NEWS
- Tutwiler wins by 5 Tami Livingston
- Student robbed at gunpoint on campus Tami Livingston
- Student charged with vehicular manslaughter Tami Livingston
- Campus Ministries celebrates Holy Week Laurel Wright
- Poetry takes to water Sarah Diener
- Student art exhibit draws record submissions Marc Von Mandel
- City plans to redirect Kernan Boulevard around AOL Building Tami Livingston
Tutwiler wins by 5
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Left: President Elect Rachael Tutwiler and running mate A.J. Souto celebrate upon hearing of their elections. Right: Presidential candidate Jacqueline Simard reacts to the news. |
The results of the recent University of North Florida Student Government elections provided the smallest presidential election margin in school history - a difference of five votes. The .2 percent difference determined Rachael Tutwiler and A.J. Souto as the next student body president and
vice president.
While the results are unofficial and will not be confirmed until an emergency Senate meeting scheduled for April 16, a record 2,566 students voted in the election.
"It was close, but a win is a win," said Souto, a junior political science major.
According to the campaign fliers handed out during elections, 13 members of "A New Direction," or green ticket, were elected to Senate, while nine members of "Standing United, Moving Forward," or red ticket, were elected to Senate.
The results might change because elections violations can be filed until 7 p.m. April 11. An election violations hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. April 13 in the Senate chambers.
"The opposition always files violations - always," Souto said. "You hope for the best and prepare for the worst."
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Presidential candidates 1265 - Rachael Tutwiler and A.J. Souto 1260 - Jacqueline Simard and Alban Brooke Senatorial candidates 1138 - Christina Bruno 1021 - Joshua Baker 946 - Nancy Bruno 940 - Anna Pearce 910 - Jamie O'Brien 900 - Sean Webb 897 - Patrick Bennett 894 - Joseph Huskey 877 - Terra Geiger 872 - John Holton 866 - John Barnes 861 - Jordan Manning 852 - Elizabeth Fritch 833 - Matthew Iannatto 832 - Otis Green 817 - Christiana Patterson 816 - Katherine Mazzota 814 - Michael Clark 802 - Shannon McLaughlin 802 - Michael Gottlieb College of Education and Human Services Seat: 1506 - Elizabeth Rasmussen Coggin College of Business Seat: 1305 - Benjamin Berry Graduate Seat: Kelly Hunter by acclamation Source: Deanna Cerbini |
Jacqueline Simard, who ran in the presidential election with running mate Alban Brooke, said she did not know if she would be filing any violations as of April 9. "It's something I'm discussing with my legal advisor right now," she said.
The voting for college seats in the recent elections was discussed when the results were announced April 5. Elections supervisor Deanna Cerbini said in the past, only students enrolled in specific colleges were eligible to vote for their college seat. However in this election, voting for the college seats was open to all students.
Restricting all students from voting for the college seats would place the anonymity of the voting process in question, said Cerbini, a junior political science major. To restrict college seat voting to the specific college's students would require information such as name, year and major to be kept in connection with the votes, she said.
The current system does not contain any information except whether a student has already voted, said Dmitriy Bond, the team lead of administrative systems for ITS.
"The votes are very anonymous, there's really no way for us to trace back who voted for who," Bond said.
Because of the close margin, the votes were recounted three times, Cerbini said.
"ITS set up three different programs to count for us and they all said the same thing," Cerbini said.
While 2,278 students logged in to vote, only 2,566 votes were counted.
The other 192 votes did not count either because students abandoned their computers before clicking the submit button, or because the system logged them out, Bond said.
Students are automatically logged off after 90 seconds of cursor or keyboard inactivity, Bond said.
"For some reason, they didn't press submit," Bond said. "And that's very typical for any system or any lab application. It happens all the time on Blackboard - it's part of the reality of web applications."
As of April 10, no elections
violations had been filed, Cerbini said.
"It was a pretty clean election," she said.
"To me, when it's that close, I feel that both tickets put up fantastic campaigns," Cerbini said.
Sen. Elizabeth Rasmussen, a senior social studies education major ran for the College of Education and Human Services seat and received the most votes with 1,506 - the most of any candidate in SG history.
Contact Tami Livingston at news@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Student robbed at gunpoint on campus
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Scott Lampke was robbed of his wallet and cell phone at gunpoint April 5 after being followed onto campus from Kernan Boulevard. Individuals are currently in custody, and a third participant in the incident is still at large. |
The University Police Department and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office are still searching for the third suspect involved in an armed robbery at the University of North Florida April 5.
In what's reportedly the first crime of its type in university history, three suspects followed freshman business major Scott Lampke onto campus and into lot 17 next to The Crossings from Kernan Boulevard at approximately 1:30 a.m. They then robbed him at gunpoint as he was opening his trunk.
"One guy got out of the car, shoved a gun in my face and said 'give me everything you've got,'" Lampke said.
The suspects then grabbed Lampke's cell phone, wallet, and debated about taking the subwoofers from his car while complaining he had no money in his wallet, he said.
According to the UPD report, one suspect pointed a semi-automatic handgun at Lampke and said, "If you call the police, I know where you live."
After the suspects left, Lampke called UPD.
"I wasn't freaking out while it was happening," Lampke said. "But when I called the cops, I
was shaking."
"He was one of those victims who kept his wits about him and was able to get a good description of the vehicle," said UPD Chief Mark Foxworth.
Foxworth said the suspects were seen shortly after the robbery exiting the Wal-Mart parking lot on Beach Boulevard where they tried to make
purchases using Lampke's
credit cards.
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Wanted |
Two of the suspects, Willie Fitzgerald Cook and Ivy Shanice Humphrey, were apprehended after fleeing from JSO officers. The third suspect, Vinson Sanders, is still missing, Foxworth said. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Cook is currently being held in the Duval County jail and is charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle (the car he was driving when he robbed Lampke was stolen earlier in the evening), fleeing/attempting to elude a law enforcement officer and driving with a suspended/
revoked driver's license as a habitual traffic offender - all felonies.
Humphrey is being treated as a witness to the robbery..
UPD Lt. Tammy Oliver said both departments will continue to search for Sanders.
"We feel a need to get him picked up and off the street. Unfortunately, he's been one step ahead of us," Oliver said.
"He's one of these people who bounces around a lot from place to place, from crime to crime," Foxworth said.
"There are some similar cases in the area," Foxworth said.
"We're looking into seeing if these people are responsible for some very, very
similar cases."
Foxworth said all information at this time indicates the crime was random and the suspects were not targeting UNF or a UNF student.
"I'm not so sure they understand exactly where they were at [or] that they knew this was the university," Foxworth said. "[I think] they may have thought they were at some kind of apartment complex.
"He was a random target as best we can tell," Foxworth said.
Contact Tami Livingston at news@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Student charged with vehicular manslaughter
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Corey Dahlem, a 22-year-member of the Gainesville Police Dept., died April 4 from injuries he sustained in the April 3 accident. |
A University of North Florida student is being charged with DUI manslaughter after his truck struck a Gainesville police officer April 3.
Austin John Wright, a UNF student is being held in the Alachua County Jail for the death of Lt. Corey Dahlem, a 22-year-member of the Gainesville Police Department.
Dahlem died from his injuries April 4 at Shands hospital in Gainesville.
Wright was driving a truck on a blocked off section of University Avenue near the University of Florida at about 2 a.m. when he struck Dahlem and then fled from officers. After falling from Wright's truck, Dahlem was hit by a Florida Department of Transportation truck.
Dahlem was removing barricades that had been placed to block traffic during the NCAA Championship basketball game, said Lt. Mike Burroughs, public information officer for the Florida Highway Patrol. Wright struck Dahlem as he was crossing the road.
Wright was stopped about four blocks from the scene of the crash by GPD, who held Wright until the arrival of the Florida Highway Patrol. He is also being charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death.
Highway Patrol officers administered field sobriety tests, which Wright failed, according to the FHP report.
Burroughs said the officers who stopped Wright said he "had a strong odor of alcohol beverages on his person and that his normal faculties were impaired."
After arriving at the Alachua County jail, Wright consented to a breath test. The test registered blood alcohol levels of .227 and .214, nearly three times the legal limit of .08.
Mary Wright, Austin's mother, declined to be interviewed. Wright's attorney Larry Turner, from Gainesville, said it is too early to comment on the case, and the situation is taking a toll on all involved.
"I think we're all just reeling from the tragic incident that has occurred," Turner said.
A call to Fred Mercurio, Wright's other attorney from Sarasota, was not returned before publication.
Burroughs said FHP is currently in a "very intense part of a death investigation," and are trying to determine Wright's whereabouts before the crash, who he was with, what he drank and why he was driving.
"There's a lot we have to look into, a lot we have to establish," Burroughs said.
Eighth Circuit Assistant State Attorney Geoff Fleck has declined any media interviews, according to Spencer Mann, chief investigator for the office.
Mann said the state attorney will receive the crash investigation report from the FHP in the next few weeks and "possible additional charges will be decided based on their report."
Wright will be arraigned in the next few weeks, Mann said.
The three other people in the truck with Wright at the time of the crash - UNF student Norman Taylor, Jamie Mullis of Jacksonville and Shelly Floyd of Atlantic Beach - are being treated as witnesses and have not been charged, Burroughs said.
The preliminary crash report was released by FHP April 10, and the complete criminal investigation report will be released in the next 45 to 60 days.
Services for Dahlem were in Gainesville April 9.
Contact Tami Livingston at news@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Campus Ministries celebrates Holy Week
University of North Florida's Campus Ministries Department had a Good Friday worship service and a labyrinth on campus last week to help celebrate the Lenten season and provide ways for people to escape from the commotion of daily routines.
The labyrinth was set up on campus for three days and was open for a total of 24 hours during Holy Week, the seven days before Easter, as a place for people to rest, meditate and pray, said Shari O'Brien, acting director of campus ministries.
The labyrinth has been on campus for about 15 years and is painted onto a large canvas that can be laid on the floor of a room for people can walk on. Its path is similar to a maze, but there are no dead ends or ways to get lost, O'Brien said.
While it was open, 87 people came to use the labyrinth, O'Brien said.
Bob Farnsworth, senior library technical assistant, said he enjoyed walking the labyrinth because it makes him stop and think.
"It's like following the path of life," Farnsworth said. "You don't know where you're going but you hope to be united with God at the end."
Farnsworth also said he likes the atmosphere of the labyrinth because "it's a contrast from the real world."
"It's a good tool for one physically and mentally," O'Brien said. "One student said walking it helped them find peace with a lost loved one, and a couple of people came just to sit and enjoy something quiet."
Some math majors stopped by and were fascinated with the geometry of the labyrinth, O'Brien said.
People who walked in the labyrinth could do it anyway they wanted, and it could take someone five minutes or 30 minutes, she said. "One person walked it backwards, there is no right or wrong way."
"It's not just for Christians, we want to be available for a diversity of faiths," O'Brien said. "The labyrinth is about the intentionality of taking time to be silent in a world that is very chaotic."
The labyrinth was surrounded by dim lights and had a candle burning in the center to symbolize the father, son and the Holy Spirit, O'Brien said. A foot washing station, a refreshment table and a prayer station with different prayers - including an Irish blessing and an Indian prayer - were nearby. The room was scented with frankincense and myrrh, and had light music playing in the background.
Labyrinths were built in cathedrals as a way for Christians to avoid prosecution by the French government. They symbolize the path Jesus Christ walked and were used as a way for Christians to do a pilgrimage without prosecution.
The labyrinth at UNF was modeled after the Chartres Cathedral's labyrinth and had 11 circles with a rose in the middle, which can symbolize God's love for the world or, in other religions, can be a lotus for enlightenment, O'Brien said.
Contact Laurel Wright at uspinnak@unf.edu -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Poetry takes to water
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A UNF poetry workshop class constructed the words on the lake by the library April 7. If it remains intact, it will be on the lake for the rest of the term. |
Professor Clark Lunberry's poetry workshop class installed a piece of visual poetry on the lake adjacent to the Thomas G. Carpenter Library at the University of North Florida.
Lunberry and six students from the course spent eight hours April 7, constructing and installing the words "Water on Water" on the lake, Lunberry said. The project has been in the works since January and was approved by academic affairs.
"In the beginning of the course I said 'let's do something really big,'" Lunberry said. "I wasn't even sure it was going
to happen."
Lunberry said the meaning of the words should be "self explanatory" in that you look into yourself and decipher your own meaning.
"We wanted something simple but also mysterious," he said.
The piece is constructed out of heavy duty plastic and twine. From 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. the students used kayaks to position the letters on the water. Dennelyn Siazon, junior communications major, was the first to attempt putting the letters on the water.
"It was really hard," Siazon said. "The wind was blowing and that made handling 7-foot letters really difficult."
The class plans to leave the piece displayed as long it will withstand the environment.
"It all depends on the geese, gators and materials," Lunberry said.
However, occasional maintenance is planned to keep the piece floating and looking good. Lunberry suggests the best place to view the poetry is on the staircase inside the library. The poetry workshop students will also install more visual poetry pieces in the showcases on the first floor of the library.
"We take language for granted so often," Lunberry said. "This will be a way not to do that."
Contact Sarah Diener at news@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Student art exhibit draws record submissions
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Almost 300 works were submitted to the 25th Art and Design Student Annual show in the University Gallery. The exhibit opened April 5 and features 90 pieces from the print, acrylic, paint, photography and sculpture media. |
More students than ever submitted work to the 25th University of North Florida Art and Design Student Annual, which opened April 5 in the University Gallery.
The exhibit features 90 pieces submitted by students. One hundred and sixty-eight students enrolled in art and design courses submitted 272 works. Enzo Torcoletti, professor of art at Flagler College, selected the 90 pieces and awarded students with prizes totaling $1,000.
"This year is a massive turnout," said Paul Karabinis, gallery director. "There is so much more new energy here
this year."
The works feature different media such as print, acrylic, oil, sculpture and other media, Karabinis said.
Karabinis first presented $50 awards to seven recipients. These winners included Andrew Smith's "Rooster Tail," Amanda Dickinson's "Self Portrait II," Lyndsey Denyer's "Untitled," Michelle Mohler's "Nude Sketch," Cecilia Woolfolk's "Identity," Lynn Wehrmann's "Chair" and Kasey England's "Untitled."
Karabinis also presented $100 best of show awards to six students. The recipients included Jamie Babcock's "A Rose," Steve Forster's "Parable of the Sower - The Good Soil," Brittany Newton's "Amoeba," Bernardo C. Lobusta's "Gray," Nacim Ruintan-Tehrani's "Inner Beauty," and Eliana Pagua's "Como Escapo?".
Nicole Defeo, a sophomore at UNF, entered two pieces into the gallery. Her first print, "Reflection of Venus," was selected into the annual. Defeo said she was happy to have her piece displayed this year.
Lauren Corbin, a junior fine arts major, also entered two pieces, "Control" and "Untitled," which were both selected for
the gallery.
"I was impressed by all the different pieces in the gallery," Corbin said. "I was excited to see all the print work."
Amandine Benomar, a photography major, said she saw a variety of pieces.
"More people came to this and it's has become a lot more competitive," Benomar said. "It makes you feel proud of what's been done."
Karabinis said there is size issue for the gallery and the small number of pieces selected shows a critical need for a new gallery so that all students have a chance to display their artwork.
Contact Marc Von Mandel at uspinnak@unf.edu -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
City plans to redirect Kernan Boulevard around AOL Building
Over the coming years, the University of North Florida will expand its campus to help with
future growth.
The city of Jacksonville plans to reroute Kernan Boulevard around the AOL Building along First Coast Technology Parkway within the next few years. The proposal was put before the city by UNF. FCTP currently loops around the AOL Building and connects to Kernan on each side of the building.
"Because we have all that land south of AOL, sort of in that egg-shaped island between the tech-park road and the existing Kernan we wanted to kind of pull that into campus," said UNF President John Delaney.
The project is estimated to cost between $9-13 million, said Marcy Cook, communication manager for public works at the city. Those are "very preliminary estimates" according to Robert Dyr, senior project manager for the city.
Dyr said the cost and timeline of the project are currently unknown and the city is in the process of reviewing a design quote at this time. The cost will determine the design of the road.
"We'd like to do six lanes but don't know how much it's going to cost and how the wetlands mitigation will be," Dyr said.
Delaney said there are some wetlands in the Southeast corner of the property.
Cook said it is estimated the realignment is still several years away, while Delaney said he believes the city will fund the project within a year to 18 months and might be completed in three years.
Because new developments must provide funding for the improvement of roads and utilities to support their development, and universities are not exempt from this rule, $2-3 million has been allocated to go towards the realignment from the state, Delaney said.
A total of $4.5 million has been allocated for the project so far, including the funds from the state, Dyr said.
With the completion of the 9A interchange and the widening of Kernan, Beach and J. Turner Butler Boulevards, along with the realignment, traveling to and from campus will be much easier, Delaney said.
"I think the widening of that stretch [Kernan] will be a great boon for us," Delaney said.
The university also plans to ask the legislature to fund the purchase of the rest of the Technology Park land next year which will add another 100-200 acres to campus, Delaney said.
While no concrete plans have been made for the land, many options are under consideration,
Delaney said.
"It's a great opportunity for the university,"
he said.
Contact Tami Livingston at news@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE