Daily Egyptian THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
SINCE 1916
Tree shatters window
VOL. 100 ISSUE 85
Video suggests physical action against violence at May 2 protests TYLER DAVIS | @TDavis_DE
Morgan Timms | @Morgan_Timms Keith Robertson, the maintenance supervisor at Alleman Properties, saws a tree trunk into smaller, more manageable portions Wednesday after Tuesday night’s thunderstorm uprooted it on the property at 323 W. Walnut St. in Carbondale. “That darn storm blew this tree over yesterday,” said Robertson, a Johnsburg native. Taylor Johnson, a senior from Morris studying marketing, is one of eight tenants living in the damaged house. “We thought there was a tornado happening,” Johnson said. “One of the girls woke up from her nap and we checked her room and the tree had shattered her window. It was pretty scary.” Robertson said it will probably take the maintenance crew four or five days to clean up and replace the house’s siding.
Player’s Ball is back TIERRA CARPENTER | @TierraMC_
Kappa Alpha Psi’s 38th annual Player’s Ball is returning to SIU on Saturday after about a four-year hiatus. Player’s Ball is a large party that brings in college-aged people from across the midwest. It was held regularly until the fraternity that presents the event was made inactive roughly four years ago. Kevin Gettis, a senior from Bellville studying history, said KAP decided to bring back the event because it’s something students enjoy. Gettis said proceeds from this event, as well as other paid events by the fraternity, will go toward Hadly and Havyn Noto, twin girls who suffer from mitochondrial myopathy. “Their parents can’t afford the wheelchairs,” Gettis said. “They can’t afford the handicap accessible vehicles, so every single thing we’re doing is trying to help their parents fund the things that they need.” As for the party itself, Gettis said some extra steps were taken to provide a safe environment for expected crowd
of more than 2,000. He said there will be metal detectors, pat-downs, 27 SIU police officers, two emergency medical service vehicles, 20 volunteers and 20 chaperons. Some of the volunteers and chaperones include alumni, faculty and administrators. The large-scale event policy suggests safety measures because of the prevalence of non-SIU students, who have caused problems at past Player’s Balls. “We aren’t trying to have people overbearing,” he said. “They’re literally just there to help people get in, and our volunteers will make sure that we’re getting people to where they need to go.” Player’s Ball took about six months to plan, costing roughly $35,000 and has sold out in the past. This year’s party is expected to fill SIU Arena’s capacity of 2,500 people. Gettis said they were able to afford the event through contributions from alumni, previous fundraisers, ticket sales and Undergraduate Student Government. Gettis, president of USG, said he always heard of Player’s Ball, and wanted to be a
@DAILYEGYPTIAN
A video on Twitter that shows a man holding guns and threatening to retaliate against violent protests May 2 is being investigated by police. The 30-second video posted by @058_powermoves about 3 p.m. Tuesday shows an unknown male threatening to retaliate against any white students who act violently May 2. A caption with the video said the message goes out to students who plan on “purging” and harming black students May 2. The video, which was retweeted nearly 400 times, comes just days after a YouTube video encouraged white students at SIU to beat and lynch black students May 2. Both videos have since been removed. “I wish a m----- f----- would slide on me talking about they’re gonna hurt me May 2,” the male in the Twitter video said. “I’ll blow your s--- back.” In a conversation via direct message on Twitter, the account holder, who did not give his name, said the guns in the video are fake and he has no plans to commit violence. “I’m not a killer so I don’t care,” he said when asked about students being afraid after seeing the video. “I’m not attacking no one, I’m not racist.” The account holder said the video was taken in Chicago and when asked if he was an SIU student, he simply replied “First amendment.” May 2 was originally the date of protests against student loan debt and administrators’ “lavish salaries.” A supporter of the May 2 Strike Committee, which organized a strike against normal campus procedures that day, posted a YouTube video using footage from Disney’s “A Bug’s Life” encouraging students to join in the strike. Please see VIDEO | 3
part of one. “I look at it as the students who never got to experience it,” Gettis said. “So we tried to make it as best as possible.” Gettis said he was able negotiate with administrators, such as interim Chancellor William Bradley Colwell, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Kevin Bame and Lori Stettler, interim vice chancellor for student affairs, to hold the party in SIU Arena, after the large-scale event policy in 2012 restricted the Player’s Ball to the Student Center Ballrooms. He said the administration trusts them to have an event with no violence, which is what they plan to provide. “We’re trying to party peacefully,” Gettis said. “We want to be social but at the same time we don’t want any issues to where we can’t have this anymore. … This is something I think we should all have a chance to experience, and I don’t want it to go away based off the current trend.” To read more, please see dailyegyptian.com
Video screenshot Screenshot of video posted on Twitter by @058_powermoves