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Friday, May i, 2009 | The Red & Black | FINALS EDITION
Carolyn Crist | Editor in Chief editor@randb.com
Chelsea Cook | Managing Editor me@randb.com
Shannon Otto | Opinions Editor opinions@randb.com
Opinion Meter
A wrap-up of the semester’s ups and downs
Obama's Inauguration A
The Red & Black sent an editor to
this year’s ceremony, and it was an tK?
experience like no other. Not only did
we celebrate the inauguration of our
nation’s first black president, but a
wave of change that many of us had
been waiting on for eight years.
Firing Felton
The University fired Dennis Felton the jg
day after a 26 point loss to Florida.
Our only question: what took so long? ( / -+0
Georgia basketball fans are dying
for a winning team again. Good luck,
Mark Fox.
Lodging complaints
Dorm residents pay up to $3,000 per
semester for a place to live on cam- i p
pus. The editorial board believes that
a certain standard should be met V
when it comes to living accommoda
tions, Mold, leaky toilets and pipes
and pests should not be found in the
dorms.
Snow day
The blizzard of ’O9 hit Athens hard
in the beginning of March, leaving fl
campus a mess. Though we’re glad \ f
the University decided to cancel class t J
Monday, it should have considered
conditions for the following morn
ing. When it gets colder at night, ice
refreezes, and students bombarded
the health center with broken bones.
All fired up
The University got a little paranoid
and charged the campus chapter of rTHi
the National Organization for the \ p 2 ’
Reform of Marijuana Laws with trade- j
mark infringement, budding from an
illustration of a bulldog smoking a
joint in front of an arch. After NORML
lost a formal hearing, its probation
was lengthened from one year to two.
We find the University Judiciary’s
treatment of NORML a bit half
baked.
Tuition increase
The Board of Regents approved a
tuition hike and re-approved the SIOO [ -A
fee, yielding s2l million in additional —\
revenue for the University. Though we y
support raising tuition and the extra
funds it will generate, we feel students
were not given adequate notice. Just
as with the SIOO fee, the Regents have
made a decision affecting students
without seeking any student input.
Gym Dogs win again
The Gym Dogs won their fifth con- J)
secutive national championship
last month with former head coach
Suzanne Yoculan at the helm for the
final time. Seniors Courtney Kupets,
Tiffany Tolnay, Paige Bums and
Abby Stack also will be sorely missed.
Kudos to the team for their record
tying performance, and good luck to
new head coach Jay Clark.
Stafford's No. 1
Georgia football players made out
well in last weekend’s NFL Draft, r _
with quarterback Matthew Stafford [ /
signing a S7B million deal with the
Detroit Lions. Good luck to Stafford,
Knowshon Moreno (now a Denver
Bronco), Mohamed Massaquoi
(Cleveland Browns), Asher Allen
(Minnesota Vikings), Corvey Irvin
(Carolina Panthers) and Jarius Wynn
(Green Bay Packers). And to the
remaining Bulldogs here in Athens
we can’t wait for next season.
Town & Gown shooting
Our University is still mourning the
loss of Marie Bruce, Ben Teague and
Tom Tanner. April 25 will be a tragic
anniversary for Athens, and an annual f
reminder for the University, that
we aren’t immune to school shoot
ings. With alleged shooter, Professor
George M. Zinkhan still at large, many
families are still waiting for justice. Go
to redandblack.com for any updates.
Quote of the semester: “I’ve got to go drink a
whole lot of beer tonight and pass out. That’s
my only chance of sleeping is going to be to
pass out.”
Gym Dogs head coach Suzanne Yoculan
after the meet against Florida.
Opinions expressed In The Redi Black are the opinion* ot the witters and not neceetarty mow ot The Rad an) Black
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Bit'' "MB
in the Classic City
Decide what you want in a companion
Everyone can breathe
a big sigh of relief.
The semester is
over. Which means no
more classes, homework or
avoiding that ex on North
Campus summer is here.
As I look forward to
pool-side activities and
trips to Florida, I’m really
anticipating new begin
nings.
As one school year ends
and another begins, more
things change than just
your course schedule.
The summer is a wel
comed buffer between
classes and a wonderful
opportunity for alacrity,
not just of the physical
variety.
Sure, some students
use the summer to achieve
bronzed skin and lose
those last few pounds
keeping them out of their
True Religions. But the
kind of expedition I’m
referring to is on the emo
tional level.
After my last final I’ll
be on a plane headed for
Florida for a much needed
break.
Upon my return I will
look at the two months of
swimming and working as
a chance to really decide
Media doesn’t report its own scandals
It turns out that many —most
of the military analysts for ABC,
NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN and
Fox (in short, every major television
news outlet) are not the independent
voices we have been led to believe.
It’s not terribly surprising. The
talking heads we’ve seen on TV ana
lyzing the war, many of them retired
generals, rather than objective
judges of the situation, are mouth
pieces for Pentagon spin. Not only
that, many of them are on the payroll
of military contractors who benefit
from increased arms spending.
One even testified before •
Congress, saying that we need to
buy more armored vehicles coin
cidentally, the same ones that his
clandestine employer manufactures
and sells.
Yes they’re convincing us to
escalate the conflict, to put more
tanks on the ground and choppers
in the air, so they can line their own
pockets. But then again, that’s hard
ly surprising.
(Am I the only one who thinks it’s
terribly sad that I’m no longer sur
prised to hear that media outlets are
on military payrolls?)
David Barstow, a New York Times
reporter, won a Pulitzer on April 20
for reporting on this flagrant corrup
tion. When the story first appeared,
there were Congressional inquiries,
Our Staff
Fletcher Page, Mercedes Parham, Nick Parker, Michael
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Samantha
r^SHEITON
what I want out of my time
here.
I’ll admit that I don’t
plan on being single for
the duration of my college
career —but I don’t just
want to fall into a spot like
I have in the past.
I would like to really
think about what I desire
in a companion.
Of course I have a gen
eral “type,” but as far as
truly deciding what my
best match could be, I
guess I’ve just been too
busy to consider what
attributes in a guy are a
good fit.
After all, with school,
a job, friends and family
filling the majority of my
time, I’ve settled for conve
nience and overlooked red
flags that could have pre
dicted impending doom.
That guy in class, the
one from the gym or my
coworker were easily
accessible and opportune.
But I have learned, after
the texts and tears, that
mjr Phillip
Brcttschneiper
condemnatory responses from the
at-the-time Democratic presiden
tial candidates, allegations that
the Pentagon was producing illegal
domestic propaganda, and, and
and...
Wait. I don’t remember hearing a
thing about this. Why didn’t I hear
about it in the news?
That’s right it’s bechuse none
of the media outlets involved report
ed on it. Not a single word. CNN
even ran a story on the Pulitzers,
mentioning a little about each win
ner and what they won for except,
curiously, David Barstow. Not a
single word.
Even during election season, when
every small hand gesture deserved
an hour’s analysis, the candidates’
comments on media corruption and
Pentagon propaganda were deemed
too minor to report and discuss.
How many of us heard about the
propaganda we were swallowing and
the corruption in our media? We’ve
grown too reliant on the 24-hour
cable news cycle, and so that which
it does not wish to tell us, we simply
Editorial board members Include Shannon Otto, Chelsea Cook, Marcus Crawford, Carolyn Crict, Michael Fitzpatrick. Megan Otto,
Chris Ra, Kelly Shaul and Drew Wheatley
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540 Baxter Street, Athens, Ga. 30605
there is a reason we didn’t
work out, and I ignored
that reason the entire time
I dated them.
When you see some
one every day, whether in
class or at work, it’s easy
to click because there is
a very strong commonal
ity between you —but my
advice is to recognize when
the unity that brought you
together is the only thing
connecting you.
It might appear like a
pretty fool-proof indica
tion to see, but after you
add dates and kisses into
the equation, the stop sign
turns to a yield, and after
enough time together, you
can’t even see it anymore.
But just because the
variable cautionary precur
sor is out of sight, doesn’t
suggest the obstruction
disappears on down the
road it just means it’ll
shock you more when you
hit it.
I’m not saying dating
someone from your biol
ogy lab, job or building is
automatically a bad idea;
rather, don’t let regular
sightings be your only link.
I can attest to the simplis
tic union formed by con
sistent engagement, but
will not hear.
This seems to be an ongoing
theme that we have yet to fully
grasp: do not trust the mainstream
media. Dan Savage said that Fox
and CNN acting as opposing sides
of a coin could be a good thing, but
because both were implicated in this
case, neither reported on it.
Every mqjor broadcast news net
work was implicated, so not a single
one of them could be bothered to
report on it. When we look only at
the conservative or liberal label, we
fail to remember the problems of the
underlying structure.
If you rely on corporate news net
works for your information, you will
hear only what their owners want
you to.
It is time to diversify, and find
new, smaller more independent news
sources.
People say print news is dying.
Perhaps it is time for broadcast news
to die as well. The reins of broadcast
news are held in the hands of a few
select companies. It is a corporate
oligarchy, and that which its masters
and sponsors do not want you to
hear, you will not.
Does it scare you? Yeah, me too.
Phillip Brettschneider is a
sophomore from Marietta majoring
in anthropology and English.
I’ve had to learn the hard
way that it doesn’t make a
real connection, it makes a
convenient one.
When you put a puzzle
together, you need all of
the pieces present... but it
also helps if you have the
box. Right now, I have half
of the pieces, and some
where out there, someone
has the others. But if we
don’t have the box to show
us the picture, it’s unlikely
we’ll ever be put together.
So while I’m baking
under the sun and run
ning electrophoresis on
DNA fragments, I also will
be considering the type of
person that I’m compatible
with, ergo, finding the box
to my personal relationship
puzzle.
We all know that Athens
is pretty desolate in the
summer; so in the absence
of a large dating pool, June
and July might be the
perfect time to, if you’re
single, look inside and fig
ure out what makes you
happy, and in turn, who
could make you happy.
Samantha Selton is a
junior from Auburn
majoring in newspapers.
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