Volume LXX, Issue #10
T H E
V O I C E
O F
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
T H E
N A N O O K ,
Stop the world please I’d like to get off
Y O U R
S O U R C E
F O R
S T U D E N T
N E W S
pg. 7
Handgun fired at Cutler, suspected gunman arrested Erin Granger / Aaron Walling Sun Star
Kate Matthews competes in the 200-yard butterfly during the Nanooks’ meet against Azusa Pacific University on Saturday afternoon. The Nanooks won 124-81 on Saturday, and 123-82 on Friday. In previous years, the Nanooks won only one of the days against Azusa Pacific. Zayn Roohi / Sun Star
Nanooks swimming trounces Cougars Aaron Walling Sun Star
Nanooks swimming enjoyed a great weekend at the Patty Pool, sweeping Azusa Pacific Cougars with aid from sophomore Cassidy Heaton.
The Nanooks look to continue their strong run. After battling their toughest opponent this season, the Nanooks destroyed the Cougars in their second meet with a combined score of 247 to 163. It was Heaton’s swimming scores that
really set the tone for the Nanooks. “Yesterday [Heaton] achieved the team’s first NCAA “B” time standard of the season in her 1000 freestyle,” Head Coach Scott Lemley said on Saturday. Continued “Swimming” pg. 3.
Title IX dominates chancellor’s forum Erin Granger
studying social work, asked Thomas. T hough T homas did not directly reference Wattum’s case, While Chancellor Thomas’s he explained the decisions behind student forum held Sunday evening claiming a suspect is not a threat. was open for discussion of all He said living situations of the subjects, audience members’ concern complainant and respondent, and anger focused on the Title IX evidence and interviews are all taken office’s mishandling of sexual assault into account, among other elements. and rape cases at the university. Melissa Clark, public relations The forum was held in the Hess director for ASUAF, and Colby Recreation area at 7 p.m. Freel, student government and was attended by president, asked about students and faculty the policy for keeping a l i k e. C h a g r i n “Even though the complainants and frustration victim herself didn’t live informed during was expressed, the Title IX spurred by the in the dorms, her sister does, i n v e s t i g a t i o n recent public and to move the suspect back p r o c e s s . c o m m e n t without informing the victim or “ W h a t made by Jessie policies guide Wattum, accuser her family is in my opinion the notification in the recent completely unacceptable.” o f victims Bartlett hall sexual o r r e sidents - Alexis Peppin assault case, regarding of the retur n of UAF’s lack of support the respondent to for survivors of sexual assault. the residence hall or the M a ny c o m m e n t s d i r e c t l y UAF community,” Freel asked. r e f e r e n c e d t h i s c a s e, o n l y “We try to notify complainants to be left u n a n s w e r e d . and respondents involved in the cases “Even though the victim when there are sanction changes herself didn’t live in the dorms, or if there is an imminent threat to her sister does, and to move the the campus community,” Dean of suspect back without informing Students Laura McCollough said. the victim or her family is in my McCollough then began opinion completely unacceptable,” discussing timely notifications in A l e x i s Pe p p i n , a B a r t l e t t reference to the gunman incident resident and fellow student said. o n c a m p u s S at u rd ay n i g h t . “That investigation is currently Both McCollough and Thomas u n d e r w ay a n d s o I c a n n o t emphasized the need in Title speak to specific cases currently IX investigations for fairness for u n d e r i nve s t i g at i o n . S o r r y, ” the complainant as well as the Chancellor Thomas responded. respondent, defending their decision Officials defended their decision to move the suspect from the Wattum to move the suspect back into incident back into Bartlett hall. Bartlett dorm by saying the suspect Sarah Day, an art student, was not confirmed to be a threat. brought up the same point, “Who makes that decision questioning the length of time and how do you decide whether the university should take to someone is a threat or not?” conclude its Title IX investigations. Sher yce Mar shall, a student Staff Writer
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“The federal mandate for the length of time Title IX has to review, investigate and close cases is within a semesters length of time. They recommend 60 days as an appropriate amount of time,” Day said. “However many of your students have shared that their Title IX cases took six months to a year to be concluded, mine took nine months. What is UAF’s policy on how long their cases are to be open, and do you feel UAF is appropriately staffed to close cases and act in an appropriate amount of time?” Thomas, as well as McCollough, mentioned multiple times that the Title IX process is a complicated one, but did not elaborate on the steps involved. Thomas spoke highly of the university’s prevention programs, such as the Green Dot training recently introduced to UAF as well as the Haven and AlcoholEdu training required for new students and employees this year. In the discussion of alcohol as a factor in sexual assault cases, Thomas received immediate comment from audience members. “I would just like to clarify that whether alcohol is involved or not, sexual assault is never the victim’s fault,” Jeff Benowitz, a lab manager for the Geophysical institute, said after taking the microphone. Among other issues discussed during the forum were the tuition raise of five percent to be implemented across UA campuses in the fall of 2017, the need for UAF to have a permanent chancellor and ideas for generating revenue for the UA including the funds raised through a marijuana tax. It was also announced by Vice Chancellor and Executive Officer Kari Burrell that the CSO program will be re-implemented as soon as possible. The program will return at the latest by the fall of 2017, said Burrell.
Campus police have arrested a suspect in connection with a reported gunman at the Cutler apartment complex Saturday night. The suspect, identified as Dijon Lamar Martin, 24, was arrested around 3:30 p.m Sunday on two charges of third degree assault. According to interviews with the suspects, the conflict on campus began at an intersection near the Cutler apartments. Police reports say a male student was on his way to a friend’s apartment when he got into an argument with the people in the suspected vehicle. The student then continued to his friend’s house and was followed by the suspected car. The student entered his friends house and another male student came outside the house. The five suspects, described as one white man and four black men, tried to gain entrance to a party, according the campus police. After the party’s host refused to allow the men entrance, an altercation ensued. The men left and then returned. Martin got into another altercation with a student outside the apartment, waving a handgun around and pointing it at other people, eventually firing a shot into the ground, police said. The student who came out of the apartment later told authorities that Martin pointed the gun at him multiple times before he returned to the apartment for fear of getting shot, according to court records. No injuries were reported in the incident according the university spokeswoman Marmian Grimes. An alert was sent out to students at 11:14 p.m warning o f a g u n m a n o n c a m p u s. “When I first saw him, I thought that I needed get everyone out of the room,” Edward Russel, a 22-yearold Mechanical Engineering student said. “I am happy everyone moved as fast as they did. Before I was done with my phone call, the police were already here. I felt like the alert system was too slow, our response was faster than the alert system.” Students were advised via the alert to avoid the Cutler area if possible, hide, silence their phones and await the all clear message. “Once we got upstairs, we kept quiet, and as safe as possible,” Peter Kelly, 21, a Civil Engineering student, said. “[The UAF alert system] seemed a little slow. The police response was extremely quick.” Fo l l o w i n g t h e g u n s h o t , Martin and the three other men then fled the scene, police say. C a m p u s p o l i c e, w i t h t h e assistance of Fairbanks Police and Alaska State troopers then searched campus and confirmed the suspects had left campus. Continued “Gunman arrested” pg. 3. Like us on Facebook!