Page 90 - Phoenix1998-99

Thursday, December 10, 1998 - Page 10 FEATURES FEATURES Thursday, December 10, 1998 - Page 11 Sexual harassment moe. & February saw the expulsion of first-year student, Hayden Myers, ac- brownie mary cused of sexually harassing a college employee. Myers admitted creat- moe, a "funk-groove-rock-type music" band from New ing a pornographic flyer bearing a resemblance to a Residence Life Co- York, performed at the annual spring concert on April 24. ordinator, which was distributed throughout Rouzer Hall. "' Myer's mother explained that he meant the act to be a prank and did moe. performed with Brownie Mary, an up-and-coming al- not intend sexual harassment. The Baltimore Sun quoted Myers describ- ternative rock band from Pittsburgh, and Jonasay, a rootsy folk pop group that hails from Maryland. Six RAs resign ing the incident as "an immature guy thing. It was a joke, and r didn't The performance had a sluggish first half and volume mean more." Myer's appealed his punishment which was later reduced to an en- problems that were made up for by a high-energy second The Spring semester began with upheaval in the Residence Life de- forced withdrawal for two semesters with the option to reapply thereaf- half, highlighted by a rendition of "Rebulba," a critically partment as six RAs resigned after the previous semester. Three out of ter. acclaimed song from their 1996 CDNo Doy. the four RAs in Whiteford hall resigned, keeping the one remaining RA moe., a group considered by some to be the next Phish, very busy until replacements were found. has performed at the Horde festival and the Bayou in D.C., The Resident Assistants cited several reasons for leaving the job, in- as well as at many colleges around the U.S. Brownie Mary, cluding "lack of support" from supervisors. Another motive given was founded in 1993, has a CD entitled That's Me, and has that "being a bad guy sometimes did make it difficult." opened for the Dave Matthews Band, Melissa Etheridge, Channel 17 shows Not all of the six RAs resigned because they were unhappy with the Rusted Root and Hootie and the Blowfish. Jonasay had job. Some had too many other responsibilities to be able to continue with been a group for only eight months at the time of the con- pornographic movie the position. cert and had just released their first album. Residence Life hired new RAs to fill the vacancies, one of whom is resigning at the end of this semester. However, this is the only resigna- While some students were enjoying the sounds of the cam- tion so far this fall. WM '98 TV saw some surprising programming on Channel 17, the cam- pus concert last May, others who stayed in their rooms watching pus television Honor code comes station's machine station. and broadcast pornographic the campus. into the movie put a hard-core Somebody it throughout was not Suchoski, general of the station, manager Richard under criticism The yea 's news aware of the change in the programming schedule who put in the until contacted Safety. by Campus of the person The identity In October, students voiced their concerns about the efficacy of video is still unknown, but all the key holding members of the station of the prank. any knowledge denied WMC's honor code. They were unsure as to whether it was perfonning One thing that is known is that Channel 17 had some of its the way a pure honor code should, where students are supposed to be best ever viewing figures. Several people left messages on the academically honest and report honor code violations. station's phonemail declaring "We love you Channel 17,you're An ad hoc committee was convened last semester, and released a our new favorite station." report in August. It contained several suggestions, such as increased clari- fication of the honor code booklet, inclusion of an orientation to the honor code in the Freshman Seminar classes, and faculty education. In October, Dr. Sam Case proposed a surprise motion to abolish the honor code in order to renew student commitment to it. "Riot" erupts during t. Students displayed mixed opinions about the honor code question, Spring Fling party and expressed their opinions at an SGA open house on October 22. Spring Fling in 1998 was certainly a weekend to be remembered, Football team although perhaps not for the good times that were had. An unauthorized halls ANW and Daniel MacLea party that sprung up in the quad between was broken reaches playoffs to disperse the crowd. police, who used pepper spray and dogs up by Westminster Campus Safety officers were unable to break. up the party and called The Green Terror football team ended its sec- in the police to help. They felt this was necessary because of the under- ond undefeated season with a victory over Johns Pigeons killed age drinking and fistfights that occurred. Hopkins University on November 14, clinching the Students resented their party ending in this manner and objected to Centennial Conference Division III championship. with illegal the presence of the police. Two students were arrested; both were charged The Terror traveled to Trinity in Texas for the first round with disorderly conduct and one student with two counts of second de- of NCAA Division 1II playoffs, hoping tum last year's loss gree assault. into this year's victory and win the first national champion- chemical ship in WMC's history. WMC put up a good fight; the Terror was ahead at half-time, but lost control of the game and fin- SO/CAmerge ished up 20-30. The beginning of this semester brought the unpleasant sight for some Racial slurs shock members in front of them. of a dead or dying pigeon falling on the of the WMC community ground The pigeons campus community nated using a chemical called Avitrol, a pest by the college and so were termi- Se~~o~!w~~~!~are of their freshman orienta- were considered of the conrro- which was placed on the roofs of some the planning versy that surrounded buildings. campus The decision caused controversy on campus as many people liked the tion program. The big issue was the combination of the Class- October ended with a bizarre racial incident that shocked the WMC pigeons and thought it was cruel to kill them. room Assistant and Student Orientor positions into one role. community. The debate was further fueled by the fact that the pest control company, For the most part. students were very strongly against the Freshman Kenneth Carter III confessed in writing to writing racial Terrninex, did not have a permit to distribute the chemical. The company idea, citing the different personality traits required by each epithets on the doors of three Rouzer Hall rooms. He was caught after had reacted quickly to the problem and had forgotten to apply for permission role, and arguing that an excellent CA may not have the right being observed writing the slurs on his own message board by a video to use Avitrol against birds in Carroll County. skills to be an effective SO, while a person who might be a surveillance camera. After the college realized that the chemical was unlicensed, jt was re- great team leader may not have the academic ability to be a Controversy later arose over the student's allegations that his confes- moved from the buildings, but not until 55 out of a flock of 700 birds were CA in a subject. sion was coerced, and a candlelight vigil was held on October 28 in or- killed. The college went ahead with the idea and the position of der for the campus to show its solidarity. Peer Mentor was created. Students who felt comfortable fill- The incident sparked a debate about among the students and admin- ing both roles took on the responsibility of helping first-year istration about the racial climate of WMC, and led to the circulation of students adapt, but many fanner CAs and SOs who did not three petitions calling for racial awareness. like the requirements of the other position were not involved By Kate Hampson and Sarah Radice in this year's orientation.