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4 Wednesday, January 16, 2008 I The Red * Black Juanita Cousins I Editor in Chirk mitnnfvrumUt.com Shannon Otto | Managing Editor me@rmuib.com Melanie Me Neely | Opinions Editor op in ions@ 1 m mib.com Our Take Mujorit// opinions of The Red it 1 Black's editorial board An all-around 10.0 Gym Dogs take a timeout, training young gymnasts for Special Olympics In the Special Olympics, everyone is a win ner, and this year’s event is sure to be a posi tive and uplifting experience. But it must be all the more wonderful when your trainer is on a nationally-renowned gymnastics team and is a world-class athlete. Thanks to a two-year partnership between our Gym Dogs and the Special Olympics, chil dren in the area surrounding the University, as well as some from as far away as Elberton, have the chance to do work with our University’s gymnasts. We heartily commend the Gym Dogs who participate in the program, giving a bit of their time each week. In doing so, they bring enjoy ment to the lives of others who face more unique life difficulties than the rest of us. Such compassionate giving of oneself empowers our society and makes our world immeasurably better. The Gym Dogs serve as examples the rest of us should seek to emulate. As the Dalai Lama said: “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” Clearly, these athletes strive for greatness on and off the mats, and we applaud their generosity. Whatever the outcome of their 2008 season, the Gym Dogs’ actions make them champions. Matt Brandenburgh for the editorial board Criminal crashers Some pesky guests may outstay their welcome, while others get you arrested Picture this: a close friend from out of town pays a visit to Athens. “Sure, you can stay with me,” you say. However, unbeknownst to you, they’re carrying illegal paraphernalia weap on, drugs or alcohol —and a University employee happens to catch sight of it and con tact University police. Or imagine this scene: an out-of-towner squatting on your couch for the weekend attacks mascots Hairy Dawg and Spike during a men’s basketball game, as two visitors did in December 2006. Whether or not you’ve spent any time with the guest, if they’re staying under your roof, they’re your responsibility. You can —and likely will suffer the consequences. We’d like to remind all University students to mind their visitors. According to Regulation 14 of the University conduct regulations, “allow ing, condoning, permitting or providing oppor tunity for a guest to violate University conduct regulations” is both the host and guest’s responsibility. Students can be found criminally responsible if they aid or abet a visitor’s activi ty. Just this week, two visitors at East Campus Village were charged, one with possession of a weapon on school property and one with pos session of marijuana. This also applies to visitors in dormitories. Guests must be escorted 24 hours per day. Violators should find themselves before their Area Coordinator, Residence Hall Director or a Judicial Hearing Officer. To avoid these unnecessary violations, we recommend brushing up on the University Code of Conduct. It can be found online at http://www.uga.edu/judicialprograms/code.htm. And please, control your guests. Shannon Otto for the editorial board Our Staff NEWS: 706-433-3002 Now! EdNor: Krman Coußer AmocMo Km Editor Cotyri Cml Sporta Editor Mantel Duncan Vrrloty Editor: Vatentmj T apu Out 4 About EdNor: Aloe Wood*' Photogiiphy Editor: Sort Gurwr RWwd Harm CtHo* Ptwtognphwi Sort Guevwa Rhprd Harm CtHof Copy Editor: Keby Stoul Obrtgn EdNor: KmMn Show Ondno EdNori MAoot Kettta Dome* Thorn** nocruWmait EdNor: Ph*p Kautak* Edttorta CartoonM. Bn Richadr EWort* Adrtaa Ed Moran Sartor Naportara Mattiaw Grayaon BnaoHughat Nawi staff WrNart: JoAnrt Andarton Tama a Bast Clara Mar Boar Mr* Sam SMnbarg Martaa Woman Amanda Woodn/lt Sport* Stan WtNara: Jason Bull. Kavtn Copp Tytor Ealap Adam Upper Vorlaty Stair Wrltyrs: Charter GrtlSn JuKo Laung Mandy Rodgers Fnetn Boyd Jake Darren ijndy Dugger Hans McQuWn Mu* Pasarelo Daalgn Oeek: Courtney Chauvenn* Cotn Duntop LJy Fartaig, Kola Gaanar Carson Halo. Lyndsay Hoban. Chrwmaiaa. unaPt* ijntfyey Paacoc* C*ne ftiaa. Jermdet Taylor. Aahlay Tne SPtngar*. Rusty Badey Matt Bwtadale turned John Barren Alar Butko Undaay Dotras Ho*y ESmgtoo Fianrta Fabian Etaabati Tut*. Sara Goodman CAaraur* naaaind n TNa Nad 4 lua* othar fan wwgnad adaonaN rra fra opaaona ol tw aaaart or agnadTaikama and nor nacaaaarayhoaaclTha Rad and BMckPubaatwig Company Inc Alrrtaa maenad Bapnraa by pamaatm or l sdkn Edarw board marwarsaiduda Matt Brandarburgh Juanas Couatns. Ptaffi> KauDba. M*wnw McNasty. Shannon Ono. KaayStwl KMsnSha* Reaching Us I’honp (706) 438-3002 I Fax (706) 48*4033 opiniwiHiiri randheora | www redandblat'k.cwn 540 Baxter 81., Athens, (la., 30606 tetters should include name, year in school, hometown, phone number, major or Job title or other appropriate identification, tetters should be no more than 150 words. All letters are subject to editing for length, style and libelous material. Cameron Hubbard Sarah King Seth McKehrey Diana Perth Samantha Ptonadoll Juba Sevy Sarah Wabma Rachel Webater Copy Editors Kelaey BM* Draw Hat Tllarty Howard Jennder Pardon Anna Rodngutr Tahn Sagan. Susan Worm* Emty Tocco ADVERTISING: 706-433-3001 Student Ad Manager: Rachel Causey Account Eiacuthrea Abby Ammons Stacey Fnedman. Tylet English Amanda McKehmy Jemulor Mandat. Chits Mervda Jennfsi Mbarro Claire Seedy Valeria Trader Juke Tinner ClaaeMed Manager: Err Beasley Classified Adtdeer. David Awadala. Amanda Gcdorti Advertising Assistant Ryan Roddenberry Advertising Director Rick Chapman Production Stall: Gary Bardlhbanan lauren Leschper Jute Laung. Lsaie MaiU Produdon Manager: San Plltard Receptionist: Erin Beasley Aaelatanl Office Manager: Lauren After! Office Manager: Mary Sbaub Pubbahar: Harry Monltvidso Ttw Are I Hat* a Mint itmay taup> Friday at M mg irirmnwtnuttnnwi'Ti*' m* y**r wwawpwtadi by ttw Rad I Nad HJjwrwy Cnmpany a noopgS canyua naupir nw rtamd ndi ha unvanay and Qaorpa Subauyaun rwa ins pw ysar Opinions STOVES NBRofb ' V o*ol* T6CK SYVM6S Don’t let ignorance steer vote Mark McAfee claimed in his column published Monday that "the two most experienced candi dates, Joe Biden and Bill Richardson, have had to drop out (of the presi dential race] for lack of funds.” Although he may be correct in regard to Gov. Richardson, he omitted one small detail in regard to Biden. In February of last year, Sen. Biden was dis cussing Barack Obama’s candidacy with a reporter from the New York Observer, and he said, “I mean, you got the first mainstream African- American who is articu late and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy ... that’s a storybook, man.” Perhaps Biden’s flac cid campaign and “lack of funds" had something to do with this gaffe and the tsunami of bad press it generated. McAfee’s caricature of Obama wasn't quite as lowbrow or as insulting as Biden’s. Was his column sup posed to be ironic? He opens by saying he’s “not the only igno rant white racist ... afraid of Obama’s popular ity,” and then, bizarrely, “rephrases" his first para graph "with the usual opening a white male needs to use these days when he says he probably won’t vote for Obama: I'm not actually a racist.” I guess I’m just con fused because after we've been assured McAfee is not a racist not only does he create an outrageously unfair and simplistic caricature of Obama, but he also refuses to discuss a single other candidate in any sort of depth. Do the candidates (plural) lack experience? Or is it just the senator from Illinois? Mailbox E-mail and letters from our readers LGBT crowd too small for big business In response to the edi torial board’s opinion on the closing of Detour, I have to ask if any of them took economics. One of the first things about starting a small business is to find a demographic wide enough to sustain your business. The lesbian, gay, bisex ual and transgender com munity is not big enough In Athens to sustain an LGBT bar for a continued period of time. Detour and Boneshakers were cen tered on young crowds that couldn’t support it year-round. Bars are hard to keep open for a long time period, much less an LGBT bar. Even though this is a progressive coUege town, we Uve In a very conserva tive state. For every one openly gay guy or girl, there are a handful of oth ers who refuse to come out of the closet for fear Alex Busko “My rage stems mainly from the fact that I simply cannot understand why people ... place such an emphasis and exert such an unconscionable amount of energy on the pontificating about race in this election. ” My rage stems mainly from the fact that I simply cannot understand why people students, vot ers, journalists and media outlets place such an emphasis and exert such an unconscionable amount of energy pontifi cating about race in this election. Obama has darker skin than people of European descent because his genes code for a larger amount of a pigment called mela nin. What is it about Obama that elicits such bizarre statements from people such as Biden and McAfee? Why do they and oth ers feel so compelled to point out his mastery of the English language, or the fact that he’s a “clean and nice-looking guy" with “superior dental work”? Maybe I’m delusional, but "these days” when I, a white male, disclose that I don’t particularly like E-MAILING US Questions, comments, complaints? Here's where to send them: Letters I opinions@randb.com News Tips I news@randb.com of rejection from family and friends. I am not belittling the LGBT community’s plight. It must be hard to feel safe and comfortable in down town Athens. However, don’t insult myself and others like me who think that when a bad business plan foils, intolerance is the first thing that comes to mind. Maybe in a more liberal time at the University, will we find an LGBT bar becoming a safe haven for its community for years to come. JAY BUTLER Sophomore, Johns Crook Political Science Red&Black An Independent student newspaper serving the University ofttenryia community ESTABLISHED (111, INDEPENDENT III# Obama or plan on voting for him, I’ve never even slightly felt the need to preface my words by say ing that I’m not racist. Anyone who thinks I’m a bigot because I disagree with policies and convic tions of a black man must live in a very strange world. McAfee said he won’t vote for Obama because he’s “been watching [emphasis added] this presidential race pretty closely," which is telling because it’s apparent by the end of his column that he gets the better part of his political “knowledge" from television. Anyone who’s under the illusion that TV can adequately inform a voter of the numerous issues and intricate policy positions should consider reading the work of a media scholar by the name of Neil Postman. An hour-long news program with 20 minutes of commercials has no choice but to distill all complexities into bite sized images. Of course, Mr. McAfee and millions of others believe “experience” and “change” are the most important issues in an election such as this. Of course a slick rube like George II can win reelection by convincing us that renegade homo sexuals are plotting a ter rorist attack on the sanc tity of marriage. As long as we remain passive consumers averse to the time-con suming process of reading books, magazines and newspapers and think ing about what the words mean we’ll remain just as obtuse and incom petent as the people we elect to lead us. Alex Busko is a news writer for The Red & Black. Too much drama for Sudoku fans Vast numbers of The Red & Black mysteriously were not in their bins for students to grab on their way into class. I wonder where they could have gone. Better yet, who on earth would have taken them (hence, the sar casm)? I'm sure it had noth ing to do with the sen sitive nature of one of your headlines (“Student cocaine charges linger"). Obviously, this is not your fault, but Tuesday/ Thursday classes are long, and I need that Sudoku puzzle to make the teacher think I am taking notes. ELIZABETH EZZELL Senior, Atlanta Magazines Josh White ▲ Distractions disrupt SLC study habits Yes, I know you can’t wait to get totally wast ed tonight. I also know you need a ride downtown, and your mom’s just whiney, because you definitely are not talking too much on your cell. Except that you are. I’m in the Student Learning Center right now, trying to read a bloated 50-plus page treatise on the con sequences that risk management strate gies might have had on developing countries after World War II and during the advent of modem globalization. So shut your mouth. What are you even doing here? I’m here because I want a quiet, well-lit place to study. You obviously just want an uncomfortable wooden chair and a room with decent acoustics. You’ve reached your goal now, everyone within earshot can learn that you are an incred ible moron. We’re not learning much else here, so why not? You want strange young men and women to feel your pain, since the BCS was all “screwed up.” I’ve got a very boring and longwinded research article to get through, but you can’t stop get ting important phone calls, like the one from a friend “or, like, what ever, you know" —of yours, who’s wondering if you're still studying in the SLC. After five minutes of explaining to your phone pal that you are, in fact, still in the SLC, you hang up. But the fun’s not over for you yet. Pretty soon, your “Crank That" ring tone lets everyone know you have another very important conversation in your near future. Sure enough, yes, your girlfriend wants to spend another six or so minutes discussing din ner plans and to make sure you’re not mad at her about last night. You aren't angry at all in fact, you feel generous enough to offer an extensive, extremely detailed explanation on why you dislike your 3:30 class. Not just to her, but to everyone within 100 feet. God, I haven't even gotten past page five yet. You finally hang up on your girlfriend, who probably just called you from the Main Library computer lab, and you get back to “work.” What’s new on Facebook? You’d better finish updating your favorite quotes, because that thick crust pizza you’re eating tonight with out ground pork. I hope, because I know it makes you “queasy as hell” surely will put you to sleep. A nap’s not a bad idea, though. You’ll need one before hitting the bars. Wait... what’s this? You’re leaving? Now I can read in peace. Hmm, so that’s why economic risk often is hidden. OK, I get it. Ah, this feels good. Hold on ... is that another phone? But you’re gone, so it can’t be yours. That’s it. I’m logging off. Josh White is a first year graduate student from Carrollton majoring in public administration.