Georgia lawmakers picked up the pace last week by hearing several bills that could alter the state’s public colleges and universities operate and who gets in those schools.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s largest private university is making news with a recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
Here’s some details, and a brief story about a quick-thinking college police officer being credited with saving a woman’s life and a big moment in the national spotlight coming soon for one local choir in this edition of AJC On Campus:
State hearings
The Georgia House of Representatives Higher Education committee held hearings Friday on several bills. Here’s a recap of some of the legislation:
- House Bill 1 aims to make it easier for organizations to hold events on public college campuses. Statehouse Republicans have proposed similar bills in recent years in response to complaints that colleges have made it difficult for conservative-learning groups and faith-based organizations to speak on campus. Critics worry the legislation, among other things, may allow organizations that discriminate against others to host events on campus.
- House Bill 120, sponsored by Kasey Carpenter, R-Dalton, would allow some undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at Georgia’s public colleges and universities. Those students currently pay more expensive out-of-state tuition. Carpenter, who pitched the idea last year, believes the legislation is an important economic development tool for the state since many of the students are working. Critics have several concerns about the legislation, such as they worry the bill doesn’t have enough safeguards to properly determine who’s eligible to pay in-state tuition.
- House Bill 283 would allow most students to bypass taking the ACT or SAT to get a Zell Miller Scholarship. The bill’s main sponsor, David Wilkerson, D-Powder Springs, says colleges should focus on the student’s academic record to determine enrollment eligibility, not the test scores. If approved, though, the measure could result in more state funding to pay for the additional students receiving the scholarship.
Spike in Emory COVID-19 cases
Emory University has had a surge in positive COVID-19 cases in recent days, prompting campus leaders to step up testing. The university reported 106 cases in a two-day stretch. Emory will now require students living on its main and Oxford campuses to test twice a week in its screening program that began Monday.
Emory President Gregory Fenves sent a message to the campus community on Friday about the additional requirement and to also urge everyone to adhere to safety measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
Clark Atlanta’s choir to sing at NBA All-Star event
The National Basketball Association is planning a big role for America’s historically Black colleges and universities during its All-Star weekend festivities next month, which will be in Atlanta. The Clark Atlanta University Philharmonic Society Choir will perform an original rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” honoring alum, NAACP leader and Black national anthem songwriter James Weldon Johnson. Step teams from Morehouse and Spelman colleges will also perform. Read more about the festivities here.
Georgia Gwinnett College’s lifesaver
Georgia Gwinnett College police Officer Ashley Still is getting some well-deserved kudos for her recent work that officials believe saved woman’s life. Still used CPR and one shock from an Automated External Defibrillator to get the heartbeat going of a woman who was unconscious at the Winder Barrow Brad Akins YMCA swimming pool area on Feb. 10.
“The fact she’s here to see her grandkids another day – that’s all that matters to me,” said Still, who earned a degree in criminal justice from the college in 2012.
Georgia Tech student’s work out of this world
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Georgia Tech student Breanna Ivey last summer tested out the math that helps the NASA rover move during an internship last summer. The world saw the benefits of her work last week when the rover landed on the surface of Mars. Here’s a Channel 2 Action News report on the rover landing and Ivery’s role in the research.
Fort Valley State investigates professor’s comments
Fort Valley State University is investigating a complaint that a professor used insensitive language toward a student during a recent discussion that seemingly referenced the high-profile, racially-charged 2012 shooting death of a Black teenager in Florida.
The professor told a student “Take your hoodie off ... you’re not going for Skittles and sweet tea,” according to a Twitter post by someone who identified herself as a classmate. Seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin was fatally wounded by George Zimmerman, who said he shot Martin in self defense. Martin, who was unarmed, was wearing a hoodie and carrying a pack of Skittles candy and a bottle of iced tea. The 2012 case sparked a national debate about race relations.
A spokeswoman for the university, a historically Black school, confirmed last week it is investigating the professor’s remarks. The spokeswoman did not confirm the professor’s identity, who was named on Twitter. Efforts to contact the professor, who is Black, were unsuccessful.
Georgia Gwinnett-Clayton State partnership
Clayton State University and Georgia Gwinnett College last week announced a partnership that allows Georgia Gwinnett Bachelor of Business Administration graduates to enter Clayton State’s Master of Science in supply chain analytics program to avoid the loss of credit hours. Supply chain managers use analytics to make data-driven decisions to improve the efficiency of activities throughout the supply chain. It’s a job that’s in demand, and lucrative, the two schools noted. The median income is nearly $100,000 a year for students with graduate degrees, according to a 2020 report by the Association for Supply Chain Management.
Law school plans move
Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School announced Tuesday it is moving from its current location on West Peachtree Street in Midtown to the Marquis Towers in downtown Atlanta. The law school said the move “will place the Law School at the center of commerce, hospitality, entertainment, transit, retail, and so much more.” The move is scheduled to be completed by September.
Vaccination volunteers
Students at a few Georgia colleges and universities have joined efforts recently to help with COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Medical students at the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership began helping administer the vaccine earlier this month through an arrangement with the Clarke County Board of Health. So, too, have nearly four dozen Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine students, faculty and staff members who have signed up to help with inoculations and a wide variety of tasks as part of the Medical Reserve Corps that assists the Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale County Health Departments.
Remembering Maurice Washington
Morehouse College vice president for student services and dean Maurice Washington died earlier this month. He worked there for 13 years.
“Dean Washington was deeply respected and loved by the entire Morehouse College community and his transition is a tremendous loss,” the school wrote in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and all those who knew him and loved him.”
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