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Vol. 88, No. 22 Thursday, November 10, 2011
Celebrating a life
PART 1 OF 3
THERE and BACK again
Hundreds of community members gather in Convocation Center in memory of Nick Keatts By GEORGINA BUCKLEY The Breeze
Moore said to the audience. “I don’t know, but what I do know is what Nick would want. He would want us to do exactly what he would do: enjoy every second of every minute we are fortunate to have at JMU.” A few of Keatts’ friends spoke, most sharing humorous stories of Keatts. When those in the audience weren’t laughing, they were crying. Crowd members came to their feet for several minutes when Keatts’ mother, Cynthia Burns, stood up to thank everyone for coming. “I knew I had a good son, but I didn’t know he was this good,” Burns said, looking at the amount of people in the audience. After speaking about Keatts’ struggles with Type I diabetes, which he was diagnosed with when he was , Burns talked about his love of everything JMU. “I knew he was loved here,” Burns said. Sophomore Kelsie Wallich, a hospitality and tourism management major, had been dating Keatts since May. “I’m not surprised at all that all these people are showing their support,” Wallich said. Wallich attended the memorial with her family and sat next to Keatts’ mother during the event. Fifth-year senior Travis Tucker, a computer sciences major, had been Keatts’ friend since they were freshmen. “I was surprised they didn’t need to use the football stadium,” Tucker
The opened half of the Convocation Center was filled to the brim Tuesday night with those mourning the death of fifth-year senior Nick Keatts. Keatts’ mother, father, sisters and brother all attended the event as well, along with cheerleading squad, which donned cheer squad apparel and carried tissue boxes. President Linwood Rose even quietly took a seat in the front row. More than , people were listed as attending the event, according to Facebook. Senior Michael Urgel, a nursing major, went to the event. He had only met Keatts on Thursday when Keatts attended a Low Key concert Urgel performed in. “After the concert, he came up and told me, ‘Hey you did such a great job,’ ” Urgel said. “He made you feel really good about yourself.” During the event, two screens were set up to show pictures of Keatts throughout his years at JMU. Pictures of him smiling broadly and throwing fellow cheerleaders up in the air as well as photos of him as a child slid across the screens. “He was outgoing, he was passionate, and he loved the Dukes,” said Athletics Director Jeff Bourne. Cheer coach Kelly Moore said Keatts was the athlete that every coach dreams of having just once during their life. She said she considered herself lucky to have known him. “So where do we go from here?”
COURTESY OF DANIEL RIESENBERGER
Capt. Daniel Riesenberger, a 2005 JMU graduate, worked at a checkpoint on the border of Iraq and Iran in 2009. He served two tours of duty overseas before returning to the states in July 2010.
On Oct. 21, President Barack Obama announced that United States soldiers in Iraq would return home by Jan. 1. The last days of withdrawal mark the formal end to the second war in Iraq which, at its height, saw 180,000 soldiers deployed. Capt. Daniel Riesesenberger patrolled the streets of Iraqi towns, captained a military translation team and worked with the Iraqi government as an intelligence officer, but now is a professor of military science at JMU. By ELIZABETH DSURNEY The Breeze
see KEATTS, page A3
First Lt. Daniel Riesenberger used to patrol the streets of Iraqi towns and speak to civilians to find out if there was any trouble. The Iraqi citizens sometimes talked and other times, if they shied away, it became an obvious sign that there was suspicious activity in the area. Riesenberger, a professor of military science since Aug. , patrolled in West Karmah, Iraq, only a few months after he had graduated from JMU in May . It was the beginning of a day he’d never forget. As an overhead surveillance helicopter buzzed over, a marine attached to Risenberger’s unit relayed information about a sighting he’d made. In a nearby town, the helicopter reported that there were - men in black outfits running
ALEX THORNTON / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
President Linwood Rose comforts Nick Keatts’ mother at his memorial service Tuesday night. “I knew he was loved here,” she said.
what looked like a checkpoint on a bridge. Members of Al-Qaeda were known for wearing black outfits, and the area they were sighted in was infested with the enemy. Riesenberger’s platoon of men moved quickly to get into their truck and drive to a point close to where the potential AlQaeda group men was sighted. The unit then clambered out of the truck and proceeded on foot to a palm grove near the bridge. The truck stayed behind them. As enemy shots rang out, Riesenberger’s unit hit the ground as one, using a dirt mound for cover. Bullets hit the other side, making a sharp snapping noise, like people snapping their fingers, Riesenberger said. The only thing between his unit and the bullets was a wall of dirt about a foot and a half across. Then, everything went quiet. “It was like in the movies,”
Riesenberger said. It was about degrees, and he was sweating. He wasn’t wearing earplugs, and the sound of his own weapon was deafening. “In that moment, everything gets silent, and you can only hear your heartbeat,” Riesenberger said. “It’s impossible to explain. It sounds like shooting a cap gun. When they fly by, it’s like there’s a snap to it. You don’t have to have heard it before, to be aware of what it is and the dangers.” After a three-minute firefight, one of the men in black on the bridge was shot and killed. The rest of the men fled. The dead man was clutching a trash bag filled with millions of Iraqi dinar — the equivalent of several thousand dollars — and an assortment of weapons. see IRAQ, page A3
Positive test, positive outlook Panelists share their struggles with AIDS to inform students about risks
By REBECCA CROSSAN The Breeze
An estimated students at JMU are living with HIV, said junior Pablo Moulden — and he’s one of them. The international affairs major discovered he was HIV-positive when he was a high school senior. “It was discomforting that I’d only had two partners in my life, and I was already HIV-positive,” Moulden said. Moulden was one of three panelists for the event “Positively Speaking: My Life with HIV,” presented in Taylor Down Under Monday night by the Madison HIV/AIDS Alliance and Alpha Phi Alpha. Moulden came out as gay his sophomore year of high school, when he also had his first boyfriend. They had unprotected sex because Moulden thought they were both virgins. “I thought there was nothing wrong
11/10 INSIDE
with two consenting virgins having unprotected sex,” Moulden said, “because there is no way we could have an STD.” Monday night was the first time Moulden came out publicly about his status. “It was like I was in a mud cast and washed it all off in the shower,” Moulden said after the program. “It’s a huge weight off my shoulders. It was eating me away.” Moulden found out he was HIVpositive when he went to a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer event in Northern Virginia in January , where they tested for HIV with cheek swabs. “The man working the event said that it was possible it was a false positive,” Moulden said. But Moulden was officially diagnosed with HIV in February of that year.
A3
NEWS Fresh breeze
JMU will build a wind turbine facility to help students and community members study alternative energy.
Moulden said Pedro Zamora, a participant in MTV’s show “The Real World,” inspired him to speak to others about HIV/AIDS. Zamora used his fame to raise awareness for his condition by appearing on the show and speaking publicly about his condition. “That was the first time I had the idea that I could put a positive spin on this blessing in disguise,” Moulden said. “I could make something positive out of my mistake.” Dawn Cook and Ben Banks, a JMU graduate, two visiting speakers, also shared how HIV has affected their lives. Cook was infected by a partner she’d been in a monogamous relationship with for seven years. “All my life, I had never taken an HIV test because I don’t sleep around,” Cook said. Cook discovered she had HIV when a chronic illness prompted her to go
A5
OPINION Girl Scout controversy
The troop should have immediately accepted a transgendered -year-old boy.
BLAIR BOSWELL / THE BREEZE
At Taylor Down Under Monday night, junior Pablo Moulden, Dawn Cook, the sister of a JMU student, and Ben Banks, a JMU graduate, stress the importance of protection.
to the hospital, where she found out she had PCP pneumonia, a common symptom of AIDS. Cook said that protecting oneself first is important in a relationship. “The person you are choosing to be with now might not care how you’re doing or years down the road,”
A7
LIFE Hardcore parkour
Unofficial club allows students allows students to move fast on their feet with this peculiar sport.
Cook said. Banks was infected with HIV as a child through a blood transfusion. He was diagnosed with cancer at age , and blood transfusions were necessary to save his life. see HIV, page A3
A8
SPORTS Scholarships to get fatter?
NCAA offers an option to athletic conferences to pay full-scholarship athletes an extra $,.
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