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Vol. 87, No. 44 Monday, March 21, 2011
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (86-72)
CURRENT EVENTS ACCORDING TO CNN, SINCE THE 9.0 EARTHQUAKE HIT JAPAN ON MARCH 11, THE DEATH TOLL HAS REACHED 7,700. AT LEAST 11,651 ARE MISSING AND 2,612 ARE INJURED.
Disaster’s impact spreads beyond Japanese border JMU organizations plan fundraisers
Dukes share personal ties to Japan, status of Tokyo summer program abroad undecided
By MOLLY HAAS The Breeze
By KALEIGH SOMERS The Breeze
JMU students are hoping a small gesture will make a big difference for the people of Japan who are devastated by last week’s earthquake and tsunami. The Japanese Language and Culture Club will ask for donations of cents in exchange for one origami paper crane in support of the citizens of Japan after the earthquake. “Students have trouble spending a lot of money,” said Hayley Schaefer, a junior biotechnology major and the president of the club. “This is an easy thing to do but it still has an effect.” The club hopes to sell , paper cranes made by students in the club as a part of the fundraiser, which would equal $ to donate to a relief effort in Japan. “It’s a symbolic event because , paper cranes in Japan equals
The continuous aftershocks in Japan are happening more than , miles away from Harrisonburg, but the disaster has hit close to home. While sophomore Oliva Stout said she still doesn’t know where her friend is, one professor’s relatives who were in Japan are now safe. But he still doesn’t know if JMU’s study abroad program will continue this summer. Morgan Benton, an assistant professor in the integrated science and technology department, is in charge of the Office of International Program’s study abroad program in Tokyo. He said he’s waiting for the aftershocks to calm down for several days before contacting the program coordinator in Japan. The program is tentatively scheduled for May through June . If it were to be canceled,
see RELIEF, page 4
Benton said students’ deposits would be refunded. “It’s been a pretty long week,” Benton said. “We spent most of the last week glued to the TV and the computer watching what’s happening.” His mother and father-in-law were in northern Japan when the first earthquake hit but were evacuated. They weren’t impacted by the tsunami on March — just by the high tides. Stout, an integrated science and technology major, said her friend Taylor Anderson, a graduate of Randolph-Macon College, went missing on March after the initial earthquake. Anderson has been teaching at an elementary school in Ishinomak through the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program. “It didn’t really register until they were saying, ‘She’s still missing. We still haven’t heard from see IMPACT, page 4
ROBERT BOAG / THE BREEZE
Junior center Rachel Connely (left) and senior guard Dawn Evans exit the court at the John Paul Jones Arena Saturday after their 86-72 loss
NCAA tournament cut short Dukes lose to sixth-seed Oklahoma University By EMMIE CLEVELAND The Breeze
BLOOMBERG NEWS
The city of Ishinomaki was one of many destroyed in the March 11 earthquake. JMU has three summer exchange programs in Japan through the Office of International Programs.
JMU women’s basketball coach Kenny Brooks hugged his star point guard after she came out of her lastever game in purple and gold with seconds left. Dawn Evans and the th-seeded Dukes lost to sixth-seeded Oklahoma University - in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Charlottesville yesterday, ending their season. “Don’t let this be the reflection of the season or your career that you remember,” he told Evans when he took her out. “It’s just a part of the season. You have to remember everything. “It’s disappointing that she had the national stage that she really wanted and she didn’t play well, but you can’t look at it and say that’s indicative of your career because it’s not.” Evans had a team-high of points, but uncharacteristically shot -for- from three-point range.
“The unfortunate thing is that those nights happen,” Evans said, “and it just so happened to be on the night that we needed it the most … So it was extremely frustrating because you know your team depends on you and you want to come through when they need you.” JMU (- overall, - in conference) ended its season with the loss, while Oklahoma (-, -) advances to face Miami University on Tuesday. Three teammates joined Evans in double-figures. Sophomore guard Tarik Hislop (), senior center Lauren Jimenez () and senior guard Courtney Hamner () were main contributors. “I think the way they came out after Dawn with her coming off screens made it a little difficult for us,” Hislop said. “But they played good defense, and they made us work for every shot that we got.” As a team, JMU was -for- from the field and -for- from three-point see BASKETBALL, page 13
LOCAL
Refugee families adjust with help from professor’s organization By BETH COLE The Breeze
On one of their first mornings in the United States, the Almufti family walked into Harrisonburg’s Office of Refugee Resettlement eager to use a freshly learned English phrase. As they entered the office in the basement of the Metro Building on Elizabeth Street, they greeted the receptionist with a smile and spouted off their new greeting — almost perfectly. “Instead of saying ‘good morning,’ we said ‘good night,’ ” said Eiman Almufti, the mother, with a laugh. The Almuftis arrived in the U.S. from Jordan on Feb. possessing nothing but their suitcases. The walls of their apartment in Meriweather Hills on Colonial Drive remain barren and white. There is no television, no Internet connection and the only furniture in their living room is a couch, an armchair and a dining room table with six chairs. They are a part of a -member refugee community currently residing in Harrisonburg. The city is one of many in the U.S. where the United Nations,
the
and the State Department randomly places refugee families because of its job opportunities and resources. Nasser Alsaadun, an Arabic professor at JMU, heads the American Refugee Association in Harrisonburg, which works with about families, including the Almuftis, to overcome the culture shock in a new country. He and seven other volunteers started the association a year and a half ago. They offer English classes, help find jobs, get drivers licenses and set up bank accounts. Alsaadun works with managers at Meriweather Hills, Holly Court and Mosby Heights apartments to provide deals on housing. They also provide transportation and translation services. Alsaadun came to the U.S. as a refugee from Iraq about five years ago. After the invasion in Iraq, he said the Iraqi military began to threaten his family and he decided to protect them by bringing them to America. The State Department placed them in Harrisonburg. “In this kind of city, you will not see moral crimes, because they teach their see REFUGEES, page 10
H C N
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3/21 INSIDE
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NEWS Premarital message
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OPINION Back to Bush
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LIFE Making a splash
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LIFE Rebecca Black attack
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SPORTS All in a day’s work
MEREDITH SIZEMORE / THE BREEZE
Diaa (left) and Eiman Almufti moved from Jordan to the United States on Feb. 22. The couple and their three daughters receive aid from the American Refugee Association.
Documentary subject Shelby Knox calls for comprehensive sex education.
Current presidential administration’s policies are looking eerily familiar.
UREC hosts a new intramural sport adapted from Battleship.
Pop starlet both captivates and annoys.
JMU softball went - in weekend Days Inn Invitational.
Come to a night of comedy featuring NEW & IMPROV’D, MICHAEL LARRICK and JAMIE LOSE GRAFTON-STOVALL THEATRE Tuesday, March 22 8 p.m. $2 admission (cash only) 2 cookies for $1
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