Serving James Madison University Since 1922
Vol. 87, No. 17 Monday, October 25, 2010
Thunderstorms 71°/ 58° chance of precipitation: 60%
CRIME
FOOTBALL
Growth in defeat
Team breaks out of offensive funk, still struggles in loss By MICHAEL DEMSKY The Breeze
The JMU football team’s October struggles continued Saturday, as the team fell at No. Villanova (-, - in the Colonial Athletic Association), by a score of - in yet another heartbreaker for the Dukes. The team’s third loss in four games puts No. JMU (-, - in the CAA) toward the bottom of the conference rankings, with the hopes of postseason play dwindling fast. Last season, just three teams — Eastern Illinois University, Eastern Washington University and South Dakota State — qualified for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs after losing four games. The Dukes have four games left on their schedule. They will host No. University of Massachusetts this Saturday, then travel to No. University of Richmond the following week. They will take on No. William & Mary at home and play at Maine to round out the season. But when asked whether the team needed to win the rest of its games if it had any hope of qualifying for the playoffs, JMU head coach Mickey Matthews was frank. “Yeah, I’d say so,” he said. The Dukes’ offense moved the ball better than in any game since beating Virginia Tech on Sept. . The team had yards of total offense, its third highest total of the year. Redshirt senior quarterback Drew Dudzik was - for yards, marking the first game in which the redshirt senior has broken yards passing this season. While he didn’t score, Dudzik was instrumental in the Dukes’ lone scoring drive, in which they countered a - halftime deficit with a nine-play, -yard series to open the second half. Redshirt freshman quarterback Kavon Seaton got the touchdown for the Dukes on a -yard run, as he was featured in the team’s “wildcat” package. Redshirt junior Scott Noble would lead the Dukes with yards rushing on carries while Dudzik finished with yards on attempts. “We just got to keep fighting,” Dudzik said. “I thought our offensive line played great, our backs ran hard, our receivers caught the ball and made plays. We just got to put more points on the board.” The game stood scoreless until midway through the second quarter, when Villanova head coach Andy Talley, the all-time CAA wins leader, made a bold, yet well-timed call on fourth down at the -yard line. Talley called for a fake punt, which worked to perfection as the JMU defense stumbled over itself trying to tackle punter Dominic Scarnecchia, who would scamper for yards. The play set up a -yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Chris Whitney to junior wide receiver Norman White, giving Villanova the lead with just over four minutes left in the half. “The fake punt was a great call by their coaching staff,” said Matthews. “A very good play by them.” Exactly three minutes later, the Wildcats would strike again. After assuming possession following a JMU punt, Whitney found another one of his targets, junior wide receiver Mikey Reynolds, for a 54-yard touchdown pass. Reynolds outran the entire JMU secondary and gave Villanova
SGA executive may face impeachment following charges By KATIE THISDELL The Breeze
Brock Wallace, the vice president of Student Affairs, is likely to face impeachment this week according to SGA president Andrew Reese, after Wallace received two alcohol-related charges while on supervised probation for exposing himself in a Valley Mall department store in August. Wallace appealed to members of the Student Government Association in an e-mail on Sunday to let him continue serving in his position. “I feel that I can continue to do the job with great passion and excitement and would like for that chance,” Wallace said in the e-mail, after detailing the two incidents. Wallace, who was re-elected to his executive SGA position for the school year, was charged with underaged possession of alcohol and possessing an open container on Oct. in the block of Usman Circle,
according to Harrisonburg police. Wallace turned last week. The violation comes less than a month after Wallace pleaded guilty to indecent exposure, a misdemeanor, in Rockingham County General District Court on Sept. . He was given supervised probation for one year, as well as days suspended jail time and days of litter patrol, according to court records. Wallace was arrested on Sept. at his residence in connection with an Aug. incident at the Belk department store in Valley Mall. Police charged him with the misdemeanor indecent exposure as well as a felony sex solicitation offense, which was dropped during the hearing, according to court records. Student body president Andrew Reese said a special senate meeting is being scheduled for this week since the Tuesday senate meeting was previously canceled due to SGA’s annual Halloween party at President Linwood
Rose’s house. After consulting with advisers, Reese said he had asked Wallace to resign upon learning Friday afternoon of the two alcohol charges. Reese then learned about the misdemeanor and dropped felony, and again he asked Wallace to resign. “I found it disappointing that he was charged with multiple alcohol violations especially in the wake of JMU’s current alcohol identity reevaluation,” Reese said Sunday. “I felt that [resignation] would not only be the action most supported by the student body, but also the most prudent for SGA and himself. Ultimately, however, he did not agree with our assessment and instead decided to see the process and possible consequences through.” In his Sunday afternoon e-mail to SGA members, Wallace said he wanted to explain the two incidents. Wallace was also censured by SGA last year for interfering with the Homecoming banner contest.
Wallace said the alcohol charge came when he took a sip of an “early birthday drink” on a friend’s front porch while on the phone. “As I went back inside and proceeded to close the door, a bicycle officer grabbed me from the inside and brought me back out,” Wallace said in his e-mail. Wallace also explained the charges that led to his probation. “During the week before classes, I was using the restroom inside of Belk, and a gentleman continuously attempted to engage in sexual activity with me in the bathroom,” Wallace said in his e-mail. “Due to some previous issues, I snapped and took it out on him. The gentleman happened to be an officer, so I faced legal consequences.” Harrisonburg police spokeswoman Mary-Hope Vass refused to release the incident report from August, citing the
see SGA, page 5
son of
TERRORIST
chooses peace
MEREDITH SIZEMORE / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Zak Ebrahim began giving presentations about his father’s connection to terrorism in al-Qaida in the past year to promote peace and give a different perspective on the conflicts in the Middle East.
Son of convicted terrorist gives peace talk before audience of more than 200 By BETH COLE The Breeze
When Zak Ebrahim was years old, his father took him to a shooting range after school. As his father proudly watched, Ebrahim learned how to shoot a rifle. After shooting off a few initial shots, he let loose on the target, eventually shooting an orange light on the top and setting the whole thing aflame. His father laughed and patted him on the back. “It was my proudest moment,” Ebrahim said. As the target continued to burn, his father turned to his friends who he had brought with them and said, “Like father like son.” That same year, Ebrahim’s father, El Sayyid Nosair, became one of the first members
see FOOTBALL, page 11
The Dukes with team captain and redshirt junior strong safety Vidal Nelson had a close loss in Saturday’s 14-7 game against Villanova.
of al-Qaida to shed blood on American soil when he shot and killed the leader of the Jewish Defense League, Rabbi Meir Kahane. Three years later, Nosair, an Egyptianborn American citizen, was convicted of helping to plan the attacks on the World Trade Center. Ebrahim spent his childhood visiting his father in prison and as he got older, he realized that hate was not the way to seek peace. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish my father had chosen a peaceful path,” Ebrahim said. On Wednesday night, the -year-old came to JMU speak out against the violence and intolerance he grew up with. The Exceptional Education Department, the Interfaith Coalition and the Office of Diversity jointly hosted the event.
Lowell Falk works for Seven Generations, a political action committee designed to get youth involved in local politics. Falk worked with the Civic Engagement in a Global Society class taught by Mary Slade, an exceptional education professor, to organize the event. “His message is important especially for our generation because sometimes I think it’s hard for us to see the other side of the story,” said Anna Faria, a junior economics major, who is in the class. More than students and teachers from JMU and the Harrisonburg community gathered in the Memorial Hall auditorium to hear Ebrahim speak about his father, his childhood and his battle see SPEAKER, page 5
VIRGINIA
Speaker opposes governor’s privatization plan By MOLLY HAAS The Breeze
ROBERT BOAG / THE BREEZE
10/25 INSIDE
Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Friday that his recent bill to privatize Virginia’s liquor stores will wait until January . In the meantime, the Virginia Interfaith Center and the Rockingham County Democratic Committee are trying to garner support against the bill. “If I tell you that tomorrow at p.m., there is going to be a child floating down the river what would you do?” asked Doug Smith, director for the Virginia Interfaith Center. “You would go down and get him, right?” Smith, who grew up in Hampton, Va. and is a JMU graduate, spoke
3
NEWS Flu preparation
JMU will administer vaccines today in Festival’s Highlands Room.
Thursday to the Rockingham County Democratic Committee about the societal impact of privatizing ABC stores. “Well after three days of this, I would hope that you would go up the river and find out who is throwing the kid in,” Smith said. “That’s what we do. We address the need for social change.” For years, Virginia has run the wholesale, retail and distribution of liquor. Last year, ABC stores pulled in about $. million in net profits, according to Smith. Of that profit, $. million went into the Virginia general fund and $. million to the State Department of Health, Mental Retardation and
7
OPINION Secrets leaked
Freedom of speech trumps security claims about WikiLeaks.
Substance Abuse. “We know that sometimes people drink too much,” Smith said. “Sometimes people get hooked.” JMU students who attended the event for their social policy class left with questions regarding the debated usefulness of privatization. “I definitely don’t understand the point,” said Meaghan Fry, a junior social work major. “Why change something that has worked for years?” Krissy Redabaugh, also a junior social work major, agreed. “They are going to cut into social services but [the privatization] will only create more need for them,” she said. The question, Smith said, is not
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LIFE Darkwood demons
A strange family lurks in haunted theatrical walk-through.
about whether the government should be in the alcohol business; rather, it is over the expansion of alcohol sales. In the current bill, the number of liquor stores would increase in Virginia from to more than , because of new liquor store licenses, Smith said. Opponents of the bill to privatize, like Smith, believe that consumption and alcoholism rates would increase with more availability. “Right now the ABC store is a destination store,” Smith said. “You don’t go there to buy marshmallows.” With the increase in stores, Smith predicts that the consumption of
see ABC, page 5
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SPORTS Black and blue
The injuries to the JMU defensive line are devastating.