Our Take
Majority opinions of The Red &?Black's editorial board
Issue date: 10/9/07 Section: Opinions
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Defend yourself
Two organizations are offering free self-defense classes after local assaults.A story affecting local women has drawn national attention and we hope your attention, too. Three women have told police they were abducted by a man posing as a taxi driver. Two women said they accepted rides from the man driving an unmarked white van during the weekend of the Georgia-South Carolina football game.
A University woman said she was sexually assaulted, and a woman visiting Athens escaped. The third woman, also a University student, told police Oct. 2 a man tried to abduct her in a similar manner in May.
Instead of inciting consternation, the news has compelled local organizations to bring students assurance and courage. Safe Campuses Now and The Omni Club are offering students free self-defense classes. We strongly encourage students to take advantage of the classes so they can learn to defend themselves when someone tries to take advantage of them.
On Nov. 7, 11 and 26 from 5 to 9 p.m., Safe Campuses Now will offer women classes taught by University Police. On Oct. 22 at 7 p.m., it will offer separate seminars for males and females in the Student Learning Center.
Next week, The Omni Club on West Broad Street will offer "Dawg Defense," an all-female class. Classes will take place on Oct. 15 at 8 p.m., Oct. 16 at 7 a.m., Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 19 at 7:30 a.m. For more information on the classes, contact Safe Campuses Now at 706-354-1115 or www.safecampusesnow.org and The Omni Club at 706-369-3111.
- Juanita Cousins for the editorial board.
Beverage bummers
Rising coffee prices. Higher vending costs. The drought. What can we drink?Talk about an economic crisis.
An Aug. 23 story in The Red & Black reported Coke products, including those sold in Student Learning Center vending machines, suffered a campus-wide price increase this summer. Now, the prices of Jittery Joe's coffee products citywide are climbing due to more expensive milk and rising transportation costs.
Meanwhile, a near-historic drought has left Athens-Clarke County clamoring for any and all water sources, making a healthy gulp at your favorite water fountain yet another way to hasten the end of our precious water supply.
So, you're stuck paying a pretty penny for your liquid of choice. For those of us who search in our wallets for that elusive dollar bill that never seems to be there: desperate times call for desperate measures. In this recent rash of price increases, what are two liquid categories whose costs have remained steady?
One word, three syllables, sounds like ethanol, sold at many downtown establishments. The other, we're reluctant to report, is the bane of many a Bulldog - Gatorade. We're not saying you should stock up on beer the next time you visit the grocery store and avoid the rising prices in the Student Learning Center by grabbing a Silver Bullet from your backpack between classes or, worse yet, support the Gators. We're simply commenting on these trying times and searching for a way out of this peculiar bind. Although, we may just fork over the extra cash. The alternatives seem too troublesome, too traitorous, too ... um, tasty.
- Matthew Grayson for the editorial board.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 3
Karen H
posted 10/09/07 @ 8:12 PM EST
My heart goes out to the three women who were abducted for what they went through, and yet it is unconscionable that two of the three did not initially report this crime. (Continued…)
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