QUChronicle.com October 3, 2012 Volume 82 Issue 6 Proud recipient of the New England Society of Newspaper Editors' award for 2012 College Newspaper of the Year
SPORTS
Women’s rugby stays undefeated, page 14
OPINION
“Laidback Lahey” caption contest, page 4-5
ARTS & LIFE
Price of a new relationship, page 6
BYOB cook killed in Hamden stabbing Crescent By DANIEL GROSSO Associate News Editor
The Quinnipiac University community lost one of its own on Saturday after a fatal stabbing in Hamden. Lavern Brown, a cook at BYOB Grill in Quinnipiac’s Mount Carmel Dining Hall, was found by police on the floor of his Hamden home around 3 p.m. on Saturday. Police responded to a call re-
porting a stabbing at Brown’s home. When they arrived they found Brown and rushed him to Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery for stab wounds to his chest. He died in the hospital shortly following the surgery. According to Hamden police, officers were told a woman ran from the crime scene when they arrived at the house. Police pursued and arrest-
ed Brown’s girlfriend, 51-year-old Rita Renee Johnson, charging her with his murder. Johnson appeared in court for arraignment on Tuesday, Oct. 2. According the New Haven Register, Johnson’s bail was initially set at $500,000, but was raised to $750,000 due to her criminal history. Johnson’s family acknowledged she and Brown had argued before, and Brown’s family
believes Saturday’s incident began when Brown refused to give Johnson money for drugs. The Hamden Police Department Major Crimes Unit is still investigating Brown’s murder, but is viewing the incident as domestic violence. Brown was 44 and leaves behind four children. Chartwells could not comment on the situation because of the ongoing investigation.
fire alarms set off by act of vandalism By KATHERINE ROJAS News Editor
KATIE O’BRIEN/CHRONICLE
The Dropkick Murphys and Black 47 performed at TD Bank Sports Center last Friday in celebration of the new Great Hunger Museum opening.
irish mayhem: bagpipes and mosh pits By REBECCA CASTAGNA Contributing Writer
The Dropkick Murphys and Black 47 concert on Sept. 28 afforded students, community members, faculty and staff a unique opportunity to be a part of the new Great Hunger Museum opening, scheduled for Oct. 11. The concert featured fastpaced music, electronic bagpipes, crowd surfing, new songs and a bit of Irish history. Although some students were skeptical that they could get "something for nothing," many took a chance, resulting in a substantial audience turnout for the evening. For sophomore Mark Spillane, the availability of free tickets initially cast some doubt regarding the length of the show. “I was kind of debating whether or not it would be worth going but it was actually 100 percent worth it,” Spillane said. Spillane said most people were expecting the Dropkick Murphys’ popular song “I’m Shipping Up
to Boston” to be the show’s climax, but argued that the band’s AC/DC “TNT” cover stole the show. “When they dropped ‘TNT’ everyone went crazy,” he said. “That was really the pinnacle of the whole thing.” Though longtime Dropkick Murphys fan senior Marc Schwartz enjoyed the concert as well, he felt the use of security at the venue was disappointing. “I understand that it’s a private university and maybe the school is liable for any injuries, but I couldn’t believe that they had security breaking up mosh pits inside general admission,” Schwartz said. During the show, audience members had the chance to win several raffle prizes, including the always popular Quinnipiac vs. Yale ice hockey tickets, as well as a weeklong trip for two to Ireland, sponsored by Tourism Ireland. Sophomore Michelle Ayrapetyan was the winner of the Ireland trip. “Prior to them calling the number, I was joking
around saying, ‘I have the ticket! I have the ticket,’” Ayrapetyan said. “So when they called and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s me,’ no one believed it.” Ayrapetyan says she is in shock but is grateful to Tourism Ireland for the opportunity. As for her plus one, Ayrapetyan plans to ask her mother. “[My mom] would really love to go so I want to make her happy,” she said. Professor of History and Director of the Honors Program Kathy Cooke said she appreciated the inclusion of the historical content regarding the Irish Famine, including the direct reference to the famine in the opening act’s name, Black 47. According to Cooke, the addition of a musical aspect to the “traditional” ribbon cuttings and lectures was a “fabulous way” to raise awareness about the museum opening. “I think it brought in an entirely different group who might not otherwise have realized what was going on with Quinnipiac’s exciting new museum,” she said.
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MULTIMEDIA Check out a full gallery from Friday’s concert.
The 3 a.m. fire alarm in the Crescent and Westview residence halls last Friday was set off by an unidentified group who sprayed a fire extinguisher on the fourth floor hallway in Crescent and under a suite’s door. The cloud of smoke from the fire extinguisher set the alarm off. There was no actual fire, Chief of Public Safety David Barger said. “It was an act of vandalism, serious act of vandalism by Connecticut act of statues,” Barger said. “It’s the equivalent of pulling the fire alarm.” One of the suite’s resident, junior Raye-Lani Nyhuis, was sleeping when the fire alarm went off. “After the fire alarm went off, my roommates and I were really scared because our room was filled with what we thought was smoke and there was powder on the ground,” Nyhuis said. “We thought there was an actual fire in our room. We couldn't breathe or see. All of us didn't feel well after from breathing in all the dust.” Public Safety and Residential Life members were outside of the suite and asked for the residents’ Q-cards. They took photos of their room and left them waiting in the hallway with the suspected boys, according to Nyhuis. The residents were then sent back to their suite and were told someone would arrive later in the morning to clean their suite. However, no one arrived until 1 p.m., leaving the residents having to cook and walk around their suite with powder on the ground, Nyhuis said. “This was the thing that was most infuriating about the whole situation because you aren't supposed to inhale that and they let us sleep in it anyway,” Nyhuis said. “The dust was all over the floor and we were tracking it everywhere.” Public Safety is currently investigating the incident.