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WEDNESDAY, OCTC )BER 17. 2007 PAGE 2 Getting to know the new UWG Homecoming King and Queen By Bekah Williams Staff writer rebekahiwilliams @ Hotmail, c om Being crowned the 2007-2008 Homecoming King and Queen of the University of West Georgia was a pleasant surprise for both Heather McKenzie and Patrick McGreevy. Sept. 29 was a hot, yet happy, day for the two students, as well as an amazing honor. McKenzie, who is originally from Lithia Springs, Ga., came to UWG from Douglasville. Before starting as a freshman, she took joint enrolled classes in the fall of 2004. When asked why she chose UWG she said “1 cannot tell a lie! I started at UWG because I dreaded the thought of leaving my family and moving somewhere else... New regulations affecting By Adam Disser Staff Writer gdisserl @my.westga.edu In the last few years, immigration has become an ever growing issue here the United States. Because of this, many new laws and regulations have been passed. Earlier this year, Georgia’s new immigration regulatious went into effect, and with them many people have been noticing a difference. The new regulations mostly affect employers around the state, causing them to let go some of their employees. “I have seen a decline when I go to different restaurants and things, the service folks, some of them we used toknow,.. .they ’re notthere REGENTS from page 1 The board also approved a Nursing Education Incentive to increase the number of nursing graduates with $3 million in competitive grant awards from the 2008 fiscal year budget. Dr. Daniel Rahn, president of the Medical College of Georgia as well as the University System’s Senior Vice President for Health and Medical Programs, explained that the grant will enhance the amount of registered nurses and improve shortages in Georgia, with a projected 50 percent increase of nurses by the year 2010. “This translates to about 700 additional nurses in Georgia, bringing the total number of pre-licensure nursing graduates produced by the University System to more than 2,400 annually,” Rahn stated. The grant will be distributed to 16 University System institutions ®lje Meet 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 plus I was not 100 percent sure what I wanted to do in life, and UWG had a huge range of options.” This pre-med Biology major considered majoring in music as a freshman and says all it took was one Biology class to know her calling. McKenzie also gives credit to the Biology class for helping her fall in love with the subject and UWG. McKenzie loves the spirit and environment here at UWG and feels that ways to get involved on campus are countless. When asked where do you see UWG in ten years, McKenzie said “Not only will UWG grow academically, but since the bill was passed last week in approval of the stadium plans, UWG will be expanding the physical campus and have so many more facilities anymore," Jorge Gaytan, president of the Hispanic Business Council in Cam>ll County, told a reporter for the Times-Georgian. “I think that the number of Hispanic folks who have worked in the service industry has declined here in Georgia in general and in Carrollton in particular. Even though it’s just been three months, I do see a change.” Gaytan thinks the changes are because of some Hispanics leaving for other states and some being let go by their employers. “We know of several families who have taken their things rind have gone somewhere else because they feel that Georgia has the toughest laws,” he told the Times-Georgian. He also made reference to an increase including UWG. Of the $3 million, $188,847 will be given to UWG to double the BSN graduates by adding a faculty member, make faculty salaries more competitive, and supply students with academic support to improve graduation rates and license exam performance. The University System of Georgia is also launching Georgia ONmyLINE. a new website located at www.georgiaonmyline. org that would offer an array of study options and help increase accessibility. “Through this site, prospective and enrolled students can quickly find online programs and/or courses that meet their career or degree needs. They can apply for admission to colleges and universities, and once accepted, register for courses,” noted Dr. Kris Biesinger, associate vice chancellor for Information and Instructional Technology Services. The program features including a Health and Wellness Center, stadium, tons of new parking, and p mg Homecoming King Patrick McGreevy (left) and Queen Heather McKenzie (right) share a smile with the camera in their Homecoming garb. new academic buildings within the next few years! This is truly the largest transitional period in the history of the university, and things can only get better from here.” in the amount of raid by immigration officials - due to talk of possible amnesty to illegal immigrants, he thinks. mi “We think they want to clean house in preparation of, if the federal government passes laws that would allow them to stay,” he told the Times- Georgian. “A lot of times, they are looking for folks who 1 ,6(X) courses, 35 programs and six online graduate programs designed for Georgia teachers. The five USG institutions that are offering the programs are Columbus State University, Valdosta State University, North Georgia College & State University, Georgia State University, and Georgia Southern University. Two Master of Arts in Teaching degrees for students who decide to change careers and become teachers will be offered in Special Education and Reading, Language and Literacy. The University of West Georgia does not yet offer Georgia ONmyLINE. Many things were accomplished during the meetings. For more information on what took place and information about the Board of Regents, visit www.usg. edu. (Attribution goes to the Times-Georgian for facts, figures, and quotes) 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 Lovvorn, Webmaster Chris Graydon, Distribution Manager Doug Vinson, Advisor Masthead Art by Jesse Duke Homecoming King Patrick McGreevy came to UWG from Roswell, Ga. He started as a freshman in the fall of 2003. He quickly got involved on campus by becoming a member of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity, and he is currently their reigning immigrants in Georgia have a w arrant for their arrest because they did something wrong. And 1 happen to agree with that.” Photo h\ Kim Hahn However, other people are being caught in the crossfire, he said. GyliaGonzalezofLatinos United of Carroll County also mentioned an increase of raids, including one at Azalea WEBSITE jromjmgc^_ Q: So how do you hope to overcome this stasis? A: “Hopefully, a year down the road, all those who have not signed on will notice how nice the other Web sites look will look and say, ‘Hey I want to be a part of that!’ They will notice how easy the updates are, and how great the new look is, and they will sign on.” Julie Lineback, Web content manager at the University Department of Communications and Marketing, who helped oversee the transition for her department over to Red Dot, is enthusiastic about the prospects for bringing UWG’s websites kicking and screaming into the 21stcenturuy. “A lot of sites that I have seen haven’t been updated in a while. I can help move it over,” Lineback said. “I can look at the content and see if it needs a major facelift or just a minor nip THF. WEST GEORGIAN - NEWS president. Patrick chose to come to UWG because “its medium size seemed perfect for me and because its location is close to my hometown,” he said. McGreevy has only positive things to say about UWG, but his favorite thing about UWG is its Greek community. “No matter what fraternity or sorority you are a member of, it seems like there is a great place for everyone,” he said. As of where he sees UWG in the next ten years, McGreevy believes our campus will soon be closely compared to the recent thoughts of the University of Georgia. “I personally see UWG taking over the position that UGA used to hold years ago as a terrific in-state school that is fun Place Apartments on OcL 4. However, the Carrollton Police Department and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office have no record of such a raid and aruld not confirm that a raid took place. Sheriff Capt Shane Taylor said he could not remember the last time his agency dealt with an illegal alien. Also, Citizenship and Immigration Services did not respond to questions about increased raids by press time. Regardless, this illustrates the fear that is continually spreading throughout the Hispanic community, both legal and illegal. “One of the things that I see is more people being afraid of just getting <xrt of their house," Gonzalez said "1 see (these laws) as very anti- and tuck." Lineback is also working with the other members of the Web Redesign Committee to assuage fears that individuality and creativity will be a thing of the past once the new look is adopted. “Departments are able to come up with their own banner, will be able to choose a template and will be able to sit down and say, ‘What makes us unique,’ and express that artistically on their Web site. Steven Broome, who designed the UCM banner, will help people come up with ideas.” Lineback makes it clear she is here to help. “There could be some misunderstandings about the Red Dot content management system. And if there are any misunderstandings, people are free to call me as the Web content manager so that I can explain it better and clear up the misconceptions. Red Dot 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 and just big enough, but not yet to the point of becoming impersonal,” McGreevy said. So what were these two students thinking when they heard their names called as the new Homecoming King and Queenof UWG'.’McKenzie says she thought “...Oh, wait a second, that’s me! Oh my gosh! No way!” And McGreevy says the first thing he thought was “how mad my parents were going to be for telling them that there was no use coming to the game.” Under the crown lies a family loving, soon-to-be doctor and one down-to earth Roswell boy. Being the King and Queen of a vast and diverse school seems like a job in itself, but these two new royals seem confident and ready to handle the job. immigrant,” Gonzalez told the Times-Geoigian. Both Gonzalez and Gaytan mentioned the love-hate relationship that Americans have with immigrant labor. “We’re benefiting from all this cheap labor,” Gaytan said. “But when it comes time for the immigrants to get an education or to try to better themselves, they ’re not allowed to,” he told the Times Georgian. "State legislation is not going to solve the problem.” Gonzalez told the Times- Georgian. “We need an immigration reform and it has to come from the federal level not statewide.” (Article attributed to Laura Camper at the Times- Georgian) will reduce the number of technical staff required, enable the staff who author and create the website to be able to do so without specialized training, and generally make life easier for students, staff, and faculty.” It is of note that the departments most interested in updating and freshening the Web sites are those that deal with attracting future students for UWG, whereas the ones serving current students are sadly outdated. Broome feels like this is a situation that can be rectified. “There’s a balance in there somewhere that can be reached, it’s just finding that balance. We don’t want to alienate the faculty, but we also don’t want to alienate current and future students. So it’s a vast compromise.” While many of UWG’s websites appear to be from the mid-’9os, students can take solace in knowing that individuals are working tirelessly to bring the university up to par.