The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 05, 2002, Image 1
NEl ^TTALI Sports: Seven aggies picked in draft • Page 3 Opinion: Rec Center makes right decision • Page 7 ‘8 vot ame tax were do» it from 2!a • ip j T 1 tiEj Slum (Volume 108 • Issue 145 • 8 pages 31 April 2i s that cote i of CokjrrtK E 17-year-old girl sexually Sassaulted enceof A 17-year-old girl was sex- jally assaulted and suffered cruising and swelling on her porate lii r ace f roni an a ttack Tuesday reC:; noming at 2:18 a.rn. in the 9(X) )lock of University Drive East. The College Station Police ts and ta,i is higher also seei ini. ar ts. conducts i rat ion oi By Christina Hoffman THE BATTALION gton, hop department (CSPD) respond- emmen;> ;( j t0 incident when the girl re of the: e p 0n ted that a male in his early althcaitj )0’ s g ra bhed her and forced an .^Wier into a secluded area where le sexually assaulted her, said Sgt. Rodney Sigler, the CSPD ublic information officer. „ The victim chose to enter lie Nat: ^ cspp) Pseudonym Program tate Bbi M j Nelsor stitute :o keep her identity confiden- ial. The program is designed or sexual assault cases to pro- :ect the identity, name and life )f victims when an assault is ) i eported, Sigler said. t^||l He could not provide any k'l» r urther information about the tssault because a formal inves- jomulco igation is in progress. Sigler k 1986ti confirmed no suspects were in iiza killed custody as of noon Tuesday, le in that. The victim was treated by irs after:; College Station medics when ■he police responded to the ed regior incident. icting In “We will do whatever it d over Makes to find [the assailant],” e beforepigler said. “But because of iQ yearsBie investigation, 1 can’t talk st violen||tbout anything else.” I Two previous sexual > an atl assaults have been reported this year in College Station. In 2001, three sexual assaults were reported. Betty Lemay, the crime prevention specialist for the University Police Department (UPD), said the UPD and the University have made con centrated efforts to help pre vent sexual assaults on and off campus. “We do pretty much every thing we can to educate and prevent sexual assaults, but you can't always get to every one,” Lemay said. The University now offers self-defense classes through the Health and Kinesiology Department which includes education about prevention of sexual assaults and steps to take if a sexual assault occurs. The UPD also designed a Pseudonym Program similar to the CSPD’s program. If a sexu al assault occurs and is reported to the UPD. the victim’s identi ty automatically becomes con fidential. Even Lemay or those working with police on the investigation do not have access to the victim’s identity. The UPD Pseudonym Program also includes a vic tim’s assistants coordinator to provide and help pay for medial bills, rape kits, and counseling, Lemay added. See Assault on page 2 comm use of a I tepee o‘ o clainif- ate attff ipotec la uertas t j at a sa«' Alto,sia o Frida) /■ :d a ride our ridel "ria —( rocks fo and gufl d his St* •o rather •e with a irvived,! Investigators find 9/11 mastermind WASHINGTON (AP) — Investigators believe they have identified a Kuwaiti lieutenant' of Osama bin Laden as the likely mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a senior U.S. counterterrorism official said Tuesday. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, designated as one of the FBI’s most-wan ted ter rorists, is at large in Afghanistan or nearby, the offi cial told The Associated Press. U.S. investigators believe Mohammed planned many aspects of the Sept. 11 attacks, turning bin Laden’s calls for dead Americans into reality. “There’s lots of links that tie him to 9-11,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “He’s the most sig nificant operational player out there right now.” A second U.S. official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mohammed played a key role in planning the attacks as did Abu Zubaydah, the al-Qaida leader now in U.S. custody. Within three months of Sept. 11, according to the offi- cial, the FBI learned that Mohammed had moved money that was used to pay for the attacks and since then the United States has gathered other significant evidence pointing to him as the key planner. The official declined to go into detail, citing a need to protect intelligence infor mation. Mohammed is accused of working with Ramzi Yousef in the first bombing of the World Trade Center, which left six dead in 1993. He and Yousef, hiding in the Philippines, also are accused of plotting in 1995 to hijack and bomb several trans pacific airliners heading for the United States. Yousef, now serving a life sentence in the United States, also has been accused of plotting to crash a plane into CIA headquarters. Mohammed was charged by federal prosecutors in New York in 1996 in connection with the alleged 1995 plot. The FBI describes him as in his mid-thirties, sometimes wear ing a beard and glasses, and slightly overweight. hours with medley jeh as "Sgt. P e: Hub Bart gs McU e with ro : -ation suj ewart, the perform Connections in the terrorist network U.S. counterterrorism officials believe they know who organized the Sept 11 attack. Officials say Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a Kuwaiti lieutenant under Osama bin Laden, has been coordinating attacks against U.S. interests since 1993. He is thought to be alive and at large in the Afghanistan region. Osama bin Laden Nov. 9 videotape shows he had foreknowledge of Sept. 11 attack. t t The money man: Shaikh Saiid al-Sharif Wired money to hijackers. Officials believe he is alive. t The commander: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed Believed to have organized and coordinated key aspects of the Sept. 11 attacks. Sept. 11 hijackers SOURCE: U.S. officials AP r> A TT A T 1YA 11 / I I / I 1 J 1 \ J 108 Years Serving Texas A&M University www.thebatt.com Wednesday, June 5, 2002 Beat the heat BRIAN HUFF • THE BATTALION Houston residents Sammy Aguilar, left, and Kimber Sepeda, right, A&M Softball Camp look on. Almost 200 high school softball play- practice their head first slides while other participants in the Texas ers from Texas and neighboring states participate in the camp. Chilifest donates to local charities By Sarah Walch THE BATTALION Despite the rain and mud that plagued Chilifest patrons in April, Chilifest 2002 organizers earned over $ 130,000 and donated 63 percent of that to various organi zations in the community of Snook and surrounding areas. Organizations such as the Burleson County Co-Texan, the Boys and Girls Club of Brazos Valley, the Snook Volunteer Fire Department, the Snook Lions Club, and the Burleson County Fair Association all received donations for the role they played in the event. Chilifest 2002 surpassed its previous earnings and strength ened its reputation by better planning and communication between the organizers, the secu rity teams and the community, said 2002 coordinating commit tee member and 2003 chainnan Todd Gilmore. Gilmore said students enjoyed the experience of playing in the mud and listening to the bands sing in the rain. Burleson County Sheriff Gene Barber said the rain was a bless ing in disguise for the safety planners. Better coordination and cooperation between Chilifest’s student organizers, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission, and the Burleson County Sheriff’s Department created a system that did not crumble even with the unexpect ed rain that could possibly have created chaos. The Texas Department of Public Safety had between 25 and 30 police officers patrolling the area who were available to help report and manage acci dents. Due to better traffic con trol, they could quickly respond to accidents. Barber said. Barber estimated attendance to be approximately 32,000 peo ple over the two-day period. Barber noted that traffic was more of a hassle than expected because so many attendees immediately left when they real ized how wet the event was going to be, making traffic control more complicated for the police offi cers on duty. The number of automobile accidents outside Chilifest were less severe, however, because the rain, cold and quick departures cut down the amount of alcohol > sold and consumed, said Barber. The tallies for arrests and cita- Organi'/utlons Hial received money • Burleson Countv - Go Texan ♦ Boys and Girls Club Of Bra/os Valiev ♦ Snook Vblunteer Tire Department ♦ Snook Lions dub ♦ Burlesort Oount\ l atr Associatioii Total Mice Numbers Vrrests ('nations Accidents TRAVIS SWENSON • THE BATTALION J tions by Burleson Country consta bles totaled 67 citations, three arrests and 15 accidents, said Dennis Gaas, a constable in Pet. 2. Gass said the TABC also issued 25 citations and arrested more than 35 people. With all the problems with trash control last year, there were no complaints of any trash left behind this year and several local people were hired from Snook to assist the cleanup effort, making it more efficient, Gilmore said. The continued efforts of stu dent organizers and meetings with the Texas Department of Public Safety helped things go more smoothly. Barber said. “The feedback was complete ly positive, and I look forward to another great event next year,“ Gilmore said. “Chilifest was suc cessful despite the rain.” Andersen helps students find new jobs By Christina Hoffman & Melissa Sullivan THE BATTALION While the future of Arthur Andersen LLP continues to look uncertain, the accounting department in the Lowry Mays College and Graduate School of Business created a pro gram to help those students whose permanent job offers were rescinded to search for new opportunities. In the midst of many uncertainties, Andersen ended recruiting efforts in early April. Later that month, Andersen decided to rescind permanent job offers from some A&M accounting students. Many students who graduated in May or will graduate in August began to worry and are now scram bling for other offers due to Andersen’s uncertainties. Dr. James Benjamin, professor and accounting department head, said they decid ed to create the program because Andersen’s future is extremely ambiguous. The depart ment no longer wanted to wonder whether Andersen would continue to honor the job commitments. The program created a hard copy and an Internet-based resume book that will be sent to a variety of public and private accounting firms. The accounting department will also personally contact many companies to let them know about the situation, Benjamin said. The program was set up mainly for stu dents who were scheduled to begin perma nent jobs for Andersen within the next six months. “[Andersen] pulled back a few offers from students who would begin working this sum mer, mostly in the consulting practice,” said Brent Admunson, director of recruiting in the Houston offices. Some students originally expecting to work for Andersen are now finding them selves in the same job but with a different firm, because some pieces of the sector have already been bought out, Benjamin said. Robert Half Inc. bought out Andersen’s Risk Management Department allowing some accounting students to keep their prom ised jobs. Many other sectors of Andersen may be taken over by the remaining four Big 5 accounting firms, he added. “Reality is, some students may work for us but at a different firm,” Admunson said. Students graduating in May or August of 2003 who accepted internships with Andersen will most likely be able to find new offers. Most have already begun to find dif ferent internships, Benjamin said. Benjamin is assured that the job market for accounting students remains promising and feels students will continue to find jobs dur ing the next 12 months. “There is still a lot of auditing and busi ness to take care of, other firms are picking up Andersen’s business,” Benjamin said. “As accounting firms grow with more business, they will need to hire more.” Benjamin believes the A&M accounting students will be able to capitalize on those job opportunities. “The program seems to be going well and we are definitely moving in the right direc tion. Hopefully by fall, all our students affect ed will have jobs,” he said.