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Wednesday, November a, aoxo 1 The Red * Black
DmW linMtt | Editor in Chief edltoroirandbcom
Cam O'fWl | Managing Editor me@mndb.eotn
Cawtouy Hotbraok | Opinions Editor opinionß@randb.eom
Our Take
Majority opinions of The Red & Black’s editorial board
It’s not over yet
This election season has been a wild
ride so far, but we're not quite done.
It’s down to two.
Athens’ mayoral race is headed for a runoff
between Nancy Denson and Owen O’Looney.
The editorial board encourages everyone eligi
ble to vote in the mayoral runoff to keep paying
attention.
Denson and O’Looney may not know all your
names, but your votes could make the differ
ence in deciding who will take over from Heidi
Davison as Athens’ next mayor.
As students about to enter the real world, it’s
essential to pay attention to our elected offi
cials and keep them accountable.
To all newly elected politicians around the
state we hope you’ll think of this University
and its educational needs from day one when
you enter the doors of the Capitol.
To all student voters good job. You exer
cised your Constitutional right. No matter the
personal meaning of the election, or your own
political disagreements, every University stu
dent has a civic duty to punch in his or her
electronic opinion.
Now you have the right to complain about
any possible missteps these politicians take
during the next few years.
To all those who didn’t vote make up for it
on Nov. 30. We still need a mayor.
Courtney Holbrook for the editorial board
Rally gave crowd
a sense of resolve
I decided to make a last
minute trip to
Washington, D.C., to
attend Jon Btewart and
Stephen Colbert’s “Rally
to Restore Sanity and/or
Pear.”
I won't go into details
about the lineup of the
event itself. Instead, I
would like to discuss the
purpose and message of
the event.
I’ve been a member of
large crowds in D.C.
before, the largest of
which being the 2001 inau
guration of President
Bush. I’ve been to stand
ing room-only concerts,
endured jam-packed sub
way cars and driven on
1-285 in Atlanta during five
o’clock rush hour.
You know what I mean
those situations that
bring out the worst in peo
ple.
So, I went into this rally
expecting the usual shov
ing and dirty looks, litter
ing and general lack of
respect found in large
crowds.
And I’m proud to say I
was completely wrong.
The point of the rally
was to restore sanity in
the media to make all
sides of the political argu
ment accountable for
what they say and how
they present their facts.
The message of mutual
responsibility and
accountability permeated
the entire event.
I watched as complete
strangers took the time to
talk to each other. One of
my friends became ill, and
immediately people start
ed pulling water out of
their bags, making their
offerings without hesita
tion. In the 45-minute wait
for the bathrooms, people
let those with special
needs cut to the front of
the line. At the end, tour
ists picked up trash that
wasn’t even theirs in an
effort to leave the National
Mall cleaner than when we
got there.
“We hear every damned
day about how fragile our
country is, on the brink of
catastrophe, tom by polar
izing hate, and how it’s a
shame that we can’t work
together to get things
done. The truth is, we do!
We work together to get
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NEWS: 706-433-3002
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Holly
A Jordan
things done every damned
day! The only place we
don’t is here [in
Washington] or on cable
TV,” Stewart said.
I believe this is true.
And in fact, many of the
people I talked to agreed
“The Daily Show” and
“The Colbert Report” were
the only cable news shows
they watched.
It makes sense.
We’re sick of the hate
and ignorance being
pushed by so much of
cable media.
I— like many in my
20-something generation
have grown up in the
24-hour media world. As
an undergraduate, I was a
political science major,
and following the news
was required. I got to the
point where I would only
read print media. I quickly
became sick of the hate
and downright nastiness
of cable news.
News is supposed to
inform, not simply enter
tain. And frankly, I do not
find people yelling at each
other entertaining.
I really don’t know if
D.C. or cable news will
take anything from
Stewart’s powerful words.
But I plan to continue act
ing in the spirit of goodwill
I experienced at the rally.
So now, we all come
home from this rally or
come away from watching
it —with two options. We
can continue to complain
about cable media and
hide behind “The Daily
Show.”
Or we can stand up to
our local news outlets and
demand a higher standard
in their quality. Clearly,
Pox or MSNBC aren’t
going to decide tomorrow
to change their tone.
The only way change
will occur is from the bot
tom up, with the kinds of
people who stood for more
than seven hours at the
rally in Washington.
Holly Jordan is an
adjunct instructor
of religion
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Opinions
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Non-profit helps Athenians in need
At 1 p.m. on July 1, 2020, every
child in Athens will be on
track to graduate from a
post-secondary education.
This promise was made to our
community by one of its newest
non-profits Whatever It Takes
as a declaration of the organiza
tion’s commitment to eliminating
Athens’ high levels of poverty
through education.
I do not believe, as some do,
that University students are indif
ferent to the economic disparities
between our world and parts of this
town. But most of us do not con
sider Athens our permanent home.
Consequentially, we pass through
college without educating ourselves
on the local problems we are sur
rounded by.
As I transitioned from under
graduate life to pursue a master’s
degree here, I took a step away
from philanthropies geared toward
students by involving myself in a
local nonprofit serving Athenians in
need. I began to view this town dif
ferently, discovering a world that
drew me in with its needs and
charm.
It seems as though the more we
learn about an issue, the more pas
sionately we feel about it. As I
began to put faces to the statistics
I had always heard, it became
impossible to not feel strongly
about Whatever It Takes' commit
ment to Athens.
The graduation rate in Athens-
Clarke County is approximately 70
percent, a statistic that has been
slowly rising due to the commend
able efforts of community mem
bers. Whatever It Takes is striving
to raise this to 100 percent to begin
breaking the cycle of poverty envel
oping so many of our neighbors.
Athens has taken great strides
in recent years to reduce the preg
nancy rate among our teenagers,
provide mentors to at-risk youth,
assist with college preparation for
high school students and much
more. However, data shows that
Change of mind after
Georgia-Florida game
Let me start off by saying I'm a
Florida Gator have been since
1973 and always will be. I bleed
orange and blue, and I have a deep
hatred for anything and everything
red and black.
You have to take Into account I
attended the University of Florida
In the ’7o’s, when UGA was getting
the better of us... which Is putting
it mildly. In fact, I was the first per
son to have a brick on the Gator
Walk leading to Ben Hill Griffin
Stadium engraved with "Beat
Georgia."
That being said, I never thought
I’d be writing anything like this...
Until today.
My wife (also a Gator) and I
attended [last] weekend’s UF-UGA
game arguably the most exciting
one ever played.
Once the game went into over
time, we both agreed that regard
less of the outcome, both teams
could be proud of how they played.
Our Staff
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interventions are necessary much
sooner than adolescence if perma
nent change is the desired out
come.
Indicators such as a child’s read
ing level during the third grade can
predict the degree to which he or
she will succeed throughout prima
ry and secondary schooL
Preschool attendance is an even
faster indicator of a child’s success,
proving that when a student has
completed an early education pro
gram his or her likelihood of high
school graduation increases about
14 percent.
Because of this research,
Whatever It Takes is implementing
an innovative plan modeled after
the Harlem Children’s Zone, a non
profit with a track record of leading
New York’s inner-city youth to suc
cess after high school. The strategy,
according to www.witathens.org,
lies in “emphasizing early interven
tion, focusing existing services in a
limited geographic area, creating a
culture of success, and using data
to direct policy.”
The organization’s 10-year plan
will target Athens neighborhoods
one at a time, linking residents to
the services necessary for them and
their children to succeed in school
and in the workforce.
The Alps Elementary School
attendance zone includes the Jack
R. Wells neighborhood on Pauldoe
Street, one of the roads featured in
The Red Si Black’s series on crime
ridden areas, and is where
Whatever It Takes has begun its
work. Whatever It Takes’ founding
members have begun to engage
families of this community, with a
primary goal of developing a cul
ture where children are expected to
achieve and are given the resources
Mailbox
E-mail and letters from our readers
(For me to say that about Georgia
must mean I’m mellowing in my
old age.)
After the game was over we
started walking down the switch
back ramps amongst a sea of
orange and blue.
I noticed three young men
obviously UGA students wearing
black UGA shirts and baseball hats
slowly walking in front of my wife
and me. They looked as if they
were carrying the weight of the
world on their shoulders.
As the crowd was moving slowly
down the ramps, one of the young
men walked over to the rail and
looked at the crowd below on the
next level. Perhaps he was looking
for a UF fan to "start something” or
perhaps he was simply staring into
space.
Regardless, there was a 4- or
5-year-old girl in cm orange and
blue dress on the shoulders of hpr
deliriously happy Gator father who
saw the young man looking down
at her.
She lifted her head, made eye
contact with the young man, lifted
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ADVERTISING: 706-433-3001
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Student Ad HiMQir Lmw John
Territory Monegers Sarah Carßon, Anna LawarthaJ
Account Executtvoe Katy Ptsroa. Andrew Leva, Sarah
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Cteeefflode Representative Jenna Vines
Circulation Managar BWuMofim
CmMw AwMant: OMo 3c*ibo(ou(Bi
Phone (706) 4351-3002 | Fkx (706) 433-3033
oplnk>ns@randb.eoni | www.redandblack.com
540 Baxter Street, Athens, Qa. 30605
they need to do so.
The compelling plans and pas
sion of Whatever It Takes’ found
ers, mainly graduates of the
University, gained vast support
from Athens-area businesses, gov
ernment agencies and non-profits.
In addition to local support,
Whatever It Takes was selected
last month out of 339 applicants to
receive a one-year, $500,000 plan
ning grant from the Federal
Department of Education’s
“Promise Neighborhoods” program.
Now, I am calling on University
students to get involved.
Many have used this space in
the past to express the opinion
that college students are self-cen
tered and unmotivated lam of
the opposite opinion. Asa past
leader of a student-run philanthro
py on campus, I have been repeat
edly amazed at what our age group
is capable of.
Students are dedicated, passion
ate and naive enough to want to
save the world just the type
Whatever It Takes could use to
help carry out its plans. Georgia
Students for Public Administration
is the first student group to get on
board, and we want to encourage
other students to do the same.
Children need more than just
food, clothing and shelter to suc
ceed, and as college students we
know that in today's society a high
school diploma is not always
enough.
A post-secondary education can
include vocational training, military
service, technical school, junior col
lege or a four-year university, and
the options a child has should not
be dictated by his or her financial
circumstances. Whatever It Takes
will work tb remove the barriers .
standing between all Athens’ chil
dren and these institutions.
Christina Graff is a graduate
student from Marietta majoring
in public administration
and non-profit management
her hand and slowly waved as if to
say “don’t be sad.”
A smile came across the young
man’s face and he waved back as if
to say “you’re absolutely right;
there are some things much more
important than football.”
I only wished I had my camera
out to take a photo, as that
moment said everything there is to
say about the game of college foot
ball.
In closing. 1 want to end with
two words that I will say in a non
sarcastic and non-taunting way for
the first time in my life:
Go Dawgs.
SCOTT LUDWIG
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LETTERS POLICY
Letters must include name, year in
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major or job title or other appropriate
identification Letters are edited for
spelling, grammar, length, style and
libelous material.
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