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Tuesday, September 4, 2007 | The Red & Black
iuanita Cousins | Editor in Chirr
edttor@randb.com
Matthew Grayson Managing Editor „
me@randb.com
JoAnn Anderson | Opinions Editor . .
opimons@randb.com
Our Take
Majority opinions of The Red & Black’s editorial board
EDITOR’S NOTE While institutional editorials are the
majority opinion of the editorial board, each author
will begin signing the “Our Take” he or she writes in
effort to make our newspaper transparent and foster
dialogue between readers and the board.
On our honor
When one of our staffers gets arrested,
we turn the Crime Watch on ourselves.
Well, football season has arrived again in
Athens, and as the points and wins start to
add up for Matthew Stafford and company,
the arrests likewise are piling up for University
students on gameday weekend. There were 135
arrests in the Classic City this past weekend,
including one that hit pretty close to home for
our newsroom.
Christina Graff, co-chief copy editor, was
arrested Saturday afternoon and charged with '
underage possession of alcohol and posses
sion of an open container. We strive to send a
fair and transparent image to all of our read
ers, and we intend to report this arrest like we
would any other one. While it might look like
we peruse the police blotter looking for another
student’s day to sully, we want to say that we
are not perfect either.
The Red & Black has stood through criticism
in recent weeks for publishing the names, affili
ations and mug shots of freshmen and Greek
students. This incident illustrates that we hold
our own staff up to the same standards as we
do the rest of the University community.
In several comments posted online, readers
wondered what would finally happen when a
Red & Black employee got in trouble. No one’s
perfect, they said. Well, you’re right. No one
is perfect, and today’s coverage clearly dem
onstrates what happens when one of our own
breaks the law. We try to uphold the honor that
any student group strives to have, and that
requires transparency as well as accountability.
Jay Butler for the editorial hoard.
Bombs away
From real emergencies to exploding
muffins, the Univ. bomb squad is there
Now that the University can add “bomb
robot” to its list of security resources, students
can rest easy knowing that campus security is
officially on the same level as any regular epi
sode of “24” Counter Terrorist Unit style.
The state grant given to the University police
in 1999 seems like a small price to pay for a
team of trained agents, K-9 dogs and one robot
prepared to assemble in the event of a bomb
threat. The funding given for resources will
allow them not only to monitor campus bomb
threats but those of 20 surrounding Georgia
counties as well. Hopefully, the resources will
not be needed, but in the chance of an emer
gency, they can be ready in T-minus 15 min
utes.
Luckily, in the past two years bomb tech
nicians have not responded to any serious
threats on the University’s campus other than
the famed muffin incident in the Student
Learning Center.
Although disarming the paper bag of muf
fins may not have turned out to be a legitimate
emergency, showed the serious attention the
University gives to security. Future serious
emergencies and non-serious pranks will be
addressed with the highest security.
The University community, as well as much
of northeast Georgia, is fortunate to have such
technicians at our service.
Jacquelyn Greenwood
for the editorial board.
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Editorial board members include Juanita Cousins, Malt Grayson, Bin Richards, JoArm Anderson,
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Opinions
Mi! M -V. OWES NEWS. iS ft
m SOOTH T it OFU.IBtICAMKWEt!r Yft
A taste of home a world away
It’s been roughly four
days since I first
stepped foot onto
the mythical Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan.
Hashemite refers to
the name of the King of
Jordan’s family.
On that fateful arrival
day, I was willing to sacri
fice a pleasant experience
for a valuable period of
time in arguably the most
misunderstood region of
the world.
The 11 -hour plane flight,
the long line to receive my
visa, and the eternal wait
to leave the airport with
all pieces of luggage in
hand, would prove benefi
cial in the end.
Here it came, Amman,
in its stunning desert
nomad glory, with its
open-air markets and laid
back, Middle-Eastem-tea
drinking mystique, sure to
be a truly foreign land with
a truly foreign language.
And then I saw it.
Popeye’s Chicken and
Biscuits.
Now, mind you, I had
been to Jordan (but never
to Amman) and several
parts of the Middle East
before this moment.
During a previous study
abroad trip to Israel, I
traveled throughout the
region including Petra,
an area to the south of
Amman, now one of the
“‘new’ wonders of the
world.”
I was under no delu
sions sure, I’d see a
Pizza Hut or maybe even
a Kentucky Fried Chicken
once in awhile, but not
many.
I don’t know why the
idea of ordering a chicken
fried steak in Arabic seems
odd or even sinful to me,
but the fact of the matter
Mailbox
E-mail and letters from our readers
Adams takes credit for work of others
(Regarding University
President Michael
Adams’ Aug. 31 col
umn, “Adams finishes
great decade”) This is
from the Department
of Education’s website:
“Georgia’s Average SAT
score reached a 10-year
high of 987.” That was
from this year.
Maybe the increase in
SAT scores for University
students isn’t because
they are better educated,
but has something to do
with the fact that SAT
scores in the state have
gone up. Could it possibly
be? Statewide SAT scores
are up 31 points in the
last ten years? Imagine
what a University stu
dent’s increase would be.
Adams barely talks
about the professors. He
talks about money and
research, which are all key
parts to education, but
what is the most impor
tant part of education?
Teachers.
Research expenditures
went from $225.5 to $329.9
million? That’s great, but
what is the $225.5 million
in 1997 valued in today’s
dollars?
Adams needs to stop
taking credit where he
should have none.
The Student Learning
Center, take credit. The
East Campus Village,
take credit. The beautiful
monstrosity of a stair
case between Park and
Leconte, take credit. The
loss of valuable profes
Yael Miller
▲
is, well, Popeye’s is pretty
popular actually, very
popular. And so are many
of the American chains.
However, instead of
your typical American
family, the seating areas
is scattered with veiled
women and men in kef
fiyehs, a traditional head
covering in many of the
desert parts of the Middle
East.
There’s something
about Amman that seems
lost, confused or perhaps
beautiful, and I can’t seem
to put my finger on it.
I traverse through
Mecca Mall, an enor
mous shopping center
filled with stores featuring
skimpy lingerie and baby
doll dresses from Forever
21 (yes, it’s here); women
wearing the full abaya,
or the traditional Islamic
garment (veil and kind of
a cloak-like dress) eager
ly peruse and sometimes
purchase the outfits that
public society will never
see them wear.
If the outfits are too
expensive at the source, a
simple trip downtown will
suffice to buy the rip-off of
those denim mini-skirts.
My friends and I looked
at this phenomenon and
wondered where these
women would wear these
outfits and why these
stores seemed so popular.
I guess women just want
sors, take credit. The
alienation of the Bulldog
nation, take credit.
RUSI PATEL
Alumnus, Dunwoody
Law
Don’t be that guy
get there early
Imagine this sce
nario: You are in Sanford
Stadium this Saturday
jacked up about kickoff
only moments away, and
you hear the four most
dreaded words in the stu
dent section. “You’re in
my seat.” This happened
to me and my friends at
the Boise State game in
2005 and it ruined the
pregame festivities.
Don’t be that guy. Let
this be a lesson for the
freshmen. There are no
seats in the student sec
tion. You get there early,
cheering your hearts out,
and stand the entire time.
If you show up late don’t
punish a real fan by trying
to claim “your seat.”
DANIEL S. MANER
Senior, St. Mary’s
Management
Tolerance needed
at football games
I am absolutely dis
gusted with the caliber of
these obnoxious people
Red&Black
An independent student neuspaper serving the I ntimity of Georgia community
ESTABLISHED lltl. INDEPENDENT till
to feel sexy anywhere,
even in a country where it
is not shown in public.
On the cab ride back,
our taxidriver said to us,
“We have four American
channels on satel
lite TV. We understand
you Americans. You
Americans don’t under
stand us.”
Perhaps the residents
of Amman understand our
“culture of status” better
than we Americans under
stand ourselves.
There’s a societal
emphasis on what brand
you wear, how authen
tic your Louis Vuitton
purse is, and where you’re
seen has become synony
mous with a perception
of American imperialistic
culture. Maybe Jordanians
really can understand us
by watching the latest VHI
special on Awesomely-
Bad-Designer-Most-
Expensive-Modern-
Day-B-List-Celebrity-
Vacation-Homes.
Indeed, although it may
sound trite, I don’t under
stand Amman yet which
is why I am here, studying
abroad for the next four
months.
Maybe after I finish
study abroad, I will be able
to understand why people
here shop for groceries at
the Safeway store, browse
designer clothing at the
mall and bargain-shop for
those fake Puma sneakers
at the outdoor market.
Dijajah Bootee-ek
Muhumara that’s the
best I can translate chick
en-fried steak using my
Arabic-English dictionary.
Yael Miller is a
senior from Marietta
majoring in
international affairs.
that flood into this Uni
versity on gamedays.
Inebriated and incompe
tent, these people yelled
at my friends and me on
four separate occasions
saying, “Hey, faggot” or
“Queer!” I was harrassed
and embarrassed, villified
and repulsed.
How dare these people
come to my school and
say these ignorant things?
Asa student, lam con
tributing to the increasing
prestige of this university,
and they are destroying it.
President Adams,
around two years ago, you
finally allowed homosexu
ality into the anti-discrim
ination policy. Maybe you
should enforce it.
Instead of worrying
where these tailgaters will
be or underage drinking,
you should worry about
your students who are
overtly villified in your
territory. There should be
more police officers on
campus looking out for all
types of discrimination:
racism, anti-homosexu
ality and religion. These
people are an embarrass
ment to this institution.
Face it, forty years have
passed. High school is
over. Now students can
be open about homosexu
ality. Instead of telling me
I am going to bum in hell
for being a “faggot,” just
say “Go Dogs.”
JAKE CAMPBELL
Junior, Alpharetta
Political Science, French
1
Anna Krakovski
▲
Student comes
to terms with
rush rejection
I have never been
formally rejected.
There were times in
my high school career
when I’ve had pointless
crushes on boys, who, if
I sent them a will-you
go-out-with-me-check-
yes-or-no-note back
then, would undoubt
edly check the latter.
But I’m talking about a
formal, “Thank you for
your participation... we
regret to inform you,”
kind of rejection.
The reason I’ve never
been officially rejected
from anything is because
I’ve always tried to steer
clear of situations where
that could happen. I
tried out for things I
was positive I could get
into, didn’t participate
in any serious competi
tions and applied to just
one university. Come to
think of it, some of the
only times where I’ve
been denied in my life
were printed under soda
caps as “Sorry, Not an
Instant Winner.”
It wasn’t until 8 a.m.
Friday morning when
I groggily checked my
e-mail, that I found my
first carefully compiled,
delicately worded formal
rejection. In a meager
five lines, I was told I
would not be receiving
a bid from the business
fraternity I had rushed
for the previous couple
of days.
My feelings came in
series. While my brain
was trying quickly to
piece together the
meaning behind the
e-mail, I suddenly dis
covered the once-foreign
sense of rejection. That
feeling then was fol
lowed by disappoint
ment, anger and a rapid
wave of regret. Why
didn’t I get picked? Who
are they to say I’m not
good enough? I wished
I didn’t stumble on that
question. I wished I
didn’t rush at all.
For an hour, I hon
estly believed my antici
pation for an exciting
gameday weekend was
shot to hell. It wasn’t
until I thoroughly evalu
ated the situation that I
realized something I’ve
been overlooking since
its been presented to
me in a middle school
textbook. If people don’t
challenge themselves
because they view rejec
tion as an imperilment,
what kind of life are
they leading? By pur
posely avoiding situa
tions where they can.get
denied, they are limiting
their ability to excel and
failing to provide them
selves with adequate
experiences for what is
to come in the future.
In the next few years
of my life, I will be
faced with numerous
life-changing verdicts.
Whether it be my study
abroad internship,
admission to Terry for
International Business
or a serious job inter
view.
I don’t want to say
every rejection is a
warm up, but that’s the
first thing that comes
to mind. That e-mail is
the beginning of many
other times when I will
be faced with accepting
a “No, you’re not what
we’re looking for.”
I’m not angry I didn’t
get a bid, and I certainly
don’t regret rushing.
This experience has
taught me that instead
of viewing rejection as
a confidence-sucking
punch in the gut, I
should allow it to let me
grow as a person. I’m
not saying I’ll be throw
ing a party if I don’t get
into Terry, but at least
I’ll accept that maybe
my life was meant to
play out that way.
Maybe I was meant to
study botany after all.
Anna Krakovski is
a variety staff writer for
The Red & Black.