Technology Devices Are Attractive in Car Break-Ins

by Ashley Bene

After a long day of classes, University of Georiga student Lindley Curtis walks to her car parked in the North Campus Parking deck without worrying.

Despite the “crime emergency” the Athens-Clarke County Police declared near the end of the summer, the senior public relations major from Jonesboro, Ga., doesn’t worry too much about what she’ll find when she gets there.

Despite her friend’s car being broken into last year, she still doesn’t worry too much. Her friend left his iPod on the front seat, which she thinks sparked the break-in. She said she takes her iPod and GPS device with her whenever she leaves her car.

“I’m very conscious of my surroundings and I make sure every time I leave my car that I pick everything up off the seat,” Curtis said.

While the Athens “crime emergency” hasn’t affected on-campus crime, the University of Georgia Police Department warns students to be safe and keep their personal items out of their cars.

Corporal Darrell Ponder of the UGA Police Department said that while on-campus vehicle break-ins haven’t been on the rise this semester, students should always take precautions to keep their valuables like iPods or laptops safe.

“Lock your doors,” Ponder said. “Roll up your windows, and anything of value, take it with you.”

Thieves tend to be looking for things they can grab quickly, according to Ponder. Small electronics items like iPods, GPS devices, or even laptops are most likely to attract thieves. Even change in the center console can spark a break-in.

“The main thing we find is a lot of the time people leave items of value in their car,” Ponder said.

Although being on a campus can make students feel safer, Ponder warns against students letting their guards down. He says people forget UGA is an open campus, and its not just people from outside breaking into cars either. It can be students too.

“Sometimes people just walk by and pull on door handles and if the car is unlocked, they get your stuff,” Ponder said.

Jennifer Bell, a sophomore Spanish and geography major from Lawrenceville, Ga., says she went to a police seminar about staying safe around campus.

“After going to that, I definitely stepped it up.”

Bell said she keeps valuable items, like her iPod, on her at all times. The only things she leaves in her car are clothes or similar personal items.

“I set my car alarm, but I feel that no one’s going to steal anything,” she said.

Ponder warns that parking decks tend to be the most heavily hit. They are more difficult for police to patrol because of the many levels.

Parking lots closer to downtown are also more likely to be hit.

Felicia Johnson, the Digital Imaging Coordinator in the UGA Main Library, said she feels especially safe parking in the North Campus Parking deck, but she still tries not to leave items of value in her car.

“I don’t intentionally leave items of value in my car,” she said. “If I do, it was an accident.”

And as for using a car alarm, Ponder cautions that it’s not a sure-fire safety device.

“Alarms go off so much, they don’t mean anything to people,” Ponder said. “If the police hear an alarm, we’ll usually go investigate though.”

Ponder said sometimes students who come from small towns or affluent areas aren’t as diligent about locking their car doors as they should be.

Curtis said crime in her hometown has made her more aware.

“I have to take those precautions whether I’m at home or in Athens” Curtis said. “It’s just something that, because of where I grew up, it’s a habit.”













A student walks to her car in the Reed Hall Parking lot.
(Photo/Ashley Bene)

Edited by Dana Hortman

2nd draft-katie weise

The release of Guitar Hero in 2005 has spawned a new era in the gaming world. From Rock Band to DJ Hero, interactive video games that allow players to shred on the electric guitar, bang on the drums, or belt out a killer solo have taken over the youth of America.
DJ Hero, a music video game that is an expansion of Guitar Hero is set to be released on Oct. 27. To score points, the player has to "scratch" the turntable on the in time to marks that scroll on the screen. It features some DJs such as DJ AM, DJ Shadow, and Daft Punk.
“It’s kind of funny how the gaming trend is starting to follow the ‘hip’ music scene,” said Ross Bennett, public relations major and music minor, “Who ever thought Daft Punk would be on a video game?”
Bennett has played guitar for over seven years, along with piano for a year and half. He is the keyboardist in a regional “dance-punk” band called Zlam Dunk.
“DJ Hero doesn't look like it is anything similar to DJ'ing though,” he said. “Probably as similar as the guitar is to real guitar playing.”
The turntable controller includes a rotatable turntable, three “stream” buttons, a crossfader, effects dial and Euphoria button. Euphoria is the Guitar Hero equivalent of Star Power, an effect that gives the player extra points for not missing any notes.
DJ Hero includes mixes by artists Black Eyed Peas, Justice, M.I.A., Beastie Boys and Gwen Stefani.
Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero’s originator, was released without much attention on Sept. 1. Even though it has new features, The Beatles: Rock Band stole the stage. Bands composed of any combination of available instruments, a Rockfest competitive mode consisting of several various scoring mechanisms, and both song-specific and general Challenges to unlock new avatars, clothing and other extras in the game were no match for the 1960s pop sensation.
The Beatles: Rock Band was released Sept. 9 and was the third in the series of Rock Band. Rock Band, a music video game that includes guitar, bass, drums and microphone, introduced the multi-instrument version of the game, along with downloadable tracks in 2007. Rock Band 2 followed shortly after while Guitar Hero released two more guitar games. Soon, Guitar Hero released Guitar Hero: World Tour in 2008, including the multi-instrument settings.
“People associate themselves with guitar hero or rock band,” said Andy Slagle, business management major. “It's sort of like Coke and Pepsi.”
With the new features in these games of creating your own songs to play on the game, the question of what the technology is doing to the art of creating comes up.
“The fear of loss of originality only reminds us that something new has to come,” said Daniel Vega, Sound Recording Technology major at Texas State University.
Bennett agrees, “How can you create a song with five buttons on a fake instrument?”
Originality has recently caused a riff between some artists and the video games. Courtney Love and Dave Grohl expressed anger and disappointment when they found out Kurt Cobain’s character could be unlocked to sing on others other than Nirvana’s. On the new Rock Band, Ringo is shown playing drums on a song when it was actually another Beatles’ member life also bothered Beatles fans.
“You can’t expect these games to be perfect,” said Taylor Adams, marketing major. “They are not a replica of real life, they are games.”

Changing trends spark controversy within the recording industry

By Thomas Patrick Hooper

ATHENS, Ga. – The days of musicians relying on the instruments in their hands and the voices in their throats are changing with the increasing popularity in the digital age of sampling and Auto-Tune.

With music piped into elevators and laid over commercials, people experience music now more than ever before.

“The way that the world is experiencing music is new,” said Eric Stetson, a 23-year-old music composition major at Georgia Southern. “We take music for granted. It’s ubiquitous. It’s all around us.”

However, the innovations of the digital age have received flack from performers of many genres.
Singer-songwriter Ben Folds lampooned the industry’s reliance on computers in the lyrics of his 2001 single “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” which carries the line “the song producer with computers fixes all my s---y tracks.”

Folds isn’t the only one who has taken notice.

Indie rock group Death Cab for Cutie made a statement at the 51st Grammy Awards, held on February 8, 2009. The band members wore blue ribbons to protest the widespread use of Auto-Tune, a software program that corrects the tune of a voice or instrument.

Auto-Tune first rose to prominence in 1999, with Cher’s #1 hit song “Believe.” “Believe” used the program to great effect in creating the distinctive warbling effect in Cher’s voice that has since become the song’s most recognized element.

"If you're trying to turn a bad singer into a good singer, you're probably wasting your time," said Bruce Burch, director of the University of Georgia's music business program.

While Auto-Tune began as a select style, the program has founds its way into the hands of any number of artists, with rapper T-Pain being the most visible example.

“It is what it is,” said Daniel Collins, owner and producer of the Athens-based Pigpen Studios. “It has become very, very commonplace. It’s just what’s popular right now.”

However, the proliferation of Auto-Tune songs does not sit well with some artists.

Rapper Shawn Corey Carter, better known by his stage name Jay-Z, made his feelings toward Auto-Tune known. In June of 2009, he released “D.O.A (Death of Auto-Tune),” a rather frank criticism of how Auto-Tune has overtaken music.

Will Hodge, a Marietta-based producer/engineer/songwriter who has been in the business for 20 years, doesn’t see any harm in using Auto-Tune.

“Background vocals need to be more in tune because they’re more a part of the instrumentation,” said Hodge, who also uses the program quite extensively in bass recordings. “The only way to get a real bass track is to play it on a keyboard.”

While the Auto-Tune controversy has emerged as the most common point of contention in the shifting priorities of the music industry, the sampling debate remains alive and well.

Computers have made it possible for artists to cut and paste certain vocals, instruments and melodies into another, entirely unrelated song. The process has drawn criticism for its perceived lack of originality.

“They’re just taking existing pieces of existing media and making something,” said Hodge, who likened the sampling process to a collage. “As long as [the writer] is getting paid, it’s not a big deal.”

Unfortunately, not every sample is properly attributed, which has sparked a handful of highly publicized lawsuits. One of the most notable cases arose in the late 80s, when rapper Vanilla Ice sampled the bassline of “Under Pressure,” a Queen-Davie Bowie collaboration.

“It’s an inevitable thing,” Hodge said of the changes sweeping the industry. “It’s insane what I can do with an iPhone.”

For better or for worse, new artists appear each day, taking advantage of the new age and all it has to offer in the form of file-sharing web sites like Reverb Nation or the digital audio program Pro Tools.

“People shouldn’t be afraid of change,” said Stetson.










The tools of the trade
Photo by: Thomas Patrick Hooper

Are instruments like these a thing of the past?

Photo by: Thomas Patrick Hooper

Edited by: Blakeney Spong and Katie Weise

Shuttle 5500 hits a bump in the road, due to permit issues

By: Alexis Economy

Shuttle 5500 was off to a good start, and had found its niche in the Athens shuttle scene. Everything seemed to be running smoothly, until permit issues began to arise. These issues have forced Shuttle 5500 to stop running until November, in an attempt to sort out and fix their permit problems.

The service, started by business partners James Tomol and Jordan Dyce, is part of a management class, titled Management 5500 (also the namesake of the shuttle business), taught at the University of Georgia through the Terry College of Business. The class, taught by Christopher Hanks, allows students to formulate their own business plans and then actually launch the proposed business ideas during the semester.

According to Hanks, while many business schools offer similar classes that enable students to develop a business plan, only UGA offers a class where students are able to start and run their own businesses.

“We are the only entrepreneurship program in the country with an exclusive focus on launching the actual business,” Hanks said.

Why launch a shuttle service on game day in Athens when the city already has numerous taxis and vans?

According to James Tomol, a senior management major from Sarasota, Fla. and also the group leader of Shuttle 5500, to create an experience.

“We don’t want to be a commodity; we want to be compelling and provocative,” said Tomol.
That is what you get with Shuttle 5500; a new kind of game day ride experience.

That is what you get with Shuttle 5500; a new kind of game day ride experience. While on the ride guests can play trivia games about Georgia football or talk about experiences at the University and the Terry College of Business. By coincidence many of Shuttle 5500’s passengers are alumni of the Terry College of Business.

“Most of our customers are UGA alum and more specifically Terry alum, so most of the time we just end up talking about Terry and different business related issues,” said Tomol.

Along with gaining business experience, the young men of Shuttle 5500 are also allowed the opportunity to network and talk business strategy, which is quite an asset.

According to Lisa Bedgood, an alumni of Terry College and an Alumni Relations Associate with the Terry College of Business, “Networking is one of the most important skills a business student must develop. Paired with a solid education, it is a vital component of a successful career. Established Terry alumni can render a large world intimately small. One contact turns into ten and ten quickly multiplies to 30. Subsequently, students should seize any opportunity to build these skills.”

In addition to trivia and good conversation, guests are offered the option of purchasing chips or soft drinks and are even offered free pizza. During its first weekend of business, Fox’s Pizza, a Pittsburgh-based pizza and sandwich franchise with locations in Athens and Watkinsville, sponsored Shuttle 5500 and donated pizzas to be distributed on the rides.

According to Tomol, the business is hoping to get more sponsors and to work out a deal where if you buy a Shuttle 5500 T-shirt and wear it to the sponsoring businesses, you would be eligible for different deals at the businesses on the T-shirt.

Through this T-shirt idea Tomol and his business partner Jordan Dyce, a senior management major from Atlanta, Ga. are hoping to make the service free. Currently Shuttle 5500 is looking for more advertisers to cover its main costs, so the T-shirt can be a benefit to using the shuttle service.

However, the search for more advertisers is not meant to imply that this business venture has been unsuccessful. In fact, it has been quite the opposite. With only one weekend under its belt, the business can already boast serving approximately 200 guests.

“On our first weekend we began running at around 9 a.m. and then started again about an hour after the game ended. We did not finish until around 4 a.m. It was crazy,” said Dyce.

The shuttle picks up at mainly the Howard Johnson, Hampton Inn, and the Country Inn Suites near the intersection of Atlanta Highway and Alps Road and makes pick ups and drop offs about every 30 minutes. The shuttle picks up guests at the three hotels and then drops guests off at the bus stop near the arch in downtown Athens.

With parking costs soaring to $40 and taxis costing $10 and upwards per person, Shuttle 5500 seemed to have found its niche in offering a unique and full experience (for nearly no cost) to Georgia fans on game day.

However as with any other business venture, there are risks involved and numerous problems often arise. The problem that arose for Shuttle 5500 was in relation to the permit required by shuttle services that charge its customers. Neither Tomol nor Dyce could not be reached to offer more information on the problem and possible solutions. All that is known now is that Shuttle 5500 is taking a break and will up and running again in November.

Christophter Hanks (above) is the instructor for Managment 5500.

(Photo/Alexis Economy)

The Hampton Inn, located at the intersection of Atlanta Hwy and Alps

Road, is where Shuttle 5500 picked up the majority of its passengers.

(Photo/Alexis Economy)

Edited by Lauren Willson

Designated driver business thrives in the Classic City

Students Jacie Hortman (Left) and Georgia-Kay Lumpkin (Right)

wait patiently on Zingo, Athens premiere desginated driver service.

(Photo by Dana J. Hortman)

By Dana J. Hortman

ATHENS, Ga., -- It’s Friday night in the Classic City.

You hit up your favorite local hot spots—Terrapin, General Beauregard’s, The Winery.

Several hours and drinks later, the world isn’t looking as clear as it had when you drove downtown. Panicked, you’re probably thinking, “How am I going to get home?”

The solution: Zingo Athens.

The popularity of Zingo Athens is continuing to prosper with business from university students who choose to use a more alternative form of transportation when leaving the bars.

It was launched in April 2008 by three local Athenians: Scott Allen, Matt Presnell and Travis Presnell. Zingo Athens is an Atlanta-based charter that offers Athenians a truly one of a kind driver/chauffer service.

The Zingo’s designated driver arrives at the customer’s location on a Di Blasi, an Italian manufactured folding motorbike.

Before using Zingo’s services, the customer must sign a Customer Service Contract.

Then, the R series Di Blasi motorbike, 64 pounds dry and 70 pounds wet, is folded up into a canvas tote and placed in the trunk of the customer’s vehicle.

Lastly, the Zingo designated driver drives the customer’s vehicle to his or her location, removes the motorbike, and returns to the Zingo headquarters located downtown.

“I think it’s about the same as taking a taxi,” said Ashley Hall, a senior advertising major from Lawrenceville, Ga. “The same risks are involved. Some random person is driving you home. Hopefully, you’re not alone in your own car; because the driver knows you’re alone and where you live.”

“I think Zingo would be safer for students, especially females,” said Jamarl Glenn, a University of Georgia alumnus. “The fact is most people can recognize the Zingo drivers because of their standard uniform and scooter. But, you don’t really know the taxi driver.”

The Atlanta-based company, Zingo Transportation, Inc., was founded in October 2005 by entrepreneurs Jim Valentine and Charles Barfield.

A year later, they were joined by PX Head, who is currently the company president.

According to an interview posted on DarynKagan.com, Head was involved in a drinking and driving accident that killed his friend and fraternity brother, Benjamin Hawkins on June 11, 2004.

Head and some friends, including Hawkins, had been out drinking and were on their way home when Head lost control of the car and hit a utility pole.

He was charged with vehicular homicide, and was sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years of probation.

As president, Head resides over all nationwide development of the Zingo concept.

The Classic City is the 12th city across the nation to adopt this extraordinary form of designated driver services.

“I’m not familiar with Zingo, but it seems like a good idea,” said Sumner Bain, a senior psychology major from Atlanta. “One of the main reasons I don’t go downtown is because I live out too far from downtown and taxis are expensive, especially going back and forth from the bars.”

“I guess I would try Zingo, because then, I know my car wouldn’t get towed or I wouldn’t have to find someone to drive me back to my car the next morning,” Hall said.

While some students would consider using Zingo, others wouldn’t because of the expenses.

“I think the price is still a little high for students,” said Ansley Burgess, a junior animal science major from Hartwell, Ga. “It wouldn't be too bad for people closer to town, but I personally would not pay that much for it.”

The cost is a $20 pick-up fee, which includes the first 3 miles, plus a $2-per-mile thereafter.

Pricing also includes a 25 percent discount for students, including those who attend the University of Georgia.

“The 25 percent discount does help, but overall, it is still too pricey for me being a college student with low funds,” Burgess said.

For customers interested in utilizing Zingo’s services, the Zingo Web site recommends calling 30 to 40 minutes in advance of when you want your driver to arrive.

The expected time of arrival for a Zingo driver can range anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. However, times may vary.

Edited by: Ashley Bene

Erin Dillard - Second Article - Final Edit

Professors recognize technology as a distraction
By Erin Dillard
Oct. 6, 2009

ATHENS, Ga. - With today's immense texting and Internet opportunities, both students and faculty are experiencing a constant competition for student focus versus distractions.

With almost all students bringing cell phones and many bringing laptops to the classroom, disruptions and distractions during class time are inevitable. Still, laptops can be very useful in the classroom.

“I write very slowly, so it helps me get everything down,” said freshman Taylor Smyth, an early childhood education major.

Though to most students the constant access and use of cell phones and laptops seem normal, some professors recognize how recently the phenomenon occurred.

“It really is recent; mainly just in the last three years, since the University went wireless,” said Richard Neupert, a film studies professor.

Neupert has been at the University of Georgia for 16 years, and he can remember when students still asked permission to use laptops during class.

“I don’t think it’s an issue of the old professor versus the young students,” said Neupert. “Some things are great, but some things students are just too dependent upon.”

Neupert still allows students to use laptops during class, even though he had a student win an online poker tournament during one of his lectures.

“I was in the middle of lecture, when all the sudden a group of students in the back began to cheer,” he said. “They were just all watching this one student, rather than paying attention.”

He has also had complaints about students watching pornography on their laptops.
Neupert teaches large lecture classes, so it is easier for students to get away with not paying attention. Still, he allows students to have laptops during class.

“I am just not really sure it’s my job to patrol it,” he said.

He does, however, not allow laptops during films because considers bright laptops during a film a huge distraction, and he will even drop a student for using one.

Sonya Collins, a freshman English composition instructor, also allows students to use laptops during lecture and class time.

“Freshmen composition used a Web site called EMMA to access all class material, so the students brought their laptops,” Collins said.

“In one particular class, everyone was on Facebook and Instant Messenger the entire time,” she said. “I began to notice them closing their laptops when I walked around the room.”

It was easy for Collins to tell when students weren’t paying attention because her classes were small.

Collins slowly attempted to phase out laptop usage, by discouraging it, and tell students to close their laptops when she thought their usage wasn’t necessary.

“I hated it, because I felt like I was constantly patrolling,” she said. “I wanted it to be a room full of adults; I felt like a high school teacher.”

Though freshman Taylor Smyth finds her laptop useful, she agrees that it can have a negative side.

“I have noticed that it’s easy to get distracted with the Internet and Websites like Facebook,” she said.

Scott Shamp has his own view on how to deal with this feeling of “patrolling.” Being the director of the New Media Institute, Shamp embraces all that advancing technology has to offer.

“I don’t believe you can make people focus,” said Shamp. “Young people today live in a totally different environment. Attempting to create a distraction free vacuum is not the way to solve the problem.”

Shamp believes that the recent evolution of technology has made classroom walls permeable and no longer a sealed environment. Instead of fighting the revolution, the best professors find a way to use it.

“As professors, we need to help students and other faculty understand why it’s a bad communication strategy, but not necessarily a bad learning strategy,” he said.

“The classroom is 20 percent students, 80 percent professors. The faculty has to up their game and create an exciting, stronger, more visual learning environment in order to compete.”

Shamp believes that the classroom environment will only be different when the current learning generation becomes the ones who are teaching.

“Universities are big ships that don’t turn fast,” he said.

In the mean time, Shamp claims there is no use in fighting students who are determined to be distracted by iPhones and Facebook.

“Professors are fighting a losing battle against technology in the classroom; they aren’t put in there to be hall monitors.”

Edited Jessica Cole