Newspaper Page Text
FRIDAY
December 7, 2007
Vol. 115, No. 76 | Athens, Georgia
Mostly Sunny.
High GO | Low 45
ONLINE: mmjiedandblack.com
Ecology school ‘small with big ideas’
Administrators
■plan for future 9
By TOM MARINE
The Red & Black
Taking a page out of Charles
Darwin’s playbook, the Odum
School of Ecology is depending
on an academic version of sur
vival of the fittest.
“Becoming the Odum School
was a natural progression,” Dean
John Gittleman said. “We’re a
small school with big ideas.”
As the school’s inaugural
semester comes to a close,
Gittleman said the administra
tion is carefully planning for the
future of the world’s first stand
alone school devoted to ecology.
He said they are preparing the
first strategic plan to be submit
ted to the provost.
“Personally, I think this is very
special,” said Gittleman, whose
“Our overall mission is
to save lives. We train
in hopes that we never
have to be used ...”
Wesley Huff
Lieutenant,
University Special Response Team
Univ. cops
also part
of campus
SWAT unit
By CAROLYN CRIST
The Red & Black
Repelling down walls and
storming through doorways,
the University’s Special
Response Team sounds like a
group from a television action
series.
Unlike the dramatic day-to
day adventures from shows
such as “COPS” or “5.W.A.T.,”
the University’s team has
never respond
ed to a call on
campus.
“We haven’t
been activated
for a call, but
we train each
month for any
incident of
extreme vio
lence,” said Lt.
Wesley Huff.
“We would
HUFF
respond to a situation such as
barricaded hostages or an
active shooter instance like at
Virginia Tech.”
The team consists of a
group of University police who
work for the department as
patrol officers or detectives on
a daily basis.
“Each team member has to
maintain a higher proficiency
than the rest of the depart
ment in firearms,” Huff said.
“On training days we work on
team movements and coordi
nation.”
The Special Response
Team, interchangeable with
Special Weapons and Tactics.
Unit or Emergency Response
Team in other police depart
ments, was formed in 1994 to
reduce the potential for vio
lence on campus.
“Our overall mission is to
save lives,” Huff said. “We train
in hopes that we never have to
be used but like to be pre
pared, and we can give a bet
ter service to the University by
thorough training and combin
ing specific skill sets as mem
bers on a special team.”
Discussions began in the
early ’9os about developing the
See COPS, Page 3A
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research focuses on large-scale
ecological and evolutionary
questions. “It’s a once-in-a-life
time opportunity in academia,
and I think the faculty and stu
dents realize that.”
With ecological concerns bur
geoning because of Georgia’s
historic drought, University
administrators are forecasting
the importance of the new ecol
ogy school.
University President Michael
Adams said the Odum School
has the ability to be on the fore
front of environmental issues.
Speaking last week at a meeting
sponsored by the Academy of
the Environment, Adams said
the school should make the
University a leader in sustain
ability.
Still, some question the man
ner in which the transition was
handled.
Patty Gowaty, a distinguished
professor of ecology and evolu
tionary biology at the University
No end in sight
RICHARD HAMM | The Red a Black
▲ The sun sets over the Bear Creek Reservoir on Thursday night in the midst of a
drought in the Athens-Clarke County area. Water levels in the reservoir are about
10 feet below normal levels. Check out our full photo story. PHOTO, PAGE 5A
Water Saving Tip
Think at the Sink
Toilets, showerheads and faucets
often have the gallons of water
per minute used printed on them.
Use these numbers to consider
getting more efficient ones.
- Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County
of California, Los Angeles, left
the University in October after
15 years on the faculty. Gowaty
said she took the position at
UCLA because of research and
teaching opportunities, but she
was present for the creation of
the Odum School.
“From my perspective, we
had inadequate discussions of
the potential costs and benefits
for each of us being in anew
stand-alone school,” Gowaty
said. “I thought we made deci
sions without some critical infor
mation. We v®ted to be a school
under the duress of a rush to
avoid negative consequences
that I never understood.”
* * *
Eugene P Odum, considered
to be the “father of modem ecol
ogy,” came to the University in
1940. Through his efforts with
See ECOLOGY, Page 2A
Bowl Season
page IB
Want the sweet news about
Georgia’s Sugar Bowl match-up
and other sports going on over
the break? Come inside to sec
tion B for sports news and
notes.
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SARA GUEVARA | The Red a Black
▲ Lisa Dean, 27, a research technician from Jonesboro,
tests metals and water samples for sodium using an
atomic absorption machine Thursday.
LOOKING BACK
Remember this year’s biggest
stories? We do, so you don’t
have to. SECTION C
Freshman
Dogs land
SEC Team
By TYLER ESTEP
The Red & Black
The league office announced the
SEC All-Freshman Team Thursday.
The New Orleans-bound Bulldogs
landed three to the list, all on
offense.
► Knowshon Moreno, tailback
The latest in a long line of awards
for the freshman phenomenon. One
of only two unani
mous selections,
Moreno rushed for
1,237 yards and 12
touchdowns this
season. That yard
age total ranks the
conference’s Fresh
man of the Year
fourth all-time
among first-year
SEC players. His
106.1 yards per
game ranks him second in the
nation among freshmen, behind
Pittsburgh’s LeSean McCoy.
► Trinton Sturdivant, left tackle
Started all 12 games this season,
becoming the first true freshman
to start his position since 1989.
Once a source of wariness, Georgia’s
young offensive line has been solid.
► Clint Boling, right guard—
Another member of an inexperi
enced offensive line that has shown
its mettle, allowing Moreno and
quarterback Matthew Stafford to
remodel the Georgia offense.
Christmas day
delivers new,
‘debatable’ film
By VALENTINA TAPIA
The Red & Black
Denzel Washington knows full
well that he has clout at the box
office, he said Thursday in a con
ference call.
“Tell everybody at the
University of Georgia Denzel said
they have to go to (“The Great
Debaters”). There’ll be an exam in
January,” said the Oscar winner of
his second directorial effort.
“The Great Debaters” is based
on the true story of Professor
Melvin Tolson, who led a debate
team at historically black Wiley
College in 1935. It opens in the
aters Dec. 25.
“I thought it was an interesting
story, the little train that could,”
Washington said. “It hit me on an
emotional level. I really looked at it
as sort of a sports movie, and I was
See DENZEL, Page 6A
Index
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Photo 5A
Opinions 4A
Variety 6a
Crossword 3A
Sports ib
Sudoku ra
MORENO