Schools serve those who serve

It should come as no surprise that our area institutions of higher learning are considered “military-friendly” schools. On the contrary, it would be considered quite a surprise, and an inexcusable one, if they weren’t. After all, Fort Benning has for a century been essential to this community, not to mention the nation. And veterans of all branches of our armed services live and work among us every day.

Still, it’s nice to get some public recognition of what is and always ought to be a local badge of honor.

As reported earlier this week, Columbus State University, Columbus Technical College and Chattahoochee Valley Community College in Phenix City were all designated as 2017 Military Friendly Schools by Victory Media, a veteran-founded Pittsburgh company that assists in the transition back into the civilian work force — a transition some 400,000 Americans make every year. Victory Media, initially funded by three Navy veterans in the late 1990s, includes among its services the publication of G.I Jobs magazine, described on its website as “offering articles, tips and online tools to help military transitioners explore different career and post-secondary education options.”

This is not a new designation here; CSU has been on the Victory Media “Military Friendly” list for five consecutive years, Columbus Tech for four. (Also on the list are Georgia Tech and UGA, as well as Alabama, Auburn and Troy.) Schools are rated in such areas as student veteran retention, graduation rate, job placement and loan repayment/default rates.

Columbus Tech, CSU and Troy, not surprisingly, have long had partnerships with Fort Benning, including classes and programs on post.

Congratulations to these schools, and to those responsible for the programs serving those who have courageously served us all.

Can’t make this up

From the distinguished to the disgusting …

Georgia state Rep. Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire, has filed legislation in the General Assembly that could aptly be named the Creepy Slimeball Bill.

(For the record, that’s a reference to the bill, not its sponsor, who’s on the Good Guys side here.)

If you recall, and you probably do, a Georgia court earlier this year reversed the conviction of a man who surreptitiously took cell phone videos up the skirt of a woman shopping in a supermarket. Almost as distasteful as the act itself was the revelation that it’s apparently commonplace enough to have been given a name: “upskirting.”

And as of now, according to the court, it’s legal: Privacy laws, at least in public places, don’t apply to the space under people’s clothing. (We know. Don’t ask.)

Blackmon’s bill would, in his words, “patch that up, allow this to be deemed criminal behavior.”

We would expect, as do lawmakers, that exempting people’s underwear from public domain will have easy passage. (Any constitutional challenge to such a law would, at the very least, be interesting to hear.)

Meanwhile, any creepy slimeball tempted to take advantage of the interim might want to keep in mind a defense tactic all women know. It doesn’t have a name, but it might be described as upkneeing.

This story was originally published December 1, 2016 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Schools serve those who serve."