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VOLUME 47-NUMBER 19
Regents Pass the Buck
On 50-Min. Class Issue
BY MARK McCLOUD
The highly controversial 50-minute
class issue is no longer a topic for
discussion. Swallow hard if you will,
but the Board erf Regents wrote the
final chapter last week.
Winter
Enrollment
Up 9.6%
Winter quarter enrollment figures
at West Georgia College show a 9.6
percent increase over last winter with
5,390 taking classes, officials report.
The number of credit hours students
are taking has increased 11.5 percent
over last winter.
This quarter there are 3,121 females
and 2,269 male students at West
Georgia. Of this number, 283 of the
women and 148 of the men are mar
ried, they reported.
Black enrollment of 758 constitutes
14 percent of the total. Georgia
residents number 5,241 with 122 com
ing from 25 other states and one U.S.
possession. There are 22 foreign
students from 14 different countries.
Number of students living on cam
pus is up 17 percent over last winter
with 2,337 housed on campus.
Fall enrollment includes 52 pre
freshmen, 1,874 freshmen, 951
sophomores, 667 juniors, 744 seniors,
1,068 graduate students, four tran
sients, and 30 classified as “others.”
Georgia counties with the largest
number of students registered in
clude: Carroll with 1,026, Cobb 512,
DeKalb 476, Fulton 462, Douglas 309,
Coweta 286, Floyd 164, Haralson 159,
Gwinnett 140, Clayton 122, Whitfield
113, and Polk 103. West Georgia has
students from 118 of Georgia’s 159
counties.
Phi Beta Sigma Chapter to Open
By ANGELATURNER
Anew fraternity is coming to West
Georgia.
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., a
primarily black fraternity, has taken
all the necessary steps for
establishing a chapter on West
Georgia Campus.
Discussion during fall quarter, in
itiated by Anthony Forrest, a 19-year
old freshman from Atlanta, and some
half dozen other young men, led to the
actual formation of a “pledge line," a
term used by Greeks to indicate a
group of people pledging a particular
fraternity or sorority.
Through family connections, For
rest had met William E. Stanley Jr., a
Southern Regional Director of Phi
Beta Sigma, who is based in Atlanta.
Forrest persuaded Stanley to come
talk to a group of interested young
men on the Carrollton campus.
Impressed by the interest of these
young men, Stanley requested to have
an interview with the directors of Stu
dent Activities of West Georgia Col
lege. After the interview, a formal ap
plication was made. This was ac
cepted and, as a result, a pledge line
was formed on the eighth of
February, according to Emerson
Moore, assistant director of student
activities, and the campus advisor to
the aspiring Greeks.
[ ‘ There are no foreseeable obstacles
that can stop the establishment of this
I fraternity, so long as the rules and
guidelines govening organizations are
adhered to," Moore commented.
~ Presently, the pledge line, known as
Cresents. consists of 18 pledgees. An
“interest group” of an estimated 20
young men, known as the Squires, has
also been formed under the presiden
cy of Ricky Seals, also a 19-year-old
freshman of Atlanta.
Moore reported that this frater
nity’s philosophy is to stress
brotherhood, scholarship, and ser
vices
Originally, Phi Beta Sigma was
founded at Howard University on
January 9, 1914 by three then
students: A Langston Taylor,
Leonard F. Morse, and C. I. Brown.
Since that time the fraternity has
gained national recognition and
established chapters on campuses all
ova- the United States, including
Hawaii.
rrHE
WEST GEORGIAN
Declaring the matter an
“institutional one”, the Board declin
ed to hear the appeal by the Student
Government after the Regents con
ducted a preliminary investigation,
review, and consideration.
Thus, West Georgia will return to
50-nunute/sb-elass schedule next fall.
The Regents said the matter was
settled internally and in accordance
with established procedures at West
Georgia College.
“The Board of Regents does not in
volve itself in the setting of in
stitutional schedules other than to
determine that Regents’ policies are
followed," explained Henry Neal, ex
ecutive secretary of the Regents. The
standard schedule, observed by vir
tually all of the University System
sought and received permission to
depart from this schedule on an ex
perimental basis Whether or not that
permission was required is
debatable; certainly no permission is
required for a return to the standard
schedule,” Neal said.
Michael Kay, SGA president, in
itially appealed to West Georgia
Pray For Good Weather;
Album FM May Be Back
Once again words of hope can be
heard coming trom the front offices of
the campus radio station WWGC.
After two years of planning and
numerous setbacks, it looks as though
the final step is about to be taken for
the increase in power to 950 watts.
The station, which has been off the
air for the first half of winter quarter
due to problems with the new anten
na, received the long awaited package
containing the repaired antenna Mon
day afternoon and in the words of Sta
tion Engineer David Chapman, “Now
all we can do is pray for good
weather. ”
And it does seem that the weather is
the only serious worry for the staff
and listeners of WWGC According to
The qualifications for pledging this
fraternity at the present time, coin
cide with the West Georgia College re
quirements for starting any social
organization. These requirements
state that the student must complete
one quarter at West Georgia, and
must have a grade point average of
2.0 or higher.
A great number of students inter
viewed about the new fraternity
stated that they were surprised at how
fast everything is taking place. Some
students expressed doubts.
For example, a brother of the
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity stated that
while, he was glad to see another
“frat” being established on this cam
pus he felt that the pledgees were
making a mistake. “I just hope that
these guys will be in school this same
time next year, and won’t have flunk
ed out because of academic pro
blems.”
However, according to Moore, this
would not likely be a problem. The
G.P.A.’s among the pledgees range
from 2.4 to 4.0.
Among other black Greeks voicing
their opinions were Robert Boyd 111,
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. who
stated, “I think that the pledgees
should have a minimum of thirty
hours, and have a higher G.P.A.
because it is very easy to slip below a
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Get an invitation to attend this party? Students braved
drizzling rain, long lines, last Friday to be among the first
WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE, CARROLLTON, GA. 30118
President, Maurice Townsend, but
was denied because the president said
it was a matter for the faculty to
decide, rather than the administra
tion.
“The reason they (the Board)
wouldn't consider it was because they
didn’t know enough of the background
material. I just wish they would have
looked into it more before declaring it
an institutional matter," Kay said.
Kay says he plans to start sending
out information packets to the
Regents so that in the future, if an ap
peal is made, they may be more in
formed on college matters.
The Faculty Senate passed the mo
tion to return to the 50-minute pro
gram during their October meeting.
Since then, it has drawn considerable
student criticism and favorable
response by at least half of the facul
ty. A petition with 2,316 student
signatures calling for a reversal of the
decision was recognized by the Senate
in their December meeting, but at the
same time, they reaffirmed their
original position.
Program Director Jeff Styles the sta
tion Is more than ready to go on the
air. We have a lot of fine jocks,
several new programs, musical and
otherwise, and we are generally in
really good shape. We hope to sur
prise a lot of people with the im
provements in the station and its pro
gramming.” But preparedness counts
for little in the station’s situation since
they were also eager to go on the air at
the beginning of the quarter. But as
Station Manager Marie Chapman put
it, “Murphy’s Law strikes again.”
The station’s hopes to sign on with the
power increase at the start of the
Winter Quarter were dashed when
flaws were discovered in the new
Continued on page 3
2.0 during and after pledging. Other
than these changes, I feel that there
should be a large variety of black
fraternal organizations. ’ ’
Fred O’Neal, Kappa Alpha Psi
Fraternity Inc., added, “I feel that
they have the right to expand their
horizons just as someone gave us the
chance to do. They are not detrimen
tal to us.” ,
Another opinion was given by Greg
Hollis, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
Inc., who said, “To each his own; we
need more black Greeks.
Katherine Anderson, Delta Sigma
Theta Sorority, Inc., stated, “I don’t
see anything wrong with the idea; I
just hope that they take the right pro
cedures in making an establishment
on this campus, so, in the long run
their charter won’t be taken away
from them."
Also, Olga Watts, Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority Inc. voiced her
thought, “I think that these guys seem
very eager, and they have positive at
titudes; therefore, more power to
them!”
The role in Greek life of this new
fraternity remains to be seen. If it is
successful, there will be other in
terested young men waiting to pledge
spring quarter. Also, the establish
ment of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.
will be encouraged since it is the
sister sorority to Phi Beta Sigma.
to get their pre-registration slips turned in.
jf
Townsend Comes To Rescue;
Allots $ 1500 For Weightlifters
BY MARK McCLOUD
In an effort to keep peace among
school-supported athletes and
athletically-inclined students who
share the school’s weightlifting equip
ment, President Maurice Townsend
has appropriated $1,500 from student
activity funds for the purchase of new
equipment.
The new equipment, which is ex
pected to be delivered sometime this
week, will be placed in the “old bam”
which will continue to be the weightlif
ting facility for the general student
public. Meanwhile, athletes will have
their own weight room in the base
ment of Row Hall, the athletic dorm
on campus.
A majority of weightlifting equip
ment which had been available for use
by both students and athletes fall
quarter was transferred to Row from
the bam creating a minor uproar by
the students who felt they were being
nudged out altogether. The transfer
had prevented use by anyone other
than those athletes living in Row
because the conditions of the base
ment required strict supervision
because of exposed pipes and valves.
“I think it (the money) is very
generous to come up with on such a
Local Legislators Like Chances
Of Obtaining University Status
BY DEBBIE GODBEE
West Georgia has a good chance at
becoming a university as any in
stitution in the state according to
three native son legislators.
Georgia Southern and Valdosta
State are also seeking a status change
to university. West Georgia research
personnel are working toward a May 1
deadline for a written proposal re
questing university status for the col
lege from the Board of Regents of the
University System, said Dr. Richard
Folk, instructional and research ser
vices director.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1982
short notice and in the middle of the
year considering the demands of stu
dent activity funds,” said Dr. Bruce
Lyon, dean of student services who
worked continuously on the problem
upon the request of disgruntled
students.
According to Lyon, many of the
unhappy students view their
weightlifting privileges like a religion
requiring strict devotion and miss
ing a single day’s workout can con
stitute an unforgivable sin. He said
the majority of these students pro
bably didn’t realize how much of the
equipment actually belonged to the
football team. “What was left behind
was not adequate both in quality and
quantity,” said Lyon who was under
the impression that only a few
students were using the facility, until
several delegations of weightlifting
types called to complain last week.
Lyon believes that with the addition
of new equipment combined with the
existing outfit, will keep the recrea
tional weightlifters happy and
eliminate the conflicts between the
two groups.
U.S. Congressman Newt Gingrich, a
former professor at West Georgia,
said he felt this college should be
seriously considered for the status
change if any other institution in the
state should be. “Obviously I’m very
prejudiced since I have many good
friends on the faculty,” but he added
that, in his opinion, the faculty and the
school’s programs such as football
and debate are obviously ready for
university status.
Gerald Johnson, Georgia District 66
Post 1 representative and a member
of the House Committee on Higher
Education, said, “I support it 100 per
cent. We can get ready for it even if
we don’t get it.”
Like Gingrich, Johnson could not
predict whether the change will be
granted by the Regents, but he said,
“The number one thing the Regents
will look at when considering West
Georgia is the size and quality of the
graduate school.”
Johnson, who attended West
Georgia for four years, said that a
large and well-respected graduate
school is something that the two other
contenders for university status do
not have.
“I think that from talking with
President Maurice Townsend and
looking at the criteria, West Georgia
has a good a chance as any other in
stitution,” said Charles Thomas,
Georgia representative of the District
66 Post 2. Thomas attended West
Georgia for one year.
“I’m in favor of it and plan to talk
with members of the committee,”
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Lyon said plans are also being made
to repair the upholstry and carpeting
in the bam. Further, “several of us
would like to see the weightlifting pro
gram be part of the physical educa
tion curriculum," Lyon said.
Lyon says word was put out fall
quarter that the equipment would
eventually be transferred, but that
many of the students didn't realize the
extent of what was going to be shipped
away. "I haven’t seen the inventory,
but Coach (Jack) Brinkley has
assured me that nothing was taken
that wasn’t supposed to,” Lyon said.
Before intercollegiate football was
established, the weight room was
housed in the H.P.E. Building and was
supervised by the now-defunct
Barbell Club and the intramural
department. When the existing equip
ment purchased by the club was com
bined with purchases and donations
for the football team, the weight room
was moved to the bam. During the fall
quarter, the football team utilized the
weights during the mornings and the
students during the evenings,
creating a state of peaceful coex
istence.
said Thomas, who stressed the merits
of West Georgia’s faculty, library,
graduate programs and enrollment.
Regent Lamar Plunkett of Bowdon,
said, “I think West Georgia needs to
develop within its own programs now.
We have come a very long way and
I’m particularly pleased with it, but I
doubt it will go beyond the master’s
program. I would think it would be
better judgement to build the college
to be a strong viable college with a
master’s program rather than seek
ing the distinction of being a universi
ty.”
Last November University System
Chancellor Vernon Crawford said,
“West Georgia has more graduate
students than any other college in the
state. Since a university needs upper
level graduates to go into doctoral
programs, this is a positive point,”
but he added that other factors in the
decision are geography of the school,
money, and the existing faculty at the
institution in its present state.
Plunkett, like the University
System Chancellor, believes money
will be a factor in the decision.
Crawford said, “To create anew
university would be very expensive. I
can’t see the money in our budget for
more than one, and I have doubts
about that. Looking at the money fac
tor, it is my guess that we are not go
ing to do it, ” Crawford said last fall.
Johnson said he felt West Georgia
has handled the status change process
much better than Georgia Southern
and Valdosta State and has obtained
no “negative press and flack. They’re
following the proper channels and not
trying to stir up anything. ”