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30 JUL 04: GOOD FOR U.

Columbus State University officials projected Thursday enrollment this fall will top 7,000 students. Long before John Kerry ran for President, C.S.U. was saying "hope is on the way" - as in students with HOPE scholarships.

Over the last two years, Columbus State gained about 700 students per year. If that happens again this fall, C.S.U. will not only top 7,000. It'll pass the 7,500 mark -- and Peachtree Mall will slowly start losing parking spaces.

(Of course, the projections could turn out wrong - and C.S.U. will have to consider hiring new instructors in statistics and probability.)

I have an old World Almanac, which shows in 1990-91 "Columbus College" had 4,167 students. So in 14 years, the enrollment has jumped by about two-thirds. If this growth keeps up, before long Columbus State won't have merely a few buildings downtown - it might own ALL of downtown.

So where is Columbus State University going to put all these extra students? Thursday evening's news showed a new dorm under construction - only it looked to me more like a three-story Residence Inn. The upper stories have BALCONIES?! When I was in college, they did well to have windows you could open.

Even the athletics department at Columbus State is growing. In about a month, C.S.U. will field its first women's soccer team -- even though it still has no men's team. There's an easy explanation for this. Sports fans find it more interesting
when female players celebrate by taking off their jerseys.

For all the activity around Columbus State University, one building sits strangely empty. The old Rio Bravo and Chevy's along Gentian Boulevard has been unoccupied for a couple of years. Can't C.S.U. start a program in restaurant management there? Based on Thursday's news, Rocco Dispirito soon could be available....

(Maybe there's something wrong with this building. The restaurant used to be called "Chevy's," yet Bill Heard won't even put any cars there.)

Now some other fast thoughts for your Friday....

+ Staff members at the Bradley Library are saying the building will close during Thanksgiving week. All of December will be spent moving items to the new library on Macon Road. This will be one fall semester when students don't dare delay
working on their term papers.

+ The four-day "tax holiday" began across Georgia. Isn't it amazing how a seven-percent price reduction gets so much attention? I haven't seen this since.... well, since the price of gas dropped to $1.70 a gallon.

+ Instant Message to the Physicians for Medical Liability Reform: If doctors like you are going broke all over Georgia because of malpractice lawsuits, how can you afford to keep buying 30-minute blocks of TV time to tell us about it?

COMING SOON: Two big personal milestones approach.... but which will we hit first?....

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