Living in Durham and in the UNH area in general has never been easy. High rents and the lack of available dorms and University apartments make going to school and having a place to call home difficult.

That situation is not going to get much better, as another option students have for living in Durham is now in question.

At the end of last semester, the Durham Zoning Board sent letters to three Greek houses that had boarders alerting them they were in violation of a zoning code. Boarders are defined by the town as students who are not fraternity brothers or sorority sisters who rent out open rooms in houses to live in through the academic year and in the summer.

According to Tom Johnson, director of zoning, building and health codes for the town of Durham, all of the houses who received letters no longer have boarders, although they hope to continue renting rooms after appealing to the zoning board.

Although this code has been on the books since the 1960s, it was not enforced in recent years. Boarders have received attention recently after Kevin Whittaker, a UNH student who was boarding at a fraternity, was charged with negligent homicide in relation to the death of Richard J. Hegerich on Nov. 21, 2004. This led the town to reassess enforcement of zoning rules at fraternities.

"The situation with Kevin Whittaker made us take a look at who was living in frats and whether the codes allow it," Johnson said.

--Ryan Kelly

Friendly greeters welcomed donors as they approached the Granite State Room during the American Red Cross blood drive this past week. Students got in line, read the donor guidelines and headed in to give the gift that saves lives. Those who were first-time donors even got stickers to show all their friends. With the quiet atmosphere, it is hard to believe that something regarded as helpful could be the seed of a controversy at UNH.

The Student Senate is currently drafting a resolution that would recommend the banning of the American Red Cross from holding blood drives on campus. According to the draft of the resolution, this ban is being sought due to the policy the Red Cross follows of prohibiting male homosexuals from donating blood due to the supposed increase in risk of that blood being infected with HIV.

In the resolution, the Student Senate cites their wish for this ban as a means to maintain the policy of the University to provide nondiscriminatory services to students and to make it clear to the Red Cross and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that there is a strong opposition among the student body.

"The underlying issue with all of this is that all other organizations involved with blood donations outwardly oppose the legislation that states men who have sex with men cannot donate blood whereas the American Red Cross does not," Student Senate member Alexandra Barrell said. Barrell said the resolution suggests to the FDA that they reform their blood donation policy.

--Katie Beachard

The University of New Hampshire has complied with portions of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act), sending the campus crime stats to the Federal government. However, the University has not complied with regulations requiring notification of students, staff members and prospective students/staff members (campus community) of the University's annual security report.

In 1986, Lehigh University freshman Jeanne Clery was assaulted and killed by another student while she slept in her dorm room. Because of Clery's death and numerous violent crimes unknown to the Lehigh students, Clery's parents fought to have legislation passed to require colleges and universities to notify students of crimes that occur on campus. The purpose of the act, in general, is to give people who live and work on campus an understanding of the level of safety. It's also a way for the campus community to understand the University's policies relating to campus safety.

--Andrew Sawyer

Nearly 150 people filled the Granite State Room on Friday to celebrate the Year of the Rooster (year 4702 according to the lunar calendar). Celebrated not only in China but also in Korea, Japan, Vietnam and by Chinese-Americans in "China Towns" across the nation, the New Year is about being with family. Faces at Friday's event included those of students and professors, children and families, young and old, both Asian and non-Asian.

Over the past week, UNH Athletic Director Marty Scarano received a number of complaints due to the "inappropriate cheers" at last weekend's men's hockey games against Maine. This is not anything new for Scarano, but the cheers shouted by the student section reverberated clearly throughout the Whittemore Center, and not everyone liked what they heard.

Scarano often gets complaints about the cheers at the hockey games due to their vulgarity. The two cheers that are complained about the most are the "You Suck" cheer, which is said when the opposing team is introduced, and the other is the "Skate, Skate, Skate, sit down b****," which is said when the opposing team receives a penalty.

Complaints about the cheers often come from parents who attend games with their children. Parents Dennis and Kathy Pope took their five-year-old daughter and two-year-old son to last Friday's game against the University of Massachusetts.

"(Vulgar cheers) happen everywhere, but when you have little kids it would be nice to not have profanity," Dennis Pope said. Kathy Pope added, "She (her 5-year-old daughter) asked what the students said when they cheered 'you suck.' She also said the word b**** tonight for the first time after they said it."

The full text of these stories and more is available in The New Hampshire, the student newspaper of the University of New Hampshire, published every Tuesday and Friday.