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Texts lead to felony charges for student
By JACOB DEMMITT
The Red & Black
University student Norrez
Demond Atchison, 19, was arrest
ed and charged with felony
threatening a witness after send
ing multiple threatening text
messages to a witness testifying
against him in an ongoing misde
meanor theft case, according to
University Police.
According to police, Atchison
was arrested for the felony Feb.
All’s fair in love and work
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▲ Stacie and Mark Laplante, both professors at the Terry College, have been married for almost five years.
Professors share happy life outside University
By POLINA MARINOVA
The Red & Black
After a hard day at work, many mar
ried couples go home and complain to
their spouses about their co-workers
but for the Laplantes, that could lead to
some serious arguments.
Stacie Laplante, assistant professor at
the Terry College of Business, and Mark
Laplante, lecturer at Terry, form one of
the many sets of married University pro
fessors.
They met when they were completing
their Ph.D.s at the University of
Washington, and married in 2005. At the
time, Mark worked at the University of
Pink meet meant for Georgia to ‘do something greater’
By MICHAEL FITZPATRICK
The Red & Black
For the Gym Dogs, breast
cancer is personal.
In 2003, former Gym Dog
Talya Vexler was diagnosed
with the disease and the next
year, Georgia hosted a meet
in which it encouraged fans to
wear pink in support of breast
cancer awareness.
Tonight at 7:30, when No. 9
Georgia takes on No. 3
Arkansas, the gymnastics will
simply be a platform to raise
awareness of a disease that
will afflict 13 percent of
American women during their
lifetime, according to the
National Cancer Institute.
The Gym Dogs know they
rain/snow.
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Red&Black
An Independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
ESTABLISHED 1893, INDEPENDENT 1980
-10 at 5:10 p.m. in front of
Memorial Hall.
University student Nachiket
Gadre, who reported both the
theft and threat, said he is sur
prised and frustrated by
Atchison’s actions.
“Last semester, my iPhone
went missing,” said Gadre, a
freshman from Alpharetta.
“Every time I called it, it went
straight to voice mail. Then one
day someone picked up, so I
knew it had been stolen. I went
Texas at Dallas and Stacie was still fin
ishing her Ph.D.
After she graduated, Stacie got a Job
at the University and shortly after, Mark
also applied for work at Terry. They have
been working together since 2006, and
Stacie said because they are both profes
sors, they have an understanding that
other couples may not have.
“We at least know what each of us is
going through,” Stacie said. “If we need
to work nights or weekends, we both
completely understand.”
Stacie mentioned they sometimes talk
about research and the highs and lows of
teaching once they go home, but the
couple has an adventurous streak when
GEORGIA VS.
ARKANSAS
Whan: Tonight at 7:30
Whore: Stegeman Coliseum
Price: $2 for students
have a platform with which
they can promote a cause
near to their hearts and don’t
plan to let it go to waste.
"It was a very emotional
time for us here when Talya
was diagnosed, and it was
something that everybody
wanted to get behind,” said
Georgia head coach Jay Clark.
“I don’t think when we start
ed it that it would become a
yearly thing, but I’m really
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Friday, February 12, 2010
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Police reports
to my call logs and saw who he
had been calling. We had one
contact in common, so I talked
to my friend and figured out who
it was.”
Based on this evidence,
Atchison was arrested and
charged with a misdemeanor
offense of theft by receiving sto
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glad that it has because it
continues to raise money and
awareness.
“It’s easy for us to live in
our own bubbles sometimes
and not realize how many
people can be affected by so
many tragic things and it’s
nice that we can get involved
in some small way.”
Senior Orace Taylor knows
the toll the disease can take,
which claimed the life of her
grandmother.
“It’s absolutely necessary
because to not do it would be
a waste of the blessing we
MONEY CANT BUY YOU LOVE
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they’re away from work.
“We like traveling, diving, skiing and
hiking,” Stacie said. “We do a lot of out
doorsy things.”
Because Stacie works in accounting
and Mark is in finance, they rarely have
time to see each other, but according to
Stacie, this is a plus.
“We work in different departments,”
Stacie said. “We’re kind of together, but
not too close, so I think we have the best
of both worlds in that sense.”
Even though the Laplantes are able to
keep an appropriate distance between
their personal and professional lives.
See LOVE, Page 2
have been given,” she said.
“To not use it to do some
thing greater than just gym
nastics would be a shame. It’s
important for the girls in our
sport to realize there are big
ger things and more impor
tant things, and as sisters we
need to make sure we are
fighting for our lives and for
each other.”
Following Georgia’s victory
last week. Taylor sophomore
Kat Ding, freshmen Christa
Tanella and Shayla Worley
and assistant coach Julie
Ballard Clark, went to visit
Nancy Butts Thompson the
daughter of former Georgia
football coach Wallace
See PINK, Pnge 5
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about the worst gifts some
University students ever
received to feel better.
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len property on Dec. 11.
This was not Atchison’s first
run-in with University Police,
however. He was arrested on an
unrelated charge of possession of
marijuana and drug related
objects on Oct. 29 in the Creswell
Hall parking lot.
Before his theft arrest could
be resolved, Atchison racked up
anew felony charge of influenc
ing witnesses.
"The day before the trial, I got
text messages saying, ‘You’re in
i & ■
Vol. 117, No. 103 | Athens, Georgia
big trouble,’" Gadre said.
According to text messages
provided to The Red & Black by
Gadre, Atchison accused Gadre
of creating false evidence and
gave him two options tell
authorities the evidence he sub
mitted was fake, or be sued by
Atchison.
As the conversation contin
ued, Atchison reportedly sent
messages threatening a lawsuit.
See CRIME, Page 2
Local bands:
Haiti, be my
Valentine?
By JOE WILLIAMS
The Red & Black
Most Americans will prepare for
Valentine’s Day in the same fashion they
always have last-second jewelry pur
chases in pre-wrapped pink and purple
gift boxes, assorted chocolates that con
tain one enjoyable flavor and two-toned
teddy bears that weigh as much as their
hefty, laminated price tag.
These unnecessary luxuries are won
derful, but they cannot quench the thirst
of a child who has not had fresh water in
two weeks. They cannot put a roof over
the heads of the estimated one million
left homeless after the devastating earth
quake in Haiti.
While many students feel the most
they can do is donate a dollar here and
there, a few local bands are hoping they
can do more by opening others’ ears.
Tasty World, in partnership with the
University’s student chapter of Conscious
Alliance, will host a benefit concert to
help bring aid to those affected by the
Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti.
Heading the show are local bands
Lullwater, Mama’s Love and Sumilan,
who each hope to do their part in this
time of need.
“Everyone is trying to help out, I know
a lot of grocery stores are rounding up to
the next dollar and stuff. I think every
one has been wanting to do some kind of
relief,” Lullwater lead singer John
Strickland said. “We think it’s the perfect
way for us to help out to play music
and have a good time, and to use that to
help the victims.”
The benefit show, cleverly labeled “A
Valentine for Haiti,” was created by
Conscious Alliance, a non-profit organi
zation “dedicated to raising awareness
about hunger by reaching out to the art
and music communities.”
“We are going through our non-profit
American Rainbow response —and
100 percent of the proceeds from the
concert go to to Rainbow response, and
90 percent of [those] proceeds they get
will go to Haiti,” said Allison Fite, a third
year music business student and execu
tive board member of Conscious
Alliance.
This will not be the first time Mama’s
Love has teamed up with Conscious
See HAITI, Page 2
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▲ Members of the Gym Dogs recently
visited Nancy Thompson Butts, v ho
Has been diagnosed with lung cancer.
PLAYING INDOORS
Both of Georgia’s tennis
squads are vying for the
ITA Indoor Championships
this weekend. Visit
redandblack.com for more.
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