The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper
M O N DAY, D E C E M B E R 8 , 2 01 4
Mitchell responds to protesters’ list of demands UMPD will implement body cameras, advisory council; loaned military weapons to remain By Joe Antoshak and Talia Richman @Mantoshak, @TaliRichman Senior staff writers University Police Chief David Mitchell has penned a public response to demands student protesters demonstrated throughout the past two weeks, according to a document sent to The Diamondback
by university officials. The document, an 800-word letter addressed to the university community, contains a statement from Mitchell that commends students for peaceful activism and notes that the relationship between the police department and the campus community is “one that is based on transparency, trust and dialogue.” The most noteworthy of Mitch-
ell’s responses to the students’ five demands is the pending establishment of the Police Chief’s Advisory Council, which will meet on a regular basis with student group representatives a nd u n iversity faculty to bridge the gap between the department and the university. He named Grassroots, Do Better, the on-campus NA ACP chapter and the UMD Social Justice Coalition as groups to which he would reach out. See umpd, Page 3
University police chief david mitchell speaks to student protestors Nov. 24. Mitchell wrote a response letter Friday in regards to the demonstrators’ concerns about police militarization. james levin/the diamondback
GIVING HOPE WITH A HUG
Hiring halt uneven in univ effects Number of tenure spots slows as enrollment rises By Morgan Eichensehr @MEichensehr Staff writer Despite university officials’ recent efforts to increase the size of the student body, professors have not been hired at a rate to accommodate those students. University President Wallace Loh told the Residence Hall Association at its Nov. 18 meeting that the student body has increased by about 5,000 but there have been no major hires for faculty members. Steve Fetter, the associate provost for academic affairs, clarified that the university has gained new faculty members and more than 5,000 new students since the fall of 2000, but the former have been mostly nontenure-track faculty members or lecturers. There has not been a significant increase in tenure-track faculty and professors at this university, which Fetter said can be attributed to a lack of available funds. “I suppose it’s a combination of factors, but mostly I think it’s a budget issue,” Fetter said. This university employed 4,387 faculty members as of fall 2012, which increased to 4,410 in fall 2013 and to the current 4,467, according to See faculty, Page 3
junior kinesiology major kassie coulson collected and donated 750 stuffed animals to the Riverdale Fire Department on Friday as part of a Care Bear Project at her church. Firefighters plan to distribute the toys to children who have been affected by incidents as a way to comfort them. The project spoke to Coulson, who spent part of her childhood in an orphanage. james levin/the diamondback
Junior organizes drive for local fire department, donates 750 stuffed animals for kids in need By Ellie Silverman @esilverman11 Senior staff writer For the first two years of her life, junior Kassie Coulson had nothing — no toys, no
family and no idea who her parents are. She lived in an orphanage in St. Petersburg, Russia, before an American couple adopted her in April 1996 and brought her home to Howard County. Coulson, now a kinesiology major at this
Panel talks past, future of sports journalism By Taylor Swaak @tswaak27 Staff writer
Asian engineers group visits Goddard center
Utmost caution is a necessity for the men in the bunny suits. So much as an eyelash in a solar panel or some molecules of perfume in the spectrometer could be the difference between the successful deployment of the world’s most powerful space telescope and $8.8 billion down the drain. The workers wore full-body white
the society of asian scientists and engineers sent 12 student to tour NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt on Friday. The group debuted this semester and this was its first event. tom hausman/the diamondback scrubs, complete with gloves, booties and hoods, ensembles colloquially known as “bunny suits.” The suits minimize their exposure to the enormous room, or rather, limit the room’s contact with them, a tour guide said. From about a story above these workers, 12 students stood against
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Finding a place for women in the locker room
Student group makes debut with trip to NASA center By Joe Zimmermann @JoeMacZim Staff writer
university and a volunteer at the Riverdale Volunteer Fire Department, said the memories of growing up in an orphanage fueled her desire to help others. Now, thanks to Coulson’s Care Bear Project, Prince George’s County Fire Department vehicles will each be equipped with a handful of stuffed animals to give to children involved in an incident requiring the fire
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the glass. They are part of the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers, a national organization with about 40 chapters worldwide. A new chapter was established at this university this semester, and on Friday, they held their first event: a tour of NASA’s See nasa, Page 3
On June 23, 1986, sports writer Susan Fornoff received a box from Oakland A’s player Dave Kingman while covering a game from the press box. It was a rat, with a label reading, “My name is Sue.” And this past Thursday, a security guard denied Rachel Nichols, a reporter for CNN and Turner Sports, access to a reporting area under the assumption that she was an anthem singer rather than a journalist. “I have gotten that at least a half dozen times, as well as, ‘The players’
wives aren’t allowed back here’ and things like that,” Nichols said. Nichols and five other female sports journalists — Monica McNutt, Andrea Kremer, Marcia Keegan, Lesley Visser and Mary Byrne — gathered in Knight Studio at the Newseum in Washington on Saturday afternoon for the “Women in Sports Media” panel. They addressed the current state of women in sports journalism and how to keep moving forward. In a packed room of about 160 audience members, George Solomon, the director of this university’s Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism, which hosted the event; and Christine Brennan, USA Today sports columnist, mediated the onehour discussion and subsequent half hour Q-and-A session. See newseum, Page 2
SPORTS
OPINION
BOWLING IN SANTA CLARA
GUEST COLUMN: Sexual assault on the campus
Yesterday, the Terps football team accepted an invitation to the Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara, in which it will play Stanford P. 8
SGA president addresses sexual misconduct policy response P. 4 DIVERSIONS
COME FLY WITH ME The Experimental Flying Club constructs hang gliders P. 6