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Katzen closing for event Temporary closure angers some students By LINDSEY ANDERSON Eagle Staff Writer Katzen Arts Center, including practice rooms, studios and classrooms, will be closed today, Oct. 22, from 2 p.m. to about 10:30 p.m. for an annual university black tie event, leading some students to express frustration with the university’s priorities. The Katzen parking garage will also close at 2:30 p.m. Some Thursday classes in Katzen will be relocated and practice rooms will be closed during set-up for the dinner and during the event. Both Katzen Arts Center and the garage will be open as usual Friday, in time for Family and Alumni Weekend. The building will close to accommodate the annual President’s Circle Dinner, an event to thank and recognize the university’s major donors, said David Taylor, President Neil Kerwin’s chief of staff. “This is one of the very few times the building has been closed for such a period of time — mainly because the logistics [and] substantial set up that is required for a reception, din-
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ner for 400, parking, caterers, facilities crews,” Taylor said in an e-mail to The Eagle. The event will end around 10 p.m. Taylor estimated students with cardkey access to Katzen would be able to enter the building by 10:30 p.m. Senior in the College of Arts and Sciences Tessa Raden’s Thursday class in Katzen was moved to Tenley campus. Getting to Tenley is a hassle, Raden said. “I could understand why they want to hold their event in Katzen — it’s easily the most beautiful building on campus,” Raden said. “But it shouldn’t be at the expense of students. They should have planned this better so that no one would be inconvenienced.” Signs hanging on Katzen studio and practice room doors warn students the spaces will be closed today. On one sign someone wrote, “This is total bullshit.” Someone else replied, “Agreed.” Kyle Encinas, a senior theater major in CAS, said there is no space to rehearse other than Katzen. “This is the arts building, and the fact that the arts have to suffer because the president wants somewhere nice to hold his event is ridiculous,” Encinas said. “This is a big hassle for us. It’s hard not to feel slighted.” Alex Mensing, a saxophone player for the jazz band and a senior in CAS, said his two rehearsals were cancelled as a result of the event. Mensing will not be able to work his
usual hours in the Katzen music library, he said. “I don’t like that they are shutting people out of Katzen,” he said. “Closing the building discourages students from practicing their instruments or rehearsing for plays ... The closing makes me feel like they are being elitists. It’s like they are saying that this is not really a building for students.” Taylor said holding the event on AU’s campus is a more personal experience and less expensive than moving the event to a downtown hotel. “We regret if taking the building ‘off line’ for approximately 8 hours will inconvenience anyone,” Taylor said. “[B]ut my understanding is it was known and communicated as early as June that the event was going to happen there, and follow-ups were done in September and beyond.” At the event, AU Gospel Choir will perform and two AU alumni, Jack Cassell and Esther Benjamin, will be honored for their efforts to assist AU and the larger community. Kerwin will also pay tribute to Dr. Cyrus Katzen, one of the building’s namesakes, who died this year. About 400 guests will attend the event, Taylor said. Staff writer Julia Ryan contributed to this report. You can reach this staff writer landerson@theeagleonline.com.
A car traveling 15 to 20 miles per hour struck an AU student crossing Massachusetts Avenue walking towards campus — raising concerns about pedestrian safety on Ward Circle crosswalks. The student, who did not wish to be identified or comment for this article, was crossing the southern crosswalk of Massachusetts Avenue — where there are no traffic lights — when a car, driven by an elderly man from out of town, struck him. The impact rolled him over the car hood and onto the street. The Department
of Public Safety and the Metropolitan Police Department responded to the scene. An ambulance also responded but did not transport the student to the hospital after it was clear his injuries were not serious. The driver, who said he was inexperienced and unconfident on D.C. roads, was trying to change to the middle lane so that he could turn left into the Berkshire Apartment Complex further down Massachusetts Avenue. When asked what had happened, the man responded simply, “Well, I hit a young man with my car.” He said his unfamiliarity with traffic circles contributed to his confusion
while driving. “Drivers weren’t letting me in and they were honking their horns, and when I finally was able to change lanes my wife yelled ‘stop!’” the driver said. The accident, while minor, has raised questions about the safety of AU students crossing the busy intersections around Ward Circle. Fifteen pedestrians in D.C. were killed last year in traffic accidents, accounting for 38 percent of traffic fatalities in the district, according to the MPD Web site. And while an MPD officer at the scene of the accident said there are rarely any pedestrian accidents on Ward Circle, Student Government
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ACCESS DENIED — Katzen classes, studios and practice rooms will be off-limits today from 2-10 p.m. for a annual university event. Students expressed their frustration by writing on the sign in Katzen. The annual dinner honors major donors to the university.
President Andy MacCracken is still concerned. “The increased foot traffic sparked by the extra AU students at the Berks has been a safety concern all semester,” he said. “It could be beneficial to make sure there is an officer at the Ward Circle stops between classes, when the highest volume of students are going between campus and the Berks.” MacCracken also suggested that the university lobby D.C. to install flashing yellow lights to alert drivers to the increases foot traffic around Ward Circle between classes. “I’d just recommend that students be aware of their surroundings when
crossing Ward Circle intersections and be courteous to the drivers,” he said. “Rushing might present a danger to everyone involved.” David Taylor, President Neil Kerwin’s chief of staff, said AU is concerned whenever a student at AU is injured. “While incidents such as what happened on Tuesday are rare — all issues involving student/pedestrian safety are taken seriously,” he said in e-mail to The Eagle. AU is working on a campus facilities plan that will address traffic and transportation issues, according to Taylor. n
see ACCIDENT on page 4
Speaker shares pain of More students drunken-driving crash touring AU By JULIA RYAN
TODAY’S WEATHER
LINDSEY ANDERSON / THE EAGLE
Student hit by car on Ward Circle Eagle Staff Writer
SPORTS
OCTOBER 22, 2009 VOLUME 84 n ISSUE 17
throughout ‘09 By LINDSEY ANDERSON Eagle Staff Writer The trains of prospective students touring campus have grown this year, according to Acting Director of Admissions Greg Grauman. More prospective students have visited AU between January and October 2009 than during the same period in 2008, he said. This year, the university switched from the typical Friday preview day event to Saturday Preview Day, aiming to increase attendance. “We are always seeking ways to encourage students to visit campus,” Grauman said in an e-mail. “Students who visit campus are more likely to apply for admission, and if they are admitted, are more likely to enroll than a student who has not visited.” Preview day participants have responded positively to the change in day, he said. In a postevent survey, 98 percent of attendees said they would be will-
ing to attend a similar event if it were held on a Saturday, Grauman said. Usually about 2,500 prospective students visit AU between September and November, and the university is expecting a similar number of students to visit this fall, he said. Bridget Weisenreder, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, took a campus tour and attended an Honors Program overnight and a weekend preview day. Weisenreder said she went on general college tours before deciding which colleges to apply to and attend. “If I didn’t like [AU] in person, I wouldn’t have applied,” she said. Sara Norton, a freshman in CAS, attended preview day and an Honors Program overnight and took a campus tour. The tours and events helped her to decide which college to attend, she said. She especially recomn
see PROSPECTIVE on page 4
Eagle Staff Writer When Mark Sterner took his first drink on the last night of spring break in 1994, all that he expected was to have a few drunken mishaps and good times with his best friends. He had not anticipated that by the end of the night, three of his friends would be dead, and he would be fighting for his life in the hospital. Sterner spoke to a crowd largely comprised of AU athletes on Monday, Oct. 19, about the night when he made the decision to drink and drive while on spring break in Florida, a decision that ruined his life. Sterner, who was judged to be the “least drunk” of the five men after they visited a bar, was driving to another bar with his friends when he struck a tree, killing three of his passengers. Sterner showed the audience a video that he had taped that night of him and his friends drinking and going to the bar. “This video was never made to be shown to an audience,” Sterner said. “It was supposed to be something we’d look back on years later and laugh about how stupid we were in college. But because of what happened that night I would never get to watch this video with my
friends.” The video shows four men doing shots of Jagermeister and whiskey and driving 100 miles per hour in a 35 mile-per-hour zone on the way to the bar. Once at the bar, the four friends did more shots and danced to live music in a nearly empty bar. About 15 minutes after Sterner stopped videotaping, the men headed off to the next bar in Sterner’s rented Lincoln Towncar. As he was driving, his right wheel veered slightly off the road. Sterner steered hard to the left to get back on the road, crossed over to the right side of the road, and hit a tree at 65 miles per hour. He and his friends were thrown 40 yards from the car. His friends Aaron, Jim and Pete were instantly killed. Sterner’s friend Darren sustained minor injuries, but Sterner was so badly wounded that the paramedics who responded to the scene were surprised he was still alive. “The paramedic said he checked my pulse more to confirm that I was dead than to see if I was alive,” Sterner said. Sterner was rushed to the hospital and did not regain full consciousness for two weeks. Not long after he regained consciousness, he was visited by two police officers. They formally charged Sterner with three counts of DUI manslaughter. n
see DUI on page 4
PHILLIP OCHS / THE EAGLE
PHILLIP OCHS / THE EAGLE
CAUTIONARY TALE — Mark Sterner’s life changed in 1994 after he swerved into a tree while driving drunkenly. The accident killed three of his friends and seriously injured Sterner. He hopes his story will help others make better choices.