2017 – Digital Storytelling

Athens Attempts to Increase Bicyclist and Pedestrian Safety

December 8, 2017December 7, 2018 Ryan SwindellAthens, Athens-Clarke County, bicyclist, bike, community, crash, cyclist, Georgia, government, pedestrian, safety, transportation, travel0 comment

ATHENS, Ga. – Athens-Clarke County is constructing a new bicycle and pedestrian master plan, Athens in Motion, with the intention of making the roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians. The plan rates roads on a level of comfort scale that ranges from one to five, with a score of one being the safest and five being the least safe for cyclists of varying skill levels. The ratings system is bolstered by Athens-Clarke County residents who point out problem areas for bicyclists and pedestrians on an interactive map provided by the…

Community Crime Government News

ACCPD Builds Community Relations, Strengthens Communication

December 8, 2017December 7, 2018 Robert DentyACCPD, Athens-Clarke County, community oriented policing0 comment

ATHENS, Ga. – The Athens-Clarke County Police Department (ACCPD) is using a new strategy of community oriented policing in hopes of changing the relationship between local law enforcement and the public. The policy, implemented by ACCPD Chief Scott Freeman, gets officers out of their patrol cars and into the community to build stronger bonds with the people they serve and will usher in the next era of policing in Athens, Freeman said. Click below to watch an interview with the University of Georgia’s Dr. Brian Williams on community policing. “I think…

Lil’ Ice Cream Dude Sweetens Athens

December 7, 2017December 7, 2018 Marielle WilliamsAthens, BrandBank, business, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Entrepreneur, Georgia, Greek Life, Ice Cream, Lil' Ice Cream Dude, UGA, UGA Football, UGA Miracle0 comment

Beau Shell, 13, owner and CEO of Lil’ Ice Cream Dude, from Athens, Georgia, poses in front of his popsicle truck in, Athens, Georgia, on Tuesday, September 19, 2017. Beau serves ice cream in his truck to the sweet-toothed community of Athens, Georgia. (Photo/Elizabeth Milano, eam60605@uga.edu) ATHENS, Ga. – Beau Shell, 13, better known as Lil’ Ice Cream Dude, has made a name for himself in the sweet and creamy business world as the youngest entrepreneur in Athens, Georgia. On his eighth birthday, Beau received a small makeshift ice cream…

Business Education Health

Athens Students Succumb to Social Anxiety Through Technology

December 7, 2017December 7, 2018 Alexa GilomenAddiction, Athens, college, Computer, Depression, Facebook, Generation Y, Instagram, Iphone, Mental Illness, Millennials, social media, students, Technology, Tumblr, Twitter, UGA, UGA Students, University, Youtube0 comment

ATHENS, Ga. — According to a short survey carried out by the authors of this article, students in Athens have fallen victim to the effects of social media, which have manifested through the emerging prevalence of technological dependency within the millennial generation. Out of 73 surveyed students at the University of Georgia, 90.41 percent of participants admitted to sleeping with their phone next to their bed. A staggering 76.71 percent felt that technology had taken hold of their lives. The above image depicts two pieces of data collected from 73…

Entertainment News

UGA Experts Claim Experiential Marketing Creates More Demand

December 7, 2017December 7, 2018 Kathryn Kostovetsky & Mackenzie Eldridge2 chains, 2 chainz, abigail castro, album, ambiguous, american marketing association, Athens, athens ga, Athens-Clarke County, Atlanta, audience, billboard 200, caroline stroud, charts, communications, cool, digital media, Education, engaging marketing, experiential marketing, Facebook, Georgia, Instagram, instagram page, interactive marketing, marketing, Millennials, music, music artists, norm, photo op, pink trap house, pretty girls like trap music, promotional period, promotions, rankings, reputation, sabrina hand, snakes, social media, social media tactics, taylor swift, trap house, Twitter, UGA, uga marketing, uga marketing experts, unique, unique marketing, University of Georgia, unusual0 comment

ATHENS, Ga. – University of Georgia marketing experts stress that unique social media tactics from music artists can earn them higher rankings. In August 2017, music artist Taylor Swift blacked out all of her social media and posted unexplained videos of snakes to her Instagram. This was to build anticipation for her new album which is set to come out in November 2017. President of UGA’s American Marketing Association, Sabrina Hand, described this tactic as “Experiential Marketing,” a method that engages the audience to participate and connect with the artist. “This…

Business

Two Athens Businesses Outlast The Competition

December 6, 2017December 7, 2018 Justin Ebertathens ga, Mayflower Restaurant, Morton Theatre, old stuff, restaurant0 comment

ATHENS, Ga. – The Mayflower Restaurant and The Morton Theater are among rare businesses in Athens that have survived major recessions. The Mayflower Restaurant, which has been in continuous operation since 1948, has stayed open longer than all of its competition. Ricky Vaughn, the owner for the last 45 years, said he has done so by building up a committed core group of customers. “We got people in here that have been eating here for 40 years,” Vaughn said. “That’s the tradition for them. Coming to the games. Coming…

Community Crime

UGA: Higher Crime Rate than Other Georgia Universities

December 6, 2017December 11, 2017 Gabriella CammarataAthens, Campus, Crime Rate, Georgia Universities, safety, UGA Students, University of Georgia0 comment

ATHENS, GEORGIA- The University of Georgia’s violent crime rate is more than double than that of Georgia Institute of Technology. According to 2014 FBI crime statistics, the rate of violent crime at UGA is roughly 21.7 per 10,000 students, whereas at Georgia Institute of Technology, it is roughly 9.3 per 10,000 students. At Kennesaw State University, the rate of violent crime is approximately 4.9 per 10,000 students. Adrian Salazar, a worker at the East Campus Deck at UGA, states that this might be because of the lack of cameras inside parking…

UGA Professors Analyze Trends and Causes Behind Opioid Epidemic

December 6, 2017March 20, 2018 Karson BankheadAddiction, Healthcare Policy, Medial Treatment, Opioid Epidemic, Opioids, Pharmaceuticals, Substance Abuse, UGA Research, UGA School of Pharmacy0 comment

ATHENS, GEORGIA — University of Georgia (UGA) professors Randall Tackett,Jayani Jayawardhana, and Matthew Perri are researching causes and trends behind the opioid epidemic in northeast Georgia. Although the three professors are conducting separate studies, they all are investigating the causes behind the rising use of opioids on UGA’s campus and northeast Georgia. Professor Randall Tackett, a pharmacy professor at UGA, studies abused drugs. He deals with students on UGA’s campus who struggle with addiction to opioids and runs programs in school systems to help with addiction. He uses his studies to…

Abuse Community Health Social Issue

Seventeen Cases of Dating Violence Reported at UGA in 2016

December 5, 2017December 8, 2017 Ayesha JamilAthens, College Dating, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, Modern Dating, project safe, RSVP0 comment

ATHENS, GEORGIA – According to the University of Georgia’s annual Safe and Secure report there were seventeen reported cases of abusive relationships from university members in 2016. Ashley Dykes, a former text-line manager at Project Safe, a nonprofit organization aimed at working to end unhealthy relationships, said dating violence is a phrase used to explain the physical or emotional abusive that can arise out of the untraditional styles of modern dating. “Teenagers and younger kids use different words now with ‘hooking up,’ ‘talking to,’ [and] ‘going out with,’ so…

Health

Georgia Menstrual Product Non-Profits Aid Trans and Non-Binary Visibility

December 4, 2017December 8, 2017 Andrea WunderlichAthens, homeless, menstruation, non-binary visibility, non-profit, trans visibility0 comment

ATHENS, GEORGIA – Two Georgia non-profits that collect menstrual products for local homeless populations have implemented inclusivity memorandums for beneficiaries of their menstrual product drives. The Peach Coven, an Atlanta based non-profit, and (fem)me, a non-profit formed in 2015 by four University of Georgia students, organize drives and donate the products to homeless shelters and service centers in Atlanta and Athens respectively. Sarah Belle Miles, founder of The Peach Coven, said that inclusivity has been a big focus for the organization since it was founded in 2016. “That has…