Regents OK request to slash 12 majors

My article in today's paper is partly a continuation, or finalization, of another issue I've written about at least twice so far this semester. Some of the degree programs here at UGA have been terminated, for a variety of reasons, and the Board of Regents officially OK'd the university's requests yesterday to get rid of the programs.

Also at the meeting, the Board approved requests to increase the required amount of credit hours for the major in music therapy, and to expand the doctor of education program to the Gwinnett campus. The regular spokesman for the Board of Regents was busy all afternoon, so I spoke with the publications director instead and she wasn't able to be in all meetings that day, but I was still able to get some good information.

As far as Regents meetings have gone this semester, there really hasn't been anything too exciting to happen yet. I have a feeling, though, that things will heat up as the semester comes to a close and the Georgia legislature's session ends. That's when tuition and fees will be discussed and it seems very likely that there will be substantial increases for the next academic year.

Click here to read my article on the Mar. 17 Board of Regents meeting.

Feeling Flushed

Well the article that would never end finally did. It took me a little longer to be able to get in touch with people who were willing to talk about their toilet problems in one of the dorms on campus, but I did it. Getting in touch with a plumber proved to be difficult too, since they are almost always out on a service call. I was able to speak with the part-owner of a Roto-Rooter franchise here in Athens though, and she said she's been around plumbing her whole life, so she was able to answer my questions.

This article is a part of an ongoing series we're doing at The Red & Black this semester on lodging complaints in University Housing. Click the

link to read about the problems students have had with their toilets in Oglethorpe House.

Univ. Council boosts student representation

Yesterday the UGA Executive Committee approved motions to increase student and faculty representation of University Council. I was slightly concerned when I saw the agenda for the meeting, because almost every item being discussed was one that I've already written about. So I was happy when these items were brought up, because they haven't been written about yet and I think it's relevant to students.

There was a pretty lengthy discussion on whether professors should give students until the final examination slot to turn in take home exams. Issues of academic freedom, students rights and "the spirit of the policy" were all brought up, but in the end the motion passed and will go before University Council on Mar. 19.

Click here to find out what all was said and approved at the Executive Committee meeting Thursday afternoon.

MyUGA receives upgrade

I wrote this article on the MyUGA upgrade initially for Monday's paper (Mar. 2) - the day of the upgrade. But since Athens has had inclement weather, things have been a little crazy around here and the paper wasn't published yesterday, so the story is now in today's paper.

I wish someone had gone back to tweak my time elements a little bit so they made a little more sense. Everything is still written as if it's the first day of the upgrade - which now makes it seem like it will happen next Monday, instead of yesterday.

Oh well, I guess it's not a huge deal and it's just something that fell through the cracks, what with the paper having to be made by generator and all. Still, the perfectionist in me reads the article and wishes an editor had taken a few minutes to change "will begin" to "began" and so on.

Click here to read about the new features for MyUGA.

Furloughs for Georgia professors?

The AJC reported today that University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll B. Davis told a House budget panel that furloughs may happen for University System employees if drastic spending cuts have to be made quickly. This comes after Davis' statement in January that he was "philosophically opposed" to furloughs.

I found this interesting because in a Jan. 30 article I wrote for The Red & Black, I referenced that very comment and even asked UGA President Michael Adams what he thought of furloughs. At the end of the article, I wrote:

The Board of Regents has no intentions of furloughing higher education employees in the state, Chancellor Erroll B. Davis said to the Georgia General Assembly Appropriations Committee last week. Furloughs place employees on a temporary non-pay and non-duty status during times of low funding.

"It's pretty difficult to furlough professors," Adams said. "We basically have a contract with [students] to teach whatever four or five classes [they] have registered for. We have hired faculty on contract to teach those courses."

"Those are things that unless the Regents were to declare a financial exigency, we have no option but to honor," he said.

© Copyright 2009 The Red and Black

I'm interested to see where this goes. I don't think it's enough to call for a follow-up story, but if more cuts are made soon and the prospect of furloughs grows, then I will suggest running one. I believe the state legislature ends its session next month, so the next budget - and its cuts - should be finalized around then.

I really like working the administration beat. Even though crime was interesting in a voyeuristic kind of way, nothing beats covering pertinent topics that a lot of readers care about.

It's snowing in Georgia!

I usually don't update with non journalism related topics, but it rarely snows in Georgia, so this is warranted.

I haven't seen snow in years and I haven't seen snow stick to the ground in even longer. It's such a pretty sight to see the ground covered in white. It's beautiful.

Here are some of the pictures I've taken today.

My thoughts on the "dying dinosaur"

It made me very sad to see today that The Rocky Mountain News will no longer be publishing. I wrote a paper for one of my classes last spring about the News and the Denver Post's JOA and how each newspaper compared to the other. Though I've never been to Denver and never was able to see the actual print version of the News, I did spend quite a bit of time on its Web site, analyzing its content and looking over its media kit.

It's a difficult time in journalism right now, especially print journalism (particularly newspapers). I'm trying to stay positive and one of my wise former-professors has drilled into my mind that newspapers are some of the most lucrative businesses in the U.S. - it's just the credit hole that they're all in that's making this economic time particularly trying.

As a journalism student looking at my career options come May, the prospects aren't looking too bright. I got a late start due to transferring in the middle of my college career and trying to do in two years what everyone else in my major does in three. I've worked hard to get the writing and editing experience I need, but that might just not be enough. It's competitive out there and even the best and brightest aren't getting jobs right now.

But I believe newspapers will survive. I think their purpose and what they give back to society is too great for them to fail. It's going to be rough, but I think in the end newspapers will come out strong. In the past few months my appetite for news has grown to an almost insatiable level and I find myself constantly checking for the newest headline.

I've begun seeking out more and more news outlets just to find out what is going on in different places. Maybe it's because I'm just becoming a "news junkie" - or maybe it's something else. Maybe others are realizing, too, that this service provided to citizens by journalists is a worthy service and one that cannot die.

It needs to survive.

State lawmakers to debate house bill for commuter rail

So Athens might be getting a commuter rail that links it to Atlanta. This is something that's been talked about for over 20 years and has been in the news at least since 2006.

On Thursday the House Transportation Committee passed a bill which includes a project that could create an Atlanta to Athens commuter rail in 10 years. When my editor told me about this, I figured the best place to start (since there was hardly any information about it in the AJC), was to go straight to the source. I contacted the chairman of the committee and after a little waiting period, was able to talk to him and get some information about the rail.

Click here to read more about what the chairman had to say about the bill.

Policy amendments approved

Yesterday's Educational Affairs Committee meeting taught me a lot. Most notably, that I really need to work on my consolidation/synthesizing skills. I'm still getting used to going into a meeting where multiple subjects are being discussed and being able to come out of it knowing where I want to take the story. It's difficult (definitely not impossible though).

I also bought a new audio recorder over the weekend and was still trying to figure out exactly how to use it, so that didn't help. Note to self: don't put it close to my notepad. The loudest thing I could hear when I went back to listen was my pen scribbling away on the paper. On the whole, I like the article though.

Click here to read about the new policies approved by the Educational Affairs Committee at UGA.

University transitions to new fundraising effort

This article is a a follow-up to President Adams' statement in his State of the University speech, where he mentioned that UGA will be moving from a university-wide fund raising campaign to a unit (or school and college)-based effort.

He also mentioned the transition in a media briefing a little over a week ago, so I wanted to find out what this would mean for the individual schools and colleges. I spoke with representatives from the Terry College of Business and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, two of the larger colleges at UGA.

Click here to read the article and find out what they had to say.