KT IN THE CLUTCH STUCK IN NEUTRAL Kristi Toliver bailed out the Terps at Florida State with a game-winning 3-pointer
The Fray stick to same formula on new album, crafting one like its predecessor DIVERSIONS | PAGE 8
SPORTS | PAGE 10
THE DIAMONDBACK TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009
99TH YEAR | ISSUE NO. 80
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Amnesty USM textbook policy proposed Lobbyist, senator clash on need discussion for state law to minimize prices takes on univ. focus BY TIRZA AUSTIN Staff writer
After stalling last year, Good Samaritan policy topic of working group
BRAD DOCHERTY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE
BY MARISSA LANG Staff writer
Proposed state legislation aiming to lower the cost of textbooks is “overly prescriptive” and unnecessary because universities are doing enough to lower costs, a key university system official said yesterday. P.J. Hogan, a lobbyist and policy advisor for the University System of Maryland, told the education policy committee of the Board of Regents, which oversees the uni-
versity system, that a proposed 10-point textbook policy was sufficient to lower costs. The committee voted to approve the plan “in principle” because some members expressed concern with vague wording in the document. Most of the 10 points in the proposed policy require universities to inform faculty members about textbook prices, ask universities to list ISBN numbers for books no later than May 1 for
Please See TEXTBOOKS, Page 3
Members of a Board of Regents committee meet to discuss textbooks and transfer students, among other issues. JACLYN BOROWSKI/THE DIAMONDBACK
Lifting their voices
A working group comprised of students and faculty met for the first time yesterday to discuss their plans to shed light on what impact a Good Samaritan policy would have at this university, officials said. The working group was organized by the University Senate — the university’s highest legislative body that directly advises university President Dan Mote on policy matters — to take a closer look at the Good Samaritan issue after the proposed policy stalled in the senate’s committee system last year. The senate did not put the policy, which would protect alcohol- or drug-using students from punishment in emergency situations, up
Keynote speaker Baruch Ben-Yahudah talks to those in attendance about health and wellness. VINCE SALAMONE/THE DIAMONDBACK
Please See SAMARITAN, Page 3
Black History Month commences with event at Nyumburu
The not so secret lives of security officials
BY ADELE HAMPTON Staff writer
The voices of students and faculty members echoed off the walls of the NyumburuMultipurpose Rooms they sang “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” the Black National Anthem, at the Black History Month kick-off celebration Monday night.
The night, which started with the words of Martin Luther King Jr., focused on both the rich history and future of black Americans. A Pan-African flag adorned with red, black and green stripes hung on the stage as more than 100 university students and faculty members gathered at the event, which was co-sponsored by a number of cultural organizations, including the Nyumburu Cul-
tural Center, Black Student Union, African Student Association, Caribbean Student Association and the university’s chapter of the NAACP, to celebrate their unity. The key-note speaker of the night was Baruch Ben-Yehudah, who talked about health and wellness in the black community.
Please See CELEBRATION, Page 2
To view video footage of the event, visit WWW.DIAMONDBACKONLINE.COM
NSA assistant director speaks on agency’s role in the information age BY MARISSA LANG Staff writer
The National Security Agency doesn’t exist. Or at least that is the image its employees are instructed to give off, said NSA Assistant Director Tony Stramella, who has worked for the agency for almost 35 years. Stramella led a presentation on the agency last night in Anne Arundel Hall that more than 50 students attended. “People used to joke that NSA actually stood for ‘No Such Agency,’” Stramella said. “It’s interesting the spin people give on an
Please See NSA, Page 3
TOMORROW’S WEATHER:
Economy continues to rattle univ. endowment BY ALLISON STICE Senior staff writer
Echoing a nationwide trend, the university’s endowment has been battered by the declining stock market, losing 23 percent of its value during 2008. Still, the endowment is doing better than others nationally. A recent study by the National Asso-
Snow/30s
INDEX
Though faring better than most, university endowment fell 23 percent during 2008 ciation of College and University Business Officers found the average endowment decreased by 23 percent during a five-month period last year, the worst performance since the 1970s. The uni-
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versity’s endowment lost the same percentage over the entire year. The current value of the endowment is slightly more than $400 million, according to Vice President of University Relations
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DIVERSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . .8 SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Brodie Remington. “I wish I could say differently, but we are right on trend,” Remington said, who runs the university’s fundraising operations as well as the University of Maryland College Park Foundation. The major cause of the losses are so-called “underwater donations,”
Please See ENDOWMENT, Page 3
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