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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 1998)
FRIDAY October 9, 1998 Volume 105 • Issue 31 • 10 Pages dins V Texas A&M University Sys- audit has questioned the tele- |ne use in the offices of two em employees. 'he offices of the System’s top [ncial officer Richard Lindsay, ity chancellor for finance and I’ations, and Melissa Ricard, nsel and administrative director )ipus Christi, amassed $7,182 lephone calls according to a ,24 audit report, ccording to a report in The exeaitfr-cotese Station Eagle, Gregg ?nberg, attorney for Lindsay, ) smoke,S lein a letter to Barry Thomp- iiilesoftr) System chancellor, that all the nedianh® ,029), 41 ate in state g •om a pet; ■cent), an other stai was comp ay a varier eminent between Lindsay and Ricard :ed to System business, he assertions that these tele- ie calls were motivated by any r purpose is not supported by [evidence whatsoever and is po- ally libelous and of a defama- nature. Although there is noth- intimate or embarassing about profesionals conversing for and nonpiusness purposes, the insinuation i said. •'s office^ exas, M found o'| //www.i in the audit is that the motivation of the telephone conversations was something other than business,” read the report. Frank Clark Sr., director of the A&M System internal audit office, wrote, in the audit, that allegations were made that the calls were “the result of a personal relationship be tween Mr. Lindsay and Ms. Ricard.” The audit did not attempt to iden tify the nature of the relationship be tween the two System officials. “The allegation has merit in that the frequency, volume and time of calls, at face value, are incongruent with the nature of a professional re lationship,” read the audit. Clark noted in his report that Lindsay and Ricard offered justifi cations for the frequency and times of the telephone conversations. The report stated, “This infor mation is not considered to explain sufficiently the necessity or pur pose of the class disclosed in the analysis.” Bob Wiatt, director of Universi ty Police Department, said to The Bryan-College Station Eagle that he would wait until the conclusion of the investigation before pursuing possible charges. A total of 2,681 calls were made between telephones accessible to Lindsay and Ricard. The calls were amassed over a two- year period spanning from January 1996 to May 1998. Of the calls brought into ques tion, 77 occurred prior to 8 a.m., 248 between noon and 1 p.m., and 1,273 calls were made after 5 p.m. Ricard serves as administrative director of the South Texas Re gional Service Center at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi. Clark’s report stated the number of calls between the Cor pus Christi center and the John B. Connally Building in College Sta tion are “signifigantly higher” than the number of calls ex changed between the North Cen tral Regional Service Center in Dallas and College Station. Terri Parker, communications di rector for the A&M System, said both Lindsay and Ricard remain on system payroll. Charlie Rose visits A&M to interview Bush BY JOE SCHUMACHER The Battalion Former President George Bush will visit Texas A&M today for a taping of “The Charlie Show. ” Bush and Brent Scow- croft, former National Secu rity Advisor, will be talking to Rose about A World Trans formed, a book they co-wrote dealing with the foreign policy of the Bush administration. The taping will be from 10:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Free tickets were made available to students at the MSC.and through the L. T. Jor dan Institute on a first-come-first- serve basis. Students who attend will have the opportunity to ask BUSH questions of Bush and Scowcroft. “The Charlie Rose Show” is a program on public television where Rose interviews prominent media personalities. Dr. Charles Hermann, director of the Bush School, said Rose is known for his in-depth interviews. “Rose asks more than just su perficial questions,” Hermann said. A World Transformed deals with international events that oc curred during the Bush presiden cy. Hermann said the book is writ ten from three perspectives: President Bush’s, Scowcroft’s and a general narrative of events. The book discusses many world events such as the reunifi cation of Germany, the collapse of the Soviet Union and Desert Shield and Storm that occurred during Bush’s presidency. “That was an incredible time period,” Hermann said. “It was the end of the Cold War. ” democrats defect ur Texas Representatives vote for inquiry ff 18 n! WASHINGTON (AP) — Four Texas con- jsinen in conservative or swing districts eamong the 31 House Democrats who feed from their troubled president Isday, voting with a united Republican Iciis to authorize a wide-ranging im- pment inquiry. Vith mid-term elec ts looming less than Jonth away, a ner- js White House had Iced for a flurry of pions from conser- tves and those in ire-election races. [The Texas quartet — |s. Ralph Hall of fkwall, Nick Lampson of Beaumont, pries Stenholm of Stamford and Jim nerof Crockett — sided with Repub- |ns in adopting an open-ended in ly after the House rejected a Democ- Icalternative that would have limited pme and scope of the investigation. Bt’s a tough vote,” said Stenholm, jo is locked in a tight re-election battle Ttis conservative West Texas district. CLINTON Said Hall, who had pressed the White House to agree to an impeachment inquiry: ‘‘There is no sense of satisfaction in mak ing these votes. I’m sad for our country that we have had to go through this ordeal.” Recognizing that a vote against the Republican resolution could be exploit ed by GOP challengers, the White House quietly gave some Democrats the go- ahead to defect. ‘‘I think there was an understanding some members of the party in particu lar political situations needed to vote yes,” said Rep. Martin Frost of Dallas, who is chairman of the House Democ rats’ campaign committee. As for the four Texas defectors. Frost said, ”1 think that it was a conscience vote, and I think also they were trying to reflect as best they could the sentiment in their particular districts.” Hall, in particular, has been an outspo ken critic of Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky and cover-up, stopping just short of calling for the president’s resignation. He said he voted for both inquiry resolutions because ‘‘both would achieve closure.” Pipe dream MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion Matt Lindenmuth, does stunts on a half-pipe ramp in front of Sbisa Dining Hall Thursday afternoon. Rollerbladers and a biker rode for a promotional tour sponsored by Details Magazine. MAIL CALL Clinic hosts offers free breast exams In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Planned Parent hood will offer free breast exams to day from 8:30 a.m. to noon at 4001 East 29th Street, Suite 103 in Bryan. Statistics from the American Cancer Society state that every three minutes someone is diag nosed with breast cancer. Every 12 minutes someone dies of breast cancer. To make an appointment for a free screening, call 846-1744. Grant permits new grad program A Texas A&M University professor has recently received a $520,000 federal grant to begin a program for educational diagnosticians. Richard Parker said the three-year Department of Education grant will go toward creation and development of the program, which will be adminis tered by the College of Education’s Department of Educational Psychol ogy. The new program started this se mester and will carry a maximum of 15 students, Parker said. The educational diagnostics pro gram concentrates on students with disabilities and the laws asso ciated with them, developing new programs for disabled students, charting the accountability of such programs and instituting parental involvement sessions, Parker said. “The students will serve as child ad vocates and act as consultants be tween the children and the regula tions affecting them,” he said. Golden Key Society hosts ‘Nerd Wars’ Golden Key National Honor So ciety will host “Nerd Wars” this Sun day at 1:30 p.m. at Spence Park. The event will include contests for Nerd King and Queen, best nerd laugh and a book-carrying relay. For more information about Nerd Wars, visit Golden Key’s information table today at the MSC between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. nthe IS team ombats ear 2000 ug issue BY ANDREA BROCKMAN The Battalion lilda Wiatt: MIP citations still a problem at Texas A&M When the clock strikes midnight rking the beginning of the year 1, no one is quite sure what will )en as a result of the Year 2000 tiputer Bug. Reverman, Computing and urination Services Year 2000 m leader, said CIS is doing their 'Uo prepare for the Y2K problem. Overman said the problem lies lie way dates are stored in many Dputer systems. said for years programmers been storing years in a two- lit format. Therefore, the com- ter applications will store the it 2000 as ‘00,’ and as a result tywill not know the century. The computer will think it is 1900 lact accordingly,” Reverman said. Reverman cited the example of tomatic inventory systems. Just imagine how inventory Us with an expiration date of " or beyond will be handled,” BRANDON BOLLOM/Tin. Battalion she said. “Will the the inventory system in the ’90s flag the new item as old and automatically create an order for another item? That could be very expensive. ” Reverman said many people think this is a mainframe problem only. “That is not true,” she said. “This problem exists in any com puter system, computer application or computerized hardware that uses two digits for the year.” The CIS Year 2000 Team was or ganized to asses the problem for Texas A&M and recommend an ap proach for identifying and convert ing all software and hardware to be prepared for the year 2000. Reverman said most major sys tems are close to being prepared. FAMIS, the financial accounting system, is ready; BPP, the budget and payroll system, is in its final stages; and SIMS, Student Informa tion Management Systems, will be completed this year. see Y2K on Page 6. BY AMANDA SMITH The Battalion Despite the decrease in minor in possession citations given on the Texas A&M campus. University Po lice director Bob Wiatt said they are still a problem. Eleven minors were charged with MIPs after yell practice for the North Texas game and 14 more were charged after the game. Wiatt said MIPs are common ci tations on campus. “We issue a lot of MIPs,” Wiatt said. “The number issued usually reaches a crescendo around Bonfire.” Since January, UPD has issued 78 citations. UPD issued 219 cita tions in 1997, down from 246 issued in 1996 and 294 issued in 1995. Efforts of the UPD crime-pre vention unit have increased aware ness of alcohol abuse on campus and enforcement of rules regarding alcohol use, Wiatt said. Minors charged with possession of alcohol, a Class C misdemeanor, could face a fine up to $500. Wiatt said on-campus residents under 21 receive alcohol from older residents living on campus. Individ uals of legal age to purchase and con sume alcohol are subject to a $500 fine and Class C misdemeanor viola tion for giving alcohol to minors. Since 1991, UPD has increased enforcement efforts at Bonfire, Wiatt said. “We have made a concrete effort to make Bonfire a real family affair,” Wiatt said. “People drinking were do ing some of the worst atrocities. We began to (implement) a no tolerance policy in 1991.” On the night of Bonfire, UPD of ficers patrol the site and parking areas on foot, on bike, in plain clothes and in uniform. Last year, a five-officer patrol unit monitored the area on horses to help enforce the zero-tolerance policy. Wiatt said UPD will employ the same efforts at Bonfire this year, Nov. 24. Rotary Club to announce Lombardi semifinalists BY MELISSA JORDAN The Battalion The Rotary Lombardi Award Tro phy will be on display in the MSC as the list of 12 semifinalists for the 1998 Rotary Lombardi Award is re leased tomorrow before the Texas A&M-Nebraska football game. The trophy will be displayed next to the MSC Bookstore from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with members of the Texas A&M Rotaract Club serv ing as honor guard at the display. The Rotary Club initiated the creation of the Lombardi Award in 1970 after the death of Vince Lom bardi, coach of the Green Bay Packers. Each year the award goes to a college offensive or defensive lineman based on performance, ability and discipline. A committee of over 300 promi nent football coaches, football writ ers, sports broadcasters and previ ous Lombardi Award recipients take part in the balloting process. The list of candidates will be released to the public Saturday before the game. The semifinalists will be nanowed down to four finalists whose names will be announced Saturday, Nov. 7. The winner will be announced Dec. 8 at the annual award dinner. Proceeds from the award dinner go to the American Cancer Society and its cancer research programs. Dat Nguyen, senior inside line backer for Texas A&M, and Mike Rucker, defensive end for Nebraska, are both considered possible semi finalist candidates for the award. Mark Sanders, chair of the pub lic relations committee for the Houston Rotary Club, said the club decided to bring the trophy to . A&M for display because A&M and Nebraska each have potential semifinalists for this year’s award. The Rotary Lombardi Award tro phy was sculpted by Mark Storm, a Houston artist and Rotatarian. Penny King, vice president of the Bryan Rotary Club, said it is fit ting that the Rotary Lombardi Award trophy come to A&M. “With both teams playing each other I think it’s really appropri ate that they brought it here,” King said. PHOTO COURTESY OF WOODALLEN PHOTOGRAPHY The Lombardi Award Trophy will be on display in the MSC Bookstore from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
