the auburn plainsman feb. 17, 1994, page 1

On the Concourse Editorials Letters to the Editor Student Life Classifieds Tempo Music Comics Sports Stats

Greenpeace retaliates against

environmental bad guys

page C l -

Dt Weekend Weather Partly D2 cloudy; lows 40's, highs 60's

JSoise war rages on Ordinance may be required to calm storm of complaints A5

Play ball! Baseball team prepares for '94 Dl

New Orleans fiesta Students celebrate Mardi Gras Bl

QTlie i^uburn Plainsman Thursday, February 17,1994 A Century of Excellence' Volume 100, Number 15, 36 pages

New ward creates minority voice by Ryan Yawn Plainsman Staff Writer "We are in support of the resolution that gives

The Auburn City Council voted unanimously to adopt a plan to incorporate a majority-black voting ward into the current system Tuesday night.

Several months ago, members of Auburn's black community called for a change in the city's voting wards, saying the current system was unfair, and they could not be properly represented.

The city currently has four voting wards with two council members elected from each ward.

Under the new plan, the two places in Ward 1 would be divided geographically so citizens in one part of the the black community what we asked jor, the ward would vote for Place

afaluy to elect the candidate of our choice." 1, and the other part would _ _.. _i . vote for Place 2 **" A ' L ' D o w d e l l

Ward 1 Place 1 would president of Concerned Citizens for Equal Justice have a black population of 64.3 percent.

"This proposal is a very viable one," Mayor Jan Dempsey said. It gives members of the black community what they asked for "the ability to elect the candidate of their choice," she said.

The proposal met positive feedback from both the Rev. A. L. Dowdell, president of Concerned Citizens for Equal Justice, and Lindburgh Jackson, a former city councilman, two of the main people pushing for change.

Dowdell said he was pleased with the plan. "We are in support of the resolution that gives the black community what we asked for, the ability to elect the candidate of our choice."

But Dowdell said he would support the current

plan only until the next census in six years, when state law requires that the voting lines be redrawn.

Dowdell said at that time, the city should change to single-member wards to better represent all aspects of the

community. Not everyone was pleased with the

decision to change the voting wards, however. James Warfleld of 1212 Jenkins Drive said, "I don't see the point. It looks like resegregation to me."

Councilman Sam Harris said even though the plan "answers the question by the black community, it is not a good move, although it can be seen as a move that is not entirely negative to the city."

The success of the plan lies in who the community elects, Harris said. "A sector of the community could get isolated," he said.

TODD VAN KMST/ Photo Editor

Sit and spin... \ Basketball entertainer Dave Davlin amazes the crowd at halftime of Saturday's 113-83 Tiger win against LSU. Davlin is a world-famous artist of basketball tricks and travels to various cities, where he showcases his spinning talents.

SGA committee hears project funding requests Majority of projects ask budget and finance for increase to better salaries, expand services

Car accident claims life of student by Nancy Btstritz Assistant News Editor

A traffic accident last week near the intersection of Shug Jordan Parkway and Donahue Drive claimed the life of a 21-year-old University student.

According to an Auburn police report, the driver of the car lost control and hit an embankment at about 1 a.m. Feb. 10.

John H. Johnson, who was in the passenger seat, was ejected from the car and and died | on impact.

He had been wearing a s h o u l d e r restraint but w a s p r o n o u n c e d dead on the scene by the , ' , . , _. . Lee County J O H N S O N Coroner.

The two other passengers in the car, James Edward Day, 22, and Kelly B. Land, an Auburn graduate, suffered bruises and abrasions, a police spokeswoman said.

An avid sports fan, Johnson had a love for hockey and a way with people, Johnson's friends and

see STUDENT, page A3

SGA advises candidate to resign from talk show

by Jennifer Acevedo News Editor

Running for Student Government Association president can be a full-time job, but for candidate Ashley Wright, it also meant giving up a job.

SGA Elections Board told Wright, former host of WEGL's talk show "On the Air," Wednesday his job at the station was in conflict with campaign regulations.

Wright resigned from the post after the Feb. 10 show.

"I can kind of see their point.

They were saying that I had an unfair advantage because I was a host of the show, and I got to speak for two hours about my personal opinion about campus issues, and the other candidates didn't," Wright said.

"I can kind of agree with that, but I was not campaigning over the air, so there was no violation turned in."

The regulation cited by the board was Section 707.5 of the SGA's Code of Laws, which

see WRIGHT, page A3

by Jennifer Acevedo News Editor

Salary increases for campus leadership positions seemed to be the order of the day as the Student Government Association Budget and Finance committee received requests from student activity fee projects this week.

The SGA Senate sent 13 activity fee projects on to the budget and finance committee for consideration of $1,117,719 in approved requests. This year, the SGA has $960,290 to allocate after placing $15,000 in the reserve fund Tuesday night.

The SGA's request of $147,177 represented the largest increase from last year. The organization hopes to pick up an additional $62,533 in funding.

Treasurer Mike Fucci said the increase was because of bigger requests in the spirit committees, which provide shakers for football games, and officer salaries.

"It does seem like quite an increase, but the big increase is due to the fact that the athletic department to date has no plans to donate the usual $12,500 as they have in the past," Fucci said.

SGA Senator Brandon Wright voiced his concern that the increase was too large.

"To me, it just seems unrealistic. I'll save my complaints until we start cutting, but I think there's a lot of waste in this budget," he said.

The second largest increase in requests, up $27,926 from last year, came from the University

TOM AFF101

1NTKE rAL

WRIGHT Program Council.

UPC coordinator Andrea Galzerano said the organization hopes to add another summer orientation session and one more national media speaker to its lineup next fall. The group also is requesting salary increases for its officers.

"They put in an incredible amount of time. We ask them to come to all of the events," Galzerano explained.

The UPC also hopes to add another director position to provide student input to the "Eagle Eye" television program.

In a move contrary to recent trends, The Glomerate* requested almost $800 less than last year.

Editor Ashley Wright said this year's budget was a realistic representation of what the organization hoped to spend.

"We're not trying to put a lot of pork in our budget to give you all room to cut. There really is no room to cut," he said.

Instead of asking that money be set aside in the reserve fund for The Glom in case problems occur at the printer, the organization asked that the SGA provide it with a one-time allocation. That money would then be rolled over in-

see BUDGETS, page A3

Civil rights group criticizes hate crimes legislation Detractors say bill omission of sexual orientation sends public dangerous message by Vanessa Ray Assistant News Editor

Representatives from the Southern Poverty Law Center believe the state Legislature is omitting two important words in the proposed hate crimes bill, "sexual orientation."

The bill, passed by the House and facing Senate scrutiny presently "would impose additional penalties on a person who committed a crime and was motivated by the victim's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity or

disability." The center submitted a request to the

Senate Judiciary Committee for a public hearing to discuss hate crimes.

"That request was denied. The senators' office said it was an oversight, that they did not get the letter in time, but the letter was hand-delivered," lobbyist for the center Crae Pridgen said.

Pridgen became a victim of a hate crime when he was attacked by a group of Marines in Wilmington, N.C., last year. He said he filed lobbying papers with the state Legislature on the center's behalf, a?id the

"We've been avoided and ignored. This is not a moral issue; it's not a gay-rights issue; it's an issue about crime and violence."

Crae Pridgen lobbyist for Southern Poverty Law Center

next day the House passed the present hate crimes bill. "The last three weeks have been very hectic because I'm trying to get our senators to realize how serious a problem it is with the gay and lesbian community and how serious a problem late crime in

general is. "We've been avoided and ignored. This is

not a moral issue; it's not a gay-rights issue; it's an issue about crime and violence,"

see HATE, page A*3