Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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 SETHNA ,ro m page 1 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 The University of West Georgia University Community Center, Room 111 Carrollton, GA, 30118-0070 Editorial Line: (678) 839-6527 Advertising Manager: (678) 839-4783 Editorial E-mail: uwgpaper@westga.edu Advertising E-mail: paperads@westga.edu On the web at http://www.thewestgeorgian.com 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 I > 77777777777 Kimberl\ Huhn 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. Erik Waters, Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Smith, Advertising & Business Manager Ellis Smith, News Editor Jesse Duke, A&E Editor Steven A. Gilley, Sports Editor Terence Rushin, Photo Editor Tracy Ammons, Copy Editor Lauren Lovvom, Webmaster Chris Graydon, Distribution Manager Doug Vinson, Advisor Masthead Art by Jesse Duke 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: uwgpaper(@westga edu. All letters must be signed and include a phone number and mailing ad dress for verification purposes. Letters should not exceed 350 words and should be submitted by 5 p m the Sunday prior to publication Editors reserve the right to edit for style, content and length. 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. vi * A Jl / 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. See SETHNA page 3