Former UVA Lacrosse Player found Guilty

A few weeks ago, I spoke about the conviction of George Huguely and the death of Yeardley Love. On February 22, 2012, the jury found Huguely guilty of 2nd degree murder.  The jurors recommend that Huguely spend 25 years in prison for "slaying" Love.  He was found guilty for four other chargers such as breaking and entering and burglary. There were many different stories on what had happened the night of Love's death, but we will never know. I am confused on why he was found guilty of Love's murder when there was clear evidence for her death  He stole her laptop and smashed it, he broke into her apartment the night of the murder.  Who else did it?  She had no other enemies.  Huguely couldn't have Love anymore, and if he couldn't have her, nobody else could. A corner concluded that Love had died from trauma.  Huguely repeatedly hit Love. It is sad that they have no other suspects and there is clear proof on how killed Love, but yet he was found guilty of her murder.  The jury had to decide whether he beat her to death because of jealousy or if his intention to speak with her spun out of control and that she died "accidentally." In other articles that I read it said that she was on ADHD medicine, but what on earth does that have to do with her death? They said that it had to do with an irregular heartbeat. She did't kill herself.  Just because she was on ADHD medicine and she was drinking doesn't mean she did anything.  She is legal to drink, and the medicine was prescribed to her. Huguely had sent love and email saying "I should have killed you."  Yes, he is going to prison for 25 years, but he was found guilty of Love's murder.  It is clear that he killed her and it makes me sick that he is getting away with it.  He should be in prison for the rest of his life.  Huguely's fellow Lacrosse players and friends stated that he had an escalated drinking problem. He had put Love in a chockehold because she accused him of flirting with two high school girls. Who does that? Who puts their girlfriend in a chokehold?  He needs help. He should never see the outside of a prison wall, and he should never be allowed to see a female again.  Huguely is a big liar. Anyone who does anything remotely close to what he did should be in prison. Nobody should be treated like that.  Huguely's family is devastated.  They lost their daughter and their sister.

I spoke with my brother who is a Senior at Landon.  In my previous post I spoke with him about the abuse that the school was receiving because Huguely attended Landon.  I asked my brother if his former Lacrosse coach had said anything.  My brother said "no,  but I think that everyone has a good idea that he did it."  My brother sent me this article about Huguely and Landon. It was in time and a mother was speaking about how her daughter knows the Landon boys and how they are all "good looking and rich." This article not only upset my brother, but my parents and the fellow students of Landon.  It is false.  Everywhere you go, you will find "good looking and rich" people. " You never drink from a cup offered by a Landon boy." Landon is a small school. My parents are very involved with Landon and so is my brother. He has been the class treasurer, the class president and the class representative.  You know everyone.  I have met many of my brothers friends, and they are nothing what this article portrays Landon boys to be like. I am sure that there are a few boys like that anywhere you go. For these 14 year old girls to say this about these boys is ridiculous. 

Who Would You Interview?

Being an Arab American Palestinian, I was very into my culture.  My parents are both Arab American Christians.  Growing up, I went to church every Sunday with my family.  My cousins and I were extremely close. As I got older, I started to hear more about the war against the Palestinians, and the Jewish people.  I didn't really understand what was going on. All I knew was that they weren't getting along, and they were fighting over land. As I got older, I would read about the war in the newspaper, and both my parents explained to me what was really going on. They got upset when they read news articles that were false and that took only one side.  Living in the United States we dont really know what is going on in other countries. We believe what we hear. We hear one side of the story and not the other. When I say I am Palestinian, people are like where is that? I say "It's Israel now, but it had always been Palestine."  After 9/11 people made judgements about all Arab Americans being terrorists, wether they were Muslim or Christian. The truth is, a lot of people in the United States do not really know what is going on in other countries, unless they have been their or know people from their.  Someone who I would have loved to interview, but whom is now deceased, was Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat. Arafat died when I was young, but he is still talked about to this day.  He was the Palestinian leader from 1994 to 2004.  He lived through the war in the Middle East. He has been there, and seen everything. He made peace deals with Israel and communicated with other countries. It would be amazing to hear what he would have to say about the the Middle Eastern War.  I want to hear what he has to say, what he lived through.  Even though, some people didn't like him, I would put all my assumptions aside. I would ask him how he had handled the war and what he wants to accomplish and how to settle everything.  There are always two sides to a story. Some are right and some are wrong.  We will never really know what is really going on in the Middle East.

Teen Pregnancy

In nearly 40 years teen pregnancy is at the lowest rate that it has ever been. Both, birth and abortion rates in the U.S. have dropped to the lowest it has been since 1972.  The Guttmacher Institute, which conducted this study, is a research organization that focuses on sexual and reproductive health. The Guttmacher researches found that 2008 is the most recent year for all the data.  From 1990 to 2008, the amount of teen girls, ages 15 to 19, that got impregnated dropped 4 percentage points, from 11 to 7 percent.  Abortions amongst teen girls decreased from 4 percent in 1988, to 1.8 percent in 2008.  Even though the rate of teen pregnancy has dropped there is still a space dividing white, Hispanic and African American teens. African American and Hispanic teen pregnancy and abortion rates are four times higher then white teens. In 2008, about 750,000 women in the U.S. under the age of 20 became pregnant. It  which went to a pregnancy rate of 67.8 pregnancies per 1,000 women. The women were from 15 to 19 years old.  In 1972 the Supreme Court established a women’s right to an abortion in Roe V. Wade.  Researches say that teen pregnancy has declined mainly due to the acknowledgment of increased contraceptive use. Studies confirm that an increase of 9 percent of males, which is 8 out of 10, had used condoms the first time they had sex. Studies show that teenagers are becoming more understanding about sex due to the increase of condom use. Also the rate of teens admitting to having sex at least once has dropped since 1998. 42 percent of female teens, and 42 percent of male teens have admitted to having sex at least once.

In 2009, MTV released a show called "Teen Mom" and "16 and Pregnant." Which are shows about what teen moms and families go through. Many people love the show and think it is amazing, but others are not so thrilled about it. The MTV show distresses Dr. Jennider Landa, M.D, Medical Officer of BodyLogicMD. Dr.Landa stated, " For most people, teen pregnancy is seen as a difficult event that causes a lot of upheaval in the child's life that is having the child."  She isn't thrilled about MTV's television show that became the networks top new series. Maci Bookout, a star on "Teen Mom" makes appearances at colleges all over the U.S. Her lectures are about the struggles of being a teen mom and so much more. Bookout explains everything and what she went through, to before she became pregnant and what is was like after the pregnancy and her struggles.

The Landon School Lacrosse Incidents

In March 2006, five of the Duke Lacrosse players were charged with rape and were from The Landon School in Bethesda. Three of the players from Landon were suspended over false accusations that a stripper was raped at an off-campus party. All chargers were dropped against the players.  The DNA testing that was ordered by the prosecution failed to connect to any of the players. George Huguely and Conor Cassidy, Landon Bears Lacrosse captains said that it was rough for both of them to deal with, and not possible to ignore. Huguely said "I sympathize for the team. They've been scrutinized so hard and no one knows what has happened yet."

George Huguely 2006

Yeardley Reynolds Love was born July 17, 1987. She attended the University of Virginia and was on the Womens lacrosse team. She was a lacrosse star. Love was found dead by her roommate the morning of May 3, 2010 in her off-campus apartment. Charlottesville Police say that her injuries were obvious and very severe. Love’s roommate thought that she had suffered from alcohol poisoning.  Early reports from an autopsy say she suffered physical trauma.  Love was set to graduate in May 2010. Love lived with her mother, Sharon and her sister, Lexie.  Love’s father had deceased.

Yeardley Love

 George Huguely, UVA men’s lacrosse player and Love's ex boyfriend, had been charged with Love’s murder and is awaiting trial. Huguely is from the wealthy, Chevy Chase, MD and was an honor student at The Landon School in Behtesda, MD.  Charlottesville Police say that Huguely was corporative in working with them. Huguely was involved in a pervious run in with the police. Huguely was stumbling into traffic in Lexington, VA where he was visiting friends.  The arresting officer said he threatened to kill her, and started fighting with her. She then had to tase him and put him into handcuffs. He pleaded guilty to the public intoxication charges. Four years earlier, Huguely was interviewed by the Washington Post about former teammates, and now he is stuck in a similar position.  The Landon School received bad press for this incident in particular.  My brother Michael, who is a Senior at Landon, received a lot of bad mouthing from students from other schools at sports events.  Michael said that other schools would yell at Landon "rapists and women killers." People would also say that Landon is an elite school where athletes are not held accountable for their actions, which is false.  It just so happens that these two incidents were by men who had attended Landon. It is sad that the school and the students have to hear such negativity for something that they did not do and that is out of their hands and for something that is not true.