March 3, 2008
The News Argus
AMPUS News/Features
Gunman stopped taking
medication, police say
MCT WIRE SERVICE
A gunman accused of killing five students in a Northern
Illinois University classroom recently had stopped taking
medication "and became somewhat erratic," campus police
said.
At the same time, officials corrected an earlier statement
that six other people besides the gunman had died, saying
there had been a "miscommunication."
The gunman vs^as identified as Stephen P. Kazmierczak, a
former NIU student, who took his own life. (The spelling of
Kazmierczak's first name was supplied by a university offi
cial. Other references list him as Steven.)
"There were no red flags," said campus Police Chief
Donald Grady, saying that Kazmierczak was someone
"revered by faculty and students alike."
Kazmierczak's motive is a mystery, he said. Grady
refused to discuss what medication Kazmierczak was tak
ing or anything about his medical condition.
He said Kazmierczak brought four weapons — a shotgun
and three handguns — with him when he kicked open a
door to the classroom and begap firing. Police found 48
shell casings and six shotgun shells in the classroom, indi
cating the number of shots, he said.
Authorities have traced the shotgun and one of the hand
guns to a gun dealer in Champaign, 111., where Kazmierczak
was attending graduate school at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign. They said the purchases were legal, and
there was no reason that Kazmierczak should have been
denied purchase. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are tracing the other two
weapons, said agent Kevin Cronin.
Earlier, the DeKalb County coroner's office had issued a
news release saying that a sixth wounded student had died
overnight, but university officials retracted that, saying there
had been a miscommunication and that only five students
and the gunman had died.
The dead students were identified as: Daniel Parmenter, 20,
of Westchester, 111.; Catalina Garcia, 20, of Cicero, 111.; Ryanne
Mace, 19, of Carpentersville, 111.; Julianna Gehant, 32, of
Meriden, 111.; and Gayle Dubowski, 20, of Carol Stream, 111..
Before the Friday morning news conference at which
Kazmierczak was identified, NIU President John G. Peters
said "the.shooter h,ad a v^i^good a.cadeinici:ecprdx.no record
o^ouble." *' '
'Kazmierczak was not a current sfijdeht a't the'school 65
miles west of downtown Chicago, authorities said. Peters ear
lier had said the man had been enrolled as a sociology gradu
ate shident at NIU but left school last spring.
In an interview at his home near campus Friday morning, a
visibly rattled Joseph Peterson, the instructor of the ocean sci
ence class on which the gunman opened fire, said he did not
know the man and had no idea why he targeted his class
room.
In Lakeland, Fla., local sheriff's police were interviewing
Kazmierczak's father, Robert, at the request of investigators
in DeKalb, but would not release details.
Speaking briefly with reporters at his home about 50
miles southwest of Orlando, Robert Kazmierczak, 66, who
is retired, said: "Please leave me alone. I have no statement
to make. This is a very hard time. I'm a diabetic."
Then he broke down crying and went back inside his
mobile home. Records indicate his wife died in 2006.
Officials said Kazmierczak, dressed in black, stormed into
an oceanography class Thursday afternoon and opened fire
with a shotgun and two handguns. In a matter of seconds,
he killed five and wounded 15.
Then, still on stage, he killed himself, authorities said.
NIU classes have been canceled indefinitely. The dorms,
however, remain open. "It's not a lockdown," NIU's Peters
told reporters recently.
It was the worst campus shooting since April 16, 2007,
when 32 people were shot to death on the campus of
Virginia Tech University by a student who later killed him
self. Virginia Tech officials have called NIU offering help
and advice, Peters said.
Eyewitnesses described hearing a door to the right rear of
the stage slam open and seeing the gunman, wearing a knit
cap and sweat shirt, wielding a shotgun. He stayed within
10 feet of the door and started shooting — first with the
shotgun and then with the handguns.
"He stood there for a second, looked and then just started
shooting," said Meghan Murphy, 22, a junior, a shident in
the class. "His face was blank, like he wasn't a person. He
was a statue, aiming."
Instructor Peterson, who was giving a PowerPoint presen
tation, ducked and was shot in the arm.
Junior John Giovanni, 20, and others said the gunman
aimed at the center of the auditorium.
"He just fires right into the audience," Giovanni said. "He
didn't say a word. It didn't look like he was aiming directly at
someone. I think he was trying to hit as many people as he
could."
The blast was deafening, Giovanni said. Chaos erupted,
with students dropping to the floor and crawling, rurming
and shoving their way to the doors behind the rear seats, eye
witnesses said. Giovanni said he ran out of one of his shoes.
Half the class bolted for the doors; the rest cowered on
the floor and attempted to hide under their seats or under
desks, said Loren Weese, 18, a freshman who was seated on
the aisle about halfway up the auditorium.
"A lot of people fell," she said. "I don't know if they did
that on purpose to avoid being shot. I remember stepping
over them. I didn't talk to anybody.
Chicago Tribune reporters David Heinzmann, James Kimberly,
Gerry Smith, Josh Noel, Deborah Horan, Megan Twohey, Mary
Ann Fergus, Andrew L. Wang, Jo Napolitano, Jodi S. Cohen,
James Janega, William Presecky, Richard Wronski, Jeff Coen and
Ray Quintanilla contributed to this report. It was written by
Tribune reporters Ted Gregory and David Eisner.)
Doctors use body mass index to determine level of obesity
Tierra Berthau
STAFF REPORTER
In the past few years, the
media has presented many
reports on the growing prob
lem of overweight
Americans. Being over
weight leads to many health
problems that cost people
their lives as well as money
as medical care needs
increase.
According to Hubert
Chen, M.D., Associate
Director of Medical Sciences
at Amgen Inc. and Assistant
Professor of Clinical
Medicine University of
California at San Francisco,
obesity is a disease defined
as "an increase in total body
fat determined by your Body
Mass Index (BMI)."
Obesity is the excessive
accumulation of body fat or
having a BMI of 30 or
greater. As a result, "as
many as one-third of all
Americans" are obese based
on BMI criteria, according to
HealthCentral.com. Body
Mass Index can be deter
mined by using a simple for
mula. HealthCentral.com
instructions to calculate your
BMI are as follows: you mul
tiply your weight in pounds
by 705; divide by your
height in inches; divide this
number by your height in
inches a second time.
It should be understood
that a person with a high
BMI and a muscular body
would not be considered
obese. The excess body fat is
the determining factor of
obesity.
After smoking, obesity is
the second leading cause of
preventable death and is
associated with Type 2 ciia-
betes, hyperlipidemia, coro
nary artery disease, arthritis,
gallstones, and certain types
of cancer according to
HealthCentral.com,
While obesity is a serious
health issue, it can be
treated, A person along with
the assistance of a physician
should determine their BMI
and then formulate a plan
that he or she can follow to
reduce their weight and/or
excess body fat.
A physician should per
form a physical examination,
wliich should be conducted
at least annually. The exami
nation should include a
measurement of height and
weight to help diagnose
whether or not one is obese.,
The physician should also
have the patient's complete
medical and family history.
This history would include
finding answers to the fol
lowing questions;
□ When were you first
considered or diagnosed as
being obese?
□ Do you have any close
Underweight Normal rangeOverweight Obese
6MU18-5 BMJia.5-2S 6HI-25-30 6Mt>30
6HI-25-30
130
90 100 110 (21
Weight (kilogramsj
Weight [pounds]
150
6'3
family members who are
obese?
□ What is your current eat
ing and exercise behavior?
□ Do you smoke or drink
alcohol?
□ What is your previous
weight gain or weight loss
experience?
Additionally, blood tests
will help a physician deter
mine if you have abnormal
glucose, cholesterol, or
triglyceride levels as well as
to discover whether any obe-
sity-related conditions may
be present.
Once the physician has all
the needed data to make a
diagnosis, he can consult
with the patient and deter
mine the best treatment
strategy. The strategy will
most likely be a weight loss
and exercise program, which
the physician will monitor.
One needs at minimum 20
minutes of constant exercise
to achieve a sufficient heart
rate to get the necessary
impact for weight loss.
Additionally, the patient
would be expected to engage
in behavioral modification to
change their eating and exer
cise behavior until it
becomes a new way of life
and a routine of exercise
becomes normal for them.
SPRING BREAK; More than just fun in the sun
Larry Williams
STAFF REPORTER _ _
For students at Winston-Salem State,
March 10 is an important date.It marks
the first day of spring break at WSSU.
The week-long break — March 10 to
14 — gives students a chance to
recharge and relax for the final push of
the semester.
Most college breaks fall between
March 8 and 22. Panama City Beach,
Florida and South Padre Island, Texas
remain top destinations for the college
crowd, according to a recent article on
MSN.com.
Other popular destinations are
South Beach in Miami, Lake Havasu,
Arizona; Myrtle Beach, South
Carolina; and Las Vegas. This year
Panama City Beach is hosting MTV's
Spring Break party starting March 9.
BET's "Spring Bling" takes place in
Riviera Beach, Florida, March 28 to 30.
Students at WSSU have planned a
variety of activities over spring break.
Working to earn money is a popular
choice.
"I'm going to work and get more
hours so I can earn some more
money," said freshman Joshua Black.
Dwayne Tate, a senior, echoed that
sentiment: "I plan on resting and I
might work a little bit."
Besides working, vacation is also on
many students' minds.
"I'm going to Atlanta, GA, to see my
i
a!»-—■
«v*i
Virginia Beach is one of many popular destinations during spring break.
sister for the week and to also cele
brate my birthday," said freshman
Krystal Mackey., "I plan on catching a
train headed north with no destination
planned, and just be by myself for
some days." said junior Nicolia
Stewart
Although partying and vacationing
with friends is still popular, there is a
growing shift toward college students
doing volunteer work in communities
across the U.S.
"There has been a steady decline in
traditional 'party trips,'" said Gibb in
the MSN article. "Spring Break is
growing up ... The days of drinking
all day on Daytona Beach are dwin
dling."
"College students want to make a
difference in the world. They are more
informed and socially responsible,"
Gibb said.
Meredith Munday, who is in the
accelerated nursing program, said
she'll prepare for that goal over spring
break.
"I plan on studying a whole lot the
whole week," she said.
Wouldn't your ad loo] good liere?
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