FRIDAY, JANUARY 2015 FRIDAY, JANUARY 09,9, 2014
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MIDWEST EDITION
COMMUNITY NEWS - EAST COAST
INDIAN AMERICANS HOLD ROUNDTABLE WITH GOV. INSLEE
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BY A STAFF WRITER
EATTLE (WA) -- Washington state Governor Jay Inslee had a meeting with community and business representatives from Washington state’s Indian American community in a Indian Diaspora forum December 11 at the Westin Bellevue, according to a press release. It was Inslee’s first round table with the local Indian diaspora after being elected governor. Various topics were discussed including ideas to improve the state’s economy, education and transportation. The meeting was considered a great beginning in strengthening ties between Washington state, Indian states and the
Indian student sets fire to classroom in Rutgers varsity BY A STAFF WRITER
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ASHINGTON, DC -An Indian American man from Edison, New Jersey, Shayam Sridhar, 21, has been charged with setting fire to a hallway and a classroom in the Allison Road classroom building at Rutgers University in Piscataway last week. Sridhar was charged with seconddegree aggravated arson after he allegedly set fire to a 30-foot section of the hallway and an adjoining classroom on the second floor earlier this month. According to Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey, Sridhar had been a student at Rutgers, but left in the fall term. He was set to return to Rutgers in the spring 2015 semester. Sridhar was charged after authorities identified him from a photo obtained during the investigation. Bail was set at $75,000 and Sridhar was being held at Middlesex County jail in North Brunswick. The police did not disclose a motive in the Busch Campus fire. The blaze, which was extinguished by the overhead sprinkler system, caused $250,000 in damage. Nobody was injured in the fire, but it forced the evacuation of 210 students who were taking a final exam in a firstfloor auditorium.
Scammer dupes man of $17,773 in NJ BY A STAFF WRITER
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LAINSBORO (NJ) -- A suspect claiming to be a government employee with the Department of Homeland Security convinced a Plainsboro resident to hand over $17,733. The victim, a resident of Raven’s Crest Drive, told the police the suspect contacted him last week, threatening him with deportation if he did not have all of his government documents updated immediately. The suspect told the victim he wanted money. The victim purchased thousands in Green Dot Money Pak cards and gave the suspect the serial numbers, according to the police.
The Indian American community with Gov. Jay Inslee.
Indian diaspora in Washington state. The members of the diaspora had a
meaningful interaction with the governor and assured their support for the economic
development of the state by bringing global investments to the state and creating jobs in the manufacturing and service sector. The ideas of introducing Hindi as a foreign language in Seattle schools and establishing multiple sister-state relationships in India to take advantage of the changing demographics in the nation were discussed at length. The roundtable was organized by WASITRAC, the Seattle-based nonprofit trade advocacy group working on a stronger bilateral trade relationship between Washington state and India. The governor was presented with a Kashmiri shawl and couple of books on India’s diversity and perfect masters.
UC DAVIS’S STUDENT DIED OF ALCOHOL INTOXICATION: REPORT BY A STAFF WRITER
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ERKELEY (CA) -- Vaibhav Loomba, an Indian American student from the University of California at Davis who was pronounced dead after attending a fraternity party at a fraternity house near the U.C.-Berkeley campus died of acute ethyl alcohol intoxication. The Alameda County Sheriff ’s Office Coroner’s Bureau confirmed this on January 1. The police and firefighters found Loomba, 20, of Lafayette, Calif., at the Zeta Psi fraternity house on 2728 Bancroft Way in Berkeley on November 9. He was unresponsive after he attended a party the night before at the fraternity house. According to the coroner’s bureau, the investigation into Loomba’s death remains open. Loomba was described a “truly brilliant”
Vaibhav Loomba and “naturally gifted” by his sister Vishalli Loomba, a UC-Berkeley alumna and former ASUC president. Loomba was in his junior year studying
mechanical engineering. In high school, Loomba was involved in student government, ran track, tutored and participated in Model United Nations. He was also senior class president his graduating year. “He had so many dreams and aspirations,” his sister wrote in an email. “He was a visionary. He was one of those people that everyone who met knew would change the world for the better.” The siblings co-founded in 2013 an organization called Satyashakti, which aims to empower Indian women with medical and public health education. Vishalli Loomba said the two shared a “special bond that extends far beyond that of friends or siblings.” “He taught me that life is about the relationships you make and the people you are able to help and positively impact,” she wrote. “He was always smiling and warm.”
Indian American students enjoy USC Games Day BY A STAFF WRITER
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NGELES (CA) -- At a USC Games Day held on the USC campus December 10, Indian American students were heavily represented in the latest presentation of videogames created by the University of Southern California Games Program. “We have always had many talented Indian students in our courses and on our teams,” said Mike Zyda, director of the USC GamePipe Lab. The collaboration between the School of Cinematic Arts and the Viterbi School of Engineering Department of Computer Science helped make USC the No. 1 ranked game design school in North America in 2014 by The Princeton Review. USC Games hosted two events unveiling student-designed games. “We have such a range of games— in virtual reality, two screen experiences, mobile and more. I’m so proud of this year’s cohort because they are really stretching themselves and innovating in the field,” said Tracy Fullerton, director of USC Games, chair of the School of Cinematic Arts Interactive Media and Games Division and director of the USC Game Innovation Lab.
(L-R): Indian American Students Aishwarya Venkatesh, Manan Bakshi, Kevin Macwan, Milind Doshi, & Priyanka Vaishnav.
The GamePipe Laboratory Fall Showcase, also held at the same day, celebrated GamePipe’s tenth anniversary and featured over a dozen games. “Over 1,500 computer science students have graduated from our program and gone on to make games played by over 880
million players. These alumni have helped built games that have made over $45 billion in revenue over the last ten years. It is doubtful that there is another academic games CS program that has had this size of an impact on the game industry,” said Zyda.