page 4
The Fourth Wall
LACEY LAPP
Early in January, for the
first time in 85 years, the feder-
al government made the deci-
sion to expand the definition
of rape used in statistics. With
this change, the definition will
now . include men, forcible
vaginal and anal penetration
by any object, oral penetration
of sex organs, and sex with
people who are unable to give
consent due to drugs or alco-
hol. Under the previous defini-
tion, rape was described as,
“the carnal knowledge of a
female, forcibly and against
her will,” and the new descrip-
tion describes rape as,
“penetration, no matter how
slight, of the vagina or anus
with any body part or object,
or oral penetration by a sex
organ of another person, with-
out the consent of the victim.”
Under the old defini-
tion, there was much discrep-
ancy between state definitions
and the federal definition. Ac-
cording to the New York
Times, “the police department
in Chicago, which had nearly
1,400 reported sexual assaults
in 2010, refused to discard
cases that did not fit the nar-
rower federal definition when
reporting its crime statistics; as
a result, the FBI’s uniform
crime report — which reported
84,767 forcible rapes that year
— did not include any rapes
from that city.”
Another factor related
to the change of definition in-
cluded criticism from victims'
advocacy groups. These
groups fought for a federal
definition that corresponded
better with state laws. The
New York Times states that
“in more recent years several
prominent leaders of law en-
forcement agencies had joined
[the advocacy groups].” Vice
President Joe Biden Jr., a
sponsor of the Violence
Against Women Act, also
agreed with this proposal.
The New York Times
quotes White House adviser on
violence against women Lynn
Rosenthal as saying, “It’s
about more than a definition...
It’s a change of our under-
standing of rape and how seri-
ously we take it as a country.”
Although the move-
ment began prior to the events,
the acts of Jerry Sandusky
brought more attention to the
proposal to change the defini-
tion. According to the previous
definition, Sandusky’s acts
would not constitute “rape,” as
they do under the new defini-
tion.
The change in the def-
inition will relate only to the
FBI’s Uniform Crime Report
and the data collected for it. It
will have no effect on the laws
pertaining to rape and what
acts are prosecutable. Also,
with over 18,000 law enforce-
ment agencies across the na-
tion, the FBI expects it will
take several years to collect
accurate information from
each agency, causing the num-
ber of reported rapes to rise.
The FBI will also continue to
collect statistics under the old
definition to compare with
data under the new definition.
Curley’s Cancer Confirme
CORYN DIEHL
On Wednesday, Janu-
ary 117, Tim Curley's wife and
attorney confirmed the news
that Curley has been battling
cancer since 2010 that required
part of one lung to be re-
moved,. In a statement to the
Patriot News, Melinda Curley
is quoted as saying, “This is a
personal and private matter
that has affected our family
since June 2010... He has not
required chemotherapy or radi-
ation, however, doctors contin-
ue to monitor his condition...
We are thankful for all the
love and support he has re-
- ceived from family and friends
and continue to hope for a full
recovery.”
Tim Curley, currently
on leave from his position, has
been the athletic director for
Penn State since 1993, and
involved in football since his
days of playing on the unde-
feated 1971 State College Area
1th
His football career was cut
short by injuries after he joined
Paterno's football team as a
walk-on. However, he served
many years with Paterno as his
first full time recruiting coor-
dinator, securing players that
in 1982 would earn them their
first national championship.
He graduated from Penn State
University with a bachelor’s
degree in health and physical
education, and is married with
two children.
Recently, Curley has
come under scrutiny for his
role in the Sandusky Scandal
and has been charged with per-
jury. A statement has been re-
leased from his attorney Caro-
line Roberto to the Huffington
Post saying, “However, despite
his illness, Mr. Curley has re-
mained totally focused on do-
ing whatever is necessary to
demonstrate that ‘he is not
guilty of the crimes with which
he has been charged.”
JACK LUKOW
The annual technological clus-
ter known as the Consumer
Electronics Show was a huge
hit, showcasing technology
from big names such as Mi-
crosoft, Razer, Samsung, and
most other big entertainment
tech companies. Each one had
something particularly daz-
zling to show off, whether it
was something as mundane as
a video game controller, or the
next generation of televisions
{ Immer, liebe ich dich! Bu bist
meine Feuer, meine liebster :
Stier;Styrian,
Happy Valentine’s Day,
that will rest in
your home.
The show’s
main driving point was Win-
dows 8. Microsoft’s next gen-
eration operating system will
take a new view on user inter-
faces, going for what is scoped
to be a massively driving
craze: applications. The entire
operating system runs much
like a sideways windows seven
phone interface, with tiles
holding the applications. The
applications would be systems
we take for granted now, such
as Word, a web browser, or
any other certified download.
Another Microsoft
showcasing many advances in
power showcased in the Sam-
sung . Series Seven Gaming
Laptop, or the pure ingenuity
of the Razer Blade. But what
was most impressive was the
Razer prototype gaming tablet:
the Fiona. A tablet that runs
Windows 8, and is capable of
running big names games such
as Battlefield Three. It is a tru-
ly unique looking tablet, with
two handles with buttons on
either side.
Phones, tablets, com-
puters, and operating systems
all stood aside for one of the
most revolutionary advance-
ments demonstrated at the
show: the LG 4K TVs, the next
generation of television quali-
ty. The televisions demonstrate
a 3840x2160 picture quality,
nearly quadrupling the 1080p
quality considered top of the
line today. If one piece of tech-
nology should be truly mar-
veled at from the CES this
year, it is most definitely this
TV.
Tensions Rising in Syria
ALEX WYPIJEWSKI
Syrian President Ba-
shar al-Assad is striving to
show the world that he has
opened up the country even
more than his father, Hafez al
—Assad, but still insists on
keeping an “iron fist” upon his
people.
For three months, pro-
tests have formed, demanding
that al-Assad step down. The
Arab League, which consists
of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Leba-
non, Saudi Arabia, and Syria,
among others, have sent moni-
tors to Syria to find out the
truth of what is happening,
and why there is such a
crackdown from the Syrian
military on the people. Now,
according to the Los Angeles
Times, the Arab League, along
with the civilian protesters of
Syria, believes that these mon-
itors have failed.
According to a report
from Reuters, an independent
London news agency, the Syri-
an protesters are now calling
on the U.N. Council to provide
support.
(Continued on page five)
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