Fall 2016 issue04

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CAMPUS LIFE Is the College hiring too many alumni? | PAGE 8 SPORTS Women’s soccer opens Landmark Conference with a win | PAGE 11

The Etownian

www.etownian.com

Vol. 113. Issue 4

Thursday, september 29, 2016

Junior arrested for possession of LSD, two students detained for substance abuse in single weekend by Kelly Bergh News Editor

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he weekend of Sept. 9 through 11 saw the arrests of two students on campus at Elizabethtown College as a result of substance abuse. Junior Keenan McLaughlin, resident of Vera Hackman North Apartments, was arrested by the Elizabethtown Borough Police at 12:22 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10 for marijuana possession and the presence of the synthetic drug LSD. First-year Jack Myers was arrested at 3:13 in the morning on S ept. 11 for public dr unkenness, disorderly conduct, purchase of ethyl

alcohol by a minor and for carrying false identification. These circumstances were both in violation of the Student Code of Conduct. Typically, the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities (SRR) deals with oncampus crimes internally. “When we have on-campus incidents that involve alcohol or drugs, most of the time it’s handled through the student conduct process,” Andrew Powell, Director of Campus Security, said. “But there are times when, depending on the type of drugs we find or amount of drugs, we’ll decide to get the borough involved, and then they will, more times than not, go forward with

criminal charges.” In McLaughlin’s circumstance, a call from concerned fellow students alerted Campus Security to the use of synthetic drugs by five students and one unregistered guest in an apartment. Officers searched McLaughlin’s room, where they found LSD and marijuana, as well as dr ug paraphernalia. Elizabethtown Borough police officers detained him. “He walked out in handcuffs,” an observer, who does not wish to be named, said. This bystander and another student, who asked to remain nameless, believe that the incident is being “swept under the rug” by the College. As it stands, McLaughlin has

yet to be expelled or punished in any way. He is still living in the same apartment. The other drug users scattered, with one, a resident of the Quads, rumored to have alcohol poisoning. There is an entry in the Daily Crime & Fire Log for the same night in the same location that reports an alcohol violation that was referred to the SRR. Campus Security allegedly told other sober students to drive the unregistered guest to a motel. Jack Myer, who is under 21 years of age, was arrested for public intoxication outside of Ober Residence Hall early in the morning on Sept. 11. SEE DRUGS PAGE 2

Seniors announce class gift Duckweed covers Lake Placida, by Kelly Bergh News Editor

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he Elizabethtown College Class of 2017’s Senior Gift will be a well, to be donated to an African village that needs clean water. All funds raised by the class will be donated toward the Water Project, which will consistently put the money toward building a well in a community in either Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda or Rwanda. Traditionally, the Senior Class Gift benefits the campus community fairly immediately. Other proposed Class Gift ideas included an eternal flame or paving the edge of Schlosser Loop, creating a sidewalk so that students might avoid having to shift over for cars driving through. Previous class gifts include the garden atop the BSC roof, trees, the clock in front of the BSC and the arch leading into the Schlosser Loop. “We decided to do something the College has never attempted to do before,” Ramon Rios, senior and President of the Class of 2017, said. The money the class gives to help build a well will be used immediately; seniors will have the unique experience of seeing the progress as it’s made. Building a well typically takes eight to 10 months. At the very least, the ground will be broken by the time the class graduates on May 20, 2017. The class chose to work with the Water Project to establish a well in Africa because of the charity’s reputation. They employ safe techniques to ensure clean water and do not drill too deep. The community that will benefit from the well works directly with the Water Project, and community leaders actively play a role in its creation. “It’s not just a white man’s burden,”

Rios said. The effort will be collaborative and demonstrate just a little bit of world peace. The well as the Senior Gift is intended to symbolize the transition between being seniors in college to alumni who give back. The Class of 2017 aims to earn “a few” thousand dollars, according to Rios. A single well costs 12,000 dollars, so the College will be donating a bulk of these funds.

provides project opportunity

“We decided to do something the College has never attempted to do before.”

-Ramon Rios

The senior class’ goal is not an exact amount of money. Rather, it is ideal if every member of the class donates any amount before graduating. To incentivize giving, business cards, Etown-branded glasses and raffle tickets to a 200 dollar diploma frame will be offered as rewards. To reflect the benevolence of the class, Etown will be installing a decorative fountain on campus that uses recycled water. A plaque will be displayed next to it verifying that it represents the “life-saving water” made available in Africa by the Class of 2017. Senior Madison McCall noted that the class donating the well instead of purchasing something for the campus is an example of the seniors fulfilling the motto of their soon-to-beAlma Mater: “Educate for Service.”

Photo: Jacob Hopkins| Asst. Photography Editor

Lake Placida is currently covered in a type of duckweed that gives it a slimy green coating.

by Cierra Stevens and Stephanie Miller Staff Writer and Asst. News Editor

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species of duckweed called Wolffia has covered the surface of Elizabethtown College’s Lake Placida, making the lake appear green and obscuring the view of the water. Wolffia is the smallest flowering plant in the world. “There’s not much to [Wolffia], but they can reproduce very quickly and spread,” Associate Professor of Biology Dr. David Bowne said. According to Bowne, nitrogen and

phosphorous in Lake Placida gave the duckweed fuel to grow. The nitrogen and phosphorus floated to the lake’s surface, creating the perfect conditions for both algae and duckweed. When this vegetation dies, it sinks to the bottom of the lake, where bacteria begin the decomposition process. This process pulls oxygen out of the water, but that is not an issue because the lake’s oxygen is continuously replenished by the water from the lake’s fountain. SEE LAKE PAGE 3

Constitution Day celebrates document’s current applications of the Etownian, senior Tiana Ferrante, former president of the College Republicans, and sophomore Amanda Hafler, the president of Young Americans for Liberty. Dire c tor of Diversity and Inclusion Dr. Monica Smith mediated the panel. The panel answered four prepared questions before allowing time for audience questions. The first topic covered by t h e p an e l w a s ab out w h i c h constitutional issue will be the most important for the future Photo: Jacob Hopkins| Asst. Photography Editor president of the United States. All BriceWilliams shows his patriotism in a photoshoped image for Constution Day, responses of the panel indicated as produced by Dr. Colin Helb’s students in his Digital Media Convergence class. that the Supreme Court was a primary concern. to the events of today. The panel discussed how there by Emily Seiser Assistant Professor of currently is a vacant seat within Staff Writer Sociology and Anthropology Dr. the Supreme Court due to the Rita Shah and Associate Professor r i d a y , S e p t . 1 6 w a s of Political Science Dr. Kyle death of Supreme Court Justice C onstitution D ay, but at Kopko, were the two professors Antonin Scalia. The Supreme Elizabethtown College, it was o n t h e p a n e l . T h e s t u d e nt C ou r t h a s an e v e n am ou nt celebrated Thursday, Sept. 22 members were sophomore Aileen of Democrat and Republican with a panel discussion focusing Ida, the president of the College Justices at this time. Kopko said during the on how the Constitution applies Democrats and Features Editor

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discussion that this new Justice will “change the ideological makeup of the court.” Beginning in 2013, a new law was enacted requiring voters to show photo identification in order to vote to eliminate voter fraud and make sure the election regains its integrity. The panel was split over whether this law is effective. According to Kopko, in order for this law to be effective, there must be ways for the voters without a photo identification to get one for free, but this process will help prevent voter fraud. Ferrante said that this process is effective in preventing voter fraud and also essential because no one “wants to vote with dead people.” Shah brought to the audience’s attention that voter fraud is not as big of a concern as people make it seem; according to the information she presented, only 31 voter fraud cases occurred between 2000 and 2010. Hafler

stated in the discussion that some political parties can use the lack of an identification “as a scapegoat to discourage minorities from voting for their party preference,” which Shah and Ida agreed with the information. The p opular topic of gun control was also brought up in the discussion panel. The majority of the panel agreed that the right to bear arms was a Constitutional right, but there also must be some form of background checks. In the discussion, Ida stated that it is “easy to say criminals are getting guns illegally, but they’re not.” Besides background checks, education about weapons before they are purchased was also viewed as important by many of the panel members. Another controversial topic was that of political correctness and its relation to the freedom of speech. Political correctness has only recently started conversation. SEE CONSTITUTION PAGE 2


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