Medication caused student death, autopsy says
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (U-WIRE) - The Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's Office released the autopsy results on Monday for Kristi Anne Sprecher, who was found dead in her West Quad Residence Hall room at the University of Michigan on Sept. 6.
The coroners determined that a complication with medications caused her death.
Medical Examiner Office Manager Donna Tokarczyk said Sprecher died of medication toxicity, which occurs when a person taking multiple medications consumes too much of one or more of them.
Sprecher's father, David Sprecher, said she had Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disease.
The disease results in weakness and sometimes excessive flexibility of the connective tissues of the body, such as the skin, muscles, tendons and ligaments.
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Panel points students at NYU against Solomon
NEW YORK (U-WIRE) - A panel of four legal experts urged law students Tuesday to protest military recruiters on campus, supporting legal action New York University has joined against a controversial law that cuts funding from schools that restrict access to the recruiters.
The panelists analyzed the Solomon Amendment, a federal law passed in 1995 and named after the late U.S. Rep. Gerald Solomon, R-N.Y. The military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy runs afoul of a non-discrimination standard many colleges, including NYU, set for recruiters.
Members of the NYU group OUTLaw plan to gather inside Furman Hall to protest Navy Judge Advocate General recruiters when they come to the law school Oct. 15.
UC-Boulder fraternity awaits decision on fate
BOULDER, Colo. ( U-WIRE) - There have been nearly 60 calls for police services to the Chi Psi fraternity house at the University of Colorado-Boulder since 2000, according to the Boulder Police Department.
The list of calls, which ranges from Feb. 25, 2000, to Sept. 17 of this year, end the night CU fraternity pledge and freshman Lynn "Gordie" Bailey died of acute alcohol poisoning with a blood alcohol level of .328 inside the fraternity house.
CU has called for the elimination of the Boulder Chi Psi chapter, citing what CU-Boulder Chancellor Richard Byyny and Vice Chancellor Ron Stump called a "history of difficulties."
Last week, executive director of the national Chi Psi fraternity Samuel Bessey said the national organization would decide the Boulder chapter's fate by the end of this week.
Student government votes against Sept. 11 memorial
TAMPA, Fla. (U-WIRE) - The University of South Florida Student Government Senate voted against a resolution that would fund a Sept. 11 memorial on Tuesday night.
The vote consisted of 15 senators in favor, 28 against and two abstentions.
The senators conducted more than an hour of discussion on the issue.
The student government would have had to allocate about $65,000 from the budget recommendation of the ASRC, a committee that allocates the students' activities services fees for next year.
Stavros Papandreou, senate president, said the debate should have been minimal if the senators went to the students with the issue.
During the Sept. 21 meeting, Papandreou requested all senators find out what USF students thought about having a memorial dedicated to the Sept. 11 attacks.
About 1,130 students were surveyed - 435 students said no, 10 were undecided and 685 were in favor of the Sept. 11 memorial.
Student leaders in Texas organize for more funding
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (U-WIRE) - In an unprecedented move, student leaders from across Texas formed an alliance, the Texas Coalition for Student Affairs, to combat issues such as tuition deregulation, and effectively voice the concerns of students from across the state to the Texas Legislature and the U.S. Congress.
The group, founded at Texas A&M this fall, has been working with student governments at other universities to garner support and provide a unified student voice to the Texas Legislature in the upcoming session.
"We have the intentions of representing students and parents from across this state, to bring more funding to higher education," said Philip Shackelford, the executive director for the Coalition. "We're going to do it by uniting parents, students, former students, businesses and anyone and everyone who feels they have a stake in higher education."
Numerous universities across the state have expressed interest in joining the Coalition, and numerous legislators from across the country have expressed interest in becoming involved.
