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Wednesday, December 8, aoio | Thb Red a Black
Car*y O’Neil | Managing Editor me@randb.com
CoMrtntjr Holbrook | Opinions Editor opinlons@randb.com
Opinion Meter
A wrap-up of the semester’s ups and downs
Rodney Bennett ‘Open Records'
Rodney Bennett, vice president of
student affairs, told faculty to stop
making documents. This was a dis- 4
gusting example of a closed-door pPjiljl
system run amok. The editorial board
believes this qualifies as one of the y
worst “good ole’ boy” policies of the
semester if not the year. Calling
for no written documents represses
transparency and diminishes the
value of the University.
Engineering School
University President Michael Adams
finally did it. He got new engineering
programs approved by the Board of
Regents, and the University should
start seeing them next year. These A
new programs should meet student
demand while fulfilling a need in (t .LEW
the state. Adams said the programs
would take very little money to get
started, and though he’s already
wavered a bit on that statement, stu
dents can be happy as long as they
aren’t slammed with any new fees.
Smoking Ban
We didn’t get much from SGA this
semester, but we definitely got a holi
er-than-thou attitude. SGA senators
proposed a smoking ban on campus
never mind that it was unenforce- rp- -H
able, ignored non-students and tres-
passed on basic rights. This campus y
is too large and too diverse for this to
be an issue. A note for next semester:
stop trying to save our lungs, and
start fixing real problems on campus.
No. 1 Party School
Halfway through our year as the
champs, the University community
has proven it knows how to party. In
fact, with an athletic director, editor
in chief and several downtown drink- \ ®
ers in hot water for alcohol-related \ j
problems, the University may be par
tying a bit too hard. Let’s do our best
to keep up our image in the new year,
but this time without the arrests.
Dean of Students Search
The University has done its fair
share of waffling during the Dean of
Students search. A committee nar
rowed the pool of applicants in the
first round, introduced two entirely
different candidates this semester r 3
and finally chose Bill McDonald "5
who seemed to come out of nowhere.
McDonald takes his post in January, v
and questions about his ability to
lead at such a large school still lin
ger. With the University not seem
ing to care about student opinion
during the search, we wonder how
McDonald will be able to act as our
advocate.
Rhodes Scholar
Tracy Yang the University’s new
est Rhodes Scholar has proven
our campus can produce more than a
drunken examples of the No.l party /L
school title. The Red & Black con- QgSfii
gratulates Yang for this enormous
achievement. We are amazed by her
academic abilities. And Yang, we
hope you have an excellent time at
Oxford. Don’t get burnt out on all of
the fish and chips!
Football Season
The Georgia Bulldogs notched exact
ly as many wins as it did losses this
year in the regular season, the very
definition of mediocrity. One of the
losses came against Colorado, which
is not bowl-eligible this year, and one
of the wins came against Idaho State,
which can never be bowl-eligible, so y
we didn’t exactly put out a strong
effort. The editorial board implores
A. J. Green to return for his senior
season, where behind anew strength
and conditioning coach he will surely
lead Georgia to a national champion
ship.
Mimi Ensley, Courtney Holbrook,
Carey O’Neil and Robbie Ottley
for the editorial board
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Opinions
....... ...|i |
Don’t be afraid to say ‘Christmas’
Seriously, what Is a “noel tree”?
A friend showed me a pic
ture of a “noel tree” lot near
Seattle that sells Christmas trees.
Someone should tell the folks
who manage that lot that “noel” is
the French word for “Christmas”
and in the United States, we speak
English.
That same friend predicts that
in 15 years, TV shows and govern
ment officials won’t be calling Dec.
25 “Christmas.” Too divisive, the
government will say. Not tolerant of
the other religions in America, talk
ing heads will argue.
Doesn’t it matter that polls
show about 82 percent of
Americans identify as Christians
and that even non-religious
Americans celebrate Christmas?
It’s absurd how some people
avoid saying “Christmas.” For
instance, “noel tree.” I had never
heard of the phrase before seeing
the picture. Chances are, if you’re
buying a tree, you’re celebrating
Christmas, not Hanukkah or the
Islamic New Year. And if you’re cel
ebrating Christmas, you’re likely
calling it a Christmas tree.
Some folks in Philadelphia com
plained the city’s outdoor market
that features a Christmas tree
and Santa’s house shouldn’t be
named “Christmas Village” because
that excluded people of other
beliefs.
(The mayor upheld the name
“Christmas Village,” by the way.)
And I’ve heard whispers of a
possible opposition to Tate 2’s
Christmas tree.
But let’s not create a church
and-state problem here. How many
dinners have presidents hosted in
the White House for Muslim, Hindu
and Jewish holidays? Did that
Football tickets need priority point system
Attention all football
fanatics!
I know we’re
still licking our wounds,
but the time to address
issues from this past sea
son starts now.
While some of you are
chomping at the bit to
see chEmges within the
athletic department, I’m
more concerned about
happenings off the field.
For starters, where
were till the students this
year? As someone who
arrives right when they
open the gates, I’m used
to watching the fans flood
into the stadium.
But this year, we strug
gled to fill the student
section.
Even though students
filed in at some games,
they always seemed to
vanish at the half.
Something needs to be
done about this.
I think it is time we
address how we distrib
ute student tickets.
Now, we allot tickets
based on a seniority sys
tem. Those who have the
most University hours get
the first pick. And as a
senior, I appreciated get-
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Varner
mean they instituted Hinduism as
the national religion? No. They
hosted those celebrations to
spread goodwill to Americans of
these faiths.
American businesses tiptoe
around the word “Christmas”
because it might offend non-Chris
tians? Really? Our own govern
ment recognizes Christmas as a
national holiday which no other
faith receives.
Though fundamentally a
Christian holiday, Christmas is not
an exclusively pious tradition any
more.
Black Friday brings to
Christmas a manic rush to find the
best prices so people can place nice
gifts under the tree.
The tree itself isn’t even a
Christian symbol. Calling it a “holi
day tree,” counterintuitive as that
is, doesn’t take away from Christ,
who never made decorating a tree
a sacrament.
Santa Claus isn’t in the Bible.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” is about
human relationships, not a rela
tionship with God. And singing
“Silver Bells” won’t convert your
little sister to Christianity.
I imagine people who celebrate
Christmas spend more time think
ing about the perfect gift than
about Jesus.
Rill disclosure l’m a Christian,
thankful for Christ’s arrival in the
world. The holiday reminds me to
be more gracious and to wish oth
ers well.
M Jeremy
gf Dailey
ting all the games I
requested this year.
However, this is not
the most efficient method
to ensure our team gets
the packed house they
deserve.
While I cringe at the
thought of endorsing
another school’s meth
ods, Louisiana State
University has the best
plan for allocating stu
dent tickets. Rather than
considering seniority,
LSU awards tickets based
on a priority point sys
tem.
Essentially, students
receive points for each
event they attend. And
those with the most
points at the beginning of
the football season get
first pick.
Implementing a similar
system at the University
would be extremely bene
ficial.
First, it would ensure
the most hard-core ftuis
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But I also particularly enjoy
white Christmas lights on apart
ment balconies, Christmas carol
marathons on the radio, warm
blankets on chilly nights and how
crisp air naturally blushes cheeks.
Why must we target a holiday of
both religious and secular goodwill
as being offensive?
If businesses in Dearborn, Mich.
—a third of whose population is
Arab-American painted their
windows with “Eid Mubarak” or if
bank tellers in Brooklyn which is
home to a large Hasidic Jew popu
lation told patrons “Happy
Hanukkah," I’d be more than fine
with that. I greet my Muslim and
Jewish friends that way.
If people are buying menorahs,
tell them “Happy Hanukkah.”
If people are buying trees, tell
them “Merry Christmas.”
If you’re not sure what people
celebrate, “happy holidays” is fine
—but people shouldn’t be offended
if you assume they celebrate
Christmas.
So this year, don’t repress your
Christmas spirit.
It’s OK to have a Christmas tree
in your mall.
Most people are there anyway to
see Santa and buy Xbox Kinect.
Saying “season’s greetings” or
complimenting people on their
“noel tree” decorations is ludicrous
and a little cowardly.
Let’s not be spineless. Let’s call
it what it is: Christmas.
Here’s hoping for a little sanity
and genuine respect for each other
this time of year.
Paige Varner is a senior
from Albany majoring in
magazines and is a news writer
for The Red & Black
among us Eire able to get
into the stadium. I’m
tired of sitting with the
pansies who don’t care
about the gEune, while
those who bleed red Eind
black are stuck outside.
We’re here to cheer on
our team. And those who
go for the right reasons
deserve to get in, no mat
ter their yesu-.
Second, it would
reduce scalping of away
game tickets. The ID sys
tem estabUshed in 2009
was tremendously helpful
in curbing the number of
students selling their
tickets for high amounts.
But it didn’t affect the
lofty costs of purchasing
tickets for away games.
Many of us are still
stuck buying tickets for
exorbitant prices from
hussies on Facebook who
have never been to a foot
ball gEune.
The travel expenses
involved in going to other
campuses are steep. We
shouldn’t be forced to pay
more to someone who
cheats the system.
With a priority point
method, these nerds
wouldn’t be granted smy
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tickets and those of us
actually willing to follow
our team to the great
beyond will go for face
value.
Finally, this plan would
increase attendance at
other sporting events. As
much as I love a free
T-shirt, this would pro
vide a less costly incen
tive to lure students to a
vsiriety of other games.
All of our teams would
benefit from rising atten
dance rather thsui just
Mark Richt’s boys at
Sanford Stadium.
Next year when we go
undefeated and A.J.
Oreen wins the Heisman,
we must make sure our
football team has as
much true support as
possible.
Be proactive and con
tact Athletic Director
Greg McGarity at ad@
sports.uga.edu.
Tell him you want a
priority point system
implemented at the
University.
Jeremy Dailey is a
senior from Conyers
majoring in
political science
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