About The Red and Black (Athens, Ga.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 2007)
6 Monday, March 5, 2007 | The Red * Black Lauren Morgan 1 Editor in Chirr edUar@ratutb.oom Colin Dunlop | Managing Editor me@randb.com PT Umphress j Opinions Editor Our Take Majority opinions of The Red <t- Black's editorial txmrd How news works The Red c('- Black den ies anti-Greek agenda , explains journalism to publ w On March 2, The Red & Black reported the front page headline, “Drug charges plague frat" about the arrest of three members of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. Since then, The R&B has received multiple phone calls and letters from students concerned about our treatment of fra ternities and sororities in our pages. The.responsibility of The Red & Black as a newspaper serving the University community is to report on stories relevant to students. In reporting the facts (as ascertained from Athens-Clarke Country Police reports), it is our responsibility to include not only pertinent information, but also relevant trends. For example, if multiple students are arrest ed in related incidents, The R&B would be irre sponsible if it did not question the connection between the offending students. That said, it is absolutely true that members of certain groups on campus are not treated fairly: Student athletes, members of the Student Government Association, Greeks, College Republicans. Young Democrats and even members of The Red & Black staff are held to a higher standard, either because of their organization’s mission statement or because of the greater student population they represent. In fact, any group which acts as a representa tive of the University as a whole is expected to uphold a standard to which we can all be proud. It is not The Red & Black creating these expectations, but society as a whole. This is a warning: if you are a member of one of the groups listed above, or a group similar in nature to those listed above, all of your actions will be representative not only of you, but also of the rest of the members of your organization. We at The Red & Black have a responsibility to report trends not only among students, but also of student organizations. If the culture of a student organization tied to the University could put the reputation of the University and all its students at risk, it is important for The Red & Black to identify it. As unfair as it may seem, the culture of an organization is gauged by the actions of its members both related and unrelated to the operations of the organization. The University, for example, is judged by the curricular and extracurricular behavior of its students, staff and faculty. Many readers do not seem to understand The Red & Black has only limited means to gather the information included in its articles. Most of the information comes from police reports; if you do not identify yourself to the arresting officer as a Greek, an athlete or a Young Democrat, it cannot be included in the police report. We also use Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites; if you are one who engages in behavior which jeopardizes the image of your organization, enable privacy fea tures. The Greek Directory lists members of all fraternities and sororities, and Google is capa ble of uncovering all manner of information on the Internet. Of course, the best way to avoid scutiny is to behave in a manner becoming of the organiza tions you represent. If members of these organ izations had not gotten themselves arrested, The Red & Black would have no reason to report on them. After all, we can’t make this stuff up. 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Reaching Us Phone (706) 433-3002 | to (706) 433-3033 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. Our Staff Jrnaro rrtl CnuHM Dan* Ham* Radiata rtdi Wtrttoy tromana XrtrtWo Mby Aorta* AAagar Mogno Am Mrttnrfe Aoo Jbart jaaaoaurton SMralAmgno Ckalßhr p*ar Oanrt CrComor Sara Com jartrrto farton Alaon Pan Maatao Own Tafor pumßs Conor ftcnartoor Handy floogara Can** Etna SonoSrtarar NMiar. Soranaan San Mod *rtd AM*d Martaa Amabnan Uartaaa Araatmar Jortt AMtaa Srtany AArtey Eddy room Copy Oaart AaoaCro HOort Comar EtuMT Mar >rao Gral Tiago Uotaa rrtry Pamod CJtaraaa Ptoar Manama ADVERTISING: 433-3001 Martam AdaartWrg Hmgar Uarodtt UcKaray Accortrt EaaartwatAUry Armen lodd Camgbaa rata Cbamoaa. Tyaar tua Lop Ortta Cbar4.fr Snago Radial taaaon MaHrta Martar LnHay rrtdtoH Amanda Ryan AdaartMmg ArtaManr Janrrtar Uandat CHaaMad IMnagar: Martarly Or*. CHaaMart Adrtaan: Candaca Urtar VrtaraT-rttar Artraaoong OracW Rd Cnaaman Mb Oaaaaagar IMa Smartrto Producrton SHrt Gary Brtdrbanan MM Boyd. Jtrta laag baartaUrti Manama Along Prodtdon MgM SwanrHor Crara ua Productton Managar SamPHard OMcrtManagar Mary Snub Aaaram OMco ManagarMary Cnrrtdd RacagrtaaM: Maabany Orara PrrMabar: Harry Uoraatadac nr. ma a w a MMaaiaartniniapWMa** **■ raoira naira am martana iai llMrtMTtuMMa aadPanara'mnmyK itaanaca*waraM><aaMM*a Myi'raa Maraiaa saortmrt ArtwaSA wot mas Mniao nnaa* Opinions Radio station falsely portrayed I’m disturbed by The Red & Black’s faulty report ing in the March 1 "Our Take.” In the editorial. The R&B editorial board falsely accused WUOO of using stu dent activities fees to pay an FCC One, and then went on to insinuate that WUOO is not worthy of the student activities fees it receives in the first place. Asa junior who has been a member of WUOO since I started school, who has found friends, acceptance and learned many valuable life and career skills from working at the station, I am Incredibly ofTended at this assertion. The point of student activities fees are to provide diverse environments where every student can find something that interests them and find like-minded people to interact with. WUOO is no different than any other student organiza tion in this respect, and is Just as worthy as any other group. First of all, I would like to correct the factual errors in the March 1 paper. Any fees that WUOO might be responsible for will be paid for by the revenue creating services of the Department of Campus Life and not student activity fees. Also, the $7,000 fine is not a final figure the FCC has given us 30 days to appeal, and it’s very possible the fine will be greatly reduced or waived entirely. The fact that The R&B misinformed the student body is troublesome enough. It’s alarming that they used it as an opportunity to smear the name of WUOO and dismiss the worth of an entire segment of the stu dent body (over 300 stu dents) that work for us. Even after it was appar ent that they had gotten their facts wrong, they still printed a negative cartoon perpetuating the hipster stereotype that WUOO has worked so hard to change. The only reason I can think Mailbox E-mail and tetters from our readers WUOG for digging underground music I’ve lived in Athens since August of 1998. I began vol unteering at WUOG at the same time and, with the exception of one year, I’ve been a DJ at the radio sta tion since spring of 1999. I’m now a grad student at the University, and I still DJ at the station. As the only student-run media outlets at the University, I don’t under stand why anyone would take to grandstanding about the justifiable existence of the other organization. I didn’t realize that being adamantly opposed to “indie rock snobbery” was the hip form of Journalistic integrity, but if anyone can assert this, it’s me. No one ultimately cares about how cool we are at the station; we’re just trying to supply the community with music that they can’t gain access to in any non- Internet radio format. If you can’t appreciate that, then it's not our problem. Our listeners appreciate us and that’s the only rea son that most of us sacrifice our time. If you don't have the integrity to publish our response, then you’ll only confirm that you’ve been hijacked by the same snob bery that you seem to enjoy accusing us of. Have a good day and enjoy listening. COREY LOOMIS Grad. Student, East Point Comparative Literature Campus station a training ground I find the tone of the March 1 “Our Take" piece on WUOG disheartening. While the station’s pro gramming appeals to a lim ited audience, the opportu nities it provides for the 200- plus students on its staffs are indispensable. WUOG allows students to develop as managers and leaders, niche marketers, public relations representa tives, writers, webmasters, podcasters and bloggers, . Erika Frank A of why The R&B would do this is because it doesn’t know enough about WUOO and all the great things that we do. The mission of WUOO is to educate and entertain University and community audiences through a variety of alternative programming and to serve as a training ground for students inter ested in radio broadcasting, journalism, music promo tions and the like. Though you may not like some of the music you listen to on 90.5 FM, you probably have other options on the dial that are more your style. WUOO plays artists that are not getting airtime any where else but still deserve to be heard. Our music is only part of our program ming we have many more shows that deserve to be mentioned. We offer talk, sports and news shows, as well as many music specialty shows that range from jazz to blues, oldies to punk, folk to world music and reggae to indie rock. We try to provide enough variety so that any one can find something that they like on 90.5 FM. We also are huge support ers of the Athens music scene and have local bands play “Live in the Lobby” every Tuesday and Thursday. The shows are free and open to the public. WUOO. in fact, has been representing the University very well in the past few months on a national scale. Just a few weeks ago, The R&B published an article about the popularity of WUOO podcasts and the E-MAILING US Questions, comments, complaints? Here’s where to send them: Letters I opinions@randb.com News Tips I news@randb.com reporters, advertisers, tech nicians. DJs, aesthetic theo reticians, sportscasters, event planners and so much more. WUOG alumni have gone on to win Grammys, write professionally, start their own businesses and, yes, work in radio, all thanks to skills honed at the station. Students who have found WUOG an unwelcoming place to volunteer often express no interest in under standing the station’s cul ture, ideology and program ming content. Those who wish to see the station change should approach WUOG with the levels of passion, intellectual flexibility and forbearance demonstrated by its execu tive board. PHILLIP BUCHAN Alumnus, LaGrange English Poor choice of words stigmatizes Let me preface this edito rial: I am a Greek member myself. I wanted to write because the Greek community is being unjustly treated by our own University's paper. As your article Friday states, two members of Alpha Epsilon Pi were charged with drug-related offenses In the past week. I got wind of this news recently and had a sneaking suspicion rightly so that this was newspaper material, even potentially front page . I was right. I wanted to commend Jessica Levine for her article “Drug charges plague frat." My only complaint Is the title of the article did not correlate with what was sug Red&Black Aa IwlrprMlrul Ktudrol arrvla ibr Iniwmlty iV itaigta maiaiualt) ESTABLISHED l*S, independent INU tens of thousands of listen ers we’re reaching all over the world (our show “Out There” alone has been downloaded over 70,000 times). Our former general man ager also represented the station and the University on a panel at the College Music Conference in New York City in November. Though the editors at The R&B may not recognize the quality of their student radio station, the rest of the community and the rest of the country do. I agree that the license renewal was a mistake that shouldn’t have happened, but the fact is no student at WUOO then or now was responsible. Any FCC licens ing issue was not handled by WUOG staff or student lead ers and was not their responsibility. It’s disappointing to me, as a student, that The R&B took an event that should have been good news for WUOG being fully licensed —and used it to unfairly stereotype and belittle the hard work of a group of students who have found something they’re passionate about and eqjoy. Not every student organi zation is going to mean the same thing to every student. Maybe not everyone wants to work for WUOG, and possibly there are some people who turn the dial when our “obscure music” is blasting. But there are hun dreds of students who see WUOG as a second home and who work their hearts out for this station. To see for yourself, come on up to the station and visit. Every Wednesday between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m., WUOG has an open house where all are invited to come have lunch with our staff and look around the station. Go radio dawgs! Erika Frank is the general manager of WUOG 90.5 FM gested. What if Marc was not a member of a fraterni ty? What would the title of the article have been? Never in my wildest dreams did I think that the words “plague” and “frat” would be thrown together in the same phrase. I under stand where the title came from, but it is not warrant ed. My dad was the editor-in chief of The Red & Black way back in the day, and I have good reason to believe whoever generated the title was not Ms. Levine. Words, and newspapers for that matter, are very powerful mediums. For future considerations, please be aware of the impact that titles have on the general article. BOBBY SMITH Senior, Atlanta Real Estate Headline hints at anti-Greek agenda Implicating an entire fra ternity by saying “Drug charges plague frat” based on three Individuals out of over 90 brothers Is not only irresponsible journalism, but shows a pathetic, petty agenda toward Greek life on campus. Just like you have dragged Chi Phi through the mud, you have repeatedly attempted to disgrace other Greek organizations. How do you consistently get away with this? You owe AEPi an apology. I’m convinced your whole paper is run by students who should have gone to Georgia Tech in the first place. Monday’s headline should read, “Idiocy plagues The Red St Black." DMITRY VITEBSKY Senior, Alpharetta International Affairs Editor's Note: Don’t see your tetter to the editor? Check our online mailbox at wunv.redandblack.com LfiJ Alec Wooden ▲ University should aid organization No one wants to walk a day in Keith Sims’ shoes. She sits amid a clutter of paper work in a small office in downtown’s Fred Building, racking her brain to find ways of keep ing her labor- of-love organization from missing its break-even point yet again. Sims heads Safe Campuses Now, a non profit organization dedi cated to the mission of promoting crime and safe ty awareness, education and prevention among college students. Here stands an organization that boasts a nearly SIOO,OOO budget for speakers, magazines and posters relating to the University's biggest concerns. Yet, it continually has gotten the cold shoulder from the President’s office... Does that agenda sound familiar? If you’ve heard a University admin istrator speak any time recently, it should. On the issues of under age drinking, student safe ty and crime prevention, no voice has been louder than the collective one coming from our own University administration. So the affiliation between SCN and the University is a no-brainer, right? Sure, except that no such official affiliation resists. Here stands an organi zation that boasts a nearly SIOO,OOO budget for speak ers, magazines and posters relating to the University’s biggest con cerns. Yet, it continually has gotten a cold shoulder from the president’s office when in search of desper ately needed funding aid. So, dear administra tors, what exactly is stop ping you from developing the required “officially rec ognized relationship" with Safe Campuses Now? The national spotlight has turned toward the University thanks to trag ic deaths and the stagger ing number of arrests among students. The majority of workers in the organization are student volunteers, and 80 percent of the projects undertaken by the organization direct ly benefit University stu dents. Shouldn’t this make them worthy of some form of official aid afrd partner ship from the University? The Parents and Families Association thinks so they give more than SIO,OOO annual ly to the SCN cause. The Governor’s Office of Highway Bafety agrees, and shows its support with a $33,000 grant. University freshman Chelsea Smith believes so strongly, she has started a petition to unite the voic es of students in their support of Safe Campuses Now. How dare the adminis tration preach messages of safety and moderation and then turn its back on an organization that actu ally does more than talk about these things? Time and again, the good folks at SCN put the students on the highest pedestal, sacrificing per sonal monetary gains for the greater good —but they simply can’t do it for ever without more sup port. Alec Wooden is a variety staff writer for The Red A Black
