- Is that an umbrella in your backpack or are you about to
launch a deadly hail of bullets on our quaint little campus? That question
could have avoided a lot of drama this week at Indiana University Southeast,
where the school of about 6,500 students and 500 faculty and staff went on
full-scale lockdown after a student reported seeing a man walking on campus
with a backpack that had a weapon sticking out of it. As eyewitnesses tend to
be largely unreliable, it should surprise no one that police later determined
the weapon was actually an umbrella. According to a school spokesperson, the
initial report of a weapon was made by a student around 12:30 p.m. The campus
was immediately placed on lockdown and everyone was advised to take shelter and
stay in place. For nearly 90 minutes, students and staff followed those orders
behind locked doors and some even erected makeshift barricades in their
classrooms and auditoriums. Police flocked to the campus and searched for the mystery
man with the umbrella gun in his bag, blocked entrances and searched the entire
campus before locating the man fitting a description given by the student who called
in the potential threat. It was particularly terrifying because the incident occurred
on Sept. 11, but there was no substance to the threat and New Albany police
were eventually able to declare the emergency over and give the all-clear for
everyone to emerge from their hiding places and get on with their day. In the
aftermath of this incident and given that IUS was on lockdown in December under
similar circumstances, with police looking for another person suspected of
having a gun that turned out to be a wooden theater prop, now might be an
opportune time for a campuswide seminar to help folks identify what an actual
gun looks like……….
- Performance-enhancing drugs do not always work. If they
did, Baltimore Orioles first baseman
Chris Davis would be ending his regular season with much better numbers than a
.197 batting average with 26 homers and 72 RBIs. Instead, Davis and his 173
strikeouts will sit out the final 17 games of the regular season and as many as
eight postseason game after he was suspended 25 games for using amphetamines.
The ban came down Friday with the Orioles leading the AL East by 10 games with
17 left in the regular season, so the team could be without the 2013 home run
champion into the second round of the playoffs if it advances that far. Popping
greenies has long been a part of professional sports for athletes looking to
stay up and stay high-energy over the course of a long season, but Major League
Baseball has made a point of cracking down on their use in recent years and
Davis becomes the latest to run afoul of the league. Maybe somewhere along the
course of a difficult season and with his numbers sagging as his team was
breaking free in its division race and looking like one of baseball’s best
teams, Davis felt like he was letting the Orioles down or risking his spot in
the lineup with his poor performance at the plate. Perhaps those feelings led
him to do something regrettable and in turn, than led MLB to announce that he would
be suspended without pay "after testing positive for an amphetamine in
violation of Major League Baseball's joint drug prevention and treatment
program." Never have those 53 home runs he hit last season seemed further
in the rearview mirror or more suspect than they do right now……..
- Don’t forget about Catalonia. Scotland is days from a
landmark vote for independence, with most polls placing the numbers at nearly
50-50 in terms of those opposing and supporting independence. The numbers
likely skewed much higher this week in Barcelona when hundreds of
thousands of Catalans packed the streets of the city to demand the right to
vote on separation from Spain. Protestors dressed in red and yellow and lined
two of the city’s main roads, forming a human “V” to signify their desire to vote
on the issue. Many in the crowd also wore T-shirts saying “Ara es l’hora,” or
“Now is the time,” in the Catalan language on Catalonia’s national day. The
actual number of protestors is up for debate, but Barcelona police estimated
that as many as 1.8 million took part, while a central government spokeswoman
put the figure at around half a million. Catalonia regional leader Artur Mas
was at the forefront of the anti-Spain rage, proclaiming that his government is
not wavering from plans to hold a Nov. 9 referendum in the region of 7.6
million people. Most legal experts say any attempt is certain to be blocked by
Spain’s Constitutional Court, but that didn’t deter event organizer Carme
Forcadell, head of the National Catalan Assembly. “We want a say in politics
and our future,” Forcadell said. “I ask Spain’s institutions and especially its
government to take good note of the mood on Catalonia’s streets.” Not only is
the high court expected to block any referendum, but Spanish Prime Minister
Mariano Rajoy has vowed to stop the vote because Spain’s constitution does not
allow referendums that don’t include all Spaniards. Mas and his supporters
disagree and believe their issue is one of the biggest facing the government. Catalans
have drawn encouragement from Scotland’s campaign for independence and a recent
government poll showed support for an independent state had more than tripled
to 45.2 percent in March. Another poll indicated that an additional 20 percent
would support an independent state and another 23 percent would get behind an
autonomous region. Breaking free is never easy and this fight is already
contentious, but both sides appear ready to brawl on this one………
- All great endeavors begin with a chance for both
transcendent success and abject failure. Odd Future hasn’t exactly grasped
greatness in the early years of their hip-hop career, but it hasn’t been for a
lack of trying. The group, fronted by Tyler, The Creator, has caught the ear of some of
rap’s biggest stars and also plumbed the depths of disaster by fighting its own
fans at shows. The latest Odd Future endeavor has a much better chance of
avoiding fisticuffs than a live show and could actually produce great results
if Odd Future are willing to put in the time and effort and find the right people
to surround themselves in order to succeed. The project is a 24-hour online radio station launched
in conjunction with Dash Radio. The first broadcast took place Thursday night
and Odd Future manager Christian Clancy explained the thinking behind the endeavor.
"Basically a 24/7 commercial free station for their shows, their shit,
their friends and music they like... live show on Tuesdays, specials...
whatever they come up with. Could be absolutely amazing or a complete disaster,”
Clancy said. The timing of the station’s debut syncs nicely with the group’s
own music festival, which will take place in a few weeks with Pharrell Williams
and Tyler, The Creator set to headline and Rick Ross, Mac Miller and Earl
Sweatshirt also set to play the third-annual Camp Flog Gnaw event at The Park
at the Coliseum in Los Angeles. The festival should be a nice setting for some
blatant and shameless cross-promotion……….
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