ON a Rolle
picture perfect
Read our chat with Rhodes scholar and former NFL player Myron Rolle at breezejmu.org.
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Vol. 93, No. 17
INSIDE TODAY jmu team victims of theft Cross country squad deals with loss of stolen items while on the road in Indiana news | 3
double duke
Downtown icon closes its doors Blue Nile restaurant and music venue ends business Sunday, remembered for its culture By erin flynn and patrick mortiere The Breeze
The downtown music and food scene has taken a hit since a notable restaurant in Harrisonburg shut its doors. The Blue Nile, a hub for music and drinks, closed for good Sunday night. An announcement was made on its Facebook page Friday. “It’s just been a long time. A lot of work, a lot of money put in and a lot of effort,” Bethel Arefaine, manager of the Blue Nile, said. “And
we reached the point where it was not … smart businesswise to continue. We just needed more revenue coming in on a regular basis.” The restaurant opened its doors to the downtown Harrisonburg community on April 4, 2008, and over the past six-and-a-half years, the restaurant has provided customers with Ethiopian cuisine and a plethora of live music and memories with its downstairs venue. Engdawork Arefaine, owner of the Blue Nile, has spent years maintaining a
cultural aspect of his restaurant that set it apart from other businesses in the area. From the get-go, his restaurant was a venue for miscellaneous artists looking to perform. “One thing I want to tell the community is that the reason we opened this place was to create a culture — a culture where young people can go and express themselves in music, in art and just to be themselves,” Engdawork said. Many JMU students
agree that he accomplished his goal, including Kelly Carlin, a senior English major and general manager at WXJM, JMU’s studentrun radio station. “It’s really hard because we’re losing this place that was a home to us, a place we could go when there was nowhere else to go,” Carlin said. Engdawork, who took classes at JMU, said he admires the university and the impact it has had on
sports | 9
yes means yes New California legislation has the right idea when it comes to college sexual assault cases opinion | 5
james chung / the breeze
Natasha Leggero captivates the audience with biting sarcasm and wit during Saturday night’s show in Wilson Hall.
UPB kicks off season of music and comedy with Natasha Leggero By Marta Vucci The Breeze
Members of drumline and colorguard raise money for scholarships Life | 7
QUOTE OF THE DAY
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What happened to friendship? It seems like now simply talking to someone outside of the classroom setting insinuates some kind of sexual interest.
”
opinion | 6
INSTAGRAM OF THE DAY
photo by brytan mendes
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TODAY WILL BE Mostly cloudy
64° / 47° chance of rain: 20%
Clever, aggressive humor b o mb a rd e d t h e rou g h l y 140-person audience that gathered in Wilson Hall’s auditorium for the University Program Board’s first stand-up comedy show of the year. Divorce, pregnancy and drug and alcohol use barely scratch the surface of the list of topics addressed by guest comedians Natasha Leggero and Andy Haynes on Saturday night. First on stage was Haynes, who is originally from Seattle, Washington. He’s performed on well-known TV programs
Q&A
such as “Conan” and “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” Haynes eased into his material by posing questions to the audience, who quickly learned that his style revolved around applying comedy to seriously heavy topics — resulting in some darkly humorous statements. “So, does anybody have Ebola?” he asked within the first few minutes of his set, prompting some hesitant “ooohs” from audience members. Haynes openly addressed his ongoing battle with depression, noting that it was nothing to be ashamed of. He also defended his use of antidepressants,
arguing that people who don’t think he should be taking them to “mask” his depression are missing the point of medicine entirely. He also noted that the move from Seattle to Los Angeles made for an entirely different environment to experience depression. “You can’t be depressed in a place where you can pick an avocado from a tree,” Haynes joked, transitioning into a notably lighter discussion about removing guacamole-hating friends from one’s life. Following Haynes’ 30-minute see comedy, page 8
From Duke to Royalty
JMU alumna Nicole Averso clinches position with World Series-bound team By Wayne epps jr. The Breeze
When the Kansas City Royals clinched a berth to the World Series last Wednesday night, a JMU graduate was right there with them. Nicole Averso (’10) was a sport and recreation management major who now works as the event presentation manager for the Royals. Averso first worked as an intern with the Royals from late 2011 through the 2012 season. After a stint with NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, she was hired back to her current position in Kansas City in August of last year. Now, this year, she’s had the chance to watch and plan the Royals’ first playoff berth since 1985 firsthand. We spoke with her about what it’s been like. What's a typical day like for you during the season with the Royals?
Well, I can definitely say that no two days are alike. From planning Opening Day to Memorial Day to the World Series, each day is always a little bit different. But most of the time, I come in, I pretty much live in Microsoft Excel. I work on various different documents that plot out every game of the season. And then from there, I create how the game will flow, from the time that
james chung / the breeze
Blue Nile closed its doors Sunday after nearly see nile, page 4 seven years in downtown Harrisonburg.
The start of a series
Former men’s tennis player is now a full-time JMU assistant coach
date night
breezejmu.org
Monday, October 20, 2014
the gates open until the end of the game. We hope we do a pregame show, and then pregame ceremonies, obviously, and then all of our in-between game entertainment. So a typical day, on a game day, it's coming in, it's putting the finishing touches on that document that we call the format. And that's pretty much the bible for the game. So it's going through and handling problems courtesy of nicole averso and or troubleshooting things that might come Nicole Averso, a 2010 JMU graduate, is currently the up from that, whether event presentation manager for the Kansas City Royals. we need to be writing a PA script for something, or some presentations, or honoring someone problem arose that we need to deal or recognizing someone. So there's a with. So most of my day is spent get- lot of logistics and preparation that ting ready for the game that is that I deal with and that I do on a daily night as well as getting ready for the basis getting ready for games. game tomorrow and the game after that and the game after that and the What kind of things did game after that. So I can be juggling you do at JMU that helped many things at once. It's schedul- prepare you for your current ing national anthems, color guards, working environment? working through details with canI always enjoyed my sport mandidates and sponsorship contracts agement classes. And, of course, with coming in to throw the first I had a couple favorite professors pitch for each game and different ceremonies, if you will. Check see averso, page 10
Human remains found in search Body hasn’t yet been identified as Hannah Graham, pending forensic tests The search for missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham may have come to an end after a search team found what could be her remains. According to Chief of Charlottesville Police Tim Longo, sometime before noon on Saturday, a Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Department search team was looking over an abandoned property off Old Lynchburg Road in Albemarle County when they came across human remains. The site is less than 10 miles from where Graham was last seen. The identity of the remains have not yet been identified, according to police. Shortly after they were found, Detective Sgt. James Mooney called Graham’s parents, John and Sue, to inform them of the discovery. Longo said that while they’re waiting on forensic tests, the Charlottesville Police Department wanted to notify the Graham family about the found remains in a “quick, timely manner.” Col. Steve Sellers, the Albemarle County police chief, said that the remains will be taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond for an autopsy. The Albemarle County Police Department will also be taking over the investigation, which has been changed from a missing persons case to a death investigation. “Today’s discovery is a significant development and we have a great deal of work ahead of us,” Sellers said at a press conference Saturday afternoon. “We ... cannot and will not jump to any conclusions regarding today’s discovery.” Graham went missing in the morning hours of Sept. 13 and was last seen on surveillance video near the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville. Police have charged Jesse Matthew Jr. of Albemarle County with abduction with intent to defile in relation to the Graham case. Matthew is being held at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail without bond. Matthew, the only person who has been detained in connection to the case, was reportedly seen with Graham the night of her disappearance. Matthew voluntarily spoke with police on Sept. 20 at which time he requested a lawyer. He later fled Virginia and authorities in Texas arrested Matthew near Galveston, Texas. He was then transported to Virginia. Matthew is also being investigated for ties to the 2009 disappearance of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington. However, Virginia State Police haven’t released detailed information on the connection to the previous case. While Saturday’s findings could complete the search for Graham, it’s unclear when forensic results will be released. “It’s a complex criminal investigation; it is unlikely that we’ll have any information in the very near future,” Longo said. — staff report