Our Take

Majority opinions of The Red & Black's editorial board

By:

Posted: 6/17/08

Lookout, freshmen

An open letter of reassurance and/or warning to the parents of new Bulldogs

Dear visiting orientation parents,

Are you worried about leaving your children to live independently on a large campus this fall? Do you dread thinking about the kinds of shenanigans they may participate in once they are loose from the leash of living in your house?

Don't be. We'll catch them if they go crazy.

Trust in our slogan: We know what you did last night.

Word is out that the Orientation Leaders are using a story we ran before the first day of class last August in their alcohol awareness sessions.

We hope it works.

The story was about 25 students - including seven freshmen - who were arrested on alcohol-related charges during the few days before classes began.

The front page boasted the mug shots of the seven new students as they were taken at the Athens-Clarke County Jail.

Out of the 70 comments we received about the story online, 30 were positive and 40 were outraged. The angry ones thought we took it too far to "scare students."

But guess how many people were arrested the next weekend? Two. And they were both University employees.

University Judiciary policy requires that minimum sanctions for possession of alcohol by an underage student include an alcohol awareness class and a six-month probation. A second violation could lead to suspension.

The freshmen were on probation before they even stepped foot into a classroom! Four of the seven were arrested and charged again within the following months.

So when we say we've got your back, we mean it. Maybe we won't have to write about your little one.

Sincerely,
The Red & Black

- Carolyn Crist for the editorial board

Dogs Omaha-bound

The baseball team, entering the College World Series, continues to do us proud

This weekend, the college baseball World Series will begin, and for the first time since 2006, the Diamond Dogs are headed to the College World Series. We congratulate the players and coaches for continuing the University's winning athletic tradition through the summer.

Coach David Perno himself has a long and storied history with the Diamond Dogs of going to the World Series.

For instance, his brother was on the team in 1987 when the Dogs went to the World Series, and David was on the team in 1990, when the Dogs last won the championship.

He was also the assistant coach in 2001 and head coach in 2004 and 2006, when the Dogs went to the World Series.

And in what we hopes to be a prophetic last twist, in Sunday's clinching game against North Carolina State, the Dogs scored nine runs in the first inning, going on to win the game by a commanding 17-8. The last time that many runs were scored by our boys in a single NCAA inning was 1990, our last championship year.

We thank the seniors for their dedicated playing over the last few years, and join the rest of the University community in rooting for the Dogs in the NCAA World Series.

- Matt Brandenburgh for the editorial board