By Larry B. Dendy
ldendy@uga.edu
Bowing to the wishes of students, the University Council has decided to keep fall break on the Thursday and Friday before the Georgia-Florida football game.
In its final meeting of the academic year April 26, the council also okayed formation of a committee to study the feasibility of a campus memorial honoring faculty, staff, students and alumni who died in U.S. military service and endorsed a student-generated set of value statements called the “Pillars of the Arch.”
The council also approved creation of a Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute and a College of Environment and Design.
By its vote to set the 2002 fall break on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, the council indicated its intention to keep the break on the two days before the Georgia-Florida game. The vote reversed a council decision in February to move the break away from the game.
Student members of the council pushed to keep the break tied to the game, arguing that the recess gives students time for a safer and more leisurely drive to Jacksonville instead of having to rush after classes on Friday. Former Student Government Association President Garrett Gravesen said 2,500 students had signed a petition favoring a break tied to the game.
In February, the council--on the recommendation of its Educational Affairs Committee--had set the break for Oct. 21-22. But it was discovered after the meeting that those dates conflict with Homecoming, so the committee brought to the April meeting a new recommendation for Oct. 7-8, a Monday and Tuesday.
In votes that were not close, the council first rejected Oct. 7-8, then approved a motion by Gravesen for Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
Following that decision, the council approved an Educational Affairs Committee recommendation to move the last day a student can withdraw from a class from the 38th day of the semester to the 41st day--the midpoint of the 81-day grading period. The committee says this will give students a better idea of how they’re doing in a course before the withdrawal deadline, and will give instructors more flexibility in testing students. The new withdrawal deadline will be effective this fall, and the date will be Oct. 12.
The council overwhelmingly approved a request from its Facilities Committee to create a committee to study a proposal for a campus memorial “in remembrance of those students, faculty, staff and alumni who gave their lives in the service of the United States military.”
Facilities Committee chair Loch Johnson said the study committee will be “widely representative” of the university community and will have “no preconceived notions” about the memorial. The committee will look at memorials at other universities, hold public hearings and gather extensive information before getting into details about the wording on the memorial and its appearance and location, Johnson said.
University President Michael F. Adams, who presides over council meetings, suggested after the vote that the study committee work closely with UGA’s National Alumni Association and consider possibly locating the memorial on the site of the new Alumni Center that will be built on College Station Road.
The council approved without objection the “Pillars of the Arch” statement, which sets out principles to help members of the university community be “strong and complete citizens.” The statement is based on the pillars of the University Arch, which represent wisdom, justice and moderation. It calls on those associated with the university to adhere to such values as fairness, accountability, empathy, civility, faith, self-respect and responsible citizenship.
In addition to the Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute and the College of Environment and Design, the council approved recommendations from its Curriculum Committee to create several other new academic programs and units. They include a graduate interdisciplinary certificate in East Central European studies, an undergraduate multidisciplinary certificate program in water resources, an interdisciplinary graduate certificate program in qualitative studies, and an African Studies Institute. |
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