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Friday, January n, 2008 I The Red a Buck
Juanita Cousins I Editor in Chief
editortfVmndb.com
Shannon Otto | Managing Editor
meat mndb.com
Melanie Me Neely | Opinions Editor
opinious@randb.com
Opinion Meter
.4 wrap-up of the week's ups and downs
Let it rain, let it pour
A visitor to Athens during December
might have wondered what all the fuss
was about the drought. While Athens-
Clarke County received almost six
inches of rain in December with addi
tional precipitation over the last few
days, the county still is set to expert- \
ence a record-setting dry summer. \ [
Continue efforts to conserve water
such as taking shorter showers, drink
ing bottled water and running the
dishwasher only when full —and let’s
hope there are no more water main
breaks on campus. Of course, there’s
always prayer.
An alternative to reality TV
Now that the football team is done for
the season, we have time and energy
to focus on all our school’s marvelous n
athletes in other sports. With a win
over Georgia Tech in men’s basketball f t JR
this week, it's a great time to go see
some of our other first-class teams,
some of which recently have won mul
tiple national championships.
Help the children
Administrators are observing focus
groups and conducting an online sur
vey open to everyone in the University I)
regarding the community’s need for .-f £ -
child care services. After the debates 4R
last semester, we welcome the
University’s efforts to meet the needs
of its faculty, students and commu
nity.
Drop/Add is over
Now that undergrad Drop/Add has
ended, many University students no
longer can play Cupid Shuffle with
their class schedules and will have to p-pq
withdraw from a course they don’t l
like. We’re hoping the University \ f
Council Executive Committee chooses —-
to extend the Drop/Add period, but
limiting the number of withdrawals to
four is like turning off the music.
We want you!
It’s anew year, anew semester, and
we need new writers. If you’ve ever
read The Red & Black and looked at
that byline with each story, wishing it
was your name written above a fine
piece of journalistic craft, now is the fT JR
time to make that dream happen.
Come to our new writers meetings
Tuesdays at 6 p.m. or e-mail
Recruitment Editor Phillip Kisubika
at recruitmentC'' randb.com for more
information.
Revenge of the canines
While Michael Vick rehabilitates him
self, a University alumna found a way
to commemorate the former Atlanta
Falcon quarterback and raise aware- a
ness about animal abuse. Former l
Georgia soccer player Jessica Winton ff JR
created Vick dog toys, the next great
product in animal amusement. If
Winton wants to perfect this thing,
we suggest outfitting the toy in prison
stripes and mechanizing it to run fast
and throw bad passes.
Quote of the week: “I think what we just com
pleted is the most exciting college season in
memory with the least exciting bowl series in
memory. You put those two together and you
see the legitimate need for change.”
President Michael F. Adams on
his proposal for a playoff system
in the college football postseason
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Pakistan needs U.S. attention
In a post-Sept. 11 song,
fellow Georgian and
country music singer
Alan Jackson admits he
does not know the differ
ence between Iraq and
Iran.
But when it comes
to Sept. 11 and the ter
rorist threat against the
U.S., the real question is,
do we know the differ
ence between Iraq and
Pakistan? Our national
security depends on
knowing the difference.
Pakistan is the coun
try that is or at least
should be— the central
front in our fight against
terrorists because that is
where al-Qaida is planning
and training to attack us
again. However, Iraq is the
country in which 160,000
of our troops are policing
a raging Sunni/Shia civil
war that has little to do
with the U.S.
The terrorist threat did
not arise in Iraq. It arose
from the al-Qaida jihadist
movement which once was
harbored in Afghanistan
but, since U.S. involve
ment, has moved across
its border with Pakistan.
The current administra
tion effectively has blurred
the whole Middle East
region by diverting U.S.
attention away from the
true threat. .
Osama bin Laden,
the al-Qaida leader who
planned the attacks on
Sept. 11. 2001 that changed
the world, is alive and
well. Senior U.S. intel
ligence officials believe he
is nestled in a safe haven
for radical Islamic extrem
ism, which thrives in the
lawless tribal mountains
of the Northwest Frontier
Province along the Pakistan
and Afghanistan border.
The terrorist organiza
tions safeguarded here are
responsible for attacks
on America, the London
bombings of 2005 and,
some believe, the recent
assassination of former
Pakistani Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto who
the U.S. supported for
a coalition government
‘Petty little diversions’ lure in unwitting students
I hate the first week of
classes. It isn't so
much getting up early,
riding the bus packed like
sardines or even forget
ting the location of my
class and having to call
my roommate to look it
up. (Yes, it has happened
on occasion.) What irks
me most are introductory
games those annoying
ly, petty little diversions
especially characteristic
of smaU classes.
There are several types
of these efforts aimed at
getting to know your
neighbor.
One is the general
introduction, which
includes the basics: name,
hometown and major.
Some may go more in
depth, provoking the vic
tim to provide his or her
hobbies, favorite songs
find a life story summa
rized in a couple of sen
tences.
The next level of tor
ture is the weU-known
game, “two truths and a
lie.” This requires the stu
dent to express three
statements two factual
and one fEilse.
The catch is the other
students have to guess
the statement that is not
true. This game is per
haps the crudest of them
aU.
rmn
Alex Johnson
with Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf. All
such terrorist attacks ger
minated from al-Qaida.
Pakistan purport
edly has been on the U.S.’
side in the war on terror,
and since 2001, we have,
according to Time, given
$lO billion to Pakistan
to be used to fight the
Taliban. However, it is
disheartening to find out
that most of this money
has been used not to fight
terror but to antagonize
its eastern border rival,
India who happens to
be an American ally. We
apparently have not been
spending our money for
the war on terror wisely.
According to the most
recent Economist cover
story on Pakistan, aptly
entitled, “The world's
most dangerous place.”
these terrorist groups who
dream of a global jihad
“have gained unprec
edented power during
America’s six-year war on
terror." With our attention
turned toward Iraq, our
real enemies, the ones who
actually have attacked us,
are allowed to grow.
The Economist briefing
on Pakistan reports that
this lawless mountain-bor
der region has become the
central hub for Pakistani
and foreign jihadist ter
rorists. and warlords “now
control a vast and spread
ing swathe of territory." A
large sum of money and
Pakistani soldiers are inef
fective substitutes in the
fight against these jihadists.
Under President
Musharraf, Pakistan,
the world's least stable
nuclear state, has gone
through many transgres
sions from the democratic
Jessica Burghaus
▲
“The first (questions)
were easy and
only asked about
hometowns. Then
came the next ques
tion: ‘Who can do the
Soulja Boy dance?’”
No one cares if you
actually play the piano
instead of the trumpet. If
you’re not related to
Barack Obama, haven’t
climbed Mt. Everest and
aren’t the creator of
You Tube, then you're
practically screwed.
Instead of appealing to
your classmates, you
might as well be giving a
speech titled, “I Have No
Life."
After suffering through
this torment in my previ
ous three classes, I
Red&Black
An iiutrpemienl student new/quiper serving the VnU'eratty of Georgia community
UTAN LI H K HI) 1111, INDEPENDENT l 0
process, including martial
law implementation and
the suspension of habeas
corpus. There also is an
overwhelming suspicion
that Musharraf’s govern
ment did not provide
adequate protection for
Bhutto leading up to
the election that was
supposed to be held on
Tuesday. The riots follow
ing her assassination left
174 banks, 22 trains and
13 electoral offices burned
or destroyed.
Pakistan is in an atmo
sphere of utter chaos where
the democratic process is
stalled and political opposi
tion is threatened, which,
in addition to the fact that
its government harbors
both nuclear weapons and
terrorists, create a terrify
ing equation.
The International
Panel on Fissile Materials
reported that Pakistan
holds enough material to
create approximately 60
nuclear bombs. Currently,
the arsenal of fissionable
material is heavily guard
ed by a strong, though
corrupt, military. How
long these weapons will be
secure is anybody’s guess.
The absolute worst
long-term outcome in
Pakistan would be for its
cozy relationship with
jihadists to turn into a
situation in which the
Taliban and al-Qaida-type
terrorists gain control of
its unstable government
or get their hands on fis
sionable materials and
nuclear technology. The
Bush administration’s
failure to focus on the real
threat in its war on terror
has allowed our enemy to
foster its next generation
in an environment that is
more dangerous now than
ever. This ominous legacy
is the greatest burden to
be undertaken by the next
administration.
Alex Johnson is
a junior from Royston
majoring in history and
international affairs
and is a member of the
Roosevelt Institution.
thought things could not
get any worse. As usual, I
was wrong.
I entered
Telecommunications feel
ing safe, since it is a 300-
person class. However,
after the first 15 minutes
of class, the professor
announced that the T.A.
would ask questions and
hand out gifts to those
who answered. I shrank in
my chair.
The first were easy and
only asked about home
towns. Then came the
next question: “Who can
do the Soulja Boy
dance?" The upper half of
my body snapped
upwards from my seat as
everyone began whisper
ing excitedly and looking
around for the poor soul
who actually would volun
teer for this role.
To my surprise, some
kid two rows back from
me raised his hand Ernd
practically skipped down
the stairs. Don't stop
reading yet it gets even
worse.
Once he received his
first victim, the T.A. called
for a volunteer to sing
"Crank That (Soulja
Boy)" while the first vol
unteer danced. I watched
in a daze as a girl stepped
up to the plate. The boy
danced (and he actually
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Lumpkin lane
can’t squeeze
in two drivers
Lumpkin Street
between the SLC and
Joe Brown Hall is only
one lane. For those who
are unaware of how road
markings work, lanes
are demarcated by lines,
either white or yellow,
solid or dashed. The only
other lane on this stretch
of road is a narrow strip
called a bicycle lane.
Thus, only one row of
cars should be traveling
here, not two rows side
by-side. Countless times
I have been cut off or
blocked-in while travel
ing down this one lane
when someone unfamil
iar with basic road rules
fails to notice that two
rows of cars cannot fit
comfortably in this one
lane.
The next time this
happens, I’m going to let
you hit me and buy me a
new car.
SAMANTHA KNOLL
Junior, Warner Robins
Linguistics
Columnist’s day
overemphasized
I started reading
Tuesday’s "Darfur puts
bad day in perspective”
article in hope that we,
as students, would be
reminded of how lucky
and privileged we are to
be here.
Instead, I read about
hard tests and soggy
shoes. I fully understand
the intent to make your
previous complaints look
inconsequential next
to the dfeily horrors of a
Darfur victim, but your
message is lost when you
mention Darfur a single
time, throw in the words
“homeless families,” and
then talk about changing
the television channel.
Instead of reading
your detailed iPod saga,
I’m eager to hear about
the changes you made
in your life and your new
stance as a Darfur advo
cate due to your fresh
perspective. Or were you
too busy at the Apple
store to write about
that?
ELIZABETH MOSER
Sophomore, Atlanta
Forestry/Wildlife
did a good job) and the
girl hummed along (who
knows the words to that
song, anyway?), and I sat
there watching the whole
pathetic show wondering
why this had come to
occur in the first place.
In that moment, I real
ized it was all a scheme
a plot devised to distract
our attention from what
would happen afterward
notes, nights spent
poring over chapters and
monstrous final exams.
Professors who produce
these little games are
attempting to make their
class seem adventurous
and exciting so we will
keep our rear ends in
their classroom seats
until the Drop/Add period
is over. Then, when the
allure of the Soulja Boy
display has faded, we are
trapped.
They treat us like kin
dergarteners on our first
day of school in an effort
to exert their power as
our superiors. Still, I have
to admit, on that Tuesday
afternoon, a tiny part
inside me really enjoyed
that sing-and-dance rou
tine.
Jessica Burghaus is
a sophomore from
Snellville and a
pre-journalism major.