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CRIME
Police arrest flasher outside Taylor Hall
Vol. 87, No. 34 Thursday, February 3, 2011
COMMUNITY
By JOHN SUTTER The Breeze
A Harrisonburg man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly exposing himself outside Taylor Hall. Carlos Perez-Lopez, , allegedly jumped out of bushes at : p.m. by Taylor Hall and exposed himself to a female victim, according to Lee Shifflett, JMU chief of police. Lopez was charge d w ith indecent exposure, which is a class one Carlos Perezmisdemeanor. The victim Lopez, 48, was arrested Tuesday for proceeded to call police from allegedly exposing her cell phone himself outside as Lopez retreatTaylor Hall. ed back into the bushes. “The officer was there detaining Lopez while she was still on the phone with the dispatcher,” Shifflett said. Police have not yet been able to connect Lopez to other indecent exposure cases in December and January, but have collected Lopez’s DNA to compare withDNA collected from the other incidents. “We can’t tie to any other cases based on eyewitness accounts,” Shifflett said. This is the first arrest in a series of crimes involving indecent exposures on campus. The first occurred on Dec. , when female witnesses reported a Hispanic male, feet inches tall, exposed himself to them on the steps outside of Top Dog. On Jan. , a Hispanic male was reported to expose himself to female witnesses between the Phillips Center and Hillcrest House, in close proximity to the first incident. The suspect was described as feet inches tall and approximately years old. On Jan. , a female witness reported a white male exposed himself in the C parking lot off Reservoir street and drove off in a silver Toyota Tundra. The suspect was described as to years old, heavy build, with black hair and black facial hair. Shifflett said on Jan. that he did not believe the incidents are related based on the suspect descriptions. CONTACT John Sutter at breezenews@gmail.com.
rolemodels MEREDYTH KIMM / THE BREEZE
Makai, 7, is one of about 800 local children that participate in Big Brothers Big Sisters. His “big” is John Wiskow, a junior communication studies major, who joined BBBS after a speaker came to his fraternity.
Students mentor local children through the 35-year-old branch of Big Brothers Big Sisters By ADRIENNE LOWRY contributing writer
Students at JMU are making a name for themselves in the Harrisonburg community, one kid at a time. Mentors (“bigs”) are matched up with younger children (“littles”) of the same sex, according to Tish Harris, assistant director of the Rockingham County/Harrisonburg Big Brothers Big Sisters. Volunteers then either visit them at school for an hour a week or pick them up from their house and then spend time together for a few hours. Big Brothers Big Sisters has been in Harrisonburg for years and began as an outreach program in a church. The program has now grown to serve about children, according to the organization. “Here we all have a passion for children; no matter who you talk to, that’s there,” Harris said. C.J. Friedman, a junior international business major, tutored a third grade class at Spotswood Elementary, where he bonded with one boy in particular. “I asked the teacher what his home life was like, and when I heard it wasn’t very good, I asked if the teacher could see if the family would be all right with us doing Big Brothers Big Sisters,” Friedman said. Before entering the mentoring program, many of the children are in need of something stable in their
lives, Harris said. First-time littles often come from homes that are below the poverty line, have a parent in jail or come from a single-parent home. “Some of the children are referred to us from school counselors; some are acting out, are lonely, or have older siblings getting in trouble,” Harris said.
“When they go to campus it opens their eyes to possibilities they don’t usually see in their community. These kids don’t think abou the possibility of going to college, so visiting JMU opens their eyes to that possibility.” Tish Harris
Assistant director, BBBS
For many of these children, having a mentor is exactly what they need to improve their lives, Harris said. Even though the volunteers make a difference in the program, Big Brothers Big Sisters still needs help. The program faces a deficit of time and money.
According to Harris, most of the students who volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters are girls, causing a lack of boys to mentor younger boys. “We are interested in all volunteers but what we really need is men,” Harris said. “We have boys on a waiting list who want a mentor but have to wait.” John Wiskow, a junior communication studies major, started mentoring with Big Brothers Big Sisters after the program came to talk to his fraternity as part of the program’s recruitment process. He soon saw the impact of his mentoring as he spent more time with his little. “My favorite part is what my little learns from me,” Wiskow said. “He picks things up or says things I say. It’s cool to see how I rub off on him.” Many mentors bring their littles to campus, showing them UREC or showing them around. “When they go to campus it opens their eyes to possibilities they don’t usually see in their community,” Harris said. “These kids don’t think about the possibility of going to college, so visiting JMU opens their eyes to that possibility.” It is not only the mentors who see a change. After completing the program, more than percent of children experience more self-confidence,
see BIG, page 4
CRIME
Police search six football players’ dorm rooms By JOHN SUTTER and KATIE THISDELL The Breeze
Head football coach Mickey Matthews declined to comment Wednesday on the ongoing investigation for the Jan. assault on South Main Street that now includes search warrants executed on six team members. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation,” Matthews said at the press conference Wednesday for the JMU football signing day. Police seized laptops and cell phones from six freshmen JMU football players last week, according to search warrants filed in the Rockingham County clerk’s office. Two search warrants were executed on one player. The first warrant, issued
2/3 INSIDE
on Jan. , was for his cell phone; on Friday, his laptop was confiscated following a second warrant. Search warrants were also executed on five other players Friday. Police said Wednesday that no arrests have been made and no specific suspects have been identified. The Breeze is not reporting the names of the six players because no formal charges have been filed. Jeff Bourne, director of Athletics, said Wednesday morning that no disciplinary action has been taken against any of the players. He said he was aware search warrants were executed on more than one player; on Friday, Bourne had said that one player was being investigated. “I know that investigation is ongoing and I was aware that there would be warrants,” Bourne said Wednesday.
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“Just because there’s search warrants doesn’t mean they’re guilty.” The warrants were all related to Virginia State Code .-, which refers to offenses including assault by mob and gang participation. “It is still an ongoing investigation and we are not going to get into specifics at this time,” said Mary-Hope Vass, police spokeswoman. The six warrants were executed on dorm rooms in the Hillside dorm area on Friday. Police recovered four laptops, two cell phones and a copy of the Jan. issue of The Breeze, according to reports filed Monday. The search warrants also specifically instructed police to search for biological evidence and gang paraphernalia, in addition to the cell phones and see ASSAULT, page 4
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OPINION Middle East mobilization
Egyptian uprising may spark similar action across regions.
ROBERT BOAG / THE BREEZE
By the end of the first half of Wednesday’s basketball game, William & Mary was up 35 points to JMU’s 21. For full game coverage, visit breezejmu.org.
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LIFE New and Improv’d
Campus comedy group is both funny and flexible.
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SPORTS Signing day
incoming freshmen join the Dukes’ roster.