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Monday, January 7, 2008 | The Red a Black
Student challenges proposed Univ. withdrawal policy
By CAROLYN CRIST
The Red & Buck
Anew policy may limit stu
dents to four course withdraw
als in total, and one student
representative wants to
fight back at a Tuesday meet
ing.
“It’s just unacceptable and
unfounded, and I need students
to e-mail, call or Facebook me
so I can get across student feed
back,” said Connor McCarthy,
the student representative to
the Educational Affairs
Committee of University
Council.
A subcommittee met in
November to discuss the high
number of student withdrawals
and created anew proposal to
limit withdrawals to four during
Burglaries rampant
during winter break
BY TAMARA BEST
The Red & Black
While University stu
dents packed their cars
and took a break from
school, burglars stole stu
dents’ possessions
remaining in Athens.
More than SIO,OOO
worth of products pri
marily electronics were
stolen from several off
campus houses and
apartments between Dec.
16 and Jan. 1.
Sometime after Dec.
16, three University stu
dents living near the
intersection of West
Broad Street and King
Avenue discovered their
home was burglarized.
The students accused the
intruder of taking golf
clubs, a flat-screen TV, a
laptop computer and
other items valued at
more than $1,900, police
said.
Another University
student within a few
blocks of King Avenue
also reported his home
was burglarized between
10:30 p.m. and 3 a m. on
Dec. 16, police said.
The home was broken
into, and a laptop com
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a student’s career at the
University two before 60
hours and two after 60 hours.
The administration is
addressing this issue because
state funding is based on hours
enrolled and completed by stu
dents, empty seats that appear
in high-demand classes and a
policy that dictates all under
graduate classes maintain 10
students and graduate classes
hold five students.
“If the class then falls under
those numbers, the class has to
quit, which pulls the blanket
out from under others,”
McCarthy said. “I know this is a
student-friendly approach and
the administration has our best
interest in mind, but we needed
some form of concession.”
The proposal suggests a six
puter, handgun and a
bottle of whiskey valued
at a total of $1,500 were
reported missing, accord
ing to police.
In addition to homes,
a series of townhouses
were broken into south of
the Athens perimeter.
According to police
reports, the break-ins
were a result of burglars
taking advantage of stu
dents who were out of
town for the break.
A Pineview Drive resi
dent reported a window
at her home was pried
open and a mountain bike
was taken, according to
police. While investigat
ing the burglary, police
discovered that at least
seven other homes in the
area had been entered in
a similar fashion.
According to reports,
police did not know if
anything was taken since
the residents were out of
town.
The thefts follow a
string of burglaries on
Christmas Day at 10
homes on Penny, Rushin
and Crescendo Drives
in Southeastern
Clarke County.
week extension on the with
drawal period, to two weeks
before the semester ends. It
also provides for an additional
day to drop or add classes,
which should allow classes to
reach maximum capacity,
McCarthy said.
The subcommittee voted 6-1
to limit withdrawals, 7-0 to
extend the withdrawal period
and 5-2 to add a drop/add day.
“I would hate the fact that
I’m the only student represen
tative on this body to affect how
the student body is represent
ed,” he said.
McCarthy listed several rea
sons for students to evaluate
the proposal further.
“Four is an arbitrary number
the administration picked based
on other schools’ policies,”
‘Significant recharge’ needed for drought
By CLAIRE MILLER
The Red & Black
Athens-Clarke County
received some drought
relief from almost six inch
es of rain in December,
but without substantial
precipitation over the
next few months, the
county may be in for a
record-setting dry sum
mer.
Between Dec. 14 and
Jan. 3, the county received
5.91 inches of rain, accord
ing to the U S. Geological
Survey’s Web site.
While this rainfall gave
the county temporary
relief from the drought,
the forecast for spring and
summer has not changed,
according to a Dec. 21
news release from the
College of Agricultural
and Environmental
Sciences.
Athens-Clarke County
resides in the Piedmont
region of Georgia, one of
the regions in the state
most affected by the
drought, and it needs “a
significant recharge of the
soil moisture, groundwa
ter, streams and reser
voirs” over the next three
to four months to avoid
more severe conditions in
the summer, according to
the release.
Matthew Chappell, an
NEWS
assistant professor of hor
ticulture, said the rainfall
Athens received over the
break helped raise the
Middle Oconee River’s
water level enough to
allow the county to pump
some water into Bear
Creek Reservoir. But the
amount pf rain was not
enough to reach the
groundwater supply.
“It saturated the top
soil layer maybe down to
six or eight feet, but we’ve
been so dry that the
amount wasn’t enough to
help the groundwater,”
Chappell said.
He also said water con
servation tapers off when
people see that amount of
rainfall.
“In December, we had
above normal rainfall and
so people stop conserving.
They stop taking the five
minute showers,” Chappell
said.
The La Nina weather
pattern, which brings
warmer and drier condi
tions to the Southeast,
also could perpetuate the
drought in Georgia, he
said.
To prepare for worsen
ing conditions, Athens
Mayor Heidi Davison and
county commissioners
revised the county’s
drought management
plan Dec. 4 to define “Step
F,” a plan that would save
1 million gallons of
water per day if imple
mented.
The ordinance also set
forth the consequences
for violating Step F, which
include SI,OOO fines and
turning off one’s water
supply.
If enacted, Step F
would require different
water customers to reduce
water consumption by a
set amount. For example,
industries and commer
cial entities would have to
reduce each of their annu
al average water use by 16
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he said.
Also, no data presents how
many students the new policy
would affect. Although there is
data on the number of
University-wide withdrawals, it
was not broken down by semes
ter, McCarthy said.
"It will increase the number
of students who receive a C-.
That is a major reason for stu
dents to withdraw because they
must pass major classes,” he
said. “This will also increase the
number of changes in majors
and the time students spend at
the University.”
He said, the policy will
encourage students to sign up
for less than a full load of class
es to protect grade point aver
ages, and it is “ridiculous
to think there will be any
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They continue to be environmentally conscious
with biodegradable disposable products.
percent, according to the
drought management
plan ordinance.
For now, Step F remains
an idea as officials watch
the Middle Oconee River
and Bear Creek Reservoir,
student support."
“We (students) understand
the administration is our big
gest resource, but we can’t use
it if we can’t effectively repre
sent the student body,”
McCarthy said. “I do support
withdrawal changes, but I’d like
to push for a well-informed
policy that affects fewer stu
dents.”
The Educational Affairs
Committee will meet Tuesday
to discuss the proposal before
forwarding it to the University
Council general body on Jan. 24.
Tuesday’s meeting will be closed
to students.
“Contact me before Tuesday’s
meeting and come to the Jan.
24 meeting, which is open to the
public, so we can have a greater
impact as students,” he said.
which could rise with
more winter rainfall.
“In our local communi
ty, we should be going into
the spring with Bear
Creek at full pool,”
Chappell said.