Brown and White Vol. 120 no. 13

              Vol. 120 No. 13
Friday, March 18, 2011
‘All the Lehigh News First’
THE BROWN AND WHITE
Lehigh University’s Student Newspaper Founded in 1894
SPORTS
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Page 16
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LIFESTYLE
Two robberies in three days occur off campus
By MELISSA COLLINS with additional reporting by MEGAN HANKS
Mikael Borneo, a graduate student, allegedly falsely reported that he had been approached at knifepoint by three men, who robbed him of $4,000 cash last Saturday, according to a press release from Lehigh Police Chief Edward Shupp.
However, the robbery did not occur, and Borneo had imagined and allegedly lied about the entire robbery.
Borneo called the Bethlehem Police to report the supposed incicdent, and accord­ing to the press release, he was unable to give detailed descriptions of the three men who robbed him.
The Bethlehem Police Department, along with LUPD, the Sands Casino Security and the Pennsylvania State Police Gaming Enforce­ment Unit at the Sands Casino investigated this report.
The police turned to video surveillance cameras near the 400 block of Polk Street, where Borneo said the events took place. The videos revealed to the police a “different series of events” than what Borneo had described: no robbery had taken place at the address and time given to police.
According to the press release, Detective Fabian Martinez and Detective Moses Miller spoke with Borneo about the robbery, and he “admitted that no robbery took place.” Borneo also told police “he was at the Sands Casino on Friday and earlier Saturday and spent the mon­ey that he reported as stolen playing games.”
Borneo released a statement to The Brown and White, and has made no further comments. His statement is as follows:
“Well, this is going to be awkward.
The recent robbery bulletin on Saturday night was false. I made up the story to deal with my recent actions. First, I would like to apologize to the Lehigh victims that have actu­ally had this happen to them. I was foolish and inconsiderate.
For those of you that know me, you know
See FALSE Page 6
Grad student allegedly claims false mugging
Students hit close to home by Japan quake
By ANNAMARIA ANSELMO
While many students spent their spring breaks relaxing and forgetting their stresses at school, a 9.0-magni­tude earthquake hit Japan last Friday morning, discharging a catastrophic tsunami that accelerated waves of water gushing through the northern coastal region of Japan.
Death tolls are reaching more than 10,000, and many are growing concerned about the nuclear conse­quences from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
The earthquake was so powerful — the most powerful earthquake to strike and devastate the country in its recorded history — that Hawaii and some of the West Coast of the United States also faced tsunami warnings.
Students directly and indirectly affected by the earthquake shared their experiences.
Yujin Murata, ’10, works in Yo­kohama, Japan, a city south of To­kyo, and was working the day of the earthquake.
“I was in a 36-story building, and I looked outside the window to see our building swaying from the reflection from the building next to ours,” he said. “The quake lasted around three minutes. The elevator stopped working, but we did not experience any blackout in our area. Fortunately, I did not see any col­lapsed buildings around us.”
Residents from the affected coast­al regions were evacuated to inland camps, Murata said.
The atmosphere of Japan is still volatile with blackouts occurring throughout the entire country during different times of the day, beginning this past weekend to save power, he said.
Because the nation is still un­stable, more financial support is needed from abroad, Murata said.
“Anything raised for Japan, doesn’t matter the amount, would be greatly appreciated for the people in need,” he said. “And please tell the Lehigh community to keep the peo­ple in need in their prayers. We ap­preciate the swift relief actions made by the U.S., as well as other coun­See
JAPAN Page 5
B&W photo by CHAUCY DIXON
From left to right: Adam Kohn, ’11, Alana Opitz, ’13, and Kirndeep Singh, ’13, say “Hi!” at the LeHIgh Initiative Kickoff event on Wednesday night in Lamberton Hall. For the full story, go to thebrownandwhite.com.
I say, hello
By MELISSA COLLINS with additional report­ing by MEGAN HANKS
According to safety bulletin e-mails sent by Edward Shupp, Chief of Lehigh Police, two Lehigh students were allegedly robbed within the past week. The Le­high University Police Department and Bethlehem Po­lice Department investigated the alleged robberies.
The first of the two robberies occurred last Thursday around 1:50 a.m. on West Morton Street. Abdullah Al­saeeri, a graduate student, was allegedly robbed of cash and his identification cards at knife point, but he was not injured, according to an article in The Express Times.
Alsaeeri said he was at Molly’s Pub that night and decided to go outside to smoke. After he finished his cigarette, he decided to walk home.
“I was walking, playing on my phone, and I saw them behind me,” he said. “They asked me for a smoke, and I didn’t say anything. One asked for a dollar. I told him to just walk away. He showed me the knife and said, ‘Give me all your cash.’”
“I dropped my wallet. I had $2; that’s all. They took my ID’s and the $2, and I took the credit cards,” Al­saeeri said. “They ran away, I think back to the bar, to look for more people.”
n Two students reported allegedley being robbed off campus. Among the items stolen were a cell phone, cash, and ID cards.
See ROBBERIES Page 2