Newspaper Page Text
Group designs
sale taxi logo
By MARY WALKER
The Rep & Buck
Taxis should be the saf
est way to get home from a
night downtown, but in the
past two years, four
attempted and successful
rapes have occurred In
Athens cabs.
This recent issue has
inspired five students,
doing a project for a wom
en’s studies course, to take
preventative measures to
help others avoid these
dangerous situations.
Courtney Daniel, Sara
Dever, Sara Lindsey, Sarah
Norris and Melanie Wilson
came up with the idea for
Athens-Clarke County offi
cials to distribute a stan
dard emblem to legitimate
cab companies.
“There are regulations
about what a registered
cab must have, but most
people do not know them,”
Dever said. “There is not a
one-color cab system like
you see in New York, so it is
very easy to replicate a
cab.”
The easily-recognizable
emblem would be placed
on both doors of the cab.
This would signal to stu
dents and local residents
the legitimacy of the cab.
The primary goal is to
provide more safety to stu
dents at the University. But
the emblem would also be
Humanities stay strong despite budget
By KATHRYN INGALL
The Red & Black
According to Hugh Ruppersburg,
the humanities at the University are
thriving despite the overall budget
cuts to the University.
“Like every area of study at the
University, the humanities have suf
fered under budget cuts, but cer
tainly not permanently damaged. I
don’t think the humanities suffered
more than any other area,” said
Ruppersburg, associate dean of the
Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
“Those majors are very popular.”
A Boston Globe article published
earlier this month reported an over
all decrease in interest and support
for the humanities in universities
across the nation.
Many students are choosing
majors they believe will earn them
jobs after graduation, such as busi
ness or computer science.
U.S. Department of Education
data from 2007 shows that about 10
percent of students are majoring in
HONEST: Professors know cheating tricks
► From Page 1
facilitator in the Office of
Student Academic
Services. If they can’t reach
an agreement about the
academic dishonesty viola
tion, the Academic Honesty
Panel decides what to do.
If the panel doesn’t find
the student innocent of the
violation, he or she would
be subject to punishment.
Wanda Wilcox, a senior
academic adviser in the
Franklin College of Arts
and Sciences and adjunct
faculty with religion and
women’s studies, recalled
an introductory religion
class she taught where she
reported 17 students cheat
ing on one assignment.
“It was really very sad,
and it made me quite
angry,” Wilcox said. “It was
just so galling to think,
‘How stupid do you think I
am?’”
She said each class, stu
dents would write a one
paragraph essay about a
random topic, which they
would turn in at the end of
class to act as attendance.
But students began writ
ing paragraphs for each
other when someone was
absent.
Wilcox said handwriting
or an incorrectly spelled
name would give it away.
It’s clear when a student
has cheated, she said.
“There’s nothing hard
about catching them,”
Wilcox said. “It really just
hits you and you go, ‘Oh
my Ood.’”
During the 2009-2010
academic year, the most
reports of possible aca
demic dishonesty came
from the biological sciences
department, with 55
reports. The second-most
reported department on
campus was the English
department, with 30
reports, a difference of 19
reports from biological sci
ences.
When asked why biologi
helpful to visitors in
Athens.
"There are plenty of par
ents, family and friends on
gameday weekends,” Dever
said. “So if you walk down
the street and see three
cabs with the same symbol
you will connect that this is
something all cabs in
Athens should have.”
Students are encour
aged to take taxis home
from downtown if they are
intoxicated. It is a safe
alternative to walking
home alone or driving while
under the influence.
Dever said it was vital to
create a symbol that was
easily recognizable.
The team partnered
with Gina Berchin, a stu
dent studying screen-print
ing, to create an emblem
that could be easily recog
nized. Together, they chose
a scene of the Athens sky
line for the decal.
“We researched what
colors people remember
the most,” Dever said. “So
we chose the lavender and
gold because they are the
most recognizable colors."
Wilson created a
Facebook page with links
to a survey and to a peti
tion in support of imple
menting the taxi emblem
requirement.
The survey relates pri
marily to promoting down
town safety. It is meant to
the humanities at four-year public
institutions, compared to more than
18 percent who majored in business
and almost 20 percent in science-re
lated fields.
In 2008, of the degrees the
University awarded, more than 12
percent were in the humanities and
about 22 percent were in business.
Still, some professors and stu
dents recognize the need for the
humanities in education.
“The humanities are links to the
flow of information from ancient
times to the present,” said English
professor James Nagel.
Nagel said the humanities have
received no emphasis from the upper
administration.
“The most recent plans have been
the engineering school and the medi
cal school,” he said.
Nagel said he participated in a
1964 study of young engineers at
Penn State who were not progress
ing after their first job. The study
found that engineers without impor
tant communication skills, such as
cal sciences had the most
reports, Mark Farmer; the
chair of the department,
said the large number of
students contributed to
the number of reports.
With biology as the most
popular major, he said 4,300
students came through
classes and labs in the
department during the
2009-2010 academic year,
so slightly above one per
cent of those students were
caught cheating.
Farmer said most of
these issues came from
laboratory reports, where
students work together in
groups and the distinction
between whose work it is
can be confusing.
“We want to stress to
the students that the writ
ing of the lab report is indi
vidual work. Sometimes, I
guess students don’t
understand those bound
aries,” he said.
Farmer also said the
number of reports from
biological sciences shows
the department isn’t lax
about academic dishones
ty.
“I don’t necessarily look
at it as a bad thing that
biological sciences has that
many,” he said. “If we let
these things slide, I think
that sends the wrong mes
sage to students in the
community.”
The Student Academic
Honesty Council is trying
to send the tight message
about academic honesty to
students, said Jessica
Whitaker, co-chair of the
council and a senior from
Marietta.
In addition to sitting on
the Academic Honesty
Panel, one of the council’s
main functions is to raise
awareness of the honesty
policy on campus, Whitaker
said.
“It’s kind of clearing up
any questions students
have,” she said. “So they
don’t make any mistakes
and don’t violate the policy
Courtesy Gina Bkrchin
▲ Five University students aim to gain approval
by government officials of a standard emblem
for taxi companies in Athens-Clarke County.
raise community aware
ness about the risks of
being downtown.
“This survey allows peo
ple to think about their
personal downtown experi
ence,” Dever said. “It is
meant to promote change
in behavior downtown.”
Many students think
these crimes will not hap
pen to them, but the sur
vey helps students realize
anyone could be at risk.
The petition is meant to
show the student and com
munity support for man
dating the emblem.
“There is a misconcep
tion that students are not
as concerned about these
issues as they really are,”
in any way.”
Whitaker said the coun
cil, which is made up of
about 20 students, talks to
classes about the academic
policy and sometimes holds
events at Tate Plaza.
She said students react
well to the group’s out
reach, asking it many ques
tions about what is cheat
ing and what isn’t.
Bell said her office
speaks at every student
orientation about academ
ic honesty, faculty mem
bers must have academic
honesty information on
their syllabus and the
Student Honor Code is
posted in every classroom
on campus.
“All of those should
serve as reminders to stu
dents that we want them
to perform all work in the
confines of the academic
honesty policy,” she said.
Wilcox said with so many
students working to pay for
college and earn a degree,
she doesn’t want cheating
M N T m
• lip?
downtown * 546-5014 • www.masadaleather.com
NEWS
ONLINE PETITION
Whan: Through Friday
More Information: Visit http7/
www.thepetitionsKe.com/
takeaction/257/859/830/
Dever said. “By having stu
dents sign the petition
there is proof that students
are concerned.”
The group is looking to
get 500 signatures before it
presents the proposal to
the Athens-Clarke County
Commissioners.
The team hopes to pres
ent its idea to the
Commissioners at the
planned meeting on Friday.
writing and verbal presentation,
struggled in their Job perfonnances.
“And those results are still true
today,” Nagel said. “The key to suc
cess in any field is communication.”
Ruppersburg said that even stu
dents who major in biology or com
puter science benefit from humani
ties courses either required cours
es or electives.
“Even in a business setting, that's
helpfiil to understand. If you want to
market to them you need to under
stand what’s important to them,”
said Tiffany Herter-Munley, a junior
risk management major.
Herter-Munley is taking a class
about women and Christian history.
The University has also made
attempts to expand the reach of the
humanities. For example, the com
parative literature department offers
a course on literature and medicine.
“The humanities cannot afford to
be ignorant of the sciences and the
sciences cannot afford to be ignorant
of the humanities,” Ruppersburg
said.
ACADEMIC
DISHONESTY
Total Number:
337 reported violations
Plagiarism:
137 reports
Unauthorized Assistance:
180 reports
Lylng/Tamparlng/Brtbary/
Theft:
29 reports
Note: Category breakdowns
exceed total number as allega
tions may include more than
one type of violation
Source 2009-2010 University aca
demic honesty report
to devalue the University
diploma.
“I don’t want your UOA
diploma to ever be a joke
to anybody,” she said. “It
Just means too much to
too many students.”
The Red a Buck | Tuesday, November 30, 3010
Tuesday j |; n | i
C O *P Corner
c-jrj jj cillies
I. . JTqgTO
I ** Cash & Carry Roses I
I athenspFlorist s ls per dozen! I
wwwadiena-aorist.net
1 1072 Baiter St. 706.548.9940 I Juat voted Atteca' Besi Florist 1
HLjfRKL BUY ONE BREAKFAST SANDWICH
v AND GET A FREE GLAZED DONUT
6000 THRU 12/7
-F *,30-S f
OFF
Any Entree
southwest grill, V
www.moes.com 36*777* 1
WWMWMNHHHRWMNWnMRMMW
1 Large 1 Topping Pizza
Pywmo Qede * T1K499
Facials,
(706)613-3947 ‘<<tsfeanctuarySpa.com
(Now in the Histone Btfjjlevard District)
r 706-542-3243 or 800-877-3243
*> de advtsorCjeorgiacertef uga edc
* 11 fri The rnivcruix ot licorpu
fa 1 Mr Cn*rAr Cwiy UtmUm
CLASSES THAT RT lrvd*p*ndnt *nd dlitnc iMmtng
YOUR SCHEDULE 1197 South Lumpkin Street^ > Mmer'Geor^a3o6o2-3603
■ w*
;'' W Wine and Choco 1 >* *•• i&
W chocolates,
B '^m ij r' toij ^M
Wednesday DePlraß
Dopnlma -. Appr-ti/cr Menu Now Available .it Happy Houi 1
mon tues thurs
SI off nil craft HH all cloy and $2 5 croft boor
boors and night pints
specialty 1/2 price bottles
drinks of wine
1/2 price
bottles of wine l. H f St .'’<)(> ill nu<)',
3