QUChronicle.com January 25, 2012 Volume 81 Issue 14
News
Arts & Life
Opinion
sports
QU hypnotized, Page 2
Top 11 movies of 2011, pages 6-7
Colbert’s curious case for president, page 4
Freshman leading the way, page 12
CASE CLOSED 5 basketball players granted accelerated rehabilitation
By Michele snow & Meghan Parmentier
lino said. “Whether you like it or not, you are looked up to by some in the university.” Quinnipiac men’s basketball players James Scarpellino told all five players that they Johnson, Jamee Jackson, Dave Johnson, Ike were to make “no unwanted contact with the Azotam and Nate Gause were granted accelvictims.” erated rehabilitation and community service If all five students follow the court’s orders hours in exchange for clear criminal records then their cases will all be dismissed, their defor their involvement in an on-campus fight fense attorney Thomas Lynch said. last September. “The court’s main concern is to be consisThe five players appeared in Meriden tent in what it does,” Scarpellino said. Superior Court Jan. 17 before Judge PhilHe acknowledged that the athletes Legal definitions ip Scarpellino. The players’ families and should be held to a higher standard becoach, Tom Moore, were in attendance. cause they are in the spotlight, but he said Accelerated rehabilitation: Scarpellino granted both James John- A program that gives persons charged with a crime or motor vehicle this judgement was fair for the crime. violation for the first time a second chance. The person is placed on son and Jackson two years of the accel- probation for up to two years. If probation is completed satisfactorily, “The judge made his comments sayerated rehabilitation program and 200 the charges are dismissed. ing that treating them all the same and hours of individual community service, Community service: making them do community service sent outside the service the basketball team Work that convicted defendants are required to perform in order to the message that despite whatever punrepay the community for the harm caused to the community by the does together. In addition, they equally crime. Soure: Connecticut Judicial branch have to share the costs of paying back the See COURT Page 3 By Marcus Harun Web Developer
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victims medical expenses in verifiable out-ofpocket restitution. Dave Johnson and Azotam were granted a one-year accelerated rehabilitation program and 50 hours of individual community service. The judge granted Gause an 18-month accelerated rehabilitation program and 100 hours of individual community service. “You need to grow from this,” Scarpel-
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Scenes from SPB and QUAD’s Rock ‘n Road Week
Three years ago, Quinnipiac University expelled Courtney Stellwag for making a prank phone call which the university deemed racially motivated. After Quinnipiac’s investigation, the university decided last month that See the letter in her three-year-old its entirety from prank phone call the university to was not intended as Courtney Stellwag. a threat, but merely
online
as a joke. As a senior at Daemen College in New York, and well on her way to a career as a Physician’s Assistant, Stellwag received a letter from Quinnipiac regarding her 2008 expulsion. In the letter, dated Dec. 7, 2011, Manuel
Four SGA members resign By Katherine rojas Associate News Editor
award-winning website since 2009
QU retracts ‘08 expulsion for hate crime
Four members of the Student Government Association, including the Class of 2014 president, resigned from their positions on the general board during the winter recess due to personal reasons, Vice President of Student Concerns Vincent Bond said. Matthew Desilets, former Class of 2014 president, said in an email, “my resignation was for personal reasons, that is all. SGA has provided me the greatest experience at this university and my time in SGA is something I will always cherish.” The three junior class representatives who resigned are Camilla Gomes, Steve Ducos and Saba
Shahid. “It was a little shocking, but then again, I see the reasons why,” Shahid said of the other resignations. “Everyone who did resign is doing it to better their future because there’s other priorities; obviously academics comes first.” Shahid resigned after two and a half years of involvement in the organization. “I have a lot of other things going on that I need to put more time into and focus on to excel in the field that I’m trying to go in to,” Shahid said. “I have so much pride and love for this organization but it was something that I knew I had to do in order to succeed in other parts of my life.” Ducos, a representative for the
Class of 2013, said in an email he resigned because of scheduling conflicts and rising academic responsibilities. “It was a very difficult decision to make because they are such wonderful and amazing people who share the same love that I have for our university,” Ducos said. The Student Government will hold a special election on Feb. 8 to select three new junior representatives. The sophomore position has been filled by Marissa Harper, former vice president for the Class of 2014, Bond said. “The executive board would like to commend their service and efforts on the Student Government, and they will be missed this semester,” Bond wrote in an email.
News Editor
katie o’brien/Chronicle
Wikipedia went dark in protest of SOPA and PIPA on Jan. 18.
Web protesters fought two controversial bills last week, refusing to relinquish their First Amendment rights to free music and movies, and they succeeded. The Stop Online Piracy Act was a bill introduced in October that would give the federal government power to inhibit people from using foreign online piracy websites. The sites trade counterfeit movies, music and other American copyrighted products. Another similar bill, Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), was introduced
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QU was top priority at town meeting By kim green News Editor
in the Senate last May with the goal of giving the federal government and copyright holders the ability to block access to websites dedicated to infringing or counterfeiting goods outside of the U.S. The bills gained support in Congress, but were severely opposed by Internet users who claimed the bills were too aggressive and infringed on First Amendment rights, Quinnipiac’s Assistant Dean of Career Services for Communications Joseph Catrino said. By the end of last week, lawmakers showed opposition to the bill and a vote on PIPA that was scheduled for Jan. 24 was
The Planning and Zoning commission for the Town of Hamden held a meeting Tuesday in which Quinnipiac was a priority on the agenda. The sixth item on the agenda concerned the university, as it is to address the commission’s review of housing and parking data, Assistant Town Planner Dan Kops said. The commission required that the university provided annual information on the number of students living on campus and commuting, as well as data on parking. In recent years, there has been increased concern with the commission about the growth of the student population. “There is a condition of approval from the dorms at York Hill that there should be a bed to every student and the commission’s concern is that the number of students has increased while the number of beds has not,” Kops said. “We want students to be living on campus and not off renting.” The seventh item on the agenda
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PIPA, SOPA can’t clean up Web By kim green
See expulsion Page 3