Traditional block party weekend ‘quiet’
By Aaron Koepper,August 29, 2010
HARRISONBURG, Va. — Three male students sit in the back of a red pick-up truck on Saturday night, making conversation with ladies on the sidewalk of Devon Lane. The three in the back of the truck are under 21 and holding cans of Bud Light, but they are not acting intoxicated. The designated driver is over 21 and sober. They don’t see the undercover police SUV a few feet behind them until it flashes its blue lights. Everyone is cooperative, handing over their IDs while the driver talks to the... Read more »
City votes for changes to trespassing law
By Aaron Koepper,August 29, 2010
Community responses from Springfest have given the police a new tool to break up parties. On Aug. 10, the Harrisonburg City Council passed an ordinance that changes the process that police use to enforce trespassing laws. “This will allow the Harrisonburg Police Department to go into apartment complexes or townhouses and enforce trespassing on behalf of the property managers who file the appropriate paperwork,” HPD spokeswoman Mary-Hope Vass said. “It will allow us to move quicker versus the... Read more »
Breeze, Commonwealth’s Attorney Reach Settlement
By Aaron Koepper,June 1, 2010
HARRISONBURG, Va. — A settlement that ends more than a month of negotiations between the Commonwealth Attorney’s office and The Breeze was reached Monday. As part of the settlement, Marsha Garst, the Commonwealth’s Attorney, issued a statement today expressing regret for the “fear and concern that I caused The Breeze and its staff,” when she and other law enforcement officials executed a warrant and seized 962 photos from The Breeze on April 16th. Garst’s statement also promised to... Read more »
Real-World Shock Comes True
By Aaron Koepper,April 29, 2010
HARRISONBURG, Va. — “True Life: I’m Graduating” wasn’t another MTV reality show, but a panel of five JMU alumni shared with 30 students about what awaits them in the real world. As part of senior week, the panel gave students the opportunity to ask questions ranging from how to pay monthly bills to whether or not they should attend graduate school. Facebook, however, was the topic that inspired the most responses. One student asked if he should deactivate his facebook and how far-back... Read more »
Attorney General Supports Garst’s Actions
By Aaron Koepper,April 26, 2010
HARRISONBURG — Virginia Attorney Gen. Ken Cuccinelli said he supports Commonwealth Attorney Marsha Garst’s search of The Breeze newsroom for Springfest photos on April 16. “I support any and all legal means to gather information to build a case against people who allegedly harmed or intended to harm law enforcement officers,” Cuccinelli said on Friday in a statement to The Breeze. Cuccinelli said in a speech Thursday at Spotswood Country Club he didn’t believe the raid was a First Amendment... Read more »
Students Set Cycle Speed Record
By Aaron Koepper,April 26, 2010
HARRISONBURG — JMU’s electric motorcycle burned the competition yet again, setting additional speed records at local competitions. The E-Cycle, built by integrated science and technology and engineering students, broke two speed records at the East Coast Timing Association’s meetings in October and April. Senior ISAT majors Paul Crisman, Sam Sweet and Tripp Loflin returned to the competition for the year opener April 10 – 11 and set a record of 69 mph in the category for alternate-fuel motorcycles... Read more »
SPJ Opposes Seizure
By Aaron Koepper,April 22, 2010
HARRISONBURG — In the week following the police raid of The Breeze, the paper has received letters of support and coverage by news organizations across the country. The Society of Professional Journalists, one of the nation’s largest journalism advocacy organizations, wrote a letter to Commonwealth Attorney Marsha Garst calling the search “outrageous” and asking her to return the photos as well as issue an apology to The Breeze staff. Kevin Smith, SPJ’s president, said SJP response was... Read more »
Breeze Receives Legal Counsel After Friday’s Raid
By Aaron Koepper,April 19, 2010
HARRISONBURG — In an agreement reached between the attorney for the commonwealth and The Breeze’s attorney, the images seized during Friday’s raid on The Breeze office have been temporarily sealed until a further agreement can be reached. According to Katie Thisdell, editor-in-chief for The Breeze, the attorney’s agreed Sunday to have a third-party source hold the seized disks, while the commonwealth’s attorney continues to press for the release of at least some of them. After police... Read more »
UPDATE: Police Seize Springfest Photos from Breeze Office
By Aaron Koepper,April 16, 2010
HARRISONBURG — A search was executed Friday morning for The Breeze newsroom by the commonwealth attorney’s office for all images related to Springfest. Marsha Garst, commonwealth attorney, along with police, confiscated 926 photos, 682 of which were of the riots. Frank D. LoMonte, the executive director of the Student Press Law Center, said the action by the commonwealth attorney’s office was “blatantly illegal” and a violation of the federal Privacy Protection Act. The act states... Read more »
Run-Off Election Today
By Aaron Koepper,April 15, 2010
HARRISONBURG — Voting will take place today in the runoff for SGA president between sophomore Andrew Reese and junior Caitlin Natale. In the original race that took place last Thursday, Reese won 573 of the 1,610 votes and Natale won 405 of them. According to elections commissioner Rob Cellucci, since neither candidate captured the majority of the vote, a runoff has to be held. The elections commission policy states, a runoff election occurs when neither candidate receives 50 plus one percent... Read more »
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September 2th, 2010 Issue in Print
