congress pulled a fast one on us I am sure University stu dents are relieved to know that the federal government is on the job protecting them against pyramid schemes like that of Jonathan Mikula. But who is going to protect them against the world’s biggest pyramid scheme — the one run by the federal govern ment and known as the Social Security System. Most will be given no option but to pay into Social Security their entire working lives to fund a payout for those older than 62 in the hopes that there will be new conscripts forced to pay them at some unspecified age. When it comes to pyra mid schemes the federal government insists on a monopoly. But to be fair, not everyone is forced to con tribute. Our congressional repre sentatives, who tell us what a great deal Social Security is for us, have decided that they want no part of Social Security for themselves. DWIGHT R. LEE Ramsey Professor of Economics Cops got schooled by 88-year-old In response to Shane Vaiskauskas’ editorial, how do you know that Ms. Johnston “failed to properly educate herself on firearm usage”? Give me a break! She must have had some type of firearms training, because she shot all three cops, even while (as you so succinctly put it) it was dark and she was disorient ed. Maybe it was the cops who needed a little more training, like Self Defense 101 or maybe How To Spot Someone Who Is Pointing A Gun At You 101. The fault here does not rest with Ms. Johnston. She obviously defended herself pretty well. CHRIS LINDSEY Junior, Grayson Political Science Johnston’s actions were justified Shane Vaiskauskas article concerning the tragic death of Kathryn Johnston was extremely misguided. Instead of focusing on the real issue of the police department’s questionable use of excessive force, he gave us a lesson on how to use a firearm. He says that if Kathryn Johnston had followed the “rules” and identified her target before firing, “she would have lived to defend her own civil rights.” When a group of men broke into her home unan nounced in an unsafe town, an 88-year-old woman react ed the way many of us would when she attempted to protect herself from the perceived threat as quickly as possible. Instead of con sulting a shooting theory handbook, perhaps Vaiskauskas should consult the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution where they talk about every citi zen’s right to Due Process of Law. KARL BRODER Senior, Stockbridge English/Pre-Law Police just as much to blame I do not quite understand why Shane Vaiskauskas con demned an elderly woman for her misjudgment, but did not place any blame on the rash actions of the police. Yes, she shot the police, but it was an acci dent. I do not feel that she deserved to die because of a mistake she made. After making it through 88 years of life, Ms. Johnston did not deserve to be gunned down by zealous police. How would you feel if that had been your grandmother? DENECHIA POWELL Sophomore, Brunswick Pre-Journalism Lauren Morgan Future R&B editor’s year in review A round this time last year, my now-ex boyfriend proposed to me. I could be planning a wedding, making a guest list, registering for gifts, etc., but I chose a differ ent path. Instead, I’m going to be editor in chief of The Red & Black. Talk about a 180.1 threw out my chances of double majoring in MRS to work 40-hour work weeks at the student paper in the spring. People tell me I’ve made the right choice, but I’m finally starting to believe them. It took someone get ting down on one knee and offering me a ring to realize that I wasn’t ready to settle, and my past relationship forced me to take a hard look at why I was attending the University. I came to college to become a journalist (a job I’ve been dreaming of since elementary school), to join a sorority, make some amazing friends and partake in a bit of party ing, then face the realities that come with that scene, i.e. hangovers or watching an acquaintance or two get arrested. Sure I got to do those things with my ex, but then when things started getting serious I saw my life with him flash before my eyes, and I didn’t like what I saw. When I knew I wasn’t ready to be someone’s wife-in-training, I finally started living the life of a 20-something. Since last December, I have gone balls to the wall with my college life. My grades are in the toilet because of my now-or-never attitude, but it’s been worth it. What’s a D in Accounting compared to a road trip to Mardi Gras? Two C’s are noth ing compared to going to Georgia-Florida, even if I had a test first thing on Monday morning. I bounced across the British Isles during my study abroad at Oxford University, spent four days working for the Peabody Awards in New York, visited the Lone Star State twice (having never been before), and I’ll be going to Las Vegas, Washington D.C. and somewhere tropical for spring break before I graduate in May. There’s always the good ole R&B to blame for my wavering 3.0 since this newspaper holds me hostage every afternoon in its fortress on Baxter Street, but I’d rather fail out of the University than miss out on working here. To every student at the University not graduating this month, I pose a call to action to you. This fall, The Red & Black’s editorial board has encouraged you to get involved with the University, whether it’s going to a less-popular sporting event, attending a Student Government meeting, voting for our favorite Bulldog fan or telling President Adams what you really think of him at Open Mic with Mike. I could write editorials until my fingers are blis tered and shout it at the top of my lungs from my perch on Baxter Hill, but I just want you, dear reader, to savor the most important lesson that I can leave you with at the end of the semester. Just appreciate the time you have here at this amazing university. And don’t let it come down to a proposal to realize what you want to do. It’s just not pretty. — Lauren Morgan is the opinions editor for The Red & Black