Wednesday, April 17, 2013 | PAGE 3
Organizers aim for inclusion at Pride Week
BOSTON Continued from page 1 help,” Wells said. “Words can’t describe the feeling. ... Everything just heading to one direction not knowing what they were going to find.” “I just dropped to my knees and prayed for the others,” Wells said. After the blasts, more than 400 members of the National Guard were seen downtown patrolling the area. Hotels nearby were evacuated and the city was on full alert as the search continued for remaining bombs. The political aspect of the bombings has caused speculation and accusations. UK political science professor Davida Isaacs was explaining the possible repercussions of the rumors of this being a continuation of the war on terror. “The current reports are, to the best of my knowledge, sheer speculation. Unfortunately, the media and the public’s desire for certainty and a sense of safety cause people to jump to conclusions,” Isaacs said in an email to the Kernel. “Thus people began to assume that the Saudi students at the scene were involved, despite the fact that foreign nationals could be expected to be in the crowd at any major event. They might be indeed be involved, but perhaps not. It is important that the public remembers that these types of investigations take time.” Suzanne Holt, a 2011 UK graduate who lives in Owensboro, was at her hotel at the time of the explosions and
Events fitting all schedules honor LGBT community By Laura Shrake news@kykernel.com
PHOTO BY KEVIN WILES JR. | ZUMA PRESS/MCT
Local, state and federal agencies respond to blasts at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday.
still felt the panic and confusion from the blasts. “I was in my hotel when the bomb went off, but had friends that were at the finish when it occurred,” Holt said. “It definitely seemed a little hectic, but a few hours after we had to leave the hotel to catch our flight once we got word that they had lifted the grounding on flights.” Holt said the city had an eerie feel to it after the incident. “We saw few people and traffic and it was very quiet, especially compared to just a few hours earlier during the marathon,” Holt said. “There were lots of helicopters circling above at the time. Just very eerie.” UK senior Brian Hancock was another participant and witnessed the mayhem after the explosions. “I heard two loud booms a few seconds apart, and looked out the window to see smoke rising and people running,” Hancock told the Kernel on Monday. Despite the tragedy, those
on the scene explained how the city persevered and how important the day was to the community. “To Bostonians, the Marathon and Patriots’ Day is like the Derby and an NCAA Championship wrapped in one,” Romanelli said. He said the runners felt for those hurt. Because mostly bystanders and officials were hurt by the bombs, some felt a sense of guilt. “You got that sort of sick feeling,” Romanelli said. However, he said the tragedy showed how strong the city is and his feelings only grew because of the unity. “There’s no doubt, I’m coming back in 2014,” Romanelli said. Wells had mutual feelings, as he made his Facebook status, “Boston 2014, God willing.” “As runners we’re kind of a strong cult,” Wells said. “We’re going to run further, stronger to show we can overcome evil and be role models.”
Hypnotist awes, confuses students with comic act Some say they don’t recall parts of the event By Cameron Griffin news@kykernel.com
The Cats Den was full of laughs Tuesday night when Rusty Z, a hypnotist comedian, came to cast a trance on a selected few in the audience. The event brought in about 100 people who were anxious to see if hypnosis can really work. The event began with Rusty Z asking the audience members to put their hands out, shut their eyes and face their left palms up. They were then told to pretend their right hands had balloons attached to them, and that their left hands had a heavy dictionary. Those whose hands were more than 6 inches apart went on stage. Fourteen people went on stage and the hypnotizing began, though some were not able to be hypnotized and Rusty Z asked them to step down. Then there were eight left up on stage, with trances that included people thinking they smelled bad and someone singing the Martian national anthem. Cartavia Conley, a psychology freshman and the one who supposedly spoke Martian said afterward: “I do not remember speaking in any Martian, and I don’t know why people keep asking me that.” When Conley was instructed to speak in Martian
at the snap of Rusty Z’s fingers, she did so, only to forget the transaction after the second snap of his fingers. Conley added that the only part she remembered was telling people that something was fake. Rusty Z made her say “It’s fake, it’s fake, it’s fake” every time she heard the word “hypnosis” during a part of the performance. The audience members who went on stage were there for about 50 minutes. Faith Gingrich-Goetz, a theater freshman, said she did not think it was that long. Mariah Riley, a dietetics and pre-pharmacy freshman, was not among those on stage taking part in the hypnotism. “Everything was real funny, and the people having no recollection of it made it even
funnier,” Riley said. “I had my doubts on hypnotism coming in, but talking to one of my friends who does not remember anything that she did made me believe it was for real.” Rusty Z thought the show went well, even for those who had never been hypnotized before. He liked the turnout and the cooperation of those not being hypnotized. “All in all it went well; I like the size of the crowd this year,” he said. “Last time I came to UK was around 10 years ago and there were only 10 people here to watch.” The event ended with Conley and Gingrich-Goetz on stage acting like they were only there for a few minutes and having no recollection of what went on during the performance.
PHOTO BY JON KINNEMAN | STAFF
Hypnotist and comedian Rusty Z brought UK students on stage to be hypnotized in the Cats Den on Tuesday.
The LGBT Task Force and the Office for Institutional Diversity are partnering with campus offices, departments and organizations to bring the largest Pride Week in history to campus. More than 20 events will be part of Pride Week, including a pride buttonmaking session, free HIV testing, discussions about gay rights issues before the Supreme Court, and a pride photo shoot and “GAYLA,” an anniversary celebration and drag show hosted by OUTsource, an LGBT campus resource. “The primary focus and
motivation of Pride Week is to celebrate and honor the LGBT members of our UK family,” said Eric Morrow, chair of the LGBT Task Force. “It’s an opportunity for everyone else to develop new understandings and to foster new friendships in a safe, fun environment.” Events for this year’s Pride Week began Thursday with OUTsource and the Late Night Film Series’ showing of “Beginners.” Murrow hopes the Pride Week schedule, with afternoon and evening events, will allow more people to attend. Pride Week will continue through Friday with more events to promote un-
derstanding of the LGBT community and to celebrate those who are members of the LGBT community. “The strongest and most important evidence that our community embraces inclusion and promotes a sense of belonging is the respect that each individual and every group receives from the rest of the campus,” Vice President for Institutional Diversity Judy “J.J.” Jackson said. “Consensus is not the goal, but (we hope for) fairness and mutual respect.” For a full schedule of events, visit the LGBT Task Force events page at www.uky.edu/Diversity/LG BT/events.html.
SAB’s Candlelight Ceremony to honor graduating seniors By Angela Reinmund news@kykernel.com
The Student Activities Board is hosting its first Candlelight Ceremony for all of the seniors who are graduating this May. The event will be at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday on the lawn in front of the Main Building.
There will be two speakers, UK alumnus and Kentucky Rep. Ryan Quarles and Tim Tracy, the dean of the College of Pharmacy and UK’s interim provost. During the ceremony, seniors will light candles and learn the alma mater. They also will receive a pin bearing the words “see blue” that can be worn dur-
ing the graduation ceremony. “The ceremony is a celebration of their time at UK,” said Micaha Dean, the director of traditions for the Student Activities Board, who will act as an emcee for the ceremony. After the candle lighting there will be cupcakes and cookies available for postceremony socialization.