INTERNATIONA MONDAYAPRIL 1, 2002
VOLUME 108 • ISSUE 120
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
ice shooti
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i a Paris suburb
day, killing eight)
ig 19 others.
# Nanterre
BEL'
Paris
FRANCE
Andersen ends
recruiting efforts
Struggling accounting firm will
not look for employees at A&M
By Christina Hoffman
THE BATTALION
Arthur Andersen LLP, the 89-year-old
lig5 accounting firm, appears to be losing
talus as a viable company, leaving many
\&M students without a promised job and
ewer job options.
Andersen recently lost large-profit
Associated Presfi ^ en t s and Chief Executive Officer Joseph
Berardino resigned, leaving certain sectors
if the company struggling to stay afloat
‘ ‘ the turmoil caused by the collapse
if Enron.
In the midst of many uncertainties,
idersen decided last week not to actively
icniit at A&M, canceling all interviews
' not reporting whether the company
honor commitments offered to stu-
lents regarding promised internships or
went jobs, reversing earlier promises.
Despite the national attention on
[Andersen and former lead auditor David
concerning ethical reviews,
[recniiters continued to assure jobs to many
A&M students and graduating seniors
ftroughout January and February.
Duncan. Class of 1981 and a member of
F Lowry Mays College of Business
Graduate School advisory board, was fired
the firm in January after accusations
Ate ordered the destruction of key
pton docmients.
Dr,/antes Benjamin, professor and
fyMment of Accounting head, said
ftenis still hoping to be a viable firm
long term. But with the current
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uncertainties in the company, Benjamin
said, Andersen does not think it is appro
priate to actively recruit and offer intern
ships right now.
Benjamin said questions surrounding
the canceled interviews and Duncan’s con
tinued presence on the graduate school
advisory board are not related. He added
that he has not addressed the issue because
the advisory board only meets twice a year
and has not met since last November. The
board is scheduled to meet this May.
“Since [Duncan] has been dismissed
from Arthur Anderson, we expect he will
not be a part or involved at this point. The
position on the board was derived from
him being at Andersen,” Benjamin said.
“Keep in mind that [the accusations] are
still simply charges, he is not guilty. We
still value him.”
He added that if Duncan is guilty, they
will be disappointed that an A&M graduate
was involved in the Enron scandal.
But many students, especially students
in the five-year master’s degree accounting
program, are only concerned with
Andersen’s current status. Benjamin said
the news will mainly affect accounting stu
dents, since the accounting sector of Arthur
Andersen is under the most scrutiny and
historically was one of the largest
recruiters for accounting students at A&M.
Benjamin said three main groups of
accounting students, all in the five-year
master’s degree program, would be affected.
See Andersen on page 2
Hunting season
Seven-year-old Alex Castillo stoops to collect an
egg during and Easter egg hunt at the Lincoln
Center in College Station on Friday. Area children
STUART VILLANUEVA • THE BATTALION
raced to gather about 600 candy-stuffed eggs
provided by the Zeta Phi Beta sorority and the
Lincoln Center.
bventry wins SBP election
A « ’#
By Sarah Szuminski
THE BATTALION
l“ c Coventry scored a landslide win
ist Lara Pringle in the race for student
^president Thursday, capturing 70 per-
,,0 f the vote.
|Coventry, a senior agricultural develop-
•najor, received 6,373 votes to
Ws 2,675.
[3 large crowd of students gathered in
^ofthe Lawrence Sullivan Ross statue
Fay night to hear Student Government
Nation Election Commissioner Caytie
n dis announce the results.
I this is an incredible blessing from
God,” Coventry said.
“Our motto was, ‘All
that matters is what we
do as a team,’ and I have
a great team.”
Coventry also expressed
his admiration for Pringle
and her campaign.
“Her heart is in the
right place,” Coventry
said. “They (Pringle’s campaign team) are
a classy bunch of individuals; my hat’s off
to them.”
Friends and supporters surrounded and
consoled a teary-eyed Pringle after the
results were announced.
“We did the best we could,” said Pringle,
COVENTRY
a junior finance major said. “I’m proud of
what we did, and I wish the best of luck to
Zac. It was an amazing experience.”
Yell leaders Cardo Walthall and Bo
Wilson cruised to victory in the senior yell
contest, each winning 27 percent of the vote.
The winner of the third spot will be deter
mined in a runoff between Scott Goble, the
Corps of Cadets nominee, and Matt Giese.
Goble won 4,506 votes (18 percent) and
Giese won 3,766 votes (15 percent).
“I’m extremely flattered,” Wilson said.
“I’m going to keep working hard and do my
very best.”
None of the 10 candidates running for the
See Elections on page 2
STUART VILLANUEVA • THE BATTALION
Texas A&M
presidential
candidate
Jon
Whitmore
met with
media and
the public at
the Stark
Gallery on
Friday.
Whitmore is
the second of
three candi
dates to visit
scheduled to
visit A&M.
baron declares ‘war on terror’
‘Vision’ to be focus
for Whitmore
'V
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MG AT 4:1
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*6 AT 12:30
jiEency personnel work at the scene of a suicide bombing inside a
re staurant on Sunday. Fifteen people were killed.
LUTHER $18
lueen Mother remembered
mt
KRT CAMPUS
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Saying Israel is in a war for
survival, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon vowed to smash Palestinian
militants in an uncompromising offensive, as he addressed a nation
rattled by five suicide bombings in five days, including back-to-back
attacks Sunday that killed 14 Israelis.
In an expansion of Israel’s “Operation Protective Wall,” more
than 100 Israeli tanks entered the West Bank town of Qalqiliya late
Sunday, Palestinian witnesses said. Electricity was cut off and
exchanges of fire could be heard. Armored vehicles also amassed
near biblical Bethlehem.
In the first of Sunday’s two suicide blasts, a Palestinian from the
Islamic militant group Hamas blew himself up in a restaurant,
killing himself and 14 diners, and wounding more than 40.
The blast tore away much of the roof and shattered tables and
windows. Twisted piles of metal covered the floor. “Even the mod
erately injured were on fire,” said a witness, Shimon Sabag, who
See Bombing on page 2
By Melissa Sullivan
THE BATTALION
With a hopeful look to the
future, Texas A&M’s second
candidate for president, Jon
Whitmore said his focus would
be on finding the resources
necessary to allocate the Vision
2020 plan.
“Vision 2020 is a terrific
view for the future,” Whitmore
said. “I would put my energy
behind seeing many aspects of
the plan coming together. It
will take a lot of resources from
many different streams.”
The University’s next presi
dent needs to advocate his
attention to A&M’s goal of
becoming one of the top 10
universities in the nation by
2020, Whitmore said.
Whitmore has been the
provost at the University of
Iowa since 1996, following six
years as dean, of the College of
Fine Arts at the University of
Texas-Austin.
Whitmore is the second of
three candidates scheduled to
visit the campus selected by a
24-member committee. Richard
Herman, provost and vice chan
cellor for academic affairs at
the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, visited and
spoke at a similar reception last
week. The third candidate.
See Whitmore on page 2
pND°N (AP) — The
■ St ate Bell of St.
s Cathedral tolled
y >n remembrance of
Ueen Mother as peo-
heTat" p r ' tain P ra y ed
at taster services
admirers lined up at
-r on I , CCS to si S n books
ondolence.
^;^ueen Elizabeth II,
as lost her mother
and her only sister.
Princess Margaret, within
seven weeks, attended a
private service at Windsor
Castle, grieving a much
loved royal matriarch who
died Saturday at age 101.
Prince Charles and his sons
flew home from a ski trip
to Switzerland to join the
rest of the royal family.
Crowds of admirers
gathered outside Windsor
Castle’s gates, and some
left flowers and notes.
More than 50 bright bou
quets of spring flowers
rested against a St. James’s
Palace wall in central
London where hundreds of
people lined up on a chilly
and overcast morning to
sign books of condolence.
The Queen Mother’s
Westminster Abbey funeral
was set for April 9, follow
ing three days in which she
will lie in state in
Westminster Hall at the
Houses of Parliament
under ceremonial guard.
Great Tom, the State
Bell at St. Paul’s, rang for
an hour Sunday afternoon
to mark the Queen
Mother’s passing.
U\!SID1=
AggieLife Pg. 3
Fools rush
Students celebrate April Fools
with pranks and practical jokes
News Pg. 4
Battalion honored
for journalistic
excellence
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