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Letter to the Editor

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I wish people like Ms. Freidrich would realize that racial profiling is not something that should be valued and encouraged in this country. I’m not denying that we live in trying times and yes, national security is of the utmost importance. However, it is also important to view our history as a lesson. Our government has singled out a race, nationality or religion as a basis for persecution too many times. Just because we made a mistake in the past, doesn’t mean we should do the same now, or in the future. Nowhere does our judicial system say “guilty until proven innocent”. In fact, it says quite the opposite.

Ms. Freidrich, mentioned that has Swede with blue eyes and blonde hair had something to to do with the WTC attack than that’s who we would racially profile. I tend to disagree because of these blatant facts. Most serial killers our white males over 35. Timothy McVeigh, the man responsible for the Oklahoma City Bombing was white and Christian. Most blue-collar crime is done by white males. So pray tell, where is the racial profiling Ms. Freiderich? The answer may surprise you, it’s nonexistent.

Humans have a tendency to stereotype. We make judgments upon others based on their looks. That said, we also must realize that we cannot arrest anybody based purely on their race. That is simply implausible, and frankly, its racist. This false sense of security we lull ourselves into is what got us into the problem in the first place. If we want stronger security we need to look upon all people with the same degree of scrutiny.

In other terms, stereotyping can be analogous to crying wolf. We focus all of our attention on one ethnicity or race and we keep on accusing them of wrongdoing. However, when we finally do capture somebody that actually committed the crime, how likely is it that this person couldn’t get off on a technicality, such as racial profiling. This magnification lessen our efforts and makes us blind to others that are capable of crimes. Racial profiling is wrong. Don’t let yourself believe that it makes you safer. It doesn’t.

We live in a free nation. We allow KKK members, Communists, and religious extremists of all sorts, protest and let their voices heard. Why should we ostracize one type of person based on their creed, race, or ethnicity? That is not an UM value and it certainly is not an American one.

~ Shree Chaucan

EDITORIAL

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The University of Miami spends a good deal of money every year on security around the campus. There are police officers, security guards, blue light phones, and countless other things that are meant to give students a feeling of safety. And our campus should be a place where students feel safe whether they are in their dorm rooms or walking to the library late at night.

However, recently, a student was attacked with a possible intention of rape near the baseball field parking lots. Thankfully, she was able to fight the attacker and get away without harm, but what if the next person is not so lucky? What if someone attacks again? Indeed, what if we are not as safe as we think on our campus?

The most important question seems to be, is this the administration’s fault? Perhaps the attacks were made possible because there is simply not enough security or it is not accessible in a dangerous situation. After all, if someone is being attacked, they might not have enough time to stop at a blue light phone and call for help. Even more likely, there might not be a blue light phone anywhere near them, and then they are left to defend themselves.

No matter how much money the administration pumps into extra security, there will always be at least one place that will not be safe to go to at any given time. There is no way to protect every square foot of campus. So what can be done? Perhaps, with the overabundance of cell phones, an easy number could be created that the students would be able to call from their cell phones to access the on campus police or security. In essence, every student would be like a walking blue light phone. This would solve the problem of being in places where no phones are easily accessible, and it would give students access to security that is already on campus, ensuring quicker arrival than dialing 911 would bring.

Also, more lighting in parking lots might be helpful. Even in the Memorial Building Parking lot, the lights are highly ineffective. The abundance of trees in the lot effectively blocks out much of the light given off from the light poles that do exist, and the lot is usually alarmingly dark. The corners by the Learning Center seem to be especially dangerous, and with the increase of night classes in the school curriculum, it seems appropriate to increase security. Students who have night classes this semester often complain of having to walk out into a nearly deserted and poorly lit parking lot late at night.

This fear is certainly justified. The Memorial Building parking lot and many other places on campus could easily be breeding grounds for crime. They afford the cover of night, they are fairly isolated, there is an easy entrance and escape, and there is no readily available access to security if you are in the aisles of the parking lot looking for your car. In fact, it seems surprising that there have been so few problems since these places on campus are literally a criminal’s dream.

But what can be done to make our campus safer? For starters, an increase in patrolling security and police officers would be very helpful. The mere presence of these people doing regular rounds would make many more students feel better about walking into a dark parking lot late at night. Also, the lighting is in dire need of improvement. There should be no reason that a criminal would have the advantage of darkness to facilitate them; not in the lots by the baseball field, and especially not in a place as central as the Memorial Building parking lot. This is especially egregious when the relative simplicity of installing extra lighting is taken into consideration. In the end, whatever is done, it needs to be done soon.

‘Canes oppose decision to attack Iraq

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The UM community has spoken out against President Bush and Congress’ resolution to use American military force against Iraq.

Last Tuesday, Hecht Residential College hosted a lecture on the Iraq crisis. The guest speaker was Hossein Alizadeh, coordinator of the Campaign of Conscience and part of the Fellowship of Reconciliation [FOR].

Once a part of Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Alizadeh advocated peaceful resolutions and emphasized an end to the suffering of innocent people in Iraq and other war-torn regions.

“[If the US goes to war with Iraq], we’re going to have more civilian casualties,” Alizadeh said. “Saddam Hussein has made it clear that this war will have an urban fight in the cities rather than in the deserts.”

After a long debate that cut across many party and ideological lines, Congress passed a resolution last Thursday that approved the use of force by America’s military against Iraq in order to end the country’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons research.

The House approved the resolution by a 296-133 margin. The Senate vote, coming early Friday, was 77-23. Bush now has the authority to use force with or without the UN’s approval, although Congress stressed the need to first work diplomatically with the UN to avert war.

Throughout campus, most students and faculty said that they feel the decision to go to war would be a misguided and shortsighted one.

“As a Quaker and a Taoist, I think going to war with Iraq would be one of the most embarrassing things the US has done in a long time,” sophomore Jeff Block said. “I can’t believe we are this stupid to think that we can solve the world’s problems by bombing them.”

For the past several months, this impending war on Iraq has been the subject of controversy within the government and population of the US. With the economy declining, the general public opinion is that now is not the best time for an attack on Iraq.

President Bush, however, feels that the use of force has become unavoidable, and that all sanctions on Iraq have failed. He said that Iraq must be prevented from inflicting “massive and sudden horror” with weapons of mass destruction, which Baghdad denies having.

“On one hand, I wonder why we are acting like bullies threatening to bomb Iraq, but ignoring the innocent lives,” junior Kunal Patel said. “However, it is also a question of ensuring our safety- I’m pretty sure war would be detrimental to our economy, especially after 9/11.”

“The US should force the Iraqi government to accept the UN Weapons Inspections teams and lift the sanctions that have been imposed,” Alizadeh said. “However, the US cannot expect the problem to be solved overnight.”

Dr. Pete Moore, assistant professor of political science who lived in the Middle East and conducted research there, believes that attacking Iraq would only escalate violence.

“If Iraq is what the administration says, an immediate threat to the world and the maker of weapons of mass destruction, then why did we have these sanctions imposed for so many years?” he said.

Only one student interviewed was in favor of the US going to war with Iraq.

“I believe at this point there are no other options,” said sophomore Mike Sznatsteajer. “It is time that Iraq had a change in leadership. They have not complied with our demands to search for weapons of mass destruction.”

Congressional candidates contend for students’ votes

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The two U.S. House of Representatives candidates for the new District 25 battled it out on the debate field last Tuesday with the Republican candidate, Diaz-Balart, coming out on top, according to the UM students who attended.

The nascent University of Miami organization Council for Democracy hosted a U.S. Congressional debate between the two candidates, Democrat Annie Betancourt and Republican Mario Diaz-Balart, in the Bill Cosford Cinema.

District 25 was created this year as part of the congressional redistricting process that occurs every 10 years following the Census.

The district’s boundaries encompass a diverse range of areas that stretch from West Hialeah to Immokalee and down to Homestead. The Everglades covers a gigantic and invaluable area of the district.

Over 100 audience members watched as School of Communication Associate Dean Robert Hosmon moderated the hour-long debate.

After a round of four-minute opening speeches by Betancourt and Diaz-Balart, 10 UM students asked questions prepared by the Council for Democracy to which each candidate had two minutes to respond.

While questions ranged from the drive for war against Iraq to corporate responsibility in the wake of the year’s accounting scandals, the issue that most clearly divided the candidates coming into the debate was the U.S. embargo on Cuba.

Republican Diaz-Balart likened giving free-trade money to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro to aiding Saddam Hussein and called for a strengthening of the embargo.

Betancourt, a Democrat, called for taking a closer look at the “outdated and incoherent” policy, as several U.S. politicians and businesses have suggested in the past year.

“I think that Betancourt beat around the bush too much. Diaz-Balart was very specific about what he will do and specific in his reasons why,” said junior Lorri Neuman, who posed the question about the U.S. embargo on Cuba. “Betancourt didn’t have as much clout throughout the debate.”

Education was another key issue for both candidates. Diaz-Balart churned out a long list of statistics about the amounts of money he has worked to secure for public schools and local colleges, including $220 million for UM, a majority of which went toward the School of Medicine.

Betancourt promised to continue securing scholarships for students and opposed school vouchers that funnel public money into private schools.

While both candidates favor enhancing protection for the Everglades, Diaz-Balart mentioned protecting the Everglades in a way that is conducive to welcoming new people.

Betancourt expressed concern for a looming water shortage and the idea of “playing God” with allowing vast construction that encroaches the Everglades habitat in western areas in South Florida.

“I wholeheartedly believe that Annie Betancourt genuinely has a care for the protection of the Everglades without giving credence to developers just waiting to carve out more commercial centers,” junior Christian Wilson said.

In contrast to Betancourt’s first debate at UM last month against Democratic opponent Lorna Virgli, whom she defeated by a large majority in September, Betancourt was not hesitant to fire barbs at Diaz-Balart.

She slammed him on enabling “corporate greed” through his work in the Florida legislature and in an unclear attack on Diaz-Balart’s interest in hindering the selection of UM’s president during its search two years ago.

“She spends her time on personal attacks, but that’s okay. People are wise when they listen to debates; they will see that I offered positive results and not just proposals,” Diaz-Balart said after the debate.

Many students noted that Diaz-Balart was quick and energetic in his responses, especially when compared to the more sedate Betancourt.

After several rounds of debates with Diaz-Balart, Betancourt still feels inspired about her prospects of winning the District seat.

“It’s a fascinating race and I think that voter turnout will be a large factor in determining the outcome, because this seat belongs to the people,” Betancourt said. “I think we should send a ‘Cane to Congress.”

UM hears some Premiere Winds

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Rape defense courses, support available to U

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Students who may be worried about attempted sexual assault Oct. 14 must be reminded of the services and resources available on campus so that they may gain education and prevention techniques regarding the prevention of sexual assaults.

“Many departments on campus such as the Student Counseling Center, Student Health Service, Women’s Resource Center and PIER 21 are tremendous assets to students,” said Janet Tiberian, assistant director for student wellness.

“I think that the University has a lot of resources for students,” sophomore Rebecca Smith said. “I think that more students should take advantage of them.”

“I took a self-defense course with my mom before I came down here,” Smith said. “We bonded and learned so much information. It helped her feel better about me being away.”

The Wellness Center offers two different self-defense programs throughout the semester, SAFE and RAD (Rape Aggression Defense).

Both programs aim to instruct participants to trust their instincts, be prepared and practice simple strategies in their everyday life and to provide instruction about risk awareness and avoidance strategies as well as practical self-defense tactics.

“We work with the Department of Public Safety to offer a comprehensive self-defense class called RAD (Rape Aggression Defense),” Tiberian said. “We also are very involved with the SART Education Team; therefore, we disseminate information on rape, dating violence and stalking,” Tiberian said.

“I’m going to talk to some of my friends about taking one of the self defense courses,” said junior Maria Vasquez. “I think it will be a lot of fun and beneficial at the same time.”

“I’ve heard that the RAD course is really fun,” said Kate Robinson, senior. “You get to beat up someone in those big suits. It’s really cool!”

“I want my girlfriend to learn about some of the safety tips,” said Adam Kennedy, sophomore. “I always worry about her going to the gym and the grocery store at night.”

Additionally, the Counseling Center has a 24-hour telephone response line for students called the Sexual Assault Response Team, or SART. SART volunteers include UM advocates, trained faculty, graduate students and staff. They can answer questions and provide support anonymously.

“The best advice I can think of for victims of sexual assault, sexual battery and molestation is calling the SART line,” Tiberian said.

According to Tiberian, SART advocates are specially trained to verify that the victim is safe.

Advocates also provide referrals to important services for victims such as the Roxcy Bolton Rape Treatment Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, the Student Counseling Center and Student Health Services.

“Advocates impart basic post-rape education, such as testing for sexually transmitted infections, emergency contraception and preserving certain types of evidence,” Tiberian said.

According to organizers, SART has an education and prevention program in which volunteers speak to groups regarding rape facts, statistics, prevention and sexual communication free of charge.

The Women’s Resource Center also provides resources to students.

“This department provides a wealth of information on rape as well as other forms of violence against women,” Tiberian said.

Another organization on campus is PIER 21.

“PIER 21, the center for alcohol and other drug education, is constantly teaching students to control substances, as the majority of acquaintance or date rapes involve substance use,” Tiberian said. “Further, it is difficult to fend off an attack from a stranger if you are under the influence.”

Victims of sexual assault need to contact the local authorities immediately after the attack.

The Rape Treatment Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital also provides medical services to adult victims, regardless of police involvement.

The Rape Treatment center can give an exam to obtain evidence in the event that victims change their mind and choose to report the crime.

SAFE programs are scheduled to take place Oct. 22 and Nov. 5 from 5 -7:30 p.m. They are free to students.

RAD course is scheduled to be offered Dec. 10, 12, 17 and 19 from 6 – 9 p.m. at the Wellness Center. The cost is $25 for students.

Campus Calendar and News Briefs Briefs

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TODAY
Ten Spot at the Rat, 10 – 11 p.m. Join students at the Rat for Casino Night and catch MTV’s Real World Las Vegas.

OCTOBER 23
The Women’s Resource Center presents the annual Clothesline Project at the Rock from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in honor of Domestic Violence Month. The project facilitates the healing process for people who have lost a loved one or are survivors of violence.

The Wesley Foundation introduces its “Last Lectures” series for the fall semester. Guest speaker Steven Clark, director of Multicultural Student Affairs, will answer the question, “If this were your last lecture, what would you tell us?” The series’ purpose is to give students a chance to get to know professors and staff members outside of the classroom and university environment. The series will begin at 7 p.m. at 1210 Stanford Drive, across from Mahoney/Pearson.
The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and the School of Medicine invite the University community to attend the Gail F. Beach Memorial 2002-2003 Visiting Lectureship Series. The first lecture in this series, “Methylprednisolone for Acute Spinal Cord Injury: Taking Down a Standard of Care,” is at 12 p.m. at the Lois Pope LIFE Center Apex Center, 7th Floor, on the Medical Campus. The lecture will feature R. John Hurlbert, M.D., chief of spine surgery at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Dr. Hurlbert has conducted multiple prospective clinical trials in the field of spinal surgery. Call 305-243-7108 or visit http://www.miamiproject.miami.edu/vls2003.pdf.

OCTOBER 24
UM Architecture Professor Samina Quareshi will lecture on The Living Traditions of Coconut Grove exhibit on display at the Lowe Art Museum from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Quareshi is the Henry R. Luce Professor in Family and Community and founder of INUSE, UM’s Initiative for Urban and Social Ecology, which oversees the interdisciplinary initiative involving many areas of UM concentrated in the West Coconut Grove area. This initiative is the subject of the multimedia exhibit on display at the Lowe until November 3. The lecture is free and open to the public. Call 305-284-3438 for more information.

Do you play an instrument, tell jokes or write poetry? If yes, participate, or be entertained at Open Mic Night in the Storm Surge Cafe, 8 – 10 p.m. in the UC.

OCTOBER 26
Today there is a Rally against U.S. War in Iraq for the Day of the National March of Protest in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and other cities around the U.S. The rally is from 2 – 5 p.m. at the Torch of Friendship in Downtown Miami at Biscayne Boulevard and NE 3rd Street. Speakers will include clergy, community leaders and activists opposed to the US War in Iraq. The rally is sponsored by the Concerned People Opposed to War in Iraq and the Miami Coalition Against the War. For e-flyers or info, contact oct26rally@yahoo.com or 305-544-0303.

The Department of Multicultural Student Affairs will offer a free practice test for the MCAT, LSAT, GRE or GMAT. RSVP by calling 800-2Review.

Warm Water is showing at the Cosford Cinema at 5:30 p.m. Japan’s everyman Koji Yakusho stars as Yosuke, a recently laid-off businessman whose personal life is in shambles. Following the advice of a homeless wanderer, he heads to a small fishing town in search of a Golden Buddha Statue, but instead he finds romance with a mysterious kleptomaniac whose orgasmic “water” has the power to make flowers bloom out of season and to draw fish out of the sea.

OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 2
QuantUM Entertainment will present the Rocky Horror Show at the Hillel Center. Call 786-262-3779 or visit www.gotoquantum.com for ticket information.

OCTOBER 30
Looking for adventure, international work, travel and a challenge? Come learn about the Peace Corps in an information session and video presentation, from 12 – 1 p.m. in UC 233. For more information contact Erin Seiler at 305-284-5398.

NOVEMBER 8
Want to work and study at the Cannes Int’l Film Festival or learn the Hollywood terrain one-on-one? Be part of The American Pavilion/Kodak Student Filmmaker Program or The American Pavilion’s L.A. Intensive Program. For information come to the meeting at 11 a.m. in Wolfson Studio 1008A. Representatives from The American Pavilion will discuss student programs and answer questions. You may also visit the web site at www.ampav.com, then link to Student Program or L.A. Intensive.

The U. S. Department of Education will soon mail Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) to you and your parents to complete the FAFSA online. This PIN is used to sign the FAFSA electronically, so be sure to keep it confidential. Make sure you have updated your contact information with the government so they can send your PIN. You can update it at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Your parents can also sign the FASFA electronically by requesting a PIN at www.pin.ed.gov. It will take 7-10 days to arrive by mail. If you plan to apply for a Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) you must file a FAFSA as part of the application process, even if you have had a PLUS in previous years. Students who want to be considered for need-based aid MUST submit the FAFSA every year. The preferred date for submission is March 1 for students. The University’s federal school code is 001536.

Protests marking the start of a national day of action against ExxonMobil by environmental, human rights and pro-democracy groups began Oct. 19 with the shutdown of a Mobil gas station in Beverly Hills and an Exxon station in Manhattan. Peaceful protesters chained themselves to gas pumps and dropped a banner that read, “Stop Global Warming, Don’t Buy ExxonMobil.” Greenpeace documented ExxonMobil’s efforts to prevent action on global warming in a report, “Denial and Deception: A Chronicle of ExxonMobil’s Corruption of the Global Warming Debate.” Despite appeals from Greenpeace and others, ExxonMobil has refused to change its policy. The company is using its sizable resources to support top politicians, like President Bush, to stifle U.S. action on global warming. See the report at http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/exxonmobil/pdfs/exxon_denial.pdf.

Alternative Spring Break offers students the opportunity to make a week last a lifetime. Applications are available in UC 240. Help with issues such as HIV/AIDS, animal rights, domestic violence and youth issues. For more information call 305-284-GIVE. Applications are due Oct. 25.

CANEzine is a Web-based magazine that will feature non-fiction and creative writing by UM undergraduates. Faculty members are urged to encourage their students to submit exemplary nonfiction writing. The magazine will be produced in the 2003 spring term by students taking English 306, an Advanced Composition course. Nonfiction submissions should be sent to Gina Maranto (creative writing samples will be selected separately from English 209 sections). For further information, call Gina Maranto at 305-284-5436 or Margaret Marshall at 305-284-3090.

UM mascot Sebastian the Ibis needs your vote for Capital One’s All American Mascot Challenge. Make Sebastian the National Mascot of the Year. Visit www.capitalonebowl.com to vote.

Sexual Assault: A Fact Sheet

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Wellness Center (305) 284-6524
Counseling Center (305) 284-5511
Student Health Center (305) 284-5927
SART (305) 789-6666
Jackson Memorial Rape Treatment Center (305) 583-RAPE (7273)

 Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.

 College students are in one of the most vulnerable age groups for sexual assault.

 In nine of 10 sexual assault cases, the victim knew the perpetrator.

 About four of 10 sexual assaults occur at the victim’s own home.

 Two in 10 sexual assaults occur in the home of a friend, neighbor or relative.

 One in 10 sexual assaults occur outside, away from home.

 About one in 12 sexual assaults occur in a parking garage.

 One out of six American women has been victimized by a completed or attempted rape in her lifetime.

 Victims of sexual assault often demonstrate self-destructive behaviors such as development of eating disorders, abuse of alcohol and/or drugs, chronic depression and attempted suicide.

 Approximately 75% of male college students and 55% of female students involved with acquaintance rape and sexual assault had been drinking at the time.

 On a national basis, the probability of a female college student being sexually assaulted over four years is approximately 25%.

 Most but not all sexual assaults are perpetrated by men against women.

 Rape is often referred to as “the most underreported violent crime in America.” According to the 1999 National Crime Victimization Survey, only 28% of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law enforcement officials-fewer than one in every three.

CAUGHT OFF GUARD

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The Coral Gables Police Department is actively investigating an attempted sexual battery that occurred at UM near the 6100 block of San Amaro Drive Monday, Oct. 14, between 7:30 and 8 p.m.

According to the official police report, a female student reported that she was attacked by a man who came up from behind and grabbed her as she was walking by the baseball stadium. The man then allegedly dragged the victim behind some bushes in an attempt to sexually assault her, but the victim physically resisted and was able to escape.

The man fled on foot and is described as a six-foot tall, heavy-set unshaven white male with short hair who was last seen wearing tan shorts and white sneakers.

According to Officer Martin Barros, a Coral Gables police spokesman, the woman suffered only minor injuries.

A sketch of the attacker’s tattooed hand was released to the public Friday afternoon.

It depicted a tribal tattoo and was posted in every residence hall and student union area and around classrooms and buildings throughout the UM campus.

“I really appreciate how the University has gone ahead and acted so quickly to this incident,” student Maria Rivera said. “I feel like all of these efforts will yield an eventual arrest of this scumbag and will prevent others like him from committing similar offenses.”

Despite the efforts taken by UM and local authorities, some students remain concerned.

“I have a class until 7:40 p.m. on Monday nights and usually walk to my car by myself,” sophomore Justine Rich said. “After the assault last week I’m not sure how I’ll go to my car. I don’t want to walk by myself.”

“I no longer feel safe at what I once considered my second home,” junior Natalie Gilinski said. “I now carry Mace wherever I go.”

“We urge all students to report any suspicious behavior immediately,” said Henry Christensen, director of public safety.

Some students feel the security on campus should be heightened to avoid potentially serious situations from ensuing.

“Our security guards on campus should spend less time giving parking tickets and more time patrolling the campus,” senior Stacey Goldman said.

“There should be security guards stationed on the pathways from classrooms to parking areas,” senior Amanda Goldberg said. “In addition, it seems as though extra security should be placed in the parking garages.”

Other students disagree.

“There is normally security by the baseball field where the attack occurred,” senior Tracy Aschenbrenner said. “That’s partly why I’m so shocked that this happened.”

Last March, Coral Gables police arrested an alleged serial rapist, Willie Rolle, who preyed on two UM students around the San Amaro Drive area in 1998 and other women in Coconut Grove and West Miami.

According to Dr. Pat Whitely, VP for student affairs, and representatives from public safety, the administration is working closely with public safety to increase the security around campus.

“I am working with the director of public safety [on this issue],” Whitely said. “Security has been increased and students are urged to use the security escort system.”

“We’ve extended the police patrols around campus,” Christensen said. “We’re stressing that students utilize the escort service and blue light phones around campus.”

Local authorities and administrators ask that students avoid going anywhere alone after dark.

“People need to be aware of what’s going on around them at all times,” Sgt. Raul Pedroso, Community Affairs Supervisor for the Coral Gables Police, said. “Don’t walk or run alone – go in pairs or groups and don’t let yourself be distracted by cell phones or head sets.”

“Many times people say that a little voice inside them was telling them that something wasn’t quite right,” Pedroso said. “Some people ignore it because they feel like they’re acting paranoid, but we must learn to listen to our instinct.”

“The area where the attack occurred is heavily traveled,” Pedroso said. “We are asking anyone who may have noticed a suspicious person or vehicle in the area to contact the local authorities immediately.”

According to Pedroso, anyone who provides any information that leads to the arrest and ultimate conviction of the attacker will be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 by calling Crimestoppers, an anonymous tip hotline that offers rewards for tips leading to an arrest.

Anyone with information regarding Monday night’s attempted rape is asked to call Detective C. Park of the Coral Gables Police at 305-460-5439 or Detective Ray Santiago at UM Public Safety at 305-284-1918 (office) or 305-753-5553 (cell).

You may also call Crimestoppers at 305-471-TIPS [8477].

To request a campus security escort, call 305-284-6666 or use one of the blue light security telephones located throughout the campus.

I Am the World Trade Center: The “80s high school prom” you never attended

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By the time I Am the World Trade Center took the stage at Revolver late Friday night/early Saturday morning, it was obvious that the sizable crowd was ready let the dance party begin.

Appealing to punk rockers and computer nerds alike, the duo of Dan Geller and Amy Dykes danced their way through a 40-minute set of New Wave-influenced music, making everyone feel like they were at an 80s high school prom that they never wanted to leave.

While the live show consisted of a bare keyboard, a mixer (played and operated by Dan Geller), and the vocals of Amy Dykes, the band successfully created an atmosphere that conducted as much energy as any rock band.

In fact, Dan Geller dreamt up the idea of I am the World Trade Center in the late 1990s as a solo project, but ultimately decided to add vocals in order to spice up live performances.

” In my head I had this vision of me on the stage with my laptop, and one day I thought ‘that would be really boring to watch. The vocals are something people can connect to with their heart, as well as with their head,” he said.

“What really happened is Dan was originally writing songs as instrumentals, and he had one song that had me singing on it, and everyone liked that song better,” Dykes counters.

Either way, both members agree that composing songs on laptop computers and performing them on a keyboard and a mixer makes their lives more organized and technologically savvy.

“I was just recently on tour with my other band and I wrote two songs in the car,” Geller said. ” And because writing is the same as recording, once a song is done, it is done.”

With the band’s creation coming prior to Sept. 11, 2001, their name’s recent taboo has unavoidably played a huge role in their existence in the past year. The two originally chose the name because the towers symbolized their romantic and professional relationship, which allowed them to exist as two separate entities, but also as one bonded unit. The band decided to shorten their name to I am the World until the conclusion of 2001.

“We kind of did that as a show of respect, like flying the flag at half mast,” Geller said. “We never really had an intention of changing it for good though.”

“We talked about it, and we would write down names, but it is kind of like changing your kid’s name,” added Dykes.

While there is no avoiding the initial second glance at the band’s name, with music reminiscent of New Order and song titles such as “Pretty Baby” and “Dancing Alone,” it is clear that there are no political motives involved.

By the time I Am the World Trade Center announced their last song, the stage was filled with dancing tambourine players and strips of confetti raced through the air. The dance party was clearly in full effect, and by its end the duo had rocked out hard enough to give their computers hangovers.

For more info visit www.kindercore.com.

Turner Sparks can be reached at turnersparx@hotmail.com.

Take a long, lasting toke from a real rock ‘n’ roll smoke:

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In the midst of the rock ‘n’ roll showground, Superdrag have skidded up and down the music industry mudslide, wafting from label to label, including a stint with major recording group Elektra, which propelled them to MTV status with their buzz video hit, “Sucked Out” in 1996. The song gave them early exposure to a vast fanbase that they might not have reached would they have stayed on indie labels their whole career. Besides, from their first EP in 1995 The Fabulous 8-Track Sound of Superdrag to their current release on Arena Rock Recording Company, Last Call for Vitriol, the band has coalesced euphonic melodies with punkish grittiness to create a distinct sound of pure, uncooked rock ‘n’ roll, whether they stayed on major labels or did their own thing. The new album is a motley brew of sound with songs that could have been picked out from each of their earlier works-lenient ballads, raw post-punk blasts and even alternative country tunes.

The group opens tonight for Guided By Voices in Fort Lauderdale at the Factory, so we caught up with frontman and multi-instrumentalist John Davis from his home in Knoxville, Tennessee, to give the Life & Art readers a more personal report on Superdrag.

Q: So you just put out a new album. What were you trying to do with this record in comparison to older ones?
SD: Well, this was the first album without any outside producers. We pretty much did everything ourselves. Our drummer Don did the majority of hands-on work, spending a lot of time in our smaller studio. We’ve made records in great expensive studios (like at Sound City where Nirvana’s Nevermind was recorded) with 30-feet-high ceilings, where the drums sound huge and Don wanted to get as close as possible to that kind of fidelity. We just didn’t want to be under the gun constantly and deal with the prerequisites of a big record company like Elektra. We wanted to take our time and make the album sound as good as records that we listen to in the van and that we think kick ass, like Dinosaur Jr. for example.

Q: How do you feel about the separation with Elektra? What was the problem?
SD: It can be complicated on a lot of levels. The biggest problem was that we were constantly writing songs, submitting 30-40 tracks just for one record, and then we’d sit around and wait indefinitely for a response. We couldn’t just not tour and not have a new album to support us. The indie level elevated our band to a new plateau of expectations. It was non-productive for us to stay with Elektra.

Q: Most journalists have described your group to have a Beatle-esque sound. What do you think about that?
SD: To a certain extent, we brought that onto ourselves. It’s kinda flattering actually. Don does play drums like Ringo but hits harder and Sam’s a real melodic bass player, but any time you got a rock band with two guitars and three guys singing, it’s gonna be Beatles influenced. On Vitriol, “Her Melancholy Tune” is lifted straight off of Revolver. There was a time when I was obsessed with the Beatles and knew all their records by heart.

Q: And so you seem to incorporate elements from older rock records and tangle them into your own sound. Besides the Beatles, where do you find inspiration for your music and why this retro feel?
SD: Well, there’s the untouchable pantheon of music from the 60s and I’m into bands like Big Star, My Bloody Valentine and The Replacements, a lot of mid-80’s post punk. We identify with records that were made 15-30 years ago, but we’re not really a retro band. There’s this good quote I once heard that goes, “You try to emulate your heroes’ bands, but you fuck it up enough to make it sound like your own.”

Q: What prompted you to add bassist Sam Powers to the band?
SD: We were in the middle of a pissing match with Elektra in ’99 and our old bassist Tom got fed up and just left. Don was responsible in finding a new guy and when Sam came along, he already knew all the songs, it was perfect. Plus we were fans of his old band Who Hit John.

Q: How was the recording process for the new album? Did it all go smoothly?
SD: Well, there was a shitload of drinking up to mid-way through the record. We were working 17-hour days, just boozing, not eating or sleeping, but eventually I had to stop and sober up.

Q: Why’s the record named Last Call for Vitriol?
SD: I guess it has a nice ring to it and has a drinking connotation, but there’s also a certain finality to it. It has something to do with what was going on with me personally at the time and with the fact that I sobered up. It was the last hurrah for me. (laughs)

Q: What do you think about the new rock hype with bands like the Strokes and the Hives, who wear matching mod suits on stage?
SD: There’s always a backlash whenever a buzz happens. Bands like that have to live up to that hype. The Hives walk on stage and say, “We’re your new favorite band,” but I’d like to see where they’ll be five years from now. About the dress thing, I don’t know how much latitude they’ll have to spread and do something different. The whole thing is very showbiz, very calculated. But the way the hype machine works is that next week, there’ll already be a new band. For us, it’s not like that. It’s more about longevity.

Omar Sommereyns can be reached at SOASIS@aol.com

Trick or Treat? We received Black Dice, Catheters, Madlib and a Q-tip

The Miami Hurricane
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Black Dice
Beaches & Canyons
****

We recently had an article about modernism in Life & Art. Before that, we covered last month’s GenArt exhibit – where an “artist” had chosen to tack napkins onto a display wall and call it “art.” Relax – it was art. However, there was no feeling inside – ambiguous, clever conclusions were fashionably absent. It left you with a blank stare and a creepy inner dissonance, because you simply shouldn’t comment on its non-artiness: down the free Heinekens a little faster as your brain loathes you. Unattentive listeners may site a similar observation about Black Dice, but I disagree. To me, this is what “modernism” sounds like.

Play “break the ice.” On the surface there are druggy caterpillars that represent pretentiousness. We can see them scattering about, so they exist (sans your current philosophy bent). You break the ice, they fall in, squirming inside the cold ocean, floating around – forming sad facial expressions. It seems genuine. Then you realize they are performing an everyday routine and yearn for you to enjoy it. Not just to enjoy it, but to “drown” right along with them. You finish your beer and jump in. It’s freezing, but you secretly prefer it that way. Addiction sets in, and you sink to the mysterious bottom, inertly wishing that you could stay there. On the sharp, rocky floor you come upon Black Dice.

Black Dice’s Beaches & Canyons is not an album you can love like London Calling. Play this in an automobile during heavy traffic and you’ll feel bizarre – out-of-place like a monkey. Listen to it while you’re pre-occupied – studying is (oddly) ideal. Each of the five epic tracks on Beaches & Canyons is laced with fringed vocals and/or chanting. Song two, “The Dream is Going Down”, comes on like a stone-washed heaven, then a baby’s whimpering interrupts the faux serenity and boils tension until it sounds like the definitive level of Max Payne (violent videogame). “Endless Happiness” spies on a middle school kid in his bedroom practicing the recorder, as UFOs hover down and shake the chimes on his family’s porch (like Signs overdosing on reality, minus box office buzz).

This is not music made solely for burnouts, nerds and glazed-eyed partiers (well…). Brooklyn’s Black Dice have composed an intelligent disc of infinite cinema-like modernism for the dome. It is a largely focused walkabout at dawn filled with guitar, percussion, water sounds, bass, screams, and peyote visions. You’re the dog – the music is the hoop. By the end of the umpteenth minute of track five, you’ll be doing hula-hoops. A must have for your music collection – downloading single tracks from Beaches and Canyons is pointless.

For more info visit www.dfarecords.com.

– HS

Yesterday’s New Quintet
Stevie
****

Most producers will only work with equipment in a “smoke free” studio – not this time. Yesterday’s New Quintet AKA rapper/producer Madlib (just to straighten things out, this is only one man) has been putting out albums from his “smoked out” studio, the Bomb Shelter, for well over a decade. With more than 70 (not a typo) under his belt, Madlib has decided that this effort should explore the “wonder” that is Stevie. These fourteen tracks are not just instrumental covers of Stevie Wonder’s recordings; instead, he does something with each song that is all his own (example: Wes Montgomery’s “A Day in the Life”).

Each of Madlib’s mental cohorts is given a chance for their own virtuosos throughout the disc: Joe McDuphrey, Monk Hughes, Malik Flavors, Ahmad Miller and Otis Jackson Jr. each get their “Place in the Sun.” If their names aren’t enough to spark some interest, maybe the epiphany that each song “they” play is originally composed by a mad, musical genius is. Seek this one out, whatever the expense.

For more info visit www.stonesthrow.com.

– SB

Doug Martsch
Now You Know
***1/2

This is the country blues album that will block those gargantuan asteroid bombs coming our way. At first, it was Beck’s Sea Change, but Doug Martsch of Built to Spill delivers the goods like a somber, honest milkman. It recognizes (indirectly) all of the strife happening in today’s world, but stays roosted in a personable location, playing the slide guitar with additional inspiration and meaning. To hell with expensive ties wrapped around necks of heads filled full of lies, let’s watch Lonesome Dove, think while the sun falls, and leave masculine boasting to the crickets.

“Now you should know by now, that it’s a small sound that holds you down,” sings Martsch on the first track, “Offer”. It is quaint advice, but carries significant weight in our time of acne-free glitter pop and artists/publicists who seem to have wolves’ eyes directed at the bleeding heart of music. Martsch references an old blues man named Mississippi Fred McDowell as his main influence for this album. Based on research, McDowell was a helluva slide guitar player, a diehard believer in the blues, and an equally diehard disbeliever in rock ‘n’ roll. Martsch’s respect for him as an artist is evident – he’s not sneaking a note into his guitar case and carrying it into the studio. This window to the past is clearly heartfelt and adds a desperate, wailing vibe. It stretches across his work here like a ghost – one who is not easily pleased, but tapping his foot just enough.

Martsch covers McDowell only once, on “Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind on Jesus), and the result sounds like Nirvana unplugged, if Kurt was running off of an extra large Powerbar and moderate optimism. It’s not a mark for the blackboard, but the lyrical push onto religious grounds is unnecessary, since it’s the sole time Martsch gives a literal sermon on humbleness.

Moments when he sings a line like, “Isn’t it amazing how everyone’s crazy about violence they can’t conceive…what’s in my heart is good enough for me…it was good enough for me,” are the true cake. It’s not being said by a wuss teenager in a garage, it’s being said by someone who feels lost in a world lusting for a scary mushroom clouded victory – whoever’s “side” it may be on.

For more info visit www.dougmartsch.com.

– HS

The Catheters
Static Delusions and Stone-Still Days
***

When you “forget” to leave your dorm room during one of the 62,113 fire drills throughout a given semester, sometimes you get a warning in your mailbox typed on extremely reddish orange paper, cheerfully resembling a flame. It tells you that fires and their cousins (said using Smokey Bear’s country accent) – fire drills – are nothing to giggle at. Refusal to leave the building may result in severe penalties, and/or having to utilize the “stop, drop and roll” technique with rare Ninja Gaiden-like precision.

This is nothing to be sarcastic about. It’s life and death, not life and 40 extra minutes of zzzz. But, let’s just say a slightly more-ignorant-than-usual batch of FSU Seminoles, trendy terrorists, or perhaps, half-ibis, half-man creatures took over campus and actually set it ablaze. What would you do, and more importantly, what band’s anthems would you want blasting out of UM’s PA speakers as you ran for your life?

Why, the Catheters silly. Residents of Seattle, Washington (rain), the Catheters bring the kind of thickly sooted rush that is achieved only when running at top flight and tripping carelessly, but purposely (for slow-mo guilty pleasure) on your untied shoe laces inside a scorching inferno. As you dash through scary hallways decorated with burning loose-leaf notebook paper and pom-poms, just let an oversized ibis mutant stop you with the Catheters as your fatalistic soundtrack. You’d drop kick him/it though a brick wall, run outside and French kiss those dewy eyed cheerleaders like the inner-jock you aren’t.

Static Delusions and Stone-Still Days cleans the sludge off of Unsane’s sound and slimes it all over Stone Temple Pilots (or, your “more legitimate” grunge [grunge?] band of yesteryears). Vocalist Brian Standeford is young but accomplished at churning his howls into dwindling screams. For a better gist, download “The Door Shuts Quickly” and “I Fall Easy.” By the way – avoid the last track, it’s cashed.

For more info visit www.thecatheters.com and www.subpop.com.

– HS

Q-tip
Kamaal: The Abstract (promo copy)
***

The fact that this album was scheduled for release over a year ago, only to receive the same fate as J-Live’s first album, should “q” you in that it’s far from mainstream. Using 1999’s Amplified as the sole reference point (Tribe’s days in the limelight are long gone, admit it), you might expect a very flaky album, but not so. Kamaal: The Abstract is as rich as Twinkie filling, without having to chew through a spongy coating to get into it. From the first note (a slightly distorted guitar lick) there is no way to predict what’s coming next; by its last, it’s impossible not to know what Q-tip expected from the audience.

The laid back feel of this album does what songs (if you can even call them that) like “Vivrant Thing” and “End of Time” (feat. Korn) failed to do on Amplified – they let us relate. This album is a lot more about people than images. However much a listener likes to hear about other peoples’ dreams, nothing can ever compare to hearing about other people.

The enchanting loops on Kamaal, coupled with nice sax, trumpet and guitar solos, compliment Q-Tip’s voice. His lyrics are an asset to the song, instead of the weighty foundation. Rather than break this album down track-by-track, listen to the whole thing. After forty-some minutes, you’ll know a lot more about Q-tip (a man who sounds a lot like a friend that you’d want to have).

= SB

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