Technician
monday march
12 2012
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
New trend in art classes combines paint and wine for a night for those of age Community art studios are offering a new kind of class that attracts older students and citizens alike. Juliana Deitch Staff Writer
A new trend in the Triangle is art studios that offer both a night of fun and an intensive painting class via
wine and art. The studios encourage participants to come and bring their own wine or beer, and with step-by-step instructions, a local artist leads a two or three hour class. Even the most inexperienced painter will come away with a great piece of art to hang up at home. The pieces vary from animals to landscapes, buildings, flowers, objects and even a Picasso or Monetinspired piece.
Polka Dot Palette opened in Cary in January 2010. Brandon James owns the studio along with his wife, Amy. Polka Dot Palette has adult classes for ages 16 and up, teen classes for ages 11 and up and kids classes for ages six and up. Adult classes are $30 and kids classes are $20. The studio also has summer camps, track out camps, private parties and on-site parties. The studio has recently done an outdoor painting class on a college campus and
even a bachelorette party. James said some people don’t understand what Polka Dot Palette is and what it does. While the classes are art instruction classes, the main point is for people to come out and have a good time, bring a bottle of wine, beer or even water and hang out with friends. “The wonderful thing is that it has opened people up. There are so few creative ways to express yourself artis-
tically without doing it on your own,” James said. The step-by-step classes are for all types of artists, even inexperienced ones. “People will say ‘I can’t draw a stick figure,’ and 90 percent of people who leave are impressed with themselves and take a lot of pride with the paintings they’ve done,” James said.
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Young found guilty after two long trials Despite allegations of juror misconduct, the second of Young’s trials has reached an end and a guilty verdict. Anna Riley Staff Writer
Jason Young, the N.C. State alum on trial for the death of his wife, was found guilty of first-degree murder, Monday, March 5. After nearly 10 hours of deliberation, the jury, made up of eight women and four men, handed down a unanimous guilty verdict. Young ‘s conviction carries a life in prison sentence without the possibility of parole. The trial that began with opening statements on Feb. 6 and concluded with a guilty verdict on March 5, was Young ‘s second appearance in court after his first trial in the summer of 2011 was declared a mistrial. According to prosecutors, the second time around they wanted to present the jury with enough information to reach a unanimous decision. “We tried to give this jury more information so that they could make the decision, and they did,” prosecutor Becky Holt said on WRAL.com. Though the state ‘s case was primarily based on circumstantial evidence, two new key witnesses were introduced in an effort to dissect the weeks and days leading up to Michelle Young ‘s death. During the trial, the state used the testimony of Michelle Young ‘s therapist and also the daycare worker who witnessed the Youngs ‘ 2-year-old daughter Cassidy acting out an attack with her dolls. According to reports of the trial, during testimony the therapist painted a picture of an unhappy and lonely wife who, she said, seemed to be verbally abused. After 18 days of testimony, the state
and defense teams rested their cases and the jury was released to deliberate the fate of Jason Young. While one juror, Anthony Fuller, called the trial “emotionally draining,” he said he and his fellow jurors had to look at the evidence and consider the testimonies without being emotionally biased. While it is typically uncommon to find someone guilty of first-degree murder with little or no physical evidence, Fuller said in a WRAL report that the jurors began looking at the many coincidences surrounding the case and the evidence. In the report Fuller said, “we started naming all these coincidences, it was like ‚Äòhow do you just have this many coincidences? ‘“ In a CNN report, another juror, Melissa Axline, said there was a great amount of circumstantial evidence piled against Young. Axline said she initially thought Young was not guilty but soon changed her mind after carefully examining the “mountain” of evidence that pointed to him. The other jurors seemed to agree. The report stated jury forewoman Tracey Raksnis said there were two main pieces of evidence that helped them reach a guilty verdict. Those key points of evidence were, she said, that the clothes and shoes that Jason Young had been wearing the night of murder were never found, and Cassidy Young’s feet and pajamas had been cleaned after she left bloody footprints around the house. “She was cleaned up. I don’t see anybody else [but Jason Young] doing that. If this was just a robbery, I don’t think you pay that kind of attention,” Raksnis said in the WRAL report. Like Raksnis, Axline said one of the crucial points of evidence was Young ‘s missing clothes after the night of
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alex sanchez/Technician
Alex Johnson, Lorenzo Brown, Jaqawn Raymond and Jay Lewis celebrate as the freshmen substitutes score during the final minutes of the game against Boston College Thursday, March 8. The Wolfpack won 78-57 and advanced to the ACC Tournament quarterfinal.
Wolfpack earns NCAA bid N.C. State scheduled to face San Diego State in NCAA Tournament. R. Cory Smith WKNC Pulse of the Pack Co-host
After finishing tied for fourth in the ACC in the regular season with an overall record of 22-12 and 11-7 in the conference, N.C. State earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005 as the No. 11 seed. The Pack will face San Diego State Friday. Just one year into the Mark Gottfried era, he has turned around a team that finished with a losing record and 5-11 in the conference into a tournament team. Despite not beating UNC in three attempts, Duke or Florida State, the Pack finished with two
wins to end the season and advanced all the way to the third round of the ACC tournament after beating Boston College and another tournament team in Virginia, but lost a controversial contest against the Tar Heels, 69-67, down the stretch. State is one of only five teams from the ACC to make it to the NCAA Tournament, with Miami being left out and UNC, Duke, ACC Tournament Champion Florida State and Virginia making the 68-team field. WKNC Pulse of the Pack co-host and Technician Sports Editor Emeritus Cory Smith spoke with members of the Wolfpack shortly after their NCAA Tournament bid was announced.
Brown: I was actually asleep when they made the announcement. It was taking a little too long and I fell asleep for a bit and woke up to everyone jumping on me and everyone was celebrating. It was amazing. PoP: What did Mark Gottfried say to everyone after the team’s name was called? Brown: He was just like, ‘this is a great opportunity for you guys.’ Myself, personally, I just want to thank the fans and everyone that supported us. Nobody believed in us except for ourselves and our fans. I just want to thank everybody for believing in us. PoP: How big of a deal is it for you after last year finishing with a losing
Lorenzo Brown Pulse of the Pack: What was your initial reaction when you heard the announcement?
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Wolfline addresses Centennial Campus commuter concerns regarding routes NCSU Transportation and Student Government are looking for ways to optimize Wolfline service. Jatin Bhatia Staff Writer
There have been growing student concerns related to Wolfline service to Centennial Campus and the Avent Ferry Road/Gorman Street corridor.
There has been a constant demand for a dedicated bus route to Centennial Campus and engineering buildings that are used by a large graduate student population who reside on Avent Ferry Road and Gorman Street. Wolfline has tried solving the issue by introducing Route 10 Southside circulator. Joshua Privette, chair of transportation and campus safety commission for Student Government, shed some light on the ongoing process of addressing this issue.
“One thing that Transportation has done this year is initiate Route 10 Southside circulator. This does serve the Avent Ferry Road area, it does not go up to the corner of Avent Ferry and Western, but serves the Avent Ferry Road between the crossing of Avent Ferry and Gorman up until it hits the Varsity Drive stop, which is obviously one of the main entrances to Centennial Campus,” Privette said. He added that Transportation is looking to optimize this route to help
out graduate students living off campus that don’t have cars. “I know that the Transportation department at N.C. State is aware of this problem and they are working on something as a remedy for the graduate students that don’t have cars in this corridor in general. Transportation is looking to expand [Route] 10 but I’m not sure how. There is a plan in works for that,” Privette said. Because the Wolfline Route 10 does not serve the engineering buildings
many graduate students need access to, they have to walk down from the Research Drive stop served by [Route] 10. “Student Government is always looking to advocate for all the students. The Avent Ferry and Gorman problem is something that we have tried to address because it is a concern that we got from the beginning,” Privette said. “There is a large segment
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insidetechnician University employee arrested; charged on sex offenses
A Dining Operations employee was charged with a sex offense on Friday. See page 3.
Toyota’s image unmarred despite recalls See page 5.
Howling Cow provides sweet treats for students See page 6.
NC State Class Ring
Pack goes 2-1 in ACC Tournament See page 8.
Men’s tennis sweeps double header See page 8.
viewpoint features classifieds sports
LAST CHANCE TO ORDER! 3/12-3/14 11am to 6pm at NC State Bookstore
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