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The Unfairness Doctrine?
By Angela Lucas
Staff Writer
Issue date: 11/21/08 Section: Opinion
If the real issue is delivering fairness, then why just go after radio? Why not go after television, the internet and newspapers? Under a so-called "Fairness Doctrine" whoever is in control of the government will determine what is "fair."
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Electronic voting machines could cause problems on Election Day
By: Angela Lucas
Staff Writer
10/31/08
Gregory Geller, the data center manager at Armstrong's Computer & Information Services (CIS), gave a lecture on electronic voter fraud on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
According to Geller, the potential for electronic voter fraud lies in the "source code" of the software used in the voting machines. It is easy to embed fraud into the code, given the right knowledge and just a short amount of time alone with the voting machine. "The people that are in the best position to hack voting machines are the people that make machines and write the software," said Geller. "The software that runs in electronic voting machines runs on Windows. Anyone that has access to the machine and is alone with them for a minute can literally reboot the machine and install software to hack the code. "Basically, they can do anything they want with it, and this has been demonstrated by many researchers from Stanford to Princeton." Premier Electronic Solutions, formerly Diebold Electronic Systems Inc. until a name change in 2007, is the manufacturer of the most commonly used electronic voting machine in the United States. The company received a large amount of negative publicity around the 2004 election regarding the potential for fraud within their voter software. "I think that the manufacturers are responsible. Why they are doing it or who they are doing it for? We really can't know," said Geller. According to Geller, several years ago a woman from Seattle named Bev Harris stumbled upon highly confidential data that was left on Diebold's website. The company admitted during court that they left passwords and source codes on a public FTP site where anyone could upload the information. Harris uploaded the information and took it to several computer scientists who confirmed that the data was a "computer hacker's dream" and was detrimental to America's electronic voting system. Harris is the creator of BlackBoxVoting.org, a website whose motto is "Protect the Count." Harris's website is devoted to spreading voter fraud awareness. Geller encouraged everyone that plans to vote on Nov. 4 to visit BlackBoxVoting.org and get tips on what to do if you encounter any problems at the polls. "Over 600 locations still hand count paper ballots - the rural areas of Alaska, much of Wisconsin and about half of New England is hand counted at the polling place," according to a BlackBoxVoting.org video that features Harris as the voice over. The video continues, explaining that hand counting the ballots eliminates middlemen in charge of getting voting data from the polls to central count locations. It also mentions that some states, like Oregon and Washington are almost all mail-in voting, while others California, Colorado, Arizona and Ohio will be about 50 percent absentee. There are different variations for checks and balances on all of the various types of voting, and potential for fraud exists in all variations of the process.
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News: Armstrong President set to retire in June 2009
By Angela Lucas
Staff Writer
10/24/2008
Armstrong President Thomas Z. Jones announced his retirement on Sept. 29. Jones has been apart of the University System of Georgia for 21 years and will have served as president of Armstrong for almost a decade; he plans to end his tenure in June 2009.
Referring to accomplishments during his tenure, Jones said, "It's not so much about me as it is about the institution as a whole. The establishment of a resident life experience for Armstrong will probably be noted historically as one of the major transition initiatives of the university." "I can't claim the fame for that because my predecessor, Dr. Burnett, had already acquired the approvals to build the first phase of Compass Point. When he retired, I inherited the task of making that happen. We have since moved forward from that first phase that housed only 250 beds, now we house more than 800 students. "The university's potential for growth hinges on, in many ways, student housing. That's probably the most transforming series of events over the last nine years," he added. Jones played a large role in increasing funding for the landscaping that has occurred across campus to make Armstrong a more visually appealing locale. "When I first arrived here, although it was a lovely campus I found it not to be as inviting as it could be. Philip Schretter has a graduate degree in horticulture and he and I met very early on. His creativity and knowledge made it happen. I felt it was important for there to be an ambiance on this campus to make it inviting for students, faculty and the community," said Jones. Jones is particularly proud of the creation of the Armstrong Educational Properties Foundation, Inc. (EPFI) in 2001. EPFI is a public-private enterprise that funds capital projects without using state appropriations funds. "I created that as a mechanism to leverage private dollars for investments in capital improvements on campus. When I arrived here I had spent 12 years at Columbus State University as vice president. I realized during that time that state funds were very limited. "You were lucky to get a new facility on a campus once every ten years, yet all of the projections pointed to more and more citizens wanting to access higher education in Georgia. My big concern was that our campus would not have the infrastructure to accommodate that growth," Jones said.
A program must generate its own revenue for it to see benefits of this mechanism. Other universities have followed this same model for expansion. The Department of University Housing and Residence Life revenue comes in part from rent, while the Armstrong Center generates revenue through the leasing of commercial space and the Student Recreation Center funding comes from a fee paid by students.
"It's an entrepreneurial kind of organization that was designed purely to explore ways to leverage private dollars, in this case bond dollars. The bonds are sold and then people invest in those bonds. Those people could be in California, Wisconsin or here in Georgia," he said. EPFI currently owns nearly 12 wooded acres behind the Spiva Law Group's property on Abercorn. The property is still owned by EPFI, but Armstrong intends to purchase it when more space is needed. Jones' tenure at Armstrong reflects an ongoing vision for the future of the university. Jones will spearhead the creation of a more comprehensive performance evaluation program for university presidents, at the request of Chancellor Erroll B. Davis, as a way to phase out of his seat. "The chancellor wants someone that has been in this kind of job to be available to current presidents to collaborate with and help explain key issues that arise within a university," Jones said. Jones will also have a committee of sitting presidents working alongside him on this project. That will allow him to stay in Savannah with his wife and remain active in the community. Jones plans to expand upon his involvement in the United Way of the Coastal Empire, where he served as chair of the board of directors from 2006-07. Jones expressed pride in "the adoption of a leadership team across the campus and the staff and faculty that have embraced that and have put in place program initiatives and opportunities in both the academic and student life area for students to build on leadership skills." "I am very proud of that, and again that was not a single minded event coming out of me. It was a culmination of our board of trustees on the foundation and then our leadership on campus."
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Viaje Andina exhibit chronicles art, experiences from Argentina
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Decals cheaper than multiple finesBy: Angela Lucas
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: News
A parking ticket currently ranges from $15 to $45 depending on the violation, and no longer does one ticket have more than one violation on it. UPD now gives multiple tickets instead. Once a car has been ticketed more than six times in a semester, that car is subject to being towed. A misconception some have is that the money gained from parking tickets goes right back to the UPD. Actually, it goes into a general fund for the entire school. Students pay $50 for a decal that lasts an entire year and then $25 if they take summer courses. "If you only have one semester left you still have to pay the $50 … That's my only complaint. Fifty dollars is nothing compared to other universities," said Robert Papalia, a criminal justice major. For instance, parking at the University of Georgia is $20, $30 or $40 per month depending on the lot, and their students cannot pay from month to month. Students must pay for the whole semester at one time which can range up to almost $200 per semester. Georgia Southern University students have it better than students at UGA. Georgia Southern has a parking pass that lasts for one year and the cost is $95. At Armstrong, students are allowed to appeal a parking ticket but it must be done within seven days of receiving the violation. A visitor to the campus must simply ask the UPD to receive a visitor-parking pass for the day. Students who have unpaid fines at the end of the term won't be allowed to preregister or register for the next term, and the grades for the term in which any violations occurred will be withheld. Also, transcripts will not be released from the Registrar's Office until all accounts have been cleared for fines paid. Most of the time, buying a parking decal is worth the cost when compared to Parking Services' claimed average of $100 in fines per year for parking without a decal. If a student has any questions about the guidelines for parking at Armstrong, they can go by the UPD office, located at the corner of Science Drive and University Drive, and pick up the "Fall 2008 Traffic and Parking Regulations Guide," or visit police.armstrong.edu/parking.html. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- National economy woes cut both ways at Armstrong
While the future is impossible to tell, history shows that when the economy begins to slump, jobs are harder to come by. A common joke among college students is that their degree is the new high school diploma, but with the current economic crisis looming, academic qualifications are more important than ever.
"It's rational behavior on the part of the labor force if they don't have good job opportunities, they're going to go to one of two places if they're allowed…Enlistment in the armed forces becomes more appealing, and the other alternative that becomes more appealing is getting higher education," said Dr. Richard Cebula, Armstrong's Shirley & Philip Solomons Eminent Scholar.
Many see the current economic situation as dire, but it could actually prompt increased enrollment at Armstrong.
Armstrong President Dr. Thomas Z. Jones recalls another time of crisis in the country that lead to a rise in the number of students.
"The following fall, after Sept. 11, 2001, we were well entrenched in economic downturn and our enrollment went up a little over 10 percent, and over the next four years we grew a total of 25 percent, and our state appropriated budget was cut a total of 29 percent over that four year period."
Drawing upon these experiences makes Armstrong well prepared to simultaneously deal with increasing enrollment and state-proposed budget cuts, though the severity of the current situation is still unclear.
Cebula was ranked 23rd among economists worldwide in "Top Economists: Bauwens (1990-2000)." Bauwens is the name of a methodology used to determine the quality of economics journals globally.
Cebula's career in education spans over 35 years, including stints at Ohio University, Emory University, Georgia Tech and here at Armstrong.
"No one knows for certain what the outcome will be, but logic would dictate that on the average student loans are going to be a little more difficult to get, and they are going to get increasingly so, becoming more costly as well," Cebula said.
All Georgia state universities are facing immediate budget cuts. Asked whether Armstrong has a plan for the slowing economy, Jones said "We have various tiers of plans for the current situation. The governor of the state of Georgia has asked all state agencies to prepare three reduction scenarios: a six percent reduction, eight percent reduction and a 10 percent reduction. We are assured at this juncture that we will all face a six percent reduction."
Jones said a Board of Regents meeting was scheduled for Oct. 14 and 15 to address this issue.
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The Fairness Doctrine, abolished in 1987, was a government regulation that required radio broadcasters to grant equal airtime to opposing viewpoints in an effort to be "fair." By the 80s, the Fairness Doctrine had worn out its intended purpose because the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) had granted hundreds of new licenses to radio stations, so choices were abundant much like the cable TV choices of today.
Elderly weaver Don Clemente clutches what might be one of the last ponchos that he will weave in his lifetime. 
