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TUESDAY September 4, 2007 Vol. 115, No. 13 | Athens, Georgia Partly Cloudy. High 93 | Low 65 ONLINE: wwwjedandblack.com KELLY WEGEL I The Rid * Black A Sgt. Gregory (left), Sgt. Page (right), and Sgt. Tipton (middle, in van), members of the University Bomb Disposal Unit, demonstrate the use of the bomb disposal robot on Wednesday. facility concerns residents DANIEL O’CONNOR The Red & Black Bringing a facility to Athens that would research bio- and agro-terror ism threats has some locals con cerned. About 75 Athens residents attend ed a question-and-answer session at the Georgia Center on Thursday con cerning environmental issues hosted by proponents of placing the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility in Athens. Audience members directed their questions to David Lee, the University’s vice president for research. One of the concerns about the facility, which would be operated by the Department of Homeland Security, was government secrecy. “This seems to be a military thing” coming out of the Bush administra tion, Matt DeGennaro said. The facility could be used to devel op biological weapons, he said. Lee attributed much of the con cern to the facility’s name. “It’s a terrible, name,” Lee said. The name, National Bio- and Agro- Defense Facility, makes it sound scary, but the facility is designed to do research, he said at the meeting. The facility’s research is aimed at emerging infectious diseases that See NBAF, Page 3 R&B editor amid arrested EDITOR’S NOTE: The administrative office for the Athens-Clarke County jail was closed Monday. Therefore, The Red & Black was unable to obtain a mug shot. By CAROLYN CRIST The Red & Black Although police arrested more than 130 people between Friday and Sunday evenings, it was not unusual for a football weekend said Deputy Spratlin of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department during a phone interview Monday. Of those arrested, 33 were University students or ■ staff. Most of the University-related arrests were alcohol related, including 17 for underage posses sion, five for driving under the influence and five open contain ers. The remaining GRAFF six were vehicle-relat ed charges. Among those arrested was Christina Graff, po-chief copy editor for The Red & Black. Graff, 20, was charged with open container and underage possession of alcohol Saturday afternoon. Reaching the Newsroom News (706) 433-3037 Variety (706) 433-3041 Sports (706) 433-3040 Opinions (706) 433-3043 Photo (706) 433-3046 The Red&Black An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community ESTABLISHED 1893, INDEPENDENT 198 *0 * . : .v, - ■'& . jl IMr FL' mmr '' .+7 r r*—’~ . i ~ ■ A w % IBM If m i Jp- JSBHHh M 'i fBaBIB Mr K. flB .’/m :.v; . r, k ' - 4 .. JOSH D. WEISS | The Red a Black A Knowshon Moreno, a redshirt freshman, rushes down the field during the third quarter of Saturday’s game against Oklahoma State University to pick up 35 yards. Moreno led the team with 20 carries for 73 yards. Coaches debate mistakes despite ‘solid’ game By PHILLIP KISUBIKA The Red & Black Though Georgia’s 35-14 win over Oklahoma State on Saturday might have sent Bulldog fans into a frenzy of optimism about the new sea son, players and coaches were quick to point out they have much work to get done. “We still have a lot of ques tion marks. It’s still the first game,” senior safety Kelin Johnson said. “We had a lot Dragon*Con costumes color Peachtree Street for 20th year By RUSTY BAILEY The Red & Black Downtown Atlanta flooded with costumed enthusiasts as Dragon*Con kicked into full swing Labor Day weekend. Jedis, Klingons, Hobbits and Wizards attended the 20th annual science fiction and fantasy convention. Hundreds of people slaved over costumes so they could march in the Dragon*Con parade on Saturday. The parade involved hoards of pirates, zombies and aliens, and ended with the 501st Legion, a collec tion of the bad guys from On the Web redandblack.com Is it OK to wear white after Labor Day? What’s hot and what’s not this season? Learn the lastest fashion tends in the Style Files. Valentina Tapia’s new fashion blog. Squad ready to defend Robot used to diffuse bombs By CAROLYN CRIST The Red & Black The bomb is ticking should the red wire or the blue wire be cut? University police said they avoid the action-mov ie situation by sending K-9 dogs and a bomb robot to investigate bomb threat calls. The dogs scan the build ing for an explosive device and locate the object. GAME ANALYSIS of mistakes.” It was a performance that head coach Mark Richt repeat edly called “solid” in his post game press conference. For a program that is usu aUy so rich with experienced players, the football team that Georgia fielded Saturday cer tainly had an influx of youth. “I remember one time in the the Star Wars movies, most notably a regiment of nearly 50 Stormtroopers. One 14-year-old boy, dressed as Cloud from the video game Final Fantasy VII, said he wasn’t brave enough to march this year, but he worked hard enough on his costume with his dad that he would like to next year. “We had to do it during the night too, so it took three days,” said Aaron Bradsher, a high schooler from Durham, NC. There’s more to do at Dragon’Con than just play dress-up. The convention was See ANIME, Page 5 Technicians then send a robot with cameras, a microphone, an X-ray sen sor and extendable append ages to recover and disable the device. “We’ve never had any serious calls on campus,” said Sgt. Lance Tipton, a bomb technician. “The University is a safe area.” In Oct. 2005, a bomb disposal robot responded to a call at the Student Learning Center about a suspicious brown paper bag. The bag contained muffins and a negative note about the government. The team was created in Survival of the non-athletic, page 5 Even if you’re not a football fan, it’s still possible to have fun on gamedays. Find out “how to” from two Red & Black writers. 1999 to serve the campus quickly in case of emerge cies. “Before 1999, we had to evacuate classes and wait several hours for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to arrive and assess the situation,” said Major Bernard Thomas, deputy of the bomb squad. “Now we have the equip ment on hand to respond to the scene in 15 minutes and disable the device within an hour,” he said. And the team investi gates more than University threats. Working in con LASSOED huddle, someone said, ‘Damn, there’s five freshmen in the huddle,”’ senior center Fernando Velasco said. Twelve Bulldog players started their first college foot ball game Saturday, including true freshmen Trinton Sturdivant at left tackle and Bruce Figgins at tight end. Overall, Georgia played five true freshmen and 16 redshirt freshmen this weekend. To hear it from Richt, the decision to play so many young *gjL jtgßP .. gi* SrtKLWkS, ■■■>-,. . j V I . , I SARA GUEVARA | The Red a Black A Participants in the 20th Annual Dragon*Con parade walk down Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Saturday. Participants in the parade ranged from children fiction literature characters to the Wasabi anime characters pictured here. GOOOOOOOAL .1' See which soccer player pulled a hat trick Sunday SPORTS, PAGE 2 junction with the GBI and Georgia Emergency Management Agency, the team serves more than 20 counties in north Georgia. “Many of the calls occur when people find old muni tions while cleaning houses after relatives have passed away,” Tipton said. K-9 handler Sgt. Rusty Williams and dog Marco have responded to some of the recent incidences. “We’ve addressed calls at Wachovia on Mitchell Bridge Road, a ceramics plant in Macon and See BOMB, Page 3 players was made out of neces sity. “I don’t know if we had a choice,” Richt said. “We played a lot of young guys and that was tremendous.” See BALL, Page 7 MORE ONLINE See more of the dogs in the online photo gallery at www.redandblack.com Index UGA Today i Wire 2 Opinions 4 Variety 5 Crossword o O Sports 7 Sudoku 7