UGA News

Here’s your daily news for the University of Georgia community.

• Yesterday we had the late-breaking update that the UGA ranked #4 of party schools by Princeton Review
• 1,315 students will be eligible to receive degrees at UGA’s summer commencement (August 1 at 9:30 a.m. in Stegeman Coliseum).  The commencement will be streamed live on UGA’s website, and former women’s gymnastics coach Suzanne Yoculan will be speaking.
• The Red and Black has an article on students who also love video games, describing the difficult (apparently) life of a student who takes a full load of classes, works full time, has a 5-year-old son, and is “ranked in the top 100 players on his Final Fantasy XI server”.

And in sports:

• Football Coach Mark Richt and others spoke at the annual meeting of the Greater Atlanta Bulldog Club, giving some insight into the upcoming season (also covered in the ABH and Georgia Sports Blog).

Not too much in the way of news today, but here are the important bits:

• This is a great piece of news (ABH).  Media got to tour yesterday the in-construction sewage treatment plant in Eastern Clarke County.  The plant that is currently used is the source of the East Campus stench, the poop-like smell found around East Campus, the Loop, and College Station Road.  The new sewage treatment should be finished by February 12, 2012.

And in sports:

• 9 UGA football players were named (R&B) by Southeastern Conference coaches to the pre-season All-SEC football teams.  Wide receiver A.J. Green and linebacker Rennie Curran were named first team. DL Geno Atkins, DB Prince Miller, OL Clint Boling, and OL Cordy Glenn were voted second team, while OL Trinton Sturdivant, DL Jeff Owens, and DB Reshad Jones were named third team.
• Georgia’s longtime football sideline reporter Loran Smith was injured in a car accident in France this past Sunday (AJC).  He has already returned to the United States (and is back in Athens), with few injuries.

We received an email this morning from the Georgia Theatre about some shows they are putting on to help raise money.  Check out the Georgia Theatre’s website for more information and how to help.

And some sports:

• Sophomore Aron White was profiled by the Athens Banner-Herald, who proclaim White as the likely starter at tight end this fall.
• Former Georgia football players (and all around greats) Matt Stinchcomb and David Pollack will be working on ESPNU this fall, among other duties.

Today’s UGA News:

• UGA will use $50 million in revenue bonds from the Athens Housing Authority to fund the construction of a new residence hall on East Campus.  Apparently this will free up cheaper housing in Athens.  The residence hall will meet LEED certification (ABH).
• The Red and Black reports on an employee at the UGA Registrar’s Office (with access to sensitive information, including Social Security numbers) was arrested a year ago and recently convicted on charges of felony theft by deception.  The employee plead guilty and will serve a prison sentence of 10 years.
• The Red and Black has a good follow up piece on the Zinkhan shootings, why no one was concerned about Zinkhan’s previous behavior, and whether something like this could happen again.
• You also might want to read the documents (warning, PDF) with this Red and Black piece, relating to Dr. Carroll’s issues with Zinkhan.  At several points she writes, “Stay away from me!”.

And in UGA sports news:

• Matt Stafford got UGA an NCAA violation when he accepted tickets to a Falcons game from Jay Cutler (ABH).
• Backup offensive lineman Tanner Strickland will miss the season after having surgery to repair a pre-season shoulder injury (AJC and R&B).
• UGA football received their 13th commitment for next year from an explosive defensive end (Georgia Sports Blog).
• Not a surprise, national pollsters believe UGA football will do better this season than Georgia Tech (AJC).
• A walk-on defensive tackle was just awarded a scholarship (AJC).