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Tuesday, September n, 2007 | The Red & Black
Juanita Cousins | Editor in Chief
editor<{trandb.com
Matthew Grayson I Managing Editor
me@randb.com
JoAnn Anderson | Opinions Editor
— opinions@randb.com
Our Take
Majority opinions of The Red & Black’s editorial board
All night 10ng...
Take advantage of the SLC’s extended
weekly hours through the fall semester.
If you’ve ever had an unexpected computer
crash or needed a place to make a quick “pit
stop” on your way home from downtown at 4
a.m. on a Thursday, this one’s for you.
Beginning Monday, the Student Learning
Center will be open 24/5 that is to say, five
days a week from dusk until dawn. Starting
Mondays at 7 a.m. until Fridays at 7 p.m., the
SLC will be accessible to students who need
to stay a little late, or overnight. Saturday and
Sunday hours will remain the same.
The Student Government Association has
said they were lobbying for extended hours in
the SLC, and we’re happy to see that this long
awaited goal has come into fruition.
The usual resources will be available at stu
dents’ disposal. Classroom use will remain
unchanged and rooms normally open for study
will remain so until 1 a.m.
However, this is just a trial run the luxury
lasts until the end of the Fall semester. If all
goes well, the change likely may be a perma
nent one.
If you’d like to see the SLC open 24/5, you
should be one of the first to take advantage
of this opportunity, whether you’re diligently
studying into the wee hours for a midterm
exam or simply need a place to crash after your
downtown debauchery.
On that note, we commend the University for
being mindful of students’ needs and encourage
everyone to take advantage of these accom
modations while they last. And to the Provost
for approving the change: Thank you for being
proactive.
Jacquelyn Greenwood
for the editorial board.
Help your mascot
Vote for Hairy Dawg in Capital One's
annual Mascot of the Year competition.
Dear readers,
Hairy Dawg needs your help. Hairy is one of
12 mascots competing for Mascot of the Year
in the Capital One Mascot Open. In partner
ship with the Capital One Bowl, 12 mascots are
vying for the title. However, Hairy faces some
stiff competition.
Among Hairy’s competitors are two previous
winners of the Mascot of the Year challenge:
University of Montana’s Monte and Cocky of a
certain school in Columbia, S.C.
Also competing with the red and black-clad
dog are Hokießird from Virginia Tech, Joe
Bruin from UCLA and Otto, the amorphous
blob that’s supposed to look like an orange
from Syracuse University.
Recent letters published in The Red & Black
have stated that fans, more specifically the
student section, have been too quiet at games
and too consumed with our own lives to worry
about what’s going on the field.
What better way to say we have a great fan
base than by declaring that our beloved Hairy
Dawg is the best mascot in the land?
We know we couldn’t look at ourselves the
same if we let a mascot such as Big Red, a
cardinal clump that’s supposed to be Western
Kentucky’s mascot, win the award.
The winner of the award gets a SIO,OOO
scholarship for the University. So if your blood
runs red and black, go online to www.capital
onebowl.com and vote for Hairy Dawg.
Jay Butler for the editorial board.
Our Staff
NEWS: 706-433-3002
Newt Editor: Alexis Garrobo
Associate News Editor: Melissa Weinman
Sports Editor: Tyler Estep
Variety Editor: Whitney Kessler
First 4 Goal Editor: Phiip Kisubika
Out I About Editor: Alec Wooden
Photography Editor: Kelly Wegel
Chief Photographer: Josh Weiss
Chlel Copy Editors: Christina Graff, Shannon Otto
Design Editor: Melanie McNeely
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Editorial Cartoonist: Bffl Richards
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Editorial Advlssr: Ed Morales
News Stan Writers: Kristen Coulter, Carolyn Crist
Brian Hughes, Claire Miller, Daniel O'Connor,
Pearman Parker, Samuel Steinberg, Sarah Watkins
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Taylor, Ashley Twist
Stringers: Rusty Bailey, Aaron Barton, Brad Bostwick,
Kristen Boyd, Paul Cherian, Kevin Copp, Ryne Dennis,
Options expressed in the Red A Black other than unsigned etftorials are the opinions ol the writers of signed columns
and not necessarily those of The Red and Stock Pubtshcng Company Inc. All rights reserved. Reprints by permission o( the
•dm.
Editorial board members include Matt Brandenburgh, Jay Butler. Juanita Cousins, Matt Grayson, Jacquelyn Greenwood,
Bdi Richards. JoAnn Anderson.
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Opinions
Tenor struck immortal chord
It is hard for me to
respect the bulk of
today’s culture.
In my opinion, our cul
ture derives its inspira
tion from humanity’s most
fleeting concepts: image,
money, fashion, fame, for
tune and entertainment.
Despite my strong con
tempt for even the slight
est signs of pop culture,
I sometimes feel com
pelled to acknowledge
the same society that
seemingly ignores Duane
Allman’s talent while spit
ting on Beethoven’s Ninth
Symphony by throwing
it into countless television
commercials.
So I was quick to mourn
the passing of Luciano
Pavarotti, and immedi
ately attributed a massive
spiritual decline in opera
—and music in general
to Saturday, the day
Pavarotti died.
But a few days later,
I began to feel the exact
opposite, because I real
ized Pavarotti was a part
of pop culture all along.
On Sunday, “60
Minutes” remembered
the tenor by profiling and
celebrating his life. They
showed footage from
Pavarotti’s past perfor
mances and two separate
interviews from 1993 and
2002.
The interviews showed
Pavarotti welcoming Mike
Wallace into his home, rid
ing his motorcycle around,
and enjoying a sunset at
Mailbox
E-mail and letters from our readers
Players deserve apology for quiet fans
A funny thing hap
pened Saturday night
in Athens. And no,
it wasn’t that the
Gamecocks left Sanford
Stadium with a win.
It’s no wonder our guys
didn’t play their best.
They must have
thought they were
playing an away game
because the only cheers
they could probably hear
were, “Go Cocks.”
For the first time
ever, I was appalled at
our alumni. My husband
and I were so excited
when we got our tickets
in section 334, but there
must have been just four
guys screaming their
hearts out when Sanford
Stadium should have
been rocking out.
On that note, I’d like
to apologize to our play
ers. You should have had
both student and alumni
support when on the field.
Instead, you got none.
If you’re going to go
to the expense of donat
ing money to the Athletic
Association and then buy
your season tickets, go for
it. But if you aren’t going
to cheer for the team, then
let someone else who will
have your tickets. As for
this weekend Go Dogs.
SUZANNE CHAPPELL
Alumna
Columbia, S.C.
Economics
Alumni leaving
early disgraceful
My proposed change
to the ticket system for
football games: alumni
leaving the stadium with
two minutes left and the
Bulldogs down four points
Chuck Griffin
▲
“But for some reason,
(Pavarotti’s) commer
cial presence brought
millions to appreciate
his voice and his
music all the more. ”
the beach.
It made me remember
countless other television
appearances the opera
singer made, and with
all sorts of popular musi
cians.
But for some reason,
his commercial presence
brought millions to appre
ciate his voice and his
music all the more.
Pavarotti is one of the
few musicians that I can
think of who are somehow
able to embrace pop cul
ture without ever throw
ing away a part of them
selves.
Composers George
Gershwin and Igor
Stravinsky, jazz musi
cians Miles Davis and
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should have to forfeit the
remainder of their season
tickets to a student who
would actually show some
pride for their team.
I hope it was worth
disgracing Georgia fans
on national television to
get back to metro Atlanta
15 minutes sooner.
KEVIN COPP
Sophomore,
King of Prussia, Penn.
Journalism
Rules should hold
true for all fans
At the game on
Saturday, a rowdy South
Carolina fan launched a
Gatorade bottle from the
600 level and hit a student
in the 100 level.
My friends and I
turned to see the culprit
celebrating his impres
sive throw, with a police
officer standing no more
than three feet away.
The officer simply looked
the other way.
Any other time, the
guilty party would have
been verbally repri
manded or escorted from
the stadium, certainly
if he had been in the
University’s student sec
tion.
Instead this fan contin
ued to throw things and
make rude gestures at the
students, who had no
form of recourse.
Red&Black
An independent student newspaper serving t* Intrenity of Georgia community
ESTABLISHED ISIS. INDEPENDENT till
Louis Armstrong, and
guitarist Frank Zappa all
grabbed pop culture by
the devil horns and forced
it to revolve around them
instead.
Coincidentally, they are
some of the most powerful
musicians I know.
In 2006, Bob Dylan
had to put out an iPod
commercial to top the
Billboard charts, and just
this year, Paul McCartney
had to bow down to the
twin-tailed mermaid on
the Starbucks cup to get
some attention. Maybe
he just felt a little lonely
after his wife left him, but
either way, he’s lost my
respect.
To me, there is a major
difference between appre
ciating something and
being entertained by it.
Some of humanity’s most
enduring concepts mod
esty, respect and dignity
enable me to choose
between the two.
Regardless, it’s satisfy
ing to know some musi
cians were able to cross
the line between culture
and pop culture while
keeping their souls
and the soul of society
intact.
And I appreciate this
opportunity to publicly
say goodbye to Pavarotti,
one of those rare individu
als.
Chuck Griffin is a
variety staff writer for
The Red & Black.
There is absolutely
no reason why fans from
opposing teams should
be allowed to behave like
animals.
The University needs
to make it clear that there
are certain standards of
behavior here and we hold
everyone to them, not just
the University students
and alumni, but the tail
gaters and opposing fans,
as well.
JENNIFER LIRETTE
Junior, Marietta
Biology
Oblivious drivers
endanger cyclists
I commute by bicycle
to the University, and I
must say I am very sur
prised by the lack of com
mon sense I see in many
University drivers.
I was hit by an SUV on
Lumpkin last Thursday
when the driver crossed
over the bike lane to turn
right without seeing if
there was a cyclist there.
I was not hurt but the
driver’s inattention could
have killed me.
Drivers, please take
that extra second to
make sure the coast is
clear. A little bit of your
time could save a lot of
lives. Also, to the driver
of that car: I am sorry I
reacted as angrily as I
did.
MARK BABCOCK
Senior, Marietta
Sociology
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redandblack.com.
Phillip Kisubika
A
Drunk dance
moves not
appreciated
Ladies, imagine if
you will a crowded
dance floor in one
of Athens’ late night hot
spots.
Top 40 tracks blare
from the speakers, the
lights flicker on and off
and the air is thick and
hot.
You’re dancing with
your girlfriends and
suddenly, you feel two
hands on your hips.
You turn around and
a sweaty, strange man is
giving you a sleazy smile
that only alcohol can
induce.
You’ve gone from
enjoying a fun evening
with your friends to
being locked in a twist
ed tango with a total
stranger.
I watched this exact
situation occur recently
as the two female friends
I was accompanying
were accosted this way.
After telling the
crocked Casanova to get
his hands off my friends
before I got my hands on
him, I felt a deep sense
of embarrassment for
my gender.
After leaving the club,
my friends told me those
situations happen all
the time to single and
attached women alike.
What a shame.
It’s no wonder
women think men are
pigs. We are. I’m not
an extreme feminist,
believing women should
rule over every facet of
our society.
I simply feel women
are human beings and
should be treated with
the same respect in a
dark dance club that
they receive on a street
in broad daylight. I’m
sure I’m not the only
man who thinks so.
Unwanted physical
advances on the dance
floor, if left unchecked,
can lead to unwanted
sexual advances.
When the lights are
low and hormones are
on the loose, the line
between pure fun and
impropriety blurs.
I’m fully aware every
guy doesn’t act this way,
and I’ll allow it’s hard to
not sidle up to a lady on
the dance floor and try
your game out on her.
But any physical con
tact should follow a suc
cessful conversation and
verbal confirmation that
she actually wants you
to touch her and dance
with her.
A woman would feel
uncomfortable if Brad
Pitt or Luke Wilson
grabbed her on the
dance floor, much less
some sweaty sleazeball
who’s had one too many
Pabst Blue Ribbons.
Guys, be respectful
of your female counter
parts in the clubs and in
life. Remember in grade
school when our teach
ers taught us everyone
deserves their own
personal space? Heed
those lessons, gentle
men.
If a girl wants some
thing to do with you,
she’ll let you know. In
my experience, if you’re
looking for something,
you probably won’t find
it. Just like in sports,
sometimes you have to
let the game come to
you.
Girls, I know you
just want to have fun,
but be careful with
whom you have fun.
If a guy decides to
attach himself to your
back on the dance
floor, make a hasty
retreat and keep your
self out of harm’s way.
My rule for beauti
ful girls whom I don’t
know is the same
one that’s standard
in every strip club
look, but don’t touch.
Phillip Kisubika is
the First & Goal editor
of The Red & Black.