TODAY’S FORECAST HI: 84o LOW: 63o Molly Waddell | The Houstonian
“Seagull” leaves audiences relfecting on own relationships and happiness
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Christian organization provides service to otehrs on Halloween
Volume 122 / Issue 19
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SHSU prepares to take on Southeastern Louisiana Saturday
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Thursday, November 1, 2012
Campus News
Students ‘takeover’ LSC for Halloween MCKINZIE BROCAIL Senior Reporter
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he Lowman Student Center (LSC) was transformed into a Halloween extravaganza during Program Council’s sixth annual LSC Takeover on Wednesday. From 8 p.m. to midnight on All Hallows Eve costumed students roamed the grounds of the mall area and all the floors of the building hunting for free thrills. Students warred in a huge tent, shooting each other with laser beams through thick fog. Others waited in line to pass through a conference room transformed into a spooky haunted house. “It was scary and thrilling,” Tori Cook, biology junior, said. “People were jumping out at us and there were people on the floor in the dark that you had to step around. On a scale of one to 10 on how scary it was, it was an eight!” Tay Whatley, an accounting freshman, interjected, “It was not that scary! I’ve been through enough haunted houses to know!” Students could make their own dog tags and sand candy. Fake money fluttered around eager participants in the Money Machine, who
were trying to capture as much as possible in 30 seconds to trade in for candy and chips. “It was fun and exciting,” Tonisha King, a biology sophomore, said. “I caught $214. You stuff as much money in your clothes as possible for prizes.” Three psychics, specializing in readings from facial to tarot cards to color auras and relationships were delving into students’ minds. “My psychic focused on relationships based off vibes and colors,” Jackie Delgado, dual criminal justice and Spanish major, said. “I was scared she would say something bad, but it was pretty spot on.” Spinning around in the ballroom were Bearkats inside giant human hamster balls. “It was a workout, a good workout,” Jacci Neal, psychology sophomore, said. “My arms hurt, those two minutes seemed longer.” Some students got a workout while stuffed into sumo wrestler outfits, while others rode a mechanical bull for as long as they could hold on. The LSC Takeover also included a photo booth, a showing of horror movie “The Awakening” in the theater and treats like sausage on a stick, hot dogs, sliders and cake.
Stephen Green, George Mattingly | The Houstonian
SPOOKTACLE OF A TIME Raven Jackson, sophomore nursing student, and Jennifer Williams, junior kineseology major, (above) partake in the sumo wrestling activity provided by Program Council’s LSC Takeover on Wednesday. Jackson eventually overtook Williams for the “victory” and showed off her victory dance for her friends. _ (Left) entered the money machine to grab as many “dollar bills” as she could. The more dollars participants grabbed, the more candy and other edibles they could take as trade. The takeover also featured a mechanical bull, a haunted house, and many many candy stations.
Campus News
Parents of Murdered Children victims themselves “When I woke up that morning, I knew Raynell was dead,” Gilda Muskwynsky recounted to her audience. Muskwynsky is just one of the thousands of people who have gone through what every person dreads; the murder of a loved one. Muskwynsky’s story was one of three shared Tuesday at the 30th annual Parents of Murdered Children program. The program featured three speakers who have lost their relatives to murder, including Muskwynsky, and Andy Kahan, the Houston area Victim Advocate. The program focused on the problems within the criminal justice system that the victim’s families experienced, as well as the victim’s rights movement. Muskwynsky described her experience with the criminal justice system as “there is something wrong with our state”. She was forced to deal with several glitches in the system, such as the death notification process and a soft judge, in order to try to bring her daughter’s killers to justice. Bruce Caldwell, a lieutenant with the Sugarland Police Department, felt that his experience with the criminal justice system was grossly inadequate for his son’s death. The man convicted of killing Caldwell’s son was given thirty years of prison time, the lightest sentence he has seen out of every
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SOPHIE NELSON Staff Reporter
When I woke up in the morning, I knew Raynell was dead...
homicide he worked in his stint as a detective. “We go on with the trial and they made a complete mockery of my son and his life,” said Caldwell. “The jury wouldn’t even look my wife and I in the eyes.” Carlton Collier joined the Parents of Murdered Children organization in order to help others deal with the criminal justice system, since he also experienced frustrations, such as the confession his wife’s killer made was void because of police failure. “My best therapy is to try to help other people learn how to cope with the criminal justice system,” Collier said. “It’s more for the criminals than it is for the victims.” Following the experiences of the victim’s families, Kahan spoke to the audience about his job as the only Victim Advocate working for a city in the nation. He feels that the least the government can do is to “watch over victim’s rights, their well-being, their due process, and what happens with them,” instead of focusing on the criminal. To do this, Kahan focuses on passing legislature to help victims get their full rights. He has so far helped pass 22
pieces of legislature. “Anybody can yell and scream about the injustices of the world,” Kahan said. “But I would much rather prefer to find a solution or remedy.” Megan Stovall, a senior Criminal Justice major and student in the victimology class, really felt that the presentation brought the point across of how important victim’s rights are to society. “Instead of focusing on and glorifying the crime, more people need to get involved in the system and learn about victim’s rights,” Stovall said. “Listening to this presentation makes you understand what goes on in the background and what people go through instead of seeing the crime itself.” Muskwynsky’s daughter was murdered along with her boyfriend by two men in a drug deal dispute. After finding out the exact scenario that took place the night of the murders, Muskwynsky learned that her daughter had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. If she had not been out that night, her daughter would still be alive. “My pain will never, ever go away,” Muskwynsky said. “I will never forgive either one of them.” Caldwell’s 21-year old son was murdered by a neighbor and close friend who had grown up with Caldwell’s son. Caldwell’s talk stressed to listeners the importance of —
VICTIMS, page 6
Campus News
Former student loses lawsuit against SHSU STEPHEN GREEN Editor-in-Chief A former Sam Houston State University student has lost his lawsuit against the university. Aman Abdulaziz sued the university claiming his civil liberties were violated after his arrest in 2010. A court has dismissed the lawsuit after the university filed a motion to dismiss with the district court. In a widely publicized YouTube video picked up by Houston news stations, the dashcam video of the event shows, Abdulaziz alleges, an officer can be heard saying, “I choked the shit out of him.” Abdulaziz alleges that he was beaten before being taken to the police headquarters. He said the police originally charged him with three crimes while at the scene of the incident; possession of marijuana, tampering with evidence, and evading arrest. Abdulaziz was found not guilty of a fourth charge, assaulting a police officer, close to a year later. Requests for the police report and dashcam video were unable to be fulfilled by press time. Calls to Abdulaziz’s lawyer and the district attorney were not returned by press time. Abdulaziz filed his lawsuit two years to the day of his original lawsuit.
EARLY VOTING DEADLINE TOMORROW The deadline for early voting in the general election ends tomorrow, Nov. 2. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 9. Be sure to check the Walker County or Texas Secretary of State website to find your polling location.