Georgia
Tech Golf Goes West for Pauma Valley Invitational
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s 21st-ranked golf team makes its third Western trip in four spring events this week, competing for the first time in the Pauma Valley Collegiate Invitational. The two-day, 54-hole event begins Monday at Pauma Valley Country Club in Pauma Valley, Calif.
The tournament, being conducted for just the second time, features a 15-team field, including nine teams ranked in the Scoreboard Powered by Clippd Top-25 rankings and 13 squads in the top 50. Pauma Valley is just 35 miles East of Carlsbad, where the NCAA Championship is held at the Omni LaCosta Resort and Spa.
Head coach Bruce Heppler’s team, which has one victory (Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational) from the fall on its resume this year, finished 13th out of 15 teams at its most recent event, the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas, Calif. The Yellow Jackets also tied for fourth place in its last outing at the Watersound Invitational in Panama City Beach, Fla., after opening the spring with a 10th-place finish (out of 20 teams) at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate in Hawai’i. Redshirt junior Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) has been the Yellow Jackets top finisher in all three events.
Hiroshi Tai (Singapore), who won the NCAA individual championship last May at LaCosta, and Reuter, who had a pair of top-10 finishes in the fall, are among five players who helped the Yellow Jackets advance to match play at the NCAA Championship each of the past two years. Also back are sophomores Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) and Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and junior Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.).
The tournament will utilize a split-tee start format each day, playing 36 holes Monday and 18 Tuesday, with competition beginning at 10:40 a.m. Eastern time each day.
Benjamin Reuter has been Tech’s top finisher in all three spring events. (photo by Clyde Click)
TECH LINEUP – Reuter and Tai lead the five-man lineup for the Yellow Jackets in Panama City Beach, joined by Fontenot, Kim and freshman Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden). Tran will compete as an individual.
Reuter has been Tech’s top player all year thus far, posting a runner-up finish at Olympia Fields and two other top-10s, including a tie for fourth at the Watersound Invitational this spring. He is ranked No. 28 in the Scoreboard NCAA rankings. Tai, listed on the Fall Watch List for the Fred Haskins Award and as a pre-season All-American by Golfweek magazine and Golf Channel, had three top-20 finishes this fall and is ranked No. 204 in the NCAA Scoreboard rankings. The junior won twice as a freshman prior to his NCAA Championship.
Hanson, ranked No. 174 nationally, finished 22nd at Watersound for his best showing of the spring, while Fontenot (No. 139 in the Scoreboard rankings) has a top finish of 30th place at Watersound. Kim earned the fifth spot in qualifying, also tying for 22nd at Watersound.
Tech has a 56-44-2 head-to-head record through the Southern Highlands Collegiate, needing to be at .500 or better after the ACC Championship in April to qualify for a bid to an NCAA Regional. Following the Pauma Valley Invitational, the Yellow Jackets also have the Ford Intercollegiate April 13-14 in Richmond Hill, Ga.
EVENT DETAILS
Pauma Valley Collegiate Invitational
- Dates: March 17-18 (54 holes of stroke play, low 4 of 5 scores count for team score each round)
- Format: 36 hole Monday and 18 Tuesday, begins 10:40 a.m. EDT each day from No. 1 and No. 10 holes
- Venue: Pauma Valley Country Club (par 72, 7,311 yards)
- Participating teams (15): Loyola Marymount (host), Arizona State (2), Georgia Tech (21), Illinois (13), LSU (7), Oklahoma (6), Oklahoma State (5), Ole Miss (3), San Diego (33), San Diego State (15), San Francisco, SMU (28), Tennessee (30), Texas (4), Texas Tech (26)
- Tech appearances (last appearance): first appearance
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 30th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 73 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 19 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 33 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up five times. Follow Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on X (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
North Carolina man convicted of sending threatening communications to a Macon rabbi, Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch.
Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch (left) and Macon Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar speak outside a federal courtroom Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, after a man was sentenced to five years for mailing them threatening communications in the form of antisemitic postcards. (Joe Kovac Jr./AJC)
Editor’s note: This story contains disturbing language.
MACON — The rabbi knitted. While a sentencing hearing for the man convicted of mailing her threatening communications in the form of an antisemitic postcard two years ago played out in a federal courtroom Wednesday, Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar sat with sage-green yarn in her lap.
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lariv owt eht selbat laicos detaes fo .aidem ,elihwnaem gnitekram ,nam ni sih evitceffe dednefed detcivnoc ,yawa sa ega snoitca ehT
SWEJ“ ohw taht deviecer ,daer dractsop sdael ni ni emoh reh nettirwdnah nwotnwod a elpmeT ”.STAR ,nocaM learsI yraurbeF hteB ,rahaB tA ERA ,4202
sI“ ’SWEJEHTSAG‘ ruoy rednu lennut ,erutrot ereht eht edis ,epar rehto ”!ffo redrum ?esuoh evah rof dlihc ,deksa dna a nolkyZ eW esU ehT edoC .B %01
sraey saw ekaw owt ot emit eht eht eht eht eht eht taht deifitset elpmet troppus .remmus etats dengis ehs tnes nees emas suoiverp dractsop edistuo eno fo fo fo fo izaN-oen rebmem enol noitalsigel .wal tsuj otni ni ni lacitnedi emoh reh dah dah gnirehtag gninifed ,derohtua-oc llib ,msitimesitna na ,oga a a sgnirpS ydnaS .peR .hctinaP ,hctinaP hctinaP ,erutalsigeL hsiweJ s’aigroeG rehtsE rahaB dnuorA
.nemow ohw owt neht eht eht eht detegrat ecnis nees dias enilno fo swen nam deliam ,ti ni evah dah stnempoleved dna dna stnuocca ,somaR srotucesorP htroN aigroeG .E ozalloC aniloraC leirA
,seldnac“ toirtaP“ etihw tahw ”.semeht eht nar ,laicar stcudorp sdractsop gnilddep rehto fo tsilanoitan deman ni emoh sih evah morf debircsed gnitciped ytic ssenisub seitirohtua sa citimesitna dna dna a ,somaR ,tnioP hgiH ”ynapmoC eldnaC ,23
mohw saw lairt ot gninetaerht taht reffits depeets gnicnetnes fo izaN-oen gniliam dedulcni ni ni etah ytliug .senilediug dnuof rof ,msimertxe tnemecnahne debircsed emirc noitcivnoc snoitacinummoc seitirohtua ta sa dewolla a a ’somaR ,somaR rebmevoN .rahaB
.sraey saw ot emit emit eht dneps ecnis devres nees deniamer .nosirp ,enon ybraen hcum thgim ,elihwnaem :mumixam reywal liaj ni ni ni woh sih rof rof rof evif s’ytnuoc eb deksa tserra deugra a tahW yadsendeW somaR ,srotucesorP yaM siH .4202
— — hcihw meht eht naht .elpmet emos os staes elpoep skoolrevo rehto ro fo elim ynam ssel ni flah morf morf dellif snoitanimoned ,moortruoc stnagergnoc dna a s’llewdaerT .T teertS ytneveS yrrebluM craM egduJ s’rahaB s’rahaB
Hundreds of people gather at Temple Beth Israel for a counter-protest in June 2023 after an antisemitic hate group gathered outside. Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar leads the temple in downtown Macon. (Courtesy of Jason Vorhees)
mohw ohw erew eht eht ,elbat .edis edis tas sevitaler s’noitucesorp fo dellik ni dah yb htob dna ,hctinaP raeN ,tsuacoloH rahaB
dluow nemow ,lairt koot yeht eht deifitset .stnemetats no ekam reywal dah .roolf ,tsrif gnirud dna yadsendeW ehT ’somaR ’somaR rebmevoN tuB
,t’nsaw“ ylluflliw ohw saw driht eht eht eht ,dias dias sdractsop .yolp fo ,dnim gnitekram deliam ,ycneinel reywal ”.wal ni ni sih dah rof ,esac gnikaerb sa gniugra a ,rehtaR ’somaR somaR somaR nanweN .rJ nI worbeD worbeD yrraB yenrottA
a“ ”lliW“ erew esoht ekops dias fo txen ”.drawoc dna snoitca mailliW .S.U ’somaR .R seyeK yenrottA
staerht“ t’now ”.detarelot ot eht taht dnes egassem egduj ni dertah eb desab deksa a seyeK
… eH“ .krow hcihw ot denetaerht siht ”.sgniht eseht eseht neht eht .taht ,hceeps ecnetnes yas detcejer nosaer detcetorp elpoep .seitironim sredael yruj s’ti si edih s’eh eh eh setah retaerg rof nrae t’ndid did ylraelc dniheb esuaceb esuaceb detpmetta dna dna dna a a uoY ehT ehT diaS .izaN :seyeK hsiweJ hsiweJ s’tI tsriF tnemdnemA
”derettahs“ saW“ saW“ .derednow rehtehw gnihctaw yltneloiv ,edart dlot eht ”?teerts ehs esnes ytiruces gniviecer dractsop .tuo fo fo ym thgim tfel retal hsal woh ”?emoh reh reh eh eh lufraef esnefed yb yenrotta dna ssorca a ’somaR somaR ,hctinaP
a“ ti dellac detaluclac ”.tca ehS
… sihT“ t’nsaw detnaw ot eht eht ezirorret ,hceeps ”,ecnelis .dias flesym yruj otni eerf .dnuof eritne ytinummoc sa dna dna ibbaR hctinaP hsiweJ eH rahaB
si“ morF“ saw ”.noitaloiv gninetaerht gninetaerht taerht taht ehs ,dias dias ,ibbar ylno fo ton ”,rettam ,level dnik ,reh reh reh rof tnereffid peed noitagergnoc ygrelc .ytic tub dekcatta ta yna dna osla demia a a a ’somaR rahaB
tahw denraw dlot ot ot yeht meht eht taht .suoicipsus deppots gnihtemos laicos ecnis ehs ehs ees dias gnitsop serutcip no fo .aidem fi flesreh reh sah sah tnorf segaruocne .rood god od nerdlihc thguob krab ta dna a ehS ehS ehS
,etarebiled“ yatS‘ uoy lliw saw saw saw saw saw ot ot eht .ezirorret detegrat dnes dias .modnar ,teiuq dractsop ro ton ,egassem tnaem tnaem ti ti elbisivni ecaf ”’.secneuqesnoc eb citimesitna dna a ’somaR tI tI rahaB
eht eht delbmar spahrep eno no fo tsom .setunim edisni ni rof reve yllanoitome dehcated dereviled ,suollac dna snoitucolla mailliW .S.U somaR ,txeN laredeF ,esuohtruoC gnidliuB eltooB sutsuguA 51
… did“ nemow tahw erew erew saw owt ot siht yeht rieht eht eht eht tnes dias tpiecer ,sdractsop no fo fo ”.swen lairetam gnitekram gnitekram dednetni sih yltcaxe .od esuaceb dna dna esehT gnikaepS somaR hctinaP rahaB
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… ssip“ dluow dluow ot meht meht eht eht taht enoemos tluser eviecer sdractsop ffo egassem evah derugif ”.esle etacinummoc dna dna dna hctinaP eH rahaB
snoillim“ ”evitaerc“ I“ htiw lariv neht eht eht eht noitats etats laicos elgnis dias ,sseworp sdractsop smroftalp egnaro no fo fo fo fo swen aidem gnitekram edam tiuspmuj ni ni ”.snoisserpmi woh sih sih mih ereh evah dah enog morf yreve desserd nwod tsoc ssenisub detsaob dna na lla ,somaR ,liaJ eH ”.aigroeG ytnuoC sttuB 1$
sihT“ tnaw ot hguoht yeht .meht ,meht ,dias ekam ti t’nsi si neve ”.ssenisub tuoba tuoba sihT eH
nwolb“ a“ ohw tahw saw s’taht kees dias noitroporp elpoep tuo ”.no fo etamitigel tsuj sih tog rof tnuocsid gnitnuoc ”edoc seldnac yb .noitnetta somaR I dnA
I“ uoy ,nettirw maerts ”.hceeps yas daer tup laitnetop ro fo snoitavresbo rettel ,ti d’eh eh eh sseug secnaveirg morf moortruoc dluoc sa etalleppa dna duola a a a nehT
gnorts“ I“ t’ndluow eciov ot eht eht eht ,dias ”.thgir desraeher ,rotucesorp ”noitcejorp desiarp gnitniop no fo rorrim tsuj ni sruoh sih sih eh teg tnorf rof rof regnif teef tbuod tnedifnoc ecnuob dna dna dna a ,seyeK eH
koobtxet“ ”gnirettuts“ yletelpmoc“ dluow erew retaw ”,ssenderaperpnu ot ”.tsriht taht enoemos namselas dias nwo fo fo fo reywal elbapacni fi sih sih eh ssalg gnivig rof gniyd delttileb eb yawa yenrotta dna dna a a eH
ylluferac“ uoy dluow htiw daerpsediw tahw lairt ot emit thguoht eht dewohs ,gnicnetnes demehcs ”.ksir .ksir laminim laminim denoitnem mumixam ti tcilfni woh ,mrah ,mrah rof ecnedive emac eb ta dna desserdda nehW llewdaerT somaR somaR rO egduJ
s’taht“ a“ ”.uoy ”dlrow eht retsinis emahs dias tcudorp fo izaN-oen sdnim ni rof live dessessa sa dna dna a llewdaerT somaR
ot eht eht .mret decnetnes nosirp mumixam egduj raey-evif nehT somaR
llot ot .meht eht eht eht nekat ekops sretroper no sah ,moortruoc esac dna tuoba hctinaP edistuO rahaB
on“ koot dewohs ytilibisnopser dekramer no fo on level woh ”.yhtapme dna osla somaR hctinaP
gnihtemos“ s’erehT“ gnorw htiw siht ,dias ”,yllaer ”.yug hctinaP
Joe Kovac Jr. is Macon bureau chief covering Middle Georgia for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
MACON, Ga. – A North Carolina man was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison, the statutory maximum, for mailing antisemitic threats to a Georgia state representative and a Macon rabbi following the passage of the state’s first bill defining antisemitism.
Max sentence in hate crime
What we know:
Ariel E. Collazo Ramos, 32, of High Point, North Carolina, was sentenced Feb. 4 by U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell to serve 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Ramos was found guilty of mailing threatening communications with a hate crime enhancement during a trial in November 2025. There is no parole in the federal system.
State Rep. Esther Panitch expresses gratitude to her colleagues after the passage of the antisemitism bill on Jan. 25, 2024. (FOX 5)
The threats targeted state Rep. Esther Panitch, the only Jewish member of the Georgia House of Representatives, and Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar of Temple Beth Israel in Macon. Both women had publicly supported Georgia House Bill 30, which was signed into law on Jan. 31, 2024.
The postcards featured a hand-drawn image of a Jewish man in a rat costume with the words “JEWS ARE RATS.” On the back, Ramos wrote: “Is there a child rape, torture, and murder tunnel under your house? We have the Zyklon B. Use Code ‘GASTHEJEWS’ for 10% off!”
The reference to Zyklon B, the lethal gas used by Nazis during the Holocaust, carried a personal weight for the victims. Both Bahar and Panitch testified at trial that they have family members who were murdered by Nazis using that specific gas.
Georgia’s antisemitism bill
Timeline:
According to court records, the harassment coincided exactly with the landmark legislation:
- Jan. 31, 2024: Rep. Panitch received an antisemitic postcard at her home the morning the bill was signed.
- Feb. 1, 2024: Rabbi Bahar received an identical postcard at her home.
Neo-Nazi activity
Dig deeper:
Evidence presented at trial showed that Ramos operated a home business selling candles and postcards featuring white nationalist and antisemitic themes.
The threats followed a 2023 incident where a neo-Nazi group gathered outside Temple Beth Israel while congregants observed the Sabbath. In early 2024, Rabbi Bahar testified before the Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee in support of HB 30, which Panitch had co-sponsored.
Feds pledge to prosecute ‘any hate crime’
What they’re saying:
“Today’s sentencing of neo-Nazi Ariel Ramos reinforces the FBI’s unwavering commitment to protecting civil rights and sends a clear message that threats based on faith or identity will not be tolerated,” said Robert Gibbs, FBI Atlanta Supervisory Senior Resident Agent.
“Let me be clear: individuals like this defendant will face federal prosecution for criminal acts driven by hatred,” said U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes. “This case underscores that crimes rooted in antisemitism and any hate crime against race, religion, or protected groups, will be prioritized.”
The Source: The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Georgia provided the details for this article.
The University of Georgia is investing $800,000 into a pilot program giving its students access to artificial intelligence tools in the hopes it will keep them competitive in the job market.
UGA President Jere W. Morehead announced the pilot program during his annual State of the University Address on Wednesday.
The program would give thousands of students licenses for AI tools, including ChatGPT Edu and Gemini Pro.
“Faculty and staff already have access to these platforms through their departments, and we look forward to broadening this student pilot in the months ahead,” Morehead said.
The debate over AI use in universities
Many schools initially banned the use of AI after ChatGPT launched in late 2022. But views on the role of artificial intelligence in education have shifted dramatically. The term “AI literacy” was highly discussed as people headed to college last year, with university officials, professors, and students focusing on how to balance the strengths of AI with its risks and challenges.
Learning to use the tools could help graduates secure a foothold in a workforce where the use of AI is causing companies to streamline their operations, reducing plans to hire new employees. According to a report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, companies directly pointed to the use of the technology in announcing 55,000 job cuts in 2025. Companies that have announced AI-related cuts include Pinterest, chemical and plastics manufacturer Dow, HP, and CrowdStrike.
Some educators worry the overuse and misuse of AI programs could decrease students’ ability to think critically and independently or to have persistence when attempting to solve complex problems.
University of Georgia officials emphasized that the pilot program would ensure that graduates are skilled in using AI tools “responsibly and effectively.”
A new school at the University of Georgia
Along with the AI program, Morehead announced that the university’s School of Medicine expects to learn if it will receive preliminary accreditation status by the national accreditation body in the coming weeks. If that happens, the school will be allowed to start recruiting its inaugural class.
This follows the authorization UGA received last year from the University System of Georgia Board of Regents to establish its School of Nursing.
“Together, the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing will expand the university’s transformational impact and place UGA and our graduates at the forefront of improving health care outcomes for people and communities in every corner of our state,” Morehead said.
Construction is continuing on UGA’s $100 million medical education and research building, which is expected to be finished in December.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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