 "Photo: Courtesy of Camp Crescent")
Each summer, St. Louis’ Camp Crescent gives children with sickle cell anemia summer camp experiences.
“The goal of Camp Crescent is to provide a rite of passage for sickle cell children to enjoy camp and to do it in a fashion that is safe and secure,” Michael DeBaun, a sickle-cell anemia expert and founder and director of Camp Crescent, said. “Our goal is to educate our children—our campers—about their disease so they can be empowered to provide better medical care for themselves.”
The Washington University School of Medicine partly sponsors the five-day overnight camp, held in July at Missouri’s Babler State Park, without charge to its campers.
Sherraine Griffin, a freshman and biochemistry major, attended Camp Crescent at age 11. Griffin said she admires Camp Crescent’s goals of sickle cell disease education and its value to children with the disease.
“It allows campers to forget about their troubles for a moment in time,” Griffin said.
According to DeBaun, who also serves as professor of pediatrics at the medical school, Camp Crescent hires junior counselors with sickle cell anemia as well. His daughter Morgan, a freshman at the University, has been involved with the camp for eight years.
“The campers have a great spirit about them, and it’s awesome to be able to help out during the summer and help brighten their day with the activities that we do,” she said.
A dual relationship exists in the camp. While Morgan DeBaun’s activities certainly affect the campers, the campers, in turn, also affect her.
“Interacting with the kids helps me get a better perspective on life because of the daily struggles that they encounter with their disease, and how they overcome their obstacles,” she said.
Medical staff members at the camp also belong to the medical school, as faculty or medical students. On average, two medical students comprise the staff, which includes one doctor, six nurses, two nurse practitioners and a social worker. The camp hosts 65 campers, junior counselors and counselors each year.
“It’s an enjoyable experience for all those involved, and it’s an opportunity to provide for others who may be less fortunate.” Michael DeBaun said.
Next summer, Griffin hopes to return to the camp as a counselor, and it is this sort of continuity that Morgan DeBaun finds encouraging to the camp staff and campers.
“It’s really great to see the kids grow from year to year and rise from campers to junior counselors to counselors. It’s like a mini family,” she said.
Michael DeBaun encourages other undergraduates to get involved as well.
“Interested students should let us know by Jan. 1 so they can be interviewed. The selected women and men undergo a formal training process to work with the kids. It’s an involved process to plan for camp,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to do.”
Missouri presidential race remains tight
According to recent polls of likely voters, the Missouri race is tied with each candidate receiving the support of 48 percent of those polled, making it the most closely-contested state during this election cycle. Both candidates have made visits to the St. Louis area in recent weeks.
Voter turnout is expected to be much higher than in previous elections. Secretary of State Robin Carnahan expects turnout to be as high as 76 percent, or about 3.2 million voters. That would be half a million more votes cast than in 2004.
Senator Obama is expected to win in the state’s major urban centers of St. Louis and Kansas City while Senator McCain will likely win the southwestern part of the state and the rural areas that traditionally swing Republican.
In September, McCain appeared to dominate the state, polling at 67.5 percent.
In 2004, President George W. Bush won the state with 53 percent of the vote to Senator John Kerry’s 46 percent. Missouri is considered a key state for McCain to win.
Obama has spent three times as much money as McCain on television ads in the state and thousands of volunteers have been utilized by both campaigns, going door-to-door to raise support as the election nears. Missouri has gone toward the overall winner in every election except for one in the past century. (John Scott)
Europe considers sending troops to Congo
According to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, the European Union (EU) is ready to send civilian aid to those fleeing the conflict in the eastern part of the country. Kouchner said that France’s proposal to send 1,500 European troops to support United Nations (U.N.) peacekeepers is still being discussed.
France holds the presidency of the EU, a position that rotates between each of the member states. Kouchner was accompanied by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on a trip to Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, on Saturday. BBC radio reported that sending troops would be a last resort if the U.N. peacekeepers needed additional support or if diplomatic efforts failed.
Tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes due to fighting between Tutsi rebels loyal to Laurent Nkunda, a renegade general, and the Congolese army in the eastern Congo. Conflicts in the country have continued since 1998. The U.N. has warned that a humanitarian crisis could arise from the rebel offensive. (John Scott)
University City police officer Sergeant Michael King was shot and killed at 10:20 p.m. Friday on the Delmar Loop, at the corner of Leland Avenue and Delmar Boulevard. He was an alumnus of Washington University and a 25-year veteran of the force.
King, 50, was reported to be sitting in the driver’s seat of his police cruiser when the killer approached the car on foot and fired several times at the officer before running away and climbing into a car.
According to the University City Police Department, the suspect is 41-year-old Todd Shepard, a black male with an approximate height of 5’10’’ to 5’11’’ and a medium build. At the time of the shooting, Shepard was wearing a light-colored shirt, dark pants and a multi-colored jacket.
Police are searching for a gray 1993 Oldsmobile Cutlass with the Missouri license plate number 2AB 28J, which they believe Shepard used to flee the scene of the shooting.
Immediately after the shooting, Shepard took off in a vehicle west down Delmar and was pursued by police in a high-speed chase. The police, however, were unable to catch up with the car.
No connections between the officer and Shepard have been made, and, as of press time, Shepard has been the only person linked to the case.
Shepard’s criminal record includes guilty pleas to several counts of felony drug trafficking and second-degree assault in the 1990s.
Several witnesses at the crime scene recall hearing a series of gunshots and seeing King’s body lying outside the car. Another officer in the area heard shots fired and came to the scene.
The handgun used in the shooting has not been recovered.
Washington University Police Department (WUPD) Chief Don Strom confirmed to Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Steve Givens that no University members had any affiliation with the crime. Nonetheless, WUPD personnel arrived at the scene to assist those already present.
According to Givens, University City police requested WUPD’s assistance in the intial investigation.
Despite the fact that the crime occurred in an area where many University students reside, a crime alert was not issued to the University community.
Givens said that alerts are not often issued when the incident occurs off campus.
No plans for a campus memorial service for the University alumnus have been considered as of now. Givens said that if a memorial service is a possibility, it likely would not be discussed until Monday.
“The University only does a memorial service if that’s something that the family wants to do. If the family has their own church or temple, then we normally wouldn’t do it,” Givens said.
A 1980 graduate of the University, King dedicated his entire career as a police officer to the University City Police Department.
Junior Paul Fuchs, a Greenway resident, said he passed by the crime scene on his way to a party at around 11:15 p.m.
“I definitely feel a lot less secure than I did, especially after there was an armed robbery just two weeks ago,” Fuchs said. “It’s really scary with as much security as there is, that crime still happens, and it seems like there isn’t too much more you can do to prevent crime.”
Senior Aryeh Roskies, who lives in an apartment complex behind the Starbucks at the corner of Leland and Delmar, said he first heard of the murder on Friday night, but did not find out the details until the next day.
“I was shocked. You hear about these things happening, but you don’t expect them to happen to a policeman,” Roskies said. “I was mostly surprised that something like that would happen on a night when a lot of people would [be on the Loop].”
Despite his shock, Roskies said that he does not feel more in danger than he did before.
“When I moved into neighborhood two years ago, I heard about people being robbed at gunpoint nearby, so safety concerns have always been on my mind,” he said.
Roskies, like Fuchs, does not believe that the police can do much more to increase safety in the area.
“In terms of the Loop, I don’t know what else can be done,” Roskies said. “There are already a lot of police on the Loop and around that parking lot [behind Starbucks]. I don’t know what more they can do.”
Persons with information about the case should call the University City Police Department at 314-725-2211.
With additional reporting by Puneet Kollipara
Manhunt underway
as gunman remains
at large
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN WINDS DOWN
NEWS ANALYSIS
College Democrats will not protest Rove
Saying that they are too busy with Election Day activities, the College Democrats will not protest Karl Rove, the Republican political analyst who is coming to speak on campus on Monday.
“I don’t think it’s not making a statement,” College Democrats President Ben Guthorn, a junior, said. “We want to see the next president of the United States be Barack Obama and we don’t have time to protest the day before the most important election of our adult lives.”
The College Democrats protested former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales when he came to campus last March, with some protestors wearing orange jumpsuits to note allegations of torture on Gonzales’ part. Although she appreciated the protest last spring for the activity it brought to campus, Student Union President Brittany Perez does not believe the protests are crucial to campus dialogue.
“The College Republicans bringing Karl Rove here creates discussion for all students,” Perez, a senior, said. “I don’t necessarily think it needs protest in order to create discussion. The fact that he’s coming is very controversial for some people.”
Guthorn added that protesting Rove may in some way help him, which the College Democrats do not want to do.
We’re not going to donate any time to [Rove’s] appearance to make it more of a learning experience than it already is,” he said. “The College Democrats don’t find it necessary to waste time and resources to benefit a speaker that does not deserve such things.” (Ben Sales)
A news brief on October 29 (“SFBO takes part in statewide get-out-the-vote drive”) incorrectly attributed a quote to an unidentified male. The quote should have been attributed to senior Sophie Cohen, president of the Washington University chapter of Students for Barack Obama.
Student Life regrets the error.
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