Campus News Flash:

Bingo, a surprise favorite among students, is back Sat. night

The Exchange
"It's the time of the season for . . ." *

ISSUE 56
Nov. 2-10, 2007

[Past Issues]
 

Difference in crack jail terms now eliminated   
    
     Possessing a gram of crack used to be treated like having 100 grams of powder cocaine, but new federal sentencing guidelines went into effect on Nov. 1, changing that.
     The average sentence for crack possession would drop by about two years, according to the New York Times.  In two weeks the federal sentencing commission will meet to decide if the new sentences should apply to the roughly 19,500 crack offenders now in federal prison.
     Under the previous guidelines, it took possession of 5,000 grams of powder cocaine to get a ten year sentence.  However, it only took 50 grams of crack to get the same jail term.  Civil rights advocates had longer pointed out that the guidelines, established in 1987, unfairly targeted blacks.  Eighty percent of those sentenced for crack were minorities.
     There are currently three bills before Congress, one from Democrats and two from Republicans, that would reduce or eliminate minimum sentences for minor drug possession.

• 75 percent of sexually active people will get it, but while men won't suffer any ill effects, women can end up with cervical cancer.  There's a vaccine, but no one on campus has taken it - and few women on campus or nationally seem to know about it.
   

• A drunken prank has resulted in the firing of a Granite CA.
   

• The totals won't be in until next week, but team members already have an idea about how much they've raised at the October 30th Volleyball game.
   

She was a woman ahead of her time - divorcing two husbands, running off to war, and serving as a military chaplain.  Now the Rindge Historical Society wants to see that she gets recognized by the Cathedral of the Pines.
 

• In the wake of the sexual assaults that have occurred on campus both this year and last, the SGA is addressing the issue of the lighting on campus. See what other improvements are being considered around campus.
   

• What is new, brick, and taking shape? The exterior of the Petrocelli building looks to be completed in time for winter weather.
   

• With the recent death of a New England student, meningitis has become a major concern for colleges and universities across the country.  Franklin Pierce '07Grad Brian McCoy shares his first-hand experience with the life threatening disease.
   

• All FPU freshmen have read his book.  Now author Greg Mortenson will describe his adventures in the Middle East next Wednesday in the Pierce Hall.
   

• There's a new Art Club on campus and the leaders want to make it clear that this club is not just for art majors.
   
• The Presidential Primary in New Hampshire is right around the corner, and Democrat John Edwards came to Peterborough on Oct. 31, where he denounced corruption in the Bush administration.

News Brief:

• Presidential candidate John McCain will be coming to campus Sunday, Nov. 18.