TL20050912_001 "Tigers tear apart Lock Haver! Bald Eagles at Unitas Stadium, break University athletic record with 70-0 victory, moving 2-0 on year Who wouldn't want to be 'the sassy one' on ElimiDate? Arts, page 15 Published for and by the students of Towson and Baltimore -- twice weekly Monday, 9/12/05 Hurricane Relief Effort Athletes swim 200 Laps-4-Life Sharon Left"""" Associate News Editor Members of the Towson swimming and diving team submerged themselves in Burdick Pool to complete 200 laps in two hours on Saturday morning, raising over $17,000 for Hurricane Katrina victims. Pledges were sought both on campus and in the town of Towson, with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross. Head Coach Pat Mead came up with the idea, called """"Laps^l-Life,"""" on Wednesday, Aug. 31. After getting approval from the athletic department, the team began asking for donations. The team raised $9,000 on its first day by soliciting It's mind-boggling how many people are jumping on board. It really shows the good in people. Pat Mead Head Coach money from students, faculty, staff and community members. """"It was truly a team effort on the part of everyone involved and also the community. We added up the number of people over the last week and somewhere near 1,600 people contributed anything from one dollar to $1,000,"""" Mead said. By the end of Saturday's event, not all of the donations had been submitted and some of them still needed to be accounted for, but initial results had already exceeded expectations. The 200 laps didn't prove to be challenging for the team, which usually completes more than that at an average practice. Mead, who swam in the event as well, wasn't put off by the amount of laps required, but instead focused on the bigger cause. """"For our divers it was a little bit challenging, for me it was a little bit challenging, but the number of lengths really wasn't the challenge for the kids. The challenge was really going out and trying to get people to actually give to the cause,"""" Mead said. The swim team does other charity work during the year and the success of """"Laps-4-Life"""" has prompted Mead to plan a repeat of the event next year for another charitable organization. Melissa Leach, a junior early childhood major and sprinter on the Photos by Amanda Rhode/The Towerlight swim team, was used to the lengthy amount of laps required because the team has nine practice sessions a week. """"I think it was really important for the University and for the students to get involved with helping out the hurricane [efforts] and it gave us a chance to really do something good for somebody else instead of just the school and just the team,"""" Leach said. Participating in """"Laps-4-Life"""" also allowed Mead a more personal way of helping the victims of the hurricane. """"You watch the stuff on TV and are asked to call in or send a check, See EVENT, page 8 Towson honors alumna, Flight 93 victim Molly Hooven Contributing Writer Emotions filled the University Union Chesapeake Rooms on Thursday for a tribute to Honor Elizabeth Wainio, a '95 Towson alum and victim of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11,2001. Richard Picciotto, the highest- ranking firefighter to survive the World Trade Center collapse and author of the New York Times best seller """"Last Man Down,"""" recalled his experiences of that day for a crowd of several hundred attendees. Students, faculty, alumni and family gathered for the fund-raising ceremony titled """"Ordinary People, See FIREFIGHTER, page 9 Inside: Coming In Thursday's Towerlight: Perspectives.... 3 News 7 Beyond 10 Music 16 Sports. Arts 15 Classifieds 19 .24 Arts: Amy Adams gets Southern exposure in indie flick 'Junebug' News: 'Oooh, look at me! Look at me!' University aims to boost publicity efforts"
