Students remember stabbing victim
Hundreds of friends, family and mourners gathered to remember a slain University of Maryland sophomore Friday, the Diamondback, Maryland’s student newspaper, reported.
Brandon James Malstrom, 20, died last Sunday after being stabbed after a party near the school’s campus. The Diamondback reported the stabbing resulted from a fight over a cell phone.
Prince George’s County police have charged two men, ages 23 and 24, with first-degree murder in the case.
-Alex Kingsbury
Helen Thomas speaks about White House years
Hearst columnist and former School of Media and Public Affairs faculty member Helen Thomas shared opinions and signed books Tuesday in honor of her new book, “Thanks for the Memories, Mr. President: Wit and Wisdom from the Front Row at the White House.”
At the American News Women’s Club, Thomas posed for photographs, spoke with Women’s Club members and answered questions about her opinions of the present administration.
“We don’t have ideals anymore. This country has lost its soul. The leadership is dying to go to war,” she said.
Thomas said that the Bush administration is “the most secretive” and that the media is somewhat responsible.
“They have gone limp,” she said. “Journalists have to be much more skeptical. If they don’t ask the questions, democracy won’t work.”
Thomas has covered an unprecedented nine presidential terms in her career. This most recent book presents a personal chronicle of each of these administrations.
She began her White House coverage in 1961 under John F. Kennedy, her favorite president, she said.
“Kennedy had ideals. It’s been downhill since then. There has not been a president who cares enough,” she said.
During Kennedy’s term, she was the first woman to close a presidential press conference with the traditional “Thank you, Mr. President.”
Thomas has received numerous awards and honorary doctoral degrees from universities, including GW in 1999. In 2000, she joined the SMPA faculty as the Shapiro Fellow and gave lectures and career advice to journalism and media students.
-Sarah Levin