TECHNICIAN
tuesday september
11 2012
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
NCSU silent as nearby shootings unfold Jessie Halpern News Editor
Local news reports of a fatal shooting at Cameron Village and an armed suspect on the loose caused outrage on campus when N.C. State students did not receive a WolfAlert or any official University warning about the nearby event. At 10:08 a.m. Monday, WRAL reported that a shooting occurred on the 400 block of Daniels Street in Cameron Village at approximately 9:30 a.m. According to the report, officers found a dead woman lying on the pavement, though her name has not been released. While WRAL’s story had spread around Facebook and Twitter, students still had not received any campus warnings until after noon, almost four hours after the shooting. Reports that more than 12 Wake County public schools were on lock-down only angered students further. The Wolfpack Students group on Facebook exploded with posts and comments.
NATALIE CLAUNCH/TECHNICIAN
A fatal shooting took place at Cameron Village on Monday morning around 9:30 a.m., according to police reports. N.C. State students were not alerted by the University until 12:52 pm.
According to Lt. David Kelly, operations manager for Campus Police, students were not officially notified because there was no “immediate or imminent threat on
campus.” Kelly said a press release addressing student concerns will be available this afternoon, but cautioned students to consider Chancellor
Randy Woodson’s policy on alerts before complaining. “The system is set up for the actual campus and areas adjacent to campus,” Kelly said. “Within one
University hopes for self-reflection on 9/11 Jessie Halpern & Megan Dunton News Editor & Staff Writer
ARCHIVE PHOTO/TECHNICIAN
Showing support for her country and troops, Lee Churchill, a Raleigh resident, attended the 2010 N.C. State memorial service to remember the events that occurred Sept. 11, 2001. Churchill was greatly moved upon receiving an autograph from former Army General and N.C. State alum, Henry Hugh Shelton.
While N.C. State observed the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11 with an ornate event complete with a flyover, this year’s eleventh anniversary commemoration is primarily absent. Student Body President Andy Walsh said that last year, the University played a large role in commemorating the tragedy. “Last year there was a big ceremony at the Bell Tower,” Walsh said. “All the ROTC departments on campus got together. There were different speakers. It was a really emotional ceremony and they had a flag flying over with a crane.” This year, however, it seems commemorations on campus won’t reach that level of sentimentality. Lt. Andrew Recame of the Naval ROTC program and assistant professor of naval science said the ROTC program doesn’t have anything formal planned this year. “Of course we’re going to recognize it in our class and lab this week, but we don’t have any formal public ceremony planned,” Recame said. “Last year we did the big tenth anniversary which involved many different groups, but this year we don’t have anything like that planned.” ROTC isn’t the only part of campus that hasn’t budgeted for a commemoration. Lauren Collier, Union Activities Board president,
said there wasn’t time to plan a campus-wide event this year. “A lot of the committee chairs weren’t able to have their committee meetings in time to get events in and didn’t have the time to plan something,” Collier said. “It was really hard for us to get stuff together right after Wolfpack Welcome Week, because our first board meeting was August 20.” According to Walsh, the University ran into the same roadblocks of time and money. “We have been really heavy with events this fall thus far and this could not fit into our schedule with the resources we have available,” Walsh said. According to Walsh, NCSU played a significant part in last year’s event, and because of last year’s planning, University officials knew there wasn’t time to make something happen this year. “We’ve tried to think about things we could do, small things other than telling students to be reflective on that day and what it means,” Walsh said. Though the University won’t be sponsoring any events for students to pay their respects and commemorate the victims of 9/11, students are encouraged to, as Walsh said, “be reflective.”
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minute of it occurring, we were in contact with the Raleigh Police Department that the guy was heading north — away from campus.” Though Campus Police knew the threat was heading away from the University, many students were unaware and concerned. “I don’t feel the university police department responded with the degree of urgency that a homicide case should warrant,” said Amanda Sanders, a senior in communication. “We should have been immediately notified. Many students visit Cameron Village to enjoy the shopping and dining options it offers, and many may live nearby it.” These concerns didn’t go unnoticed by University administrators, according to Student Body President Andy Walsh. “I completely agree that there was failed communication in that regard,” Walsh said. “I say that because we get text messages about armed robberies and burglaries that
SHOOTING continued page 3
Arab, Muslim Americans meet post-9/11 fears with outreach Lindsey Rosenbaum Deputy News Editor
After the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, racial discrimination and Islamophobia spiked against the Muslim and Arab-American communities in the United States. In the years since then, members of those communities have responded by sticking together to promote education about their religion and cultures. The FBI reported a 17-fold increase in the number of hate incidents against Muslims in the period immediately following the Sept. 11 attacks, increasing from 28 reported hate incidents against Muslims in 2000 to 481 in 2002. “Islam was put in the spotlight in a bad light,” said Zainab Baloch, a senior in psychology and president of N.C. State’s Muslim Student Association. “I grew up in the America where, as Muslims, we were required to explain ourselves and what exactly we were. Our parents never had to deal with this type of backlash.” The Muslim Student Association was formed nearly 20 years ago because a large number of international and Muslim students on campus at that time felt underrepresented. The MSA works to increase diversity education and provides programs for people of all backgrounds to meet with other Muslims on and off campus, as well as educating both students and faculty about Islam. Education about Islam is a key goal for both the MSA and NCSU’s Muslim community, according to Muneeb Abbasi, a senior in business administration. “It makes me very happy to see that the Islam classes I’m taking on campus are full of students who’ve never been exposed to the subject, and that the interfaith events that MSA holds are full of people as well,” Abbasi said. “It shows me that there are people out there who want to learn more about our religion. … The best way to have any sort of interfaith dialogue is only through good education, and I
MSA continued page 2