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Wednesday, May 2, 2012
THE DIAMONDBACK Our 102ND Year, No. 139
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER
O’Malley likely to call lawmakers Student hit by back for special session this month car on Campus
Legislators would reconvene to negotiate on next year’s budget BY JIM BACH Senior staff writer
While many students worried about potential double-digit tuition increases after state lawmakers failed to negotiate on a state budget plan for next year, several officials said Gov. Martin O’Malley may be just weeks away from calling a special session. On the last day of the legislative session, lawmakers passed a balanced operating budget. However, legislators did not pass any bills to raise revenue for the state, such as several
taxes, leading to $512 million of cuts to state-funded programs. If the cuts go into effect, the University System of Maryland would see upwards of $50 million in cuts and students’ tuition would likely increase 10 percent. Students rallied against the potential cuts last month, and several students and residents have urged O’Malley to call a special session to work out an alternative budget plan with less cuts. Although O’Malley has yet to reconvene legislators, spokeswoman Raquel Guillory said O’Malley will likely call a mid-May session.
FIGHTING A NEW KIND OF OPPONENT
Additionally, plans to meet for a second session later in the summer to vote on whether a bill legalizing table games will go to a public vote are in consideration, Guillory said. “The first priority for the governor is to resolve the state’s operating budget,” Guillory wrote. “As to another session that would specifically focus on gaming, that is still in discussion.” Several lawmakers said they are eager to renegotiate a plan in which students do not have to shoulder
see SESSION, page 2
Drive, police say 19-year-old driver did not have license BY ERIN EGAN Senior staff writer
A 23-year-old student was transferred to Prince George’s Hospital Center yesterday after he was struck by a car in the crosswalk outside the math building, University Police spokesman Capt. Marc Limansky said. The driver fled the scene of the 1:45 p.m. accident but was arrested shortly afterward.
Briana Fuentez, 19, was driving her Toyota Avalon down the left lane east of the M-circle when her car hit the student. Limansky said witnesses told police Fuentez was driving fast enough for the pedestrian to hit the windshield. “We saw a video of the accident,” Limansky said. “The pedestrian gets hit and the driver keeps driving
see ACCIDENT, page 3
Alumnus Hudson Taylor founded Athlete Ally, a nonprofit organization aimed at educating straight collegiate athletes to support LGBT athletes.
Former Terps wrestling star advocates for LGBT athletes BY ERIN EGAN Senior staff writer
Although former standout Hudson Taylor’s Terrapins wrestling career ended when he graduated from this university, the 25-year-old has not stopped working to take down another opponent: homophobia. Taylor became an ally for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students as an athlete at this university, where he wrestled his way to three national All-American honors and placed in the top four nationwide in his 197-pound weight class for three consecutive years — something no other Terrapin wrestler has ever accomplished. Just more than a year ago, the 2010 alumnus created Athlete Ally, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and empowering straight collegiate athletes, coaches, parents and fans to support LGBT athletes. Taylor manages a busy speaking schedule — he addressed athletic teams at UCLA last week, at Princeton on Sunday and will visit Oregon next week. He also visited this campus last month to accept an award for his advocacy work, as the university’s undergraduate studies department named him Alumnus of the Year. “It’s all about empowerment and giving people the tools to make a difference,” Taylor, a New Jersey native, said. “We want to give athletes the ability to make a difference on their campus.” Last year, Taylor was also named the “Greatest Person of the Day” by The Huffington Post and received the PFLAG Straight for Equality Award. In 2010, The Advocate named him one of the top 150 reasons to have gay pride. However, Taylor said he does not draw motivation from those awards. Instead, he said, he used his memories as a student at this university as inspiration to pave the way for athletes as allies. Now a wrestling coach at Columbia University, Taylor said he first became aware of
Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed, says poverty is an ongoing problem, and that many students will struggle to find steady employment upon graduating. CHELSEA DIRECTOR/THE DIAMONDBACK
Barely getting by Best-selling author speaks to students about why poverty has no end in sight BY CHAD SINCLAIR Staff writer
Barbara Ehrenreich has a theory as to why high levels of poverty persist even as the government increases aid to those in need: It’s expensive to be poor. Last night, the best-selling author and political activist spoke to about 150 people at the Hoff Theater as part of Stamp Student Union’s Voices of Social Change speaker series, which featured anti-racism speaker Tim Wise earlier this semester. Ehrenreich’s lecture, “Counting Change: Making a Difference in an Indifferent World,” dissected the relationship between the affluent and the poor in America, and why the earnings gap continues to widen.
see TAYLOR, page 2
PHOTOS COURTESY HUDSON TAYLOR
“Poverty is equal opportunity,” she said. “Those stereotypes of poverty that say you’re poor because you’re lazy or because you have character defects [don’t] make sense anymore.” Ehrenreich, who was born in a mining town in Montana, told the audience that society often persecutes the poor, and that employers often have negative attitudes toward hiring very low-income applicants. She said she learned this firsthand when working service sector jobs across the country, as she simultaneously investigated the horrors of living on minimum wage for her most recognized book, Nickel and Dimed. “If you’re willing to work near the
see POVERTY, page 3
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INDEX
NEWS . . . . . . . . . .2 OPINION . . . . . . . .4
FEATURES . . . . . .5 CLASSIFIED . . . . .6
DIVERSIONS . . . . .6 SPORTS . . . . . . . . .8
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