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Show WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER i'l Ifil ' fa, t 29, DIXIESUNNEWS.Cbii-- El 6:1 ,7 Ill 0 (-0-- :,,:l.1 1 Vat 1 r u s- ) i i (11 Q,,t, luf ULiti ' A :l'. le tr:il fll "E i Lt o 0 r 0 ashono k CUS 8 I , ilVO VI KATHLEEN MEGAN and MIKAELA PORTER INS 3 Brianna Brochu, the former University of Hartford student accused of harassing her roommate by smearing bodily fluid on the roommate's backpack and tampering with other items, made a brief appearance in court Tuesday, and her lawyer said he does not expect hate crime charges to be filed in i at rtu e. the case. er Brochu, a Harwinton resident who was tossed from the university after her alleged harassment of her roommate came to light, was charged by West Hartford police with breach of peace and criminal mischief. Her case was continued until re's e - D11- 1rd, Dec. 18. )11- Brochu, who is white, told police that she did not have - Ian good relationship with her roommate, Chennel "Jazzy" Rowe, who is black. Brochu a led claimed Rowe was rude to her and posted videos online of her snoring to make fun of her. The NAACP and others 'd, have publicly supported the roommate and have urged Hartford prosecutors to file a hate crime charge against. as SIJ 0," Brochu, but prosecutors have declined to discuss the matter other than to say their decisions are guided by the evidence and the law. Attorney Tom Stevens, representing Brochu, told the Hartford Courant he does not believe a hate crime charge will be added. "I think this is sort of not the case that you all have been fanning the flame on," Stevens told the media. "I think when it's all said and done, what you're gonna see is there was nothing racial that motivated this. "This was two students who were placed together, I think randomly...who didn't like each other, like has been happening since kids went to school and became roommates." Brochu told police she lashed out at the roommate and said she licked her plate, fork and spoon, put blood from a used tampon on her backpack, and mixed her lotions with other lotions from her roommate's desk. Rowe told police that Brochu "generally ignored her and treated her as a ghost," according to the warrant for Brochu's arrest. She had asked for a room change and was moving her belongings out of the room on Oct. 17 when Brochn's Instagram post describing her alleged conduct surfaced. A crowd started gathering outside Superior Court in Hartford by about 8:30 a.m. "All eyes are watching (the hate crime decision)," said Hartford pastor Steven Camp, who waited outside court. "Hate crimes are not just putting crosses on lawns," Camp said. "The motivation for this was race. It was hate." About 50 people protested. The crowd packed the courtroom for an appearance that many of them found disappointing. Among them was Pastor Day Ian Greer of Bloomfield. "I'm disappointed in the law, I'm disappointed that, again, it seems that this is going to be continued several times so that the support of the cormnunity is lessened; however, we're coming back because we believe that this is a hate crime and hate should not be tolerated," Greer said. Ajia Coleman, 21, of Windsor, president of the University of New Haven's NAACP chapter, called the charges "unbearable" and "repulsive" and said she favors the addition of hate tr t ;LI bodil y 1)1 .,1 - BY t 3 -- A ,,, 11 t , 4 r i.1 ' crime charges. After the brief court appearance, she said t , t she isn't sure if she is angry .. but that she is disappointed. "The private attorney asked ,k,,, ....it 1 for a continuance to Decem, 1 ber 18, the DA didn't argue, s. , ,, g oti. nodded his head and the ' .1,,, " ' 1 1 said it was continued," ''' judge ' I Coleman said. "And then we , were all just, 'Why?' 'How?' 'What's the reason for the ' tt 4 '' z continuance?' Obviously, ...,.................. none of us know why. We Accused of contaminating her black roommate's belongings at the University of Hartford, Brianna Brochu addresses the court were all upset. during a hearing, Nov. 21, 2017, in Hartford. She's charged with "I wanted to hear some misdemeanor criminal mischief and breach of peace, and proskind of dialogue," Coleman ecutors say they're determining whether to add a hate crime said. "In all reality them charge. continuing the case, it's not "And that for her was a tipwho was not available to inhurting the NAACP or supterview, has said she regrets ping point." porters, but it's going to hurt Stevens said he also thinks what she did. her, it's going to hurt Jazzy." Hathe University of Hartthat said doesn't Stevens he New of University ven student Jordan Harris ford handled the case poorly think hate charges will be filed against Brochu because said before Brochu's court and unfairly. "I fully expect evitake on UHart on her "I there's to that he think wanted don't appearance to see a hate crime charge dence of that." behalf," Stevens said. "We'll added. investigate any potential Many of those who want claims that she might be able After the brief court apto see hate charges see in Brochu's to evidence Harris make because of it being that pearance, expressed frustration with the process reference to her roommate, handled unfairly." and that he had hope someStevens said the universiRowe, as "Jamaican Barbie," said Stevens Rowe but that would ty's handling of the case was thing happen Tuesday. He said he is optimistic about used those words to describe "rushed and then because the Dec. 18 court appearof the firestorm of what herself on social media. "There was a tipping point ance. happened immediately after "If they think this will slow that caused my client to do it, my client was dismissed Harshe it did and was whatever the movement, it's not," summarily without any due ris said. "We'll be stronger, when Ms. Rowe took some process." of her we'll still pack the court." (c)2017 The Hartford unflattering videotape Courant. and posted it," Stevens said. Stevens said that Brochu, "444414,aa,a,114Pal ' 1, 4 ;t 1 f , , ,...,....1 , 4 ,,, . - A ., 4 , '4--4 14 ... ) , - I' e ,,,,,, 0 cn tax reform worry college teams GOP - , BY EBEN NOW-WILLIA- TNS kr )1 than 30 years, colleges and universities have leaned on an obscure tax rule For more that allows sports boost- ers to make contributions to their teams. fundraisers around country say that's an Athletic the advantage that generates millions in annual revenue and one that's threatened by 1, ' Republican tax legislation. The issue revolves around donations that confer the football right to buy top-tiand basketball tickets. Modeled after seat licenses in pro , er - I Sports, these "contributions" have historically been 80 percent tax deductible and have become one of the three main revenue streams in college sports. Ticket sales and money earned from media rights are the other two. The bill approved by the House Thursday would remove the tax incentive tied to those donations. Congressional tax writers say other kinds of tax relief in the bill are more important. "If seat license ant to and revenue is importstate-base- ultu a 3 ch CO!: can provide tax benefit rather than federal taxpayers," a House Ways and Means Commit- tee spokesperson said in an Ithis lite, colleges universities, then states themselves ral d email. A plan being debated in Senate includes a similar measure. If the (11' the passed, make effectively make those contribu change would tions more expensive, and colleges and universities fear that would have a chilling effect on giving. Take Louisiana State University, for example. Between the athletic department and its foundation, the perennial power receives more than $60 million per year in donations tied to seat licenses. If that drops 20 percent as a result of the new tax code, senior associate athletic director Robert Munson says, "that is a number we cannot possibly absorb." It could erase the roughly $10 million a year that the Tigers contribute to the academic part of the institution, he said, and could even make the department reliant once again on funding from the school's general coffers. "On the surface it may look like, 'Oh, a bunch of rich deducpeople don't get a tax tion,' but what it's really going to do is hurt athletes," Munson said. Effects Unclear The federal government federal expects to increase a million $200 revenue by the of change, year as a result from estimates to according the Joint Committee on Taxation. It's not clear how and much it will cost colleges universities. at Jon Bakija, an economist calculated Williams College, result that the change could in in a 20 to 30 percent drop direcgiving. Mark Mazur, tor of the Tax Policy Center, suggests the change will be negligible. are "Demand for those tickets Urban-Brooldn- gs so high," Mazur said. "These aren't donations with no strings attached." Even a small decline could hurt many schools. The University of Virginia receives roughly $20 million in annual athletic donations tied to seat priority, and it still needs millions in student fees to cover its costs. The department doesn't anticipate getting any more help. "We have zero room for error," said Dirk Katstra, executive director of the Virginia Athletics Foundation. Like their peers around the country, UVA administrators are working with the university's governmental affairs team to lobby local senators and representatives. Immediate Change The change would take effect in 2018 if passed, meaning schools would probably change the terms of their existing donor agreements so that the annual cost to the donors remains the same. Future contributions would be a bigger issue. James Maurin, a retired Louisiana businessman who has given more than $1 million to LSU athletics over the years, says it won't change his giving "I'm affluent enough, and I'm a big enough fan." But he said he expects the new tax plan could result in a 30 percent dip in donations overall. "I fear that it will be devastating," said Maurin, who served as chairman of the school's Tiger Athletic Foundation from 2011-1(c)2017 Bloomberg News. 2. - - - ., ... in ask 1 IVS DIXIE VS IVS THE VOICE OF DIXIE STATE UNIVERSITY WHAT CAN DIXIE SUN DO FOR YOU? 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