Blog Topic: On Campus

In the Loop: Tate Preacher Charged With Assaulting UGA Student

By Blake Aued | October 13, 2016 1:56pm

Photo Credit: Clarke County Sheriff's Office

Ross M. Jackson's booking photo.

An itinerant preacher was arrested outside the Tate Student Center Tuesday and charged with elbowing a student in the face during a confrontation in front of about 200 onlookers.

The preacher, Ross M. Jackson, 33, "hit the student during a tense confrontation in which he and the student stood eye-to-eye, separated by a space of about one inch," the Athens Banner-Herald reported.

The student, Keaton Law, told the Red & Black that he was upset that Jackson was calling students "sinners" and "whores."

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In the Loop: UGA Stonewalls Student Journalists on Sexual Assault

By Blake Aued | October 6, 2016 1:10pm

Days after Grady Newsource asked the University of Georgia for comment on recently released rape statistics, the university still has not responded.

A UGA report released in September included reports of 29 rapes on campus, including 22 at residence halls. The student-run TV station asked UGA why so many of the rape reports came from residence halls and why so few result in an arrest, among other questions. A university spokesman told the reporter Monday he was working “feverishly” to find answers, but as of Wednesday, he had not provided any.

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In the Loop: UGA: No Choice but to Change Pay Schedule

By Blake Aued | September 21, 2016 4:02pm

UGA administrators say they're sympathetic to employees whose pay will be delayed in November as the university implements new federal overtime rules, but that they have no choice but to switch from a monthly to a biweekly pay schedule.

"I deeply care about our staff and want to make this transition as smoothly as we can," President Jere Morehead said at his quarterly media briefing this morning.

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In the Loop: The Townie Argument Against the Student Argument for Big Business in Athens

By Blake Aued | August 26, 2016 3:56pm

A relic of the past, according to student journalist Cassie Daigle.

A UGA student recently wrote a Red & Black column in praise of corporate chains, and people are pissed. I haven’t seen Townie Facebook this lit since the Prince Avenue Wendy’s burned down.

Ordinarily, I’d let such less-than-well-thought-out commentary in the local student paper pass. And let it be known that I come here not to bury Cassie Daigle, but to praise her. She’s discovered the power of the hate click at a young age, and has a bright career ahead of her writing on the internet. But Flagpole wouldn’t be the “colorbearer of Athens” if we didn’t offer some sort of retort to this argument.

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Culture Briefs: Writers: The Dawgs Are Gonna Be Mediocre This Year

By Blake Aued | July 15, 2016 3:29pm

Photo Credit: Emily Selby/UGA Athletics

"Third place? Really, guys?"

New UGA football coach Kirby Smart knows he needs to win and win in a hurry to keep the fan base happy.

Unfortunately for him (and us), the media doesn’t have a whole lot of faith.

At the SEC Media Days conference in Hoover last week, sportswriters picked Georgia to finish third in the East, behind predicted division winner Tennessee and Florida.

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In the Loop: Tasers Are Now Legal at UGA

By Blake Aued | July 6, 2016 12:43pm

Photo Credit: Jason Esbain/Wikimedia Commons

Guns are still illegal at the University of Georgia, but Tasers are A-OK!

House Bill 792—sometimes referred to as “campus carry lite”—is among a number of new laws that took effect July 1. The law allows people 18 and older to carry electroshock weapons such as Tasers and stun guns on college campuses and use them—but only for self-defense.

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In the Loop: UGA Expands Medical Amnesty Policy

By Louise Platter | July 1, 2016 11:02am

The University of Georgia Student Government Association has championed a crucial change in the university’s amnesty policy.

The original policy, designed to encourage students to call for help in the event of any injuries resulting from drug or alcohol use, was that students who requested medical assistance for an overdose would be protected from punishment by the university, but the person who overdosed would not.

“There have been students who have gotten in trouble but also been too scared to call because they know that someone may get in trouble. It’ll be their friend passed out on the floor and they need to be sure they make that call,” SGA President Houston Gaines says. “We’re lucky we haven’t lost someone’s life.”

The new policy will extend amnesty to the person who overdosed. It takes effect today. Officials hope that this expansion will encourage students to seek medical assistance without fear of the consequences.

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In the Loop: UGA, Athens Transit Win Grants for Electric Buses

By Blake Aued | June 22, 2016 1:28pm

Photo Credit: courtesy of UGA

An electric bus demonstration on the UGA campus.

Athens Transit and UGA Transit will receive funding for 29 new electric buses, replacing one-third of the diesel buses in those fleets, Gov. Nathan Deal announced today.

Deal announced the 11 winners of a combined $75 million in grants under the GO! Transit Capital Program.

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Culture Briefs: Watch Ryan Seacrest's UGA Commencement Speech

By Blake Aued | May 16, 2016 11:45am

That’s Dr. Ryan Seacrest to you.

The “American Idol” host, media mogul and philanthropist—who dropped out of school after his freshman year to go to Hollywood—told graduates to follow their dreams during his UGA commencement speech Friday.

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In the Loop: UGA Administrator Resigns After Reports of Inappropriate Relationships

By Blake Aued | May 3, 2016 1:19pm

A University of Georgia administrator recently resigned after being accused of having improper relationships with students and subordinates, according to The Red & Black.

T.W. Cauthen, the former associate vice president for academic, campus and community partnerships in the Division of Student Affairs, exchanged more than 200 text messages in 2015 with a student he met on a dating app. The student reported the exchanges to UGA in November, six months later, because Cauthen had been ignoring him.

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