Flashback: February 1997

Straight's President receives death threats

The Digital Collegian at Penn State
Thursday, Feb. 20, 1997

STRAIGHT's leader receives death threats
By KERRYLEE NADEAU
Collegian Staff Writer

Livio and Charlotte Loccarini did not expect to receive death threats because of something their son Darin had done. This week, they did.


The Loccarinis, whose son Darin Loccarini is president of Students Reinforcing Adherence in General Heterosexual Tradition (STRAIGHT), received a phone call from a woman who identified herself as a lesbian and said, 'your son is dead,' they said. Now, Charlotte Loccarini is afraid for her son's safety.


"I hope that he looks under his car for a bomb," she said. "There are a lot of crazies out there."


Duane Gildea, political co-director of The Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Student Alliance, said he is "floored" by this event and wonders what he can do put a stop to the prevailing negative attitudes.


"Myself and LGBSA abhor violence and the threat of violence in all forms," he said. "I don't believe anyone on either side of this would stoop so low as to call someone's parents."


Darin Loccarini is grateful to Gildea for speaking out against the threat of violence.


"I'm very, very respectful for Duane for doing that," he said. "We agree that any type of act like that is intolerable. It is OK not to tolerate death threats and violence."


While Darin Loccarini does not tolerate the threat of violence, he said it does not bother him because he sees it as just a threat.


"The threats don't bother me at all because it's only been one so far," he said. "I don't expect anyone is going to act on it . . . and chances are the person is going to learn what's really going on at Penn State."


The Loccarinis first became aware of their son's intention to form STRAIGHT this past Fall Semester when they visited the University for a football game. Since then, they had not heard anything more about it -- until now.


"I really didn't know that's what he wanted to do until I read one of the (Penn State) papers," Charlotte Loccarini said.


Despite the death threat, Charlotte Loccarini said she is proud of Darin. She said she is just afraid someone will try to hurt him.


"I'm actually very proud of him," she said. "I hope some crazy nut doesn't try to harm him."


The Loccarinis have also received positive calls about what their son is trying to accomplish with his pro-heterosexual organization. Four positive phone calls have been made to the family, and people stopped their cars outside the Loccarini residence in Palmer Township in support of his son, Livio Loccarini said.


"One fella from New Jersey wants to send him money to help him out," Livio Loccarini said. "I hope he doesn't get involved with that."


Although Livio Loccarini is proud of his son, he said, the situation has been blown out of proportion.


"This thing is getting really blown up," he said. "I wish it would stop. He's buddies with a lot of gays and lesbians. He says let them do their thing and he just wants to do his thing."


Livio Loccarini said he is not exactly sure what his son is trying to do, but he supports his campaign to get his organization funded by the University's $25 Student Activity Fund.


"I feel like (Darin) does," he said. "If gays and lesbians can get money to support their group, why can't Darin?"


However, Livio Loccarini said he does not know what would occur during STRAIGHT's meetings.


The family has been contacted by several media outlets, including "The Jerry Springer Show." Darin Loccarini's mother said she would be proud to see her son on TV.


"As far as him being on any talk show, I'd be very proud," she said. "But I want him to know it's not all peaches and cream."

Caw! Caw! The Crow has landed.

The_cRoW has landed. The_cRoW has landed.

Chicken Little: The Sky Is Falling! The Sky Is Falling!

Once again, excellent title. And the perch that has been taken here seems to show some people's true feathers.

According to CNN, the recent tragedies in Iraq by certain extremist elements has united Iraqis stronger than ever.

In a dramatic show of solidarity, Iraq's leaders from virtually all political factions met Saturday to discuss the formation of a national unity government.

The meeting included representatives of the Iraqi Accord Front, which had announced a boycott of national unity talks following violent reprisals against Sunnis.

The gathering, televised live on Iraqi TV, included Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, President Jalal Talabani and former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. Also attending was U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad.

Bolstering the show of unity were Shiite and Sunni religious and political leaders who met earlier in an effort to promote peace. They included representatives of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the Association of Muslim Scholars and the Iraqi Accord Front.

In separate phone calls, U.S. President George W. Bush pledged support to seven prominent Iraqis -- including al-Jaafari and Talabani -- for their leadership in the aftermath of the Golden Mosque bombing this week, said National Security Council spokesman Frederick Jones.

The attack Wednesday on the Al-Askariya "Golden" Mosque in Samarra, considered one of the holiest of Shiite sites, has triggered reprisals across Iraq, including the killings of Sunnis, attacks on their mosques and mass protests.

The office of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, said Bush also called him expressing sorrow and "affirmed America's support in rebuilding the mosque."

On Friday, al-Hakim, a top Shiite political figure, joined the top Shiite cleric in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in urging Iraqis to remain calm and unite against extremists.

Has the liberal media been duped again?

According to someone involved in Iraq (as opposed to some chicken perched at his desk here in the good ol' USA), this is not a precursor for civil war, despite numerous media headlines stating a contrary position to this fact.

To prevent sectarian violence from spiraling into civil war, authorities imposed an extended curfew Saturday. Nonetheless, at least 25 people were killed, including nearly a dozen members of a family believed to be Shiite.

No comprehensive death toll has been given since the violence erupted Wednesday, but at least 200 deaths have been officially reported, and CNN has learned of more. There have been more than 100 attacks on Sunni mosques and institutions.

Despite the violence, U.S. Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch insisted Saturday that it has not been widespread.

"Let me be clear. There have been pockets of violence, but we don't see that as a precursor to civil war," he said at a news conference.

The tallies of casualties and attacks Lynch provided were lower than those reported by the media. But the general said insurgents often overstate such numbers to give the impression that their efforts are more effective than they really are.

What makes this news story so special? We've known for years about Iraqi resistance and insurgencies that have targetted, attacked and killed people in Iraq - even the U.N. buildings and personnel there. We've known that they've attacked mosques and even used them as storage facilities for weapons. What makes these extremist attacks any different than ones before it?

It's almost as if some people just want to let the terrorists win, ignoring common sense and the reality of a war that has been legitimately deemed necessary by the duly-elected President of the United States.

After all, look who is suspected of being behind the attack. Al-Qaeda.

"Once we get past the immediate repercussions of yesterday's violence, we will see things stabilize again," said Robert Ford, political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Penn State and Temple getting sued

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/13935952.htm

Posted on Wed, Feb. 22, 2006

PSU limits free speech, suit claims
By KATHY MATHESON
Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Temple and Penn State universities are suppressing students' free speech rights through vaguely worded behavioral policies that should be abolished, according to a pair of lawsuits filed Wednesday in federal court.

Penn State has "an Orwellian speech code" that stifles discussion of controversial views and encourages students to report acts of "intolerance" to the university, sophomore Alfred Fluehr contends in his suit.

Temple subjected graduate student Christian DeJohn to "a campaign of retribution and retaliation" because his views on the Iraq war clashed with those of his professors, DeJohn's lawsuit says.

The complaints, which also seek unspecified monetary damages, were filed by attorneys for the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group based in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Temple does not comment on pending litigation, said spokesman Ray Betzner.

A Penn State spokesman denied any violation of the Constitution.

"Penn State doesn't have a speech code and we don't know why someone would claim that we do," said university spokesman Tysen Kendig. "Speech is clearly protected by the First Amendment."

Alliance Defense Fund lawyer David French said Penn State might not call its regulations a "speech code," but the practical effect is to limit expression.

Penn State's student guide forbids any act of "intolerance," which includes "an attitude, feeling, or belief wherein an individual behaves with contempt for other individuals or groups," according to the lawsuit.

The broad policy causes Fluehr, a political science major, to "self-censor" his conservative views because someone might perceive them as intolerant, French said.

Fluehr's suit names the university and its president, Graham Spanier, as defendants.

The Temple suit -- which names the university, president David Adamany and professors Richard Immerman and Gregory Urwin as defendants -- contends DeJohn was denied his master's degree in history because of his support for the military.

The complaint seeks to grant DeJohn, a National Guard member, his degree. It also seeks to eliminate what it contends is an overly broad policy on sexual harassment at the school, though DeJohn has never been accused of that.

DeJohn was one of a small number of students who aired their complaints last month before a state legislative panel investigating whether Pennsylvania's public colleges and universities are hospitable to divergent intellectual and political views.

At the time, Immerman and Urwin testified DeJohn's academic troubles were based on educational issues and not his military views.

Six things more interesting to write about?

1) Gigantopithicus. Real evidence of a documented Bigfoot-like creature.



2) The Antikythera Mechanism

Humans had computers 2,000 years ago.

Wikipedia - the Antikythera Mechanism

3) The Ten Commandments widely known as the Ten Commandments are not necessarily the Ten Commandments.

Which Ten Commandments?

4) The original Bill of Rights contains twelve rights.

The first two did not make it into the Constitution. Later, the second proposed Bill of Right was ratified as the 27th Amendment to the Constitution.

Full text of the twelve rights in the original, ratified copy of the Bill of Rights.

Scanned copy of the original Bill of Rights.

5) Nazi's and Ba'athists have close ties in history

Close ties of Al-Qaeda and Nazis

6) The number of the beast in Revelation (the final chapter of the Bible) is probably "616", not "666".

It doesn't take much to come up with things more interesting than the weekly column we've had to endure here in Lancaster for far too long?