tl20080128-01 "Nick Di Marco Assistant News Editor Risking hypothermia in the name of char-ity, 10,000 people braved the cold waters of the Chesapeake Bay for the 12th annual Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge Saturday, Jan. 26. Several Towson University students pulled on their bathing suits and partici-pated in the event that raised over $3 mil-lion for the Special Olympics Maryland. �We wanted to do the plunge because our president had plunged before and there had been so much support and advertising sur-rounding around the event. It was a great event to start the new semester, and our fraternity loves doing crazy things,� Laura Pleines, executive vice president of Alpha Phi Omega, said. Pleines� seven-person group raised a little more than $300 for the event and took their turn jumping into the near-freezing water at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis at noon. �My family thought I was crazy and I just kept telling them I wasn't. My aunt was up in the air [about whether] to donate because of how she felt about the fact you could get hypothermia and how unsafe this event could be,� Pleines said. �I was actually excited running down the beach because there were thousands on that beach, so I really didn't feel like I was doing something that was so crazy.� Thousands of participants and spectators attended the Plunge. To accommodate the vast crowd in attendance it was announced on site that an additional plunge would be added to the day�s itinerary at 1 p.m. in addition to noon and 3 p.m. Pleines said her fraternity would assist with local Special Olympics events, includ-ing the Special Olympics set to take place at Towson this summer. She said they were recruited after a staff member at the event recognized their Towson University apparel. She hopes next year to have a more offi-cial team and considered this year�s outing as a trial run for the future. Jan. 28, 2008 Monday www.thetowerlight.com Now on TheTowerlight.com: Get a new perspective on Tiger sports by visiting Kiel McLaughlin�s blog... Tigers and polar bears, oh my Towson students plunge into frigid waters to benefit Special Olympics Patrick Smith/The Towerlight Plungers splash into the frigid water during the 12th annual Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge at Sandy Point State Park, Jan. 26. The plunge, which benefits the Special Olympics, raised more than $3 million this year. Patrick Smith/The Towerlight During the Polar Bear Plunge, many plungers wore costumes to make the frigid trip into the water more fun. One step left in TU�s pursuit of trimester University System�s committee on finance approves pilot plan Healey, Chiles drafted into MLS MEN�S SOCCER See PILOT, page 8 Kiel McLaughlin News Editor Shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon, while Towson senior Pat Healey was uncomfortably reclined in a den-tist�s chair, his father, Kevin, received the call that Pat had been waiting all day. After the appointment, Kevin handed Pat the phone and he heard the good news. The Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer drafted Pat with the 11th selection in the supplemental draft. He will arrive in Kansas City on Monday to prepare for preseason camp. Sitting in his living room, goalkeeper Billy Chiles was left waiting longer than his Towson teammate. Chiles was told he had been selected in the same round as Healey, but it wasn�t until almost four hours later that he knew to what destination. Left to wonder by his phone, Chiles finally recieved the call from Towson head coach Frank Olszewski, notifying Chiles that the Columbus Crew chose him with the sixth pick in the opening round. The selections marked the first time in program history that a Towson men�s soccer player was drafted into the MLS. See DRAFT, page 23 The Towerlight Published by and for the students of Towson and Baltimore -- twice-weekly Towson Place apartments open for spring semester News, page 7 Men�s basketball defeats James Madison, 73-64 Sports, page 24 Kiel McLaughlin News Editor Towson President Robert Caret�s plan to launch a trimester pilot during Summer 2008 took a step forward Thursday. Meeting at the Minnegan Room in the field house of Johnny Unitas Stadium, the University System of Maryland�s committee on finance unanimously approved Caret�s proposal for a multiple-year program that would cost about $170,000. �I was very pleased at the support that we received from the Board of Regents� effectiveness and efficiency See BEAR, page 9 "
