Newspaper Page Text
Page 3
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
POLITICAL, from page 1
the panelists all engaged
in some form of political
mudslinging against each
other’s party.
On the issue of
Hurricane Katrina, the
Republican representatives
became testy to the idea that
the national government
has an obligation to respond
to natural disasters.
“When did it become
a national priority to
respond to a natural
disaster,” asked Bill Dees,
another representative
of the Carroll County
Republican Party.
Some of the panelist
felt that President Bush
did not handle the Katrina
situation properly and
they claimed that Bush
ignored the situation for
three days.
The history of voting
patterns among African-
Americans is a short one,
beginning at the end of the
Civil War. Amendments
to the Constitution were
passed to secure the
freedom, political and
otherwise, of African-
Americans after the war.
However, the
South, a stronghold of
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the Democratic Party,
repeatedly blocked
attempts by blacks to
participate in politics.
Many southern state
government set up tactics
such as poll taxes that were
designed to minimize black
participation in elections.
From the end of the
Civil War to around the
Great Depression, blacks
solidly supported the
Republican Party.
However, around
the time Franklin Delano
Roosevelt was elected to
the presidency, many of his
New Deal policies benefited
African-Americans, as
well as women and other
minority groups.
This signaled a three
decade shift that would
change the face of the two
political parties.
By the 19605, more
blacks were starting to
support the Democratic-
Party. What solidified this
support was the passage
of the 1964 Civil Rights
Act and the 1965 Voting
Rights act.
President Lyndon
B. Johnson, a southern
Democrat, lobbied and
worked with moderate
Republican senators to get
both laws passed. Many
southern Democratic
senators opposed the laws
and, upset with Johnson’s
support, switched to the
Republican Party.
Political historians
now agree that the
Democratic and
Republican parties have
undergone an ideological
shift since the 1968
Presidential election.
The Republican Party,
a strong advocate of limited
government interference,
was once a characteristic
of the Democratic Party.
The South, once
known as the Solid South
for its Democratic lock,
is now a Republican
stronghold, and the
Democrats are now popular
in states on the West coast,
the upper-Midwest, and
the Northeast.
Some students,
not concerned with any
affiliation to political
parties, felt that people
should become more vocal
about w hat they want from
their leaders.
"Blacks should start
demanding more from both
parties. Don’t become a
disenfranchised voter. Go
out and make an educated
decision,” said Herman
Pate, a UWG student.
BUSHMEN, from pane 1
provide freshmen with the
opportunity for a higher rate
of success. Students build
success through working
with other freshman
students who share similar
interests and goals.
Students in Learning
Communities take classes
with a core group of their
peers allowing for a system
of networking and for
the opportunity to make
friends more easily with
other students.
Participating in a
Learning Community has
helped many freshmen
cope with the transition
to college.
“I was in the pre-law
learning community last
year, and it gave me the
opportunity to make strong
connections with the other
students. We took classes
together, studied together,
and learned from each
other,” said UWG student
Skyler Akins.
The EXCEL Center
for Academic Success
offers many programs that
help freshmen to succeed.
Freshmen who have
not declared a major, or
who are Pre-Psychology,
Pre-Nursing, Pre-Mass
Communications or Pre-
Criminology majors, should
visit the EXCEL Center to
be advised.
Students who are
having trouble in a class
can visit the EXCELCenter
to receive tutoring. Peer
mentors are sophomore
and junior-level students
who are available to assist
students in their first year
of college.
Many students enter
college unsure of how they
will spend their future.
The EXCEL Center can
also help students explore
different career options.
For more information,
visit the EXCEL Center
now located on the second
in the UCC.
Lingrell explained
that the institution is
focused on new freshmen
this year because in the
past there have been
a large percentage of
students that do not
continue toward a degree
after a year in college.
“We want to retain
the students that we have,”
Lingrell said.
He’s enthusiastic
about many of the new
initiatives focused on
freshmen success. One of
the more recent programs
geared toward freshmen
was the Transitions
Orientation, new in
fall 2006. With huge
participation from faculty
and staff came an effective
presentation for the newest
UWG students.
“Our goal is for every
freshman to be in some
sort of freshman [centered!
program,” Lingrell stated.
This is possible when there
are large-scale programs
such as the Transitions
Orientation, but getting
students together many
times a year is no easy task.
UWG’s solution to
gathering students together
physically is the adoption
of an online program.
Paw Prints, created by
an outside organization
specializing in freshman
student outreach, is "by
invitation only” according
to Lingrell, and is up and
running as of last week.
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A similar program
has been established for
sophomore students. Withall
the initiatives for freshmen,
some expressed concern
that students were left to
find their own way after
their first year of college.
The sophomore version
of Paw Prints is full of
content focused on what it
means to be a second year
college student.
Students who are
eligible to participate in
Paw Prints received an
invitation with instructions
on how to access this new
online resource.
Another project
targeted at helping
freshmen is an active
outreach program based
on the new student
profile students fill out at
orientation each year.
Students will receive
direction on how to use
UWG success seminars
and other university
sponsored programs to
their individual advantage.
New to students
entering college in the fall of
2006 is the implementation
of the Guaranteed Tuition
program at University
System of Georgia schools.
Students under this
new plan who do not
graduate in 12 semesters
will see a significant
increase in tuition for the
subsequent semesters in
which they are enrolled
in college.
The Board of Regents
has not yet determined
the exact amount of the
increase.
For more information
on Guaranteed Tuition,
visit the University System
of Georgia’s website at
http://www.usg.edu.