The Daily Tuesday,

September 14, 2010

Williams Named Starter
Concussion,
performance

Helmsman
Vol. 78 No. 016
send Smith
to the bench

n see page 6
Independent Student Newspaper of The University of Memphis www.dailyhelmsman.com

Going ‘Greene’ Student

claims
fraud
charge
one big
mistake
BY ERICA HORTON
News Reporter

A lost debit card landed

University of Memphis stu-
dent Marvin Stewart with a
class-D felony charge of false
reporting last week.
Stewart
told police
Aug. 27
that his sto-
by Malcolm Regester

len card
was used to
make $800
in purchases
at Wal-Mart, Stewart
but he said
Leslie Little, junior health and human performance major, examines the hydrokinetic turbine exhibit cur- confusion about the exact date
rently on display in the Ned R. McWherter Library. of the card’s disappearance led
to the charge.
BY FELICIA PISARZ system that uses a source that’s not consumed faster than “He was arrested because
it is replenished. he made a false report,” said
News Reporter Greene said the wheels on the turbine are “huge,” Derek Myers, deputy director
As part of its Green Campus Initiative, The University but because they have no mechanical parts, they’ll be of public safety at The U of
of Memphis will hold an exhibit on inventor Geoff inexpensive and easy to build. Because they’re built M. “He said someone stole his
Greene’s hydrokinetic turbine until Sept. 24 in the Ned with concrete, Greene said the turbines should last for card when it wasn’t (stolen).”
R. McWherter library. decades. Stewart, senior communica-
John Hochstein, professor and chair of the mechanical “The largest one is 250 feet and has the potential to tions major, said that his arrest
engineering department at The U of M, will join Greene power over 1000 houses,” he said. was no more than a “big mis-
for a presentation about the turbine Wednesday. In addition to the 250-foot wheel, Greene developed understanding.”
The exhibit, “Greene Power: A New Twist on a a series of 30-foot wheels to be placed in the Mississippi “I reported the wrong date,
Turbine,” will have a wooden model of the turbine and a River. The wheels will be underwater and will pose no so in the report, it looked like
four-foot wheel to demonstrate its size. threats to aquatic life, he said. I lost it but then lied and said
Greene’s turbine, which he’s been working on for 15 “The 250-foot wheel would be placed in the Gulf of that I didn’t,” he said. “So it
years, uses a fluid drive system that transmits hydroki- Mexico, at least 50 feet below the surface to avoid waves, was basically just a mix up of
netic energy, created by the movement of water, to an storms and hurricanes,” Greene said. “And the 30-foot dates.”
electric generator without any mechanical parts. The wheels would be placed at least 10 feet below the surface Stewart said he told police
water falls through the fluid drive system onto a turbine, of the river to avoid debris and silt.” he lost his card at 5:30 p.m.
creating electricity somewhat like a traditional dam. Cleaning and general maintenance of the turbine will Aug. 25. In reality, he actually
“Our current energy system is dominated by fos- create job opportunities, Greene said. lost it Aug. 26.
sil fuel energy sources, and they are not sustainable,” Hochstein helped Greene design the turbine and He told police he spent $800
Greene said. submit a proposal to the U.S. Department of Energy for while he was at Wal-Mart at 11
Hydrokinetic energy, however, is a sustainable energy funding. p.m. Aug. 25.
According to a police affi-
davit, his card was charged

Guilty as charged for reckless walking
BY Amy Barnette
Copy Editor
In a city like Memphis, where neighbor-
hoods sprawl and public transit is dismal at
best, getting around without a car is almost
impossible.
And at The University of Memphis’ cam-
pus, where finding even a terrible parking
spot can take longer than most students’
commutes, everyone becomes a pedestrian.
Yet I can’t help but notice how many
students seem to forget what it’s like to hoof
it when they get behind the wheel — or
what drivers experience when they wait for
someone to stroll across a busy street while
glued to a smartphone screen.
Patterson and Southern Avenues are
prime examples of this problem. Drivers
on Patterson, which has only a few cross-
once at 11:22 p.m. for $771.31
and again, 25 minutes later, for
$42.54.
walks from Highland to Walker, are expect- The report further states
Stewart told police he last
ed to slow for pedestrians going to and
from street-side and small-lot parking. On used his card Aug. 26 at John
Southern, the mass of students who park Casablanca’s, a local modeling
in one of The University’s large lots must agency.
dodge vehicles still driving full-speed after U of M police officer S.H.
navigating the treacherous five-way stop Ballard reviewed Wal-Mart
over the train tracks. surveillance footage and found
see Pedestrian, page 3 see Fraud, page 3
The University of Memphis Tuesday, September 14, 2010 • 3

students have a credit card.

Fraud
from page 1
that Stewart was using his card
at the register for purchases
made the day he reported it
stolen.
Myers said Stewart surren-
dered after the investigator
said he would put out a war-
rant for his arrest.
Stewart said he’s embar-
rassed about the situation and
that everything was cleared up
this morning when he went to
court.
“I talked to someone (at
201 Poplar), and she said she
didn’t even understand why I
was here,” he said.
Stewart said he ordered
another debit card yesterday.
Student loan company
Sallie Mae reported that as of
February, 84 percent of college
Myers said it’s “fairly rare”
for students to be the victims
or perpetrators of fraud crime
on campus.
Nate Lenow, a private inves-
tigator for 33 years, said he
sees false reports and fraud
crimes at least once a month.
He said people usually get
caught because they com-
mit the same act over and
over thinking they won’t get
caught.
“There’s no mistake about
(fraud),” he said. “It takes a bit
of intelligence to plan it out.”
According to the Federal
Trade Commission, there are
several easy ways to avoid
credit card fraud, including
carrying cards separate from
wallets, making sure they’re
not lying around and reporting
questionable charges as soon
as possible.

Pedestrian “left, then right, then left again”

from page 1
Several factors contribute to
the trouble: limited parking, the
lack of a walking bridge across
the railroad tracks, few cross-
walks and awkward intersec-
tions.
But a general lack of aware-
ness by students moving about
campus is nonetheless a major
contributor to the danger.
Perhaps some of us forgot the
first lesson our parents taught us
when we left home.
It wasn’t laundry advice or a
lecture about the importance of
keeping a balanced checkbook.
Long before we followed the
lure of absolute freedom to col-
lege, long before we got driver’s
licenses, long before we broke
our first curfew, they instilled in
us one simple rule.
Look both ways before cross-
ing the street.
We’re tired of hearing it, sure,
but tuning it out is just plain
dumb.
Personally, I’m proud. I’ve
finally moved past the point in
my life where playing Grand
Theft Auto for hours at a time
made me jokingly refer to anyone
on the side of the road as “five
points,” but now my patience is
wearing thin. Those little green
numbers have once again started
popping up above the heads of
the heedless.
I try to be a courteous driver.
Really, I do. I slow for nervous-
looking students, late for class
and too hurried to follow the
rule.
On foot, if I see a car in the
distance headed my direction,
I’ll break one of my own cardinal
rules — no running or unnec-
essary physical exertion — to
ensure I’m not making any aspir-
ing, local NASCAR drivers brake
suddenly.
But the next time I have to
wait for a dazed freshman to
end what I’m sure is a terribly
important phone call so he can
finish crossing the road, I just
might lose it.
This problem is not limited to
interactions between the driving
class and the walking class. Our
lovely little technological distrac-
tions led to legislation against
texting while driving.
Even in the middle of campus,
in areas where only golf carts and
bicycles dare tread, we run into
one another almost constantly as
we struggle to churn out status
updates and send messages to
friends.
Those who know me may
chuckle at my chiding. I’ve run
smack into an electrical pole
while flipping through my iPod
for a different album — and,
yeah, I subsequently posted the
incident in all its pathetic glory
on Facebook as I continued my
trek to class.
Even so, I recognize the stu-
pidity of my actions. Too hyper-
active to focus on the task at
hand, I’ve put myself, my fellow
walkers and Southern Avenue
drivers at risk by failing to pay
attention.
All I can do now is vow to
become continually more atten-
tive and implore other students
to do the same.
Zero in on your surround-
ings. If you’re driving around
campus, yield to pedestrians.
If you’re walking, be aware of
what’s moving around you.
Don’t put the responsibility
for your own life in the hands of
others. Don’t make life difficult
for your fellow students.
More importantly, don’t get in
my way.
And for Pete and Pete’s sake,
look both ways.