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Athens Streets High
is immbei of-'Bike,
Pedestrian Crashes
up businesses. It's created a sense of vibrancy
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Prince Avenue Has the third-highest crash
rate in the state for bicyclists, says a Georgia
Department of Transportation safety study,
and other Athens streets—Baxter, Oconee and
Broad—also made the top 20. That could be
because Ather t has more bicyclists than other
places, and since bicyclists aren't registered
or counted like cars, no one really knows how
many people ride. But most reported crashes
are in metro areas, and many involve "angle*
crashes with cars making turns. The state's
highest bicycle crash rate has been along
Ponce de Icon Avenue in Atlanta.
Most Georgia bicyclists dotft wear helmets,
the report said (Georgia law regimes helmets
for riders under 16). There are more than a \
dozen bicyclists killed in Georgia most years,
and over 90 percent of fatalities are to rid
ers without helmets. "I don't see a lot of
on; - , teal iff stioH
Topic at VGA Panel
For the past few years, immigration has
been a particularly divisive issue in Georgia.
The state gained national attention for its
harsh and controversial Arizona copycat .
immigration law (HB87) and the University
System Board of Regents' ban on undocu
mented students. But Georgia has also been
a significant site of resistance to these types
of regulations, ami to the Obama administra
tion's aggressive deportation initiative. Athens
played a notable role in being the home of
Freedom University, which began last fall in
response to the BOR ban, offering a free uni
versity-level class taught by four U6A faculty
helmet usage m the Athens are*,' said James members.
Barlament a researcher in the University of
Georgia's College of Public Health who has £
studied accident data statewide, iariament's
numbers show nearly one bteyrie fatality per
year in Athem-Clarke County, and an aver
age of about 27
reported accidents
with injuries. The
foot of Baxter hill (at
Lumpkin Street) is a
particularly accident-
prone location.
More frequent than
bicycle accidents are
pedestrian accidents—
more than 50 a year
in ACC, with 16 people killed between 2006
and 2010. Lack of sidewalks contributes to the
dangers, Barlament said, and so do "'alcohol-
impaired" pedestrians. Only 7 percent of
Georgia's streets and mads have sidewalks.
"There's also an issue with being visible" at
night both for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Most pedestrians killed are hit white crossing a
street—usually not at a crosswalk—and most
die at night state statistics say.
But better enforcement of seatbelt laws
has cut overall traffic fatalities in Georgia,
Barlament says—plus motorists are speeding
less "because they don't want to use as much
gas."
Retired middle school principal Ken
Sherman has for years ted local group rides,
including the annual Atbens-to-Savannah bike
ride to support local schools. (He'll be leading
the Teardrop Metric Century ride in September
to support the Interfaith Hospitality Network.)
Those rides—and the frequent Nitty Gritty
Bike Band rides around Athens—are routed
along back roads and low-traffic state high
ways, Sherman said.
Problems with aggressive drivers have
been "exceedingly rare," he said. The two-
day Savannah ride attracts some 70 riders,
and "they get spread out over marry miles."
Incidents with drivers have been few; most are
patient with bicyclists. "It's more than just
tolerating each other—it's good for the whole
community," Sherman says—as it has been
for Portland, Oregon, where the popularity of
bicycling has "helped make it a destination
where people want to come and live and set
,, sure to be a hot-button
issue in this year's presidential race, but it
has suddenly taken center stage in national
news. "It literally came out of nowhere,' said
Charles Kuck, a prominent immigration attor
ney, speaking about
the new Department
of Homeland Security
(DHS) policy on immi
gration at a panel held
on the UGA campus
June 21. On June
15, President Obama
outlined a policy
directive that will give
certain undocumented
immigrants between the ages of 15 and 30
the opportunity to apply for deferred action
status: temporary relief from the possibility
of deportation, as well as the opportunity for
work authorization. Between 800,000 and 1
million people wiU be eligible to apply.
Tb qualify the individual must have
entered the United States before the age of
16; must have been in the country on June
15, 2012; must not be convicted of a felony a
"serious" misdemeanor or 3 or more separate
misdemeanor offenses; and must be enrolled
in school, have a high school diploma or 6ED,
or have served in the U.S. military. Of course,
applicants must be able to prove, through
"verifiable documentation,' that they meet
these criteria.
More than 50 people attended the Office of
International Education's informational panel .
about the new directive, and about half of
those in attendance were young (presumably
undocumented) students and their parents.
The GIE sponsored the panel less than one
week after the policy's release. "One of the
reasons we tried to (hold this forum] quickly
is because there is a lot of misinformation
out there," said Robin Catmur, director of
UGA's International Student Scholar and
Immigration Services within the OIL Catmur
stressed the importance of consulting an
attorney before making the decision to apply
to the program.
There is not yet an application process in •
place, Kuck explained, and there are already
known instances of fraudulent schemes
claiming to file for applicants. Though it .
Numbers show nearly one
bicycle fatality per year in
Athens-Clarke County, and an
average of about 27 reported
accidents with injuries.
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went into effect immediately following its
announcement, the policy gives United States
Citizenship and Immigration Services and
Immigration and Customs Enforcement 60 days
to implement the application process.
The announcement has been a major issue
in the news media for obvious reasons. White
some, most notably presumptive Republican
presidential nominee Mitt Romney, dairr
Obama's announcement was merely a political
ploy to gain the Latino vote, others view the
policy in a more positive tight
Elizabeth, an undocumented student and a
recent graduate of Clarke Central High School
who will be enrolled at Syracuse University in
the fall, explained that she was "bombarded
by an array of emotions" as she watched the
president's address.
"The first thing I
felt was relief; it felt
as though a mask had
been removed from
my face and the world
was suddenly aware
of my existence," said
Elizabeth, who has
lived in the U.S. since
she was five. However,
she said, "after the excitement caThe a wave of
confusion,"
Many undocumented immigrants had
similar reactions. White the policy seems to
be a step toward immigration reform, it also
creates a new set of uncertainties for undocu
mented youth.
Though little is known about the applica
tion process, it is certain that the federal
government wiU collect information not only
about applicants, but also about their fami
lies. To a community that lives with the daily
threat of deportation, this is a significant risk
to take. However, Kuck does not believe that
the DHS wiU use the policy as a way to bring
undocumented immigrants out of the wood
work with the intent of deporting them. DHS
officials are so busy, he said, 'they are looking
to cut cases out"
The deferred action status obtained
through this process is temporary. Every two
years, applicants must reapply for the status.
Moreover, the directive does net provide legal
status or a path to citizenship.
This policy could have a significant impact
in Georgia. The state is again in the national
spotlight for controversy surrounding HB87
and for the Board of Regents ban. Last Friday
on NPR's "Morning Edition," two UGA profes
sors talked about what this policy means for
undocumented students who want to attend
college, particularly students in the three
states that ban those without documentation.
The policy does not mention access to higher
education, and the Board of Regents has not
answered any questions about how this policy
change will affect its ban.
While the directive has a lot of gray area,
there was consensus among the panelists
about one certainty:
Obama's announce
ment opens the
door to new discus
sions on the issue of
immigration.
Elizabeth says she
is excited to continue
the discussion, and to
fight for a more just
immigration policy.
"The most gratifying aspect of the president's
announcement was the notion that a group
of students could make the leader of the free
world stop and listen," she said. "This direc
tive may very well have been a political move
for this party or that party, but to those
affected it signifies much more than that.
This directive means time; time for us who are
no longer in the shadows to campaign even
harder to Congress to pass the DREAM Act;
time for us to focus on more comprehensive
immigration reform for those people who no
longer fit the age bracket of under 30; and
time for us to lead this movement because, in
the president's words, 'it's the right thing to
do."
However, the possibility of the inaugura
tion of a new president next January means
that how much time the directive will buy is
still in question.
Melissa Hmess
“This directive may very well
have been a political move
for this party or that party, but
to those affected it signifies
much more than that ”
JUNE 27,2012 FlAGPOLE.COM 5