1. Wednesday, October 1, 2014
INSIDE
On the road again
Rockets prepare for the first
MAC road challenge against West-
ern Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 4
at 7 p.m. in Kalamazoo.
SPORTS / B2 »
Wall commemorates
the liberation of East
Germany
Students are free to write their
own messages on the smaller
version of the Berlin Wall that was
constructed by the UT German
Club. It will stand until Oct. 3.
COMMUNITY / B1 »
UT’s Rec center
offers students a
new fitness class this
semester
Rocket Fit classes are offered
every Friday at 4:15 p.m. and last
45 minutes.
COMMUNITY / B3 »
Second UHeart
Digital Media
Conference to be
held Oct. 9 and 10
The conference will focus on
utilizing digital media for business
and communication purposes.
NEWS / A3 »
“
“Condemning
alcohol means tell-
ing a whole group of
people they’re being
reckless, that they’re
doing something
wrong. It means a
subtle implication
that drinking is cor-
related to some lack
of moral compass, no
matter how safe that
drinking is.”
EDITORIAL
Illogical alcohol-free
tailgating
OPINION / A4 »
Keep on
wheelin’
COMMUNITY /
B1 »
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VIGIL
LEGISLATIONA NIGHT IN THE LIFE
SG wants
to remove
students
from
grievance
council
By Katelyn Montgomery
Staff Reporter
Student Government voted in favor
of barring students from grievance
council hearings pertaining to sexual
assault Sept. 30 to maintain privacy for
students involved in an assault case.
The resolution passed with an over-
whelming majority and is expected to
take effect this month.
As author of the resolution, SG Presi-
dent Clayton Notestine advocated the
legislation.
“This isn’t about power anymore,”
he said. “SG usually is all about going
and getting students more footholds on
campus, but this issue is not about that,
it’s about the survivors.”
Notestine also noted that according
to the U.S. Department of Education
Office of Civil Rights, statistics show
students are less inclined to speak out
about abuse with students around.
Not all were in favor of this resolu-
tion, including SG senator Ronald
Tulan who expressed his concerns with
the legislation.
“Although they weren’t victims them-
selves they can relate better than an
adult can and I think taking away that
relation, taking away that whole, ‘we
understand what you’re going through’
is going to put a big harm on the
conduct board and a big harm on the
interviewing process altogether”.
Sharing their stories
Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919 www.IndependentCollegian.com
96th year • Issue 7Wednesday, October 1, 2014
A candlelit vigil Oct. 6 for those impacted by
domestic violence seeks to support survivors
By Samantha Rhodes
Managing Editor
Nearly 20 people per minute
are victims of physical violence
by an intimate partner in the
United States alone, according to
the National Coalition Against
Domestic Violence (NCADV).
In one year, this equates to more
than 10 million women and men.
The University of Toledo
Feminist Alliance (UTFA) and
Take Back the Night Collective
want to give survivors of domes-
tic violence an opportunity to
speak out about their stories and
seek support.
This support will take place
in the form of a candlelit vigil
on Oct. 6 from 8-10 p.m. on the
Student Union front steps.
“[The vigil] is being hosted to
give a voice back to people that
have had their voices taken away
from them,” said Matthew Evans,
a third-year student majoring
in sociology and women’s and
gender studies as well as co-pres-
ident of UTFA. “It is important to
honor survivors because every-
one deserves to have a voice and
be free from abuse and violence.”
Evans, his mother and his sister
were all survivors of both physi-
cal and emotional abuse at the
hand of another family member,
leading them to live in a domes-
tic violence shelter the summer
before Evans entered sixth grade.
He also knows several people
who are rape survivors.
“I chose to get involved with
this issue because I want to make
sure that bad things do not hap-
pen in vain,” Evans said.
According to Evans, the
issue of domestic violence
against women is improperly
perceived. Rather than it being
viewed as a women’s issue,
Evans feels it should be consid-
ered a men’s issue because he
says the men committing these
crimes are the problem, not the
women being victimized.
“When the vast majority of
men who are good do not also
speak out about rape and do-
mestic violence as women have
been doing for years, it sends an
implicit message to the few men
who commit these crimes that we
do not care about these issues,”
Evans said.
Although NCADV states that
one in five women have experi-
enced severe physical violence
from an intimate partner in their
lifetime, the issue clearly does
not only impact women — one
in seven men have also faced
severe physical abuse from an
intimate partner.
Lauren Merrell, a trained advo-
cate from a local rape crisis center
and UT alum, said there are
many types of power and control
issues that can be considered do-
mestic violence, including physi-
cal, mental, emotional, financial,
sexual and even social abuse.
According to Merrell, the issue
of domestic violence is everyone’s
problem as it impacts not only
the survivor, but also numerous
people connected to the survivor.
“The truth is, it’s all of our
problems,” Merrell said. “It’s a
human issue. It’s our responsibil-
ity. Not women and not men, but
all of us.”
The undeniable fact that
domestic violence is such a big
problem has led UT students to
voice their opinions about the
survivor vigil.
See Vigil / A5 »
Students sleep in
cardboard boxes for one
night to raise awareness
“[The vigil] is being hosted
to give a voice back to people
that have had their voices
taken away from them. It is
important to honor survivors
because everyone deserves to
have a voice and be free from
abuse and violence.”
MATTHEW EVANS
UT Feminist Alliance Co-President
COURTESY OF EMILY RADY
Students build cardboard homes in 2012’s Cardboard City event. This is a free event
hosted by Habitat for Humanity on Oct. 3-4 to raise awareness for homelessness.
By Emily Johnson
Associate News Editor
Cardboard City is a free
event that Habitat for Hu-
manity will be hosting Oct.
3-4 to raise awareness for
homelessness.
Last year, 900 people in the
city of Toledo were homeless
as well as an estimated 300
families. Toledo was one of
nine cities that had the largest
number of homeless people,
according to a study conduct-
ed in 2013 by the Coalition of
Homelessness and Housing
in Ohio.
The numbers have gone
down in recent years, due in
part to a spreading awareness
of the issue. One way people
are learning more about this
problem is through programs
like Cardboard City.
The free event will begin
on Friday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. on
Centennial Mall and continue
until 9 a.m. the next day.
The students who wish to
participate will be given card-
board boxes to build a shelter
to sleep in for the night,
according to Emily Rady, a
third-year biochemistry major
and advocacy chair for Habitat
for Humanity.
There will be contests to see
who can build the most inno-
vative and practical house but
it is not a solo effort. Students
can group with other students
to create a makeshift village.
“There are contests, games
and snacks and pizza for par-
ticipants to enjoy,”Rady said.
“There will also be a speaker
to educate students about
homelessness.”
She said students do not
have to stay the entire night.
The planned events end at
If you go
What: Cardboard City
Where: Centennial Mall
When: Friday, Oct. 3
at 6 p.m. through 9 a.m.
Oct. 4
Sponsored by: Habitat
for Humanity.
See Cardboard City / A5 »
See Meeting / A5 »