One of the most vague standards a newspaper has is that of “taste”. On our comics page, for example, certain language, images or themes could potentially be considered “in bad taste.” This is an extremely subjective standard to apply to a comic strip; a standard both completely separate from the intent of the artist and separate from how offensive the comic may be to segments of the University community.

While it was by no means the intent of the artist to reinforce a racial stereotype in a comic strip Friday, entitled “Secret Asian Man,” the comic was not held to the standard of taste it should have been. This subjective line can be drawn differently for everyone, regardless of race, and while many individuals were unaffected by the content of the comic, others found its racial overtones offensive. We would like to apologize to those who were offended, and reaffirm our commitment to maintaining standards of taste on the pages of The Cavalier Daily.

Nowhere in the realm of student self-governance is the distinction between University faculty and students more important than in student elections themselves. Elected student officials — whether they serve class councils, school councils, Student Council, the Honor Committee or the Judiciary Committee — are representatives of students, and only students.

In a direct capacity, faculty members and administrators hold power over students. More generally, they have a responsibility to these students as figures of authority in the University community. What they say and do, especially in their official roles, inexorably has an influence on students.

This past election cycle, there were several cases of inappropriate involvement in student elections. M. Rick Turner, dean of the Office of African-American Affairs, sent an e-mail blurb from the campaign of then-presidential candidate Daisy Lundy, through an administrative list that includes undergraduate and graduate African-American students. While Dean Turner himself did not sign the e-mail, this proliferation over an administrative e-mail list, by someone known to most students in his official capacity, is tantamount to an endorsement. Likewise, Bruce L. Reynolds, a professor of economics, e-mailed a strong endorsement of Lundy to his class e-mail list, for which he later apologized. There are other reports of similar administrative and faculty interference on different sides of the elections.

In cases of professors and faculty members, encouraging students to vote for a specific candidate is an abuse of the power and authority they enjoy with the student body. These faculty and administrators are afforded a status in the University community that should never be thrown behind a candidate for a student election.

Student candidates, as well, should not seek out endorsements of faculty members or administrators, nor seek the use of administrative or faculty e-mail lists to circulate campaign blurbs. Students, as well as faculty, must acknowledge that a clear and distinct line must be drawn on improper involvement in student elections.

Faculty and administrators are entitled to the right to free speech. But this should not entitle to them to use their position and standing in the University as a soapbox to promote one student candidate over another. While it may be tempting for a faculty member at the University to voice concerns about an election, in the end they must leave student elections up to the students

Friday’s article on the Children of War symposium stated that both third-year College student Rebeen Pasha and first-year College student Nawraz Alan are from Iraq. Both individuals are actually from Kurdistan, in northern Iraq, and consider themselves Kurds, not Iraqis.

With temperatures on Saturday ranging in the low 70s, students who may have thought they saw the last of winter were suprised to wake Sunday morning and see the University blanketed by snow. Local forecasters issued a weather advisory through the evening but predicted that temperatures would return to the 60s by Tuesday.

College of William and Mary student Gregory Thomas Bak jumped out of a fourth-story window of his dormitory Friday morning, in the school’s second suicide of the week.

Bak’s body was found by a fellow student in front of Monroe Residence Hall close to 6 a.m. There were no witnesses to the death.

A week ago, first-year Law student Betsy John took her life with a gun off campus.

The consecutive suicides have left the college community shocked, William and Mary student Mike Kline said.

“We didn’t see anything coming. [These two suicides] came out of the blue,” Kline said.

William Sadler, vice president for student affairs at William and Mary, said a note was found around 11 a.m., revealing that Bak’s death was a suicide.

Sadler declined to comment on the content of the note out of respect for the family’s privacy.

There have “only been nine suicides in the past 35 years,” Sadler said. “It doesn’t happen very often.”

Bak, a freshman, was a Monroe Scholar, involved in ROTC, Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, intramural sports teams and and was on Monroe Hall Council.

Mike Kline, also a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, is the rush chair and was Bak’s “big brother” in the fraternity.

“He was a quiet kid and always friendly, a generally happy guy,” Kline said. “I knew him pretty well, and we didn’t see anything coming.”

Kline explained that, on the night of Bak’s death, they had been together and discussed plans for the summer.

Kline said the fraternity is coping well in light of the circumstances.

“We had counseling the day it happened and have been talking together,” he said.

The school provided counseling in the dorms as well, Sadler said.

“Since we are small, we have a really tight community and people take a lot of strength from each other,” he said. “There has been a lot of reaching out to each other and a lot of concern being shown. [The administration] is reinforcing that.”

Sadler said he has no insight as to why two suicides happened in one week.

Kline said the rigorous academic environment most likely contributes to the stress experienced by students.

“There are high expectations here to make straight As, but no one does,” Kline said.

According to sources, the note did not indicate that the suicide decision was related to classes or activities at the college.

Though the mood in Williamsburg has been somber, Sadler said classes will not be cancelled.

“It’s important for people to have the opportunity to stay in their normal routine, [although] we have many resources here” to help students, he said. “We’ll continue on and yet people will be understanding.”

Kline also said that this is a difficult time for students at William and Mary.

“We’re all going to the funeral on Tuesday. Right now, we’re just trying to move on,” he said. “To us, [Bak] was always a great kid.”

In the midst of critics’ wavering faith in the U.S. government and United Nations during times of war, the University promoted diplomacy in leaders of tomorrow with the annual Virginia International Community Simulation, held last Thursday through Sunday.

The conference, sponsored by the International Relations Organization, consisted of 10 different simulations of global government affairs with 180 student participants from 17 different schools.

Conference Secretary-general Omeed Jafari, a third-year College student, said he believes that the conference illustrates the importance of diplomacy in all aspects of international relations.

“There’s been a lot of debate about whether or not the U.N. is still valid –- I still think it is,” Jafari said. “I think, at the most basic level, the willingness to participate in discourse and diplomacy is ever present. Students who participate in the conference really gain more insight into the variety of issues plaguing the world.”

Jafari said he did not intend to change the opinions of the student participants, but rather to change how they evaluate world affairs.

“I don’t think it has any altering effect on their beliefs on the war, but rather it augments their capabilities on deciphering between what’s factual and what’s not,” he said.

The simulations at the conference addressed historical, present-day and future international issues, including bioterrorism, narcoterrorism, drug and arms trafficking and even an international Mafia summit. Two of the simulations were conducted in French and Spanish.

Robbie Robinson, third-year College student, served as the moderator of the International Criminal Court simulation. Dressed as a judge, he presided over the mock court proceedings Friday and Saturday.

“We are trying an alleged war criminal for crimes against humanity and genocide,” Robinson said. “First, we are ruling over whether or not the ICC has jurisdiction, then whether or not he is guilty of the crimes.”

Shareefa Al-Adwani, committee chair and the defense for the ICC simulation, said she regards discussion and debate as the most important aspects of the simulation.

“The highlight is the deliberating of the decision -– not the decision itself –- because it brings out the intricacies of criminal law,” Al-Adwani said.

Vijay Paradkar, head delegate and a second year from Princeton University, said he believes the simulations are distinct from conferences at other schools.

“U.Va. does things that no other school does,” Paradkar said. “They give our delegates a chance to learn about issues that they normally wouldn’t.”

Students from all different areas of study participated in the conference.

“With having such a diverse group of students, you in some sense fulfill the mission of the International Relations Organization,” Jafari said. “We want to promote and enhance international awareness among college students both here and abroad.”

The Charlottesville AIDS/HIV services group held its seventh annual AIDS walk Saturday. Hundreds of University students and Charlottesville residents turned out to participate in the event, which raised nearly $20,000. The money will be used to support local programs that educate about HIV/AIDS and to help people living with the disease.

–Compiled by Mary Pumphrey

In a case involving two separate juvenile females, Joseph H. Cook, 52, last week was charged with statutory rape with a juvenile female under the age of 13, forcible sodomy with a juvenile female and three counts of aggravated sexual battery on a female juvenile. Cook is being held in Albemarle County jail pending a bond hearing in Albemarle General District Court.

After holding elections last Thursday, the Queer Student Union elected third-year College students Anna McCrerey and Luke Ward to serve as the organization’s co-presidents.

First-year College students Adrienne Patton and Kevin Wo will serve as co-vice presidents. First-year College student Greg Saari was elected secretary and third-year College student Matt Baldwin will fill the role of treasurer. Fourth-year Education School student Anthony Whitten will be the new Webmaster.

According to a press release, the 30-year-old organization expects a busy year, with plans to weigh in on issues including the upcoming Supreme Court decision on Lawrence v. Texas, which will determine the constitutionality of Virginia’s classification of homosexual relationships as a misdemeanor criminal offense. The QSU’s new executive board also said it will monitor Virginia Tech’s recent decision to remove sexual orientation from its non-discrimination clause as well as the legality of the University’s own non-discrimination clause.

A mixture of 25 to 30 local residents and University students protested the war against Iraq Friday morning at the entrance to Sperry Marine on Route 29 North.

Sperry Marine is a manufacturer of marine navigation equipment, including radars and gyrocompasses, for the commercial and military markets.

Albemarle County police reported that the protest began at approximately 7:45 a.m. and concluded around 10:00 a.m.

Seven of the protestors were arrested and charged with trespassing. Three of those arrested were University alumni, said Charlottesville resident Ana Azizkhani, who was among those arrested.

About one-third to one-half of the protestors were University students and alumni, she added.

Most of the protestors carried anti-war signs and banners along sidewalks near Sperry Marine, while five others chained themselves to barrels and each other in order to block the company’s entrance, according to an Albemarle County Police Department press release.

Protestors also dumped old washing machines, mattresses and other junk on the company’s driveway, Sperry Marine President John DeMaso said.

“The police made them pick it up and then we had to go out and pick up” what was leftover for about 45 minutes, DeMaso said. No damage occurred to company property.

The group of protestors has not claimed affiliation with any particular organization, the press release said.

The protestors came after most employees had already arrived for work and did not disrupt the day’s business, DeMaso said.

Those with signs claiming Sperry manufactures weapons of mass destruction were misinformed, DeMaso said.

“This is totally untrue,” he said, adding that Sperry’s business is only 40 percent military-related.

Azizkhani said, however, that Northrop Grumman — the parent company of Sperry Marine — General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin recently have signed a multi-million dollar contract with the Pentagon.

“We feel like this war, as with so many wars, is about having profits over the people,” Azizkhani said.

A small group outside a military recruiting office across Route 29 responded to the anti-war protestors.

“What I did was pretty much an impromptu response to what was going on over there,” U.S. Navy Chief Vance Wildt said. “I saw a woman dragging the flag through the mud and that woman just really pissed me off, for lack of better words.”

Wildt said he wanted to hold an American flag upright to show it could be done respectfully, and was later joined by marine recruiting officers and several community members.

Protestors likely only wanted media attention from their actions, DeMaso said.

“As soon as the press arrived and took their pictures [the protestors] left,” he said.

DeMaso said he will let the police handle everything.

The biggest problem DeMaso said he had with the event was keeping some of his employees from engaging with the protestors.

“We have quite a few veterans and quite a few employees whose children are in Iraq,” DeMaso said. “They were very upset.”