The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper
M O N DAY, F E B R UA R Y 2 , 2 015
Man sentenced to 2 years in prison Liam Adepo, 30, struck, killed university student on Route 1 in 2014 By Katishi Maake @TheHavocRat, @dbkcrime Staff writer More than a year after the deadly hit-and-run incident that killed 22-year-old university student Cory Hubbard, Liam Adepo, 30, of Cheverly, was sentenced Friday to two years in prison. During an emotional hearing, Adepo offered his apologies to Hubbard’s friends and family in attendance, said John Erzen, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office spokesman. Erzen said 54 victim impact statements were submitted during the sentencing hearing, and Hubbard’s
Liam adepo
Courtesy of Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office friends and family were welcome to explain to the judge how the incident impacted each of their lives. At about 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 17, 2014, Hubbard was attempting to cross Route 1 when he was struck by a dark-colored Toyota. Adepo, who was driving, fled the scene, but was See adepo, Page 3
Univ professors design Obama’s tax proposal sandwich ingredients sit in a freezer room in the 251 North dining hall. A team of 19 Dining Services employees transforms buckets of meats, vegetables and condiments into about 1,000 sandwiches each morning for distribution at campus dining halls and convenience stores. tom hausman/the diamondback
The lunchtime legion Maryland Sandwich Factory workers meet campus sandwich cravings By Jeremy Snow @JeremyM_Snow Senior staff writer By 8 a.m. every morning, the workers at the Maryland Sandwich Factory have already made about 1,000 different sandwiches and salads to distribute to the campus community. Starting at 5 a.m., 19 men and women dash between two freezer rooms while wheeling carts of meat, veggies and premade sandwiches seven days a week in the 251 North workspace, which resembles a kitchen more than a factory. “We became better streamlined to get the product done on a daily basis
English sees decline in enrollment Some attribute student loss to decline in status of humanities majors By Rokia Hassanein @rokiahass Staff writer Enrollment in the English major at this university is declining, frustrating officials and students who wish to improve the arts and humanities college’s resources. The population of English majors at this university has decreased by about 40 percent in a three-year span, according to a recent report on Inside Higher Ed. According to the data featured on the report, this university’s English department lost 88 students during the spring 2012 semester, 79 students in 2013 and 128 more a year later. Arts and humanities dean Bonnie
over here compared to the South Campus cold room, which was outdated,” said Rob Fahey, 251 North general manager. The fast-moving operation is how Dining Services manages to provide those prepackaged sandwiches to 16 shops across the campus, Fahey said. Workers arrive early to start slicing the deli meat and fresh produce. As each item is made, the employees organize carts of food to easily load into trucks by 8 a.m. so the items can arrive on campus shelves by 11 a.m., he said. Despite the strict sandwich-making deadline and hectic pace, Sonya Effel, who has worked at the Sandwich Factory for four years, said the process
T hornton Di l l sa id there was a steady annual increase in arts and humanities students between 2001 and 2010. However, in 2012, a noticeable decline began, with the college’s enrollment shrinking 21 percent in three years. “It is difficult to know precisely which factors contribute to these declines, but there seems to be a perception among some students and their families that the employment prospects for humanities majors are not as great as some other fields,” Dill said. “A number of studies have shown that the job prospects for humanities majors are at least as good as for other fields.” Sarah Feeney, president of the English Undergraduate Association, said she thinks some of the factors hurting the English department’s enrollment have to do with the marketing of the English major and of arts and humanities programs as a whole. “For so long, every time I have mentioned my fields of study, the first response is almost always, ‘Oh, so See English, Page 2
ISSUE NO. 64 , OUR 105 TH YEAR OF PUBLICATION DBKNEWS.COM
Submit tips, comments and inquiries to the news desk at NEWSUMDBK@GMAIL.COM
@thedbk
TheDiamondback
Scan the QR Code to download our mobile app
soon began running smoothly. “It is a little crazy,” she said. “But we are used to working under pressure, so we can do just fine.” Effel said the friendly camaraderie and teamwork among her coworkers helps get the job done. But getting used to working in the 38-degree storing rooms is one of the most challenging things for them to adjust to. To stay warm, the sandwich-makers wear multiple layers, including sweatshirts, hats and aprons, while working. While the Sandwich Factory has existed for about 30 years, operations greatly improved four years See sandwich, Page 2
Melissa Kearney, Lesley Turner offer support for dual-income credit cited in State of the Union By Jon Banister @J_Banister Senior staff writer Two university economics professors recently designed a tax reform proposal that President Obama adopted in his State of the Union address and that could impact millions of families nationwide. The second-earner tax credit was created by professors Melissa Kearney and Lesley Turner, who saw an inherent problem in the country’s tax code, which imposes extra costs on families with two sources of income. Because family income is pooled u nder the cu rrent ta x system, Kearney said, second income sources are taxed at much higher rates than if those workers were single. For example, the proposal states, a family with a primary earner who makes $25,000 per year would receive only
about 30 percent of any income the primary earner’s spouse brought in. This loss of income can discourage spouses from finding a job, and it makes paying child-care costs increasingly difficult. Kearney noted that the gains from national economic growth have gone disproportionately to upper-income households, and said she has focused her research on ways to help lowerincome families. “It does raise really important challenges and questions about how to ensure shared prosperity and make it such that folks near the middle and bottom of the income distribution can share in these income gains and productivity gains going forward,” she said. To remedy this problem, which Kearney said dates back to 1940s tax See tax, Page 3
Comet project finds success despite loss Univ researchers watch comet via orbiter By Marissa Horn @MarissaL_Horn Staff writer Using the Rosetta spacecraft, scientists have photographed and surveyed nearly 70 percent of a distant comet, looking for a Mickey Mouse shape. The Philae lander, which starred in the dramatic Nov. 12 contact with sun-orbiting Comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko, collected data for 57 hours before going into hibernation. Since then the Rosetta spacecraft has continued to orbit the comet, but the exact location of the hibernating lander is still uncertain. “What we are looking for is a Mickey Mouse-like pattern, because that’s what its feet look like, with three little circles,” said Dennis Bodewits, a research scientist at this university. “We have found about five or six of them now, but they can be everywhere.”
SPORTS
Tony Farnham, astronomy professor, holds a model of the Rosetta spacecraft at the viewing party for the Rosetta mission comet landing in the Physical Sciences Complex on Wednesday, Nov. 12. file photo/the diamondback Philae is not a rogue robot wandering aimlessly around the planet. It bounced unpredictably into a shadowed area, possibly under a cliff or some rocks, said Bodewits, who, along with research professor Michael A’Hearn, works on the team managing Rosetta’s exterior
cameras. Because Philae is in darkness, its solar panels are unable to continue to collect power, so it ceased communicating data and entered a hibernation state Nov. 15. Philae contains about 20 scientific See rosetta, Page 3
OPINION
SUPER STREAK
STAFF EDITORIAL: USM hiring process
Behind Lexie Brown’s 26 points, the Terps women’s basketball team beat Iowa last night to earn its 13th straight win and move to 10-0 in Big Ten play P. 8
Chancellor choice shouldn’t go to General Assembly P. 4 DIVERSIONS
40 YEARS OF SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE One writer recaps the landmark comedy show’s journey P. 6