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Serving James Madison University Since 1922
Vol. 87, No. 18 Thursday, October 28, 2010
Sunny 73°/ 40° chance of precipitation: 20%
LOCAL POLITICS
Candidates call for choice in th
PHOTOS BY EBEN KNOWLTON / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Libertarian Stuart Bain (left) and Independent Jeff Vanke debated Tuesday evening in Memorial Hall. The two Congressional candidates are running against the highly favored Republican candidate Bob Goodlatte, who was absent. COURTESY OF JMU POLICE
Aleksander Shumeyko (left) is seen leaving an unlocked office with an iPad under his shirt, along with David Verkhovtsev, according to police.
By AMANDA CASKEY The Breeze
iPad theft caught on camera
Though two of the district’s three Congressional candidates do not agree on many key issues, they do agree on one thing: choice. About members of the community watched Stuart Bain, a Libertarian and Jeff Vanke, an Independent, debate in Memorial Hall Auditorium on Tuesday night in an effort to solidify their political agendas with community members and JMU students. Republican incumbent Bob Goodlatte declined to participate in the debate, a move the candidates said they did not appreciate. The th district — covering all or most of Shenandoah, Rockingham, Highland, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Rockbridge, Botetourt, Roanoke and Amherst Counties — is considered a “Safe Republican” district by the Politics Daily online campaign tracking website. “He refuses to answer our challenges,” Vanke said. “We need a do-over in Congress.”
By AARON KOEPPER The Breeze
Two Rockingham County men were arrested Sunday by Harrisonburg Police in connection with the theft of a $ iPad from an unlocked Integrated Science and Technology office on Oct . Aleksander Shumeyko, , and David Verkhovtsev, , were charged with grand larceny and conspiracy to commit grand larceny after police identified them at a
random traffic stop last Sunday. JMU police obtained warrants Friday for the two men after they confessed to stealing the iPad. The two were caught leaving on an ISAT security camera and were followed by an ISAT employee who was able to help police identify the men, according to Lee Shifflett, JMU police chief. CONTACT Aaron Koepper at koeppead@dukes.jmu.edu.
POLITICS
Students go nuts for sanity rally By RYAN PLATT The Breeze
Jon Stewart is mad as hell and isn’t going to take it anymore. And he’s inviting people around the country to rally behind him. Saturday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Stewart and several other speakers will be hosting the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, coupled with Stephen Colbert’s March to Keep Fear Alive. “When I first heard about it, I was watching ‘The Daily Show’ and I immediately went on hotels.com and got a hotel room,” said Molly Greenhood, a junior media arts and design major. The movement started as Jon Stewart claimed that current U.S. politics are becoming insane, as media coverage and politicians move seemingly more toward extreme ends of the political spectrum. People across the country have pledged their attendance through videos featured on Stewart’s “The Daily Show” and on the Facebook page. “It’s going to be a pretty monumental thing since they are expecting , people, but I’m sure it will be more,” Greenhood said. Five full charter buses sponsored by the Seven Generations, a political action committee in Harrisonburg, will be departing Harrisonburg on Saturday morning from the Harrisonburg Kmart for the rally, according to Lowell Fulk, a Harrisonburg resident who started Seven Generations. The five buses scheduled to leave are full and a waiting list has been created. “I’m just excited to see the antics they
will get into and if they take any political sides,” Greenhood said. Two students, junior biotechnology major Sarah Lott and junior anthropology major Lindsay Holt, will be two of the students on those buses headed to D.C. on Saturday. Neither have ever attended a political rally before and are looking forward to the event. For their civic engagement honors seminar class, they’re required to participate in some form of civic engagement. They chose the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, which their professor, Mary Slade, suggested to their class. “I’ve heard a lot of talk about the rally, not just in class, but outside of it, too,” Lott said. “I think it’s a great way for us all get together to show that we do have the power to impact society.” Holt expressed very similar sentiments on the potential power for youth involvement in politics. “I’ve never gotten involved in political debates because I get turned off at the idea that every one shouts at each other but no one listens,” Holt said. Holt said Stewart’s clash against those who force their opinion but refuse to acknowledge others’ differing opinions is what appealed to her. “We’re all coming together to say we are politically active, we are interested, and this is what we have say,” Holt said. “Students should get involved in politics. It’s a scary, scary idea, but if we get involved today and start understanding politics early, we can really start to make a difference.” CONTACT Ryan Platt at plattrf@dukes.jmu.edu.
Several students also questioned Goodlatte’s decision in refusing to attend the debate. Kelly Jemison, president of Madison Liberty, said that Goodlatte ignored the debate team’s invitations, even though he was on campus Monday to speak to students in Health and Human Services. Goodlatte’s Harrisonburg office did not respond to calls Wednesday regarding his absence. “Perhaps he had something to do tonight, but at this point he hardly needs to make appearances,” Jemison said. “They talked about putting a third podium up to demonstrate the fact that he wasn’t here.” Junior political science major Michelle Rutter believes Goodlatte’s absence sent the wrong message. “I think it’s really rude because it basically said to me that, ‘I don’t even need to go there,’ ” Rutter said. “Granted, he should be pretty confident, but that doesn’t mean you don’t go and speak to your constituents.” Goodlatte should seemingly have no worries about see DEBATE, page 5
SGA
Potential impeachment at Tuesday’s SGA meeting By KATIE THISDELL The Breeze
An emergency SGA senate meeting scheduled for tonight to address the possible impeachment of Brock Wallace was canceled Wednesday evening, due to a possible violation of the Freedom of Information Act, according to SGA president Andrew Reese. The issue of impeachment will now likely be brought up at Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting at : p.m. in the Highlands Room in Festival, Reese said. SGA meetings are open to the public. Wallace, the vice president of Student Affairs, was charged with an underaged possession of alcohol and an open container on Oct. while on supervised probation for a previous offense. According to the Freedom of Information Act, notice for public meetings must be posted at least three working days prior to the meeting, otherwise any actions during the meeting could be considered void. Reese scheduled this canceled special meeting on Monday. But after WHSV Channel contacted JMU’s legal staff questioning this FOIA statute, Reese said he spoke with legal advisers. “Because of that, we decided to go ahead and push it back,” Reese said. He had asked Wallace to resign over the weekend, but Wallace asked SGA senators and also wrote a letter to the student body in today’s issue of The Breeze asking to keep his position.
“I think there are multiple senators who would have no problem motioning for impeachment,” Reese said. Reese also said in his e-mail to SGA members that the senate would likely go into executive session on Tuesday to discuss impeachment. In order to go into a closed session, a public body must cite the specific exemption to the Virginia Open Meeting Law and announce members will only discuss the matters that were identified, such as personnel issues. No votes can be taken during closed session, according to the Freedom of Information Act. According to the SGA Constitution, executive council members may be impeached for not meeting eligibility requirements or for neglect of duty stipulated by House Rules. A senator must first motion to begin an investigation, and that vote must result in a majority, according to the Constitution. An investigating committee would be named which would then decide whether or not to proceed with a trial. The accused would receive written notice of the charges and have at least two weeks to prepare his defense. The trial would be “held in utmost secrecy and the decision of the Student Senate is final,” according to the Constitution. The process of impeachment could take weeks; Reese said he and SGA members were still looking at all the procedures. The last time an SGA executive faced impeachment was in see SGA, page 5
10/28 INSIDE
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NEWS Open book
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NEWS Respect Madison
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OPINION Profit gains
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LIFE Picture perfect
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LIFE Wayward Western
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SPORTS A minute to win it
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Professor donates , books to JMU.
A new student organization attempts to improve campus culture.
Refuting global warming keeps energy companies in business.
Introduction class teaches students skills in black and white film photography.
“True West,” a new studio theatre production, is not your standard show.
Dukes football is running out of time as they prepare to host the University of Massachusetts. SPORTS A rare breed
Former field hockey star and graduate student Kelsey Cutchins was honored on Oct. at the NCAA Women of the Year Awards in Indianapolis.