Wednesday, October 10, 2012
94th year • Issue 9
Rockets head to Ypsilanti to face Eagles /7 Serving the University of Toledo since 1919
Inside
election 2012
Famous entertainer visits UT, encourages students to vote By Russell Axon Rocket Life Editor
Senior linebacker steps into leadership role / 7
www.IndependentCollegian.com
Hip-hop artist will.i.am briefly visited UT Monday, Oct. 8, as a representative for the Obama campaign. The musician encouraged a crowd of students in the Student Union Building to vote in order to improve education and opportunities for
lower class citizens. “I come from the projects, and [there are] people in my neighborhood that are not brought up to speed,” he said. The singer said he remembered touring in Toledo many years ago and that the community is “important,” especially its college students. “I care about the … youth in
college [and] the debt they’re going to have when they get out of college,” he said in press conference. “So them going out and [voting] is going to prepare for jobs in the future.” In an exclusive interview with the Independent Collegian, the musician said See Entertainer / 3
Kyle Tate / IC
Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas signs the voter registration form of Erica Domaleczny, a sophomore majoring in biology.
Protesting the wall ‘Orpheus’ to be performed at UT / 9
Crime
Instructor suspended after drug charges By IC Staff
Homecoming attendance could have been better / 4
In brief Hate crimes vigil to be Thursday A hate crimes candlelit vigil is slated for 8 p.m. on Thursday on the steps in front of the Student Union Building. The vigil is to remember those who were victims of hate crimes, hate speech, bullying and other behavior that led to suicide or murder. It is hosted by Spectrum and the Sexual Assault Education and Prevention Program Candles will be provided, but Spectrum is asking for attendees to bring a lighter if possible.
UT Professor of Jazz to be honored in New York UT Distinguished Professor of Jazz Jon Hendricks and three others were honored by the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine last week in New York City. The organization awarded Hendricks the Wonderful World Award, an honor they bestowed upon in him for emulating Armstrong’s legacy as a musician and humanitarian.
Bob Taylor / IC
Butheina Hamdah, president of Students for Justice in Palestine, and Nathan Leroux, a sophomore majoring in music education, finish construction on their drywall barrier on Tuesday. The barrier, which symbolizes a wall in the West Bank, will be part of a demonstration today in front of the Student Union Building steps.
Daylong demonstration to protest wall in West Bank By Danielle Gamble News Editor
Students will build and literally break down barriers today in Centennial Mall in protest against the separation barrier in the West Bank of the Jordan River. Students for Justice in Palestine, a pro-Palestinian organization of students, faculty and community members, will place a physical wall on a sidewalk in front of the Student Union Building steps. The project was created as a representation of the barrier that separates Israel and Palestine in the Middle East, known as the Apartheid Wall by many Palestinians.
While UT’s wall consists of two drywall panels, four feet wide and eight feet tall, it represents a concrete barrier as high as 25 feet in places and expected to stretch about 470 miles in length. Butheina Hamdah, president of SJP and a graduate student studying political science, said while Israelis refer to it as a “security fence” in order to protect citizens from civil warfare and violent attacks, it disrupts Palestinians’ ability to live peacefully. “It completely surrounds the West Bank, which is one portion of the Palestinian territory, and divides
crossing check-points along the wall are a source of “human rights violations.” “You have Muslim women being stripped naked in the road, you have people with medical emergencies being detained and dying, you have pregnant woman in labor trying to get to a hospital across the border, and where do you think their baby is born? In a car at a border crossing,” he said. Hamdah lived in the West Bank when she was 13 and remembers seeing the barrier firsthand. See Demonstration / 3
See Suspended / 3
Student’s talent brings joy to Union By Jennifer Ison Staff Reporter
correction In last week’s special Homecoming edition, there was a factual error in the article “Getting to know the spirited fans behind the masks.” Blue Crew was reported as being founded in 2001 when actually they were founded in 2000. We apologize for the mistake.
that from Israel,” Hamdah said. “It’s justified for security measures, but it’s a disproportionate use of force by the Israeli government.” During the event, some SPJ members will dress as guards and roll play with other members dressed as Palestinians, and actors will simulate a barrier check point by asking students to show identification. “We don’t want to obstruct people’s way, but they will take notice,” said Nathan Leroux, a sophomore music education major and SJP member. Leroux said the border
A part-time University of Toledo Spanish instructor has been removed from the classroom after being arrested in connection with what Toledo police are calling the largest seizure of psychedelic Thierry mushrooms Charged with in Ohio’s possession of history. psychedelic Sara Thier- mushrooms with intent to ry, 38, was sell. arraigned Sept. 26 in Toledo Municipal Court. Thierry, her husband and three others have been charged after police found a psilocybin mushroom-growing operation spread over several locations in Toledo and one in Whitehouse. Sgt. Joe Heffernan, public information officer for the Toledo Police Department, said police discovered the operation after someone called from a pay phone around 4 a.m. Sept. 16 to report a burglary at 2454 Woodford St. Police responded to the call and found a “massive grow operation,” Heffernan said. A trail of evidence then led authorities to the other locations and a total of 137 pounds of drugs, he said, though he could not discuss further details about the ongoing investigation. In a warrant filed in Toledo Municipal Court, police said the quantity of
Bob Taylor / IC
Samm Keyys plays the piano in the Student Union Building.
In the Trimble Lounge of the Student Union, students can often hear the velvet sounds of a live piano as they study or pass by. More than likely, the music is courtesy of sophomore business major Samm Keyys. Keyys, whose real name is Samm Hogan, said he plays in the Union when he has a certain feeling and needs to wind down. He plays there several times a week, usually for hours at a time.
“Music is a manifestation of your dreams and experiences — the music you make is an extension of who you really are,” Keyys said. He plays some classical pieces, but Keyys said he plays pop and other contemporary genres just as often. He said he receives and appreciates requests from listening students. Butheina Hamdah, a firstyear political science graduate student, said she finds Keyys’ music “tranquil.” “I’ve heard him as I walked by before, but I’ve never had
the chance to sit and hear it,” Hamdah said. “I’m really glad to have caught him playing today — he’s really good.” Though Keyys insists on playing by ear most of the time, he can read music and has been playing the piano since he was 5 years old. He began his musical education at the Rainey Institute in his hometown of Cleveland. Keyys said as a child, he heard his future piano instructor playing and he curiously came into the room. See Talent / 3