Knox Acquited After
Much Controversy
We Certainly Do
“Love a Fair’’
Rebecca Brodney, Staff Writer
In 2007, Amanda Knox of Seattle,
Washington, was studying abroad in
Perugia, Italy, via a program for the
University of Washington. During
this time, she lived with 21-year-old
Meredith Kercher, from Coulsdon,
South London. In November 2007,
Meredith Kercher was brutally mur
dered. Her throat was slit, and she
was sexually assaulted and stabbed
repeatedly. Three prime suspects
emerged: Amanda Knox; Knox’s
then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito;
and Rudy Guede, a friend of the
victim. In December 2009, Knox and
Sollecito were found guilty of murder
and were sentenced to twenty-six and
twenty-five years in jail respectively.
Guede, in a separate trial, was sen
tenced to 16 years imprisonment for
sexual violence. After an appeal on
October 3, 2011, involving a review of
all DNA evidence, Knox and Sollecito
were cleared of murder.
Amanda Knox was the suspect who
received the most publicity, most
likely a result of her odd behavior
and that she is a female accused of
both murder and sexual assault. After
the murder had taken place, Sollecito
and Knox were both taken to a police
station in Perugio, where Knox began
to act strangely; she reportedly did
splits and cartwheels in the police
station and even kissed Sollecito
while sitting on his lap. The former
director of Perugia’s investigation
squad, Domenico Giacinto Profazio,
had to inform Knox and Sollecito that
Christa Riley, Staff Writer
their behavior was not appropriate,
according to a 2009 article by Phoebe
Natanson, “Cops Cite Amanda Knox’s
‘Strange Attitude’ After Roomie’s
Murder.” Knox was referred to as
“Foxy Knoxy” or “she-devil,” often
depicted as promiscuous and sex-
erazed. A lack of understanding of
American culture may have contrib
uted to this depiction. Regardless of
the negative views of Knox, there is
no physical evidence of her or Solleci-
to’s involvement in the grisly murder.
Knox had to address the court in
Italian, a language in which she only
had cursory knowledge. Meredith
College junior Kristen Gallagher
studied abroad this past summer in
Cambodia, where the primary lan
guage is Khmer. Gallagher says that
she had no knowledge of the language
except for a two-week course taken
as part of the study abroad program.
When asked what it would be like
to be accused of a crime similar to
Knox’s, Gallagher responded, “I did
not know enough Khmer to survive
something like that—I would certainly
have to prepare by working with a
translator. I imagine it would be quite
difficult and very intimidating, and,
on top of that, the Cambodian justice
system is very corrupt...! don’t even
know if I would get a lawyer.” It will
be interesting in the upcoming years
to see if students find themselves
studying abroad less as a result of an
incident like this.
What’s Up In Raleigh: lo/is-ia/z
Collected by Ashleigh Phillips
19-23; North Carolina Stale Fair
19-30: Carolina Ballet’s Dracula and The Masque of the Red Death (S Fletcher
Opera Theater
19- 31; Raleigh Ensemble Players present Struwweepeter: A Haunting @ Real
Theatre"' ,
20- 22 and 27-31: Raleigh Jaycees Haunted House’s Terror at Possum Creek @
2526 Hillsborough Street
21- 30: North Carolina Theater presents, Evita @ Memorial Auditorium ,
28-29: North Carolina Sympholiy presents Zarathustra @ Meyandi Concert Hail
20: Wale and King Mez @ Lincoln Theater
21: The. Cherry Bonib Ball @ Kings
Minus the Bear @ Lincoln Theater
Darius Rucker @ Raleigh Amphitheater '
22: Star Slinger @ Kings 4
American Aquariam @ Lincoln Theater, '
25: Canes vs. Senators @ RBC Center ' ,
28: Canes vs. Blackhawks @RBC Center
29: M83 @ Kings :
Haunted Hillsborough Hike on Hillsborough Street
31: Revolution Raleigh dance party @ Lincoln Theater
1: Canes vs. Lightning @ RBC Center
image via ncstatefair.org
The 144th annual NC State
Fair is in full swing this
week with specialty food and
events that only come once
a year. More sidewalks have
been made for easier walking
access to the fair; there are
also buses, trains, and park
& ride decks that have been
implemented to help avoid
fair traffic.
The star attraction of the
fair food this year is deep
fried Kool-Aid. Some other
snacks include fried bubble
gum, fried candy apples, and
blue candy apples. All of the
classic favorites return as
well: flavored, roasted al
monds and deep fried Oreos,
Reese’s, Snickers, and other
fried candy bars. The infa
mous Krispy Kreme burger,
which swaps buns for dough
nuts, makes a comeback as
well.
There are a few new fair
rides this year, including the
Sky Diver, which is composed
of a Ferris Wheel and cars
in which riders sit and spin
while the Ferris Wheel turns.
The Chopper Hopper Heli
copter is one of the new rides
that allows for children under
36 inches to ride for free,as
long as there is a ticket-hold
er over 16 years old riding
with them. The much loved
Drop Zone, Himalaya, and
Zipper ride have all come
back to this year’s festivities.
For animal lovers, the fair
has many attractions that
feature both farm and exotic
animals. The petting zoo is
free and includes tortoises,
alpacas, oxen, camels, goats,
and baby cows. A zebra and
mini horses are also shown,
but they are kept in the mid
dle of the tent. The fair also
includes a rabbit barn, which
shows hundreds of differ
ent rabbits, some of which
are available for adoption.
In addition, every other hour
from ipm to 9pm, the Circle
C Racing Pigs race each other
around a track for cheese
puffs.
The concert line-up for this
year includes country artist
David Nail on Wednesday the
19th; Dionne Warwick, a R&B
and pop artist, on the 20th;
Newsboys, a Christian pop
rock band, on the 21st; Kan
sas , an American Rock band,
on Saturday the 22nd; and,
ending the Fair on Sunday
the 23rd, country artist Kellie
Pickier.
Other exciting fair attrac
tions include Steve Brogan,
the comic ventriloquist;
Michelle’s Magical Poodle;
Arthur Fratelli, who shows
off his yo-yoing, juggling, and
magic tricks; and the King Ac
tion Sports Stunt Show, which
features BMX bike riders.*
For more exciting events and
for specific dates and times,
check out the daily NC State
Fair schedule online at http://
www.ncstatefair.org/ 2011 /
General/Daily.htm.