TECHNICIAN
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Raleigh, North Carolina
Gaza empathizers petition politicians to end cease fire
Perdue to hold inauguration ceremonies
James Cox
Governor-elect to hold several parties to celebrate victory
Staff Writer
Students advocate for more humanitarian aid to needy through letter writing campaign Mariem Masmoudi, sophomore in political science, reserved a room in the D. H. Hill Learning Commons Thursday devoted to signing letters addressed to North Carolina federal representatives. The letters urge an immediate cease fire between Israeli forces and Palestinian Hamas, to allow humanitarian supplies to get through, to put pressure on Israel to end the blockade and allow the passage of supplies and strongly encourage the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations to join the international community in condemning the massacre of innocent civilians, Masmoudi said. She also said the letter calls for opening the border to Egypt. “Egypt needs to be more involved in humanitarian assistance as well as solving the problem itself,” Masmoudi said. The inspiration to do the letter campaign came while vacationing in California over winter break. “Three days ago I was in San Diego listening to NPR about what was going on and they were reporting that over 800 children checked into hospitals in Gaza for serious injuries,” she said. After hearing about the injured innocent children, Masmoudi said something really clicked inside. “I went to two protests in San Diego and they were really exciting, but protests don’t really get anything done,” she said. She said she immediately began planning for the event when she returned home, which was aimed to raise awareness of the Gaza crisis. The campaign was something she had never experienced before, she said, but was now in a perfect position to take action. “Obviously it wasn’t an event, per say -- it was just a way to get people excited and to help them feel empowered,” Masmoudi said. She said the campaign she created spread so widely, others around the states began to step up and take action. “The same thing [letter campaign] is going on at [Universtiy of California] Berkley, UCLA, schools around DC, Florida, UNC, it’s really really exciting,” Masmoudi said. Masmoudi said she believes Israel has the right to defend itself, but the response to the attacks is outrageous. “The humanitarian side of Israel’s response is just unacceptable,” she said. “I can’t even begin to justify the loss of their lives.” Masmoudi has many questions and concerns, specifically regarding the banning of inter-
Staff Report
DAVID MABE/TECHNICIAN
In protest to the violence in Gaza, Omer Arif, sophomore in biology, signs a letter that will be sent to members of Congress. Arif said he was signing “just to help out my brothers and sisters — it’s the least I can do.” The letter signing was held in the Learning Commons in D.H. Hill Library Thursday.
national press into Gaza and the opening of an all out war on the people of Gaza. “It’s a concern because what we know is only coming from the Israelis, we have no way to verify,” Masmoudi said. “Of course I don’t think they shouldn’t have retaliated against Hamas, they have not only the right, but the responsibility to defend their citizens,” Masmoudi said. The main goal of Masmoudi’s letter campaign was humanitarian aid. She said she wants the government to provide assistance to more than 3,000 citizens who are injured in hospitals and dealing with dwindling medical supplies. Masmoudi said all people, regardless of their stancs on the situation, should be concerned with the attacks that are taking place. Because of the limited supplies, Masmoudi said the United Nations needs to find alternative ways to get supplies into Gaza, regardless of the blockade. “The citizens of Gaza need those supplies whether Israel attacked the shipment or not,” she said.
Governor-elect Beverly Perdue will celebrate her Election Day victory with several parties and concerts today and Saturday before her official inauguration Saturday morning. Events began Thursday night and will continue this evening with a reception, a Gala Presentation and an Inaugral Ball. The “Governor-elect’s reception,” scheduled for tonight from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Raleigh Convention Center Ballroom, is already sold out. The “Gala Presentation” and “Inaugural Ball” both still have tickets available. The presentation is in the Raleigh Convention Center Exhibition Hall and will feature numerous musicians. Tickets cost $200. The ball will begin at 9 p.m. in the Raleigh Convention Center. Perdue and her Council of State will be sworn in at 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning on the steps of the state library. Following the inauguration ceremony, a parade down Fayetteville Street will feature the Tryon Palace Fife and Drum Corps and area high school bands. The last event, a tour of the Executive Mansion, is scheduled to begin at 2:30 on Saturday. The weekend full of events will not only keep Gov.-elect Perdue busy but will also keep certain Raleigh area streets busy. Jones Street between Wilmington Street and Blount Street will close this morning and remain closed until the conclusion of the inauguration on Saturday
Gov. Bev Perdue. Courtesy bevperdue.com
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Friday: GOVERNOR-ELECT’S RECEPTION Raleigh Convention Center Grand Ballroom 6 to 7:30 p.m. Status: SOLD OUT GALA PRESENTATION Raleigh Convention Center Exhibition Hall 8 to 9 p.m. Status: Tickets available for $200 INAUGURAL BALL Raleigh Convention Center 9 p.m. to midnight Status: Tickets available for $125 SOURCES: BEVPERDUE.COM, JRALEIGH. ORG
morning. Cabarrus Street between Salisbury Street and McDowell Street will also close from noon today until the conclusion of the Inaugural Ball. The parade on Saturday will also impact numerous streets, including Fayetteville Street, Morgan Steet and Wilmington Street. The parade should be over by 2:30 p.m. Saturday. SOURCE: BEVPERDUE.COM
Former student sentenced in shooting Crips gang members and associates receive jail time, probation Preston Boyles Assistant News Editor MATT MOORE/TECHNICIAN FILE PHOTO
A pro-Palesteinian supporter holds a sign calling for the end of U.S. support for Israel during a rally in front of the Bell Tower Monday afternoon.
The letter campaign that began as an idea proved much more successful than Masmoudi imagined. Nancy Jalal, freshman in First Year College, said she signed the letter because innocent people are being killed and have nothing to do with the problem between the governments. Heba Oraby, junior in history, said any humane person should be concerned about why innocent lives are being taken.
“You see what happened with the Holocaust -- this is like a new Holocaust,” Oraby said. “They have nothing to go to, their homes are broken, half their families killed and all they have is rocks to protect them, and it’s really hard. It could be Germans, or Americans, it would still be inhumane.”
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A former N.C. State student, identified as a member of the Crips, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a shooting that occurred in Wolf Village July 28. Ryan Alexander Barnes was sentenced to seven to 10 years in prison on a felony assault charge. Around midnight on the night of the incident, Clarence Grubbs and Carolyn Pittman were sitting outside of the Wolf Village gazebo when three people approached and shot them. The shooting was the second time a person was shot at on campus in 14 months. Wake County Assistant District Attorney Jimmy Wilson said a member of the “Rollin’ 30s Set” of the Crips, Alex Dorsey, ordered Barnes to shoot Clarence Grubbs because he witnessed a robbery case in which Dorsey was involved, according to a WRAL report. Dorsey was worried Grubbs would testify against him in court, which led to the ordered attack. Grubbs was shot several times in the stomach and torso and Pittman was shot once in the foot. Dors-
ey, who was already in jail at the time, was sentenced to 20 to 25 years in prison. Capt. Jon Barnwell of Campus Police who has been involved with the case throughout the investigation said media such as T.V. and movies tend to glamorize gang activity. “Even educated people want to be a part of the gang life, it’s not just those of lower socioeconomic statuses. Students that are capable of making it into college are recruited into gangs at a young age,” he said. “It’s a choice that is made by the individual. Just because you are a good student and excelling in life doesn’t mean you make conscious choices.” Several others had roles in the shooting and were also sentenced. Leroy Barnes Jr., who has no relation to Ryan Barnes, was charged with assault with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and was sentenced to six to eight years. The other suspect in the case, Terrell Maurice Grimes was ordered to undergo counseling. His case will be under further review. Whitney Blakeney, the girlfriend of Ryan Barnes at the time of the shooting, was given a 45-day suspended sentence and 18 months of supervised probation for obstruction of justice.
SPECIAL BACK TO SCHOOL HOURS: Friday - January 9 - 8am to 6pm Saturday - January 10 - 10am to 5pm Sunday - January 11 - 1pm to 5pm