BOSTON—William A. Cobb, Jr. was taken into custody by Boston Police Department yesterday for alleged drug dealing. The 25-year-old Boston resident was charged with drug distribution and selling drugs near a school zone after being caught with cocaine in his buttocks, said the police department.
A plastic bag containing ten individually wrapped packets and eight separate pieces of cocaine was retrieved by a doctor from the suspect’s buttocks, said officials. Cobb was searched under a warrant after refusing to allow a body search despite the plastic bag protruding from his behind, the police department said. Following the body search, police confiscated the drugs, along with more than $500 of what officials believe was drug sales revenue.
Officials first observed Cobb outside a store near Boylston St. The suspect was participating in a drug deal, officials claimed, with two other men. After the incident, Cobb was followed until Tremont Street, where he and his companion were arrested. Both men were taken to the police station suspected of drug dealing. Cobb was further examined and charged for the previous charges. He will be arraigned tomorrow at Boston Municipal Court.
Cobb’s accomplice, whose name was not released by authorities, was given an outstanding warrant.
BOSTON--President Obama attempted to clarify U.S. involvement in Libya in his speech Monday night. But there was on problem with Mr. OBama's address: many people did not watch it.
"I couldn't find the broadcast, said Gerrit Petersen. Petersen claimed to have looked for the president's speech on television, but was unable to find it.
Still, Petersen has a strong opinion regarding the U.S. involvement in Libya. "It's a complicated situation... but he (Obama) could have done better selling it to the people," said Petersen.
"[This time] we didn't have to be the world's cop," said Petersen, who considers himself liberal but Democrat at times. The U.S. is not acting alone, but in cooperation with other nations of the U.N. Security Council. "It's a multi-lateral effort...supporting rather than attacking," said Petersen.
Richard Lehr, a professor and Democrat at Boston University, was also unable to watch the president's speech. "I haven't thought [much] about it (U.S. involvement in Libya). [But] we have to be doing something," said Lehr.
"As commander in chief, [Obama] has to do something," said Allison Wensley, a graduate student and Democrat at Boston University. She also did not watch Obama speak on Monday, but she stands by his decision. "It wasn't our decision... it's the right thing," she said.
On the other hand, Lauren Seesel, a College of Arts and Sciences student and Democrat at Boston University, said that the U.S. should have waited longer to act. "I don't think they have much to do [there]," said Seesel.
Conference Sheds Light on How Media Should Cover Disasters
By Estefania Souza
BOSTON—A panel made up of a reporter, a coordinator, an editor and a UN senior policy adviser answered questions Thursday afternoon regarding media coverage in countries affected by natural disasters. The panel, Getting the Information out—Immediate Crisis Response, was part of a conference held at Boston University to address how natural disasters are reported.
The underlying issue seemed to be the relationship formed between the media and the disaster-stricken country. “Journalists [place] burdens on a country that has been hit by a disaster,” said Donna Leinwand Leger, a reporter for USA Today.
To answer the question of how reporters should behave in the aftermath of a disaster, she said the media has to be conscious of their presence. “You must be self-sufficient…ought to be mindful,” she said.
The panel explained how it is hard for an affected country to deal with international media. “The media com[es] in… expecting immediate response,” said Nancy Dorsinville, senior policy advisor of U.N. Office of the Special Envoy to Haiti. Journalists, she said, often forget that they are dealing with destroyed countries.
Dorsinville went on to tell the anecdote of one media team in particular, “One French rescue team in particular… said ‘we need someone to go to the local fire station and get us ladders and ropes.’ Fire stations. Plural? Hello!”
The problem, according to Dorsinville, is that the international media forgets about the vulnerability of the affected country. “Everything is already fragile…and the media is coming and saying we want this we want that… everything has to be done right away… [and] that’s a real challenge,” she said.
However, Dorsinville also said that media coverage is necessary in the aftermath of a disaster. “[It’s about] how the media contributes to [the] implications,” she said. According to her, it depends on how the media makes a connection between what happened and what is reported.
The fact is that “25 percent of news in general is about some kind of natural disaster,” Dorsinville said. “There seems to be something in the general public that really is curious… by those kinds of things.” News have to be covered regardless of the gory details, she said.
Manolia Charlotin, editor and business manager of the Boston Haitian Reporter, added to this point. “For journalists… its important for us to respect this institution and this profession,” she said. According to her, the media should continue to report on natural disasters and their consequences. “We (the public) need reporters to keep covering the facts.”
In her opinion, the media plays a very important part. “At the end of the day, without journalists, we don’t have any information to work with,” she said.
BOSTON—President Barack Obama submitted his 2012 budget to Congress on Monday and emphasized the need to cut back on spending in order to support the United States’ economic recovery.
Soon after, House Budget Chair Paul Ryan, R-Wis., expressed his disapproval of the plan. According to the House Budget Committee chairman, Obama’s proposal will not help the country grow.
“It would be better doing nothing than if we would actually pass this budget for the sake of our economy, for the sake of our future and for the sake of our jobs,” said Ryan.
The 2012 budget caused controversy in both political parties, prompting Democrats and Republicans to question Obama’s leadership.
“[The] budget proposal raises a lot of questions about where the priorities of this administration are,” said Senator Jon Tester, D-Mont., in a statement released after the President’s proposal was announced. Like many of his fellow Democrats, Tested expressed concern for Obama’s focus.
The president said his proposals are rooted in the country’s economic growth. Four main points make up the budget: a five-year freeze on discretionary non-military spending, a cessation to the tax-cut for high-earning families, a solution to future unemployment liabilities and a supplement to the health-care reform.
Still, Obama did not only focus of cutting back. He also proposed an ongoing funding of programs he called “investments.” “As we move to rein in our deficits, we must do so in a way that does not cut back on those investments that have the biggest impact on our economic growth because the best antidote to a growing deficit is a growing economy,” he said.
According to Ryan however, the budget is ore expensive than helpful. “This budget does more spending, more taxing, more borrowing…[and] it’s going to cost our country its credibility,” said Ryan. He said the budget is not adequate for the current American situation.
Ryan stated that Obama’s plans would not help the country. “You really cannot borrow and spend and tax your way to prosperity,” he stated.
He called the president’s budget “a punt” and said it did not even take into consideration the advice suggested by the Fiscal Commission.
While Obama stated that “[The United States] must fund those investments that will help America win the race for the job and industries of the future,” Ryan said that what the country borrows today will inevitably have to be paid in the future.
BOSTON—A petite girl with onyx-black hair and eyes that could make anyone doubt her Asian nationality sits cross-legged on a futon, just as any other college sophomore would. Deedee Sun can’t help laughing when she tells the story about her elementary school in Ilinois. “Everyone had sleeping bags… [and] I had a blanket,” she says. “Someone asked why, and I was so frustrated that I couldn’t explain.”
But it didn’t take Deedee long to adapt to life in the United States. After elementary school in Decatur, Illinois, and high-school in the prestigious Mathematics and Science Academy, Deedee seems more like she’s from the Windy City, than from China.
Yuchen “Deedee” Sun was born in Harbin, China. As an only child, she explains that while her mother grew up with a privileged family in Harbin, her father was from the country province of Jilin.
“The original plan was to have me in the United States,” she says. But the Cultural Revolution in China impeded her mom from leaving the country and because of that, Deedee was born there instead. Just three months after, Deedee’s mom unexpectedly got the opportunity to study at Lawrence University in Wisconsin and took it. So her mom immigrated to the U.S. while Deedee and her father moved to the countryside. In little time, Deedee’s dad got a spouse visa and joined his wife in the U.S., leaving Deedee under the care of her grandparents.
“We tried to apply for a visa for me… right after my dad left, but it took many years for my visa to get approved,” she says. It wasn’t until she was 5 that Deedee was able to join her parents in the U.S.
“My parents definitely had to sacrifice a lot coming to the United States,” she says. While her mom attended graduate school, her dad waited tables to support the family. Deedee explains that immediately after graduating, her mom began working with Metlife in order to keep her visa. “My mom had to get a job that’s not really what she was interested in at all,” Deedee says, acknowledging her mother’s efforts to stay in the U.S.
When asked if she remembered any specific struggles, Deedee doesn’t seem to remember too much. “I remember we lived in this small apartment… but I was little then. I didn’t notice much if money was tight or anything like that.” By the time she was “a pre-teen and things started to matter,” her dad had moved on from his job as a waiter and money was less of an issue.
Nowadays, Deedee Sun is a rising sophomore at Boston University working towards a double major in broadcast journalism and economics. B.U. is a very diverse school, with students from all over the world, but that doesn’t bother Deedee at all. In her opinion, student visas should be easy to attain.
“Why would you want to prevent spreading knowledge?” she says. “It makes sense for people from other countries to come here.”
What doesn’t make sense to her is the issue regarding illegal immigrants. “I’m not fully versed on this subject,” she admits. But she says there is no reason for American citizens to have to pay the insurance of those who illegally enter the U.S. Deedee claims that it is unfair for illegal immigrants to be treated medically when they are not paying anything back. Unlike in China, where medical assistance won’t be given to you unless you have personal insurance, in the U.S., all patients are treated in emergency rooms.
She explains that there is a difference between handing out student visas and simply making it easier for illegal immigrants to stay in the country. “My parents definitely had to sacrifice a lot [to become American citizens], she says. From Deedee’s perspective, immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country as long as they follow the law and work for their citizenship.
Amidst a student body with more than 20% international students, Deedee is no longer the one that stands out because of her nationality. But she has not forgotten her heritage and realizes that the issue of immigration is complicated. She says she doesn’t have enough knowledge to answer it in depth. But she poses an important question, “Where do you draw the line?”
Deedee Sun is an active reporter for Inside Boston. She spends time creating and editing stories for BUTV, BU's student-run news channel. Click here for more of Deedee's videos.
Obama urges Americans to unite in the fight for the future.
By Estefania Souza
In an hour-long State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama encouraged members of both political parties to work together to maintain and maximize America’s super power status. The main concern he expressed was the advancement of the United States over the rest of the world through innovation, education, job creation, and debt reduction.
Obama said he believes that the key to success in the future lies in breaking the barrier between political parties and restructuring the government. He promised to make more jobs available to the citizens of the United States and to give everyone the chance to receive a proper education.
He stated his willingness to work with new ideas so as “to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.” According to Obama, barriers must be broken, and the United States should take advantage of its diversity to move forward as a country.
Annie Ropeik, a 20-year-old Boston University junior from Silver Spring, Maryland, sits calmly answering questions about her choices. The curly-haired undergrad decided to come to B.U. after a process of elimination. Out of the three schools she got accepted to—Maryland College Park, American University, and Boston University—she claims her choice was almost clear-cut. “I wanted a city [and] I wanted out of D.C.,” she says. Born and raised in the suburbs outside Washington, Ropeik attended B.U. for four semesters, but was later forced to stay home due to a spinal injury. Sitting on a swivel chair with her cane perched carefully on the desk behind her, Ropeik explains her story. Last August, “a random stranger” stabbed her in the back, nicking one spinal cord and causing her to lose movement in her left leg. “It’s a lot of physical therapy,” she says about her life now. Even though recovery was something that made Ropeik appreciate her hometown more, she was still happy to return to Boston. “I love Boston…[it has] a really cool culture,” she says of the diverse city. Although an aspiring journalist, Ropeik has declared Classics and Philosophy majors. “I have a minor in Journalism,” she explains, but she “is not planning on finishing it. I am using it to take COM classes.”
