8 MAR 07: HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL?

A Dalton, Georgia truck driver claimed part of the record Mega Millions jackpot late Wednesday. Eddie Nabors wins more than 116 million dollars - which may be enough to fuel his 18-wheeler for an entire year.

Some of the money from Georgia Lottery games goes to HOPE college scholarships - and Columbus State Rep. Carolyn Hugley says the time has come to change the rules for those scholarships. Since she's a Democrat, you can guess which way she wants to go. She's more HOPE-full than HOPE-less.

Carolyn Hugley told GPB's "Lawmakers" last week about a bill in the Georgia Legislature which I haven't heard discussed at all. It would allow college students an opportunity for a "one-time waiver" to keep HOPE scholarships, should they fall below a 3.0 grade point average in a semester. Political politeness calls it a "waiver." Most college students would say, "do-overs."

Carolyn Hugley's proposal would let HOPE students have this "one-time waiver" from a weak semester if they mentor young children. I'm not sure exactly what she means by "mentoring." Can college guys sell out for football season in the fall, then teach touch football in a physical education class during spring?

Carolyn Hugley's one-time waiver idea apparently stems from the fact that a large number of students enter Georgia colleges with HOPE scholarships, then quickly lose them because they can't keep their grades up. But is a mentoring program the right way to resolve this? Or will this push marginal college students into becoming education majors and teachers?

You may recall one goal of the HOPE scholarship in the 1990's was to encourage Georgia's youth to finish high school. Yet more than a decade later, about 30 percent of those youth still drop out without graduating. Come to think of it, it probably wasn't very smart to encourage teenagers to "stay in school" by promising them more schooling.

The high school graduates who receive a HOPE scholarship and "free" college education should realize the opportunity they have. So should they receive a second chance, if they can't keep up their grades? Is this taking Georgia's "two strikes" law to a very different level?

I can understand cases where college students might be eligible for a "hardship waiver" to keep a HOPE scholarship. It could be similar to injured athletes receiving an extra year of eligibility. But I would limit that to exceptional cases - not to students whose grades drop because they're too busy studying how to get around the legal drinking age.

To borrow a word from a blogging buddy, this proposed one-time waiver for HOPE scholarships strikes me as "wussification." At some point, youth turning into adults need to learn life doesn't always give them second chances - although I suppose the dating process is teaching them that already.

And before you head for that "write me" link and point a finger: I speak as someone who kept my grade point average well above 3.0 throughout college. I took my classes seriously, even before college. And admittedly, I was quite surprised when my Reporting I instructor had to give classmates remedial grammar lessons for a couple of weeks.... [True!]

Suppose we add this one-time waiver, and the HOPE scholarship "drop-off" rate doesn't change. What would Carolyn Hugley propose next? Will the high school "graduation coaches" follow students into college, to make extra money as tutors?

I could expand further on this, but I'm out of time - so let's quickly wrap up other news items from a splendid Wednesday:

+ The annual "Drug Free, You and Me" conference for sixth graders began at the Columbus Trade Center. You can tell times have changed from a few years ago - because the McDonald's arches logo is a bit more subdued on the children's T-shirts this year.

+ WRBL showed the Third Brigade taking one last group run at Fort Benning, before it leaves for Iraq. Some people wondered if it was really a practice session - and the next group run will be across the Iranian border.

+ A makeshift "emergency room" with tents opened near the tornado-damaged Sumter Regional Hospital. It's located on Mayo Street in Americus. This is not exactly the way you want to see a "Mayo Clinic" come to town....

+ Shaw High School's baseball team was embarrassed at home by class-A Schley County 4-3. Maybe now the Raiders will give those red uniforms back to Hardaway or Jordan, where they belong.

+ Online reports indicated the Atlanta Falcons are signing former New Orleans wide receiver Joe Horn. In New Orleans, he fit well as a "jazz Horn" - but in Atlanta, he might have to become a "car Horn."

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