In the Loop
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UGA Will Ticket Bird Users Who Break Traffic Laws
Photo Credit: Savannah Cole
University of Georgia police will start ticketing Bird e-scooter riders on Friday if they break traffic laws, the university announced in a campus-wide email this morning.
“For the last 10 days, the University Police Department has engaged in an effort to educate scooter riders about the applicable laws,” an Archnews email said. “Moving forward, individuals violating traffic code — including riding scooters on sidewalks — may be cited, which could lead to fines of $185, plus associated court fees.”
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UGA: Snelling Dining Hall May Be Renovated, but No Decision Yet
Photo Credit: University of Georgia
Rumors have spread on campus that Snelling Dining Hall will be closing for renovations and Oglethorpe Dining Hall, also known as O-House, will become the new 24-hour dining hall. However, a University of Georgia spokesperson said those rumors are false, and there are no plans to close Snelling at this time.
“Snelling is a popular dining hall, and we know students rely on its availability. Dining Services continuously seeks ways to improve the student dining experience,” said Greg Trevor, executive director of media communication.
Trevor said UGA will begin a “feasibility study this fall to explore ways we can enhance service at Snelling.” The study is expected to take four to six months to complete.
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UGA Prof: Abrams Can't Win Governor's Race, but Kemp Can Lose
The Georgia governor’s race is Republican Brian Kemp’s to lose, political scientist Charles Bullock, an expert on Georgia elections, told Oconee County Republicans on Thursday night.
“The Republicans should win this,” said Bullock, a distinguished University of Georgia professor. “This is still a Republican state.”
Bullock said, however, that he could imagine a number of scenarios that would lead to a Democratic takeover of the governor’s mansion.
Republicans have to be united, he said, and the disruption from Washington has to be minimal.
“If Republicans in any way drop the ball, mess up, then a Democrat could win,” Bullock said. “I am telling reporters that Stacey Abrams can’t win, but Brian Kemp could lose.”
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Athens Police Will Start Ticketing Scooter Scofflaws
Photo Credit: Savannah Cole
A group of Athens-Clarke County commissioners said on Thursday that the grace period is over for Bird scooter users who do not abide by state and local law.
State law bans people over 12 from driving any vehicle on the sidewalk in most areas. County ordinances prohibit parking on sidewalks and driveways, in front of alleys and driveways or in the middle of the street.
The Legislative Review Committee—chairman Jerry NeSmith, Allison Wright, Sharyn Dickerson and Mariah Parker—were scheduled to discuss motorized vehicles on public property such as golf carts, scooters, mopeds and segways. However, their attention quickly honed in on how to address the new dockless electric scooters in Athens.
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UGA Is Confiscating Those Newfangled Scooters
Photo Credit: Savannah Cole
Last week, Bird Scooters began hatching around Athens and soaring through the University of Georgia as part of the company’s nationwide “University Pop-Up Tour.” But now, several Athens-Clarke County and University of Georgia officials are saying they’re becoming a big problem—so much so that university officials are confiscating the new scooters on campus.
According to university spokesman Greg Trevor and ACC public information officer Jeff Montgomery, Bird Scooters did not coordinate with the university or the county and do not have a business license.
Common concerns about the new scooters are riders ignoring helmet requirements, riding scooters on sidewalks, disobeying local and state traffic laws and leaving scooters abandoned on sidewalks, roads and other areas where could cause harm to bystanders.
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Oconee Republicans Rescind Media Restrictions
The Oconee County Republican Party Executive Committee has placed severe restrictions on media coverage of its meetings, starting with the one on Thursday and running through the election in November.
Tammy Gilland, chair of the local party organization, said that media representatives are allowed to attend the next three party meetings but that they are not allowed to record the meetings in any way and not allowed to take any notes.
Gilland said the recording and note-taking prohibition “will apply to all media.”
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UGA Will Build a Monument to Slaves Formerly Buried Underneath Baldwin Hall
Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file
Judge Steve Jones speaks at a service for the reinterment of slave remains slave remains found during construction at Baldwin Hall at Oconee Hill Cemetery in 2017. Jones was later named to a task force dedicated to further memorializing those individuals.
The University of Georgia will build a memorial at Baldwin Hall to the slaves whose remains were discovered buried near the building during construction in 2015.
A black-owned quarry in Oglethorpe County will donate 35,000 pounds of granite for the memorial, the university announced today. UGA Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion Michelle Cook is a member of the family—the Millie Long estate in Carlton—that owns the quarry.
“Our family is proud to contribute to this historic project, which will serve as permanent tribute to the memory of these individuals,” Cook said in a news release. “This project is particularly important to me because of my own family history in the Athens area, which dates back more than 150 years. It was an honor to work with the task force to design a memorial that will provide a tranquil, reflective place for our entire community.”
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The UGA Class of 2022 Might Be the Smartest Ever
The Class of 2022 had an average high-school grade point average of 4.04—the highest ever at the University of Georgia.
The average ACT score was 30, tying last year's record, and the average SAT score was 1,365, up 21 points from 2017, according to statistics released by UGA.
The average freshman took eight Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or dual enrollment classes in high school.
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