10-1-13

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WHAT’S INSIDE? A study says sleeping can push off fear Senators: why we want Jaime impeached Bearkats beat Eastern Washington Saturday

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TOMORROW’S FORECAST

HI: LOW:

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86o 70o

Chance of Rain:

Elizabeth Lancaster | The Houstonian

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Volume 124/ Issue 10

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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Hell to the Chief CAMPUS

SGA members file impeachment of president JAY R. JORDAN Assistant News Editor

IMPEACHMENT PROCEDURES • The only impeachable of• • • •

fenses are dereliction of duty, gross inefficiency, or malfeasance. Impeachments are only valid if at least 10 senators sign the allegation form. The Department of Internal Affairs must notify the accused within two class days. Conviction requires a twothirds vote of the Senate present and voting. A conviction will remove the accused from office. Anyone relieved of office by the Senate may appeal that decision to the Supreme Court.

Follow @TheHoustonian for live updates during the impeachment hearings

Student Body President Ramiro Jaime Jr. is up for impeachment after a contentious first few weeks, according to SGA officials. Jaime landed in hot water with the senators after allegedly spending student funds on shirts and a personal assistant without Senate approval. Student Government Association’s Vice President Kolby Flowers received the impeachment form Monday after 10 senators signed the allegations. “It is important to understand that the issues at hand are in no way personal,” the 10 senators said in a joint statement. “Many among us still consider the president a friend, but we cannot stand idly by while this professional misconduct occurs. We understand that the actions we take are drastic, but they are in response to a clear and continued threat against the wellbeing of the student body and the Senate.” Other charges include assuming

powers not explicitly granted by SGA documents in the form of authorizing a new personal assistant to the president, ordering polo shirts without the Senate’s approval and administering a budget without the Senate’s approval. Another charge was failure to appoint a Rules and Regulations Chief and Student Affairs Chief. In an email to Flowers, RAMIRO JAIME Dean of Students John Yarabeck said that in the spirit of fairness and precedent that SGA needs to postpone the hearings on impeachment. “I received this notice of impending charges late this afternoon, and I am very concerned about the fundamental fairness of an impending impeachment hearing scheduled

for tomorrow,” Yarabeck said. “By doing this in this manner you have failed to allow President Jaime adequate time to prepare a reasonable defense. Therefore as SGA Advisor I must step in and insist that these proceedings must be delayed to allow adequate time for the accused to prepare a reasonable defense and appoint proper representation.” Yarabeck also said that since SGA isn’t holding the hearings Tuesday, and next week is Homecoming week, that the hearings should occur in two weeks. “I am concerned that such proceedings if allowed to take place next week would diminish the celebratory nature of Homecoming Week,” Yarabeck said. “They would almost certainly serve to significantly damage the reputation and good name of SGA with all of our constituents if proceedings were to take place during that time.” In response to Yarabeck’s objections, Flowers upheld his decision to have the special session for Jaime’s impeachment at

tonight’s meeting. “I spoke with several members of the Senate who wish to convey an extreme amount of concern about [Yarabeck’s] directive,” Flowers said in response to Yarabeck. “President Jamie has appointed a personal assistant, without the consent of the Senate and has begun paying this individual with money that was not approved by the Senate. If we wait two weeks, that is two weeks of the students’ money we cannot get back.” Flowers said that he does not have the authority to postpone the meeting once it has been set in place, and doing so would be in violation of the Constitution. Over the last few weeks, the Senate and Jaime have exchanged heated, often personal, words when members of the Senate presented a counter-budget after Jaime announced his intentions to have a personal assistant. The president hired the assistant anyway. Jaime would not return repeated calls or emails to comment. The impeachment hearings will begin today at 6:30 p.m.

CAMPUS

Mock trial focused on ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws JEREMY VILLANUEVA Assistant Sports Editor

The Kappa Mu Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta and SHSU chapter of the NAACP put on a George Zimmerman mock trial in an effort to inform people about Stand Your Ground Laws in the criminal justice courtroom on Monday. Stand Your Ground Laws, or Texas’ Castle Doctrine, are laws put in place to provide protection to those who use deadly force in acts of self-preservation. According to Texas Legislature Senate Bill 378, persons have the right to self-defense by deadly means when feeling threatened in their habitation, vehicle, work place or instances of immediate harm. As for the Stand Your Ground Law, the law protects the people in defending in any place. The program informed the audience with statistics of the increase in homicides since the

passing of these laws as well as related instances Florida residents are facing involving the law, including Jordan Davis and Marissa Alexander. Junior Shanece Smith, who played witness Rachel Jeantel, said the program’s purpose was for people to have more knowledge about the laws. The program accomplished its goal, some said. “I felt educated,” senior criminal justice major Cyd-Cherise Reed said after the program. “It helps people understand different laws in different states and how [the nation] can’t get mad how the jury picked.” To assist the audience in learning the laws, the presenters appealed to the audience’s emotion through the use of Trayvon Martin’s case, since most people are familiar with it. This didn’t settle well with all people. —

MARTIN, page 6

Kaleigh Treiber | The Houstonian

STAND YOUR GROUND: SHSU Student Jalen Craig plays Don West, Zimmerman’s attorney at the mock trial on Monday. The event was hosted by Kappa Mu Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta and the NAACP.

CAMPUS

CAMPUS

Government shutdown Customers hesitant about Steam OS hits nation at midnight SAMANTHA GALINDO Staff Reporter

Congress couldn’t reach a solution in order to avoid a government shutdown, which has not happened since 1995. Because Congress cannot agree to a resolution, there will be direct ramification that leave the various federal agencies to map out plans for operating only with essential personnel, according to The New York Times. A government shutdown occurs when Congress cannot agree on appropriation bills or continuing

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funding resolutions, which is Congress’ only Constitutionally defined duty. That means federal agencies do not have the legal authority to spend taxpayer money past the fiscal year which ends at midnight Oct. 1. Dr. Robin Bittick, an associate professor of Political Science at Sam Houston commented on how a shutdown could affect the various programs. “Any kind of freezing in the budget could create problems,” Bittick said. The Department of Education — GOVT, page 6

CHRISTIAN VAZQUEZ Staff Reporter

The Steam train is still chugging along. And with Valve’s announcement of Steam Operating System, it won’t be stopping any time soon. Valve’s new operating system, dubbed “SteamOS,” was announced by the company last week, and this OS will allow Steam to be more flexible than ever by being able to work with their PC demographic while also having the ability to jump to consoles. According to an interview with Valve CEO Gabe Newell via theverge.com, Newell

has wanted Steam to be available on console for years, and Valve’s implementation of Big Picture proves that. Many students at SHSU had mixed opinions about the news of SteamOS. Senior student Andrew Bannon, vice president of Sam Houston Association of Computer Science, said that the concept sounds nice, but that’s about it. “It sounds great on paper,” Bannon said. “But I already have a badass PC for Steam. I don’t want to buy another console to use SteamOS when I’ve got a $1,500 machine that does it all already.” Senior student Drew Carson,

president of SHACS, took the argument a step further. “For those asking why there isn’t an all-in-one device already, the answer is simple,” Carson said. “We already have one. It’s called a PC.” Last year when Steam integrated their new (optional) interface Big Picture, it not only enabled a streamlined display on TV, but also enabled an intuitive interface made just for controllers. This is the next step in Newell’s plans on making his recently announced Steam Box a reality. According to Steam’s website, there are also four new features — STEAM, page 6

Be sure to check out the Houstonian Orientation Guide located around campus and the City of Huntsville! Can’t find one? Let us know and we’ll get you a copy.


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