Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
PAGE 2
UWG hosts successful Constitution Day
By Alix Carnes
Staff Writer
acarnesl @my.westga .edu
On Sept. 17, the 220th
anniversary of the signing
of the U.S. Constitution,
the University of West
Georgia library held an
event to commemorate
the occasion. Not only
were students and faculty
present at the event, but
so was an enormous copy
of the Constitution, a
copy of the Declaration
of Independence, several
books on the subject of
both,and a red, white, and
blue cake with punch.
Despite the common
misconception that the
Constitution was signed
in 1776, the same year
as the Declaration of
Independence, it was in
fact signed on Sept. 17,
1787 by 39 founding
fathers from 12 of the
original 13 states (Rhode
Island being the only
one to abstain). These
delegates included
such figures as George
Washington, James
Madison, Alexander
Hamilton, and Benjamin
Franklin, just to name a
few, and four of them
Abraham Baldwin,
William Few, William
Houstoun, and William
Leigh Pierce —were from
Georgia.
The presentation
given at the library
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Q: What challenges do you
see in the future and what
are your short and long term
plans to overcome them?
A: Well, let me say this. I
have been at other places
over my career, and I have
been at many fine schools,
both as a student and as a
faculty member, and I can
honestly say that at West
Georgia, the challenges are
essentially resources, it’s
not the will. At some other
places in America, there is
also a will problem; it’s not
just money. Here, I believe
that the major challenges
are only resources, because
there is the will, there is the
desire, there is the passion
on the part of the students
to move forward. I’ve seen
an excited student body...
I really have, I teach a
class, and I just finished
my class this morning.
And there is an excitement
among our students that’s
really thrilling, and among
our faculty and staff, who
are passionate about this
institution, and are ready
to move it to the next level,
the next tier. The challenge
is just resources, it is not a
culture; it is not a culture
of complacency. Resources
are a huge challenge, but
they can be overcome. As I
mentioned in the case of the
stadium, we probably can’t
ctljc Meat (Georgian
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included several parts,
beginning with a video
on the history of the
Constitution, after
which the students and
faculty attending were
given a small copy
of the Constitution
TV
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and Declaration of
Independence.
The speakers began
with Lorene Flanders,
library director, who
gave a brief overview of
the rule passed in 2004
in which it was stated
get to where we need to be
from one source alone. If I
only looked at alumni, if I
only looked at big donors, if
I only looked at students, we
probably couldn't make it.
The combination probably
will get us there. So it’s
the innovative solutions,
its looking outside the
box, it’s the cooperative,
collaborative environment
that exists that will help us
get these resources.
Now. another good
example: The last several
buildings we have built:
The TLC: The TLC’ came
from state resources, the
TLC was built from state
allocation, approximately
S2O million. Two residence
halls have gone up in the
last few years, those were
built without one penny of
state allocation, they were
built from what is called
public-private partnership.
The Campus Center
was built entirely from
student fees. The newest
building is coming from
state allocation. That’s the
way to get ahead. If we
concentrated on only one
of these, we couldn't get
there.
Q: I know that you were
waiting for this one with
bated breath, but could
you comment briefly on
the parking situation, such
as how are we going to
improve parking for on and
off-campus students, and
that every institution
that receives federal
funding must somehow
commemorate the
anniversary of the signing
of the Constitution.
She then introduced
Dr. Stanley Caress with
the Political Science
Department.
Dr. Caress’ part
of the presentation
consisted of interaction
with those present as he
asked the group why the
what is the status of the
parking deck?
A: Well I just want to quote
you some facts and figures.
I’ve had public safety
count the available spaces
every hour the other day,
and at 11:30, which is the
busiest hour, we had 20
spaces available. However,
every other hour of the
day, we have had 100 or
more spaces open, most
times more than 100, much
more. So 1 know that it is
not always possible to park
exactly where you want
to, but I am going to have
a birthday soon (laughs)
and 1 can still walk across
campus. So sometimes
students need to understand
that it’s OK to just park
somewhere and take the bus
or walk to where you need
to go. Other universities are
too spread out for this to be
possible, but here we have
the ability to walk across
campus in a very short
amount of time, and we can
take advantage of that.
Secondly, in regards
to the parking deck, that is
a very expensive project.
We cannot get money from
the state of Georgia for this
project, it is not allowed
by the rules, and alumni
and large donors are also
not very interested in
this. Besides the aesthetic
reasons, it is just hard to
get people excited about a
big concrete parking deck.
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Constitution is important.
The typical response was
that the Constitution is
important because it is
historical and has to do
with the founding of the
United States. However,
he put that misconception
to rest as he reminded
the audience that the
Constitution is important
because it is still the
“rule book” that defines
who has what power,
how government works,
and who can do what in
the government.
At the end of this
part of the presentation.
Dr. Caress introduced
Dr. Thomas Hunter (also
from the Political Science
Department), who gave a
brief history of the events
that led up to and shaped
the Constitution . From the
Revolutionary War to the
Articles of Confederation
to the signing of the
Constitution and its
amendments. Hunter went
through the entire history ,
leaving the audience with
a good understanding of
what our country was
founded on.
The day was a
success, as students and
faculty who were present
at the Ingram Library
for Constitution Day
were enriched by the
experience and left with
a greater appreciation
for our country’s “rule
book.”
So the money would have
to come from student fees.
Currently it costs, I think
about $1,200 per parking
space for us to build it as
it is. With a parking deck,
the cost rises to $ 12,000 per
parking space. So it is hard
for me to justify handing
that cost off to the students,
a 10-fold increase, when we
are already building more
traditional parking, and in
fact have space available
almost every hour of the
day.
Q: You have gone to
school in India, for a 7-
year degree, and also here
in the U.S. at Columbia
University for a grand total
of one bachelor’s degree,
two master’s degrees, and
a Ph.D, so you have quite
a broad experience with
other students. What are
some differences between
students abroad and
students here in the U.S.?
A: Well 1 certainly think that
there is more motivation
to succeed abroad. I know
that when I went to school
in India, my family income
(in Rupees) translated into
about sl4 a day. So there is
certainly more of a desire
to better oneself in other
countries where the average
student is not as fortunate
as the average student
here. Now obviously there
are some very motivated
students here too, but this
THE WEST GEORGIAN NEWS
UWG volunteers help
students in debt
By Fontex Brooks
Staff Writer
falridg / @my.westga .edu
When it was
reported that two-thirds
of the undergraduate
student body graduated
in debt, in some cases
owing around $19,000,
the financial aid office
knew immediately
something had to be
done.
Their response
was the Peer Financial
Counseling Program.
The Peer Financial
Counseling Program
is a program made up
of student volunteers
that set up counseling
sessions to educate
their fellow peers on the
financial desicions they
face and will ultimately
make in the future.
Each counseling
session is setup
like a professional
presentation, focusing
on six modules:
budgeting, credit and
debt, student loans,
saving and investing,
lease terms, credit
reports and identity
theft.
The program
volunteers go out of
their way to make sure
everyone has a chance
to learn, presenting to
is my overall impression.
Now one thing that I really
want to address is where
American students are in
quantitative fields like the
math and the sciences.
America is behind in
quantitative fields from
where it needs to be. I’m
simply going to compare
America to America:
America is far behind
where it needs to be in
quantitative fields. We have
far too few kids who are
choosing not to be scientists
and engineers. And part of
the reason is because it’s
tough. I know its tough,
I’ve suffered through this
myself, so when things get
tough what you have to do
is work harder. Not say, to
heck with this, and not say,
the professor is not teaching
well. It's hard, everything
is hard if you’re not well
prepared.
And it seems to me
that we have no problem
understanding that a great
basketball player has to
practice, practice, practice,
and the coach yells at him,
and you practice more, and
then you become a great
basketball player. But we
have this huge problem in
understanding why that
can’t apply to your calculus
course. You don’t go from
poor to good, or good to
great, without practice. I
mean if you have to practice
jump shots and field goals,
you’ve got to practice math.
Copyright Notice
The West Georgian, copyright 2007, is an official publication of the
University of West Georgia. Opinions expressed herein are those of the
newspaper staff or individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the
views of university faculty or staff.
Letter Submission Policy
The West Georgian welcomes letters to the editor Letters may
be mailed to: Editor, The West Georgian, University of West
Georgia, Carrollton, GA, 30118, or sent via electronic mail to:
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residence halls, classes,
fraternities/sororities
and organization
meetings. They even
open their doors to
high schools, first-year
students who attend
orientation, as well as
community members
who have an interest in
financial counseling.
As of right now,
the Peer Financial
Counceling Program has
five student volunteers
and one student
coordinator, but the
group is always looking
for more volunteers.
Those interested in
volunteering or attending
the next counseling
session should contact
the financial aid office
Monday through Friday
between 8 a m. and 5
p.m.
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This is not a huge stretch.
So why do we assume it’s
true for a good runner, or
athlete, and someone’s
giving us a pass on physics
or chemistry or math? And
so, yes it is tough, yes it’s
a pain, but we've got to
do it, and yes when things
are painful, we’ve just
got to do it. I'm not going
to cry. I’m not going to
complain - well to heck
with it, complain a bit,
(laughs) but I'm not going
to get by just by blaming
my professor, blaming
my high school teacher.
And saying, if I’m doing
badly, it must be her fault.
And parents are saying the
same thing, unfortunately,
as well. "Well my kid's
not doing well in math, so
it must be my kid’s algebra
teacher.” Now' that’s not to
excuse the teacher. 1 do
think the teachers and the
professors, starting with
me, we have to be more
devoted to our field. and we
have to be more devoted
to teaching. Nobody’s
getting a pass on this. The
problem is so complex; if
America is going to retain
its place in the world it’s
not going to be done by
pointing fingers at anyone;
just the faculty, just the
teachers, it’s got to be a
total solution coming from
all parts of our society, that
I’m sure about.
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