Miami Hurricane, October 06, 2000

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Top-ranked Seminóles come to town
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Volume 78, Number 12
WWW.HURRICANE.MIAMI.EDU
Friday, October 6,21
Students vote yes, but administration must approve
Whitely some reservations exist on the issue
By Gariot Louisna
Editor n Chief
Though students voted overwhelmingly during last week’s elections in favor of a referendum to increase the Student
Activity Fee from $82.50 to $84.50—to raise money for a new Student Government (SG) spirit board called Category 5—the referendum must still be approved by Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia A. Whitely and the University Provost Inis Glaser.
Of the 450 students who voted during the fall elections Sept 25-27,370 voted on the referendum. Two-hundred and nineteen students voted in favor of the referendum while 118 voted no, said SG President Shane Weaver
The SG Senate ratified the election results at Wednesdays meeting Now, Whitely and Glaser must approve the results.
Whitely said via E-mail Wednesday that she was not prepared to comment on the issue until she received a “ratified referendum from the Senate,” but that she had some “reservations about the legislation."
Despite the apparent support from student voters,getting the referendum to the hands of Whitely was not an easy
task.
The referendum almost didn’t make it past the ballot box.
“From the start of the graphic campaign period, There were violations brought up,” Weaver said.
The campaign received several violations during the voting process, said Roy Tauh, Chief Justice of the SG Supreme Court.
“The alleged violations are treated in the codes at varying degrees,” Taub said, and that violations can receive three or
more points, Taub said.
In order for a referendum to pass, even if students have voted in favor of it, it can only have less than 20 points, Taub said. If a referendum has more than 20 points, it is considered invalid.
"The indicting complaint was for 70 to 100 points,” Taub said of the total number of violations the referendum received.
Complaints were made by concerned students and commissioners and the majority were dismissed by the Election
Commission, which receives them.
At the end of the Commission hearings, the referendum was left with 23 points, which could then be appealed tff the Supreme Court. SG, led by Weaver, appealed, though, the majority of viola- -tions stuck.
SG was cited eight points by the Commission because the Ibis yearbook was allegedly campaigning for the referendum without approval from Student
See REFERENDUM • Page2
Parents storm campus for event
Eighth annual Family Weekend starts today
Kim deep ie water
By Jessica McNeill
News Editor
With their arrival at college, some students and their families lose frequent contact, especially if they live far away. Family Weekend, provided by the University and held this weekend, is a chance for students and their families to reconnect during the year, said Pat Whitely, vice president for Student Affairs.
Normally, family weekend is held six to eight weeks into the first semester, Whitely said, allowing students time to get accustomed to college, and then allowing the families to visit and feel involved on campus.
Starting today, the eighth annual Family Weekend will kick off with several activities for students and their relatives to participate in, all put together by Tricia Shatley, director of Orientation and the Women’s Resource Center.
This is Shatley’s third year working with family weekend, and she said it is a great opportunity for families to feel a part of the campus community and raise
their spirits, especially since this year’s weekend is scheduled around the UM vs. Florida State University football game.
“We have had a record number of families sign up for this years events,” Shatley said. “Over 1,400 people are scheduled to show up.”
Registration is almost all day today, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,in the University Center, first floor-families were required to pay a registration fee by Sept. 22 in order to participate in most of the events.
The first event is the Parent Involvement Luncheon, sponsored by the Alumni Association, and will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Also throughout the day, ranging from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., “mock classes” for the families will be held, each taught by a professor of the University with subjects ranging from ethics to history.
In addition, families are also invited to meet with the academic-dean of their students’ school between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.
The President’s Barbecue will be held this evening from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the UC Patio, with a comedian at the Rathskeller following the event.
“Parents will be able to meet the president of the University along with other administrators,”
See PARENTS • Page 3
Black
students
divided?
Students help stranded animals
Campus group part of local rescue network
By Matt Brewer
Hurricane Staff Writer
Last Sunday night in Verona Beach, Fla., a call went out to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). An eleven-foot long, 1000 lbs. animal, had washed up on the beach, and was stuck there, its life ebbing away with the tide.
The call to NMFS activated a network of dedicated volunteers, among them the University of Miami’s Marine Mammal Stranding Team (MMST), who immediately rushed to the scene to join the rescue effort.
The stranded animal, dubbed “Tiny,” is a pigmy sperm whale, the
See STRANDING«~Page 3
JORGE GALVEZ / Photo Ecitor
IN TOO DEEP: A resident leaves his car stranded on 109th Avenue, Wednesday morning.
Two-day rain storm leaves So Fla with 14 inches of rain
Contributed by' MMST HOLDING ON: An MMST team member hangs on to a marine mammal in need.
Classes go on as South Florida faces stormy weather
By Danielle Scott
Hurricane Staff Writer
Rain fell continuously in Miami-Dade County from Monday morning to early Wednesday moming-a year-high 40 hours. The heavy rains on Tuesday spawned a flood watch for the area issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) in Miami.
In addition, the cost of damage caused by flooding is being compared by news reports to that left by Hurricane Irene last October, which ran into the millions.
Although Miami International Airport did not officially close, many flights were cancelled. Even Presidential candidate George W. Bush, on his busy tour of the states, was forced to remain overnight because of the extensive flooding according to reports from NBC.
Public schools in Miami-Dade County were closed Wednesday because of the flooding and the impassability of many streets and highway exited in the area.
Here at UM, however, classes were not cancelled Wednesday, though, some students were forced to return home when their professors did not
make it to class because of the flooding.
“I waited 15 minutes for my philosophy professor before 1 left. The rains last night were phenomenal. I don’t blame him for not showing up at all,” said sophomore Josh Chaplin.
See RAIN • Page 3
JORGE GALVEZ / Photo Editor
WRONG WAY: A commuter goes the wrong way on Bird Ftoad to avoid the flooding, but stals anyway.
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By Jimmey Jackson Jr.
Assistant Accent Editor
Throughout history, people of color have had to combat issues of segregation and separation. The fight against separation has always been a monumental one, so the idea of black people separating themselves from one another seems almost absurd to some.
In the past, however, such suspected self-segregation could be seen in the lower lounge of the University Center. It was often joked that the area was divided into “the black American section,” “the Jamaican section,” “the Haitian section,” and so on. But some students maintain that that’s how it actually used to be.
“Last year it was evident," said Farhaana Nyamekye, a junior. “1 mean, we would mix, but it was dear that we were just split.”
Nyamekye, who is of Trinidadian and African American descent, said some black students may look down upon traditions of a heritage that is not their own.
“Initially, I didn’t feel comfortable around African-Americans,” she said.“! felt like I was being looked at, maybe because of my hair or what I was wearing.”
Many students said they felt this segregation amongst people of African descent from different countries still exists. Despite the appearance that the different black groups seem to get along, students said.
“If you ask anybody about it, they’ll say we all get along perfectly,” said Shaun Smart, a senior.
Smart, who is black, was born in jamaica but has lived most of his life in the U.S. He’s one of many students that said they have noticed an underlying tension between the different black groups at UM.
Some students, who asked not to be named for this story, said these tensions arise because Afro-Caribbean students have a negative depiction of black Americans and are wary of being carelessly grouped together with them.
Smart said he doesn’t think this is necessarily the case.
“1 think that just goes to everyone wanting to keep their (cultural iden-
See DIVERSITY« Page 3