WEATHER: Mostly sunny, high

84, low 57. Friday: Partly cloudy, high 83.

ATHENS, OHIO

THE POST
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2005

INSIDE: AFC North

football preview

PAGES 14 &15
www.thepost.ohiou.edu

Speaking softly, carrying big sticks

Grad student sees city of birth drown, counts family lucky

by Janet Nester Contributing Editor jn131302@ohiou.edu Imagine your hometown underwater. Everything you remember is gone. That has been the experience for Scott Ellis, 23, an Ohio University graduate student studying sports management, during the past week. Having grown up in New Orleans, Ellis, along with many other Americans, has watched footage from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina with sadness and shock. It is impossible to imagine the suffering, Ellis said, adding that the footage of the destroyed Twinspan Bridge, a major thoroughfare in New Orleans, brought tears to his eyes. It really made me upset to see babies and people dying. Ellis and his family have not been able to return to their home, but he said they think the house is gone, based on television reports and satellite photos. While most of his family and friends are safe, Ellis said he has not talked to Scott everyone from Ellis his hometown. Trying to get his mind off the destruction, Ellis went to a movie and played golf in the days after the levees broke. The destruction is mind-boggling, he said. A New Orleans Saints football fan, Ellis said he was proud of the citys cultural contributions and noted that he will miss the jazz music and food. Ellis worked as a media relations intern for the Sugar Bowl, where he had a chance to be on the field during the game,

September 11 is nothing compared to what happened in New Orleans. A whole city is lost. Scott Ellis, OU graduate student
and was saddened by the damage of the Superdome. Sept. 11 is nothing compared to what is happening in New Orleans, he said. A whole city is lost. While those stranded in The Big Easy have a right to be angry about the lack of help immediately following the flooding, Ellis said he is upset about the media coverage of the disaster. It is unfair to blame one or two people, noting that government officials on all levels and the general public have known about the possibility of flooding for years, he added. I have known since kindergarten what would happen if a big storm came through, Ellis said. Race relations also have been damaged through the media coverage, Ellis said. He noted that he was especially upset about rap artist Kanye Wests comments during a relief telethon aired on NBC Friday. West let his feelings be known during the show by saying that George Bush doesnt care about See ELLIS page 4

David Smith/ The Associated Press Sgt. Robert Stanley of 2nd battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment from Fort Braggs 82nd Airborne Division walks through the flooded streets of the French Quarter of New Orleans on Sunday afternoon during a patrol.

Gas leaks, bacterial water make city too risky for residents
by Sharon Cohen The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS Using friendly persuasion backed by the threat of force, police and soldiers went house to house yesterday to try to coax the last 10,000 or so stubborn holdouts to leave storm-shattered New Orleans because of the risk of disease from the putrid, sewageladen floodwaters. A large group of young men armed with M-16s just arrived at my door and told me that I have to leave, said Patrick McCarty, who owns several buildings and lives in one of them in the citys Lower Garden District. While not saying they would arrest you, the inference is clear. A frail-looking 86-year-old Anthony Charbonnet grumbled as he locked his front door and walked slowly backward down the steps of the house where he had lived since 1955. I havent left my house in my life, he said as soldiers took him to a helicopter. I dont want to leave. Mayor C. Ray Nagin ordered law officers and the military late Tuesday to evacuate all holdouts by force if necessary. He warned that the combination of fetid water, fires and natural gas leaks after Hurricane Katrina made it too dangerous to stay. In fact, the first government tests confirmed yesterday that the amount of sewage-related bacteria in the floodwaters is at least 10 times higher than acceptable safety levels. And health officials said at least four people might have died of a waterborne bacterial infection circulating in Katrinas floodwaters. Dr. Julie Gerberding, chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned stragglers not to even touch the water and pleaded: If you havent left the city yet, you must do so. As of midday, there were no reports of anyone being removed by force. And it was not clear how the order would be carried out. Active-military troops said they had no plans to use force. National See KATRINA page 4

Military evacuates stragglers

Mayor: university in better Long-awaited womens studies major position to fix Jefferson Hill will soon be available to students
by Kantele Franko Staf f Writer kf271804@ohiou.edu Ohio University has more access to improvement funding and could more adequately repair Jefferson Hill if the city transfers control of the pedestrian walkway to the school, Athens Mayor Ric Abel said at a press conference yesterday. City Council might vote on the proposed transfer of control, which Abel recommended, as early as October, he said, but added the city wants rights to maintain utilities in that area if OU takes over the property. City Council is evaluating legislation to complete the transfer, but two more readings of the legislation are required before a vote. Because capital improvements grants to the school likely would bring in more money than a state request for grant money to improve the road, the school could better repair the File Photo damaged hill, Abel said. Other area roads rank higher in the citys priorities for repairs Jefferson Hill, pictured above, might be transferred from because only pedestrians, not cars, use Jeff Hill, Athens city control to Ohio University in order to make repairs he said. Councilwoman Nancy Bain, D-3rd Ward, said If its just improving the sidewalk, Im all for she sees no need for the city to completely hand it, she said. over the property if only repairs are needed, adding Bain said she thinks the proposal will pass as that her main concerns are a decrease in the value long as council members get answers to any quesof nearby property and the city maintaining control tions they have about the universitys use of the of the water and sewer lines under the hill. See HILL page 4 by Kallie Hinton For The Post kh310504@ohiou.edu After five years of discussions and approvals, the womens studies Bachelor of Arts degree will soon be open for students at Ohio University and will most likely be paired with other programs, department heads said. I am very excited the university got behind this, said Judith Grant, director of womens studies. I look forward to having the program collaborate with other units throughout the colleges and the university. The undergraduate major is still pending final approval by the Board of Regents, Grant said, but good news is expected at any time. There are no doubts about this approval, information about the major is already in the fall 2005 undergraduate catalog. Previously, undergraduate and graduate certificates were the only options available for those interested in womens studies. Although core courses for the major have been available for studies through the certificate programs, once the major is approved, the area will be expanded and interested students can take up the major. The womens studies program is transitioning from a certificate to a major because so many students and faculty are interested in the subject, Grant said, who called the step logical and important. Womens studies as a discipline has been around since the 1970s. It is a bonafide field, and I feel it fits very well with the goals of diversity of President McDavis, Grant said. Susan Burgess, former director of womens studies, said the major has taken about five years to develop. New classes and faculty were added and the proposal had to go through numerous approvals, like any other major. The major is divided into three tracks: global, sexuality and general. Coursework includes classes in sexual advancement, feminist theory and women in history and culture. The major will cover as many disciplines as possible, depending on the faculty, Grant said. Sarah Kennedy, a journalism major graduating Winter Quarter, will not have time to complete the womens studies major, but she said she would have liked to double major in it. Its a great interdisciplinary program, Kennedy said. Im thinking of applying to the womens studies graduate programs for next fall. Along with the new major, a new womens studies organization is being created this fall. Kennedy and senior Leslie Black started WS FUN, the Womens Studies Feminist Undergraduate Network. Our goal is to create a network of feminist activism within Ohio University and the Athens community. Students and community members are invited to join, Kennedy said. WS FUNs first meeting is 7 tonight in the womens studies office.

Band mixes its straight-up rock with plenty of beer-soaked revelry

by Kelly Schwaberow Staf f Writer ks179503@ohiou.edu Despite their emotional lyrics about evil women and dysfunctional relationships, the hard rockers of Downplay use their wants for a rowdy crowd and their needs for a full keg to get the party started and to bring the sensitive drunk out in all of their listeners. Our live sound and just our party atmosphere fits right in with OU, but its not fake we are actually partying while we play, lead singer and guitarist Dustin Bates said. Downplays heavy rock songs have just a tint of funk in their guitar solos but still fully emulate the relatable heartbreak songs for w h i c h p u r e rock is known. The groups tunes sound much like Tantrics while Bates deep vocals are like those of Chad Kroeger of Nickelback. A r o u n d here, there are a lot of DaveMatthews-type guys and OARtype guys or hippie-type guys and then even folk-singing-type guys. Theres not too much rock; this is straight up rock. Its not try-to-pick-up-the-girl rock; it really is straight-up rock, Bates said. Bates, guitarist Nick Kaiser, drummer Brandon Hill and bassist Chad White said they interject their personalities with every performance. Whether on stage raising their glasses to a crowds everlasting energy or in the studio recording techno tracks just to be goofy, their rockstar qualities always shine through. The group made its name known by playing at house parties, Millfest and last years Palmerfest for a not-so-sober six hours. [Our shows are] more or less partying, but with the four of us, we take it to the next level, White said. After a yearlong stint, Downplay finally went into the studio over the summer to record its first album, which is yet to be titled and has an expected

If You Go ...
What: Downplay with
Flinch and Red Wanting Blue When: 10 tonight Where: The Blue Gator, 63 N. Court St. Admission: $5
release date of Sept. 17. The albums progress was delayed because both Kaiser and Hill had to commute to Athens for recording. The band worried more about putting down tracks and mixing and editing them than it did sweating details such as See BAND page 4

Bassist Chad White and lead singer and guitarist Dustin Bates, both OU students, are two of the four members of Downplay, a hard rock band in Athens.

Rob Hardin/ Senior Staff Photographer