Newspaper Page Text
page 5
Wednesday, October 12,2005
Roberts Hall closes down, thanks to help from many
By Melanie McClellan, Vice President
for Student Services & Tom Mackel,
Director of Public Safety
Guest Opinion
We are pleased to report that most of
the evacuees in Roberts Hall have found
permanent housing and have begun to
make good progress in rebuilding their
lives and that our community has been
wonderful in helping them achieve that.
UWG originally committed to keep
Roberts Hall open for 30 days, through
Oct. 2; later we tentatively extended our
plans to stay open for one more week to
assure that all of our guests had time to
locate the resources they would need to
make their next steps. Because almost all
the guests found permanent housing, we
were able to shut down Oct. 7.
We have served more than 200 people
during this past month -some moved on
after a few days, while many stayed with
us and decided to settle in Carrollton, at
least for now. Our peak number at any one
time was 183. Most community agencies
were regularly onsite to provide services
and information to our guests - including
Tanner Medical Center, Carrollton City
Schools, Carrollton Housing Authority,
the Department of Family and Children
Services, the Health Department, the
Department of Labor, Family Connections
and the Emergency Shelter.
The staff from these agencies (and
probably others I have forgotten to
mention) worked tirelessly above and
beyond their regular hours for the past
month. They were supplemented by
Letters to the editor...
Student points
out mistake
Dfiac^dit^
My name is Joy
Clifton and I am presently
a senior here at the
University. Lately, it has
come to my attention the
reoccurring inaccuracies
of information printed in
our school newspaper.
I must say, as a student
leader, I am thoroughly
disgusted with this fact. No
matter how many students
take the time to read our
newspaper, they do deserve
to receive accurate and
timely information. After
all, this is an educational
institution.
First case in point:
Two weeks ago the Student
Activities Council held
its annual homecoming
pageant. The West
Georgian provided no
coverage in that week’s
paper or the week that
followed. The newspaper
should have reported
what organizations
were represented, who
their representatives
were and who made the
homecoming court.
Then, last week in
a [column] written by
“The Mad Grad,” there
were several errors in
information that were
published as facts. This
week’s edition of The
West Georgian, the same
problem presents itself with
the Campus Calendar.
If in fact many
students actually read
this newspaper our pep
rally would be minus
student viewers, due to the
inaccurate publication of
the starting time.
Keep in mind that I
do not receive a paycheck
from The West Georgian ;
therefore, I do not feel it
volunteer counselors and social workers
from the community, and by the UWG
Student Development Center, Counseling
and Educational Psychology Department,
Health Services and the Nursing
Department to help identify needs and
connect guests with resources.
Volunteer faculty, staff, retired faculty
and staff, other community members and
students were on hand to help guests with
computers and paperwork, supervise
children and answer questions. FEMA
and Red Cross representatives were
onsite for a short amount of time, as well.
Doctors in town provided free medical
care. Churches banded together to provide
transportation and meals every day during
this period, as well as managing clothing
and furniture donations.
UWG Public Safety and Residence
Life staff have been on duty 24 hours a
day for the security and convenience of
our guests. The generosity of people from
Carroll and Haralson counties provided
not only the necessities for immediate
relief, but also allowed us to pay for
transportation to reunite several children
with their parents and to provide gas
money for people who have found or are
seeking employment.
As of Sept. 28, 85 percent of our
guests had found permanent housing
and began the process of moving out and
another five percent of the guests were
well on their way to finding housing.
Local churches voluntarily “sponsored”
families and made sure they had furniture,
household supplies, etc., so they could “set
up housekeeping” in their new homes It
is my responsibility to edit
this publication for errors.
Considering the
paper’s trackrecord, Ifindit
a joke that they sent notices
to student organization
leaders requesting that their
information be submitted
in a timely manner. 1
understand the fact that The
West Georgian is a small
publication comprised of
some free-lance writers
and that it is not possible to
cover everything students
are doing on and off
campus; however, I do feel
that major annual events
deserve to receive proper,
accurate press coverage.
In conclusion, I
think that in the future
should The West Georgian
inaccurately report
information or information
pertaining to events, two
things should happen: 1) a
full retraction of the article
with an apology printed in
the following publication,
and that 2) special press
releases be circulated on
campus the next day should
the inaccuracies be related
to an impending event.
Better yet, how about get it
right the first time!
Sincerely,
SAC Vice President
Recruitment
SGA Senator
REAL President
Editor’s note: In the
Sept. 28 issue of The West
Georgian, in a story by
Brett Miles, we reported
that the Homecoming Pep
Rally was to begin Oct. 7 at
7:30 p.m. Also, in the Oct.
5 issue, we list the same
incorret information under
the Campus Calender.
The event was actually
scheduled to begin at 7
p.m. We regret this error.
We also regret that the
event was cancled because
of poor weather conditions,
though we had nothing to
do with that.
Bishop left
something out
Dear Editor,
While Jesse Bishop’s
piece “English more than
commas and grammar”
presents a welcomed
defense of the humanities
and their role within
the university, I was
profoundly disheartened to
discover that Bishop does
not include in his definition
of the humanities those
disciplines most closely
aligned with his own, the
foreign languages.
Just as the study of
English at the university
level entails a good
deal more than comma
placement, so too the
study of a foreign language
goes far beyond verb
conjugation and vocabulary
lists. No different from our
counterparts in English,
for me and my colleagues
in French, German, and
Spanish, the study of
language serves most
importantly as the pretext
for the study of literature,
where language, whether
native or foreign, takes on
its fullest significance as
the means through which
we attempt to make sense
of our experience and
thereby give more lasting
meaning to our lives.
Studying a foreign
language and its literature
only enriches our
perspective further still
as we consider how other
cultures come to terms
with the world where
we live. This is why the
study of foreign languages,
which implies a study
of their literatures, has
became very clear to us that Roberts
would be almost empty by the middle of
last week, so we began to work to help the
few remaining people make plans.
We found that the Holiday Inn Express
was offering 30 days of free lodging to
anyone displaced by the hurricanes. We
sent notices to every resident Sept. 29
with the new closing date and offering to
assist them with their remaining needs,
including assistance relocating to the
Holiday Inn Express or moving to their
new homes.
As I write this on Oct. 7, only one
family has an uncertain future -a family of
three who is working on finding suitable
housing. We will continue to assist them.
They have moved to the Holiday Inn
Express while they continue to resolve
their housing concerns.
We are most appreciative of the
generosity of the campus and community
for their gifts of goods, services, money,
time and support. We will do some
“debriefing” after all of this is over and
will have a more complete story to share
with those who are interested. We are
trying to collect the names of everyone
who helped in this project so that we can
thank you personally and publicly in the
near future.
In particular we would salute the work
of the Housing Authority, who helped so
many people find housing in such a short
time, and the Carrollton City Schools,
who made the children feel so welcome
that many parents decided Carrollton
would be a good place to raise a family.
Several parents have commented about
been a cornerstone of the
humanistic tradition since
its beginning.
Despite its rather
glaring omission, however,
Bishop’s [column] deserves
credit for calling attention
to the humanities at 4
time when they are indeed
more misunderstood and
misrepresented than ever.
Perhaps if more of
us made similar appeals
in such public forums we
could restore the respect
that the humanities once
received and could elevate
our society’s focus far
above its current obsession
with the bottom line.
Thank you,
Dr. Mark Andrew Hall
Assistant Professor of
French, UWG
Race was not an
issue in N.O.
Dear Editor,
I am writing in response
to the [guest column]
written by Elise Dunnigan
titled, “Rita Proves Katrina
Victims Treated Poorly.”
The [column] revolves
around the idea that African-
Americans, in her opinion,
failed to receive the treatment
during hurricane Katrina that
whites would have.
She first places blame
on the Federal Government
and their lack of planning.
According to African
American Rev. Jesse Lee
Peterson, responsibility
to perform - legally and
practically - fell first on the
mayor of New Orleans.
We are now all familiar
with Mayor Ray Nagin - the
black Democrat who likes
to yell at President Bush for
failing to do Nagin’s job.
The facts, unfortunately, do
not support Nagin’s wailing.
As The Washington Times
puts it, “recent reports
show [Nagin] failed to
follow through on his own
the quality of the schools.
We are especially appreciative of the
work of UWG students, who have given
so selflessly to help people less fortunate
than them. Offers of help from students
poured in and we did our best to respond
to each of you, but if we failed to contact
you, please forgive us. The number of
volunteers was overwhelming. Whether it
was playing with children, helping in the
computer lab, staffing the desk, moving
donations and furniture, raising money,
providing entertainment, managing the
kitchen, helping caseworkers, being
patient with the parking and traffic near
University Suites or writing articles for
The West Georgian to give this story a
human face, you were all amazing. You
made a major difference in the lives of
our guests and we thank you.
There are still evacuees in
Douglasville and Villa Rica, primarily
in hotels, who may need assistance. The
West Georgia Relief Association, a group
of volunteers from that area, has created a
one-stop-shop in Villa Rica to assist these
evacuees, as well as others who may be
staying with family and friends in the
area. It is in the Tri-County Plaza and is
open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. They are in need of volunteers
who can work four-hour shifts doing the
same kinds of things we have been doing
in Roberts - answering phones, helping
with computers, etc.
If you or someone you know can
assist them, please call (770) 456-7890 or
go to their website for more information
- www.wgrf.net.
city’s emergency-response
plan, which acknowledged
that thousands of the city’s
poorest residents would
have no way to evacuate
the city.”
She also mentions that
those in Texas affected
recently by hurricane Rita
where evacuated way
ahead of time. Those in
New Orleans had time.
Those in Texas, including
officials, were just much
smarter in there planning
and enacting of emergency
plans. Therefore you had
an evacuated Texas coast
BEFORE the storm hit.
Another point
Dunnigan covers is Rev.
Jesse Jackson comparing
“the aftermath of Katrina
to slavery.” It is amazing
that Jackson conveniently
showed up after the
disaster and began to show
up on television blaming
anybody that he could think
to blame. Instead of helping
hand out supplies and such,
he stayed long enough to
make sure Americans knew
he was there “helping out”
and then he was off to
Washington for his next big
television appearance.
Lastly, Dunnigan
mentions the lack of
“govemmentcare”provided
to the “hard working, tax
paying and law abiding
citizens.” Give me a break.
The government has been
taking care of these “hard
working, tax paying”
people for years by way of
welfare. Oh...and I guess the
law abiding citizens were
going to eat those DVD
players, televisions and
Rolexs they looted since
the government hadn’t got
food to them yet.
Thank you,
Dustin Pate
UWG Junior
Show support
Dear Editor,
I believe in college
lUcot Ok’urgum
sports. I know that West
Georgia is not a team that
you can watch on TV every
week; however, the athletic
program is still your
program. This is a school
where most students leave
campus and go home most
weekends. The athletic
website is not current, but
I, as a fan, would like to at
least have some information
prior to a key game.
Here is an example:
The West Georgia football
team faced a highly ranked
team [two weeks ago] and
we fans had no idea that it
was a key matchup because
the athletic website runs
about one week and a half
behind on information.
The fans already know
the end result to the games
10 days before the posting.
It is time to get behind
the athletic program. The
football team has matched
up with power house
teams this year, yet no one
is praising their efforts.
The soccer team is
on a winning streak, our
volleyball team has a
record breaking player...
yeah! How many of you
did not know that? These
athletes pour their hearts
into playing for us...the
students...and we sit back
and ignore the efforts of
our friends.
I personally know a
football player who is a
fourth string full-back and
he refuses to quit because
he loves the sport. I am not
asking you to be at every
game or event, but what
I do ask is for you to be
appreciative of the athletes
from UWG.
Students, Faculty and
fans: Seize the moment;
2005/2006 sports are only
here once...As for those
in charge of the athletic
website, I only have one
phrase. Do your job.
Support our athletes and
GO BRAVES!
Thank you,
Jim Reaves