The DA 11-12-18

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Ex-Cisco CEO joins with WVU on entrepreneurship program

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@DailyAthenaeum

WVU political parties outline post-midterm plans

The Daily Athenaeum

WVU’s Independent Student Newspaper

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@dailyathenaeum

WVU has plenty of time to put Buffalo loss in rearview mirror

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danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu

MONDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2018

www.daonline.com

Blue Parrot, Model Cleaners destroyed in fire STAFF REPORTS Blue Parrot Cabaret and Model Cleaners on the Mileground were destroyed in a fire early Sunday morning. The fire started around 4 a.m. Sunday, according to the Dominion Post. Brookhaven Volunteer Fire Department could not be reached for comment Sunday. Crews from Brookhaven, Star City, Cool Springs, Westover, Granville and Morgantown fire departments responded to the fire, according to the Dominion Post. Both businesses experienced total losses. Morgantown Public Information Officer Andrew Stacy said the Blue Parrot is not within city limits. The Morgantown Fire Department only provided assistance with a ladder truck.

BY CODY NESPOR CULTURE EDITOR

PHOTO BY TEMITAYO ADESOKAN

The Blue Parrot Cabaret and Model Cleaners were destroyed in a fire around 4 a.m. Sunday. Both businesses are total losses, the Dominion Post reported.

Former student found not guilty in negligent homicide case after vehicle-pedestrian crash BY DOUGLAS SOULE, JORDYN JOHNSON AND JOE SEVERINO DA STAFF Former WVU student Michelle Gelada was found not guilty of negligent homicide on Friday afternoon. The five-man, one-woman jury made the decision after a two-day trial. According to authorities, on Feb. 1, 2018, Gelada, 21, failed to stop at a red light at 6:30 p.m., which resulted in her striking and killing 21-year-old student Leah Berhanu at the intersection of Morrill Way and Patteson Drive. “This case was about decisions,” Prosecuting Attorney Perri DeChris-

WVU students use video games to help fellow gamer in need

topher said during the closing arguments to the jury. Magistrate Judge Sandy Holepit began the closing argument by reading the jury its instructions and the steps it should take to come to a conclusion. To hand down a guilty verdict, the jury must find not only the failure to stop at the traffic signal, but that Gelada displayed beyond a reasonable doubt gross negligence and disregard for human life. DeChristopher argued that Gelada disregarded all the warning signs that were presented before her — the traffic light, the crosswalk and the chance that a pedestrian may be crossing the street. “All of those [decisions] were inten-

tional,” she said. “All of those decisions were made by her.” She claimed that this wasn’t just an accident on Gelada’s part, but that Berhanu’s death happened because of an intentional decision and disregard for the lives of others. “Everyone was in danger from her driving that day. Everyone,” she said. DeChristopher stressed the importance of video evidence that was provided from a Mountain Line Transit Authority bus driven by witness Eric Horvwait, which showed the incident occurring on Feb. 1. “Can it be more reckless to disregard a crosswalk?” DeChristopher asked the jury. Gelada’s defense attorney, David

Grunau, disagreed. He argued the state did not prove there was gross negligence and a disregard for human life, but that this was simply an accident that occurred after Gelada failed to stop at a red light. “That is not present here,” he said. Grunau said Gelada wasn’t texting and wasn’t under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Grunau claimed that because Berhanu stepped out into the crosswalk before the walking signal actually came on, a driver would have “no reasonable expectation” of her being at the spot in the crosswalk where she was hit.

For some, playing video games is just a nice way to pass some time, a distraction from work or school or a fun hobby. For others, playing video games binds people together. It creates a community where people can come together over a shared interest and really connect with one another. And when one of the members of that community is going through hard times, the rest of the community can come together and support them. At WVU, one of those communities is the WVU Smash club. They are a group of students who play the “Super Smash Brothers” fighting games with others around West Virginia. Club President Lucas Haley recently heard about someone who was in need and jumped at the chance to help out. “As far as ‘Smash’ or fighting games go, it’s usually a pretty tight-knit community,” Haley said. “We don’t have hundreds of thousands of people that want to play our game all online at the same time. We have a group of like 60 or 70 of us split between WVU and Marshall and a few others scattered throughout the state, and we all come together to play the game that we love.”

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