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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 2001)
'. 9JM ..... . , .•.«.« uesday, September 4, 2001 ) WA N Continued from Page 1A t they should tell me why I /a4 removed. The more openly /e conduct ourselves, the less it sanl ' LS P ecl eems we’re trying to coyer sound ot aK onfcething up.” high and : ■s.ihler investigated allegations •md with rtu ,f Llcohol abuse, drug use and -e> were spx .'iappropriate sexual advances HBng the two-week Champe —is to a laid rjtzhugh Jr. International Honors can be cn,0 'fldership Seminar, an MSC- ttiliaied program. H^owan has denied the most Hous allegations, but said that ■ two occasions he had too lULh to drink. ■Iowan asked to address the Hncil in open session, but his euLesi was denied. Continued from Page l A "ethers or hu —>ng is about is become oi listenings, h* II have thn 'eral weeks tra vie :k. that any organization that ives federal funding and is si tied as a government icy is required to hold open ^^tings for the public to attend. ■The A&M System general _ ounsel instructed MSC director ■— im Reynolds to keep the meet- ng closed under the pretense hat the MSC is not part of the jmversity and therefore is rxlmpted from the act. ■towever, journalism Prof. >>ii E. Tomlinson, a lawyer and nedia law expert, said the MSC vas created through the Jniversity and is funded partial- ■ through student fees. The vfSC should be viewed as a part >f [he public institution, he said. ■ I believe to say that the lr vISC is not a University entity is vrfcng,” Tomlinson said. “I’m of j- : he belief that meetings of this yp*. should be held in the light, ir. iot m the dark. If the MSC is not i part of the University, then vhat is?" pfThis fall, each enrolled stu- lent paid $40 for a "student cen- ertfee” as part of their fee state- leru-giving the MSC approxi- THE BATTALION "There’s a real conflict of interest when two of your accus ers are also voting on your removal,” Rowan said. "It seems like a handful of people are driv ing this process.” Rowan said he had tried to discuss the matter privately with individual council members, but MSC Director Jim Reynolds had pressured the members not to talk to Rowan. "We already know where he (Reynolds) stands on the issue, and he exercises a certain amount of influence. The fact that he was sharing information with Tom Fitzhugh indicates that he is not an impartial actor in this process,” Rowan said. Reynolds denies acting impartially. "I have conducted myself appropriately, and have not shared mately $2 million of student money. When an open records request is made to the University, it first goes to Dr. Richard Floyd, associate vice president for finance, who decides if the request is valid. If he is uncertain, the request is sent to the state attorney gener al’s office for a and opinion and ruling. In a similar case at Sam Houston State University in 1993. members of the media requested that a student service fee advisory committee meeting be open to the public. Assistant Attorney General Loretta R. DeHay listed five prerequisites an organization must meet in order for its meetings to fall under the requirements of the Sunshine Act. "The body must be an entity within the executive or legisla tive department of the state,” DeHay wrote in her response to Sam Houston. "The entity must be under the control of one or more elected or appointed mem bers. The meeting must involve formal actions or deliberation between a quorum of members. The' discussion or action must involve public business or pub- Page 5A information with anyone outside this process,” Reynolds said. Rowan said a delegation from the MSC executive com mittee, which recommended his removal Sunday night, approached him and gave him the opportunity to resign before the Council removed him, but Rowan said he refused. "I told them if 1 resigned, nobody will ever find out the truth and this thing will just be swept under the rug,” Rowan said. Moffitt said an open applica tion process for MSC president will begin once Southerland has ruled on Rowan’s appeal. A spe cial committee appointed by Kate Petree, MSC vice president for human resources and a sen ior meteorology major, will interview the applicants and make a selection. lie policy and the entity must have supervision or control over that public business or policy.” DeHay decided that since the committee was only making suggestions, and not decisions that would be enacted, the meet ing did not fall under the Sunshine Act. Tomlinson says the MSC meets all five prerequi sites as a government agency. Dr. Bill Kibler, associate vice president for student affairs, submitted a report to MSC director Jim Reynolds Friday concerning Rowan's alleged misconduct last week. An executive council meeting was held Sunday, but the deci sion was not made until Monday’s meeting. All meet ings were closed, and officials have refused to release any documents. Wayne Overbeck, author of “Major Principles of Media Law." wrote in the 2001 edition of the book, “School officials have sometimes used it [FERPA| as an excuse to with hold newsworthy and non-sen sitive information about stu dents involved in athletics or other newsworthy extracurricu lar activities.” ^7®[I©ounce Jvu, S 15 J PARADISE SCUBA PADI 5 Star Dive Center - This area’s only full-service Dive Facility. Equipment, Sales, Repair £ Rentals • Classes • Travel • Certification. Fraternities, Soroities, £ Corps Croups - Inquire about group rates for classes taught in our indoor pool. For more information: CALL 696-DIVE or visit us at 2404c Texas Ave. South Kroger Shopping Center, College Station We accept Texas A£M Scuba Class referals for Certification. )02? ack! viewing Come early to meet local churches and Christian organizations from 8-9pm... Breakaway to follow at 9pm! Reed Arena X _ _ _ MSC Current Issues Awareness Presents... The Stem Cell Forum with special guests including: Father Michael Olson - Saint Mary’s Seminary Rabbi Peter Tarlow - Hillel Foundation Prof. Geritt DeVries - Dept, of Political Science Dr. Duane Kraemer - TAMU Vet School Tuesday, September 4 6:30pm- 8pm Location: MSC 225 Free Admission Contact Joe Williams at (979) 845-1515 for more information. Http://da. msc. tamu. edu <k Persons with disabilites, please call (979) 845-1515 to inform us of your special needs. A* ^ r ^ Tan the Fall Semester for ONLY £50. 00 Woodstone Center 913 D Harvey Road (Between Nutritec & Subway) College Station, TX 77840 680-1492 Bigger Beds, Better Beds...,Better Tan Attention University Employees Proudly accepts EHS, the new Texas A&M Prescription Plan, as of September 1, 2001! (Kroger still accepts the current plan, Advance Prescription Plan, as well) Simply present your new card at the time of service. We’ll take care of the rest! <XX>