WEDNESDAY April 11, 2001 Vol. 101 No. 159 16 pages Suspects identified in videos Two more people face charges stemming from the latest disturbance. By Alex Weininger COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER I axwl94@psu.edu The State College Police Department arrested two more people in connection with the March 25 disturbance on East Beaver Avenue after identifying the men through video footage shot during the small riot. State College resident Ryan Diricco, 21, and Penn State student Thomas Boob, 21, were both charged with failure to disperse and disorderly conduct. Both men were arraigned yesterday morning before Dis trict Justice Carmine Prestia and were held on unsecured bail of $5,000. Accord ing to police documents, both men were observed on East Beaver Avenue, during the small riot, which police said drew 4,000 people. The men were observed again on the 100 block of Locust Lane. . Police said the men refused to leave the area after they were commanded to dis perse. After the orders, police said the men verbally challenged the officers and Boob screamed obscenities. Police pepper sprayed the men and the small group they were standing with and began to move northbound on Locust Lane to clear out the area. Within minutes of the northbound surge by police, the group of men left. Both men admitted to being in the area at the time; however, only Dirrico admit ted to being pepper sprayed, police said. Dirrico and Boob are scheduled to have their preliminary hearings April 18. The arrests were made through the use of video footage viewed by the State Col lege police and through the identification of pictures of people involved in the riot that are posted on the State College police Web site at www.gov.state-college.pa.us. According to the site, 21 people out of the 95 pictures of people posted are identi fied. Sgt. John Gardner said charges are pending on some of the people; however, more information is still being collected before police press charges. Gardner also said more arrests are expected within the next few weeks. Because of the hours worth of video police must sift through and the large amount of paper work involved in the investigation, arrests may take more time and preparation than usual, he said. Final USG Senate meeting reviews pros, cons of year The 31st Congress said goodbye last night at their final meeting this year. By Lynne Funk COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER I lafunk@psu.edu Last night the Undergraduate Student Government's 31st Congress convened for the last time. Many "thank yous" and "good-byes" were passed around room 302 HUB-Robeson Center. At numerous times, applause and laugh ter sounded throughout the final USG Sen ate meeting. Group makes 'egg-stra' effort to spread message By Danielle Grote COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER I degl42@psu.edu Colorful plastic Easter eggs are scattered about the lawns of major campus buildings and walkways this week, but they are not filled with the traditional jellybeans and foil covered chocolates instead they contain small, folded pieces of paper. In bold font, questions such as "What is heaven like?" "Who is Jesus to you?" and "What would you do if someone died for you?" are printed on the sheets. In smaller print, there is an invitation to the Prime Time meeting tomorrow night and an explanation of the Christian meaning behind the Easter holiday. The eggs were not deposited by a late night Easter bunny but a group of about 40 members of the Penn State Campus Cru sade for Christ. Peter Diamantopoulos, an officer of the group, said they aimed to advertise for Christ and to encourage people to explore the possibilities of the Christian religion. THE 4\II.Y.),tiLLELI Who the riots hurt. Part III: The alumni `Don't destroy our town' Hundreds of graduates speak out against unrest The third of five parts. By Jeremy R. Cooke COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER I jcooke@psu.edu penn State alumni no matter what path they took beyond graduation can usually agree on a few things. Most of those things have something to do with shared pride in aspects of a well respected institution. Now, it seems they share another thing, but this one leaves everyone with little to cheer about. News of the March 25 disturbance on East Beaver Avenue reached Penn State graduates quickly in newspaper wire reports, on local television broadcasts, through online media sources and by word of mouth. An estimated 4,000 people swarmed the area; 19 college-age men and one woman were arrested; several others were injured. Friends, family members, and co workers heard about what happened, too, and many were able to recall the sum mer melees of 1998 and 2000. Soon, people were talking to alumni about "another riot" in Happy Valley. A nearly uniform response Rarely has an issue galvanized so many Penn State graduates especially younger ones to come out on the same side of a debate, said Diane Ryan, execu tive director of the Penn State Alumni Association. Members of the association typically represent a "microcosm" of the larger society, and thus Ryan finds them taking stands anywhere along a spectrum. In recent memory, a heated issue such as the debate of the appropriateness of sex ually explicit campus events yielded a panoply of diverse arguments. With the riot, she said, the response has been different. In the words of Penn State President Graham Spanier, the near-consensus have been expressions of "anger, disap pointment, and outrage." "From my perspective as president, the downtown riots have been very dam aging to Penn State's reputation and the confidence that citizens, elected officials, parents, and alumni have in the Universi ty" Spanier said. During the session of the meeting called the open student forum, many outgoing senators rose to address their fellow sena tors as well as the incoming senators seated in the gallery with words of thanks and advice. Town Sen. Mike Fedor began the farewell speeches as he rose to thank the gathering for the "good times" he had at Senate. Many non-returning senators echoed Fedor's words of gratitude. Town Senators Becky Werner, Marc Morgan and Tim Kasper all bid their farewells, too. Many senators, as well as outgoing Presi dent Matt Roan, cautioned the senator elects to avoid mixing personal matters with those of the Senate. "We plan on cleaning them up the same way we put them out just go out and pick them up." Officer for Campus Crusade for Christ "We're not trying to push our religion on anyone," he said. Some people were less receptive to the idea than others. One man followed the trail of eggs with a garbage bag, throwing them out because he did not agree with the mes sages contained in them, Diamantopoulos said. In an e-mail, one environmentalist asked Diamantopoulos how he planned to clean the mess the eggs some of which have been stomped into the ground will leave behind. PUBLISHED INDEPENDENTL See RIOTS, Page 4 See MEETING, Page 4 Peter Diamantopoulos Students walk past one of the Easter eggs placed in the grass around campus. The eggs were scattered by the Penn State Campus See MESSAGE, Page 4. Crusade for Christ. Lion Ambassadors field questions from prospective students and their parents almost every day. While many on the tours asked about the 1998 riot, few worried about the most recent unrest. Detained U.S. crew gains privileges China again insisted on a formal apology as the standoff reached 10 days. By Christopher Bodeen ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER HAIKOU. China The U.S. air crew detained on this Chinese island has been granted extra privileges, including freedom to exercise in the building where they are being held by Chinese authorities, an Ameri can official said yesterday. As the standoff dragged into its 10th day, China welcomed U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's weekend statement that Washington was "sorry" for the fate of a Chi nese fighter pilot missing since a collision with the spy plane. But it repeated its insis- PENN STATE tence on a formal apology for the incident. U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Neal Sealock, who met the crew for a fifth time yesterday evening, said the 21 men and three women were aware of the political deadlock and the intense feelings that blocked their freedom. In Washington, President Bush urged patience, saying "diplomacy sometimes takes a little longer than people would like." He renewed the U.S. demand for the release of the crew. "The longer this goes, the more likely it is that it could could jeopardize rela tions," Bush said. "And we certainly don't want that to happen." Meanwhile, the Rev. Jesse Jackson offered to lead an ecumenical delegation to China to work for the release of the crew. But the State Department turned down the offer. Spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington would work through "diplomat ic" means. Inside LGBTA concerned about center Although the construction of the new Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Allies Student Resource Center is nearly complete, the heated debate between LGBTA students and Penn State adminis trators continues. I LOCAL, Page 2 Jon Crispin transfer a hoax A story sent to several Penn State stu dents through an e-mail concerning Nittany Lions' guard Jon Crispin's possible transfer to Illinois was incorrect. The story never really ran on CNNSI.com even though many believed it did. I SPORTS, Page 10 Netherlands legalizes euthanasia Despite protests outside parliament, the Netherlands legalized mercy killings and assisted suicide yesterday, becoming the first nation to allow doctors to end the lives of patients with unbearable, terminal ill ness. I INTERNATIONAL, Page 7 WEATHER Page 2 TODAY: Cloudy, high 53 30 cents off campus ©2OOl Collegian Inc Caucus to hold tlii il ii meeting By Daryl Lang COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER I daryl@psu.edu Members of the state Legislative Black Caucus will be on campus today to meet with students, faculty, staff and adminis trators. The lawmakers have taken an interest in exploring racism at Penn State since February; when a group of black student leaders presented them with a report crit ical of the university's racial climate. On their itinerary for tomorrow, the del egation and the university have scheduled two open meetings. The first meeting is for minority stu dents and is scheduled from 11 a.m. to noon in Heritage Hall of the HUB-Robe son Center. Students in the Penn State Black Cau cus are promoting the meeting with fliers addressed to "all students of color" that call the meeting "mandatory if you want your voices heard." Another meeting is open to minority faculty, staff and graduate students, and will run from 1 to 2:30 p.m. tomorrow in Heritage Hall. In addition, legislators will hold a closed meeting with a group of African-American student leaders between 10 and 11 a.m. A luncheon scheduled for noon will probably include conversation with uni versity—administrators, said Tom Poole, Associate Vice Provost for Educational Equity A group of black students, including leaders of the Penn State Black Caucus, have grown increasingly critical of the Penn State administration since several black students received anonymous racist death threats in October. Members of the Legislative Black Cau cus expressed an interest in following up on campus racism after Penn State's budget hearings in February At the hearings, some black lawmakers challenged university President Graham Spanier to do more to correct racism at the university. The legislators were responding to a group of students who met with them to talk about recent threats and other racist acts at the university The crew members of the U.S. Navy EP -3E reconnaissance plane have been held on Hainan island since making an emergency landing there following the April 1 collision above the South China Sea. "They have great faith in what's taking place," said Sealock, the military attache at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. "They fully understand the circumstances that they are under." He said the crew members now have more freedom to move around the Chinese navy's Nanhang No. 1 Guest House where they are being held. Chinese authorities have given them copies of the China Daily, a state-owned newspaper, as well as ciga rettes, he said. To help the crew fight boredom, U.S. diplo mats have supplied snacks, toiletries, novels, crossword puzzles and copies of news reports about their families. The crew mem- See CREW. Page 4. 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