THE BG NEWS Thursday
November 29, 2007 Volume 102, Issue 68 WWW.BGNEWS.COM
CAMPUS
Lil Duval takes the stage Semifinalist for BET’s “Coming to the Stage,” the comedian is scheduled to perform in the Union today at 7 p.m. after being forced to reschedule due to illness | Page 3
FORUM
Thanksgiving: the new Christmas? Columnist Marisha Pietrowski proposes that Thanksgiving and Black Friday are becoming the modern day Christmas | Page 4
Silence speaks louder than words By Kristen Vasas Reporter
Junior Brian Metzger started his day just like any other. After attending a morning class, he dropped by Starbucks to pick up a coffee. But after reaching the counter to place his order, things changed. Metzger was unable to speak. Like nearly 1,600 other University students last year, Metzger participated in Silent Solidarity, an event that asks its participants to remain voiceless for eight hours in order to represent people silenced in society. “It’s a really hard thing to do,”
Black Friday becomes a bust
STATE
Metzger said. “No one tells you it’s going to be easy when you sign up, but I sure wouldn’t describe it as a cake walk.” Participants are asked to remain silent from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., which includes refraining from using popular forms of communication devices such as cell phones, e-mail, instant messaging and Facebook. The event, which is sponsored by the Social Justice Task Force and SMART, gives different labels, which stand for different groups, to every student participating. More than 100 groups are represented in Silent Solidarity and the identities are assigned randomly.
“Committee members did research on groups that are underrepresented, and those were the ones that were chosen for Silent Solidarity,” said Jennifer Key, a graduate student involved in the program. “Gender, race, socio-economic status and sexuality were some of the main points considered.” And although the day calls for students to reflect on the struggles of silenced people, Key said many students seemed to have forgotten the mission over the years. Therefore, changes were made in order to bring meaning back into the event. “A majority of people did it for the T-shirts last year,” Key said.
“We wanted to bring purpose back to Silent Solidarity. This day is so much more than just a Tshirt.” In the past, free T-shirts were given to participants in order to distinguish who was involved in the event. However, this year buttons and wrist bands were distributed instead. The Silent Solidarity committee also decided to include a walk-in room displaying pictures and stories of silenced people. Students participating in the event were given the
See SILENCE | Page 2
opportunity to read the stories WWW.SXC.HU
Older adults also at risk of AIDS, STIs
Enter the Bowling Greenhouse
Columnist Grant Pardee reiterates his shopping experience on the infamous day after Thanksgiving | Page 4
By Theresa Scott Reporter
By Adam Louis Reporter
Holiday concert ads strike up dispute, protest
When people think of HIV/AIDS the image of a grandparent does not often come to mind. But yesterday’s Brown Bag Lunch presentation by Nancy Orel talked about just that. The presentation, titled “HIV/AIDS and Older Adults,” was held in the Women’s Center to a group of eight students and faculty. The purpose of the luncheon was to discuss some issues about older adults and sexuality that are rarely talked about. Older adults are not immune to sexually transmitted infections, and especially not HIV/ AIDS. But older adults, Orel explained, are the most overlooked group when it comes to talking about HIV/AIDS and safe sex, and therefore they continue to be an at-risk population. The first case of HIV/AIDS in the United States was documented 26 years ago in 1981. Since then, the face of AIDS has changed many times, but no real attention has been paid to older adults suffering from the disease. The fact that older populations have been ignored or disregarded when discussing HIV/AIDS prevention has had an effect on many older adults, Orel said.
Almost every single day, horticulturist Joe Baker passes from the blustery streets of Bowling Green, passed a miniature desert, into a tiny tropical rainforest and back again. Baker takes care of the exotic plant life in the campus greenhouse, nestled between the Technology Building and Leroy Avenue. The greenhouse was built in 1968, getting some of its plants from Ohio State University and other research facilities. “There’s quite a bit of trading that goes on between houses,” Baker said. There are currently representatives from 45 to 50 families of plants in the greenhouse. The building is divided into four separate greenhouses, two used for teaching and two used for student projects, professional research and experiments. Student projects often focus on how plant growth is affected by different wavelengths of light, different fertilizers and different qualities of water, Baker said. “I loved [the greenhouse],” said senior environmental policy major Marie Roach. “I think it’s a great place to learn about plants and about horticulture.”
Denison University’s concert posters laden with nooses have been the breaking point for many students | Page 6
‘Best recruiting class ever’ Seven of eight new recruits for women’s swimming will start next year and coach Keri Buff is positive they will have an immediate impact in the conference | Page 7
See GREEN | Page 2
Legendary football star dies at age 86
SPORTS
ESTABLISHED 1920 A daily independent student press serving the campus and surrounding community
Bill Willis, Hall of Fame player for the Buckeyes and the Browns, helped break down the NFL’s color barrier in the 1940s | Page 7
See AIDS | Page 2 PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS WEST | THE BG NEWS
WEATHER
PEOPLE ON THE STREET
Were you What foreign language do you wish you knew?
KATY HAURIS Sophomore, Psychology
“Greek, because I’m going to marry a Greek guy.“ | Page 4
TODAY Partly Cloudy/Windy High: 32, Low: 25
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Musharraf gives up baton amid emergency rule in Pakistan By Munir Ahmad The Associated Press
aughty or
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ice
this year? Check out our
Holiday Gift Guide TOMORROW Partly Cloudy/Snow High: 39, Low: 22
WWW.SXC.HU
inside for great gift ideas
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — A tearful Pervez Musharraf ended a four-decade military career yesterday, giving up his army commander’s ceremonial baton on the eve of taking an oath as the purely civilian president of Pakistan. The United States, keen to promote democracy while keeping Pakistan focused on fighting Islamic extremism, praised Musharraf’s relaxation of his grip on power as a “good step” forward. But it gave him no slack on the other key demand that he end a state of emergency that has enraged political rivals, strained his close ties with the West and cast doubt on the ability of opposition parties to campaign for parliamentary elections in January. “We welcome Musharraf’s decision to shed the uniform,” said former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, leader of one of the two main opposition parties. “Now the Pakistani army has got a full-fledged chief and they can better perform their duties.”
ANJUM NAVEED | AP PHOTO
MOVING ON: Pakistan’s President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, left, salutes to his successor Gen. Ashfaq Kayani during the change of command ceremony in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
But she said her party would “not take any decision in haste” on whether it could accept Musharraf as head of state. Nawaz Sharif, another former
prime minister and opposition leader, again rejected Musharraf’s presidency, saying his presidential oath today would have “no legitimacy.”
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