Capitol Corner

Jeffrey Parmet is a sophomore at the University of Georgia majoring in Political Science with minors in French and Geography and an Urban and Metropolitan Studies certificate. Jeffrey is involved with the Demosthenian Literary Society where he operates as Hall Administrator and has received the Demosthenian Speaker’s Key. Jeffrey has also received the SPFFA Scholarship […]

National and state politics are at the forefront of media coverage. News feeds are flooded with the daily chaos of congressional and executive affairs. While federal policy dictates a large facet of our lives, local officials focus on the details. In government, there are no small parts. The Rep. Spencer Frye fellows were given an […]

 The protection and acknowledgement of Confederate monuments has long been a divisive issue both in Georgia and throughout the country. Georgia Senate Bill 77 amends the Official Code of Georgia annotated to actively protect all government statues and monuments, meaning that it prohibits the removal of monuments of Confederate War leaders or figures. The bill […]

On March 11, Rep. Dar’shun Kendrick announced her “testicular bill of rights” in response to Georgia’s “heartbeat bill,” HB 481. The legislation has five points:  1. Require men to get permission from their sex partner before getting prescription for Viagra or any erectile dysfunction medication  2. Ban all vasectomy procedures and punish those who perform […]

Marnagee Scott is a junior at the University of Georgia majoring in Political Science with a minor in Communications and a certificate in Applied Politics. On campus, Marnagee is an active member of Gamma Sigma Sigma, a national service sorority, and Phi Kappa Phi, an honor society. She has an impressive academic record, considering she […]

In wake of current controversy, the topic of medical marijuana has made its way to the state of Georgia. We have already seen some previous legislation begin to take effect in Georgia. The city of Atlanta has decriminalized possession of marijuana under a certain amount. Moreover, the state of Georgia has legalized medical marijuana or […]

Monique Sholeh Alavi is a Sophomore at the University of Georgia majoring in International Affairs with minors in Spanish and Criminal Justice. Monique published a book, Ameerah, through Amazon’s CreateSpace Publishing. She also conducted a comparative study on the correlation between the Syrian Refugee Crisis and the Iraqi Refugee Crisis during high school. Currently, she […]

Last year, the state legislature made great strides in bail reform in our state by passing a bipartisan bill requiring judges to consider an individual’s ability to pay when setting bail. This happened around the same time as Atlanta’s city council restricted cash bail on low level offenses. However, all of this progress is under […]

Hannah Weeg is a senior at the University of Georgia majoring in Public Relations. During her time at UGA, she raised a guide dog for the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind and has also held multiple leadership positions for her sorority (Delta Gamma). In the summer of 2016, she studied abroad in Tanzania where […]

Following an election that was shadowed with allegations of voter suppression, upholding the integrity of the Georgia’s elections and ensuring that all voters’ voices are heard was of utmost importance at the start of a new legislative session. Georgia gained nationwide attention after hour long lines were seen at some of the most populous polling […]

On March 7, a potentially historic bipartisan bill passed the Georgia House of Representatives, bringing it one step closer to possibly becoming law. This legislation, HB 426, would allow Georgia to finally join the ranks of 45 other states that have officially codified laws banning hate crimes.  ​Although the Georgia General Assembly passed a bill outlawing hate crimes in 2000, the law was […]

Rachel Thornton is a senior at the University of Georgia majoring in Public Health with a minor in Global Health. Outside of the fellowship, Rachel has been a dedicated UGA Miracle member as well as a Phi Mu Recommendations Chair. During her time at UGA, she took part in the prestigious Washington Semester Program and […]

House Bill 301 would give state money to cover the tuition and associated fees of some students whose guardians want to send them to private school. In short, it’s a voucher bill. It’s legislation that will take public tax dollars and divert them to private institutions. Any student that has been in one of Georgia’s […]

Emily R. Martin is a senior at the University of Georgia double majoring in Political Science and International Affairs. Emily is an integral part of the legislative team for the Representative Spencer Frye Fellowship and enjoys engaging with the local Athens community through the fellowship. On top of being a diligent student, Emily was also […]

Representative Spencer Frye has decided to revive House Bill 786 from the 2017-2018 legislative session. This bill will expand discrimination protections in the insurance realm to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Under current Georgia law, insurance companies are able to raise rates on these victims by classifying them as more risk-averse because of […]

For years now corporations have been deciding who is going to be in office and who is going to hold the power. In 2010, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission was taken to the Supreme Court. The now-landmark ruling declared that under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment, the government cannot limit corporations […]

 Joshua Hudson is a senior at the University of Georgia majoring in Political Science along with a Public Affairs Professionalism certificate. Joshua has left a prominent mark at UGA considering he was a SGA Senator, FACS Ambassador, DSASAB Representative, Facilities Program Assistant for the Department of Recreational Sports, and he was also on the Sports […]

According to Georgia’s Division of Family and Children services, adoption is “social and legal process whereby an individual joins a family, earning the same rights and status as those born into that family.” It’s realistic to think that as long as the prospective adoptive parents are eligible and responsible, it should be a fairly easy […]

An excellent teacher can alter the course of any child’s life.  The wisdom teachers give to their students stays with them over the course of their lives, and helps them solve problems in their community. Therefore, it is vital for states like Georgia to equip teachers with everything they need to succeed. When a teacher […]

In the state of Georgia there have been 10,146 acts of gun violence since 2014, over 650 of these involved minors.1 The Democratic Caucus in the Georgia House of Representatives is dedicated to stopping this epidemic by promoting common sense gun legislation. For this reason they’ve formed the Democratic Caucus Public Safety Committee. This Committee, chaired […]

Last week, the Athens Area Habitat for Humanity Gala took place at the Foundry in downtown Athens. For several years, Habitat for Humanity has helped build and renovate homes for residents of Athens for less than $300 a month. In 2018, the average cost of rent per month for a three-bedroom apartment in Athens was $613. […]

Lauren LaMar is a master’s student at the University of Georgia studying Educational Administration and Policy. She dedicates much of her time giving back to the community by volunteering for the Humane Society, multiple soup kitchens, and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She also created a food bank for Indiana County to decrease food insecurity. […]

Merriam Webster defines hunger as “a craving or urgent need for food or a specific nutrient”, but the causes and effects of hunger goes much further than a feeling. Lasting hunger and food insecurity is a problem that has plagued Athens-Clarke County for years; 21.6% of our community members classifies as food insecure. That’s 26,340 […]

Gennifer Allen is a junior at the University of Georgia majoring in International Affairs with a New Media Certificate. On campus, she is involved with Student Alumni Council as the New Member Chair, SPIA Survey Research Center as a Research Analyst, as well as the New Media Institute. She currently serves on the Public Relations […]

By: Mathilde Carpet In early 2015, construction was started to expand the Savannah Harbor. Currently, the harbor has a depth of 42 feet below mean low low-water. This means that at low tide, the Savannah River has an average depth of 42 feet. The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, or SHEP, would deepen the harbor and […]

Mathilde Carpet is a senior at the University of Georgia majoring in International Affairs with minors in Spanish and Political Science and certificates in Global Studies and Applied Politics. On campus she is involved with Young Democrats and Delta Phi Epsilon. Not only is she heavily involved on campus academically and socially, but she also […]

On January the 8th, the city of Athens inaugurated Kelly Girtz as its new mayor. Girtz won the mayoral election this past May with a majority 60.5 % of the vote, beating his opponents former commissioner Harry Sims and businessman Bobby Knight by an outstanding margin (Aued 2018). This is not his first position in […]

Annefloor de Groot is a senior at the University of Georgia double majoring in Political Science and Communication Studies with a pre-law intent. As Chief of Staff for the fellowship, Annefloor coordinates efforts among public relations and legislative teams while also managing three directors and twenty-five fellows in performing political outreach, policy research, campaigning, community […]

“Medicaid expansion” has become a buzzword throughout Georgia and around the country as people are demanding more options for affordable health care services. But what exactly would “Medicaid expansion” entail? Medicaid is a federal-state program, meaning it gives individual states the jurisdiction over how to structure their designated Medicaid funding, and in 2012 the Supreme […]

One policy issue that Georgia is consistently concerned with is quality education in the K-12 education system. The Georgia Department of Education is focused on the curriculum in state schools. Legislation has sought a mandate that state schools provide a comprehensive K-12 curriculum, which is tailored to all students. This mandate also aims to implement […]

This last week, the current Georgia state representatives and senators got together for one last time before the end of the year to review the annual fiscal spending plan. The primary focus of this special session was to help Georgia after the loss many suffered due to Hurricane Michael this past October. The hurricane made […]

Josie is a senior at the University of Georgia double majoring in Political Science and International Affairs with a minor in Spanish. Throughout the course of her undergraduate career, Josie has been heavily involved on campus. She participated in the prestigious UGA Washington Semester Program as a member and Research Assistant. While in DC, she […]

Although not a presidential election year, 2018 has been a big year for politics. Earlier this month, voters across America went to the polls and participated in the 2018 Midterm Elections. Citizens of Athens voted in twenty different categories, ranging from governor to state superintendent to four amendments and two statewide questions. Now, a few […]

As a University of Georgia student, whenever I think of “Athens,” the first word that pops into my head is “college town.” To be able to harbor this notion of Athens has made me exceedingly privileged. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that even though we may believe that Athens is a college town […]

Our next Fellow Spotlight goes to Ali Elyaman! Ali is a junior at the University of Georgia triple majoring in History, Political Science, and Religion with a minor in Public Policy and Management. Ali is heavily involved on campus by holding multiple leadership positions including Vice President of Administration for UGA Campus Kitchen, Dean of […]

Often times when we speak at the University of Georgia about disparities in education, we don’t always think of Athens, Georgia. Many of us are privileged enough to attend the flagship institution and receive an education from the 13th top public national university according to U.S. News & World Report 2019. As I spent more time in Athens […]

Taylor Nchako is a Presidential Scholar and pre-law student at the University of Georgia double majoring in Public Relations and International Affairs with a minor Fashion Merchandising. While on campus, she has served as Infusion Magazine’s graphic designer as well as Pandora yearbook’s graphic designer and Twitter manager. Outside of campus, she supports the Spencer […]

The construction process for the nuclear power reactor, Plant Vogtle, has been anything but simple. One of the utility partners of the project, Oglethorpe Power, had until September 26that 5:00pm to decide whether or not they would continue to support the plant’s construction.[i]The building of Plant Vogtle has become controversial between the businesses involved and […]

Amy Pan is a junior at the University of Georgia studying Political Science with minors in English and Communication Studies. She is a member of the Honors College, the Undergraduate Mock Trial Team, and the Student Government Association. She is also a part of the Georgia Political Review and is a Head Mentor for the […]

Mehak Gillani is a junior at the University of Georgia studying International Affairs with a minor in Global Health. While at UGA Mehak has been involved with the Athens Land Trust and AIESEC. Through AIESEC she had the opportunity to intern abroad for 6 weeks at an NGO that provided aid to Afghan Migrants and […]

Danielle St. Amand is a sophomore at the University of Georgia majoring in French and Political Science. On campus Danielle serves on a committees for Camp Kesem and is a member of the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. After college she hopes to go to law school, and in the big picture Danielle aims to change […]

Many interesting things have been happening during this phenomenal, productive Capitol Session! To begin, there was an electric car conference to ensure that environmental sustainability was prioritized throughout the state with many representatives including Representative Spencer Frye. This conference was about electric car sales plummeting in the state of Georgia. During the conference, it was […]

In Athens-Clarke County there’s currently a very public controversy over whether to comply with requests for detention from ICE (the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency) and if so, to what extent? A couple of weeks ago I released a blog post noting that only notification of ICE appears to be mandated by the Georgia […]

There’s been a lot of press over the last few months about the Athens-Clarke County Sheriff’s Office holding people on behalf of the US Dept. of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement division, or ICE. The Athens-Clarke Police Department, on the other hand, does not perform such detentions. The Sheriff’s Office says it’s just following […]

Maisha Imam is a junior at the University of Georgia majoring in International Affairs and Political Science and minoring in Spanish with Pre-Law intent. On campus she is involved in International Student Life, WUOG 90.5 FM, Leadership UGA, the Office of Institutional Diversity, and the Muslim Student Association. Maisha plays the violin in the Athens […]

Racial and socioeconomic disparities in school suspension among school-age children in Georgia and in the United States generally adversely influence the outcomes of individual students and contribute to the persistence of the achievement gap. According to the Department of Education, African-American students are suspended at more than three times the rate of their white classmates. […]

Alexandria Pinckney is a sophomore at the University of Georgia majoring in Political Science and minoring in Spanish. On campus, she is currently involved in the Spanish Immersion Program, the Thomas N. Lay Mentorship Program, and works as a tour guide at UGA’s Visitor’s Center. Alexandria was recently accepted into the Summer 2018 Honors in […]

In today’s increasingly dynamic, modern, and progressive era, one might be surprised to learn that accessibility to the voting booth is still not a reality for some. Unfortunately, the state of Georgia is not immune to this situation. Georgia’s experience with limiting accessibility to the polls dates back to when the state passed one of […]

Session has started, and there are a multitude of bills that have become the focus of attention for Georgians. One piece of legislation that has been in the public eye centers upon campus sexual assault and rape. This has continued to be a controversial topic for some time. Last year’s House Bill 51, written by […]

Vaibhav Kumar is  a second year student at the University of Georgia and is double majoring in International Affairs and Political Science with a minor in statistics. He is most passionate about education legislation and is involved on campus with the Georgia Political Review. When he is not in class or traveling to the dome […]