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Show Logan, Utah Utah State Universit] Today is Monday, Jan. 5, 2009 Breaking News Israeli ground troops and tanks cut through the Gaza Strip Sunday, as a new phase of a devastating offensive against Hamas militants gained momentum. Page 2 Campus News A number of students spent the break building houses in Mexico. Page 3 Features Student Luke Bybee overcomes shyness to perform in more than '" 30 plays. " Sports Get a recap of basketball games played during the break. Opinion 'The errors of last semester aren't too far buried in the history books. Fall 2008 is still recent enough to remember mistakes and try to fix them. This is where that grand old tradition of New Year's Resolutions comes into play." www.utahstatesman.com Charges filed in death of student ByLISACHRISTENSEN copy editor Charges were filed Friday in connection with the November death of freshman Michael Starks against the Sigma Nu fraternity and Chi Omega sorority and 12 members, according to the probable cause document released by the Cache County Attorney's Office. It states the charges included supplying alcohol to a minor and hazing, and ranged in severity from felony to misdemeanor. Police reported to the Sigma Nu fraternity house at about 3:57 a.m. Nov. 21 where a Sigma Nu fraternity member, Kelly McGill, was performing CPR on Starks, according to the probable cause document. Paramedics took over revival attempts on the way to Logan Regional Hospital where Starks was pronounced dead, it states, with a blood alcohol content of .373. The drinking took place as an initiation to the fraternity, the document states, as part of a "capture" activity done with Chi Omega, the fraternity's sister sorority. The activity "is generally done in fun and is supposed to build brotherhood among the pledges. This capture activity... generally included some form of painting or marking and, in the past, has involved alcohol consumption." Starks was taken to a house belonging to a fraternity member on 181 W. 200 North and asked to strip to his boxers, it states. He was then painted with blue and white paint and offered a bottle of vodka, which he took, it states. According to the document, however, Starks was not forced to drink. Later, when Starks had returned to the Sigma Nu fraternity house, fraternity members became concerned about his level of intoxication, the document states, so one of the members called poison control and followed the instructions given. When he was found not breathing at about 3:45 a.m., 911 was called, it states. Additionally, it states, a fake I.D. showing Starks was over 21 years of age was found in Starks' room, with which he was believed to illegally buy alcohol. The USU chapters of both Sigma Nu and Chi Omega were each charged with one count of third-degree felony hazing. Twelve members of the fraternity and sorority were also charged with hazing, a misdemeanor, including current fraternity president Cody Wayne Littlewood and USU students Brittany Bell, Sadie Green, Cecily Kiss, iVIcKell D. Miner, Mallory Mitchell, Timothy Swan Weber and Alexandra White. Grant Arthur Barney was also charged with obstruction of justice, a class-A misdemeanor, and Whitney Katherine Miller and Brittany Packham were both charged with supplying alcohol to a minor, also a class-A misdemeanor. -lisa.m.christensen@aggiemailusu.edu Illegally chained bikes to be impounded By GREG BOYLES assistant news editor The Utah State University Risk Management Office will be impounding bikes that are illegally chained to hand rails and landscape in response to students' complaints that bikes are blocking handicap ramps and stairs, said Joe Dulin, USU's risk manager. In the past, Dulin and the USU Police have placed warnings on bikes chained to inappropriate areas on campus. However, Dulin said this has not been working, and to combat the overwhelming amount of people locking up their bikes everywhere except for the bike racks they will begin impounding bikes immediately. Some of the more popular areas to chain a bike - besides the bike racks - are at the bottom of a flight of stairs against a hand rail, on wheel chair ramp, in front of fire exits and against trees, Dulin said. All of these areas Dulin said are both damaging to USU property and possible safety hazards. "I don't want to be in the business of impounding bikes," Dulin said. "So far we've only impounded one bike; however, if I have to start impounding more bikes, I'll do it." And the risk management office isn't just impounding bikes for kicks and giggles, Dulin said. The purpose of their department is to locate possible safety hazards on campus, and right now Dulin said bikes are a big one. However, Lt. Shane Sessions of the USU Police Department said the bike problem this year is much worse than in years past. "This fall has probably been the worst number of (warnings) issued in a long time. Usually we issue two to six warnings a semester; this fall we are issuing three to six a day," Sessions said. And Sessions said the warnings being placed on bikes are not meant to be offensive; rather, he is hoping to inform students that by locking their bikes in inappropriate areas, they are contributing to a safety hazard on campus. Sessions said some reports have come in about people being injured by tripping over T H E USU RISK M A N A G E M E N T OFFICE will be impounding bikes illegally chained to hand rails, wheel chair ramps and landscape in order to promote campus safety. TYLER LARSON photo illustration bikes that have been chained to on flights of stairs, or people slipping down icy steps because they couldn't use the hand rails. However, the majority of the concerns have come from people with disabilities who rely on handicap ramps and hand rails to safely make it around campus, said Diane Baum, director of the USU Disability Resource Center. "These bikes are a real hazard. Students (with disabilities) rely on those hand rails a lot, we just don't need bikes chained to them," Baum said. The Disability Resource Center has received many complaints from people with disabilities on campus who have been injured due to inappropriately placed bikes, Baum said. Also, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states any bike that impedes hand rails and handicap ramps must be removed to ensure a person with disabilities can maneuver safely around campus. Baum said USU has a large amount of blind students who do not have the ability to see a bike, and has heard of many instances when a student has accidentally run into one. "How would it feel to have a handle bar to the groin?" Baum said. Sessions said many students have told him they appreciate the safety concerns regarding locking up bikes against handrails; however, the lack of bike racks on campus forces them to do it any way. To this, Sessions said the USU Police and Risk Management Office can not control that, and will continue to do what it takes to keep USU students safe. "If a student has their bike impounded they'll have to come to our office (to retrieve it)," Sessions said. Although no official fee has been set, Sessions said it will cost to get a bike out of the impound, and may be similar to skateboard violations which is $25. -greg.boyles@aggiemail.usu.edu Students build homes in Mexico Page 11 By RACHEL A. CHRISTENSEN news editor Almanac today in History: On Jan. 5, 1933, construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge, as workers began excavating 3.25 million cubic feet jpf dirt for the structure's huge . [anchorages. Weather High: 22° l o w : 17° Skies: Snow expected for most of the week. Archives and breaking news always ready^for you at wwAv.utahstaCeiman.com • LAST YEAR USU STUDENTS on a Charity Anywhere Foundation service trip built the roof for the house on the right. The Foundation uses volunteers to build and repair houses in poor countries such as Mexico. RACHEL CHRISTENSEN photo Winter break was anything but restful for some USU students who traveled to Tijuana to perform service for people in the impoverished area. The group consisted of 80 people, which also included three families, and was organized by the Charity Anywhere Foundation (CAF). Matt Dawson, a volunteer for CAF, earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from USU. Dawson has traveled to Mexico for five trips with CAF over the past year. He said the foundation's creator, Gordon Carter, started the group 18 years ago. "He's just a guy," Dawson said, "but in 18 years he's built hundreds of homes." Volunteers from USU spent seven to nine days building and repairing houses for families in Tijuana. Joey Stocking, sophomore in business, went on his first service trip last year. "I made a lot of friends," Stocking said. "It's how I met Josh, my roommate." Stocking said he and Josh Jones were asked by Gordon Carter to organize the USU students into cars for the trip down, collect fees, inform participants what to expect as well as advertise for the trip. Stocking said they advertised mostly by word of mouth, but they also hung signs in the TSC. One of these signs in the TSC is where 11 See MEXICO, page 3 |