External Affairs Committee
Agenda
2 February 1999

1. Mike Adams: A political animal.
2. Red and Black coverage: Is it worth it anymore?
3. Leadership UGA: Another UGA newspaper in the works?
4. Stephen Portch, our Chancellor (soon to be former?).
5. Pre-election promotion of SGA.
A. Lighting on North Campus.
B. A-CC Stakeholder list.
C. Library hours extended.
D. Honor code.
E. Bus schedules posted.
F. Promotion of the Academic Affairs Policy (3.01-08).
6. Goals for 1999:
A. VPSA.
1.  Advisor.
B. Freshman Board, from service to advocacy.
C. Teaching evaluations.
D. SARC: Gimmie my money!
E. Protocols.




Athens Daily News
Does Barnes have his eye on a replacement for Portch?
By Joan Stroer Staff Writer    

So far, the new governor has not tried to tempt Johnnetta Cole, the retired
president of Spelman College, into considering the Georgia chancellor's
post.    But the thought of that job is not totally repellent to Cole
herself.    ''It's a nice rumor,'' Cole said Wednesday. ''For myself, it's
definitely a rumor. I have heard nothing from the governor myself.''    The
prominent speaking role that Cole was given at Gov. Roy Barnes'
inauguration had some in the audience wondering if they were listening to
Georgia's next chancellor.  
Barnes has not ruled out replacing some agency heads after his first year
in office. Some of his allies in the General Assembly fault current
Chancellor Stephen Portch for foot-dragging on engineering programs for
South Georgia colleges. Others criticized his recent handling of a proposal
to close a pharmacy for the poor at the Medical College of Georgia, one of
34 colleges and universities Portch leads as chancellor.    
Cole, an Emory professor of anthropology and a charismatic speaker who led
the nation's most prestigious college for African-American women, has
national fund-raising ties and sits on many prominent corporate boards,
including the Coca-Cola Co.    But don't bet that Cole or anyone will be
replacing Portch, at least one regent said Wednesday.    ''I would be very
surprised,'' Regent Ken Cannestra said. ''Of course, the governor can do
whatever he wants. It would be very difficult to find someone who has the
talent, the energy and the forward thinking that it takes to move the
Georgia system'' ahead.    
Portch ''has the confidence of the Board of Regents,'' Cannestra said.
  Other Portch supporters, from UGA President Michael Adams to members of
the Athens legislative delegation, said they've heard nothing about Barnes
searching for new talent to head the university system.    ''I've had a
couple serious discussions with the chancellor,'' Adams said. ''My sense is
that he intends to be here for quite a while. I hope he will be.''    '
'Being on our education committee, I think we would have heard,'' said
state Sen. Paul Broun, D-Athens.

External Affairs has eyes on seat

By TOM LASSETTER
The Red & Black

Beyond the meetings, the flyers and the debate, there will come a day when the Athens-Clarke
Commission counts among its 10 members a student, said the chair of the Student Government
Association's External Affairs Committee.

That, Chris Hoofnagle said, is the driving idea behind his presentations alleging the A-C
government has intentionally discouraged University students from local politics.

If just a small percentage of the University's 31,000-plus student body registered to vote,
Hoofnagle said, it could elect one of its own to office.

For instance, John Barrow, a commissioner whose district includes much of the University, was
elected to office by 1,202 voters. Students could have easily mustered enough votes to carry that
election, Hoofnagle said. External affairs members, he said, have already distributed 1,500 to 2,
000 voter registration cards.

In a meeting Wednesday night, titled "The Common Enemy," Hoofnagle leveled a number of charges at
Athens-Clarke. The highlights of his comments were basically three-fold: A-C officials have,
through zoning, pushed students to the east side of town, the single family housing ordinance was
targeted at students and the sales tax structure in Athens takes advantage of students.

The bottom line, he said, is that Athens-Clarke, in its exclusion of students from meaningful
policy discussion, isn't a democracy.

Cardee Kilpatrick, one of the three A-C commissioners in attendance Wednesday, said she was
discouraged and disappointed by Hoofnagle's words.

"I don't know that it's very easy to achieve change when you start out by calling somebody an
enemy," she said. "And the notion that the east side is a student containment area is really kind
of a crazy idea."

Hoofnagle maintained that his comments were based on solid research. For instance, he said, A-C
records show the majority of permits given to multi-family apartment construction sites are for
areas east of downtown.

As Barrow told the crowd that the special and local option sales taxes - that add two cents to
every dollar - are aimed at helping local schools and capital projects, Hoofnagle shook his head.
And when the commissioner defended A-C's tax break for homeowners, Hoofnagle interrupted him
twice, telling those in attendance "I hope you understand this is fallacious reasoning."

The crowd consisted mainly of SGA officials and hopefuls. An exception, Elton Ueoka, a senior
from Hawaii, spoke up during the question and answer session, criticizing the External Affairs
Committee's "inflammatory and critical approach" to A-C government.

"This is a weak attempt at credibility by an organization that isn't representative of the
University to begin with," Ueoka said.