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A Robert Whiteowl plays his flute for money on a downtown street. Some Athens residents try to develop
creative ways to combat poverty. A study shows Athens Clarke-County has a nearly 40 percent poverty rate.
University makes economy ‘more stable’
Students don Y skew
poverty numbers
By DREW HOOKS
The Rfp & Black
In September, the US. Census Bureau
released the results of the American
Community Survey an annual survey of
the population showing Athens-Clarke
County as having a 39.9 percent poverty
rate, the highest rate reported for Georgia.
Doug Bachtel. a demographer at the
University, said these statistics are not
skewed because of the University's stu
dents.
“You can’t live at the University and go to
school there and be in poverty,” he said.
He credits most of the poverty to the
wages of the people who live and work in
Athens.
“We have some of the lowest wages in the
state,” Bachtel said.
REGENTS: Governor
hesitant on proposal
► From Page 1
on why the proposal is a
good idea in times of bud
get cuts.
“The governor didn’t
question whether or not
UGA is the right place or
the wrong place to expand
the engineering program,
but he also never got rea
sons why it was a good
place,” Brantley said. “The
way you get to a decision is
to lay out the facts and get
input from the
Legislature.”
However, Adams said he
believes academic expan
sion is an appropriate step
despite the extensive cuts
facing the University’s bud
get and the budgets of
other state-operated insti
tutions.
“I think this is the kind
of thing we ought to be
doing,” Adams said. “A lot
of federal research money
goes to medicine and engi
neering. We have been
missing out on that by not
having full-scale medicine
and engineering, and I
believe the proposal we
have put forth is a sound
one and one we can man
age.’’
If the Regents decide to
approve the proposal next
month, they have full
authority to do so without
consulting the members of
the Legislature.
Perdue cannot veto the
decision the board chooses
to make.
“It's not at all the gover
nor saying they didn't have
the authority or the ability
to make a decision like
this,” Brantley said. “It was
more of making a point
that when you're going to
do something like this, the
right process is to consult
the people who approve
the state budget each year.
You can’t assume the sup
port is already there or that
you can gain support after
a decision like that is
already made.”
Adams declined to com
ment on whether he will
continue with his efforts to
expand the engineering
program at the University
if the proposal is rejected
Bachtel said there is a two-tiered wage
system for workers at the University the
faculty members and the secretaries,
grounds crew, dining hall workers and jani
tors.
Bachtel also said he sees the structure of
the local economy affecting the wages of the
people in Athens.
“Athens is a retail hub and retail has low
wage rates,” he said.
He said many of the people who are the
high wage earners in Athens do not live in
the county and instead commute.
Jeff Humphreys, director of the Selig
Center for Economic Growth, said the
University has been a buffer for the area
during the recession.
“The Athens economy has been more
stable mostly because of the presence of the
University,” he said. “The University did lose
some jobs, but less than most sectors."
Humphreys said the presence of the
University has provided a housing market
for investors to put money into for develop
ment.
by the Regents.
However, he said he is
confident in the work that
has been put into the
University's engineering
related plans.
“I think the plan that
has been put together by
the faculty is a sound plan.
And I think the numbers
that the provost and
finance vice president have
put together are sound
numbers," Adams said. “We
will try and answer what
ever questions [the
Regents] may have, but I
stand behind the work that
our people have done.”
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Private Music Lessons
UGA Academic Credit
All levels/instruments/voice
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www.music.uga.edu/lessons
NEWS
“Athens has been bettered by the
University,” he said.
Many students see the troubles of the
Athens community and decide to do some
thing about it during their time here.
Elizabeth Alien, a junior from Duluth
majoring in international affairs, is the co
director of the Thomas N. Lay Park tutoring
program
The after-school program meets eveiy
day for two hours and University volunteers
do reading and math work, help students
with their homework and then play with
them on the playground afterwards.
Allen said the students they help are
usually at-risk youth.
“I've had to teach kids their numbers
and how to read." she .said.
Allen, who has been a part of this pro
gram for three years, said she has seen a lot
of growth in the students.
“It's really great to work with kids whose
parents don’t really care about school and
we can get them excited about learning,”
she said.
Theßed * Black j Wed nks day, October 13,2010
What: Virus scans, spyware removal
and software updates
When: Today, 9 am. to 3:30 p.m.
Where: MLC second floor rotunda
More Information: First-come, first
served: expect the check to take 30 to
45 minutes. f
Students get
free laptop
checkups
By KATHRYN INGALL
The Red & Black
You may not be able to get rid
•of the flu virus this fall, but
Enterprise Information Technology
Services can help with a computer
virus.
University students, staff and
faculty can bring their laptops to
the MLC second floor rotunda
from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today for a
free security checkup.
“They should come if they’ve
seen virus warnings, spyware warn
ings or general slow performance,”
said Bert DeSimone, IT associate
director.
Professionals from EITS and
the University’s TEC Services will
perform virus scans, spyware
removal and software updates as
part of the security checkups.
DeSimone plans to see 75 to 100
students at the event.
The students who come will be
helped on a first-come, first-served
basis.
Students can expect a checkup
to take between 30 and 45 min
utes.
“If we don't have enough time,
we’ll ask them to set up an appoint
ment." DeSimone said. “They real
ly work hard to get all the comput
ers, but we don’t always have
enough time.”
Rosalee Bemabe, a third-year
art history mgjor, didn’t know
about the fair, but remembered
previous positive experiences with
TEC Services.
"Freshman year I called them in
for help with firewall issues and
they were super helpful each time,”
she said.
Also available at the fair will be
information on phishing, or
attempting to Acquire information
such as usernames and passwords,
and ways to prevent identity theft.
The Computer Health and
Security Fair is held every October
as part of National Cyber Security
Axvareness Month.
FREE SECURITY
CHECKUP
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