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Vol. 87, No. 21 Monday, November 8, 2010
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CRIME
members of Alpha Phi receive harassing calls By AARON KOEPPER The Breeze
A sister in Alpha Phi said she received the first of many harassing phone calls from a private number while studying in Carrier Library the night of Oct. . The man on the other line knew her name and said he was an old friend from high school. The sister, who did not want to be named for safety concerns, asked if he was her friend. He said yes, and she told him she couldn’t talk because she was studying. Later, she texted her actual friend at his actual number, who told her he
hadn’t called on Oct. . The next two nights she said she received calls from the private number again. The man claimed again to be her friend, and asked her when she leaving the library, at which point she hung up. When she returned to the Alpha Phi house Oct. , she found out she wasn’t alone in receiving the calls. “At least five girls were getting phone calls,” said Alpha Phi president Margo Caldwell, a senior interdisciplinary liberal studies major. “None of them made the connection until [one of them] got back from the library one night and realized what was happening.”
CRIME
After sending an e-mail to her sorority, Caldwell later found out sisters had been talking to the unknown caller, who knew their names, cell phone numbers and claimed to be an old friend. JMU police confirmed the reports of the calls and are actively investigating the situation, according to Lee Shifflett, JMU chief of police. The women said the calls became threatening or sexually graphic, with the caller wanting to know the girls’ location. “He told a lot of girls he went to their high school and still had a crush them,” said one sister who received the calls. Many of the girls were called between
a.m. and a.m. Three sisters were texted by actual phone numbers with the same message, one girl was called times and was forced to change her number, according to Caldwell. “We have absolutely no idea how he got the information that he has,” Caldwell said. “We’re talking to our international chapter to see if he might’ve hacked information off one of our private websites.” Caldwell received an e-mail from a Yahoo e-mail address on Oct. that she said could have been sent by the man. “He e-mailed me and asked why he
wasn’t allowed to go to certain [sorority] functions with his girlfriend who was a new member,” Caldwell said. The man’s response was graphic — he claimed to have recorded himself and his girlfriend performing a number of sexual acts and he told Caldwell he was no longer seeing the girl in the sorority. But Caldwell said no sisters claim to have had a relationship with this man. According to Caldwell, no one in Alpha Phi has been called by the stalker for a week and a half. CONTACT Aaron Koepper at koeppead@dukes.jmu.edu.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Springfest trial stays in Harrisonburg Morgner faces seven felony charges from April’s riot By AARON KOEPPER The Breeze
One of the men photographed standing on top of a trash bin at the Springfest riot will have his January trial in Rockingham County for now, according to a judge on Thursday. Peter Morgner, , of Vienna, faces seven felony charges from the Springfest riot in April and appeared in Rockingham County Circuit C ou r t Thu r sday. Morgner is Peter Morgner, 20, charged with four from Vienna, Va., counts of assaultwas charged with ing a police seven felonies from officer, conspirApril’s Springfest acy to incite a riot. riot, destruction of property with intent and wearing a mask in public. Morgner’s defense attorneys, John Holloran from Harrisonburg and Chris Kowalczuk from Roanoke, requested the trial be moved to another county because of the publicity surrounding his case. “Almost all, if not all, of the members of the jury will be familiar with the riot and possibly this particular defendant,” said Holloran in court records. Prosecutors were quoted in the Daily News-Record saying in court Thursday that Morgner stood on top a trash bin a threw a “torch” at a group of people, including the police. He was pictured in The Breeze as standing in front of a burning dumpster with his face wrapped in a shirt and making obscene gestures at a crowd. Morgner was arrested April by Harrisonburg Police, days after the riot occurred. Alycia Eldridge, the assistant commonwealth attorney prosecuting the case, acknowledged the media coverage of the Springfest riot and Morgner’s case, but said the jury selection of a previous Springfest felony case in Rockingham County meant Morgner’s jury selection would be fair as well. Holloran’s request was taken into consideration by the court, meaning the location could be changed if the court couldn’t find an unbiased jury. Eldridge said an unbiased jury could be found in Rockingham County. “Carefully crafted questions by the court and counsel will determine any potential bias,” said Eldridge, according to court records. Attorneys will also interview potential jurors four at a time, instead of the standard court procedure where jurors are interviewed in one large group. Holloran said questions would be “extensive” to be sure jurors brought no biases to their decisions. Morgner was a student at Richard Bland College in Petersburg, Va. and is being held in Rockingham County jail. Morgner’s trial is set for Jan. , . CONTACT Aaron Koepper at koeppead@dukes.jmu.edu.
11/8 INSIDE
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SEAN GATES / THE (HOFSTRA) CHRONICLE LEFT After losing last year’s CAA championship to UNC Wilmington, 1-0, the Dukes redeemed themselves Sunday in securing their first conference title since 2002. RIGHT Redshirt junior defender Jessica Barndt was one of four Dukes to start each of the team’s 21 games this season.
CHAMPIONSHIP FEELING Early strike, penalty kick seals title for the Dukes against Hofstra
By EMMIE CLEVELAND The Breeze
The Hofstra University women’s soccer team was riding an -game winning streak and was undefeated by a conference team — until they faced JMU in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament’s championship game. The second-seeded Dukes pulled out a - win Sunday in Heampstead, N.Y., against the No. Pride to claim the conference title and secure a spot in the NCAA tournament.
“It’s a pretty awesome feeling right now,” JMU coach Dave Lombardo said over the phone. “We played our hearts out. We knew the only way into the NCAA tournament was to win this. “We came out and scored an early goal, and it really changed the complexion of the game. I think that rattled them a little bit and really gave us a lot of confidence.” The Dukes jumped out to an early lead, as senior forward Cate Tisinger converted on a breakaway in the fifth minute of the game. Sophomore midfielder Katie Menzie noted the assist
as she sent the through ball to put Tisinger in alone behind the defense. Hofstra has come back from behind before though, like in its matchup with Northeastern University just last week. But the Dukes widened the margin midway through the second half, securing the win. The Pride’s sophomore defender Brooke Bendernagel committed a foul in the box, giving JMU a penalty kick in the rd minute. Senior see SOCCER, page 8
PHILANTHROPY
FIJI, ASA run ‘Miles for Medals’ University of Richmond fraternity unites with JMU chapter to run game ball from Harrisonburg By DANIELLE STRICKLER The Breeze
Saturday’s game ball did not give JMU’s football team any luck, but it did take a special route to help Special Olympics Virginia. Members of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, also known as FIJI, of both JMU and the University of Richmond, and Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority at JMU ran more than two marathon lengths this weekend, to raise money for Special Olympics Virginia. JMU’s FIJI fraternity teamed up with ASA to run miles on Thursday finishing around p.m. in Gordonsville. UR’s FIJI chapter then ran the ball the remaining miles on Friday. The brothers ran the ball the miles from Harrisonburg to Richmond for Saturday’s JMU v. University of Richmond football game. The ball was introduced on Saturday during a ceremony for the Special Olympics and for the FIJI Philanthropy event “Miles for Medals.” According to FIJI president Zach Franklin, FIJI has raised about $, with donations ending on Wednesday. Donations have been received through the website First Giving. “We were excited about the idea from the start,” said Franklin, a sophomore computer information systems major.
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NEWS Royal coronation
JMU senior wins Miss Greater Richmond title.
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To support the Special Olympics, members of FIJI and ASA teamed up to run the 57 miles to Gordonsville, where they met with the University of Richmond’s chapter of FIJI which ran the remaining 50 miles into the stadium.
GRAPHIC BY NATALIYA IOFFE / THE BREEZE
A convoy of police cars and a bus followed the runners for safety as they ran to hand the ball off in Gordonsville. The runners left Godwin Hall around : a.m. Thursday and ran along Route , with their first stop in Elkton at Bear Grocery and Deli.
5
OPINION T-shirt tantrum
Is the controversy over the Purple Out shirts really worth our time?
Each leg of the run was set up in -mile increments. While stopped, runners met with Special Olympic athletes and took pictures. “There were usually to runners per group, and the groups switched off at each stop.” Franklin said. “If
7
SPORTS Downward spiral
JMU football loses fourth game in a row.
someone got tired during their run, the bus would pick them up, so we just ran as we pleased, but there was always at least four people running at a time.” The convoy followed Routes and see RUN, page 4
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LIFE Culture takes center stage
Up with People performance seeks to inspire global change.