THE BG NEWS Friday
January 18, 2008
ESTABLISHED 1920 A daily independent student press serving the campus and surrounding community
Avoiding death
Celebrating Bowling Green’s birthday bash
Volume 102, Issue 86 WWW.BGNEWS.COM
FORUM
PULSE
NATION CAMPUS
Changing it up dorm-style
Suspects flee to Mexico to avoid execution
Conflicting roommates this school year had to wait until the beginning of spring semester to move switch rooms | Page 3
By Michelle Roberts The Associated Press
Blood drive hopes to ‘bag the hero’
With the theme of “Bag the Hero in You,” next week’s blood drive is aimed at filling the need for blood due to the flu season | Page 3
Tasers targeted towards women
Offered in pink and leopard print, C2 Tasers are now available for civilians to protect themselves | Page 8
Don’t vote ignorantly
Columnist Jess Hylton discourages voters from making their decision based on superficial qualities | Page 4
WORLD
Omar bin Laden promotes peace
175 Years
One of Osama bin Laden’s sons advocates finding a peaceful solution rather than turning to militancy when it comes to the conflict in the Middle East | Page 6
Story by Kelly Metz | Photo Illustration by Brian Bornhoeft
SPORTS
Falcon’s tough defense leads to easy points
Bowling Green is turning 175 years old this year and the community is celebrating. The last time Bowling Green celebrated its birthday was in 1983 when the town turned 150. It was a chance for the community to come together and realize what the town has to offer, said Megan Newlove, President of City Council. Although 175 is an unusual number, Mayor John Quinn believes it’s another good reason to bring the city and University together. “Now is a good time to appreciate our heritage and build a sense of community,” he said.
Forced turnovers and fastbreak points lead to run-away Falcon’s victory | Page 9
See B-DAY | Page 2
PEOPLE ON THE STREET
Do you eat organic food?
WEATHER
San Antonio , Tx.— A methamphetamine dealer who gunned down a deputy during a traffic stop in Southern California. A man in Arizona who killed his ex-girlfriend’s parents and brother and snatched his children. A man who suffocated his baby daughter and left her body in a toolbag on an expressway overpass near Chicago. Ordinarily,thesewouldbedeath penalty cases. But these men fled to Mexico, thereby escaping the possibility of execution. The reason: Mexico refuses to send anyone back to the United States unless the U.S. gives assurances it won’t seek the death penalty — a 30-yearold policy that rankles some American prosecutors and enrages victims’ families. “We find it extremely disturbing that the Mexican government would dictate to us, in Arizona, how we would enforce our laws at the same time they are complaining about our immigration laws,” said Barnett Lotstein, special assistant to the prosecutor in Maricopa County, Ariz., which includes Phoenix. “Even in the most egregious cases, the Mexican authorities say, ‘No way,’ and that’s not justice. That’s an interference of Mexican authorities in our judicial process in Arizona.” It may be about to happen again: A Marine accused of murdering a pregnant comrade in North Carolina and burning her remains in his backyard is believed to have fled to Mexico. Prosecutors said they have not decided whether to seek the death penalty. But if the Marine is captured in Mexico, capital punishment will be off the table. Fugitives trying to escape the long arm of the law have been making a run for the border ever since frontier days, a practice romanticized in countless Hollywood Westerns. Mexico routinely returns fugitives to the U.S. to face justice. But under a 1978 treaty with the U.S., Mexico, which has no death penalty, will not extradite anyone facing possible execution. To get their hands on a fugitive, U.S. prosecutors must agree to seek no more than life in prison.
OhioLink keeps book prices from stacking up
R R
BRANDON CAMPBELL Sophomore, Biology
“No, because it costs too much. They want us to be healthy, they need to lower the prices.” | Page 4
TODAY Partly Cloudy High: 27, Low: 20
TOMORROW Snow/Showers/Wind High: 20, Low: 8
See OHIOLINK | Page 2
D
R D
By Steve Kunkler Reporter
Paying for textbooks is often an expensive endeavor for students who usually don’t have enough money to start with. Ohio’s libraries are here to help. OhioLink offers textbooks free of charge from other Universities and colleges around the state of Ohio to students who are looking to ease the hefty bill which buying textbooks usually entails. There is a catch to the system, though, as a student may only request a book in three week intervals for a maximum of 15 weeks. This can be interrupted if a person from another school or from the same school requests the book and there are no other
D
R D
REMAINING PRIMARY SCHEDULE
Text here to say something about this point that’s important to students and the campus. JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE
Ohio primaries: Better late than never By Kyle Reynolds Reporter
While Iowa, New Hampshire and Michigan are done casting their votes for their presidential primaries, Ohio must wait its turn. On March 4th, Ohioans will get their chance to go to the polls but historically the race has been over by that time, said Melissa
Miller, associate professor of political science. “From historical data candidates win in early states, gain momentum and they seal up the nomination,” Miller said. “Later states don’t matter because enough delegates have already been selected to ensure nomination. Going by history the Ohio primary is probably not going to matter.”
However, this year could be different than past primaries because of the wide-open GOP field, which has turned out three different winners in Iowa, New Hampshire and Michigan, and a competitive race between the Democratic front-runners. “It’s possible that nobody will get enough delegates before March 4th,” Miller said. “But if I was gambling woman I would
say the nominations will be sealed up by March.” Many states have moved up their primaries in order to have more influence this year. Michigan was one of those states but both the Democratic and Republican parties faced big penalties. The Democrats lost
VISIT BGNEWS.COM: NEWS, SPORTS, UPDATES, MULTIMEDIA AND FORUMS FOR YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE
See PRIMARY | Page 2