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Thuksday, September 6, 2007 1 The Red & Black
Juanita Cousins | Editor in Chief _
editor@randb.com
Matthew Grayson I Managing Editor „
me@randb.com
JoAnn Anderson | Opinions Editor „
optntons@randb.com
Our Take
Majority opinions of The Red & Blaek’s editorial board
It’s time to grow up
A better on-campus childcare facility is
a must for University faculty and staff
We remember coming to the University as
seniors in high school and exploring campus
under the careful watch of tour guides. Their
job was, simply put, to impress you enough
to enroll, so they led you across the gorgeous
lawns of North Campus, by the mammoth
Sanford Stadium and eventually to the sports
mecca otherwise known as the Ramsey Center.
Let’s be honest we liked what we saw.
The University may be a prospective student’s
dream, but there’s another group here that’s
every bit as important but doesn’t like what it
sees: parents..
No, not your mom and dad we’re talking
about faculty, staff and students with kids of
their own. Outside of state and federally funded
programs, the University’s McPhaul Children’s
Center serves 56 kids with a waiting list of more
than 250, according to Program Coordinator
Lori Maerz. This obvious inadequacy has many
professors, staff and students demanding
University President Michael Adams hear their
call for more childcare funding and better facili
ties, so much so that they’ve formed the UGA
Childcare Coalition.
For a school that prides itself on furnish
ing the facilities necessary for an exceptional
education, this is one serious omission. The
University has more than enough swanky build
ings to draw top-notch students, but a state
of-the-art childcare program to attract the best
professors and grad students is long overdue.
We want faculty who are here for the long run,
and they deserve a childcare facility consistent
with this University’s high standards.
As it is, either us big kids or their little kids
are getting neglected, and it shouldn’t have to
be that way.
Matthew Grayson for the editorial board.
A footwear failure
Despite the burdens they bear, flip-flop
fans maintain the shoe is a must-wear.
Quick quiz: what do University students and
the 2004 presidential race have in common?
In a word: flip-flops.
They’re not just footwear but a way of
life. Not only that, but the name rolls off the
tongue. “What are you wearing to class?” “Flip
flops. Flip-flops.” We could go on for hours.
But comfort and convenience come with a
price through podiatric ailments, including
displaced bones, rolled ankles and inflamed lig
aments. Trekking through North Campus with
practically no foot support isn’t a good idea.
But the dark side of flip-flops doesn’t just
affect the wearer. The distinct lack of foot
cover on an average flip-flop wearer often lets
the rich, ripe smell of feet waft all over a phone
booth-sized dorm room. And remember that
time your flip-flop slipped under the brake
pedal as you were driving your Land Destroyer
down MiUedge just as you were trying to stop
at a red light? Well, we remember, and it wasn’t
a pretty sight.
But still, we see as many flip-flop varieties
in stores as we see shapes of clouds in the sky.
If the continued popularity of flip-flops is any
indication, University students will pay any
price and bear any burden for the sake of con
venience. So, godspeed, flip-flop wearer. Good
luck in the world. Just watch out for that brake
pedal. And the foot smell.
Bill Richards for the editorial board.
Our Staff
NEWS: 706-433*3002
Newt Editor: Alexis Garrobo
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Opinions expressed in The Rad ft Black other Irian unsigned edtorMs are the opinions and the writers of dgredcolumm
and not naceesarfy thoee of The Red and Black Publishing Company Inc Al rigis reserved. Reprims by permission ot In
extern
Edhorial board members Include Malt Brandenburgh, Jay Butter, Juanita Cousins, Matt Grayson, Jacquelyn Greenwood,
61 Richards, JoAim Anderson.
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Opinions
Be witty if using stereotypes
After being bom and
raised in France,
my family migrated
to the United States when
I was 14 years old. So
believe me, I’ve heard my
share of bad stereotypes.
Don’t get me wrong; I
think stereotypes are the
spice of life. They are the
beautiful building blocks
of good, dry humor
which I don’t pretend to
master, but do appreciate.
I don’t think stereotypes
are a problem the issue
lies in what people make
of them.
The 10th Edition
of Merriam-Webster’s
Collegiate Dictionary
qualifies stereotypes as
usually representing an
“oversimplified opinion ...
or uncritical judgment.”
So should we stop using
them altogether because
of that? No. Who cares if
a joke is “oversimplified”
and “uncritical” as long as
it’s funny?
What really bugs me
is when people use ste
reotypes as if they were
perfectly logical, reasoned
statements.
Let me give you an
example: over,the sum
mer, as part of my month
long mission in Nicaragua,
I got to meet a wonder
ful group of 50-year-olds
from a prominent Atlanta
church.
One day, one of my
favorite ladies from the
group told me she’d
noticed I had been show
ering every day keep in
mind we come back from
the work site every day
covered in mud and smell
ing like beans and rice
topped with sweat. You’d
be a fool to let any shower
opportunity pass you by.
Given my French back
ground, she was surprised
she thought French
Mailbox
E-mail and letters from our readers
New law won’t stop underage drinkers
Tuesday night, our
local government failed
its constituents once
again. This time, the
target was employees
of bars in downtown
Athens.
I am a bartender and
door guy at The Loft
and have been since I
was 19 years old. My work
downtown has helped to
fund my education and
basic living expenses. I
am outraged that the
county commissioners
passed a law requiring bar
employees to be 21 years
old.
I have co-workers who
cannot meet this age
limit, and it is completely
unfair that my Mends are
punished while a 16-year
old waitress can serve
someone at Chili’s.
This law is biased and
will not help the county
alleviate problems with
underage drinking
I hope the County
Commissioners and
Mayor Davison sleep well
at night knowing my fel
low bar employees are
now going to be jobless
because of a biased law
targeting their age.
My only hope is other
proposed laws such as
eliminating happy hour
and ladies night ana cre
ating price minimums are
not crookedly put into law
by 10 people who have no
idea how hard my job is.
Caroline Milward
▲
“7 think stereotypes
aren’t a problem -
the issue lies in what
people make of
them. ”
people didn’t have the
“same hygienic habits
Americans (did).”
This led to a discussion
where she and her church
friends basically conclud
ed that I was an exception
to the apparently well
known rule that all French
people smell bad.
I was slightly frustrated
that they honestly thought
it perfectly reasonable to
believe that a population
of more than 60 million
people, which constitutes
the third largest popula
tion in Europe and con
trols the world’s fifth larg
est economy, doesn’t have
modem “hygienic habits.”
A couple of hours later,
my friend, who had heard
the conversation, walked
into our room and jokingly
told me to get my smelly
French self in the shower
because I was stinking up
the whole place. Now at
that, I laughed.
My lovely older friend
was not stupid. She actu
ally proved to be a very
wise, intelligent woman.
She just failed to use that
intelligence when using a
E-MAILING US
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Oh, and by the way, in
the year 2007, no down
town bar in Athens has
failed an underage police
sting, but 83 percent of
liquor stores, grocery
stores and gas stations
failed their citation
checks according to ACC
Police Records. So, obvi
ously the 19-year-old ID
checkers are the ones in
the wrong.
ANDREW SZYMANSKI
Senior
Topsfield, Mass.
Speech Communication
Using R&B staffer
unfair, unclassy
Before Tuesday’s edi
tion of The Red & Black,
I thought maybe you were
a creditable publication.
After the article about
your very own co-chief
copy editor being arrest
ed, you might as well be a
trashy tabloid magazine
reporting scandals and
avoiding real news. You
completely objectified
Christina Graff to prove
a
Red&Black
An independent student nevmpaper the Ur***rt<t* of Georgia community
ESTABLISHED 1111, INDEPENDENT lilt
stereotype.
My roommate, howev
er, showed me in her joke
that she understood the
absurdity of taking a ste
reotype as pure fact.
If you’re going to
employ stereotypes, please
respect what I think of as
the Golden Rule of ste
reotype usage: pair them
with intelligence —and
if you’re here at this
University, you’ve got it.
Go ahead and use
that mad collegiate brain
of yours to realize that
stereotypes are funny
because they’re exaggera
tions of the truth.
There’s a fine line when
using stereotypes, as there
is a fine line between being
dumb and being smart.
And a fine line between
being funny or not. And
a very fine line between
making people laugh and
being hurtful.
I think stereotypes in
and of themselves invite
us to knowledge.
Hearing people joke
about Mexicans and
Home Depot makes me
want to know more about
the immigration situation
in our country.
And honestly, I think
you should go research
French people’s hygienic
habits. I’ll be happy to
let you judge how good I
smell. No, but really, be
smart.
Know when and with
whom it is appropriate to
use stereotypes, and if it
is, by all means do it.
No one wants to be put
in a box. I know I don’t...
unless I’m going to get a
good laugh out of it.
Caroline Milward is
a sophomore from Athens
majoring in Spanish
and foreign language
education.
a point that you are not
biased against certain
organizations, but the
article and opinions page
proved completely other
wise.
For some reason, I can
almost guarantee Graff
was not the one who
decided to put everyone’s
names and Greek affilia
tions in the paper, consid
ering she is Greek herself.
No, it is not karma that
she is the one featured
person to be arrested this
week.
I also know many
newsworthy events went
on this weekend other
than a 20-year-old college
student getting arrested
for drinking on gameday.
If that really is the big
gest news your reporters
can find, then why did
you not list the names
and affiliations to campus
organizations of all the
other people that were
arrested with Graff this
weekend?
You used her to prove
a point. Is that how an
organization treats its
employees now? If so,
that’s pathetic.
HANIA HAMVAS
Junior, Marietta
Finance
Didn’t see your letter to
the editor? Check out our
online mailbox at www.
redandblack.com.
J. Patrick Rhamey
Straw Polls
concerning
for candidates
For those of you
unaware, the lowa
Straw Poll took
place about a month
ago in the tiny town of
Ames. It incorporated
everyone’s three favorite
things: barbecue, funnel
cakes and Republican
presidential candidates.
After filling up on
chopped barbecue sand
wiches and list ening for
a few moments to Tom
Tancredo discuss elimi
nating the Spanish lan
guage, the average lowa
Straw Poll voter heads
chose their preferred
candidate to win the
Republican nomination.
You don’t have to be
a Republican to attend,
but you do have to be
a resident of the great
state of lowa. A S3O tick
et is required for admis
sion it’s rarely paid
for by the attendees but
instead by the political
campaigns.
So why on earth does
this matter? Well, in and
of itself, it doesn’t. A
few barbecue eaters in
lowa who are paid off
to attend a picnic do
not decide the outcome
of the 2008 election, or
even the outcome of
lowa. The Straw Poll
itself, in recent history,
has had the likelihood of
a coin flip in predicting
who will win the caucus.
While the Straw Poll
doesn’t matter much as
a predictive institution,
the activity has been a
turning point for many
candidates. Few have
been unaffected by the
barbecue eater’s will.
Mitt Romney poured
an inordinate amount of
money into the poll to
ensure a win —and win
he did, with 31.6 percent.
While it should not
be a shock that Mitt
Romney, spending mil
lions upon millions in
rural lowa, managed
to beat out the likes of
Tom Tancredo and Ron
Paul, it is interesting
that no other first-tier
candidate chose to par
ticipate. John McCain,
Rudy Giuliani and Fred
Thompson stayed home.
But by not participat
ing, the front runners
gave off the impression
they were surrendering
lowa to Mitt Romney.
Since the lowa Straw
Poll, which lowans
at least cared about,
Romney’s polling num
bers in the state have
shot up now about 10
percent above second
place Giuliani in state
wide polls.
Furthermore, Mike
Huckabee, who managed
to achieve second place
in the Straw Poll, is now
around 14 percent in
the state, beating both
McCain and Thompson,
launching the Arkansas
governor into the sphere
of potential top tierdom.
By focusing the media
on the event, Romney
and Huckabee managed
to make the lowa Straw
Poll matter.
Unfortunately for
the front runners of our
past, snubbing the lowa
Straw Poll may have
been a bad decision.
While Giuliani, McCain,
and Thompson are slid
ing downhill in lowa,
they are also deteriorat
ing on a national level.
Even Fred Thompson’s
sudden ascendancy
has appeared to have
lost its steam. We’ll see
if Thompson’s formal
declaration of candidacy
can get his campaign
back on the upward
trend.
While there is no real
Republican frontrunner,
the Romney campaign’s
impressive performance
in past months may
have secured him a good
shot of winning his par
ty’s no&fination.
J. Patrick Rhamey
is a graduate student
from Athens studying
political science.