The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper
T U E S DAY, A P R I L 2 8 , 2 015
McKeldin evacuated after fire Cause of small electrical basement blaze unknown By Jeremy Snow @JeremyM_Snow Senior staff writer
Fire alarms went off at 9:30 a.m. after an electrical breaker in a basement mechanical room started to smoke, said Eric Bartheld, UniA small electrical fire forced versity Libraries spokesman. The students a nd sta ff to evacuate problem might have involved the M c K e l d i n L i b r a r y y e s t e r d a y library’s heating, ventilating and a i r cond it ion i ng system s, but morning, police officials said.
responders could not confirm the fire’s cause. Multiple fire engines and firefighters arrived on the scene, and officials cleared staff and faculty to re-enter the library at about 10:22 a.m. “There was quite a bit of smoke,” Bartheld said. “We expect it to smell like smoke for a day or two.” Firefighters carry equipment toward McKeldin Library yesterday morning. A small electrical fire that See fire, Page 2 began at about 9:30 a.m. forced students and staff to evacuate the building. photo courtesy of efe abugo
Ronk’s in Again
Student fee referendum moves on Students vote to increase activities fee by $5.28
Incumbent SGA president garners 75 percent of popular vote to beat Gutin
By Talia Richman @TaliRichman Senior staff writer A referendum to increase the university’s Student Activities Fee by $5.28 passed last night, SGA officials announced along with this year’s election results. “I’m glad students were willing to pay to increase funds for programming and help themselves out,” said Patrick Ronk, who was elected to a second term as Student Government Association president. “It’s great we have an educated student body who is willing to pay a little more to have more programs and more events.” Of about 27,000 undergraduate students at this university, 4,256 voted in the SGA elections. Of those, 2,164 students voted in favor of the Student Activities Fee increase, 1,161 voted against it and 930 abstained, said Emily Williams, SGA election board chairwoman.
By Taylor Swaak @tswaak27 Staff writer SGA presidential incumbent and Next Party candidate Patrick Ronk will remain in his position for the 2015-16 academic year, according to the election results announcement last night. Ronk secured 75 percent of the 4,256 votes cast online between Wednesday and Friday to beat Vo i c e P a r t y c a n d i d a t e O r i Gutin, according to a Student Government Association voting system document. After the announcement in the Nyumburu Amphitheater outside of Stamp Student Union, members of the Next Party — who won all of the contested positions SGA President Patrick Ronk, center, celebrates his victory last night in the Nyumburu Amphitheater after defeating Voice Party candidate Ori Gutin in this year’s SGA presidential election. Ronk, a junior, will be the third student in 20 years to hold the position for two consecutive years. tom hausman/the diamondback
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PLUMAS holds first town hall on Latino issues
Baltimore calls on PG County police for aid amid violence By Katishi Maake @TheHavocRat, @dbkcrime Staff writer
More than 70 attend diversity-focused panel By Jessica Campisi @jessiecampisi Staff writer Junior Will Chavez didn’t know what college was until his junior year of high school. “I had always figured the next step for me was work i ng,” the criminology and criminal justice major said. “I just didn’t know anything about [college].” Chavez, the historian for this university’s chapter of Political Latinxs United for Movement and Action in Society, is a first-generation college student and served as the moderator for PLUMAS’ first town hall meeting, held last night in the Prince George’s Room of Stamp Student Union in response to diversity concerns. “As first-generation students, there are a lot of obstacles, and people are more prone to doing badly and dropping out,” said Karen
Cassy dame-griff, a doctoral student and Latino studies graduate assistant, speaks at the Political Latinxs United for Movement and Action in Society’s town hall meeting last night. enoch hsiao/the diamondback Guzman, a 2014 alumna and cofounder of PLUMAS. “There’s not a lot of support from the university.” More than 70 students and community members listened to eight panelists discuss the status and future of this university’s Latino community. Sixty-one percent of children in the United States ages 5 to 17 have been first in their families to attend college, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. In the 2013-14 academic year, fewer than 3,000 of the 37,000
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undergraduate and graduate students at this university were Latino, according to Forbes magazine. As a result of this distribution, some students could feel “disconnected” from the campus community and don’t see much of an effort from this university to better it, Chavez said. Ana Patricia Rodriguez, a Spanish professor, began the discussion by bringing up the U.S. Latina/o studies minor at this university. “T h is m inor was born out of
SPORTS LAMON TALLIES HAT TRICK IN VICTORY
Terrapins women’s lacrosse attacker Kristen Lamon recorded a season-high four points Thursday night against Penn State in her second consecutive start P. 8
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The Prince George’s County Pol ice Depa rtment deployed some of its officers to Baltimore yesterday to assist amid violent demonstrations, looting and arson across the city. The protests stem from citywide unrest following the arrest of 25-year-old Freddie Gray on April 12. Gray suffered severe spinal injuries while in police custody and died April 19. He was buried yesterday. The Baltimore Police Department received information stating gang members entered into an agreement to “take out” officers, according to a Baltimore Police news release yesterday morning. County police deployed 30 to 35 officers to the city, which police spokesman Harry Bond said should not affect operations within the county. “We would never compromise the citizens of Prince George’s County,” Bond said. Police officers near Mondawmin Mall were hit with rocks and suffered minor injuries, which are
being treated, according to a tweet from Baltimore Police. At least 15 officers were injured during the protests, according to Associated Press reports yesterday. University Police dissuaded students from traveling to Baltimore because of highly congested traffic from the protests, according to a UMD Alert sent yesterday to the campus community. The riots prompted Gov. Larry Hogan to sign an executive order Monday declaring a state of emergency and activating the state’s National Guard. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake declared a weeklong curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting today. University Police spokeswoman Sgt. Rosanne Hoaas advised the community to pay attention to local news coverage of the protests for updates on further developments. “The attempt with sending out [the alert] is to give a heads-up to those who might be going into the city,” Hoaas said. “If they are commuting or live in the area and work at the university, or a commuting student, we just want to give them a heads-up.” kmaakedbk@gmail.com
OPINION
STAFF EDITORIAL: SGA election turnout High voter turnout shows turnaround in student engagement P. 4 DIVERSIONS
ONE SOUP-ER OPTION Diner soup is the warm, friendly food you always needed P. 6