Sipping a beer in a lawn chair on the roof of your Knox Box may soon be against city code, after residents of College Park’s 3rd District complained to their councilwoman, Stephanie Stullich.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, the College Park City Council reviewed a slideshow of houses with furniture on their roofs, which Stullich said the city should consider banning for safety and aesthetic reasons.

“I do get complaints about this kind of thing from residents who are concerned that it’s unsightly, unattractive and not appropriate for the neighborhood,” Stullich said. “Also, it does seem like a safety hazard.”

Stullich said she was especially concerned with roofs that have no type of railing or protective barrier to prevent falls.

Rooftop lounging isn’t terribly common, officials said, but Stullich said it’s still an issue the city should consider addressing.

After a short discussion on Tuesday, the council decided to consider specific wording changes to the city code at its Dec. 7 work session.

-By Alicia McCarty. Photo by Matthew Creger/The Diamondback

Four journalists from Bhutan, Bangladesh and Pakistan in the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program spoke to a small group — with no students present — in Knight Hall yesterday afternoon about their most horrific experiences while fighting to unearth the corruption in their respective nations.

Rinzin Wangchuk, an editor for Kuensel, Bhutan’s national newspaper, explained how he was called an “unscrupulous” editor for publishing a story about the flawed health-care system in Bhutan. He said many of the challenges he faces are due to the small and intimate population in his country.

“Bhutan is a small society. … It’s a nation of just 600,000 people. So I could write a story, and five or six people I know could be affected by it,” Wangchuk said.

Nadeem Shahzada, who is the bureau chief of The News International of the Jang Group in Pakistan, recounted the personal attacks he has received for various stories he’s written about corrupt businesses and leaders.

He said journalists in his country have to grapple with pressures from both the government and high-profile leaders who would prefer their silence.

“We face two types of pressure: one pressure from the state, and the other pressure from influential people like politicians, like mafias, gangs, gangsters,” he said. “So they pressure you sometimes, they kidnap you, and they teach you a lesson for not obeying them.”

After each journalist explained an “unpopular” story they uncovered and published, they found they had much in common. All of them have been accused of giving inaccurate or one-sided reports but said this backlash is part of the fight against corruption.

“It’s really hard for journalists to find out what actually we are doing. It’s investigative reporting; we are fighting against corruption. Every day we are reporting about mismanagement and about imperfect systems,” Angur Monty of Bangladesh said. “Our media owners are politicians; our media owners are big economic persons who have a very big influence in the society. We can’t publish the real thing.”

— By Yasmeen Abutaleb. Photo by Orlando Urbina/The Diamondback

There’s a new Facebook fraud on the Internet, and it’s not your typical celebrity — it’s new university President Wallace Loh.

The faux-Loh Facebook account was created in the weeks leading up to the real-life Loh’s first day on the job, Nov. 1. And for the 153 social networkers who virtually befriended the fake Loh as of last night, his profile seemed legitimate.

So far, the Facebook impostor hasn’t made any outlandish anti-administration statements or posted negative comments. In fact, the page displays accurate information about Loh, such as that his hometown is Shanghai, his current city is College Park, his relationship status is “married” and he’s looking for networking.

But the real Loh has never updated a status, created a profile or even logged onto Facebook at all.

“This is an impersonator,” he said. “This is serious because others don’t know that it’s not my Facebook.”

University spokesman Millree Williams said administrative officials are working to report the site to Facebook and get it taken down so Loh isn’t misrepresented by an administrative wannabe.

Under the biography section, the fake Loh wrote, “I look forward to meeting with all students and bettering the university in any way possible. Please, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.”

Several Facebook friends posted encouraging and welcoming messages on his wall. One friend even tagged “Loh” in his status, which read, “YOU MY MAN SON!!!”

Lisa Crisalli, an undergraduate university senator, said the pretend Loh sent her a friend request several weeks ago, which she promptly accepted.

“I thought he had a really proactive marketing team,” she said. “We were all impressed he’s reaching out to students in that medium. It’s just really odd.”

— By Lauren Redding

These Humans — from left to right, sophomore mechanical engineering major Alexander Ryan, sophomore Chinese major Peter Douglas, sophomore aerospace engineering and Chinese major Jason Hagler and junior mathematics major Jonathan Poplawski — know they have nothing to fear from their Zombie friends as long as they’re in the dining hall. Photo by Leah Villanueva..

And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid and the Zombies shall eat lunch with the Humans.
Well, only for as long as they are indoors, anyway. Once they step outside, it’s all-out war.

On the 10th day of the vicious, campus-wide, two-week battle of Humans vs. Zombies, where Humans — as indicated by the red bandanas on their forearms — armed themselves with Nerf guns, foam swords and Koosh balls to fend off the ever-growing horde of Zombies.

These Zombies, who wear the bandanas around their foreheads, aim to snatch the Humans’ scarves to transform them into fellow undead.

Armed with two foam swords and a powerful Nerf machine gun, sophomore aerospace engineering and Chinese major Jason Hagler had fought long and hard to stay alive these past 10 days.

“Since first stepping off my turret into this dark, zombie-infested land,” Hagler said, “I have slain many a brain-eating beast, but the horrors continue.”

But many Human comrades had been lost along the way. Junior mathematics major Jonathan Poplawski said he fell to an alpha Zombie on the very first day of battle. Sophomore Chinese major Peter Douglas said he was ambushed in the dark by three Zombies last Thursday outside the Physics building.

With many of his friends now turned to foe and human casualties climbing by the day, Hagler said the fight for humanity may be bleak, but the war is far from over.

“We’ve lost a lot of good men and good women,” he said. “But we tend to carry on so that their losses may not be in vain.”
But since — as a rule — Zombies and Humans cannot attack one another indoors, Hagler and his Zombie friends put down the Nerf guns to enjoy lunch in the South Campus Dining Hall on Thursday.

“They remain with us in a way, which is kind of nice,” Hagler said of his Human-turned-Zombie friends. “Except now they want to eat our brains, which is not so nice.”

— By Leah Villaneuva

Run. Jump. Flip. Repeat. For 10 minutes.

Sound like fun? Personally, I’ve never experienced a more fun (and dizzying) way to raise money, but that’s what the Gymkana Troupe does at Flip-A-Thon every year.

Earning a penny or two per flip from a variety of sponsors, Gymkana members raised thousands of dollars to help cover the transportation to its events at other schools. We didn’t break last year’s record of 1,098 flips in 10 minutes, but our 1,026 double-mini trampoline jumps were still respectable.

Flip-A-Thon was more than just a fundraiser; it also showcased several of Gymkana’s novelty acts such as chairs, ladders and partner balancing interspersed with the two rounds of front flips, back tucks, twists and doubles.

Though the troupe did not use any fire — which is usually associated with Gymkana shows — audience and team members alike were on the edge of their seats, and perhaps a bit dizzy, the entire show.

— By Sarah Meehan. Photo by Matthew Creger/The Diamondback

Tuesday night’s episode of Jeopardy hit a little close to home for several Terps that were tuned in to the iconic game show.

In the first episode of Jeopardy’s College Championship, three students — Lea Tottle from Florida State University, Erin McLean from Boston University and Hans von Walter from Southern Adventist University — faced off, competing for a grand prize of $100,000.

When a contestant selected the $2,000 question in the category “College Hangouts,” here’s what flashed on the blue clue screen of America’s Favorite Quiz Show:

Who knew the home of late-night hobo fries would be worth so much in trivia?

Now, however, only one question remains: Would you have known the answer to the $2,000 question?

As the Department of Transportation Services reports hundreds of pedestrian-bicycle crashes on the campus every semester, students often disagree about who holds responsibility for avoiding such accidents, the commuter on foot or on wheels.

Although university rules state that campus bikers are supposed to share the road with cars and avoid sidewalks, many students on two wheels find it easier to cut across the mall or glide down the sidewalks on Campus Drive to get to class.

And at speeds that can approach 20 mph, not many people are going to stop them.

Despite the obvious dangers of sharing the narrow sidewalks with what some consider two-wheeled weapons, some students believe responsibility is a two-way street between those on wheels and those on foot to ensure every student makes it to class in one piece.
Sophomore engineering major Hilary Hoffman said when faced with a biker barreling down the sidewalk, it’s important for students on foot to get out of the way.

“Half of the time you don’t know where the bike is going and you’re playing the back and forth game,” Hoffman said. “The students [walking] have more control and can switch from side to side.”

Other students said it’s a matter of pride to determine who has the right of way.

“If a biker is coming towards you, you shouldn’t just be stubborn and not move out of the way,” junior mechanical engineering major Paul Henning said.

Despite how students feel about sidewalk cyclists, most have come to accept that as the university continues to push for greener transportation, bikers aren’t going anywhere — or at least they aren’t moving to the road.

Instead, students like senior communication major Jackie Basso are considering lessons from elementary school before stepping out onto campus sidewalks.

“It’s the same rules that apply when you’re driving a car,” Basso said. “If you’re driving a car, you should try not to hit people. And if you’re walking, you should try not to get hit.”

-By Claire Saravia

After the Oct. 12 brawl that police say started in Thirsty Turtle and ended in bloodshed outside — what many view as the beginning of the end for Turtle — off-duty Prince George’s County Police officers who worked at Turtle on the side made a quiet exit from their secondary job.

County police had been working at Turtle since it opened, but the number of incidents they observed there presented the off-duty cops with a conflict of interest, according to District 1 Commander Robert Liberati.

“When you’re working extra duty, you are bound by our regulations, but your pay and insurance is handled by the establishment that hires you,” Liberati said.

He said his officers learned of the infractions committed by Turtle and, if they acted, would not be able to provide adequate security to the 3-year-old bar.

These infractions, he said, reached beyond the Sept. 23 compliance test that compelled the county Board of License Commissioners to revoke Turtle’s liquor license and the stabbing that planted Turtle’s name across regional headlines.

“We weren’t there to ensure there wasn’t underage drinkers,” he added. “Even though that wasn’t our function in there, we still have the obligation to make sure laws are being followed.”

He said his department learned through a variety of sources that bouncers let many underage students through Turtle’s doors and that bartenders over-served many patrons.

“If they would have to actually police the management that’s paying them, that’s a conflict of interest,” Liberati added.

He noted up to 100 of his officers use their off-duty time to do police-related work on the side. He said it would be impossible for the officers to cite all of the underage patrons and fulfill the duties that Turtle employed them to do.
Because of that, supervisors instructed police to withdraw from the controversial bar.

“That brings in another aspect of enforcement that we would have to follow through on,” Liberati said.

— By Ben Present