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Florida International University FIU Digital Commons The aP nther Press (formerly The Beacon) Special Collections and University Archives 9-10-2014 The Beacon, September 10, 2014 Florida International University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/student_newspaper Recommended Citation Florida International University, "The Beacon, September 10, 2014" (2014). The Panther Press (formerly The Beacon). 778. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/student_newspaper/778 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the Special Collections and University Archives at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in The aP nther Press (formerly The Beacon) by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Forum for Free Student Expression at Florida International University One copy per person. Additional copies are 25 cents. Vol. 26, Issue 13 fiusm.com Wednesday, September 10, 2014 BANG BANG Police hold M16 rifles, armored vehicle for emergencies DIEGO SALDAÑA-ROJAS/THE BEACON The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Gator pictured above that the University Police acquired can withstand ballistic rounds, land mines and improvised explosive devices. RAUL HERRERA Ediberto Román, professor at the Univer- ations where police can be closer to the action, Staff Writer sity College of Law. “I believe there have been like when they need to supervise football games, [email protected] suggestions of proposed legislation in Congress The $2,500 MRAP would only be used in to question the distribution of current and former We would never blur those two extraordinary instances, such as hurricane relief, How to respond to a disaster is what Univer- military equipment to local police forces.” active shooter incidents, flooding or fire rescue lines—we’re not running around sity police considers when raising arms, but The FIU Police Department obtained the incidents. national incidents have made others skeptical. MRAP and rifles through the Law Enforce- with those rifles strapped to our Jose Reyes, a freshman engineering major, The FIU Police Department purchased 50 ment Support Office Program, which is part of backs. thought that having an MRAP on campus in case M16 rifles in the last couple of years and recently the Department of Defense’s 1033 initiative that of hurricanes or floods was a good idea. acquired a small Mine Resistant Ambush helps dispose of the surplus military equipment Alexander Casa “I think it’s good,” he said, “it’s for our safety Protected vehicle and a mobile command bus. by giving it up to local law enforcement. Police Chief and protection.” These new purchases are to better improve This initiative was developed through the FIU Police Department With a growing student population of over in campus safety in everything from an active National Defense Authorization Acts of 1990 54,000, Román can understand the possibility shooter to disaster recovery, said University and 1996 to better equip the police for the “war of an incident and preparing for it, but thinks the Police Chief Alex Casas. on drugs” and the “war on crime.” University is going about it the wrong way. Reports of the FIUPD’s purchases came after Román said he wasn’t sure if the purchases Krystal Zheng, freshman communications the deployment of similar armed vehicles by law were necessary for the University. ualized attack as opposed to almost an armed major, said she was concerned with having these enforcement in response to the civil unrest in “I find it to be a fairly safe campus,” he said. conflict type preparation.” sort of weapons around. Ferguson, Miss. “I would hope [funds] would have been used to While the $2,000 mobile command bus “I think the timing is less than ideal,” said insure an alert system for the isolated, individ- would be as a mini-command center for oper- SEE MILITARY, PAGE 2 New app, the creation Physics professor records of an FIU graduate his own studio album BRYAN PALACIO have a master’s in physics classical lessons becoming KRONO LESCANO anonymously express what’s on their minds Assistant News Director and a Ph.D. in astronomy. a much better guitarist and Contributing Writer and what’s happening at places around them. [email protected] “I became interested in started performing here on [email protected] The idea came when Francis, 29, and music at a really young campus on a weekly basis.” Chan, 28, kept getting home from bars and Nestled amid a half- age. I was around in the Meet James Webb, There’s a new app out for smartphones clubs with tons of great photos, but “you empty Barnes and Noble sixties during the Beatles professor of Physics, and it’s the creation of a recent FIU graduate would just never put them on Instagram,” cafe, musician James Webb Invasion,” said Webb. director of the Stocker and his two friends. said Francis. has his weekly Wednesday “I’ve been playing the AstroScience Center and Alum Brian Summers, along with evening performance. guitar for probably most of Michael Francis and Geoffrey Chan have SEE APP, PAGE 2 But he isn’t just a musi- my life— probably about SEE ALBUM, PAGE 2 created ShareWhere, an app in which people cian. He also happens to 50 years. I recently took 2 The Beacon – Wednesday, September 10, 2014 NEWS fiusm.com NATION & WORLD Police hold rifles, armored BRIEFS vehicle for emergencies Obama denies political motive in delaying action on immigration MILITARY, PAGE 1 high amount of students moving about, or with the new equipment. exposed. Despite the skepticism among the President Barack Obama said Sunday that he did not The worst that could happen between “We don’t patrol in the MRAP,” Casas purchase of the M16 rifles and the MRAP, postpone his highly anticipated executive actions on immi- students, she said, is a fight, and if there is said. “We have it tucked away—I hope I Casas said that the new equipment will gration because of November’s congressional elections, but ever a shooter on campus, the police can never have to use it.” better improve on-campus safety. because he wanted to build support for his plan. “It’s going handle it without an MRAP. Casas said that University police offi- “I understand the perception, but I to be more sustainable and more effective if the public “I think it’s too much”, she said. “It’s cers are being trained to use the MRAP, got to tell you, from the law enforcement understands what the facts are on immigration,” Obama kind of scary.” and the semi-automatic M16s are all perspective, we knew exactly what they said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Zheng also wondered how the police customized for each officer according to were to be used for, we would never blur department would keep the MRAP from specifications of sights. those two lines,” he said in reference to Syrian rebels lament lack of weap- falling into the wrong hands. FIUPD also cooperates with outside the boundary between police and military onry from U.S. However, Casas said the MRAP won’t law enforcement and, according to Casas, actions. “We’re not running around with be used around campus when there is a they do so quickly and more efficiently those rifles strapped to our backs.” Islamic State’s recent advances in northern and eastern Syria have added urgency to the question of delivering new arms to Syrian rebels, to help combat an extremist group now seen as a significant international threat. But the firepower supplied by Professor is musically inclined the West has proved inadequate, and so has the pace of supply. As the U.S. considers the possibility of ALBUM, PAGE 1 Dance records and Grammy nomi- He plans on mainly sharing it launching airstrikes in Syria against the Al Qaeda nations. He has also worked with with the planetariums and science breakaway group Islamic State, President Obama Grammy winning artists like Stevie centers hoping it may inspire guests this week emphasized the need to more effectively member of the Board of Directors Nicks, Ricky Martin and Andres and listeners to do their own space support moderate rebels in Syria. for the Southeastern Association for Cepeda. exploration. Research in Astronomy. Webb and Morrison connected “What I would really like is get Attacks threaten Ukraine cease-fire as Growing up, it wasn’t just Carl instantly and Morrison offered to it out to a wide variety of people so two sides trade accusations Sagan that he idolized; he also was produce the entire album as a joint they can hear the message and get inspired by artists like Eric Clapton, project. But the joint adventure wasn’t them thinking. It can actually have A 2-day-old cease-fire between pro-Russia separat- Carlos Santana, and George Harrison. so easy for Webb. Never having any science and come out good,” Webb ists and Ukrainian government troops was violated several Fulfilling another childhood professional voice training or studio said. times early Sunday as Ukrainian positions were bombarded with artillery and missile fire. dream of becoming a performer, he time, he had to learn what it takes to “It’ll be like normal music, but The barrage, which began shortly after midnight, never imagined that his side-gigs make a professional album the hard instead of ‘I love you,’ it’ll say, ‘I destroyed a gas station near a checkpoint on the outskirts of on campus would ever lead him to way. want to understand the universe.’” Mariupol. In another violent incident, unknown attackers recording his first studio album, “Being a studio musician is very “Reaching for the Stars” may with automatic weapons fired on a car in the city’s center “Reaching for the Stars.” different,” said Webb.