By Lety Laurel and Kristen Naquin campus editors A TCU student was listed in stable condition Monday evening after he was hit by a car and carried about 30 feet on South University Drive. Tokio Sasaki, a freshman psychology major from Tokyo, Japan, was halfway across the crosswalk at the intersection of University Drive and Bowie Street at about 6 p.m. when the driver of a red, late-model Ford Mustang hit the student and continued driving, witnesses said. The car was traveling at about 40 mph. The force of the impact tossed Sasaki onto the hood of the car, which traveled about 30 feet before Sasaki rolled off, witnesses said.
Elizabeth Ruiz, a senior speech language pathology major, said five or six cars drove past the scene without stopping to help. Police and EMS were contacted via cellular phone by a student who was nearby, she said. Sasaki was transported to John Peter Smith Hospital, where nurses said he was awake and talking. They declined to release additional information regarding his condition and time of release. Witnesses said they were able to see half of the driver's license plate. Police said a full report of the incident will not be released until today. Sasaki was returning from an elementary statistics class, and it was just getting dark at the time of the accident, witnesses said. Two pools of dried blood about two feet apart marked where Sasaki lay. Witnesses said Sasaki was conscious when paramedics arrived, but the left side of his head was bloody, and there was blood on his pants. "He was on the crosswalk, and the guy just mauled him," said Christina Jones, a freshman political science major. "How could he just keep going?" Carla Corona, a senior nursing major, said the crosswalk is in a dangerous area. "I was not appalled by the accident at the crosswalk because I have crossed it numerous times, and I feel that I have put myself in danger," she said. "Everyone puts themselves in life and death situations when they cross the crosswalk. Until something tragic happens, TCU is not going to do anything about it."
Lety Laurel Kristen Naquin
By Justin Roche staff reporter After his release from Harris Methodist Fort Worth Sunday, Nathan Lee is resting at home, recovering from injuries he received when two men randomly attacked him outside of Milton Daniel Hall Thursday night. Lee, a freshman graphic design major, said he had just mailed a letter to his parents and was walking back to his room about midnight when he was suddenly hit over the head with an unknown object. "I just remember seeing something out of the corner of my eye," Lee said. "The next thing I remember is them being pulled off of me. It's pretty scary." Lee said he lost consciousness after being struck on the head and couldn't remember what happened during the attack. But knew he had no affiliation with his attackers. "They came from behind, out of nowhere," Lee said. "There's nothing I could have done. I don't even know who they are. They just attacked me." The two assailants, Stephen Knight and John Parnell, both 24, were pulled off of Lee by TCU students Matthew Berry and Barrett Bradt. "We were walking and heard someone yelling, 'Help me! Help me!'" said Berry, a sophomore history major. "We saw one guy had (Lee) in a headlock, and the other was kicking him. Then we saw one of the guys biting his face. We ran over and pulled them off of him." Berry said they detained the attackers until TCU police officers arrived. Det. J.F. Desmarais, who is leading the police's investigation, said the motive of the attackers is unclear. "Apparently something angered them, and I'm not exactly sure why," he said. Knight and Parnell were taken to Tarrant County Jail and charged with assault with bodily injury. They were released on bond Friday after posting bails of $1,000 and $1,500, respectively. Desmarais said the maximum penalty the pair could face is one year in county jail and an undetermined fine. Bradt, a freshman pre-med major, said he didn't think about the seriousness of the situation until after it was over. "It wasn't scary until the police officer asked us if we knew we might have saved (Lee's) life," Bradt said. "We didn't even think about it. We just jumped in." Broken glass from a bottle was found at the scene, and witnesses said they heard glass shatter just before the attack. Lee could not say for sure if he had been hit in the head with a bottle. "I don't remember, but obviously something had to have hit me," he said. Lee sustained a major bruise to the head, a one-inch cut on his forehead, broken bones in his eye socket and abrasions to his back and elbows, according to a police report. Kevin Stratton, a freshman psychology major and Lee's roommate, drove him to All Saint's Episcopal Hospital after the attack. Stratton said he called Lee's parents and stayed with him at All Saints Episcopal Hospital until he was transferred to Harris Methodist. Lee remained there until he was released Sunday, Stratton said. According to a police report, Parnell and his fiancée Amanda Hull, 23, moved to Fort Worth from Oklahoma a few days before the attack. They were staying with Knight, Hull's step-brother, who moved to Fort Worth from Oklahoma four months ago. Two witnesses told police they saw Knight and Parnell walking around on campus minutes before the attack. Knight and Parnell approached the witnesses and asked them questions about TCU, specifically if TCU was a religious college, and about parties and drugs, according to a police report. According the same report, the two suspects smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech at the scene of the attack. Hull was found intoxicated in a car in the 3100 block of Bellaire Drive, waiting for Knight and Parnell. Police arrested her on charges of public intoxication and took her into custody with Knight and Parnell. Stratton said the random nature of the attack is what is most shocking about the incident. "It's still amazing to think that it really happened," he said. "It's kind of like a dream. It doesn't make any sense. (Lee) doesn't have any enemies." Lee said he is dealing with the attack happened to him, although he did nothing to cause it. "You always go back and think about what could I have done, but there's nothing I could have done," he said. "I just have to try to work through this and try to move on."
Justin Roche
By Carey Hix staff reporter Attendees of tonight's TCU Symphony Orchestra concert will have the opportunity to hear four Pummills on four pianos. In addition to the full orchestra, the event will feature piano soloist Janet Pummill and her three daughters, Sallie Pummill-Pollack, a 1995 TCU alumna, Amy Beth Pummill, a master's of music student in organ, and Julie Pummill, a sophomore piano performance major. The concert, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Ed Landreth Hall Auditorium, will showcase music from the Romantic, 20th Century and Baroque periods. The piece the Pummills will perform to end the concert is titled "Concerto for Four Claviers in A minor," composed by Johann Sebastian Bach.
"There aren't many facilities anywhere that have four grands in the same place," Janet Pummill said. "Especially four pianos and an orchestra." Amy Beth Pummill said the piece is a typical concerto form with three movements, featuring a lot of contrast, mainly because Baroque style features several different textures. The four Pummills said the concerto will be exciting to perform. "We're going to have so much fun just doing this together," Janet Pummill said. "Keyboardists usually accompany for a singer or another instrument, but we don't often do things together as pianists. And the way it's written, all the parts are kind of intertwined with each other. They kind of answer each other." The Pummills had to practice the piece together at the last minute because Sallie Pummill-Pollack lives in Lubbock, where she works at Texas Tech University as a staff accompanist and wasn't available to rehearse until the Thursday before the show. They said they feel confident they will perform well together. "We all feel the music, and we all have a style of our own, but we sort of know how to connect with each other," Julie Pummill said. The excitement about the performance is shared by all the Pummills, but for different reasons, they said. "This is exciting to me because I'm the youngest," Julie Pummill said. "I'm just now building up my skills, and I'm now able to join in and not feel like I'm just this little girl who's singing along." Janet Pummill said performing with her daughters instills a sense of pride in her. "As the mom of this group, it's a real treat for me to be able to share the stage with my three daughters," she said.
Carey Hix
By Tealy Dippel staff reporter In a runoff that Student Government Association officials said had a high voter turnout, Ben Jenkins defeated Walker Moody Thursday for student body president by 335 votes. Sara Donaldson received 14 more votes than Kenny Oubre in the race for House of Student Representatives vice president. Ben Rebstock defeated Kyle Turner by 255 votes for SGA secretary. Jenkins, a junior international finance major and current SGA treasurer, received 931 votes out of the 1,527 votes cast for SGA president. There were 33 abstentions. "I wasn't sure (about the results of the runoff) because I thought it was up in the air," Jenkins said. If given the chance, Jenkins said he would change the amount of time allotted to speak to campus organizations. He said it would have been beneficial to visit with the majority of students on campus and get feedback. Moody said he wishes the best for Jenkins in his new position. "I think Ben will do a good job," he said. "I think he will take the suggestions of the other candidates who ran and use them to make TCU a better place." Donaldson, a sophomore premed/neuroscience major, said she is ecstatic about winning vice president for House. "I'm ready to work, and when I take office, I will be contacting campus organizations to try and get their thoughts on campus communication," Donaldson said. Oubre said he was pleased with the results, and he is proud of himself and his campaign. "Of course, I would like to be vice president for House, but that's how things go," Oubre said. "I had way too much to offer TCU not to run."
Tealy Dippel
By Stephen Suffron staff reporter At least on Monday night, Charlie Brown had a lot more luck on stage than he ever had on the baseball diamond. Pi Kappa Phi and Kappa Alpha Theta were awarded the top honor at the 1999 Frog Follies, an annual musical and dramatic competition between various campus organizations kicking off Homecoming Week, for their adaptation of the comic strip "Peanuts" titled "You're a Good Horned Frog, Charlie Brown." Judges said they were impressed by the winning group's professionalism.
The winning act centered on the "Mr. TCU" elections, for which Charlie Brown, played by sophomore theater and English major Grant Denney, was nominated. The acts included several musical numbers, including "You're a Good Frog, Charlie Brown" and "Happiness is . . . " In the end, Charlie Brown wins the Mr. TCU title and a kiss from the "little red-headed girl." Cast member Joshua Wall, a sophomore political science major, said the victory was the result of over 30 hours of practice. "It was a joint effort," he said. "Everybody was working together for the past two or three weeks. It really came together tonight." The evening's runner-up prize went to the International Student Association and the Japan Culture Club for their presentation titled "Beauty and the Horned Frog." The play centered around Chancellor Michael R. Ferrari being turned into a horned frog by an evil eagle from the University of North Texas. The twist that impressed the judges was that nearly the whole act was done in Japanese. "I think the ISA group did an excellent job in portraying the Beauty and the Beast story in a foreign language," Magee said. "Everyone really got into it." The group had the audience laughing throughout the act from various English interjections pointed at satirizing TCU life. The audience cheered loudly at the end of the "Be Our Guest" song and dance number. Awards were also given out to Delta Delta Delta and Delta Tau Delta for "future Broadway stars," to Lambda Chi Alpha and Sigma Kappa for "best use of theme," to Pi Beta Phi and Phi Gamma Delta for "best costume and props" and to Alpha Phi Omega for "most creative." The 7 p.m. show was a sell-out, PC homecoming co-chairwoman Jenni Jones said. About 850 total students attended the program.
Stephen Suffron |
"I saw a car hit him, and he flipped up in the air,
so I parked in front of him so no one would hit him," said Landry
Burdine, a former TCU student. "I would have kept going after the
car, but no one was stopping (to help)."
The Pummills' performance of the piece is unique, not only
because it will be performed by four piano soloists at once but also because
those four pianists are related and all part of the TCU community.
"I just loved 'Charlie Brown,'"
said D.B Magee, an English Ph.D. student who served as one of five judges.
"You could tell that that they had practiced a lot. They were very
slick, but they had a lot of fun doing it." | The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |