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Volume CXVI, No. 5
National A Pakistani defendant in a U.S. terrorism trial was part of a broad al-Qaida conspiracy to attack targets in England, New York City and Denmark, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Prosecutor Celia Cohen told jurors in her opening statement Tuesday at the New York City trial of Abid Naseer that he headed a terror cell in Manchester, England. Naseer also is accused of a 2009 conspiracy to attack the New York City subways. The defendant, who has opted to act as his own attorney, denies he was an al-Qaida member and says he has “no extremist jihadist views.” Rand Paul is actively looking for ways to run for both president and reelection to the U.S. Senate, something standard in many states, but not legal in his home state of Kentucky. However, the state GOP has some serious concerns about his desired scenario. Paul wrote a letter last week to the state party hoping to convince its members to create a presidential caucus, over a primary in 2016, the Lexington Herald-Leader first reported and the Kentucky GOP state party chairman confirmed to ABC News.
International Recent moves by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] to assert itself in Libya have led to clashes with al Qaeda-affiliated jihadis there, experts say, and Egypt stepped into the fray Monday by launching new airstrikes against ISIS targets in Libya. On Sunday, core-ISIS officially anointed its Libyan affiliate by releasing a savage new video of camouflage-clad jihadis dramatically slicing the necks of 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt who were abducted in Libya. The video had similar graphics and cinematic flourishes to ISIS’ other major pieces of propaganda from Syria and Iraq, including track and crane camera moves as the victims in orange jumpsuits compliantly knelt in the wet sand of a Mediterranean beach for their final living moments as stars of the Libyan ISIS affiliate’s debut.
This week’s “Top Stories” were compiled by Brendan Raleigh with information from abc.go.com.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Thursday, February 19, 2015
FREE
Disability rights advocate fights for accessibility
Marilynn Phillips brings deficiencies in handicap accessibility to College’s attention B y B rendan R aleigh N ews E ditor
In 2005, Gettysburg College received $8.5 million from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to put towards the restoration of The Majestic Theater. The total cost of this restoration was $16 million. The college’s webpage on the Theater boasts that the renovation included “handicap seating and elevator access.” Disability rights advocate Dr. Marilynn Phillips looked into the college’s compliance with state laws regarding handicap accessibility, however, and found that the Theater, as well as many of the college’s facilities, were not in accordance with the architectural guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Phillips’s husband, Robert Winans, taught as a professor at Gettysburg from 1987 to 2002, and is now Emeritus Professor of the English Department. Phillips herself uses a motorized scooter. Phillips commented on Winans’s and her time at Gettysburg, saying, “We have had difficulties since 1987 in participating in College events because College facilities were not accessible, and more importantly because the College made it difficult for us to even request that activities be held in accessible venues.” Though she filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Commission on Human Relations (PCHR), due to “administrative difficulties,” the issue was not
Photo Credit: www.ba-inc.com
pursued any further. After bringing up these concerns in 2005, Phillips returned within the past few months to see if any of the necessary changes had been made.
“If Gettysburg College is unwilling to correct the accessibility deficiencies [...] in a reasonable period of time, I will be filling against the College with the DOI.” ~ Marilynn Phillips “I brought these accessibility deficiencies to the attention of the College in 2005, but the College’s representatives were dismissive,” Phillips commented. “Recently, I decided to see if the College has corrected the deficiencies I noted in 2005. The violations have not been corrected.” “I simply want to say that we are carefully reviewing the issues that Dr. Phillips has raised,” commented Gettysburg College President Janet Morgan Riggs. “We are striving to create a culture of inclusivity, and we continue to work to improve accessibility so that everyone in our community can participate in our events and programs.”
Photo Credit: www.gettysburgdaily.com
Disability rights advocate Marilynn Phillips has been pressing the issue of accessibility with Gettysburg College. The Attic (above) and The Majestic are two of the locations found to be lacking in accessibility. Despite such assurances, Phillips plans to file once more with the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) if the college does not make the necessary changes. “It is very likely that if Gettysburg College is unwilling to correct the accessibility deficiencies at The Majestic and on Campus, such as The Attic, in a rea-
sonable period of time, I will be filling against the College with the DOI.” P h illip s h ad o u tlin ed the relevant issues in a 39page Preliminary Analysis of the problems discovered around the college campus and at the Majestic Theater. The list of necessary amenities includes a wheelchair accessible shuttle,
accessible fire escapes, a ramp for The Attic’s stage and “dispersed seating” for The Majestic, among others. Phillips and fellow advocate John Witiak met with President Riggs and the college’s lawyer on Jan. 5 2015 Continued on page 2
The Gettysburg Review set to continue publication Despite rumors of its end, the nationally-renowned publication is safe from discontinuation B y A nika J ensen N ews E ditor The Gettysburg Review will continue publication after rumors of cancellation due to budgeting and the upcoming retirement of its main editor Peter Stitt. The literary journal, which publishes quarterly, debuted in 1988 and showcases poetry, prose, art and criticism. Regarded as “one of the country’s premier literary journals” (gettysburgreview.com), the journal has printed works by renowned writers such as Joyce Carol Oates and E.L. Doctorow, and is highly selective, publishing only about two percent of manuscripts received every year. Stitt dispelled the rumors when he said, “It was not going to be cancelled, but the college wanted to take a look at the budget and other matters because I am
Inside This Issue
This Week’s Top Stories
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Weird News, pg. 2
Rumors of The Gettysburg Review’s cancellation have circulated Gettysburg College this year; however, the literary magazine is set to continue its publication. retiring as Editor at the end Department and the staff of the product,” Stitt said. “It The Gettysburg Review of August. the Gettysburg Review. will be hard work for the has experienced a tremenThis made a good time Finally, a compromise remaining staff, but this is dous increase in recognition for reevaluation.” The con- was reached: “The Review a w i n / w i n o u t o u t c o m e . ” since it was founded: it ret i n u a t i o n o f f u n d i n g w a s eventually submitted a pro- D e s p i t e t h e c h a n g e s , t h e ceived about 6,000 submisd i s c u s s e d t h o r o u g h l y b y posal that would allow for journal will continue to print sions last year, compared to the Gettysburg College ad- downsizing while maintain- high quality works of art and 400 in 1987. m i n i s t r a t i o n , t h e E n g l i s h ing the look and quality of literature.
“50 Shades of Grey” review, pg. 3
Diane Werley Tips to prevent internship, dehydration in the winter, pg. 5 pg. 5
College’s One Billion controversial alcohol Rising, policies, pg. 6 pg. 7