the BATTA
'TUESDAYMARCH 19, 2002
VOLUME 108 • ISSUE 112
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THE BATTALION
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become a tmvi
orps member arrested for child porn
By Brandie Liffick
THE BATTALION
_ Texas A&M Corps of Cadets member was
irrested Monday as part of a nationwide crack
iown on child pornography that left 89 people
nc ireerated.
■Senior psychology major Stephen Michael
fohnston was arrested on charges of conspiracy to
ransport or distribute child pornography on the
ntemet. Johnston was one of eight from the
Houston area taken into custody as part of an under
cover FBI sting called “Operation Candyman.”
Bob Wiatt, director of the University Police
Department, said Johnston’s personal computer
was confiscated by the UPD and sent to the
FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force offices in
Houston on Dec. 10, 2001.
“Based on the information the FBI obtained
from his personal computer’s hard drive, a
sealed indictment was issued Friday for
Johnston,” Wiatt said.
Johnston was asked Monday to report to
UPD offices, where he then surrendered to the
police, Wiatt said. He was later transported to
FBI offices in Houston.
Mark Bales, 23, of Palestine.Texas allegedly
operated a Website that provided access to child
pornography and child erotica. FBI officials said
Bales ran the site for two months, starting on
Dec. 6, 2000.
Johnston and six other men arrested in
Texas allegedly subscribed to the site.
Eighty-one additional arrests were made
Monday in related child pornography cases in
20 states across the nation.
If convicted, Johnston could face five to 15
years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.
Wiatt said it is also possible that Johnston could
be charged with possession of obscene material.
“To those who seek to exploit and prey upon
our children by producing, distributing and
exchanging child pornography via the Internet,
be warned. Our investigation will continue,”
Michael Shelby, U.S. Attorney for the
Southern District of Texas, told the Associated
Press. “We will be diligent in our efforts to
protect our children.”
The FBI said it expects to arrest at least 50
others nationwide by the end of the week in
conjunction with the operation.
Spring training
applications rise
Iw Christina Hoffman
THE BATTALION
rot
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d 1
mi
t* Iconics nuti
I he belio
nittee has:
considenti
rious candid
i f ormer Ai
essor. told
e to A&M i
e a dream j
hers say hi'
Enron Coq
tether he wc
loice.
ore students than ever
before, including a record num-
bej of minority applicants, want
totutend Texas A&M this fall.
■As of March 1 1, a total of
19|689 high school and transfer
students had applied for admis
sion as freshman, with increases
in |H categories including black
and Hispanic populations.
. T "'' number of applicants
inlreased by almost 1,000
compared to average numbers
during the same time period in
past years, said Frank Ashley,
director of admissions.
■ Black applicants totaled
954, with a 13 percent
increase from past averages.
Hispanic applicants total
2,330, a 3 percent increase,
Ashley said.
Ashley said he thinks
minority students do not feel
welcome at A&M.
“The increase (in applica
tions) is incredible. We thought
the negative publicity would
bring them down,” Ashley said.
Officials with the Office of
Admissions cannot make any
concrete connections for the
record increase, but an increase
in the amount of recruiting for
prospective students to A&M
may have contributed. This year
the admissions office had a full
staff of recruiters who worked
extremely hard, Ashley said.
See Applicants on page 2
Applicants for Fall 2002 as of March II
* 19,689 students have applied
* Black applicants increased by
* Hispanic applicants increased by
I from 2001
13 %
3 %
JOHN LIVAS • THE BATTALION
Source; Office of Admissions
Randy Ramirez watches as members of the A&M football team hold 14 additional training workshops open to the public before
take the field for the opening day of spring training. The Aggies will Maroon and White Game on April 6. See related story on Pg. 7.
RUBEN DELUNA * THE BATTALION
faculty Senate redefines
authority of review panel
ENT
By Amy Dosch
THE BATTALION
/team
w.d
BThe Faculty Senate revealed
changes Monday as part of its
review of the role of the Committee
on Academic Freedom,
Responsibility and Tenure
(fAFRT), a committee that serves
■ the last line of defense for tired
faculty members.
J^»^^^^■CAFRT, an all-faculty hearing
reviews the dismissal of all
faculty members who request a
hearing with them and determines if
the dismissal was for just cause. The
nt Date Faculty Senate is beginning a
process that will clarifiy the limits
April 5;
Apr
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and authority of the CAFRT.
Questions about the CAFRT’s
role surfaced after University
President Dr. Ray M. Bowen
charged that the panel overstepped
its bounds in a December report that
concluded tenured professor Dr.
Mary Zey, accused of plagiarism,
was unjustly fired.
The panel, in three days of
hearings over the case, found that
Zey was not guilty of scientific
misconduct and therefore should
not have been fired. Though
Bowen later accepted the report,
he initially said the committee had
not done its job by retrying facts
in the case instead of simply
deciding whether her dismissal
was fair.
According to University rules,
the CAFRT’s only function is to
judge the fairness of a faculty mem
ber’s dismissal.
Most recently, senators amended
the CAFRT’s rules allowing the
panel to handle more than one case
at a time and giving the committee
60 days to hear a case once it has
been requested and 15 calendar days
to report on its findings.
Senators are pursuing further
See Faculty on page 10
Northgate parking
charges reduced
Ad 11 be
and nT
Survey to expose health needs
By Melissa Sullivan
THE BATTALION
I Texas A&M is part of a team that is sending Brazos
^ Valley residents a health survey to bring governmental
^ grants to underfunded areas of medicine in the region.
FR-' ' The Brazos Valley Partnership is conducting a health
GreensCW survey for the seven surrounding counties of the Brazos
$20A<’ j Valley as part of a collaboration with St. Joseph Hospital,
the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center,
College Station Health Center, county governments and
focal health agencies.
; t! Coststa II 70-question, 26-page survey, which will be
. ence ; mailed to 3,000 Brazos County households after they
n expeb j^gree to p art j c jp a t e by phone, includes questions about
ment- J functional health, specific health conditions, if a person
$25 ( j r i n i CS5 srn okes and exercises, insurance information and
jntoc demographics of the participant, said Dr. James Burdine,
director of the Community Health Development Program
at the school of Rural Public Health.
“We want to collect information from residents
from the seven counties and make sure they are aware
of the influence the survey will have on their health,”
he said.
The Brazos Valley Council of Governments is the
coordinating body for this effort, bringing together the
resources of more than a dozen organizations.
A similar survey was conducted in the San Angelo
Valley last year that prompted health officials to write
grants in general areas such as dental care and mental
health for low income families in rural aras, Burdine said.
It is very likely that the rural counties of the Brazos
Valley will show the same results, Burdine said.
“The real value comes from organizations and the
See Survey on page 10
By Sarah Szuminski
THE BATTALION
Students and customers previously
frustrated with parking fees in the
Northgate area will find little to complain
about since a vote was made to decrease
parking rates effective earlier this month.
All on-street meter parking is now free
after 5 p.m., and the Promenade lot behind
Northgate charges $.25 per hour from 6
a.m. to 5 p.m. and $.50 per hour after 5
p.m., down from $1.50 per hour prior to
March 8, said Northgate businessman
Costa Dallis.
Prepaid parking is available in the
Northgate Parking Garage on Thursday,
Friday and Saturday nights for $2.
The Northgate District Association
and the City of College Station decided to
lower fees to ease customer complaints
and increase business activity, Dallis said.
“It is a great thing for the city and the
merchants,” he said. “We want students to
know that we appreciate them. It is a very
positive change.”
There were many complaints about
garage parking on weekends because traffic
backed up at night when customers paid
tickets, Dallis said. Under the new prepay
ing system, a $2 ticket can be purchased on
entrance to the garage, providing a more
efficient exit.
See Parking on page 2
• $.50 / hour 24 hours/day
• $2 / night prepaid
Thursday, Friday and Saturday
Promenade Lot
• $.25 / hour - 6 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• $.50 / hour - after 5 p.m
Metered parking
• Free after 5 p.m.
Sources: Northgate District AsSoclOftOft
end 6Hy of College Station
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
IkiSIDl*
Sports Pg. 7
Ho leads Aggie
Women into NCAA
finals
AggieLife Pg. 3
Porgy and Bess
Opas brings the famous folk
opera to Texas A&M
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