TL20060914-01 "Brian Stelter Editor in Chief Towson University academic adviser and part-time faculty mem-ber Tracy Miller took the day off on Tuesday, but she still spent all day at school. Miller, a Democratic candidate in the District 42 House of Delegates race, stood outside Summit Park Elementary School from 6:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m., greeting citizens before they cast votes in the state�s primary election. Then she came home to Towson and waited to find out if 14 hours of campaigning had helped her win a chance to compete in the general election. �It was really amazing hearing the tallies coming in,� she said. By midnight, more than half the precincts had reported their vote counts, and Miller had clearly earned a spot on the Nov. 7 ballot. Brian Ward, a junior political sci-ence major and president of the College Democrats, is serving as field director for Miller�s campaign. He said he was happy with Tuesday�s results. �It really shows that visibility isn�t really necessarily the key to winning; it�s direct voter contact,� www.thetowerlight.com The Towerlight Published by and for the students of Towson and Baltimore -- twice-weekly Students check out 39 abroad programs at Fair News, page 7 Thursday INSIDE Calendar........3 Perspectives........4 News.......7 History.......11 Arts.......15 Puzzles.......18 Classifi eds.......20 Sports.......24 on the Patrick Smith/The Towerlight Ally Perko and the Tigers welcomed No. 3 UCLA to the Towson Center for the first time Tuesday. More than 800 spectators -- a Towson volleyball record -- packed the stands. See story, page 24. Tigers hang with national power Primary win places Miller in November election Ryan Gosling plays a crack-addicted middle school teacher in indie �Half Nelson,� one of the best movies of the year Arts, page 16 Sept. 14, 2006 As area crime surges, Caret calls for action Brian Stelter Editor in Chief Street robberies in the Towson precinct are up 60 percent to date this year, causing Baltimore County Police to beef up patrols and lead-ing Towson University�s president to emphasize the importance of safe surroundings. In his Fall Address last week, President Robert Caret said the amount of low-level crime has increased on the edges of campus. �When I see people being robbed with handguns at the Towson Circle or the movie theater or at Aigburth Road, that changes my whole feel about the campus,� Caret said. In his address, Caret was applauded when he pledged to push the crime back and �get rid of it.� The level of street robberies is at a five-year high in the area. County police have records of 69 street robberies through Aug. 27 this year. This time last year, only 42 had been reported. �In 2002 we had a high year, then we saw a decrease, and now we have an increase,� county police Cpl. Michael Hill said. Hill stressed that many of the robberies have occurred east of campus, in the Hillendale and Loch Raven neighborhoods, not in downtown Towson. But a recent incident near the intersection of York and Aigburth Roads, across from Stephens and Newell Halls, is a prime example of the kind of crime police are try-ing to fight. The crime occurred early in the morning on Aug. 22 and was handled by the Towson University Police Department. According to Hill, �the suspect walked up to the victim, asked the victim for a buck or two, the victim pulled out his wallet for whatever reason to give him a buck, and the guy grabbed the wallet and ran out.� A TUPD offi-cer noticed the suspect, and a p p rehended him after a brief pursuit. Towson stu-dents frequently traverse the area where the crime occurred. Because the sus-pect was arrest-ed, a crime alert wasn�t e-mailed to the campus. But on the first day of the fall semester, students and faculty were notified of another robbery that occurred the same day. Around 11:40 p.m. on Aug. 22, �two suspects approached a lone victim near York Road and Pennsylvania Avenue. The suspects grabbed the victim and demanded money and made threats of physi-cal violence,� as was stated in the crime alert. The TUPD issued eight crime alerts via e-mail in spring 2006, up from two in spring 2005. Three If it doesn�t get just have pressure on the system in a postive way to make it better. Robert Caret Towson University president �does better, we to put more See CRIME, page 9 See PRIMARY, page 10 TU advisor, alums succeed in race; Towson booster Rasmussen loses in Senate bid "
