Violent ‘snowpocalypse’
The D.C. and Mid-Atlantic region received a snowfall that began the Friday after AU’s last exams let out and continued through the following day.
The storm, dubbed the “snowpocalypse” by some, left anywhere from 16.4 to 23 inches of accumulation in different areas, providing enough snow for hundreds to participate in a snowball fight on the corner of 14th and U Streets N.W. on Dec. 19, according to The Washington Post.
However, a different weapon was added to the armory of water and ice at the U street skirmish when off-duty D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Detective Mike Baylor pulled a gun on the crowd after they hit his car with snowballs, according to an MPD press release.
A number of video clips and images of the incident were posted on YouTube and handed in to the MPD.
Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the officer should not have reacted in the way he did, according to a statement released on Dec. 21.
“I believe the actions of the officer were totally inappropriate,” Lanier said. “We have taken swift action by placing him on non-contact status until all the facts are gathered and discipline is handed down.”
While around two feet of snow fell that weekend, the storm did not break the D.C. record for snow accumulation.
The average monthly snowfall in D.C. for December is 3.1 inches, and the biggest snowstorm on record for the city occurred in January 1922, when 28 inches of snow fell in the District, according to the National Weather Service.
Gay marriage bill
A bill allowing same-sex couples to marry passed the D.C. council and was signed into law over break.
The City Council passed the bill by a vote of 11 to two on Tuesday, Dec. 15, and Mayor Adrian Fenty signed it on Friday, Dec. 18.
The bill is now in a Congressional review period, which allows Congress 30 in-session days to reject any act passed by the D.C. government. Upon the expiration of the 30 days, the bill automatically becomes a law. Prospects for passage are good, despite some rumblings in Congress about possible attempts to veto the bill.
Subpoenaed colleges
Members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted to subpoena 19 colleges and universities, all within a 100-mile radius of D.C., to investigate whether some institutions’ admissions practices are discriminatory against women.
AU was not on the list of schools called to testify, but Howard University, Catholic University and Georgetown University were subpoenaed.
Since the 1980s, women have earned a higher total number and percentage of bachelor’s and master’s degrees than men, according to the National Center for Education Statistics’ Web site. During the 10-year period from 1995-1996 to 2005-2006, the number of bachelor’s degrees earned by women increased from 642,000 to 855,000 — a 33 percent increase, the Web site said.
Mayoral race
A millionaire real estate tycoon who had been mulling a possible campaign for D.C. mayor begged out of the competition, leaving Mayor Adrian Fenty with one less obstacle to re-election.
R. Donahue Peebles, CEO of the largest African-American real estate development company in the country, announced Jan. 5 that he would not challenge the incumbent mayor — for now.
Peebles supporter Ron Magnus said he believes Peebles will still eventually enter, according to the Post.
“Because of his family, he’s not going to announce now — the operative word is ‘now,’” Magnus told the Post.
Meanwhile, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray has not decided whether or not he will challenge Fenty. A loss would likely mean that the 67-year-old Gray would be out of politics for good, according to the Post.
Pantsless day on the Metro
The day before classes started for AU’s spring semester was the day of the No Pants Metro Ride 2010, an annual occasion organized by the prank group called the D.C. Defenestrators.
A group met on the corner of 7th Street and Maryland Street S.W. at L’Enfant Plaza with pants intact. They then descended into the Metro system and proceeded to remove their pants while on the train with regular riders, according to the description on the Facebook page for the event.
The Facebook event Web site and the Yelp event Web site gave the same instructions to its confirmed attendees.
“Act completely casual or unknowing that your pants are missing,” they said. “The best part about this mission is the reaction of people hearing that someone could casually ‘forget’ their pants or not be greatly bothered by their disappearance.”
Bruce Witzenburg, one of the organizers, told the Post that there was not a particular reason for the disrobing event.
“We’re just trying to put smiles on people’s faces,” Witzenberg said.
While many AU students were in town on the day of this event, it has not be confirmed whether any participated in this year’s pantsless Metro ride.
You can reach this staff writer at mfowler@theeagleonline.com.
