'Unknowns' torched combustibles in McMahon

Arson was determined yesterday to be the cause of a fire in McMahon Residence Hall which occurred at 1:25 a.m. Friday, resulting in an estimated $200 worth of damage.

Fire Department Arson Squad spokesperson Gary Owens said the fire, which started in the lounge of a fifth floor cluster, was set by "unknowns. They held a flame to available combustibles and a cardboard box full of clothing material."

Although the Fire Department has classified the arsonists as "unknown," one McMahon resident said she saw "two ex-convicts handcuffed and taken away by policemen outside McMahon, yesterday afternoon."

Tottering Greeks

With strong enthusiasm and sore legs, University Greeks from the Sigma Nu fraternity and the Kappa Delta sorority continue their week-long teeter-totter marathon to raise money for the Council for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.

The teeter-totter, which sits across from the Kappa Delta sorority on 17th Avenue, was christened with a bottle of champagne by a member of the council at 5 p.m. Wednesday, when the marathon officially began. It will run 24 hours a day until April 21. The drive's goal is $5,000 – double the amount of money made last year from the event.

Members from the two houses volunteered to teeter-totter for one-hour intervals.

Pierson, Kappa Delta, who helped coordinate the fund-raiser with Lee Nelson, Sigma Nu, said the Greeks haven't had problems getting people to sign up to teeter-totter from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. "Those shifts go faster," said Pierson. "We are having difficulty getting members to volunteer from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. though."