Flagstaff Weekly News Brief - Feb. 20

Cheng, Delta Chi, victims respond to Jones’ sentencing

Brady Wheeler

Less than five years ago, NAU students woke up on a Friday morning to a frenzy of missed calls and texts from their family. As the campus approached the early hours before sunrise, Oct. 9, 2015, the sound of gunshots rang through the silent night sky, eliciting fear of a mass shooting.

Minutes later, four students were treated for gunshot wounds outside of the Mountain View student-housing complex, as police exhausted the possibility of multiple gunmen. Then-freshman Steven Jones identified himself as the sole perpetrator to the police. Senior Colin Brough died at the scene.

Former student Reid Kemp, who graduated spring 2018, still remembers what it was like to be on campus during the day that followed the shooting. Both he and his roommate received concerned messages from their parents.

“[Parents] were just worried,” Kemp said. “What scared people the most is that it technically happened on campus.”

Years separate the NAU community from the incident — years that included hearings, witness accounts, victim testimonies and a mistrial — but grief and confusion still ripple through the city. Coconino Superior Court Judge Dan Slayton, who sentenced Jones to six years in prison on Tuesday, Feb. 11, said the case “has been troubling for our community, for citizens of the state, even for the nation.”

Following a plea agreement between prosecutors and Jones last month, Jones faced between five and 10 years of prison time prior to the sentencing. Slayton cited Jones’ lack of criminal history, cooperation with police and age as mitigating factors, which led to his decision.

Jones was sentenced to six years on one count of manslaughter and received five years each on three counts of aggravated assault. Jones can serve the sentences concurrently, which amounts to six total years in prison based on his longest sentence.

Colin Brough’s father, Doug Brough, said that even after Jones’ guilty plea, he “is still getting the benefit of the doubt” and the process has been “one-sided,” according to the Associated Press.

“It doesn’t bring my son back,” Doug Brough said of the sentencing.

While both sides argued at the sentencing over whether fraternity involvement played a factor in the incident, Doug Brough spoke highly of his son’s fraternity, Delta Chi, and the support his family has received from the brothers. All four victims were members of the fraternity.

Delta Chi President Sean Hamilton prepared a statement for The Lumberjack on behalf of the fraternity. “We continue to mourn this senseless violence against our brothers,” Hamilton said. “Our focus now is on continuing to build ties across Greek life and within the larger Flagstaff community.”

Rita Cheng was just beginning her second year as NAU’s president when the student body woke up to the news of the campus shooting. Classes remained in session that day following the incident, as Cheng assured students they were safe. Cheng did acknowledge that Oct. 9, 2015, was “not going to be a normal day at NAU.”

After Jones’ sentencing, Cheng offered her thoughts to the family and friends of the victims. “This has been a tragedy for all the individuals involved, as well as the NAU and Flagstaff communities,” Cheng said. “While the criminal case may be over, we recognize that the families and friends of everyone involved will grieve for years to come. They will continue to be in my thoughts.”

Gun violence is an anomaly at NAU. The Jones shooting was the first deadly shooting at the university, which was founded in 1899. Prosecution attorney Lou Diesel, a longtime practitioner of law in northern Arizona, noted the unprecedented nature of the case.

“We don’t have mass shootings in Flagstaff,” Diesel said. “This doesn’t happen here.”

ABOR Meeting: Students, alumni demand Cheng’s resignation

Trevor Skeen

NAU students and alumni attended the most recent Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) meeting at ASU to demand the termination of President Rita Cheng. Members of the NAU Young Democrats and Jacks 4 NAU were among the Feb. 13 session’s participants, and numerous student-group representatives who addressed Cheng’s alleged inability to lead and incompetence.

Junior Sage Taylor said his favorite professor has resigned due to Cheng’s leadership. Although Taylor committed to NAU for the affordability, scholarships and education, he also expressed a willingness to leave the university, should Cheng stay.

“[My favorite professor] didn’t have to leave NAU, he chose to. And he explicitly told me it was because of President Cheng’s inability to effectively lead,” Taylor said during the ABOR meeting.

Taylor said over the last year, the W. A. Franke College of Business has struggled with faculty retention and involvement. This conflict has potentially stemmed from numerous debates between the college and administration, including Cheng.

“The professors in the Franke College of Business have terrible things to say about their fight with Rita [Cheng] over funding, class sizes, pay cuts and accreditation,” Taylor said in a text interview.

NAU President Rita Cheng talks about NAU welcome week at the Arizona Board of Regents meeting, Sept. 19, 2019.

Brian Burke | The Lumberjack

Separate from coursework, Taylor is employed at the Coconino County Democratic Party as an organizer and intern coordinator. This experience has given Taylor the chance to collaborate throughout Flagstaff — with NAU, local businesses and community members — subsequently adjusting his perception of the university.

Since January, questions about Cheng’s authority and leadership have only intensified. A letter regarding student concerns about Cheng’s leadership was recently circulated between students, faculty and alumni via social media.

The #RitaResign Coalition, which originated through this letter from the NAU Young Democrats, demanded Cheng’s immediate resignation following a surprising state audit. According to various reports, including an exclusive article in The Lumberjack, the audit disclosed approximately $40,000 in improperly documented travel expenses.

“The issues that are raised are either old or not factual,” Cheng said to The Lumberjack addressing the letter calling for her resignation.

When the #RitaResign movement started, Taylor was a prominent member of the NAU Young Democrats. Although the coalition’s efforts continue, Taylor expressed a sense of pride and justice that developed from contributing to the campaign.

“The #RitaResign movement is not over. It won’t be until NAU has a new president, and I’m proud to say that I was an instrumental part in the beginning of this great student coalition,” Taylor said. “Too many people think students don’t have a voice, but when we work together to fix the issues that really matter, our voices can’t be silenced.”

David Slipher, a 2009 NAU graduate and the founder of Jacks 4 NAU, also participated in protests at the ABOR meeting. He said Cheng’s leadership reflects short-term desires, rather than long-term intentions, which likely harms all of Flagstaff. He added that her tenure has revealed a refusal to admit blame, along with an unwillingness to create open and sincere dialogue. Contrastingly, Slipher added that the academic community deserves transparency and honesty, something he said Cheng withholds.

“What NAU needs and deserves is long-term, generational investments, not a higher ed get-richquick scheme,” Slipher said to ABOR. Despite any concerns about NAU’s growth or Cheng’s decisions, the university has advanced — in economic impact, employment and enrollment — since her hiring in 2014.

According to the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis, the university’s overall enrollment in spring 2014 was 24,407 students. Six years later, at the start of 2020, enrollment was measured at 27,998 — an increase of 3,591 students and a rise of 14.7% proportionately. Regardless of the consequences associated with higher enrollment, Cheng has furthered the university’s undergraduate and graduate population in the Flagstaff Mountain campus, statewide locations and online.

For the Flagstaff campus specifically, enrollment has expanded by 3,043 students since spring 2014. At the start of 2020, the student population was measured at 20,812, as compared to the 17,763 recorded attendees of the Flagstaff Mountain campus back when Cheng was hired. Similar to NAU’s total enrollment around the state, this figure depicts an increase of 17.1% since the beginning of Cheng’s tenure, according to the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis.

Similarly, NAU’s economic impact has grown throughout Arizona. According to a report prepared by the university and Alliance Bank of Arizona, NAU contributed approximately $1.845 billion to the state economy in 2014. Just a few years later, during academic year 2017-18, updated figures document NAU’s economic activity at an estimated $2.64 billion. These figures demonstrate an escalation of $775 million over a relative three year period.

Finally, when Cheng was hired, the university facilitated 20,344 jobs around Arizona. According to the same economic contributions study from academic year 2017-18, NAU produced over 24,000 jobs throughout the state, which also represents a considerable increase from a few years prior.

Regardless of NAU’s documented development since the beginning of Cheng’s employment, other attendees of the ABOR gathering also spoke against her. Junior and NAU Young Democrats President Calli Jones addressed the regents.

“During President Cheng’s time at NAU, our school has seen a rapid decline in the student and faculty experience,” Jones said.

While professing this disappointment in the college experience, Jones also established a comparison between elected and appointed leaders. Jones said Cheng should still be evaluated and scrutinized, even as an appointed figure.

“We ask that every elected official practice good governance, why would we not ask that of every appointed official?” Jones asked during the meeting.

Taylor said university presidents should be held accountable for their behaviors and beliefs. Furthermore, as influential leaders, they must collaborate with the entire academic community in a meaningful and progressive manner. Taylor said university development focuses on more than blind growth.

He explained that in the future, when NAU searches for prospective presidents, it should follow these fundamental principles.

“NAU deserves a president who will listen to the student body and the faculty, and who leads from a place of service with the intent of supporting the university, not just growing it,” Taylor said.

Regardless of the complaints and questions stemming from ABOR attendees, the regents are not allowed to address any public comments. Cheng, ASU President Michael Crow and UA President Robert Robbins, along with other appointed representatives, discussed different matters throughout the meeting, including legislation, academic affairs and education attainment.

Additionally, the recent dispute regarding Cheng’s tenure has reasonable comparisons. During an interview Monday morning, Slipher juxtaposed the #RitaResign Coalition to an incident at the University of California, Davis — with former Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi — that started with a pepper spray occurrence in 2011 and concluded with her resignation in 2016.

According to numerous articles in The Sacramento Bee, Katehi’s public relations controversy intensified because of the original pepper spray encounter, alleged raises for her daughter-in-law, first-class flights, high-end hotel rooms and the “scrubbing” of online search results yielding negative stories. Slipher said these mistakes are similar to the recent debate regarding Cheng’s international travel expenses.

Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California system, allegedly prepared to demand Katehi’s resignation, also according to The Sacramento Bee. However, the news was leaked, leading to the chancellor being placed on investigative administrative leave before her eventual resignation Aug. 9, 2016.

Slipher said Cheng could face similar consequences for her actions, and during the ABOR meeting, he demanded the president’s termination — effective immediately.

Moving forward, Cheng will host her annual spring campus forum March 3 at the High Country Conference Center, providing a chance for students and faculty to address university administrators.

Babbitt Academic Annex to be replaced

The Babbit Academic Annex, located on north campus, is set to be torn down in the future, Feb. 15.

Sharon Holtaway | The Lumberjack

Nicholas Bratcher

NAU released its Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal years 2020 through 2022, which detailed future plans for buildings across campus. Released September 2018, the 67-page report included many details for improvements to campus structures, while two long-time NAU buildings, Babbitt Academic Annex and Peterson Hall, were slated to be torn down. According to the report, Babbitt and Peterson are scheduled to be replaced by a Multi-Discipline Academic Research Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) building. The two departments that currently reside in Babbitt — the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Global Language and Culture — would be relocated to a classroom office building, as indicated in the report.

According to Cline Library’s Special Collections and Archives, Babbitt was built in 1958, and Peterson in 1960. For the first few decades they stood, the two buildings served as dorms. In 1990, Babbitt Hall was converted to the Babbitt Academic Annex to house the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Global Language and Culture. Peterson became home to several departments, including graduate assistant offices for the English and history departments.

Patricia Frederick, chair of the Department of Global Languages and Cultures, said there have been positives and negatives with being located in Babbitt.

“Many of us have been here for almost 30 years, so it has become a home to our faculty and students,” Frederick said. “But as it is a 60-year-old building, it has numerous problems: flooding, plumbing and electrical problems. These are all huge issues for us.”

Daniel Okoli, vice president for Capital Planning and Campus Operations, and Stephen Vedral, the director of Planning, Design and Construction, explained the future of Babbitt. Vedral said the whole process would occur over several years.

“The actual process would not begin until summer 2021 when the buildings would be torn down,” Vedral said.

Before the buildings can be torn down, there will need to be some facility work, which is projected to begin summer 2020 and will conclude by the start of the fall 2020 semester.

The construction of the new STEM facility will be a twoyear project. Okoli said exact details of the new STEM facility are still under development.

“We are concluding the programming and figuring out what spaces we need. On a monthly basis, something new happens,” Okoli said. “We want it to be interdisciplinary, where different researchers come together.”

Okoli indicated the facility will be heavily focused on research. In planning the new facilities, Okoli said they have been trying to consider giving faculty “a sense of belonging” and have considered what impact it should have for the campus as a whole, and north campus science buildings in particular.

Vedral said there are also plans to refresh the Biological Sciences building, which houses the Department of Biological Sciences.

As far as a new home for the Department of Philosophy and Department of Global Languages and Cultures, Okoli said that the department was looking at several sites along Beaver Street.

“It would involve light renovations of South Beaver [Elementary] School, then add a new building where the trailers are currently,” Vedral said. “It will have about 20,000 to 25,000 square feet of faculty offices, meeting spaces and potentially six to eight new classrooms.”

The departments expect to have an architect selected for this building project by early April.

Frederick said the Department of Global Languages and Cultures is optimistic about the proposed new structure adjacent to South Beaver Elementary School. However, Frederick also mentioned the importance of keeping together members of the faculty already housed in the building.

“We are a very unified faculty and could not accept being scattered to different locations,” Frederick said. “Our Global Engagement and Language Learning [GELL] Center now serves thousands of students every semester. We see the new building potentially as a plus for GELL, but we would like to be involved in its design.”

The demolition of Babbitt Academic Annex will mean the end of an era for NAU. While Frederick acknowledges many memories associated with Babbitt, she feels strongly that it is time to move on.

“We’ve seen new buildings go up all around us,” Frederick said. “It is encouraging to hear that a new building is being planned for the College of Arts and Letters, one that will accommodate the varied needs of both global languages and cultures and philosophy.”

Law enforcement enhanced by grants

Marissa Ritchea

Flagstaff Police Department (FPD) was awarded a grant to maintain and improve the Flagstaff Dream Court after NAUPD’s recent announcement of its plans to improve road safety with the help of four grants from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. Selected by Nancy Lieberman Charities, FPD was awarded the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant in the form of $8,500 to maintain and improve the Flagstaff Dream Court. FPD public information officer Sgt. Charles Hernandez II expressed his gratitude regarding the grant.

“The Flagstaff Police Department was extremely honored to be chosen by the Nancy Lieberman Charities,” Hernandez said. “To receive funds for continued efforts and support is exciting.”

Lieberman is a former WNBA coach and iconic women’s basketball star.

The efforts and support Hernandez mentioned refer to resources for future community engagement programs taking place on the Dream Court. Located at the Boys & Girls Club of Flagstaff, the court is a safe haven for youth to play basketball, not only with their peers but with police officers, according to Flagstaff 365, an event website that announced the initial opening of the Dream Court last year. The Dream Court opened its gates in April 2019. Hernandez said the goal of the Dream Court, in addition to creating a safe space for Flagstaff children, is to educate the community and create a relationship between the youth and officers.

“Police officers promote teamwork, healthy lifestyle recommendations and responsibility while building trust with the youth within the community,” Hernandez said.

To continue this effort through 2021, FPD plans to utilize the COPS grant to purchase equipment for the court, mostly new basketballs and jerseys. In addition, the department plans on hosting community-wide development events, not only for basketball, but for tennis as well.

Since receiving the grant, FPD has been collaborating closely with the Boys & Girls Club of Flagstaff.

“We are working with the Flagstaff Boys & Girls Club to develop a [Badges 4 Basketball] event aimed at engaging the youth in the community,” Hernandez said.

To celebrate the improvements and future of the Dream Court, Hernandez mentioned a kickoff event that will be hosted when the weather begins to warm up, which will bring community attention to the benefits of the court, as well as the Boys & Girls Club of Flagstaff.

The COPS grant came just days after NAUPD received a grant of its own.

NAUPD received a total of four grants totaling $41,236 from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, according to NAU News. These are aimed at improving road safety on campus.

NAUPD will use these funds to provide a more vigilant DUI task force on campus through holidays and major NAU events like homecoming. Funds will also go to bicycle and pedestrian safety awareness, training officers on the use of a Zero Electric Motorcycle to aid in quicker response times to emergencies, and to purchase scanners and printers for existing police vehicles, according to NAU News.

NAU students had mixed reactions on the improvements NAUPD is putting forth to increase road safety.

Freshman Savannah Mieras had strong feelings about funding for bicycle and skateboard safety education.

“There are countless days when I am almost trampled by a skateboarder or grazed by the backpack of a cyclist,” Mieras said.

Sgt. Charles Hernandez II of the Flagstaff Police Department poses for a portrait at the Dream Court at the Boys & Girls Club, Feb. 3.

Shannon Swain | The Lumberjack

Mieras said she does not feel as though there needs to be a greater police presence on campus.

“They should implement these funds into communicating safer ways to trek on campus, where to and where not to ride skateboards, and create safe spaces for students,” Mieras said.

While Mieras said most funding should go to pedestrian safety, some agree that funding is necessary for increased security, especially on holiday weekends.

Freshman Cameron Cheatem agreed with Mieras that some skateboarders and cyclists are unaware of safety laws and regulations. However, he argued that it would not be beneficial to put funding toward safety education because of the lack of engagement it would attract. Cheatem suggested to instead focus on increased safety on campus.

“I think an increase in police presence is never a bad thing,” Cheatem said. “A greater police force can ensure that everyone can enjoy themselves with less danger.”

While the grants awarded to both NAUPD and FPD are different in nature, the goal of both is similar: to create a safer and more involved community for the residents, which these departments pledge to serve and protect.Cheng, Delta Chi, victims respond to Jones’ sentencing