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Vol. 126 No. 12 Friday, March 14, 2014 ‘All the Lehigh News First’ THE BROWN AND WHITE Lehigh University’s Student Newspaper Founded in 1894 SPORTS Wrestling takes second at EIWAs Page 16 ONLINE Visit our website thebrownandwhite.com Bethlehem celebrates St. Patrick’s Day Page 7 LIFESTYLE Davis, Nas reflect on incarceration By SAM TOMASZEWSKI Activist Dr. Angela Davis and rapper Nas discussed mass incarceration in belated observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Baker Hall Monday night. The event, entitled “The Incarcerated Justice Series: Civil Rights in the 21st Century,” was organized by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee and sponsored by many different groups on campus. It was previously scheduled to take place Jan. 21 and to feature rapper Lupe Fiasco, but was postponed due to poor weather conditions. Dr. James Peterson, director of Africana studies and associate professor of English, moderated the talk. Davis and Nas began with an overview of mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex. Davis cited many facts about those who are in prison: 70 percent are illiterate, there is a 66 percent return rate and there are about two million people currently imprisoned, many of whom are people of color, she said. Nas was able to take from his real-life experiences of growing up on the streets of New York City. “The cop cars would drive by slower and slower,” he said. He spoke about how police would often arrest large groups of people without much evidence. He attributed this to the war on By ABBY SMITH Lehigh University officials learned last Thursday morning that Fraternity Management Association, a company that handles billing for 15 Greek chapters on the Hill, would be filing for bankruptcy. FMA was established in 1967 by Greek alumni and university officials as a buying cooperative, but evolved into a full-service financial assistance organization. In 2010, the organization became completely independent of Lehigh and moved its offices off campus to 301 Broadway St., said Ozzie Breiner, director of residential services, in a meeting with students Monday. “Fraternities and sororities have independent contracts with FMA to provide various services, including food and dining,” said Sally Gilotti, Lehigh’s assistant director of media relations. “Parents and students pay the FMA directly for those services.” The company’s shutdown has affected about 800 students in 13 fraternities and two sororities. FMA aided these chapters with billing for food services, as well as facilities management; philanthropy opportunities; chapter-wide events, such as date parties and formals; and even dues. “We lost a very sizable amount of money, and it currently does not seem like we will be able to recover any of it,” said Rand Monaghan, ’16, president of Kappa Sigma. “We owe our food vendors for the last three months of bills still. In addition, because we are unable to afford food, we’ve had to let our chef go for the remainder of the year.” Monaghan detailed other expenses his chapter has incurred, including trailer rentals for summer storage, house equipment purchases, new kitchen equipment and maintenance and repairs. Gilotti expressed that the university understands the significant burden this situation is placing on the individual Greek chapters and is trying to help where possible. “To help alleviate the immediate impact on affected students, Lehigh is providing the roughly 800 students with meal plans through the remainder of the semester,” she said. These students will be receiving 14 meal swipes By CHRISTINA CAVANAUGH On March 3, former Lehigh football player Russhon Phillips pleaded guilty to simple assault and public drunkenness in the wake of a fight outside of Leon’s bar last year. Following the fight, Phillips and three other members of the football team were removed from the roster. The other three men have returned to the lineup, but Phillips is no longer a student at Lehigh. In the altercation — which began following a heated exchange of words — fellow Lehigh student Paul Graham, 22, sustained injuries including multiple facial fractures. Phillips did not start the fight, but two witnesses stated that they saw Phillips kicking Graham while the fight took place, according to court papers. His additional initial charges, according to court papers, included aggravated assault, disorderly conduct related to fighting, harassment and underage purchase of alcohol. These were withdrawn by assistant District Attorney Richard Pepper in accordance with his plea. He will face sentencing on April 8 in front of Northampton County Senior Judge Leonard Zito. Phillips also faces outstanding charges for a Dec. 14, 2013 incident when he rear-ended a vehicle while intoxicated in a Burger King drive-through shortly after 3 a.m., police said. This led to a confrontation during which he spit on one of the people who had been in the other vehicle, attempted to kick one of them and threatened to assault her, police said. See FMA Page 5 See DAVIS Page 5drugs. “We grew up in a war. Beyond all the warnings, we knew there was something else out there, focused on us.” These mass arrests due to the drug war also connect to Davis’s activist work. Davis first became involved in prison reform by working to free political prisoners. “It became apparent to me that I had to get involved,” she said. “All I had to lose was a job, and they had to lose their lives.” In an attempt to help free the three Soledad brothers — African-American inmates who had been charged with the murder of a white prison guard in 1970 — she ended up getting arrested herself. At the time that Davis was in jail, there were 200,000 people imprisoned. “That seemed like a huge amount of people. I remember thinking, ‘How can we incarcerate so many people?’” she said. She emphasized that many people are not imprisoned for serious offenses. One audience member asked a question regarding the “three strikes rule” — a law where three offenses result in life imprisonment. “Most people are not in jail or prison for violent crimes,” Nas said. Davis and Nas also spoke about the education system and how it is an institution that can help reduce crime and arrests. “The abolition of prisons is the creation of schools,” Davis said. “My parents taught me how to love learning. It shouldn’t be a task.” She added that she believes schools are too focused on disciplining and testing their students. When asked which public policies she would change to help social justice, she answered that all education should be free. The two also encouraged the audience to reconsider the stigmas that are associated with those who are in prison. Charges settled in Sept. bar fight B&W photo by CHRIS BARRY Davis and Nas lead the discussion on imprisonment before opening it to questions and comments form the audience that packed into Baker Hall Monday evening. Chapters lose thousands as FMA goes bankrupt
Object Description
Title | Brown and White Vol. 126 no. 12 |
Date | 2014-03-14 |
Month | 03 |
Day | 14 |
Year | 2014 |
Volume | 126 |
Issue | 12 |
Type | Newspaper |
Source Repository | Lehigh University |
Coverage | United States, Pennsylvania, Lehigh, South Bethlehem |
LCCN | 7019854 |
Source Repository Code | LYU |
Digital Responsible Institution | Lehigh University |
Digital Responsible Institution Code | LYU |
Issue/Edition Pattern | Semiweekly |
Title Essay | Published twice a week during the college year by the students of Lehigh University |
Description
Title | Page 1 |
Date | 2014-03-14 |
Type | Page |
FullText | Vol. 126 No. 12 Friday, March 14, 2014 ‘All the Lehigh News First’ THE BROWN AND WHITE Lehigh University’s Student Newspaper Founded in 1894 SPORTS Wrestling takes second at EIWAs Page 16 ONLINE Visit our website thebrownandwhite.com Bethlehem celebrates St. Patrick’s Day Page 7 LIFESTYLE Davis, Nas reflect on incarceration By SAM TOMASZEWSKI Activist Dr. Angela Davis and rapper Nas discussed mass incarceration in belated observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Baker Hall Monday night. The event, entitled “The Incarcerated Justice Series: Civil Rights in the 21st Century,” was organized by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee and sponsored by many different groups on campus. It was previously scheduled to take place Jan. 21 and to feature rapper Lupe Fiasco, but was postponed due to poor weather conditions. Dr. James Peterson, director of Africana studies and associate professor of English, moderated the talk. Davis and Nas began with an overview of mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex. Davis cited many facts about those who are in prison: 70 percent are illiterate, there is a 66 percent return rate and there are about two million people currently imprisoned, many of whom are people of color, she said. Nas was able to take from his real-life experiences of growing up on the streets of New York City. “The cop cars would drive by slower and slower,” he said. He spoke about how police would often arrest large groups of people without much evidence. He attributed this to the war on By ABBY SMITH Lehigh University officials learned last Thursday morning that Fraternity Management Association, a company that handles billing for 15 Greek chapters on the Hill, would be filing for bankruptcy. FMA was established in 1967 by Greek alumni and university officials as a buying cooperative, but evolved into a full-service financial assistance organization. In 2010, the organization became completely independent of Lehigh and moved its offices off campus to 301 Broadway St., said Ozzie Breiner, director of residential services, in a meeting with students Monday. “Fraternities and sororities have independent contracts with FMA to provide various services, including food and dining,” said Sally Gilotti, Lehigh’s assistant director of media relations. “Parents and students pay the FMA directly for those services.” The company’s shutdown has affected about 800 students in 13 fraternities and two sororities. FMA aided these chapters with billing for food services, as well as facilities management; philanthropy opportunities; chapter-wide events, such as date parties and formals; and even dues. “We lost a very sizable amount of money, and it currently does not seem like we will be able to recover any of it,” said Rand Monaghan, ’16, president of Kappa Sigma. “We owe our food vendors for the last three months of bills still. In addition, because we are unable to afford food, we’ve had to let our chef go for the remainder of the year.” Monaghan detailed other expenses his chapter has incurred, including trailer rentals for summer storage, house equipment purchases, new kitchen equipment and maintenance and repairs. Gilotti expressed that the university understands the significant burden this situation is placing on the individual Greek chapters and is trying to help where possible. “To help alleviate the immediate impact on affected students, Lehigh is providing the roughly 800 students with meal plans through the remainder of the semester,” she said. These students will be receiving 14 meal swipes By CHRISTINA CAVANAUGH On March 3, former Lehigh football player Russhon Phillips pleaded guilty to simple assault and public drunkenness in the wake of a fight outside of Leon’s bar last year. Following the fight, Phillips and three other members of the football team were removed from the roster. The other three men have returned to the lineup, but Phillips is no longer a student at Lehigh. In the altercation — which began following a heated exchange of words — fellow Lehigh student Paul Graham, 22, sustained injuries including multiple facial fractures. Phillips did not start the fight, but two witnesses stated that they saw Phillips kicking Graham while the fight took place, according to court papers. His additional initial charges, according to court papers, included aggravated assault, disorderly conduct related to fighting, harassment and underage purchase of alcohol. These were withdrawn by assistant District Attorney Richard Pepper in accordance with his plea. He will face sentencing on April 8 in front of Northampton County Senior Judge Leonard Zito. Phillips also faces outstanding charges for a Dec. 14, 2013 incident when he rear-ended a vehicle while intoxicated in a Burger King drive-through shortly after 3 a.m., police said. This led to a confrontation during which he spit on one of the people who had been in the other vehicle, attempted to kick one of them and threatened to assault her, police said. See FMA Page 5 See DAVIS Page 5drugs. “We grew up in a war. Beyond all the warnings, we knew there was something else out there, focused on us.” These mass arrests due to the drug war also connect to Davis’s activist work. Davis first became involved in prison reform by working to free political prisoners. “It became apparent to me that I had to get involved,” she said. “All I had to lose was a job, and they had to lose their lives.” In an attempt to help free the three Soledad brothers — African-American inmates who had been charged with the murder of a white prison guard in 1970 — she ended up getting arrested herself. At the time that Davis was in jail, there were 200,000 people imprisoned. “That seemed like a huge amount of people. I remember thinking, ‘How can we incarcerate so many people?’” she said. She emphasized that many people are not imprisoned for serious offenses. One audience member asked a question regarding the “three strikes rule” — a law where three offenses result in life imprisonment. “Most people are not in jail or prison for violent crimes,” Nas said. Davis and Nas also spoke about the education system and how it is an institution that can help reduce crime and arrests. “The abolition of prisons is the creation of schools,” Davis said. “My parents taught me how to love learning. It shouldn’t be a task.” She added that she believes schools are too focused on disciplining and testing their students. When asked which public policies she would change to help social justice, she answered that all education should be free. The two also encouraged the audience to reconsider the stigmas that are associated with those who are in prison. Charges settled in Sept. bar fight B&W photo by CHRIS BARRY Davis and Nas lead the discussion on imprisonment before opening it to questions and comments form the audience that packed into Baker Hall Monday evening. Chapters lose thousands as FMA goes bankrupt |
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