So long to Benson

Rats. Flooding. Asbestos. Over the years the Benson Building has been afflicted with a slew of plagues that rival the blights of biblical Egypt. Although the Institute for Women’s Studies has since moved to the Promised Land of Gilbert Hall, The Red & Black’s editorial board is happy to say good riddance to the much-maligned Benson Building.

The collegiate experience at the state’s flagship university should be relatively vermin-free, regardless of one’s major or gender. Also, the cost of demolishing the building was probably outweighed by the cumulative expenses of maintaining and fumigating it year after year.

In any case, the demolition of the Benson Building is a fitting end to the seven-year battle the women’s studies department and the Women Studies Student Organization have fought for equal treatment. It is our hope that new aspirations and ideas will rise from the rubble of Benson. Without the constant financial drain of hiring exterminators and carpet cleaners, perhaps the long-awaited women’s center will become a reality in the near future.

-Marcus Crawford for the editorial board.

Congrats to Chris

He’s just like Matthew Stafford, except he actually wins championships.

Georgia junior javelin-thrower Chris Hill, fresh off his second consecutive NCAA javelin championship, announced he will forego his senior season and compete professionally in the javelin toss.

Now, The Red & Black’s editorial board knows college athletes leave school early all the time – see: Stafford, Matthew; and Moreno, Knowshon – but leaving to compete in the javelin is definitely a first.

But kudos to Hill, for having the guts to go pro. Thanks to Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, less-publicized sports such as swimming and track have a growing fan base and more importantly, sponsorship.

-Michael Fitzpatrick for the editorial board.