SPORTS
Men’s soccer to take on Georgetown in College Cup semifinals p. 8
DIVERSIONS Deadfall thinks it’s smart, but it’s as stupid as it is fun p. 6
The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper
ISSUE NO. 68
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103rd Year of Publication
diamondbackonline.com
TOMORROW 60S / Few Showers
Friday, december 7, 2012
Ledo sign catches fire Officials report minor damage to building’s exterior; no injuries By Fola Akinnibi Staff writer The Ledo Restaurant sign caught fire at about 11 p.m., causing minor damage to the exterior of the restaurant, Prince George’s County Fire Department spokesman Mark Brady said. The electrical fire started at the
sign on top of the parking garage and embers fell onto an awning on the first floor. Firefighters extinguished the flames in about 10 minutes, said William Corrigan, College Park Volunteer Fire Department chief. The sign, which was still steaming at about 11:40 p.m., had some of its letters burned away; Brady said there was
smoke in the building. At least a dozen response vehicles were at the scene. Prince George’s County Fire Department officials put the fire out before it caused any significant damage and no injuries were reported, Brady added. newsumdbk@gmail.com
Athletic debt won’t inhibit univ. ability to pay exit fee, experts say By Jim Bach Senior staff writer University officials have promised the move to the Big Ten means more revenue to aid the university’s strained athletic budget, but simply leaving the ACC carries a hefty price tag. The department shoulders more than $80 million in debt and is grappling with fluctuating ticket revenues and depleted
reserve funds — and had to cut seven teams in July to prevent a $4.6 million deficit in fiscal year 2011 — all factors making the prospect of a potential $50 million exit fee more daunting. But the high debt numbers are “misleading,” said Brian Ullmann, assistant university marketing vice president. The debt load is largely composed of loan repayments dating back to 2006 for renovations to Byrd Stadium, in-
cluding the $50.8 million Tyser Tower featuring 63 luxury suites and flatscreen TVs. “It’s not like we’re living under this crushing $80 million debt,” Ullmann said. “The athletic department doesn’t have trouble making their payments.” The university paid $3 million in debt service last year, a figure that See fee, Page 3
ledo’s sign caught fire last night, igniting a first floor awning. There were no injuries. charlie deboyace/the diamondback
Loh forms president’s commission to plan out conference move By Quinn Kelley Senior staff writer A president’s commission will study how to maximize the advantages of joining the Big Ten and how to prepare for the impending changes over the next year and a half, university President Wallace Loh announced yesterday. The 22-member group, called the President’s Commission on UMD and Big Ten/CIC Integration, will help prepare the university for its conference move, scheduled for July 1, 2014, by crafting ways to support student-athletes and enhance the university’s academics with the added revenue from the Big Ten, Loh said. The university is projected to make $100 million more in its first six years in the conference, according to numbers obtained by Sports Illustrated. Additionally, members will craft a plan to keep university athletics stable for at least the next 20 years. And after examining the operations and finances of college athletics, the commission will decide if it is feasible to bring back any of the seven
teams that were cut in July and if so, which teams and when they would be brought back. “This is not just something the university administration should closet in a room and do by itself,” Loh said. “There’s never going to be 100 percent agreement, so what you want is as open, as transparent, as broadly represented conversations as you can possibly have.” The recommendations must be delivered by June 30, 2013, giving administrators one year to review them and determine how to allocate the additional revenue. With the move comes membership to the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, an academic consortium composed of Big Ten members and the University of Chicago. The university will join the CIC July 1, 2013, opening up opportunities for shared library resources, study abroad programs, graduate student fellowships and leadership training opportunities. Because it will be too costly for the university to take advantage of these right away,
See group, Page 3
City council forms group to address noise, rentals Residents worried about neighborhood life fans can upgrade their tickets at men’s basketball games thanks to LetsMoveDown, an electronic ticketing app that alumni Derek Shewmon and Federico Campbell developed. Fans can buy and sell tickets at lower prices during games, and the athletic department recently partnered with the group. file photo/the diamondback
moving on down Alumni create electronic ticketing app to help fans get better seats during games By Alex Kirshner Staff writer Derek Shewmon and Federico Campbell were enrolled in a graduate program in the business school when they came up with an idea, a way to fill the hundreds of empty seats in Comcast Center during men’s basketball games. This sparked the development of LetsMoveDown, an electronic ticketing app that allows fans to buy and
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sell tickets on their smartphones at rates that decrease as games go on. The athletic department recently announced a partnership with the group, and officials said the app will allow athletics to promote innovation while benefiting Terrapins fans. “The original concept came from a third partner of ours who just noticed empty seats at arenas and stadiums,” Shewmon said. “It started from there.” After an early version of their product won a competition in the
university’s Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, they began to see its business potential, Shewmon said. “We wanted to be on the forefront of technology and also offer our fans something that was of added value to them,” said Matt Monroe, assistant athletic director for ticket services. The app lets fans in “nosebleed” sections easily move into empty, better seats at market value by using
NEWS 2 OPINION 4 FEATURES 5 DIVERSIONS 6 CLASSIFIED 6 SPORTS 8
See app, Page 2
By Teddy Amenabar and Lily Hua Staff writers As long-term residents voice concerns about the decreasing quality of life near student rental housing, city officials hope a committee of stakeholders will help craft solutions to the most contentious issues. Over the next six months, the Neighborhood Stabilization and Quality of Life Workgroup will be broken down into four subcommittees to address issues of noise violations, neighborhood relations, rental stabilization and diversity of housing, according to District 1 Councilman Patrick Wojahn, one of the committee’s two leading members. The body will present its final determinations on how the city should proceed to the College Park
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City Council in roughly six months. With nearly 30 members, ranging from student representatives to the university’s police chief, the work group plans to develop stronger residentstudent relations. “There’s a lot of anger for people who’ve lived in the community,” College Park Mayor Andy Fellows said. “Even if it’s like five or six events, over time, it rubs people the wrong way.” Two years ago, census data showed the city has seen owner-occupied housing drop by 11 percent since 2004. Roughly one-third of all students who live off the campus are in a form of rental housing, according to a report by the Sage Policy Group in March. “[Long-term residents] who had lived in the community for a long time suddenly found themselves surrounded
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See council, Page 2
© 2012 THE DIAMONDBACK