Florida’s Top College Paper
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Coming to UT
[April 25]
Vol. 76 No. 21
ut.minaret@gmail.com
www.theminaretonline.com
February 26, 2010
Write Love On Her Arms By Sarah Gottlieb Reporter
University of Tampa students eager to hear one young woman’s account of her long struggle with depression and addiction gathered in Reeves Theater last Wednesday. Renee Yohe, who inspired others to begin the non-profit movement To Write Love on Her Arms, was 12 years old when she began cutting herself. Yohe’s story—spanning more than 10 years—tells of depression, selfinjury, homelessness, physical and sexual abuse and multiple suicide attempts. To Write Love on Her Arms is an organization providing hope and finding support for those suffering from mental illness and addiction. The organization took off in 2006 when a group of Yohe’s friends decided they wanted to find a way to pay for her treatment. Yohe, now sober, tours by herself to tell her own story in the hopes of helping others. “I came from a good home,” Yohe said at the beginning of her address to the crowd in Reeves. “My parents loved me very much and I guess if anything it almost invalidated things I struggled with on the inside.” Yohe struggled with depression and panic attacks at a young age. After cutting herself for the first time when she was 12, she started experimenting with alcohol and drugs. After one night of drinking, she was raped. Later on she attempted suicide and her parents put her in counseling. Yohe said she did well for a while, but by her senior year in high school was again drinking and cutting. At the age of 18, she left home to live on the streets because she wanted to protect her family from her behavior. “My story entails a lot of things like that,” Yohe said. “There were a lot of patterns of running and of trying to protect other people from me and getting myself in trouble.” While living on the streets, Yohe was again raped. She went back to the person who raped her, staying for months in an abusive relationship. Yohe’s parents soon begged her to go to rehab. “Again, it was not the cure-
See “Love” [4]
See page [5]
Running on ‘E’
Abby Sanford/The Minaret
LASER Team vehicle parked outside Vaughn Center
The World Behind
Fake ID statistics for UT conducted through a random & anonymous walk-by survey sample taken of 80 students:
Fake IDs 64% By Beth Giddens, Kasia Lorenz-Kruk & Katelyn Soja Journalism II
A night of fun cut short, handcuffs around your wrists and over $4,000: this is the story a University of Tampa student’s fake ID scandal. And all because of a two inch by three inch laminated sheet of paper. Mary Smith, whose name has been changed because she asked for anonymity, never knew how much one night could end up costing her. She says it all began when she was out to dinner with friends and plans suddenly changed. Everyone decided they wanted to go to the Dallas Bull, a wellknown Tampa night spot for country music fans. She had bought a fake ID from a store who makes them in her hometown, but she didn’t necessarily want to use her fake ID that night because the Dallas Bull was 18 and up.
However, she didn’t have her real ID on her at the time, so she had to use her fake. “I guess an undercover cop was checking IDs at the door, acting like a bouncer.” Smith said. “When the cop took my ID from me, she looked at it for a minute, but then went straight to her car. The ID had my real name and information on it, so when she ran my name she found out the ID wasn’t real.” Smith said she was immediately arrested and put into the cop car, along with her friend who had also used a fake ID. “I was really nervous, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. The ride to the police station was so weird. First they took us to the local station,” Smith said. Once there, the pair got inside a paddy wagon that held people who were arrested for different things: homeless arrests, prostitution and DUI’s. Then they were all finally
said they have or have had a fake ID
48
said they do not know what the legal consequences of a fake ID are in Florida
53
%
said getting a fake ID is pretty easy
61
River’s Future Addressed [2] Restoring Plant Park [5] And the Winner of CMF 2010 is... [8] The Stylist/ Fashion Week Rewind [11]
Summer Jobs [14] Working at Marriage [15]
Steadiness is Key [17]
“If you want peace, work for justice.”
%
know someone who got in trouble using a fake ID
See “Fake IDs” [5]
Inside ...
%
Four Game Sweep [18]
News......................[1-6] Diversions................[7] A&E ...................[8-11] Commentary......[13-16] Editorial.................[15] Sports................[17-20]
[Henry Louis Mencken]