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November 14, 2000

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Stranger Pleads Guilty to Felony

By ryan | November 14, 2000

Timothy Stranger, the former TCAT bus driver who struck and killed a Cornell junior in March, pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide, a class E felony, in Tompkins County Court yesterday.

Stranger also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors: driving while abilities were impaired by drugs and operating a commercial motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

In his plea, Stranger admitted to consuming a six-pack of beer and smoking marijuana before beginning his shift that afternoon. He also acknowledged that he was intoxicated at the time of the accident.

Stranger’s bus struck Michelle Evans, 21, on March 16 while she was crossing the street at the corner of Wait and Thurston Avenues. According to passengers riding the bus at the time of the accident, the bus was filled beyond capacity, partially obstructing Stranger’s view of the intersection.

According to TCAT General Manager Rod Ghearing, TCAT terminated Stranger after tests indicated that he was driving under the influence of alcohol during the shift.

Ghearing had no comment on the details of yesterday’s plea, due to “pending civil action.”

The Tompkins County District Attorney originally had charged Stranger with five counts: operating a commercial vehicle with a blood alcohol content between .04 and .07 percent, operating a commercial vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, operating a bus with passengers forward of the standing line, failing to use due care to a pedestrian and operating a bus within six hours of consuming an intoxicating liquor or drug.

Stranger is currently free on his own recognizance. His next court appearance will be his sentencing, set for Jan. 3. The maximum sentence he can receive is 16 months to four years, but jail time is not mandatory for any of the crimes to which he pleaded guilty.

“The prosecution indicated at the plea that it will recommend a sentence of one year local incarceration,” according to the District Attorney’s office.

The University, a partial owner of TCAT, had no comment on Stranger’s decision to plead guilty.

Archived article by Maggie Frank

Related

S.A. Holds Forum on Student Activities Fee

By ryan November 15, 2000

The Student Assembly appropriations committee held a small forum last night to talk about the process of allocating the Student Activities Fee. Every other year, the S.A. appoints an appropriations committee to recommend how to divide the activities fee among 15 to 20 student organizations. The committee sets the fee for each student based on these appropriation decisions. The next cycle of decisions will begin in September 2001. Executive members of many student-run organizations attended the meeting to voice their concerns over the way funds are meted out. “The process has never been the same more than once,” said Antoine Asseraf ’01, vice president of public relations for the International Students Programming Board. “It keeps changing every two years,” he added. The organizations funded by the activities fee include ISPB, Cornell Concert Commission, Cornell University Programming Board and the Slope Fest planning committee, as well as about a dozen other campus organizations. Members of the student groups questioned the way that the S.A. chooses appropriations committee members. “The composition of the committee has been lopsided [in its members’ political views],” said Matthew Galin ’01, S.A. executive vice-president from 1998 to 1999. He added that the committee would be more effective “if it was comprised of a lot more cross-sectional group [of students].” Michael J. Hanson ’01, who served as the S.A. vice-president of finance from 1999 to 2000, during the last cycle of appropriations, explained how the S.A. selects the committee. “It goes back to who was at the [selection] meeting in May,” Hanson said. Only about six of the 18 S.A. members attended the May meeting to choose members of the appropriations committee, Hanson said. Attendance at the selection meeting is not mandatory for assembly members. As a result, according to a report on the process written by Hanson, there were “accusations of bias and dereliction of duty and general discontent.” “[The committee] had their agenda; they were not going to spend money,” said Joycelyn Getgen ’00, former president of the Slope Fest planning committee. However, in the eyes of some of those present at the forum, “the committee had no power” in last year’s process, as Getgen commented. “It’s an advisory position,” she said. “They felt they had the decision-making power, and then they didn’t, and they got angry about that.” The appropriations committee was criticized for recommending spending very little on student services and activities. Hanson described it this way: “They would say, ‘You wanna spend money? No. Alright.” However, the S.A. later disregarded most of the committee’s recommendations to deny funding to particular groups. According to Hanson’s report, the committee made 50 recommendations. The S.A., which has final decision-making power, agreed to only 23 of them. The assembly usually decided to grant or increase funding when the committee had determined to withhold it. “Some members were extremely concerned [with politics] to the degree that political ideologies controlled decisions on the Student Activities Fee,” Hanson’s report stated. These concerns caused some of those in the audience to suggest disbanding the committee altogether. Others suggested that applicants disclose their political orientation. “There might be an interview process for the appropriations committee,” Hanson said. Some audience members also felt that the S.A. was not well-informed about the various organizations who request a cut of the student activities fee. “They have their idea about what the group does, but very little info,” Asseraf said. Some felt that it was therefore unfair to have to justify their eligibility for funding when they had been funded by the activities fee in the past. Currently, the first step in the process is to appear in front of the appropriations committee and explain why the group should be eligible for funding. “We shouldn’t have to justify our existence,” said CUPB president Craig Koester ’01. “Having the committee does deepen the conversation [over allocation] among S.A. members,” said an audience member. Hanson hoped that the new committee would “get some idea [for changes in the appropriations process] that is both fair and accountable.” Current V.P. of Finance Kira Moriah ’03 hoped that the committee would have a resolution proposing changes to the process for the S.A.’s consideration by March or April. Though this year’s committee will set the rules for next year, the assembly will appoint next year’s committee this May during review week. “[The 2001-2002 committee] will get whatever [procedure] we decide,” Moriah said. Archived article by Maggie Frank
Victory Club Tradition Lives On

By ryan November 15, 2000

The Alpha Delta Phi fraternity will continue its long-standing tradition this Saturday, Nov.18, as it hosts what Playboy Magazine once rated the best party in the Ivy League. An ongoing tradition for over 70 years, the Victory Club Charity Ball is an event geared towards furthering the involvement of Cornell’s Greek system in the Ithaca community. The charity ball “is a night of dancing, gambling and partying,” according to Ben Heinz ’03, assistant chair of Victory Club. The Victory Club event has raised varying amounts of money in the past, from approximately $800 in 1986-1987 to over $10,000 in 1988-1989. The money has been donated to different projects and charities in the Ithaca community. Proceeds this year will go to the Ithaca Fire Department. The On-site Volunteers, a student-run non-profit agency that recently initiated the Greek Challenge, will aid Alpha Delta Phi in the staffing and organization of the event. “We started the Greek Challenge as an initiative to get the Greek system involved in philanthropy and to promote them in taking an interest in the community,” said Kyle Youngquist ’02, Onsite’s director of agency relations. Onsite hopes to raise $10,000 and 30,000 hours of community service from the Greek community, he said. In addition to earning money for charity, the organizers have some other goals in mind. “The event is open to anyone in the community. We hope that students and faculty alike will come out and have a wonderful time. It will be an exciting night of music, dancing and philanthropy, and we’re looking forward to it,” said Tom Chandy ’02, Victory Club chair. According to Victory Club co-chair August Roth ’01, “The Victory Club goes as far back as World War I, when the members of the fraternity organized a club to raise money for allied war bonds.” The initial prosperity of the club halted in 1919 due to Prohibition. “After it was driven underground, Victory Club flourished as a speakeasy and developed its present extravagant character during those roaring 1920s,” Heinz said. “It finally reemerged in the 1970s with a legal gambling license and has varied in size, frequency and exclusiveness over the past 70 years.” Tickets for this black-tie event are on-sale at the Straight box office and are $60 for couples and $35 for singles. The price includes a limousine to the event, food, music and entertainment, which will consist of two live bands and two a capella groups.Archived article by Aylin Tanyeri