WJBF
by: Brandon Dawson
Augusta University’s men’s basketball team had some fluffy guests on the court Wednesday night. Fans were encouraged to bring new stuffed animals to the game against Georgia Southwestern. After Augusta University made its first basket, fans threw the stuffed animals on the court. The stuffed animals were collected and donated to the Ronald McDonald House of Augusta.
WGAU Radio
UNG students to help with tax filing
Assistance begins on Feb 1
By Tim Bryant
It is tax filing season again, and with it comes more tax filing help from the University of North Georgia: UNG students—finance majors and those in accounting—will, starting February 1, assist with tax preparation at the University of North Georgia campus in Dahlonega.
From Denise Ray, UNG…
Undergraduate and graduate students in accounting and finance majors at the University of North Georgia (UNG) are offering free tax preparation through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program sponsored by the IRS.
The Red & Black
Home is where the heart is: How living space affects college experience
Russell Spearman
With the spring semester now underway, many students will soon have to decide where they want to live come fall, whether that’s on or off campus. Some students may prefer to live downtown, or they may like the East Side or West Side. Other students may choose to stay in a dorm for easy access to campus.
‘A real college experience’
Every corner of Athens is different and there are a host of off-campus housing options for students to choose from. However, with the prospect of signing a legally binding lease, students may find themselves nervous to find just the right location. When sophomore international affairs major Eddie Moskaly transferred to the University of Georgia, he chose to live in the heart of downtown Athens.
Marietta Daily Journal
Kennesaw State University’s Bailey School of Music to present Collage Concert
Kennesaw State University’s Bailey School of Music will present the annual Collage Concert on Feb.5 at 8 p.m. Led by Dr. Jesús Castro-Balbi, the Bailey School of Music will present the signature production for the 16th year in a row as the sole fundraising concert for student scholarships. Over 200 students and faculty members will grace the stage, highlighting the wide range of specialties offered at the Bailey School of Music. Patrons can expect to see performances in all areas, including Opera, Symphony Orchestra, Treble Choir and Wind Ensemble. As is tradition, each selection will once again be presented in flowing musical vignettes.
Savannah Morning News
Here’s the cost of rebuilding the Georgia Southern football coaching staff under Clay Helton
Nathan Dominitz
Georgia Southern director of athletics Jared Benko has talked operating budgets and upgrades in the Eagles program. There are costs to building major new projects such as the Indoor Practice Facility and the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center. Football — the highest profile of Georgia Southern’s varsity sports — is no different. GS has invested in rebuilding the program under new head coach Clay Helton and an almost entirely new staff with a budget increase over 2021.
Gwinnett Daily Post
By Curt Yeomans
Among several public policy issues that the Gwinnett Chamber is asking legislators to keep in mind during the current legislative session, one of the requests is for lawmakers to at least consider any opportunities for local partisan elections in the county to become nonpartisan elections — if such opportunities arise. The chamber recently announced its public policy agenda with 50 points that it wants state legislators to consider during this year’s legislative session. The policy points cover the areas of transportation and infrastructure; education; economic development and business climate; healthcare; water, energy and the environment; tourism, arts and entertainment; and policy. …But, the chamber’s policy agenda includes several other key points, such as: expanding access to affordable broadband internet; establishing an “adequately funded” statewide trauma care network; offering a partial sales tax refund and other incentives to stimulate private investment in qualified tourism projects; oppose bills that would limits the current structure and functions of local development authorities; support capital and operating requests from Georgia Gwinnett College and Gwinnett Technical College; and support a state operating grant request from PCOM Georgia to make sure there are enough primary care physicians and medical specialists to meet needs in the state.
Daily Citizen-News
Growings On: University of Georgia researchers evaluate the benefits of cover crops
For row crop producers in Georgia, corn, cotton and peanut were planted in the spring and harvested in the fall. After harvest, the ground is left relatively bare, with only the residue of the harvested crop remaining to protect the soil. Many farmers have adopted cover crops to “armor” the surface of the ground following harvest until the next crop emerges. Cover crops are non-crop plants like crimson clover and rye planted after cash crops are harvested and allowed to grow until producers prepare for spring planting. Cover crops provide living roots in the ground over the winter, and a mat of residue on the soil surface until the following crop is planted. During the last few decades researchers have found that cover crops improve various soil properties and contribute positively to weed management. Fields left with only the residue of harvested cotton plants remaining are conspicuously subject to soil erosion. Now, University of Georgia weed scientist Nicholas Basinger and doctoral candidate David Weisberger, researchers in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, are studying the use of both annual and perennial cover crops called “living mulches” in cotton. Weisberger developed a program to test the use of living mulches and annual cover crops in cotton production in Georgia based on previous work using living mulches in corn production conducted by UGA Professor Emeritus Nick Hill.
CBS46
Georgia Tech syllabus under fire for controversial ‘scamdemic’ comments
Savannah Louie
A math class at Georgia Tech feels more like a philosophical discourse when a professor’s syllabus stirred controversy amongst students and alumni. Jace, a third-year student who asked his last-name to be omitted, said he had seen debate over social media and amongst his classmates after associate professor John McCuan’s syllabus began circulating. “For the students in the class – we’re just trying to learn and make it through,” explained Jace. “Free speech is important, but it doesn’t mean freedom of consequences.” Three sentences in the seven page syllabus for MATH 3406M Spring 2022 caught students’ eyes. In a section labelled “Caronavirus” McCuan writes, “If you want an instructor who is hysterical concerning the scamdemic, perhaps I’m not your guy. I would hope you’re not going to complain about me not wearing a mask. I hope you’re not going to complain about me not being injected with experimental pharmaceuticals.” … While some students have discussed dropping the course, Jace said most of his classmates are focused on their coursework.
Athens Banner-Herald
UGA sees jump in COVID-19 cases after the first week of classes in 2022
Stephanie Allen
The University of Georgia had its second-highest week for newly reported COVID-19 cases, with nearly 1,000 cases reported for the first week of school. UGA officials update its COVID-19 Health and Exposure Updates page, which has data spanning as far back as August 2020, each week. UGA’s spring semester began on Jan. 10 and for the week of Jan. 10-16, there were 992 cases reported. This makes it the second-highest week for reported COVID-19 cases out of all the data available from UGA.
Other News:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Jan. 20)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED CASES: 1,713,655
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 26,967 | This figure does not include additional cases that the DPH reports as suspected COVID-19-related deaths. County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
Higher Education News:
The Georgia Virtue
This Is The Most Unusually Popular College Degree In Georgia
There are over 170 different fields of study tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau in which undergraduate students can earn a degree. Despite the wide range of academic subjects offered at colleges and universities, over half of the 75 million American adults with a bachelor’s degree majored in one of just 15 fields of study. Majors such as business, nursing, teaching, accounting, and biology are each among the most popular with undergraduates — and with good reason. Degrees in these fields prepare students for careers in essential industries like health care, education, and retail, where job opportunities are available in cities and towns across the country. …According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the most concentrated degree in Georgia relative to the U.S. as a whole is early childhood education. Adults in the state are about three times more likely to have a degree in the field than the typical American adult. An estimated 1.18% of adults in the state have an early childhood education degree compared to 0.41% of adults nationwide. Just as demand for workers with this specific degree appears to be higher than average in the state, compensation is also higher than average.
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Colleges, take note: Students aren’t enrolling if they think their families can’t afford tuition
By Hilary Burns – Editor, The National Observer Higher Education,
Colleges and universities across the nation should be taking notice of a report published this month by the Institute of Education Sciences about how the perception of affordability effects enrollment. The findings suggest that just the perception of college being too expensive stopped many students from pursuing degrees. The report surveyed 23,000 students between 2009 and 2016 and found that students who felt their families could not afford college (even before knowing the actual cost), were less likely to be attending college a few years later. This should send a message to colleges that communicating to prospective students about the real cost of attending college, rather than just the sticker price, well before they apply could help capture students who might otherwise pursue different pathways, higher-ed experts said. The ongoing enrollment declines the sector faces makes the need for improved outreach even more timely, said Kim Cook, chief executive officer of the nonprofit National College Attainment Network.
Inside Higher Ed
Education Department Announces Grants, Guidance
By Scott Jaschik
The U.S. Education Department announced new grants under the American Rescue Plan and also provided new guidance on how colleges can use American Rescue Act funds to meet students’ basic needs. The grants are $198 million to support colleges and universities with the greatest unmet needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In awarding funds, the department will prioritize community colleges and rural institutions of higher education that serve a high percentage of low-income students and have experienced enrollment declines since the start of the pandemic. Applications will be available next week. Funds will be awarded in late spring.
Inside Higher Ed
Isolating With COVID … and a Roommate
Facing a projected squeeze on isolation housing, some colleges modify their polices to allow COVID-positive students to isolate in their dorms—even if they have roommates—or to go home.
By Elizabeth Redden
Gone are the days when students who test positive for COVID-19 moved to designated isolation housing on college campuses. As colleges prepare for projected surges in cases fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, many are adjusting their isolation procedures to allow students to isolate in their dorm rooms, even if they have roommates. Harvard University, for example, transitioned last week to such an “isolate-in-place” policy for undergraduates. Roommates of infected students can apply to temporarily move to alternative housing to wait out their roommate’s illness, but the university stressed in a message to students that such alternative housing is “very limited” and “will only be available as space allows.” … Harvard is not alone in changing its isolation protocols, as college officials stare down another semester with another variant of COVID driving a surge in cases.