THE STUDENT VOICE OF FLORIDA AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL UNIVERSITY
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www.TheFamuanOnline.com
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
NEWS BRIEFS INTERNATIONAL
VOL. 112 ISSUE 22
Warning: Cuts ahead
Former FAMU officer pleads guilty ELLIOTT KIADII CORRESPONDENT
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) —One year after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated the island nation of Haiti, the country is still waiting on the aid it was promised. Americans donated $1.4 billion to private organizations to help survivors, but only 38 percent of that money has been spent on recovery efforts. Since the quake, only 5 percent of the rubble has been removed .
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOCAL An attempted robbery left one man dead on Monday night. The shooting occurred at Bill’s Mini Mart on South Magnolia Drive around 10 pm. Authorities say 23-yearold Andrew Hale demanded cash from the store clerk, who then proceeded to shoot Hale with a personal handgun. An accomplice is believed to be involved in the incident.
SOURCE: TALLAHASSEE.COM
NATIONAL AUSTIN, Texas (AP) —Former U.S. House majority leader Tom DeLay was sentenced to three years in prison on Monday. DeLay was convicted on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors believe that DeLay could be free for months if he appeals. SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
WEATHER Today
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Daune Robin The Famuan President James Ammons holds a discussion in Lee Hall on the restructuring project.
NI’TAVIA JOHNSON CORRESPONDENT President James Ammons summed up the tough decisions the university would have to make in the light of the state’s dire economy and impending budget cuts.
On Monday, Ammons held an open session discussing the restructuring plan for the university and what’s to come. He said enrollment, growth and tuition are the major factors that will help keep the university afloat.
“This process will be challenging since we have already reduced our budget by more than $30 million,” said Ammons. “The only control we have is over tuition and how we grow the university.” MEETING 4
Proctor flips switch on city KRISTIN BRONER CORRESPONDENT County commissioner Bill Proctor bellowed into a microphone his outrage at the city of Tallahassee overcharging its utility customers in his district Tuesday morning. He demanded the city reimburse the $8 million it collected in fees and overcharging its customers. Proctor stressed that the city has $100 million in an account earning interest, but has not made an attempt to compensate the citizens of District 1. “This city is imposing plain sharecropping and plantation practices. The tenant sharecropper never keeps the records or books,” said Proctor
Keenan Doanes The Famuan
Proctor voiced his disdain for the city overcharging for utilities
in his speech at the Renaissance Center on Macomb St. “The owner will keep $8 million dollars worth of overcharges from the customers. This is classism
because the city has a utility system that is regressive. Poor citizens pay more per square foot COT 3
A former patrol officer with the Florida A&M Police Department pleaded guilty to federal charges on Monday and could face up to 10 years in prison. According to the U.S. district attorney’s office, Byron Whitaker, 32, pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and making false statements to a federal agent. Both charges carry a potential five-year maximum sentence. Whitaker is released on bond. During the plea, Whitaker admitted that between January and May of last year, he purchased marijuana from a local drug supplier for distribution. At the time Whitaker was employed as a uniformed officer for the university’s police department and he “negotiated a purchase while on duty in his patrol car,” the release said. “I am very, very, very disappointed by the conduct by someone who has sworn to uphold the law,” said FAMU Chief of Police Calvin Ross. “It’s even more disappointing when one of your own crosses the line especially in the manner which he did.” No evidence has surfaced proving Whitaker sold drugs to students, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Rhew-Miller. Before his dismissal Whitaker had been employed on the force for seven years. He did not have any previous police experience before working for the FAMU police department and was dismissed in December of 2010 when information was
first
announced.
POLICE 3
Haiti anniversary
Relatives connect amid disaster KIMBERLY DANTICA CORRESPONDENT A year has passed since the earthquake that rocked Haiti. Since then I have discovered American Book Award Winner, Edwidge Danticat, is my relative, and have added a new branch to my family tree. Who knew that in the face of a historic disaster, a family connection could be found. I had never met her before, neither had we spoken; but we learned of each other after the disaster struck Haiti. The most I knew about her was The
Dew Breaker, a novel I read for an English class assignment. Before January 12, I had one slightly famous relative. Danticat was sometimes mistaken as my godmother, Aunt Evelyn, who is a broadcast journalist in Canada. “I heard when I was older, over 24, that Evelyn was a radio personality,” Danticat said. “People used to think I was Evelyn.” My aunt knew more about Danticat than I did until after I spoke to my cousin Cristelle after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck. I couldn’t believe our
Special To The Famuan There will be a vigil marking the 1-year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake held at the Eternal Flame today at 6 pm.
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Opinions
Lifestyles
Florida lawmakers flirt with the idea of connecting the state’s major cities with a high speed rail system.
Student Tineisha Sulker chronicles her return to FAMU after a semester of chemotherapy, battling Hodgkins Lymphoma.
Opinions |5
Lifestyles | 8