Progress Made and Future Plans are Unveiled at Sexual Assault Prevention Campaign Conference
By Alyx Rivard
Hampshire College welcomed the public, students, experts and leaders of the Sexual Assault Prevention Campaign on Friday Apr. 5 for a conference emphasizing the importance of consent and raising awareness of sexual assaults on college campuses.
With an approximate 65 person attendance, representatives from the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office revealed three PSAs they created aimed to educate college students on the relevant dangers of sexual assaults on and around campuses. These public service announcements depict real word situations with actual college student actors helping the target audience relate and identify with the issue at hand.
The goal of the campaign is the hope that increased awareness will lead to prevention. Their plan is to end sexual assault on college campuses by 2020 and an essential aspect of successfully obtaining this goal is through education.
“There shouldn’t be a new student, first year, second year, third, fourth, fifth year student that can enroll without taking a sexual assault awareness workshop,” said Northwestern District Attorney, David Sullivan.
For many college students, partying and drinking is a part of the college experience but Sullivan addresses how this can endanger them and increases their risk of being a victim of sexual assault.
“75 percent of sexual assaults, nationwide, on college campuses occur with drugs or alcohol in their system. In order to end this issue, we need to change the culture,” said Sullivan.
Audience members of the conference were also informed on the legal definitions of rape and indecent assault and battery. Jennifer Suhl, attorney for the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit, explained how each ruling is different depending on the circumstances, which makes it hard to solidify a concrete definition of rape. However, one thing that remains invariable is, “penetration is required for a rape charge, ever so slight,” said Sullivan.
Throughout the following years, the Sexual Assault Prevention Campaign will continue to take strides in increasing awareness and creating safer campuses. It’s really going to be up to students to take the initiative in being active bystanders and having the courage to speak out when a sexual assault case occurs or is witnessed.
When Northwestern District representative Mary Coachella was asked what specifically made her want to get involved with the campaign she responded saying, “Working on projects that are really socially meaningful is what drives me.”
Sexual Assault Conference
by Shannon Sullivan
On Friday, April 5, at 2PM
students, faculty, members of the District Attorney’s office, and the
public came together to discuss an important subject: sexual assault.
District Attorney David Sullivan
opened up the conference by talking about how he is making it a goal of
his to end sexual assault on campus. Sullivan said “we have to have a
cultural change where we don’t accept sexual assault...we need to create
a culture of respect for women and men.” He talked about how it is
important to him that the general public understood that sexual assault
is not going to be tolerated and that the Northwestern District
Attorney’s office was putting a stop to it.
The theme of the conference was:
“consent, self empowerment, the protection of men and women to be able
to make choices.” Consent is the difference between sex and rape. This
slogan was drilled into the heads of the attendees from start to
finish.
Sullivan went on to talk about
saying “No.” He said “say NO to sexual violence, NO to the minimization
if women in the media... the people who change your college campus will
be your fellow students.” Sullivan wanted to make it clear that
changes will be made and that the first step in addressing the subject
was the public service announcements that were made for students with
student actors. He wants to have sexual assault awareness training and
encouraged/demanded that everyone should have to take part of it before
entering college. He ended his talk by demanding that we end sexual
assault by 2020.
The President of Hampshire College
also spoke at the event. He talked about assuming community members have
an obligation to each other. He said that he would be “taking every
form of sexual assault without consent with every seriousness.”
The conference also had a lawyer,
Jen Suhl come and talk about what consent is legally. She taught that
indecent rape is “unwanted, sexual touching, which even includes over
clothes.” Rape includes vaginal intercourse and/or penetration orally
or anally. It is thought of as “penetration no matter how slight.” She
gave a lot of information about the legal standpoints.
The campaign is directed towards
students in a hope that it will resonate with them. It teaches students
what to do as an active bystander, and that they should take a stand
against sexual violence. The PSA’s are very student friendly, the
posters that were made even have a code on them that your smartphone can
scan and it will bring you directly to the sexual assault website.
The conference was four hours of
information with a screening of the PSA’s. Over the next couple of
months the District Attorney’s office will be starting to reach out and
make people become aware of sexual assaults and how to prevent it.
Hopefully by 2020, Sullivan will be right and sexual assault will be
ended.
Trey Songz FAKE obituary
by Alyx Rivard
Neverson was born on November 28, 1984 in Petersburg, Va.
into a military lifestyle. Neverson’s mother, April Tucker, married a member of
the U.S. Army so a young Neverson spent his childhood traveling around the
country with his stepfather to different military bases. Neverson didn’t return
to Petersburg until he was fourteen when he began high school and discovered
his love for music.
The 6’1” singer began his recording career when he was
fifteen after he met New Jersey-based producer Troy Taylor, whom he worked with
over the weekends and summers while finishing high school. Taylor led him to
his record deal in 2003 when he signed with Atlantic Records.
Since 2003, Neverson has released five albums with the most
recent one entitled “Chapter V,” which was released this past summer and was
his first album to debut at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200.
In 2009, Neverson had a desirable year earning himself the title
for “Best Collaboration” at the Soul Train Awards and “Best Male R&B
Artist” at the BET Awards.
With two of his five albums selling over 800,000 records in
the U.S., fourteen singles reaching number one on the charts and three Grammy
nominations, Neverson’s career was a success.
Fortunately, Neverson was able to fulfill his lifetime goal
at the age of eighteen when he bought his mother a new home with his first
paycheck. "It's
funny, but the only man in my life who has actually done what he said he was gonna
do is the one I raised," said April Tucker in a 2003 interview after
moving into her home.
He is survived by his mother, April Tucker, and his loving
family and friends in his hometown of Petersburg.
A private service will be held in Petersburg, Virginia on
March 2, 2013. A public memorial will be held for his dedicated fans that
Neverson referred to as “Trey’s Angels,” in Los Angeles on March 5, 2013 at 5
p.m.
In lieu of
flowers, donations may be made to the Church of Christ, 604 South Jefferson St.,
Petersburg, VA 23803.
Police, Privacy, and the Press
by Shannon Sullivan
As a policeman in a college town, Amherst Police Detective Jamie Reardon really has his work cut out for him.
On March 11, 2013 13 Journalism 300 students on a field trip with their professor, Mary Carey visited the Amherst Police Department to get an idea of what it is like for police officers to handle college students, and how they interact with reporters.
Reardon spent a lot of time at the beginning of his talk teaching the students about privacy. He stressed that “in a public place you have no expectation of privacy.” He was trying to get the point across that people can take your picture in a public place and do whatever they want with it and you have no say. He used the “Blarney Blowout” videos on youtube as an example. Many students were pictured doing illegal things, and because they were in a public place there is nothing they can do about it. Plus since it is public, the police can use the videos too. Reardon said the police would be “issuing a press release about the Blarney Blowout and who was arrested on Tuesday March 12, where they would also comment about the videos on YouTube.”
Reardon also explained that “as policemen, we have to make split second decisions... we live in an ever changing society, and some of the laws haven’t caught up with the times.” Police have to be sharp and on top of their game at all times. He said “we are responsible for maintaining the law, upholding the law, and protecting the law... just like you are responsible to an editor we are responsible to a police chief or in a court we are responsible to a judge.” Policemen have a tough job of making sure that everyone is safe and law abiding. Reardon said that sometimes when they know something big, like a party is going to happen the police will go to the houses and knock on doors and tell them “Hey, we know what you are planning, and it isn’t a good idea.” They just want college students to be safe, as he showed through explaining that they sometimes will “tow a students car if it is parked illegally at Hobart Lane. so that they will just get a $100 towing ticket, and not be arrested for drunk driving.”
Reardon also talked about the press and how the police deal with them. He said that they “can’t release information before a trial because it could place prejudice against the arrested person.” The police are allowed to “withhold information all the time.” Reardon said “people have rights and I can’t jeopardize the investigation by going to the press.” He also taught students that the police “will not name victims of crimes to the press because of retaliation reasons and safety... and protective custody names do not get released.”
The Amherst Police Department strives to uphold the law in a college town full of young people. The police force has over 80 policies that they must memorize, about what may occur in certain situations and how to deal with them. Reardon took great pride in the Amherst Police Departments diversity, saying “diversity makes us a good police department.” They are ready to deal with all kinds of issues, and are available for whenever the phone rings and calls them to their duties.
Students See the Rules Behind a Successfully Run
Department
By Alyx Rivard
A shorter yet built, Detective Jamie Reardon of the Amherst
Police Department proudly stood in front of Professor Mary Carey’s Journalism
class as he discussed past interactions and responsibilities throughout his 13
years on the force.
On Monday evening at 4 p.m., 14 eager students gathered in a
conference room at the local Police Department located in downtown Amherst for
a pre-determined interview session with Reardon. The meeting lasted for about
an hour where students were able to ask any questions they had on the
Department or laws in general.
The beginning of the session focused mostly on an individual’s
right to privacy. The rule of a person’s “expectation of privacy” and what can
and cannot be published or released to the public were both discussed.
Expectation of privacy refers mainly to video recordings and photographs taken
unknowingly of individuals who are in a location where their seclusion is
expected such as a bathroom or locker room explained Reardon. However, this
expectation was not applicable to the currently surfacing videos and
photographs of this past weekend’s early St. Patrick’s celebration at the
Amherst Townhouse Quad infamously labeled as “Blarney Blowout.”
“Blarney took place outside in the public vicinity of the
townhouses, therefore, student’s had no expectation of privacy, so the recorded
videos and images are perfectly legal,” said Reardon. Some of these videos can
be found on YouTube where they will remain as, by law, no one’s rights were
violated in the process, explained Detective Reardon.
According to Reardon, his department is very particular and
careful about what they release to the press and the public. “Victims of
crime’s names are almost never released because of both their safety and
privacy. Our job is to protect victims not to put them in more danger or chance
of further harm,” said Reardon.
Information from the police department is also monitored and
censored to protect the accused before court. Reardon stressed that
intelligence or reports are never released before trials in order to avoid
partialities before all facts have been presented before a judge and judicial
system. “We release what needs to be released. Nothing that will form
prejudices or violate people’s rights.”
In wrapping up the interview, Detective Reardon touched on
the issue of marijuana, which seemed to generate a lot of interest in the crowd
of 19 and 20-year-olds. In regard to searches, Reardon mentioned the common
misconceptions of the broadly interpreted definition of “probable cause.”
“There is no probable cause if the marijuana is burnt or dissipated, however
any raw marijuana found, regardless of the amount, gives us permission to
search,” he said. This rule is especially relevant due to the recent change in marijuana
laws this past November.
The main goal of the Amherst Police Department is to always
be ready to respond to calls and, when the time presents itself, to act in best
way possible in order to ensure the safety of the community. There is always a
sense of uncertainty with every duty for it is impossible to accurately predict
the result of each situation, but this is what keeps the Department alert, on
their toes and ready to act. “Every time we walk through that door, we never
know what we are going to walk into or what the outcome will be,” said Reardon.
Lindsey Lohan FAKE Obituary (Not actually dead)
by Shannon Sullivan
NEW YORK- Actress and pop singer Lindsay Lohan, 27, LIVED Wednesday morning, Feb. 27, 2013, in her New York City home after a drug overdose occurred.
Lindsay Dee Lohan was born July 2, 1986, in New York, NY. to Donata “Dina” and Michael Lohan.
Lindsay’s childhood was spent in stints as a child model and commercial actress. She starred in over 60 television spots and 100 print ads. As a child she also starred in the Disney 1998 remake of The Parent Trap. Her success in playing a set of twin sisters lead LEDto more Disney roles like a remake of Freaky Friday (2003), and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004). Her most successful role was in Mean Girls (2004) written by Tina Fey for Paramount Film. It was the role that really broke her out into the spotlight, as it became the 24th highest grossing movie of 2004 and earned her a Teen’s Choice Award and an MTV movie award for her role.INTERESTING
Lohan also had a music career as a pop singer that she launched in 2004. Her first pop album Speak, hit platinum status.
Lohan entered rehab in August 2007 at the Cirque Lodge Treatment Center in Sundance, Utah and stayed until October 2007. She has struggled with drugs and alcohol but after this third time in rehab she kept a low profile.
In November 2012, Lohan starred as Elizabeth Taylor in the movie Liz & Dick which was aired on Lifetime TV.
Lohan was also famous for her many relationships, which is assumed to be over the 40’s. Her most famous ex-lovers include DJ Samantha Ronson, Wilmer Valderrama, and Aaron Carter.
Lindsay is survived by her parents Dina and Michael Lohan; her younger siblings Michael Jr., Aliana “Ali,” and Dakota “Cody” Lohan.
A private service will be held at the Frank E. Campbell home in New York on Sunday March 3.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cirque Lodge Treatment Center in Sundance, Utah RR3 Box #A-10 Sundance, Utah 84604.
No comments:
Post a Comment