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MONDAY January 8, 2007 Vol. 114, No. 77 | Athens, Georgia Mostly sunny. High 54 | Low 32 ONLINE: www.redandUack.com Tate II construction delayed By SARA PAUFF spa uffS’randb.com Students will have to wait a few more months to see any progress on Tate 11, in part due to large increases in con struction costs. The first phase of con struction of the student cen ter, the building of a 500- space parking deck, was scheduled to begin this month, but has been post poned until May, according to the University Architects’ Web site. Gym Dogs win home opener By MEGAN HARRISON mharrison^randb.com The top-ranked Gym Dogs opened their quest for a third straight National Championship with career highs, debuts and wobbles. The ladies of the blue mats defeated No. 8 Stanford Cardinal, 197.325-194.6. The Gym Dogs' total was the highest opening score in the history of the pro gram, eclipsing the previous record set in 2002 against Nebraska of 196.875. “Starting out at 197 is just awesome and obviously we weren’t perfect tonight so it’s awesome to know that we can start off and just get better from here.” junior Kelsey Ericksen said. Prior to the competition, the 2006 Gym Dogs were honored for their championship run with a pre-meet presentation. All of the gymnasts from last year were escorted by a male of their choice boyfriends, brothers or good friends —and presented to the crowd. "We were more nervous about walk ing down the stairs (than the meet),” junior Katie Heenan said. But later on, Saturday’s competition was all about the Georgia athletes and their performance against Stanford. “It wasn’t just luck today. They do that all the time (in practice),” said head coach Suzanne Yoculan. Yoculan said that the team wanted to send a message that they are serious about going for their third national championship in a row. ► See DEFEAT. Pnye 1 1 Mascots attacked; party host arrested By TODD SOUTH tsouth@randb.com Over the holiday break, two visi tors attacked University mascots during a basketball game, and a notorious local address made the police blotter once again. On Dec. 19, 2006, during a men’s basketball game in Stegeman Coliseum, Richard Alexander Perry of Fort Valley and Charlie Taylor Douglas of Reynolds “ran from their seats onto the basketball court” and attacked mascots, Hairy Dawg and Spike, according to a University Police report. The mascots were knocked to the ground and fell into a group of young girls who had just finished performing In the halftime show, according to the report. Trey Dunn, a University student who performs as Hairy Dawg, said police told him he could not com ment on the case, but he could say that "Hairy Dawg is fine.” The arresting officer detained Perry and Douglas, noting "a strong odor commonly associated with alcoholic beverages.” Both Perry and Douglas were under 21. Upon ftirther search, the officer discovered that Perry and Douglas Reaching the Newsroom New* (706) 433-3037 Variety (706) 433-3041 Sport* (706) 433-3040 Opinions (706)433-3043 Photo (706) 433-3046 The RwKßlank An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community ESTABLISHED 1893, INDEPENDENT 1980 Head of University archi tects Danny Sniff said large increases In construction costs have affected the design phase of the $52 million proj ect. “We had a very unexpected increase in construction costs due to Hurricane Katrina," he said. Sniff said usually there is a 5 percent increase in con struction costs over a year; the University projected an 8 to 10 percent increase this year. However, they got a 15 percent increase. f . : Vi vif-!’*,3s* .. JOSH D. WEISS i T. In . Bum ▲ Grace Taylor works the beam at Saturday's Gym Dogs meet against Stanford. Taylor debuted with a score of 9.8 for the team. had knives in their possession. Both offenders were barred from all University property for two years and charged with four counts: weapon on school grounds, simple battery, reckless conduct and public drunkenness. Following the barring notice, the teens were transported to Athens- Clarke County Jail and later each released on a $3,500 bond. The case may continue, though, due to a possible violation of the University code of conduct. Police said that one offender is related to a University student but declined to name the relative. Regulation 14 of the University conduct regulations states that “allowing, condoning, permitting or providing opportunity for a guest to violate University conduct regu lations” is a shared responsibility of the host and their guest. University Police Capt. Lisa Boone said while the Office of Judicial Programs handles viola tions of the code of conduct, stu dents can be held criminally responsible for the conduct of their guest if they aid or abet an activity. On the Web radandbUck.com If you haven’t checked out our 2006 year in review, be sure to do so while it lasts. Check out our revamped web design, including a poll on Tate II restaurant^. Because of the Increase in costs, Sniff said the size of the building expansion had to be reduced by about 15 per cent, taking the building from the projected 100,000 square feet to roughly 85,000 square feet. SnifT said the reduction in building size is a “nip and tuck, here or there,” rather than cutting entire rooms. “The program went on a diet,” he said. Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Pat Daugherty said even with the Kimberly Ellis, spokesperson for Judicial Programs, could not be reached for comment. Boone added that stu dents are responsible for the actions of their guests. The common argument she hears from students is they don’t call the police because they don’t want to get their friends in trouble. But, Boone said, the sit uation can escalate, and "they’ll end up getting you in trouble.” Frequent party host arrested MILNER ACC Police arrested Gene Whltner Milner 111 at his 555 Riverhill Drive and charged him with furnishing alcohol to minors on Dec. 15,2006. The residence was the site of the January 2006 party attended by Lewis Rockwell Fish, then a University freshman. Fish later died in his dormitory room from a lethal combination of alcohol, cocaine and heroin. Milner, part-owner of the house at the time of the previous party, was attending ► See CRIME, huge 8 Rocky Shock page 7 The news isn’t that Sly's latest doesn't suck. The news is that R&B reviewer Chuck Griffin awarded some thing an A grade. increase in construction costs, increasing the $25 stu dent fee to pay for the build ing has not been discussed. She said although the building will not be quite as large as they originally planned, “we still think it’s going to be adequate.” Andrew Gladden, head of the Tate II advisory board a group comprised of faculty, staff, students and alumni who help plan and program the renovation and expansion ► See TATE 11. Pnye 5 Lady Dogs squander late-game lead for sixth LSU series loss By TYLER ESTEP testep@randb.com The No. 15 Lady Dogs (13-3, 1-1 SEC) started out hot Sunday after noon in Baton Rouge, but the sixth ranked LSU Tigers (15-1, 1-0) ulti mately came away with the 57-55 home win. “We didn’t play well enough to win,” Lady Bulldog head coach Andy Landers said in his post game radio show. “The last thing I want from our kids is to come away think ing we accomplished something today.” After jumping out to a 15-2 lead against one of the best defenses in the country, the Lady Dogs allowed the Tigers to go on a 14-0 run after forward Tasha Humphrey had to leave the game with two early fouls. Georgia freshman Christy Marshall came up big just before the half, dropping six points in the waning minutes and to push the Lady Dogs out to a 27-22 halftime lead. The Dogs fought back from another 7-0 LSU run to start the second half, tying it up and jumping out to a 53-48 lead with just over —v- JULIA NOKMAN I Tm Rid * Biju k ▲ The Transmetropolitan outdoor patio area is one of many downtown hangouts where smoking is prohibited by an Athens rule passed in 2004. ACC to further enforce smoking laws downtown By TODD SOUTH lsouth@randb.com Downtown restaurant and bar owners are seeing a little more police attention regarding one part of a more than two-year-old smoking ordinance. Owners and managers at businesses with patio-style seating areas have been warned in recent months not to allow customers to smoke there. Most don’t seem to see much of a problem. “I have never had one complaint about smoking out there," said Wesley Russo, co-owner of Transmetropolitan, a restaurant at 145 E. Clayton St. The areas that concern the ordinance are listed as “enclosed areas,” which are defined as “all space between a floor and ceiling that is enclosed on all but one side by solid walls or windows.” Other businesses affect ed by the definition are Last Resort Grill, also on Clayton Btreet, Hot Comer Coffee at 269 N. Hull St. and Bes on Washington Street. Katie Green, a senior from Jones County and barista at Hot Corner Coffee, said police have told Football page 10 Yea, we know the sea son’s over. But before embarking on full cover age of spring sports, we’re giving football one last full-page hursah. RESOLVE,REJOICE >■ How to fulfill your toughest goals. PAGE 6 them they cannot facilitate or condone smoking in their patio area. The business has not been cited for violating the ordinance as far as she knew. Most smokers simply need to move to the side walk or curb in front of the business to be out of the no smoking area. However, the problem some see with this is an increase in littering with smokers throwing their cig arette butts into the street or gutter. “I would agree it definite ly causes more litter,” said former smoker Sarah Wagner, a senior from Perry. A solution to the prob lem might be found on the University campus. Wagner said the down town area should have ash trays, like on campus, for people to put their ciga rette butts. The responsibility of the business owners is to inform their customers of the ordinance. “We don’t have a prob lem letting people know or a problem enforcing it,” Russo said. “If three walls and a ceiling is an enclosed structure, I would like to ► Sec SMOKERS. Page 3 four minutes to play. The run was thanks to Humphrey's first six points of the game. But the game plan unraveled as time dwindled with LSU going on another scoring run. This time a 9-2 spree sealed the Tiger victory. This was the Lady Dogs’ sixth straight loss to the Tigers. “We turned it over 19 times. And the way we were playing, we were self-inflicted with turnovers. We probably made 12 unnecessary turnovers,” Landers said. Turnovers are becoming a trend for the Lady Dogs, averaging more than 21 per game in their three recent losses to Middle Tennessee, George Washington and now LSU. "It’s starting to worry me,” Landers said of the growing incon sistency. "It’s not the first time we’ve turned the ball over like this. It’s not the first time we’ve made these kind of mistakes. We haven’t corrected it.” The schedule gets tougher for the Lady Dogs, who after a Thursday’s home match against Mississippi State, host No. 4 Tennessee and No. 10 Vanderbilt in consecutive games. Index* UGA Today a Wire a Opinions 4 Variety 6 Crossword 5 Sports 10 Sudoku 11 *