November 20, 2017

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The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper

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ISSUE NO.

Bad reputation

13, OUR 108th

YEAR

Sex in College Park

Monday, November 20, 2017

Four writers round up Taylor Swift’s new album, Diversions, p. 7

Our annual look at all things orgasmic — this time, Thanksgiving style, p. 8

sports | field hockey

sga

gsg

Grad leader resigns

BDS bill dies with no vote 400 students pack SGA meeting as bill on Israel boycott fails

Facing inquiry into alleged misuse of funds, Cork set to leave post Monday; election set for Dec 1

After hearing 61 Uni-

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Carly Taylor versity of Maryland stu@carly_taylor97 dents voice concerns on the Palestinian-led BDS Staff writer movement, an SGA bill supporting the movement died before reaching the floor for legislative debate. About 400 students, faculty and staff filled Stamp Student Union’s Colony Ballroom on Wednesday to discuss the Student Government Association bill, which called on this university to divest from companies Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions supporters say profit from and enable human rights violations in Palestinian territories. After about two hours of student debate, the SGA Student Affairs Committee presented an unfavorable report of the bill in a 1-21 vote with three abstentions. Legislators debated on whether to overturn the decision, and the body failed to overturn the report in a 23-13 vote with one abstention. Of the 61 students that spoke, 45 of them opposed the bill, said SGA legislator David Rekhtman. The bill’s two co-sponsors proposed the legislation after Students for Justice in Palestine approached them with concerns about the BDS movement. “As a legislator of the student government, my job is to listen to the concerns of students and student groups,” said Tobi Olagunju, SGA’s freshman representative. “With that responsibility in mind, I proposed this bill to give Students [for] Justice [in] Palestine an opportunity to express their concerns about an issue they had.” Student organizations including Terps for Israel, J-Street UMD and Mishelanu created a petition against the SGA proposal. More than 1,000

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MARYLAND FIELD HOCKEY COACH MISSY MEHARG, center, talks with her ninth-ranked squad during a break in their 2-1 loss to topranked Connecticut Sunday in Louisville, Kentucky. photo courtesy of maryland athletics/blur effect added by evan berkowitz/the diamondback

just short

After topping rival Duke, unseeded field hockey can’t beat undefeated UConn in title game By Scott Gelman | @gelman_scott | Senior staff writer LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Defender Carrie Hanks rested her face on the top of her stick and glared at the turf as the final seconds ran off the clock in Maryland field hockey’s 2-1 loss to No. 1 Connecticut in Sunday’s national championship. Midfielder Brooke DeBerdine shook her head as she approached Maryland’s postgame huddle. Maryland’s season was over after winning 10 of its previous 11 games. The Terps overcame a 6-5 start to reach the NCAA tournament. They upset No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Michigan to reach the title game. But the Terps (16-7) fell just short of upsetting the best team in the country. 1st half

See uconn, p. 10 Final

(1) connecticut

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2

MARYLAND

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23-0, 7-0 big east

16-7, 6-2 big ten

See sga , p. 9

Connecticut (23-0) was the first team to finish undefeated since North Carolina went 24-0 in 2007. The Huskies have won three titles in the last five seasons. Still, freshman midfielder Kyler Greenwalt couldn’t refrain from smiling during her postgame interview. She figured the Terps would earn an NCAA tournament bid despite a 6-5 start. Now, she’s confident Maryland is positioned for future deep postseason runs with five starting freshmen contributing this season. “We had an incredible run,” said coach

2nd half

University of Mary-

Natalie Schwartz land GSG President @nmschwartz23 Stephanie Cork subSenior staff writer m i t t e d h e r f o r m a l resignation on Friday, with her last day coming on Monday, she wrote in an email. C o r k w i l l s e r ve a s G ra d u a te Student Government president and as a graduate assistant in Stamp Student Union until Monday. Legislative Affairs Vice President Adria Schwarber will take Cork’s place until a new president is elected on Dec. 1, Cork wrote. C o rk , a k i n e s i o l o g y d o c to ra l student, said she is resigning for personal and political reasons. She said it’s been difficult to make progress on her dissertation while serving as GSG president. “This is a lot,” Cork said. “It’s more work than I anticipated.” Her resignation comes after the GSG voted on Nov. 3 to launch an impeachment investigation into the president on the grounds of potential misuse of the group’s funds. Financial Affairs Vice President Devin Scott found the fiscal 2017 budget had been overspent by roughly $30,000 after Stamp’s Student Organization Resource Center gave him access to the files. Cork previously told a Diamondback reporter she planned to resign on Nov. 3 but did not do so. The GSG’s Budget and Finance Committee found several transactions See cork , p. 2

alec spear | 1997-2017

campus

Confederate flag scrawl revealed at univ meeting Weeks-old drawing in CIVICUS dorm’s bathroom revealed by students critical of U’s transparency on bias incidents At a meeting o n Thursday Lillian Andemicael w h e re many @LAndemicael c r i t i c ized the Staff writer Un ive rs i ty o f Maryland’s administration for a lack of transparency regarding hate bias incidents, students revealed a nearly two-week-old incident involving a Confederate flag etching in a dorm bathroom. Chief Diversity Officer Roger Worthington confirmed that an apparent Confederate flag was found carved into a stall in the third-floor men’s bathroom in Somerset Hall, which houses the CIVICUS program. C I V I CUS D i re c to r Ko rey Rothman sent an email about the incident to the program community on Nov. 6, the same day she was made aware of it. In September, Worthington announced the creation of the Student Leadership Council for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by

ALEC SPEAR, center, was a junior marketing major. He died Nov. 11 at age 20. photo courtesy of beth schneider

‘A big kid with a bigger heart’ By Lillian Andemicael | @LAndemicael | Staff writer

W

hen University of Maryland student John Spies moved back into The Varsity for the second semester of his sophomore year, he recognized a familiar face in the elevator. “You’re Spear, right?” he said. “You’re Spies, right?” replied Alec Spear, then a freshman. Spies first heard of Spear, who played varsity football at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, through mutual friends, but the two didn’t connect until that day,

Spies said. He told Spear to add him on Facebook so they could hang out sometime. Less than two minutes later, Spies recalled receiving a message: “Yo what room are you in? Do you care if I roll now?” Spies, a senior finance major, said his friendship with Spear would change his path in college. They spent nearly every day together at The Varsity apartment complex, where Spies lived and See spear, p. 3

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in an email sent to the university community. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion reached out to student leaders in various organizations to welcome them to the council, which

would meet once a month to discuss actions the university administration could take to push for diversity and inclusion, Worthington said. On Thursday, the council met with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in Marie Mount Hall for the first time See incident, p. 9


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