The Ithacan, 2004-09-02

OPINION Fair trade should be recognized by all, page 9 ACCE T KE Personal electronics isolate students, page 11 Volume 72, Number 2 Ithaca, N. Y. Thursday, September 2, 2004 Secret crunera found in clock BY ANNE K. WALTERS Editor in Chief time something like this has occurred in Ithaca. An Ithaca landlord accused of "It's kind of a wake-up call," he placing hidden cameras in tenants' said. "The potential of this happen bathrooms pied not guilty to unlaw ing is real." ful surveillance in Ithaca City Court In addition to the houses listed Wednesday. • above, Church also owns a house on A tenant at David A. Church's Honness Lane and manages proper property at 404 University Ave. dis ty at three other locations, he said. covered a hidden camera in her At the properties Church man bathroom Aug. 24. The Ithaca Po ages, police conducted searches at lice Department then searched the residents' requests, but found no ev property and others owned by idence of taping. Church, including 108 E. Yates St., The residents of the Yates Street where police found a second cam house include five Ithaca College stu era hidden in a clock radio across dents and a Cornell University stu from the shower. dent. Though no videotape of the cur Church faces a total of 10 counts rent residents has been found, the dis of unlawful surveillance under a 2003 covery of the camera has left them MEGHAN MAZELLA/THE ITHACAN state law that prohibits "the unlaw feeling violated, hurt and scared, the ATTORNEY JAMES BAKER, left, accompanies David A. Church, an Ithaca landlord, into the Ithaca City ful use or installation of an imaging women told The Ithacan. courthouse Wednesday. Church is accused of hiding cameras in the bathrooms of his tenants. device to surreptitiously view, Church spent time in jail in 1997 broadcast or record the intimate after threatening to publicize nude parts of a person," according to po photographs of his girlfriend. lice documents. Cornell University adminstra Victims struggle with ne'Ys Church's victims include Ithaca tors and counselors held a meeting College and Cornell University stu Tuesday with victims from both col dents who are current and past resi leges. Ithaca College will hold a sim Women search for ways to subside newfound fear dents of the apartments. City Court ilar meeting with students today, af Judge Judith A. Rossiter placed ter one of the victims contacted the Stunned, the women allowed the police to search Church on probation and issued full college. She expressed concern their apartment. Police found a small camera concealed "stay away" orders to protect the about a statement issued by President in a clock radio across from the shower. women. Following his arraignment, Peggy R. Williams. When a group of Ithaca College students began The housemates had examined the clock radio just both Chur<;h and his lawyer, James In the statement, Williams said: "I looking for a place to Jive last winter, they thought the night before to set the time and radio station. They Baker, declined to comment. am both saddened and angered that they had found the house of their dreams. It was an knew the clock did not belong to any of them, but In conversations with police, Ithaca College students are among old home on a quiet street, with a large living room weren't concerned by it and enjoyed having music Church admitted to having installed those who have been subjected to this and beautiful dark woodwork. But the beautiful house in the bathroom. The residents were shaken when the cameras and taped women at four alleged violation of their privacy.... has become a nightmare. they learned the radio was more than it seemed. addresses without their knowledge. The Ithaca College community will It is suddenly full of things that go bump in the The six housemates include five Ithaca College stu Church said he first watched in real · do everything it can to cooperate in night. A neighbor drops a pot next door and the dents and one Cornell University student. Police found time, but later made a video, ac this ongoing investigation. In the women jump. They become skittish and suspicious videotapes of several victims in Church's house, but cording to police reports. meantime, our students remain our when they hear a knock at the door. The gurgling though a camera was found in the Yates Street bath "I f--ked up. There's no excuse," chief priority, and we will support of the kitchen sink suddenly seems more sinister than room, police have not found a tape of the current res police documents quote Church as them in every way." before. idents. saying. Later in the document he is The student who called the pres When the doorbell rang at 7:30 a.m. on the first "I felt extremely violated," said Michelle, one of quoted as saying, "I owe an apolo ident's office explained, 'The reason day of classes last week, some residents of 108 E. the house's six residents, who spoke exclusively to The gy to those girls. What I did was I called was I read a quote from Peg Yates St. were still asleep. Their dream house was Ithacan and asked to be identified only by their first wrong. I betrayed their trust. gy Williams in the newspaper and it about to become just a memory. Two women scram names. "I didn't know exactly what to think or what They're people that pay me." hurt my feelings." She said she had bled down the stairs to find a police officer at their to feel, I just knew that I felt violated." Police Lt. Timothy A. Williams, not even received a note of reassur- door. Another of their landlord David A. Church's one of the officers investigating the . See COLLEGE, Page 4 tenants had found a hidden camera in her bathroom. See VICTIMIZED, Page 4 case, said he believes this is the first First-year reading falls flat Ordinance ammendment approved BY KATIE MASLANKA proximately 1,585 attended. ty initiative. Staff Writer "Living Downstream," which "I don't think there's any ques was chosen at the end of last year, tion about the fact that this is part Freshman Sara Alsaleh didn't is an examination of the effects of of a larger work that we' re doing want to look dumb in front of a environmental toxins on cancer as a community," he said. group of people she didn't know rates in towns throughout the But many freshmen found the very well. She hadn't gotten past United States. book too difficult to get through. the first sentence of San- The book was chosen Dan Tannenbaum, who read 106 dra Steingraber's "Liv because it raised the of the book's 288 pages, said try ing Downstream," this themes of civic re ing to dig through the technical in . year's first-year reading sponsibility and active formation presented in the book selection, so she opted not citizenship, said Peter was a struggle. He said he would to go to a discussion Bardaglio, provost have rather read a book with a group about the book as and vice-president of stronger story line and fewer part of Continuing Orien academic affairs. But straight facts. tation. this intention was not ''While we're here, we read Alsaleh wasn't the as clearly communi plenty of textbooks,"· he said. "But MEGHAN MAZELLA/THE ITHACAN only one. Attendance at cated as it could have not all of us have the pleasure of read ITHACA CITY ATTORNEY MARTIN LUSTER, Mayor Carolyn the discussion groups for been, he said: "The ing good stories." BARDAGLIO Peterson and City Clerk Julie Conley Holcomb listen to presenta this year's first-year larger message may But Tannenbaum still opted to go tions during the Wednesday night Common Council meeting. Last reading initiative was have been lost." to his discussion group, where only night the council approved propsed amendments to the noise drastically lower than last year. Far Bardaglio said the book also ordinance policy. See story page 4. fewer than half of the class of ap- tied to the college's sustainabili- See BOOK, Page 4 2 THE ITHACAN NEWS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 Nation & World Car bomb kills two Americans A powerful car bomb exploded at dusk Sun- • MOORE RESPONDS TO MCCAIN AT RNC day outside the downtown Kabul office of a U.S. ' security contracting firm and an adjacent ' building where Afghan police are trained. Of ficials said at least four people were killed, at least two of whom were Americans. The blast, which engulfed the police facili ty in flames, shattered office and store windows for three blocks in all directions. It was the dead NEWS BRIEFS AND LOCAi. EVENTS liest bomb to strike this rapidly developing post war capital in two years, and it came days be fore campaigning began for the country's first ever presidential elections in October. The Republican National Con Extremist Islamic groups have vowed to dis vention turned Tuesday from ac rupt the elections through violence, and within centing strength to emphasizing op two hours of the explosion, purported spokes portunity, and compassion. men for the Taliban Islamic militia had As Arnold Schwarzenegger claimed responsibility for the bomb attack in presented his improbable life sto telephone calls to two news agencies. ry, the rise from immigrant body The office of President Hamid Karzai issued builder to movie star to California a statement Sunday night saying the blast had governor, he stood as an embodi killed seven people: two Americans, three · ment of the GOP and its ideals.

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