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Travel draws students to fair
By MARY WALKER
The Red & Black
For professor John Carroll,
studying abroad means seeing
nature like you’ve never seen it
before.
Carroll workS with a
Maymester program focused on
wildlife conservation in Botswana
through the Warnell School of
Forestry and Natural Resources.
“On the program, students
camp in the bush for four weeks,”
Carroll said. “We have many close
encounters with wildlife you
cannot just walk around a herd
of 50 elephants.”
On Wednesday, students
paraded through the Tate Grand
Hall to see such study abroad
programs and choose their next
international adventure.
Tuesday and Wednesday
marked the 26th Annual Study,
Work and Travel Abroad Fair
hosted by the Office of
International Education.
With.Bo study abroad pro-
Speech policy may hinder rights
By JEN INGLES
The Red & Black
The University's policy to
protect students from offensive
speech and behavior may come
into conflict with the right to
freedom of speech.
The Department of
University Housing Community
Guide includes a policy
designed to protect -students
from acts or speech that are
fueled by prejudice.
"We want to protect stu
dents from insensitive words
and actions that target them
for being different from the
-mainstream." said Assistant
Director for Resident Life
Russell Smith.
But the Foundation for
Individual Rights in Education
has given the University’s poli
cy on what the University calls
“acts of intolerance" a red
light
“This policy is very vague, in
that it prohibits behaviors
including verbal behaviors
that ‘harm or threaten to harm'
a person or group," said
Samantha Harris, director of
speech code research at FIRE .
“If this referred only to physical
harm, that would be a different
situation. But since it prohibits
intolerant ‘jokes’ and ‘com-
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STUDY ABROAD
Office Address:
OIE Study Abroad
110 E. Clayton St.
• Sank ot America Building
Phone: (706) 425-3274
grams in attendance, students
saw several opportunities to
travel the world.
“The University fosters educa
tion beyond our own campus,”
said Mary Alice Allen, the pro
gram assistant for Global
Programs in Sustainability.
The University is ranked ninth
nationally in the number of stu
dents studying abroad, accord
ing to the University study
abroad website.
Students can travel to study
wine in Cortona, Italy, or do
research on climate change in
Antarctica.
“Students need to be exposed
ONLINE
Police Reports
ments,’ it clearly also applies to
some undefined type of emo
tional harm as well. At a public
university like the University of
Georgia, students cannot be
disciplined simply for telling
offensive jokes or making intol
erant remarks, however deplor
able those may be.”
Smith said it is important to
protect students against
hate speech.
“Talk to a student
who has been attacked
on a floor (of a residence
hall] for being different,”
he said in response to
FIRE's stance.
Between Aug. 1 and
Sept. 27 there were eight
reports of acts of intol
erance filed with
University Police. Each
involved something written or
drawn on a dry erase or chalk
board or posted on a bulletin
board.
The content of the messages
reported were usually referenc
es to male and/or female anato
my. One bore the message
“Southern trees bear strange
fruit,” a reference to lynching.
to different people with different
values,” said Robert Grafstein, a
political science professor and
leader of the China Maymester
program.
The China Maymester pro
gram allows students to travel to
parts of China that piost tourists
don’t get to see. Part of the trip
is hosted by a member of the
Chinese government.
“The United States is occupy
ing a smaller and smaller part of
the world economy,” Grafstein
said. “China has become the sec
ond-largest economy under the
communist regime.”
The University works hard to
make study abroad an option for
all students. Out-of-state stu
dents pay in-state tuition, and
for in-state students, HOPE can
be applied to programs.
“There are so many scholar
ships out there,” said Colleen
Larson, a study abroad adviser.
“And many students do not know
that you can apply HOPE to pro
grams outside the University.”
Smith said this offense was
being investigated, but there
have been no new develop
ments.
Crystal Weigle, a resident
assistant at Myers Hall, said all
resident assistants are required
by University Housing to report
any incident that may be offen
sive to any student, even if the
students involved are not
offended.
“In order for us to cover any
of it, we cover all of it," Smith
said.
Smith and University
Police Chief Jimmy
Williamson both said
some cases are dis
missed by students who
say their friend wrote or
drew the slur in ques
tion as a joke, or who
say they are not both
ered by the incident.
When a student does
request an . investiga-
WILLIAMSON
tion, Williamson said it goes
through the Equal Opportunity
Office.
Smith said each incident is
judged on a case-by-case basis
when being investigated.
He said perpetrators are
usually not found, but that it is
important for students to know
they can report offensive acts.
NEWS
Guns in bars legal in state,
some students ‘frightened’
By MARY WALKER
The Red & Black
Having a gun in a bar may be
legal in Georgia, but that doesn’t
mean all patrons are happy about
it.
Georgia is one of four states to
pass the “guns-in-bars” law in the
last six months. The other three
are Arizona, Virginia and most
recently Tennessee.
In June, Georgia passed a law
clarifying the locations where per
mit-holding citizens can carry their
concealed weapons.
The law now explicitly allows
bar owners to admit customers
carrying concealed weapons.
Bars are defined by the Georgia
Legislature as establishments that
serve alcoholic beverages and
receive less than half of their
income from food sales.
Athens’ bar scene is legendary.
Following the University being
named No. 1 party school, Athens’
bars continue to thrive.
And this new gun law raises the
concerns of some members of the
University's bar-hopping popula
tion.
“I am frightened to think that
people are carrying guns around in
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▲ Maggie Perry with the University’s Oxford study abroad
program talks to a potential student at Wednesday’s fair.
general,” said Amelia Kirbo, a
senior from Bainbridge. “And being
allowed to carry one while intoxi
cated seems dangerous.”
The law establishes it is illegal
to fire the weapon while under the
influence of alcohol, or any other
drug. But this is difficult to regu
late.
Accidents happen. On Sept. 14,
a man in Virginia accidentally shot
himself in the leg while drinking a
beer.
“By allowing guns, it’s like we
are asking for trouble,” Kirbo said.
Prior to this bill there was a
1,000 feet school safety zone for all
schools from preschool to college
campuses. This safety zone no lon
ger exists for the University.
"The law was meant for K-12,”
University Police Chief Jimmy
Williamson said. “The 1,000 feet
law was removed for college cam
puses.”
Though guns are allowed within
striking distance of campus, the
University continues its zero toler
ance toward guns in campus build
ings and property.
"The University follows the law
exactly,” Williamson said. “You
must be 21 years old, have a license
and keep the gun in your car.”
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