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ATTEMPTED KNIFE SUICIDE IN COURTROOM INJURES DEPUTY Defendant taken to hospital, remains in critical condition RICKY MARANON Daily Staff Writer
A man upset with the outcome of his court case stabbed himself and a sheriff’s deputy Thursday night. Troy Jefferson Leal, 43, had his probation revoked Thursday during a hearing at the Cleveland County Courthouse. Leal became upset with the outcome of the hearing, then pulled out a knife and began to cut his own throat in the courtroom. “Mr. Leal is a sex offender, and he has been
out on probation for a while,” Cleveland County Undersheriff Rhett Burnett said. “Today, Judge [William] Hetherington revoked his probation. When that happened, Leal began to become visibly upset and began to reach into his pocket.” Burnett said Leal was reaching in his pocket for an exacto knife. “[Cleveland County Sheriff ’s] Deputy Stephen Lucas saw Leal reach into his pocket and gave him a verbal warning,” Burnett said. “Leal ignored the threats, took out the knife and began to stab himself.” Burnett said Lucas jumped on Leal in an attempt to stop him from cutting his own throat. When he did, Leal cut Lucas down one arm and both hands, Burnett said. “After he was tasered in an attempt to get
him under control, we took the knife from him and put him in custody while we waited for an ambulance,” Burnett said. Cleveland County District Judge Tom Lucas, Deputy Lucas’ father, rushed from his courtroom to Hetherington’s courtroom when he heard about the incident. “I heard that Stephen had been stabbed, and so I came down to see if he was alright,” Judge Lucas said. “I’ve been told that Leal probably would have successfully taken TROY his life in the courtroom if Stephen LEAL hadn’t stepped in and pulled the knife away.” According to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Leal is a registered sex
offender. He was in court Thursday because he violated the law by having continuous contact with children while also viewing child pornography, Cleveland County Court documents stated. Burnett said additional charges will be filed for the Thursday incident. “If he was upset about having to go to jail before, he just got himself more time in jail tonight,” Burnett said. A spokeswoman for Norman Regional Hospital said Leal was in critical condition as of press time. Burnett said Lucas was treated at Norman Regional Hospital and was considering leaving the hospital Friday morning.
TO WRITE LOVE ON HER ARMS DAY reminds struggling, recovering individuals they aren’t alone Student shares experience, offers encouragement MEREDITH MORIAK Managing Editor
JEREMY DICKIE/THE DAILY
Mina Farzad, international security studies and public administration junior, cut herself from age 13 to 19 and is participating in today’s national “To Write Love on Her Arms’ awareness day.
Low turnout at discussion emphasizes student apathy Panel notes more problems, feelings of helplessness TROY WEATHERFORD Daily Staff Writer
A four-person panel discussed how apathy can hinder activism Thursday night in the Oklahoma Memorial Union. Less than 15 people showed up for the event. There are more problems in the world today, which is making people feel more helpless, said Suzette Grillot, an international and area studies professor. But Marissa Alberty, international and area studies senior, disagreed with Grillot. “I think there are not necessarily more problems, it’s just that we know about them more,” Alberty said. There’s still a major need for activism on college
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campuses, said David Ray, dean of the Joe C. and Carole Kerr McClendon Honors College. College students are inheriting a world that’s been shamefully neglected by previous generations, Ray said. He said students need to “get fired up, get pissed off,” to start an atmosphere of activism on campus. Grillot stressed for activism to succeed at a university, it needs to be institutionalized so that people are encouraged to be active from the moment they become freshmen. To organize that new atmosphere of activism, students need to remember to plan events they would like to attend, Alberty said. Grillot used Thursday’s event as an example and noted the low turnout. “At least there’s more people in the audience than in the panel,” Grillot said.
Planning where and when she would next cut herself, which outfits would cover the wounds and which lies she would tell to excuse the cuts consumed Mina Farzad’s mind for six years. She was young, only 13, when she first ran razor blades from the family box cutter across her arms and ankles. “It really came out of nowhere,” she said. “I wasn’t in this horrible place and nothing new or awful had happened in my life.” She used it as a way to cope with pressure and stress. “I wanted people to think that I could handle everything,” Farzad said. “ ... I thought I could take control of my life and stuff, but I really couldn’t.” Now 20, the international security studies and public administration junior is one of thousands participating in “To Write Love on Her Arms” day. The purpose of today’s events is to reach out to individuals struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide, letting them know they aren’t alone. For Farzad, whenever something went wrong, cutting was her first response. “I just shut out any other option ... I was planning it and it was strategic,” she said. It was three years before anyone noticed the cuts. While shopping, her mother got a glimpse of the cuts behind the dressing room door. Her mother didn’t know how to react.
She wasn’t aware of cutting. “[Her reaction] came out as anger but I knew she was just scared,” Farzad said. “I knew she wasn’t actually angry at me.” Farzad said her mother removed every sharp object from the house and sent her to multiple therapists and psychologists. The 16-year-old never felt comfortable with any of them. “In the realm of psychology, cutting was never looked at as an independent problem,” she said. “It was always looked at as a symptom of something else, so I felt like the whole time I was there ... they were looking for a diagnosis.” Eventually, Farzad was diagnosed with clinical depression and spent seven months taking Zoloft, an antidepressant. “It was awful. I was like a total zombie. I didn’t have feelings, I didn’t care and I was indifferent to everything,” she said. The diagnosis didn’t make sense to Farzad. She was involved with extracurricular activities, appointed to many leadership positions and making good grades. Unhappy with the medicine, she talked with her mother, who also battles clinical depression, and they agreed to discontinue her use of Zoloft. “[My mother] understood what it’s like to feel like you can’t control anything that’s around you,” she said. At 16, her frequency of cutting slowed, but was replaced by another destructive habit: smoking. “I was smoking all the time and not cutting,” she said. “Yes, smoking technically is worse for you ... but I saw it as a socially acceptable way of cutting. Everybody was smoking so they never asked me why I LOVE CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
Bike policy enforced, violations will be impounded Improperly parked bicycles to be confiscated at home football games KATHLEEN EVANS Daily Staff Writer
The OU Police Department and OU Physical Plant will impound bicycles improperly parked around the stadium during home football games. Game attendees need to park bicycles in proper bicycle racks instead of attaching them to poles, trees, fences or other items, Lt. Bruce Chan, OUPD spokesman, said. The policy is not new, but it is now being strongly enforced, Chan said. For the first few football games, OUPD did not confiscate improperly-parked bicycles but instead left warning notices. OUPD started confiscating bicycles Oct. 31, the night of the football game against Kansas State University, Chan said. “Because improperly secured bicycles can damage campus property and also present safety concerns, we remove bicycles that are improperly secured to … any item that is not a bike rack,” Amanda Hearn, spokesperson for the OU Physical Plant, stated in an e-mail. During the Oct. 31 game, the Physical Plant impounded 14 bicycles from the stadium area, Hearn said. LAUREN HARNED/THE DAILY Lona Bridge, a Norman resident and football Those who leave bikes chained to objects other than a bike rack, POLICY CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
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such as fences or trees, will have their locks cut and their bikes confiscated by the OUPD and taken to the Physical Plant. VOL. 95, NO. 61