The University could have used an entire offseason to try to address the garbage issue, which received widespread attention only in the last year. 

The Alumni Association, Student Government and even the Athletic Department could have been called upon to impress upon the fans how important cleanup on North Campus truly is. 

A permit system could have been put in place, so that the least responsible tailgaters would be discouraged from coming to North Campus at all, and those that still litter could be identified and fined. 

Expect areas south of Baldwin and downtown to become a nightmare, adding to the gameday headaches of police and local businesses. 

The administration’s unwillingness to try less extreme measures dismisses decades of tailgating traditions and continues the leadership’s trend of treating the entire University like a collection of children. The garbage issue must be addressed, but this is not the way to do it.

Donald Wakeford 

Graduate student, Albany

University of Georgia School of Law

New tailgating rules not answer to clean campus

It seems that these new tailgating rules are a practice in futility on the way to more campus bans. Certainly there are better methods for dealing with these messes than merely relocating the tailgaters until four hours before kickoff. 

Though we can all agree students, alumni and sidewalk fans alike should be able to act like responsible adults — elementary school students even — and throw away their trash, does this really solve the issue at all?

One Facebook group from Gainesville State  — surprise, surprise — has already responded to this move from the University by stating they will move their tailgate to Myers Quad. 

There rests the issue. North Campus doesn’t turn people into pigs. People are pigs and turn North Campus into their sty. Will UGA, home to a 90,000 capacity stadium on campus, next disallow tailgating on any and all school grounds? The pigs have already made their move, President Adams.

Daniel Traynor 

Senior, Alpharetta

History and English 

Happiness important during tough times

In no uncertain terms, the editorial board asked us, the bird-brained community, why we should care about the fate of our state bird when countless other problems abound. They’re right. 

Why care about a bird when funding for education is being slashed and unemployment rises? Relatedly, why are we perpetuating the Olympic Games while natural disasters destroy the world? Celebrating the World Cup on a continent that faces bloody civil wars and unthinkable living conditions?

We can’t spend all our time worrying about terrible things or we will never stop worrying. We must work tirelessly to address these issues, but make time for joy in the face of suffering. If people find happiness promoting our top agricultural industry, let them. It’s funny, and it’s great PR for the poultry industry. These folks work very hard securing money supporting the state and the least we can do is recognize their effort.

Tiffany Umlauf

Graduate student, Grovetown

Veterinary medicine

Increased use of online classes money-saver

As a business major, I am doing my best to learn how to run a company and make smart and efficient choices to help save money and improve the quality of the business I work for. One big way that our university system would save a large amount of money is through increased use of online or hybrid classes. 

For the first two years of most of our college careers, we spend countless hours going to classes that have minimal if any educational value which we could do online at our own pace which would save our time and the time of faculty as well. 

The faculty would have more time to teach higher classes that require more personal instruction, and students would have more time to move on and knock out more of those core classes that most of us can knock out ourselves on our own time. 

Another big problem we are all aware of is textbooks. In most classes, I spend $100+ on a textbook that I did not even use once. This is an area needing much reform. Perhaps classes where you have a choice in which textbook you use may cause competition among publishers and eventually drive the prices down.

Richard Leggee

Junior, Peachtree City

Finance

Sarah Palin comment ‘unprovoked swipe’

 Although I agree that our State Legislature has better things to worry about than changing the state bird, I would like to comment on the unprovoked swipe this paper took at former Gov. Sarah Palin in Thursday, March 17’s “Our Take.”  

The line “Sarah Palin is positioning herself for a presidential run in 2012” was completely unjustified.  It was unprofessional, and very un-journalistic.  

The comment was off topic — Sarah Palin has nothing to do with what our General Assembly needs to be focused on — and was a cheap shot by this newspaper at conservatives and Republicans everywhere.  It was tacky, and completely uncalled for.

 The editor who allowed it to come out should be ashamed, and I as a student am disgusted that this paper, which is considered one of the best in the collegiate news world, would allow such low standards of journalism. 

Instead of dragging Sarah Palin’s name through the mud time and time again — it’s really getting old, even CNN has laid off it — how about you look at what’s really going on in this country, and what some of our elected officials who impact us are doing. 

In fact, take a look at what President Obama has done for this nation. He’s doubled the deficit, unemployment is up to 10 percent, and even his own party with huge majorities in the House and the Senate has to resort to parliamentary tricks to pass legislation. Maybe we should be worried that Barack Obama is positioning himself to run for re-election in 2012.

Jared Peden 

Sophomore, Hinesville

Political science

‘Pathetic’ green grade shows true Univ. colors

Don’t be shy, Red & Black. It’s OK to be honest about UGA’s pathetic standings on our green report card Thursday, March 17’s “Green fee helps cut red tape.” I think a “C” is too high of a grade for our current green initiatives by the University as a whole. You have written that our biggest accomplishment is that we have lots of buses to take people around campus … really? We pale in comparison to Georgia Tech, which got a “B” for all its accomplishments.

We acknowledge that we are incredibly behind the times as a collective school, which is embarrassing as we are the largest and most looked-at school in the state of Georgia. Until a few years ago, our University system showed little green efforts and are scrambling right now to change that, feeling the heat of competition and reputation. The various green organizations have been working their tails off, but we have to bark and beg at the feet of the University just to get tossed a bone.

 We are grateful that our higher-ups have heard some of our cries by creating an Office of Sustainability and the green fee, but we have a lot of work to get done before we can be considered as a “C” grade. 

Hopefully our environmentally-conscious efforts continue to be heard as the University realizes that “going green” has a lot more to do than just riding a bus. 

Caitlin Smith

Senior, Charlotte, N.C.

Environmental health