Downstroke

Chicks don’t dig Syn: The Associated Students Women’s Center is not happy about a recent promotion by Chico’s other weekly paper, in which readers received free copies of a porn DVD that was filmed at a local frat house.

The center is urging students to shun The Synthesis, a publication that caters mostly to students, and even wants the paper’s racks taken off campus until it apologizes for hyping College Invasion 6, an act the center says “promotes violence against women.”

Center director Laura Hahn said the film depicts a young and obviously drunk female student who is “spilling her beer and slurring her speech” just before a man “pushes her head into his crotch.”

“It sends a really detrimental message, especially in a city like Chico where sexual assault is such a problem,” Hahn said.In an e-mail to the CN&R, Synthesis CEO Bill Fishkin stated, “in no way was the promotion meant to hurt feelings or offend anyone. We are meeting with people from the AS Women’s Center today to further discuss this matter and I’m sure things will work themselves out.”

Fishkin added that a dozen of the papers’ racks had recently been vandalized.

You play with fire… The Butte County District Attorney’s Office is considering filing a misdemeanor complaint against first-year Chico State student Maddie Brumbaugh this week.

Brumbaugh’s ninth-floor room in Whitney Hall is the spot where an April 13 fire started after a candle was left unattended. Use of lighted candles violates university housing rules.

According to a press release, a fire alarm sounded at approximately 8:35 p.m., and the fire was contained within 30 minutes. All 490 residents were safely evacuated, and the 31 residents living in the B Wing have since been moved to other rooms in Whitney or other residence halls.

Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said the report was given to him on April 19 and that he will look at it later this week.

“We’ll match the facts up with the law and come up with an appropriate charging decision,” Ramsey said.

Which Whitcher is which? Emerging victorious, with nary a runoff, is new Associated Students President Thomas Whitcher (pictured). In elections held April 13-14, Whitcher snagged 60.12 percent of the vote to second-place Devlin Donnelly’s 31.61 percent.

With the exception of a concerned group’s demand to witness the ballot-counting process, the election lacked the conflict of recent years, when candidates of dissenting opinion went head-to-head.

“It was a little bit more low-key. There wasn’t as much controversy,” Whitcher said, adding that all candidates agreed the top priority for 2005-06 is “improving our image.” Also, he said, “I really see next year as setting the tone for the rec center project.”

Elected in a landslide as executive vice president is Katie Connett, whose opponent garnered only 10 votes. Connett will run the weekly Governmental Affairs Committee meetings.

Erik Hormann is vice president of business and finance, Chris Porter is vice president of facilities and services, Nicole DeMartini was re-elected to the post of director of legislative affairs, and Stephanie Ried is director of university affairs.

For a full list of election results, go to https://www.aschico.org/election.