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THI WIST GEORGIAN, WEDNESDAY MAY 6, 1981
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the Student* Center last summer
However, after new evidence gathered
by the KPA indicated the treatment
process may be more tedinicaJ than
the administration was advised, the
school authorities decided to have
tests conducted before continuing the
spraying process. "We don’t know if
there is a problem, we could be
spending a lot of money on something
that isn’t a problem,” said Townsend.
Students have compounded the
possibility of enabling the asbestos
fibers to become a health threat by
breaking open the ceilings by jabbing
it and writing on the ceilings which
allows the fibers to become airborne.
“They don’t need to be playing
frisbee in the halls,” said Brown
"The real tragedy is here because
residents have stirred up fibers in the
ceilings by poking it and writing their
names on them," Townsend said. The
EPA reports that no safe level to
asbestos exposure has been found
Townsend believes the work will
have to be conducted by an outside
contractor and is not optimistic about
receiving federal funds He speculates
that the school will either seal or tear
down ceilings although another
alternative is to build a ceiling over
the existing one ‘‘l made a
commitment of not running the risk
from the start and we are going to live
with it . perhaps now Brown can get
on to something else...he was so
determined to huike us the showcase
Continued from page 1
June 1980 The discovery of the asbestos hazard raised serious questions
and the threat was considered dangerous enough by Congress for them to pass
legislation in the form of Public Law 96-270 on June 14,1980
Summer 1980 - Campus Engineers begin spraying the Student Center with
16,700 worth of sealant
Fall 1960 - New evidence gathered by the EPA that a spraying process may
aggravate the problem Plan to spray dorms is aborted, and a decision to have
tests conducted to confirm the presence of asbestos is chosen
Feb 1960 School officials receive a SIO,OOO estimate from Joe Martin, an
engineer from the law of Engineering, and Testing Company.
March 1980 School officials receive a "firm quotation” of $7,000 on the cost
of asbestos tests m campus buildings
A decision to use funds from Auxiliary enterprises is made to pay for the
tests.
Joe Martin visits campus to take samples from buildings
April 27. 1980 A report recommendation on the tests is received by Town
send and it indicates that asbestos is present in some campus buildings
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Asbestos
of the system,” he said “All the FPA
is doing is running around out of
Atlanta agitating the problem ”
However Brown said, “I have no
authority to make West Georgia do a
damn thing, 1 never tried to single out
West Georgia and it was never our
purpose to hurt W est Georgia.
Questioned over what other schools
in the stale were doing Townsend
said, “I don’t know if an effort is
being made to correct it or not, none
that 1 know of are doing anything but
I made a commitment and we are
going to live with it...we are gonna
have to put our heads together to
work out the steps to be
taken People can be assured that we
are taking, what I call extra
precautions, you can’t ask for more,”
he said
Townsend would not disclose any
more information from the report
"The only things you don’t know are,
what buildings the asbestos is in. the
time frame, and how much it’s gonna
cost. I’d like everyone to settle down
and let us proceed... find some other
things to write about,” he said
lust week, David Page, a reporter
from Channel 11, visited the campus
along with Brown to discuss the
problem with SGA senator, Dale
Brunton. According to Brunton,
approximately 45 minutes of film was
shot. He also said they filmed parts of
Pritchard Hall, and interviewed some
of the residents. Channel 11 is
expected to air a news report on
asbestos soon
■ Annals
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Proven Theft Reduction System Starts Today
BY KELLY FKAINEY
If you’ve ever had anything of value
stolen from you, you know the feeling
unless you have the serial number or
some positive identification of the arti
cle, you probably won t see it again.
Starting this week Public Safety and
Residence Life will begin together to
tackle the problem by engraving stu
dent’s valuables Peggy McHugh, assis
tant director of Residence life and
Lieutenant Margo Akers of the Public
Safety Department pooled their time
and resources in an attempt to find a
solution to the problem It is nearly im
passible for a student to reclaim a
stolen article when they don’t have a
record of the serial number or model of
Continued from page I
“We went through some difficult
years in the 60 sand 70 s Even then,
there was the trust and involvement of
the city that never went away The
community and people from the sur
rounding area have consistently
assisted the college with contributions
to the College Foundation for support of
the financial aid program for students
Literally thousands of students have
been enabled to go to college because of
this support The industrial leaders iof
Carrollton > have been major factors in
the development of the college through
the years. I think the relationship
between college and the community
right now is at an all-time high .”
Where is the college headed?: “The
college has a momentum, a healthy and
stable academic program, a stability of
enrollment There’s a good atmosphere
and attitude of the students at the col
lege, reflected in the demand for stu
dent housing, food service, bookstore,
and other operations on campus
“In a period of time when this college
has tightened academically, we’ve
managed to increase or maintain
enrollment The prospects for the com
ing year look very good
“The percentage of faculty with
PhD's and the strength and morale of
the faculty, and staff as a whole are go
ing as well for us as they have in a long
time.
‘The reputation of the college has im
proved tremendously in the past two or
three years The climate and the quali
ty of life among students on campus is
improving We’ve got a lot of momen
tum It’s the culmination of a lot of
work
' The college has gone through a lot of
eras in the past 20 years. We’ve
developed in a much shorter period of
time than most colleges and similar
size.
“We’ve been a senior college for a lit
tle more than 20 years In that time, you
have to build a faculty, a library, and
an academic tradition in a very short
time Enrollment grew by leaps and
bounds. Construction of 90 percent of
the floor space has been in the past 15-16
years There were years in the 60 s
when, we were growing, new degree
programs, new buildings, a lot of fran
tic activity. When that happens, you
leave a few loose ends.
"In the late 60 sand early ?o’s, we ex
perienced some very difficult times
with studenf'Hirmoil and unrest, as did
many schools across the country After
that, there was a'’calming of the
waters', and then the present era, one
of strengthening and stabilizing of the
institution, began With Townsend,
we've seen a refocusing of direction, a
mainstream direction, which is a
reflection of a trend in society towards
dependability and reliability. Ex
tremism is out. moderation is in.”
On the topic of West Georgia as a
community college: "We ought to serve
a community college role for those in
the commuting area A college is a part
of its environment. It should interact
within that environment in a positive
way.’’
How does that square with the policy
the valuable This new system has been
designed as a service for the students
as well as the school
Articles will be registered in three
ways First, the student 's social secure
ty number will be engraved on the
valuable In addition, larger items will
have a sucker placed on the hack in
structing anyone who finds a lost or
stolen arUcle to contact West Georgia s
Department of Public Safety A form
will also be kept at Public Safety listing
each valuable that was registered with
the make, model, and serial number
This service will be especially useful
to the students not only while thqy are
here at West Georgia but also after they
graduate, because as Akers says, "Ten
years from now the articles wifl sUli be
of increasing admissions standards:
“It doesn’t square with it at all We
should accommodate the community
college contingent Flexibility should
be built in It's not a popular trend on
this campus at this time. ’’
The strong points of West (.eorgia:
We have diversity, in many ways Look
at the student body We've got more
varied groups of students than in most
colleges in the state The faculty is
more aggressive and more university
like than many institutions of the state
There’s a greater interface between the
faculty and staff.
“Last fall, Bruce Lyon, ( dean of Stu
dent Services) Dr John Lewis, <vice
president) and I had some students in
for coffee, and talked about various
things One student, a transfer, said he
was astounded that students had access
to faculty and administrators so readi
ly One commented on how friendly the
college is, and the beauty of the cam
pus .’’
“The new football program has been
helpful It has drawn a great many pro
spects to visit —most of them won’t end
up on the team, but they meet the peo
ple here, and they like what they see
There's a huge increase in applications
over this time last year.
“In visiting other colleges in the state
you end up basically feeling good about
this place It's better here than in other
places The parking situation it's not
so big here that you have an intolerable
walk The university is worse It can be
inconvenient (here), but in the big con
text, it's not that important."
Weak points of the college: "All col
leges and universities are suffering
from a weakening of public confidence
in the institutions A decade or more
ago, the attitude was you must get into
college.’ It doesn't exist any more. We
haven't successfully packaged the
message that if you come here you'll
enjoy life more and have a better life
“At Tech, you have engineering
Here, you have a lot of things It’s
healthy for the college, but difficult to
make into a commercial. Y’ou just can’t
package it that neatly.”
Football: "It has been exceedingly
successful. We did the necessary
preparation, chose the right division,
picked the right coach. We’re pleased
with the responses of the student bocty
We've learned a lot We've been almost
overwhelmed with the response of the
prospective players because of Jfie
numbers that have responded Overall,
I think it already has had a positiw ef
fect on the atmosphere and er\piron
ment of the campus and I feel/it will
make a major contribution to campus
activity in the fall.
On the intercollegiate athletic pro
gram in general: ”We are trying to
develop a varied program that will
meet the interests of men and women
students alike, both participants and
spectators, that is within our financial
means; and that is in the proper
balance with other components of the
college. We never expect to go ‘big
time’ in the sense that some of the ma
jor universities across the country do,
and we are making every effort to avoid
the abuses that have occurred at some
engraved and still be on file ” Even if
something is stolen or taken out erf the
state, the information from the form
can be entered into a computer that
registers stolen and missing articles
with the police on a nationwide basis
The new service will begin this week
with teams from Public Safety and
Residence Life covering a different
residence hall each night to engrave
and register each student's valuables
The service is not mandatory and is
free to all students living on campus In
the future, .Akers also hopes to make
the service available to non-resident
students
McHugh has seen the program work
well at schools such as Illinois State
-Stallings
colleges and universities We do think,
however, that an excellent athletic pro
gram is a worthwhile goal for the enjoy
ment of students and for the overall
good of the college " __
Vandalism: "It can't be attributed to
any one thing (As far as the football
team goes) it s a very small handful of
those people involved, and they've been
dismissed from the team You've got to
remember that the team isn't establish
ed yet It’s all freshmen with a few up
perclassmen Coach Pate, and his
associates, have put a handle on it. I
don’t look for this to continue The foot
ball people will be exemplary citizens
We re going to see that this is the goal
Chieftain: i think it’s time to drop it
It's not one of those products of the col
lege that we would bold up as an exam
ple of the best things we can do around
here
"The yearbook concept is one whose
time has come and gone Students in
general obviously aren’t interested,
either in working on it or obtaining one
"We need to have a first-class year
book, or not have one at all I think if we
do anything, we ought to have a whole
new concept in which a chronological
story of an academic year is presented
pictorially, simply as matter of
historical record for the students.”
Student Apathy: “Students are not
apathetic That allegation is wrong
They just may not care about the things
in w hich you and 1 are interested
“Complaints (about student apathy)
usually come from student leaders
whose problem is that rank-and-file
students aren’t interested in the pro
jects or programs the student leaders
are pushing They don’t care about stu
dent leaders who say rally around me
and my cause ’”
Weekend entertainment: “This is
another area about which there is
usually a great deal of undue concern.
If students prefer to go home or
elsewhere on weekends, I don’t think
we should try to persuade them to stay
here. “They’ve got their own lives. We
should live and let live.
“One of the reasons many of them
come here in the first place is proximity
to their homes, jobs, families and
friends Students are not as oriented to
the campus as much anymore We keep
thinking that we have to program'for
every student interest Let'em plug in
here as they see fit. Don't force-feed it
to them
“I would opt for allowing the students
to pursue whatever special interests
they wish to pursue The point is. it’s
their business.”
Auditorium: “We need a new'
auditorium desperately. It, together
with the business annex have been on
order for a long time. The quality erf the
Fine Arts programs are hurt by the
lack of a facility in which to present
them.”
(Referring to long history of requests
for a new' auditorium) "My impression
is that early on. it was in the desirable’
category’. Now it’s in the urgent
category. (The present facility) is a fire
safety hazard. It’s nci a suitable place
to stage productions which are of very
high quality.
University and the University of Ten
nessee It will certainly make things a
lot easier for the students as well as the
school in locating and claiming stolen
valuables But will it act as any kind of
deterrent against theft? Akers feels
that if people know that items are
registered and on file they will be less
likely to steal someone’s valuables
Asked about her feelings regarding
the program Akers said, “If it helps one
person, it’s worth it.”
The schedule for engraving is:
Wed —7p m Bowdon, 8 p.m. Downs
Thurs. 7p m Gunn, 8 p.m. Cobb
Mon —7pm Tyus,Bp.m Roberts
Wed., May 13 —7p m. Boykin, Bp.m.
Pritchard
"We’ve done all the politicking that
we are allowed to do. Now we’re
waiting on the decision-makers in the
Central Office (Board of Regents) and
the state legislature The new business
school annex is at the top of the list,
then the auditorium
Parking situation: "Obviously, we
have to look at our alternatives. The in
crease in on-campus enrollment has ex
acerbated the present situation We’ll
lode at zoning, at building new areas
That’s a move that everybody doesn't
favor You have to take up trees and
grass space to do it. We have to look at
all the possibilities But compared to
most other colleges and universities,
ours is not that bad. (On sacrificing
’natural’ areas for parking lots): My
objection or lack of it is worth about 15
cents in the big picture. Mine is just one
voice among many The abundance of
natural beauty is a great asset erf the
campus We shouldn't do anything to
limit that. But here are some limited
areas that could be used. ’ ’
Asbestos: "It's a bum rap on the col
lege Many houses, buildings, schools
and hospitals were built in the period of
years in which it was used. We’re being
singled out against a whole array of in
stitutions
“Nobody has yet come forward with
definitive information on the danger or
lack of danger What action you take to
day (to correct the problem) may prove
to be wrong tomorrow I think we need
more study.”
When the question was first raised in
1978, Stallings reportedly said that the
college had no asbestos problem. He
responds: “I checked with the people
who supposedly knew about the
buildings, and I was assured at that
point that there was no asbestos pro
blem. Based on the information I had
access to at that time, I said something
to that effect
"It’s a matter we need to know a
great deal more about There are a lot
of would-be experts who don’t agree
with each other.”
The Reagan .Administration's propos
ed budget cuts: "There are areas that
could be modified, improved and
tightened up to the limit. I feel strongly
that all (rf the programs in existence
should be continued at least at the pre
sent levels of funding. In many cases it
is the only way students from low and
middle-income families can go to col
lege
“We’ve just returned from a con
ference in Washington where we were
briefed on the status of the programs in
question
Our institution. Townsend, myself,
and others have compiled the facts and
figures on the numbers of students at
this institution receiving aid, and in
what amounts and categories. We’ve
communicated with Congressman
(Newt) Gingrich, and to the National
Education Association which is the
representing lobbying effort for the col
lege. We’re staying up to date with the
legislative people, and the education
associations.