/■ —\ 11 The Daily
Collegian
Published independently by students at Penn State
Officer found not guilty
By Brendan McNally
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
A police officer was found not
guilty Friday of driving at an
unsafe speed in connection with
an April 25 collision that sent a
Penn State student to the hospital
with severe injuries.
The officer, State College Police
Department Sgt. William Muse,
was driving a marked police SUV
when he collided with Kevin
Ignatuk, 21, in the early morning
hours of April 25 on the 400 block
of East Beaver Avenue, the State
College Police Department said.
Mel Meder, daughter of Webster’s owner Elaine Meder-Wilgus, helps unpack books in the store's temporary location at 121 S. Fraser St.
Webster’s packs up, moves out
Patrons say a temporary goodbye to their favorite bookstore
By Paul Osolnick
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Some of the bookshelves were
empty, as were many of the
chairs. The records were gone
and the cafe closed early.
That was the scene Saturday at
Webster’s Bookstore Cafe, 128 S.
Allen St., on its last day at that
location.
The bookstore which is cur
rently relocating to 121 S. Fraser
St. lost its lease to the Allen
Street location when owner fell
behind on rent.
UPUA
to wrap
‘S’ Book
by fall
By Casey McDermott
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Though UPUA is still wrap
ping up production of “The ‘S’
Book,” the team in charge of
reviving the Penn State student
handbook says the project will
come together in time for new
students this fall.
Those who spearheaded the
handbook initially sought to
have it ready for distribution at
the First-Year Testing,
Consulting and Advising
Program (FTCAP), but missed
that deadline and are now aim
ing for fall.
University Park Undergradu
ate Association (UPUA)
President Christian Ragland
See HANDBOOK, Page 2.
Judge Fred Miller found Muse Police indicated that Muse was
not guilty in Blair County District driving 36 to 39 mph, Pennsylvania
Court on a charge of failure to State Police at Rockview said.
drive at a safe
speed
Muse told
police he was
traveling about 30
to 35 mph at the
time of the colli
sion, police said.
The posted
speed limit at the Ignatuk
location of the col-
lision is 25 mph, police said. said. Police did not say what the
A crash reconstruction report exact natures of his injuries were,
issued by the Pennsylvania State He was transported to Mount
For 11 years it stood as a hub
for book and music lovers in
downtown State College.
It hosted benefit concerts,
study sessions and friendly con
versations. For many patrons, it
was a connection to the communi
ty-
Like most days at the book
store, the patrons frequenting the
cafe or moving through the rows
of books were of various ages and
had various reasons for being
there.
Jeff Kerby, a Webster’s patron
for about a year, said going to
Innoblue aims to rent property
By Megan Rogers
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
The State College
Redevelopment Authority Board
is discussing how best to put to
use the former Verizon building
downtown, and a Penn State stu
dent group says it has the solu
tion.
Members from the student
group Innoblue formerly
Project Bluepill presented
their proposal at the board’s July
Instructor forced to start fresh after art theft
She came back two days later to “This is my livelihood.”
find her paintings scattered Still, she said, those paintings
around the room four of them mean more to her than just
More than just art was stolen were missing, she money.
from her last week one Penn said. Harney said Each painting took anywhere
State artist now has to start over the stolen paint- from several weeks to several
after months of hard work, inspi- ings would have months to complete, she said,
ration and creativity. sold for about And now she has to completely
Penn State art instructor Erica $l,OOO a piece. rework her plans for her exhibi-
Hamey said she was preparing “These [paint- tion in September to replace the
for a solo art exhibition to be held ings] weren’t just art which she said is easier
at Penn State Harrisburg when homework _ said than done,
she stored some of her work in a assignments that Hamey “Now I have to change my
room in the Visual Arts Building a student left,” entire plan,” she said. Four of Harney’s paintings are
at University Park. Harney said. See HARNEY, Page 2. missing.
By Brendan McNally
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
The collision occurred when
Ignatuk of Thornton, Pa., crossed
East Beaver Avenue on his way to
McDonald’s, 442 E. College Ave.
Muse told police he saw Ignatuk
suddenly cross the road and that
he had “no time to react,” police
said.
After the crash, Ignatuk was
bleeding from his head and had a
severely injured left leg, police
Webster’s has become almost a
daily routine for him.
Kerby (graduate-ecology) said
he comes to Webster’s, gets a cof
fee, maybe breakfast and does
some work on his laptop using the
free Internet provided by the
bookstore.
“Whether it’s meeting people,
enjoying personal time or doing
work I can go here and get it
done,” Kerby said. “I'm kind of
disappointed it’s not going to be
here next week.”
Even though the store’s closing
See WEBSTER’S. Page 2.
29 meeting to rent the $750,000
property and turn it into an incu
bator for local business and
social start-ups.
Innoblue members told the
Redevelopment Authority Board
the building would be used to cre
ate an environment of network
ing and creativity where young
entrepreneurs can foster their
innovations and also start up
local businesses.
Redevelopment Authority
Board Chairwoman Vicki Phong
Nittany Medical Center before
being flown to Geisinger Medical
Center in Danville, Pa., police said.
Ignatuk remained in critical
condition at the hospital for nearly
a week, hospital officials said.
Muse told police he was able to
put on his brakes but could not
avoid colliding with Ignatuk
Police said Ignatuk had been
drinking prior to the incident.
The incident occurred the night
after the Blue-White game. Police
said Ignatuk’s friends said he had
been drinking before the game
and later that night.
Ignatuk was charged with three
Alex Weisler/Collegian
Alex Weisler/Collegian
Boxes line a gutted Webster’s.
said Innoblue members told her
one benefit of the group acquir
ing the building would be that
more students may be willing to
stay after graduation and devel
op their businesses in the area.
“It was a very interesting pres
entation and definitely worth dis
cussion,” Phong said.
David Adewumi, co-founder of
Innoblue, declined comment.
Phong said while the board
was impressed with the
See INNOBLUE, Page 2.
psucollegian.com
@dailycollegian
in crash
summary offenses in connection
with the incident, according to
court documents.
He pleaded guilty to public
drunkenness, crossing outside of
a crosswalk and causing a hazard
while intoxicated, according to
court documents.
Police did not say what
Ignatuk’s blood alcohol concentra
tion (BAC) was.
Police did seize Ignatuk's med
ical records to determine what his
BAC was on the night of the crash,
according to court documents.
To e-mail reporter: bwmsl47@psu.edu
PSU
awaits
results
‘Party school’
rank decided
By Megan Rogers
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Penn State students will find
out today if the university is still
the reigning No. 1 party school
in the nation or if it has fallen a
few spots.
Last year, the Princeton
Review ranked the university as
the No. 1 party school in the
nation a title many students
were proud to hold and the
administration downplayed.
But some student leaders are
saying there is no way that Penn
State will top the charts again.
Interfraternity Council
President Max Wendkos said he
is convinced that Penn State has
dropped some spots. But what
ever the ranking is, students will
not have as big of a reaction as
last year.
“There are enough students
that learned that ranking was
more of a curse than a gift,”
Wendkos (senior-marketing and
psychology) said.
Other student leaders said
some students will react strong
ly if Penn State loses its crown.
University Park
Undergraduate Association
President Christian Ragland
said the university is in a “tran
sition” process.
Several incidents, like Joe
Dado’s death, increased reports
of sexual assault and an
increased alcohol-related inci
dents on State Patty’s Day may
have led students to come to the
realization that the partying
image needs to change.
Dado, a then-18-year-old
freshman from Latrobe, Pa.,
was found dead in a stairwell on
September 21, more than a day
after he was reported missing
after drinking at an on-campus
fraternity.
Ragland (senior-political
See RANKINGS, Page 2.
Rankings
Penn State’s party ranking in
the past five years
2009 -No. 1
2008 - No. 3
2007 - No. 6
2006 No. 2
2005 - No. 13
Source: Collegian archives