Archive for the ‘Student Life’ Category

March 4th, 2010 | 02:56 pm

Five things you should know about if you’re going to riot …

So I trust everyone had a good time last night. We at The Diamondback certainly did, working until 4 a.m. on our respective stories.

It occurred to me that people may have forgotten what actually happens to students who participate in riots — the last one was in 2006 after the women’s national championship game, which is before this senior class even came to the university. If you need a refresher and you either weren’t downtown last night or don’t remember much from last night, here’s some things you should know:

They look ready for a pinata party ...

> They come in a Tank: When the county and university forces gear up for a potential riot, they make sure to pack their guys into what basically is an armored bus. Last night, the “tank” moved in and deployed units to “disperse” students who reportedly had set fire to a tree near Montgomery Hall. If you see it coming, you should probably start moving in the opposite direction. It doesn’t have a cannon, just a whole lot of officers inside with riot shields and nightsticks.

> They don’t have “rubber” bullets, but they have something that stings: When I asked University Police spokesman Paul Dillon last night if riot-control units were using rubber bullets, he corrected me: “We have FN 303s.” It’s known as the “less lethal launcher,” and it’s what the Army uses to get people to stop throwing stones at them. It appears from this video to be pneumatically powered, sort of like a paintball gun, but it takes people out. I wouldn’t want anything called “less lethal” pointed at my body.

>Tear gas is not fun: How do we know police used tear gas last night to disperse the crowd? At least four of our staff members got hit with the stuff, and they’ll be the first to tell you it sucks. There were reports last night of people who had their eyes swelled shut, and as you can see from this video of a Canadian protest, it also causes nausea. What should you do if you get sprayed in the face? Our staff recommends rinsing the afflicted area with milk to help neutralize the chemicals in the gas. Otherwise, you’re in for a long night.

> They can call in the cavalry: Some students were surprised to see officers on horseback — don’t be. University Police and Prince George’s County Police had teamed up with Park Police to get in mounted officers. Dillon observed that the horses were pretty effective at getting people to move away, and as we all know from Braveheart, it’s pretty hard to win a battle without cavalry.

> You’re not just going to get arrested: That’s right, you can be kicked out of school. Any students arrested can also be referred to the Office of Student Conduct for university sanctions. Although in the last riot sentencing was relatively light, the administration has warned in the past that any punishment for students involved in a riot would be harsher than last time. That means mom and dad won’t be too happy.

Final Note: For those who got injured in the rioting, if you’re looking into legal action against the cops, be aware that precedent is not on your side. A student injured in a Duke riot in 2005 sued county police officers after he said he was shot with what he claimed was an FN 303 round near his eye, but he lost the case. The message police drew from that was if a student is in a crowd of rioters, they’re part of the riot — even if they are trying to help other students or covering the event for student media. Maybe you’ll have more luck, though.

Posted in Police, Student Life | 2 Comments »

February 25th, 2010 | 12:19 pm

Afternoon Roundup: Crime and No Punishment edition

At this university, reports of sexual assault have dropped in recent years: From 1998 to 2003, there were 30 reported rapes at the university. In the past five years, that number has dipped to about four.

However, in my time as a crime reporter, I’ve learned several factors affect sexual assault reportage. For example, some victims have difficulty going to authorities to point out their attacker, so many assaults could theoretically go unreported. Also, some victims might rather go to the University Health Center or an advocacy group, in which case the rape may never be reported to police.

These reasons and more were pointed out by the Center for Public Integrity in a December article about the barriers to reporting sexual assault. However, the center has revealed something incredibly shocking in their latest report which came out yesterday: Even those who do identify their attackers don’t always get justice.

After a survey of university health professionals and examining data about sexual assault cases at major universities, the report says many assailants, even after being found guilty, receive a slap on the wrist. The story details the case of a victim at Indiana University (above video) who learned that the man who raped her as she lulled in and out of consciousness would be suspended for a summer semester in which he was unlikely to attend school.

Unfortunately, her story is not uncommon at all: The center interviewed 33 victims, and although in more than half the cases the suspect was found culpable by a school judiciary, only four assailants were expelled — two of them were already repeat offenders. In addition, the victims of assailants who stayed in school were prone to drop out or transfer in the fear that they would have to see their attacker again around the campus.

Typically, it’s up to a journalist to be objective, but as a human being, I think it’s safe to say this problem needs correcting.

Quick Hits

> Two in-state colleges have named new university presidents this week. The Baltimore Sun reports that Jay Perman, who was the dean of the University of Kentucky’s medical school, will be taking over the University of Maryland, Baltimore. In the more eastern part of the state, St. Mary’s College of Maryland has announced Joseph Urgo, who was a vice president of Hamilton College in New York, will be the bayside school’s new president, according to The Washington Post. Let’s hope this university is the next in line to get a new one — Dan Mote is only around until Aug. 31.

> The fallout from the ill-fated and misguided “Compton Cookout” continues. At the University of California, San Diego, the school held a teach-in session on stereotyping in an effort to reach out to black students after a UCSD fraternity held a part mocking Black History month. But most students walked out in the middle of the session to hold a vocal protest of university attitudes toward one of the schools most obvious minorities, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Posted in Police, Student Life | No Comments »

October 7th, 2009 | 11:46 am

Morning Roundup: Campus Crime Edition

The University is no longer one of the most dangerous campuses, despite the best efforts of this guy.

Crime at this university has traditionally been a problem, but the latest crime numbers from Cleary reports by University Police indicate a continuance of the general downward trend in crime since its peak four or five years ago. But not all universities are doing so well when it comes to crime, particularly colleges in the state.

The Daily Beast recently made a ranking of both the 25 safest schools in the U.S. and the 25 most dangerous schools. Guess what? The University of Maryland at College Park  isn’t on either! But there are some familiar faces (all info gleaned from The Daily Beast):

  • University of Baltimore, No. 14 Most Dangerous: The campus’ surrounding area isn’t too safe, with 29 robberies and 10 aggravated assaults in 2007.
  • Bowie State University, No. 9 Most Dangerous: Our PG county neighbor had 46 burglaries and eight assaults in 2007.
  • University of Maryland – Eastern Shore, No. 6 Most Dangerous: This school of 4,000 people was one of the smallest schools assessed, but has a high rate of burglary and aggravated assault.
  • University of Maryland – Baltimore, No. 3 Most Dangerous: Again, campus safe, neighborhood not. There were 18 assaults, 12 motor vehicle thefts and 16 robberies in their general area in 2007.
  • University of Virginia, No. 7 Safest: “The most serious offenses that occurred on campus were two burglaries in 2007.”

I’m sure many of you need basis for comparison: UMCP had nine robberies, 12 cases of aggravated assault, 97 burglaries and 44 motor vehicle thefts in 2007, but because the student body is so large, the rate is lower because there are less crimes per student.

Do you really think the state of Maryland houses four of the top-25 most dangerous schools in America? Well, The Daily Beast talks about their methodology, which involved mainly browsing through Education Dept. statistics from 2006 and 2007 and developing their own complex weight system for the seriousness of the crime. They acknowledge in their rankings are seriously influenced by the surrounding environment, meaning low on-campus crime does not translate necessarily to a “safe school.” The evidence? Baltimore-based schools take a hit, but so do prestigious schools in Boston: Harvard is on the list, MIT is No. 5 and arts college Emerson is the most “dangerous” school in America. Also, the Old Line state’s strict crime-reporting laws hurt the local colleges and universities — they have to report crime in the surrounding area more rigorously than schools in other states  (The Daily Beast acknowledges this in the rankings).

So basically we’re looking at outdated information with subjective weight system and rate judgements that hurt schools in states with better laws about crime reporting. Plus, to be fair, this is not a measure of police effectiveness — a lot of these schools have very safe on-campus environments. Just don’t walk off them.

Quick Hits

Posted in Police, Student Life, Uncategorized | Comments Off

September 30th, 2009 | 12:24 pm

Afternoon roundup: Petition Edition

Students, faculty and staff from California's public universities protest last week over steep budget cuts. Courtesy of the New York Times.

Yes, it’s the inaugural Campus Drive afternoon roundup, and don’t worry, we planned it that way.

Some of you may have read in today’s Diamondback about the university-based VegTerps and the national group peta2 calling for students sign a petition to boot McDonald’s out of the Stamp Student Union food court. They reportedly have about 2,200 signatures. “Sure it’s great to hold fast-food joints accountable for their inhumane slaughtering practices,” you’re saying to yourself. “But it makes me wonder what other kinds of petitions are circulating at other universities.”

Glad you asked. The economic struggles of the universities in this state are often compared favorably to the miserable perils awaiting the California higher education system. On the verge of massive budget cuts, university system faculty signed a walkout petition to protest the burden of budget woes being placed on the shoulders of students and employees “who can least afford it.” Malia Wollan of the New York Times has the story:

‘Everyone agrees there is a budget crisis and that the university must respond,’ said Joshua Clover, an associate professor of English at U.C. Davis who was a co-author of a petition calling for the faculty walkout on Thursday. The problem, Mr. Clover said, is that the administration’s handling of the budget cuts ‘disproportionately harms those who can least afford it both among the workers and the students.’

The online walkout petition was signed by 1,221 of the 19,000 faculty members statewide. A union representing more than 11,000 university professional and technical staff members supported the protest and called a one-day strike.

In Pittsburgh, the location of the recent G-20 summit, you may have heard about the riots and protests that went on — if you read Campus Drive, that is. Now the university administration is reviewing student arrests to sort out who was caught up in the rioting and who was an innocent bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time. Students are organizing a petition, which could have as many as 400 signatures, to speak out against the actions of police and the arrests. As The Pitt News‘ Liz Navratil and Estelle Tran report, some of the apprehensions are a little sketchy to say the least:

At least six of those students had extenuating circumstances, [Pitt Police Chief Tim]Delaney said. He mentioned one student who had a hearing impairment. Delaney asked the student to get a note from his doctor. He said he knew of at least one student who had swiped out of Benedum Hall and was on his way home.

Finally, we round out the roundup with a story about a petition everyone who parks on the campus can probably relate to: A University of Southern Alabama student has begun collecting signatures to fight for better parking. The Vanguard’s Alex Whalen recorded the anonymous student’s complaints:

‘Right now we’re just trying to see how many students are having problems [with parking],’ the student said, citing the inadequate size of parking lots and the number of parking permits issued as major reasons for the problem.

Many students have echoed very similar concerns, pointing out that paying for a parking permit should guarantee them a place to park.

‘There are students [who are] not going to class because they can’t afford the tickets,’ the student said. ‘[Students] are getting here 30 to 45 minutes before class and there’s nowhere to park.

‘The [USA] police are fanatics [about ticketing] … and the JagTran makes you late for class.’

Aww, Southern Alabama … tough life. Try parking in Lot 1 sometime.

Quick Hits

  • The Daily Collegian is reporting the Penn State chapter of Alpha Tau Omega has been suspended following the death of a freshman student last week. It is the second fraternity suspension that university’s Interfraternity Council has made since the student’s body was found.
  • A cautionary tale for academics from The (Baltimore) Sun today: A postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore was found dead after overdosing on a drug commonly used to treat heroin addiction. Police found large quantities of drugs at her residence. Her most recent paper? Results of a study on “compulsion and habit formation.” Yikes.

Today at Maryland

  • The Marine Corps is hosting a fitness challenge on LaPlata Beach from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. — and ideal event for all lovers of push-ups and sit-ups.
  • Red flags will be out on McKeldin Mall today signifying the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. October actually starts tomorrow, but who really looks at their calendar anyway?

Posted in Administration, Police, Student Life | Comments Off

September 23rd, 2009 | 11:42 am

Morning Roundup: The Stand By Your Mascot Edition

Testudo Repairs

Testudo wasn't the victim of a crime. He'll be back soon. Matthew Creger/The Diamondback

Just about everyone who’s in the know is concerned for the well-being of Testudo in front of McKeldin library. Seeing him wrapped in a tarp and caution tape just doesn’t feel quite right. But as reported in The Diamondback this morning, Testudo will be OK — his foundation is being repaired. Hopefully is makes you realize how lucky you are to have such a lovable mascot.

For example, St. John’s University hasn’t even had a mascot during the last 10 years. According to the New York Daily News, a panel of students and administrators met last fall and worked to come up with one and asked students to vote on their best ideas. On Sept. 18, they revealed their new figurehead: The Red Storm Thunderbird.

St. John's University is taking a vote amongst their students to name it's new mascot, a Thunderbird.

This bird will be storming the sidelines at St. John's University. Courtesy of SJU athletics.

Students and fans will now be asked to vote on a name for their winged warrior from a fabulous selection: Bolt, Spirit, Surge, Stormy or Johnny. The other options in the original poll were the Red Storm Bear, the Thunder Horse, the Red Storm Dog and the Storm Hero, a comic-book-type character.

Well someone must have told Tulsa University the superhero was vacant, because Tulsa World is reporting TU has given their hurricane mascot a makeover. Enter Captain ‘Cane, the first human incarnation of the hurricane that’s been TU’s mascot since 1977.  Their old mascot, an awkwardly shaped hurricane, was voted second-worst mascot in the nation by Foxsports.com, only better than Stanford University’s tree.

Finally, we should recognize some mascots might not be official, but still dear to us nonetheless. This is the case when it comes to a new tenant at Concordia University. Although the university’s mascot is the Cougar, as you can see from this local news broadcast, they’ve adopted a more fitting mascot: A chicken.

The power of live TV journalism … aren’t you glad we have Testudo now?

Quick Hits

  • In actual news, The (Baltimore) Sun is reporting the state is again the richest in the nation, as measured by median home value, median income and several other factors reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. Ironically, the state is also anxiously awaiting poverty figures which will be released next week, as Maryland is usually among the states with the highest poverty rates. Does that make sense to you?
  • The university system announced Brit Kirwan, the system chancellor, has won a Carnegie Academic Leadership award for his commitment to undergraduate education excellence. The award carries with it a grant of $500,000 to be used for discretionary academic purposes. That should fill the multi-million dollar budget gap.
  • Yesterday,  24 academics became recipients of MacArthur grants, a $500,000 award for being a genius — literally. The New York Times listed the recipients, but noticeably absent among the winners was a representative of this university. Professors at the University of Maryland have won grants multiple times in recent years.

Today at Maryland

  • Journalist Abayomi Azikiwe will be giving a lecture on the global economic crisis and its effect on African diaspora at 7 p.m. in the Nyumburu Center in the multipurpose room.
  • Student group Invisible Children at College Park is screening a movie, The Rescue!, at the Hoff Theater at 7 p.m. The group aims to raise awareness of children of war victims in Uganda. If for no other reason, you should also go to catch a movie in the Hoff this semester before it shuts down.

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September 22nd, 2009 | 03:22 pm

Budget Cuts Town Hall Meeting Liveblog

Note: This is not a complete transcript and is shortened and paraphrased in many places.

11:20 a.m. —

University police were told doors opened at 11:30 a.m. After initial confusion, people are inside. Two security guys with earpieces are flanking the front row.

12:00 p.m. —

President Dan Mote, VP for Administrative Affairs Ann Wylie, and Provost Nariman Farvardin will be answering questions starting now. Senate Chair Elise Miller-Hooks is moderating.

12:01 p.m. –

Mote makes introductory remarks: “We’ve tried our best to protect our people. There’s no perfect plan. We did our best to try to distribute this the best we could.”

12:03 p.m. –

Staffer: Those making less than $30,00 a year “will suffer quite a bit.” We think the spreading out of salary reductions idea is pretty good.

Mote: Two furlough days for those making less than $30,000 is less than 1 percent of their salary. That was the best we could do.

SGA President Steve Glickman: “This university prides itself on access, but we remind you that access without quality is not quality at all.” Why don’t students have a seat at the negotiating table, like at Towson or other USM universities?

Farvardin: My advisory committee has student representatives. All significant changes will go through various committees that have student representatives on them.

12:05 p.m. –

Staffer: Why are closure days split up between winter and spring break?

Wylie: Friday during Spring Break is a payday, we have to have people to give out paychecks.

Malcolm Harris, student who ran for SGA president last year: How can you ask everyone to pitch in when there’s no accountability or transparency?

Mote: The budget is in the library, making it more available would be very expensive.

Wylie: We have full transparency, much of budget is on our website. “It’s a very complicated budget.”

Malcolm Harris: “That’s just not true.”

(more…)

Posted in Administration, Student Life, University Senate | Comments Off

tags: , , ,
September 17th, 2009 | 09:20 am

A long line in the middle of the night

[at about 6:20 a.m.]

It’s cold.  It’s dark.  It’s freaking raining.  But hundreds of people are in line in front of the Comcast Center, drinking coffee and trying to figure out which security people are Secret Service.  Holy crap folks, Obama is really coming.

The line at the Comcast Center at about 5:20 a.m.

The line at the Comcast Center at about 5:20 a.m.

A little after 4 a.m., the line was modest.  About 35 people were chilling out inside the Lot 6 parking garage, putzing around and talking about how they weren’t expecting to be at the front of the line.  Freshman letters and sciences major Raquel Zuniga, who showed up at just before 4 after not going to sleep, was at the front of the pack.

“It’s a little epic,” she said. “He came last year and I missed it.  I’m not going to miss it this time.”

(more…)

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Posted in City, Student Life | Comments Off

September 16th, 2009 | 11:14 am

Morning Roundup: Other universities are progressive edition

You probably woke up this morning thinking, “Gee, I just love how progressive my university is.” But maybe our beloved university isn’t as progressive as it could be, at least relative to schools that are popping up in the news lately.

Wouldn't you like your next class to look like this? Art courtesy of Nintendo.

For example, wouldn’t it be great if you could get college credit for playing video games? Well that’s what the University of Houston is doing. According to the Houston Chronicle, students are excited about a new class which consists of playing Wii Fit 20 to 30 minutes twice a week. Although studies have shown so far that the original Wii fit and Wii Sports is not a replacement for the real thing, school administrators seem to have embraced the idea that some exercise is better than none at all.

Actually, Wii Fit is being advertised at Ritchie Coliseum as an activity for students, but to our knowledge, there is no “Wii class” available. And no university yet has a Halo 3 class, so you can’t say you’re doing “homework” every time  you plop down in front of an XBox360.

But progressive is not always better: Just look at many universities around the country that have done away with dining trays. The Los Angeles Times reports California schools are dropping trays to serve both environmental and economic interests. In fact, universities as close as Catholic University in D.C. have instituted trayless policies.

But students have complained the measure is an inconvenience, forcing them to balance their plates more precariously and forcing them into multiple trips within their college cafeterias — Northern Michigan recently brought their trays back. More importantly for students, the article points out, without trays, how would they go sledding on snow days?

Quick Hits

  • It is worth mentioning that our university is featured prominently in both the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun websites this morning, but it’s also stuff you’ve already heard about from us here at The Diamondback: Obama and swine flu. How original, right?
  • The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on a U.S. Education Department study projecting college enrollment will increase in diversity, and the increase of female enrollment will be almost double the increase in male enrollment by 2018. To break it down for the underclassmen guys out there: Your odds are getting more favorable.

Today at the University

  • President Dan Mote is giving his annual State of the Campus address in room 0200 in the Skinner building. Two presidential addresses in two days — imagine that.
  • The First Look Fair opens today on McKeldin Mall. Go get free stuff, and definitely stop at The Diamondback table.
  • State Attorney General Doug Gansler will be in the Atrium of the Stamp Student Union celebrating Constitution Day from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. He didn’t realize Obama was coming tomorrow.

Posted in Research + Technology, Student Life | Comments Off