Blog Topic: On Campus

In the Loop: Morehead Releases Stronger Statement on Travel Ban

By Blake Aued | January 30, 2017 10:43pm

University of Georgia President Jere Morehead emailed a "personal follow-up" to the UGA community this afternoon on President Donald Trump's ban on refugees and travel from seven Muslim nations.

An initial statement released this morning—taken almost verbatim from an email University System Chancellor Steve Wrigley sent to college presidents—was met with derision among some faculty and students for its stilted language. For example, one professor referred to it on social media as "weak sauce," while another called it "tepid, at best."

The latest statement reads:

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In the Loop: UGA: No One Affected by Trump Travel Ban

By Blake Aued | January 30, 2017 11:16am

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore

No UGA faculty or students were affected by the executive order President Donald Trump signed Friday restricting travel from seven predominately Muslim nations, according to the university.

UGA President Jere Morehead, Pamela Whitten, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Pamela Whitten and Associate Provost for International Education Noel Fallows released a statement this morning:

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In the Loop: UGA Announces Need-Based Scholarship Program

By Martha Michael | January 26, 2017 11:07am

Diversity and inclusion in the student body and various academic disciplines and research initiatives will be the University of Georgia’s priorities, UGA President Jere Morehead said Wednesday during his annual State of the University address.

Of all the achievements and awards the university has earned over the past year, receiving the INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award exemplified that “diversity and inclusion are core values of this university,” Morehead said. “We will continue to provide support and resources here to become even more connected.”

In order to help recruit students from different financial backgrounds, Morehead introduced the Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program, a scholarship matching program that would generate 400–600 new need-based scholarships. Any gifts in the amount of $50,000, $75,000 or $100,000 will be matched by the UGA Foundation. As these endowments grow, so will the size of the scholarship award.

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In the Loop: UGA Students Walked Out Friday to Protest Trump

By Kat Khoury | January 22, 2017 10:47am

Photo Credit: Kat Khoury

Several hundred students, professors and community members gathered on Friday at 11:45 a.m.—the same moment that President Donald Trump was inaugurated into office—to voice opposition to the incoming administration. “Walk Out” protestors met in groups at the main library on the University of Georgia's North Campus and the ROTC building on South Campus. Two parades of black-clad marchers then made their way to the rendezvous point at Tate Plaza.

Real Food & Amnesty, the Lambda Alliance, the Women's Studies Student Organization, the UGA National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Undocumented Student Alliance, Students for Justice in Palestine and Athens for Everyone had representatives speak to a crowd that continued to grow. The black clothes of the marchers eventually mingled with the plainclothes passersby who were drawn to stay, some out of solidarity, some out of curiosity.

“We were hoping for a good turnout; this is an amazing turnout,” said Adwoa Agyepong, co-president of Amnesty International at UGA.

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Culture Briefs: UGA Schedules Memorial Service for Late Professor Judith Ortiz Cofer

By Blake Aued | January 10, 2017 3:27pm

Photo Credit: The University of Georgia

The University of Georgia will hold a memorial service Friday, Jan. 27 for Judith Ortiz Cofer, an award-winning author, poet and professor who died of cancer at her Jackson County home Dec. 30.

Ortiz Cofer was born in Puerto Rico in 1952. Her family moved to New Jersey in 1956, then to Augusta, GA when she was 15. She taught English and creative writing at UGA for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2013.

Ortiz Cofer was known for her prose and poetry about growing up Puerto Rican and being torn culturally between the mainland U.S. and her traditional family. Her 1989 novel The Line of the Sun was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and she was inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame in 2010.

The memorial service is scheduled for 3 p.m. at The Chapel, with a reception following at the Demosthenian Hall.

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Culture Briefs: RIP Georgia Superfan Mike 'Big Dawg' Woods

By Blake Aued | January 4, 2017 11:09pm

Photo Credit: UGA Football Live via Twitter

You know who I'm talking about—the bald guy with the bulldog painted on top of his head who's ubiquitous on Athens gameday Saturdays.

Georgia superfan Mike "Big Dawg" Woods died earlier today, according to several sources. UGA Football Live appears to have broken the news:

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In the Loop: Judge: Georgia Immigrants Protected by DACA Can Pay In-State Tuition

By Blake Aued | January 3, 2017 2:42pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

Undocumented students and supporters protest Georgia immigration policy outside UGA President Jere Morehead's office in 2014.

Georgia residents who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children and are protected from deportation by an Obama Administration policy should be allowed to pay in-state tuition at Georgia colleges, a Fulton County court ruled today.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

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In the Loop: Trump Protesters Gather at the Arch

By Blake Aued | November 10, 2016 11:55am

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones

About 60 protesters gathered at the Arch Wednesday night to express their opposition to President-elect Donald Trump (it's gonna weird writing that for a while). They were joined by Trump-supporters counter-protesters as well as a number of onlookers, the Red & Blackreports.

Meanwhile, the Athens Banner-Herald describes local Republicans as "excited but cautious" about a Trump presidency.

Flagpole photographer Joshua L. Jones documented the scene at the Arch Wednesday night.

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In the Loop: UGA Provost Pamela Whitten Is a Finalist to Head the University of Tennessee

By Blake Aued | November 3, 2016 1:59pm

Photo Credit: Andrew Tucker/UGA

University of Georgia Provost Pamela Whitten is one of three finalists for chancellor of the University of Tennessee.

Whitten visited the Knoxville campus on Wednesday. She told faculty and staff at the forum that she is “a defender of an inclusive campus who understands the nuances of a Southern, football-crazed, land grant university,” the News Sentinel reports.

UGA President Jere Morehead hired Whitten as provost in 2014. Previously, she headed the College of Communication Arts & Sciences at Michigan State.

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In the Loop: Early Voting at the Tate Center Is Crazy Right Now

By Blake Aued | November 1, 2016 1:28pm

Photo Credit: Houston Gaines

University of Georgia students are lining up in droves today to vote at the Tate Student Center—the first time Athens-Clarke County has set up an early-voting site on campus.

As of about 11:30 a.m., more than 800 people had already voted today at Tate, according to Student Government Association President Houston Gaines. He was kind enough to send some photos of lines snaking through the building and out the door, which are posted above and below.

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