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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 2001)
Battalion Nrws Radio: 1:57 p.m. KAMU 90.9 wmt i^t:\ m t c t t«K'i m ^rwi *t vvww.thc'Oalt.c om A&M appealing discrimination verdict By Mariano Castillo The Battalion Texas A&M is appealing a feder al judge’s decision ordering the Uni versity to pay more than $200,000 in damages and legal fees to a fe- J male employee. The ruling found I J (hat the University had sexually dis- briminated against Beverly Wymo- la, an A&M graduate and long-time employee. U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. I Hoyt ruled that A&M violated the I Equal Pay Act of 1963 by paying I Wymola significantly less than I male co-workers, despite her qual- I ifications in Computing Informa tion Services (CIS), where she worked at the time. The University has filed a notice of appeal at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. No legal briefs have been tiled yet, and a date for the hearing has not been set. Brian Bricker, A&M’s lawyer in the case, and University Relations spokesman Lane Stephenson both declined to comment. Stephenson said the University does not com ment on ongoing legal matters. In his decision, Hoyt sharply crit icized A&M for not acting earlier to correct the salary discrepancy. In his final order, handed down on Dec. 13, he said it is “undisputed” that Wymo la had the same responsibilities as her male co-workers but was paid less. The ruling that A&M seeks to overturn ordered the University to pay her $116,578 in damages and more than $95,000 in legal fees and raise her annual salary to $53,560. The lawsuit changed Wymola’s view of the University, she said. . “Unfortunately, not for the better,” she said. “[The administration] does n't care as much about faculty or staff as they do about students. As a student, I never felt discriminated against.” After getting a degree in wildlife and fisheries sciences in 1981, Wymola earned a master’s degree from A&M in 1985. Wymola transferred from the tt As a student I nev er felt discriminated against." — Beverly Wymola University employee agricultural economics department to CIS in 1989 and accepted a position reserved for non-degree personnel. According to court documents, she was repeatedly passed over for promotions and paid less than her male co-workers. In 1994, although Wymola was second in seniority in her CIS group, she had the third- lowest salary. Much of her frustration was due to the administration’s slow reaction to her complaints, Wymola said. “In cases that they are wrong — discrimination and other areas — they would hope people would shut up and go away,” she said. Wymola began to question her salary after an investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The investiga tion recommended that the University correct the disparity in her pay. Wymola’s attorney, Beatrice Mlandenka Fowler, said the EEOC gave the University time and oppor tunity to act, but instead, it “just thumbed its nose.” “The judgment will be upheld,” Mlandenka Fowler said. A&M countered Wymola’s charges, contending that she received multiple pay increases. The Univer sity also argued that market forces and budget constraints resulted in Wymola’s lower salary. See Appeal on Page 2. Playground fun PATRIC SCHNEIDER Battalion Three-year old Chet Taylor of College Station streaks down a slide at a local indoor play ground. He was visiting the playground with his grandparents. Railroad hindering new parking garage By Amanda Smith The Battalion Planned construction on West Campus has been hin dered as Texas A&M officials continue to wrestle with the is sue of the busy railroad tracks that divide the campus. Construction of the West Campus parking garage and pedestrian passageway is not ex pected to begin until late May or early June, said Parking, Traffic and Transportation Services (PTTS) Director Tom Williams. Plans were delayed in Fall 2000 when the designs were sent back to the drawing board, Williams said he expects the new plans and bidding to be complet ed in late March. The $30 million parking garage will provide at least 3,000 spaces and room to acco modate an additional 500 auto mobiles. Williams said some spaces will be contract and the rest will be reserved for visitor parking. The West Campus parking garage will be built on Parking Area 56, called Fish Lot, next to the Student Recreation Center. The pedestrian passageway will connect the parking garage to main campus near Kyle Field. Williams said the future of the railroad that divides main cam pus from West Campus contin ues to be an issue for the A&M community as the University looks to the additional parking space slated for West Campus. The Bryan-College Station Metropolitan Planning Organiza tion (BCSMPO), A&M, Bryan, College Station and Union Pacif ic Railroad are in the sixth month of studying options for the future of the railroad that runs parallel to Wellborn Road. Michael Parks, director of BCSMPO, said the stridy was ini tiated because of concerns ex pressed by University and city of ficials as a result of the train traf fic in the growing community. Union Pacific Railroad runs 26 trains through the A&M cam pus daily, and traffic is expected to increase to as many as 50 trains daily in the next five to eight years. Parks said. “We see an opportunity to do something collectively,” Parks said. “The same issues still pre vail. Whenever you draw a line on a map, you are going to affect someone. The folks we are hear ing from are the ones who are be ing affected.” Included in this group are A&M students, faculty and staff traveling from main campus to West Campus. Williams said the railroad has always been a safety issue and concern for the A&M. BCSMPO hired a consulting See Parking on Page 2. cams request AOL users info fill 1 Housing coststo Mstomers asked to release password, credit card number iy Brady Creel The Battalion Residents of Bryan- College Station have be come the target of a cyber jhief who is posing as an urierica Online official Jnd requesting credit card numbers and personal in- lormation from users. College Station Police )epartment (CSPD) is- Jued a release Tuesday, de- tiiiling the nature of the so licitation and warning isers to steer clear of the /ebsite indicated on the Imail messages. “The site looks like an AOL site, but it’s not — it’s not a part of AOL at all,” said Lt. Dan Jones, public information officer for CSPD. Jones said AOL cus tomers receive an email in forming them that their AOL information needs to be upgraded. The email points the customers to a Website, which is designed to look like an official AOL site. The site requests per sonal information about the customer, including name, Social Security number, AOL password and credit card information. “Basically, it’s a scheme to get a person to unknow ingly give out their person al information,” Jones said. “Once the suspects have that information, they can use that credit card to order merchandise online.” The perpetrator is hard to track, Jones said, be cause the server and do main name of the Website used to gather information change frequently. The threat extends be yond simple credit card use. Jones said it is possible for the suspect to obtain enough information about the AOL customers to get more credit cards in the cus tomers’ name, or to even as sume their identities com pletely. Possessing such information would enable a would-be con artist to open new credit card accounts under the identity of the original victim. The con artist would then use the credit cards without making payment, creating large balances un der the name of the victim. If that happens, Jones said, victims may not know until they get their next credit report, or until credit agencies call de manding payment. Jones said one College Station resident has al ready fallen victim to the scam. However,- he said, there could be many more who will not know until the get their credit card statements. “Depending on how See AOL on Page 10. \tanoi respond unisonal or credit tniA Inlormailon 1 t I I I! Ill 111 I Bill l l III H increase Energy costs cause 4 percent raise By Sommer Bunch The Battalion RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion Brady focused on education, loans Chinese New Year begins today Iff Mark Passwai i us The Battalion WAS! 11NCETON Now that George ■« W. Bush is the 43rd president of the Unit- 1 ,\l States, many obstacles lie before him a md the members of C ongress. On the day | ielore Bush was sworn in. U.S. Rep. > Kevin Brad) of the Eighth Congressioiv ® tf il I )istrici of Texas discussed a few ol the T f ibstades facing the new president, how Bionv hey would affect people in Texas and tow the new president will affect Texas. "It ought to feel good (to have a Texan in the White louse).” Brad) said. "Texas is gi\ing the nation a gift. Bush] is exactly w hat w e need a breath of fresh air.” Regarding the current political climate and the even lumber of Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate, had) said he w as “optimistic about change.” “Doom and gloomers are wrong." he said. Brad) heartily agreed w ith Bush's statement that edu- ation reform will be one of his first priorities. Brady said ehools could accomplish things that federal programs See Brady on Page2. Traditions and superstitions large part of three-day celebration inr ** U By Emily Hendrickson The Battalion New Year’s resolutions may already be ancient histo ry to many Americans, but for those of Asian descent, the new year is just beginning. The Chinese New Year begins today and traditional ly lasts three days. Yen Cao, a freshman busi ness major, said families cel ebrate the new year with a feast to honor their ancestors. Ancestors are remembered with great respect because they are responsible for lay ing the foundation for the for tune of the family. “It symbolizes family uni ty and honors the past and pre sent generations,” Cao said. The date of the new year is determined by the Chinese lunar calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar that is s Wdf ccoPdinq to the Luna used in the western world. The Chinese add an extra month every few years, like adding an extra day for leap years. As a result, the start of the new year could be as ear ly as late January or as late as mid-February. Each year symbolizes one of 12 animals. This year is the Year of the Snake. Superstitions and tradi tions are an important part of new year festivities, said Thi Nguyen, a senior economics major. “Every family does spring cleaning to cleanse their house and enter the year with a clean start,” Nguyen said. Appearance and attitude set the tone for the rest of the year. Red is considered to be a bright, happy color, and wearing it brings luck and prosperity for the rest of the year. Wearing white is avoided because it is a sign of death and misfortune, Cao said. Anything that happens during the new year celebra tion foretells events to come in the coming year, so the main concern is getting rid of the old spirits from the past year. “Dragon dances and leav ing windows open are a way to chase away bad spirits from the past year so we can start fresh for the new one,” Cao said. Cao said her favorite part of the holiday is the custom of giving children and un married adults money in red envelopes for good fortune. Although many Chinese people today may not believe in the superstitions, they are still in practice because fam ilies think they are an impor tant part of their past and a way to provide family identi ty, Cao said. Custom also dictates what food is eaten during the fes tivities. “We honor our ancestors with food such as new rice, See New Year on Page 2. Students living on campus can ex pect to pay 5 percent more for housing in Fall 2001. The cost of utilities in the residence halls is projected to rise $1.2 million during the next two years, according to Texas A&M’s Physical Plant. Ron Sasse, director of Residence Life, said the cost must be passed qn to students. Energy costs alone will constitute more than 4 percent of the proposed increase. Sasse will formulate a proposed housing rate plan to present to the ad ministration for approval this month. His suggestion of a 5 percent increase, though not final, will not be far from the approved rate, he said. The rate change will affect all 8,200 students living in residence halls. “Estimates are that costs to provide power to the halls will rise 15 percent each year for the next two years,” Sasse said. “Energy costs are rising in the area; anyone who lives off campus can see their bills climbing. It’s ex pected that those of us on campus will see the same thing.” A 5 percent raise will be a $86 rise in rent in modular-style halls and a $32 rise for non air-conditioned rates. Energy conservation needs to be stressed, particularly in the face of ris ing costs that students themselves will have to pay, said Alisa Bescherer, vice president of public relations for the Res idence Hall Association and a senior See Housing on Page 10.