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Wednesday, October 29, 2014
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UMass democrats urged to campaign and vote Government reps. spoke at University By Stuart Foster Collegian Correspondent
ARAZ HAVAN/COLLEGIAN
Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III, who represents Massachusetts Fourth District in the House of Representatives, speaks at the event.
D e m o c r at i c students of the University of Massachusetts were asked to campaign for all Democratic candidates in the upcoming Massachusetts election at a stop on the Your Voice, Your Vote college tour. The event, which was organized by the College Democrats of Massachusetts, featured 4th District U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA), 2nd District U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), Massachusetts Rep. Steve Kulik and Massachusetts Sen. Ben Downing, who has worked as the chair of the coordinated campaign for the Massachusetts Democrats in this election. The event was held in Commonwealth Honors College Events Hall East, the walls covered in
political signs advocating Martha Coakley for governor, Maura Healey for attorney general, Deb Goldberg for treasurer and Joe Kennedy for representative. “We know that when Democrats are in positions of leadership, this state moves forward,” said Downing in a speech that criticized the recent history of Republican governors in Massachusetts, who were in office 16 years before Gov. Deval Patrick’s election in 2006. Downing said those 16 years were the reason for Massachusetts’ national ranking in job creation (47th) and the state’s billion-dollar deficit at the time of Patrick’s election. Downing also referred to Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker’s approval of the Big Dig Project in Boston saying, “He restricted our ability to grow and create jobs”. Downing contrasted this see
VOTE on page 3
Friend of Boston bombing SGA swore in four new suspect convicted of lying members, had ally training
Phillipos expected to be sentenced in Jan. By Rick Serrano Tribune Washington Bureau
A friend of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted Tuesday of two counts of lying to the FBI and faces up to 16 years in prison for trying to thwart a federal terrorism investigation. Robel Phillipos, 21, from Cambridge, Mass., claimed that he was high on marijuana when he deceived FBI agents about how he and friends secreted away some of Tsarnaev’s belongings from his dorm room in an attempt to protect their friend.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mike Dukakis, the 1988 Democratic presidential candidate, testified on behalf of Phillipos. Dukakis, a family friend, said he spoke to Phillipos shortly after the young man talked to federal agents. Phillipos told Dukakis he was confused and unsure what he had said to authorities. After a two-week Boston trial, a federal jury convicted Phillipos on both counts, each carrying a maximum of eight years in prison because his misstatements about hiding Tsarnaev’s backpack and other items came in the midst of a federal terrorism investigation. “The jury got it exactly right,” U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said in a state-
ment after the verdict was announced. Phillipos, who is expected to be sentenced Jan. 29 in Boston, becomes the third Tsarnaev friend to be convicted in the wake of the April 2013 bombing. Two others, Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, are to be sentenced later this fall. Tsarnaev is scheduled to go to trial in Boston in January on 30 counts in the bombing that killed three and injured more than 260. He has pleaded not guilty. His brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, described as his bombing accomplice, was killed during a police shootout several days after the two pressure cooker bombs exploded at the race finish line.
Members covered variety of topics By William Keve Collegian Staff
The Student Government Association’s weekly Monday meeting began with an Ally Training Program led by Senator Holli Selman and other volunteers from the Stonewall Center. After breaking into four groups, SGA members were taught correct terminology and pronoun use for members of the LGBT community, as well how to stand up as an ally whenever the situation presents itself. Speaker of the Senate Sionan Barrett emphasized
the importance of the trainings, citing that SGA representatives are needed to serve as role models for the importance of being an ally. After the training, the meeting proceeded as usual. Topics discussed included student business development in the Hatch, Halloween protocol, Student Business Week, open-source textbooks, an announcement on the Sam the Minuteman Rider and a series of appointments of new members. The meeting was met with a series of appointments of new senators, all sponsored by Administrative Affairs. Michael Hout was appointed to a vacant senate seat in Sylvan Residential Area. He
had been serving as a commuter before moving on campus this semester. Hout was approved unanimously. Jose Nova was appointed to a vacant seat in Southwest Residential Area. Nova said, “Last semester, I saw how underrepresented people of color were, in addition to women coming from single homes. That brought me here, I’m excited to get working and make things happen.” Senator Nova also said he would like to work on the Diversity and Student Engagement Committee with Emily O’Neil and Josh Odam. The motion was approved unanimously. see
SGA on page 2
UMass students say $10,000 grant given to Amherst PD Award to combat The grant provides more funding and Yik Yak poses no underage personnel flexibility to the department drinking because officer pay is not pulled from the cyber bullying issue general budget. By Marleigh Felsenstein
Problems with the app go unreported By Patrick Hoff Collegian Staff
Anonymity and privacy are a rarity in the 21st century, and perhaps that’s what makes the smartphone app Yik Yak so appealing – with no credential necessary to post, a person could write something and nobody would ever know. Yik Yak is an iPhone and Android app that allows people over the age of 17 to post 200 character messages about anything without revealing their name.
Collegian Staff
The messages can be seen by anyone within a radius of a mile and a half of the post. The app was launched in Nov. 2013, inspired by various Twitter accounts on college campuses revolving around confessions or crushes. Creators Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington, graduates of Furman University, wanted to give everyone the power to post messages anonymously instead of just the administrators of the crush or confession Twitter accounts. The goal, according to Yik Yak Community Developer
see
YIK YAK on page 2
The Amherst Police Department has received a $10,000 grant in order to help officers work overtime to be able to enforce underage alcohol laws. The grant was awarded through the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security under the Highway Safety Division. With this grant, extra officers can focus on limiting alcohol use by minors in public and at parties, according to Captain Jennifer Gundersen of the APD. It will also provide funding for different programs, which include com-
pliance checks, reverse stings, party patrols, surveillance and “Cops in Shops.” The officers that will be working overtime will be either uniformed or dressed in civilian clothing, and will sign up for different time slots to work overtime in order to make this grant work. The APD is to report to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security with their statistics every month in order to maintain this grant, which the APD has received for the past 10 years, and has been renewed every year so far. This year’s grant started on Oct. 1, and will last until Sept. 30, 2015. Gundersen said the grant is competitive, and in order to receive the money, a department
needs to show previous experience in enforcement efforts. The grant provides more funding and personnel flexibility to the department because officer pay is not pulled from the general budget. “More cops and more lights. We rely on this grant to fund having enough officers during critical times,” Gundersen said. Undera g e alcohol enforcement efforts usually occur on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. There are exceptions, and in these cases,
such as Homecoming, extra officers will work overtime on weekday nights too. “We can certainly be more proactive,” Gundersen said. Once a person under the age of 21 has been caught drinking on the street or has been caught at a party, the police have a few punitive options. Police can arrest that person and take them into custody, or they can summons them and send a referral to the Dean of see
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