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VOLUME 97, ISSUE 25

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A SIDE OF NEWS

Happani leader killed A senior U.S. official confirmed that Janbaz Zadran, a top leader in the Haqqani militant network was killed on Thursday. This death comes just a few weeks after the U.S. decision to crack down on Haqqani insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Zadran was killed in a Haqqani stronghold in Miram Shah, an area in Pakistani that has been hit by American drones in the past. His death is a major blow to the Haqqani network, which is considered the most pressing threat in Afghanistan and has worked with al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Cell problems anger users Research in Motions announced that after four days of BlackBerry service related issues, all technical issues have been fixed. Starting on Monday, the intensive delay in emails and messages enraged BlackBerry users across five continents and resulted in angry comments in forums and on Twitter. Executives at RIM have not been able to explain the outage and fear this will cause customers to switch to the upcoming iPhone 4S which will be released on Friday.

Park removes protestors New York officials have mandated that Wall Street protestors occupying a private park need to move by Friday, even though the protestors have not broken any laws. Brookfield Properties who own the park, reason that it’s time for regular cleaning. A number of the protestors argue that this “eviction notice” is a ploy to breakup the growing protests. Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited the park to tell protestors they will be allowed to return after the maintenance work.

UK changes succession laws England is moving ahead with plans to change royal succession laws so that is Prince William and Kate Middleton have a daughter, she will be able to ascent to the thrown. Current laws state that is the couple’s first child is a girl but their second is a boy, the son would inherit the thrown over the daughter.

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2011

SMUDAILYCAMPUS.COM

holocaust

finance

Survivor speaks on concentration camp rebellion

One man’s trash, another’s free credit line

By ANDY GARCIA News Director atgarcia@smu.edu

Standing before dozens in SMU’s McCord Auditorium, Philip Bialowitz recounts the events that lead to the revolt at the Sobibór death camp. The story of bravery takes the audience nearly 68 years into the past to a forest in eastern Poland where some 250,000 people were killed by the Nazis. For the audience, it is a glimpse into history; for Bialowitz, it’s a continuation of the opposition against the horrors of the Holocaust. “We did not only fight for our lives, we also fought for a better tomorrow,” Bialowitz said. Bialowitz spoke on the SMU campus Thursday evening discussing his experience at the Sobibór death camp. His lecture “An Evening with Philip Bialowtz” was sponsored by the Embry Human Right Program as part of the program’s effort to preserve the memory of the Holocaust. Sobibór was one of three death camps designed by the Nazi to eliminate the trace of the Jewish people. Of the approximately 600 prisoners at Sobibór, on Oct. 14, 1943, 48 people successfully escaped. Eight are alive today. “Its too easy to say he was lucky, the hand of god was upon him,” Rick Halperin, Embrey Program Director, said on Bialowitz survival. According to Bialowitz, a majority of the prisoners brought to Sobibór were murdered on arrival via gas chambers. At the age of 17 Bialowtiz was brought to the camp with members of his family. He said when they arrived his brother lied to the guards saying that he was a pharmacist and that Bialoiwtz

Per onal Finan e By PARTH SHETH Contributing Writer psheth@smu.edu

SIDNEY HOLLINGSWORTH/The Daily Campus

Philip Bialowitz, a survivor of the Holocaust, told his story of the rebellion in the Sobibor death camp during a lecture sponsored by the Embrey Human Rights program Thursday.

was his assistant. Needing skilled labor, the guards kept his brother and him alive while their two sisters and niece were gassed. When new arrivals would come to Sobibór, Bialowitz was tasked with carrying their luggage and then sorting through it for valuables that could be used by the Nazis. Meanwhile, the prisoners designated for death were left under the impression they had been relocated and they would be able to write to their families about their new living conditions. However, they were told they would first need to have their hair cut and then take a shower. Bialowitz, who was also tasked with cutting hair, said the prisoners were not familiar with what was going to happen to them and were often optimistic. The women would ask him that their hair not be cut too short. “I am convinced they did not

fully realize the terrible truth until the first breath of poison gas,” Bialowitz said. Over time, talk of open rebellion started to circulate amongst the workers. When a number of Jewish Soviet Union soldiers were brought to the camp, the rebellion became a reality. Utilizing their new companions’ military experience, the prisoners developed a plan that would eliminate the camp’s officials, making it easier to escape into the surrounding forest. Bialowitz and other young prisoners drew “key Germans” away from the rest of the guards under the pretense of having found valuables during a recent sorting. When the officials came to look at the findings they were met by the Soviet Jews armed with knives and axes. Bialowitz remembers that when he saw the dead officers he

was pleased. “I said to myself this is for my sister[s] my niece and the thousands of others who perished in the gas chamber. While many of the prisoners were killed in the rebellion, both Bialowitz and his brother successfully escaped. Before the escape, Bialowitz said the leaders of the rebellion commanded the prisoners that if they survived the would “tell the world what happened here.” Bialowitz, who came to New York after the end of World War II, spent the last 20 years telling people about his time at Sobibór. For those who have listened, it is evident the Holocaust will not be forgotten. “I think with his story it makes it very clear it needs to be remembered,” Lauren Zielinksi, a human rights graduate student, said.

Imagine that you are looking at your checking account or credit card bill. As you go down the list of charges, you come across a couple that you do not particularly remember. Then you see a charge for an obscenely large amount of money that you are absolutely certain you didn’t make. You are now the victim of identity theft. Identity theft happens every day in the United States and, according to the Federal Trade Commission, affects 9 million Americans every year. It occurs when an individual uses your full name, social security number or credit card number without your knowledge or permission. Identity thieves can obtain this essential information in a variety of ways, so it is important to know their methods to protect yourself. The easiest way for a thief to gain your information is by dumpster diving. Thieves will go through trashcans in search of old bills, financial statements or even credit cards. You may think that cutting your card into a few pieces will deter thieves, but skilled thieves can easily piece these together. Instead, you should completely shred your documents, bills and credit cards, and spread the shreds over different trash bins. If you want to be extra vigilant, you can scramble the credit card data completely by running a strong magnet across the magnetic strip of your credit card before shredding it.

See FINANCE page 5

feature

Pedicab Company launched by former, current students By KATE GARDNER Contributing Writer kateg@smu.edu

Uptown is going to see some new wheels on the road this month. They won’t belong to the latest luxury car model. They’ll belong to an entirely new mode of transportation for the area: pedicabs. For those who are unfamiliar, a pedicab is essentially a bicycle-drawn cab that seats two people comfortably — three if you’re willing to squeeze in a bit. And if you think you’re seeing some familiar faces behind the wheel, it’s probably because you are. SMU alumn Robert Tobolowsky, Charlie Manning and Gordon Kellerman, along with current SMU senior Jefferson Parker, are launching Dallas Pedicabs, the first company of its kind in the Dallas market. The project, which was delayed this summer due to heat, has already generated a considerable amount of buzz. The company officially started operating on Sept. 30 with a launch party at the Katy Trail Ice House. While their primary focus will be on the Uptown area, the men are looking to grow their business outside of that market with opportunities like the State Fair of Texas, which began on Sept. 30. They will be the exclusive pedicab service inside the fair grounds this year. The fair is “something that the whole team kind of went together and formulated a business plan to get ourselves into, and it ended up working out,” Tobolowsky said. Texas State Fair President Errol McCoy is excited to see how customers will react to the pedicabs. “We like [the pedicab] because it’s such a unique

transportation medium,” McCoy said. “I think our customers will find it interesting and intriguing.” Dallas Pedicabs will provide general transportation and historical tours around the fair, as well as give customers the option to rent their own private pedicab for the day. McCoy said having the pedicabs allows the fair to promote its historical aspect, including the distinct art deco structures. “It’s going to be neat,” he said. Customers can pay to ride the pedicabs using fair coupons. Outside of the fair, the company also plans to make payment easy for customers by using a tip-based system rather than by charging a standard fare. “We’re going to have a sign on the pedicab to educate the customer on what he would have paid had he taken a taxi and also what we think is a realistic price for the distance or the time,” Tobolowsky said. Customers also have the option of paying with a credit card through the company’s mobile credit card processing systems, Square and Intuit. “That’s just one way,” Tobolowsky said, referencing Square. “Obviously you can pay cash. Or you could probably just give us a kiss on the cheek, and we’d let you go,” he added jokingly. Other opportunities the company would like to pursue include SMU game days, functions at the American Airlines Center, weddings and light display tours during the holiday season. Down the line, it would like to branch into areas like the Grassy Knoll near the Sixth Floor Museum in downtown Dallas. “We have actually talked with the City of Dallas about their ambition to kind of have a service like that, so

I think they want us to do that just as bad as we do,” Tobolowsky said. The men, who are also roommates, considered starting a business together after Tobolowsky conceived of the idea during a trip to Austin in March. “We all thought it was a great idea and started to seriously brainstorm how this idea could become a reality,” Kellerman, 23, said. “As we did more research and began thinking of routes, the idea really took off.” In May, Tobolowsky and Manning pitched their idea to the Dallas City Council and obtained the necessary permits to operate in various parts of Dallas, including the Uptown area. “We kind of leveraged a lot of our connections in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex, and we put together all of our ideas, formulated a business plan, and just essentially attacked,” Tobolowsky said. The four young entrepreneurs have already hired two SMU affiliated drivers and have another two potential drivers completing the permit process. They do, however, fully intend to drive the pedicabs themselves. “We’re definitely going to drive [the pedicabs] because it’s an easy way to get a little money, and besides that we obviously have to know what we’re dealing with being the principals of the company,” Tobolowsky said. With five pedicabs ready to debut, the team plans to differentiate themselves from traditional taxicab services by providing a unique customer experience. “We thought it was really important to have like fun, outgoing [drivers] that make it more than just some ride. Like they will ask you a random trivia [question] and say it’s for a free ride if you get it right,”

SPENCER J EGGERS/The Daily Campus

The Dallas Pedicab Services currently operate routes in Uptown, West Village, and Victory Park. They can also be seen at the Texas State Fair.

Manning, 22, said. While the group wants the pedicabs to have a uniform feel, they also plan to add speakers to stream music through and other various touches to see how customers react. “I want to do a karaoke pedicab. I think that would be hilarious,” Parker, 22, said. “People just riding down the street—imagine three girls sitting in the back just screaming their lungs out.” Targeting the Uptown area for its pedestrian friendly energy, the guys feel like they can fill a void that taxicab companies do not. “A lot of cab drivers don’t want to give you a ride if it’s really short because they don’t make any money

off it,” Manning said. “So one of the advantages is that we have the ability to cater to those people that are going short distances.” Uptown resident Jeff Masters agrees. If pedicabs were available in Uptown, he would ride them all the time. “Cabs can get expensive and the trolley usually won’t take me where I want to go, not to mention it stops running at midnight,” Masters said. Dallas Pedicabs plans to solve problems like that by sending out drivers five or six days of the week in two shifts: one from 5 p.m. to 9

See CAB page 5