Newspaper Page Text
NINETEENTH
CELEBRATION
When: June 19,10 a.m. to 2
p.m.
Whew: East Athens
Community Center, 400
McKinley Drive '
Mow Information: To donate,
volunteer or perform, e-mail
JuneteenthAthens@gmail.com
or call (478) 501-1373
Coat: Free
Students
celebrate
a day for
freedom
Athens’ first
Juneteenth
By CRISSINDA PONDER
The Red & Black
Aside from Independ
ence Day, another freedom
day is making its way to
Athens this year.
“Juneteenth,” a blend
ing of words meaning June
19, is a significant date for
many.
Juneteenth is a date
that commemorates the
integration of former slaves
into society.
This date may seem
misleading because most
people associate the end of
slavery with the Emancipa
tion Proclamation.
The Emancipation
Proclamation became offi
cial on Jan. 1, 1863, but it
was not until June 19,
1865, that Union troops
visited Galveston, Texas,
to announce the ending of
slavery.
"Texas was one of the
last Confederate strong
holds,” said Renaldo
Stover, a Master of Social
Work candidate and one of
the Juneteenth event orga
nizers at the University.
“Galveston was a focal
point for Juneteenth.”
Now. 145 years later,
Juneteenth the oldest
known celebration com
memorating the end of
slavery in the United
States is observed in 31
states, according to
Juneteenth.com.
Along with most of the
nation, there are
Juneteenth celebrations in
several Georgia cities such
as Augusta and Macon,
but it has never before
been celebrated in Athens
until now.
“Most people may think
that Athens didn’t cele
brate Juneteenth because
it wasn’t progressive,” said
Monika Dobbs, a third
year law student and the
main organizer of this
event. “But, if you do a lit
tle research, you’ll find
that the city was very pro
gressive and full of black
history.”
Athens’ first Juneteenth
celebration is sponsored
by the Georgia Clients
Council, the oldest state
wide nonprofit grassroots
organization led by low-to
moderate income leaders.
“Our biggest focus is
making this a community
event,” Stover said.
The celebration will
include arts and crafts,
cultural performances,
educational information
and workshops, all in
honor of this historical
date in the struggle for
freedom.
“We will have things
that will enrich your life,"
Dobbs said.
As the organizers’ mis
sion states, the June
teenth volunteers hope
that the event will instill in
Athens residents “a sense
of pride in community and
self.”
There are both commu
nity hands as well as vol
unteers from the law
school’s Black Law
Students Association help
ing with the historical
event.
“We have a lot of intel
lectual minds involved
with this celebration,”
Stover said.
Stover wants the com
munity to know this cele
bration is not in any way
exclusive in fact, it tran
scends the construct of
race.
“This isn’t Just an
African-American event;
it’s for anyone who cele
brates freedom," Stover
said. "This is a chance for
the community to come
together and become
stronger, to reflect on what
we’ve done and to look at
what we have to do."
Pn( ’ coumn )oh Marsh
▲ Actors sweat their classic Shakespearian lines while performing outdoors.
Play takes acting outside
By JEN INGLES
The Red & Black
This weekend, much ado may well be
made about an unlikely combination:
Shakespeare and tailgating.
“It’s not unlike a UGA football game,”
said Lisa Cesnik Ferguson, founding artis
tic director of Rose of Athens Theatre,
about the group’s latest production.
Her theater company will perform
“Much Ado About'Nothing” at Ashford
Manor, where guests are welcome to picnic
on the lawn while they eryoy the show.
The comedy tells the story of two pairs
of lovers Beatrice and Benedick, and
Hero and Claudio —as well as the high
jinks of the townspeople of Messina. Italy.
"(Shakespeare] was such a rock star in
his day,” said Ferguson, a University alum
na. “He was breaking all of the rules of the
well-made play.”
Shakespeare’s plays flew in the face of
convention by presenting the audience
with a series of scenes, each with anew
subplot, then cycling through them as the
story progresses.
Ferguson said this makes his plays par
ticularly accessible to modem audiences
because the structure of his plays is very
similar to the structure of many television
shows.
“Outdoor Shakespearian comedies are
perfect for summertime,” said Danielle
FAHRENHEIT
JL ATH ENS, GA JL
Monday-Wednesday...
$1 00 Miller Drafts
S2 50 Well Drinks
$2 00 Martinis
Thursday... \
$1 00 Dos Equis Bottles (
$3 00 Bacardi j
Thursday-Saturday...
Athens Original Power Hour
9- $1 00 wells 6 domestics
10- 1 $2 00 wells & domestics
Now Offering Frozen Drinks!
321 East Clayton Street
| . \ SAVE -
am l_A $2OO
> *r WKM 'l
.\ m mm m ~ r i
Ilf J/k. ' _ __%S , .... k>' I ,
■> J < A'<“. ■ • i /s ■■ •/i <\/ ' .’<,</ 71*- > /// /)/•■/. /'//•'. <.//•■ / / /n f /(*> /
bbbssbsbbo Hi 11,1 Hi club
70fV .?f>9lolQ /ch . 's ■ I •1 ? / •'.
NEWS & VARIETY
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
Where: Ashford Manor
When: June 16-20,8 p.m.
Cost: slsm $lO for students
Miller, the show’s producer.
For director Kimberly Faith Hickman
and for the cast, the outdoor venue adds
new challenges to the production.
From the notorious Georgia heat to the
bugs that might make their stage debut,
Hickman said she must help the actors
stay focused and hydrated in order to per
form in a sometimes unpredictable envi
ronment.
Music incorporated in the play sets this
production of “Much Ado About Nothing”
apart from others.
Audience members can expect a dose of
1990s pop music from the likes of Madonna
and C&C Music Factory with their height
ened Shakespearian language.
The choice in music will complement
the unexpected humor of the play.
Ferguson said jokes that may not fly
elsewhere are socially acceptable in
Shakespeare’s plays because they are per
formed within the context of a highly
respected work of art.
“I love how naughty Shakespeare is,”
Hickman said.
STAfTt OCITINC AHEAD OF TltjfcAJHe. ■<
AV START TAKING CHARGE. v
jjjfcL;. JE|”
l&dpg-- • +> JBjj|&' IpSK
r* ™ M ' JBk START SHOWING THE WAY.
. START MAKING A MARK.
|||taSTART STRONG
9HrE|. .... | There’s stronq. Then there’s Army Stronq. Enroll
■HBlp; H in Army ROTC at The University ot Georqia to 'jy,. ..
develop leadership shills and earn in Army Officer's
commission after graduation. Army ROTC also *''W A
I -f ■ offers full-tuition scholarships worth up to $lll,OOO. 4
I £3 Nr a s,art rike that, there are no limits to what
"S V°u achieve. ,
To qet started, contact Major Kevin Eracassa at U 0
fflJllVl Y ROTC (706) 542-0566 or fracassa arotc.uqa.edu. ARMY STRONG.'
JWV * ?008.Jli! lcz "v™KVpnrlr rlgi-tt I
The Red a Black | Thursday, June 17, aoio
SUMMER: Univ. lets
youth shoot for sky
► From Pago 1
Wednesday building and shooting off model
rockets In pairs under the volunteered guidance
of UGA Aviation Club officers Ryan Aquino and
John Wright, along with Tim Wright, president
of the Athens area Experimental Aircraft
Association.
The majority of the campers say they want to
be pilots commercial and military when
they grow up. '•
“When I grow up, I want to be a commercial
pilot and fly all over the world, and not get hit
by rockets," Alex Hahn, a 12-year-old from
Athens, said while dodging model rocket launch
es.
The student pairs experimented with various
designs and shapes to create different combina
tions of height and flight time for their foot-long
rockets.
“I like making the rockets the best," said
12-year-old John Cross from Athens. “It was
hard, but it was worth it.”
In the process of learning all about flight, the
kids are also having fun.
“The balsa wood planes were the best,” said
C.J. Phillips, 14, from Athens. “When we were
done, we just threw them at people."
Campers get to go to the airport at the end of
the week after experimenting with their model
rockets and airplanes.
“I’m looking forward to going to the airport
the most,” said 12-year-old Madison Getch from
Athens. Getch said he hopes to become a fight
er pilot when he grows up.
Most students come from Clarke and the sur
rounding counties Barrow, Jackson,
Oglethorpe, Oconee and Madison —but some
travel in from Gwinnett and the Atlanta area
each day.
Every year, at least one out-of-tovpi student’s
parents book a hotel room and stay for the
week.
Other students are sent to stay with rela
tives, often University faculty and staff.
In anticipation for a drop in enrollment due
to the economy this year, the prices for Summer
Academy (a UGA were lowered, and more schol
arships were offered.
Current 2010 figures show a slightly lower
numbef of students than last year, but 2009 was
the largest turnout yet almost twice as large
as 2008.
So next time you see these kids as you’re on
your way to your thru-session chemistry class,
be jealous they could be on the way to fly In
an airplane.
5