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Vol. 92, No. 16 Thursday, October 17, 2013
Signs of conflict Harrisonburg community is forcing off-campus frat houses to take down their letters amid complaints
Friends and fellow debators remember Mark Waugh
By IJ CHAN The Breeze
Symbols, letters and crests may have decorated many fraternity houses for years, but the recent enforcement of a zoning ordinance has them blending in with their neighbors. Stacy Turner, director of Planning and Community Development for the city of Harrisonburg, said her department has received complaints from concerned residents about fraternities and sororities operating in residential areas. Turner said that in the past complaints filed were for issues like junk on lawns and trash. But recent complaints, Turner said, were concerned with signage displayed on four fraternity houses in Harrisonburg. “[Residents] are concerned with, generally, if a fraternity or sorority isn’t allowed to be there, if they’re allowed to have signs,” she said. Turner said a land ordinance amended in the ’80s forbade fraternities and sororities from operating in Harrisonburg, unless it was on land that JMU owned. After receiving the complaints, staff in Turner’s department discussed the issue and ultimately decided to enforce the ordinance. A letter was sent out to the property owners of 715 (Delta Chi), 725 (Sigma Chi) and 512 South Main Street (Kappa Alpha), as well as 520 Federal Street (Sigma Phi Epsilon), asking them to remove the signs, crests and letters identifying them as fraternities. An email from Fraternity & Sorority Life was also sent out to fraternity presidents about the ordinance. Turner added that although her department has only received complaints about those four properties, it’s likely that they’ll receive more from concerned residents as the news of the enforcement spreads. Turner said residents might not want fraternities or sororities to operate in Harrisonburg because of the activities associated with those groups. “They might be operating on different time schedules than other residential properties, like activities occurring see greek, page 4
Courtesy of JMU.edu
By IJ CHAN The Breeze
Danielle Epifanio / contributing photographer
The Sigma Chi house at 725 S. Main St. had to remove its Greek letters and crests to comply with a Harrisonburg ordinance. The ordinance has been in place since the 1980s but hadn’t been enforced until recent complaints.
Modern art à la dog
A JMU graduate is selling his dog’s masterpiece on eBay for more than $300.
Page 9
Graduate applies passion overseas JMU alum goes from surfing to creating a school for indigenous people in Panama By Katie Wood contributing writer
When Neil Christiansen graduated from JMU in 2006, he hoped to do two things: travel the world and surf. However, Christiansen ended up selling medical equipment in San Diego. Unhappy, Christiansen ended up quitting his job, and thereby realized that he could have everything he had hoped for. “I wanted to travel the world, but I didn’t just want to travel … I wanted to give back to the community I was traveling to,” Christiansen said. “I couldn’t find an organization that I wanted to work for, and then the light bulb sort of went off, and I thought to myself … I should create my own organization.” And s o began Chr istians en’s
Recent alum dies
see Waugh, page 4
10/17 Inside
3 Community members
news Lost but not forgotten
walk to remember their lost children.
nonprofit organization, Give and Surf. The organization is based in Bocas del Toro, Panama, where it works with the indigenous Ngöbe-Buglé people residing there. “It was initially surfing that attracted me to wanting to go down there,” Christiansen said. “But it was the work in the community which caused me to stay.” Give and Surf is largely educationbased; it runs a preschool, a kindergarten class, an after-school program, a summer school, a music program and an ESL program geared toward adults. The services provided by Give and Surf are greatly beneficial to the Ngöbe people, who live relatively simple lives with no access to electricity or running water. see SURF, page 10
Even though Mark Waugh’s sudden death was tragic, friends believe that his impact will be permanent in the JMU community. Waugh, a JMU 2012 graduate, was murdered early Sunday morning in Silver Springs, Md. The Montgomery Police Department has charged Rahul Gupta, 24, for allegedly killing Waugh. Gupta was a graduate of George Washington University and was studying to become a doctor. Gupta and Waugh both attended Langley High School in McLean, Va. During his time at JMU, Waugh studied history and was a member of the JMU debate team. Mike Davis, a communications studies professor and director of the JMU debate team, said Mark was much more than a student to him. “Mark was one of my best friends,” Davis said. “There was not a time in my life when I was experiencing some sort of difficulty where talking to Mark did not make me feel better.” He said many others who knew Mark had similar feelings. “I am amazed by the number of people who have described Mark as their best friend since his passing. Mark strove to make everyone feel welcome and important,” Davis said. “Every time you walked in the room he had [a smile] for you. And if you did not return it, he would work at it relentlessly until you smiled.” During his freshman year, Waugh won the novice national championship. He went on to win five other tournaments in his time at JMU and graduated with the most wins in debate history. Davis also mentioned that the
7 “Oz”-themed shows opinion Not so wonderful
and remakes are oversaturating TV.
9 Mike Klein shares life Friendly face
his experiences with students by Carrier.
11 An interim field hockey sports Mid-season shift
courtesy of Neil Christiansen
Give and Surf teams up with Students Without Borders to build a library.
coach fills the void left from a sudden resignation.