Miami Student

Friends and family of Miami University junior John Thomas Petters gathered yesterday to celebrate the young man's memory at his funeral in the Basilica of St. Mary, a church in Minneapolis, Minn. According to Mary Pernula, the spokeswoman for the Petters family, the enormous church was completely packed with people who came to pay tribute to the student who was killed overseas on March 13. Petters, a political science major from Edina, Minn., was spending his spring break visiting friend and fellow 2001 Edina High School graduate Andrew Levine. …

Suicide by drowning has been determined as the cause of death of Miami University student Jason Shepherd, 21. Shepherd's body was pulled from the Great Miami River on March 13 after hikers discovered it floating in the river in Crains Run Park near Miamisbug. His car was found parked about a mile away from where the body was found. The Montgomery County coroner in Dayton identified the body on March 16. Shepherd was a senior psychology major at Miami. …

Detour signs will soon be posted in Oxford as the city plans to close part of Chestnut Street for 45 days. Construction will begin March 29 on the sanitary sewer that runs along the east end of the Chestnut Street, the south end of Campus Avenue, and across the field near the Recreation Center's tennis courts. According to Oxford City Engineer Andy Orth, the sewer system needs to be upgraded and relocated so that Miami University can start construction on the proposed ice arena. …

Alternative Spring Break trips offer students hands-on service or learning experiences and a chance for personal reflection. "The goal of Alternative Spring Break is to offer an alternative to engaging in what is considered normal spring break activity," said Kat Cochrane-Yamaguchi, interim program coordinator for the Office of Service Learning and Civic Leadership. Miami University's Office of Service Learning and Civic Leadership sponsored four groups of students' trips this spring break. The group sponsors such trips to allow students the opportunity to leave the community and show they are engaging in meaningful service while learning why the service is needed, Cochrane-Yamaguchi said. …