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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 1994)
Page 6 Wednesday • July 13, 1994 Funds Continued from Page 1 One A&M employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said the practice has been com mon since 1966. “I had at least 10 professors, department heads and friends on campus call me last week to say they didn’t understand why these people were charged be cause they do the same thing,” the source said. The source said these eight individuals were singled out. “They were made examples,” the source said. “There are many more individuals on this campus who do this.” Dr. Pierce Cantrell, deputy speaker of the Faculty Senate, said this problem stems from a lack of policy within the System. “There’s been no clear policy from the System or the state on alcohol purchases,” he said. “I think people were generally do ing what they thought should be done. “The issue in all these cases is not that alcohol was purchased. It’s not a contention that funds were wrong.” “We (the University) have been using the right kind of money,” he said. Dr. John Wormuth, interim head of oceanography and one of the employees indicted, said that in his 22 years with A&M, there had never been any kind of poli cy concerning the practice until this year. “The money we used was gift money and was unrestricted for its use,” he said. Wormuth said he knew it was common practice to label alcohol purchases as “food and bever ages.” “The unwritten practice was if you sent anything over to fis cal with the word alcohol on it, they bounced it back to you,” he said. The System internal audit said evidence was found to sup port the idea that fiscal would process vouchers with “food and beverage” purchases. “Vouchers reviewed and in quiries made indicated that the fiscal office would typically re ject vouchers for payment to the Faculty Club if the detail sup port including description of al cohol served was included, yet the fiscal office would process such vouchers if the cover page stating ‘food and beverages’ was presented alone for payment,” the report said. The audit said the lack of a policy concerning the issue could have led to a misunderstanding by some people of their of rights and responsibilities. “As the keeper of the voucher door for TAMU and System Ad ministrative and General Of fices, A&M’s fiscal office en forced an alcohol policy at the most fundamental level, the con trol of what would/would not be paid,” the report said. “Thus, ineffective policy link age is indicative of the TAMU System’s culpability with respect to the alcohol quandary.” Tom Taylor, director of the fiscal office, could not be reached for comment, but his responses to the audit were included in the final report. “Where it (the practice) start ed and how it was perpetuated is unclear,” Taylor said. “The ‘evi dence’ presented thus far indi cates there is plenty of blame to go around. “Whether it was unclear poli cy, verbal instruction from for mer employees, improper billing practices, seeking ways to get around the policy or certifying a voucher paying for soft drinks when it was liquor, the reality is that a problem existed, which was identified, and procedures have been implemented to cor rect the problem,” Taylor said. “The chairman of the Board of Regents implemented a no-alco hol-policy, and the Fiscal De partment implemented controls to ensure compliance,” he said. “Personnel in the voucher sec tion, as well as Internal Audit staff, recall questioning some in voices from J.J. Liquor Store to determine what was actually be ing purchased,” he said in the report. “In every case they were told that it was soft drinks and did not include alcohol.” Taylor said blame for the situ ation should not be placed on his department. “I have conveyed to Frank Clark (director of Internal Au dit) my concerns both verbally and in writing,” he said. “As I pointed out to him, ‘if any blame is to be placed for a failure in procedures, it must at least be gin at the departmental level where the vouchers originate.’” “It is institutional culpability, based upon a long standing fail ure to appropriately address the issue, rather than the fault of a single individual or depart ment,” Taylor said. Dr. J. Malon Southerland, vice president for student affairs and one of the individuals charged with tampering, said there was no perception within the University that the practice was illegal. “There was not anyone con fused about what was being pur chased,” Southerland said. “There was no intended decep tion.” Southerland said the practice in his department was to use gift funds for such purchases. “These purchases came from a gift fund, not from fees, not from auxiliary funds,” he said. “This was an institutional practice.” The anonymous source said that indictments were not neces sary in these cases because the University did not feel there was perception of any wrongdoing. “My thoughts are if we’re do ing something wrong, tell us, and we’ll change it,” the source said. Dr. Pierce Cantrell also said indictments should not have been handed down. “I think the district attorney was wrong in indicting these people,” he said. “I think they’ve been set up as examples. I think there are many more.” Heather By jl Out There By JD VoESHT REALty SEEtA To WANT To BITE AN'/SoD'/ NOW. NoT 5uR£ >7- -THATS the d 'V" W£ NEE P TO Woiiky ABoof, Wednesday program to Italy during spring semester '95. For more info call Jenny at 845-0544. TAMU Womens Rugby: Practice every Monday and Wednesday from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the rugby field next to the polo field. Old and new members welcome, no experience necessary. For more info call Faye 822- 0651 or Janina at 696-0877. SPIC-Macay: North Indian classical music concert by Ajoy Chakvabary, one of India’s leading musician. Free admission. For more info call Paddy at 846-6838. TAMU Roadrunners: Will run at 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Slow, lazy, out of shape, new members welcome! Meet in front of G. Rollie. For more info call Shea at 694-8000. Center for Human Development: Co-dependent’s ?T^ r i„ 9 roF^ r r's i rrSocirani?(! unch ,rom 11:45 - Study Abroad Programs: Informational meeting at 251 Bizzell Hall West 1 p.m. for TAMU study abroad What’s Up is a Battalion service that lists non-profit student and faculty events and activities. Items should be submitted no later than three days in advance of the desired run date. Application deadlines and notices are not events and will not be run in What’s Up. If you have any questions, please call the newsroom at 845-3313. Phones KYLE-TV Continued from Page 1 all the aspects of the community as a key to gain ing an audience. “We hope that all segments of the populace will give us their influence as to what they would like put on the station,” he said. “We will be con stantly changing from the day we begin.” Lightfoot said he expects good things from KYLE. “I think they have some very capable people involved in the management of that station, and we sure wish them well,” he said. McMullen said there will not be a conflict with the station that currently airs on Channel 28, a low-power station that “repeats” the signal of the Fox station from Waco. “When our station was assigned, they were told they would have to find another channel,” he said. TCA Cable will be required to carry KYLE, McMullen said, but will have 90 days after the station goes on the air to assign it channel. Representatives of KBTX-TV, the other com mercial station in the Brazos Valley, would not comment about KYLE. Continued from Page 1 County Sheriff’s Department communications division, said 49 percent of the calls logged since June 1993 have involved car trouble. “We get two to five calls a day from stranded motorists,” she said. “Recently, a man was pulling a trailer far from his home when his vehicle broke down, and he was able to contact us and get help.” Neel said the department also handles a variety of emer gency calls. “A woman who lives in the country was being assaulted and was able to get away from her attacker and make it to one of the phones on the interstate to call for help,” she said. Neel said callers are grateful for this type of system. Recommendations concerning a network of call boxes on Texas highways are pending as com pletion of the trial program nears. Shannon said ACSEC has been pleased with the results it has seen, and said the project it self has been worthwhile. Ronnie Horcica, communica tions manager for the College Station Police Department, agreed. “A lot of students from here travel, and it is a good idea to have these call boxes, especially in isolated areas,” he said. The call boxes are yellow and are placed on opposite sides of the road at half-mile intervals. “If you need help, get to a box and call,” Shannon said. “Then get back in your car, lock the doors and wait for help.” “There are still a lot of good Samaritans in the world, but the one that stops at your car may not be one of them,” she said. Opir Elizabeth fights in c By Jan Hie The Battalk Texas A Austin toda; the construe on campus. The grouj Texas High s Car luilding pro made by the Gen. Wes facilities pi a the board wi cisions on A< versity repr to 1 approval The boai Wore we ca: G By Sara The Bat'd A com week, giv such a col The co! covered h Since the and each planet. The fr planet a hours. 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