LASTING LEGACIES: Homecoming brings alumni to old stomping ground

For this year's homecoming week, I decided I wanted to do a series of articles looking into the history of certain parts of UGA. For the first installment of the series, we ran an article about the Chapel bell, the second was about Herty Field, the third detailed the history of the Arch and the fourth was about Sanford Stadium's famed hedges.

My article was the fifth installment, which took a slightly different approach. Since I've been at UGA I've seen the alumni cheerleaders who come back to campus for the homecoming football game. I've always wondered what their experience is like when they come back to campus, so for the series I wanted to get in touch with some of them. I ended up speaking with two alumni cheerleaders from the 1940s and 1950s — both of whom were very nice. This article also served as my first time writing a profile piece, and I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

Click here to read about alumni cheerleaders who come back to UGA for homecoming.

University furlough day hits low-pay workers too

We were given a scoop yesterday morning on some UGA workers who were effectively being furloughed on the furlough day, even though they fell under the category of workers who were exempt from the furlough day. My editorial adviser gave me a call during class and I was on the story for the rest of the day.

It's been awhile since I've written, due to time constraints with editing, so I was happy to get back into the groove of writing. I made sure to be especially careful with this story though because it was very complicated with the differences in the types of workers and which types of leave they are allowed. I think it came out nicely though.

Click here to read about how the state-mandated furloughs are affecting the lowest-paid workers at the university.

They're back: 'Designated Dawgs' give safe rides

A group calling themselves "WatchDawgs" gave students and others in the Athens community safe rides home from downtown on the weekends for nearly eight years before losing its funding and canceling the service last spring.

But the group is back — and with a new name. "Designated Dawgs" picks back up tonight and has secured funding to operate through December 2010.

Click here to read more about the free, student-run taxi service.

Reason for tailgating trash decline unclear

Was it the extra trash bags, port-a-potties and cleaning crew that made this weekend's trash buildup considerably less than before?

Or could it be the torrential downpours plaguing Athens on game day?

We're not sure, but we'll find out next weekend when LSU comes to campus and the skies are clear.

Click here to read another follow up to The Red & Black's coverage of the University's tailgate trash.

*Media credit: Wes Blankenship

Trash Talk: Plans in place to clean up gameday

The administration announced its plans to help curb gameday trash this weekend, but several student groups are also planning on lending a hand in the cleanup efforts.

Click here to find out what to expect for the University's second home football game weekend.

U.S. secretaries address H1N1 at universities

Image via Wikipedia

Friday I was able to sit in on a teleconference with two U.S. secretaries and a representative from the CDC, talking about what colleges across the country should do to stave off swine flu. I found it pretty interesting because U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, had publicly reprimanded a reporter the previous day when the reporter sneezed into his hand instead of his elbow.

Click here to find out what Sebelius and the others on the conference call had to say.

UNDER ARREST: Adams adddresses 70 tons of tailgate trash

As reported by The Red & Black on Wednesday, there were 70 tons of trash left last weekend by tailgaters for the football season's home opener.

In University of Georgia President Michael Adams' monthly cabinet meeting and media briefing Thursday, Adams said he was appalled at the amount of trash left on North Campus after the game. He said he wants students, faculty, alumni and fans to ban together to help eliminate the problem on campus.

Click here to read more on what Adams and others had to say about the trash from the weekend.

New football ticket system succeeds at game

Saturday's home opener football game marked the first time the University's new ticketing procedure was tested.

And despite student fears that ID cards would be rejected and the student section would be nearly impossible to get into, things seemed to go pretty smoothly.

Click here to read more about how the new ticketing system worked.

Final provost candidate speaks today

The final candidate for provost at UGA, Sallie Keller-McNulty, will speak today at the Chapel. She is the fourth candidate to come to the University to detail why she should be the next provost.

Click here to read more about Keller-McNulty.

Jittery Joe's opens up store in New York

One of Athens' most recognizable brands has made its way to the Big Apple. Jittery Joe's is a local coffee shop that has recently opened its first store outside of the Southeast.

I spoke with the president of the company, as well as the store manager for the newly opened shop and it seems like they're very excited and optimistic about the new venture.

Click here to read about the newest location for Jittery Joe's.

Third candidate for provost speaks today

The third provost candidate will speak today. This is a continuation of our efforts to inform students and faculty of who the candidates are on the days they come to campus.

Click here to read about Robert Newman, a contender for the University's provost position.

Some workers not furloughed by federal law

Furloughs have been all over the news lately (for the past few months, really), but I decided to take a look at the unique circumstances that cause some University workers not to be furloughed.

These individuals fall into three categories: professors in the U.S. on an H1B visa, student or graduate student workers and those who make less than $23,660 annually.

Click here to read more about the workers at the University who are not being furloughed.

Provost finalist Mary Anne Fitzpatrick to speak at Chapel today

As the University continues its search for the next provost, we are going to be publishing information about each of the four finalists on the day that person comes to campus to give their presentation.

Unfortunately we missed the opportunity for our first candidate, but since he is our inside man and we ran the follow-up piece from his visit today, I think we're OK with that.

Click here to read about Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, one of the University's four finalists for provost.

Tate II: Where did the $60 million go?

For my first article of the fall semester, I wrote about our new student center addition that opened during the summer. Many students didn't have the opportunity to see the expansion when it opened, so the first day of classes is the first time some students will see this.


We requested open records detailing how the money was spent on Tate II, since all of the funds came from a special student fee.

Click here to read about UGA's new Tate Student Learning Center.

Athenscape Issue

We publish our "Athenscape" issue each semester as a sort of "Welcome back" to students. For this issue, I had four stories — two news and two variety (that's a first!)

For my two news stories, I wrote about getting to know the administrators and a wrap-up of what happened during the summer.

For the two variety stories, I did a preview of upcoming films and books for the fall.

OUR TAKE: A risk to health

For my last institutional editorial of the summer semester, I wrote about how Athens is slated to receive federal stimulus money to retrofit its buses to make them more environmentally friendly.

One of our reporters found that the buses in Athens now emit a particulate that causes cancer in about one in 3,800 people — when the Environmental Protection Agency's acceptable level is one in a million. It's a really interesting story and I'm personally happy the city will be getting the money to help all who live here breathe a little easier.

Click here to read what I wrote about the funds Athens will receive, for The Red & Black's editorial board.

BREAKING NEWS: University halts incineration of animals after violation

Today while we were getting ready to put the paper together, my editorial adviser told me he was contacted by the UGA Public Affairs office and they told him they needed him and a reporter over to the office for a news conference. He asked if I would go and, intrigued, I obliged.

During the news conference (which included The Red & Black, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Associated Press and The Athens Banner-Herald) we learned the university had been cited for an incinerator violation earlier in the month and had since stopped the burning of animal carcasses contaminated with infectious diseases.

Once the conference was over, we headed back to the office and I typed up a story for our Web site. Click here to read about the violation UGA received from the state Environmental Protection Division.

*Photo courtesy www.uga.edu

OUR TAKE: Aim to aid others

It was a slow news week this week at The Red & Black. So slow, in fact, that we had some difficulty coming up with ideas for institutional editorials. We ended up choosing to write about the Harry Potter craze as well as volunteering opportunities.

We had two contributor stories this week which both dealt with volunteering opportunities for students in Athens — and both were at places most students don't necessarily think about immediately (such as the local animal shelter). So when I was putting together the budget, I made sure to package those two on the same page — and when we had our editorial board meeting, we decided it would be worth writing an institutional about students volunteering.

I did a little research for it and found out that Georgia college students lag behind other states' college-aged students in volunteer work, so I found it especially important for the editorial to be written.

Click here to read what I wrote about student volunteering opportunities, for The Red & Black's editorial board.

OUR TAKE: A faulty procedure

I wrote an institutional editorial for this week's paper about a policy the University of Georgia has in place where employees must self report felony arrests and convictions. It sounds like a good policy, and in theory it is, but it's also unenforceable.

The Red & Black uncovered a convicted felon who was working for the university and had access to students' Social Security numbers — not something that should happen under this policy.

Click here to read what I wrote about the situation, for The Red & Black's editorial board.

Sex in the Classic City: Enjoying the freedom the single life offers

I'm really enjoying writing these Sex in the Classic City columns for the opinions page. They're easy to write and I can add some of my personality to my writing — something I'm not used to doing with news writing.

My third installment is about enjoying the freedoms that come along with the single life. As I've mentioned in my previous two columns, I have recently (March is fairly recent, right?) ended a two-year relationship, so I'm still getting used to life as a single person. I've enjoyed it so far and thought I'd share my opinions on why being single isn't such a bad thing right now.

As my Facebook mini-feed is bombarded with status updates of "ENGAGED!!!!" and my mail is slowly filling with wedding invites, it seemed a proper time to let the land of the single know they're not alone.

Click here to read my take on being single in the Classic City.