'. 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 : â– 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
â–  two occasions he had too
lULh to drink.
â– 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.
â– 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.
â– towever, journalism Prof.
>>ii E. Tomlinson, a lawyer and
nedia law expert, said the MSC
vas created through the
Jniversity and is funded partial-
â–  through student fees. The
vfSC should be viewed as a part
>f [he public institution, he said.
â–  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.”
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