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Vol. 91, No. 9 Monday, September 24, 2012
Devon Lane divide
Overall crime in area has gone down in past five years, but instances of more serious offenses have slightly increased
Callie Turbitt / the breeze
By Jen Eyring The Breeze
While citywide crime has gone down in the past five years, some serious offenses on Devon Lane are slowly on the rise. The number of aggravated assaults on Devon Lane increased from five in 2007 to eight in 2011. On Oct. 1, 2011 a 19-year-old man threatened a 22-year-old man with a gun on Devon Lane. The 22-year-old then took out his own gun and shot the 19-year-old in the leg. Both men were later arrested by Harrisonburg police, according to Mary-Hope Vass, police spokeswoman. The number of reported sexual assaults on Devon Lane has gradually increased over the past five years from zero in 2007 to three in 2011.
>> For a video on the crime on Devon Lane, visit
breezejmu.org. On Sept. 1, a man reportedly raped a 19-year-old woman on the 1400 block of Devon Lane. Police are still looking for the man involved. The number of overall reported sexual assaults in the city of Harrisonburg has remained around 35 over the past five years. But the number of aggravated assaults has decreased from 91 in 2007 to 59 in 2011. The total number of crimes committed on Devon Lane has decreased from 283 crimes in 2007 to 162 crimes in 2011. Generally, crime also decreased in Harrisonburg from 5,319 crimes in 2007
to 4,343 in 2011. The number of burglaries and breaking and entering cases has fluctuated but ultimately decreased. In 2007 there were 31 burglaries and in 2011 there were 12. Katie Grube, a senior public policy and administration major, said after living on Devon Lane for two years, she’s heard about a lot of burglaries and attempted burglaries. “There’s a lot of stuff that happens on Devon Lane that we don’t get emails about,” Grube said. She added that living on Devon Lane has made her more jumpy. “We just have a heightened sense of fear living here,” Grube said. Mark Dickemann, a senior psychology and economics double major who lives in a Squire Hill apartment, said he hasn’t noticed an increase in crime either. He said he isn’t really concerned
Kaine campaigns in Harrisonburg Senate-hopeful in heated race encourages supporters to go door to door
about the amount of crime on Devon Lane, but when he’s walking home at night he’s more cautious. Grube and her friends also make an effort to protect themselves when walking around at night. “We’ve gotten more conscious of sticking together and walking in groups,” Grube said. “You don’t want to be one of those Timely Notices.” Dickemann said he doesn’t feel in danger around his apartment because he thinks most of the crime is limited to Devon Lane and the bigger apartment complexes on it. “I think it really is along Devon Lane and maybe the Fox [Hills Townhomes] and Deer Run,” Dickemann said. “I don’t feel that Squire is really that unsafe.” University Fields At Port Road, Squire see Crime, page A4
Dukes back on track First in-conference game a career-best for QB
By Meaghan MacDonald The Breeze
matt schmachtenberg / the breeze
Sophomore Megan DiMaiolo spoke with Democratic senate candidate Tim Kaine during a rally at the Rockingham County Courthouse Saturday afternoon. Recent polls show Kaine ahead of Republican challenger George Allen for the first time. By Sean Byrne The Breeze
Former Gov. Tim Kaine stopped in Harrisonburg Saturday around 3 p.m. to rally supporters before sending them into the city and county to help campaign in the area. In his speech at the Rockingham County Courthouse, Kaine talked to about 120 people about the economy and the importance of communicating the difference between him and Allen. “This is what people want to know about me [versus Republican candidate George Allen],” Kaine said. “How do we grow the economy, how do we fix the budget and how do we find common ground?”
>> More photos of Tim Kaine’s speech at
breezejmu.org. Politico has named the Virginia Senate race one of the closest races in the nation. “Even in Virginia — the race that has cemented itself as the most consistently competitive in the country — daylight has started to emerge for Democrats,” a September 19th Politico article said. Recent polls conducted by The Washington Post show Kaine has an eight-point lead over Republican senatorial candidate George Allen.
news 9/24 Inside A3 Helping new students JMU administrator hopes
to provide resources for first-generation students.
Kaine also has more favorable support among Democratic voters than Allen has among Republicans. The polls began to indicate support of Kaine only a few days after he and Allen debated about the economy on Sept. 13 at the Capitol One Convention Center. All wearing “TK 4 VA” stickers, the crowd cheered wildly when Kaine came to speak for about 20 minutes about his platform and compare his track record with that of Allen. Ka i n e’s s p e e c h re s o nat e d with students on helping them get a better college education. see Kaine, page A4
A5
opinion Photoshopped
Editing tools can play tricks on the truth, especially in a political season.
The Dukes’ 32-7 win against the University of Rhode Island didn’t just give head coach Mickey Matthews his 99th career win, but also showcased three different JMU talents. Redshirt senior quarterback Justin Thorpe had career highs in completions, attempts and yards, going 26-for-40 for 340 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Sophomore wide receiver DeAndre’ Smith had a career-high eight receptions for 53 yards and redshirt junior receiver Renard Robinson had a career-high 87 yards and one touchdown on three catches. “My receivers just came to me and said ‘You know, you can trust us to go get the ball’, and I just try and get the ball up to them like DeAndre’,” Thorpe said. “Every time he touched he ball the got positive yards.” One of the biggest surprise players of the game was Smith. After missing significant time from a hamstring injury, Smith was off to a slow start this season. But this game provided the momentum he needed. “The first couple games getting back, it didn’t really hurt but it felt kind of weak, so I wasn’t moving the way I wanted to,” Smith said. “Now I’m at 100 percent.” After a long road to recovery and a disappointing performance last weekend, Matthews is proud of his performance against the Rams and with Smith’s progress. “He was really heartbroken after [West Virginia] because he played so poorly,” Matthews said. “But he practiced so well Wednesday I told him, ‘DeAndre’, if you play this fast and this well Saturday as you did in today’s practice you’ll be the star in the game.’ ” In the first half, the Rams kept the game close, surprising the Dukes with some new formations. JMU and URI were fairly even at the quarterback
B1
sports Swept away
The Dukes defeat Georgia State 3-0, claiming their first CAA win.
Cathy Kushner / jmu Athletics
Senior Justin Thorpe had a career-high game on Saturday against Rhode Island.
Standout Dukes n Redshirt senior quarterback
Justin Thorpe went 26-for-40 for 340 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. n Sophomore wide receiver DeAndre’ Smith had eight receptions for 53 yards. n Redshirt junior receiver Renard Robinson had 87 yards and one touchdown on three catches.
position as Thorpe had 153 passing yards to junior quarterback Bob Bentsen’s 150. “It didn’t really surprise us that Rhode Island came out to shoot and play really hard,” Matthews said. “They just traditionally are a different football team at home then on the road.” In the second half, JMU came out and dominated the field. Each quarter the Dukes had possession of the ball longer then Rhode Island did, see Rams, page B2
B3
life Hoopla
Graduate makes hula hoops and hopes to teach classes at her own studio.