The DA 09-30-2010

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THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”

da

Thursday September 30, 2010

VOLUME 124, ISSUE 29

www.THEDAONLINE.com

Drug-related arrests rise on campus BY JOSH COOPER STAFF WRITER

The number of drug violations on the West Virginia University campus has increased by nearly 100 arrests in the past year. Drug violation arrests were 115 in 2007 and 125 arrests in 2008. The arrests increased to 233 in 2009, according to the Annual Clery Report. University Police Chief Bob Roberts stated the drug-violations increase may be because of increaed drug use among

high school students. “Marijuana use has increased at the high school level, and those trends follow on to campus,” Roberts said. “We’re seeing kind of higher numbers than what we’ve been seeing.” The Annual Clery Report, presented to WVU students and faculty by the University Police Department on Tuesday, shows burglary, destruction of property, theft, motor vehicle theft and liquor law violations have significantly decreased since last year.

In 2008, there were 36 burglary arrests compared to 16 arrests in 2009. Destruction of property crimes fell from 123 in 2008 to 100 in 2009. Theft arrests were 229 in 2008, and 160 arrests in 2009. Seven motor vehicle arrests were made in 2008 and three were arrested in 2009. Liquor law violations, which include underage drinking citations and open alcohol containers, was 361 arrests in 2008 and 318 arrests in 2009.

“The most significant drops were in thefts, destruction of property and simple assaults,” he said. “Those three categories are the most prevalent crimes on college campuses.” The decrease in theft may have been caused by an increase in the number of students who lock their doors, Roberts said. “We hope that trend continues, but it goes in cycles,” he said. Roberts added it is not required by federal law for the University to mention thefts,

destruction of property or simple assault categories in the report. He said he feels it is important for parents and students to know these statistics. This was also the first year the campus has seen an incident of arson in three years, according to the report. No murder, manslaughter, non-forcible sexual assault or hate crimes were reported on campus this year, but this is not out of the ordinary, Roberts said. “We typically have not seen

BY SARAH O’ROURKE STAFF WRITER

Chelsi Baker/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

Freshman biology major Tyler Armstrong, left, and freshman business major Michael Peymann, right, eat pizza at Shift Ace Pizza in Sunnyside. The recently established restaurant is not permitted to print its name on signs outside the store because it is considered vulgar.

Pizza shop not promoting store to keep community protected STAFF WRITER

Shift Ace, the new pizza place in Morgantown, is trying to be cautious not to offend people over the name of their establishment. Richard Khoury, co-owner of Shift Ace, which is meant to sound like “s--t faced,” said there has not been any harsh judgment about the name but he hopes it hasn’t upset anyone. “I wanted the students to laugh and enjoy it,” Khoury said. “We don’t want to be attacked by it.” The reason for Shift Ace not promoting their new business around campus has nothing to do with being ashamed of the name but only thinking of the community, he said. “We haven’t been putting up any posters because we haven’t put much thought into it,” Khoury said. “We weren’t

sure if we were allowed, so we left it alone.” Additionally, they were unaware of the right and wrong areas in the community where the name might offend people, he said. They also do not feel it is necessary to display a sign outside the building, Khoury said. Khoury admits that when Shift Ace first opened, he was concerned about people being offended by it but feels that since it is not derogatory it should just be taken as a good laugh. “We don’t think of it as profound language,” he said. “We haven’t gotten anyone that has given us a hard time about it. We just think it is a cool name.” Khoury hopes that West Virginia University supports the business. “We support the UniverChelsi Baker/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM sity 100 percent,” he said. “So A menu for Shift Ace Pizza sits on the bar inside the restaurant. Although the restaurant’s name is printed on the menu, the name is not permitted on its signs and advertisements. see PIZZA on PAGE 2

Cereal box features Children’s Hospital patient BY DUSTIN HOFFMAN CORRESPONDENT

Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes recently featured children who have stories of courage and perseverance on the reverse-side of their boxes, including one of West Virginia’s very own, Danielle Bartlett. Bartlett, an 11-year-old native of Richwood, W.Va., was a young girl living a normal childhood, but found herself constantly thirsty from a young age. Several tests returned nor-

mal, but something was still wrong. Her parents, Eddie and Robin Bartlett, were referred to WVU Children’s Hospital by their family doctor. It was there during an MRI in June 2009, that it was discovered Bartlett had unknowingly been living with a brain tumor since birth. “She had something called a germinoma, which is fortunately treatable and curable in children. For that she was treated with chemotherapy and radiation,” said Stephen Paul,

66° / 54°

RAY-P

INSIDE

Check out an interview with local rapper Ray-P. A&E PAGE 5

RAINY

News: 1, 2, 3 Opinion: 4 A&E: 5, 7, 8, 9 Sports: 10, 11, 12, 14 Campus Calendar: 6 Puzzles: 6 Classifieds: 13

chief of pediatric hematology and oncology at WVU. “I think she has a very good chance of having this tumor remain in remission, hopefully forever, and we anticipate that she will have a normal life span and do anything she would otherwise be able to do. We anticipate that she will have great things ahead of her.” Those great things have already begun for Bartlett, as she has been recognized for her bravery and resilience by being named the state’s Children’s

Miracle Network Champion Child, he said. As West Virginia’s Champion Child, she was publicly introduced, and her story was shared on May 20 at the Sam’s Club in Beckley, W.Va. In addition, she also traveled to Washington D.C. to visit the White House and Capitol Hill in June, and in November, will be a part of the Children’s Miracle Network Celebration event at Walt Disney Resort in Orlando,

see cereal on PAGE 2

THE DA’s YOUTUBE CHANNEL In addition to our print coverage, The Daily Athenaeum posts videos periodically on YouTube at http://youtube.com/dailyathenaeum.

CONTACT US Newsroom 304-293-5092 or DAnewsroom@mail.wvu.edu Advertising 304-293-4141 or DA-Ads@mail.wvu.edu Fax 304-293-6857

joshua.cooper@mail.wvu.edu

SGA debates budget increase

‘S--t faced’

BY Melissa Candolfi

any murders on our campus,” Roberts said. University Police are required by the Federal Clery Act to create the report, which includes WVU campus crime statistics for 2007 to 2009, according to a release from UPD. It is distributed to all WVU students, faculty and staff. If you would like to review the Annual Clery Report in its entirety, visit http://police. wvu.edu/home/clery_report.

INSIDE TODAY’S EDITION The West Virginia men’s soccer team took on Duquesne in an out-of-conference game. The recap will have more details. SPORTS PAGE 10.

Wednesday night’s Student Government Association meeting made SGA history due to a debate concerning the proposed SGA budget increase referendum lasting more than two hours, said SGA President Chris Lewallen. During open student forum, three members of a new student group, which launched on Facebook titled “WVU Students Against SGA Tuition Increase Proposal,” voiced their opinions on the proposed referendum. Lewallen proposed the increase during an April SGA meeting. He said he plans to write a referendum increasing SGA’s budget to $1.4 million. Currently, SGA’s budget is $70,000, which is not enough to fund all the projects and events it wants to accomplish, Lewallen said. Paul Kast, former SGA governor who created the Facebook group, referred to the proposal as a tuition increase and called the budget increase proposal “hypocritical” of the SGA administration. Kast said SGA supported a tuition freeze to keep college affordable for all during its campaign. SGA President Chris Lewallen stated the proposed budget referendum is not a tuition increase but an increase in student fees.

“Its like a tomato and tomato issue,” Kast said. “At the end of the day, we pay tuition, and we pay fees. I don’t see what the difference is.” Lewallen responded by saying the comparison is more like apples and oranges. Student fees and tuition are two separate things, he said. “We as students do not need to give any more money to special fees because some of us quite frankly can’t afford it,” Kast said. “SGA is proposing that if I take 15 credit hours per semester like an average student, I would be paying $60 a year by a $2 fee per credit hour.” Many students do not vote in SGA elections, Kast said. Less than 6,000 students voted in the elections last year. The rest of the student population is not represented by the vote, he added. “I don’t know if the student body can trust an organization which has multiple election violations every year during the campaign,” Kast said. “If you can’t be trusted morally... how can you be trusted with $1.6 million of our money?” Vice President Ron Cheng responded by saying he is forming a group to handle election violations. Kast addressed that SGA said it was looking at other student government associations at different

see debate on PAGE 2

Legal services provided for low-income families through public clinic by jessica leppar staff writer

West Virginia University’s College of Law has developed a child and family law clinic for families of limited income. The clinic started in August 2010 inside the College of Law because there was a need for legal assistance for struggling families in West Virginia, said Valorie Vojdik, deputy director of the Child and Family Law Clinic and associate dean for Faculty Research and Development at WVU College of Law. “I figured that there are a number of unique challenges for families who live in these rural areas and especially for families with children who may suffer from various disabilities,” Vojdik said. “Here at the law school we have the resources to reach out and help those families in need,” she said. Part of the clinic includes a medical and legal partner-

ship between the College of Law and the pediatrics department at Ruby Memorial Hospital, said Joyce McConnell, dean of the College of Law. “The notion here is that children’s health may be directly related to their social and economic circumstances,” Vojdik said. “Medical conditions may be aggravated by poor housing, for example.” Clients must meet income eligibility guidelines to receive the free assistance, Vojdik said. There is no cost to low-income clients for the representation itself. Clients are only responsible for court filing fees the law school cannot cover, McConnell said. WVU law students are available to represent children who are patients at Ruby Memorial Hospital or in the WVU pediatrics department, Vojdik said.

see legal on PAGE 2

WHEN DEVINE GOES DOWN When the West Virginia football team’s starting running back Noel Devine went down, the Mountaineers went with fullback Ryan Clarke. SPORTS PAGE 10


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The DA 09-30-2010 by The Daily Athenaeum - Issuu