UMBC student found dead in dorm room - The Retriever Weekly

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6 EDITORS Editor-in-Chief Alexander Pyles 410.455.1262 BUSINESS 410.455.1261 staff Managing Editor Dave Iden 410.455.1263 NEWS Editor Brian Whippo Assistant Editor Andrea Thomson ARTS Editor Jeremy Hentschel Assistant Editor Gaby Arevalo OPINION Editor Aaron Ludensky Assistant Editor Greg Dewey SPORTS Editor Donald Daniels Assistant Editor Ryan Wiggins PHOTOGRAPHY 410.455.1018 Editor Mark Perdomo Assistant Editor Patricia Davila COPY EDITORS Caitlin Hisim Liz Lebedda Mary Meier PRODUCTION 410.455.1266 Manager Megan Zlock Assistant Chrissie Barr Assistant Stephanie Jung Assistant Anne Verghese Assistant Helen Zhang TECHNOLOGY 410.455.3901 Manager Greg Fiumara Online Editor Andrew Cleveland Assistant Dan Ingram System Administrator Paul Swenson Business Manager Kyle Clelan Advertising Manager Zachary Bratcher DISTRIBUTION Manager David Noonan Assistant Junior Portobanco ADVISOR Faculty Adviser Christopher Corbett DESIGN Carly Wilkins STAFF EDITORIAL Losing our spirit bit by bit With the basketball season over, UMBC once again stopped caring about sports. The momentary fl icker of interest was mere bandwagon jumping on a successful team. Now that the season is over, there is no longer the pervasive spirit that we felt through the winter. People are once again doing their own thing and ignoring the athletic teams and the spirit that we had a short month ago. Why can’t UMBC retain spirit generated by a successful run at a title? Why EDITORIAL POLICY opinion@retrieverweekly.com A government plan for responsible drinking Nick Jamison SENIOR STAFF WRITER Isn’t it a little odd that we live in a nation where a man or woman can be old enough to go to war, yet not old enough to enjoy a beer? It’s this kind of backward circumstance that is inspiring some people and organizations to reopen the debate on lowering the minimum drinking age. And while the action has always proved futile time and time again because of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)’s efficient campaigning, I can’t help but feel that there is reform in the air. In all 50 of the United States, it is illegal to purchase or consume alcohol before the age of 21, but this was not always the norm. Before an extensive lobbying effort by MADD during the 1980’s, each state was free to decide what was best for their residents in regards to the alcoholic consumption age. States are still allowed to choose their own minimum drinking age, but it comes at a cost if the age they select is lower than 21. States who fail to uphold the 21 age minimum The Retriever Weekly welcomes your comments. Letters to the editor must be submitted before 5 p.m. Friday via e-mail to eic@ trw.umbc.edu or delivered to The Retriever Weekly offi ce, UC 214. Please limit letters to 300 words and include your full name, year and major. The Retriever Weeky retains the right to edit submissions for content and length. I am glad that Sodexho is leaving. This morning I went to the Spot for an early breakfast, only to discover that not only was the place experiencing an apocalyptic dearth of food (I believe they were behind on shipments; last I checked they closed every morning from 2:00 to 2:30 AM for re-stocking), but they were not taking meals, they were not taking cash, and the cash-to-card machine was broken. I, without fl ex, was forced to go hungry. I almost shoplifted a yogurt bar. It would have served them right. I can only pray that Chartwells will not screw us over like this. I am tired of being wrung for money and receiving so little nourishment in return. UMBC has allowed its food service provider to suck us dry. I hope the administration will choose to grow a spine and stand up for its students. Katie Mettle Political Science UMBC ‘10 will lose a percentage of their federal highway funding. More than half of the states had their age limits set younger than 21 before legislation was passed in 1984, but now all comply to the 21 age limit. From an international perspective, the United States minimum drinking age of 21 is higher than our neighboring countries, higher than all of Europe, and higher than most of the world. This new big push for a decrease in the drinking age is occurring because of the war in Iraq and the large number of young recruits. The fact that one can enlist at 17 years old in the United States, but must wait another 4 years to consume alcohol legally is insulting to our men and women in uniform. By that calculation, at 17 years of age the government believes you are mature enough to handle an assault rifle, but popping a beer is asking too much. Any soldier who has served this country gallantly should be entitled to a drink if he/she wants it. While some efforts are hoping to lower the drinking age for all citizens either > see DRINKING [8] > Looks like a party! doesn’t the student body have more Retriever pride? These are questions that we can’t answer. It takes individuals coming together to pull for our teams, and without that focused drive there is no crowd, no victories, and no spirit. We need to stand behind our school and its teams even when they are losing. Marylanders stand behind the Orioles even when they are losing, why can’t we stand behind our Retrievers? Let’s do it, let’s get back the spirit that we have lost. COURTESY WIKIPEDIA.ORG The Retriever Weekly staff editorials refl ect the views of the editorial board; signed columns and advertisements represent the opinions of the individual writers and advertisers, respectively, and do not necessarily refl ect those of The Retriever Weekly or the University of Maryland Baltimore County. The Retriever Weekly publishes weekly on Tuesdays during the regular school year. Editors can be reached at (410) 455-1260 during normal business hours or at University Center 214; 1000 Hilltop Circle; UMBC; Baltimore, MD 21250. The Retriever Weekly is an equal opportunity employer.
The RetrIever Weekly 04.29.08 oPINION 7 A fiscal look at marijuana laws Brian Tschiegg STAFF WRITER A police offi cer in Asheville, N.C. spots a car driving 10 miles-per-hour over the speed limit. The car is pulled over, and what started out as a simple traffi c stop ends in a simple possession charge. Farther north, a man is arrested for drug traffi cking. He was accused of moving hundreds of pounds of marijuana from California to West Virginia. What’s the difference between these two cases? The drug traffi cker was given a Presidential pardon recently. A student at UMBC, who wishes to be known as Ben, was visiting his girlfriend in Asheville. While his girlfriend was driving, a police offi cer pulled her over for a speeding violation, but a subsequent search of his person and the car revealed about an ounce of marijuana and various paraphernalia, a misdemeanor under North Carolina’s law. If convicted, Ben, a fi rst time offender, faces up to 120 days in prison and a $500 fi ne. Anthony Foglio, Jr. was arrested in West Virginia for drug traffi cking. He stood accused of bringing hundreds of pounds of marijuana from Santee, California to West Virginia while he held a residence in both places. Foglio was convicted and given three years probation, but recently he received one of the 15 presidential pardons given out by President Bush. Why did Foglio receive the pardon while a college student is forced to face charges that could haunt him forever? Foglio is an associate pastor at Sonrise Community Church in Santee, Calif. Plus, numerous contributions to the Bush campaign have been made by members of the church. Is this how George Bush plans to spend the rest of his time in offi ce? Punishing college students and helping his buddies out is no way to run a country. Foglio calls it “God’s mercy,” but he already received some mercy when he got probation instead of the oneto-fi ve years in prison that West Virginia law mandates. Not only did he receive a pardon, but his congregation decided to give him another chance. Now Foglio continues to preach, using his “troubled past” to connect to the gospel. Both Ben and Foglio are casualties in the “War on Drugs” which costs United States taxpayers about $7.6 billion a year. Both California and New York’s budget for marijuana law enforcement is about $1 billion every fi scal year. This means that each marijuana arrest costs about $10,400. Is the cost worth the results? You would expect usage and availability to go down while costs go up, but the exact opposite is occurring. Marijuana related arrests rose 165 percent from 1991 to 2003. The increase in arrests has not led to a reduction of new users, reduction of availability, reduction of potency, or an increase in prices. Obviously these statistics point out the truth: The so called “War on Drugs” is not working. The prohibition of marijuana is actually harming the efforts of law enforcement agents and fi scally harming the United States. Most marijuana arrests are made on people who have no intentions to sell it. By focusing on street arrests, law enforcement agents spend less time trying to arrest suppliers, the people who are actually harming this country. These outdated laws ruin future opportunities for good people. Ben will now have to spend numerous hours in court and thousands of dollars hiring a lawyer. Isn’t it time that we take a second look at who the real criminals are? Brian Tschiegg can be reached for comment at btsch1@umbc.edu. NYC restriction on cellphone useage compromises safety Tiffany Johnson CONTRIBUTING WRITER September 11, 2001 was a horrifi c day that still remains in the hearts of many of those who weren’t there, but watched the chilling event on television. Imagine then how it must have been for the thousands of people involved who were reaching out to loved ones on their cellphones before the towers collapsed, or before they became a hero while saving others from being targeted by terrorists on Flight 93. Now imagine what it would have been like if those people couldn’t contact their children because of a silly ban on cellphones in one of the nation’s largest school systems, New York City. New York City’s Department of Education made a terrible mistake in September 2005 when they decided to ban 1.1 million students from bringing cellphones to school. Offi cials claim one of their reasons for placing the ban was due to students using their phones for cheating. Give me a break. With or without cellphones, students will fi nd a way to cheat. When it comes to cheating, students morph into the most strategically precise individuals. Cell phones only make-up a small fraction of the numerous ways teens can cheat. With that being said, since cellphones can become a small problem during testing, I believe it’s okay for them to be confi scated for that small frame of time. However, what happened to the days when teachers would walk around the classroom making sure students didn’t cheat? According to offi cials, another reason for the ban is the distraction it causes for teens. With the increase of sexual activity taking place in school, sleeping in class, drug abuse, and fi ghting, it seems as though teachers would be begging offi cials to allow students to use cellphones. That may be a stretch, but honestly, students will be distracted with or without phones. The main and most important reason why cell phones shouldn’t be banned is safety. Nowadays, with all the crime and violence, phones are truly a precious gift. When my cell phone is dead or if I don’t have it with me, I honestly feel a bit unsafe. Cell phones are a necessity for minor to extreme cases, from your car breaking down, or leaving your wallet or purse in a store at the mall, to being kidnapped or a burglary. There was an incident not too long ago where someone attempted to rob a woman’s house. She was smart enough to lock herself in the closet and bring her cellphone. She called the cops and got out safely with none of her belongings stolen. Let’s not forget about the incident that occurred in Baltimore when a teacher was beaten by a student in a classroom while another student caught it all on their phone. The issue was brought to light, and if the student didn’t videotape the incident, the teacher could have been blamed for triggering the violent behav- ior. The sad reality is that stories like this happen every single day. In some New York schools students are searched for weapons before they enter the building. If there are that many students entering school with weapons, then why wouldn’t you want them to carry devices that they could use in the case of emergencies? It seems like common sense to me that they would want students and teachers alike to be armed with anything that could help save, or prevent, other students and teachers from harm. Unfortunately, our world is manifested with crime and violence, but fortunately, we have cell phones. When you hear stories like the ones I previously mentioned, you can’t help but to realize how valuable phones are. Tiffany Johnson can be reached for comment at tj5@umbc.edu. The artifi ciality and hypocrisy of a timetable for Iraq Matt Mainen SENIOR STAFF WRITER There is no common sense basis for the repeated demands for a timetable of withdrawal from Iraq, when there are no such demands for a withdrawal from Afghanistan. It has been made abundantly clear that both fronts in the war on terror are equally important, and considering that our troops in Afghanistan are being forced to sit on their hands while al-Qaeda has rebuilt to full operational capacity in Pakistan, our stay in Afghanistan will remain indefi - nite. This is on account of the fact that in the foreseeable future, Pakistan will neither make the sacrifi ces necessary to fully eliminate al-Qaeda from its territory, nor allow the United States and coalition forces to take care of the problem. The U.S. has not taken the initiative, thus insurgents will be pouring into Afghanistan for years to come because their primary base of operation is being left intact. Another common argument against the war in Iraq is that “our military is being stretched thin,” but this seems to assume that some more imminent threat will arise. It makes little sense to keep our military “on guard” to face a hypothetical threat at the sacrifi ce of dealing with a very real threat in the here and now. The biggest threat right now is coming from Iran, and it seems that most of those who are making the “stretched too thin” argument are the same individuals arguing that a war against Iran will be entirely provoked by the Bush Administration. Using their logic, then, our military is being stretched too thin in order to have the military capacity necessary to act on an artifi cial threat. Those fearful that the Bush Administration will declare war on Iran should be happy that our troops are bogged down in Baghdad. We cannot conduct a successful war with Iran while we are trying to make ends meet in Iraq. Beyond Iran, there are no current threats that would require ignoring the deadly fallout from a premature withdrawal from Iraq. North Korea is cooperating with dismantling its nuclear program, and even if it weren’t, deterrence theory would prevail as it has for Russia and China. Additionally, North Korea wants a closer relationship with the United States, not war. The chances of a more important threat arising than the current situation in Iraq is about on par with Lord Zolgermere of an unknown alien race landing on earth and declaring war on mankind. There are innumerable hypothetical situations that require a military ready to confront them, but the necessary resources should be centered on the here and now. A fi nal point of hypocrisy found in calling for a timetable of withdrawal from Iraq and not Afghanistan centers on pressuring the Iraqi government to make changes because then it will know that there will come a time when it cannot get a free ride off of the United States. The problem with this line of reasoning is that it centers on a reward/ punishment model, but compared to > Pry this from my cold dead hands. Afghanistan, Iraq is making far more progress, thus making it more deserving of being rewarded with a U.S. troop presence. While oil has been pumping out of Iraq at a steady pace thanks to the dedication of its politicians, Afghanistan has been exporting its own local product with the help of its politicians: opium. Political progress in Iraq may be slow, but at least it’s measurable. Beyond the reward/punishment model, we should also consider the necessity of maintaining a high presence of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. It’s important to keep in mind that the invasion of Afghanistan was almost solely conducted by the Northern Alliance on the ground. Coalition forces mostly stuck to air support and tactics. This should make clear that Afghan forces have proven that they are less in need of U.S. troops. Considering that both fronts are equally important (we’re fi ghting the same al- Qaeda), and resources are limited (our military is being stretched too thin), it makes sense that a heavier allocation is deferred to Iraq. GREG DEWEY — TRW Allies, such as France and Germany, have made clear that our battle in Iraq is ours alone. That’s fi ne, but they should keep in mind their commitment as a NATO ally in Afghanistan. If it becomes necessary for a prolonged high troops presence in Iraq or a more available military to face a potential threat, NATO should take the bulk of responsibilities in Afghanistan. Finally, as long as the real threat in Northwest Pakistan continues to be ignored, and victory in Afghanistan cannot be achieved without eliminating this threat, we’re going to be in Afghanistan. A decision needs to be made whether or not we are going to continue to fi ght the bees as they come or attack the hive. On the other hand, all steps necessary are being pursued in Iraq, and, although General Petraeus has been accused of keeping a fuzzy picture of what winning in Iraq means, we know that all steps are being taken to get to that point. Matt Mainen can be reached for comment at matm1@umbc.edu.
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UMBC student found dead in dorm room - The Retriever Weekly

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