Columns:: Digest

since 12/15/98

Columns::October 6, 2003

Digest

Two negative for bacterial meningitis
Cultures on both UGA students hospitalized with suspected cases of meningitis have come back negative for bacterial meningitis, meaning antibiotic treatment is not necessary for persons coming in close contact with the affected students.
“While the students’ illnesses could be caused by one of any number of viruses, viral illnesses have no specific treatment other than bed rest, fluids and pain relievers,” says Jean Chin, medical director of the University Health Center. Viral meningitis is considered to be less serious than bacterial meningitis. Usually the symptoms last seven to ten days, and patients recover on their own.
Students still may receive a vaccination for bacterial meningitis at the University Health Center. Under Georgia law, students entering a state college or university after Jan. 1, 2004, and residing in university-owned housing will be required to have such a vaccination or sign a waiver that they understand the potential consequences of not having such a vaccination.

Education prof is on legislative panel
Deryl Bailey, associate professor in counseling and human development services in UGA’s College of Education, was an invited panelist at the Congressional Black Caucus’s 33rd Annual Legislative Conference late last month in Washington, D.C.
Bailey participated in the panel discussion hosted by Rep. Denise Majette, D-Ga., on the topic, “BMOC: Where Are the Black Men on Campus?”
Bailey spoke on attitudes toward education among black adolescent males.
He is the founder and director of Empowered Youth Programs, which include Project: Gentlemen on the Move, the Young Women Scholars Program, the Young Future Leaders Program and the Parents of Empowered Youth organization.
His areas of specialization include school counseling, group work, multicultural and diversity issues mentoring, counseling professional development, issues regarding African-American adolescent development, and development and implementation of enrichment and empowerment interventions for adolescents.

Poll: Georgians open to HOPE limitations
Georgians generally have a very positive impression of the HOPE Scholarship program but at the same time are open to options to scale back the awards in light of funding concerns currently under examination, according to the latest Peach State Poll. The public’s affection for HOPE is in large part based on the fact that the program is supported by lottery revenue and not from state taxes. The most widely supported limitation is to restrict HOPE awards to a maximum of four years (supported by 74 percent of the public).
Data from the Peach State Poll--a statewide quarterly survey of public opinion conducted by UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government--show that the public is very ambivalent as to whether there should be a needs-based component in addition to the merit component tied to HOPE awards. Forty-seven percent of respondents were closer to the opinion that the level of funding for each individual who qualifies for the scholarship should be based on need than to the opinion that the scholarship funds should go equally to all qualified students regardless of need (49 percent).
Other survey results:
• The public has a good understanding of the HOPE program. In an open-ended question,
72 percent of respondents were able to identify the lottery as the source of HOPE funding.
• A large majority of the public (76 percent) believes that the primary purpose of HOPE should be to create the opportunity for all of Georgia’s youth to attend college; only about one in five respondents (21 percent) believe that the primary purpose should be to keep Georgia’s best students in the state.

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