Photo by - Danny Holland Student Government Assembly President Brotha Seku reacts to Judicial Officer Elyse Yamauchi's (far left) decision to ban the press from Seku's expulsion hearing Feb. 28. After Seku consented to make the hearing public, Yamauchi called the campus police to remove Metropolitan reporters and a photographer. Cenythia Green (middle left) is Seku’s spokeswoman.

Metro judicial officials elected to suspend Student Government Assembly President, Brotha Seku (Stephan Evans) Feb. 28, for five violations of the student conduct code, including not adhering to the terms of his probation agreement, according to his spokeswoman..

“He was suspended and was over-nighted the paperwork telling him he was suspended until 2004,” said Evans’ spokeswoman, Cenythia Green. “They’re (the administration) going to paint him as an uncontrollable person.”

Student Judicial Officer Elyse Yamauchi said, by law, she is not permitted to comment on the hearing or its outcome because she is required to protect the rights and privacy of all students involved.

Photo by - Danny Holland Files in hand, Brotha Seku enters Sigi's Caberet, for his expulsion hearing Feb. 28.

Following several complaints that he had exhibited intimidating behavior during meetings and repeatedly violated the student conduct code, Seku signed a document that placed him on probation Aug. 23, 2002, for one academic year.

On Nov. 21, 2002, Joanna Dueñas, SGA advisor and assistant dean of Student Life, wrote a letter to Seku, expressing her concern about his repeated disregard for rules and procedures of the college.

She said that she and Seku had met several times to discuss a variety of matters ranging from unauthorized use of purchase-orders, to loss of motor pool privileges.

Dueñas also said to Seku in the letter, “You have expressed that you find the rules cumbersome and ‘bureaucratic mumbo jumbo’, but as an elected official of SGA and employee of the college, you are held to the same standards and rules of all employees.”

Dueñas forwarded the letter to Yamauchi.

On Jan. 18, 2003, Julius Muhammad, former SGA vice president of communications, wrote a letter to Yamauchi filing a formal complaint against Seku.

Muhammad said Seku denied his request to put the Nation Of Islam Student Organization (NOI SO) on SGA’s agenda. 

He also said upon his request, Seku was verbally and physically abusive toward him, and Seku said he would not put the NOI SO on the agenda because it was nothing but “bull s—-”.

Photo by - Danny Holland Former vice president of communications, Julius Mohammad, sits during Brotha Seku’s judicial hearing. Mohammad accused Seku of verbal abuse and physical abuse which was one of the many reasons for Seku's hearing.

A judicial hearing on the charges against Seku was scheduled for Feb. 14, 2003.  Seku said during the hearing, the administration repeatedly violated rules and regulations regarding judicial process outlined in the student conduct code.

The hearing lasted several hours, yet no sanctions were imposed and the meeting was scheduled for continuance Feb. 28, 2003.

Seku attempted to have the hearing rescheduled for sometime after March 3, 2003, when his attorney could be free to represent him.

Since Seku’s lawyer was not available to represent him, Joseph Sandoval, chairman of the criminal justice department at Metro, was appointed as an adviser. Seku also brought Green to represent him.

Green said the administration never listened to any of the witnesses. No witnesses were actually called at the hearing.

“Seku was not allowed to tell his side of the story,” Green said.

Sandoval said, “I don’t know that he (Seku) had a fair trial.  I do know that he did not have the opportunity to give his full version of the details surrounding the charges.”

Seku said he wanted the hearing to be public; in fact, he waived his right to privacy so everyone could attend.

The administration denied his request for the hearing to be public in order to protect the privacy rights of students.

Seku said the administration was trying to create excuses because they were getting ready to be found out.

Green said the administration reasoned that they need to protect the rights of Muhammad, the student who filed charges.

“The accusations are so minute in terms of the effect that it has on the actual person who filed the charges,” Green said. “It’s the bigger picture – it’s about him (Seku) challenging the administration.  His whole tenure as president has been nothing but challenges where this administration does not want to give out information or explain themselves.  It’s, ‘Shut up and do as I say,’ and that was their mentality today.”

Duenas refused to comment because she said she is also obligated to protect the rights of all students involved.

Seku said, “I am gonna do my job. I am not a politician – I’m a no-limits soldier who stands for truth, who stands for justice, who stands for doing the right thing for the right reason, regardless of the consequences.”

Seku also said all of the accusations against him were distortions of the truth.

Muhammad felt the Jan. 18 display was inappropriate, especially since his child was present.

“Stephan Evans (Seku) continued to raise his voice in an intimidating, harassing manner. My child who is two began to cry out of fear,” Muhammad said.

Green said it is not over and they intend to take it to Federal Court.

“People need to see that this institution is the birthplace of hypocrisy,” Green said.

-additional reporting by Rami Wilder, Layle O. McFatridge, Chris Pilkington

Seku’s charges

A memo from Elyse Yamauchi, student judicial officer, stated the charges against Seku:

Charge #1: Article III.B.3, Physical abuse, verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment, coercion, and/or other conduct which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person.

Charge #2: Article III.B.8, Violation of published College policies, rules or regulations.

Charge #3: Article III.B.17, Abuse of the judicial system, including, but not limited to: h) failure to comply with the sanction(s) imposed under the Student Conduct Code.

Charge#4: Article III.B.6, Failure to comply with directions of College officials.

Charge #5: Violation of several conditions of probation in the signed document of August 23, 2002.
Headlines

The Metropolitan was denied access to Student Government President, Brotha Seku’s disciplinary hearing Feb. 28.

Student journalists were turned away by administrative Student Judicial Officer, Elyse Yamauchi in order to protect student’s rights under the Family Educational Right to Privacy Act (FERPA). She said the hearing was a closed meeting.

FERPA protects student’s rights to privacy regarding his or her educational record.

The FERPA-act states: if schools provide this information without the written consent of the students involved, they may lose federal funding.

“It’s such a complicated issue,” said Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center. “I don’t necessarily buy into the notion that FERPA actually prohibits access in any context. FERPA itself doesn’t really prevent anything.”

Seku gave The Metropolitan a document waiving his rights under FERPA.

The waiver said the student journalist from The Metropolitan may have access to any and all information requested regarding judicial hearings and matters related to testimony, evidence and audio-taped records.

Despite Seku’s written permission, reporters were refused admittance by Yamauchi.

Yamauchi would not comment because she said she was obligated to protect the privacy rights of students.

Yamauchi used FERPA and the student code of conduct pertaining to judicial hearings in order to prevent any media access and to protect the rights of any students involved in the meeting.

“The limitation here is exempt when the student disciplined here (wants) the proceedings open. When the student has waived those rights, there really isn’t any reason to close them (meetings),” said Goodman.  “This law is intended to protect the people from the plausible privacy issue in the proceedings themselves.”

Goodman said the dispute over access to the hearings, lies in confusion over what the interpretation of “educational record” means, and whether disciplinary hearings are covered.

 Metro’s attorney, Lee Combs, defended Yamauchi’s decision by stating that the open meeting law does not apply to the School Judiciary Board because it is a part of the administration, and they are not subject to the open meetings law.

“The open meeting law does not apply because the student judicial board is not a state, public body. It’s a matter of state law, not federal law,” Combs said.

 According to Title 24, Article 6 of the Colorado Sunshine Law, meetings such as a board, committee, or any governmental policy making group, are open to the public.

“Under state law, this process is not open, and as a matter of policy written into the student handbook,” Combs said. “As long as the statute reads as it does in Colorado, it is my opinion that those meetings are closed.  And by institutional policy, they’re closed as well.”

In addition to being denied access to the proceedings, the results of the hearing were withheld from The Metropolitan.

The 1998 revision of the FERPA-act states in the disclosure, subject to the requirements in §99.39, the institution must not disclose the results of disciplinary proceedings unless the accused student has committed a violation of the institution’s rules or policies.

“If the student gives his consent or his written permission there is no FERPA problem,” Goodman said.

According to Goodman, if a student waives their FERPA rights, the clause is automatically taken out of the equation because it only applies if the student specifically objects to the release of information.

“I would understand a lawyer that advocates the openness of the press would have his point of view,” Combs said in reference to Goodman’s statements. “So, until the institution changes its policy, or the state changes its law, those meetings are going to be closed.”

    North Carolina, Ohio, and Georgia are the only states in the nation that have had a court rule that a campus disciplinary board is a public body, open to their state’s open meeting laws.

            In a Student Press Law Center document about covering campus crimes, it states that no court has ever held that a campus court at a public school does not fall under the definition of a public body in the state open records law.
‘Until the institution changes its policy, or the state changes its law, those meetings are going to be closed.’

- Lee Combs, Metro general attorney
Headlines

A new Laptop Leasing Program will be available for financial aid-qualifying Metro students starting in either the summer or fall semester of 2003. The new program will allow students to use their financial-aid to pay $53.34 per month, to lease a laptop computer.

The program will begin with 50 Apple iBooks available for lease, and the $64,000 needed for purchasing laptops will be paid for by the information technology department and the Office of Student Services. For the first year of the program, operation and staffing costs will be donated by the Office of Student Activities and the Office of Student Publications.

“This program is a new concept,” said Jennifer Haight, assistant to the director of Student Activities. “There are no other models like it. We’re already almost a year into developing the program and we had to start from scratch.”

Photo illustration by - David Merrill Qualified Metro students will soon be able to lease laptop computers for $53.34 per month. The new program is sponsored by the Office of Student Activities and the Office of Student Publications.

As the program grows, older laptops will be available for lease at a cost of $15 to $20 per laptop, depending on its age.

The goal of the program, as stated in the Laptop Leasing Program Business Plan and Proposal, is to enhance student success by supplying cost-effective and state-of-the-art computer access for financial-aid dependant students. The program also strives to eliminate the digital divide, lessen demands on current and future computer labs and foster a technologically enriching educational experience.

The new program will offer many advantages to students, including free software upgrades, technical support and wireless benefits allowing students to have internet access in the most convenient locations around campus.

For Metro students like Sherrie Branigan, the new program is welcomed as a more convenient means to gain access to the technological opportunities on campus.

“I think this program is a good thing,” said Branigan, a sophomore majoring in communication arts. “Not everyone has a computer at home or can’t be here everyday to use the computer labs.”

For other Metro students, the thought of purchasing a new laptop is on their minds but not in their budgets.

“I would definitely consider leasing a laptop,” said Elzabieta Kosmicki, a sophomore majoring in photography. “I don’t have access to a computer at home, or the money to buy one.”

Eligibility requirements for the program state that, students must be enrolled in a minimum of six credit hours, demonstrate financial need, and qualify for financial aid.

In addition, qualifying students will be asked to submit a completed questionnaire containing their goals and academic status. Because only 50 laptops will be available for lease during the first year of the program, a three to five member committee will meet to determine which students qualify for the Laptop Leasing Program.

An orientation will be required for all students participating in the program.

The Laptop Leasing Program Business Plan and Proposal said, “Lease terms are for two years. Every semester students will need to check in with the program coordinator to confirm whether or not they choose to continue in the program. If a student chooses to opt out of the lease early, a minor penalty will be assessed.”

More planning and preparation are ahead for the program.

“Right now the potential is huge,” Haight said.
Headlines

On Feb. 22, Elizabeth Sentel, 23, an elementary education major at Metro, died from meningococcal meningitis.

According to Elizabeth’s boyfriend, Metro student Jesse Satery, 23, she started feeling ill on Thursday, Feb. 20. She was tired and said that her throat hurt.

That evening, she hung out with Satery and his roommate and everything seemed fine. She still wasn’t feeling well on Friday morning when she dropped Satery off at work. “I gave her a big hug and kiss and told her to feel better,” he said. “I talked to her at about 8:30 (p.m.) and she said that she was feeling a little better. She said that she was going to stay home and drink tea and that she’d see me tomorrow.”

That was the last time Satery talked to Elizabeth.

“She didn’t think she was that ill,” said her father, Michael Sentel. “We got her to the hospital and I still thought that they’d give her some medicine to make her all right.”

Elizabeth’s roommate drove her to her parent’s house in Morrison around 12:30 a.m.; her parents then took her to the hospital where she died Saturday at approximately 5:00 a.m.

Elizabeth, an avid athlete, enjoyed hiking, white-water rafting and anything to do with the mountains. She was on the all-conference track team in high school, and was described by her father as a “world-class soccer player.”

“She was never tired. The rest of us would be vegging but she was always going. She’d come and get me off of my recliner and we’d be off doing something,” Satery said. “She had the biggest heart in the world and she wasn’t afraid to use it.” He also said she would stop to talk to people on the street, and she was always giving money to the homeless, even though she didn’t have much to give.

“I’m going to miss her,” Satery said.

“She was very interested in helping people,” her father said. Once they graduated, she and her best friend were planning on traveling to Africa to teach children.

People who had close contact with Elizabeth have been treated with the antibiotic, Cipro, as a precautionary measure.

“This whole thing could have been prevented,” said Satery referring to the vaccine.

Meningococcal meningitis, also known as bacterial meningitis, is a contagious disease caused by bacteria that infect the fluid surrounding the spinal cord and brain. Bacterial meningitis can cause death within 8 to 24 hours from the onset of symptoms.

Representatives from the Auraria Health Center and the Metro Counseling Center spoke with students in both of Elizabeth’s classes about the possible health risks and the emotional impact of the situation.

“I think the whole campus kind of has their flag at half-mast,” said W. Michael Burgan, Ph.D., assistant director of Metro’s Counseling Center. According to Burgan, there has been “an incredible desire” for knowledge about bacterial meningitis from students on campus.

According to a study conducted in June of 2000, college students are at a slightly greater risk of contracting meningococcal meningitis than are noncollege-going people of the same age group. The risk is less, however, for students on commuter campuses such as Auraria.

The most at-risk group named in the study was college freshmen who live in dormitories. Cases of meningococcal disease occurred 9 to23 times more frequently in students living in dorms. 

“Universities ought to think about recommending that students get the vaccine; some require it,” Sentel said.

On September 30, 1997, the American College Health Association recommended that college students consider being vaccinated against meningococcal disease and that colleges and universities ensure that all students have access to a vaccination program.

Bacterial meningitis is spread by contact with secretions from the nose or throat of an infected person. None of the bacteria that cause meningitis are spread by casual contact, such as in a classroom setting.  

Symptoms of bacterial meningitis are: high fever, severe headache, back and/or neck ache, nausea, sensitivity to light, rash and confusion.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Jeffco Action Center. “It’s what Elizabeth would have wanted,” her father said.
Headlines

A bill passed Tuesday evening to be adopted on the May ballot proposes an annual increase of in property taxes dedicated earmarked to for a support program for the community’s developmentally disabled.

Denver City Council members unanimously decided that council bill 95 be submitted to the ballot at of the General Municipal Election on May 6.  The initiative will increase annual property taxes by approximately $ 6.5 million, for the services provided ,  to the developmentally disabled by Denver Options, Inc.., for the developmentally disabled, by approximately $ 6.5 million.

The tax increase would amount to $ 17 a year, or five cents a day, for each individual Denver taxpayer.

Dr. Stephen R. Block, executive director of Denver Options, said the program helps people identify the services they the disabled need and offers support for those everyday needs.  Denver Options’ mission statement declares that they help individuals with developmental disabilities to be independent, productive, and educated in the community.

Three percent of the children born in Denver have a mental disability and there is not enough funding from the community for the services Denver Options provides for these children, Block said.  The program should be able to help about 1,000 patients, however,but  because of poor funding, 800 adults remain on their waiting list, and only 272 people are provided care, Block said.

Families should be able to function as normally as possible in the community, and Denver Options helps keep families together, and children out of institutions, Block told council members before stepping down from the podium.
Headlines

Numerous thefts on campus

An Auraria Higher Education Center employee reported a theft at 2:32 p.m. Feb. 28. The theft occurred in the Administration Building. During an inventory of the Auraria Police Department’s communication hand-set portable radios, three were found missing. Stolen: Three Motorola portable radios each costing $3,000. There are no lead or suspects at this time.

Total Loss: 9,000.

An University of  Colorado at Denver student a reported theft Feb. 27 in Parking Lot C. The student reported that his Jeep Wrangler was broken into and his car CD player, car amplifier, and a CD were taken. The suspect broke into his car from the passenger side window, which was plastic. Stolen: Sony CD player, $300., car stereo amplifier, $500., CD, $15.,and coinage, $5. There are no leads or suspects at this time.

Total Loss: $820.

A student reported her handbag missing Feb.25. The student told police she accidentally left her bag in a South Classroom bathroom, when she returned to retrieve it, it was missing. Stolen: Handbag and contents, $110. There are no leads of suspects at this time.

Total Loss: $110.

Four reports of theft in Child Care Center

Four people reported their wallet or money stolen while in the Auraria Child Care Center Feb. 25. One woman reported her wallet stolen and the amount stolen including wallet and contents, $138. A student who was collecting money for Girl Scout cookies reported $25 missing from the envelope she was using to hold the collections. Another woman reported $22 missing from her wallet. Yet another woman reported $40 stolen from her wallet. All except for the student collecting for cookies had placed their belongings in a cubical in an open classroom. There are no lead or suspects at this time.

Campus Arrest

An Metro student was arrested on Feb. 25. The student was arrested on an outstanding warrant and issued a summons for public consumption and possession of marijuana.

- Andrea Terrones

News Brief

New communication portal available in fall

A web-based communications system, or portal, will be launched by Metro in fall 2003.

It will be possible for users to sign on once and use all campus applications — webmail, Banner and calendar.

The system will be customizable. It will be paid for by information technology student fees and cash reserves, according to the @Metro administrators’ newsletter.

The Metropolitan will have an extended story about the portal system in upcoming weeks.
Headlines