Specs of the week: Mass e-mailer faces charges

E-mail not so "cute" anymore

Joseph Clark, the student responsible for the "Cute baby sucking on a lemon" e-mail that cluttered thousands of Seattle U inboxes last month, has been charged by the university for six counts of misconduct.

The charges range from a violation of school Internet usage policies and hacking. In addition, Clark will also be tried as a "level one nuisance," according to the summons he received last week.

"I can't believe how far this thing went," Clark said. "I mean, hacking? Really?"

Clark, a physics and philosophy major, sent the e-mail containing a YouTube video of a baby sucking on a lemon to thousands of students after gaining access to a large list of addresses from a campus announcement e-mail sent by another student, Matthew Hitchman. According to Clark, Hitchman is also being tried on the six counts of misconduct.

Additionally, Joshua Moore, junior computer science major, who replied to all addresses on Clark's email and continued the e-mail chain, will also face charges.

Clark said he understood the charges.

"It's just common sense not to send an e-mail to 7,000 people," said Clark. "I'm just happy it's blowing over."

Rhodes Money will not fund Seattle students

Last week, two Seattle University students, Kai Smith and TJ Sheehy, were interviewed in the final selection process of the Rhodes Scholarship, a $45,000 award paying for study at Oxford University.

The selection committee asked questions about current events, science and business, looking for students with personal vitality and a commitment to public service.

In recent months, Smith, a senior political science and history major, has followed in his father's footsteps, carving out a possible political career in his home state of Montana. Sheehy, a senior political science major, spent his last year working on rural development in Haiti.

Neither won. The scholarship trust chose 32 men and women from across the U.S. for the award, including many Ivy League students.

Smith said the experience was still very positive, and he became acquainted with many of the finalists outside of the competition.

Smith and Sheehy, former Honors students, are roommates and helped each other throughout the application process.

"I felt very lucky just to be in the process," Smith said. His future plans now involve working in Washington D.C. to gain experience in politics or business.

Seattle U has had many Rhodes finalists, but the most recent winner was in 1995.

AIDS Awareness Week

December 4 will kick off AIDS Awareness Week. Headed up by the Face AIDS club on campus and the Peer Action Health Team, PHAT, the week will be dedicated to promoting education and fund raising.

"This is our first time setting up events for the whole week," said Ryan Arbow, head of Face AIDS at Seattle U. "We are really excited."

Programming will focus in on bringing understanding to a local level.

"We want to make people aware that this epidemic is not just in Africa but everywhere, including the US," Arbow said.

The week will consist of events put on by both Face AIDS and PHAT including a screening of the PBS special on AIDS followed by speakers from local AIDS support groups. Speakers will present their experiences in living with the disease.

On Thursday night, FACE AIDS will host the third annual Vigil of Hope at the Chapel of St. Ignatius, followed by a candle-light procession. The night will conclude with a music performance by two students, Aerica Banks and Luke Hightower.

Friday, Nov. 5, is the yearly Bah-Humbug Bingo at 7:00 p.m. in the LeRoux Room hosted by a local drag queen. Tickets are $3, and all proceeds will benefit the Lifelong AIDS Alliance.

PHAT will also be hosting free HIV testing in the student health center for students all week. The process takes about 15 minutes and results come back within a week and are completely confidential.

FACE AIDS will also have a "hope tree" in the Student Center where students can stop by and write their prayers and thoughts for those suffering from AIDS and hang them on the tree.