FRIDAY
April 6, 2001
Vol. 101 No. 156 28 pages
Fetus' death won't lead
A precedent-setting case
forced the commonwealth
to withdraw two charges.
By Alex Weinlnger
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER I axwl94@psu.edu
BELLEFONTE The man accused of
killing a 29-year-old woman and her unborn
child will not be charged for the death of the
unborn baby.
Alfred Cantolina, 21, will not face a homi
cide while driving under the influence
charge or a vehicular homicide charge for
the death of the couple's unborn baby, who
they had named Samuel.
Inside
The Distraction Attraction
Procrastination is definitely an art that
Penn State students are extremely skilled
in. Whether its watching a movie or play
ing on a computer, students are finding
any way to put off reading that chapter or
writing that paper. I ARTS, Page 21
Dunn hopes to end rumors soon
With rumors surfacing about the coach
ing vacancies at Rutgers and South Car
olina and with Jerry Dunn's contract still
up in the air with the Lions, the head
coach is confident something will be
resolved shortly. I SPORTS, Page 11
vigil rallies against hate crimes
Exactly one month ago, Michael Auker
was beaten and left for dead at his trailer
in Middleburg. Police said they found him
bleeding and unconscious with every
facial bone broken. I LOCAL, Page 2
Conference endorses solidarity
Social activists from across the country
will begin gathering today on campus for
the second annual Solidarity Conference.
The event will build on last year's confer
ence. I LOCAL, Page 2
Inmate runs against cancer
Local runners gearing up for the
Coaches vs. Cancer 5K Run/Walk are not
fighting cancer alone. Jim Deupree, a
Florida inmate, will "proxy run" the race
from inside prison. I LOCAL, Page 6
Bush's budget dealt a blow
The president's proposed 10-year, $1.6
trillion tax cut suffered a double blow as
the Senate tentatively sliced it by $450 bil
lion and a crucial Republican senator
threatened to oppose it. I NATIONAL, Page 7
Who the riots hurt.
A five-part series starting
Monday in The Daily Collegian.
Last month, students and police dashed
again on Beaver Avenue for the third time
in four yews. As the community looks for
answers, the Collegian examines how the
riots have hurt the police, businesses,
the university, local residents and the
students involved.
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J
1m
The commonwealth withdrew both of the
charges without contest, citing the prece
dent and almost identical Booth case. In that
case, a Westmoreland County man was
charged with hitting a woman who was in
her eighth month of pregnancy and killing
the unborn child. The Pennsylvania
Supreme Court dismissed the charge.
Deputy Attorney General Janice Martino-
Gottshall said because the Booth case was
decided by the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court, the charge would have ultimately
been dismissed.
"The Booth case was a very controlling
factor in regards to the homicide charges
involving the baby," Martino-Gottshall said.
Britt Barndt was eight months pregnant
when she was killed while driving with her
husband, Gene Barndt. Barndt, the couple's
Dora McQuaid, coordinator of the 'Evening of Courage,' speaks to a crowd in Webster's
Bookstore Café, 128 S. Allen St., about sexual assault.
Survivors of sexual abuse
use 'courage'
A group of 50 listened at
a function sponsored by
Women of Courage.
By Charles Bartlett
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER cjb2ls@psu.edu
The crowd of about 50 people sat
hushed. Most of them were female, a few
were young and a few were old. But they
all sat with their eyes fixed on who was
speaking, and they listened as if there
was going to be a test afterwards.
They gathered for the "Evening of
Courage," sponsored by Women of
Courage of Centre County, in Webster's
Bookstore Café, 128 S. Allen St. The pro
gram was a collection of speeches
by survivors of sexual assault and
abuse and by professionals who help vic-
Injuries teach Illinois gymnast, Taliaferro how fragile life is
By Chris Korman
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER I cbkllB@psu.edu
6, 7
8, 9
.10
Adam Taliaferro and Jonathan Ham do
not know each other, but they are forever
linked.
They are, in some respects, as different as
can be. Taliaferro is a Penn State football
player. Ham is a gymnast for the University
of Illinois. Taliaferro hails from New Jersey.
Ham calls the other side of the country
California home.
.18,19
24, 25
...26
. . . 27
But they share something few people can
even come close to understanding. They are
athletes who have had their lives changed
forever, all for the love of the game. They
know what it is like to hear a doctor say, "He
may never walk again."
It was Nov. 16, 1995, and Ham was going
through his regular practice session at a
_l\
to charges
6-year-old daughter, and a family friend all
sustained injuries as a result of the accident.
Although Cantolina does not face the
charges that accuse him of killing the
unborn child, he still faces an array of seri
ous charges, including three felony counts.
Cantolina is still charged with vehicular
homicide and homicide while DUI for the
death of Britt Barndt, two counts of aggra
vated assault while DUI, a DUI charge and
other vehicle violations. Cantolina's attorney,
Brian Manchester, asked Judge Charles
Brown yesterday in Centre County Court to
dismiss the two counts of aggravated assault
while DUI and the homicide while DUI.
Manchester said the alcohol in this case was
not enough to have caused the accident, a
prerequisite for both of these charges.
See DEATH, Page 4.
tims cope with their experiences.
One woman made a T-shirt adorned
with the words, "I am a woman of
courage. It was not my fault." The shirt
was a large, blue T-shirt with a small,
green shirt sewn to it. The green shirt
had a picture of the survivor as a child.
She then went on to tell how her stepfa
ther sexually abused her, and how she
reached the point where she had the
courage to speak about it.
"They are only words. They are
nowhere near the hell you have sur
vived," she said.
Dora McQuaid and Mary Ohashi, the
organizers of the event, read a poem,
interspersing the verses with statistics
about sexual abuse. Ohashi said 1.5 mil
lion women are sexually assaulted each
year by their spouses. McQuaid followed
Ohashi with this line from her poem "My
Pretty:" "He would ask just before the
See SURVIVORS, Page 4.
in speeches
gym outside of Los Angeles. He was on the
high bar, one of his better events. He had just
turned 16 and had
received his driver's
license.
Then, on one release,
he missed the bar and fell
to the mat headfirst.
Witnesses said he tried
to get up, tried to keep
going. Ham doesn't re
member.
"I heard a loud
crunch," he said. "I knew
I was in trouble."
Ham still had limited movement, but his
extremities were numb. His parents, Dwight
and Kathy, arrived as ambulance workers
were restraining his head and neck by
padding them in place on the stretcher.
r - ,
I
PENN STATE
Bush to China:
`I regret that
pilot
The president offered a
conciliatory gesture but
didn't offer an apology.
WASHINGTON, D.C. The United
States and China intensified negotiations
yesterday for the release of an American
spy plane's crew, and U.S. officials said they
were encouraged by the talks. President
Bush, in a conciliatory gesture, expressed
regret over the in-flight collision that trig
gered the tense standoff.
"The Chinese have got to act," Bush said.
"I hope they do so quickly."
China called the 24-person crew law
breakers and said the servicemen and
women would remain in China for question
ing.
Both countries held firm to their opposing
positions in public China demanding an
apology, Bush refusing to offer one but
sent encouraging signals in a diplomatic
flurry. The Bush administration's tone
brightened as weary advisers embraced the
first notes of progress.
Several high-ranking government offi
cials said the situation improved practically
overnight, though they still had no assur
ances the crew of 21 men and three women
would be released.
While most Americans slept, Bush's team
worked on China time yesterday morning to
open new channels of communications with
Beijing. The talks continued as dawn made
pow
with
NEW YORK Stock prices shot higher
yesterday, propelling the Dow Jones indus
trial average up more than 400 points, after
Dell Computer and Alcoa gave Wall Street
its first really good earnings news in
months.
The advance was a welcome relief for a
market yearning for an end to Wall Street's
protracted slump. But some analysts, not
ing that most first-quarter earnings reports
will still be disappointing, cautioned that the
market remains vulnerable to declines.
The Dow rose 402.63, or 4.2 percent, to
close at 9,918.05.
The index's run-up was its second-largest
daily point gain, after the 499.19 it rose on
March 16, 2000. Despite the big advance, the
Dow has gained less than 40 points this
week, having plunged 392 over Monday and
Tuesday.
The Nasdaq composite index also soared,
rising 146.20, or 8.9 percent, to 1,785.00, post
ing its third-largest daily percentage gain.
The Standard & Poor's 500 climbed 48.19,
or 4.4 percent, to 1,151.44.
News that Dell expected to meet its pre
vious earnings estimates got an enthusias
tic welcome on Wall Street, which has been
pounded in recent months by seemingly
endless profit warnings and layoff
announcements. The tech bellwether,
whose previous warnings sent stocks tum
bling, said late Wednesday it still expects to
report about $8 billion in revenue and earn
ings of 17 cents a share.
Dell, the nation's top producer of desktop
They didn't know what to think or what to
say. . .
All Ham said was, "Mom, I've got this big
test tomorrow, so make sure to bring my
books to the hospital."
He spent six hours strapped to the board
while doctors examined him. Different parts
of his body would tingle, start going numb.
Due to the nature of the human body Ham
was still in the danger zone. Any wrong
movement, by him or the doctors, would
have resulted in permanent damage.
Ham had broken a vertebrae in his neck
and dislocated several others. There was,
incredibly, no damage to his spine.
"The doctor said I had dodged a bullet,"
Ham said. "Actually, he said to call it a mira
cle was an understatement"
Ham spent the next two weeks in traction,
30 pounds pulling on his head. Doctors hoped
is missing'
By Ron Foumler
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Jones
403-point gain
By Amy Baldwin
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WEATHER Page 2
TODAY: Cloudy, high 62
30 cents off campus 02001 Collegian Inc
Rear Adm. Craig Quipley meets reporters at
the Pentagon to discuss the situation of the
U.S. airplane in China.
its way around the globe: Chinese Ambas
sador Yang Jiechi met with Deputy Secre
tary of State Richard Armitage in Washing
ton, D.C.; U.S. Ambassador Joseph Prueher
met twice with Assistant Foreign Minister
Zhou Wenzhong in China.
"We're having intensive discussions with
the Chinese," State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher said.
jumps
and laptop computers, surged $3 to $25.19.
Aluminum producer Alcoa, a Dow stock
added to the market's upward momentum.
announcing yesterday it earned 46 cents a
share in the first quarter, 2 cents more than
analysts expected. Alcoa rose $1.95 to
$37.50. Other Old Economy stocks
advanced, including Dow stock 3M, up $4.61
at $103.23.
"Hopefully this will be a catalyst" for
stocks to move higher, said Barry Berman.
head trader for Robert W. Baird & Co. in
Milwaukee. But, he added, "I'm not sure
how much good news you need. You just
need to get through this first-quarter
reporting period and see a stop in the daily
battering of bad news."
Dell's news helped other tech issues
move higher. Dow stock Intel, which
announced last month it was cutting prices
on some of its chips to reduce inventory,
rose $3 to $25.63. Intel supplies Dell with
chips.
Yahoo! climbed $2.75, a 22 percent
increase, to $15.25 after its stock was
upgraded by Lehman Brothers.
Wall Street analysts have said it will also
take some solid, positive earnings news
from companies to help stocks rebound.
And with companies' bad news still out
weighing the good, some analysts cautioned
yesterday against holding onto hope that
the market is headed for recovery
"I don't know that it sets the stage for a
brand new bull market," said Charles
White, portfolio manager for Avatar Associ
ated. "Bear markets have rallies in them.
It's not uncommon for a market to rally 10
See DOW JONES, Page 4.
the pressure would naturally straighten out
his neck.
While in the hospital, Ham received visi
tors, sometimes up to 40 at a time. His broth
er, Matthew, who was in college and working
at Pizza Hut, would deliver pizzas and sit
with him. On Thanksgiving, members of
Ham's gym brought him a turkey feast.
"Friends, family, schoolmates— they got
me through it," Ham said.
And even then, just days after gymnastics
almost paralyzed or even killed him, Ham
was thinking about getting back up on the
bar.
"I was reading sports psychology books,"
he said. "Really, I was a head case for a
while. I had nightmares about the accident.
But I knew deep down what I wanted to do."
The traction didn't work, and Ham under-
See INJURIES, Page 4.
See BUSH, Page 4