Laura Donovan's Blog

Today’s issue of the Arizona Daily Wildcat reported more about the dorm birth and murder attempt. The details only left me more disgusted than last night when just the basic information was released. Now, we know that:

A UA student was taken into custody and charged with attempted first-degree murder and child abuse after she gave birth to a male infant in Arizona-Sonora Residence Hall sometime before 5:40 p.m. on Feb. 23, police said.

One of Tatum’s hallmates, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the severity of the incident, said Tatum remained in the community shower from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Feb. 23, until the hallmate and another woman pulled her out.

After they pulled Tatum out of the shower, the hallmate said they saw a bag of what they thought were bloody clothes, but the bag then started to move, causing the hallmate to alert the hall director who called the police.

“The plastic bag was the kind with the draw string on top,” said Jaime Perez, a family studies and human development freshman, who lives in Arizona-Sonora and is a close friend of the hallmate. “She tied the bag so tight that the policeman had to cut it with a knife.”

This is absolutely atrocious on so many levels. Above all else, she was insane and twisted to try to suffocate her own child. The little boy is very lucky to be alive, and I hope he doesn’t suffer any health problems as a result of the improper way he was brought into the world. Many commentators are worried about the girl, who is definitely disturbed, but I’m concerned about the kid. Where will he go?

I’m in no way pro-abortion, but why the Hell didn’t she just abort the baby early on if she was planning on murdering him? I support the right to choose, even though I would never abort my own child in any situation. If she felt she had no other option than to kill the baby, she should have consulted Planned Parenthood or another abortion clinic. You can say she may not have the money for this procedure, but she’s in college. She’s living in an expensive dorm. Even if she’s on full-scholarship, she could have gone to Planned Parenthood or met with a doctor. There were dozens of options at hand, and she took the most disgusting route imaginable.

This breaking news report may not be specific, but it truly makes me sick to my stomach. This news really upset me, and I was almost too troubled to even post about it.

A UA student was taken into custody and is facing charges of attempted first-degree murder and child abuse after she gave birth to a male infant in Sonora residence hall sometime before 5:40 p.m. on Feb. 23, police said.

I want to throw up. Still, I have to know the specifics. Is it considered child abuse to give birth in a dorm? It can’t be legal or safe, and I’m surprised she could do it outside a hospital. What was the nature of the murder attempt? Did she try to kill her child because she couldn’t take care of him? Though I’ve never been in her situation, I will never, ever understand how a mother could want to hurt her baby.

Last week, the Daily Wildcat reported that the University of Arizona chapter of Alpha Chi Omega sorority would be removed in part for lacking members.

Luckily, the girls can finish out the semester and stay active on campus, but anyone living in the house will soon be forced to make alternative housing arrangements.

With around 10% of students involved, the University of Arizona is known for having a popular, strong Greek Life system. Alpha Chi Omega was one of the smaller sororities on campus, and that was one of it’s greatest appeals. The sorority only had 67 members, and this number is high in comparison to other colleges with downplayed Greek Life, but it simply wasn’t enough at the UA, where many sororities recruit around 75 girls alone in the fall rush process.

I went through sorority recruitment as a sophomore, and I remember the Alpha Chi Omegas as the nicest, most down-to-earth sorority girls on the UA campus. I never felt judged in the “pink house,” and they didn’t put on a fake act like some of the other houses did. They didn’t care that I waited a year to rush sororities, unlike a demonstratively confused and disgusted Gamma Phi Beta. My mom was a proud AXO at San Diego State University, so I was always welcome and encouraged to visit the house, even though I wasn’t really interested in joining any of the 11 sororities, anyway.

The UA Greek system is losing a lot by eliminating the Alpha Chi Omega Beta Lambda chapter. As much as I hate to stereotype, there are too many sororities that come off as highly superficial and elitist, and Alpha Chi Omega was a nice change of pace from the glorified high school vibe. Thankfully, Chi Omega and Delta Delta Delta are made up of good-natured girls as well, but Alpha Chi Omega was an underrated treasure on this campus. I’m sad for the potential new members who want a more intimate sorority experience. Above all else, I’m sorry for the current members getting put out of their house.

It’s apparently dangerous for citizens to leave their countries right now. On a local level, the University of Arizona dean of students, Carol Thompson recently sent out a memo warning against travel to Mexico over spring break:

“The University of Arizona Dean of Students Office strongly advises students to avoid travel to Mexico at this time and during Spring Break.”

Americans aren’t alone in worrying about foreign relations. Yesterday morning, a 17-year-old French girl was killed by a bomb on her class trip to Cairo

According to the Associated Press report, the explosion was the first attack in three years targeting foreigners in Egypt.

Last December, it was dangerous to go to Greece, where chaotic riots took place.

Is it worth the risk to travel in spite of these unfortunate events? I think most people would travel anyway, but perhaps not to the most dangerous of locations. UA students will still flock to Mexico for spring break. Others will still study abroad in Greece this summer. Journalism students will go to Cairo if they have the option.

Bottom Line: It’s pointless to live in fear.

Check out my column on Michael Phelps and forgiveness in today’s issue of the Daily Wildcat. Here’s an introductory quote:

There’s no one more apathetic about sports, much less the Olympics, than me. At 20 years old, I still don’t understand the rules of baseball or most group sports. Whenever the crowd screams after something happens during Wildcat football games, I shamelessly ask the person beside me, “Is that good?!”

Because I’m generally repulsed by organized sports and the world’s obsession with the Olympics, I’m shocked to be writing about Michael Phelps, an Olympic swimmer who was recently publicly disgraced for allegedly smoking marijuana from a bong at a University of South Carolina party. Before the media went crazy over the champion’s careless, illegal move, I was avoiding the Michael Phelps fan base, but the widespread reaction was too bizarre to ignore:

“He should have known better.”

“He just destroyed his reputation.”

“What an idiot.”

Grade school teachers yell at students to sit down and be quiet, but instructor Michelle Pentland of Lily Lake Elementary School in Stillwater, Minnesota believes that students can learn better when they’re on their feet, and I think she’s absolutely correct.

“We can teach them better when they’re moving around and more engaged in the learning,” she said.

Another teacher at the school believes the new technique will reduce obesity.

Elementary school students tend to inadvertently misbehave in class, and they’re usually punished for it. They have low attention spans, and they bore easily. By being told to sit, they can calm down and “think about what [they've] done,” but standing is a smarter approach to wild school children.

In second grade, I was constantly getting in trouble for running up to my best friend’s desk, which the teacher intentionally placed on the opposite side of the room. I did this because I needed to get out of my seat, and all my classmates felt the same way. Younger children need some sort of physical release to remain attentive in the classroom environment. Otherwise, they get restless, hence they live for recess, lunch, and playground adventures, and it would be nice if they could look forward to physical classroom activity as well. Maybe they wouldn’t hate school so much. It’s commonly accepted that everyone learns more in an active classroom as opposed to a passive one.

My fellow opinions columnist, Alex Kassman shares her take on the legalization of prostitution in today’s issue of the Wildcat. Prostitution will happens regardless of legality, so I’m not fully opposed to Kassman’s idea. I’d just be worried about an increased spread of STD’s.

Most college students wouldn’t say that high school was more fulfilling, but members of the UA India Club may beg to differ. Club members will host a “high-school style dance” this evening.

Event Coordinator Kinjal Patel says the dance will give students a chance to “not feel so grown up.” With the amount of binge drinking, bad eating habits, and risky behavior college students partake in, I’m not sure this is really the place to feel like a true adult.

“It’s like high school back in college,” she also added.

Who would really want this? It’s strange that anyone would want to revert back in time. I’m one of the few that openly loved high school, but I still see no need to return even in discreet ways. The dance provides the opportunity to dress up, but that’s what themed parties are for, right?

Don’t forget to check out my latest non-fiction story. Below, I’ve reported my observations and encounter with the ever controversial Brother Jed as he proselytized on the University of Arizona campus today. Apparently, pre-marital kissing is a sin, according to Jed. Enjoy

“All of you need to be spanked with the bible,” American evangelist, Brother Jed said as he approached a crowd of laughing University of Arizona students sitting on Heritage Hill this afternoon.

George “Jed” Smock travels across the nation to preach to college students five times a week, and I’m wondering if he always gets the same negative reaction on every campus. UA students frequently interrupted Jed, shouted obscenities at him, and physically harassed him in some way.

One student stole Brother Jed’s chair and ran away. Brother Jed’s associate chased after the young man, who never returned.

As disrespectful as some of the students were, Brother Jed and his female speaker didn’t demonstrate any respect for the students. The female said we were a horrible generation and that every unmarried woman who has sexual intercourse is a whore, and the unmarried men that do the same are “whoremongers.” She also faulted the crowd for “cuddling” before accusing men of bewitching young girls.

“Once you fall for a man who cuddles with you, he has your soul forever, so he has engaged in witchcraft!”

She then pronounced all non-Christians as “devil children,” myself included for being Catholic, which apparently isn’t good enough.

Brother Jed himself gave me a hostile, short response when I approached him one-on-one. I never screamed profanities at him like the others, but Jed seemed to assume I’d be just like everyone else. Because so many students are so nasty to him, I can’t blame him for being suspicious of my sincerity, but he would benefit from being less condescending, paranoid, and rude without reason.

Maybe he thought I was among the “sinning women who wear tight jeans,” and didn’t think I was worth talking to.

Judging by the fact that he has said, “[College women] are sluts; it’s no wonder all you guys like school,” I may not be far off.

A Victoria’s Secret spokesperson picked up my Victoria’s Secret PINK Collegiate Collection column and asked me to meet with her when she hosts the UA PINK Body launch on February 23. Sometimes light discourse gets the most attention.